Harvest of Highlights

  • Spencer Cullum – The Church, Ipswich 4th May 2026

    Spencer Cullum – The Church, Ipswich 4th May 2026

    Spencer Cullum has always sounded like a man slightly out of step with the era he has been handed, and today that dislocation feels almost poetic. The British‑born, Nashville‑based songwriter and pedal‑steel conjurer made his latest record, ‘Coin Collection 3,’in the quiet refuge of a garden‑shed studio; an improvised sanctuary from the static and spite… Read more

  • New Mix: Fruit Tree Records – Fresh Juice 2026 Vol. 6

    New Mix: Fruit Tree Records – Fresh Juice 2026 Vol. 6

    Volume six of our 2026 new music releases series ‘Fresh Juice’ opens with the irresistible vintage soul sounds of Mama’s Gun before embarking on a journey incorporating new sounds in Psych Pop, Garage Rock, Electro Pop, Folk, Americana and Singer-Songwriter before ending on some mesmerising freak-folk from the mysterious Bity Booker. So, why not join… Read more

  • Fresh Juice 4th May 2026

    Fresh Juice 4th May 2026

    Gun Outfit – Teardrops (Classic Hell On Earth) Soon to return on 8th May with a double album, ‘Process And Reality,’ that marks twenty years of Gun Outfit, this is a sneak preview of a track from the record that was made amidst the heat and uncertainty of wildfires. Something in the warm sounds capture… Read more

  • May 2026 Playlist

    May 2026 Playlist

    I was saddened this week to learn of the cancellation of the Red Rooster Festival which was due to take place at the end of May. I was a little late to the party on this one, only finally attending what is, for me, quite a local event in 2023 and 2024. But it did… Read more

  • Modesty Blaise – Melancholia (25th Anniversary Remaster)

    Modesty Blaise – Melancholia (25th Anniversary Remaster)

    When it comes to harmony rich, densely textured, beautifully orchestrated pop music of a bright, warm, and luminous complexity, then the Beach Boys are arguably at the top of that ‘sunshine pop’ tree. It is a musical character that has never fully bloomed beyond its founders even though many have either tried to fully adopt… Read more

  • New Mix: Fruit Tree Records – The Fruit Cellar Vol. 3

    New Mix: Fruit Tree Records – The Fruit Cellar Vol. 3

    Volume 3 of our shelf rifling dive into the deep Fruit Tree Records collection begins with a blast of baroque, sunshine pop from 2001 by Modesty Blaise, heard here in a single version available on the new re-issue album ‘Melancholia,’ which is extended into a 3-disc deluxe 25th anniversary release. We then go deep into… Read more