Star

A star with a tail
Fiery harbinger of doom
For Moominvalley

Your Arsenal by Morrissey

With songs like ‘National Front Disco’ it was always pretty bloody obvious where Morrissey stood on the political spectrum. Hard nope from me.

https://album.link/gb/i/799437824

Grazing

Skateboard slips sideways 
Tumbling towards the tarmac
Ripped jeans, bloody knees

m b v by My Bloody Valentine

My Bloody Valentine were pioneers of shoegaze, releasing two albums before being dropped by their record label and drifting apart some time in the 90s. Therefore, it was a bit of a surprise when founder Kevin Shields started working on unreleased material and put the band back together to release this album more than 20 years after the previous one.

The result is a bit patchy and experimental, but when it takes off it’s really rather catchy, particularly the closing track ‘wonder 2’ which takes shoegaze into experimental drum and bass  meets ambient noise territory. Probably not one I’d listen to regularly, but I’d take this over a dull, boring record any day.

https://album.link/gb/i/1556924265

Breath

The act of breathing
Purifies mind and body
Kiyomeri kokyū

I See You by The xx

Do you remember that old comedy sketch about going for an English, where a group of Indians go to a restaurant and challenge themselves to order the blandest thing on the menu? Well, this album is the audio equivalent. It’s aggressively middle of the road and unchallenging. 

Don’t get me wrong, it’s perfectly acceptable to listen to, just not very exciting. Apparently they came second in the Brit awards to Mumford & Sons, which tells you everything you need to know about where they stand in the pop firmament.

On the positive side, I did enjoy the lead vocals from Romy Madley-Croft who reminded me of Sophie Ellis-Bextor. There must be something about singers with double barrelled names that appeals to me.

https://album.link/gb/i/1170658234

North

Leaving that London
Look for the familiar signs
Hatfield and the North