A Dozen From 2018

For a number of reasons, my head hasn't really been in the blogging game for some time now. Having said that, over at Before the Streets Were Aired (my other place), I'm just about to sail through the 1100 consecutive daily posts mark - where did that time go? Meanwhile, here on the good ship Unthought of Though Somehow, I'm doing my best to keep the blighter afloat by joining in with the weekly Monday Long Song fun, at the very least. Where to from here? I couldn't really say right at the moment.

I can say that it's been a very good year for music though. At the end of both 2016 and 2017 I bemoaned the fact that I'd spent the previous 12 months listening to more old music than new, but I'm pleased to report that that particular trend has reversed in 2018 and I ended up with a long-list of around 40 albums to choose from for selection in this year's round-up. Tomorrow I might pull a slightly different handful of records from the shelves, but for now, for today, (in alphabetical order) here are twelve of the many LPs that rocked my world in 2018. I've included a few tunes at the end, but click on the individual links to learn/hear more.

AMOR - Sinking Into a Miracle The first of two Richard Youngs related releases on this list, both issued within the past month. The Glasgow collective follow their incendiary pair of 2017 12" singles with a stonking debut LP. Mutant disco anyone?

The Coke Dares - Fake Lake 35 superbly crafted songs, bursting with more ideas than many bands can boast in the course of an entire career.

Hen Ogledd - Mogic Experimental, sonically diverse, genre defying.

Kikagaku Moyo - Masana Temples  A melodic, wonky, woozy, groove fest from start to finish.

Kiki Pau - Hiisi  From melancholic pastoral loveliness to full-on poly-rhythmic wigouts and beyond, interspersed with occasional soothing birdsong interludes - what's not to love?

Kungens Män - Fuzz på Svenska  Dark, intense and, let's be honest, pretty darned noisy. Sweden's finest.

Massage - Oh Boy Do you, like me, love bands like The Feelies, The Go-Betweens & The Clean and music released on labels like Sarah Records and Flying Nun? Of course you do, in which case you'll probably love 'Oh Boy' too.

Minami Deutsch - With Dim Light  Early 1970s German inspired tuneage from Japan.

Brigid Mae Power - The Two Worlds A remarkable album that creates and inhabits its own universe. Gothic, hymn-like, confessional and fairly harrowing in places.

Regal Worm - Pig Views 21st Century prog. I've probably said enough.

Alasdair Roberts - What News Another year, another remarkable Alasdair Roberts LP. His first of solely traditional songs since 2010.

Richard Youngs - Memory Ain't No Decay Only issued last week, the 5th of Richard's eight 2018 releases I've picked up this year - and it's very possibly the best of the lot. I've already pre-ordered his next LP, due in January.

Olden Yolk

I should emphasise that while my recent return to retail may have been unplanned and initiated by financial concerns, I am absolutely loving it. Having spent the past 7 years sat on my arse behind a computer, I'm woefully out of shape, but interacting with people is what I do best, in fact it's arguably the only true skill I have in my armoury. The reason I'm particularly enjoying retail this time round? Simple, I'm not in charge. Since the age of 21, the buck has always seemed to stop with me, or pretty close by me, sometimes in spite of my best efforts to the contrary. Now though, I'm just a hired hand, clocking in, working hard, clocking out and going home. Someone else is paid a lot more than I am to manage labour costs, stock control and all the many other key performance indicators that I stressed about for so many years - I get to concentrate on the really enjoyable bit. Most of the customers are nice, my co-workers are a great bunch and now that the company have invested in a second Christmas CD, things can only get better. A 9 hour shift with just one 45 minute festive compilation on constant repeat is enough to test the resolve of the most benign of temperaments.

Here's another one to watch out for in 2018 - on February 23rd to be precise. That's the release date for Olden Yolk's self titled debut LP on Trouble in Mind Records. The band was put together by Shane Butler and Caity Shaffer as an outlet for songs not used during Butler's day job with Quilt, whose 'Held in Splender' was runner up in my favourite albums of 2014. If the rest of the 'Olden Yolk' is as interesting as 'Takes One to Know One', we'll be in for a treat.

Nervous Conditions

(Photo by Citizen Meh)

As I hinted a couple of weeks back, a recent unexpected return to the world of retail has severely curtailed my online activities, as I am, to coin a phrase, making hay while the sun shines. Or, if you'd prefer it in plain speak, I'm grabbing every bit of overtime available. This might well mean that there'll be no traditional comprehensive end of year round up from Swede Towers this time around, or at least not this side of Christmas, though I'll do my best to pop up with at least a couple of short posts per week until the end of 2017. I'm also keenly aware that I'm unavoidably neglecting far too many of the fine blogs that are listed on the right hand side of this page, but I'll attempt to play catch-up as and when I'm able. 

Meanwhile, here's a promising bunch of herberts to watch out for in 2018. There are 8 of 'em, they're from Cambridge, they're irritatingly young and they go by the name of Nervous Conditions. They've apparently garnered comparisons with The Fall and Captain Beefheart, but what do I know, I've only heard a couple of their tunes thus far. This particular performance of 'Village Mentality' stopped me dead in my tracks and prompted me to utter that most highly prized of all Swede-isms - it's a thoroughly splendid racket.