January In Song

Is January the month of fantastic minimal tunes, ambient drone metal and a little catchy pop? Youbetcha. Such a full bag of tunes this month.

• Fljótavík - 12 Ensemble

  A song that I could listen to on repeat forever - gorgeous arrangement.

• No Thank You For The Music - Frank Turner

  Bees shouldn’t waste their time telling flies that honey tastes better than shit!

• Cloud Inversions - LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER

  Starting 2024 with a new and glorious direction. The EP (on Dropbox and YouTube) is atmospheric and magically musical.

• Short Time Skies - Bob Boilen

  I wish I had the energy of Bob Boilen. He’s just retired. He’s 70. He invented the Tiny Desk Concert for NPR. And now he’s busting out more of his own music and this new track is crazy good.

• Anti Loudness - MEUTE

  One of their best yet. STILL gutted that I didn’t make it to the Glasgow gig (because of covid fear)

• Tiny Moves - Bleachers

  This song is a grower… and then Margaret Qualley (Jack’s wife) dances in a gorgeous video that adds layers to the whole thing. (Also, this song about Margaret is pretty lush)

• Lamb And The Lion - The Mae Shi

  Throwback to 15 years ago - as I said then “so much song packed in to a little space”. I’d totally forgotten about the band and the track. Listening to their album (having never heard any of their other stuff) was a revalation.

• Sounds Like Moths - Amon Tobin

  A classmate gave me a mix CD with a bunch of random tracks in 2004-ish with two artists that stood out - Amon Tobin and greypetcat, I have no idea what happened to greypetcat but Amon Tobin has gone from strength to strength. This track is fantastic.

• Greek Islands - Low Tide

  That sigh/huff at 2:52!

• Down Bad - TATYANA

  I love the contrast of the beat+synths against the vocals on this.

• Never Belong - Carla J Easton

  First gig of the year coming up - can’t wait! (Also love Weekend Lover and will never be able to get enough of any version of Wanting What I Can’t Have).

• No Caffeine - Marika Hackman

  Love it when the bass and drums kick in.

• May Your Vanquished Be Saved from the Bondage of their Sins (Robert Hampson Remix) - Earth

  Turns out that I’m a massive fan of ambient drone metal. Soundtrack of January. I have listened to this so many times over.

• Black Tie - Grace Petrie

  Important messages to hear - go read the comments.

• Eden - Hania Rani

  The Tiny Desk concert is the perfect combo of classical, dance and electronica.

• Get Back - Margaret Glaspy

  Powerful vocals and tight drums, guitar & bass.

• Ouh là là - Juniore

  Tremelo surf French pop - ooh la la!

• Brand New Colony - The Beths & Pickle Darling

  Gorgeous cover - adds texture to a much-played track.

• Fix Me - Mary Jane Dunphe

  As the comment says, SubPop have the best artists.

• Lose - Boeckner

  The Arcade Fure vibe is strong on this one!