Episode 100 - Best of 2024

They said it couldn’t be done! Many questioned whether it SHOULD be done! But here it is - Episode 100 of the @weheardwonders podcast! What better way to commemorate this astonishing achievement in content-creation than by Iain and Andrew sitting down and reflecting on the year that was 2024? We play and enthuse about some of our standout records of the past 12 months, as well as discussing many of the wider trends. Which releases did Iain return to again and again? Did Andrew’s epic Album Of The Year rundown finally break him? Tune in to find out. Listen to We Heard Wonders on your podcast platform of choice; tell your friends; like, subscribe and recommend; catch up with previous editions and support the show - and acknowledge Andrew’s countdown efforts and commitment - by buying us a Coffee (link in the show’s bio).

www.buymeacoffee.com/weheardwonders

Transcript

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Alternate Line: The world's biggest paving slab, but no one can walk over me. I am the Pendu's Johnson, and I am leaving

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Alternate Line: his words, and then never end me like 1st down that street day.

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Alternate Line: That's wrong.

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Alternate Line: Chills

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Alternate Line: biggest paving slap. But I sit here quietly. No one ever looks down at the ground here. No one ever notices me. I wish I made white collar.

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Alternate Line: Haunting shadows run team terrorists down the street, but to

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Alternate Line: all over.

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Alternate Line: Hello, everyone, and welcome to. We heard wonders. Episode 100.

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Alternate Line: Andrew looks like we made it.

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Andrew's iPhone: Congratulations.

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Andrew's iPhone: They said it couldn't be done.

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Alternate Line: Yes, yes, they said it couldn't be done, and some said it shouldn't be done, and yet it was done. How are we doing, man?

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Andrew's iPhone: Yes, I am well, happy New Year to you.

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Alternate Line: Happy New Year to you, too, sir. Happy New Year! To you, too! How was your festive period.

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Andrew's iPhone: Very jolly and lively. Actually it was lovely. Yeah, my my eldest was very aware of Santa this year, and

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Andrew's iPhone: just giddy man, and the youngest was just feeding off those vibes.

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Alternate Line: That's class.

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Andrew's iPhone: That's best. We had those.

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Alternate Line: Lovely. We had a lovely afternoon over at your your house just before Christmas. I don't know exactly when that was in the Christmas holidays, for sure

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Alternate Line: it was good good time.

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Andrew's iPhone: Yeah, yeah. Very festive. What about you? How was your day?

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Alternate Line: Amazing today, how was my day today.

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Andrew's iPhone: Christmas, Christmas.

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Alternate Line: Christmas Day. Yeah. Christmas Day was class, actually, yeah. So

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Alternate Line: lots of family stuff like, just surrounded by all my many, many children. And

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Alternate Line: yeah, just just having a good time. Doing all the traditional stuff we do, and lovely food and and all that, and obviously a little baby this year as well, which is which is cool. I was gonna say, I have a little anecdote. About that nice afternoon that we spent at your house in December, because we came over for a wee Christmas vibe. You were having a a party with the kids, and all that stuff had a lovely time, and as you'll recall, I was rushing off because I was going to a night out.

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Alternate Line: So obviously, we got all kind of said our goodbyes at your house, and everything went out to the car

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Alternate Line: and like put the baby in the car, and we were just about to leave right, and my partner realized that, like the baby's hat, was over his eyes, or something like that. So she, like leaned her hand through the door right to like fix his hat, or his dummy, or whatever, and I didn't know, so I just slammed the door shut and crushed her arm. I'm sorry for laughing.

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Alternate Line: Good luck.

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Alternate Line: the most ludicrous thing to have ever happened. It was one of those deals where it's not really like anybody's fault. You know what I mean like. There's no there's no one really to blame like I just shut the door because I shut the door, and and she just was putting an arm through the door. To to fix, to fix something with the baby. She had like a massive bruise like the site the whole size of her arm, but she still has both of them. So that's good.

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Andrew's iPhone: Where's a week? I know that'll be our like abiding memory of that day. Now.

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Alternate Line: That's a shame, my wholesome, my wholesome afternoon ruined!

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Alternate Line: You're ruined by strange, weird injury outside the house. It's so funny! It's so funny how that happened like the timing that was so weird. Cool. Well, we're back at it back on the ground. You've been a busy, a busy chap in the last couple of weeks on that Instagram at Kid Agh. 86.

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Alternate Line: That's what you've been.

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Andrew's iPhone: Yeah, absolutely, it definitely deserves a plug at the moment, because it's been a very busy account for the last few weeks. Absolutely. Yeah.

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Andrew's iPhone: doing my rundown of my favorite albums. I thought, cause I haven't really done that much posting on Instagram this year, I thought, Okay, I'll make an effort to post every album that I've bought, that that I've liked enough to buy over the course.

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Andrew's iPhone: and I was also like thinking, like I haven't haven't bought as many albums this year, so it'll be okay. But I think that was just wishful thinking on my part, because when I started actually putting the list together.

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Andrew's iPhone: I suddenly realized that actually, that's not true. I have been buying quite a few. So it ended up being a top 84 this year.

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Alternate Line: Good. Yes, good. I remember one time I remember one time, a few years ago, it was something like a top

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Alternate Line: 30 or something like that, or a top 40. And then and then you were like, Wow, it's a wee bit extra, and then it's like it's a 50, and then it's

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Alternate Line: 84 I

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Alternate Line: day, and said I just said the phrase, top 100, and you were like not quite 100 didn't quite get all the way to.

