Tag Archives: Several Songs About Fire

Listening Post – March 2024

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As if it’s bloody March already?! Alongside our bumper playlist for the year (bringing together everything we’ve been loving from January through to now), the ‘Listening Post’ returns this month and it’s full of the good stuff!

Ease into spring with our March playlist – 20 tunes, old and new – featuring everything that’s been tickling our fancy of late. Be sure to tell your friends / family / pets too!

Whilst you’re here, can we quickly draw your attention to the new podcast that we launched at the start of the year? ’60 Minutes or less’ has been up and running for over a month now, featuring interesting chats with Joe Casey (Protomartyr), Paul Hanley (The Fall), Philip Frobos (Omni) and Jonathan Higgs (Everything Everything)! When you’re done here, get yourself listening to the new episodes and give it a rating on your favourite streaming service!


Tapir! – My God
(The Pilgrim, Their God and The King Of My Decrepit Mountain)

The hype for South-London-based sextet Tapir! hadn’t gone unnoticed here at Birthday Cake For Breakfast HQ, and their brilliantly titled debut album ‘The Pilgrim, Their God and The King Of My Decrepit Mountain‘ is quite the triumph. With shades of BC:NR and Caroline in the mix, ‘My God’ is a heavenly heart-swelling piece that really hits one in the feels.  

Corridor – Mourir Demain
(Mimi)

Having wooed us with their 2019 Sub Pop debut, ‘Junior‘, Montreal outfit Corridor reemerge in 2024 with a new album out next month (which rather cutely is named after the guitarist / vocalist’s cat). Whilst my Duolingo French hasn’t quite got me up to speed on the lyrics, the cinematic ‘Mourir Demain’ is a real slice of loveliness from the quartet where they ruminate on the march towards death.

Beth and Blue – Knife

How’s this for a speedy formation? Having met on a dating app in 2021, Aussie musicians Imogen Grist and Marcus Gordon not only tied the the knot in swift fashion, they also started a band too. Inspired by the likes of Nancy & Lee and Sonny & Cher, their latest single ‘Knife’ is a real hypnotic treat, like the track over the end credits of some bittersweet love story. 

Lip Critic – The Heart
(Hex Dealer)

Having previously appeared on these very pages mid-Covid 19, around the release of ‘Lip Critic II’, New York electro-punks Lip Critic return off the back of signing to tastemakers Partisan Records with the head-spinner that is recent single ‘The Heart’. Rapid doesn’t cut it, this is one to get the heart rate up.

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The Lovely Eggs – My Mood Wave
(Eggsistentialism)

Four years on from the release of ‘I Am Moron’ (with collaborations with Iggy Pop and Pigsx7 in-between), two-headed Northern noise makers The Lovely Eggs return to 2024 with a new album ready to go! Lead single ‘My Mood Wave’ is properly lovely and calls to mind the fuzz-pop we loved so much from Leeds lot Menace Beach.

Barry Hyde – Beautiful Cosmos
(Ivory Cutlery: A Tribute to Ivor Cutler)

Wait a minute, you’re telling me Barry Hyde – him out of our favourite group The Futureheads – did an Ivor Cutler covers record?! Big Ivor Cutler fan. Massive Barry Hyde fan. What a match made in heaven. Whereas Cutler’s original was a quirky twee thing, Hyde really puts a lovely spin on it. Magic. 

DEVO – Puppet Boy
(Shout)

Now this – this is your kitchen dancing DEVO record, I reckon. Just the other evening I was cooking in the kitchen, breaking off to energetically dance with our Plummer Terrier to cuts from the incredibly 80s sounding ‘Shout’. ‘Puppet Boy’ is catchier than that 100 day cough that’s been doing the rounds. 

METZ – 99
(Up On Gravity Hill)

Due to the haze of the pandemic, it feels like the last METZ record ‘Atlas Vending’ came out only a few months ago, rather than almost four years ago (!) Time playing tricks the way it does, METZ returned at the tail end of February to take our minds off it with not one, but TWO new singles from a forthcoming new album! ’99’ just clinches it for us, a raging return with a chorus heavy on the repetition that just won’t quit!

