Nite Songs

  20.     DEXY'S - "The Feminine Divine" Since he resurrected Dexy's a decade or so ago, Kevin Rowland has been on a good run of form and  The Feminine Divine  continues this purple patch. Slinky and soulful, it sees Rowland getting to grips with the passing of time, making peace with his past and celebrating the women in his life while sounding as if he's genuinely loving life to the maximum. The sound of a man who's happy with his lot and making the most of every passing day.  *** 19.     THE HANGMEN - "Stories To Tell" Now in their fourth decade of existence, it’s to the Hangmen’s immense credit that Stories To Tell stands up with their best stuff - 33 minutes of the sort of lean, fat-free rock ‘n’ roll that there’s depressingly little of in this day and age. Simple straightforward scuzz-punk howling at the moon on a lonesome night outside some dive bar, this is the sound of a band on top form. *** 18.     DUNCAN REID & THE BIG H...

  Heard ya missed us, well we're back. We didn't run a Singles Bar in January due to a lack of stuff to review (kind of standard for that time of year tbh) but I'm pleased to report that we've now got enough stuff to open the bar up again so let's open the fridge and get stuck in... *** Always good to have something exciting to start off the Singles Bar for a new year and the prospect of a new offering from  the Damned  definitely falls into that category. The Invisible Man  (🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑) is culled from Vanian, Sensible and co's new offering Darkadelic  and is a promising effort which just when you've got it pegged as a mid-tempo garage rocker suddenly goes into a full-on psychedelic freakout just to really throw you off. Looking forward to that new album chaps. *** I'm thoroughly ashamed to admit that I completely missed the memo about  Black Star Riders  having a new album out but rest assured we'll get a review up of it in the near future. In the m...

  Well, a cursory glance outside your window will tell you that the nights are drawing in so what better place to seek solace than here in the Singles Bar. As with last month, the offerings this time out are an eclectic mix of singles, EP's and a token mini-album so let's mix something up and see what happens... *** Well the big news this month is we're finally getting the multiple times postponed UK tour from the one and only Mr Billy Idol and to celebrate, he's issued a new EP, The Cage (🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑). Honestly, it might just be the best thing I've heard from him since Devil's Playground  a good decade and a half ago with a good mix of stuff that shows off all facets of his musical style from the stomping title track through the pounding goth ballad Running From The Ghost  and the affectionate nod back to his '80s stadium rock heyday Rebel Like You  to the twisted groove of Miss Nobody . After the solid but unspectacular Kings and Queens of the Underground  ...

  Welcome to the July edition of the Singles Bar. The weather outside's a bit scorching so come on in and we'll fix you up with a cold one. Please peruse at your leisure... *** Well I guess the big news this month is a new single from The Cult , their first in three years no less. Pleased to report that Give Me Mercy  (🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑) is a strong comeback from Astbury and Duffy with its swooping riff and haunting vocals harking back to the group's classic Love  album. New album due in September and hopefully this is a good omen for it. *** Another exciting development is news of a collaboration between Hi-Fi Sean  (aka Sean Dickson, formerly of the Soup Dragons and Nite Songs faves the High Fidelity) and David McAlmont  who have a new album out later in the year. Maybe  (🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑) is a good first salvo from it too with Dickson's chilled out electronica and McAlmont's trademark sublime vocals combining to make something good. Recommended. Bandcamp link here ...

  Welcome back to the Singles Bar for March. Spring is almost here, the world at large seems to be waking up and the new releases are starting to become a bit more plentiful so why not pull up a chair and we'll see what's on the menu this month. And a good start to this month's selection with a welcome return for Leeds pop-punk veterans The Cyanide Pills   with The Kids Can't Be Trusted With Rock 'n' Roll  (🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗), a great singalong slice of Ramones indebted pop-punk taking a humourous swipe at "punk rock police" types. Cracker of a B-side as well in the frenetic Do You Wanna Know? Not sure if this is a standalone release or an album taster but if the latter then consider my interest most definitely piqued. Arriving in the same package from Damaged Goods records is the new effort from the Courettes . As you'll probably know if you read our review of their Back In Mono  album last year, while most of the world was losing its head over this band...