Welcome to Episode 64 of This Is Not Happening. An Album of the Month podcast. In Part 1, we review and Album of the Month. This month Joey brings perhaps the most critically acclaimed album of 2025, Rosalia's 'LUX'.In Part 2, we play Spin It or Bin It, we pick a theme and all pick songs that represent that theme. As it's January and everybody is back in the gym or re-starting running program's we've picked 'songs to get injured to'._______________________Part 1 | Album of the Month | Rosalia | LUX________________________This is a big one. Big in many ways. Massively popular, globally. But more importantly MASSIVE in scope, scale and ambition. Rosalia's 4th album takes a major turn from the reggaeton, digital urgency of Motomami. This a symphonic, spiritual, complex and challenging collection of songs presented in 4 movements (if you're on vinyl). It requires you to focus, engage and consume with purpose.It's undeniable that it is ambitious, its brilliance is clear … but will any of us actually like it? Does it make you want to listen to it? Are you drawn to come back to it?Listen to the album here.Watch some of the videos for the tracks here.Check out the Zane Lowe interview with Rosalia here.___________________Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It | Songs To Get Injured To _____________________New Year New Me. The gyms are packed. People are begging to get injured. What should you chose as your soundtrack to that achilles rupture or that rotator cuff tear? The answer is probably in this 16 track play list that we created.We each pick 4 tracks for the playlist and submit 1 track and ask the simple question 'Spin It Or Bin It'?Joey chose 'Baddadan' by Chase & Status et al.Guy chose 'Go' by Chemical Brothers.David chose 'Kool Thing' by Sonic Youth.Nolan chose 'Stop What You're Doing' by Apathy.We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look – https://thisisnothappening.net/
Welcome to Episode 41 of This is Not Happening. An Album of the Month Podcast where in Part 1 we deep dive into an Album that one of us has chosen and in Part 2 we play ‘Spin it or Bin it’. This is where we pick a theme and each select a song that represents that theme. We judge each others selections by asking the question ‘Spin It or Bin It’?
This month, in Part 1, we go deep with Lana Del Ray for the first time on TINH. LDR is one of the industry major players, few move units or split opinions like her. Find out what we think. In Part 2, the Spin it or Bin it theme is ‘A Song for January’ where we all chose a track that we think fits the theme and ask the others ‘Spin It or Bin It’.
Part 1 | Lana Del Rey | Did you know there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd.
This is album no.9 for LDR and its a whopper. It’s got a lot to say and says it across 16 tracks. There are common LDR tropes and new twists on what you might expect. We think it contains some of the best music released in 2023 but is it all good? Can a 78 minute be brilliant from start to finish?
A really interesting interview on Billboard can be found here.
Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It | ‘A song for January’
Well, that was an odd Episode of Spin It or Bin It! The usual structure goes to the wall this month and it all gets a bit loose. Nolan get’s the hump, Joey gets all serious but thankfully David and Guy clean up the mess and no blood was spilled.
Welcome to Episode 64 of This Is Not Happening. An Album of the Month podcast. In Part 1, we review and Album of the Month. This month Joey brings perhaps the most critically acclaimed album of 2025, Rosalia's 'LUX'.In Part 2, we play Spin It or Bin It, we pick a theme and all pick songs that represent that theme. As it's January and everybody is back in the gym or re-starting running program's we've picked 'songs to get injured to'._______________________Part 1 | Album of the Month | Rosalia | LUX________________________This is a big one. Big in many ways. Massively popular, globally. But more importantly MASSIVE in scope, scale and ambition. Rosalia's 4th album takes a major turn from the reggaeton, digital urgency of Motomami. This a symphonic, spiritual, complex and challenging collection of songs presented in 4 movements (if you're on vinyl). It requires you to focus, engage and consume with purpose.It's undeniable that it is ambitious, its brilliance is clear … but will any of us actually like it? Does it make you want to listen to it? Are you drawn to come back to it?Listen to the album here.Watch some of the videos for the tracks here.Check out the Zane Lowe interview with Rosalia here.___________________Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It | Songs To Get Injured To _____________________New Year New Me. The gyms are packed. People are begging to get injured. What should you chose as your soundtrack to that achilles rupture or that rotator cuff tear? The answer is probably in this 16 track play list that we created.We each pick 4 tracks for the playlist and submit 1 track and ask the simple question 'Spin It Or Bin It'?Joey chose 'Baddadan' by Chase & Status et al.Guy chose 'Go' by Chemical Brothers.David chose 'Kool Thing' by Sonic Youth.Nolan chose 'Stop What You're Doing' by Apathy.We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look – https://thisisnothappening.net/
Welcome to Episode 40 of This is Not Happening. An Album of the Month Podcast where we usually review an album in depth and play something called ‘Spin It or Bin It’ … but not this month.