A. Savage – Riding Cobbles
(Several Songs About Fire)

Upon hearing ‘Riding Cobbles’ for the first time, it came as no surprise to hear Cate Le Bon was involved in the making of A. Savage’s latest record, ‘Several Songs About Fire’. Full of quirks, this sounds very much like something you’d hear on a DRINKS record (the Le Bon collaboration with Tim Presley of White Fence), full of plink-plonk instrumentation and dreamy dual vocals.

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Kyoko Takenaka x Tomoki Sanders – Grow
(Planet Q)

I don’t know how it happened, but BBC Radio 3 is now a regular fixture in my weekday mornings and Saturday afternoons. Love that ‘J to Z’! ‘Grow’ was a recent discovery from it, a riveting jazz bopper from the team at Planet Q, the collaboration between players Kyoko Takenaka and Tomoki Sanders, two artists from the Japanese diaspora. 

Ex-Easter Island Head – Norther
(Norther)

All this talk of artists not having released a record for three or four years – Liverpudlian lot Ex-Easter Island Head have not had a new album out since 2016! Last month saw the quartet release the title track from their forthcoming new album ‘Norther’ (out May via Rocket Recordings) and first impressions call to mind the type of instrumental wizardry that blew us away on that last Horse Lords record. Spellbinding bit of kit, this!

The Fall – No Bulbs 3
(Call For Escape Route)

Fell into a bit of a Mark E. Smith lyrics rabbit hole just the other day learning about ‘No Bulbs 3’. Is it about a junkie? Is it really about someone unable to find a belt to hold their trousers up in a messy flat? Whatever the case, it’s an infectious piece from one of my favourite lineup eras of the Northern leg-ends.

Tony Njoku – La Ruée
(Last Bloom EP)

What a dream this is from British-Nigerian artist and composer Tony Njoku. From a new EP out this May (via the ever dependable PRAH Recordings), ‘La Ruée‘ is engrossing from note one, a classical piece that isn’t afraid to blur the lines with electronic and ambient leanings.

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Vanishing Twin – Life Drummer
(Life Drummer)

Part of the Sub Pop Singles Club to start off the year, it’s always a joy to hear new music from London based trio Vanishing Twin. ‘Life Drummer’ is a moody banger that hardly lets up, its abstract lyrics adapted from a chapter from ‘The Listening Book’ by W.A. Mathieu.

Pencil – The Window

Following the release of their debut single ‘The Giant‘ in October 2023, Southern lot Pencil set phasers to stun with their delightful new single ‘The Window’. The first act from Moshi Moshi Records’ relaunched Singles Club, the new single reminds us of some of the loveliness encountered on Modern Nature records. Nice to see Cai Burns in the mix too, the ex-Kagoule guitarist / vocalist whom we’ll always have time for.

The Garment District – Moon Pale and Moon Gold
(Flowers Telegraphed to All Parts of the World)

Hearing this for the first time the other week, I thought Ouija Psych Pop super group The Moonlandingz had a new single out! Sadly not, but this is just as good – a trippy, psych adventure called ‘Moon Pale and Moon Gold’ from multi-instrumentalist Jennifer Baron and all her mates.

William Doyle – Now In Motion
(Springs Eternal)

We loved William Doyle’s ‘Great Spans of Muddy Time’ record from 2021, so were chuffed up to hear the Londoner had a new album on the way this year. The snappy ‘Now In Motion’ is a cucumber cool burst of wonky art-pop that sounds like Field Music at their best.

Ho99o9 – A Machine Of

Yeti Bones and theOGM, the New Jersey duo Ho99o9, explode into 2024 with the nails ‘A Machine Of’, a brutal blend of hardcore, industrial and hip-hop that makes one want to punch a hole in the sun on its heaviest moments. Ahead of its release, the pair’s socials suggested we “brace for impact” – too right!

English Teacher – R&B
(This Could Be Texas)

It’s getting silly now with Leeds, isn’t it? For years now, all the new and super exciting outfits seem to have emerged from Leeds and we can’t get enough of them! On ‘R&B’, taken from their forthcoming debut album ‘This Could Be Texas’, band of the moment English Teacher explore ideas of imposter syndrome on a moody post-punk number that calls to mind fellow Leeds lot Drahla.

