Dec 23 - Top 10 Albums of 2019

So this may be my last blog post. At least until this time next year. I'll keep doing this one. But I'm just gonna start adding songs I like to a playlist next year instead of putting them onto a blog. So expect the music to keep going, but you'll just have to follow me on Spotify. So until next year, enjoy these 10 albums! Which are also on Spotify on a playlist, along with a bunch of other albums that I left on the playlist that I was also considering putting into my top 10.

I feel like a few of these surprised me. I do always like to add in something nobody has ever heard of that I fell in love with (see #6). And There's a couple of surprises for me since they're artists I thought were just ok until this newest album (see #8 and #5). But then there's also just some great albums that were either incredible, or which I just couldn't stop listening to, or both. Generally both, if you ask me.

10. Thom Yorke - Anima

Favorite Tracks: Traffic, Dawn Chorus

9. Kelsey Lu - Blood

Favorite Tracks: Due West, Atlantic

8. Toro y Moi - Outer Peace

Favorite Tracks: Ordinary Pleasure, Who I Am

7. Michael Kiwanuka - KIWANUKA

Favorite Tracks: You Ain't The Problem, Solid Ground

6. Fell Runner - Talking

Favorite Tracks: Talking, Same Way

5. Angel Olsen - All Mirrors

Favorite Tracks: Lark, All Mirrors

4. FKA Twigs - MAGDALENE

Favorite Tracks: Sad Day, Cellophane

3. The National - I Am Easy To Find

Favorite Tracks: Oblivions, Where Is Her Head

2. Bon Iver - i,i

Favorite Tracks: iMi, Jelmore

1. Brittany Howard - Jaime

Favorite Tracks: Georgia, Stay High

Dec 19 - KAYTRANADA / Free Nationals

There are two albums that came out last week that I did not realize were on their way, but both of which made me very happy. The first one is Bubba, the new album from KAYTRANADA. He's been releasing singles, so I knew something was coming from him, but I didn't realize it was just going to drop. I had read nothing about an album, just heard singles, and I guess just didn't expect it. Anyway, he saved the best single for last (well, last before the actual album), and that is 10%, with Kali Uchis on vocals. Great track.





Overall, I like the general sound and feel of the album, but what I really don't like about it is that it feels like one giant mix tape. The tracks don't feel like individual songs, they just sort of blend one right into the next. I'm sure that was intentional, and it's fine, but I'm just not crazy about it. But having said that, you can't deny the wonderful beats that this man produces. Another case in point, Go DJ, this time with SiR on the vocals.





I've always loved the beats that KAYTRANADA produces, and there are some fantastic instrumental tracks on the album, with pretty wonderful beats. But again, they just act as sort of interludes, and are very short. There's a lot of very short songs on the album actually. But that doesn't make them any less good. One of my favorite beats on the album is Puff Lah, which isn't even 2 minutes, but just so great.

Then the other album that came out was the debut by the Free Nationals. This one was totally off my radar. The Free Nationals are Anderson .Paak's band, and I knew they were making their own music because when I saw Anderson .Paak and the Free Nationals back in January, he had them play one of their own songs. But that was all I ever heard. They never showed up anywhere after that, until all of a sudden an album came out. It wasn't really all of a sudden, there were plenty of singles, I just never heard them. I think my favorite track on the album is On Sight. It kind of reminds me of a classic Snoop Dogg-style hip-hop track. But what I kind of really love about it is Kadhja Bonet. She's pretty fantastic, and her vocals on this track are excellent.





It's a great album, and exactly what you'd expect if you're a fan of Anderson .Paak already. More on the soulful side of his music rather the the more hip-hoppy side. I'm pretty sure the song they sang back in January was Beauty & Essex, so I'll just throw that in here as well.

Dec 17 - Black Pumas

Keeping on the theme of finding bands I may have missed, today I'm sharing Black Pumas. Again, I had heard them previously, but just never really paid attention. But then they were listed as Best New Artist by one of my favorite music sources (not the Grammys, although they are also nominated for Best New Artist at the Grammys). So then I obviously had to go and listen to the album, and it is wonderful. Think a more soulful version of The Black Keys. First up off of that album is Colors.

Now, it was a bit of a challenge to pick the second song. There are some really great ones. It was basically down to either Confines or Touch The Sky, but I think I'm going to go with Touch The Sky because I really like how it builds. But seriously just go listen to the whole album, cause it is a wonderful one. They are in good company for that Best New Artist award at the Grammys. I'm not sure if I think Billy Eilish or Lizzo will win, but I know it won't be Black Pumas. And while I'm totally cool with Lizzo winning (Billy Eilish not so much, although I wouldn't be mad about it), I think that Rosalía should win. But then, Yola and Maggie Rogers and Tank and the Bangas are also on there. Really the only person who shouldn't win is Lil Nas X. Anyway, now that I've digressed way too much and listened to both Confines and Touch The Sky while doing so, I've decided I can't decide so here are both of those songs.

Dec 16 - Sault

So I've pretty much got my best albums of the year picked out, but before I put it out I always like to see what some of my favorite sources end up picking to see if I missed anything great. And there was something really great I missed this year: Sault.

I actually didn't miss it, I had heard them a few times, just never really paid attention. But from the first note on their debut album 5, I was hooked. The opening track Up All Night, is probably their best song, but these guys really do nothing bad.





So basically they have this amazing, throwback, funk-soul sound. And they made 2 albums of music this year. First was 5, and then was 7. No idea why they named them that, but both albums are great (although 5 is better). Seems to be a trend these days. Foals did it, Y La Bamba did it, Broken Social Scene did it (well, EPs), Moses Sumney is doing it next year. No idea why, but I won't be complaining about new music from bands I love.

I can find next to no information on this band. No idea who is in it, where they're from, or anything about them at all, really. Except that they make great music. I want to share a bunch of songs with you (Don't Waste My Time, We Are The Sun, No Bullshit....) but I need to just pick one more. So that one more is going to be Waterfalls, the closing track on 7. Much more chill, but also a great song. So now you've heard the first and last song, and it's up to you to go listen to everything in between. And make sure you do.

Dec 13 - Maren Morris

So we all know how I feel about pop music and country music. Not generally a big fan. But sometimes, I do like a song or two. And I found one I like very much. It's The Bones, by Maren Morris. I knew of her because of pop culture, and also because she's a member of The Highwomen. Which I guess does give her some musical cred. But not enough to make me want to go listen to her solo stuff. But then I heard this song for the first time yesterday cause it's on Spotify's best of the decade playlist. And then I listened to it a bunch of times. And there's even a version with Hozier! More musical cred. But still not enough for me to go listen to anything else by her. But enough to make the blog. So enjoy.

Dec 9 - Jon Hopkins & Kelly Lee Owens / Ludo Pimenta / Khruangbin & Leon Bridges

I don't know what's going on with me today, but I am exhausted. I didn't sleep that well, and I just can't get my head right. Total case of the Mondays. Which is not so common for me. But I'll just leave the office a bit early, I guess. And put off work as much as possible. And one way to do that is to share the new songs I heard over the weekend that I really liked.

