An occasional collection of songs suggested for you using a given theme.
For this playlist, I tried to think of some artists and tunes that I absolutely love - and think you'll love - but that you may not be aware of.
I reckon from this list of ten, you may be aware of two or three of the artists, but a lot of these just never have received the sort of attention and airplay that I think they deserve. Well, I guess you can judge whether I am right or not....
1. Energy Orchard: Sailortown
Bap Kennedy led this fantastic Northern Irish band in the early 90s. Their debut album contained several gems, including this single - and it must have been played at least once on Radio 1 back in the day, because that is how I stumbled across them. Yes, the Van Morrison comparisons are strong across the whole of the album - but Kennedy's voice rasps across the crisp, bluesy tones of Paul Toner's guitar, while Kevin Breslin made his keyboards sound like the haunting notes of an Irish fiddle.
2. Power Of Dreams: 100 Ways To Kill A Love
This one takes us south of the Irish border, to a Dublin band that was lined up in the late 80s to be the next U2. They were still at school when they started out, but should easily have lived up to that mantle, but it never came to be. I don't know why, it certainly wasn't the music. Debut album, Immigrants, Emigrants & Me, remains one of the great debuts of all time. The perfect blend of driving acoustic, socially conscious folk, mixed with balls out indie rock swagger, that was the currency of the time. From an album of beauties - I give you this cream of the crop.
3. Split Single: (Nothing You Can Do) To End This Love
I could go on and on about Jason Narducy's band, Split Single. I only discovered his world, because he got a reference from the REM social media team - something to do with a Mike Mills appearing on the most recent album. Jason has side hustles as part of the Bob Mould Band and Superchunk, but with this band, he is at the fore and shows off what a great indie rock song man he is. This was the lead single from that last album, Amplificado, and is his LGBTQ+ solidarity song. Be warned - it is an absolute belter! (And if you are an REM fan, you won't resist smiling when you hear Mike Mills' distinctive backing vocals one more time).
4. Uncle Tupelo: Fifteen Keys
I thought long and hard about which Tupelo song to include. From Belleville, Indiana, they are credited with (if not inventing) spearheading the whole genre known as Alt-Country (see also - Steve Earle). Over four albums, they effortlessly broached punk-folk, blues, country and indie rock, before tension and acrimony pulled them apart. In the end, I have picked this track from their last album, Anodyne, that encompasses many of those styles I just mentioned.
5. Drive-By Truckers: Decoration Day
Jason Isbell as made a name for himself at the forefront of country music, but he cut his teeth during a three album run as part of southern rock greats, Drive-By Truckers. He joined for the fantastic, Decoration Day, and the title track is one of his songs. It almost has a kind of lilting, blues feel to it, which belies the much darker lyrics about an inter-family feud. "Cause I've got dead brothers in Lauderdale South, and I've got dead brothers in East Tennessee, My daddy got shot right in front of his house, He had no one to fall on but me." Here is a solo live version from Jason that does it justice.
6. Son Volt: Straightface
Moving on from Uncle Tupelo, one of the two main songwriters, Jay Farrar, formed Son Volt (Jeff Tweedy went on to form Wilco). Like Tupelo before them, Son Volt covered a lot of ground around country and blues rock. Taken from their third album, Wide Swing Tremelo, this song has a great punchy blues feel to it
7. Stereolab: John Cage Bubblegum
If Anglo-French avant-garde electro pop noodling doesn't sound like something you want to investigate further, start out with some of Stereolab's slightly earlier stuff, that tends to be underpinned with plenty of fuzzy guitar, giving it a more accessible edge. This 1993 ode to John Cage is actually a full on aural assault of driving guitar and drums, overlaid with Laetitia Sadier's deluxe voice.
8. Social Distortion: Story Of My Life
I have my wife to thank for this one. Unbelievably, given that they have been pounding the boards for over 40 years, they had not been on my radar before I met her. They are originals from the California punk scene of the late 70s and early 80s, and have been plying their punk / rockabilly trade ever since. Just like on this classic from 1990.
9. Julian Cope: Upwards At 45 Degrees
Yes, you might know Cope from Teardrop Explodes, and yes you might know him as a solo artist when he was blowing the pop charts apart with World Shut Your Mouth. But by the late 1980s, he had moved into more select circles and his star had waned. But he was experimenting sonically (and spiritually) through albums like Jehovahkill, Peggy Suicide and 20 Mothers. And boy, when he nailed it, he really nailed it! Upwards At 45 Degrees is from 1992's Jehovahkill and is a song that starts slowly with picked guitar and Cope's half-barked vocals, before growing to some serious crescendo's. This 2011 live version doesn't have all the instruments on it, and yes, Cope looks (and sounds) a little crazy, but boy does he know how to work that guitar and effects unit and still somehow manage to create those waves.
10. Holsapple & Stamey: I Want To Break Your Heart
Peter Holsapple and Chris Stamey had been the primary songwriters in legendary east coast band, the dB's. I didn't know much about that when I bought their album, Mavericks, in 1991. I just knew that Holsapple had been the 'fifth' member of REM on the Green world tour and was part of the group when they recorded Out Of Time. This album had also been well received in Melody Maker (my music paper of choice at the time). The album is pretty mellow meandering through acoustic folk-rock, with an interesting Byrds cover (Here Without You) along the way. But then halfway through comes this track - all crunchy guitar and twisted lyrics - "I want to break your heart, see what you really are, and maybe when I'm through, well you can break mine too."
Enjoy! Please let me know what you thought of it (nicely).