Book launch: ‘The World To Come’ by Robert Macfarlane, Johnny Flynn & Emily Sutton (3/10/24)

Indulge me while I write about a really exciting event I attended last week, won’t you?

At the moment it seems as if about 50% of my social calendar is taken up by various events involving Johnny Flynn and/or Robert Macfarlane, and last week I had the incredibly good fortune of attending their book launch. Or, more accurately, of blagging my way onto the guestlist… those joint bookshop manager and music blogger perks coming to the fore for me!

Robert Macfarlane, Emily Sutton and Mouse

The duo have just published, via Magic Cat, a gorgeous picture book version of The World To Come, a song from their collaborative album Lost In The Cedar Wood, illustrated magnificently by Emily Sutton. It was a joy to be there to celebrate the publication day with Johnny, Rob and Emily, in a room full of so much love.

I’ve been a fan of Johnny for such a long time, and after his recent Hammersmith Apollo show I found myself reflecting that he might actually be my favourite all round artist. I adore his music, and his writing therein, I’ve enjoyed various TV and film performances of his, scores and radio adaptations, and have been moved to tears (lots of them) by his performances on the theatre stage. I don't think there is another artist whose work I’ve enjoyed so much across so many mediums, and who beyond all of that seems to be a generally good egg.

In a roundabout way, my love of Johnny’s music was the catalyst that started me on the road to caring far more deeply about nature, and particularly about nature writing as a genre. I happened across a copy of Dara McAnulty’s book Diary Of A Young Naturalist, and took a chance on it based almost entirely on the fact that there was a passage of Johnny’s track Bottom Of The Sea Blues in the back of the book. I loved the book and started to head out on walks and to look for birds wherever I could find them. It was through an interview with Dara that I first really found Robert. There are some mycelium-like connections drawing all of these brilliant people together, I’m sure.

I started to explore Rob’s work, notably losing myself in Underland and falling for The Lost Words, and the news of his collaboration with Johnny was incredibly welcome. The Lost In The Cedar Wood album was an immediate favourite, and the album I’ve listened to most across the past four years (thanks last.fm for that statistic). Arriving when it did, the album acted as a shining light through a fairly dark time, and it is a beautiful collection of tracks that continues to mean a lot to me.

Fast forward a couple of years, through meeting both Johnny and Rob at a few different events, a few of which I’ve written about here, through a second collaborative album, and we’re entering exciting new territory - a book! The book lover and bookseller in me was ridiculously excited at the news that first album track The World To Come was to be made into a children’s book, with the lyrics of the song sitting alongside illustrations by Emily Sutton.

On the surface it is a fairly simple project - song becomes book, and takes on a new life, finding itself a new audience. Delve in and you’ll find that the song, and now the story, has a beautiful meaning, and Emily’s art brings it to life so magically. I got sent an early copy by the publisher, and took a first read while listening to the song. I cried, of course I did.

As you can imagine, I was absolutely thrilled to get the opportunity to attend the launch. I dashed across from work, hopping on a train from bookshop to bookshop, braving the many stairs and finding my way to the fifth floor of Waterstones Piccadilly, to a room buzzing with activity and excitement, and a few familiar faces. A couple of minutes after arriving I met Susan Cooper, author of children’s classic The Dark Is Rising, which I read last year after Rob & Johnny worked on a radio dramatisation of the story.

I had hoped there might be music, but was not expecting to be treated to a small set from Johnny and a small band, unplugged and just in front of me - a far cry from the Hammersmith show just last month. I even locked eyes with Emily’s dog Mouse during The Water... evening made all over again. The set ended with a spot of karaoke, with Rob leading us on ‘big lyric sheet’ duty, while the band (now brilliantly joined by Johnny’s son Gabriel on guitar and an assortment of children on percussion) played a superbly wild and joyous rendition of The World To Come. If you’d like a taste, I posted a clip of the song to my instagram page here, which I think captures just some of the electric atmosphere in the room.

A signing followed, and the room continued to buzz with love and excitement for the project.

