I really walked into it with my review of yesterday. When you applaud someone like YNES for her capacity to surprise, you can't complain if she then deploys it again: pretty much immediately with her second single in two days: "'TIS THE SEASON" in this case. And kudos to her for flipping my comment on how she scorned the upper case with "drink about it (merry Christmas baby)"  by using nothing but that form in her latest title. Oh well.. it's a learning experience for me.

Apparently the experience of putting yesterday's single out drove her to complete and polish & release another song she had ready so by the sounds of it, she is on something of a roll psychologically as well as musically.

If the first single was intensely personal in inspiration, then this one is pure classic YNES: as she says herself, it "….feels a lot less introspective and a lot more me…" .

It's actually as replete with the sort of top notch YNES wit & observation as the belly of an affluent Christmas celebrant after the traditional lunch. Line after line sparkles with trenchant and accurate debunking of the myths & assumptions which go hand in hand with the complacency of the normative.

At this point I intended to quote a few examples but it was hard to pick one or two out and giving you the entire lyric is something I've never done: quite apart from the length, that would spoil the surprises & pleasures you'll get from your own unwrapping experience.

I'll give you the opening therefore and after that it's over to you:

"Maybe the meaning of Christmas

is posting a picture on Facebook

with a wife that you hate

and a dinner you ate

and didn't help prepare or clean up"

After this the quality of barbs doesn't slacken but taking aim at subjects like credit card debt does link in with the concerns so often raised in her songs and those she's working on in "Fair Play", the ‘zine I mentioned yesterday.

The music is to some extent the perky synth-led sort of arrangement of its predecessor but this time there seems also to be a crunchy guitar part in their too, chewing away on the matter in hand.

Well she's back and on top form: if there is more of this quality and relevance to come then we're in for something special. I wonder if there'll be another one tomorrow. YNES isn't saying.

Well I had assumed (a dangerous trick) that Sunday's gig (the 2025 Izzie Derry Christmas Show at the Priory Visitor Centre with added Banoffee) would be my final one of 2025 on which to report and I hadn't any awareness of upcoming releases in what's left of the year either.

Then up pops YNES with "drink about it (merry christmas baby)" (yes she's embracing the culture war assault on the upper case which I've noted repeatedly in 2025).

Should I have been surprised: well that's a vital strand in her DNA isn't it? Equally part of the YNES genome is her penchant for diving into the sort of subject matter which the mainstream swerves & which makes mainstream media & listeners downright uncomfortable. So it's good she is on the case I feel.

There may be an YNES song in her catalogue which can't be filed under "intensely personal" but I can't off hand think of one. This certainly can be regarded that way.

Of course the actual & creative lives of YNES cannot be untangled nor do I see why they should: it makes for emotionally true material & it's why she is so respected. It can't be easy living the life which inspires her work & as someone who wears her heart so boldly on her sleeve & is frank about her struggles, I hope catharsis applies.

If you're a fan (why would you not be?) you've presumably followed both her external geographical (transatlantic) odyssey and her corresponding internal one over the past few years.

Apart from a live & acoustic version of her ‘Born Loser' EP from the year before last, this is her first release in the three years since the studio format came out.

The intervening years have (in part at least) been spent addressing her drinking (which seems a sustained success) and unsurprisingly, "drink about it" concerns this achievement. Self identifying now as "alt-punk, ex-drunk", YNES  "wrote this one for my younger self and all my homies who find the holidays to be a time of tension and sometimes trauma?"

At her most confessional & raw, YNES tends to go for incredibly bleak & skeletal songs based around her guitar playing. Surprisingly, perhaps, she goes against this here with, what for her is a comparatively lush arrangement based around layers of synth & vocals which are rather soothing in tone though supporting lyrics which address the negative part alcohol plays in Christmases: so a good tension there.

Four years ago she put out a Christmas single: "It's Christmas (I Miss Ya)" which to be fair also deployed a relatively jolly backing too. However this definitely dated from her drinking years and it's interesting to note the journey she's been on between the two songs: "drink about it" certainly addresses bigger picture issues.

After a creative hiatus, YNES seems to be back writing & recording again ("drink about it" is wholly her writing, performing & producing) which is very much something I've been hoping for. So I look forwards to many more surprises in the months ahead, though to balance that, YNES is also in a crusading mode: targeting the music industry & streaming and championing working class creatives: check out her own "Fair Play" magazine (available like this single via Bandcamp). Consequently, since I'm sure this takes up a fair amount of her time, I imagine finding moments for music needs a sense of balance.

Christmas time probably deserves extra special live musical experiences and as the last gig of 2025 in my diary after a year of, as I review it in my head, many many superb shows, the 2025 Izzie Derry Christmas Show provided a completely appropriate way to mark this moment.

Having migrated with the host of her 2024 Christmas Show, the LTB Showrooms team to their new home in the Priory Visitor Centre, the venue was perfect: both visually as a setting & acoustically.

With support from the equally exquisite Banoffee, the quality of music performed & the performances themselves were at the zenith of what you could have seen anywhere in the area this magazine covers at anytime in 2025.

