Class of 2019 [1]

Off we go then. To start off, here's a taste of what's to come this month - a few of my very fave records of 2019. I've been buying plenty of vinyl ("Too bleddy much!" ~ MrsRobster) and here's a few that have graced the turntable more than a few times...


Fontaines D.C. - 'Dogrel'
If you haven't become intimately acquainted with Dublin's finest this year, then really, where have you been? I hate to say I told you so and all that, but I did big them up last year when I saw them support Shame. Although, I did get their nationality wrong... oops! Anyway, I could play Boys In The Better Land on a constant loop 24/7 for a month and still not tire of it! The debut album 'Dogrel' is an absolute blast - but then, if you have any sense, you'll know that already, right? My album of the year...



And running a very, very close second...

Stella Donnelly - 'Beware of The Dogs'
Another debut and another stunner, although in a very different way. Stella Donnelly has the most gorgeous voice, so sweet it can melt even the hardest of hearts. But beneath the surface, it's clear Stella has scores to settle, as some of the songs on 'Beware Of The Dogs' reveal. One of my biggest disappointments of 2019 is not getting tickets for Stella's show in Cardiff - it sold out super quick! Lunch is one of my top three songs of the year - simply wonderful. Oh, and you'd be right in detecting the Australian tinge in her voice (she's lived there since early childhood), though Stella is actually one of our own - she was born in the (Old) South Wales town of Morriston. There's a really nice full-band version of Lunch here, but I actually prefer this captivating stripped down version:



Le Butcherettes - 'bi/MENTAL'
You know I love Le Butcherettes, don't you. Five albums in now for the Mexican maestroes, and I reckon this is their masterpiece - no doubt their best set of songs to date. Teri is still gloriously bonkers too which adds to the appeal. give/UP is my fave track, but there isn't a duff one on there if I'm honest. There's a new EP due in February so keep your eyes and ears open for that.



Aldous Harding - 'Designer'
Talking of bonkers... New Zealand's Aldous Harding flew under my radar until she released The Barrel this year. Intrigued, I bought her third album 'Designer' and now I can't get enough. Very understated her music may be, but there aren't many singer-songwriters out there with as much startlingly original talent as her around. In this video, she makes Teri of Le Butcherettes seem shy, reserved and rather conservative... Nowadays she lives in Cardiff (yay!) with local legend Huw Evans, who you may know as H. Hawkline.



That'll do for now. See you at the weekend for some gigs.