Thursday, February 26, 2009

Welcome Back, Mr Brown

Findlay Brown: Teardrops In The Rain (This Is Music, 2009)
We've not had any Findlay B on here for a while, but then, he's been busy on those Mastercard ads, breaking his leg (apparently - someone told me this, I can't recall who) and, well, having his ouvre reswizzled by Bernard Butler. Consequently, Find's new album is reverb-heavy, emotionally-charged, Righteous Brothers-a-like gloom-pop of the finest water. And this track is, literally, quite good too.

Friday, February 20, 2009

This New Record Is Literally Quite Good

Jeniferever: Lives Apart (Monotreme Records, 2009)
Relax girls, they're married. Maybe. Anyway, Jeniferever are from the heaving metropolis of Uppsala in Sweden and they make music that makes your brain feel nice. This is from their new album (which is good too). This is the stuff, eh?

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Get Your A-Level In Donkology Here

Have you put a donk on anything recently? This film - it's in five parts, all of them utterly fascinating - attempts to explain the phenomena of the "donk". It's what the young people like. It is!

Thursday, February 12, 2009

In Car Entertainment: 1

Fionn Regan: Abacus (Universal, 2007)
Every now and again I make a CD to play in the car (if only to potentially cut down on the amount of time I have to listen to Charlie And Lola stories) and what usually happens is I get completely obsessed by one of the tracks and end up driving around and around listening to it over and over and over again while - hello! - singing along (badly) at the top of my voice. Well, just recently it's been Fionn Regan's great honour (this is a joke, btw) to fill that role. A lot of other people clearly like it too, I'm not pretending to be breaking any new ground here, but I'd forgotten - eighteen months after reviewing the album - quite how much pleasure I got from it. Thank you Mr Regan, it means a lot. Probably.

Monday, February 09, 2009

Roast Guinea Fowl

To be honest, there's not that much between a chicken and a guinea fowl in terms of flavour but there's enough to make them worth trying and they're definitely juicier on the breast though perhaps a bit drier on the legs. This is most likely because they're naturally leaner than chickens but because they're smaller and only cook for about an hour, the breast doesn't dry out. I wrapped mine in streaky bacon just to make sure and popped some some rosemary inside before roasting in the usual way and serving half a bird per person.
Sorry about the lone chipolata in the picture, it jumped out of the tray of potatoes that were roasting on the shelf above.

Friday, February 06, 2009

Warning: Advertising Message To Follow

I've taken over The Guardian's Readers Recommend column. The first one is asking for your songs about adventure. Do weigh in if you feel the urge...

Thursday, February 05, 2009

This New Record Is Literally Quite Good

It Hugs Back: Now + Again (4AD, 2009)
You see, this is the sort of thing I just like as soon as I hear it. Whistleable Tune + Drone + Hair-Shakingly Wispy Vocal + Loony Bit In The Middle. Come on other, more rubbish bands! It's not that difficult, is it? People have been making records that sound a little like this for years, so it can't be that hard, can it? Anyway, the Back are from Kent and they are young pups keen to get on and make a racket. Their album isn't quite on the intersquizz yet - it's out in April - but this is a good place to start.

Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Where's The Bad Bit?

Eddie Bo: Hook And Sling (Scram, 1969)
It's still cold. Beautiful, but cold. So warming up is important. This might help. The pertinent thing about this record is, try as I might, I can't find any bad bits. It appears to only consist of good bits that get progressively better and better before having the good grace to knock it all on the head before you get cheesed off with it. Thank you Mr Bo, it's appreciated.




Monday, February 02, 2009