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Favourite albums of 2025 - Part Three

December 18, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Match album artwork to the titles below from favourites of 2025 Part Three (in no particular order)

Welcome to the third and final part of Song Bar favourite albums of 2025. There is also Part One, and Part Two. There is no countdown nor describing these necessarily as “best” albums of the year, but they are chosen by their quality, originality and reader popularity

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Tags albums, new albums, new releases, favourites of the year, Rosalía, Dove Ellis, Haley Heynderickx, Max García Conover, Allie X, Celeste, anaiis, Sorry, Juana Molina, Hannah Frances, Geese, Cate Le Bon, Stealing Sheep, Gwenifer Raymond, Baxter Dury, Junior Brother, Big Thief, David Byrne, CMAT, Water From Your Eyes, Wolf Alice, Laufey, Cass McCombs, Marissa Nadler, Ethel Cain, Ada Lea, Columbia Records, Sony Records, Black Butter, AMF, Fat Possum, Polydor, Universal Music, 5dB Records, Domino Records, Sonamos, Fire Talk, Partisan Records, Play It Again Sam, Mexican Summer, Rough Trade, We Are Busy Bodies Records, Heavenly Recordings, Strap Originals, 4AD, Matador Records, CMATBaby, AWAL, RCA, Bella Union, Daughters of Cain Records, Saddle Creek Records
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Ada Lea: When I Paint My Masterpiece

August 13, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Ada Lea: When I Paint My Masterpiece

New album: Sharing its title with a Bob Dylan song, this third album of 16 tracks of experimental folk and Americana by the Montreal singer-songwriter aka Alexandra Levy comes with a free-flowing acoustic brush of the imagination, a rich seam of art and literary reference, and lyrics of the dream-like psychedelic with notes of optimism and plainspoken wisdom

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In alternative, albums, experimental, folk, indie, pop Tags Ada Lea, Alexandra Levy, Saddle Creek Records, albums, new albums, new releases
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Spirit of the Beehive: You'll Have To Lose Something

September 2, 2024 Peter Kimpton

Spirit of the Beehive: You'll Have To Lose Something

New album: Pennsylvania’s and Portugal’s Zack Schwartz, Corey Wichlin, and Rivka Ravede return with another bewildering collection of abstract, feverish dream weirdest deconstructionist experimental rock, with a collection of 12 songs that at times feel more like a hundred

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In alternative, albums, avant garde, experimental, indie, pop, prog-rock, psychedelia, rock Tags Spirit of the Beehive, Saddle Creek Records, albums, new albums, new releases
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Black Belt Eagle Scout: The Land, The Water, The Sky

February 16, 2023 Peter Kimpton

Black Belt Eagle Scout: The Land, The Water, The Sky

New album: A heartfelt, visceral, both powerful and gentle LP by the Swinomish/Iñupiaq singer-songwriter Katherine Paul inspired by her 2020 journey to her ancestral lands from Portland to the Skagit River on Puget Sound in Washington State

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In albums, Americana, folk, indie Tags Black Belt Eagle Scout, Saddle Creek Records, albums, new releases
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Tomberlin: I Don't Know Who Needs To Hear This …

May 4, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Sarah Beth Tomberlin

New album: Gentle, beautiful fragility and vulnerability abounds in this second album by the Brooklyn singer-songwriter, who sings about insecurity, isolation and relationships with great tenderness with minimal instrumentation

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In albums, Americana, folk, indie Tags Tomberlin, Saddle Creek Records, albums, new releases
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Hand Habits: Fun House

October 27, 2021 Peter Kimpton

Mysterious beauty: Fun House by Hand Habits

New album: New York-born Los Angeles-based artist Meg Duffy returns with her own distinctive form of electro-pop and Americana folk with very refined, dreamily sung songs that build on her excellent single Aquamarine

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In albums, Americana, electronica, experimental, folk Tags Hand Habits, Meg Duffy, Perfume Genius, Saddle Creek Records
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New albums: Cornershop, Riz Ahmed, Caroline Rose, U.S. Girls, Honey Harper, Disq, Paul Heaton, Jackie Abbott, Georgia Ruth, Brielle Ansems

