Postcard 10: 25/03/2024.

10 songs for our 10 week anniversary.

Mar 25, 2024

Elizabeth Frances Batty - Pass of Bramante, 1817

Congrats everyone; we’ve made it to double digits! You’ll be pleased to know that reaching 10 weeks of postcards beats the length of time that I managed to do a drawing everyday back in 2011 or something, so I count this achievement as a personal victory (that you’re all a part of, of course). In all seriousness, thanks for sticking around and reading these silly posts. I didn’t realise how much fun I’d have putting these together every week. Feeling out my writing voice, finding suitable pictures, checking the stats after a post has come out; it’s all been a joy. Plus the feedback I’ve got from you folks has been really wonderful, so thank you thank you. I’m really glad to have you along for the ride. I’ve got some ideas that I’ll be trying out over the next month or two which are variations on the format I’ve been going with so far, so keep your eyes peeled! Also, if there’s anything else you’d like me to cover, please feel free to leave a comment and I’ll see what I can do.

This week, we’re keeping it simple; 10 tracks that I’ve been enjoying over these past 10 weeks, with a little bit of blurb for each. I’ve tried to avoid people I’ve highlighted already in previous postcards too to keep things fresh for you.

Plantoid - Is That You?

Plantoid are a Brighton-based band who released their debut album Terrapath earlier this year on Bella Union, and my word are they good. It’s hard to put a single genre tag on what they do; there’s shades of funk, psych, prog and metal scattered across the albums 10 tracks, but they always manage to strike an excellent balance between ‘the riffs’ and ‘the groove’. ‘Is That You?’ is a great showcase of their different sides jammed (in all senses of the word) into 6 excellent minutes.

Hannah Frances - Keeper of the Shepherd

I love a song that ‘chugs’; that forward, lurching propulsion that sweeps you up in its wake and keeps you gripped for the duration of the journey. ‘Keeper of the Shepherd’, the title track off Hannah Frances’ fifth album, immediately hooked me whilst making burritos one evening and has been dragged me behind it ever since. I adore the interplay between the tight taps of the drums and the almost percussive guitar playing, which I feel is reminiscent of Grizzly Bear at their best. The little breaks throughout the track really highlight the forward momentum of the rest of the song, and make the huge swell about 4 minutes in hit all that much harder.

The Smile - Teleharmonic

Confession time: I did not like the first The Smile record at all. Whilst there’s a few gems of tracks on there — ‘Open The Floodgates’ is an all timer and lives up to the promise of the few times it was played live back in like 2009 — it felt too much of a hodge-podge of underdeveloped and offcut Radiohead songs without a consistent thread running through them (Sorry Thom). However, I’m happy to report that their new record Wall of Eyes gets the Chris Dean two-thumbs-up™ of approval, and ‘Teleharmonic’ was the first indication that this album would be more up my street. The Smile are currently on tour with James Holden, who featured in my top albums of 2023 list, and you can see why in this track which induces the same trance-like state through restained evolution of sounds. I got full goosebumps the first time I heard the build up of skittering cymbals and woozy synths break over that absolutely perfect bassline into the glowing space of the chorus. It’s the most self-controlled ‘drop’ I’ve heard in a song, but it does not diminish its power in the slightest. Plus that flute solo rips.

Bat for Lashes - The Dream of Delphi

I can’t express how happy I was hearing this track for the first time a few weeks ago. Bat for Lashes holds a special place in my heart, and her music has been strangely interwoven throughout a number of core events in my adult life. I saw her in Brighton the night before I left home to go to university and I also saw her whilst wearing my mum’s wedding dress at End of the Road back in 2016, the year I met Meggo. That said, I’ve always wanted her to push into ‘Kid A’ territory and indulge in some odd electronics on a record. Judging from this title track it looks like ‘The Dream of Delphi’, due out on May the 31st, might be the album I’ve been hoping for…

Fred Again.., Lil Yachty & Overmono - stayinit

Garage is back baby! ‘stayinit’ follows the trend of folks hopping back on the garage bandwagon, and I for one am very happy about this development. This is a straight up banger. Nothing more needs to be said.

The Field - Everyday

I’m delving back into the distant past of 2007 for this track, the only one in this Postcard not released in 2024. Despite a bunch of critical acclaim I’ve never really got into The Field, but somehow I stumbled onto their album From Here We Go Sublime last month and frankly I can’t believe what I’ve been missing. Choosing just one track to include here was extremely difficult, but I settled on ‘Everyday’ as I felt it captured the feeling of the album; dance music that aches with both melancholy and beauty.

Another Michael - Is There A World?

It’s fair to say I was blown away by the first preview of ‘Pick Me Up, Turn Me Upside Down’, the new record by Another Michael. So many ideas and memorable moments are crammed into a mere 4 minutes and 40 seconds that it feels like you’re listening to about five different (all fantastic) songs. Plus, it’s just such an ear worm; that little elegant melody of the line “when I was walking around” has been rattling around my head for weeks now. I’ve also been lucky enough to hear a taster of the rest of the album (thank you TyTy!), and I can safely say that the best is yet to come. Mark the 31st of May on your calendars people!

claire rousay feat. Hand Habits - ily2

I’m slightly breaking the rule I set myself above (a track from claire appeared in your 3rd postcard), but I think it’s for a good reason. For her upcoming album ‘sentiment’ (out April 19th on Thrill Jockey), claire is putting away her field recorder, picking up her guitar and fully embracing her joking-not-joking genre of emo-ambient. This track, which acts as the closing song of the record, is a real beauty. It also features the ever-excellent Meg Duffy who embelishes the latter half of the cut with their hallmark tape-looped guitar.

Strange Boy feat. Anna B Savage - November Skies

Strange Boy are, so far, my best discovery of the year. Their debut record ‘Love Remains’ reminds me of a more gentle (and in some ways more heart breaking) version of ‘Suicide Songs’, the underrated classic by the now sadly defunct band MONEY, or the tape-hiss filled early records of Perfume Genius. Whilst the whole album is stunning, I was immediately caught in the grip of ‘November Skies’. The production pulls you straight into room with Kieron Brunt, whose soaring and emotionally fraught vocals feel so delicate that they could shatter upon the slightest of touches. Don’t sleep on this one.

Tapir! - Mountain Song

I don’t know how I’ve not mentioned Tapir! yet in this blog, but today marks the day when I break that run. They fit every stereotype of a band that I like: 1) they make affecting and uplifting indie folk that’s littered with electronic touches; 2) their album is a high falutin concept album about the journey of a creature known only as ‘The Pilgrim’ across a strange land; 3) they wear big red heads on stage. Seriously though, Tapir! are a very special group, and it will be no surprise to me if their debut album, The Pilgrim, Their God, And The King of My Decrepit Mountain, ends up in my top records of 2024. I’ve chosen the closing song of the record to round out this postcard for you; it’s a grandiose and emotionally charged ending that continues to build with every twist and turn. I absolutely love it and I hope you do too.

Phew! That ended up being longer than anticipated. Here, once again, is the Tidal link for any of you folks that need it. And as always, I’m looking forward to sending you some more post next week.