My regard for both acts is pretty obvious from my many articles & this was in fact my sixth Izzie gig of the year & my third Banoffee one.

With lesser artists, this might mean seeing essentially the same set multiple times which at the very least would limit what I could write about. But neither fits this category: I expected surprises & duly received them.

It was an evening of soaring singing & top notch playing with no whiff of cliché nor derivation  in words nor music created by two acts committed to wholly original & personally authentic songs. No-one writes songs like Izzie Derry nor Banoffee & no one sounds like them either.

Banoffee (who shot off to a second gig after this one: shows the level of demand for them) have been one of the bands people have been talking about all year. Nevertheless they were a revelation to those attending primarily to see Izzie & who hadn't caught them until yesterday. Consequently I found myself involved in multiple conversations afterwards on  the subject of how amazed people found them & passed on their contact to a member of one of Coventry's most renowned bands who decided on the spot that she wanted to work with them.

To return to my original theme however, though I really enjoyed the previous gigs I'd seen (as my articles reflect) and they'd been blessed with excellent sound engineering, the nature of this venue nurtured the Banoffee sound even better: you need to hear them in intimate spaces to maximise their impact and if you have a front row seat as I was fortunate enough to, the whole experience is immersive.

In addition, they performed a song I'd not yet heard (only its second time in their set) called "Salt the Earth": the latest in their seemingly unstoppable sequence  of stunningly original material: it alone will stop you in your tracks and this is a band with "Mirror to Mirror" and "Bonfires" already released, "The Ripening" scheduled for January 16^th and then "The Halfway Point" ready to go after that: each of which any artist could consider a creative high & yet are merely the first few of what will hopefully be very many songs. Just what heights they'll reach with them is tantalising: and that is one of the factors in the response they drew yesterday. The one format I've not caught Ella & Cia playing in yet is their trio with a drummer but they charmed the audience yesterday with their powerful dynamic of apparent simplicity which reveals profound complexities.

Of my previous Izzie gigs this year, most were actually outside (except for her Crypt Session for Coventry Food Union) so a similar point can be made about the enhanced impact her performance made in the space: though credit also to the sound engineer for the evening which was Izzie herself.

The Izzie Derry Band lineup for this occasion (all the other times I've seen her in 2025 were purely solo apart from Ross joining her on cajon for some numbers on the HMV Empire balcony) comprised Ian Todd on guitar & Ross Edward on cajon. A unique configuration & one which really worked nicely with percussion underpinning all bar two numbers & Ian adding an astonishing range of embellishments from the rock style totally suited to "Shake" to delicate slide to interpolations of such originality that you could see Izzie grin at some: exactly what you'd expect from him I guess.

These songs in their way were revelations: unveiling further aspects beyond those revealed in solo form or in the original band arrangements with different musicians playing different instruments.

The jaw droppers as far as I was concerned however were her as yet unrecorded material: performed here solo. I'd seen Izzie experimenting with a looper earlier this year and now having mastered some of the possibilities, she gave us "Down in the Dirt" with just her guitar and "Oh Mama" which eschewed even that: a sort of a cappella chorus of various Izzies.

The former might be her best song to date: yes: I witnessed another upward gear change from this so talented artist and I do hope that this one gets recorded soon as it will be a landmark single.

I had the revelation when hearing her solo rendition of "When Will It End" at her "Song & Soil" performance at Sherbourne Valley Allotments for the Food Union again, that at heart it was actually a blues. Well if that's a blues, then "Oh Mama" is even further out on the same spectrum: a raw & passionate and frankly startling song which really utilises aspects of her voice which hitherto have been deployed sparingly in as peaks in her more emotive songs. For those of you who've followed her since her days of being considered a folk singer, while this is of roots nature too, it's a paradigm shift.

I accosted her afterwards about these (sorry Izzie) and begged her to record them as stripped back as she'd just delivered them: which would, as it happens, appear to be her intention anyway.

I'm delighted to note that however marvellous the end of 2025 may have proved for live local original music, momentum into 2026 is desirable and that both these ultra talented artists will be gracing ‘Hot Music Live Presents' fundraisers for and at The Tin in the New Year.

You can catch Izzie with Sophie Hadlum, Croissant & Brass Hip Flask on February 20^th

(tickets via: https://www.universe.com/events/hot-music-live-presents-izzy-derry-sophie-hadlum-croissant-brass-hip-tickets-67FKZM)

Banoffee will be joining Rosetta Fire, The Illusion & DANE-O on March 20^th: tickets at: https://www.universe.com/events/hot-music-live-rosetta-fire-banoffee-the-illusion-dane-o-tickets-GMTBLH

As noted last time, dogmarket's release schedule remains at a high level of activity and indeed we now have a new single  "Give Up the Ghost" to enjoy. (Look out for "Images of Survival" and then an album in the New Year too).

The first comment (let's get the obvious out of the way) that every listener will spot is the inherent ghostliness of the vocals, enhanced by the arrangement.

