Searching For The Kingfisher Flash
Arlo Parks, Beck, Body Type, The Coral, Eric Hilton and Natalie Clavier, Fragment B, Ian Prowse, The Lost Guests, Peel Dream Machine, Squeeze (not that one!), Tahiti 80, Tengger, Tom McCrae
One for the money, two for the show, thirteen for the reviews!
Endlessly On The Way : The Lost Guests
Best for : Music that digs deep into memory to discover a slow growing emotional punch.
The Lost Guests formed in summer 2026 as a collaboration between Brighton songwriter Jonathan Shipley of Assistant and Alistair James. Together they've made an album that has left me a little unsure of what I've just heard, but has also left me quite moved.
On one level it's a concept album about family holidays and the memories triggered by them. On another level it's an album by two mates doing what they love. On a third level it's a slow venture of self discovery, and realising how holidays and family change you.
Initially it felt like a deep dive into the heart of twee, with gentle songs in the vein of Jonathan Richman and early Belle and Sebastian demos. The sweet, unprocessed melodies and quietly strummed, unadorned guitars bring the feel of home baked bread drifting from undeveloped farmhouse cottages. It's so pure an approach to songwriting that it's quite different from anything else around at the moment.
Across all ten tracks though it becomes something more intimate, deeply personal and significant. The songs capture a childlike wonder and innocence, the kernel of something you want to retain for life but lose sight of all too often. As they make clear in the closing song 'Come Exploring With Me' they want you to forget the world you've temporarily left behind and find something more carefree.
'First Day of the Holidays' sets the tone . It's music that wants to be heard but not have a big fuss made about it. 'The River At Carsac-Aillac' is so rich in its surroundings and memories that you half expect Proust to turn up with a box of madeleines. 'End of the Holiday' is simply lovely, wordlessly capturing the balance of wanting to stay and wanting to go that spells a great holiday and a new found appreciation of home.
The beginning of the album doesn't lie. Jonathan Richman is an influence on the songs, as is the lesser known U.N.P.O.C. More surprisingly these songs have the same effect on me as the solo work of Tindersticks' David Boulter and his records about Yarmouth, Whitby and St Annes. (Always wary of referencing artists that may not be familiar - that's a big compliment in my book!)
'Endlessly On The Way' is an album that is unexpectedly moving and deserving a hug.
Taster Track : The First Day of the Holidays
Ambiguous Desire : Arlo Parks
Best for : Sad but sophisticated soul.
Arlo Parks plays out her life in her songs. More than most, her music is pop from her real world. That world contains more than its fair share of disappointment in relationships, and aching from emotional bruises and unfulfilled hopes.
In her songs happiness, optimism and positivity are kept waiting at the door. This engages you in feeling helpless, not hopeful. As she sings on '2SIDED' she has a sadness that she can't really shake and you hear it in every song she sings. She's the serious one in your friendship group. On 'Beams', which is slow and soulful, she's numb rather than energised. Its uniform tone - every song is a new chapter from the same book - leaves it feeling flat after a while. It's a case of too much minor key and too many late night reflections.
Despite all that, the album sounds great, full of lightly skittering beats and pulsing echoes. It may be sad and even worn out, but it's honest. Her vocals capture that sense of forlorn searching while you're feeling confused and anxious. She's made a very personal album that will, nevertheless, speak to her twenty something generation. Her musical choices are spot on. Sampha, who features on 'Senses', is her perfect vocal partner, his voice mirroring the soft, mellow and melancholy tones of her own. 'Get Go' has a little more energy, but an energy that is observed rather than experienced.
Stepping back, there's another achievement to recognise in this album. Parks has taken what could be a gritty picture and rendered it accessible to a wider audience, one that would never travel the same path. She's honest and authentic in her feelings and her feel for her music, as UB40 were with reggae and Sade with smooth, soulful jazz. Like them she can take her songs into the dining rooms of middle class suburbs without losing anything. It's the kind of album that someone who buys just a couple of records a year might own. Her words speak of sincerely held feelings by the club generation but her music draws you into her world.