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Andrew's iPhone: Yeah, it felt like a hundred to me when I was like writing. These women write ups after a while. But yeah, I think I'm gonna have to rethink it for next year. There needs to be something needs to change.

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Alternate Line: Yeah, well, I'm really great.

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Andrew's iPhone: Be this year.

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Alternate Line: I randomly posted on one of them. I read them all. I'm sure lots of people have read them all, or maybe that 10 and out. I don't know, because I mean, they're quite

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Alternate Line: like you've written quite a lot, and quite a lot of like deep thought and engaging thought.

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Alternate Line: So I don't know if, like people on Instagram like if they are. There were definitely some people who are reading every single one. But I don't know if people are just

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Alternate Line: dipping in and seeing a sleeve that they like, or something that entices them, and just having a quick look at that one or whatever. But I think that's a really cool. That's cool, anyway. And then there'll be. Some people are like following the whole thing along as a series which I was actually I dipped in somewhere. I can't remember which one it was.

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Alternate Line: and I just said, This is the best review of like anything. It's such a such a well written review. What one was it? Do you remember.

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Andrew's iPhone: I was the Georgia Group.

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Alternate Line: Geordie Greep. Yeah, because it's not a record I love actually.

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Andrew's iPhone: Right, but it lends itself to purple pros. I guess.

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Alternate Line: It doesn't.

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Andrew's iPhone: That one.

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Alternate Line: You did, and it was so. It was so wry and witty, and stuff which is in complete contrast to the the bullshit you just said about the 1st band we listened to there, which is English teacher, because he just said, before we hit record, he said, just play the song, and then afterwards say, we are both attracted to this song for obvious reasons, because we're both English teachers, and we're glad it's not shit.

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Andrew's iPhone: He's got an Instagram folks at Kedgh.

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Alternate Line: It's so true, isn't it? It is.

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Andrew's iPhone: I don't. I don't know if I don't know. If you are you watching the traitors or you are you.

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Alternate Line: Shout out to matthew on the traders. Podcast

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Alternate Line: oh, absolutely. Yeah. Matthew is back doing his business on the trader. Podcast

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Alternate Line: well, for them, that podcast, is going really, really, well.

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Andrew's iPhone: Oh, yeah.

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Andrew's iPhone: and it's essential listening. If you're watching the series, I think. But yeah, there's there's a there's a character on there called Joe this year, and he's an English teacher.

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Andrew's iPhone: and I get.

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Alternate Line: Yes.

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Andrew's iPhone: I'm getting really annoyed watching him because he's just got this permanently gleeky expression in his face. Every single theory that he goes with is wrong. It's just.

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Andrew's iPhone: Waddle, and I feel like he has given English teachers a bad name. I get really annoyed.

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Alternate Line: Every feed has this nonsense. I'm like, Yeah, that sounds like me. That's fine.

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Alternate Line: Zoe and I are watching the TV show the day of the jackal. I don't know if you saw in one of our many group chats like we were asking for recommendations. Kirsty chucked a few recommendations in as well, and we're watching day of the jackal, and I am constantly just coming up with like

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Alternate Line: nonsense theories about what's going on that can't possibly be true, so I can't say any, because there would all be spoilers for the show, which I won't do. But yeah, I just keep coming up with more like ludicrous like. But what if it's what if it's this and all this sort of stuff? So yeah, bullshit theories and English teachers we go. We do go hand in hand, doing.

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Andrew's iPhone: Yeah. But yeah. So I mean this, this group are

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Andrew's iPhone: really good, though I think they're they're one of the kind of

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Andrew's iPhone: best British new acts that that really kind of come to the fore this year and obviously won the Mercury prize as well and deservedly. So, I think, yeah, yeah. And and they they kind of get lumped in with a lot of those post punk groups. With those kind of typically mundane names, you know, I'm thinking, like dry cleaning and

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Andrew's iPhone: squid, and

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Andrew's iPhone: you know all those kind of groups. But but I think, English teacher, I've got a lot more to them than that. You know that

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Andrew's iPhone: really kind of ambitious, that they've got really kind of interesting instrumentation

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Andrew's iPhone: musicianship. And they kind of like play around with a lot of different genres as well.

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Andrew's iPhone: And so there's like, there's that track R and B, where she sings. Despite appearances. I haven't got the voice for R and B. And so she's like a yeah, a black singer. But she's just

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Andrew's iPhone: she's not really interested in being pigeonholed in that way. And so so yeah. So I think that I think she's the kind of star of the group. Yeah, Lily Fontaine. But the band really provide this brilliant back in as well, so yeah, I just think this this is a real kind of winner of a debut record.

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Andrew's iPhone: This could be Texas was the album. It was number 29 on my list, which is going something for what is ostensibly a post punk, Indie Rock Record, which isn't really my bed and butter.

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Andrew's iPhone: and in 2025. But yeah, I just think it's very strong. Accomplish record.

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Alternate Line: Yeah.

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Andrew's iPhone: You liked it right.

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Alternate Line: I like that a lot. I mean, you've selected 5 tracks on today's playlist, and I selected 2. And this is this is one of my selections. It's just one that

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Alternate Line: the act, the record, the single we listened to when we reviewed it away back in

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Alternate Line: April, or whenever it was I don't know. I don't even know when that was the single, nearly daffodils stuck with me pretty much the whole year. It was.

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Alternate Line: yeah, a very memorable song. And this song.

