My Top 25 of 2025 (2)

More music from the year that concludes the first quarter of the 21st Century...

22. Jason Isbell – Foxes In The Snow

A new Jason Isbell LP would generally achieve a higher placing in my end of year countdown, but he left his backing band the 400 Unit in the pub for this one, offering up a one-man acoustic set instead. Like many Americana artists, the temptation to “do a Nebraska” must always be tackled… and as you’d expect from Isbell, this is another fine collection of subtle country storytelling… but it could have done with a little more oomph in places. Get the band back out of the pub next time.

Jason Isbell – Ride To Robert’s

21. Cory Hanson – I Love People

Cory Hanson is the lead singer of LA-based psychedelic rock band WAND… but in his spare time, he makes solo records which veer more into 70s singer-songwriter territory, and comparisons have been made to Randy Newman (him again! – see #25) and Todd Rundgren. There’s a lot of piano on this record, which always suits me, and some quirky lyrical diversions, such as Hanson’s tribute to Lou Reed, which is keen to remind us that Lou was “a tai chi master”. 

Cory Hanson – Lou Reed

Hanson also offers up a downbeat sequel to a perennial Christmas favourite… and one which, surprisingly, I didn’t mind listening to in September.

Cory Hanson – Santa Claus Is Coming Back To Town

What I like most about Hanson’s songs though is the way he half-reveals a story, and leaves the listener to make up the rest. A bit like Michael Stipe, in a way…

I just wanna leave this town
And say so long, fool
I just need a steering wheel
To hold on to
 
All the standup comics
Burn out on the evening train
All the jokers on their horses
Laughing in the rain
 
Why so serious?
 
You've got no sense of humor
No this ain't funny to me
I heard the rumors you bit her leg
And stumbled into the sеa

20. Hayes Carll – We’re Only Human

In the year we lost Todd Snider, there’s some consolation that we still have Hayes Carll, who ploughs a similar furrow of wry, witty, down-home hippy liberal hokum. The song that most exemplifies that on his latest release is this one…

Hayes Carll - Good People (Thank Me)

I love the story about him hating his neighbour till she gave him some apples. Todd would be proud – and so would John Prine.

And more than ever, right now, we need artists who still dare to write songs like this…

The man on the TV keeps makin' strange faces
Folks flyin' rockets to far away places
The world's gettin' turned on by assholes and racists
And it's all for the progress of man

Cover Me Thursday #19: Slady

I fell down a Slady rabbit hole earlier this week after discovering the world’s leading female Slade tribute band, led by Gobby Holder and Davina Hill, naturally. This was the one that lured me in…

But then I discovered they write their own material too…

The doorway to the rabbit hole is right here…

My Top 25 of 2025 (1)

If it's December, it must be time to start counting down my favourite records of the year. You know the drill...

25. Wet Leg – moisturizer

At the beginning of the year, I had this pegged as one of my most anticipated releases of 2025… so what went wrong? Weight of expectation? A concerted effort to go more mainstream? Rhian Teasdale’s clear desire to recreate herself as some kind of sexy femme-rock icon? (See how she’s changed.)

 (Small m) moisturizer is far from a disaster, but it’s not as smart as it thinks it is – songs named after davina mccall, pokemon and mangetout promise more than they deliver, and the consistent lack of capital letters just smacks this English teacher as trying too hard. When it works – as on the thrilling lead single Catch These Fists – there’s still hope to be had… but there’s nothing as strong or as joyously witty as Chaise Longue or even Wet Dream… and at times, it comes dangerously close to sounding like Republica. Still, maybe that’s what the kids are looking for these days. I very much doubt Rhian and Hester are interested in the opinions of a weird 53 year old blogger as long as they can keep selling out the arenas…

Wet Leg - CPR

Difficult second album syndrome?

24. Bret McKenzie – Freak Out City

Formerly half of Flight of the Conchords, Bret McKenzie released his debut solo album Songs Without Jokes back in 2022, and it was a moderate favourite of mine for its Randy Newman-flavoured observation songwriting. Having been a huge Conchords fan, all it needed to lift it to the next level was… a few more jokes.