Dana Gavanski – Ears Were Growing
(LATE SLAP)

Yet another wonk-pop winner from the forthcoming Dana Gavanski album ‘LATE SLAP’. We’ve compared the London based artist to Cate Le Bon before (and to be honest, I can see us doing it again and again), but we can assure you that such a comparison is a huge compliment. Funnily enough though, it’s actually Talking Heads that provided the influence on this one, which is just as good!

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Live Review: A. Savage at YES in Manchester 08 February 2024

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On Thursday evening, with a bitter, ice-cold wind cutting through every layer, I’d never wanted to get off the streets and into the Pink Room at YES more. Amazingly – given our penchant for live outings throughout the 12 months that make up any year – the A. Savage show in Manchester would end up being my first of 2024. Rather fittingly though, half of the live players for Savage just happened to be in the last band we’d seen in 2023 – Jack Cooper and Jeff Tobias, players in Cooper’s own Modern Nature.

Thanks to a missed tram on the way in, I didn’t manage to catch the support sadly, though I did witness their final moments as they left the stage. It was a laugh to see that as soon as the band stepped backstage, the big empty space up front filled with people, the crowd like participants in a timid game of What’s The Time Mr Wolf? Having not been privy to what went on during their set, maybe they’d said something risqué or really frightened the crowd beforehand, who knows…

My first show of the year and their first show of the tour, just a few songs in, Savage suggested that it had been “too long” since he’d had the pleasure of playing with his band mates. What a band it was too, the aforementioned Cooper and Tobias notably joined by Dylan Hadley on the drums, a dynamite player last seen with these eyes when she was backing up Cate Le Bon.

Before all that though, we melted into the glow of the Pink Room stage as they opened up on the silky smooth lounge stylings of new single ‘Black Holes, The Stars and You’, featuring a swish turn on keys from Adam Buxton lookalike Tobias, whilst Hadley calmly crashed and banged, hair thrashing back and forth as she did so.

Everyone was cucumber cool on stage and even when Savage did miss his cue on a verse, he brushed it off with a shake of the head and a quick apology before moving right on. I would say there were a good few dotted throughout the sold out crowd who were in the mood for some Parquet Courts vibes and, sure enough, when the electric guitar was strapped on for the snappy ‘Elvis In The Army’, the crowd came alive. Rather worryingly, someone behind us said to their mate at its end. “THAT ONE was good”.


‘I Can’t Shake the Stranger Out of You’ and ‘The Oyster and the Flying Fish’ were neat 70s covers that the internet tells us were originally performed by Lavender Country and Kevin Ayers respectively. Both were completely unfamiliar to these keen ears, but more than welcome additions tucked into the set, both very much believable cuts that Savage and his pals would be keen on.

Their arrival in Manchester came not too long after the release of Savage’s new album – his second solo effort – ‘Several Songs About Fire’, out at the tail end of last year. Outside of the singles, ‘Riding Cobbles’ and ‘Le Grand Balloon’ were highlights to get swept up in, the former a quirky Cate Le Bon / DRINKS style delight (with drummer Dylan rather appropriately joining in on backing vocals), whilst the latter sounded a touch like Jonathan Richman. The saxophone came alive from the back, the ripper solo rightly applauded as Savage let it all hang out on the vocals, belting it out as his mouth grew large like a still from Peter Gabriel’s ‘Sledgehammer’ video.

Having been engrossed with the new record of late, there were a number of cuts that surfaced from Savage’s debut solo album, ‘Thawing Dawn’, that had slipped my mind but sounded great on the night. From the lovely hushed title track to the moving ‘Indian Style’, the cowboy rollicking number ‘Winter in the South’ could have done with a few whip cracks and pistol shots, but otherwise was a heart-racer befitting of a western soundtrack. On ‘Ladies from Houston’, Savage would let rip on occasion, his guitar ringing and shrieking, his eyes closed as he plugged away and the rest of the band hammered it out. Every time Savage switched it up to electric, there was a bolt of energy that went through him, as he let loose and got stuck in.

“This is such a fabulous band and I’m honoured to share the stage with them.” Said Savage following band introductions and he really seemed it too, putting on a charming turn all night for a devoted crowd who were possibly more used to seeing the New Yorker on much larger stages.

