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Favourite albums of 2025 - Part One

December 16, 2025 Peter Kimpton

First selection of 25 favourite albums in no particular order …

Welcome to the first part of Song Bar favourite albums of 2025. There will also be a second and third part this week. 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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In African, albums, alternative, Americana, art-rock, avant garde, baroque pop, chamber pop, country, dance, dance music, disco, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, French, funk, fusion, garage, glam, gospel, goth, grunge, hip hop, hip-hop, indie, industrial, jazz, instrumental, krautrock, lo-fi, lounge, new wave, musical theatre, poetry, pop, post-punk, post-rock, prog-rock, psychedelia, punk, R&B, reggae, rock, soul, ska, soundtracks, traditional, theatrical, trip-hop, spoken word Tags albums, favourites of the year, Perfume Genius, Benefits, Circuit des Yeux, clipping., Daveed Diggs, Melin Melyn, Doves, Ela Minus, The Weather Station, Jasmine 4.t, Squid, Heartworms, Tunng, C Duncan, FKA Twigs, Anna B Savage, Editrix, Folk Bitch Trio, Matt Maltese, Disiniblud, Emily Breeze, Jessica Winter, Wet Leg, Big Special, Kae Tempest, Duo Ruut, Matador Records, Invada Records, Sub Pop, Blomonj, Kartel Music Group, EMI North, Universal Music, Domino Records, Fat Possum, Saddest Factory Records, Warp Records, Speedy Wunderground, Full Time Hobby, Bella Union, Young Records, Atlantic Records, City Slang, Joyful Noise Recordings, Jagjaguwar, Tonight Matthew, The Orchard, Sugar Shack Records, Lucky Number, Universal Island, So Recordings, Silva Screen Recordings
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Tunng: Love You All Over Again

January 27, 2025 Peter Kimpton

Tunng: Love You All Over Again. Cover art: Lilias Buchanan

New album: A beautiful, celebratory album of the pioneering British ‘folktronica’ band’s 20 years of music, with an eighth LP of brand new songs fully capturing their distinctive, delicate, crisply poetic, agile style with a delicious feeling of circularity.

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In albums, alternative, electronica, experimental, folk Tags Tunng, Full Time Hobby, albums, new albums, new releases
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LUMP: Animal

July 30, 2021 Peter Kimpton
Animal is the second LUMP album by Laura Marling and Mike Lindsay

Animal is the second LUMP album by Laura Marling and Mike Lindsay

New album: With a suite of exquisite sounds from flutes to the soft thunk of bass and ethereal vocals, the second album by Laura Marling and Tunng’s Mike Lindsay is a little more stripped back than the first, but still brings otherworldly beauty

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In albums, experimental, electronica, folk Tags albums, new releases, LUMP, Laura Marling, Mike Lindsay, Tunng, Partisan Records, Chrysalis
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Fiona Apple to Lianne La Havas to Yves Tumor: favourite albums of 2020 – Part 1

December 28, 2020 Peter Kimpton
Lianne La Havas, Fiona Apple and Yves Tumor are among three artists who have released outstanding LPs

Lianne La Havas, Fiona Apple and Yves Tumor are among three artists who have released outstanding LPs

Albums of 2020 roundup: A year of lockdowns, alternative sounds, experimentation and surprises. This is the first half two roundups of a total over 50 favourite albums of the year that musicians stayed at home. And here’s Part 2.

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In African, albums, ambient, blues, classical, country, dance music, dub, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, garage, grunge, hip hop, indie, jazz, poetry, pop, post-punk, prog-rock, psychedelia, punk, reggae, rock, rocksteady, soul, traditional, trip-hop Tags albums, new releases, Fontaines D.C., Wesley Gonzalez, Sparks, Wilma Archer, Sudan Archives, Billy Nomates, LYR, Simon Armitage, Moses Boyd, Tunng, Sports Team, Holy Fuck, Cornershop, Porridge Radio, Fiona Apple, Warm Digits, Taylor Swift, The Nightingales, Moses Sumney, Bill Callahan, Julianna Barwick, Yves Tumor, U.S. Girls, Elvis Costello, Wire, Thundercat, Lavinia Blackwall, Nadine Shah, Lianne La Havas
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Album reviews roundup: Tunng, Olafur Arnalds, Quakers, Kylie, Tiña, Holy Motors, Planet Battagon, Adulkt Life, The Growth Eternal

