Billions and Billions by Stellardrone - Record Of The Week

Its all thanks to Ben Mynott and his Fluidnation sessions on chill.dab that we heard this… and then we investigated more.

All the way from Lithuania, Stellardrone provide the perfect aural wallpaper for working to… chilling-out, cooling down, eating, getting ready to sleep… in fact, the perfect soundtrack to just about anything you can think of!

This particular track has all those lovely synth beds behind all the billions and billions of notes dancing about in a cool, calm and collected manner. It builds and builds, again gently, never causing you any anxiety at all.

Quite perfect. Quite uplifting.

Buy and download the album direct from Stellardrone

Pride Before a Fall by The Church - Record of the Week

I really have been meaning to post this for ages… well, the waiting stops here.

We heard this haunting, chilled-out piece of wonderfulness some months ago now. It arrived on the scene as the signpost for a new Church studio album, 'Further Deeper'.

That too has now arrived and is one of my picks for Album of the Year for 2014. But back to 'Pride…'

We have, to some degree, the trademark chiming 12 string-esque guitar sound, we have Kilbey's gentle and ethereal tones. But the whole effect is somehow fresher and brighter, in a melancholy way. All quite beautiful. I find that with each new release from this band that they do become my Favourite Band of All time. I am loathe to give the title to anyone because I just like so much stuff and so much of what I like is different but, I can reasonably safely say they are one of the few acts that I would ensure I purchased the latest offering from.

The aforementioned album -- Further Deeper -- that this is from is one of their best. Up here with 'Starfish', 'Heyday', 'After Everything Now This', the new record maintains the freshness we can feel and hear on 'Pride…' and in 'Laurel Canyon', 'Volkano' and 'Miami' they give us some stellar musical moments to treasure.

I hope you enjoy this track as much as I do and, if you are not familiar with the bands back-catalogue then I urge you to investigate further.

Buy and download album from the Church Shop

Record of the Week

Fooled Around and Fell in Love
by Elvin Bishop

Elvin Bishop - Fooled Around & Fell In Love

Hi Pop Pickers, and a welcome to the return of our Record of the Week feature after an absence of several months. And thanks, once again, go to our NotJustMum for getting this into my head, into our iTunes library and on these pages...

When she played this to me the other day I couldn't remember it at all! But in the intervening couple of days it's found its way into my head and under my skin in such a way that I tell myself I must have heard it back in '76, when this was a hit. In fact, a BIG hit in the USA.

Anyway, it really is a very, very good rock/pop song. Catchy, sing-a-long stuff with a wonderful guitar solo in the middle from Mr Bishop himself. Vocals are more than admirably handled by Mickey Thomas who, despite what you all think didn't play ion the wing for Manchester United, Wrexham or Chelsea, but went on to sing in Jefferson Starship. In fact, he still does.

This video will have you wondering just which one is Jeff Lynn, although I am reliably informed that not one of the players here is the aforementioned King of Brummie Beat.

Buy the track from amazon...
Buy the track from iTunes...