#Reverberations Day 17 🗣️ Spiritualized 🎶 Come Together Ladies and gentlemen... is one of those albums which covers so much ground while staying cohesive from start to finish. Years ago, songs like this were less up my street than the opener. Now, I love them equally. Give me those guitars!

#OrchestralManoeuvres Day 17 🗣️ Michael Kiwanuka 🎶 Light One of my favourite 'current' artists, his Self-titled third album is a tour de force in identity and self-exploration. That is true to the very end, with emotional closer Light a string-laden beauty which never fails to raise goosebumps.

#365PerfectSongs 48/365 Every day in 2026, I'm playing and sharing a song that I think is perfect. No extra commentary. No notes. Just the song. Today's song is Cranes' 'Far Away'. #MusicSky

In buying Lisa's Christmas present, I made a rod for my own back. But moving hundreds of records out of the way has created a new place where I can truly treasure my collection 👇 #MusicSky #VinylSky

Talk Talk's 'The Colour Of Spring' was released #OnThisDay in 1986. It may be 40 years old, but it remains a timeless relic, one of the most incredible records ever made and the perfect midpoint between the band's synthpop beginnings and their majestic masterpieces. #MusicSky

I've spent a bit of time updating my Substack page and now all my music blogs are surprisingly organised and unsurprisingly pretty fancy looking. Every subscriber I get means the world to me, so please check it out and share with your friends 🙏🎶 #MusicSky top10nathan.substack.com

#2026AlbumDiscoveries 19. Moor Mother | Jazz Codes (2022) This album is about so much more than music. A host of collaborators make for a wondrous but difficult listen, piecing together the history of typically black music with - jazz, blues, rap - into something special...

#Reverberations Day 16 🗣️ Pale Saints 🎶 Kinky Love This Nancy Sinatra cover puts Meriel Barham on guest vocals while Pale Saints produce dream pop reverb to create an absolutely wonderful pallette.

#OrchestralManoeuvres Day 16 🗣️ Serge Gainsbourg 🎶 Melody You don't need to speak a word of French to understand the nature of Gainsbourg's most famous album. The opener is littered with seductive vocal delivery, sumptuous bass, and mindblowingly intense strings.

#365PerfectSongs 47/365 Every day in 2026, I'm playing and sharing a song that I think is perfect. No extra commentary. No notes. Just the song. Today's song is Brian Eno & John Cale's 'Cordoba'. #MusicSky

From jazz legends to the most famous farewell album and plenty in between, here are Six Of The Best musicians who went out on a high. #MusicSky

#2026AlbumDiscoveries 18. Songs: Ohia | The Magnolia Electric Co. (2003) Bloody hell. This lives up to a stellar online reputation. Every time I see the striking cover, effusive praise isn't far behind. I still think I was undersold the majesty of this album...

Listening to this one again. Landgren's voice has echoes of Nick Drake, which is incredible considering he's more than three times his age at the time of Five Leaves Left 👇

#NowPlaying The Olympians | In Search Of A Revival Jazz-inspired soul instrumentals fresh out this weekend sounding as juicy as they should two days and four plays in. So much good stuff to sink your teeth into here - bitesized bundles of smooth energy. A 2026 highlight for me. #MusicSky

The pitfall of organising records alphabetically by artist is the constant jump scare of World Party's 'Goodbye Jumbo' every time I turn around. #MusicSky

Watched No Way Out (1987) yesterday afternoon. What starts off as an erotic thriller soon gives way to a brilliantly ludicrous cat-and-mouse game in Washington. A joy of a film that doesn't come up as a classic of the genres despite great contemporary reviews.

#AllThatJazz Thelonious Monk | Underground Jazz that evokes old Disney films and soundtracks perfectly rainy days is always a joy. This might fit that categorisation better than anything else I've heard. Swinging, rip roaring jazzy joy.

#Reverberations Day 15 🗣️ The Cure 🎶 Cold My favourite Cure song from my favourite Cure album. The shimmering guitars here are from another world entirely - one much like the hellish landscape which adorns the cover.

#OrchestralManoeuvres Day 15 🗣️ Brian Eno, John Cale 🎶 Cordoba Slightly bending the one-per-artist rule with Cale two days running (and will again) but the man is too good not to include his partnerships. The viola solo in this already-haunting song takes it all up another level.

#365PerfectSongs 46/365 Every day in 2026, I'm playing and sharing a song that I think is perfect. No extra commentary. No notes. Just the song. Today's song is Talking Heads' 'This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody) [Stop Making Sense]'. #MusicSky

#NowPlaying Jeremiah Chiu/Marta Sofia Honer | Recordings From The Åland Islands Been playing this all week, but it's a gorgeous soundtrack for cooking dinner too. Inspired by the titular Nordic archipelago, the combination of synths and viola are as gorgeous as they are unique. #MusicSky #NP

#2026AlbumDiscoveries 17. Etta James | At Last! (1960) An incredible record, bettered only by the fact it's James's debut. Of course, I know the title track '...Make Love...' but the entire thing is sublime. Her voice is of course nothing short of incredible...

#AllThatJazz #NowPlaying Nils Landgren | Love Of My Life What an incredible Valentine's Day listen this is! Trombonist Landgren leads close friends across a sweeping variety of original work and covers, each of which hit the spot with bells on. This is a must-listen! #MusicSky

#Reverberations Day 14 🗣️ Sonic Youth 🎶 Shadow Of A Doubt Been a fair bit of love for this one so far, and rightly so. Sonic Youth were stellar right from the start, and though they were yet to go stratospheric, the shimmering, gothic quality throughout Evol is nothing short of breathtaking.