Once again, there is an element of reasonable density in the production which exacerbates the overall limited accessibility of the lyrics.. however as I explore Thom's music through what they share, I fully recognise this as an important characteristic. I don't know their preferences in art, but it might be towards Impressionism given the musical approach.

With tracks like these where the overall effect is the intended point of impact, it's a bit disrespectful to try & break what's going on into component pieces: the layering and juxtaposition are obviously major creative decisions and deconstruction would be to try to undo their work.

It's a haunting piece of "SADGAYELECTRONICA": don't expect anything dissonant: if anything it's a bit classical with a sort of harpsichord sound in there from time to time amid various other keyboard sounds (and I think an acoustic guitar?) and above all multiple voices.

The tone is compassionate to my ears and if mournful, also regretful: certainly nothing to do with fear or any conventional supernatural tropes.  For a moment I pondered too any possible connection to Howard Devoto's classic 1976 line "I'll give up that ghost before it gives up me" but I suspect that there isn't one.

I don't know how dogmarket fans interact with their music.. you probably can't dance to it (though it maybe that you can & I lack both the necessary skills & imagination). It's all rather evocative, each in its own way, but those ways are so different that immersing yourself in dogmarket music by playing the tracks in sequence is likely to provide you with some abrupt shifts in tone every few minutes: not terribly conducive to mindfulness. On the other hand, it seems rather lacking in due respect to play them as soundtrack to any other activity you may be engaged in…. I look forward to solving this conundrum.

The release campaign of dogmarket is picking up momentum as they've just stepped up to a dual simultaneous single release with "Interlude 1" and "Turner Michael's Hunting Rifle" appearing side by side, though given that Thom also describes them as "Un-alike in Dignity", probably not necessarily hand-in-hand.

It's been about a month since "baby blue" so hopefully you've managed to process that one to the fullest extent possible and they obviously feel confident that their fan base can double their engagement resources.

I haven't yet mentioned that dogmarket self describe as "SADGAYELECTRONICA" which might help finding an entry point to the music, though in fairness "Interlude 1" is characterised by a (processed) guitar sound as much as by chips and wires: at haunting atmospheric piece which indeed lives up to its title: it feels like it has a home in some wider context: a film soundtrack would probably be grateful to welcome it aboard.

"Turner Michael's Hunting Rifle" fits the mission statement more closely: it's a denser and more obviously generated but ironically, it's also got quite a jaunty pop feel with a friendly keyboard hook prominent amidst the layers of sound. Since "Interlude 1" has a stately dignity to it, I suppose it's possible that defining the obvious contrast between the pair in terms of "dignity" may refer to this catchiness, but I'd certainly not class it as lacking in the quality. In fact (after I'd played it a few times), Thom revealed that the sound inspiration was They Might Be Giants: which neatly accounts for why I was attracted to it.

As for the subject matter (or perhaps target?) I found (it's not part of social media I'd normally wander through) a Michael Turner who posts stuff encouraging youngsters to become snipers. Lovely. I hope it's about him rather than a distant relative of mine who didn't fetish firearms.

Discussing the duo with Thom after writing most of the above, their insights clarified that the distinction was more about personal perspective: one tending towards personal vulnerability and opening up emotionally, the other "more upbeat and less prima facie depressing": perhaps offering contrast to some of their other work? At any rate, if one chooses to pair releases, then a juxtaposition of sensitivities of such contrast is an effective one: were dogmarket a more commercially orientated project than I suspect is the case, it's a good shop window for creative range also.

I'm not too sure if mere words (at least any I can find) could possibly due justice to last evening's ‘Hot Music Live Presents' fundraiser at & for The Tin but here goes with hopefully some choice highlights.

The nineth and final of this series for 2025, it was thankfully the first since our July event not to also require the audience to brave a storm to get there: which probably helped explain the numbers of enthusiasts who contributed to the special atmosphere: it really did epitomise the unique vibe you find there: more of which in a moment.

In addition to the particularly eclectic line-up of The Rascals, The Sunbathers, RobinPlaysChords & Grail Guard, in a first for our events, the musical interludes between sets consisted of an exclusive first public airing of the ‘Extended Playtime' EP by Septic and the Tanks: specifically Sarah, Lucy & Jim as Sophie & Robin are currently many thousands of miles away.

You'll know how excited I am about the various bands emerging from the ‘Live On Stage' collaboration between The Tin & Coventry Music though given the philosophy of building self expression that the project holds dear, it would be wrong to categorise them in any way: each has a strong, if not fierce, independence and great character: none more so than The Rascals (who played their earliest gigs as ‘Electric Blue'): the youngest band we've featured, one who were playing their second gig of the week at the venue and one whom you may have spotted as demonstrating their talents to Ed Sheeran in the footage of his visit.

Nevertheless, this was their debut gig playing before a generally adult audience rather than their age group peers & in addition, their keyboard player was unfortunately ill & missed the event. For most bands, this would understandably have required dropping out, but like the other ‘Live On Stage' bands they are fearless (that term was bandied about greatly last night) and resilient. You honestly could not have detected either factor in their perfect & captivating set of their own dream-pop originals.

