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The Big Moon: Here Is Everything

October 17, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Here Is Everything, the third album by The Big Moon

New album: An emotive, hooky, candid third album by the London indie-rockers fronted by Juliette Jackson, with a running theme around her experience of pregnancy and its life-changing consequences

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In albums, indie, pop, rock Tags The Big Moon, Fiction Records, Universal Music, albums, new releases
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Bill Callahan: YTI⅃AƎЯ

October 15, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Bill Callahan’s new album’s YTILAER plays mischief with search engines

New album: Dreams, horses, darkness and uplifting otherworldliness feature in this wonderful, mischievously mirror-titled ninth LP under the Smog artists’s own name, pouring out velvet voiced beauty, vivid lines, deadpan humour, acoustic intimacy and full band momentum

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In albums, Americana, country, folk, rock Tags albums, new releases, Bill Callahan, Smog, Drag City
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Mamalarky: Pocket Fantasy

October 12, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Mamalarky’s full debut LP Pocket Fantasy

New album: Their recent single Shining Armor was recently a Song of The Day, but the new LP by the Atlanta and LA indie band is rich in inventive, playful, post-punk, psych-rock and shoegaze, with parallels at times to the excellent Deerhoof

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In albums, experimental, indie, post-punk, psychedelia, rock, prog-rock Tags albums, new releases, Mamalarky, Fire Talk
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Broken Bells: Into The Blue

October 11, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Broken Bells: Into The Blue, their third album since eponymous debut in 2010

New album: Acclaimed producer Brian Burton aka Danger Mouse and James Mercer of the The Shins reconvene for their third duo BB album in 12 years, and first since 2014, with strong, slow, unhurried, smoky numbers of thrumming indie reverberation

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In albums, pop, indie, psychedelia, rock Tags Brian Burton, Danger Mouse, James Mercer, The Shins, albums, new releases, 30th Century Recordings, Aural Apothecary, AWAL
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The Orielles: Tableau

October 10, 2022 Peter Kimpton

The Orielles’ fourth LP, Tableau

New album: This fourth, sprawling, ambitious, cinematic, genre-spanning double LP by the Halifax trio of singer/bassist Esmé Hand-Halford and co is an enthralling, constantly morphing mix of psychedelia, prog, jazz, funk, R&B, indie, space pop, electronica, house and disco

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In albums, electronica, experimental, funk, fusion, indie, jazz, psychedelia, rock, spoken word Tags albums, new releases, The Orielles, Heavenly Recordings
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Pixies: Doggerel

October 4, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Pixies’s eighth album

New album: Meaty, strong new LP by the legendary Black Francis and co, a mischievous, punchy ode to absurdism, with a sound that harks to earlier material than the more polished more recent LPs, with some tracks sitting more in line with their classic 1987-91 era

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In albums, post-punk, rock Tags Pixies, Black Francis, BMG, albums, new releases
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Sports Team: Gulp!

September 27, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Sports Team’s second LP, Gulp!

New album: The Cambridge-formed London-based band return with their follow-up after lauded 2020 debut LP Deep Down Happy with catchy, strongly written, swaggering guitar indie, bubbling with energy and an upbeat, arch humour aimed at life’s insecurities

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In albums, indie, pop, rock Tags albums, new releases, Sports Team, Island Records
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Crack Cloud: Tough Baby

September 26, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Crack Cloud: Tough Baby

New album: Eclectic, original, energised and experimental, this is an enthralling third post-punk, pop, rock and thunderous concoction release by the Vancouver collective led by drummer and lead vocalist Zach Choy filled with the passionate and oddball

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In albums, avant garde, electronica, experimental, indie, pop, post-punk, rock, spoken word Tags Crack Cloud, albums, new releases, Zach Choy, Meat Machine Records
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Death Cab For Cutie: Asphalt Meadows

September 19, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Always a fresh perspective: Death Cab For Cutie: Asphalt Meadows

New album: The absurdity and irony of modern life, anthemic existentialism, panic attacks and more come in this 10th fine, witty, wry new indie, rock and post-punk pop album by the Washington band fronted by Ben Gibbard

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In albums, indie, pop, rock Tags Death Cab For Cutie, Atlantic Records, new releases, albums
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The Mars Volta: The Mars Volta