First is THE song of the weekend, Luminous Spaces by Jon Hopkins & Kelly Lee Owens. I quite like Kelly Lee Owens, and Jon Hopkins is alright, but teamed up, they're great. So the song actually started out on Jon Hopkins's album 2018 album Singularity as a song called Luminous Beings. But it's now been shorted (from 12 minutes to 7), vocals by Kelly Lee Owens were added, and it got renamed. And I think they did a bit with the bassline and beats as well. And I love it. I listened to it so many times this weekend.





Then there's Lido Pimienta, who I actually heard on Friday before the weekend actually got started, and the only reason I didn't listen to her over the weekend is because I couldn't remember her name. She's put out her "first" single No Pude. Well, first single I know. She had an EP back in like 2016, which apparently won some Canadian music prizes, but now she's got this single that's fantastic. Much like Tei Shi or Daniela Andrade, she was born in South America (Colombia) and is now based in North America (Toronto) making Spanish indietronica (a term I learned from my Spotify 2019 wrapped summary, and which I apparently listen to a lot of. But if it sounds like this, then I want to listen to more).





And last up is another collaboration between two greats. But this time from very different genres. It's Khruangbin and Leon Bridges. The connection here is Texas, where they're all from. So they decided to make an EP together, and have released the first track called Texas Sun, which kind of perfectly blends Leon Bridges's smooth, soulful sound, with the chill funk of Khruangbin. Never would have put these two together, but I'm feeling it.

Nov 25 - HAIM / Sudan Archives / Pumarosa

So I'll be sharing a few songs with you today. Just a few great ones that I want to get into my playlist for the year. Nothing else that really links them today.

Up first is Hallelujah, the new single from HAIM. This is the 3rd single off their upcoming (and as-yet unannounced) third album. The first couple songs were nice. A bit poppy, but nice. This new one didn't really stand out to me the first time I heard it, but then the second time it totally grabbed me. And I've been listening to it on repeat. And it gets better with every listen. I've always thought HAIM sound a lot like Fleetwood Mac, and this song is another Fleetwood Mac-y one.




Then we have Confessions, by Sudan Archives. Sudan Archives is the project of singer and violinist Brittney Denise Parks. She's already put out a couple of EPs (and I'm surprised I never talked about them on the blog), and she's recently released her debut album, Athena. It's a solid album, and the best track is maybe Confessions, the lead single from the album. Another one I've been listening to on repeat.




And last up is Lose Control, by Pumarosa. Pumarosa I have written about before, becauase I loved the song Priestess off their debut album, The Witch. I liked the whole album, actually. And now they have a new album, called Devastation, which is also really great. Favorite song is probably Lose Control. There's something I just love about it. It's a bit brighter than most of their other songs, I think. They seem to be generally darker and dirtier, but this one really sticks out to me. Great song. Great album.

Nov 18 - Moses Sumney / Wye Oak

So a couple of exciting, unexpected releases last week. Just singles, but still, very exciting, because they're by people I am very excited about.

Up first is Moses Sumney. I guess this one isn't so surprising cause it's about time he put out new music. He put out his album nearly 2 years ago, so we're getting there. He has now announced a double album called grae. The first part will be 12 tracks and comes in February, then we have part two with 8 more tracks in May. So 20 new tracks! Very exciting! For now, there's only one, though, called Virile. It's a bit crazy, but pretty great. And he directed the video himself this time.





Then we have a new single from Wye Oak, which is a bit surprising. They haven't put out an album since 2018 either, but Andy Stack, who makes up half the band, just put out his solo album as Joyero, and Jenn Wasner, the other half, officially joined Bon Iver and has been touring with them. So I don't know when these two found time to get together and make music, and announce a tour for 2020, but they did. No album announcement yet, but for now we've got Fortune.

Nov 11 - Wolf Parade / The Districts / Elliot Moss

Today is my sister's birthday! Woohoo! And she's spending it in Japan! Boooooo! I mean, it's a great thing for her, I'm just very jealous. She has some leave she needs to use up before she finishes her job, so decided to book herself one last trip in Asia, and settled on Kyoto/Nara/Osaka. I totally wish I could be there, cause it's been over 10 years since I visited that part of Japan. Plus traveling with my sister is fun. But she's been doing it all on her own and having a great time! But I'm still very jealous. Instead, I'm stuck in the office, packing up and getting ready to move, cause tomorrow we officially move offices. Fun.

But before I leave the office for the day, here's a few new songs for you. Up first is Against the Day, the newest single from Wold Parade. I heard these guys for the first time when I was in Japan, actually, from one of my Canadian friends. They're a bit of a weird band, but they had this one song I loved called I'll Believe Anything, off their debut album from back in 2005. Apparently they have been doing stuff since 2005. They had two whole albums. But I think I missed them. I'm not sure. Anyway now they're prepping for album 4, and Against the Day is the first single from it. And it's a great one.





Then I've got another first single off a fourth album, this one being Hey Jo by The Districts. This is a band that I've heard of a million times and never actually listened to. I don't know why. They just never got my attention. But then this single came out last week and showed up on a few new music playlists, and it's a great one. So I may actually pay attention to this new album when it comes out.





And now we're switching lanes completely, musically, and listening to July 4, the new single from Elliot Moss. I didn't realize it, but I'd heard Elliot Moss before. He's also got a couple albums out (but one is actually kind of short, so maybe considered an EP), but those never made it onto my radar. It was his previous single, Barricade, that was on the playlists recently. But I didn't pay it much mind, until I heard July 4 and went back to listen to other stuff by him, that I realized I'd already heard him. Then I went and listened to the most recent album/EP, Boomerang, and it was ok. But July 4 is incredible. Listen to it on good speakers or headphones. It's fantastic. But not sure what to expect from an album. I guess we'll see soon, cause I'm definitely paying attention now!

Nov 8 - Black Belt Eagle Scout / Twen / Jadu Heart

Alright, time for a bit more catch up on songs and bands to share to share. First up is an artist you should probably know about for a lot of reasons, Black Belt Eagle Scout. This is the stage name of Katherine Paul, a queer, Native American singer-songwriter who's basically fighting to get more representation for queer indigenous people. And she makes lovely music. She's probably the only Native American artist I know. Or at least the only one I know that I know. And I definitely know next to nothing about queer or gender non-conforming Native Americans. So just having her on my radar is a step in the right direction. She put out her second album this year, At The Party With My Brown Friends, and it's a great album. Let's start out with something that's a bit of a downer, but still lovely rock, Run It To Ya.




Then we've got something a bit happier, but still dreamy and hazy, My Heart Dreams.




Sticking with that dreamy, hazy, happy stuff, let's move on to Twen. They're quite impressive, in that they had a recording of a live performance released (subsequently titled Twen (Live)) back in 2017, which got a lot of buzz and kept them touring for 2 years until they finally released their debut album, Awestruck, this year. The band is just two friends who were making music on their own, and they had a lucky break. The whole album is lo-fi, dreamy rock, one of the best examples of which is the song Waste.





Lastly is a band who's been on my radar for a while, that I keep randomly hearing and going back to, then forgetting. That band is Jadu Heart, a duo from the northern UK who started making music together at university, got some buzz, and then graduated from music school and put out an album. A concept album, based on random conversations they had and characters in a universe they created. Many of whom appear in the video for The Cure, the opening track off their debut album, Melt Away. The Cure is a fantastic song, and I think it's come up on a bunch of playlists and every time I hear it I go and listen to Melt Away, then promptly forget about Jadu Heart. The album as a whole is just ok. But The Cure is fantastic. And there are a couple other great songs on there, but this is, by far, the best, and needs to be on my blog.

Nov 4 - Låpsley / Squirrel Flower

So today I'm sharing two songs that have been some of my favorite singles recently. Up first is My Love Was Like The Rain, the new single from Låpsley. It's off her upcoming EP, These Elements, and is the first thing she's releasing since her debut back in 2016. A debut I liked very much. And I like this song very much. Like, I think it might be one of her best songs, very much.

Then we've got Red Shoulder, the first official single from Squirrel Flower. This is what I read, anyway, when I heard the song (and immediately fell in love with it). But then I went on Spotify and she's got like 2 albums up there. Turns out she self-released a coupled of albums, and now she's signed and has an album coming out on a record label. That album is I Was Born Swimming and comes out next January. So until then at least we've got one excellent song, and a couple of older albums. I only listened to one, and the beginning was very strong, and very Mitski-esque. Then it sort of petered out at the end. But still, Red Shoulder is good enough to have me very, very excited.

Nov 1 - Kindness / Konradsen

Today's blog post is brought to you by the letter K, with two "new" bands. I say "new" because the first one isn't actually new, just me liking them is new. That band (or artist, actually) is Kindness.

Kindness has been around for a while. I think he (they? I read an article that referred to the artist as they, so not really sure. I think it's a gender thing, though, so I'm just gonna go with they.) has like 3 albums, and they were actually on my radar a few years ago with the song Gee Up. It was everywhere. And it's a great, little ditty, clocking in at about 2 minutes. The album it's off of (World, You Need A Change of Mind) is just ok, but this song is great. Especially when the beat picks up. I have no idea why they just cut the song off when it's just picking up. I could seriously listen to them jam on it for like 10 more minutes. Hopefully that's what they do live.





I should have put it on the blog 7 years ago when it came out. I apologize for not doing so until now. But anyway, Kindness has put out a new album, Something Like A War, and this one is fantastic. Still pretty upbeat and dancy and funky, but a lot more world music influence. And some great features. The opening song (after the intro, anyway), Raise Up, is maybe one of the best.





But the actual best is another little ditty that clocks in at under 2 minutes, and is nothing more than an interlude, titled Samthing's Interlude. Reminds me a bit of Nonku Phiri. And those horns are so delicious. And the vocals. Just everything about it, really.





The other K band is actually new, a Norweigian band called Konradsen. They (for sure because there are 2 of them in the band) have just put out their debut album, Saints and Sebastian Stories, came out last week, and I've listened to it like a dozen times since then. They've been putting out singles for about a year, it seems like, but somehow didn't end up on my radar until the album came out. One of the singles was Television Land, which is lovely, and I think pretty typical of what I love about their sound. Super chill, beautiful, somewhat minimal up-front, and then growing to a beautiful orchestral, crescendo later on. Plus what a voice.





I actually think the first song I heard by them was Red to Rhyme. Again, like Television Land, grows beautifully with the horns and everything coming in later in the song. But this time it's sax. And this time it also reminds me of Bon Iver. That was one of the things that caught me when I first heard it, actually.





I was only going to share 2 songs, which is pretty typical when I tell you about new bands (as opposed to songs I like), but since I put three songs by Kindness I'm going to do the same for Konradsen, because it was hard to pick which the second would be. It was between Red to Rhyme and Baby Hallelujah. Which also could have been the first song I heard. I'm not really sure. But these were definitely the first two. Baby Hallelujah doesn't really grow like the other two, just stays calm and beautiful all the way through. Totally enchanting.

Oct 30 - Brittany Howard / Angel Olsen

Today I'm sharing maybe two of my favorite songs of the year. Both from artists who have put out new albums, and who I've already shared this year when they released their first singles from those albums. But now the albums are out, and they're both fantastic, and I'm sharing my favorite song from each album, which, again, may be some of my favorite songs of the year.

Up first we have Brittany Howard, the lead singer of Alabama Shakes, who's debut album Jaime came out at the end of September. Favorite track there is Georgia, a song about (in her words) growing up as a gay, black girl and having a crush on an older girl and not knowing what to do about it. Anyway, amazing song. Especially from 2:42 on to the end where it just blows up. But really the whole thing.





And then there's Lark, from Angel Olsen's new album All Mirrors, which came out at the beginning of this month. It crescendos in a similar way to Georgia, but much sooner. And I love it also. The whole album. Both of them.

Sept 27 - Ghost Orchard / OTHERLiiNE / Bag Raiders / Blue Material / beabadoobee / Daniela Andrade / KennyHoopla

I'm tempted to just drop a bunch of music here to make up for the last month, because I'm about to go away on vacation again, then come back for 3 days, then go away for work for another week. So I don't think I'll be blogging much. So let me get started and see how far I get before I get tired.

We'll start off with Ghost Orchard, the alias of 21-year-old songwriter Sam Hall. He recently released bunny, which is apparently his third album, but I've only just heard of him. And I've learned that he wrote like 300 songs for the album. And he's friends with one of my new favorites, Dijon. But anyway, bunny is a nice album, but it kind of gets lost in the background for me. I love the sound, but I can't really concentrate on it. But definitely worth a listen. The standout track to me is the opener, Witness.

We're doing a lot of one-off songs, which is why I feel like I'm just going to drop a bunch of stuff into this blog. Some of it, like Ghost Orchard, is stuff that I like but only feel a need to share one song. But then there's also stuff like OTHERLiiNE where they only have one song. Or some stuff where I maybe only like one song. But yeah, OTHERLiiNE is next. This is a new project from George Fitzgerland and Lil Silva, neither of whom I listen to. But Chimes is their first single and it's fantastic. Very Bonobo-esque. Which makes me wonder what these guys sound like on their own.

So I already picked it up from song 1 to song 2, and now for song 3 we're really gonna pick it up and listen to Bag Raiders. Ok, maybe not pick it up too much with the song I picked. But the band definitely knows how to pick it up. But anyway, they are a very not-new band, but after being inactive for like a decade (as far as I was concerned, anyway) they have just released a new album titled Horizons. It's a pretty fun album, but I'm only going to share one song, How Long. But go listen to the whole thing. It's a fun one.

So those three songs are pretty much what I had planned as a single blog. But I'm going to just keep going and share a few more songs. So up next we have Blue Material, a project of Toronto musician Thom Gillies. He's only got one self-titled album, and to be honest it's a bit boring. But there is one song on there that I love. That I have been listening to on repeat. And that is Cosmic Thunder. So great.

I'm gonna go against what I said up above about one-song each, though. I'm gonna give you two from Blue Material. Because there are only two good songs by him. But both of them are amazing. Super chill, 70s style, lo-fi. Lovely stuff. So the only other song I like by him (which I also really, really love) is the newest single Personal. This one was apparently supposed to be on the album, but didn't make it.

