Cruel April, Cool Songs

Starring

Adwaith, Comett, Dolores Forever, Dreadzone, Edwyn Collins, Heartworms, Manic Street Preachers, Pale Blue Eyes

The Front Runners

Beyond The Dark Pt 1 : Comett

The latest slice of French pop to pass through my headphones is an emotional delight full of chilled electronica (mainly) and Gallic romanticism.

There are two states of mind I associate with Left Bank creatives. One is the fashionable boredom of ennui; the other is the overwhelming melancholy of tristesse. Comett’s music contains none of the former but huge swollen splashing teardrops of the latter. What other acts might accept as a climax for their emotions, Comett treats as a starting point and builds from there. You could say, it’s less a case of ‘Je ne regrette rien’ and more ‘Je regrette toutes les choses’!

This is an album that is melodic in every pore. ‘Video Club’ highlights Comett’s way with melodies. They rise and fall gently like a mid paced children’s roller coaster. There’s a faint suggestion of recycling in the mix. Musical phrases that appear early on, re-emerge discreetly later. It’s not a problem. Rather it creates a unity across the album.

Rest assured though, it’s not all quiet beauty. Guitars rip through tracks such as ‘Alone’ and ‘Paris-New York’ to add just enough turbulence to the prevailing tranquility to stop you drifting off.

The album reaches its peak with the wonderful ‘Beyond The Dark’ which closes the album. The soaring operatic backing vocals add to the feel of heightened emotions. The transition from the introduction to the body of the song encourages me to feel emotionally overwhelmed every time.

There are many French influences at play here. The album is part F R David’s M.O.R., part Air’s sophisticated chilled electronica and part Sebastien Tellier’s swooning ‘La Ritournelle.

French pop is littered with wonderful songs and great artists. Comett and his songs are in that community.

Taster Track : Beyond The Dark

Nine : Dreadzone

It turns out that Dreadzone’s album of dub reggae blended with chilled electronica may be just what we need in the world today.

It’s a hopeful album, almost spiritual in places. And it’s inclusive, broadening its appeal from their dub foundations to welcome in followers of other genres. Think back to The Specials, UB40 and Faithless and remember how their impact was as much about the multi racial makeup of the band as the music they made. Dreadzone are cut from the same desegregated model.

Dub and electronica are two music types that can sometimes be lost in their own universe and become a challenging listen. Happily, these are songs rather than sounds. The dub bass lines quickly become earworms. Vocals add the melody. Everything else is an adornment that’s lovely to listen to, time and time again. The songs are unhurried. They may be based around repetitive bass lines, but they fill their extended six minute running time without growing stale. Above all it’s a happy album. It’s only on ‘Down The Road’ that the sunny spiritual feel turns stormy, sending you hurrying for shelter.

‘Conqueror’, ‘Lost and Found’ and ‘Down The Road’ all show that this is the sound of a band that's found their way in the world, and have worked out how to remain true to their beliefs and values. ‘Magic Earth’ has a lighter touch than elsewhere, but is truly lovely. ‘Adrift’ becomes the voice of your guardian angel, whispering that all will be well. ‘Return To The Garden’ is the perfect blend of electro dub and chill. It skips nimbly along.

This album surprised me. I wasn’t expecting it to be so consistently good. Maybe it’s because reggae in all its forms is always the sound of Summer. There are no bumps in its groove, no distortions in its mix. This is perfect music for pushing worries to one side and getting on with life.

Taster Track : Return To The Garden

Nation Shall Speak Unto Nation : Edwyn Collins

This special and uplifting album should be required listening for anyone who needs a supporting hand to overcome life shattering events.

Take a moment to recall the Edwyn Collins story. He was feted as a leading member of the Scottish indie sound in the 80s with Orange Juice, and for excellent crowd pleasing songs like 1994’s ‘A Girl Like You’. In 2005, he suffered a cerebral haemorrhage that left him unable to speak more than four words. By 2010, although unable to work more than four hours at a time, he released his first solo album since his illness. He has continued to release albums regularly since.

Every album Collins makes is a small miracle, a testimony to hope and strength in adversity and the celebratory tone of ‘Nation Shall Speak Unto Nation’ feels like the end of a long and difficult struggle. Each album since his illness had contained an element of having to prove himself. Now he sounds as if he’s making the music he wants to make, music for and about himself.

And it's so good. The songs are simpler, honest, heartfelt and more relaxed. They’re generally quiet but totally restorative songs.  The album is a long way from the jagged art rock of Orange Juice. There’s no anger, bitterness or cynicism here. 

