A distant island
Grandmother and Sophia
Melancholy air
Wednesday, June 17, 2026
Queen II by Queen
One of the greatest albums of all time, by one of the greatest bands of all time, without a shadow of a doubt. Their debut album had had a lot of promise, but for the follow up they really turned everything up to a metaphorical 11. If those rock riffs and production techniques sound familiar now, it’s because they invented them and showed everyone else how it was done. This is the sound of a band determined to make a name for themselves, regardless of genre - were they glam, metal, prog or what? The answer is all of the above.
It’s still a mystery quite how Brian May nailed those unique guitar sounds that had people convinced that they must have been using synthesisers or studio tricks, until he would get up on stage and play them live, note for note.
Lyrically and vocally, the songs verge on the fantastical, especially on the second side with more ogres, fairies and mythical lands than a game of Dungeons and Dragons, but they are never po-faced about it. Indeed, the final track dissolves into a drunken chorus of ‘I Do Like to be Beside the Seaside’ which is the perfect ending.
Quaere-fellow-tastic!
It’s still a mystery quite how Brian May nailed those unique guitar sounds that had people convinced that they must have been using synthesisers or studio tricks, until he would get up on stage and play them live, note for note.
Lyrically and vocally, the songs verge on the fantastical, especially on the second side with more ogres, fairies and mythical lands than a game of Dungeons and Dragons, but they are never po-faced about it. Indeed, the final track dissolves into a drunken chorus of ‘I Do Like to be Beside the Seaside’ which is the perfect ending.
Quaere-fellow-tastic!
Tuesday, June 16, 2026
Fromohio by fIREHOSE
American music is usually divided into two broad categories - west coast (hippies and surf guitar) and east coast (NYC gangstas and hipsters), without much thought to anything in the middle. So, it makes a pleasant change to hear an album that is literally from Ohio, and a fine listen it is too.
It has a bit of post punk energy with some nice riffs, solid drums and bass lines, but what sold it for me was a brief cover of Vastopol by the great Elizabeth Cotten which just felt right slotted in with everything else. This really does feel like a group of young people getting together to play music for the fun of it, and acknowledging influences from all over the place.
Not earth shattering, but reassuringly life affirming.
It has a bit of post punk energy with some nice riffs, solid drums and bass lines, but what sold it for me was a brief cover of Vastopol by the great Elizabeth Cotten which just felt right slotted in with everything else. This really does feel like a group of young people getting together to play music for the fun of it, and acknowledging influences from all over the place.
Not earth shattering, but reassuringly life affirming.
Monday, June 15, 2026
Swordfishtrombones by Tom Waits
You remember that time you met a drunken sailor on shore leave? How about that guy showing you the photo of his wife he keeps in his wallet? Then there was that story about a used office furniture salesman called Frank who went crazy, killed his wife, torched his house and drove off into the night.
Each and every one of the songs on this album is a perfect vignette of life that will stay with you for a long time after the record has stopped spinning. Has there ever been a more evocative image than a fire burning “Halloween orange and chimminy red” or an old soldier’s medals for sale in a thrift store? Even 40 years after first hearing this, I’m still wondering what a Swordfishtrombone might be.
As well as Tom Waits’ famous gravelly voice that can croon or growl as required, the range of instruments used on this album is remarkable, including bagpipes, a harmonium and a haunting glass harmonica, each used to evoke a particular mood or feeling, from the joyous cacophony of life in a busy neighbourhood to the mournful sound of a dusty, abandoned town with no beer to be had to quench your thirst.
Definitely one of the best and most memorable albums on this list
Each and every one of the songs on this album is a perfect vignette of life that will stay with you for a long time after the record has stopped spinning. Has there ever been a more evocative image than a fire burning “Halloween orange and chimminy red” or an old soldier’s medals for sale in a thrift store? Even 40 years after first hearing this, I’m still wondering what a Swordfishtrombone might be.
As well as Tom Waits’ famous gravelly voice that can croon or growl as required, the range of instruments used on this album is remarkable, including bagpipes, a harmonium and a haunting glass harmonica, each used to evoke a particular mood or feeling, from the joyous cacophony of life in a busy neighbourhood to the mournful sound of a dusty, abandoned town with no beer to be had to quench your thirst.
Definitely one of the best and most memorable albums on this list
Sunday, June 14, 2026
The Summer Book by Tove Jansson
Tove Jansson was an artist and writer, best known for her Moomin stories concerning charming creatures living in an idyllic valley. Unusually for books written for children they frequently deal with darker themes - floods, apocalyptic comets, loneliness and death, although always faced with a brisk, no-nonsense honesty. The series has a uniquely nordic air of melancholy that deepens as it progresses, until the final book Moominvalley in November where the Moomin family are distant figures, only glimpsed from a distance.
As well as the Moomin books, Jansson also wrote more adult novels, often with autobiographical elements. Of these, The Summer Book is probably the best regarded and contains many themes and ideas also found in the Moomins.
