The Independent's journalism is supported by our readers. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn commission.
The Bonus Track: Ryan Adams, Smoke Fairies, Acollective, BRISTOL, Smashing Pumpkins
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Ghostly presence
He’s done this to us before: in 2002, straight after delivering the disappointing Demolition album, Ryan Adams produced the excellent debut solo album of Jesse Malin, which sounded more like a Ryan Adams album than Adams’s own recent effort. Early next year sees the release of Butch Walker’s (above) seventh solo album, Afraid of Ghosts. As well as being produced by Adams, their mutual friend Johnny Depp plays guitar on one track, “21+”
https://soundcloud.com/butchwalker/butch-walker-21/
We wish you a fairy Xmas
Grinch alert! As an antidote to all that well-meaning Band Aid carolling, check out Smoke Fairies limited-release Christmas album, Wild Winter, about the duo’s “love/hate relationship with the holiday season”. The single “Christmas Without a Kiss” pretty much says it all.
Picture this
Here’s one for anyone who’s ever put a vinyl album sleeve over their face and pretended to be the cover star (and who hasn’t?) An Israeli band called Acollective have made a video for their song “Break Apart” that rather gloriously takes that game to its logical conclusion
The new nouvelle vague
Now done with turning pop songs into bossa nova cover versions, Nouvelle Vague’s Marc Collins’s new project, Bristol, takes trip-hop classics and reimagines them as songs from 1960s film soundtracks. Even stranger than the concept is the fact that it works. Watch the video for Portishead’s “Roads”
Next week’s biggie
Kevin Harley reviews Smashing Pumpkins’ Monuments to an Elegy. Listen to “One and All” from the album at the Bonus Track web page. And apologies to all Take That fans for not delivering on the promise to review III today. What can I tell you? We tried our best.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments