New (To Me) Music - April
- Gayle Ramage
- May 1
- 7 min read
With April being the month I properly fell in love with the band XTC, I did worry that this latest New (To Me) Music post would be quite sparse, but looking at my list of what I’ve been hearing for the first time, I'm pleasantly surprised that there's more than I'd thought. I can’t feature them all, so I’ve selected a handful to briefly write about. Now, in the words of Andy Partridge, at the start of The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead, “Let's Begin!”
Peter Capaldi - Sweet Illusions (2025)
Most people know Scots actor Peter Capaldi primarily as an actor, whether it be as the 12th incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, sweary spin doctor in the BBC comedy The Thick of It, or many of his other screen and theatre roles. But one consistent throughout his life has been music (he was in a punk band in his youth with comedian Craig Ferguson). In Autumn 2021, Capaldi released his debut album, St Christopher, a collection of songs which compelled reviewers to compare him to later-era Bowie and current-era Nick Cave. In March 2025, he released the follow-up album, Sweet Illusions.
While I liked much of the songs from St Christopher, I found this new album caught my attention more. I’d agree with the Bowie and Nick Cave comparisons, but I would also say there’s a hint of Pulp to some of the music in this collection, especially in songs like Hanger Lane.
I was pleasantly surprised to see the announcement of two gigs in July that Capaldi would be doing in Glasgow to support the album (the first time he’ll have performed in public solo), though I wasn’t surprised to find that both gigs have sold out and fairy quickly! Hopefully he’ll be encouraged to put on a few more gigs and maybe do a mini-tour further afield.
Highlights: Is it Today - Hanger Lane - Not Going Anywhere - Sweet Illusions - Through the Cracks - Diminished
The Bangles - Everything (1988)
If you ask me what my favourite Bangles track is I’d have to say the glorious Hazy Shade of Winter. I was musing on this and realised that because it’s a cover (of a Simon and Garfunkel song), I couldn’t really say what my favourite original Bangles composition is. Sure, I knew Eternal Flame, Walk Like An Egyptian but that was about it. I chose Everything, their fifth studio album, from 1988 based on the fact it was the most familiar album cover to me.
Every time I listen to an artist or act I’m not really familiar with, there is a sense of trepidation along with nervous excitement. Will I like any of the songs bar the ones I already know? Will I become a big fan and start buying up as much merch and music as I can, or will I not like what I’m hearing so much so that I’m put off listening to any more (this has happened, and no I’m not saying who. Music tastes are subjective, etc, and I’m not here to poo-poo people’s favourites)? I’m happy to say that while not obsessively indulging in the back catalogue of The Bangles immediately after hearing this album, I really liked some of the songs. Sometimes the style of music production, the 1980s in particular, can detract something from a song; this is why I love hearing stripped-down versions. But the production on this album wasn’t really distracting. I’d be happy to listen to more from them.
Highlights: In Your Room - Bell Jar - Be With You - I’ll Set You Free - Some Dreams Come True
Elvis Costello - This Year's Model (1978)
I’d already started listening to Costello after becoming a Squeeze fan, so I already knew a couple of the tracks from this 1978 album: Pump It Up and Radio, Radio. I bought this album on vinyl during a lunchbreak at work one day. On my initial listen, I pretty much liked every song on the tracklist, barring two (and sometimes you need more than a few listens to get into a song) Lipstick Vogue and Night Rally… Although I’m listening to both tracks as I write this post and, goddamn, I do like them! I realise there are deluxe, super-duper editions of the album but I only listen to the original UK tracklist for these new-to-me posts. I’ll check the bonus tracks out at a later date.
Highlights: The whole bloody album!
Neil Innes - How Sweet To Be An Idiot (1973)
I’ve been aware of Neil Innes for a number of years, ever since I became a fan of Monty Python back in the mid-late 1990s (funnily enough, it was around the same time I got into the number one Rutles tribute band, The Beatles, too). I’d heard some of the Bonzo Dog music, enjoyed Neil’s various Python appearances, but I’d never heard his solo work. I already knew the song How Sweet To Be An Idiot from Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl and finding the cover of this album delightful (I want a duck hat, too!), I thought it was time to press ‘Play’… and also buy the biography, Dip My Brain in Joy, of Neil by his wife, Yvonne, and find out more about the man.
I should admit that I somehow ended up listening to a few tracks from Re-Cycled Vinyl Blues as well, which breaks my self-imposed rule of only listening to the original tracklist (Recycled Vinyl Blues was a 1994 reissue of the album with some extra tracks). But since I’m my own rule-master on this occasion then… ach, never mind!
