Feb 13, 2016
How bad are English musicians?
What better way could there be to celebrate St Valentine’s Day than with a trip to a Sunderland record shop to see The School.
The Cardiff band has inherited the title of the world’s finest Dusty-tinged soul pop band from Lucky Soul and they cemented their claim with their third LP, Wasting Away and Wondering.
New Order’s Music Complete was Heard on the Wire’s most eagerly awaited release of 2015, Wasting Away and Wondering is the record that has left the most lasting impression. A delight from beginning to end, in an age of over-produced, featuring-AN-Other “pop”, it’s a joyful reminder of what pure pop music really is. This is my LP of the year.
The School // Wasting Away and Wondering
The year’s other standout records were also from artists already well established on Heard on the Wire. It almost goes without saying that the Fall are among that number with their thirty-first studio LP, Sub-Lingual Tablet. This track was their highest placed on Dandelion Radio’s 2105 Festive Fifty and the closing song of the band’s Glastonbury set. Other bands: listen and learn.
The Fall // Auto Chip 2014–2016
And now for something completely different. Owl & Mouse a (partially) Australian-born, London-based five-piece who play indie folk-pop love songs on ukulele. This is the stand-out track from their 2015 offering, Departures.
Owl & Mouse // Basic Economics
As for the year’s best track, it’s a no-brainer, as they say. Thank you Motherwell.
A Sudden Burst of Colour // Yume
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