The Listening Club - 19th May 2013

Hello hello,

Slightly late posting, after having spent the afternoon sipping wine and listening to oddball 80s cover bands in the Vondelpark (Level 42 a specialty it seems...), back to recharge supplies and post this..!

So last week @faberfedor sent us right down under with his pick of Redgum's "Caught In The Act", a primer of Australian socia-political mores for all of us for sure, and pretty fair dinkum it was too. Many thanks to him for the pick, and for thrusting @monkeytypes into the hot seat this week. And here he is...

"I really don't want to bring you down but tonight's opening track is probably one of the most downbeat, sorrowful offerings we've had to date. I lost count of the number of times I listened to it while going through a bad break-up years ago (that and Madder Rose's 'Car Song'). In fact, heartbreak is a theme than runs throughout the album, with it making the top 10 of an NME 'Top 30 Heartbreak albums' list. This is no late night, whisky and Gaulloises, Leonard Cohen-style maudlin introspection though. This is lo-fi regret - drinks, drugs and defiance alongside low key lament. There are times when it simply soars.

While this is the band's 4th album, in my opinion, it's still their best, benefiting from being the first they recorded fully in the studio. There's added complexity to their previous work with some great song writing and arrangements. It was very nearly my first ever Listening Club choice, abandoned only after discovering I'd lost the CD, which somehow seems appropriate.

So tissues, alcohol and narcotics at the ready. And if you tune in, I  promise there'll be a happy ending."

Dropbox direct download is here, Mixcloud stream (which may well reveal the track titles) is here.

Search #listeningclub to see what's going on, and follow@listeningclub for the admin.

Hope to see you tonight at 8pm BST/EST (GMT+1)!