You simply could not wish for a better start to a gig when the first band attract so much attention & applause: the majority of the audience had naturally not seen them before. It was great to see members of The Rascals interacting with much older musicians from other bands (RobinPlaysChords noted that none of them was even born when he first came to The Tin) and swapping insights. The confidence level was sky high. I am wary about building over high expectations but I really believe this band has the potential to go a long way.

Next up were The Sunbathers: a band popular at The Tin yet who initially felt that with an audience probably orientated towards the hard core punk headliners, they themselves might be "wild cards". Well possibly they were but that didn't impact on the reception they received for their gentle and acoustic songs of relationships, wistful experiences and beaches: in fact I would wonder if last night witnessed the greatest difference in decibels between any two of the bands on one of our bills? As a coda, I noted that once she'd delivered such a set, Julie was right in the middle of the mosh-pit for Grail Guard. Another indicator of the nature of the night.

I'm a big fan of the band & would agree with them that they don't play enough (they are addressing the issue though for 2026 and I noted them in conference with Coventry's number one promoter later on). Despite their lack of 2025 gigs & in the context of having seen them before, I would still suggest that this was their finest performance that I'd seen: maybe the audience reaction helped a bit? They also kindly included "Freiston Shore" (their song which appears on ‘Hot Music Live Presents Volume Six') and "The Man Who Loved Christmas" both relative set rarities.

Now I come to a difficult moment as finding the right vocabulary to do justice to RobinPlaysChords is not easy. Another defiantly individualistic musician, clearly what you get comes from his own powerful and idiosyncratic imagination, delivered via a considerable array of skills. Any areas of inspiration and influence from others is hard to detect directly.

It must help (it certainly helped the gig's dynamics) when you possess Robin's onstage charisma and his capacity to present such a dramatic show without artifice and solely by himself with a guitar.

Beyond that, categorising what he actually does becomes problematic: which I imagine is what he wants. You get instrumentals and songs with vocals. He does use a looper, but never to the same degree, making light use of it on one track & going all symphonic on another. He's clearly a greater player, but what he plays varies from simpler rhythmic parts to full on soloing, with all sorts of brief switches: a couple of bars of heavy rock here can be followed by something more ambient. I liked the occasional reverb heavy passages in a Chris Isaak style as I did others which reminded me of the strange tunings and riffs of the early Velvet Underground. But each song had plenty of moments for people of different sensibilities to savour. I would however note that two people there, both of whom play guitar in other bands, mentioned to me how much they were looking forwards to Robin's set.

Like all the artists who played, I recommend RobinPlaysChords as a "must see" live act quite apart from anything he or they might record. If I can't explain the attraction, perhaps all the more reason for you to check him out yourselves.

The energy level in the audience had been high all night (and credit again to the open mindedness of those there who embraced & encouraged bands they'd never seen before in an almost bewildering sequence of styles) yet somehow an extra gear was found for the Grail Guard set.

As noted, there was a mosh zone (and Riaz delivered the vocals for one song from the midst of it) of some considerable good natured vehemence & this reflected the full on set.

The band take no prisoners & pretty much all of their material is aimed at the worst excrescences of our society. Quite apart from the explicit lyrics (which were much easier to make out than most hard core bands), we were repeatedly reminded of their abhorrence of a range of prejudices: which was fine by me & fine by everyone else there. In days during which intolerance & prejudice seems at an all time high & is being encouraged by the powerful, it's good to hear such uncompromising defiance and I feel that people there (certainly I speak for myself) were uplifted by the sense that we were not alone in our feelings.

If this all sounds reactive and maybe negative in tone, then it must also be said that the spirit of the set was extremely good natured and the bond between band & audience highly positive. Possibly many of most exuberant audience members had come to see Grail Guard but I can vouch for the fact that they were matched in their response by others who'd come to see other bands and those who'd never seen them before.

There was a real communal buzz all night: possibly peaking by the end & I am sure that this encapsulates what The Tin  means to so many: including obviously those who gave of their talents last night. It also validates the desire to support it with such events.

Our first gig of 2026 will be on February 20^th with Izzie Derry, Sophie Hadlum, Croissant and  Brass Hip Flask: tickets are available via: https://www.universe.com/events/hot-music-live-presents-izzy-derry-sophie-hadlum-croissant-brass-hip-tickets-67FKZM

It will be our first all-seated event & so there will be a more limited number of tickets available: my advice is to secure yours nice & early.

See you there. Have a great festive season in the meantime.

All Septic and the Tanks fans will be aware that they recorded some tracks at The Moonbase in November 2024 before Robin departed for Down Under and during the consequent break from gigging, we have reviewed the singles "Sympathy for the Cat" and "Your Face Is Everywhere" from those sessions.

Now Sophie is heading in a similar direction and so their next gig will await the return of both of them. In the meantime, their new EP ‘Extended Playtime' is available on Bandcamp from 12^th December & other platforms from the following day.