We’re celebrating our big 4-0 in style. It’s end of year review time. We select our top 10 albums of 2023 and each pick our Track of 2023.
Part 1 – 2023 Top 10 Albums
We all independently picked our top 10s. We run those choices through a series of deep learning models commonly known as ‘Algo Dave’ and we create a mathematically generated combined Top 10. We made our selections and recorded this pod WAAAAAY ahead of any body else’s lists coming out so we are not influenced by the mainstream musical media (which is why our list looks SO different to everyone else’s). We’re super proud of our 10 and chuffed to bits that our No.1 is an album that we all love and one that we’ve loved since the start of the year. No recency bias here my friends.
Part 2- 2023 Tracks of the Year
We each select a track of the year. Simple as that. We explain why it’s our track of 2023 and have a little critique of each others choices.
Welcome to Episode 64 of This Is Not Happening. An Album of the Month podcast. In Part 1, we review and Album of the Month. This month Joey brings perhaps the most critically acclaimed album of 2025, Rosalia's 'LUX'.In Part 2, we play Spin It or Bin It, we pick a theme and all pick songs that represent that theme. As it's January and everybody is back in the gym or re-starting running program's we've picked 'songs to get injured to'._______________________Part 1 | Album of the Month | Rosalia | LUX________________________This is a big one. Big in many ways. Massively popular, globally. But more importantly MASSIVE in scope, scale and ambition. Rosalia's 4th album takes a major turn from the reggaeton, digital urgency of Motomami. This a symphonic, spiritual, complex and challenging collection of songs presented in 4 movements (if you're on vinyl). It requires you to focus, engage and consume with purpose.It's undeniable that it is ambitious, its brilliance is clear … but will any of us actually like it? Does it make you want to listen to it? Are you drawn to come back to it?Listen to the album here.Watch some of the videos for the tracks here.Check out the Zane Lowe interview with Rosalia here.___________________Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It | Songs To Get Injured To _____________________New Year New Me. The gyms are packed. People are begging to get injured. What should you chose as your soundtrack to that achilles rupture or that rotator cuff tear? The answer is probably in this 16 track play list that we created.We each pick 4 tracks for the playlist and submit 1 track and ask the simple question 'Spin It Or Bin It'?Joey chose 'Baddadan' by Chase & Status et al.Guy chose 'Go' by Chemical Brothers.David chose 'Kool Thing' by Sonic Youth.Nolan chose 'Stop What You're Doing' by Apathy.We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look – https://thisisnothappening.net/
Welcome to Episode 39 of This is Not Happening. An Album of the Month Podcast where in Part 1 we deep dive into an Album that one of us has chosen and in Part 2 we play ‘Spin it or Bin it’. This is where we pick a theme and each select a song that represents that theme. We judge each others selections by asking the question ‘Spin It or Bin It’?
This month, in Part 1, we get stuck in TINH favourite, Sufjan Steven’s latest release ‘Javelin’. Wow. Is there a lot to talk about. I hope we do it justice. In Part 2, the Spin it or Bin it theme is ‘Unconventional Love Songs’ where we all chose a track that we think fits the theme and ask the others ‘Spin It or Bin It’.
Part 1 | Sufjan Stevens | Javelin
It’s David’s choice this month and a record 3rd time that we’ve reviewed an album by the same artist. On one hand this Sufjan doing Sufjan things … and then on the other, it’s a heart breaking, gut punch of an album that takes you to beautifully uncomfortable places. It’s genuinely spectacular.
In the chat we reference Sufjan’s Instagram, that can be found here.
A rare and recent (ish) interview with Sufjan on his health condition is here.
Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It | Unconventional Love Songs
Who are we to judge what ‘conventional’ means, what ‘love’ means … what a ‘song’ is? The interpretation of ‘unconventional love songs’ was left wide open this month.