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(Photo Credit: Vince McClelland)

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Listening Post – February 2024

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Eagle-eyed readers might’ve spotted the lack of a ‘Listening Post’ at the start of the year. We’ve been a bit busy launching a podcast you see – ’60 Minutes or less’ – live now, featuring interesting chats with Joe Casey (Protomartyr) and Paul Hanley (The Fall)!

That doesn’t mean we’ve had our ears closed to new music, mind. Alongside our bumper playlist for the year (bringing together everything great throughout 2024), the ‘Listening Post’ returns this month and it’s full of good stuff!

Ease out of January and into February with 20 tunes, old and new – be sure to tell your friends / family / pets too!


Fulu Miziki – Pieteron

With a name that roughly translates as “music from the garbage”, Ugandan outfit Fulu Miziki look like superheroes from an early 80s Troma film series, decked out in eye-boggling attire, playing a number of instruments that they themselves have upcycled. Latest single ‘Pieteron’ is a heart-racing mover-and-shaker to get your body bopping!

Pissed Jeans – Moving On
(Half Divorced)

Off the back of releasing brutal standalone single ’No Convenient Apocalypse’ last year (one of our Top 50 songs of 2023!), Pennsylvania’s Pissed Jeans look to 2024 with the release of their sixth album, ’Half Divorced’. Lead single ‘Moving On’ treads a little lighter than the last single, but still thunders ahead in chest-pumping fashion, the chorus becoming an instant earworm after just one go. 

Dana Gavanski – How To Feel Uncomfortable
(LATE SLAP)

Early contender for single of the year, ‘How To Feel Uncomfortable’ is a riveting, Cate Le Bon style wonk-pop affair that’s had us hooked since it was released early last month. There’s a hint of LUMP in the mix too, which makes sense given that the new album from Dana Gavanski was recorded with Mike Lindsay at his studio in Margate.

BODEGA – Tarkovski
(Our Brand Could Be Yr Life)

Rejoice – a new year comes with news of a new record from BODEGA! The new Yorkers have dipped into their back catalogue, putting together a new record of material originally written almost a decade ago. Anthemic lead single ‘Tarkovski’ is a joy, capturing everything we love about the outfit in a sparkling four minute package. TAKE ME TO THE ZONE!

We actually heard a number of cuts from the record in a live stylee a number of years back and can confirm they sounded rad back then!

Omni – Plastic Pyramid
(Souvenir)

PUMP! PUMP! PUMP UP THE PYRAMID! Ahead of releasing their fourth full length later this month (via Sub Pop), Atlanta’s Omni return with possibly their catchiest single to date. Featuring the fitting coolness of guest vocalist Izzy Glaudini (a first for the trio), ‘Plastic Pyramid’ is a swish post-punk delight and yet another addictive addition to their oeuvre.

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Ty Segall – My Best Friend
(Three Bells)

Sounding very much like a ‘Rated R’ b-side, Californian cool lad Ty Segall once again shines with a groove-tastic, fuzzy number about his canine companions, Fanny and Herman. As a dog owner, I sing to my own dog constantly throughout the day, so I feel a kinship with Ty and the gnarly ripper that is ‘My Best Friend’.

Gustaf – Starting and Staring
(Package Pt. 2)

Following the release of their debut album ‘Audio Drag For Ego Slobs’ in 2021, Brooklyn’s Gustaf return this spring with its follow up, ‘Package Pt. 2’. Groovy new single ‘Starting and Staring’ is a stone cold bop, capturing some of the energy and intensity that vocalist Lydia Gammill and the rest of the crew bring to their live shows. 

Maxband – Nothing’s Changed
(Maxband On Ice)

I love how as soon as the chorus hits in this one, it’s like – oh that’s one of the Savage’s! Switching out drums for guitar and taking on shared vocal duties, Max Savage (Parquet Courts) fronts the aptly named Maxband. Latest single ‘Nothing’s Changed’, from their forthcoming debut album, is a swish indie-rock number with some bite. 

Marcos Resende & Index – Behind the Moon
(Marcos Resende & Index)

Sounding not too dissimilar to ‘Blowdry Colossus’, the latest solo album from Peter Brewis of Field Music, ‘Behind the Moon’ is a brilliantly wonky pop piece of the ‘Mother Earth’s Plantasia’ variety. From a recently “unearthed” self-titled debut album recorded in Rio de Janeiro in 1976 from progressive Brazilian instrumental musician Marcos Resende.