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Alternate Line: the one we just listened to a few minutes ago. World's biggest paving slab like

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Alternate Line: I don't know. There's just something so like erudite, and like really well written about the lyrics and the song construction I love how

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Alternate Line: it's like it is like an indie track, the bass guitar Indie track. And then when you get to the sort of bridge in the chorus, this massive wash synth just kind of piles on the top of everything. It's fantastic. I maintain. I think I said this when we reviewed them the 1st time, that they sound like a band who have made 5 records, and are really confident with what they're doing, but they also have

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Alternate Line: the enthusiasm and the sprightliness of someone doing a debut record. So so they're great pretty much. I mean, that's that was a bit of a no brainer for me to to bring them on. I thought they were. I thought they were fantastic. Let let up me here. So they did.

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Alternate Line: 29.

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Alternate Line: I have 84 on Andrew's list. There you go.

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Andrew's iPhone: Yeah, absolutely.

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Alternate Line: Not enough.

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Andrew's iPhone: Okay, we should. We should, we should say. I hope people don't mind us doing this list in January. I know some people are very kind of.

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Andrew's iPhone: you know, kind of sticklers, for as soon as it hits the 1st of January it's like the previous years, just completely done with, but I thought it would be good fun. We we both thought it'd be fun to pod again, but also you know, kind of look back at the year, and obviously I'm very much fit when it when it comes to thinking about these records as well, and we have had people as well asking if we were gonna do one of these. And so, yeah, thought it'd be fun to do.

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Alternate Line: Yeah, definitely. No, I I just think it's a. It's a good idea. It's it's an old idea for us as well. We used to do this

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Alternate Line: a couple of years ago, and then we didn't for a while. And now here we are again. So you know what's old is new again, or something, speaking of which? That's a neat segue into the next track, which is by Adrian Linker. Is it a cover when you, when you cover your own song. Is that a cover? So this is Adrian Linker's version of vampire Empire, which is a beloved big thief track.

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Andrew's iPhone: It is. Yeah, it's a big favorite among fans, and always been. It was like one of those tracks that they played live for a long time, and fans were all kind of waiting for the recorded version, and so the recorded version, or I think it was towards the end of 2023, maybe they recorded version came out, and it was quite a rough and ready recording. It was quite.

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Alternate Line: I really like it.

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Andrew's iPhone: I really, I really I really like it, but it it does feel a little bit devil like, but it's very much a kind of band performance of that track. And what she's done with this track, by I would say, it's, maybe a reimagine

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Andrew's iPhone: and she's given that kind of acoustic hold down, take. And and yeah, I really like it. And the reason I chose that I thought, it's kind of

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Andrew's iPhone: it's a lively track which which I thought we kind of go with the the track list today, but it also kind of go goes into my kind of thesis that she's on

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Andrew's iPhone: a kind of Bob Dylan, Neil young style, tip with her form at the moment, so in the way that they would often take those tracks and reimagine them and do different versions of them, and just be constantly tinkering with them.

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Andrew's iPhone: She's doing the same here. And yeah, I think she is on that kind of creative streak

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Andrew's iPhone: in terms of building a catalogue. That's

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Andrew's iPhone: it's just consistently growing and just pushing forward and.

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Alternate Line: Yeah.

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Andrew's iPhone: Polishing up what she does without becoming too polished in the presentation of it.

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Alternate Line: Well, you've set us up perfectly for listening to it, and I have a controversial question which I'll ask you

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Alternate Line: right after Vampire Empire, by Adrian Linker. Here he comes

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Alternate Line: watching TV tired bleeding on the bed.

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Alternate Line: The milk is just expired. All the leaves are dead

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Alternate Line: quiet. You've been quiet just receiving what you've said, feeling feeling bad, everything you've said.

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Alternate Line: See you as you see yourself through all the books you read, overwhelmed with guilt, realizing

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Alternate Line: you give me chills I better with the chills. I'm nothing, you are nothing. We are nothing with the pills and the details. She feels alive until she kills

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Alternate Line: fish, and she's my!

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Alternate Line: Is that

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Alternate Line: a see? They're rejecting all your sleep power protecting and dissecting to leave every hour we jump into the

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Alternate Line: under the shower. You lay a you know

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Alternate Line: the flower. I want to see you make it scream, kiss your skin.

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Alternate Line: Yeah, I want to be a woman.

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Alternate Line: Nothing. You are nothing. We are nothing with the pills. I'm empty till she feels alive until she kills, and her vampire

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Alternate Line: on the fishing. But she's not kills.

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Alternate Line: I walked into your dagger for the last time in a row. It's like trying to start a fire with matches.

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Alternate Line: The snow

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Alternate Line: you can't seem to hold me here. Can't seem to let my go so I can't find surrender. Can't seem to keep control. You turn me inside out.

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Alternate Line: be outside in. You spin me all around.

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Alternate Line: Ask me not to spin. You say you want to be alone, and then you want children. You want to be with me, but then you want to be with him. You give me shoes

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Alternate Line: and her Vampire Empire on the cushion. She's my pills a

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Alternate Line: you

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Alternate Line: I don't know, do you?

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Alternate Line: I kind of don't want to talk over the fade out. But it's sort of podcast tradition that I do just that thing. So that is vampire, empire by Adrian Linker from her record bright future. And I said I had an awkward question. But it's the sort of obvious question that everyone asks now when they talk about Adrian Lincoln and Big Thief, which is just.