March 10, 2020 Peter Kimpton
Cornershop’s new album, England Is A Garden

Cornershop’s new album, England Is A Garden

The latest roundup includes A sian perspectives on Britain in different forms by Cornershop and Riz Ahmed, plus clever collage pop from U.S. Girls, Caroline Rose and punchy indie from Disq

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In albums, ambient, country, dance music, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, hip hop, indie, pop, post-punk, psychedelia, punk, rock, reggae, soul, traditional, trip-hop Tags new releases, albums, Cornershop, Tjinder Singh, Riz Ahmed, Caroline Rose, U.S. Girls, Honey Harper, Disq, Paul Heaton, Jackie Abbott, The Beautiful South, Georgia Ruth, Brielle Ansems, Ample Play, Mongrel, New West Records, 4AD, ATO Records, Saddle Creek Records, EMI, Bubblewrap Collective, Mosaic Music
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New albums: Destroyer, Squarepusher, Drive-By Truckers, Sam Lee, Ben Watt, Smoke Fairies, J Hus, Frances Quinian

February 5, 2020 Peter Kimpton
Old folk made new: Sam Lee

Old folk made new: Sam Lee

Emotional intensity mostly in solo form, is the overriding theme of this week’s album roundup across a range of styles – folk, indie, alt-country and hip hop as well frenetic drum-n’bass and jazz

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In albums, ambient, country, dance music, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, grime, hip hop, indie, jazz, pop, post-punk, rock, soul, psychedelia Tags Destroyer, Dan Bejar, Squarepusher, Drive-By Truckers, Sam Lee, Elizabeth Fraser, Bernard Butler, Ben Watt, Everything But The Girl, Smoke Fairies, J Hus, Frances Quinian, Dead Oceans, Warp Records, ATO Records, Cooking Vinyl, Unmade Road, Year Seven, Black Butter, Saddle Creek Records
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New albums: Lana Del Rey, The Futureheads, Sheryl Crow, !!! Chk Chk Chk, Joan Shelley, S.L.P, Kano, Gabriel Olafs, Mikey Young, Black Belt Eagle Scout, TaxiWars

September 7, 2019 Peter Kimpton
Lana Del Rey and her cover for Norman Fucking Rockwell

Lana Del Rey and her cover for Norman Fucking Rockwell

The latest selection includes a powerful comeback from The Futureheads, an eccentrically fabulous release from Lana Del Rey, and more perfect postpunk dance from Sacramento and New York’s !!! Chk Chk Chk

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In albums, ambient, blues, country, dance music, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, garage, hip hop, indie, jazz, pop, post-punk, psychedelia, punk, rock, soul, traditional, grime Tags albums, new releases, The Futureheads, Lana Del Rey, Sheryl Crow, !!! Chk Chk Chk, Joan Shelley, The S.L.P., Serge Pizzorno, Kasabian, Gabriel Ólafs, Mikey Young, Black Belt Eagle Scout, TaxiWars, Kano, Nul Records, Polydor, Warp Records, Big Machine, No Quarter, Columbia Records, One Little Indian, Castle Face, Saddle Creek Records, Sdban Ultra, Parlophone
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New albums: Snapped Ankles, Royal Trux, Self Esteem, The Comet Is Coming, Alice Phoebe Lou, Our Native Daughters, Hand Habits, Hejira, Robert Forster, Teen, Durand Jones, Japanese House

March 6, 2019 Peter Kimpton
Snapped Ankles

Snapped Ankles

This week’s selection roundup includes a raucous return for Royal Trux after 19 years and Robert Forster’s second in a decade, plus a chorus of of beautiful vocalists from Self Esteem to Alice Phoebe Lou and a whole lot more

