A Couple of Lists - Part 1

 

Usually at this time of the year us Bloggers like to provide best of the year lists of records, gigs etc

This year I have bought more records than I have for a long time - probably about 50 in total. A mixture of those I get via my Last Night from Glasgow subscription, some new ones, some re-issues, some charity shop purchases and some gap fillers in my collection.

All of which got me in a bit of a tizz when trying to come up with a top five from 2022. Here goes:

5 - James Edwyn and the Broken Band - Highlights of the Lowlights (LNFG)

Some Glasgow based Americana from a sextet who have been on the go since 2013 with two previous album releases  LNFG

4 - Robyn Hitchcock - Shufflemania (Tiny Ghost)

The first every Robyn Hitchcock album that I have bought upon release

Recorded in locations around the world over the pandemic era, SHUFFLEMANIA! offers up 10 gloriously ingenious new Robyn Hitchcock songs in just under 40 minutes - a “proper pop album” as nature intended. Songs like “Midnight Tram To Nowhere” and the optimistic, album-closing “One Day (It’s Being Scheduled)” are state-of-the-art Hitchcock, manifesting his signature wit, miraculous gift for melodic craftsmanship, and striking humanity in a world gone mad.Bandcamp

I have a ticket to see him in March for a concert rescheduled from last year.

3 -The Poems - Young America (PNFG)

The first vinyl release from an album which has attained mythical status since its original release in 2006 and featuring some well kent faces from the Scottish music scene  LNFG

2  - The Hanging Stars  -Hollow Heart (Loose) 

This one came very close to topping the charts .The fourth album by the London based country band and the first to go down the Psychedelic Americana route which is fast becoming my favourite sub-genre. A band championed by John Medd      Loose

1 - Constant Follower - Neither Is, Nor Ever Was (Shimmy Disk)

A Stirling based group led by Stephen McCall this first came my way via a promotional plug. The album quickly sold out on its original release in 2021 and I got in early to ensure that I got a copy of the re-issue earlier this year. Since then I have managed to see them live on a couple of occasions and will be keeping an eye out for subsequent releases Bandcamp

The Poems - Lost and Found

The Hanging Stars - Red Autumn Leaf

Constant Follower - Set Aside Some Time