“I Wish that I could hold my mama/ Just once before she leaves/ But I can’t/ No I can’t…” Sam Outlaw will always hold a special place in my heart. I’ve played and waited for those […]
Open Season at the Bar. “Play somethin’ we could sing to/ Play something we know.” This Christmas spare a thought for all those playing live music. Yuletide’s over-indulgence often leads to people’s inhibitions getting parked and […]
One of Maida Vale 4’s brilliant, arcane recordings. It would be safe to say John Peel championed Smog. Bill Callahan recorded three Peel Sessions, the first in November 94, then again in October 97 and finally […]
A bit Lost in Translation and Transit. The Acadian trio Les Hay Babies are releasing their fourth studio album following ‘Boît aux lettres’ (Mailbox) in 2020. An indie folk trio, women of New Brunswick origin, comprising […]
Xan Brooks is a freelance writer and broadcaster now specialising in cinema. He was an associate editor of The Guardian and, before that, a writer and editor at the Big Issue magazine. His first novel, ‘The […]
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