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derek2bell.bsky.social
@derek2bell.bsky.social
5⃣3⃣

🎤Jacob Alun
💿In Limerence

Another fragile, folsky, gentle piece. Again it's all very beautifully done and utterly dull. There is so much of this vague simpering around at the moment that they all just merge together with the occasional one standing out
November 17, 2025 at 12:02 PM
5⃣4⃣

🎤Water From Your Eyes
💿It's A Beautiful Place

One of the more interesting ones so for. Post punk, shoegaze, indie rock etc all merged together. Some bits work better than others and I'm not a huge fan of the vocals. I'm not entirely sure where I stand on this
November 17, 2025 at 9:59 AM
5⃣5⃣

🎤Alex G
💿Headlights

This is his tenth album and first for a major and I have to confess he was new on me so I don't know how this fits in with his other work but it's nice enough in that American Folkie/Indie way. Likely to appear on the soundtrack of a Zach Braff film
November 17, 2025 at 8:59 AM
5⃣6⃣

🎤BC Camplight
💿A Sober Conversation

A difficult album dealing with difficult and dark issues that's quite diverse musically. Consequently I like some bits more than others, overall I quite like it
November 14, 2025 at 9:25 PM
5⃣7⃣

🎤Carson McHone
💿Pentimento

This is much more my cup of Americana/Folk style music. She has a great voice and even the more fragile folk songs have a power and emotion to them.
November 14, 2025 at 12:01 PM
5⃣8⃣

🎤Mavis Staples
💿Sad And Beautiful World

What a relief after far too much ethereal, ambient, tuneless whispering to hear a proper voice and some tunes. It's all pretty good
November 14, 2025 at 10:07 AM
6⃣0⃣
🎤Lucy Gooch
💿Desert Window
5⃣9⃣
🎤Joanne Robertson
💿Blurrr

Lumping these two together as they are pretty similar in their ambient, beatless, pop folk sound. I really didn't like either of them
November 13, 2025 at 4:21 PM
6⃣1⃣

🎤David Byrne
💿Who Is The Sky?

My main reaction to this is an almighty shrug. It feels as though it's trying so hard to be quirky and upbeat that it becomes a bit grating
November 13, 2025 at 10:05 AM
6⃣2⃣

🎤Songhoy Blues
💿Heritage

I can't help feel if you've heard one song by them at any stage then you've heard them all. Not really doing anything for me
November 13, 2025 at 9:17 AM
6⃣3⃣

🎤Brian Eno & Beatie Wolfe
💿Luminal

All very nice and plays away in the background without making me sit up and listen carefully or take particular notice. It was on and then it wasn't
November 13, 2025 at 9:16 AM
6⃣4⃣

🎤Charles Lloyd
💿 Figure In Blue

At which point I probably have to accept that no form of jazz is going to work for me. This should be easier to get into as it is fairly smooth and it is very pleasant but I don't feel any immediate desire to play it again
November 13, 2025 at 9:09 AM
6⃣5⃣

🎤Gwenno
💿Utopia

A beautiful album full of dreamy arrangements. I liked this a lot
November 12, 2025 at 3:14 PM
6⃣6⃣

🎤Andy Bell
💿pinball wanderer

This is fabulous. Merging shoegaze and baggy with a bit of motorik to produce a pulsating, atmospheric sound that you can just get lost in
November 12, 2025 at 2:10 PM
6⃣7⃣

🎤Mark Pritchard & Thom Yorke
💿Tall Tales

The good news is I didn't hate it as much as I expected to. That said I didn't like it very much. My tolerance for fairly tuneless electronic noodling with mumbling vocals is pretty thin these days
November 12, 2025 at 1:41 PM
6⃣8⃣

🎤Mulatu Astatke
💿Mulatu Plays Mulatu

Another artists revisiting his work from his earlier career. His story is fascinating. However, I just don't get the music.
November 12, 2025 at 11:08 AM
6⃣9⃣

🎤Panda Bear
💿Sinister Grift

I went into this with no great hopes having disliked everything I've heard by them. It turned out to be marginally better but I still found it vastly irritating
November 12, 2025 at 9:30 AM
7⃣0⃣

🎤Steve Gunn
💿Daylight, Daylight

It's all very gentle and soothing and just drifts by in the background. It's pleasant enough in it's gentle guitar picking Americana way
November 12, 2025 at 9:28 AM
7⃣1⃣

🎤Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory
💿Self-Titled

I haven't listened to any new SVE since 'Tramp' back in 2012. Musically this is quite different - New Order basslines, looping synths and repetitive beats - and is really good
November 12, 2025 at 9:26 AM
7⃣2⃣

🎤Neil Young And The Chrome Hearts
💿Talkin To The Trees

A decent album with a good mix of rockier and folkier songs. I'm no Neil Young expert and not that familiar with his stuff but I quite liked this
November 11, 2025 at 1:44 PM
7⃣3⃣

🎤Annahstadsia
💿Tether

A very distinctive voice and all put together well but it's just a little bit dull
November 11, 2025 at 9:07 AM
7⃣4⃣

🎤Black Country, New Road
💿Forever Howlong

Never liked the original sound so there was hope for the new direction. Then the record started. It's horrible, it's even worse before. Twee vocals that are even more irritating than before. Gave up after 4 songs
November 11, 2025 at 8:27 AM
7⃣5⃣

🎤Slow Motion Cowboys
💿Wolf Of St Elmo

This does exactly what you would expect from the band name and the cover image and it does it very well. On the country side of Americana with plenty of twang and pedal steel/slide guitar (I think).
November 10, 2025 at 8:49 PM
7⃣6⃣

🎤Emma Pollock
💿Begging The Night To Take Hold

On the whole I really like this but on occasions I found the strings a bit too overwrought
November 10, 2025 at 8:17 PM