Songs I Love

Back in 2008, when the album Furr by Blitzen Trapper was released, I heard Black River Killer for the first time. 2008 was a big year of music for me, where I immersed myself in as much indie and folk music as every day allowed, listening at work, on the tube and at home. I …

Vetiver is the musical project of Andy Cabic. Creating gorgeous indie folk songs, his last album was 7 years ago and I wonder if it will be his last. I hope he is spending time slowly working on some new songs as he has said before he’s not a prolific writer. I know how that …

I was drawn to The Paper Kites, being a lover of emotive sweet folk music, hearing ‘Bloom’ back in 2010 and their album States in 2013. They haven’t let up in their music making ever since and have a knack for creating the sweet, quiet, bittersweet and soul affirming music that suits Sunday mornings, late …

I remember having a conversation with someone shortly after I came back from London, when I was settling down to life in Perth. She said “You can have more than one home; some places will always feel like home”. There was comfort in that. I didn’t want to feel that just because I had left …

Sometimes the songs we love can make us feel excited when we hear them coming up in a playlist or when we’re out and about doing our thing. ‘The Fear’ by Ben Howard, from 2011’s album Every Kingdom is such a song for me. During its 4 minutes and 20 seconds, it dynamically builds with …

I feel like Perth has always produced great bands. For the last 25 years that I’ve been going out to see live music, I have seen a lot of bands come and go. Ghost Care, formed in 2019, are a trio of musicians producing catchy indie rock that you can’t help but groove to. ‘Home …

I’ve been listening to Emily Barker for a long time, since 2011’s Almanac. Listening as her releases came out over the years, I never thought I might one day be working with this amazing songwriter on my own music. ‘The Quiet Ways’ from 2024’s Fragile As Humans is a quiet song, but this is not …

It’s 1998. My final year in high school. The grunge era has begun and indie rock bands are emerging onto the Australian scene. Triple J is the radio station of choice and the song ‘Black Umbrella’ caught my attention. I guess the main reason is its Beatles inspired, guitar forward and melodic vocal which still …

Many of the songs on this blog are those which I’ve come back to time and again. ‘Angel Owl’ is a song I found in 2013 and it’s been on my Bittersweet playlist for years. I’ve been drawn to bittersweet songs for a long time, but its hard to describe what bittersweet sounds like. In …

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 …