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In albums, ambient, blues, country, dance music, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, garage, hip hop, indie, jazz, metal, pop, post-punk, punk, rock, soul Tags Songs, albums, new releases, Royal Trux, Self Esteem, Rebecca Taylor, Slow Club, The Comet Is Coming, Alice Phoebe Lou, Our Native Daughters, Hand Habits, Hejira, Robert Forster, Teen, Durand Jones and the Indications, The Japanese House, Fiction Records, Impulse Records, Smithsonian Folkways, Fat Possum, Saddle Creek Records, Lima Limo Records, Tapete, Carpark Records, Dead Oceans, Dirty Hit, Snapped Ankles, Hawkwind
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New albums: Father John Misty, LUMP (Laura Marling / Mike Lindsay), Bodega, Neko Case, Warmduscher, Natalie Prass, Sam Evian, Morcheeba

June 1, 2018 Peter Kimpton
LUMP: Laura Marling and Mike Lindsay, inspired by the hairy one

LUMP: Laura Marling and Mike Lindsay, inspired by the hairy one

This week we lavish you with a bumper crop of top-quality LPs: ethereal beauty in a Laura Marling collaboration, Father John Misty parodying narcissism, brilliant Brooklyn punk band Bodega, blues funk from Warmduscher, and superb solo female work by Neko Case and Natalie Prass

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In albums, blues, country, dance music, electronica, folk, funk, garage, hip hop, indie, jazz, pop, post-punk, punk, rock, soul, trip-hop Tags Father John Misty, Josh Tillman, Laura Marling, Mike Lindsay, Tunng, new releases, albums, Bodega, Brooklyn, internet, Warmduscher, Saul Adamczewski, Lias Kaci Saoudi, The Moonlandingz, Insecure Men, Natalie Prass, Neko Case, Matthew E. White, Laura Veirs, Beth Ditto, Peter Bjorn and John, Sam Evian, Morcheeba, Root Manuva, Dead Oceans, Bella Union, What's Your Rupture?, The Leaf Label, ATO Records, ANTI Records, Saddle Creek Records, Fly Agaric Records
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New albums: EELS, Manic Street Preachers, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Kylie Minogue, Goat Girl, Ultimate Painting, Hop Along

April 4, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Goat Girl

Goat Girl

This week's selection sees EELS at their best, Unknown Mortal Orchestra rocking out, Kylie going country pop, Goat Girl on London life, the Manics coming back strong, and gentle guitar folk from Ultimate Painting and Hop Along

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In albums, country, dance music, electronica, folk, funk, garage, indie, pop, post-punk, rock, soul Tags new releases, albums, EELS, Mark Oliver Everett, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Ruban Nielson, E Works Records, Jagjaguwar, 4AD, Goat Girl, Rough Trade, Manic Street Preachers, Sony Records, Hop Along, Saddle Creek Records, Ultimate Painting, Bella Union, Kylie Minogue, BMG
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DRINK OF THE WEEK

Prune juice


SNACK OF THE WEEK

celery sticks in guacamole dip


New Albums …

Featured
Sam Grassie - Where Two Hawks Fly.jpeg
Apr 29, 2026
Sam Grassie: Where Two Hawks Fly
Apr 29, 2026

New album: Beautiful debut LP by the London-based Glaswegian fingerstyle folk guitarist and singer-songwriter, with added saxophone, double bass, flute, clairsach and clarinet in a release of mostly the traditional, covers, sung or instrumental, and supported by the Bert Jansch Foundation

Apr 29, 2026
Irmin Schmidt - Requiem.jpeg
Apr 29, 2026
Irmin Schmidt: Requiem
Apr 29, 2026

New album: A strangely mesmeric, avant-garde and analogue-ambient, field recording-based experimental release by the last surviving founding member of experimental ‘krautrock’ band CAN, who, approaching the age of 89, has also written over 40 TV and film scores

Apr 29, 2026
Gia Margaret - Singing.jpeg
Apr 28, 2026
Gia Margaret: Singing
Apr 28, 2026

New album: Gently profound, and full of wondrous, mesmeric, slow, delicate experimental songs, this simple title has a powerful resonance – it is the Chicago artist’s first vocal album since 2018’s There’s Always Glimmer (there have been two instrumental LPs since), having suffered and recovered from a severe vocal injury, she returns with a delicate, candid, whispery but hauntingly beautiful delivery