September 18, 2022 Peter Kimpton

The Mars Volta return with their first LP in a decade

New album: After a decade of omertà and schism, the eclectic Texanprog-rock experimental duo of Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and band finally reunite with a mesmerically unique blend of funk, rock, psychedelia, Cuban and Afro-Cuban drumming and English and Spanish lyrics

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In albums, African, jazz, psychedelia, prog-rock, rock, fusion, experimental Tags The Mars Volta, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, Cedric Bixler-Zavala, Clouds Hill Records
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The Beths: Expert In A Dying Field

September 17, 2022 Peter Kimpton

The Beths’

New album: Deliciously enjoyable new album by the New Zealand indie quartet, with strong melodies, lyrics that carefully balance the melancholy, thoughtful and feelgood, not least the title track which ponders the irony of knowing in great detail someone you are no longer in a relationship with

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In albums, pop, indie, rock Tags The Beths, Carpark Records, Ivy League, albums, new releases
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Suede: Autofiction

September 16, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Suede return with their ninth studio LP

New album: The veteran London indie-rockers return with their ninth LP, one that seeks to recapture the live rawness of their early days, with songs about youth and Richard Oakes’s guitar style comes to fore with a starker, more post-punk flavour

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In albums, indie, rock Tags Suede, BMG, Brett Anderson, Richard Oakes, albums, new releases
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The Paranoyds: Talk Talk Talk

September 14, 2022 Peter Kimpton

The Paranoyds’ second album Talk Talk Talk

New album: Catchy, clever, kooky, sassy and at time space- and sci-fi-themed, a vivaciously engaging second indie pop-garage-rock LP by the Los Angeles quartet who channel The Bangles and Devo with a wry look at the state of the world

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In albums, pop, indie, rock Tags The Paranoyds, Third Man Records, albums, new releases
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Built To Spill: When The Wind Forgets Your Name

September 14, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Built To Spill: When The Wind Forgets Your Name

New album: A welcome return from the veteran (since ‘93) Idaho rock band fronted by Doug Martsch, their first since the the 2020 album of Daniel Johnston covers, back with a set of powerful, mature, stirring rich guitar nine songs

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In albums, rock Tags Built To Spill, Sub Pop, Doug Martsch, albums, new releases
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Pale Blue Eyes: Souvenirs

September 6, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Souvenirs by Pale Blue Eyes

New album: A marriage of south Devon and Sheffield in the form of couple Matt and Lucy Broad and bassist Aubrey Simpson forms this more elevating, richly sonic indie release that has echoes of New Order, krautrock and Cabaret Voltaire electro-synth pop

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In albums, electronica, indie, pop, rock Tags Pale Blue Eyes, Full Time Hobby, albums, new releases
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Ezra Furman: All Of Us Flames

August 29, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Ezra Furman’s superb All Of Us Flames

New album: The sixth LP by the brilliant, visceral, angelic American is perhaps the finest to date, an impassioned, tour de force, Springsteen-esque cri de coeur for the LGBTQ and Jewish communities, but also stirs hearts of all who feel oppressed or alienated

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In albums, indie, pop, rock, punk Tags albums, new releases, Ezra Furman, Bella Union, John Congleton
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Oneida: Success

August 24, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Oneida return with the appropriately titled album, Success

New album: The veteran (25 years) New York indie rock band’s first album since 2018’s Romance is a refreshing bounce back of unpretentious joy, krautrocky rhythms, Ramones strums, and rasping guitar Sonic Youth-type squawls, with and LP that’s a throwback that also feels fresh

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In albums, indie, rock Tags albums, new releases, Oneida, Joyful Noise Recordings
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Panic! At The Disco: Viva Las Vengeance

August 22, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Panic!’s irrepressible Brendon Urie

New album: “If a thing’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing,” once remarked Queen’s Brian May, and this entertainingly over-the-top seventh LP from Brendon Urie channels that philosophy in a rock-pop extravaganza channelling the genre turned up to 11

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In albums, rock, pop Tags albums, new releases, Panic! At The Disco, Brendon Urie, Queen, Atlantic Records, Brian May
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Kiwi jr: Chopper

August 17, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Chopper by Kiwi Jr

New album: Third LP in three years after Cooler Returns and Football Money by the four-piece indie band from Toronto, with wistful, melancholy, carefully observed flighted numbers packed with images from tales of corrupt mayors, Kennedy curses, sex tapes, and deer rifles

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In albums, indie, pop, rock Tags Kiwi Jnr., albums, new releases
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Max Pope: Counting Sheep