Well, they’re still largely absent on his follow-up record, but I continue to dig the profoundly 70s vibe – more debts to Newman, and the occasional steal from Stealer’s Wheel…

Bret McKenzie - Freak Out City

23. Nervous Twitch – The Day Job Gets In The Way

A new discovery from Leeds, which gets them extra marks, and this went down well with Brian, CC and The Swede, so I figured I better squeeze it into my countdown. Nervous Twitch are partying like it’s 1979 – and there’s everything right about that. Further investigation reveals this isn’t actually their debut – they’ve been bashing away at this malarkey for quite some time. Further investigation required…

Nervous Twitch – My Mum’s An Anarchist

Namesakes #166: Salt & Pepper

It's time to go condiMENTAL!

SALT AND PEPPER #1

We kick off today over a hundred years ago, with some “Satanic” blues from 1924. Their real names were Cliff and Clyde.

Salt & Pepper – Crazy Blues

SALT AND PEPPER #2

Twangy rock ‘n’ roll instrumental from 1961 produced by Bob Crewe who went on to co-write a bunch of hits for Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons.

Salt And Pepper with The Shakers – High Noon

SALT AND PEPPER #3

Soldiers from the US Air Force based in Thailand during the Viet Nam war, and the first Americans to ever record in Bangkok. I suppose that was preferable to hunting Charlie in the jungles.

Salt And Pepper – Linda

PEPPER AND SALT #4

Dutch soul band from the late 60s who were originally called Pepper & Soul until lead singer Johnny Pepper left the group… at which point they became Pepper & Salt. Don’t ask me. They later changed their name to Post Scriptum and went all prog. 

Pepper And Salt – It Was Yesterday Today

SALT AND PEPPER #5

Funky Texans from 1969 – accept no substitutes!

Salt And Pepper – The Real McCoy

SALT AND PEPPER #6

Classy soul number from the US in 1970.

Salt And Pepper - Love Makes All The Difference In The World

(HUGH BOYNTON &) SALT AND PEPPER #7

Short-lived backing band for funky Georgia soul dude Hugh Boynton, from 1976.

Hugh Boynton And Salt And Pepper – Funky Grasshopper

SALT AND PEPPER BAND #8

Norwegian condiments, sprinkled throughout the 70s.

Salt & Pepper Band – Look Around

SALT AND PEPPER #9

Spanish disco act from 1979…

Salt And Pepper – Flying High

SALT AND PEPPER #10

British reggae band from 1980…

Salt And Pepper - Weary

SALT 'N' PEPA #11

Cheryl "Salt" James met Sandra "Pepa" Denton while studying nursing at Queensborough Community College in Brooklyn in 1985. Soon after they hooked up with student producer Hurby Luv Bug and 16 year old DJ Spinderella… and then they really started to Push It.

Salt ‘n’ Pepa – Push It

SALT AND PEPPER #12

Radio-friendly Euro-pop-pop-pop from 1993…

Salt & Pepper – Radio

SALT AND PEPPER #13

No idea what to make of this except that it was released as a Limited Edition single sided C20 cassette in 2007 on the Scumbag Relations “Record Label”. Imagine you’d just got a Bontempi keyboard for Christmas and you recorded the first time you played it and sold a copy to each of your mates… and that’s me being kind.

Considering the many, many promising tracks I fail to locate on the tube of you while compiling this feature… like these guys, for example…

…well, the fact that someone saw fit to upload 10 minutes of this baloney says a lot about human beings.

Salt & Pepper – Clean Gram

PEPPER AND SALT #14

German a capella group active in the past ten years who youtube reliably informs me have released a lot more music than you (or discogs) would imagine…

Pepper And Salt – Mona Morgan

SALT AND PEPPER #15

And finally, an 80s-influenced trio from France, doing it all out of their garage, though they seem to have practiced their instruments a bit more than the Scumbag guy did.

Salt And Pepper – I Will Feel Blue

Which one shakes your pot?

Listening Post #44: Old Girls

If anyone's wondering what's happened to The Cancel Culture Club, we will be back a little later this month with two festive offerings... possibly our last, for reasons I'll discuss more later. 

In the meantime, in a belated follow-up to the first edition of that series, when we discussed Gary Puckett's Young Girl, here are a couple of tunes celebrating the virtues of older woman.

First, from his excellent 2025 album Only Frozen Sky Anyway, here's Jonathan Richman with a tale about being a lovestruck teenager obsessed with a "slightly older girl"...

And secondly, also from this year, and sadly from what turned out to be his final album, here's the late great Todd Snider again with a sentiment that many of his male rock star contemporaries might do well to take note of...

Ain't nothing that a young girl can do for me

'Cept to show me where some older women is