Highlights: Momma Bee - Immortal Invisible - Dream - Song for Yvonne - Re-Cycled Vinyl Blues - Feel No Shame - This Love Of Ours [the last three from Re-Cycled Vinyl Blues]
Joe Jackson - I’m The Man / Look Sharp! (both from 1979)
Joe Jackson was a name that I kept seeing on comments left for Squeeze videos on YouTube. I think the only songs I knew of his beforehand were the singles Is She Really Going Out With Him and It’s Different For Girls. Both songs feature on different albums so I decided to listen to… both albums! Since the two LPs were released in 1979, I went chronologically and played I’m The Man, released in the January, before moving on to Look Sharp! which was out nine months later in October.
One song that I really love that I’d not heard before is One More Time, the opening track from Look Sharp! I know when I really like a song because I think “I must learn this on the guitar!” and so it was with this song. The music just hooked me straight away. I think it’s that guitar riff. There’s a melancholiness to it, and to the overall sound of the song that I really appreciate (… and this is why I don’t review albums properly, ‘cos I’m crap at it!). The title track from the Look Sharp! album is pretty hooky, too! And while I remember, it’s not just me that thinks the opening of Fools In Love sounds quite like Watching The Detectives?
Highlights from I’m The Man: On Your Radio - It’s Different For Girls - I’m The Man - Don’t Wanna Be Like That - Amateur Hour - Friday
Highlights from Look Sharp!: One More Time - Is She Really Going Out With Him? - Look Sharp! - Fools In Love - (Do The) Instant Mash - Pretty Girls - You Got The Fever
Roxy Music - Country Life (1974)
Back in February’s post, I wrote about listening to Roxy Music’s debut album for the first time. I enjoyed it so much I thought it was about time to listen to another of their albums. I chose Country Life from 1974 as I’d heard the opening track The Thrill of It All via a playlist and thought it was such a stunning song, and actually could have easily been a great closer to the album. While I didn’t enjoy this one as much as the debut, I’m willing to listen to another album. Maybe something from the 1980s, next time.
Highlights: The Thrill Of It All - Three and Nine - If It Takes All Night - Bitter Sweet - Casanova - A Really Good Time
XTC - Black Sea (1980)
Since writing about the three XTC albums I’d heard back in March, April was all about familiarising myself with the other studio albums in their back catalogue, which I’ve now indulged in: White Music (1978), Go 2 (1978), Mummer (1983), The Big Express (1984), Skylarking (1986), Oranges and Lemons (1989) and their two turn-of-the-millenium releases, Apple Venus (1999) and Wasp Star (2000). As much as I'd love to, I’m not going to write about each of them in this post (I’ll maybe do so, separately, another time), but suffice to say they are now my favourite band, up there with The Beatles, despite what I said last month.
I will, however, write a bit about their 1980 album, Black Sea which I bought on vinyl at the same time I purchased Costello’s This Year’s Model album, at the tail-end of March, just before the EXTC gig I had a ticket for (and you can read about HERE). Having so enjoyed the three albums I had heard, and getting that lovely excited feeling when you realise you’ve stumbled onto something special, I wanted to have a physical copy of one of their albums, that isn’t subject to internet connections or whims of streaming companies or music labels.
Onto the music itself. Having searched YouTube for some official XTC music videos, I was already a fan of opening tracks Respectable Street, Generals and Majors, and Towers of London. All absolute bangers. But of the songs that were completely brand new to me when I listened to the record, Love At First Sight (one of only two Colin Moulding tracks on the album, the other being Generals and Majors), Rocket From A Bottle, Burning with Optimism’s Flame (a great song for aspiring singers who want to work on controlling their breathing) and Sgt Rock (Is Going To Help Me) in particular hooked me instantly.
Highlights: Again, the whole bloody album!
In April I also listened to: Gorgeous George (Edwyn Collins, 1994), The Singles: 1981-1985 (Depeche Mode, 1985), Slade in Flame (Slade, 1975), Imperial Bedroom (Elvis Costello, 1982), In It For The Money (Supergrass, 1997), Touch (Eurythmics, 1983), Sweet Dreams (Eurythmics, 1983), Body Talk (Robyn, 2010), Fuzzy Warbles, Vol 1 (Andy Partridge, 2002), Chips From The Chocolate Fireball (The Dukes of Stratosphear, 1987)
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