November 10, 2020 Peter Kimpton
This week’s magic nine

This week’s magic nine

Album reviews roundup: an exceptionally experimental and original lineup includes Tunng’s special death project, Iceland’s Olafur Arnalds at his most vulnerable, Tiña, the cosmic jazz funk of Planet Battagon, and for balance, some Kylie disco

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In albums, ambient, country, dance music, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, gospel, hip hop, grime, indie, metal, jazz, pop, post-punk, punk, rock, soul, trip-hop, African Tags albums, new releases, Tunng, Ólafur Arnalds, Quakers, Supa K, Geoff Barrow, Sampa The Great, Kylie Minogue, Tiña, Holy Motors, Planet Battagon, Adulkt Life, The Growth Eternal, Full Time Hobby, Mercury KX, Stones Throw, BMG, Speedy Wunderground, Wharf Cat Records, On The Corner, What's Your Rupture?, Leaving Music, Bandcamp
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New albums: Thom Yorke, The Black Keys, The Tallest Man On Earth, Tunng, Molly, House and Land, Body Type, 75 Dollar Bill, Kim Petras

July 9, 2019 Peter Kimpton
From Paul Thomas Anderson’s film to Thom Yorke’s Anima

From Paul Thomas Anderson’s film to Thom Yorke’s Anima

The latest roundup includes the Radiohead frontman’s collaboration with Paul Thomas Anderson, a return for The Black Keys, beautiful heights by The Tallest Man On Earth, plus a variety of indie, pop and mostly folk in many forms

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In African, albums, ambient, blues, country, dance music, electronica, experimental, folk, indie, jazz, pop, post-punk, rock, soul, traditional, trip-hop Tags albums, new releases, Thom Yorke, Radiohead, Nigel Godrich, Paul Thomas Anderson, The Black Keys, The Tallest Man On Earth, Molly, House and Land, Tunng, Body Type, 75 Dollar Bill, Kim Petras, XL Recordings, Nonesuch Records, Rivers Records, Birds Records, Sonic Cathedral, Thrill Jockey, Full Time Hobby, Partisan Records, Inertia Music, tak:til Records, Thin Wrist Records, Bunhead Records
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Gazelle Twin to Villagers: favourite albums of 2018 – part 2

December 30, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Gazelle Twin - aka Elizabeth Bernholz, pushing the musical boundaries on Brexit Britain, past and present, with her extraordinary album Pastoral

Gazelle Twin - aka Elizabeth Bernholz, pushing the musical boundaries on Brexit Britain, past and present, with her extraordinary album Pastoral

The second part of our roundup of outstanding albums of 2018, in alphabetical order by title, marked by a number of great debuts from young bands, as well as more established artists releasing their best work to date

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In albums, ambient, blues, classical, country, dance music, electronica, experimental, folk, funk, garage, hip hop, indie, jazz, metal, pop, post-punk, punk, reggae, rock, soul, trip-hop Tags albums, new releases, Marlowe, L'Orange, Solemn Brigham, Mattiel, Hookworms, Go-Kart Mozart, Lawrence, Creep Show, John Grant, Stephen Mallinder, Cabbage, Cabaret Voltaire, Field Music, Gazelle Twin, White Denim, The Nightingales, Farao, Ólafur Arnalds, Ought, First Aid Kit, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, The Orielles, Jon Hopkins, Thee Oh Sees, Shame, Tunng, Jon Spencer, Courtney Barnett, Villagers, Suede, Josh T Pearson, Arctic Monkeys, Ezra Furman, Sunflower Bean, Wax Chattels, Parquet Courts, Jeffrey Lewis, Olivia Chaney, Hen Oggled, Richard Dawson, Domino Records
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New albums: White Denim, Tunng, The Lemon Twigs, Ólafur Arnalds, Mark Lanegan and Duke Garwood, Her's, Blood Orange, Candi Staton, Interpol

August 24, 2018 Peter Kimpton
Tunng – Songs You Make At Night

Tunng – Songs You Make At Night

Our bumper roundup includes a welcome return to the folktronica innovators Tunng, plus White Denim, Mark Lanegan, a concept album from the Lemon Twigs, 80s-style pop from Her’s, and the soul star Candi Staton

