Six more albums newly acquainted with my ears in the horrible heatwave-filled month of June. Where possible, I’ve linked the artist heading to their website or Bandcamp.
Jellyfish
1990
Bellybutton
Well now, that was quite an eye-opening opener! I’ve previously heard Jellyfish’s other album, Split Milk (1993), and hadn’t gelled with it at the time, but The Man I Used To Be which kicks off Bellybutton was a pleasant surprise and I had high hopes for the rest of the tracklist – I wasn’t disappointed. She Still Loves Him has echoes of the Beatles in the backing vocals and the latter half of the song. There were other hints of the Fab Four in other tracks, too . Since this was Jellyfish’s debut album, I think I’ll need to give Split Milk another listen, and chances are that it’ll click with me this time.
Highlights: The Man I Used To Be – The King is Half-Undressed – I Wanna Stay Home – She Still Loves Him – Now She Knows She’s Wrong – Bedspring Kiss – Calling Sarah
Look at that cover. Just look at it. Glorious! I don’t know if it’s a Heinz Edelmann design, but I love the sixties aesthetics. Anyway, to the album itself. I’ve previously mentioned my dalliance with the music of The Kinks, and thought it was about time I selected another album to listen to. And yes, I chose this one because of that cover art. As for the songs themselves, they mark a shift in the music of The Kinks towards a more baroque sound, though opener Party Line still keeps to that beat pop formula. The album’s penultimate track is the hit Sunny Afternoon which was released ahead of the album and reached the top of the UK charts in June 1966.
Highlights: Party Line – Rosy Won’t You Please Come Home – Too Much on my Mind – Session Man – Rainy Day in June – House in the Country – Little Miss Queen of Darkness – Sunny Afternoon
Garry Abbott is no stranger to this blog series, as I listened to his last album in 2025. While I enjoyed Last Week In Limbo, I found The News (Be Scared) to be a stronger offering. While not quite a concept album, the title and cover gives a nod to some of the themes found in this 14-track collection. There seems to be more experimentation with instruments, too, which make it a more rounded album. I’m not sure if Garry publicly performs his own music, but some of the songs on The News would be great to hear live.
Highlights: Mr Can I Sit Here – Yes I Like It – The News (Be Scared) – Statue – Perfect – Heads in the Sand – Wake Up World – Lights a Fire – Waiting – Sad Songs
Back when music channels played music videos (I know, I know but it did happen, honest!), I remember seeing the video for Beth Orton’s Central Reservation (the Then Again version). Unfortunately, that’s the only song I knew of hers until I had a listen to the 1999 album of the same name that the track features on (two versions, in fact) – though opener Stolen Car sounded very familiar. I enjoyed the album but it didn’t grab me as much as I’d hoped upon first listen. However, we all know that sometimes albums need multiple play-throughs for it to click. Maybe it will happen with this album, maybe it won’t. Or perhaps, as with Jellyfish, I’ll listen to another Beth Orton album and get on better with that.
Highlights: Stolen Car – Couldn’t Cause Me Harm – Stars All Seem to Weep – Feel to Believe – Central Reservation (the Then Again version)
The only Haircut 100 album I’ve heard until now was their debut, Pelican West. I’ve also heard (okay, seen online comments) about how underrated frontman Nick Heyward’s solo 90s offerings are – perhaps one of those albums will appear in this series. But as for now, the focus is on Haircut 100’s 2026 album, Boxing the Compass. I fairly enjoyed having a listen to this, though I did find a couple of tracks sort of merged into one, at one point, and while I do love a bit of brass in a song, I did find myself welcoming the songs in which it wasn’t so present. But overall, a pretty confident album that I’ll be listening to again – I can tolerate the brass.
Highlights: Come Back To Me – Vanishing Point – Soulbird – Raincloud – Sunshine – The Unloving Plum – Someone – That’s A Start – Dynamite – A Wonderful Life
I think I first heard Ladyhawke’s music several years ago, round about the time I delved into the synthy sounds of Little Boots, Foxes, and whatever Kylie had released around that time (speaking of, the second track here Think About You, reminds me of Kylie’s cover of Nerina Pallot’s Better Than Today). I quite liked Ladyhawke’s 2016 album, Wild Things. There was nothing unexpected on Time Flies, just more synth-orientated pop tunes – not that I’m complaining, though. Sometimes it’s nice to put on an album and know what to expect.
Highlights: Think About You – Time Flies – Mixed Emotions – Guilty Love – Take It Easy Mama – Loner – Adam – Reactor – Walk Away – Love Is Blind
Let me know which of these albums you’ve heard, or are going to listen to for the first time. If you watch/listen to the YouTube videos, tell me what you think of the songs!
In Other News… In June, I was asked to lend my voice to something which I believe will be released around September. Apart from a couple of lines for Noisebox Radio’s Christmas Carol parody last year, I’ve never done any voice acting work before (and this may end up being my first and last!), but it was fun to do! I’ve no idea how much info I can give right now. It’s not an official release. Very much a fan-made production but they’re very professional.
I’m also going to a few fun events over the next month, including a jaunt to Edinburgh to see David Byrne, a trip down to Swindon for what may be a very special gig, and then in early August I’m attending the opening weekend of Edinburgh’s King’s Theatre, which has been closed for redevelopment since 2022. So expect to hear more about those before the next New (to me) Music post!
