Rolling on

Peter Wolf - A Cure for Loneliness (2016) ***

Nominated by: GK

Music club: Wander to Wozza's

Playlist addition: Rolling On

Peter Wolf was the voice of the J Geils Band (John Geils being their lead guitarist) until the early eighties. So he has a very recognisable voice, which comes in handy, but can also be a problem if he sings rock songs (like the Rolling Stones sounding 'live' track - Wastin' Time) or a bluegrass version of Love Stinks because it's easy to compare him to his time with J Geils et al.

Sensibly, he takes on Americana shapes throughout this album, with loping drumbeats, acoustic guitars, fiddle, pedal steel, harmonica (not by Magic Dick though), mandolin, and lap steel guitar all contributing to a very non-rock tapestry for his easy vocals.

Rolling On is a great opener and the rest of the album's next seven songs are all pretty good. But then the end of the album kind of unravels thanks to another live song - a country tonk version of J Geil's Band's hit Love Stinks and then Mr. Mistake. Those songs are the kind of songs I know GK loves, but it riles up the flow and ambience too much for me, especially as it's followed by two weepy songs - Tragedy and Stranger.

All up - a very pleasant listening experience and good to hear him in another genre with that smooth delivery.

I know it's not forever

There's A Tuesday - Blush   (2025) ****

Nominated by: KS

Music club: Wander to Wozza's

Playlist addition: Margo

There's A Tuesday are on to something mighty fine with Blush even if the cover of the album and the band name are not great.. 

Band names sidebar - it's a tricky thing naming a band or these days naming yourself as a solo artist. It needs to be a catchy name, original, and it should encapsulate your sound/genre for recognition and sales (in this case the genre is indie rock like The Beths). Some examples of names that sum up the correct approach: The Rolling Stones; Raspberries; Th'Dudes; Hello Sailor...

So, There's A Tuesday to me sounds like a post rock band like Explosions in the Sky and that's not indie rock and that's therefore a potential barrier.

Cover image sidebar - what is going on here? A sleeping dog and a tiger mural? Some reference to let sleeping dogs lie or Life of Pi? Whatever - it doesn't scream indie rock of the quality of Blush. 

That brings me to the band members and the vocalist. The fab foursome is Nat Hutton and Minnie Robberds (both on guitar and vocals), Joel Becker (bass) and Gus Murray (drums). Minnie's vocals in particular are spectacular. At times she sounds like Elizabeth Stokes but the music isn't as spiky as that other fab foursome - The Beths. The Tuesdays (a better name) lean towards synth-pop as well which was pretty cool most of the time.

The album was best experienced by me this week as a kind of background sound while I marked and did some lesson planning. Not too many songs stood out even though I played the album every day. However, Margo and The City were two standouts.

Excellent introduction KS - another Kiwi gem with Minnie Robberds emerging as a star in the making.

Your new place

Racing Mount Pleasant - Racing Mount Pleasant (2025) ****

Nominated by: Lew

Music club: MNAC

MNAC playlist addition: Call it Easy

This album is a surprise in some ways and kind of annoying in others ways. 

First the good news - the album floats by with some lovely ambient infused ethereal sounds that are beguiling and intriguing. It's unusual and mysterious - that's code for - I often have no idea what's going on during these songs but I do know that the little moments of judicious alto and tenor sax are beautifully played and incorporated into the mix.

I played the album about a dozen times and every time I heard new little sounds that registered where I hadn't heard them before. I suspect this will continue to be the case until the end of days.

The length is a bit problematic for me. I had the sense that I needed to listen to the whole album uninterrupted, but I never could quite get there so, annoyingly, I feel I haven't been able to do the lads in Racing Mount Pleasant justice.

That said, I did love a lot of what they were producing. The other MNACers will no doubt find plenty of antecedents but to me it sounded pretty fresh and original (I did note some Silent Alliance style vocals during one song which was exciting).

That's pretty much it - I really enjoyed it and it fitted many listening contexts, so thanks Lew - sorry I don't sound more musically knowledgeable, but I know what I like!

Mississippi delta.

Bobbie Gentry - Ode to Billie Joe (1967) ****

Nominated by: GK

Music club: Wander to Wozza's

Playlist addition: Ode to Billie Joe

No surprise that this was a GK pick - I've known for a loooong time about his admiration for Bobbie Gentry. Only surprising that he's taken so long to get to it.

What an amazing year 1967 was. The year of Sgt. Pepper also saw the debut of a number of stellar artists: The Doors; Cat Stevens; Al Green; Procol Harum; David Bowie; Van Morrison; Arlo Guthrie; Jimi Hendrix; The Grateful Dead; The Velvet Underground; Pink Floyd; the mighty mighty Cowsills...and Bobbie Gentry!!

The mention of each one of those iconic artists immediately conjures up their signature sound. Bobbie Gentry is no exception. Her heavily accented Chickasaw County, Mississippi delivery immediately came to my mind when GK advanced Ode to Billie Joe as his AOTW.

One further sidebar: while at University I was drawn to the southern gothic world of Flannery O'Connor. I couldn't get enough of her short stories and novels.

