45 years ago this week: 1st week May 1979. In the shops, Pictures On My Wall (Lyntone pressing), Echo And The Bunnymen’s debut single (Will Sergeant, Echo & the Bunnymen). Heard out of the blue on John Peel: curious, compelling. Was it Magazine? There was little else to relate it to.

UK harmony poppers West Coast Consortium never fulfilled their potential. The full story is told by Cherry Red Records’s All The Love In The World: Complete Recordings 1964-1972.  I’ve looked at it today for @theartdesk: theartsdesk.com/new-music/musi…

Just in - Sex Pistols: Looking For A Kiss In Kristinehamn. On first pass, comes across as the most significant Sex Pistols Official archive release since 2020's (poorly packaged/presented/will-this-do) 76/77 box. This is quite something, best Sid-era item ever?? More on it in due course.

Singing as smooth as the top of a kitten's head. A Dream is all we Know is the new The Lemon Twigs LP. Out on Captured Tracks through Prescription PR. I’ve looked at it today for @theartdesk: theartsdesk.com/new-music/albu…

The Warsaw Middlesbrough 14th September 1977 / Joy Division Manchester 28th September 1979 LP is a thrilling live document of one of Britain’s greatest bands (Joy Division, Joy Division Central). A mandatory purchase. I’ve looked at it today for @theartdesk: theartsdesk.com/new-music/musi…

My World is a January 1972 Bee Gees single. Got a copy a few months ago (Norwegian issue). Flip it - On Time is its wonderful non-LP B-side, along Tony Joe White / Muscle Shoals /southern soul lines. Here (recorded 1971 not 1970, clip's wrong): m.youtube.com/watch?v=fa8pJn…

Two brilliant Linda Smith (Linda Smith) albums are reissued: 1995’s I So Liked Spring & 1996’s Nothing Else Matters. On Captured Tracks through Carry On Press. I’ve looked at them today for @theartdesk: theartsdesk.com/new-music/musi…

Death Songbook unites Paraorchestra, Charles Hazlewood, @SuedeHQ's Brett Anderson, G W E N N O, Nadine Shah, sebastian rochford, adrian utley on a voyage into darkness. On WorldCircuitRecords through DawBell. I’ve looked at it today for @theartdesk: theartsdesk.com/new-music/albu…

The new MOJO Magazine is out. On the cover, Kate Bush. Inside, me (@MrKieronTyler) on Bibi Club’s Feu de garde (@secretcityrcrds), Conrad Schnitzler’s Slow Motion (@bureaublabel).

Long Island's paint-peeling The Mystic Tide sold barely any records in the 60s. Today though, they're top of the charts: my review of their Frustration LP is the most-read piece on theartsdesk.com. On numerogroup through Carry On Press. Here it is: theartsdesk.com/new-music/musi…

Congo Funk! - Sound Madness From The Shores Of The Mighty Congo River explores Brazzaville & Kinshasa's - capitals of 2 different countries - interconnected musical ecosystems. On AnalogAfrica through Ilka Schlockermann.  I’ve Looked At It Today For @theartdesk: theartsdesk.com/new-music/musi…

Who originally bought these? Why? Where were they until I (separately) got them? 1968/1967 UK Captain Beefheart/Magic Band & Zappa/Mothers of Invention singles. Each of which was hardly topper-most of the pop-most.

Went to see julia holter at EartH (@tashiwada Elizabeth Goodfellow on stage too). On Domino Recording Co through aoife kitt. Wrote about it for @theartdesk: theartsdesk.com/julia-holter-e…

Patterns On The Window - The British Progressive Pop Sounds of 1974 suggests a nebulous year in music: one resisting easy definition, and one where Dr. Feelgood set a marker for the future. Out on Cherry Red Records. I’ve looked at it today for @theartdesk: theartsdesk.com/new-music/musi…

Before the boogie and denim: garage-punk paint-peelers, prime British psych-pop and dollops of inspiration from The Bee Gees.  All this and more on Status Quo’s The Early Years (1966-69) (through Chris Hewlett). I’ve looked at it today for @theartdesk: theartsdesk.com/new-music/musi…

Evidence for a form of recalibration, Jane Weaver’s Love In Constant Spectacle is also exquisite – and her most cohesive, most welcoming album to date. Out next week on Fire Records (@BellaUnionMgmt). I’ve looked at it today for @theartdesk: theartsdesk.com/new-music/albu…

Went to Vossa Jazz 2024 – where the music matters more than anything else (@LittleHueyMusic, Hanna Paulsberg, Laila Melkevoll, Music Norway, Norwegian Arts in the UK, Norsk jazzforum). Wrote about it for @theartdesk: theartsdesk.com/new-music/voss…

Blood, fire and a blooping, gurgling synth. Niney The Observer Presents Lightning And Thunder! is a valuable Cherry Red Records collection dedicated to the early works of the reggae polymath. I’ve looked at it today for @theartdesk: theartsdesk.com/new-music/musi…

Hey Panda is the head-spinning new High Llamas album on 𝕯𝖗𝖆𝖌 𝕮𝖎𝖙𝖞. And with it, Sean O'Hagan – radically – reshapes his music. I’ve looked at it today for @theartdesk: theartsdesk.com/new-music/albu…

Out now - MOJO Magazine's Depeche Mode special. Inside, me (@MrKieronTyler) on their debut LP Speak & Spell. It's now such a long way from 1st seeing them at the Hope & Anchor.