#NowPlaying #NP 💿 Every Inch of Earth Pulsates 🎤 WH Lung What an album. It’s pretty breathless & shows a band in total command of music for the dance floor, art-rock & the occasional indie-banger. Bliss Bliss & Bloom and Fade are absolute top drawer.

Show us the last four albums you listened to⬇️ #last4albums A rainy Saturday edition.

#NowPlaying #NP 💿 Hail To The Clear Figurines 🎤 The Asteroid No 4 A brief pause on the near-constant spinning of the Massage album to play this bad boy. Really pleased to finally get a copy on wax. Reckon it will get another 13 mins of air time before either my family turn it off “that racket”🥴

#NowPlaying #NP 💿 Coaster 🎤 Massage I didn’t imagine that anything would come close to Bon Iver’s Sable, Fable as my AOTY but this may well do so. To my ears, it’s the best thing they have produced so far…it immediately puts me in my musical happy place. Can’t praise it highly enough. Superb.

#MusicChallenge #REMTop30 4. Finest Worksong My favourite opening track to a REM album. Definitely a harder edge to this and it absolutely rocks.

#MusicChallenge #REMTop30 5. Nightswimming Second pick from THAT closing trio on AFTP. Just beautiful.

#NowPlaying #NP 💿 Coaster 🎤 Massage The new album by one of my favourite bands of the last decade has arrived & it is sounding GLORIOUS. What a gorgeous looking slab of wax it is too…😍👌🔥 @massagetheband.bsky.social

#MusicChallenge #REMTop30 6. So Central Rain (I’m Sorry) Supposedly Thom Yorke’s favourite REM song.

Show us the last four albums you listened to⬇️ #last4albums Wednesday/Midweek edition.

#MusicChallenge #REMTop30 7. Perfect Circle Final pick from Murmur, one of the finest debuts imaginable.

#MusicSky #LiveMusic A cracking evening seeing Bear’s Den perform an acoustic set in Belfast. They have long been one of my favourite live acts: such warm, engaging performers playing so many heartfelt gems. Agape, Pompei, Laurel Wreath, Berlin, Dew on the Vine & so many more. Such a good band.

#NowPlaying #NP 💿 Albion 🎤 Harp This album is glorious. It’s definitely a more sombre, 80s-tinged group of songs than we were used to with Midlake. At times it is austere (I Am The Seed), at others radiant (Herstmonceux). Above all though Tim Smith’s voice soars. One of my favourite vocalists.

The postie has been and gone, dropping off a long, LONG, awaited Asteroid No.4 care package. Can’t wait to finally give this fine trio a spin.

#NowPlaying #NP 💿 Deleted Scene 🎤 Stumbleine Breakfast beats this morning. Don’t often have time to spin anything on a work morning so this is a lovely bonus. It’s just a gorgeous, downtempo slab of ambient electronic music. Well worth a gander.

#MusicChallenge #REMTop30 8. Losing My Religion Can’t think of many songs with a more iconic opening that this. Never fails to propel to my feet and make me want to jump around like an idiot.

#NowPlaying #NP 💿 Chiaroscuro 🎤 I Break Horses I’ve had both Hearts & Warnings for a while & am a big fan of both. This was a 2nd hand bargain but I didn’t have particularly high expectations, with a few mixed reviews. Enjoying it much more than I thought I would & it continues to grow on me.

Show us the last four albums you listened to #last4albums Music is the best tonic for an irritating Monday at work edition😎

#MusicChallenge #REMTop30 9. Be Mine Penultimate pick from NAIH. I adore this song. The dynamics are perfect here: those moments where it explodes with the full band are goosebump inducing. Glorious outro too.

#NowPlaying #NP 💿 S/T 🎤 The Slow Readers Club Last of the evening… They might have made better albums (Cavalcade, Build a Tower) but this is a cracking debut. All the hallmarks are there from the start. Such a consistent group and right up there among my favourite bands of the last decade.

#NowPlaying #NP 💿 Caught in a Wave 🎤 Moonlight Parade Across the 3 albums I own - this, What If & Strange Times - @moonlightparade.bsky.social don’t put a foot wrong. This might be my favourite, although that is splitting hairs. Hoping for a reissue of Out Of Nothing to complete the quartet👌

#NowPlaying #NP 💿 The Smile You Send Out Returns To You 🎤 Constant Follower The ambient folk of Constant Follower’s latest is a gorgeously arranged, atmospheric & contemplative affair (gotten better with each spin too). Perfect for Sunday mornings. Pick: All Is Well song.link/gb/i/1764964...

#MusicChallenge #REMTop30 10. Fall on Me My 2nd pick from Life’s Rich Pageant. Only selecting two is a bit odd, given it is such an excellent album. This song is flawless.

Show us the last four albums you listened to: #last4albums #MusicSky Saturday edition.

#NowPlaying #NP 💿 Once Twice Melody 🎤 Beach House One of only 3 double albums I own that fully justify their running time IMO. It’s a magnum opus for sure…not quite at the level of 7 for me but it’s still a stunning piece of work. It is beautifully presented too.

#MusicChallenge #REMTop30 11. Man on the Moon First from THAT remarkable closing trio of songs on AFTP.

I took the plunge… All this chatter gave me a hankering to see them perform finally. It’ll be a test of stamina with work that day and the next day but will be worth it 🤷‍♂️

#NowPlaying #NP 💿 Protest Songs 🎤 Prefab Sprout Released to little fanfare at the time but it holds up so well. It lacks the lush production of Steve McQueen (👌 Thomas Dolby) but it is a really immediate album. This, Steve McQueen & Jordan are among the best album trios by any band I own.

