I’ve been going through Marillion’s extensive back catalogue of albums, particularly the post Fish era which I didn’t really know. What a discovery it has been - Marbles is AMAZING. The Invisible Man, Ocean Cloud and Neverland are masterpieces with a collective running time they could be an album on their own. But then you have great songs like Genie, The Only Unforgivable Thing, Don’t Hurt Yourself, Fantastic Place etc. Steve Hogarth’s videos on YouTube explaining the meaning behind these songs adds greatly to my appreciation of them. Have a look:
I could go on about other albums like FEAR, otherwise known as **** Everyone And Run - an album about Brexit which sounds like the last thing you would want to listen to but it is excellent but it does demand you listen to it in full. However my favourite is the four part The New Kings.
Afraid of Sunlight obviously has the title track but also Out of this World - a tribute to Donald Campbell. Another favourite on here is King, but it is a solid album overall.
Sounds that can’t be made contains the excellent, Power.
I still have a lot more to listen to but I can already tell just how under appreciated Marillion are.
If you want some catchy pop tunes then I can highly recommend Walking on Cars second album, and if you aren’t familiar with them, there is a perfectly good first album as well.
Additionally, Rob Thomas has his 4th solo album which is also worth a listen. I’ve always found his solo albums to contain some great songs yet be a bit inconsistent overall; but I think this is more accessible. I still prefer Matchbox Twenty’s earlier albums to be honest and their first one is just a timeless classic.
I read about a local band called Pretty Vicious the other day who've just released their first album after about 4 years of trying. Gave it a listen yesterday and it's great.
As usual, I struggle to find any good new bands, however, I did discover All Hail the Silence earlier this year, and their album, "Daggers" remains the best new album I've heard in a lonnnnng time!
It's classic 80's sounding Electro-Pop, very "Erasure" in places. No sign yet of them touring the UK, which is annoying as they've been touring the US along with Howard Jones...
For my sins, I've never been much of a Nick Cave fan (where are three minute pop songs, Nick?) but the new album is pretty extraordinary.
It really is.
I made the mistake of having my first listen in the car and it really didn't work in that environment. I've now listeend to it on headphones a few times and it is brilliant.
It'll be interesting to hear how the songs translate in to the arena tour that will no doubt follow at some point next year.
Linear Mode