We all chose a 4 track shortlist to chose our track, you can here all 16 tracks on this playlist here.
Nolan chose – ‘The Night’ by Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
We all like to believe that we can listen to an artist’s music on its own merits, without knowing the back story. But the truth is that context is everything in trying to make sense of an artist’s work, and while we may well spend plenty of time listening to music without knowing the story ‘behind it’, with records we love and cherish, the story of how that music came to be and what’s it’s about are a huge part of our connection with the music itself.
Likewise, finding out that an artist is a dick or holds repulsive views can have a huge impact on our listening habits – see Morrissey, or indeed even the recent Roisin Murphy palaver. I’ve barely listened to her album and I’m a big fan, I just needed a break after a bit of a bad taste in the mouth.
And so it is with the Sufjan story. What an interesting place he inhabits in the pop firmament. Adored by Pitchfork and the entire indie universe, but he seems to have fans from well outside that world – he’s one of those rare artists where he seems to have broken into the public consciousness. And that’s fascinating, when you consider his output. He made his name in the early 00s as a kind of old-timey Americana folk troubadour, with albums like Michigan, Seven Swans and his breakout album Illinois. The songs had titles so long they sounded like they were titles from 19th Century novels. And let’s not forget his pledge to make an album exploring the history of every single state in the US. Alas, he’s only managed Michigan and Illinois so far, but I wouldn’t it put it past him to return to the project! And then there was his Christianity – it’s not unheard of a contemporary white indie singer songwriter to have a faith, thought it’s probably quite unusual – but it’s the fact that his religious beliefs play such a central part of his songwriting and his themes.
What’s even more interesting is that his reputation has continued to grow, despite him making a bewildering series of creative left turns – the 42 songs Xmas album! The second 58 song Xmas album! Difficult, broken electronica on The Age of Adz, and again more recently on last album, The Ascension, which we reviewed on an early pod and it’s fair to say we struggled with! Then there’s the ambient records, the soundtracks, the collaborations. He certainly covers a lot of ground, and he doesn’t seem to mind if his audience follow him or not.
But perhaps he holds his place in the musical landscape because he’s such a fucking good songwriter. His gorgeous gossamer-light voice can float above a solo piano, or simple guitar or banjo, and you think you’re listening to an angel (He’s certainly closer to God than most of us, perhaps he has access that we don’t!). On 2015’s Carrie & Lowell, it felt like Sufjan hit a musical high point, creating a breathtaking and heartbreaking collection of songs that delved deep into his difficult relationship with his mother and her partner. I read somewhere (Pitchfork?) recently that he sometime sounds like he feels things so acutely, you almost can’t bear to listen. That’s what Carrie & Lowell sounded like to me.
So here we are 3 years on from the dense, challenging and slightly underwhelming The Ascension, and here comes Javelin, and immediately, you are struck by the beauty and the scale of it. The songwriting and style is reminiscent of Carrie & Lowell, but the arrangements are so much bigger – choirs, orchestra, and interestingly, electronics too – it finally feels like he’s taken that electronica side of his work and married it beautifully to the best of his songwriting. Early single Will Anybody Ever Love Me? was stunning – as Pitchfork said, an immediate addition to the best songs he’s written – but it was only when I sat down and listened to it on headphones for the first time that I realised just how incredible it is. What a fucking song!
Listening to the album, you’re immediately hit by the themes of loss – Goodbye Evergreen, Genuflecting Ghost (such a Sufjan title!). But then again that’s not weird, Stevens has always been obsessed with life and death, the afterlife and the now. And going into listening to this, I think we were all aware of one of the big life stories that you can’t help but add to the context of listening to the record. Stevens has been suffering from a rare autoimmune disease that has left him – temporarily hopefully – in a wheelchair. Of course he’s been thinking about death, you think. He’s just had the fright of his life.
The reviews are in and they are glowing, everyone riffs on the usual Sufjan themes, it gets called a masterpiece, and you think, OK, I think I’m beginning to understand this record. And then…and then…and then…after the release, this…
Jesus fucking Christ. Not only has he been wheelchair bound for the last year, but he lost the love of his life – a man and a relationship – and let’s be clear, a sexuality – that he had hidden from the world. It is, of course, hardly a surprise that Sufjan is queer, but the fact that he went through something so unbelievably traumatic and has only just shared it with the world, after making arguably the finest music of his life. I mean, I can’t even process.