And we're going to go in a completely random other direction now with the last two artists, who were supposed to be on a blog of their own together. We're moving back to the female singer songwriters I love so much, starting out with beabadoobee. First, can we just recognize what a great name that is? I love it. And she's also pretty great. That lo-fi bedroom rock, a la Girl in Red. Hazy, lo-fi bedroom rock. Such a good sound. I'm super into it. Apparently she's only been writing music for 2 years, and she managed to grab the internet's attention with her very first song when she was 17. Which is quite impressive. And to make it better, that was right after she'd moved from the Philippines to London. Talk about a dream come true! Anyway, she's quite good, and I don't really know what song to share, but I want to share something, so I'm gonna share She Plays Bass, which is the first song I heard by her, and it really caught my attention





Back to Toronto for the next lady, Daniela Andrade. Toronto by way of Guatemala, anyway. I've just found her last week when she released her new single Ayayai, which is a wonderful, sexy, jazzy, slinky Spanish song. It's off her upcoming EP Tamale (yum.), which she's released quite a few singles from, I think. Well, she's released quite a few singles, and has a couple of older albums. The new singles are all pretty good. She reminds me a lot of Tei Shi, actually. So definitely looking forward to that Tamale. And for now really enjoying Ayayai. Especially that woo-wee-woo-wee-woo-wee guitary bit.





Ok, last song! I promise! That makes 8 in one blog! Must be a record for me. But this is what happens when I get busy. I don't post. And then I'm afraid I'll forget about songs. And hence I may stop the blog and just start making playlists. Because my rule now is that I can only put songs onto the blog playlist if they're on the blog. And I only have my blog playlist. So that needs to change. But anyway, here's one more I want to share with you. Sore Loser//, by KennyHoopla. The Ohio native is apparently classified as alt-R&B. He's only got 4 songs out, which, until Sore Loser// came out, were released on per year for the last 3 years. Then we got 2 singles in 2019. The others are just ok, but I do really like Sore Loser//. So that's what we're ending on today. And with that, you've made it through the long blog! Go enjoy the music!

Sept 23 - The Lumineers / Christelle Bofale

Man I've been away for a long time. I'll write a bunch of stuff later, but basically I've been very busy and very unmotivated, and have not wanted to write anything. In fact, I think I might stop writing my blog altogether. I'll finish out the year, but that may be it. We'll see. I really do it as an exercise for myself to keep track of the music I like during the year, but I can always just keep making Spotify playlists, like I'm doing anyway, and just not write. Would be much easier.

Anyway, I do want to at least share two songs for now. Songs I've meant to share for weeks. And there are others to share as well, but today we'll start with these two.

The first one is Donna, the opening track on The Lumineers new album, III. Absolutely gorgeous song. I have listened to it on repeat so many times. I've listened to the whole album quite a few times, actually. I was never such a huge fan of theirs, but this album is, by far, their best. And this song in particular is amazing. So it's gotta be shared.




And up next we have Origami Dreams by Christelle Bofale. This song randomly came on on Spotify, and I loved it right away. It's off the debut EP, Swim Team, by Christelle, who hails from Austin. Great song, great EP, and great new artist to keep track of.

Aug 15 - Angel Olsen / Big Thief

It's the last day at the office for me, and I'm headed to New Zealand for the food festival tonight! I can't wait. This day seriously can't end soon enough.

So I'll kill a bit of time with this blog. And I'll tell you about bonsai. There's not much to tell, but I went to a bonsai lecture the other day. I've been to a few lectures at the Japan Foundation since moving here. Generally they get someone over from Japan to talk about their career or hobby or whatever. I previously went to a lecture from a photographer, then a female sumo wrestler, and the other night I went to a lecture from a bonsai master.

The guy explained about bonsai to us, and the concepts behind it and how to think about it. Which was very interesting, because it's not just tiny trees. It's really the idea of taking these trees from nature, or growing them, and recreating a minimalistic, somewhat abstract environment in a pot, that mimics reality. You're supposed to think about how trees would actually grow and change in nature, and try to prune or shape the tree to mirror that. But then the interesting thing to me was also how some of the trees they end up shaping look so unnatural in a way, but everything they've done has taken nature into consideration. After the lecture the guy actually shaped a tree for about 45 minutes, which was fascinating. I'm a bit obsessed I think. Luckily there is a bonsai society in Sydney, so I may try to go to a few events of theirs. They have an annual exhibition coming up, but sadly it's during my next trip to Europe. I'd love to try my hand at bonsai, even, but I think I'm gone too much to actually care for a bonsai tree. Maybe one day.

Now for today's music. I shared The New Pornographers' new single the other day, and much like they are a band I'm not crazy about who have a great new single, so does Big Thief. They actually put out an album earlier this year, called U.F.O.F., which was nice, as most of their music is. But they are actually going to put out a second album in 2019 (much like Foals), and that one is called Two Hands, due out in October. The first single, Not, came with the album announcement earlier this week, and I actually think it may be their best song to date. I really, really like it. So that's where we're starting today.





Then we have the new single from Angel Olsen, All Mirrors. This was also the first single off her upcoming album, also called All Mirrors, released with the album announcement. And the album is also due out in October. It's also a great song, but I do actually like her more than I like Big Thief or The New Pornographers. I don't think she's amazing or anything, but she's good and she's got some great songs which have appeared on my blog previously. And this is a strong start for the next album. Looking forward to all 3 now!

Aug 13 - Marika Hackman

So Nikki got stuck here over the weekend. She was supposed to leave on Friday night, but a huge typhoon came through Shanghai and the airport closed. So she got stuck here for 2 more days. It was a bit hectic getting everything sorted out, but in the end she had to reschedule all her flights and she went directly from Sydney, which was a plus. But it was also more expensive. But she got two more days here, and didn't get stuck in the airport in Kuala Lumpur for 48 hours, which is what would have probably happened. So we got to spend the weekend together before she left, and she made it out safe and sound on Sunday. It was a pretty chill weekend, I guess. Just went to a few markets, ate a bunch more, and had a barbecue.

Oh! Which reminds me! I won a meat raffle! That is anything but ordinary. So a meat raffle is exactly what it sounds like. And many pubs do them. Me being me, once I learned about it I obviously wanted to take part in one. And then by chance I found out that the pub next to my house does them on Friday nights. By chance I mean I was in the pub with Nikki a week ago and they asked if we wanted to buy tickets. So we did. And we lost. But then we were back there for a pre-airport drink last Friday and this time we won! So we then grilled it up on Sunday and it was extremely tasty. And Nikki also got to partake because of the delays. Win-win.

Ok now on to music. Today is Marika Hackman, who has just released her new album Any Human Friend. She's been on my radar for a couple of years, since her last album, pretty much. I don't remember what exactly I had heard by her, but I just remember a while after the last album came out something came onto a playlist and I liked it a lot and did a bit of follow up, but not a lot. Well now that the new one is out, I've followed up. And it's a good one. In fact, she kind of reminds me of St. Vincent. So up first is the one, my favorite track off the album.