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In albums, dance music, electronica, folk, funk, garage, hip hop, indie, jazz, metal, pop, post-punk, rock, soul Tags new releases, albums, White Denim, Tunng, The Lemon Twigs, Ólafur Arnalds, Mark Lanegan, Duke Garwood, Her's, Blood Orange, Dev Hynes, Lightspeed Champion, Candi Staton, Interpol, City Slang, Full Time Hobby, Mercury KX, 4AD, Heist Or Hit, Heavenly Recordings, Domino Records, Beracah/Thirty Tigers, Matador Records
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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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DRINK OF THE WEEK

pint of guinness


SNACK OF THE WEEK

Bacon and egg ice cream (Heston Blumenthal style)


New Albums …

Featured
Book of Churches.jpeg
Mar 19, 2026
Book of Churches: Book of Churches
Mar 19, 2026

New album: Beautiful, tender, melancholic and poetic, a walking-pace acoustic folk and Americana debut solo release by the singer-songwriter Felix Mackenzie-Barrow, co-lead singer with the Nottingham alternative indie band Divorce

Mar 19, 2026
A Pound of Feathers by The Black Crowes.jpeg
Mar 18, 2026
The Black Crowes: A Pound of Feathers
Mar 18, 2026

New album: Following 2024’s resurgent release Happiness Bastards, Atlanta, Georgia brothers Chris and Rich Robinson return with their 10th album in four up-and-down decades, with a belting release packed with Stones/ Keith Richards-style riffs, and a full-blooded, full-throttle classic and catchy rock

Mar 18, 2026
 Paris In The Spring by Alexis Taylor.jpeg
Mar 18, 2026
Alexis Taylor: Paris In The Spring
Mar 18, 2026

New album: The clarity and high range of the distinctive Hot Chip lead singer returns with his seventh solo LP, packed with personal, candid, philosphofical and sometimes melancholy lyrics allided with bright, melodic leftfield electro-pop, a dash of country, elegant disco-house, and Vangelis-inspired soundscapes, and a title echoing a psychological test where things are not as they seem

Mar 18, 2026
Madeleine by Diagonale des Yeux.jpeg
Mar 18, 2026
Diagonale Des Yeux: Madeleine
Mar 18, 2026

New album: Wonderfully weird, wonky, woozy, avant-garde, absurdist oddness by the French duo of Laurène Exposito and Théo Delaunay, with their lo-fi, ramshackle, DIY postpunk and retro-electronica, sharing sung and spoken vocals across French, German, English and Spanish

Mar 18, 2026
Yebba - Jean.jpeg
Mar 18, 2026
Yebba: Jean
Mar 18, 2026

New album: Following 2021’s Dawn, a second LP by the American singer and songwriter from West Memphis, Arkansas, aka Abigail Smith, moves towards an eclectic mix of gentler, more understated pop, folk, gospel, R&B, and soul, is named after her late grandmother, and has candid, personal themes of mourning and spiritual healing

Mar 18, 2026
The Sophs - Goldstar.jpeg
Mar 17, 2026
The Sophs: Goldstar
Mar 17, 2026

New album: A fairytale story of a debut for the Los Angeles six-piece fronted by Ethan Ramon, who cold-emailed demos to Rough Trade Records before even playing a live gig and were signed – that instinctive leap of faith rewarded by this stylish, bold, mercurial, confident, darkly humorous, eclectic debut leaping between rock, indie, pop, hoedown country, delta blues and beyond

Mar 17, 2026
Kim Gordon - Play Me album.jpeg
Mar 13, 2026
Kim Gordon: Play Me
Mar 13, 2026

New album: Following 2024’s The Collective, the former Sonic Youth frontwoman’s fourth solo LP continues her extraordinary experimental, innovative journey, moving to more melodic beats and shorter tracks with a motorik krautrock-style driven coloured by strange sounds, intense emotions and sharply angled, dark, droll social commentary

Mar 13, 2026
ELIZA - The Darkening Green.jpeg
Mar 11, 2026
ELIZA: The Darkening Green
Mar 11, 2026

New album: The London artist Eliza Caird (formerly under the mainstream pop moniker Eliza Doolittle) returns with more of the cool, slow, sensual, gentle, sophisticated experimental soul-funk style evolving from her 2022 album A Sky Without Stars, here with particularly polished, silky, stripped back grooves and vocals

Mar 11, 2026
Irreparable Parables by Andrew Wasylyk.jpeg
Mar 11, 2026
Andrew Wasylyk: Irreparable Parables
Mar 11, 2026

New album: The Scottish multi-instrumentalist and composer returns with a new selection of soothing, meditative mix of experimental classical and jazz, but this time joined with six different singers represented by the birds on the album artwork

