Nite Songs

  "Going out in a blaze of glory/My arms are held up high/I'm learning how to hit back, I'm learning how to fight"  - The Alarm  - Blaze Of Glory So let's go right back to the beginning here in terms of your writer's musical journey - 1988-89 sort of time. At this point, I hadn't really started to form my music taste as such - I used to watch Top of the Pops and the ITV Chart Show every week and I knew I liked bands like the Wonder Stuff , the Happy Mondays, the Stone Roses, Guns 'n' Roses and Poison because they were something different from the non-stop PWL conveyor belt that pretty much had a near monopoly on the Top 10 at the time. Occasionally I'd pick up a copy of Smash Hits or its oft-forgotten rival at the time Number One from the newsagents but that was as far as my knowledge really went. However, my main memory of those teeny-pop magazines at the time were that there were two bands who were pretty much the running punchline of every j...

  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. ...

  Originally formed as a collaboration between Mike Peters from the Alarm, Billy Duffy from the Cult, Craig Adams from the Mission and Steve Grantley from Stiff Little Fingers, this second Coloursound album has surfaced a mere 22 years after the group's first. Adams and Grantley are absent for this effort but Peters and Duffy are both present and correct having reconnected with each other during lockdown and come up with a new set of songs. I have to admit that despite being a fan of both of their day bands, I missed the group's debut so wasn't quite sure what to expect here to be honest. My honest thoughts are that this is a solid album rather than a great one. Peters and Duffy are both on good form here with the latter cranking out the riffs with relish (the grinding Eye For An Eye  being a particular highlight) and the former in full on "preacher on the hillside" mode (even if he does drift a bit worryingly near to sounding like Bono in the odd place). I think ...

  There's no two ways about it - as well as being one of the genuine good guys in rock 'n' roll, Mike Peters is also one of its most persistent people. War  is the third album from the Alarm in as many years following on from 2018's competent Equals  and 2019's excellent Sigma . Driven on by the sheer boredom of lockdown (Peters and his wife are both cancer survivors and have been stuck shielding for almost the whole duration of the last 12 months), Peters has turned his inactivity into energy and written and recorded War  in a matter of weeks. Not that you'd guess it given the quality which makes it even more impressive. Axl Rose take note. The clarion call of "Whether you like it or not, the world has changed forever"  kicks opener Protect And Survive  into gear in fine style as Peters rails against Covid and the social injustices it's laid bare right in front of us in true preacher on the mountain style. The sinister electronica of We Got This  ...