Flashback Fridays…90s edition😎 #NowPlaying #NP 💿 Olympian 🎤 Gene Still remains my favourite album of the 90s. Love it as much as I did in 1995…can’t believe it is 30 years old. A truly timeless album.

#MusicChallenge #REMTop30 12. Orange Crush Final pick and lead single from Green. It was at that point their highest chart hit (I think).

#NowPlaying #NP 💿 Daniel 🎤 Real Estate Last of the evening. Took me a while to appreciate this album, but it is a gem. Best thing do then is an impromptu ranking for RE albums: 1. Atlas 2. Daniel 3. Days 4. In Mind 5. Real Estate 6. The Main Thing

#NowPlaying #NP 💿 Coral Island 🎤 The Coral There is so much going on in this album it needs to have a tour guide in the form of James Skelly’s grandad. They definitely pushed the limits of their creativity on this double album. Not quite my favourite (stand up Butterfly House) but it’s superb.

#MusicSky #top10albums2020s 1. Summer Moon | TWBF 2. Punisher | Phoebe B 3. Everything | Blankenberge 4. Every Inch of Earth | WH Lung 5. Still Life | Massage 6. Javelin | Sufjan Stevens 7. Bunny | Beach Fossils 8. Fake Ideas | Hurry 9. There’s A Big Star | Swim Deep 10. Sable, Fable | Bon Iver

#MusicChallenge #REMTop30 13. How the West Was Won & Where It Got Us The strangest opening track on a REM album? Possibly. I’ve always found it mesmerising.

Show us the last four albums you listened to: #last4albums Mid week edition.

#NowPlaying #NP 💿 Still Life 🎤 Massage New album Coaster lands next month. Genuinely excited about it as Still Life is comfortably in my top 10 albums of the decade so far. Made of Moods, 10 & 2 and In Gray & Blue are fantastic songs, but there isn’t a duff song in sight.

#MusicChallenge #REMTop30 14. Swan Swan H 1st of 2 picks from Life’s Rich Pageant. Love the haunting, ominous atmosphere of a song that seems to be about the civil war 🤷‍♂️ I’m sure someone knows better than I about the meaning…

#NowPlaying #NP 💿 Crushed 🎤 Highspire There have a been a slew of quality shoegaze releases this year: Blankenberge, Glare, Hotline TNT & Maria Somerville to name 4. This is the equal of any of them. The production is stunning & the hooks are fantastic.

#NowPlaying #NP 💿 Blue Weekend 🎤 Wolf Alice First spin of another new arrival, haven’t so much as listened to a song by WA before this evening. Thanks to both @plc69.bsky.social & @top10nathan.bsky.social for the recommendation. Intrigued to listen to a band I’ve heard so much about.

#MusicChallenge #REMTop30 15. Gardening at Night Second pick from Chronic Town. Played when the band were inducted into the Hall of Fame when Michael dedicated it to his father.

#NowPlaying #NP 💿 The Race for Space 🎤 Public Service Broadcasting My first PSB album arrived at HQ today & diving straight in. Thanks to @tansleyjames.bsky.social & @eoindempsey.bsky.social for the recommendation. Really looking forward to giving these guys a whirl.

#NowPlaying #NP Van Occupanther | Midlake Post dinner clean-up in the company of one of top 5 albums of the 2000s. Been enjoying their new song a lot & it seems like Midlake v2 are hitting their stride post-T Smith. From the rousing Roscoe to the beautiful You Never Arrived this is just stunning.

#MusicChallenge #REMTop30 16. Driver 8 Opens with a superb riff, joined by one of my favourite MM baselines, and then an even better riff after the chorus. Possibly the most popular track on Fables, which is fair enough.

#NowPlaying #NP Seim | Quinquis Her use of Breton is possibly the least interesting thing about this stunner. If you like strange, ethereal electronica w/meditative vocals, this will do you nicely indeed. Perfect late night listening, some of it astonishing. Pick: Run song.link/gb/i/1605410...

Show us the last four albums you listened to: #last4albums Mellow Sunday edition.

#NowPlaying #NP I Don’t Know Who Needs To Hear This | Tomberlin It’s been a while but my melancholy, Covid-induced mood fancied my album of 2022. It’s an interesting album, without a traditional beginning, middle & end to the 11 tracks. It plays more like a stream of consciousness. It’s great.

#NowPlaying #NP Don’t Die in the Bundu | Wren Hinds Recorded in a mountainous wooden cabin outside Capetown, there is a gorgeous, gentle ambience from beginning to end on his 4th album. I’m currently laid up with covid so this is nice company. Perfect Sunday morning listening.

#MusicChallenge #REMTop30 17. Walk Unafraid I don’t particularly like Up, but to my ears Walk Unafraid proved they were still capable of producing great material.

#NowPlaying #NP Crooked Wing | These New Puritans Still very high on my best of 2025 list. Six years in the making & you can tell: at times it feels unpredictable but it is a meticulously crafted album. Some of it (I’m Already Here) is pretty breathtaking. Well worth a gander for art-rock fans.

Show us the last four albums you listened to: #last4albums Saturday, shoegaze edition.

#NowPlaying #NP Everything | Blankenberge 40 mins of the most glorious noise imaginable. From the astonishing Time to Live to the epic finale of Fragile, each song gives me goosebumps every time. It’s also why personally, this is my favourite shoegaze album of them all. Just a stunning album.