Mar 11, 2026
waterbaby - Memory Be A Blade.jpeg
Mar 10, 2026
waterbaby: Memory Be A Blade
Mar 10, 2026

New album: A delicate, experimental, understated soulful chamber pop debut by the pure-voiced Stockholm-born singer-songwriter (aka Kendra Egerbladh) in 25-minute, eight-track release of lo-fi, lyrically semi-improvised numbers about heartbreak and self-renewal in a world of gorgeous musical sensations

Mar 10, 2026
Joshua Idehen - I Know You're Hurting ....jpeg
Mar 10, 2026
Joshua Idehen: I know you're hurting, everyone is hurting, everyone is trying, you have got to try
Mar 10, 2026

New album: With a strikingly long title, a euphoric and honest full debut LP by the British-born Nigerian poet, spoken word artist and musician based in Sweden, working with his musical partner Ludvig Parment’s sonic layers, packed pacy dance and hip-hop grooves, clever sampling, slower reflections, and articulate expressions of positivity through the ups and downs of grief and hope

Mar 10, 2026
Atlanta by Gnarls Barkley.jpeg
Mar 10, 2026
Gnarls Barkley: Atlanta
Mar 10, 2026

New album: Finally, after an 18-year gap since their last collaboration in the heady days of the hit Crazy, with the St Elsewhere and The Odd Couple LPs a third and supposedly final album from fabulous singer CeeLo Green and producer and musician aka Brian Burton with a mix of soaring soul, hip-hop, pop and RnB with songs filled with vivid lyrical memories and strong, emotive melodies

Mar 10, 2026
War Child - Help(2).jpeg
Mar 9, 2026
Various: HELP(2) - War Child Records
Mar 9, 2026

New album: Not only a timely and topical milestone charity record following the first in 1995 to help bring aid and wide variety of support to children in war zones around he world, but an impressive double-LP array of stellar British and international talent and powerful, poignant 23 songs from Arctic Monkeys to Young Fathers

Mar 9, 2026
Bonnie Prince Billy - We Are Together Again.jpeg
Mar 9, 2026
Bonnie “Prince” Billy: We Are Together Again
Mar 9, 2026

New album: Just over a year after 2025’s The Purple Bird, but from parallel recording sessions and familiar co-musicians, the veteran Louisville-Kentucky singer-songwriter Will Oldham returns with another collection of exquisite, intimate, gently defiant lo-fi folk to troubled times, an ode to community with a beautiful array of acoustic instruments and his poignant, insightful lyrics and delivery

Mar 9, 2026

new songs …

Featured
Jorja Smith.jpeg
Mar 20, 2026
Song of the Day: Jorja Smith - Price Of It All
Mar 20, 2026

Song of the Day: Sumptuous, soaring, classic soul/R&B/pop by the British smooth-voiced singer-songwriter from Walsall, West Midlands, in this number from the soundtrack for new TV series, Bait, starring Riz Ahmed, and released on FAMM

Mar 20, 2026
Liza Lo - Birdsong.jpeg
Mar 19, 2026
Song of the Day: Liza Lo - Birdsong
Mar 19, 2026

Song of the Day: Following her acclaimed debut album Familiar, a beautiful, warm, intimate, tender folk number featuring guitar, fiddle and double bass by the Amsterdam-born, London-based producer and singer-songwriter, Liza Lo Hoek, out on Gearbox Records

Mar 19, 2026
Rostam.jpeg
Mar 18, 2026
Song of the Day: Rostam - Like A Spark
Mar 18, 2026

Song of the Day: A beautiful new acoustic folk-pop single with echoes of early 70s Van Morrison by the US musician, producer and former member of Vampire Weekend, heralding his upcoming third solo album American Stories out on 15 May via Matsor Projects

Mar 18, 2026
Kacey Musgraves - Dry Spell.jpeg
Mar 17, 2026
Song of the Day: Kacey Musgraves - Dry Spell
Mar 17, 2026

Song of the Day: A catchy, witty, innuendo-filled new number about being and single and lonely, with some stylistic echoes of Rumours-era Fleetwood Mac, heralding the acclaimed Grammy-winning Texas country singer-songwriter’s upcoming seventh album, Middle of Nowhere, out 1 May on Lost Highway

Mar 17, 2026
Jaakko Eino Kalevi 2.jpg
Mar 16, 2026
Song of the Day: Jaakko Eino Kalevi - Black Diamond
Mar 16, 2026

