Flyte - Light Me Up

Joe writes: I really like Flyte and their singles are getting better and better. This one reminds me of Avalon-era Roxy Music.

Duncan Browne - Journey

Joe writes: I heard this track for the first time recently on Mark Radcliffe and Stuart Maconie's excellent BBC 6 Music show. It reached no. 23 in the UK charts in 1972 on the RAK label - another sad reminder that the moderate hits of that era would be amongst the best releases of this era.

Cousin Cole's re-edit of Marcia Griffiths - Everywhere (Fleetwood Mac cover)

Joe writes: I used to think Everywhere was uncoverable because the brilliance of the Fleetwood Mac version owes a lot to Christine McVie's vocal. I take it back - Marcia Griffiths' reggae cover is great - thanks to Cousin Cole for bring it back to life.

Get more Cousin Cole remixes at Legitmix

The Best of Scotland

It's not all bad Scotland (some of it is though):

Zucchero - Ahum (I'm In Trouble)

Joe writes: I could never understand why this 2001 Zucchero single wasn't bigger. Bocelli meets Moby's Play - surely a winning formula? The internet insists that this is called Ahum (I'm In A Trouble), but I find that hard to believe.

The Kooks - Sweet Emotion

Joe writes: An indie band, who seemed like their time had passed, go funky. Normally I would hate such a track but Sweet Emotion is just too good. Songwriter Fraser T Smith worked on this album - I would love to know whether he worked on this track.

my favourite R Kelly tracks - Spotify playlist

Joe writes: R Kelly was probably the best songwriter to emerge in the nineties, and a brilliant singer too, but no-one needs to hear an entire R Kelly album so here's a Spotify playlist of his best tracks:



My favourite R Kelly track that isn't on Spotify or iTunes is Bad Man. I wonder if it's missing because of its honest lyrical message? Anyway, it's on YouTube:

Ten Walls - Walking With Elephants - official video

Joe writes: Great track, great video. Ten Walls are in a class of their own right now.

Barry Louis Polisar - Me and You as featured on the Volkswagen advert

Joe writes: Is this a Bob Dylan pastiche? Anyway, it's very good. Barry Louis Polisar is a children's author and singer-songwriter who provided the opening song for the film Juno. He is very synchable!

Harry Nilsson - One as featured in Boyhood

Joe writes: Another song from Boyhood - I didn't know this smooth Harry Nilsson number until I heard it in the film:

Ben Howard - I Forget Where We Were

Joe writes: I've heard three tracks from Ben Howard's new album and all three are great. I Forget Where We Were is possibly my favourite of three thanks to its shades of Jeff Buckley and Mike Scott.

Family of the Year - Hero as featured on Boyhood

Joe writes: I meant to post this ages ago. Boyhood - what a brilliant film. I'm a big fan of the song Hero by Family of the Year; I even included it on my How To Save American Music Spotify playlist:



Hero features prominently on Boyhood which made me realise I hadn't posted it here previously so here it is:

Ben Howard - The End of the Affair

Joe writes: I've always been an admirer of Ben Howard's; now I'm a fan. I'm not comparing him to Laura Marling but, like Laura, I feel that his best tracks stands up next to the classic folk rock of the early seventies. End Of The Affair is the first single from his new album, clocking in at 7.48 so not exactly going for the commercial jugular, but it's beautiful. I've heard two future singles from this album and they are even better.

The 2 Bears feat. Stylo G - Money Man

Joe writes: Wow, this is great. They're in that fun space where they've established their cool credentials so now can get away with total pop and it still seems cool.

Little Feat - Willin'

Little Feat are one of those bands I know about without having heard much so thanks to Jon Webster for introducing me to Willin’. It’s in the middle ground between Gram Parsons and Crosby Stills & Nash so very much up my street.

Kranium - Nobody Has To Know

Joe writes: This reggae tune has been bubbling under for ages, as reggae tunes do, and looks set to crossover this summer. It’s so accessible and light in a good way. I wonder about the effectiveness of “You know me have a fat cock for you” as a chat up line but it certainly makes for an effective lyric.

Bill Withers - Hello Like Before

I recently discovered there’s more to Bill Withers than Ain’t No Sunshine, Lean On Me and Lovely Day. They don’t make them like this anymore. The song was written by Bill and John Collins, but it sounds like it could have been by Stephen Sondheim.

Kina and Sissy Nobby - Sabotage Part II AKA Girl From The Gutter

Joe writes: I heard this on some random Tumblr and it took me ages to figure out what it is – according to Shazam it's Sabotage Part II by Sissy Nobby, but essentially it's a remix of Girl From The Gutter by Kina. Kina was in Brownstone, then once solo was one of those artists who didn’t stick when a big US label (in this case DreamWorks) threw her at the wall. According to Wikipedia, Sissy Nobby is an "overtly queer practitioner of bounce music". This mix just has such great energy.

Watermät - Bullit

Joe writes: It's relatively unusual to find a dance instrumental that could be a proper hit without the addition of a topline but there are a few around at the moment - the two Ten Walls singles and the excellent Bullit by Watermät from France. Wonderfully uplifting.

Amadou & Mariam - Chérie

Joe writes: I heard this at a friend’s BBQ. I always thought there must be an Amadou & Mariam track out there for me and here it is. Lovely guitar part and it sounds like they had a lot of fun making the track.