August 3, 2022 Peter Kimpton

Max Pope: Counting Sheep

Debut album: Smooth, finely crafted, lyrically thoughtful fusions of funk, pop, bossa nova, blues, jazz and rock with a cleverly summer, lazy understated feel by the 27-year-old singer-songwriter from south London and Brighton

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In albums, funk, indie, jazz, pop, rock, soul Tags albums, new releases, Max Pope
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DRINK OF THE WEEK

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New Albums …

Featured
Favourite Albums of 2025 - Part 3.jpeg
Dec 18, 2025
Favourite albums of 2025 - Part Three
Dec 18, 2025

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

Dec 18, 2025
Favourite albums of 2025 - Part Two.jpeg
Dec 17, 2025
Favourite albums of 2025 - Part Two
Dec 17, 2025

Welcome to the second part of Song Bar favourite albums of 2025. There is also a first part and a 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

Dec 17, 2025
Favourite albums of 2025 - Part 1 updated.jpg
Dec 16, 2025
Favourite albums of 2025 - Part One
Dec 16, 2025

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

Dec 16, 2025
Juliana Hatfield.jpeg
Dec 16, 2025
Juliana Hatfield: Lightning Might Strike
Dec 16, 2025

New album: Personal upheaval, grief, powerlessness, trauma, sudden change inform the title and colour the lyrics of this latest LP by the seasoned Boston indie artist but her songs are packed with brutally honest, candid, concise reflections and warm, catchy, stirring riffs and melodies

Dec 16, 2025
Dove Ellis - Blizzard.jpeg
Dec 9, 2025
Dove Ellis: Blizzard
Dec 9, 2025

New album: An extraordinarily mature, passionate, poetic, and outstandingly powerful debut by the Manchester-based Galway-born singer-songwriter, whose soaring delivery has instant echoes of Jeff Buckley and lyrics that go above and beyond

Dec 9, 2025
Spíra by Ólöf Arnalds.jpeg
Dec 5, 2025
Ólöf Arnalds: Spíra
Dec 5, 2025

New album: A gorgeous, delicate, ethereal first release in a decade by the Icelandic singer-songwriter, acoustic instruments and her gentle, high, pure voice, all in her native language, caressing this listening experience like pure waters of some slowly trickling glacial stream

Dec 5, 2025
Melody's Echo Chamber - Unclouded.jpeg
Dec 5, 2025
Melody's Echo Chamber: Unclouded
Dec 5, 2025

New album: A fourth album, here full of delicious uplifting, dreamily chic, psychedelic soul pop by the French musician Melody Prochet, with bright, upbeat, optimistic numbers and a title lifted from a quote by the acclaimed Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki, about achieving equilibrium

Dec 5, 2025
Devotion & The Black Divine by anaiis.jpeg
Dec 2, 2025
anaiis: Devotion & The Black Divine
Dec 2, 2025

New album: Following a summer Song of the Day - Deus Deus, a review of the autumn release and third LP by the London-based French-Senegalese singer-songwriter of resonantly beautiful, dynamic, sensual soul, gospel, R&B and experimental and chamber pop, with themes of new motherhood, uncertainty, religion, self-love and acceptance

Dec 2, 2025
De La Soul - Cabin In The Sky.jpeg
Nov 26, 2025
De La Soul: Cabin In The Sky
Nov 26, 2025

New album: The hip-hop veterans return with their first without, yet including the voice of, and a tribute to, founding member Trugoy the Dove, AKA Dave Jolicoeur who passed away in 2023, alongside many hip-hop luminary guests, with trademark playful skits, and all themed around the afterlife

Nov 26, 2025
The Mountain Goats- Through This Fire Across From Peter Balkan.jpeg
Nov 26, 2025
The Mountain Goats: Through This Fire Across From Peter Balkan
Nov 26, 2025

New album: An evocative musical journey of a concept album by the indie-folk band from Claremont, California, fronted by singer-songwriter John Darnielle, based on a dream of his in 2023 about a voyage to a fictional island by the titular captain, charting adventure, wonder and tragedy

Nov 26, 2025
Allie X - Happiness Is Going To Get You.jpeg
Nov 26, 2025
Allie X: Happiness Is Going To Get You
Nov 26, 2025