I’ve already sold a couple of copies of the book in my shop, and can’t wait to continue doing so across the festive period and beyond. If you’re a fan of Johnny, Rob or Emily you’ll find a lot to love here - whether you’ve a child in your life to buy the book for or just want to treat yourself. It is generally lovely to look at, and such a beautiful and tangible representation of this most lovely of creative friendships between Rob and Johnny, and of Johnny’s relationship with his son. A relatable story, an appreciation of nature and the changing seasons, and encouragement for us to hold onto hope of a world to come. I adore it, and I hope you will too.

If you’d like to hear Rob talking about The World To Come, he’ll be at London’s Southbank Centre on Saturday 26th October in a family friendly event. Tickets are available here.

Elsewhere - a couple of BBC Sounds nods for Johnny - an episode of Peel Acres I was listening to on a journey to work recently, and an appearance on The Folk Show with Mark Radcliffe where he talks about the book (listen from around 28 minutes.)

While I'm at it - Hayden Thorpe just released Ness, essentially a musical adaptation of Rob's book of the same name. I'd recommend a listen!

Now, I’m off to find a blackbird perched in a silver birch.

The World To Come is available wherever you get your books - get yourself to your local bookshop (it is Bookshop Day this Saturday, after all!) - and is for sale online here.

ALBUM NEWS: Divorce - 'Drive to Goldenhammer'

Sitting pretty at the top of my latest playlist update alongside tracks from Leif Vollebekk, Laura Marling and Matilda Mann - something altogether brilliant....! Nottingham quartet Divorce have just shared All My Freaks, the first single from their upcoming debut album Drive to Goldenhammer, due via Gravity / Capitol on 7th March 2025. I've been loving this group for a couple of years now, through a string of brilliant singles launching themselves onto the scene, and the marvellous Heady Metal EP. I'm all sorts of excited that they've got an album on the way, and I can't wait to hear more. 

Talking about the record, the band says: "We’re very proud of Drive to Goldenhammer. We got to make an album the way we wanted to, kept the weird parts in, followed the warmth and didn’t overthink it. This album pays homage to seeking place and home; one of the great human levellers. Much of life feels at odds with this particular need. And to Goldenhammer; you are a reason to keep driving. We will find you again and again!"

On the new track All My Freaks the band add: "Being a musician can be brutal. I feel like you hear more and more songs coming from artists purely about the trials and tribulations of being a musician, feeling like you aren’t getting enough, or feeling like you’ve got too much and you don’t deserve it. It’s gotten a bit meta if you think about it. All My Freaks is about that too, written from the perspective of a humorous/tragic caricature of an up-and-coming artist, this song is laughing at our own egos and yet acknowledging the power that they wield. Putting this out as the first offering from our debut album felt fitting, as we are hypothetically straddling our jet skis and crossing the ocean of delusion to hopefully reach the isle of public approval."

Follow Divorce - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

WATCH: Samantha Crain - 'Dragonfly'

Dropping in with the best news, Samantha Crain is back!!!!!! 

She's just shared her first new original music since 2021 (how time flies?!) in the shape of Dragonfly and I am absolutely here for it. It's no secret that I have a soft spot for my mutual loves of music and nature colliding, so a song about dragonflies? Yes please! 

Talking about the inspiration behind the track, Samantha shares: “Dragonflies are an amazing insect. They can fly in all six directions with great efficiency. They have iridescence, which allows them to appear differently depending on the light and polarization around them. They live most of their lives as nymphs, immature, not flying at all, but preparing for the coming moment of flight. They can see 360 degrees around themselves because of their compound eyes. 

To me, a dragonfly symbolizes the type of creature I aim to be: flexible and resilient in this ever-changing world that I have no control over, living moment to moment and moving towards potential moments of wisdom and lift–observant in my mind and seeing beyond the limitations of the physical self. This song is an ode to the simple sophistication of the dragonfly and how it mirrors the self-actualization that I have been searching for my whole life.”

BRB, I'm off to re-discover Samantha's back catalogue.