And then we'll throw in one more good one, which will be any human friend, the title/closing track on the album. Less St. Vincent-y than the one, but still great.

Aug 9 - KOKOKO!

So happy it's Friday. But not so happy that it's Nikki's last day here. I have to take her to the airport tonight, but her flight isn't until 10pm so we'll be able to have dinner. Plus I'm leaving the office at noon since I have a meeting in the city at 1 and won't come back. So I get most of the day with her, which is nice. And then I'm going home to sit alone and not talk to anyone for the first time in like 3 weeks. That will also be very nice.

For today's music we're heading to Africa. Specifically the Democratic Republic of Congo to listen to KOKOKO!, a new music collective who have just released their first album, Fongola. I have no idea what they are singing about, but I love it. It is super fun. So we'll start off with Likolo, the opening track on the album, which is one of my favorites.





So the band started making music together at block parties, fusing traditional music with electronic elements, thanks to producer Makara Bianko, and then threw in a bunch of dancers. Who are on full display in the videos. And in Azo Toke, I love the masks and costumes. This was actually the first song I heard by them and it instantly caught my attention.





But Azo Toke is still not one of my favorites. My other favorite is probably Tongos'a. So you'll get a third song today.

Aug 6 - Joyero / The New Pornographers

Things are still quite stressful at work. And quite boring. Fun combination. I have very little to do a lot of the time, and there are things outstanding, that I'm basically just waiting around for, which are stressing me out. Who doesn't love that? But I'm trying not to focus on that. Let's focus instead on Nikki's visit.

So my friend Nikki is here visiting from Shanghai. She's a teacher, so she gets like 6 weeks summer break, 4 of which she spent at home in the UK, and 2 of which she's spending here. She's been doing her own thing during the day, since I have to work and all, but in the evenings we basically just go eat stuff. There really isn't so much to do at night here. And we're not that into just going out drinking and trying bars. We have done a couple of fun activities, like a concert and some other random events I've found out about, but it's also just been a few nights of going out for dinner for a couple hours, then a walk (or maybe walk first) and then back home to watch a bit of TV before bed. It's kind of like my normal schedule, but not alone. So I like it!

We've only got a few nights left actually, and we do have plans these nights. Tonight we're going to Bennelong, which is the fancy place at the Opera House. And tomorrow we're supposed to go to pub trivia, but we might go to a listening party for the new Bon Iver album instead. They're holding them in cities around the world, and there's one here in Sydney. My friend who was going to come to pub quiz is totally on board for Bon Iver, just gotta see if Nikki is. But I would much rather do that and hear the album 3 weeks early! Plus I've never been to a listening party, so should be fun.

Then we also had the weekend, where we just drank all night Friday and Saturday, bought stuff all day Saturday (I have a problem. For real, though), watched some roller derby Saturday night (Harry Potter themed no less), and then took a little day trip down to Kiama on Sunday, about 2 hours south. It was pretty chill, actually, but we did so much it felt super long. Plus all that drinking didn't help. We got like 6 hours of sleep a night. Oh! And we did the backstage tour at the Opera House on Saturday morning. That was great. I've been wanting to do it for a while and been waiting for someone to visit. Only problem is it's only at 7am so you can get in before they start setting up for shows. Which means I can only do it on the weekend. When I don't want to wake up to start a tour at 7am. But we did it. And after staying up until 1am, no less. Which was also not the plan, but you know how one beer turns into like twelve and then it's very late? Well that happened.

Ok, let me give you some music now. We'll start of with Joyero. This is the new solo project from Andy Stack, the drummer for Wye Oak. I didn't even know he sang. But apparently he does. And while Jenn Wasner is off making her own music as Flock of Dimes and then officially joining Bon Iver last week, I guess he felt like he should also go do something. Not that he hasn't been doing anything, but something for himself this time. His debut album, Release the Dogs, is coming out later this month, and he's put out 3 singles so far. All of them are quite good, but the newest one, Steepest Stairs, is my favorite so far.





Second song for today is Falling Down The Stairs of Your Smile, the lead single from The New Pornographers upcoming album, In The Morse Code of Brake Lights. I have to say, I am not a fan of The New Pornographers. I should be. They make exactly the type of music I love. Think Broken Social Scene and Arcade Fire. Along those lines. But for some reason, I just don't really like them. But this new song, this one is great. So maybe I'll finally get it? It is a great song title, and I do like this one, so we're at least headed in the right direction.

Aug 2 - HAIM / Junaco / Twen

We'll go with some female music today. Meaning music made by females. Or at least sung by females, I guess. The first one is all female, but then we're onto male/female duos.

Anyway, exciting new release of the week is Summer Girl, the new single from HAIM! This is the first song since 2017, when they released Something to Tell You. They had been teasing it for the last couple weeks, with a couple of live clips of the song as well, which, to be honest, did not excite me very much. I actually thought the song did not sound very good from the live clips they were releasing. But actually, I like it! It's a solid single. No word on any album or anything yet, but it's a good start for something to be released in 2020, I'd say.

And now on to a couple of new boy/girl duos, but fronted by women, so I'm counting it as female music, and making that the unifying theme of the day. First is Junaco, a pretty relaxed, rocky little band from Northern California. They just put out their debut EP, Awry, 2 weeks ago, and it's a pretty chilled out little number. The opening track, In Between, is what brought them to my attention last month, so I'll leave that one here.

And lastly we move to the east coast for Twen, a new band out of Boston. They do have a live EP from a while ago, that apparently got them some buzz and kept them touring for a while, and now they're starting to release studio recorded songs, I guess in the run-up to some official EP or album. They make pretty great rock, the dreamy song that blooms. Case in point: Baptism, which is my favorite track by them, but I'm loving everything so far.

Aug 1 - BANKS

I'm still on the not very talkative train. But I want to share my two favorite songs off of BANKS's new album, III, which came out a couple weeks ago.

The first is the opening track, Till Now.





And the second is the closing track, What About Love. This one in particular has been on repeat a lot. Other than these two, the album is decent. It's probably her worst to date, I'd say 1st was super strong and it's been downhill from there. But it's still a good album. Definitely worth listening to. A few times, even.

Jul 31 - Brittany Howard / Billy Lemons

So this week has not gotten much better, workwise. It's just a pretty shitty week. But I'm glad Nikki is here so I can relax and unwind in the evenings by going out and doing stuff together, rather than sitting at home alone and letting it all fester. So that's good. But the good thing is new songs which I'll share with you.

Up first is Brittany Howard. You may know her as the singer for Alabama Shakes, and she is now getting ready to release a solo album. It'll be called Jaime, after her sister who passed away when she was a teenager, and will be out next month. She had previously released a really weird song called History Repeats, which I was not a huge fan of. But the new single, Stay High, is really nice. Some beautiful vocals on this one. I'm used to her being much more rough on the Alabama Shakes stuff, but this one is super soulful and super chill. And it's got Terry Crews in the music video, so what's not to love?





The other new find for the week is Billy Lemos, a producer from Iowa or Ohio or Illinois or one of those states. I don't remember. Anyway his new song Dive In came up on a playlist and I have it on repeat this week. Not sure what it's from or what the guy is doing, but he's already got a couple EPs out that re just ok. But this song is fantastic.

