Part of this album I really, really like, and part of it I find downright irritating – it’s a strange dichotomy, and makes listening to it an odd experience.

It’s very folksy, and that’s nice, but there are definitely times when it is way too overdone for my personal taste.  There is a tweeness about the lyrics in particular which at times really does put me off, but at times old-fashioned styles are blended with modern scenarios in a way which gives this album a really strong and appealing character of its own.

The first track embodies my uncertainty about this album.  It’s a lovely little ode to the allotment – a lovely, pretty song on one hand, and yet somehow gratingly soft-focus sentimentalism on the other.  This theme continues through the album and I honestly can’t tell you where I stand on it.

If forced to nail my colours to the mast, I think I would say that the Laura Ashley-flavoured soft focus nature of the album ultimately gets to me too much to enjoy much of this.  There are some really strong tunes at the beginning in particular, and I really do like the first third of this album, but after the half-way mark I find myself really drifting, and it is a bit of a struggle to listen to all the way through.

I like what these guys are doing, but they are seeking a balance which is tricky to find, and whilst at times they seem to absolutely nail it, which is why I wanted to write about this album in the first place, I think that a little too often they err on the site of flared corduroys and a paisley shirt for me to fully embrace this particular record.  It’s definitely doing something which I really like though, so I will be keeping an eye on them in future for sure.

Trevor Moss & Hannah Lou – One Wednesday in June

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Trevor Moss & Hannah Lou – England

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Erm, really sorry that this is so very, very late, but life rather caught up with me this week.  So I never quite managed to find time to get my shit together until this evening, unfortunately.

It’s surprising how much of my time these weekly podcasts seem to take up – it can be quite hard to find an evening every single week to record these things.  What I find amazing is that I don’t run out of blather.  I don’t recall ever saying anything profound or all that intelligent either, so this little collection must represent hours and hours of inconsequential rambling.

On Friday a nice young lady in the pub asked me “Has anyone ever told you that you talk loads and loads.”  I suppose, looking back at a hundred and some podcasts the miracle is that actually the answer to that question is ‘no, not really, not that I can remember’.

Oh, and yes, that is Tina Turner and Kim Carnes you see there.  Suck it up, hipsters.

Toadcast #107 – The Tardicast

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01. The Walkmen – This Job is Killing Me (03.30)
02. Grandaddy – Hey Cowboy, the Phone’s For You (09.57)
03. Comaneci – Satisfied Girl (15.51)
04. Tina Turner – Private Dancer (17.50)
05. Trevor Moss & Hannah Lou – England (27.33)
06. Ruth Theodore – False Alarm (34.09)
07. The Waterboys – Sweet Thing (40.54)
08. Kim Carnes – Bette Davis Eyes (48.04)
09. R.E.M. – Half a World Away (53.55)
10. Radiohead – Creep (Acoustic) (59.59)