Follow Samantha Crain - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

LISTEN: Melin Melyn - 'Vitamin D'

Alright, sure, some other songs were released last week... but do I need to listen to them when there's new Melin Melyn to stick on repeat?! Vitamin D is their first new song in a couple of years and the first single from their soon to be announced debut album, due to be released in early 2025. The Welsh six-piece are one of my favourite new bands of the past few years (I might not always understand the Welsh songs, but I know that I love them... Dewin Dwl is a bop) and I for one absolutely cannot wait for their debut record!! Now feels like a perfect time to hop on board if you've missed the boat on these guys so far. 

On the new track, lead singer Gruff Glyn shares: “Ah, a bit of Vitamin D on a sunny day. Pretty essential for most of us, right? Not for the protagonist of this song, who’s fallen head over heels for a computer character called Annie. What’s the point of catching some rays if you can stay inside in your dark room until the early hours of the morning, immersed in a virtual world with your one and only? Don’t you dare question the authenticity of his romance though, or you’ll end up in a coffin… like his mother.”

Follow Melin Melyn - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

WATCH: The Staves - 'Waiting For The Joy'

"even doing nothing, I'm not quite doing it right"

Well isn't this a treat! It has been a few months since The Staves shared their latest studio album, All Now, and continued to cement themselves as one of my all-time favourite bands. I've so much love for that record, and its predecessor Good Woman. Just the absolute best. 

As if a whole album wasn't enough, they've only gone and released a surprise new track - Waiting For The Joy. Tuuuuune. Obviously! 

Over to the band... "This song began in the throes of the first lockdown when the feeling of isolation was so prominent. Everyone seemed so inspired and we were worried that we weren’t inspired by music in general anymore. The song was finished when we were recording ‘All Now’ and had made more sense of those feelings and we had lots fun turning it into a kind of sad-disco track in the studio."

If you're in the US, good news - The Staves are coming across the pond in November for an acoustic tour, with tickets on sale this Friday. 

Follow The Staves - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

LISTEN: Christof van der Ven - 'For The Ages'

If I haven't made it clear over the years: I've got an overwhelming amount of love for Christof van der Ven's music. (He's a great human too.) It feels that each new track he releases finds a route straight to my heart and soul... there's always such a deep connection, so much emotion. And they're just reaaaaaally great. Every. Single. Time!

His next album (I'm manifesting) is one of my most anticipated... and the release of new track For The Ages gives me hope that news of that might not be far off... but for now, I'll take this. It's a stunner, and you're all going to love this as much as I do.

Whether you're a firm fan of Christof, or he's a new artist for you, you'll want to see him live, and you're in luck - he's doing a short run of dates in the UK in November, taking in Bristol's Exchange (26th), London's Sebright Arms (27th) and Leeds' Cardigan Arms (28th) - tickets on sale here.

Follow Christof van der Ven - Facebook | Instagram.

EP NEWS: Hohnen Ford - 'I Wish I Had A God'

... is this thing on? So much brilliant music, so little time to share it!! Dropping in to share something that stopped me in my tracks in my inbox yesterday - the latest from North Londoner Hohnen Ford. Hohnen has announced her second EP I Wish I Had A God and shared the beautifully sentimental title track. 

On the track, she shares -  "'I Wish I Had A God' emerged from the depths of grief, as an attempt to make sense of losing one of my best friends last year. Songwriting can be a vessel for grappling with the ineffable. This is the most painful song I've ever written, and has also been a bittersweet gift to watch it resonate with so many as I've performed it live over the last year. Our shared human experience of grief teaches us so much." 

The EP I Wish I Had A God arrives via Young Poet on 3rd August. 

Follow Hohnen Ford - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

ALBUM NEWS: MICHELLE - 'Songs About You Specifically'

Only the best news from Transgressive Records, always. They're celebrating their 20th (!!) anniversary this year with a run of shows later in the year and festival showcases, starting with Glastonbury later this week. For now though, album news from the label: New-Yorkers MICHELLE are back, following up their recent EP GLOW with news of an upcoming album. Their third studio record, Songs About You Specifically is due on September 27th, and features first single Oontz which you can hear below. Silky smooth and groovy as ever, I'm adoring this, and them. They're such a refreshing, exciting collective - a group that I'm always so thrilled to recommend to anybody who'll listen.