Arlo Parks remains an articulate spokesperson for a life sadly lived.
Taster Track : Jetta
No Names : Ian Prowse
Best for : Socially concerned, life loving, indie folk
Ian Prowse is a 21st century minstrel representing the heart of his community. That community is amongst the Liverpool Irish, and combines the Irish love of a good craic with the scally's care free attitude.
His personality is a massive part of this album's appeal. It sounds as if he could command a busy Friday night pub and tip the atmosphere into raucous laughter or a free for all brawl with a few black eyes but no grudges borne in the morning. It's a personality that seeps through the rest of the band. Everyone on this record is throwing their all into having a grand time.
This is roots music that goes back to music's original purpose, to important messages in memorable ways. They're fuelled by a left wing passion and a burning desire to cast a spotlight on social injustice. 'Keynote Speech' is his manifesto and takes on big 21st Century social concerns such as relying on the unplanned philanthropy of billionaires to keep health services going. With every point made he hits the nail on the head, rather than the finger he needs to point out what's going wrong.
His music has a breathless and unstoppable energy. It drags everything, and everyone along in its wake. Sometimes melodies struggle to catch up, but the benefits are immediacy, improvisation and spontaneity. He has the skewering points of a fire brand politician with the compelling delivery of an evangelical street preacher. It sounds rough edged, but also as if it is happening right in front of you. If it has a weakness on first hearing, it's that the songs pour out in a torrent and it's difficult to stay in the flow. You'll need to give it two or three listens to savour it fully. That won't be a hardship.
The fiddles and strings provide an upbeat momentum. The flute on 'Black Messiah' is one element that grounds the songs in folk. The backing vocals and singalong choruses of, say, 'Keynote Speech' engage the community. He has the backing of Elvis Costello, who he has supported on tour. There's certainly the flavour of Costello's 'Spike' album in the mix. There's also the feel and noise of Ian MacNabb and Icicle Works running through the album.
'No Names' is the work of a firebrand who wants to party and change the world for the better. Accept the invitation.
Taster Track : Keynote Speech
388 : The Coral
Best for : The loving re-creation of 60s underground pop
The Coral have always been inspired and influenced by sixties pop. This is the first time I've heard them approach their music with something like devotion for the source material.
There's a sense of fulfilment and even perfection in this record but, curiously, not outright joy. They're a band that are confident in their sound, and the efforts to achieve true authenticity are enough. This is like stumbling across a long forgotten gem, full of exquisite harmonies that glorify pop music. It's authentic in spirit as well as sound. 'You And Me (And The Beautiful Sea)' is like gospel music for the church of pop.
This isn't an album that feels the need to shout about itself. Even its release was without fanfare, almost smuggled into independent record shops to allow them to steal a march on the majors. (Pause for applause!) It feels as if it should have been recorded in a hot, wooden floored loft overlooking the city.
There's a reggae and ska lilt running through the album that's almost wistful. Choppy guitars, staccato keyboards, even the nice addition of a trumpet on 'Let The Music Play' - they all contribute to the feeling that we are witnessing a ceremony as much as a recording. Songs have been worked on until they are perfect, but not overthought or unnecessarily embellished. They're pristine, like achieving perfect tuning on a busy analogue radio dial.
Innocence also features in the mix; 'High Tide is the blissful contentment of family holidays at the beach. Songs such as 'Leave It In The Past' have a tenderness at their heart which is for the form as much as the sentiments.
Try this album if you want something lovely, reverent and filled with wonder, without the paraphernalia of church.
Taster Track : You and Me (And The Beautiful Sea)
Sky : Tengger
Best for : Feeling carried away from your stresses
I retired six years ago. Like most people I wouldn't go back. I do, however, have a recurring stress dream about doing do. In my dream, I've returned to work, but am stuck in reception, unable to find my access pass. I'm trying to use my bank card as people tutt all around me because I'm holding them up. In the midst of this I remember that for six years I haven't logged on, and I can't remember my user name or password. The worst part is the panic attack that hits as I realise I have six years of unanswered emails, and I'm about to be found out, and in big trouble, for doing no work in all that time. Then I wake up.