I'm delighted to say that the remaining three UK located members of the band (Sarah, Lucy & Jim) will be present at the ‘Hot Music Live Presents' fundraiser at The Tin on December 12^th to play the EP exclusively to the audience between sets by Grail Guard, RobinPlaysChords, The Sunbathers and The Rascals. (Tickets via: https://www.ticketweb.uk/event/hot-music-live-presents-grail-the-tin-at-the-coal-tickets/13893164)

So of the seven songs (what value!) on the EP you'll know those two singles already. You may think you know two more as the tracks "Continental Breakfast" and "Cheeseboard Monologue" which appeared on their eponymous debut album last year, are on there too.

However these are radically remixed versions & excellent examples of the originality you can get where a track has potential for reinterpretation & someone has the ability to tease it out.

I always felt that given the style of their rhythm section of Sarah & Sophie, the band had avenues of the dubwise style to explore. The team at Sofa So Good (check out their own original track "Psychic Flashes" on ‘Hot Music Live Presets Volume Fifteen') have worked their magic on "Continental Breakfast" and produced a stunning epic which complements the original yet is almost a brand new track. This gem has got to be up there with The Slits' similar excursions: although Sarah debuted it at a Cov Sauce last year, this magnificence needs to be played frequently on all dance floors: I'm anticipating a great effect on the 12^th. Credit too to  Chris Fairless who mixed and mastered it.

"Cheeseboard Monologue" however is a Petrol Bastard remix (if the name seems famiiar, please scroll back through our Stegosaurus Sex Party reviews) and so comes at the song from a technopunk angle: Ben & Jon creating a completely different effect from the above yet just as ear opening and vibrant. That one band can produce work capable of such differing remixing is pretty commendable.

The three other original tracks are "Dig You", "Gutter's Calling" and "Playtime" and here we are closer to the classic Septic live sound: what you'll hear when the Fantastic Five reunite on a stage near you.

As is well known by now, the band largely invented themselves during lockdown: so much so that by the time they unveiled, their prowess progress had been pretty staggering: as numerous previous reviews have indicated. These newer songs therefore reflect further developments: ones honed by many more hours playing together, exploring what their skills could unlock & I would imagine the tidal wave of positive feedback which they received once they'd got going but which of course had yet to be made available to them while they were creating the first batch of songs.

Consequently individual players tend to have more obviously prominent roles in the arrangements: increased confidence has encouraged them to occasionally step out of the supportive embrace of collective ensemble playing to take turns in the spotlight: one prime example being Lucy's banjo which is much more to the fore now & forms the spine of songs like "Gutter's Calling" and ushers in "Playtime" rather than just adding embellishments.

These are thoughtful, well constructed & performed songs: the only element which may have diminished being the surreal & near demented battiness which culminated in "Sky Snakes": but since topping that is probably impossible, best to turn in other directions I imagine.

The same applies to the vocals too: Robin, having set the benchmark with the earlier songs, now dials down the unmitigated deluge of their onslaught which so characterised the trademark sound of the debut and reveals a wider range of techniques and affective approaches: most nootably on "Playtime" which might possibly represent the Septic and the Tanks' paradigm shift so startlingly different is it to other songs: if there is to be a "Phase 2" of their career along these lines than this might be a good choice to be a single to launch it.

Obviously which Tanks are available at any given time dictates all future activiyt & I'm not placing bets on what comes up beyond their stated desire to play when possible, but on this evidence, the band, which excited me & so many others when it first revealed itself now dangles many more intriguing potentialities before us: listening to ‘Extended Playtime' the prospects of a second album exploring the sort of options they do here is very exciting. On the other hand, as the EP title reminds us, they started the band to have fun and they seem to be still doing that and presumably would stop if that no longer applied. May they carry on enjoying themselves & causing us our own enjoyment for a long time.

 Checking the records, I see that The Folly Brothers put their debut album ‘Bridge 101' out  in 2016: considering (lockdown excepted) they've been totally active in the intervening years, it's perhaps a little surprising that the new single "Belly Full of Whiskey" has taken until now to emerge.

The members have plenty of family & professional distractions & commitments of course (many are the children born in the interim) and I've also had various discussions regarding their concern to get any recording just right.

However I think a key idea to consider is the nature of their undoubted popularity. I think the balance is overwhelmingly tilted in favour of their live work (hopefully new releases will adjust this) and that's of such a level that I'm sure they are very happy.

You can't record too well if you are on the road so much either & I've been following their progress in 2025 when the hard work & dynamism they hurl into playing has resulted in a

long term connection with ‘Summer in Nashville' promotions (they also play outside the one season I should add) and hence a string of high profile concerts in terms of both venues and festivals and of their prominence on the bills. I'd also note that they seem one of the few acts on this series to favour their own compositions.

This no doubt is doing wonders for their profile & career but I am sure that if they want to consolidate their clearly grown audience while remaining true to their own integrity as songwriters as well as performers, original material is most helpful.

"Belly Full of Whiskey" probably speaks to both aspects given that it's original & the subject matter is prime Folly Brother territory.

I don't want to get too bogged down in the process of deciding whether their performance on the recording is a progression from nine years ago as I really liked the album. However nine years of playing many times must rub off & the feedback from thousands must drive each forward in gusto as well as technique.