Bobbie Gentry must have been a fan as well because each of the songs on her debut has a whiff of southern gothic about it. That helps give the album a thematic unity and the sparse instrumentation is perfect for these songs. Given all the first-person narratives it also feels autobiographical, which figures as Bobbie wrote all the songs (sings all the lead vocals and plays some appropriate acoustic guitar).

The key songs on the album are Mississippi Delta, Chickasaw County Child, Papa Won't You Let Me Go to Town With You and Ode to Billie Joe. Given that Ode was a huge single and it's placed last means that anticipation builds right through the album.

The song itself is a marvel of brilliant storytelling. It hints and teases and is so economical in approach, with loads of brilliant details that evoke all sorts of images. It's one of those rare songs that I never get tired of hearing, even though I've heard it hundreds of times.

For the most part the other songs complement those four standouts well and the only one that I skipped after the second listen was Bugs. I'm also not crazy about Lazy Willie.

Instrumentally, the album has a great sparse sound with some judicious use of harp, horns and violin. Having James Burton on the album doesn't hurt either. As for Bobbie - I don't think she ever sounded as raw and as authentic as she did here.

Awesome. 1967 eh? What a year!

We made it

Six60 - Right Here Right Now (2026) ***,

Nominated by: KS

Music club: Wander to Wozza's

Playlist addition: We Made It

Six60 is a pop rock band from Aotearoa. They are a big deal in NZ with the younger crowd, plus Kevy and mos probs GK as well! Previously, I have had them pegged as a boy band but they are actually four musicians - Matiu Walters (lead vocals, guitar), Ji Fraser (lead guitar), Chris Mac (drums, bass guitar), and Marlon Gerbes (guitar, bass guitar, synths).

Matiu has a sweet R&B delivery that is a bit like Bruno Mars at times (opening track Don't Talk is a case in point). While I really like that opening song, overall, I tend to prefer the jazzier, more experimental style of Fat Freddy's Drop to the pop-oriented approach of Six60.

Six60's debut album is a pretty straight-forward pop/rock album. After that they embraced synth-pop and now they've changed tack completely.

They have definitely embraced reggae as a genre on Right Here Right Now and that gives a sameness to the songs. Depends on your p.o.v. whether that's a weakness or a strength. As I said, I prefer the more varied approach from similar Nu Zild bands like L.A.B, Fat Freddy's Drop, and Katchafire.

Highlights for me all come early - Don't Talk, We Are Kings and Hurricane would be the three standouts for me. Plus, Father's Eyes is catchy and deals with anger and violence (like Red Mist) but presents things as a cautionary tale which feels like an important message for the band's audience. 

The lowlights - Red Mist - I have a problem with a jaunty style being used to create a very mixed picture of domestic violence. The male character is almost presented in heroic terms before we get to the line about using his fists. I skipped this one each time. Same Dirt - the drum sound immediately turned me off, and I found the lyrics a little trite.  

A mixed bag for me then, but the positives outweigh the negative - hence the three stars/ pretty fine rating.

The geese and the ghost

Anthony Phillips - The Geese and the Ghost (1977) ***

Nominated by: Tom Snr

Music club: MNAC

MNAC playlist addition:  Sleepfall: The Geese Fly West

I did a double take when Tom selected this album. It's quite unlike his usual fare - yes, he recently opted for a Mike Oldfield opus, but generally, I didn't have him pegged as a connoisseur of prog rock in general, and Genesis style prog rock in particular.

Anthony Phillips was once the lead guitarist in Genesis, albeit briefly. He left the band in 1970, after their Trespass album, to pursue a solo career.

After taking some time to improve his musicianship, The Geese and the Ghost was his first solo album in 1977. Apparently, it's pretty close to the sound Genesis were all about on Trespass (I have plenty of Genesis albums but not that one) and both Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins appear on the album. 

The Geese and the Ghost is a very arty album, and it sounds luvverly, but there's not a lot of substance to the material, I find. So, it floats on by effortlessly. Some will call it beguiling, but it doesn't really engage me especially - although I do have a copy on vinyl, and I do play it from time to time after a hard day at the brick factory.

Highlights for me are Sleepfall and God If I Saw Her Now.

Holds

Pile - Sunshine and Balance Beams (2025) ****

Nominated by: Alex

Music club: MNAC

MNAC playlist addition:  Uneasy

If there was an ever an album that grew on me with repeated listens, this is it. It has been a three week process - mainly because life got hectic (my fellow MNAC members will relate) and I had to keep listening in snatches. 

For a start I was in the meh camp. The lead guy's yelly vocals doing kind of tourettes moves at odd times didn't draw me in necessarily, but after a while (plays 3 to 4) I started to ignore it and the cranked up noise started to get me.

After plays 5 and 6 I started to hear fragments of lyrics that I started looking forward to and low and behold - plays 7 and 8 grabbed me by the lapels, threw me up against the wall and I yelled back - Waaaaaauuuuuuuuuggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!

The choice of a highlighted song even became difficult. I kept swinging between the noisy ones and the quieter ones. Eventually settled on Uneasy but I loved Holds as well. Born at Night also came close - I like a good venting.

Great stuff Alex. I'd never heard of Pile but they ended up an exciting new discovery.