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Alternate Line: Is she just sort of better than big thief. Now I know that's a very deductive way of putting it. But, like our solo records are so good. There's lots of people who just think where she would just like do some more of them, please. That would ironically, though I think the big thief version of this is actually more fun, more enjoyable and more more of the sort of definitive version. And this is definitely an alternate

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Alternate Line: I thought that you know a bit about bright future, but it's such a good record. It's such a good record.

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Andrew's iPhone: It really has. Yeah, yeah, I'm I mean, I I we're just lucky that we get both, you know. It seems to find enough room for both, and the different enough

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Andrew's iPhone: to kind of justify them, being separate things as well.

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Andrew's iPhone: And the same with this track as well. I think it's it's different enough from the

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Andrew's iPhone: the big thief one to to justify it. But it's just

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Andrew's iPhone: what's quite a heavy record at times. It adds that little bit of leverity to it, I think. And it kind of adds that extra that extra bit of fun, the fact that is, or people know that track already, and she's she's doing a version of it. So I think I think that works really well.

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Andrew's iPhone: And and that's kind of why I've chose it for this playlist as well, because maybe some more kind of more serious pieces shall we say coming up later on? And so, yeah, so I think it works really, really well. And then the album is just wonderful. There's so many great tracks on it, and sadness is a gift which is one. We played in the podcast before just this really wonderful country track it. Just it feels like it's kind of always been there, kind of thing. It's 1 of those types of tracks. She's really. She's got a real kind of knack for doing that and

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Andrew's iPhone: free treasure, which is another kind of moment like that. And there's an absolute gutter punch of a closer call ruined on the album as well. And she's just she's just really really good at doing that as well. Just really kind of hitting you on an emotional level. I think, yeah. And yeah, she kind of goes from those kind of moments to to some more kind of challenging moments. It opens with a 6 min ambient track about putting down the family dog.

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Andrew's iPhone: So you kind of know that you're in for a it's like she's kind of like setting you up to to kind of like

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Andrew's iPhone: going to the trenches with her or something. She's gonna put you through the wringer a little bit. But there's just these other moments of real kind of beauty

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Andrew's iPhone: on the record. And yeah, it just it feels like a nice continuation from some of the more country huge tracks on the last record. You've got some lovely like fiddle playing

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Andrew's iPhone: on that track to. We just listened to. And yeah, I just I just really looking forward to to seeing what what they do next, either as Adrian or or Big thief, and.

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Alternate Line: I mean, you're right in saying that not to not to disagree with you. But you're right in that. That. The the

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Alternate Line: recognition of the songs, a big thief song, and as a popular song definitely adds something, a different flavor to the record. And it is, it does bring a kind of level levity to it. But the track itself, lyrically is actually quite. It's quite heavy. So it's it's interesting to see it reimagined as something like, what did you call it? A hold down, or or words to that effect earlier on because it's all about like dependency. And and you know, complex relationships and and all that stuff is really deep and

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Alternate Line: that's a kind of maybe a relatively flippant way of putting it. But the lyrics are really worth studying and spending some time with. It's a really thoughtful song that covers all aspects of relationships from sex to family to just getting on with each other or not, and the future, and planning and all that sort of stuff. It's really it's a very

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Alternate Line: well written song, and I don't know why, but the big thief version of that particular track just feels kind of definitive to me. Now it's the one

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Alternate Line: But but yeah, what what an artist, as you said quite, quite aptly a minute ago. We're we're lucky to be around at the time when she's making music. I think.

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Andrew's iPhone: Definitely definitely, yeah. And she's becoming a bit of a fixture in these kind of lists, because she's quite prolific as well. So whether it be a big thief record or one of her own records.

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Andrew's iPhone: the the, you know, they're coming relatively, regularly, and they are consistently brilliant. So, yeah, yeah.

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Alternate Line: She went to Berkeley Music College. I think.

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Alternate Line: so. This is something that she's been working on for a long time, and it's obviously her life's her life's passion and pursuit. And yeah, good times. Good times for us. Okay, we probably shouldn't dally too long on any one track here, because we've got quite a few to get through or 7 today. But that is that is fantastic. Where did bright futures appear on your top? 84.

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Andrew's iPhone: So, yeah, so this was number 5. So yeah, so we should say that the tracks the 5 tracks that I've picked are my top 5. So it's like one track from each.

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Andrew's iPhone: And yeah, so Adrian Len goes in at Number 5.

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Alternate Line: Number 5. Okay, on to our next track. So this is Nubia Garcia. Record is Odyssey, and this track is clarity. Why, we picked this one out.

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Andrew's iPhone: So so yeah, so this is number 4 in my list. And it's not necessarily easy to pick just one track from this record, because it's 1 of those albums that kind of plays best as a kind of

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Andrew's iPhone: complete experience, a full Odyssey, if you like. But I picked this tracks. I think it kind of gives you quite a vivid idea of what to expect in terms of the instrumentation, the production

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Andrew's iPhone: and this this album finds Nubia Garcia, who's kind of predominantly known as a saxophonist. She's really kind of going to town with strings

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Andrew's iPhone: in terms of the way that she's been composing these tracks, and I think this track gives that a real flavour of that.

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Alternate Line: Okay, all right. So here is clarity by Nubia Garcia

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Alternate Line: to

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Alternate Line: to

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Alternate Line: to me.

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Alternate Line: T.

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Alternate Line: T.

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Alternate Line: DE.

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Alternate Line: Whoa, the

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Alternate Line: t.

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Alternate Line: the T.

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Alternate Line: TD.

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Alternate Line: Don't be t

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Alternate Line: Thank you.