Jul 29 - BEA1991 / Jesca Hoop

I just spent the weekend in the Gold Coast with my friend Nikki who's just arrived. But then I came back last night and slept really shittily and I'm too tired to think enough to write about it. So I'm just gonna give you some pretty music.

I'm gonna share 2 artists who put out very pretty albums recently. Despite being very pretty, the albums were just ok. A bit same-samey for me. But still some great songs. So let's start out very chill with BEA1991's song loser wins.

So BEA1991 is apparently the renaming of the Dutch artist formerly known as BEA, who now has an album out called Brand New Adult under this new name. And like I said, it's super pretty. But the prettiest is definitely the closing track, the dream. This one's been on repeat. That little piano loop just gets me. And then the little dings and dongs that come in about halfway. And literally everything else about it. Just so relaxing and pretty and dreamy.

Then we've got Red White and Black, by far the best song on Jesca Hoop's newest album Stonechild. Which also has amazing cover art. I love it. And the album is also really nice. Actually both this album and BEA1991's album I do really like sometimes. It really depends on my mood. When I'm in the right mood I'll happily listen to the whole thing. But if I'm not, then it does get a bit same-samey. But Jesca Hoop's got some great vocal arrangements in this one (props up to Lucius for also being featured on the album). But nothing beats Red White and Black. Another one that sits on repeat.

Jul 26 - Friendly Fires / black midi

This week was a bit all over the place, emotionally. High highs and low lows. Pretty stressful week at work, but it was balanced out by 3 fantastic concerts. Monday was definitely the worst day at work, because all the trouble I've been having with one employee for the last year has come to a head. So I was feeling pretty shitty. But then I went to see Friendly Fires and danced my blues away. Literally. But I know it was bad because I normally don't drink at concerts, but I drank a pretty decent amount that night, and for maybe the second time ever in my life I actually wanted to get wasted. Like had the strong desire to do so. But I did not do so.

So our first song for the day is Run The Wild Flowers, the newest single from Friendly Fires. Just came out today (or maybe yesterday), and it's a good one.




Monday was the worst, but the rest of the week was also pretty stressful. Just trying to finalize a couple of pretty time-sensitive things which had big values of money riding on them and which could upset many people. But it's all sort of worked out so far. And today was a really good day. Probably in part due to the James Blake and Childish Gambino concerts I also went to. Both of which were fantastic. I knew James Blake would be, because I've seen him before and I love him and would be happy to just sit there and listen to him sing all night with a piano and no real show. So that was a given. Then I had very high expectations for Childish Gambino, and was not disappointed. In fact, my high expectations were exceeded. I love Donald Glover, but honestly not crazy about Childish Gambino. I like him well enough, but not crazy about him. But live is a whole other story. He just blew it out of the park. And the set and the lights and the show were incredible. Seriously the best light system I've ever seen at any show. I was mesmerized.

And then last night my friend Anna had a dinner party, and I finally got to meet all of her friends she's been telling me about for the last year, and they were awesome. I was exhausted and thought I'd stay for like 2 hours, but in the end it was really nice and I was there till like 10. And to think I almost flaked!

Also, it's been a year since I got here! This week was 1 year. Crazy. It's gone so fast.

Ok, but  now on to the real reason we're here, which is the Mercury Prize. The finalists were announced yesterday, and it's kind of a weird list, I think. There's some really good British albums that should be on there, if you ask me, that aren't. Like James Blake. But then there's stuff like Foals (they're always on there. Deservedly so). And stuff like black midi. I don't really know what to say about black midi. They are very strange. So let's start with ducter, which is maybe low level strange?





This one was not a grower. This one I liked right away. But this band is a grower. And they're still growing on me. They remind me of like a million things, but nothing I can lay my finger on. And the album, Schlagenheim, is.... weird. But good. Really good. I think? I'm not sure yet. But I'm going to keep listening. And that's why I think they should win the Mercury Prize this year. Anyway, here's another great song: western.

Jul 25 - Bibio

I do not particularly want to write a blog today. I'm just very tired. It has been a long week at work. The only thing that has made the week better is the wonderful concerts I've been to (3 shows, Mon, Tues and Wed). And I have some new music to share, but I still need to figure out exactly which songs. But I have a bit of time at work to fill so I'm gonna finish some old posts I wanted to share.

Which means today you get Bibio. This guy is pretty weird and pretty all over the place. Which is not a bad way to describe someone, coming from me. But this guy is also very hit or miss. But he's put out a new album this year (every album he makes seriously sounds like a different artist) and it's pretty nice. It's called Ribbons. And that's pretty much all I've got today. Brain just officially stopped. Luckily I get to home in an hour. Anyway here's one good song called Curls.





And here's another good song called Old Graffiiti.

Jul 19 - Blood Cultures / Penelope Isles

This week has felt extremely long. I spent Monday and Tuesday in Auckland, flying back Wednesday morning, and then didn't come into the office Wednesday. And yesterday just had one meeting in the morning before coming in for the afternoon. So I've actually only had a day and a half in the office. But for some reason, it's just felt so long. No idea why.

I did also go to one concert this week, which was a great one. Double billing of Warpaint and Foals. Warpaint was opening, which makes sense since they haven't released music in a few years, and Foals just put out an album this year. A great one. And they have another coming in September. But I still think Warpaint is my favorite of the two, and I would love to have seen a full set from them, not just an elongated opening set. Only sad part about it is neither band played the songs I really wanted to hear (Elephants and Undertow from Warpaint, Out of the Woods and This Orient from Foals). But still, overall great show. And tonight is Local Natives! Should have been SZA, and I still have a SZA ticket that's going to waste, sadly, since it's not sold out and I can't find anyone to buy mine. Sad also cause I would love to see her, but I think she'll be back here before Local Natives are. Plus I'm super excited to see Local Natives because it's Local Natives, and it's in a super tiny venue. That was also a big deciding factor. No idea when I'll get the chance to see them in such an intimate venue again.

OK, so on to a bit of music. We'll start with Blood Cultures. I found them the same time that I found Fell Runner, who I shared last week. They're not as mind-blowingly amazing as Fell Runner, but the first song I heard, Best For You, which is their latest single, is extremely strong. And they're very interesting. Apparently they always wear balaclavas and nobody knows who they are, not even their publicist. They just want you to listen to their music. So let's start listening.





Best for You is off some future album called Oh Uncertainty! A Universe Despairs, that's coming out in September. There are a couple other singles out already, but they're just ok. Luckily they do already have one album out called Happy Birthday, from back in 2017. It's a pretty solid album, actually. They apparently got a bunch of buzz going with it as well, then disappeared. One of the songs that I like was particularly popular, I've read, and that's Mercury Child.




The other one I really do love by them, though, is Moon. Great track. Actually, I think I'm going to go listen to this album again. Just for good measure.




I'm also sharing my song of the week, which has been Gnarbone. This is off Until The Tide Creeps In, the debut album from Brighton brother-sister duo Penelope Isles. They just put out the album last Friday, and I have yet to give it a really proper listen. From the cursory one I did give it, it was nice, but Gnarbone was definitely the standout track. Reminds me of Broken Social Scene. But the rest of the album didn't. So maybe just not what I expected, but anyway definitely going to be listening again.