Apr 28, 2026
Angel In Plainclothes by Angelo De Augustine.jpeg
Apr 28, 2026
Angelo De Augustine: Angel in Plainclothes
Apr 28, 2026

New album: A beautiful, delicate fifth LP from the Los Angeles singer-songwriter, friend and collaborator with Sufjan Stevens with whom he shares a stylistic resemblance, here with themes on life's fragility, second chances, and picking up the pieces after an undiagnosed illness forced him to re-learn basic abilities

Apr 28, 2026
Carla dal Forno - Confession.jpeg
Apr 28, 2026
Carla dal Forno: Confession
Apr 28, 2026

New album: This lo-fi, darkly minimalist but also oddly candid fourth LP by the Australian, Castlemaine-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist centres on the conflicted, obsessive feelings about “a friendship that became emotionally charged in an unexpected way”, and “an album about closeness that arrives late and unexpectedly. About stability rubbing up against desire.”

Apr 28, 2026
Friko - Something Worth Waiting For album.jpeg
Apr 26, 2026
Friko: Something Worth Waiting For
Apr 26, 2026

New album: Passionate, powerful, dynamic indie rock in this sophomore LP by the Chicago-based quartet that gallops forwards with a driving momentum, some elements of early PJ Harvey and Radiohead, and is produced by John Congleton

Apr 26, 2026
White Denim - 13.jpeg
Apr 26, 2026
White Denim: 13
Apr 26, 2026

New album: This 13th LP in two decades by the Austin, Texas rock band fronted by James Petralli has a particularly mischievous experimentalism, spreading styles far beyond breathlessly paced prog rock, with wrily humorous, surreal, personal and passionate numbers across heavy funk, dub, soul, psyche, country, dirty blues and more, joined by host of outstanding extra musicians

Apr 26, 2026
Asili ya Mama by Hukwe Zawose Foundation.jpeg
Apr 24, 2026
Hukwe Zawose Foundation: Asili ya Mama
Apr 24, 2026

New album: Wonderfully evocative field recordings release of Wagogo, Waluguru and Wasambaa Tanzanian women singing traditional songs in their villages, rarely heard outside of their own circles, the title is translated as The Origin of Mother, rich in stories and capturing the place where song is first learned, first felt, first shared

Apr 24, 2026
They Might Be Giants - The World Is To Dig.jpeg
Apr 23, 2026
They Might Be Giants - The World Is To Dig
Apr 23, 2026

New album: Four decades since their self-titled debut, Brooklyn alternative rockers John Flansburgh and John Linnell return with their 24th LP, packed with of punchy, pacy, wistful, whimsical, clever wordplay and indie rock-pop, buoyantly satirical and also a little world weary at times, they remain oddball, lively commentators on the ongoing absurdity of life

Apr 23, 2026
Eaves Wilder - Little Miss Sunshine.jpeg
Apr 22, 2026
Eaves Wilder: Little Miss Sunshine
Apr 22, 2026

New album: After 2023’s Hookey EP, a strong, passionate indie-dream-pop-shoegaze full debut by the London singer-songwriter, whose breathy voice intertwines with strong, stirring riffs and textured sounds, themed around cycles of nature aiming to explain and celebrate the mercurial nature of human emotional weather

Apr 22, 2026
Honey Dijon - The Nightlife.jpeg
Apr 22, 2026
Honey Dijon: The Nightlife
Apr 22, 2026

New album: The irrepressible, prolific and charismatic London-based Chicago DJ, musician, producer and vinyl lover returns with a flamboyantly fun celebration of club and queer culture through the prism of dance music from disco to house, with a wide variety of guest vocalists

Apr 22, 2026
Tiga - HOTLIFE.jpeg
Apr 21, 2026
Tiga: HOTLIFE
Apr 21, 2026

New album: Montreal’s acclaimed electronica/techno/dance artist Tiga Sontag returns with his fourth album - inventively packed with head-nodding, toe-tapping, oddly itchy, infectious grooves, cleverly crafted retro sounds recalling Kraftwerk to acid house and electroclash, insistent bold beats and synth riffs, with lyrics of the existential, droll and surreal

