16. Bob Frank & John Murry – World Without End

It’s a deep, emotional and an amazingly harrowing record.  True murder ballads delivered with pathos, yet never shying away from their inherent horror.   Johnny Cash and Robert Fisher would be proud.

Bob Frank & John Murry – Joaquin Murietta, 1853

review | website | buy

17. Ice Cream Socialists – Belles & Missiles

Sheer, unhinged mental brilliance.  Imagine if indie, pop, rock, and at times even classical, country and hip-hop were let loose in the circus and sung by Kermit the Frog.  It may sound nuts but it works.  Sheer genius.

Ice Cream Socialists – Zagnut’s Revenge

review | myspace | buy

18. The Mabuses – Mabused

The indie band that kidnapped a couple of classical musicians and told them they were in a new band now, without ever explaining to them what indie music is.  It’s laid back indie pop, but the musical inventiveness lifts above just about anything else in this particular territory.

The Mabuses – Havana

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19. Paris Motel – In the Saltpetriere

I think I’ve described these guys as the band on the Marie Celeste and I don’t think I can better that.  Ethereal fairy tales, with a hint of the macabre, although I couldn’t find a single standout track for my Festive 50, the album as a whole is one of the best I’ve heard this year.

Paris Motel -  City of Ladies

review | website | buy

20. Donny Hue & the Colors – Folkmote

I’ll admit this didn’t seem that special to me at the time, although I enjoyed it very much.  There’s just something I find incredibly satisfying about it.  I couldn’t quantify what it is about this album, but it sits perfectly with me nonetheless.

Donny Hue & the Colors – Mountain Piece

review | website | buy

We are bloody well homeless, which is making it very tricky to record podcasts at the moment, so I apologise for the enormous wait since the last one.  I promise I’m not losing interest, it’s just been a logistical nightmare to find the time and space to actually sit down and record of late.  It takes a few hours, not least because my computer is depressingly slow, so please bear with me.

I’ve got a couple of new singles by The Indelicates and The National, as well as a couple of groups I’ve seen live recently, and then some more esoteric stuff towards the end including the highly uncharacteristic Nicole Atkins and a potentially naughty sneak preview of the new Raveonettes album.  Enjoy, Toadlings, enjoy yourselves all to pieces.

Toadcast #15 – The Homeless Podcast

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01. Dragons – Here Are the Roses (01.50)
02. Killing Joke – Eighties (08.28)
03. The Indelicates – Sixteen (13.42)
04. The National – Apartment Story (18.30)
05. Arcade Fire – Neighbourhood #1 (Tunnels) (21.51)
06. The Parish Music Box – Heavy Drinkers (30.40)
07. Rick Redbeard – Dreams of the Trees (35.45)
08. Loch Lomond – Tic (41.49)
09. Over the Rhine – Don’t Wait For Tom (48.10)
10. Ravens & Chimes – The House Where You Were Born (52.10)
11. Siberian – Islands Forever (59.27)
12. Ice Cream Socialists – Mr Crazy (65.42)
13. 586 – Rags & Tags (71.47)
14. Nicole Atkins – Brooklyn’s On Fire (75.03)
15. The Raveonettes – Aly Walk With Me (82.22)
16. The Sugars – Monsters (88.27)