Nite Songs

  We're into the top half of this list now so let's get going and breach upon the Top 30... *** 30.     KID KAPICHI - "There Goes The Neighbourhood" Kid Kapichi are simply one of the best punk bands in the UK today and while some of their contemporaries have put out sadly underwhelming albums this year (Idles and Pet Needs to name but two), these Hastings natives are continuing to go from strength with There Goes The Neighbourhood  introducing a new more melodic feel to their material without losing the fury varying from the anger of Can EU Hear Me  to the more reflective Tamagotchi  and the wistful stripped-down closer Jimi . Difficult second album? Nah, this is anything but. *** 29.     MARC VALENTINE - "Basement Sparks" Following up 2022's excellent Future Obscure  was always going to be a difficult task but in Basement Sparks , former Last Great Dreamers frontman Marc Valentine has delivered a worthy sophomore effort. Packed full of the r...

  So here we go...the big moment...who's won our Album Of The Year award? Read on to find out! *** 10.     L.A. GUNS - "Checkered Past" A real return to form for L.A. Guns and arguably the best album that's come out under this band's name in nearly three decades. Checkered Past  sees them retaining the heaviness of their recent efforts but applying them to the big fist-in-the-air template that they made their name with in the late '80s, veering from strutting AC/DC riff-fests through ferocious thrash to more moody introspective moments. Phil, Tracii and the rest of the guys can congratulate themselves on a job well done here. *** 9.     THE CORAL - "Coral Island" One which escaped our attention at the time, Coral Island  might just be the Coral's best album to date. Almost a world within a record, side one is pure blissful summertime psychedelia set at the titular seaside destination before side two sees winter roll around and things take a more ...

So we finally did it, the first ever Nite Songs live review - a mere 19 months after my last live gig (Terrorvision at Leeds Warehouse in February 2020), your correspondent finally makes it out to his first post-lockdown concert. And, let's be honest, there's no better way to do that than by seeing your favourite band in your home city for the first time in many many years after a decade away down south. More on that shortly. First on tonight, The Middlenight Men   put in a good account of themselves with a line-up including four guitarists, a horn section and two backing singers - I think the last time I saw that many people on a stage together outside of an Urban Voodoo Machine concert might have been on Ginger's Valor del Corazon  tour way back when. However, their tunes hit home nicely tonight with Heroine Heights  and BA Baby  being particular standouts. They've got an album launch coming up soon at Camden Underworld - capital dwellers among our readership, you ...

  The Middlenight Men are the brainchild of guitarist Nick Hughes, latterly of New Device, the Yo-Yo's, the Role Models and Duncan Reid & The Big Heads and also feature the talents of Andy Brook (ex-Shush and currently of Rich Ragany & The Digressions as well as being a top producer in his own right), Status Quo drummer Leon Cave and Terrorvision keyboardist Milly Evans. As you can see, this is a band with a pretty impressive musical resume and the big question is - can they translate that experience into a great album? Answer, I'm quite happy to say, is a comprehensive yes. Issue 1  starts off as it means to go on with a killer one-two of former singles - Rat Star  is a prime slice of fired-up pop-punk which recalls 1977  era Ash before the Ian Hunter style glam swagger of B.A. Baby  takes things off in a completely different direction but does so in great style with honking horns and some great Ginger Wildheart-style wordplay on the lyrics. The standar...

  Well, here we go, part 2 of this month's Singles Bar as we finish rounding up all the good stuff that's landed in my inbox over the last few months while I was in reviewing hibernation. Hopefully everyone will find at least something they like in here! Cheers again and hopefully we'll see you with the next instalment either next month or in November depending on how much stuff lands in my inbox between now and then! Starting off with a band who I'm friends with from my days living on the Herts/Essex borders, Touch of Blue  reformed a couple of years ago and "Here It Goes"  (🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑), their new single, is a good slice of low-slung and loose Stonesy rock with a slight nod to the bar-room stomp of the Quireboys as well. If you're looking for something nice and simple to sink a pint to this coming Friday night then you could do a lot worse than this - downloadable from their Bandcamp page (along with a couple of other recent re-releases) if you want to i...