The Listening Club - 19th April 2026

Greetings folks,

Hope you're doing good. @kleptones here, back in the chair after a quick soujourn down to Den Haag for Rewire festival, a kind-of more electronic-leaning and academic cousin to our fave rave Le Guess Who, and a pretty fine weekend it was indeed, nice to explore the city and its venues, bars and restaurants in more depth. Back in Amsterdam it's bright but still rather cool, which is not stopping either the lilac nor the wisteria, which are both coming out in full force simultaneously for a change. Hoping for a full bloom by Kings Day on the 27th, which should make the place look extra-special for a bit of a knees-up, as long as we can avoid the fun police who seem more determined than ever to shut down our one-day-a-year bit of joy. Wish us luck, yeah?

Right before that, next Sunday 26th will of course be the last of the month, which means #vortex time, so bring forth your themes and ideas to the hashtag later today and let's see what we can come up with...

Last Sunday, whilst I was indulging in the aforementioned noise-fest, @JimMcCauley had their hands on the reigns as @vinomadic delivered a 1-2 punch as only they can, with Prince's debut album "For You" from 1978 swiftly followed by "Controversy" from 1981, both of which getting the assembled bopping as only the purple one can. Thanks to both for the helming and the pick, and for the shuffling of the frisb across the global board to @david, who's here, fresh from my spam bin (doh) with today's intro...

"This is an artist who has been honing his craft for some time, and he's come a ways from his "big production" early days, and that hit single I had picked up waaay back.

On a whim, I looked him up to find that he's been morphing whether I cared whether he still existed or not.

Samplers, Americana, Folk, Big pop? He's done it, but mainly he's a tight lyricist and it pays to pay attention.

My choice was between his most recent (with its sharp critique of everyone's favorite target l'Orange), but I went back a few years for a release with a bit more mellow and love.  And who doesn't need that?"

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

See you 20:00 BST (GMT+1)

The Listening Club - 12th April 2026

Hey there listening chums! It's @JimMcCauley here, keeping @kleptones' seat warm while he's away in, I think, Paris, where I once very briefly met Lou Reed. Here in Bath it's very much staying-in weather, but I was out last night seeing two of my previous LC picks in one go: Jane Weaver and, in her band, Serafina Steer on harp. A fun evening but the audience was a little thin, perhaps because Tori Amos was playing in the same building and I'd imagine there's quite a fan crossover there.

Anyway, to business. Last week I was otherwise engaged and missed @soundclamp's pick of 'Swollen' by Hetch Hetchy, an album with more R.E.M. connections than you can shake a shiny happy stick at. It certainly seemed to go down well with the assembled, so thanks to Dan for the pick and for a well-flung frisbaton in the direction of @vinomadic, who is waiting eagerly to address you all:

"Double bubble, toil and trouble??

Have a lot on my plate, but it seems so does every other Mother's son and daughter and arbitrarily, socially gendered, non-binary child...!

Made a quick decision to snatch the Frizz-Bat(R)on in mid-air as I 'browsingly' stumbled across an impulsive choice that might help us shake that funky thing a bit off our burden bags...funnily enough-- as the original selection, the artist's first recorded outing at age 19, clocked in at a scant 22 minutes, thought I'd make it a two-fer (just as I did last time at bat!) adding the 4th album-- a rather well-known, notorious outing in this act's varied & generous output...

Fairly recognisable from the git-go, dare say. Been trying to write a bit more since Sunday night, but all that stuff on my plate keeps messing with my attention, calling me away... <sigh>

I trust there will be good conversation & digital craic over the internet waves on Sunday, cheers!"

Splendiferous. Grab yourself a download here, or stream below.

Catch you at 8PM BST!

The Listening Club - 5th April 2026

Greetings folks,

Hope you're doing okay. Happy Easter, Bunnies, Eggs, Chocolate, Post-Equinox or Whatever Day to you and yours, if that's your sort of thing, no worries if not. It's still bright and sunny but cool and breezy here in Amsterdam, so the stooping has been restricted to a quick perch with a cup of tea mid-afternoon. Soon come, though.

Second reminder that I'm away next Sunday, and am still looking for someone to fill the #LC shoes for that day, so let me know if you're up for helping out, please!

Last Sunday, as was last-of month, we celebrated in style with a #NameDroppersVortex, paying tribute to those who pay tribute, and thanks to everyone who chipped in a fine range of tunes, a grand selection of bases were covered indeed, and double thanks to @saucer for managing to blend the disparate eras and sounds into a fine end-result. Looking back we find @soundclamp with the frisb, so over to them for today's intro...

"Released in 1990, this band hails from Athens, Georgia and this is their only full-length album. Volunteering the local college radio station exposed me to all sorts of hidden nuggets. If I am remembering correctly, people pigeon-holed them as punk country or cowpunk depending on what part of the States you’re from. In reality they drew inspiration from goth, dream pop, and folk music, delivering a heady concoction. There is a fun, as in — I CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S NOT BUTTER -- reveal at the end!

Drinking Club recommendation: Some kind of stiff brandy for these times."

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

See you 20:00 BST (GMT+1) later today.