SpideWriter

Dry January? New Musical Releases & Discoveries It is a tricky time of year. All that cosy time with close family, all the expense, all the food. Did you eat it all? Is it humanely possible to eat it all? The record store sale discounting music that some would have paid a higher price for just a few hours earlier. Well, at least daylight in the Northern Hemisphere is with us for a little longer, every minute counts.  As snow drops shimmer in the breeze and daffodil shoots appear, The Biz launches itself into the new year's calendar with a broad range of releases and tour announcements. I started the musical year by buying a fresh re-release from HMV of Nico 's second album, which was produced in collaboration with John Cale , still-living Welsh legend, once of The Velvet Underground .  The Nico album is without doubt, worth hearing.  Cale's musical education in Classical music is brought to bear on this collection of haunting songs, which has Nico's folksy, whimsica...

Album Review:   Gus Eaglehorn, The Hornbook Beautifully Bonkers This is a remarkable album.  My gut response to it was to seek out where this guy and his band are playing.  With an album title that suggests witchy spells for aphrodisiacal purposes, Gus Eaglehorn has produced a collection of songs that promise a theatrical event, an American rock musical for the age of The Great Pushback on Humanity we are living through.  With its quirky drama and humour, Eaglehorn demonstrates vital aspects of American art as old as the travelling freak shows of the Wild West and Victorian Britain.  Released on 31 st  January, 2025 ,   The Hornbook wraps up all that is to be loved about the indie American music scene in a candy-coloured bag that invites you to pick out what we fancy, but I reckon, you’ll not want to share and just swallow it all in one go.  It’s witty and weird enough to be played repeatedly – and it rocks where it has ...