Into Music: New Music June 2025
The Huw Stephens session starts with the live favourite More Than Mornings, the intense drumming feels like a statement of intent as the bass guitar thuds in agreement. Helen King’s vocal is perfectly wonky, the track eventually morphing into a weird, wonderful and totally wired slab of psychedelic delight. If the B-52s came from Brighton, this is what they would sound like. As the song builds, the muted keyboards become more front and central, leading into a swirling maelstrom of sound, wigging out deliciously.
Next up is Erratic Fictions benefiting from a woozy cello which really adds to the vibe. The closing Coda is THE ONE though! A back and forth vocal between King and guitarist Bob Brown is gorgeous, this is the kind of thing Belle & Sebastian produced in their pomp. This reminds me of musings on a lazy summer day, lying on your back while staring at the sun, blinding but fun and drinking cheap cider with friends while making sweet daisy chains. The violin and cello add to the hypnotic feelings. Recorded in 2010 but this will be a song of this year for me. Thank you Shrag!
The Marc Riley session is equally as thrilling, it feels as if the band at this point have bulked up their sound, at times more grandiose, the opening Tears Of A Landlord a real case in point. Stephanie Goodman’s keyboards adding sparkle whereas Tendons In The Night channels that B-52s sound and adds in a kinda bossa nova rockabilly feel and works a treat.
There is a real sense across the eight songs and two sessions of a band having fun, playing songs that catch the ear and have sufficient variety to keep things interesting throughout. Whether you know of Shrag or like me are new to them, these two releases deserve a place in any record collection.
To order the sessions, head to the Bandcamp page here.
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Event Of A Fire feels (and sounds) almost cinematic, a track that ploughs a widescreen sonic visual in my head. It is a change from the last single, 23’s A Baby and highlights the diversity and richness within the new album If You Asked For A Picture. The album title is taken from a 1986 poem (Dogfish) by Mary Oliver. Of that, Teitelbaum said “There’s a part of the poem that says: ‘I don’t need to tell you everything I’ve been through. It’s just another story of somebody trying to survive. Something I love about songs is that you’re showing a snapshot of a person or a relationship, and showing a glimpse into a story can be just as important as trying to capture the entire thing. Sometimes it’s even truer to the entire picture than if you tried to write everything down“.
Blondhsell are heading out on tour in support of the album across the U.K. including a date at the QMU in Glasgow on September 6th. For more on the album and tour head to the website here.
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Always looking forward, the new album MAD! is their best in years, and given their back catalogue (28 albums and counting), that is saying something. The new single interestingly skirts around ideas of absolute devotion, whether that is to a flag, nation, football team or whatever.
Sparks will play to a sold out audience at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on June 24th before coming back to play the Edinburgh Playhouse on July 18th (tickets still available). For more on the the band, single, album and tour, head to their website here.
John Welsh
@welshjb