New album: A hugely entertaining, witty, droll, inventive, chamber and synth-pop fourth LP with a goth twist by the charismatic and theatrical Canadian artist Alexandra Hughes, who brings paradox and dark themes through sounds that include string quartet, harpsichord, classical and pure pop piano with killer lyrics

Nov 26, 2025
Tortoise - Touch.jpeg
Nov 25, 2025
Tortoise: Touch
Nov 25, 2025

New album: A welcome return with a cinematic and mesmeric groove-filled first studio LP in nine years, and the eighth over all by the eclectic Chicago post-rock/jazz/krautrock multi-instrumentalists Dan Bitney, John Herndon, Douglas McCombs, John McEntire and Jeff Parker

Nov 25, 2025
What of Our Nature by Haley Heynderickx, Max García Conover.jpeg
Nov 24, 2025
Haley Heynderickx and Max García Conover: What of Our Nature
Nov 24, 2025

New album: Beautiful, precise, poignant and poetic new folk numbers inspired by the life and music style of Woody Guthrie as the Portland, Oregon and New Yorker, now Portland, Maine-based singer-songwriters bring a delicious duet album, alternating and sharing songs covering a variety of forever topical social issues

Nov 24, 2025
Tranquilizer by Oneohtrix Point Never.jpeg
Nov 24, 2025
Oneohtrix Point Never: Tranquilizer
Nov 24, 2025

New album: Ambient, otherworldly, cinematic, mesmeric, and at times very odd, the Brooklyn-based electronic artist and producer Daniel Lopatin returns with a new nostalgia-based concept – constructing tracks from lost-then-refound Y2K CDs of 1990s and early 2000s royalty-free sample electronic sounds

Nov 24, 2025

new songs …

Featured
Greentea Peng - Prisoners Round.jpeg
Dec 18, 2025
Song of the Day: Greentea Peng - Prisoners Round
Dec 18, 2025

Song of the Day: Following March 2025’s acclaimed album, Tell Dem It’s Sunny, the south-east London artist (aka Aria Wells) returns with another smoky, dark, track with hues of blues, dub and soul and Portishead-esque trip-hop, focusing on the trappings and challenges of modern life

Dec 18, 2025
Kaitlyn Aurela Smith - I Miss The Way You Swim.jpg
Dec 17, 2025
Song of the Day: Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith - I Miss the Way You Swim
Dec 17, 2025

Song of the Day: Beautiful modular synths and intermingling orchestral sounds ripple in this work by the American composer, performer and producer in a piece shaped by loss of someone loved, taken from an upcoming instrumental album Thoughts On The Future, out on Nettwerk Music

Dec 17, 2025
The Paper Kites - If You Go There.jpeg
Dec 16, 2025
Song of the Day: The Paper Kites - Change Of The Wind
Dec 16, 2025

Song of the Day: A beautiful, reflective number by the alternative folk-rock band from Melbourne fronted by Sam Bentley, heralding their seventh studio album If You Go There, I Hope You Find It, out on 23 January via Nettwerk Music Group

Dec 16, 2025
Courtney Marie Andrews - Valentine.jpeg
Dec 15, 2025
Song of the Day: Courtney Marie Andrews - Little Picture Of A Butterfly
Dec 15, 2025

Song of the Day: Beautiful, delicate, fluttering, eclectic, heartbreak folk and Americana by the singer-songwriter from Phoenix, Arizona, heralding her forthcoming new album, Valentine, out on 16 January via Loose Future

Dec 15, 2025
Peter Perrett - Proud To Be Self-Hating.jpeg
Dec 12, 2025
Song of the Day: Peter Perrett - PROUD TO BE SELF-HATING (irony and provocation)
Dec 12, 2025

Song of the Day: The veteran British artist, originally frontman of The Only Ones, and now with three solo albums, who actually has Jewish heritage, releases a gently powerful, nuanced, pro-Palestine acoustic number as a response to ongoing genocide by the Israeli government, out on Domino Records

Dec 12, 2025
Maddie Ashman - Jaded.jpeg
Dec 11, 2025
Song of the Day: Maddie Ashman - Jaded
Dec 11, 2025

Song of the Day: Magical, delicate, eclectic, intricate, experimental microtonal music by the London musician and singer, released alongside a longer track, In Autumn My Heart Breaks

Dec 11, 2025
Ye Vagabonds.jpeg
Dec 10, 2025
Song of the Day: Ye Vagabonds - The Flood
Dec 10, 2025