I had that dream last night so I know that Tengger's 'Sky' is the perfect antidote to bring back a feeling of equilibrium. Tengger are a pan Asian duo, who wander the world, making music where they can. They're the polar opposite of a stressed office worker and, at this precise moment, it feels that they have definitely got it right.
'Blue' is a nine minute, multi part, ambient dancefloor epic that takes you on their journey, sharing their pilgrimage. It's uplifting and, yes, spiritual. It's music that spins joyously, every rotation evolving into something new. There's so much movement and colour in the music. It feels like dancing blissfully, arms stretched wide, in the company of new friends wearing brightly coloured clothes.
'Celeste' is more abstract, like hearing the daily noises around you muted, softened and translated into gentler musical sounds. It transports you to a world where you can be both safe and lost.
'Atmosphere' is peaceful and hypnotic. It's music for running free and effortlessly, towards vocals that are calling you home. 'Stella' is a little anonymous, ambient in an unnoticeable way. By the end of these two tracks, though, I was returning to a state of calm. 'O' is the soundtrack for finding yourself, propelling you forward with quiet insistence.
Some of the album edges into new age music, but in a good way. 'Indigo' opens with the sounds of waves breaking on the shore or wind rustling through the forest trees to an accompaniment of pure native voices. It's soothing, completely gorgeous music that helps you feel ready to face the day and glad to be alive.
This is music for putting your life together like a well fitting jigsaw and with no pieces missing. Listen to this and you're good to go.
Taster Track : Blue
Tally : Body Type
Best for : Great, alternative indie rock
Some of the best alternative and hard hitting rock in recent years has come out of Australia. Body Type may have toned their sound down a little with this album, but they are a worthy addition to the roster.
That decision has paid off. This is an album that rages less and makes their point more acutely. It relies less on raw power and more on melody, making it more likely to lodge in the brain. Their lyrics haven't suddenly become all sugar sweet and lovey-dovey. They're acid, sassy and witty, like Wet Leg stirred from their chaise longue. If they were an aircraft, they'd be a fighter plane cruising comfortably at top speed rather than straining for altitude.
On 'Eye Is A Mouth Is A Face' they have the attitude of punk, the angular guitars of post punk and the tunes of new wave. They're accomplished in all three. In this band everyone plays their part musically and vocally. They're somewhere between a less operatic Last Dinner Party and a less minimal Automatic. Their strength is the interplay between them. The vocals are particularly impressive while the playing is tight where it needs to be and soaring free when it can.
They have full control, so when the power builds on 'To Give A Rose' it's irresistible. 'Planet 8' brings in an element of a Captain Scarlet space adventure soundtrack. 'And What Else?' has the quality of a cat playing with a mouse before the kill. It's the must have track on this album, but the rest isn't far behind.
Perhaps the most exciting thing about Body Type is that they can evolve from album to album becoming, in the process, one of the more accessible entry points to alternative rock.
Taster Track : And What Else?
Ride Lonesome : Beck
Best for : Big, slow moving melancholy ballads, beautifully arranged
Somewhere along the way during the last thirty years, Beck lost the exuberant sound of his earliest work. We're left to enjoy the embers and, if they encompass a narrower range, they're still a joy to behold.
Let's be upfront about it. This is a record to subdue the listener, provoking deep thought and memories. It's melancholy, even a little desperate, but not depressing. Songs move slowly. They're introspective, with an intensity that suggests he's lost in his music and the memories that inspired it.
There's a sense of emptiness at its heart, not in terms of emotion but in the feeling that they have been recorded in big empty spaces. The songs have that echoey feel you hear in an almost empty cathedral if you stumble into it while the madrigal choir rehearses their sound.