On the new record, the group have a new found closeness and vulnerability, formed through time spent living and writing in a house in Ojai, California and on the road. Talking about the developing bonds between the band, Emma shares: "there are friends I've had for almost my whole life who I won't know as intimately as I know members of this group. There isn't really an opportunity for that in any other kind of relationship in your life."

MICHELLE are Sofia D'Angelo, Julian Kaufman, Charlie Kilgore, Layla Ku, Emma Lee and Jamee Lockard.

You can pre-order and pre-save the album here.

Follow MICHELLE - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

LISTEN: Stornoway - 'Excelsior' (Edward Nesbit and Tom Hodgson Rework)

Somehow, criminally, I haven't posted about Stornoway here yet this year. Let's fix that. It is a Monday night (almost) in June, after all (IYKYK.) They've a new acoustic version of Anwen on the way this week which I am very excited to hear having listened to Brian and Fyfe Dangerfield playing the track a few times at the London Wetland Centre during and after their album launch event there last year. 

For now, though, I'm enjoying this latest version of Excelsior, a reworking of the track by composer Edward Nesbit and my friend Tom Hodgson, a beloved member of the extended Stornoway touring party, featuring Sydney Wang on piano. The track was already beautiful, a highlight of one of my favourite records of the last few years, and this version is a stunner. Tender and poignant and somehow mournful and celebratory at the same time, I love it. 

I'm reading How To Read A Tree by Tristan Gooley at the moment (among far too many other books to admit) so trees are very much on the brain at the moment, and this song is about ash dieback, a fungal disease affecting our ash trees. The ash tree's scientific name is 'Fraxinus excelsior' (hence the name of the song) with excelsior translating from Latin to 'ever upward'. I think that the song is a kind of call to arms to do what we can to protect nature, to appreciate the wonders of nature around us - something that is at the heart of everything the band do. 

Talking about the track, Ed and Tom share: “When we first heard Excelsior, we were struck by its expressive beauty and lyricism, and immediately started to think of ideas for a new arrangement. Our version, with a new accompaniment inspired by romantic piano writing, attempts to capture the beauty of nature, as well as sorrow at its loss.”

You can catch Stornoway at a few more festivals before the year is out - all the info on upcoming shows here.

Follow Stornoway - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

LISTEN: Hailaker - 'Co-Star'

Goodness. We've made it to June and I've only posted on the blog ten times this year. So much has been happening, and it is so difficult to find the time. I've spent much of May travelling on buses and trains to get to work. I promise I am always on the look out for new music, even if I've not been so great at sharing it here. As I am always saying however, I reaaaaaally want to write more. I have so much great music to share - and I really love flexing those writing muscles too.

Jumping in on a Sunday off work to share the latest from Hailaker. They're releasing third album Serenity Now on June 26th (a belated birthday present to me, very much appreciated) and Co-Star is the final single taken from it. Jemima and Ed are both brilliant on their own, but I have such a soft spot for this project and this track is no exception. 

Writing about the new track on Instagram, they shared: "I’m realising there is a theme throughout the whole project, or more like a personality to it. It’s that of someone who sits somewhere in the middle of things, is unenthusiastic about doing anything, feels as though their life is hurtling past them and they can’t catch up with it, slightly and often overwhelmed with insecurity. Maybe what we (Hailaker) draw from is just snippets from that life and that personality, relationships, dreams, memories, tiredness, lots of tiredness ahaha.

Co-Star is a mantra to that life, the keeping going, riding the emotions. It expresses something near to a taoist philosophy: ‘it is what it is’… That maybe all this feeling of not being good enough just comes down to accepting and moving on. In that way Co-Star pinpoints the shift from the stories told in Holding to the ones of Serenity Now."

Hailaker play shows in Bristol and London this September - dates and last tickets here.