Apr 21, 2026
Tomora - Come Closer.jpg
Apr 20, 2026
TOMORA: Come Closer
Apr 20, 2026

New album: A striking, dynamic collaboration between Norwegian experimental pop sensation Aurora and Tom Rowlands, one of half of Chemical Brothers, with a sensual, otherworldly energetic fusion of mystical, sensual ambience, and block-rocking dance beats

Apr 20, 2026
Jessie Ware - Superbloom.jpeg
Apr 20, 2026
Jessie Ware: Superbloom
Apr 20, 2026

New album: Following 2020’s What’s Your Pleasure? and 2023’s That! Feels Good!, as well as the successful food podcast Table Manners she hosts alongside her mother, the British pop singer continues to ride the 70s disco ball train, catering to the clever, kitsch and catchy with an ironic wink, adding also a luxuriant garden metaphor

Apr 20, 2026

new songs …

Featured
Bleachers - Everyone For Ten Minutes.jpeg
May 1, 2026
Song of the Day: Bleachers - I'm Not Joking
May 1, 2026

Song of the Day: Featuring harpsichord, Hammond organ, Dobro and more, producer Jack Antonoff and his New Jersey rock band return with a heartfelt love song single heralding the upcoming album, Everyone For Ten Minutes, out on 22 May via Dirty Hit

May 1, 2026
Alewya - Saleh.jpeg
Apr 30, 2026
Song of the Day: Alewya - Selah
Apr 30, 2026

Song of the Day: Striking, stylishly agile electronica and dance with a rich African and Arabian influence by the London-based British singer-songwriter, producer, multidisciplinary artist and model Alewya Demmisse, heralding her upcoming album, Zero, out on 26 June via LDN Records

Apr 30, 2026
metric romanticize-the-dive.jpeg
Apr 29, 2026
Song of the Day: Metric - Crush Forever
Apr 29, 2026

Song of the Day: Uplifting, effervescent electro-disco-pop by the Toronto indie rock band, with a song vocalist/keyboardist Emily Haines describes as “my love letter to strong girls in this world”, taken from their recently released 10th album, Romanticize the Dive, out on Metric Music via Thirty Tigers

Apr 29, 2026
Jim Ghedi - The Hungry Child single.jpeg
Apr 28, 2026
Song of the Day: Jim Ghedi - The Hungry Child
Apr 28, 2026

Song of the Day: Dark, gripping, visceral folk by the Sheffield singer-songwriter, with a striking number based on an early 19th-century German poem about the fatal story of a child pleading for food, and, following last year’s acclaimed album, Wasteland, also out on Basin Rock, it heralds his upcoming soundtrack for the Hugh Jackman film, The Death of Robin Hood.

Apr 28, 2026
holybones with Baxter Dury - SLUGBOY.jpg
Apr 27, 2026
Song of the Day: holybones (with Baxter Dury) - SLUGBOY
Apr 27, 2026

Song of the Day: Dark, unsettling, sleazy and strange, this is arrestingly vivid new collaborative single between the clandestine London electronic collective and the downbeat, deep-voiced poetic Londoner, out on Promised Land Recordings

Apr 27, 2026
Hand Habits - Good Person.jpeg
Apr 26, 2026
Song of the Day: Hand Habits - Good Person
Apr 26, 2026

Song of the Day: Gentle, droll, humorously self-deprecatingly, and also delicately beautiful, this new experimental folk single by the moniker of Los Angeles singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Meg Duffy addresses the love-hate relationship with making music, out on Fat Possum

Apr 26, 2026
Pigeon - Miami.jpeg
Apr 25, 2026
Song of the Day: Pigeon - Miami
Apr 25, 2026

Song of the Day: Catchy, sunny, upbeawt indie synth-pop with an African twist by the Margate band fronted by Falle Nioke, with flavours of William Onyeabor, Hot Chip and New York 70s disco, heralding their upcoming album OUTTANATIONAL, out on 1 May via Memphis Industries

