Oh Jesus Christ almighty
Do I feel alright?
No, not slightly*

Now this is getting just a little bit silly. Despite still seeming to regard the whole music career thing as some kind of bizarre (and not always entirely welcome) accident, the Be Good Tanyas find themselves booked to play the Royal Albert Hall, Nov 17. Serious, you cannot be, er, serious. Sadly they are, determined to put the Tanyas, still hardly the most relaxed and 'projecting' of live performers, nicely at their ease by booking them into the the most buttoned-up, inappropriately portentous London venues they can find (South Bank, Barbican, now this). It just doesn't feel right and despite having followed them since their first trip over [see rr March 7 02] this blog ain't gonna be there...
...and, yes, will probably miss out. Hey ho, good luck to them. Actually, not sure how many records the Tanyas have sold to date but they must be contenders for the lowest-key names ever to headline the Albert Hall. The third album, Hello love, comes out Oct 10 and courtesy of Nettwerk Records you can listen to the whole thing now over here. Much as before, the cover songs they include (here Neil Young, Prince) pale in comparison to gorgeous originals like A thousand tiny pieces, Ootishenia and Human thing...

The last time this blog caught the BGTs was at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Nina Nastasia similarly. She's also back in town this autumn but has happily knocked back the likes of the Albert Hall in favour of.. downstairs at a Crouch End boozer. The 60-capacity Kings Head on Sept 1 to be exact. Top girl! rr will definitely be there...

...and also, all things being equal, at:
-the Buffalo Bar Aug 16 where nifty alt-pop combo My Sad Captains pick it up again after a brief and appallingly selfish hiatus [Also at the Windmill, Brixton Sept 10]
-and, after an even longer gap, the Progress Bar the next night for another dash of Pipas' charmingly amateurish electo-twee (playing with Shimura Curves). There's a new album Sorry love available now and a new website...
-Rota on Sat Aug 26 - free! - for more bucketloads of wist courtesy of Stars of Aviation [go]

And further ahead there's Unwed Sailor Oct 6 at a venue tbc and The Essex Green return Oct 17 at the Luminaire for just 4 quid - snatch their little hands off...

Still no sign of The Tyde coming in - check this dream setlist from their recent Japanese trip - but, hey, apparently they're working on it...

Three-out-of-three for albums purchased this summer. The Pipettes' We are The Pipettes was always going to be a no-brainer hereabouts but still reallyrather was taken aback by it's sheer relentless gloriousness. Hit after hit after hit.. in another, more perfect universe, that is. Not sure how much mileage there can realistically be in this kind of project but at least they've nailed the Greatest Pop Song in the History of Pop (this week) in Pull shapes and Gwenno's power towards the end of Your kisses are wasted on me is another quite thrilling zenith. Girl power, you just can't beat it, can you...

...Lily, eh? Lily Allen's Alright still is, er, still alright after daily hammerings this past month. The ubiquitous opener and no.1 single Smile is almost the weakest thing about this set of savvy pop-ska - funny, observational and catchy as.. a very catchy thing. Way more palatable than the likes of The Streets and Ms Dynamite, *Everything's just wonderful will surely be bustin' out all over some time soon while the silky dub and double chorus of Friend of mine is another album highlight...

Meanwhile, another world away in terms of style and exposure, the new Don Peris solo album Go when the morning shineth is far too lovely a thing to be allowed to sink without trace. Largely full-band instrumentals with Peris' distinctively affecting guitar to the fore, there's a shimmering, vaguely nostalgic melifluousness and softly transporting air across the whole 40 minutes or so. Obviously, Innocence Mission devotees will connect immediately (and wife Karen steps up the mic on North Atlantic sand) but also anyone who enjoys the Dansette tones of Richard Hawley should also definitely take note. Tracks like the eye-wateringly wistful Ribbon of highway, and things like Day trip, Flyer and Jubilee tap into the same seam of sonorous, gently ambient melodicism as the the Mercury Prize nominee. Gorgeous stuff and, like the Pips and Lily before, wholly recommended...
[Don Peris][on MySpace]

Randomly:
...Still no sign in Mojo, Uncut, Q or The Word of a review for The Weepies' Say I am you. No need to let their ebbing relevance deny you the pleasure tho'...
...Oh, Laurel Music, where art thou? ...
...Thirty-five days and counting...