January 2021

2020 was a bunch of bollocks, right? 2021 probably will too. But let’s kick it off in style with the #latesthits that’ll pumping through my fancy new bluetooth headphones this month.

Alkaline Trio – Fatally Yours

💩💩💩💩💩

“You crashed your car through my front door
I pulled you from the wreckage
You told me that you missed me
But you meant with the grill and hood
You’d kill me if you could”

I love Alkaline Trio. Like The Thermals the simplicity of it all is very satisfying. But this appeals especially to that bit of emo/goth in me.

Architecture In Helsinki – Maybe You Can Owe Me

💩💩💩💩💩

“There’s no way that I’ll sleep when you’re near me”

There was a time back when delivering Chinese that AIH, along with Tilly & The Wall had albums out that I just listened to on repeat for weeks. This probably being the best (most credible) song of the lot.

Bishops Allen – Things Are What You Make Of Them

💩💩💩💩💩

“I was spending my days with my demons, yeah
They had taken up inside of my heart
They were trying to keep me entertained
They were tearing me apart
Well my memory, she was packing, yeah
And I knew that she would never come back
She handed me a letter and
Then she vanished in the black
And the letter said:
Things are what you make of them
Things are what you make of them, baby
And you know what I mean
Yeah, you know what I mean”

It’s topical for a new year, 2021. Positivity and all that. Let’s see how long it lasts. Rediscovered as I found an old ipod the other day with all my actual music on from back in the day.

Desire – Under Your Spell

💩💩💩💩💩

“I don’t eat, I don’t sleep, I do nothing but think of you”

Arsenal have been pretty dogshit recently. And yet they persist with rereleasing all the old retro kits and taking our money. I’m not a fan (of the business plan) – The kits I adore, the marketing videos that go with it are out of this world. This song was used in the latest. Worth a watch if you want to go hunting on YouTube.

Graveyard Club – It Hurts

💩💩💩💩💩

“Fall apart, don’t break my heart
I blame it on the endless dark
I fought so hard to find the words
It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts”

When cheating on my mission to find new music (wait until all the cool kids publish their end of year lists and have a flick through them) Graveyard Club popped up from 2019 (I think). In theory it has everything I should love, a bit gothy (see Alkaline Trio), National-like vocals, M83 synth. And I like this song I really do, but I’m still not overly convinced on them as a band. Time will tell.

Peach Pit – Feelin’ Low (Fuckboy Blues)

💩💩💩💩💩⭐

“I want something always
More or less than what I have”

Again, while hunting for the best of 2020 I happened across Peach Pit. This, the lead off hit from the album You and Your Friends grabbed instantly. It’s a cracking album.

Rod Stewart – Young Turks

💩💩💩💩💩

“Young hearts be free tonight. Time is on your side”

At work, during Xmas pressure, with chance to spin a few tracks (play some Spotify through the Bluetooth speaker). This, just one of my favourite songs. First came across it when it was sampled on a Girl Talk album.

Squeeze – Is That Love

💩💩💩💩💩

“You won’t get dressed you walk about,
Now is that, is that
A teasing glance has pushed me out,
Now is that, is that
The tougher tougher tougher it gets
The more my lips frequent
Now that is love.”

Again, with big thanks to work (its good for something at least) I have discovered a great for Squeeze. This one makes it on to my #squeezeshits and has been the earworm stuck in my head most days.

The Vaccines – If You Wanna

💩💩💩💩💩

“But if you wanna come back it’s alright, it’s alright!
It’s alright if you wanna come back!
Do you wanna come back? it’s alright, it’s alright!
It’s alright if you wanna come back to me!”

I tried making a #decadeshits for the 00s, but gave up. This though, another topical hit for 2021. Soon, we will all have had the vaccine, everything will be back to normal, I’ll be sat with 60,000 other people sat in a stadium watching football, queueing for the toilets at half time (no time to wash hands) and cramming on to the London Underground. Can’t wait.

Yumi Zouma – Cool For A Second

💩💩💩💩💩

“Omissions never flare, they go out if you let them
Changing every year, I was cool for a second
Find me in the fall, swept underneath
Forgetting every charm, took a bullet together
You could pull apart, so I’d never remember
The image that would call you back to me “

I don’t want to give everything away but my other method of finding new music (after the best of year lists) is to find other people’s playlists on Spotify (torrents back in the day) and flick through for anything that instantly grans my attention. It worked very well for me back in the MySpace days.