And then you listen to the album again. And you hear the opening lines:
Goodbye, Evergreen You know I love you But everything heaven sent Must burn out in the end
And you realise this album is about Evans Richardson and the love that Sufjan felt for him. Fucking hell. And then you listen to Will Anybody Ever Love Me? again…
Tie me to the final wooden stake Burn my body, celebrate the afterglow Wash away the summer sins I made Watch me drift and watch me struggle, let me go
And then Genuflecting Ghost…
Give myself as a sacrifice Genuflecting ghost I kiss no more
Penultimate track Shit Talk is one of those 8 minute Sufjan songs. I approached it with trepidation, but I think it might be the most complete, brilliant and perfect 8 minute song he’s ever written. Of course, I thought it was about relationship arguments, and maybe it is, but it’s about an argument with someone who’s dead or dying.
No more fighting I’ve nothing left to give I’ve nothing but atrophy Did I cross you? Did I fail to believe in positive thoughts? Our romantic second chance is dead I buried it with the hatchet Quit your antics Put them at the foot of the bed And set it, on fire I will always love you But I cannot look at you
I’m listening as I write – again! – and it still moves me to tears nearly every time. Maybe it feels a bit premature to start talking about this as the album of the year – and there other contenders – but I can’t imagine Stevens putting any more of himself into his music, and turning what must be unimaginable trauma into one of the most beautiful albums I’ve heard in years.
Welcome to Episode 64 of This Is Not Happening. An Album of the Month podcast. In Part 1, we review and Album of the Month. This month Joey brings perhaps the most critically acclaimed album of 2025, Rosalia's 'LUX'.In Part 2, we play Spin It or Bin It, we pick a theme and all pick songs that represent that theme. As it's January and everybody is back in the gym or re-starting running program's we've picked 'songs to get injured to'._______________________Part 1 | Album of the Month | Rosalia | LUX________________________This is a big one. Big in many ways. Massively popular, globally. But more importantly MASSIVE in scope, scale and ambition. Rosalia's 4th album takes a major turn from the reggaeton, digital urgency of Motomami. This a symphonic, spiritual, complex and challenging collection of songs presented in 4 movements (if you're on vinyl). It requires you to focus, engage and consume with purpose.It's undeniable that it is ambitious, its brilliance is clear … but will any of us actually like it? Does it make you want to listen to it? Are you drawn to come back to it?Listen to the album here.Watch some of the videos for the tracks here.Check out the Zane Lowe interview with Rosalia here.___________________Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It | Songs To Get Injured To _____________________New Year New Me. The gyms are packed. People are begging to get injured. What should you chose as your soundtrack to that achilles rupture or that rotator cuff tear? The answer is probably in this 16 track play list that we created.We each pick 4 tracks for the playlist and submit 1 track and ask the simple question 'Spin It Or Bin It'?Joey chose 'Baddadan' by Chase & Status et al.Guy chose 'Go' by Chemical Brothers.David chose 'Kool Thing' by Sonic Youth.Nolan chose 'Stop What You're Doing' by Apathy.We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look – https://thisisnothappening.net/
Welcome to Episode 38 of This is Not Happening. An Album of the Month Podcast where in Part 1 we deep dive into an Album that one of us has chosen and in Part 2 we play ‘Spin it or Bin it’. This is where we pick a theme and each select a song that represents that theme. We judge each others selections by asking the question ‘Spin It or Bin It’?
This month, we get stuck in Noname’s latest release ‘Sundial’ in Part 1. It’s a short album but there’s a lot to talk about. In Part 2, the Spin it or Bin it theme is ‘New Music’ where we all chose a track released since 1st August 2023 and present it for judgement.
Part 1 | Noname | Sundial
It’s Nolan’s choice this month and he’s chosen the new album from Noname, ‘Sundial’. It’s an interesting, uncompromising album with a challenging cover from an unapologetic, controversial artist. It’s only 30 mins long but packs a big punch and brings a lot to the party!
Check out Noname’s Insta here and her Twitter here
Check out a few opinions on some Noname controversy here
Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It | New Tracks
It’s a simple theme this month. New Music. We all chose tracks that have been released since August 1st 2023. We all chose a track that fits the theme then ask the others a simple question ‘spin it or bin it?’
