The Listening Club - 14th July 2019

Greetings folks,

Hope you're all fine and well. We're back from the fields after a very enjoyable Rabbit Hole, plenty of fine performances, with Grace Jones, Thom Yorke & Janelle Monae scooping the medals for me. Bonus points to the oddball Dutch music/theatre group that put together three nights of (as far as I could tell) never repeating untimetabled entertainment including pastiche pop-dance groups, piss take rap, improvised kraut rock (possibly a piss take, difficult to tell with that stuff), poetry recitals-with-philip-glass-choral-backing, a guy-making-every-commercial-dance-music-style-ever-with-nothing-but-his-mouth-and-a-loop-pedal and loads more that I wasn't around to see. Still wish there was a festival over here that sold any above average beer - four days of Heineken tests my patience somewhat, but yeah, first world problems, innit. Still a great little fest.

As mentioned previously (I think), I'm away again next Sunday (21st) and the one after (28th), so if anyone feels like stepping up to the plate and helping out, please let me know, thanks!

Last week, @JimMcCauley was king of the hosts, and @ohmyliver was in the selector's chair, delivering "I Have to Feed Larry's Hawk" by Tim Presley's White Fence, which, from the looks of it, bamboozled, delighted and repulsed in quite equal measures (and listening in retrospect, I can see why). Thanks to Olli for the pick, and for listlessly flipping the frisbee across the Atlantic to @wojsvenwoj, who has this to say...

"Like most of you I imagine, I keep a running list of albums I want listen to...and since I keep misplacing those lists or writing them on pieces of paper that have other uses (bills, envelopes for bills, notes for work), I keep making new lists. 

These lists overlap often and this particular band had been on several before I finally got around to listening to their fusion of punk and activism. Had heard enough about them to know what to expect and they delivered as advertised: ferocious vocals urging all to take action over a bed of grooves, guitars, and horns. 

Settled on this album of theirs for a couple of reasons. First, it's only one they've released since the Trump administration came into power so it's rather relevant and pertinent to our times. Their previous two albums echoed the same themes and goals but that event crystallized their focus and sharpened their message. Second, at 34 and a half minutes, it's also their longest!

Fair warning: there is cussing."

Okay. Direct download is here, and the HearThis stream is right under this sentence.


See you at 8pm BST tonight (GMT+1).