The Sails are a recent discovery for me. They have been described by Mojo Magazine as the UK's best Power Pop act and it is easy to see why.
I recommend people who are new to the band to check out the best of compilation - 'Bang - The Sails Best Of 2006 - 2020'. Melodic guitar pop gems, such as 'Peter Shilton', 'Bang!' and 'She is all that Matters' are to name a few of the best songs here.
Their sound has strong 60s vibes, of course recalling The Beatles. The new album opens with 'Crying out Loud' which is fun and very retro with superb pop hooks.
My favourite here is 'The Shakes' which has John Lennon vibes, with plenty of Psych goodness and some great guitar work.
Other highlights include 'Super High Powered Lovin' which is wonderfully catchy. It is simple 3 minute guitar pop at its finest. 'Fireworks' is hypnotic and eerie, the swirling psychedelic sounds are strangely atmospheric. Stripped back love song 'Stranger Things' is lovely and subtle and provides a much needed ambience.
A hugely enjoyable album and a must for fans of 60s guitar pop. Highly recommended.
The Wife Guys of Reddit, from Glasgow UK, are a recent discovery for me. Their new EP is well worth checking out and has 90s indie rock vibes. It is full of superb guitar riffs and quirky lyrics.
It opens with 'Jangled Up In Blue' which brought to mind Pavement and Nirvana. The sound is quite lo-fi and at only 1 minute 24 seconds, it still manages to be catchy and leave an impression. The lyrics have attitude/anger and seem to be speaking of an argument in a relationship.
'66' is more laid back sounding, with thought provoking, vivid lyrics. - "Its hard to close my eyes to the cracking of the tile names left on the bathroom floor" The heavy guitar work brought to mind Sonic Youth.
'Adelina' is dark and atmospheric, reminiscing about teenage years. It has an eerie-ness to it and has you hanging on to every word.
It ends on 'Hard Tack' which is more upbeat and reminded me of The Vaselines. The lyrics are very fun - "Life is a biscuit and I'm going to waste it."
A superb EP and highly recommended end of Summer listening.
RW Hedges is, in my opinion, one of the most underappreciated UK Songwriters of recent times. This is his fourth album, and like the previous two, it involves the help of co-writer and producer - Luca Nieri.
The album is a highly enjoyable listen, full of short but sweet, melodic guitar pop gems. It opens with 'Piece of String', which recalls the 60s of The Kinks and The Beatles. It is instantly memorable and has so much charm. The lyrics are heartfelt, yet with a child-like simplicity.
'Far and Wide' has more melancholic vibes with gorgeous Baroque pop production. The lyrics are beautifully vivid - "Old hearts will empty out their tears and woes. You laugh but the colour in your face, it goes."
'She Calls Through The Night' demonstrates some superb storytelling, and is a homage to Film Noir. 'Weathervane' is lovely and unique with hints of Americana. It is quite playful lyrically with themes of creativity and art. 'Who's to Care' is a moody, atmospheric country song. Musically, it is wonderfully arranged and produced, with skilled pedal steel provided by BBC Presenter - Matt Allwright.
My favourite here is 'A Travelling Road' which is joyous and uplifting, with glorious vocal harmonies. At times it recalled The Byrds and The Zombies. It ends on 'Year after Year' which has more 50s Everly Brothers vibes.
A timeless album, which although short, has many beautifully written songs with superb melodies and hooks. Highly recommended.
Sister John are an indie pop band from Glasgow and a new discovery for me. This is their third album and it is a wonderful listen, full of heartfelt, ambient songs.
It opens with 'I'll Be Your Life' which is quite stripped back with Jesus and Mary Chain vibes. It is a devastating love song, full of yearning and some morbid lyrics - "I'll be your life, I'll do the calculation. I'll make sure they know you prefer cremation."
'In My Place' is my favourite here, and the most pop sounding song on the album. It is bittersweet guitar music at its finest, at times recalling The Velvet Underground.
Other highlights include 'How can I keep it Alive?' which is moody and very atmospheric. Amanda McKeown's vocals demonstrate so much emotion and a longing which is rarely heard in recent music.
'Died Down' has slightly more electronic vibes. It is again very heartfelt with vivid lyrics and themes of depression, life and death. - "I'm waiting for my life to be summed up in five, I'm wondering what the drive is, drive to stay alive."