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(Photo Credit: Courtney Deutz)

Uranium Club – Small Grey Man
(Infants Under The Bulb)

We were filled with utter delight upon waking up one morning in January to discover The Minneapolis Uranium Club had not only resurfaced, but that there’d be a new album on the way – their first since ‘The Cosmo Cleaners’ back in 2019. New single ‘Small Grey Man’ is a total trip, their quirky DEVO vibes making for a welcome return. 

Diode – Tomothy
(Diode)

Oh we do love rapid-fire synth-punk gnarliness on Birthday Cake For Breakfast. Dig this from Los Angles outfit Diode, a super catchy speed-run that packs in so much, but is somehow just over a minute long (just how we like It!) 

Half Man Half Biscuit – She’s in Broadstairs
(Cammell Laird Social Club)

From Birkenhead with love, amazingly it’s taken me 20 years to discover the brilliant ‘She’s In Broadstairs’, but there’s no looking back now. Piss-funny and invigorating all at once, a top turn from Half Man Half Biscuit.

Jane Weaver – Perfect Storm
(Love In Constant Spectacle)

Psych-pop funkiness on this infectious cut from Jane Weaver, ‘Perfect Storm’ being the opener from her forthcoming new album ‘Love In Constant Spectacle’, out this April. It’s more than easy to get lost in this proper hypnotic, cosmic jam.

A. Savage – Out Of Focus
(Several Songs About Fire)

As a massive fan of Savage’s 2017 solo debut, ‘Thawing Dawn’, I was chuffed up to see the Parquet Courts vocalist return once more in a solo capacity with the release of new album, ‘Several Songs About Fire’. Closer ‘Out Of Focus’ is a heart-swelling slice of loveliness that sounds like the perfect soundtrack to a sunny Sunday jaunt in a sleepy European village.

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Drahla – Default Parody
(angeltape)

Off the back of a few knockout singles these past few years, Leeds / Wakefield collective Drahla finally follow up their 2019 debut album ‘Useless Coordinates’ with a full length, due out this spring. As they so often do, Drahla knock it out of the park instantly, new single ‘Default Parody’ being a jagged post-punk head-wrecker, elevated as ever by the cucumber cool vocal of Luciel Brown.

USA Nails – Cathartic Entertainment
(Feel Worse)

Making their label debut with One Little Independent Records next month, USA Nails kick off new album ‘Feel Worse’ with the gnarly, chaotic ’Cathartic Entertainment’, yet another blistering ear-ringer that has had us making that smell-the-shit face all month. What a way to open a record!

Donny Benét – American Dream
(Infinite Desires)

Sounding like the sort of thing David Earl would cook up for a jingle on Chatabix, Donny Benét’s ‘American Dream’ is a total nostalgic funk-fest. With an aesthetic not too dissimilar to fellow countryman / weirdo Alex Cameron, it’s taken a sixth album for us to discover Benét, but with ‘Infinite Desires’, we’re happy to be on board.

Group Listening – Frogs
(Walks)

It feels very on brand for Group Listening to open up their newest single ‘Frogs’ with – you guessed it – 60 seconds worth of frogs chattering away. The ongoing musical collaboration between Paul Jones and Stephen Black (a.k.a. Sweet Baboo), their forthcoming album ‘Walks’ will be their first collection of completely original compositions. With a hint of an Italian cinema score to it, ‘Frogs’ is a luscious pool to swim in.

Dog Race – It’s The Squeeze

Love an oddball vocal, me! On top of a moody but inviting, keep-you-on-your-toes instrumental, vocalist Katie Healy captivates on ‘It’s The Squeeze‘ with an almost theatrical performance. Freshly signed to Fascination Street Records, one gets the feeling we’ll be hearing a lot more from Londoners Dog Race!

Ibibio Sound Machine – Got To Be Who U Are
(Pull The Rope)

A decade on from the release of their self-titled debut album, Ibibio Sound Machine have just announced a new album is on the way – ‘Pull The Rope’ – the news arriving via show-stopping, sultry dance-a-thon lead single ‘Got To Be Who U Are’. London-born Nigerian vocalist Eno Williams graces the records cover once again and rightly so, having put on the usual powerhouse performance as expected!

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