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Alternate Line: Keep it free.

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Alternate Line: It's

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Alternate Line: a

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Alternate Line: all right. So there is clarity by Nubia Garcia from the record, Odyssey, which is punching very, very high on Andrew's

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Alternate Line: top records of the year number 4 we reviewed this, or we reviewed the track from it the day before my birthday, October the 8th a few months ago. So it's so it's stuck with you. Then.

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Andrew's iPhone: Yeah, I mean, it's actually part of part of my kind of like fall in love with this album was kind of talking about on the podcast actually is one of those where the ones where you kind of find myself just kind of enthusing about it.

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Andrew's iPhone: just kind of going off in one kind of thing, and it just kind of

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Andrew's iPhone: me going off on one kind of stuck with me as well. That kind of idea. This this record means a lot to me kind of thing. So.

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Alternate Line: Well, it's a saying, isn't it, that you have enjoyed it? I mean the fact that you can. You can wax political about it is probably a strong indicator that it's good in your opinion. So yeah.

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Andrew's iPhone: Yeah, definitely. And yeah, it's continued to be a real kind of standout album for me, and and a really good year for jazz. So I mean.

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Andrew's iPhone: I every so often I bring jazz onto the show, but I try to do it a little bit sparingly, just because I know you're not the biggest jazz guy.

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Alternate Line: And jazz. Thank you.

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Andrew's iPhone: Maybe, and and.

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Alternate Line: I've ever really explained. Why, that's the case I've ever really explained. Why, that's the case a little bit.

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Andrew's iPhone: Go on!

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Alternate Line: Basically when I when I was growing up, my

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Alternate Line: parents, my mum, wasn't a big music fan, so she would. She wouldn't really listen to too much music. My dad is a massive like New Orleans jazz fan, but he only likes things that are recorded like Pre. 1920 pretty much or things that sound like they were recorded pre, 1920. So that's like kind of all the jazz that I kind of know. And his. He had a kind of definite

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Alternate Line: whatever the opposite of recency bias is. Where

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Alternate Line: know he's like he doesn't like bebop and all that kind of stuff. And that's kind of just

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Alternate Line: sort of passed on to me, I think genetically.

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Andrew's iPhone: So it was like Professor Long here and stuff like that, wasn't it? That kinda

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Andrew's iPhone: is that right? Is that kind of like really early kind of New Orleans stuff, and.

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Alternate Line: Yeah.

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Andrew's iPhone: Louis Armstrong, like really early Louis Armstrong.

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Alternate Line: Acker Belk, and there's a 400 that I'm missing. No, not Aker Belk. That's not how I mean I mean Bex by their beck. So I mean and all sorts of like ancient things. He, he trawls Youtube and the Internet for all these like lost recordings and hidden things all that sort of stuff. I do not know enough about that to even really be having this conversation. I'll get him to write me like a note, and I'll read it to you next time. But yeah. So that's why that's why

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Alternate Line: jazz isn't like top of my list necessarily. Just I sort of found my own

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Alternate Line: loves in music like I didn't. I wasn't guided by anyone like it was my own thing. But I have to say records like this one

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Alternate Line: And this track, and the one we listened to before, which I don't think are the same. Are they?

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Andrew's iPhone: No, no.

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Alternate Line: No, okay, good. It veers so far away from jazz. I mean, the only thing that's really, I would say massively jazzy about that is the fact. That is the instrumentation and the fact that it's potentially some parts of it are improvised, or whatever other than that. It's not really jazzy. I mean, it veers into like modern classical and and stuff, and also like

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Alternate Line: film score soundtrack stuff as well. You know, it's it's quite eclectic. So that doesn't. That doesn't itch my jazz nerve as much as other things might. So you're all right with that.

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Andrew's iPhone: That's cool. Yeah. As I was saying, like, it's been a really really good year for jazz. And it's something that I listen to a lot in my spare time, even if it's not always representative. On the podcast when I was like putting my list together.

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Andrew's iPhone: and

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Andrew's iPhone: I had notes about a lot of the records because we've talked about them on the podcast but I was realizing that a lot of the jazz records. I didn't because

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Andrew's iPhone: we haven't. We haven't talked about them, but there's there's been like so many good ones. So I'll cut a list, some of them here, Finn Rees, who's a Australian spiritual jazz guy, really, really good record Jasmine Myra from the Uk. The name Joby

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Andrew's iPhone: or Job Joby. work money deaf who are a leads

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Andrew's iPhone: a really exciting young Leeds trio, I think.

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Andrew's iPhone: and Malcolm Gian trio, who's an African, M.

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Andrew's iPhone: Jazz jazz musician who makes really kind of interesting. She makes really jubilant music at times, and other other bits are really kind of moody and serious. And and then there's Cassie Kenoshi seed

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Andrew's iPhone: ensemble who who made this wonderful record this year. That's very similar, actually, to this new Bea Garcia record in the way that it kind of mixes jazz and orchestral and neoclassical music. That's a really, really stunning record that I'd recommend people check it out. So yeah, just lots of brilliant records. And the Chebacca Hutchins record as well, which was in my top 10.

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Andrew's iPhone: It was just a brilliant spiritual jazz, ambient flute record, who knew that we needed 2 of those, and they were.

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Andrew's iPhone: I mean so many of them.

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Andrew's iPhone: Yeah, so so a really good year for jazz after a relatively slow 2023, I'd say. But this is my pick of the Pops. This is, I love this record.