We all chose a 4 track shortlist to chose our track, you can here all 16 tracks on this playlist here.
For the first time in a few years, I’ve struggled to bring a new album to the table from and artists that I have a background with that I want to stand behind. Without naming names, some of who I feel are heavy hitters, have missed the mark over the last few weeks with their new albums. The consequence of this has pushed me into a deep dive into new music, and new artists (at least to me).
The name that kept on coming up was Noname and her latest release ‘Sundail’ that is one of the ‘hot’ names of 2023. In reflection she isn’t completely new to me as previous collaborations with the likes of Chance The Rapper have peppered numerous playlist of mine historically. Upon the release of ‘Sundial’, much was written about her journey to releasing this album and her exhaustion to the realities of being a black artist releasing conscious music. She had previously put new music on hold indefinitely. The guardian sums up her history to date fairly well in this article.
Ahead of doing research on the artist, there’s a lot of value in approaching this album with virgin ears for a listen or two. Few recent albums give you an introduction to what is coming and the artist that is presenting as the first track ‘Black Mirror’. In just over 2 minutes she explains herself better than most of us do in a lifetime. As Kendrick did in the Heart P5 video, this album is as much of a look into the mirror as it is of the world of Noname, which is highlighted by the album cover.
Hip Hop as a genre is vast and ever changing. In what could be argued as it’s most confusing state to date, this album lends us some clarity to modern hip hop. Noname’s razor sharp lyrics hide behind her laidback flow like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Conscious, astute, boldly honest and the ability to say f-you politely. We spoke on the podcast a few episodes ago about hip hop the hip hop albums of the 90’s that all of us admired. Digable Planets, Arrested Development, Spearhead, Tribe Called Quest, etc. If you like these artists; you’ll love Sundial. It could be argued that if you like PE, NWA and Paris you’ll also appreciate this album. It’s hard to pinpoint who she reminds me of. There are definite touch points to Chicagoan’s Common and Change the Rapper whilst hints of Erykah Badu constantly shine through as well.
The album doesn’t come without controversy. The album features a verse from Jay Electronica who’s opinions have polarised many music fans due to his views on many subjects. Noname’s inclusion of Electronica has ruffled a few feathers. She has been un-apologetic for his appearance. As her indifference to her music appealing to white fans. There is little doubt that Noname uses her platform to share her views. I admit that you find a need to be invested into ‘Sundial’, and at times it can be daunting. Rightfully so, the smooth jazz backing won’t be able to hide the thought-provoking lyrics throughout the album.
Do I relate to all of the album? No. This album wasn’t made for me. In fact I’m most likely the last person she made this album for. Does it make me think? Yes. Am I enjoying it? Yes.
I’m still working my way through, but what I love about this album is that she has created a complicated piece of work that sounds great and will provoke thoughts every time anyone listens to it. I’m looking forward to what you’re thinking….
I tend to love 2 types of music (i) really beautiful music (ii) really un-beautiful music. I don’t play in the no-mans land between them and prefer the extremes of the beauty continuum. There is no doubt that Julie Byrne’s ‘The Greater Wings’ sits at the very beautiful end of the beautiful music spectrum.
I have for some time loved the niche, sub-sub-genres of ‘folk music that bleeds into ambience’ and also ‘ambience that bleeds into folk music.’ I would listen to pretty much anything that Grouper or Mutual Benefit recorded. Julie Byrne sits somewhere in this space and occupies a very special place in my heart and my ears for doing so. This is Julie’s 3rd album in a period of 9 years of releasing albums. She’s far from prolific and that’s ok with me. It’s been 6 years since the release of Not Even Happiness which I chose as Album of the Month and introduced you guys too. That album is my calm place. It’s a constant in my life. I ‘use’ that album as much as listen to it, by which I mean that it plays a role in my life more than music. God that sounds wanky but also, it’s true so fuck it.
You won’t get many words into a review for ‘The Greater Wings’ without learning that it was completed in heartbreaking circumstances. In June 2021, Eric Littmann, Bryne’s long time collaborator, friend and I believe former partner passed away. He was 31. Apparently Littmann was as responsible for the beauty of ‘Not even happiness’ as Byrne was, adding production and synth credits to the album. He’s untimely passing came half way through recording ‘On Greater Wings’. It feels like he was a major influence in the creation of the album but also that he influenced the nuance with which the album was completed after his passing.
