Captain Wilberforce - Another World. Another Life. Another Time

 

In a fair musical world Simon Bristoll's Captain Wilberforce would be massive. He seems to be destined to be another of those artists / bands that frustrate us when more don't seem to get them. Originally that was blamed on gatekeepers or labels who only wanted the fashionable.

The internet and ultimately Social Media were supposed to usher in an age were music could be picked up easily by all. Instead it provided a world where people believe music is free and therefore unless you are mega, it is now a second job,

Both didn't usher in a new world, they encouraged attention deficit, listeners like something and then a few listens onwards move onto the next without telling anyone else about what they've found. The only way forward may be for us to shout loudly as a group, ditto other great music places.

Captain Wilberforce has been with me forever. Now into the third decade, I've covered them on here and Anything Should Happen throughout. Bristoll's seemingly forever known as the English Neil Finn and that is apparent the slower songs here. When the pace picks up, the comparison becomes Squeeze, but there is far more here than just that.

Bristoll has a lyrical adeptness akin to Chris Difford, but a bit more worldly and the arrangements are out of this world. The Jangle Pop is present regularly, but usually mixed with something else such as Psych Pop on The Installation.

The arrangement on the UK New Wave of Christine, You're A Drag also has big hints of the 60s Beat.  Sonny even adds a great Brass arrangement and the closer, Lighter Shade Of Blue is Americana. Yet Four Words  And The Enter Key is rockier, with a killer riff and driving rhythm and a solo that catches you off guard.

It is Holding On that probably defines a base camp Bristoll song, great Pop Rock. The whole album is a testament to how great the Leeds scene is at the moment. These songs are largely stories, beautifully presented. I'll allow myself a cliche. This is the best album that Captain Wilberforce has ever made and with the best being so strong, that is some compliment. This album is magnificent. Go tell your friends.

You can listen to and buy the album here. It is available on CD and as a download.

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Daily Worker - Prefab Maverick.

Harold Whit Williams is some talent, a well known poet, ex guitarist of Cotton Mather and then we have the delight that is Daily Worker. Whereas, musically, Robert Harrison took one direction, this fellow went into a world of inventiveness left field. A world where he could take any direction he pleased and he does.

He can be incredibly off the scale, but also at ease with the mainstream. Psych Pop is never far away. Daily Worker's last album in 2025, Field Holler, was really well received here and appeared in our Best Albums Of 2025. You can read our review here.

As well as the constant originality on show, people forget what an incredible guitarist he is. Riffs that can be Power Pop or Fripp-esque. There is always room for a great Guitar Pop song and here, The New Insincerity is one such example and adds a great Jangle.

Elsewhere, Western Wear even has hints of 60s Pop and the title track is even jaunty, it fairly bops along with a shuffle and even has a vocal that sounds early Bolan. All of this is a complete opposite of the lyrical content.

Pop Knock Offs is a real punt at song retreads and Daily Worker are the best example of not doing this. There is a sense here, lyrically, of someone aging looking at the younger generation with a big sigh, not with anger, but weariness. You won't hear this kind of quality elsewhere.

You can listen to and buy the album here. It is available on Vinyl or as a download.

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Where Have You Been?

 

This is a fair question. I haven't published as many reviews this month, but looking back, this happens most Februarys. The Best Of Year takes a lot of work and relistening. Whilst compiling it means nothing else is done or listened to during that fortnight. A big backlog is created and I always feel a bit tired.

The Listening To This Week Playlist continues and that takes up a fair bit of time, real life work is busy this month and the weather doesn't help motivation. You just want to get home and do nothing. So I felt that last week was a time that I wanted to just take a break from it all and so I did.

Normal Service is now resumed and two Album Reviews will follow this post, both extraordinarily good, and the new Listening To This Week will go up this evening. There will be Reviews during the rest of February. But remember that there is an onslaught in March with the regular 31 Reviews In 31 Days. 

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Vocabularies - For The Hundredth Time

 

I think many of you know how much of a sucker I am for Angular Guitar albums. Such affairs offer such clarity whilst dispensing with all those massive arrangements getting in the way. They get straight to the point built around beguiling riffs.

This is one such album. New Jersey's Ryan Young and Scott Radway are Vocabularies. Getting the comparisons out of the way, there's a mixture of early XTC, The Sugarplatic, Field Music and The Futureheads with a slightly more aggressive tone.

Young is vocalist, Guitarist and Bass Player, Radway, the drummer. Radway also mixes the album. The main difference to other such albums, is how locked in the pair are as a rhythm section. The Bass and Drums are completely locked in.

At times that linking sounds positively UK New Wave at others, it could be Tony Levin and Robert Fripp Discipline Era. There is variety too. Plank II mixes Post Punk with Funk, but also adds a Prog interlude. Method Actor mixes Psych with Indie inventiveness.

They are at their best though when the Angular takes hold, a Power Trio vibe kicks in wonderfully.The Ruling Class and Same Stone are the best examples. However special mention must be given to Conspiracies and Theories Thereof which closes the album. Built on a killer riff with an unexpected hypnotic chorus. It rounds off an album of extraordinary quality.

You can listen to and buy the album here. An absolute bargain at 5 dollars.