Follow Hailaker - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

LIVE: Johnny Flynn and Robert Macfarlane - River Calls tour (May 2024)

I started writing this post a few weeks back, but life got in the way and I’ve just unearthed the half written post, so here goes nothing for take two...! One of my most well received posts of the last couple of years (and one of my favourites to write, too) was a write-up of a Johnny Flynn and Robert Macfarlane show at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse at the start of 2022. Opening the post, I wrote:

I went to a gig a couple of days ago! Rejoice. Although ‘gig’ perhaps isn’t the right word, and doesn’t do the evening justice. In the candlelit setting of the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, a 340-capacity space that is part of the Globe Theatre no less (!) I saw two of my favourite writers, Johnny Flynn and Robert Macfarlane, performing their album Lost In The Cedar Wood. Music there was, but it was so much more than a gig - a journey… a magical, bewildering evening of story and song, traversing across timelines and continents. Genuinely mesmerising. Tickets were difficult to come by and I feel SO incredibly lucky to have been there.

Looking back a couple of years later, it really was a genuinely transcending and magical experience, a celebration of one of my favourite musical pairings, and of one of my favourite albums of recent years, surrounded by some superb writers on nature. The bookseller and nature writing nerd in me is still giddy with excitement when I think of being in the same room as all of those writers, even (and perhaps especially) having met a few of them at subsequent events (Amy-Jane Beer at Gathering Festival, Sam Lee at the Stornoway album launch, Merlin Sheldrake at a Cosmo Sheldrake show, and of course Rob himself!)

You’d think that it might be difficult to replicate the magic of that evening - the venue, the fact that it was one of the first shows most of us had been to out of lockdown (squished up against strangers), the combination of gig and theatre. It was truly special. Luckily for me (and for all the others who managed to secure some very sought after tickets) the pair have just been on tour across the UK with a full band. 

In venues across the UK (I saw them at Cambridge Junction) audiences were taken on a musical, lyrical journey through songs from the two recent albums, Lost In The Cedar Wood and The Moon Also Rises. Storytelling weaving through the music - as each song finishes, Rob, on stage for the duration of the show, dives into some spoken word. Poetry? Not easy to define, but utterly enchanting. The setlist was clearly very carefully thought out - taking us on a journey through storytelling and song - an extension of what they set out to do in those first shows. With a band too - who are utterly wonderful also.

I saw Johnny with a full band in 2017 at the show which became the Live at the Roundhouse album and I think I’m right in saying that until now, he hasn’t been on a full band tour since then. I’m sure I’m far from alone in being grateful that they found the time to put these shows on, they’ve been a long time coming and they were more than worth the wait! Mainly taking songs from the recent two albums, the show was a true celebration of Johnny and Rob’s collaboration (Bonedigger live is just the absolute BEST, for a start) but they managed to find room for a couple of older favourites (The Ghost of O’Donahue and The Water - both stunning.)

Johnny Flynn · Bonedigger

I won’t be missing the old favourites for too long, as I’ve just secured a ticket for Johnny’s show with the band in London in September, as part of Transgressive Records’ 20th anniversary celebrations. Can’t wait!

I’ve written a lot already about how much I love both Johnny and Rob’s work individually, and this project is such a treat. Whether they continue to write music together or not (my fingers are crossed) I’m glad that they got a chance to take it on the road. To see others responding to the shows so positively and enjoying them so much was the best. In a way there’s an element of bravery in putting on a tour that is quite unlike other things that are out there in format, but it worked so well, and I’ve seen nothing but love for the shows.

With the London show on the horizon, and plenty of Johnny’s acting endeavours to catch up on (I am desperate to watch Ripley!) my interest (as a bookseller and book lover) turns to the books, too. Rob’s work in progress at the moment is Is A River Alive? - I’ll be pestering the publisher for a proof of that as soon as I get a sniff of those existing. (Sorry HH.) Elsewhere, Rob and Johnny are collaborating on a couple of book projects - a graphic novel of the Epic of Gilgamesh (focus of Lost in the Cedar Wood) with artist Dave McKean (very exciting!) and a picture book surrounding the track The World To Come, illustrated by Emily Sutton, due later this year. Truly a marvellous time to be a fan of these two! They’re very busy guys, and I am very happy to be enjoying the fruits of their work.