‘Knowledge’ is an excellent  starting point, one of a few songs that build a sense of community folk gospel as its foundations. ‘Paper Plane’ is filled with a sense of almost childlike wonder at what he has achieved. ‘Strange Old World’ harks back to the retro sound of his early solo work. ‘A Little Sign’ is personal and melodic, slightly off kilter pop. There’s a sense of lovely gratitude running through ‘It Must Be Real’. ‘The Bridge Hotel’ acknowledges that whilst this is his story, it can be ours too.

Given where he’s come from, it’s almost trite to call this his best album yet, but it is. 

Taster Track : It Must Be Real

Critical Thinking : Manic Street Preachers

On their fifteenth studio album, the Manic Street Preachers show no sign of waning powers. Indeed their reach stretches to the reflections that come with age.

Ever since they edged into popular awareness with ‘Everything Must Go’ in 1996 it’s been hard to find an album of theirs to dislike. Moving to the mainstream never became a sell out.   Age has neither withered nor wearied them. Their passion still sounds authentic and undimmed. Their beliefs hold fast. Sometimes it seems that each new album is actually an update on their core manifesto. They’re on your side if you need them.

That would command respect but not necessarily love. That comes from the way that they have delivered stirring anthem after stirring anthem. ‘Decline and Fall’ is just one example to be found on ‘Critical Thinking’. ‘Deleted Scenes’ soars as it should do from a band in complete control of their musical spirit. You feel that their anthems are a call to arms and resistance. They’re never preachy. It helps that they still come in at three to four minutes a song, never outstaying their welcome.

To generalise, if you break down their strengths you find they’re three essential components. Nicky Wire writes lyrics for the mind. James Dean Bradfield writes music that heads straight to the heart. Sean Moore drums for the feet. Together they are simply unbreakable, a rock band with the immediacy qualities of pop.

Unbreakable doesn’t mean unchanging. There are moments here that approach tenderness, as on ‘My Brave Friend’. There are other times when you sense the beginning of a look back to reflect on life. Take these lyrics from the excellent ‘Hiding In Plain Sight’.

“And I wanna be in love

With the man I used to be

In the decade I felt free’

‘Critical Thinking’ is a strong Manic Street Preachers album. And that makes it very good indeed.

Taster Track : Hiding In Plain Sight

New Place : Pale Blue Eyes

Pale Blue Eyes emerge with their third album as one of the strongest of the current crop of synth pop acts, striking the perfect balance between dark and light. It’s a surprise but a very welcome one.

In 2021, Pale Blue Eyes were prospects, not perfect but promising. In 2023, at a time of dealing with grief and loss, they were finding their way and not without a few missteps. In 2025 they’ve found their natural home, and we can give thanks for that!

They’re delivering on their promise and potential, with purpose, assurance and confidence. This is where pop peers into the gloom. They haven’t gone full on Depeche Mode but they’ve generated more presence and substance in their songs. The songs aren’t dark enough to be trapped in the night, but they are ideally suited to a smoke filled dusk or a foggy dawn. 

Perhaps they’ve gone a little more dreamy shoegaze. ‘Pieces Of You’ certainly suggests that. There’s no wallowing in reverb though. ‘Scrolling’ comes with the necessary amusement arcade bleeps and pulses to cut like a laser through the night. They play their synths as instruments, not just as programmed generators of sounds and effects.

The lighter vocals are an ideal contrast to the music. ‘Our Lost Worlds’ ’is, musically, as muddy as a puddle. The vocals are as welcome as a scarlet cloak draped across it or the lemon zest on a sweet pudding.

There are no weak tracks here,‘Now and Again’ is sweet and tender. The album ends with the warmth and optimism of ‘Seven Years’. It’s a lovely place to leave them.

Taster Track : Scrolling

The Chasing Pack

Solas : Adwaith

Adwaith’s new double album of Welsh language indie rock poses a challenge to the new listener, and maybe not the one that springs immediately to mind.

We tend to look to the East, when we’re seeking something strange, mythical and exotic. Adwaith convince us that it’s possible to find this much closer to home because, as this album successfully shows, Welsh can sound much stranger to English ears than any Eastern language.

For many, the language will be a barrier but if you pay attention and listen carefully there’s some good indie rock with a musical twist to be heard. They could be singing about teapots or nights down the pub, but in Welsh it sounds life changing.

The main challenge though is not just the language, but the generosity that has given us 23 songs to absorb. I found it hard to take in that much in one sitting. It’s unsettling to form sketchy first impressions and know that there’s more, a lot more, to uncover over time. I’m glad though that they haven’t compromised their approach to accommodate my shortcomings.