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My Son The Doctor - Glamours

 

Slacker Rock excellence from the Brooklyn quartet that nails the genre beautifully, yet also gets close to the current noisier breed of Power Pop. This is a cracking listen, such a fun experience, surprisingly lyrically adept, which is not a norm for this type of stuff.

A wonderfully arranged affair with songs that take surprise directions, riffs that explode, quieter songs that get noisy. There's a real wit in the writing that you spot early on. Incredibly melodic joy, but an ability to switch to a rock out.

Throughout, there's a sort of Weezer feel, but a much heavier version. A Shonda is real intelligent Indie, left field and angular, a little Talking Heads, with a killer guitar workout matched by a driving rhythm section. It is magnificent.

Drunk Kids gets more Pop Punk without losing any of the variance. Greatest On VHS is pacier, more Noo Yawk, a little Punkier, almost Garage Rock. Pink Banana is everything that you could want in an Indie song, urgent, but all over the place but completely engrossing.

The two singles are top notch. Barry Bonds initially broods before becoming an anthem and a sing along, wonderful storytelling. You've heard Lawrence Bigando on the current LTTW Playlist, a corking effort that at times gets a little Sugarplastic until the chorus.

Then there is Julie, a song that sounds so UK 80s Guitar Indie, another great song, as all 10 songs here are. An album that tells stories and yet Rocks at will. Inventive, Slacker Rock at its very very best. What an absolute joy this is.

You can listen to and buy the album here. It is available on Vinyl and as a download.

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Listening To This Week Playlist 16 February

   

29 songs this week and what a great example this is of what we do. Our Base Camp has always been drawn to They Might Be Giants, hence the opener. There is plenty of what you might expect genre wise, but also a continual reminder of the different roads we take.

Wonderful off grid invention from Alex Pester and Vocabularies and an incredible piece of Psych Shoegaze from a bunch of youngsters from Mexico. In a trying week with internet outages and power cuts (hence why this appears a bit late), here is a great example of why I love what I do. The power of music is incredible.

The weekly playlist is largely for submissions, not just the usual stuff that we dig out ourselves. The song order is not about song preference, but how the playlist flows.  All embeds open in new windows to aid scrolling. Links to the artists will also appear on I Don't Hear A Single Social Media sites over the next 24 hours. This will help you to discover more about the artists who appear here. 

They Might Be Giants - Wu-Tang

Single Audio Channel - Save Or Regenerate?

Single Audio Channel · Save or Regenerate?

Vocabularies - Patron Saint

Hallucinophonics - Afternoon Of Acid Rain

Whelligan - Nature

The Legal Matters - It Doesn't Matter

Chris Church - Contrarian

Alex Pester - Stories

My Son The Doctor - Lawrence Bigando

Michael Robert Murphy - Corkscrew

Last Second Dropout - Apathy

Frederic Cupillard - 6 O'Clock Blues

The Dahmers - Underdog

High On Stress - Over/Thru

Colin Swietek - Drop In The Ocean

Slowdays - Tiempos y suefios

The 77s - Out Of Control

The James Clark Institute - Reluctantly In Love

The Lanes - You Don't Know Her

The Blackburns - A Reunion Show

Peter Johnston RVA - Two Hearts

Hollow Bodies - Traffic

Music City - You Remember https://welcometomusiccity.bandcamp.com/track/you-remember

Cashier - Part From Me

First Day Of Spring - The Riviera (Modern Nature)

JRNXLST - Halo

JRNXLST · Halo

Kevin J.B. O'Connor - Tomorrow And Tomorrow

Kevin J.B. O'Connor · Tomorrow and Tomorrow

Derek Smith And The Cosmic Vultures - Hollow Choir

In Loom - Tails

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Dewey - Summer On A Curb

I mentioned it last year and I'll mention it again, the French music scene is forging ahead at present. Previously known, wrongly, for Noisy Punk and chanteurs, they now seem to be taking over both the Indie and Guitar Pop scenes offering up exceptional albums and singles.

I've been dying to tell you about this for a while and now I can. The two singles have featured on Listening To This Week to great acclaim from listeners. Now you can hear them in all their full length glory on this splendid debut album.

Although you hear great melodic Guitar Pop and a little shoe gaze at certain times, Summer On A Curb sounds very Brit Pop, great Brit Pop, not the nonsense that gets associated with its heyday. The scene was always more notable for what was around the edges than all the monoliths that got all the coverage. 

Oasis are now noted as the be all and end all of Brit Pop despite having just one and a half decent albums. The better sounds were by artists with just two or three albums. Role Model is probably the best example of Brit Pop, but there are other examples.

However, Dewey are not scared to tread different paths.Jinx is a mix of gentle Psych and Madchester. Face Out is more Psych Pop and the title track has a real Shoegaze feel, but with more words and a clearer vocal than that genre is noted for. It also has an hypnotic riff.

Tough Crowd sounds more than a little C86 and Better Safe Than Sorry is completely engaging, probably my favourite song on the album. This is a melodic Guitar of the highest order. Having said that there are synth intrusions that come and go quickly and make the songs sound futuristic. One of the best debut albums that I've heard in a long while. Totally Ace!

You can listen to and buy the album here. It is available on CD and as a download.

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