I read a ‘throw-away’ Instagram post the other day that introduced me to the concept of ‘Glimmers’ and explain them as the opposite of triggers. Its the things that add beauty and peace into your world. The idea being that (as per triggers) the more you look for them, the more you find them. ‘The Greater Wings’ is 39 minutes of glimmers, glimmers born of the most heartbreaking circumstances.
I read about this album before I had the chance to listen to it. I knew the circumstances in which it was recorded and this probably set my initial expectations. But it’s perhaps not what you think it is. At least, not unless you want it to be. I think there are 2 ways to listen to this album. You can allow this album to infuse you with glimmers and with loveliness by allowing yourself to be caught up in its current. You can allow it to pull you along with it. Or, you can make a deliberate, conscious decision to immerse yourself in it. If you do the latter, it can be emotionally overwhelming, it could be the wrong time to listen to this album like this. I do however think that if you chose the first option, you are not missing out on the depth or the importance of this album. I am not suggesting you make it background music. I am not sure it could ever be that. It still radiates beauty and connection … and glimmers.
If you’re new to Julie Byrne, her music sits somewhere in that Indie / Folk space. She’s always experimented with Synths and ambience that adds something hauntingly affecting to her music. This album is this x10. It’s 39 minutes, 10 tracks. Every note, sound and feeling is where it is as a deliberate act of placement. Bryne talks about the track sequencing being the result of very specific thinking. She talks about the presentation of tracks being ‘the purest form’ of the music on this album. She also talks about Side A and Side B. If I am honest, I was not convinced that I thought the sequencing was ‘right’ when I first heard it. The title track is a stunning piece of music but I was not sure if it felt right to start the album. However, having lived with this album for weeks, I get it. I totally understand what she means.
One thing you won’t hear on this album is percussion. The closest you get is the percussive thrum of a finger picked guitar. On some tracks this is more definable than others, ‘Portrait of a Clear Day’ being a great example. The piano drives other tracks forward but mostly we’re taking about very calm, ambient, beatless tracks.
Lyrically, this album is stunning. Again, it can be overwhelming, but there is more than one way to read this music and it’s lyrics. I encourage anyone to ‘read’ these lyrics as ‘openly’ as they can do. For me, I get more from them if I do this, to concentrate on the beauty.
I am not going to do a track by track on this one. I don’t think it’s fitting. Every track has a critical place on this album and I love each and every one for that place. The instrumental ‘Summers End’ included. This is a palette cleansing couple of minutes of ambience that closes ‘Side A’ and prepares the listener for ‘Side B’. To follow ‘Summers Glass’ (which Byrne describes as the beating heart of the album) with ‘Summers End’ feels a very natural and rewarding decision. I understand that the title ‘Summers End’ refers to a song that Littmann wrote for Byrne when they first met.
This is so clearly 2023 Top 5 album material for me. This is everything that I love about music. I hope you find something you love in it. I hope it doesn’t overwhelm you, perhaps only when you want it to. It has at times overwhelmed me. It has made me think and question a lot of things.
It has kept me coming back to a single question.
Could anybody ever expect to influence anything as beautiful as this after they pass on?
Welcome to Episode 36 of This is Not Happening. An Album of the Month Podcast where in Part 1 we deep dive into an Album that one of us has chosen and in Part 2 we play ‘Spin it or Bin it’. This is where we pick a theme and each select a song that represents that theme. We judge each others selections by asking the question ‘Spin It or Bin It’? This month, we get stuck right into Creep Show’s ‘Yawning Abyss’ in Part 1 and in Part 2 we play Spin It or Bin It with the theme ‘Super-Producers’.
Part 1 | Album of the Month | Creep Show’s ‘Yawning Abyss’
It’s Guy’s choice this month and he choses a bleak little oddity by Creep Show called Yawning Abyss. Creep Show are a ‘Super Group’ of John Grant, Phil Winter (Tuung), Stephen Mallinder (Caberet Volataire) and Ben ‘Benge’ Edwards (Prolific Producer). This is their 2nd album as a collective and they channel the dark, the dystopian and the hopeless across 9 tracks and 40-ish minutes of music. There are elements of each individuals previous work but there is distinctive sound that the band capture themselves.
