Baxter Dury - Allbarone.
Son of Ian Dury gets fed up of the sight of chin stroking "soul fuckers" at his gigs. Writes an album full of dancefloor bangers to get rid of them, very successfully. Went to see him at Hammersmith Apollo 2 weeks ago, he was brilliant.
Doves - Constellations For The Lonely.
Manchester kings of melancholic euphoria have been through some stuff since their comeback album in 2020, they've written an album about it (sort of). Despite bass player and main vocalist, Jimi Goodwin not being entirely present in the studio, they delivered a beautiful album in March.
Pulp - More.
Sheffield misfits made very good indeed. I thought lead single Spike Island was gonna be my song of the summer, until Allbarone's title track hit the airwaves. This album is so much better than anyone had a right to expect.. Got to Have Love is a disco banger for our times.
The Horrors - Night Life.
So good, it persuaded Jo and I to go and see them on Saturday, where we discovered these goths are actually very good at writing anthems - exemplified by the track More Than Life.
Greentea Peng's Tell Dem Is Sunny is ace as well. Woozy and weird and urban.