Now, off to carry on reading Mountains of the Mind with a Johnny Flynn shaped soundtrack. What could be better?

Favourites being favourites

I've been kind of dreadful at sharing much here this year (and for a while before that, to be honest) for various reasons. It's so hard to find the time around bookselling full time, volunteering a little online, and... life stuff. I wanted to drop in and write something, and was selecting from a few recent songs I've been loving, when it struck me: why limit myself to just one thing?! Three of my absolute favourite artists (no overstatement, I adore them) have released new albums in the past couple of weeks and I love each of them. There's a beautiful unmatched joy in an artist you love with basically every fibre of your being releasing an album you love. So three at once? I'm dreaming. 

Queen Maggie Rogers is back with her third studio album Don't Forget Me. (No risk of that.) She's just announced a big ol' US tour, and ran a week or so of physical box office sales to get tickets into the hands of real fans. Queues galore, Maggie turning up in person to sell tickets, small shows in the evenings - I've been admiring it all from afar. Patiently awaiting a UK show I can get to because it has been far too long and I need a Maggie show in my life. For now, I'm happily listening to the album on repeat - particularly The Kill. 

When I want a break from Maggie (not often) new Novo Amor is straight in the headphones. Collapse List is another stunner - following up Cannot Be, Whatsoever (2020) and Birthplace (2018) - which is when I discovered Ali's music and fell ever so slightly in love. He's still got it, and then some - this is a beautiful record - envious of everyone seeing the guys live at the moment. The power and beauty of these songs in the live setting... ah. 

On the record, Ali wrote: "made in the studio that sits beside my home in Wales, it's a record of personal growth. It means a lot that I get to share this with you. I hope you get something from this music. Go listen." 

Last but not least, my favourite musical magician Cosmo Sheldrake just shared his album Eye To The Ear - released independently on his own label Tardigrade Records. I saw a few of the tracks performed at Rough Trade East on release day, but the album is a mammoth twenty-one (!) songs, an hour of absolute wizardry. As always, field recordings play a huge part in the music, and some of the tracks will give streaming income directly back to relevant charities and organisations. As if 21 songs weren't enough, Cosmo shared Soil last week as part of an EarthPercent campaign celebrating NATURE as an artist, with revenue from streams going through EarthPercent to various conservation and restoration projects. 

Music that does good, and is also absolutely brilliant. Yes please! Soil is "a homage to subterranean ecosystems" featuring honey fungus, an oyster toad fish, nightingales... you name it, it will probably be in there somewhere.

Why not follow my 2024 playlist to hear more of what I'm listening to?

LISTEN: Bess Atwell - 'Fan Favourite'

Ooft. My fave musical gals are very much smashing it at the moment - I'm devouring The Staves new record on a loop, we're just over a week away from a new Maggie Rogers record (remain calm) and there's new Lucy Rose on the way - what a time!!! I can't get enough of this either - with an Aaron Dessner produced record on the horizon, Bess Atwell recently shared new single Fan Favourite and it is exactly that. Sublime.

Speaking about the track, Bess said: "I wrote Fan Favourite after watching some behind the scenes footage from a popular TV show. Not even a die-hard fan of the show myself - I can't remember what it was now - I found myself emotional watching the cast's wrap party. I felt jealous of the sense of community and opportunity to reflect on shared experiences and history. I pictured my own family's "wrap party" and what that would look like. The sadness, humour, disappointment and joy that would come with acknowledging the huge shared experience we've had in this life. The song also touches on the passing of time, a sense of dissociation, and feeling as though you've missed out on life despite still living it.

Fan Favourite is an attempt at a self-wake-up call so I wanted the production to sparkle, breathe and feel alive, the instrumentation a reminder that life is indeed still there to be lived."

Light Sleeper is due on May 24th via Real Kind Records - pre-order the album here.

