Nite Songs

  We're very much in the upper echelons of the list now - the Top 10's coming tomorrow but let's go through those who just missed out on the very top tier - our Top 20 albums of the year. *** 20.     LAURA JANE GRACE - "Hole In My Head" Hole In My Head   might just be Laura Jane Grace's strongest album to date. Similar to its predecessor, 2020's Stay Alive  and the 2021 At War With The Silverfish  EP, it's stripped back acoustic punk rock wearing its heart on its sleeve, similar to Frank Turner at his best and the likes of Punk Rock In Basements , Tacos and Toast  and the superb album highlight Dysphoria Hoodie  have a fist-aloft honesty to them that's near impossible to resist. A triumph of an album. *** 19.     JUKEBOX HEADACHES - "Wigston Deli" Wigston Deli   does what every good second album should by taking the best parts of Jukebox Headaches' double album debut Balkan Telescope  and building on them to great effect. Takin...

  And so the countdown continues. Ten more today as we move into the Top 40 (cue up the old TOTP chart rundown theme should you feel so inclined) *** 40.      THE MUDD CLUB - "Bottle Blonde" From Kansas via Machnylleth, the Mudd Club blasted out of nowhere to come up with one of the better debut albums of 2021. No-nonsense two minute knucklehead garage-punk, it's the way the group attack the songs on  Bottle Blonde  with such sheer carefree abandon in the best X-Ray Spex/Adverts/Television Personalities style that makes this album a winner. *** 39.     STEVE CONTE - "Bronx Cheer" Conte's first solo album in seven years was a triumphant comeback from the guy with an impressively varied repertoire taking in everything from full throttle punk to laid back smoky blues jams. The guy deserves credit for putting together something this varied when it would have been very easy to just stick with a safe option and Bronx Cheer  is an excellent listen. ...

  It's been a good few years since we last had a new Steve Conte album to review, way back in 2014 with the NYC Album  to be precise, and it's good to see the guy back again. Best known as the man who took on the unenviable task of stepping into Johnny Thunders' god-sized shoes in the 21st century New York Dolls line-up before moving on to Michael Monroe's band for the last decade. The opening one-two here sets out the two sides of Conte's repertoire in good style with The Human Animal  having a louche laid-back air to it similar to Mink DeVille (another who Steve has served with in the past) while Liar Like You  is a furious fired-up throttle-to-the-max slice of punk which fair explodes out of the speakers. It's a good taster for the rest of the album which blends light and shade to good effect - while the Johansen style strut of Recovery Doll  and Those Sexy Lies  show off Conte's glam rock influences, Wildwood Moon  comes on like a pepped-up Buddy H...

August always seems to be a bit of a quiet time for releases and to be honest, it has been a bit quieter than usual at the Singles Bar this month. However, we've done a bit of rooting around to find a few potential gems we might've missed in the last few months as well as a handful of new releases plus a couple of mini-albums for you so if you'd be so kind as to head out on to the roof terrace and soak up the sun a bit, we'll get our selection over to you straight away. Well, we started with a Wildhearts  single last month and we do so again this month with the excellent Sort Your Fucking Shit Out  (🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗) another promising salvo from the upcoming 21st Century Love Songs  album. Poppier than last month's Remember These Days , it still packs enough unexpected twists and turns to what initially appears to be a straightforward slice of pop-punk but builds up to a furious crescendo. Great stuff. We've already encountered Norwegian pop-punks The Cocktail Slipper...

  Blimey, is it that time again already? Welcome to the June instalment of the Singles Bar where, much the same as last month, we've got a good mix of concoctions on offer from all across the alternative spectrum. Take a chair, pull up a glass and let's sup... Anyway, we've got a genuine legend kicking things off for us this month in the form of Charlie Harper & The Sub Machine  and their new single Panic  (🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑). A lurching ode to the imminent environmental collapse with its swirling Stooges guitar and drums, this is a good effort from the UK Subs frontman and proof that old dogs very much can be taught new tricks. B-side, Post War Punks  is nearer to the choppy punk rock of Harper's day job and is also well worth a listen. Bandcamp link here . Charlie isn't the only UK Sub to have a single out away from his day job this month either - Alvin Gibbs & The Disobedient Servants , fronted up by the Subs bassist, also have a new release out in the State of ...