What is a Super-Producer? It turns out we all have a different definition, no surprises there I guess! But collectively we kind of agree that a Super-Producer is (i) successful (ii) prolific (iii) has had a significant impact on music (iv) spans numerous artists and perhaps genres.
It’s been quite a few years for soul music, which feels like it’s undergone quite the revival, with everyone from Mercury Music Prize winner Michael Kiwanuka to Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings to Raphael Saadiq to Nao to Cleo Sol, and very notably of late, Anderson .Paak, making music that can squarely be described as soul or neo-soul or retro soul or whatever the heck else you’d call it. And even on hipper projects like Sault, so beloved of us 4 on the podcast, you could make a strong argument that soul is right at the beating heart of its sound.
But it’s also a tricky genre to navigate – the history of soul music is so wide and so breathtakingly diverse, and its influence is so embedded in our musical culture, that it can be hard to find a space to make anything that genuinely feels new, and there is a lot of stuff out there that treads very heavily on existing formats. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but that old discussion that we’ve had on this blog/podcast many times rears its head once again – how can you best homage to the genre you’re working in, while moving music forwards?
I should say, for the record, that soul music has been one of the bedrocks of my musical taste since I was first leant an Aretha cassette by a friend in my teens. Like a lot of folk, I first gorged on Motown, Jackie Wilson & the 60s girl groups then headed into 70s soul territory via Stevie, Curtis, Marvin, Sly Stone and the rest, and by the time I was at Uni, I was getting into contemporary stuff like Mica Paris, Young Disciples and some of the acid jazz scene of the Brand New Heavies and Galliano era. I suspect my love of late 90s/early 00s R’n’B – and boy do I love that stuff – comes from the fact that it is a souped up, dance floor friendly take on soul music – which is arguably what RnB has always been! The vocals, the arrangements, it’s all in there, just with a hefty bass and drum kick.
Cut to the chase: I’m a sucker for soul music. But in the modern era, the more ‘traditional’ the soul revival sound, the less I’m personally that engaged with it. So I don’t mind a bit of Sharon Jones, but I preferred Raphael Saadiq when he’s got a bit more R’n’B in him and he’s not just sounding like a retro soul revivalist. Ditto, Kiwanuka got more interesting when he became more experimental and had the likes of Inflo on board pushing his sound into a more contemporary space.
I first came across Durand Jones via his band Durand Jones & The Indications via their big breakout single Witchoo, which I loved. However, at the time, when I dug into the rest of that album, Private Space, I found a band and a vocalist that felt a LITTLE too enamoured of Philly Soul and 70s soul disco vibes, and the exercise felt a bit too retro and stale for me to really connect with. In comparison to Anderson .Paak, for example, who seemed to be absolutely tearing the floor up at the same time with something steeped in those same influences, but felt so fresh!
Fast forward 2 years and I’m looking for an album to choose for this AOTM. I’m struggling – there is nothing that’s been recently released that grabs my attention. And then, while flicking through Metacritic, I see Durand Jones – but this time a solo album. And the reviews are INSANE. I stick it on, and from the very first track, and that gorgeous liquid string arrangement on beguiling opener Gerri Marie, I knew I was listening to something pretty special.
I’ve devoured a bunch of podcasts and interviews that the TINH brothers have shared (and that we’ll share with you in the links section!), and what first strikes you about Durand Jones, apart from his fierce intellect and strong personality, is how much this record means to him. This is him coming to terms with himself as a Queer black man from the Deep South – I think the first time he’s openly referenced that – in the astonishing confessional ballad, That Feeling (bloody WordPress won’t let the video embed in a working fashion, but go and check out the video on YouTube). It’s openly confessional, trying to make sense of his and his family’s life in Hilaryville, Louisiana, a town formed by former slaves given the land as part of most emancipation reparations – once ‘the place you’d most like to live’ according to his grandma, but now decimated by drugs and poverty.
