Budgie! Gang of Four! That’s quite a cast list. High hopes, etc. But Christ, this was shit. The alarm bells should have been sounded with ‘folk rock duo,’ It’s wishy washy to the extreme. The Dire Straits cover did for me. I’m surprised I survived to track 8.

⭐ ⭐

Whenever I get invites to shitty 70’s themed ‘party’ nights, I often think of turning up with an un-groomed moustache, a battered leather jacket and a handful of Can albums under my arms. The ‘party’ will consist of sitting on the floor together, having a smoke, and listening to the magnificence of Can. If anyone dares to speak then they will be asked to leave the ‘party.’ I bloody love this group, and especially this album. It grooves away without being funky. It speaks to you without actually saying anything. Stick you Abba shite up yer arse.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Uplifting indie pop, with a slightly darker edge. I still love Gepetto. It tells a story, creates an atmosphere and gets you singing - the three main things I look for in a pop song. The rest of album is standard, to decent. It doesn’t quite make the bold move over the edge to become something great. But it’s worth revisiting.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐

A stunning four star album. I’ve been wanting to listen this in detail for some time now. Yer man Robert Elms always bangs on about it. I felt I knew it most of the tracks anyway, seeing as though he often drops them on BBC Ldn. It’s perfection. It captures Benson’t own transition from acclaimed jazz guitarist to something a little more soulful. I can’t decide where his talent lie: guitar or vocals? Both are stunning. A very smooth album that has set me up for the summer.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

You need to approach Time Out without a Jazz Head - which is just as well, seeing as though I haven’t really got one anyway. I’ve read about experimental time signatures and innovation. Fuck that. This album is a great listen, purely for the music and the mood itself. You don’t need to be a muso to appreciate the melodies that drift in and out, whilst the light touch on the drums and bass hold it all together. It sounds timeless, effortless. Not a diss, but a great album to work along to.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

This feels SO 1992 - which is what you would expect from an album released in… 1992. It’s that US slacker feel, that tries just a little too hard to put across the can’t be arsed attitude. They clearly can be arsed. The end product is half decent, sounding like the soundtrack for endless US lifestyle telly dramas. I’d forgotten about Hey Jealousy - a decent indie pop song. But overall, New Miserable Experience is one of the reasons why Britpop had to happen.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐

An album that straddles DUMB NY punk, and also opens up with ideas about Americana. Tom Petty ran with this a decade or so later.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Clinical, yet still soulful. There’s also an element of irony in some of the cold-hearted approach. The Model remains a masterpiece. It’s one of those staple songs that you know inside out from your youth, yet never grow tired of hearing it. I really should dive deeper into Kraftwerk.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

I’ve finally cracked on the 1,001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die list. I’ve heard them all, I haven’t died. I win, right?

Ever since R introduced me to the list around three years ago, the morning routine has involved firing up the random generator for an album to listen to.

I’ve really enjoyed the exposure to music I wouldn’t normally explore, as well as having the exact same album as R. We could both leave a review, and then compare and contrast our tastes.

We long finished the list a couple of months ago. The dregs were then served up, aka listener recommendations. As R pointed out this morning, these are albums that individual users THINK you must listen to, but that is rarely the reality. Ikd-sj’s World’s End Fruit was the breaking point.

And so instead we’re exploring Colin Larkin’s list. It has many of the usual suspects, and reads a little like a Q magazine Best Albums Ever list. But I still think there are some obvious gaps in my musical listening, not to mention my CD shelves.

There’s some duplication with the 1,001 albums list. I’ll skip those. Plus also some of the absolute shite. Sorry, but I’m not starting off with Rob Zombie.

Listening to a new album at the start of every day has been in the most part, a positive experience. It’s broadened my taste, and emptied my wallet.

Just noise. Horrid noise.

⭐