With that caveat, first impressions are generally very good. ‘Planed’ doesn’t take long to reveal prog influences with its incantatory feel. The excellent ‘Mwy’ is almost tribal with its percussion and strong rhythms. ‘Mwy’ translates as ‘more’ and mwy of this wouldn’t go amiss. ‘Wift Ti Ar Y Lein’ captures the grand and epic sound of the album. ‘Coeden Amiben’ has the kind of alternative Britpop feel that would have Steve LaMacq dribbling with pleasure.  ‘Milliwn’ and ‘Addo’ end the album on a gentler note.The drama of ‘Gorllewin Pell’, the touch of funk rock bass groove of ‘Sain’ - these reinforce the view that this is an album that needs more than one listen to understand fully. The songs have momentum and the quality holds up throughout.

This is a heady mix, with influences and flavours stirred in to make something all their own. It’s Welsh indie rock that kept striking surprising Indian chords. You can hear everything from Muse to the Cocteau Twins in there too.

Uncompromisingly Welsh, Adwaith are a band to celebrate with a sound to explore over and over again.

Taster Track : Mwy

It’s Nothing : Dolores Forever

Dolores Forever make catchy indie pop with the emphasis on pop.

Their Spotify bio contains just six words : “Like Fleetwood Mac without the husbands.” That tells you more about their personality than the sound of their music! 

Without probing, there are enough clues in their songs to indicate that they have had enough of being told what to do by parent or partner figures. Their non album single ‘When I Say So’ captures their frustration with unexplained exercises in authority, as does the title of opening album track ‘Not Now Kids’. ‘Someday Best’ - great misheard title - contains the line : “Shut up and eat the pasta”. 

The thing is though, this isn’t the stale outgrown whining of an overlong and spoiled adolescence. It’s shot through with warmth, humour and cheek. More importantly, this is an enjoyable, unweighty album bubbling over with pop fizz. We want this pop spirit to survive even if our own tastes tend towards more serious material, more AOR. These are songs full of vim, and you can’t put a price on that.

‘Concrete’ has the feel of disposable good time 80s pop. ‘Not Now Kids’ is infectious and jerkily rhythmic. ‘Stop Making It Worse’ is full of delightful twists and turns. It sounds as if they had a great time writing and making it.

If Britney Spears had grown up in Yorkshire or Copenhagen alongside Dolores Forever she may well have sounded quite similar. There’s something of Greta Thunberg here too - the confidence that they have something to sing about and people will pay attention to it.

If there’s a childlike perspective to these songs, it’s a perspective you wouldn’t want them to lose any time soon.

Taster Track : Stop Making It Worse

Glutton For Punishment : Heartworms

If this is punishment, then I’ll freely confess to being a glutton for it. Heartworms music is post punk rock that’s as ear catching as the sound of the first ice cream van of Spring to a five year old.

Everything on this album pushes you to the fringes of a modern suburban horror story. These are anguished but thrilling songs that put you in the centre of something you can’t control. There are times when you feel infected by panic. You’re trapped in a game with high stakes that you can’t escape. In ‘Extraordinary Wings’ it’s almost as if Heartworms sets out the rules you don’t really want to hear, when she sings:

“I don’t want murder, ‘cos I’ve got no right.”

Well that’s alright then.

There’s a dark energy at the heart of this album, and it’s compelling. It makes for music that leads to racing heartbeats. You feel you’re on a scary rollercoaster ride, and you’ve just noticed you’re not strapped in. Scream and no one will hear you.

It’s impressive that this effect is achieved through a number of different approaches. There’s always something to keep you hooked. You may wait 3’27” for the chorus to ‘Extraordinary Wings’ but once you hear it, it won’t let go. ‘Warplane’ drills home through rhythm and indie disco dark beats. ‘Glutton For Punishment’  urges you to “dance, dance, dance” well after the point that you’re first ready to collapse from exhaustion. ‘Celebrate’, for the most part, provides a breathing space, but you still feel you’re being played with as if by some unseen puppet master. ‘Jackes’ is all adrenaline pumped anguish.

This is a record that is complete entertainment, musically and in how it makes you feel. In a word, it’s exhilarating.

Taster Track : Jacked

As ever this week's Taster Track playlists can be accessed at https://open.spotify.com/playlist/42qDXrw3nLMlCSg45kCnRy?si=4499207642034207 or via the Spotify link on the Home Page.

The link to the Youtube playlist is https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwV-OogHy7EjHZr5_M3m0Zn5LEu_F3fMm&si=OhQF-ZPaBjUn4VMT