First thing to say is that this album is constructed in classic album format – a sprightly, tight 41 minutes, moving opener leading to chugging banger Lord Have Mercy. The entire set is a homage to the entire breadth of soul music, with so many highlights that you could name any track as one. Sadie is a slice of plaintive doo-wop; Wait Till I Get Over a straight-down-the-line gospel track that suddenly drifts off into an ambient finale; See It Through a catchy AF soul jam that will surely be another single:
The closing tracks of the album are particularly strong. Someday We’ll All Be Free is a Stevie-esque ballad that mix political and emotional yearnings that surprisingly bursts into a rap in in the middle of the song – it’s a real album highlight. Letter to My 17 Year Old Self is a rather leftfield ballad, full of musical experimentation, that reminded me of Parade-era Prince. Like earlier slow jam I Want You, it wants to play with the form as well as celebrate. Finally, we end with the gorgeous, mournful Secrets, before the set ends and we just hear the sound of water, presumably the Mississippi river. Are the secrets being washed away? Or is Durand being reborn in the river? Either way, the sound of tides lap against the listener until it fades out.
This album has got under my skin like no other this year, save for Young Fathers, and like them, it’s a personal real AOTY contender, and certainly a top 10 shoo-in. So why does it work so well? I think the fact that band recorded so much as live in the studio gives it the most ridiculous energy. It’s like you’re listening to a live performance. Despite that, it somehow never feels like an exercise in retro-soul. I think that comes down to the breadth and skill of the songwriting, as well as at the very modern persona and emotions of the record’s protagonist, Durand J. He drags every inch of emotion out of every song like a force of will! Finally, the arrangements are deft and smart throughout – in particular the use of crunchy, heavy rock guitar is a genius move, and works against it sounding neatly soul-like. Listen to it muscle its way in at the end of Lord Have Mercy, for example, and it adds such a punchy layer that takes the sounds somewhere new. The whole thing is an exercise in how you make a soul record in 2023 that feels vital and relevant. Durand, we waited, and you sure as hell got over!
Welcome to Episode 64 of This Is Not Happening. An Album of the Month podcast. In Part 1, we review and Album of the Month. This month Joey brings perhaps the most critically acclaimed album of 2025, Rosalia's 'LUX'.In Part 2, we play Spin It or Bin It, we pick a theme and all pick songs that represent that theme. As it's January and everybody is back in the gym or re-starting running program's we've picked 'songs to get injured to'._______________________Part 1 | Album of the Month | Rosalia | LUX________________________This is a big one. Big in many ways. Massively popular, globally. But more importantly MASSIVE in scope, scale and ambition. Rosalia's 4th album takes a major turn from the reggaeton, digital urgency of Motomami. This a symphonic, spiritual, complex and challenging collection of songs presented in 4 movements (if you're on vinyl). It requires you to focus, engage and consume with purpose.It's undeniable that it is ambitious, its brilliance is clear … but will any of us actually like it? Does it make you want to listen to it? Are you drawn to come back to it?Listen to the album here.Watch some of the videos for the tracks here.Check out the Zane Lowe interview with Rosalia here.___________________Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It | Songs To Get Injured To _____________________New Year New Me. The gyms are packed. People are begging to get injured. What should you chose as your soundtrack to that achilles rupture or that rotator cuff tear? The answer is probably in this 16 track play list that we created.We each pick 4 tracks for the playlist and submit 1 track and ask the simple question 'Spin It Or Bin It'?Joey chose 'Baddadan' by Chase & Status et al.Guy chose 'Go' by Chemical Brothers.David chose 'Kool Thing' by Sonic Youth.Nolan chose 'Stop What You're Doing' by Apathy.We've been writing the blog for years come and have a look – https://thisisnothappening.net/
In Part 1 we explore the new Everything But The Girl album Fuse, and ask is it worth the 24 year wait? In Part 2 we play Spin It or Bin It? The theme this month is new music … tracks that have been released since Feb 1st 2023.
Part 1 | Album of the Month | EBTG | Fuse
It’s Nolan’s choice this month and we go with the long awaited / not even expected 12th studio album from Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt. It’s rare that we get to talk about an artist that we all have a significant relationship, but this is a great example. In January we got treated to the track Nothing Left to Loose but the album offers much more. It’s got just about every type of EBTG track you can think of and some of their best tracks ever.
In order to chose our tracks we create a long list, then a short list of 4 tracks each. Each of our 4x track short lists are collated here … have a listen.
thisisnothappening.net 