Song of the Day: A splendidly rousing eight-minute retro-style electro-pop baroque melodrama by the Finnish artist with the deep, rich voice, one that stylistically and in his own fashion, draws a pentagram between Goblin, Rondo Veneziano, Cerrone, Doris Norton and Lindstrom, out on Domino Records

Mar 16, 2026
Hannah Lew album.jpeg
Mar 15, 2026
Song of the Day: Hannah Lew - Sunday
Mar 15, 2026

Song of the Day: An appropriate day to highlight this classy latest single of shimmering 80s-style synth-pop with echoes of OMD, with themes about pain, love and grief from the upcoming debut album by the Richmond, California artist, out on 10 April via Night School Records

Mar 15, 2026
Mei Semones.jpeg
Mar 14, 2026
Song of the Day: Mei Semones - Tooth Fairy (featuring John Roseboro)
Mar 14, 2026

Song of the Day: A charming cross-genre fusion of bossa nova, jazz, folk and chamber pop sung in English and Japanese by the Brooklyn-based American musician with a tale of losing a tooth on the subway and friendship, from the upcoming album Kurage, out 10 April on Bayonet Records

Mar 14, 2026
Robyn - Blow My Mind.jpeg
Mar 13, 2026
Song of the Day: Robyn - Blow My Mind
Mar 13, 2026

Song of the Day: Quirky, sensual electro-pop with a dash of Kraftwerk by the acclaimed Swedish singer, songwriter and producer Robin Miriam Carlsson, in this latest from the upcoming album Sexistential out on 27 March via Konichiwa / Young Records

Mar 13, 2026
Lava La Rue 2 new.jpeg
Mar 12, 2026
Song of the Day: Lava La Rue - Scratches
Mar 12, 2026

Song of the Day: The latest single by the London singer-songwriter is punchy, powerful psychedelic rock number with tearing riffs and lyrics about damage from troubled relationship, abuse and self-harm, from the forthcoming EP Do You Know Everything?, out on BMG

Mar 12, 2026
Alewya - City of Symbols.jpeg
Mar 11, 2026
Song of the Day: Alewya - City of Symbols (featuring eejebee)
Mar 11, 2026

Song of the Day: A stylish fusion of electronica, soul, hip hop and Ethiopian rhythmic influences centring on themes of heritage, family by London singer, songwriter, producer and multidisciplinary artist, with drums from eejebee and guitar from Vraell, heralding from the forthcoming new debut Zero out 22 June via LDN Records / Because Music

Mar 11, 2026
Huarinami - Carried Away.jpeg
Mar 10, 2026
Song of the Day: Huarinami - Carried Away
Mar 10, 2026

Song of the Day: Explosive, stylish, gritty, restless indie-psychedelic punk with angular, angry guitars, driving bass and wonderfully arresting vocals by Pauline Janier (aka Cody Pepper) fronting the French London-based four-piece in this single fuelled by the frustration of big-city life, and heralding their sophomore EP Nothing Happens, due for release on 6 June

Mar 10, 2026
Avalon Emerson - Written Into Changes album.jpeg
Mar 9, 2026
Song of the Day: Avalon Emerson & The Charm - Written into Changes
Mar 9, 2026

Song of the Day: Following the singles Eden and Jupiter and Mars, another stylish, experimental indie synth-pop release by the New York artist with the title track of upcoming second Charm moniker album, out on 20 March via Dead Oceans

Mar 9, 2026

Word of the week

Featured
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
Korean musicians in 1971.jpeg
Feb 12, 2026
Word of the week: yanggeum
Feb 12, 2026

Word of the week: A form or hammered dulcimer, this traditional Korean instrument, with a flat and trapezoidal shape, has seven sets of four metal strings hit by thin bamboo stick

Feb 12, 2026
Zumbador dorado - mango bumblebee Puerto Rico.jpeg
Jan 22, 2026
Word of the week: zumbador
Jan 22, 2026

Word of the week: A wonderfully evocative noun from the Spanish for word buzz, and meaning both a South American hummingbird, a door buzzer, and symbolic of resurrection of the soul in ancient Mexican culture, while also serving as the logo for a tequila brand

Jan 22, 2026
Hamlet ad - Gregor Fisher.jpg
Jan 8, 2026
Word of the week: aspectabund
Jan 8, 2026

Word of the week: This rare adjective describes a highly expressive face or countenance, where emotions and reactions are readily shown through the eyes or mouth

Jan 8, 2026

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