Song of the Day: Wonderfully warm, rich, lively fiddle-driven Irish folk by the award-winning band fronted by Carlow brothers Brían and Diarmuid Mac Gloinn with a heartbreaking number about the housing crisis, heralding their upcoming new album, All Tied Together, out on Rough Trade’s River Lea Recordings on 30 January

Dec 10, 2025
DBA! band.jpeg
Dec 9, 2025
Song of the Day: DBA! A Poet And A Clown
Dec 9, 2025

Song of the Day: Catchy fuzz-guitar indie rock with a swagger by the Liverpool-formed trio of Sam Warren, James Lindberg and Joshua Grant in a song described as “a confessional story of desire tangled with religious guilt”

Dec 9, 2025
Puma Blue - Croak Dream.jpeg
Dec 8, 2025
Song of the Day: Puma Blue - Croak Dream
Dec 8, 2025

Song of the Day: A dark, esoteric, mysterious and stylish title track with a hint of Radiohead and playing with the idea of knowing your future death, from the experimental indie/goth/ambient London artist Jacob Allen’s forthcoming album out on 6 February via Play It Again Sam

Dec 8, 2025
ELIZA - Anyone Else.jpeg
Dec 7, 2025
Song of the Day: ELIZA - Anyone Else
Dec 7, 2025

Song of the Day: Stripped-back, bluesy, fuzzy funk with slight echoes of Prince and alt-R&B are conjured up in this love song by the London-based singer-songwriter Eliza Caird, her first single for two years, now off the mainstream and out on Log Off Records

Dec 7, 2025
SILK SCARF by Tiga & Fcukers.jpg
Dec 6, 2025
Song of the Day: Tiga (featuring Fcukers) - Silk Scarf
Dec 6, 2025

Song of the Day: A fun, sensual, quirkily oddball electronica dance single with a slick, fetish-flirtatious ode to a favourite smooth material by the Montreal musician (Tiga James Sontag) joined here with vocals by the New York band (Shanny Wise and Jackson Walker Lewis), and heralding Tiga’s upcoming album Hotlife, out in April on Secret City Records

Dec 6, 2025
Flea - A Plea.jpeg
Dec 5, 2025
Song of the Day: Flea - A Plea
Dec 5, 2025

Song of the Day: A striking, powerful new single by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers bassist (aka Michael Balzary), who brings a fusion of jazz and spoken word with a fabulous band on an impassioned number about the state of the US in a culture of hatred, social and political tensions, out now on Nonesuch Records

Dec 5, 2025

Word of the week

Featured
Hangover.jpeg
Dec 4, 2025
Word of the week: crapulence
Dec 4, 2025

Word of the week: A term that may apply regularly during Xmas party season, from the from the Latin crapula, in turn from the Greek kraipálē meaning "drunkenness" or "headache" pertains to sickness symptoms caused by excess in eating or drinking, or general intemperance and overindulgence

Dec 4, 2025
Running shoes and barefoot.jpeg
Nov 20, 2025
Word of the week: discalceate
Nov 20, 2025

Word of the week: A rarely used, but often practised verb, especially when arriving home, it means to take off your shoes, but is also a slightly more common adjective meaning barefoot or unshod, particularly for certain religious orders that wear sandals instead of shoes. But in what context does this come up in song?

Nov 20, 2025
autumn-red-leaves.jpeg
Nov 6, 2025
Word of the week: erythrophyll
Nov 6, 2025

Word of the week: A seasonally topical word relating to the the red pigment of tree leaves, fruits and flowers, that appears particularly when changing in autumn, as opposed to the green effect of chlorophyll, from the Greek erythros for red, and phyll for leaves. But what of songs about this?

Nov 6, 2025
Fennec fox 2.jpeg
Oct 22, 2025
Word of the week: fennec
Oct 22, 2025

Word of the week: It’s a small pale-fawn nocturnal fox with unusually large, highly sensitive ears, that inhabits from African and Arab deserts areas from Western Sahara and Mauritania to the Sinai Peninsula. But has it ever been seen in a song?

Oct 22, 2025
Narrowboat.jpeg
Oct 9, 2025
Word of the week: gongoozler
Oct 9, 2025

Word of the week: A fabulous old English slang term for someone who tends to stand or sit for long periods staring at the passing of boats on canals, sometimes with a derogatory or at least ironic use for someone who is useless or lazy. But what of songs about this activity and culture?

Oct 9, 2025

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