Album Of The Week – Boards Of Canada – Tomorrow’s Harvest : After nearly ripping the poor postman’s arms off when he delivered this to my door the first album from BOC in 8 years hasn’t been off the 33RPM stereo since. A darker album than it’s predecessor The Campfire Headphase, and influenced in part by soundtracks of the 70’s and 80’s, Tomorrow’s Harvest is full of brooding synths, hypnotic beats and buried treasures that demand repeat listenings. A definite album of the year contender.

33RPM At The Movies – Mogwai – Les Revenants Soundtrack : A little bit of a cheat this week, still a soundtrack but for tv and the new French supernatural drama Les Revenants, which is scored by one of my favourite bands Mogwai. A soundtrack of understated beauty with something dark and sinister bubbling under the surface it perfectly suits the show, which you can now see on Channel 4 (first episode is still on 4od if you are quick!)

Name Remains The Same – Demons – Super Furry Animals, Chelsea Wolfe and Dry The River were the bands that shared the song title Demons this week.

The first show of my 37th year of being on this planet and I couldn’t really ask for much more of a present than a new Boards Of Canada album! But as I’ve already gone on about that above I shall try and go a few sentences without mentioning how brilliant it is..oh bugger! I had another week off last week (big thanks to Gary Casserly for covering in my absence) part of which involved seeing the great Daniel Johnston live at the Barbican along with special guests as part of a 30 year anniversary tribute type event. One of the best things about the night (music being excellent and moving was a given) was the love in the room for Daniel. If you get the chance check out the documentary The Devil and Devil Johnston, which chronicles the life and struggles of an extraordinary artist.

Love affairs continued with two releases from this year, John Grant’s quite frankly heartbreaking second solo album Pale Green Ghosts and The National’s Trouble Will Find Me. The latter I commented on earlier in the week on Facebook saying “it makes me feel like I imagine it would If i’d hit rock bottom, lost everything, was out walking in the rain and ran into a long lost love that’d disappeared years before..” It really is a special record.

Nine Inch Nails are back (admittedly they weren’t away long) with a new album Hesitation Marks due in September and a teaser single Came Back Haunted. The single doesn’t really offer anything new but it’s NIN doing what NIN do well. So I look forward to hearing the rest of the album in September.
A final two mentions, firstly to Prince/Symbol/Purple One/That Tiny Fella on celebrating his 55th birthday, may the next 55 years be as funky as the last, and Baths on their gorgeous new album Obsidian. See you next week!

01 – Electric Six – Danger! High Voltage (Fire – 2003)
02 – Prince – Raspberry Beret (Around the World in a Day – 1985)
03 – Baths – Miasma Sky (Obsidian – 2013)
04 – Eleanor Friedberger – I’ll Never Be Happy Again (Personal Record – 2013)
05 – Super Furry Animals – Demons (Radiator – 1997)
06 – Boards Of Canada – Sick times (Tomorrow’s Harvest – 2013)
07 – John Grant – Vietnam (Pale Green Ghosts – 2013)
08 – Mogwai – The Huts (Les Revenants – 2013)
09 – Nine Inch Nails – Came Back Haunted (Hesitation Marks – 2013)
10 – Daniel Johnston – King Kong (Yip / Jump Music – 2013)
11 – Boards Of Canada – Split Your Infinities (Tomorrow’s Harvest – 2013)
12 – Chelsea Wolfe – Demons (Apokalypsis – 2011)
13 – The National – Sea Of Love (Trouble Will Find Me – 2013)
14 – Pere Ubu – Laughing (The Modern Dance – 1978)
15 – Pink Floyd – A Saucerful Of Secrets (Ummagumma – 1969)
16 – Dry The River – Demons (shallow Bed – 2012)
17 – Mogwai – Fridge Magic (Les Revenants – 2013)
18 – Boards Of Canada – Come To Dust (Tomorrow’s Harvest – 2013)
19 – Al Green – Take Me To The River (Al Green Explores Your Mind – 1974)

You can listen to this weeks show again on Mixcloud at https://www.mixcloud.com/33rpmphoenix/