Jul 12 - Flume / sir Was / Caroline Polachek

This has felt like the longest week ever. I already told you there's a lot of travel these days, but I sometimes have these day trips to nearby cities, usually Brisbane, sometimes Melbourne. This week I had both. They generally entail a 6am flight and getting home between 6 and 10pm. So very long days, which takes away from doing anything fun. And they often also involve sitting in an airport for hours if I finish up my meetings early. Which is what happened Wednesday, plus an hour and a half delay. Good times. So yeah, it's been a long week. And I am so ready for the weekend.

And before the weekend, here's a bit of music. I'm playing catch-up on new tracks from when I was home. We'll start out with Flume, who I'm not such a huge fan of, but he's got a new single called Let You Know, with vocals by Hannah Reid of London Grammar. And it's a great song. Should be the first track from some new album, and if this is the direction he's heading, then I may actually really like this one.





Then we move to Sweden, where we have a Deployed, the first track from Holding On To A Dream, the new album from sir Was. He's apparently put out a couple of releases previously, but I'd never heard of him. And now he comes along with this great, little track, featuring none other than Yukimi Nagano of Little Dragon.





Lastly, instead of playing you producers who are featuring someone from another band, let's flip it and give you someone who's gone solo from her band. That would be Caroline Polacheck. She's getting ready to release an album using her own name for the first time. But she was (still is?) the singer for Chairlift. And has put out a solo album previously, but under a stage name. And now that I know who she is, I can totally recognize the voice. Anyway, she's got her first single under her own name, and it's called Door, and it's real pretty.

Jul 11 - Fell Runner

This has been (and will continue to be) a crazy month for travel. Like the busiest I've had since moving to Australia. It's like I'm back in Asia!

I got home from the US on Monday morning last week, and on Tuesday was on a plane to Auckland for a couple of nights. And then this week I had to go to Brisbane Monday and Melbourne yesterday. Next week it's back to Auckland for a couple of nights, and again to Brisbane the week after that. And then my friend Nikki is coming so we're going away for the 2 weekends she's here. And then she leaves around August 9 and a week later I'm going to New Zealand again for the Wellington food festival, and a week after that it's off to Europe for 2 weeks for work and a wedding, and then back here and I'll probably have to be back in New Zealand like right away after that, and at the end of September it's Thailand for a week with my sister, and then a week after that back to Germany again for some meetings, and then it's mid-October! I don't think I have any other trips I know of between now and then.... Not that I can think of at the moment... But I do feel like I'm missing something...

And at the same time, I've signed up for Hinge, another dating app, which seems to actually work quite well, so I'm trying to go on dates. Which with my schedule is not easy. But the way Hinge works, you can see who likes you even if you don't like them. And it turns out Jewish women like me! Which is convenient. I like them too. Now I just need to actually find time to meet them.

I also do not have as much time as I would like for music. I always fall behind when I'm travelling. But I have recently found an amazing band called Fell Runner, who I am very excited about. They're an LA band, and the closest thing I can think of is Adult Jazz. So, weird. But we all know I love weird! First up is Same Way. Wonderful weirdness, a bit all over the place, but so interesting and tasty.






So Same Way is off of their debut album, Talking, which came out last month. Which, much like Adult Jazz did when they released their debut, may end up in my top 10 this year. Cause I love this album. It's not only Adult Jazz-y, but there's also a lot of Dirty Projectors in there. And both of these are excellent comparisons. What's not to love, really? Interestingly, my other favorite track off the song is the title track, Talking, which, as you may have guessed, is a spoken track. I hate spoken tracks. Generally speaking anyway. But there's so much more to this than just talking. It's not singing either, though. It's just crazy. So crazy. And so good. Those guitars! The whole album is so good.

Jul 8 - Thom Yorke / The National

I'm back from the US and just going to drop in a couple of songs here that really kind of need no introduction. During my trip I did not have the time I usually have (at the office and in the car alone) to listen to my music, so I have some catching up to do. I do have a couple of wonderful new things to share with you, but I'm going to share a few wonderful, new things from not-new people who don't need much of an introduction.

And first up is Thom Yorke, who you probably know, but just in case he's in the singer from Radiohead. He put out a new album last week, Anima, which is fantastic. And the opening track, Traffic, is fantastic. The whole thing is gorgeous, but Traffic in particular is wonderful. And I've noticed that he does a great job with opening tracks. When I heard it, the exact same thing happened to me as when I listened to Amok, the album by his supergroup Atoms for Peace. I actually remember it vividly. I was in Kenya on a business trip and I was staying in a hotel that I don't normally stay in (and actually it was the only time I ever stayed there) and I when I got into the room and got onto wifi I put on the album that had just been released, the opening track Before Your Very Eyes came on, and I immediately went "oh shit." In fact, I'm talking about it so much, I'm just going to add the song to the blog post, which was not my intention.





So good, right? Well the same thing happened with Traffic when I heard that. Maybe not as quickly, the "oh shit" probably came in at 0:38 when that low, bassline thing starts. And this time I was in my car leaving the office. Not as fun. But just as good, musically.




And you know what? Since we're on incredible opening tracks by Thom Yorke, I'll throw in The Eraser as well. It's the opening track off of his first solo album, The Eraser, back in like 2006. And also gorgeous. Not an immediate "oh shit" moment like the other two songs. And actually, maybe no "oh shit" moment. But just in general, what a gorgeous song.





And then we're going to talk about The National. I've already put them on the blog recently, when they put out the first single from the new album, I Am Easy To Find. But especially when I was home I listened to the album a lot. I think it's definitely their best work since High Violet. I love how they've incorporated all kinds of new, female vocalists into it. I really just love everything about this album. Definitely a contender for 2019's top spot. And while I was home they released Australia tour dates. For March 2020. It's crazy that they released it so early, but what's even crazier is they're going to play 2 nights in the same venue Elton John is playing. And I think Elton John only gets one night. But I could be wrong about that. But anyway, it's insane. I know they're big for an indie band, but never thought they were Elton John big. I still don't think they are. But I bought tickets for both nights, because I love them so much and they're one of the best concerts I've ever been to. So I'm going to share Oblivions with you, which may be my favorite track on the album.




Actually, it's not my favorite. I love it. But I think Where Is Her Head is my favorite. But ask me again tomorrow, it will probably change. So in the spirit of this blog post which ended up much longer and with much more music than I intended, I'll also throw Where Is Her Head in for good measure.

June 13 - AURORA / Rhye

Today turned out to be a very busy day. It always happens this way. Monday is a holiday, Tuesday and Wednesday are not at all busy, and then everything comes up all at once on Thursday. The actual days may change, but it's always this way right before vacation. And I have to go to this work event thing tonight that I really don't want to go to. So my day will only end at like 10pm. Fun. So today I was very stressed and busy and won't be done any time soon. So I'm playing you some lovely, de-stressifying music that I've been wanting to share.

