Awesome Autumn

I’ve never been a huge fan of summer months. BBQs in the park where my Quorn fillets are prodded with meaty cleavers. Having to pretend to be fine with the massive wasp dancing over my drink. The intense heat keeping next door’s kids awake all night whilst they wail fervently all night long. Weeing in portaloos almost every weekend. Generally being a grumpy spoilt season brat. But the one thing that’s really making me look forward to the forthcoming autumnal months are all of the AMAZING album’s that are due out.

After seeing them live at the Serpentine Sessions on a small podium (‘podium’ adds an air of stripper sassiness, ‘bandstand’ would probably be more appropriate) Smoke Fairies’ ethereal charm completely bowled me over. When their debut album ‘Through Low Light And Trees’ arrived in the post a week or so ago, I was once again bowled over, their LP is full of the most swoon-some folk and expansive guitars I’d heard since Ryan Adams ran off with Mandy Moore. Other debut albums that have tickled my fancy are the psychedelic swirls of Tame Impala’s ‘Innerspeaker’, the crackling, visceral new wave cool of Crocodiles’ ‘Sleep Forever’, Violens’ Smiths-tinged and slick and sauntering ‘Amoral’ and Crystal Fighters’ incessantly pounding and exhilaratingly abrasive ‘Star Of Love’. I’m also very much looking forward to the long-awaited Dinosaur Pile-Up album arriving on my desk. HURRY UP BIGLAND AND CO.!

As well as all of that fresh young meat, there are some stellar releases coming-up from some old timers. Most notably Interpol’s deeply stirring self-titled LP (read Niall’s First Listen HERE), DD/MM/YYYY’s typically eclectic, noise drenched and brilliantly peculiar new album ‘Black Square’, and The Bees‘ third album. I’ve only heard a few songs from it so far, but from what I’ve heard it’s very likely they’ll match The Coral for the most fuzzily nostalgic, euphonically harmonious release of the year. I’m still watering at the mouth to hear the new Walkmen, Deerhunter and Blonde Redhead albums. Please don’t disappoint me oh wondrous ones! Finally, the absolute highlight of September scheduled releases has got to be Edwyn Collins’ ‘Losing Sleep’. As you probably know (click HERE if not), it features a plethora of indie frontmen ready and able to assist Collins’ with his return to music after his double brain haemorrhage. Not that he needs it; this album showcases some of the best material he has ever written. Uplifting, honest, simplistic and insanely catchy, it’s going to be a staple on my stereo for a very long time. Well, until that new Milburn album shows its face, anyway…