There have been a few "fourth brothers" alongside Jonny, Mark & Wes over those years and this song features prominent mandolin from one of them: Alfie Amadeus.

What impressed me was the sound they've gone for. Slotting into a Nashville styled scene might persuade people to go for the more polished & contemporary sound which reflects some of the artists who are the inspirations for the tribute acts on the circuit.

"Belly Full of Whiskey" might hail from Tennessee too, but definitely up in the hills & not from the bright lights of the big city. This is the roots music where The Folly Brothers' hearts lie and the point most of their original fanbase entered their world. I'm going to salute them for that & as it's my review…..

Unfortunately I've not caught up with the band for some time so I must join you in speculating as to how much of a one off this single might be or whether it's the first of several releases.

You can catch The Folly Brothers on 19^th December for a special Christmas gig at Leamington's Irish Club: tickets were available via: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-folly-brothers-ho-ho-hoedown-the-irish-club-leamington-spa-cv32-5ah-tickets-1855989136469 but as they seem to have sold out, you could email their management at: management@follybrothers.com to join the waiting list for returns.

This time of the year tends to generate "special" events & last evening at Kenilworth's United Reformed Church was no exception. In fact it epitomised the phenomenon.

I could justify my statement simply by stating that the headliner was Ellie Gowers but there is so much else that you can sit back & I'll list it for you.

I have repeatedly prophesised great popularity for Ellie & thankfully it's all coming to pass. Consequently as I foresaw, we don't see as much of her locally as we once did as she tours (by herself and with The Magpies) nationally & internationally.

Yesterday marked the final stop on a national solo tour & my heart was in my mouth until I arrived as the Glasgow leg had to be postponed due to apprehension over her voice: fortunately the rest worked. One might wonder if she prioritised her home crowd (and she said she knew 90% of the packed auditorium personally) over the music fans of Glasgow. In fact I did put that to her.

And there is much in what she does which reveals her continued involvement in our local grassroots scene. This gig was put together with long term collaborator Victoria of Kenilworth's Tree House Bookshop (look out for the programme of gigs they've put together in coming months). The real ear opener for me was support act Cat Mead. Ellie had made it clear that she wanted her partner for the gig to be a young locally based musician who could benefit from the showcase & in Cat she certainly found a real talent: I'll be looking forward to catching her live again & to reviewing the material she tells me that she is recording.

Leamington based (though from Australia), Cat is one of those musicians who ticks my boxes. A strong, original songwriter whose influences don't show heavily in her work: I couldn't spot any obvious ones. She sings of subjects of interest & maturity, shunning cliches and tropes. Most people would either avoid writing songs about their late Grandfather or risk falling into the big trap marked "mawkish". It is to Cat's credit that her song was narrative, fresh & moving without going near such a pitfall.

Her playing is delightfully unaffected with character & accessibility in addition to her obvious abilities. Much as I enjoyed her set, I was chuffed when Dan Sealey, so much more experienced & knowledgeable than me in such matters, praised her in response to a photo I posted. Not that I saw him there unfortunately but it was packed out with a waiting list for ticket returns.

How Ellie can keep her local radar so acutely tuned as to find Cat while roaming so far & wide is incredible. I look for truth in a musician (as I say probably too frequently here) and Cat has plenty of both in what she writes & how she performs it.

Ellie does feel that as much as she loves her home crowd, she does feel a little extra pressure. That must be true because she is a truthful person, but all I can say is that pressure can prompt that extra special level in the best artists.

I'm not sure how much she'll appreciate my starting with this, but from my earliest reviews I noted how in the great intensity of her performances, she tended to stomp her feet and dance around. This aspect had been dialled back in some of the recent gigs I'd seen but she was back at it (in her old trademark Doc Martens) in very fine form: I suggest the most dynamic I've ever seen with even some new moves she went instinctively into in the ecstasy of the playing. Not perhaps a comment on her musicianship, but to me key indicators not just of the profundity of the passion of her performance but on this occasion of feeling at home.

And in terms of her musicianship: her singing and guitar playing just get better & better yet she still serves the song entirely: I'm sure she could show off if she wanted but her integrity stops that.

She also pretty much improvised the setlist after a planned start: which again suggests a certain state of mind. Consequently we were treated to a surprising percentage of brand new songs: and guess what: they must be amongst her best ever. I'd also state how different they were to any you've heard from her before (a point I put to her afterwards and which she endorsed). But then that's Ellie isn't it? I honestly don't think any of her EPs or albums has sounded much like its predecessor.

She is a constantly progressing artist & to see her playing on the same bill as her great influence Richard Thompson which she has done twice this year and to see her scheduled for some really big events in 2026 alongside major folk legends (on the poster for the Indoor Festival of Folk at Cecil Sharp House, her name is the same size as that of Maddy Prior etc) shows that so many people are catching onto what we've known for quite a while.