Follow Bess Atwell - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

WATCH: Cosmo Sheldrake - 'Interdimensional (Live from the studio)'

Worth a watch for the snazzy jumpers alone, I couldn't let this video pass by without featuring it here. The magnificently talented Cosmo Sheldrake just shared the latest pair of tracks from his upcoming album, alongside a video of a live studio performance of Interdimensional, featuring HOWL and a brilliant array of accompanying musicians. I'm obsessed with all of it, to be honest. I've said it before and I'll say it again - imagine NOT being a fan of Cosmo! This is just all sorts of magic. 

On the song, Cosmo says "Interdimensional felt as though it came almost in one long thought, but it took about four all night sessions for it to emerge. It is another one that came to me while on a solo musical retreat in Somerset. It is about the feeling of losing the normal sense of self." 

Cosmo's new record Eye to the Ear is due for release on April 12th - pre-order it here.

Follow Cosmo Sheldrake - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

WATCH: Half Moon Run - 'Can't Stop Loving You'

Aghhhhh, how great are Half Moon Run?! Montréal's sweethearts are back with new track Can't Stop Loving You (which is ironic because I can't stop loving them either!!!) from the Salt album sessions and it is a stunner. I'll be honest, they've never disappointed - since stumbling across them almost by accident when I picked up their debut album in a multi-buy in HMV over a decade ago (say what now) I've been firmly in camp HMR, and I'm adoring this new track. 

On the release, the guys share: "Back when we we deep in the writing process for Salt, we had been working very hard on a different song for many hours, and were starting to consider going home for the night, when Devon started singing the chorus-line. He later mentioned it had popped spontaneously into his head in the day or two since we’d last been together. We whipped together the arrangement very quickly and recorded the demo-version that very night. 

We always knew we'd find the right moment to release 'Can't Stop Loving You' and the time has now finally come!"

Follow Half Moon Run - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

WATCH: Cosmo Sheldrake - 'Old Ocean'

There's a new Cosmo Sheldrake album on the way. What a time to be alive!!!! Eye To The Ear is due via Cosmo's own Tardigrade Records on 12th April (not long!!!) and somehow I managed to get myself an early listen - it is magnificent. Obviously. Twenty-one tracks! All beautiful and inventive and wild and bonkers and just brilliant! Run is giving me allll of the heffalumps and woozles vibes. Just you wait! More on the record in due course...

Cosmo recently shared a couple of tracks from the album, including the superb single Old Ocean, which arrives with an equally superb video. 

On the track, Cosmo shares "Old Ocean, like many songs on this album, was made almost entirely using solar power. I spent much of 2020 and some of 2021 living in a small off-grid cottage powered by an unpredictable generator, so I made a temporary solar powered studio. Around this time there was a lot of discussion of so-called 'alternative facts', and the idea of truth was becoming ever more slippery in public discourse. In this song I try to make sense of these developments against the ever present back drop of acidification, dead zones, deep sea mining, coral reef bleaching, over fishing, noise pollution, and many other threats that the ocean faces."

“I am very excited to share the music video for Old Ocean directed by Narna Hue. We had a lot of fun making it. Narna created wonders with the amazing sets, costumes and choreography. Shot by the wonderful Tom Jacobs. Many thanks also to the brilliant dancers and collaborators, Wilm Danby, Gráinne Young-Monaghanm and to Flora Wallace, who also helped make the costumes.”

Follow Cosmo Sheldrake - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

WATCH: Maggie Rogers - 'Don't Forget Me'

I just stumbled onto the blog, thinking that I should probably write something soon.... and I was greeted with the glorious sight of 500,000 (!) all-time views. Say what?! That's a big number. Whether you're here by accident, or you're a regular scroller of my infrequent rambles - hi. Thank you! 

Now, there couldn't really be anything else that I need to write about right now when my headphones have been slightly consumed with one particular piece of new music for the last week or so. In fact, I got an early listen of this and cried in the staffroom, of course I did. Absolute queeeeen Maggie Rogers is back with Don't Forget Me, the title track from her upcoming third album, due on 12th April (the same day as Cosmo Sheldrake's new album - lord help me.) I've listened a fair few times already and I am adoring the new track. Maggie is making exactly the music she wants to right now, and you can tell. It's gorgeous. 