It ends on 'Glasgow Is A Rainbow' which is an epic ballad with later Beatles vibes. The production is lovely with strings and piano, adding to the emotional impact.
A beautiful album, full of well-written songs with so much melancholy. Highly recommended.
Langan, Frost & Wane, from Philadelphia, are a recent discovery for me and this is their debut. It is a wonderful Folk/Psych album with plenty of great storytelling, lovely melodies and musical arrangements.
It opens with 'Perhaps The Sorcerer' which brought to mind the English Folk of Jethro Tull and Fairport Convention. The lyrics are quite fantasy/fairytale themed. It is beautifully produced, with flute and intricate mandolin work.
'The Dandelion' is my favourite here, with surreal lyrics and memorable melodies and hooks. It has 60s Psych vibes too, and at times recalled Donovan.
Other highlights include 'King Laughter' which is more Baroque pop meets Folk and very catchy. The heartfelt and whimsical - 'Learn the Names of the Plants' has a lot of charm and is unique for recent music.
'She Walks Alone' is a dark love song with feelings of regret and longing. As with many of the songs here, the storytelling is superb and very atmospheric.
A highly recommended listen, especially if you love more folk sounding music.
RW Hedges is one of the best, relatively unheard, songwriters in the UK today. Together with songwriting partner Luca Nieri (right in photo), they create wonderful pop songs, with lovely melodies and hooks. Their sound recalls the 60s of The Beatles, Kinks and The Left Banke, also with hints of Americana and 50s Doo-wop. On 3 Sept this year, he will be releasing his fourth album - Year after Year. It will be released on the superb Wonderfulsound label. I catch up with RW Hedges and we talk about the new record and everything music related!
Q. You will soon be releasing 'Year after Year' the new album and follow up to 2019's Western themed 'The Hills are Old Songs'. What can we expect to hear? Does it have a theme like the last record? A. Hi Julie, what to expect? I always hope to deliver a memorable song so I hope they can expect that. And I thought the same for The Hills are Old Songs but that was themed more like for a play? Here, if there is a theme, it could be song itself. Q. What were the main inspirations for the songs? Were there any Artists, Films or Literature which inspired the writing? A. Last year Luca and I felt the project we had was in the wrong time so we shelved that again and Luca suggested a set of songs more in the key of music we used to play/listen to from the early to mid 60s very much Kinks, Zombies and Beatles but also Bert Jansch or folk blues. There are even hidden American songbook elements in the odd line or structure. There is what we call a song triad and that happens with the first 3 tracks. It has a Noir story, a west coast journey and some songs that are about the writing process in a way. We didn’t need a library shelf dedicated to this; any research was done on the jog.
Q. Tell me about the recording process. How did you end up working with Matt Allwright (BBC Presenter) who provides pedal steel? A. It all came together quickly, we know Matt Allwright through my mate Scott who runs Balcony shirts in Uxbridge (check our Tunnel Visionpodcast show) Matt was quick to realise his parts and intuitively he played on the ones that work for pedal steel beautifully.
Luca is studio head musician as well as producer, all those lovely electric guitars, drums, bass, organ piano and bv’s is all Luca. He is a king of arrangements too! I’m ever so lucky. But I had to fashion my chords, melody or lyrics to the occasion. And my friend Dan Towler, also a songwriter, did some amazing additional vocals and you can’t tell which of us is which. I like that.
Most of all I like writing songs with Luca. He can always help a line or a chord along with fluidity. You need all these elements, I think.
Q. The album is very short - 9 songs and around 20 mins in total. Is there a reason why you go against the 'standard' durations which most songwriters today follow? A. I think partly in order to go against the standard of 5 minute songs, if I’m honest. It isn’t as if you can’t listen again? There are lots of good long songs when the writer feels or the song shows they should be. Here we kept the songs lean, with a good chorus. I know they are popular but anthems are not my bag. Q. For you, what constitutes as a 'great song'? A. When a word is combined in perfect wedding to melody and vice versa. It is hard to write convincingly I reckon. 'My Heart Stood Still' by Rodgers & Hart is a song I love, and I love them. That is a gold standard writing team. I look to them and use them as a bar way too high for me.