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Andrew's iPhone: I love Nubia Garcia's

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Andrew's iPhone: debut from 2020 source. That was a much anticipated record, and she just kind of smashed that record. And for me it's kind of one of the keystones in modern British jazz that record no mean feat to try and follow up. But I think she's just. She's kind of pushed the scope this time around.

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Andrew's iPhone: As you say, it's very filmic. It's very kind of widescreen.

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Andrew's iPhone: The orchestral arrangements are just sumptuous and beautiful and spectacular, I think. And she's it's called Odyssey, and she's kind of divided the record up into these kind of stages. So, especially when you buy it on viral there's like it's almost like little suites within the album. Where you get a track. You'll even get a track. You'll get one track, and then you'll get. She's calling them outer loads. So it's like that 1st track repeated. So it's almost like a wraparound for each side.

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Andrew's iPhone: so that these kind of like individual little sections in the record. And it just just has this. Really.

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Andrew's iPhone: they're just really kind of gorgeous

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Andrew's iPhone: kind of epic feel to the whole thing. It's kind of Maximus, but never overblown. It's just something really kind of elegant and graceful about everything that she does, really.

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Andrew's iPhone: And one of the tracks that we played last time was a track called Dawn, and it was had Esperanza Spalding vocals. So there's a few vocal tracks on the record that add a nice kind of variety, and it kind of brings in.

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Andrew's iPhone: and kind of stronger elements of like R and B. And soul, and that kind of thing. And it ends with this really lovely Dubby closer as well where she's doing kind of spoken word over the top of it.

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Andrew's iPhone: And and yeah, I just, it's just a a really great record, I would say, and it's not the most immediate record I would suggest. I think it does take a little bit of

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Andrew's iPhone: perseverance, and maybe it needs a little bit of time to kind of bed in, but it just kind of grows for me, and the more that I've listened to it, yeah. And it was just it was just always gonna be there or thereabouts by the year's end.

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Alternate Line: Yeah, excellent stuff. It's 1 of those. It's a records which I know. This is a complete cliche for me, because I've said this for years. I must have said this on about 50 of the 100 podcasts that we've made. But I would never have heard this record if you

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Alternate Line: and I'm glad that I have. I'm glad that I have so thank you for the music. And the songs you're singing right? So another one. Now this one actually did pick up some some hype in the kind of spheres that I'm sort of paying attention to various bits of reddit. And some of the music magazines and all that sort of stuff. And my 1st listen to

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Alternate Line: Magdalena b when we reviewed them. Now, I have no concept of when that was earlier in the year doesn't seem that long ago. But I don't know. When. When was it, Andrew? Do you know.

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Andrew's iPhone: It would be about August, September timer.

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Alternate Line: Yeah, not not a million miles ago. Is. I just thought it was so weird like it was just such a strange thing.

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Alternate Line: and

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Alternate Line: I noticed after we'd reviewed it, and I enjoyed it as well. I have to say, after a couple of lessons really got got it, and I noticed that in like end of year things your own one and others. It's picked up a bit. A good bit of critical acclaim. What is it you think is so special about this record?

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Alternate Line: If that's not 2 pointed the question.

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Andrew's iPhone: Well, it's it's obviously been a big year for big Pop. You know that kind of Maximalist pop, obviously.

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Andrew's iPhone: Charlie Xcx's brat being the most kind of obvious example of that. And I think this is another example of that

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Andrew's iPhone: But so it's

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Andrew's iPhone: so. It's just it's I think it's it's it's a big pop statement. It's got a kind of conceptual

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Andrew's iPhone: basis to. I think maybe if you, if you try to pick apart the concept too much. It might not hold up.

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Alternate Line: Scrutiny, scrutiny. Yeah.

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Andrew's iPhone: But there's so many undeniable tracks as well. Big songs, big tunes on this record. There's loads that I could have picked killing time image.

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Andrew's iPhone: which is this massive synth, pop

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Andrew's iPhone: Banger, deaf and romance, which has got a real kind of cool. I'm already kind of into my review here, and deaf and romance like, kind of so like kind of oracular spectacular, either. Mgmt.

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Andrew's iPhone: kind of a neo psych pop thing to it. Just just

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Andrew's iPhone: yeah. Big Banger energy again. And yeah, so and those tracks that kind of go into like alternative. R and B, there's 1 track called love is everywhere. That's got a kind of Steve Lacey type feel to it. And so yeah, just I think that's the main thing is the tunes. There's also a real kind of adventurousness that I really like. There's definitely, especially in this track. I think this is this is why I chose this track. This is the kind of the big kind of

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Andrew's iPhone: M.

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Andrew's iPhone: Centerpiece of the record. And it's it's so prog

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Andrew's iPhone: and and it's kind of structure, and it's kind of ambition and everything like that. So I think that's that's the thing that appeals to me, certainly about it is is it's Pop, but it's got prog. It's got Psyche in there. It's got real kind of ambition about it, and it's got real tunes as well. So I think yes, it's kind of appealing to to your kind of your fans of like Charlie Xcx. Grimes

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Andrew's iPhone: and Carol Caroline Polachek. Who these are all people that she kind of. They've kind of referred to, has been influences, but it's also.

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Andrew's iPhone: and maybe appealing to some of the heads as well.

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Alternate Line: Yeah, in terms of those kind of progress elements as well. So yeah, I mean, that's certainly why I like it.

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Alternate Line: Okay, so let's hit a bit of the tunnel vision and listen to Magdalena. Be here. We go

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Alternate Line: to turn.