The book has two principle characters - six year old Sophia whose mother has died, and her elderly Grandmother, who spend an extended summer living on a small island in the Gulf of Finland with Sophie's papa. The book was written in 1972 in the same year that Jansson's own mother died, and the young girl was inspired by her niece Sophia.
The book does not have a conventional narrative - each chapter is a small vignette of life on the island as Sophie explores both her physical environment and her emotions that often spill out in unexpected ways. Her grandmother is also all too aware of her own physical limitations - she relies on a walking stick and takes tablets - but the pair climb over slippery rocks and crawl though tangled thickets. Sophie's many questions are answered candidly.
The relationship between Sophia and her Grandmother is one of equals, one at the start of her life looking forward, and one approaching her end, reflecting on her experiences. They have much in common - a love of mischief, desire for independence and stubbornness. They are both fierce advocates for questioning authority, especially of the religious kind.
Sophia's grief for her mother is alluded to. It's only mentioned once, a few pages in, but it represented by things like dreaming about losing things or a severe storm battering the island. Grief is not a problem to be solved, but something to be lived with - one scene has Sophia wondering what will happen to a worm that has been cut in half, concluding that both halves simply have to go on living, even though their lives would now be quite different.
The island is also a metaphor for self determination, separate from the "normality" of the mainland. In her life, Jansson would spend many happy summers on such an island with her partner Tuulikki Pietilä, at a time when same sex relationships were still illegal in Finland. The island is a self contained eco-system but at the same time it is fragile and must be treated with careful respect.
One poignant chapter concerns a cat, growing from a kitten into a lean and wild little animal, refusing to show affection other than by leaving the occasional bloody carcass on the floor. Eventually the cat is traded for another one that was happy to purr and sleep on Sophia's lap, but she soon realises which cat was the right one for her
The book ends with the family preparing to leave the island at the end of the summer, with Grandmother carefully packing things away and tidying the house, with a feeling of setting her affairs in order in preparation for her eventual demise. She thinks that she can hear a herring boat in the distance but realises that the slow thumping is something else
As well as the Moomin books, Jansson also wrote more adult novels, often with autobiographical elements. Of these, The Summer Book is probably the best regarded and contains many themes and ideas also found in the Moomins.
The book has two principle characters - six year old Sophia whose mother has died, and her elderly Grandmother, who spend an extended summer living on a small island in the Gulf of Finland with Sophie's papa. The book was written in 1972 in the same year that Jansson's own mother died, and the young girl was inspired by her niece Sophia.
The book does not have a conventional narrative - each chapter is a small vignette of life on the island as Sophie explores both her physical environment and her emotions that often spill out in unexpected ways. Her grandmother is also all too aware of her own physical limitations - she relies on a walking stick and takes tablets - but the pair climb over slippery rocks and crawl though tangled thickets. Sophie's many questions are answered candidly.
“When are you going to die?” the child asked. And Grandmother answered, “Soon. But that is not the least concern of yours.” “Why?” her grandchild asked.
The relationship between Sophia and her Grandmother is one of equals, one at the start of her life looking forward, and one approaching her end, reflecting on her experiences. They have much in common - a love of mischief, desire for independence and stubbornness. They are both fierce advocates for questioning authority, especially of the religious kind.
“You can believe what you like, but you must learn to be tolerant.”
Sophia's grief for her mother is alluded to. It's only mentioned once, a few pages in, but it represented by things like dreaming about losing things or a severe storm battering the island. Grief is not a problem to be solved, but something to be lived with - one scene has Sophia wondering what will happen to a worm that has been cut in half, concluding that both halves simply have to go on living, even though their lives would now be quite different.
The island is also a metaphor for self determination, separate from the "normality" of the mainland. In her life, Jansson would spend many happy summers on such an island with her partner Tuulikki Pietilä, at a time when same sex relationships were still illegal in Finland. The island is a self contained eco-system but at the same time it is fragile and must be treated with careful respect.
Only farmers and summer guests walk on the moss. What they don’t know – and it cannot be repeated too often – is that moss is terribly frail. Step on it once and it rises the next time it rains. The second time, it doesn’t rise back up. And the third time you step on moss, it dies.
One poignant chapter concerns a cat, growing from a kitten into a lean and wild little animal, refusing to show affection other than by leaving the occasional bloody carcass on the floor. Eventually the cat is traded for another one that was happy to purr and sleep on Sophia's lap, but she soon realises which cat was the right one for her
“‘What’s wrong now?’ Grandmother said. ‘I want Moppy back!’ Sophia screamed. ‘But you know how it’ll be,’ Grandmother said. ‘It’ll be awful,’ said Sophia gravely. ‘But it’s Moppy I love.’ And so they traded cats again.”
The book ends with the family preparing to leave the island at the end of the summer, with Grandmother carefully packing things away and tidying the house, with a feeling of setting her affairs in order in preparation for her eventual demise. She thinks that she can hear a herring boat in the distance but realises that the slow thumping is something else
“Isn’t that funny,” Grandmother said. “It’s only my heart, it’s not a herring boat at all.” For a long time she wondered if she should go back to bed or stay where she was. She thought that she would stay for a while.
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