I have had so much fun at every stage of making this album. I think you can hear it in the songs. And I’m finding it’s sort of the key ingredient to making all of this really fly.

This album was written over five days, two songs a day — three days in December 2022, two in January 2023. It was written in chronological order.

Some of the stories on this album are mine. And for the first time really, some of them are not.

I wanted to make an album that sounded like a Sunday afternoon. Worn in denim. A drive in your favourite car. No make up, but the right amount of lipstick. Something classic. The mohair throw and bottle of Whiskey in Joan Didion's motel room. An old corvette. Vintage, but not overly Americana. I wanted to make an album to belt at full volume alone in your car, a trusted friend who could ride shotgun and be there when you needed her.

This has been such a transformational and special time in my life. I’m so grateful for many years of support and care I’ve been offered to let me come to all of this in my way and in my time. I can honestly say I’m more ready than I've ever been…and most importantly, I’m having a blast. I hope you love this record as much as I do.

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LISTEN: Hailaker - 'Lorely'

Picture the scene. You've been living under a rock, and somehow you missed the real beaaaaautiful return of Hailaker. Hey, you might even have somehow slept on Hailaker in the first place? Poor you. Fear not, I'm here to rectify that. The duo (brill artists Jemima Coulter and Ed Tullett) just came back with Lorely, their first new music in almost three years (wild?!) and it is a pure delight. On repeat. 

I should be getting to sleep, so... maybe that's all I have to say at the moment. They're brill - you should listen to them. Let me know when you do!

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WATCH: Siv Jakobsen - 'America'

Just over a year ago, Siv Jakobsen kicked off 2023 with one of my favourite albums of the year, her third album, Gardening. It's properly beautiful stuff. If you haven't listened yet: sort it out. It turns out there was a song missing, kind of. One that had been intended to be the opener for the album, but that Siv wasn't quite ready to put out at the time. A year on, America is out in the world and is, unsurprisingly, a stunner. Over to Siv... 

I moved to America in 2009, shortly after my 20th birthday. Fueled by endless episodes of Gilmore Girls and Friends, I wanted to live out my version of the The American Dream. The song “America” is about the substantial grief I felt when I packed up my life and left the US again only 5 years later. After having been convinced for most of that time that I would make it my forever home, giving up that dream felt like a massive defeat.

In most ways I had an incredible experience in the US. I made friends for life and wouldn’t ever take back the time spent there. But when I realised that I wanted - needed - to go home to Norway, it felt like a real defeat. I felt like I had failed; at my life in the US, at my then crumbling relationship, and at my music-career that I was trying to get off the ground at that point. I went home, tail between my legs, realising that 20 year old me had been wrong.

America was the very first song recorded for Gardening. For a long time it was set to be the opening track, a subtle intro to the album ahead, with it’s Disney-esque intro and soft arrangement. However, as the recording process developed it became increasingly clear that although it is part of the Gardening universe for me on a personal level, it didn’t quite fit in with the rest of the record. A bit of an odd one out thematically, and yet right at the heart of it all.

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WATCH: The Vaccines - 'Discount De Kooning (Last One Standing)'

Ah, the glorious feeling of a new year with so much exciting new music ahead of us! As if my list of upcoming releases didn't already look completely beautiful, Cosmo Sheldrake just announced that he's releasing the first two tracks from his new album this week. Novo Amor seems to be teasing new music too... and albums from The Staves, Everything Everything, Sam Lee and MGMT are on my radar. 

Two weeks into the year and already so much new music to wrap our ears around! I can't wait to give the new records from Marika Hackman and Emma Gatrill a listen. For now, though, I've been a little caught up with Pick-Up Full Of Pink Carnations from long-time favourites of mine, The Vaccines. Way to start the year with an album of the year contender. Their sixth studio album and arriving three years after Back In Love City, it is 31 minutes and 34 seconds of pure joy. I love those guys. 

Whetting your appetites here with the current single, Discount De Kooning (Last One Standing). Superb!

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