Apr 25, 2026
Tricky - Out of Place.jpeg
Apr 24, 2026
Song of the Day: Tricky - Out of Place (featuring Marta Złakowska)
Apr 24, 2026

Song of the Day: A pulsating fusion of beats, orchestral strings and the Bristol trip-hop pioneer’s distinctive, deep, croaky voice, with an emotional reference to his daughter Mina Topley-Bird (1995–2019), and heralding his first solo album for six years, Different When It’s Silent, out on 17 June via False Idols

Apr 24, 2026
Beck - Ride Lonsome.jpeg
Apr 23, 2026
Song of the Day: Beck - Ride Lonesome
Apr 23, 2026

Song of the Day: Beautiful, simmering, slow, melancholy and reflective, a surprise single and welcome return by the acclaimed US artist, evoking the haunting, sun-bleached landscapes and musical textures of his 2015 Grammy winning album Morning Phase, out now on Iliad Records/Capitol Records

Apr 23, 2026
Gelli Haha - Klouds.jpeg
Apr 22, 2026
Song of the Day: Gelli Haha - Klouds Will Carry Me To Sleep
Apr 22, 2026

Song of the Day: Described appropriately as somewhere between Studio 42 and Area 51, eccentric, effervescent, spacey, catchy and eclectic disco pop by the Los Angeles artist (aka Angel Abaya, co-written with Sean Guerin) out on Innovative Leisure

Apr 22, 2026
Leenalchi band 2.jpeg
Apr 21, 2026
Song of the Day: LEENALCHI 이날치 - Here Comes That Crow 떴다 저 가마귀
Apr 21, 2026

Song of the Day: Wonderfully catchy, funky, psychedelic and quirky new work by the seven-piece Seoul-based Korean pansori band led by bassist Jang Young Gyu with the title track of their new EP, out on 12 June via Luaka Bop, and heralding a European and North American tour

Apr 21, 2026
Jesca Hoop - Big Storm.jpeg
Apr 20, 2026
Song of the Day: Jesca Hoop - Big Storm
Apr 20, 2026

Song of the Day: Catchy, quirky experimental indie folk-pop by the innovative Manchester-based California artist, featuring a clever video that old footage and Hoop in various vintage guises, heralding her upcoming album Long Wave Home, out on 1 May via Last Laugh / Republic of Music

Apr 20, 2026

Word of the week

Featured
Song thrush 2.jpeg
Apr 23, 2026
Word of the week: throstle
Apr 23, 2026

Word of the week: An archaic, evocative noun with two connected meanings, originally for the song thrush, then later a textiles industrial frame for spinning, twisting and winding machine for cotton, wool, and other fibres simultaneously

Apr 23, 2026
Undine - Novella.jpeg
Apr 9, 2026
Word of the week: undine
Apr 9, 2026

Word of the week: It might sound like the act of abstaining from food, but this noun from derived from undina (Latin unda) meaning wave, refers to mythical, elemental beings associated with water, such as mermaids, and stemming from the alchemical writings of the 16th-century Swiss physician, alchemist and philosopher Paracelsus

Apr 9, 2026
Veena player.jpg
Mar 27, 2026
Word of the week: veena
Mar 27, 2026

Word of the week: This ornate, curvaceous, south Indian classical instrument, the saraswati veena, is a special bowl lute with a rich, resonant tone, has 24 copper frets with four playing strings and three drone strings, and is used for Carnatic music

Mar 27, 2026
Snail on a wall.jpeg
Mar 12, 2026
Word of the week: wallfish
Mar 12, 2026

Word of the week: It sounds like the singing finned picture ornament Big Mouth Billy Bass that became popular in the late 1990s, but this is a much older noun, derived in Somerset, England, pertains to the climbing gastropod that can slowly climb up any surface

Mar 12, 2026
Swordfish.jpg
Feb 25, 2026
Word of the week: xiphias
Feb 25, 2026

Word of the week: Get the point? This is the scientific name for the swordfish, in full Xiphias gladius (from the Greek and Latin for sword), that extraordinary sea creature with the long, pointy bill. But what of it in song?

Feb 25, 2026

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