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Alternate Line: I saw lights on, and suddenly I can see

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Alternate Line: I am

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Alternate Line: soon breathe.

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Alternate Line: and I sigh, and soon no, no!

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Alternate Line: Oh, man, I see

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Alternate Line: sun of it shine closing in over me. I forget with life is my witness. I can stand on my feet. I fall back. Then I see

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Alternate Line: no vision shine closing over me.

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Alternate Line: It's my way.

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Alternate Line: I can stand on my feet, and

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Alternate Line: can I got? Can I got?

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Alternate Line: Can I got? Can I get Kitty got Kitty Gat?

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Alternate Line: Can I get?

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Alternate Line: Oh, cancel out?

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Alternate Line: I've been can't take it out so nobody else can see it.

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Alternate Line: We start, let's say the sky

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Alternate Line: see

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Alternate Line: shine 1,000.

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Alternate Line: You smell me, I on my feet as my nose is

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Alternate Line: this one.

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Alternate Line: See?

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Alternate Line: I

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Alternate Line: all right. That is tunnel vision by Michaelina Bay. So, Andrew, you've you've explained in detail why you liked it. I really love this track like, I think this is a great track. I'm glad you picked it. It's in the second half of the record. If my memory serves me. Okay.

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Andrew's iPhone: Yeah, yeah.

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Alternate Line: And it's is it? That section of the album is A is a couple, a couple of good songs back to back, as I recall. That song, like from a from a composition point of view, is just so weird like it's just the.

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Andrew's iPhone: Yeah.

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Alternate Line: It's like 2. It's it's almost like the only thing I could really think of comparing it to. It just popped in my head a minute ago. This is a stupid comparison. Of course it's a little bit like Layla by Derek, and the dominoes, in a way, because it's like

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Alternate Line: one half is like a pop song, and then the second half is just some sort of like epic piano led thing. And that's kind of what that's kind of what's going on here. It's a similar sort of idea. We've got the vocal 1st half of the song, and then you've got the instrumental second half of the song.

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Alternate Line: and it's great. It's really really good. I have to say I love the epic scope and sweep.

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Andrew's iPhone: Oh, yeah.

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Alternate Line: Second half, but I also like the sort of random, like synth stabs from the 1st half as well. It's just really inventive, really playful. I can see why you value it so highly this year.

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Andrew's iPhone: Good. Yeah, I really really enjoyed this album, and it was one that I kept coming back to and finding a little little kind of extra pockets in it and that kind of thing. And when you're asking like, why are people gravitating towards it? I think it is something to do with the kind of escapism of it, as well.

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Alternate Line: Yes.

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Andrew's iPhone: Just kind of mad sci-fi bottle building

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Andrew's iPhone: thing going on here, very ambitious in terms of the song structures, the very vivid visuals. It's got a really strong visual style to it, and

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Andrew's iPhone: does it seem like me?

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Andrew's iPhone: Brat was kind of artful in its way, but it was

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Andrew's iPhone: kind of grounded in in the experiences of of club life, in in the 2 thousands and things like that, where the whereas this is just.

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Andrew's iPhone: you know, kind of on another planet, literally kind of thing. Yeah, so yeah, so the

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Andrew's iPhone: the concept is is about

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Andrew's iPhone: a character called True Blue. So you can know the Madonna reference there, and she has an extraterrestrial laser disc inserted into her forehead. Yes, and

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Andrew's iPhone: then it's about hard

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Andrew's iPhone: trying to discover what it means to be human when her body rejects the hardware upgrade so.

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Alternate Line: The face of it. Right? That is, of course, absolute bollocks, right? But yeah, it

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Alternate Line: it's done in a knowing way. So like, you know they know this is kind of bollocks, but it's also kind of fun to take a wee a wee journey like that. It's not any kind of more farfetched than like Yoshimi battles the pink robots or something like that. It's it's just that kind of like arch

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Alternate Line: storytelling fun. And it's the excuse essentially to make this

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Alternate Line: out. There music really, isn't it?

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Andrew's iPhone: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. And yeah, I really really enjoy it. So colorful, so inventive.

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Andrew's iPhone: And yeah, I think they pull it off. I mean, this is only their second record as well. And they're very young, Joe, that are the heart of this project. So I think.

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Andrew's iPhone: yeah, I think they can. They can even better this going forward.

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Alternate Line: They opened, they opened.

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Andrew's iPhone: So eclectic taste, as well.

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Alternate Line: Yeah, sorry for interrupting, but they opened for Charlie Xcx. Which obviously I mentioned a few times on some legs of our big tour, and I wonder if a next step for for this act is for some like Mega producer to show up and just go right. Won't you just

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Alternate Line: take over the world now, and just want to do mega hits and stuff, and then they might just do that. And they might take this aesthetic and clever ideas and all that, and then someone with a very like

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Alternate Line: industry mindset might be able to just say, Well, let's just make you the next

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Alternate Line: Charlie Xcx. Or whatever you know. Belly Eilish type project. So

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Alternate Line: we wait and see what will 2025, and 2026 bring for them.

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Alternate Line: Yeah.

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Andrew's iPhone: As long as they maintain that weirdness, I think they can.

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Andrew's iPhone: It can only get better and bigger.

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Alternate Line: Yeah. Talking of weirdness, is it weird that the following record, that is is next up on the list? Endlessness by Niles and Efro was one of the ones this year that had a big impact on me personally as well. I

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Alternate Line: I think I told you this forced teenagers to listen to this record repeatedly this year.