With her huge repertoire (the new songs edged out so many favourites and she played several from 'You, The Passenger' which has just come out in extended & indeed vinyl form), covers have pretty much disappeared from her set. However the final moment was her (unplanned) a cappella version of "In The Bleak Midwinter" (which I have, I'm pleased to say heard her do years ago: presumably around this time of year) which defies my ability to adequately describe, delivered as it was in beautiful church with the space for her voice to soar up into.

Beforehand, I'd chatted to Cat about the space & its acoustics and how I was going to find it hard to avoid expressing how good a fit it was to the artist & her talents: well of course it's impossible to not say so. A sublime ending. But that was fitting considering all that had gone before.

The next stop for Ellie is a well earned break. I'm so looking forward to what's going to be a stunning new album.

Manos Puestas fans may be a little frustrated with us in that although we featured their track "Entre Dos Aguas" on ‘Hot Music Live Presents Volume Thirteen' (as a tribute to Matt Hernandez), we've not written about them much in the magazine: it took until this summer for a live review and now we can address the issue of one of a release as their new album, the appropriately named ‘Cantando' is out.

A ten track treat featuring "Sweet Sue", "Little Suede Shoes", "Autumn Leaves", "Fuentiduende", "All Of Me", "Georgia on My Mind", "After You've Gone", "Manha De Carnival", "Take The ‘A' Train" and "Cosa Azul", I'm afraid I don't have the compositional credits but I'm working on the assumption that some, if not all the songs which are instantly familiar are originals.

The trio (Matt Sullivan, Jon Lewis and Matt Watson) are pretty flexible in terms of lineups: live variants  also include  duo and quartet formats. This is reflected in their musical interests and expertise: groping for a label (if I must) leads just to "World Music" (local readers will remember Jon in Le Cod Afrique) and a voyage through their music will take you to Spain, Africa and Latin America (to name a few) and encompass jazz and manouche. Which is fine by me and certainly keeps albums like ‘Cantando' fresh as the content is so eclectic.

So far so good in that I can identify the musical styles. Where I start to flounder is describing the other obvious characteristic of the band: their excellence. These are virtuoso players and this helps explain the fact that they play across a national & international context, such is the demand to hear them play. I respect their skills but really don't have the technical vocabulary for them. What may be more important though is the lightness with which they carry their brilliance. Some players in these fields really do project a sense of their superiority and feelings of entitlement to praise (they don't get that in my articles I can assure you). Manos Puestas in contrast project a more modest presence & appear to be playing this music because they love doing so & any expertise comes from playing with love & playing a lot. Frankly I think audiences can tell the difference & respond accordingly.

So what of these particular tracks?

Given the commercial pressures of the business from which they make their living, as much as I'm sure they enjoy writing their own material, covers must be part of their sets. I do however raise my hat to them for taking on some of these classics: not only has the ground been well travelled over before (to say nothing of the status of the originating versions) but in many cases you don't have to travel far to hear multiple turgid MOR renditions by less talented players which as far as I do not only are inherently depressing but reduce the currency of the song for me.

The trio's answer (or answers) seem to embrace both that lightness which dispels the plodding earnestness of the duller bands and a sense of respect which also nevertheless manages to incorporate the confidence to play with the time honoured & time expired arrangements.

The quintessential example here is taking the Duke Ellington classic and without his orchestra to call on, strip it right back to a Django Reinhardt arrangement: just about retaining the central melody but shorn of so many other instruments, leaving space for the guitar parts to have a ball. If I said this was the most refreshing version of "Take The ‘A' Train" I'd heard in many of a year, I certainly would not be exaggerating. Equally "Autumn Leaves" is revived by means of the gossamer touch in a similar rescue mission.

Regular readers will possibly sense the direction I'm going here: my preference for musicians who utilise space in playing and favour less over more. I'd also like to praise the singing: far too often the sort of artists I've mentioned above whom I'm not keen on also try to cover up the morbidity of the playing with lurid vocals: showboating & generally going far too far: drawing attention away from the song. Here, the singing is again modest and discreet: tasteful in fact.

If these reference points helped me to find areas I felt confident enough to discuss with you, I'm pleased since it helps me get around the technical ones. From here it's also easy to extend this essential philosophy of Manos Puestas to cover the other songs, especially the ones where I don't have an existing comparison to draw on.

Some artists might try and cover diverse styles to chase demographics (I strongly fear that not only do their labels push them but that there are now algorithms which define album content). Here, in contrast, I get the picture of musicians with wide ranging interests who have tried hard to capture some of them in only ten tracks.

I feel I can tell an album made with love & that ‘Cantando' is one such.

One of my minor agendas is to seek to balance the highly limited repertoire of Christmas music broadcast by mainstream media by posting festive tracks by artists outside that area and especially ones featured by ‘Hot Music Live'.

I reviewed the Christmas single "Happy Christmas, All Will Be Fine" by King of the Alps back in 2020 when it came out & under normal circumstances would have shared it each year since. However in the immortal words of Echo and the Bunnymen: "easier said than done my friend."

In their modesty & discretion, the band not only didn't create a video to share but they also deleted the capacity to download the track so there was literally no link to share. Until now.