Q. Did you start writing songs at a young age? What started your love of music? A. I sang to my mum at night as a baby, so I am told. I was in school choir and later in a Youth theatre where I met half of my first band that Luca was drummer in. I played Joey Biltmore in Guys and Dolls, Burt in Blitz, Mr Fox in Pinocchio. I love acting. Started writing at 14. It was all about guitars and gigs and sweating a lot back then. Q. Is there a song you have written, or an album you are most proud of? A. 'Signal Man', 'Haven't Seen Her in a While', 'Just a Fool', '80's Beach Emotion'. The album I am proudest of is 'Year After Year' (contractually obligated). I really like some of my comedy songs but my songs with Luca are the best really.
Q. What started with your fascination with The American Songbook, Broadway Musicals e.t.c.? A. I was feeling low one day, I didn’t know what to do so I watched South Pacific which I’d seen along with many musicals before but this time it hit me properly. All the color and passion and brilliance of it. I then ordered in books and searched for hours to find more and more information. Luca and I both looked at chords and listened and talked a fair bit. The American songbook has had a massive effect on our great songwriters; Davies, Coward, McCartney and more. They are sadly overlooked now, people like Dorothy Fields. But anyone who reads this can start up with the brilliant Afterglowradio from beautiful Bloomington Indiana. Mark Chilla has an archive and you’ll find the standards are a treat. Q. Your first album Almanac (2008) is very different to your later ones with Luca Nieri. Do you find it better to work in a team? Does it affect the songwriting/creativity? A. It is much better for me to be in a team. If the producer is also a proper musician and then an actual writer who really sees a way forward then you are so close to a tighter vision? The discussion is very important. So are surroundings. We write in a spot off the grid, and I do collage art, whilst Luca is a brilliant artist and can turn to graffiti or stark pencil works and paintings that are brilliant. Art is a really important part of our vision; it is as much therapy as music. Luca edits our videos taking all artistic responsibility into the fold. It is a way and it does help gel stuff to be honest. On a personal note, I would like access to a bunch of Jazz musicians in Prague. We could record and then have food just off of Charles bridge? Q. You recorded a number of superb demos with your old band Starky (90s/early 00s). How do you look back on your experiences with the band? Will the songs ever be released? A. We were good. Had lots of fun. Luca was 1st drummer then went off to do all manner of brilliant music and art. Our next drummer was Jody Moroney (great drummer name) who now plays with a few acts including a project with Little Barry.
We never released a thing. The band we were gigging and writing madly and recorded most of our stuff on Tascam 4 trks later 8 trks. I had a side blues and folk novelty gig of sitting on pub stools and belching at people. I was pretty good, I was honest and no-one was then really. The open mic nights were a scam. I went for travelling gigs and the odd residency.
Q. What are your favourite experiences/places you have visited e.t.c. whilst making music? A. Greek Islands. It is the purest light in the centre of the world and you can breathe and be yourself and melt into the landscape.
Q. Do you have any plans for new projects, gigs e.t.c. in the future? A. We are writing all the time for different bits n bobs. But we will try to do a Christmas song every year from now if we can, since we have done 4 these few years and we really enjoy it.
Check out Luca’s Etrurian Shades album. I love the Luca Nieri albums and people should hear all of them. Certainly, Spring to Summer 2022 is a goal for the next project from Luca and I.
Preorder the new album Year After Year, here on Wonderfulsound Release date: 3 Sept (though expected Aug), 2021
Scottish indie band - Wojtek the Bear, are back with a new album. It is a sublime listen, their sound brought to mind fellow Scots - Trashcan Sinatras and Aztec Camera.
It opens with 'Ferme La Bouche' which is upbeat with an anthemic, catchy chorus. There are hints of brass, which reminded me of one of my favourite 80s bands - The Pale Fountains.
The gloriously melodic 'One Things For Certain' is the standout here, with lovely strings, and slightly melancholic lyrics.
Other highlights include 'Luck or Design' which is a sad breakup song but surprisingly upbeat. It has some heartbreaking lyrics - "I used to think you were a prize. Now your words cut like knives."
'Heaven by the Back Door' is another highlight here, with sweeping harmonies. It has themes of religion, finding who you are e.t.c. 'Packing Parachutes' is a very emotional listen with strong emphasis on the beautiful strings, which are prominent on this album.
A wonderfully produced album, full of well-written songs. Highly recommended.