It would be wrong to describe the songs as stripped back or sparse. It's more accurate to say that they avoid excess, while conjuring up a big sound. Add that to the sense of being drenched in solitude, and they feel as if they could be the last songs standing at the end of the world.
It's a wonderfully arranged album with a cinematic air. The strings alone are enough to fill a cathedral. The same goes for the truly gorgeous backing vocals. Together they're an ornate frame around a line drawing.
Beck never loses sight of the need to stay accessible. His feelings may be immersed in the deep pools of emotion, but his heart remains firmly in pop. 'Ride Lonesome' strikes the prevailing tone but still allows space for a quiet smile as you register the song titles included in the lyrics. 'Run Away' combines melancholy with a little desperation. 'Failed Words' is like a train heard as it recedes into the distance.
''It Ends Right Here' showcases the full range of his voice. It's excellent in all its registers. The way he savours and stretches out the words in 'Disappearing Act' is full of relish. 'Falling Through My Hands' contains all the album's strengths while managing a lighter tone, a paler shade of blue.
Like Prince and Springsteen, Beck has his own voice so comparisons with other acts aren't helpful. I was struck though how his songs also called to mind the feel of early 70s Rolling Stones ballads. 'Wild Horses' is a good touchstone, being midway between the tortured feel of 'Sister Morphine' and the ultimately upbeat feel of 'You Can't Always Get What You Want'.
This is a beautifully realised and deeply satisfying collection of songsT. When the big names deliver, it's both reassuring and gratifying.
Taster Track : Falling Through My Hands
EPs and Songs
It's been a while since we rounded up some recent songs, so here we go.
Eric Hilton and Matalia Clavie, Fragment B, Peel Dream Machine
Another collaboration that works is 'Promise Me' from Eric Hilton and Natalia Clavier. He's ex Thievery Corporation and this has the same smoky, exotic feel as their best work. Her voice is a delight, all alluring siren trills meandering gently through the tune. This is comedown music of the finest order.
Staying with the more mellow sound of Pop In The Real World and Fragment B's 'Beautiful Dreamer'. They're Mark Tranmer's (aka GNAC) latest incarnation, this time in collaboration with Natasha Penot. This is GNAC with vocals and a dreamy cinematic ambience. Their voices fit together naturally and beautifully . More please!
If you've heard Peel Dream Machine before, 'Blind Faith will require you to recalibrate your expectations from lullaby pop towards something arty and glitchier. This is much longer than usual at over seven minutes. It's also more textured and substantial in a way that Stereolab fans looking for something slower might find appealing. The rewards are different, but perhaps more enduring. Personally, I applaud the ambition but, secretly, miss the immediacy, melody and hummability.
'Disrespect' is a new single from Squeeze except, it isn't. This isn't Deptford's finest , but the squeeze of a trigger, a gangland rap to an electronic backing. It's nasty, with explicit and offensive language from the off. Musically it feels more listenable than its New York counterpart, which counts in its favour. You have been warned but, of its kind, it's OK. (I mean, he's never going to read this is he. Is he?)
'Dreams of Glory' from Tahiti 80 is classic French pop. It's stylish with a synth pop disco beat and an addictive chorus. It's a little cheesy. The vocals have a slight falsetto. The beat encourages happiness. This is new wave disco as pioneered by Madonna and Kylie. It's irresistible.
Tom McCrae has been around for as long as the century and his latest song, 'Ash Wednesday', is one of his best. If you knew him at the start, you'll find that this is much less tortured death row Gothic and much more poetic, melodic and reflective songwriting. His voice is his own, a more mellifluous Leonard Cohen or a Bob Dylan you could take home to serenade your parents. This goes from a man, guitar and plaintive vocals to accommodate piano, strings and complete loveliness. Notwithstanding that, the NME described him as "the perfect songwriter for these fucked up times" and I wouldn't disagree.
Squeeze (the other one), Tahiti 80, Tom McCrae