#OrchestralManoeuvres Day 14 🗣️ Lou Reed, John Cale 🎶 Hello, It's Me One of the most affecting closers I've ever heard. It took me a while to get this album, but it's a treasure trove of fun, memories, and a memoriam to Andy Warhol. The strings swell to a finale here without ever being overblown.

#365PerfectSongs 45/365 Every day in 2026, I'm playing and sharing a song that I think is perfect. No extra commentary. No notes. Just the song. Today's song is The Beach Boys' 'God Only Knows'. #MusicSky

Four records for Valentine's morning. What are you all listening to? #last4albums #MusicSky

"Themes of regret, aging, sibling rivalry, bitterness are all prevalent here. But rather than seeming tempestuous, it feels real. Perhaps too real." On Diamond Mine, an album which summed me up years before first hearing it 👇 #MusicSky

Quality over quantity for me this week, largely owing to time away and family playlists on the way and back. What's everyone else been listening to? #MusicSky

#AllThatJazz Pharoah Sanders | Promises Only time for one record this afternoon, so I'm making it more than worthwhile. Jazz, electronica, and orchestral strings forged together to ensure Sanders went out on the highest high. This is a miracle in music form.

#Reverberations Day 13 🗣️ Lush 🎶 Never-Never "Only children sometimes comprehend Loneliness can often be a friend". This is the twin in sound to the equally magnificent and better known 'Desire Lines'. At their best, Lush were untouchable.

#OrchestralManoeuvres Day 13 🗣️ Paddy McAloon/Prefab Sprout 🎶 I Trawl The Megahertz Quite simply one of the most mesmerising tracks ever made. The context plays a huge part, but the swells of synthetic strings that punctuate every turn are breathtaking on their own merits.

#365PerfectSongs 44/365 Every day in 2026, I'm playing and sharing a song that I think is perfect. No extra commentary. No notes. Just the song. Today's song is Tom Waits' 'Tom Traubert's Blues (Four Sheets To The Wind In Copenhagen)'. #MusicSky

Even as a kid, I didn't want to be happy. Melancholic isolation in some remote Scottish village was my dream. Years later, King Creosote and Jon Hopkins' 'Diamond Mine' both confirmed and denied my youthful wishes. RTs and subscribers appreciated 🙏 #MusicSky

#2026AlbumDiscoveries 16. Culture | Two Sevens Clash (1977) There are a few genres I've never delved into, reggae being one of the biggest. Kicking off with one of the classics might set the rest up for a fall, but what an exhilarating ride this was all the same...

#AllThatJazz Eberhard Weber | Later That Evening You know with Weber, you're guaranteed a good record. But on this 1982 album, the sidemen (including Pat Metheny on piano) make for a wondrous listen. It's sprawling and adventurous, even in the subtler moments, especially even. #MusicSky #JazzSky

#Reverberations Day 12 🗣️ The Jesus And Mary Chain 🎶 Just Like Honey I've never been able to get into everything JAMC have done, but the classic Psychocandy opener is legendary for a reason, and fits the bill perfectly here.

#OrchestralManoeuvres Day 12 🗣️ Mercury Rev 🎶 Holes Some songs just sound too good to be true. They are songs that permeate true joy. They are songs like Holes, the string-laden opener to the wonderful 'Deserter's Songs'.

#NowPlaying Seven tracks, 32 minutes in length, one 21st century masterpiece. Tomorrow's For The Record is on King Creosote and Jon Hopkins' Diamond Mine'. #MusicSky #VinylSky

#365PerfectSongs 43/365 Every day in 2026, I'm playing and sharing a song that I think is perfect. No extra commentary. No notes. Just the song. Today's song is My Bloody Valentine's 'Only Shallow'. #MusicSky

Exciter was billed on release and ever since by too many people as an ill-fitting title. Depeche Mode's imperial phase was mighty, but they still had an ambient masterpiece to come 👇 #MusicSky

Days by the sea >>>

This week's big ramble on taking a step in the right direction. Leaving Spotify and joining Qobuz isn't perfect, but in this increasingly tough world, it's something. I hope others can do the same 👇 #MusicSky open.substack.com/pub/top10nat...

#Reverberations Day 11 🗣️ Slint 🎶 Good Morning, Captain One of my all-time favourite songs from one of my all-time favourite albums. No other words needed for a certified masterpiece.

#OrchestralManoeuvres Day 11 🗣️ Ride 🎶 Vapour Trail The string quartet that closes out this track will also make it into #ExitMusic. When a song is this gorgeous, you have to find space for it in as many music challenges as possible.

#365PerfectSongs 42/365 Every day in 2026, I'm playing and sharing a song that I think is perfect. No extra commentary. No notes. Just the song. Today's song is Snow Patrol's 'An Olive Grove Facing The Sea'. #MusicSky

#OrchestralManoeuvres Day 10 🗣️ Depeche Mode 🎶 When The Body Speaks I've got a blog coming out soon on why I love Exciter so much. But the short version is that it contains this tender song, perhaps the most lyrically gorgeous Martin Gore has ever written. And then those strings...perfection!

#Reverberations Day 10 🗣️ Catherine Wheel 🎶 Ursa Major Space Station Ferment has more songs that fit the bill here, but Chrome has my favourite CW songs. This track is nothing short of mesmeric, invoking the spirit of being in outer space.

#365PerfectSongs 41/365 Every day in 2026, I'm playing and sharing a song that I think is perfect. No extra commentary. No notes. Just the song. Today's song is Cocteau Twins' 'Pandora (for Cindy) #MusicSky

After far too many years and dozens of flimsy excuses not to, I have finally left Spotify. I'm just a week in, but now everything sounds and feels better.