We'll go in chronological order, so starting with Rhye. Rhye put out a really-damn-good album last year, called Blood, and has now put out a pretty-good EP, called Spirit. This one lies somewhere between the nice-but-unimpressive level of the first album, and pretty-damn-good level of the second album. But there is one pretty-damn-good song on this EP in particular, called Wicked Dreams. So we start with that today. I love this song. I love the the pick up at about 2:45, the the little loopy guitar at like 3:30, but really just all of it. It just keeps getting better, this song.




And then we've got Aurora. I may have mentioned her earlier this year because I went to her concert and it was really good. Really fun. And there were floating, light-up jellyfish. She's a total weirdo and I love it. So, similar to Rhye, she put out an EP last year, called Infections of a Different Kind (Step I), followed by an album this year, called A Different Kind Of Human (Step II). Last year I had shared the best song off of that EP, Queendom, which is probably still her best song. But now the title track of the new EP, A Different Kind Of Human, is right up there with my favorite songs by her. So that's your track 2 for today.

Jun 11 - FOXTROTT / Aldous Harding / Norma Tanega

Finally time to catch up on the trip I took with my parents! So after their time in Sydney we went on this train called The Ghan, which is a train that runs straight through the middle of the country from Darwin in the north to Adelaide in the south, taking 4 days / 3 nights. It's kind of like a cruise on rails. You have your cabin on the train and all your meals and drinks and stuff are included, and then you get off every day for excursions, which are also included in the price of the trip. I had been really wanting to do this since I first learned about it last year, and I thought it was the perfect thing to do with my parents. A lot of the activities in Australia are outdoorsy and quite physical, which can be tough on older folks, but this catered specifically to older folks so it wasn't too physically strenuous. It also takes you right through the heart of the outback to show you some of the most desolate and inaccessible parts of the country, which would normally take hours and hours over days and days to do if you drove by yourself. So this way you can just relax and do it, with showers and meals cooked for you.

The trip from north to south makes a stop in Katherine the first day to visit the Katherine Gorge, then in Alice Springs the second day, and Coober Pedy on the third day, before dropping you off in Adelaide on the fourth morning.

The first stop, Katherine Gorge, is in the Nitmiluk National Park, and is known as Nitmiluk Gorge in the local aboriginal language. We just had a short cruise down the Gorge, followed by a quick walk up to see some ancient paintings that date back thousands of years. Northern Australia is famous for it's crocodiles in the water, so we were told to be careful, but we were there in the mid-afternoon heat, so sadly did not get to see any for ourselves. But the gorge itself is (dare I say it...) gorgeous. It's all these cliffs cut by rivers at 90 degree angles, and the way the guide explained it there are natural breaks in the rock which ran perpendicular to each other, and at some point there was seismic activity that pushed it all up. So imagine if you score half a mango then flip it inside out. Kind of like that. Then the rivers run in between the cubes of mango. And the cave paintings were also really impressive, mainly in scale. They were pretty basic as far as art goes, but some of them were these massive paintings done about 20 feet up on a cliff face, and nobody is actually sure how they got there. There's plenty of theories, but no real answer.

Then it was back on the train for dinner and sleep, before our big day in Alice Springs. We opted to pay for an upgraded excursion this day, so we hopped on a little 6-seater plane and flew over to Uluru, which you may know as Ayers Rock. It's about an hour flight, but they take you for a scenic flight around the rock. And it's not the only rock there. You can see some other ones way off in the distance, but about a 45 min drive (or a 5 min flight) away are The Olgas, also known as Kata Tjuta. This is a similar set of rock monoliths, but while Uluru is one massive rock, Kata Tjuta is made up of like 35 different monoliths spread out over a larger area creating valleys in between. Both are sacred sites for the local aboriginal communities, but because Uluru is the largest monolith in the world it is more famous. What pictures you've seen of it actually only show the tip. It's kind of like an iceberg, and it extends down into the ground for like 2.5 kilometers. While Uluru itself is very impressive, I actually think Kata Tjuta is more interesting. It looks completely different from every angle, and I wish we had time to explore the valleys between the monoliths, but with our limited time we only got a tour around Uluru. Which was great. The guide was fantastic and extremely knowledgeable about the local traditions, people and environment. It was probably the best information I've gotten since moving to Australia about aboriginal populations in Australia. And she recommended me some books and stuff so I can learn more. So it was extremely informative and very impressive to see this world famous landmark that I've been wanting to see since I was a kid. After the flight back they had arranged an outback barbecue for us for dinner at an old telegraph station, that came with camel rides (there are thousands of wild camels all over the outback, not that we saw any, but they're there), and an astronomy lesson. It was a really nice evening, then back onto the train for one more night.

The last day was in Coober Pedy, which is a famous opal mining town. But it's real claim to fame is that it's an underground town. At least for tourists that's the interesting part, anyway. Homes and shops and churches and everything have been carved out underground to keep out of the heat, because it can get over 110 F / 50 C in summer. So they took us around town and showed us some of the mines and underground houses and stuff, which was interesting enough, but definitely the least interesting day for me. Then it was sundowners and canapes in the middle of nowhere before hopping back on the train for our last night.

Sadly, our stops in Darwin and Adelaide on the way in and out were just airport stops, no time to actually explore, but we did plenty on the train and had a really wonderful time. I would highly recommend it to anyone who comes to Australia. Although it is definitely geared at very old people. There were very few people under 50 on the train. Like 6, myself included.

Then it was back to Sydney for a couple more nights to go to our family bar (there's a bar called Minskys here!), do some souvenir shopping, pack, and see the Vivid lights since it had just started. Overall, really great trip with my parents. Very nice time together, really relaxed trip, they really liked Australia, and I hope to have them back soon. But before that, I'm going home to see them Saturday.

And before that, I'm sharing music with you. Today is 3 good songs from 3 decent artists. First up is FOXTROTT. I don't actually remember where I heard FOXTROTT, but I heard the song Better With You and loved it. This is off a set of 3 EPs she released in 2018, then repackaged at the end of the year into an album titled Meditations I-II-III. Overall a decent listen, but Better With You is by far the best song, so we'll just share that.





Then we'll move away from the glitchy electronics and into some good old singer-songwriter territory. First we move from Montreal (FOXTROTT) way down south to New Zealand, with Aldous Harding. She just put out her third album, Designer, a couple of months ago. The first single off of this album was The Barrel, which came out last year and is fantastic and I don't know how I haven't already shared. It's such a great song. So good that it got me super excited for the album and made me go back and listen to her other two albums. And I'm sad to say she's a bit boring. But The Barrel is fantastic. I have to share it with you.





And lastly we're sticking with singer-songwriter stylings, but moving back in time and back up north to the US with Norma Tanega. The Californian is most famous a a songwriter (and partner) for Dusty Springfield, but she also released her own album called Walkin' My Cat Named Dog back in 1966. That was her only album, and then she's been working as a percussionist and musician on other projects since then, but never released another album of her own. But I've just started watching the new What We Do In The Shadows TV show (which you should also do) and they use her song You're Dead as the theme song. And it's a great song. Short and sweet, classic folk sound, like most of her album. The album is definitely worth a listen, it's very good, but nothing that really stands out as unique. Just good old folk music.