They not only have created a video you can access via this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kv0hBfUYi-M

but in the very fine tradition of this band, when they make a video, they make a most artistic one: and one which definitely fits nicely with the song it's illustrating. Initially a monochrome homage to The Simpsons' "Mr Plow' advert (can't think of anyone doing that) it then segues via a series of festive performance clips into footage of Paul & Simon jumping into the River Avon at Guy's Cliffe (thankfully it would appear in summer). Some of these sections defy literal interpretation in the context of the song (or at least I'm incapable of it) and the creative decision process of writing them comes across as surreal. Which is fine. This is King of the Alps. This is them.

This band aren't terribly interested in commercial success and make music as they want to. However even by their idiosyncratic standards "Happy Christmas, All Will Be Fine" as a song stands out (though apparently not in their own minds: in the intervening years I did enquire about the song and at least one member seemed to struggle to remember much about it).

As I said in 2020: "If however you are expecting something which will nestle snugly alongside all the old favourites on a Christmas compilation, I did warn you against second guessing them. I find it unlikely that "Happy Christmas, All Will Be Fine" will be featuring at any karaoke sessions & possibly Radio Two will pass on it. Although both are consummate experienced musicians, with this band they have no fear of experimenting with sound & this song is certainly experimental".

Which to my mind has always been a reason to share it with the wider world.

Since it was five years since the original review and I can't expect you to recollect my words, I also said "Unusually, since previous songs were originally created by Paul, this one has its genesis in a double bass & drum track created by Simon & sent to Paul who made a loop and added electric guitar, drum & vocals in his home studio……So laid back in tempo & feel that it more resembles a post Christmas lunch lethargy than a party, the various elements drift in and out of the mix like some of the more outré examples of well, experimental jazz and minimalism is a key element. The one possible direct inspiration which I could detect is vaguely Eastern in origin with an Indian drone plus a sort of gamelan guitar figure."

Much as I do like Slade and The Pogues, we also need idiosyncratic Christmas songs like this. We also need more King of the Alps in 2026: it was great to see them play at our fundraiser for The Tin in June but that was their only live show of 2025 and this their only (re)release. (The song is available as a free download via: https://kingofthealps.bandcamp.com/track/happy-christmas-all-will-be-fine). Let's keep our fingers crossed.

It's a big bonus when artists you respect have such a broad range of musical interests that they need to put them out under different names: I suppose confusion dodging is the reason but I personally suspect that music lovers have the flexibility to embrace diversity: it's the music media & the music industry who struggle to deal with those who operate in several of the artificial boxes they construct to imprison people in.

‘Fall To Ocean', the new Phoebe Court release (under her ‘Barnabas' moniker) is a world away from her work with The Caroline Bomb: briefly while the latter might be said to be on a mission to wake people up,

"To Fall To Ocean is
To Reflect
To Relax
To De-stress
To Heal
To Sleep
To Dream"

Quite the contrast.

Another Barnabas gifted therapeutic programme a la ‘Lucia's Method', ‘Fall To Ocean' is made up of the tracks "Fall To", "Ocean Dance", "Ocean Wash", "Ocean Rest", "Ocean Breath", "Ocean Glide", "Ocean Shimmer"(which seems to be her favourite) and "Rise To Bubbles".

She draws on the power of the ocean to drive this album & with its tradition as a source of mindfulness generation & therapeutic balm, that's fine by me. Also, she sent it me yesterday mid way through a stressful day so not only could I have a think about the musical qualities, I could put it to my own uses immediately. Thank you.

Given my gratitude for helping me in that way, I'm not sure whether ‘Fall To Ocean' has thereby slipped over into another category other than that which usually requires a conventional musical critique: but here goes.

My first observation I suppose is round the structure & compositional nature of the album. Mindfulness records tend (as far as I can tell) towards extended pieces designed for immersion. The mere fact that we have here eight discrete ones is unusual. Equally while most fall within a band of nearly five minutes to nearly nine (quite respectable if you're looking to submerge), "Ocean Glide" is around four & the opener barely a minute and a half: so norms are being challenged here.

"Ocean Shimmer" is indeed a very "musicianly" track: possibly the most conventionally performed Barnabas one I've yet heard and certainly shows off her guitar skills: very alluring & embracing, this one enfolds and caresses as the mission promises.

However Phoebe's humour & courage to launch into something & see where it goes are also evident: the opening track takes off from where ‘Lucia' ended: a bit bonkers & possibly intended to evoke the confused state of mind which the rest of the album aims to remedy?

On "Ocean Glide" (which nudges the symphonic) we get a saxophone and on the final track a host of less conventional instrumentation including "wood, glass & leg tapping", "mouth sounds", "hand sounds" and the mysterious "jumper": all of which do combine into something soothing (with the promised bubbles) and above all determines that what we don't get just a homogenous blend of agreeable treated guitars, vocals & synths which no doubt would do the trick & is probably how a lot of mindfulness records are created. Here instead we have wit and variety: both of which I welcome in any context.

If the festive season is for you something of a psychological minefield, you could do worst than equip yourself with this set of remedies before it kicks off.