Songs I Love

Gregory Alan Isakov is someone I’ve known about for a while, as I’d d heard his songs in indie folk playlists many times. I don’t think I became a fan until I heard songs from Appaloosa Bones, his 2023 album. ‘Sweet Heat Lightning’ is a beautifully sweet ballad and one of my favourites on the …

For most of my life, I didn’t actively listen to instrumental music. I think part of me wondered what the point was when all the action was in the lyric, melody and vocal performance. I’m glad that changed for me, largely in part to Mr F, who does listen to instrumental music and introduced me …

Many of you would have heard about the various boycotts of Spotify in recent years. Some people left when Joe Rogan was paid an obscene amount of money to put his podcast on the platform. Others cite founder Daniel Ek’s affiliation with a military drone technology company. For me, it was probably a combination of …

Some songs are enduring. You can listen to them again and again, and they always make your heart soar and your ears glad. For me, ‘Song For Sundays’ from Luke Ritchie’s 2011 album The Waters Edge is such a song. Looking at its vintage, I think I probably found it when I was regularly listening …

This month, we’re delving into ‘Can’t Stop The Rain’ from Neal Francis’s 2021 album In Plain Sight. I really love this song, as it has a timeless sound that is just as at home in 2025 as it was in 1975. Leaning into funk, soul, and rock, it’s chock-full of electric pianos, funky guitars, warm …

A few years back, I found myself drawn to soul music, a genre I hadn’t spent much time exploring before. This is probably off the back of an exploration into instrumental funk while Mr F and I created our collaborative playlist, Funky Ass. ‘Morning in America is the first track on 2019’s American Love Call, …

In 2023, I added ‘Spell It Out For Me’ to my Liked Songs on Spotify. I’ve been listening to Rogue Valley since the 2010s, as I recognise the album cover of 2011’s False Floors. Being described as Americana, Rogue Valley’s 2023 album, Shell Game, is filled with beautiful guitars, harmonies, and gorgeous textures. The band, …

Somewhere in my search for blues music a few years back, I stumbled on The Eagle Rock Gospel Singers. I love the rich gospel sound of the vocals that I don’t hear much in contemporary music. My love of that sound led me to find three singers (one male, two female) to provide backing vocals …

I can’t say that I’ve listened to a City and Colour album since 2015’s If I Should Go Before You. I can’t say why, but looking at the Spotify page, there are album covers I don’t recognise. I guess this is a result of living in a world where new music is at saturation point …

I discovered Beta Radio when their 2014 album Colony of Bees came out, falling in love with the song ‘Take My Photograph’. The duo of Ben Mabry and Brett Holloman create indie folk songs that are completely in my taste profile. As the final track on their 2024 album of the same name, I was …

I discovered The Money War when they supported Middle Kids in April 2019. I was drawn to this song from their 2020 album Morning People, it’s been in my Liked Songs playlist since 8 September 2020. The Money War was formed in 2016 by husband and wife duo Dylan Ollivierre and Carmen Pepper. They’ve been …

I’ve listened to so much music in my lifetime that it’s hard to know exactly when or how I found some artists. Riley is in this camp, but the Outside the Lines EP was in my 2016 Annual playlist. I love having these playlists to go back to and trace my listening adventures. Perhaps my …

I remember the first time I saw Helen Shanahan play. It was in 2017 at Four5Nine at the Rosemount with Stu Larsen. I first saw Stu Larsen in 2011 while living in London, when he was playing gigs with Passenger all over the UK. This was before Passenger became the household name he would soon …

My relationship with ‘The Devil’s Crayon’ from 2008’s Limbo Panto has been forever marked by the time I almost missed a flight to Delhi for a work trip. I was living in London and had a late afternoon flight. Plenty of time to go to the Field Day Festival in Victoria Park and see some …

It’s interesting to revisit songs you listened to from your childhood and see if they stand the test of time. This blog is about the absolute best or classic songs ever written. It’s about understanding the songs I enjoy listening to, even if they don’t sound as fresh today due to their production choices. This …

Very few of us sit down to listen to music as an activity, favouring the background music during dinner prep or a focus playlist during the work day. While we have vivid memories of music that we listened to in our earlier years, I would argue we don’t have the same relationship with a lot …

After September’s newsletter where I raved about the latest Real Estate album, I wanted to visit where my love of the band started, in 2014 with their Atlas album. ‘Crime’ is the first song we played on our stereo when we moved into our house. We both still love it 10 years later. Atlas was …