The Listening Club - 15th February 2026

Greetings folks,

Hope you're all doing okay. Back in Amsterdam again, which means no more rolling hills, draught ale or decent pies, but the weather remains resolutely grey and wet. Hoping for one of those groundhog-defying early spring bursts; could really do with it right now, for sure.

Reminder that it's nearly last Sunday of the month already (gosh), which means we'll be #vortexin' in a week's time, so please bring forth your theme suggestions tonight, and shout them out, many thanks in advance!

Last Sunday saw @spiny in the chair, getting seriously boisterous with his pick of Two Day Rule's "When You're Ready" from 2001, which got the assembled bouncing around quite successfully. Thanks to Mr. S for the pick and for throwing the frisb over to another Mr. S, @saucer, who's here with today's intro...

"You can experience a band's works as concoctions and tease out sound ingredients and label them variously as recognizable or new. That can be fun. 

And then maybe you realize you're thinking too much about what you're hearing.

Either way, this band. Their delicious song recipes include elements surprising and familiar, playful and sardonic. Fun to disentangle or to step back and experience ensemble.

I first heard their name just days ago, reading the reviews section in an issue of The Wire, seeking out a treat for LC tonight. And you know what? I'd love to be playing you their 2026 album but it comes out later this week... dang it.

Maybe you haven't heard this evening's pick. It's from their very eclectic back catalog. It's their poppiest and maybe most playful, combining nods to '70s British prog, Afrofuturist funk, Broadway musicals, Chiptune, Cosmische, and so on. Hope you enjoy at least bits of the mishmash!"

Right then. Download's here, stream's below:

See you 20:00 GMT later today.

The Listening Club - 8th February 2026

Greetings folks,

Hope you're all doing okay. Not much change for me since last week, still surveying the Kentish landscape, still mostly wet and grey, making the most of the environment with the aid of some decent dark beer and a tasty pie here and there, as you'd expect - some things the English still do better than most, thank the gods...

Last Sunday we had @eryngium in the chair, getting dark and mysterious with their pick of "Veils of Winter" by Blackwater Holylight, which seemed to hit the spot with quite a few of the assembled posse.Thanks to Eryn for the pick and for sailing the frisb over to @spiny, who's right here with today's intro...

"Welcome fellow listeners to this weeks pick from me.

This is my second time doing a pick, and its harder than it looks isn't it! I want to pick something that might be new to you guys, but not so obscure that its not interesting. Hopefully this is somewhere in the middle. From the early 2000s, a band local to me who had a big live following but never quite made it, as if often the way. Apologies if the sound quality isn't that great, it just sounds like that on the cd :)

Also, this is a short one, but punchy. Enjoy!"

Right then, download's here, stream's below:

Hope to see you 20:00 GMT later today.

The Listening Club - 1st February 2026

Greetings folks, pinch and a punch and all that...

Hope you're all doing okay. Typing this out with a twilight view of rolling Kentish hills, which is now a considerable novelty for m'self as the Netherlands, as u kno, are very flat indeed. Notwithstanding the change in geology and geography, the weather has been pretty similar to Amsterdam: cold and wet, sigh. Plus ça change, and all that, eh?

Last Sunday saw us celebrating a new branch of the sexageneray cycle with a #FireHorseVortex, which saw an excellently wide-ranging run of equine selections. Thanks to everyone for chipping in tunes, and to @JimMcCauley for the excellent audio corral-work.

Looking back we find @eryngium with the frisb, and this to say by way of introduction to today's pick...

"My part of the world has been crushed under a snow and ice storm for the last week, and after being stuck indoors hiding from the cold, I picked an album that makes me feel like I’m wrapping myself in a warm weighted blanket. Settle in to your comfortable chair for this one. Today also marks the halfway point between the winter solstice and spring equinox in the Northern hemisphere, which I think ties in rather nicely with the seasonally appropriate title of this album."

Right then, download's here, stream's below:

See you 20:00 GMT.