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Alternate Line: It did get some strange comments from them. Things such as is this, the music from minecraft and stuff like that, which I think is a little unfair. But you've got to think you've got to thank me really, for for trying to impose good taste on otherwise tick tock addled brains. So this is an Alison Ephras record. Endless appears all the way up at Number 2

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Alternate Line: on your list. So I I think it had a big impact on yourself. Also.

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Andrew's iPhone: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. What was it? Just before I go into that? What was it about this record that made you that kind of compelled you to to do that. So you're you're playing. You're you're playing it in the classroom. Is that right?

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Alternate Line: Yeah, I mean, I do that. I mean, I will do that during the year. Anyway, when we've got like podcast. Music, if there's something. I think that's worth something that's not too intrusive to what we're actually doing. Then I'll do that. And often kids will say, like, What is, what is this, we're listening to. This. One

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Alternate Line: fits the the that particular thing quite well. Because it's not super intrusive. If you're trying to get them concentrating, or whatever. But as for the actual reason, I liked the the record, this is the worst possible answer I could give. But don't know. Actually, it's kind of it's kind of intangible. It's just like

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Alternate Line: it. Just takes you.

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Alternate Line: Makes you feel something makes you sort of

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Alternate Line: meditate almost. I think it's I don't know. It's weird, because for me, this one's almost not about

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Alternate Line: the music itself or its musicality. We can definitely talk about that. But it's just transporting. I think it takes you, takes you elsewhere and lets you think and that's a very powerful tool

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Alternate Line: for music to use. But I don't think is a tool that's easily wielded. I don't think you can really

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Alternate Line: set out to achieve that. Necessarily, I think that's something that if it's good, it just happens. And there's lots of music that's

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Alternate Line: you know, like ambient, or whatever, or meditative, and that kind of stuff. And for whatever reason

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Alternate Line: I thought this was a good one, so it's not much of an answer. I'm afraid it is kind of intangible. What about you?

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Andrew's iPhone: No, I think that's a really good answer.

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Andrew's iPhone: a little bit a little bit similar. Yeah. I mean, it's just it's just something that.

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Andrew's iPhone: and I can put on in the background, but it just so quickly becomes the foreground listening for me. It's just something that you can just kind of be even, and and it just kind of spins around your head while you listen to it. But even when you're not listening to it, you're kind of, I'm kind of thinking about it. And and yeah, it's just it's just one of those records that that kind of

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Andrew's iPhone: opens up as you're listening to it. And and yeah, I just, I just spent so so many hours, like, literally hours kind of luxuriating in this in this record. So it had to be really high up. And I think, yeah, once you do kind of get into the the production, the musicianship.

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Alternate Line: Yeah.

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Andrew's iPhone: The composition, the use of space and movement across this record. And just.

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Alternate Line: It's not much. It's not much.

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Andrew's iPhone: Just amazing as well. So yeah, I mean, there's just so much going on. But it also there's a kind of simplicity to it. There's a kind of there's a through line. There's a kind of gracefulness to the whole thing.

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Andrew's iPhone: and and but it's also her kind of pushing her her sound forward as well. Which we maybe talk about a little bit more after we hear something. And so so the album is called endlessness, and it's made up of these 10 continuums, continuums, one to 10

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Andrew's iPhone: and each track kind of finds her

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Andrew's iPhone: kind of roughing on these same musical motifs and phrases and ideas with different configurations of musicians across the record. So you get people like James Morrison of Ezra, collective Morgan Simpson, that incredible drummer from Black Midi.

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Andrew's iPhone: Newbie. Garcia's on the record as well playing Saxon a few tracks. So yeah, so it's it's a. It's a beautiful

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Andrew's iPhone: M beautiful kind of continuum of tracks. Yeah, and the the one that I've chosen continuum free. I just

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Andrew's iPhone: I just really, this is one to kind of babe, and it's almost like kind of synth bubble bath this track. And it's just just beautiful.

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Andrew's iPhone: And so, yeah, I thought it'd be a cool one to play. And it's just a different Vibe again for the podcast I guess.

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Alternate Line: Let's do it, let's do it. So analysis and Afros and continuum 3 from endlessness. Here we go.

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Alternate Line: Oh, oh.

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Alternate Line: the

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Alternate Line: all right, that is continuum 3 from Nalis and Ephro's endlessness record a record which we are both heaping with praise. I would say, maybe the

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Alternate Line: medium of podcast is maybe one of the harder ways to get across

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Alternate Line: the appeal of the whole thing. Would that be a reasonable way of putting it, and that just listening to us blathering about it, and then listening to like 4 min of it. Maybe get isn't giving you the full the full experience. And if anyone is even remotely touched or thinks. Well, that was quite chill to listen to. Just go and listen the whole record. Just go listen to whole records. That's that's what to do, I would say.

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Andrew's iPhone: Definitely definitely. Yeah, I think you know, it's 1 of those ones that kind of works as ambient music. But it's just yeah. It deserves that deep dive treatment. It really does, because it's just

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Andrew's iPhone: production is just immaculate. It's so cohesive as as a piece of work.

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Andrew's iPhone: Amazing musicianship.

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Andrew's iPhone: And yeah, it's just the the way that I remember when we when we reviewed the opening track, continuing one, we were kind of talking about. How would you even go about

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Andrew's iPhone: composing a piece of music like that. You know, there's that there's so much kind of craft that goes into it. And

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Andrew's iPhone: across the record. There's this idea of

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Andrew's iPhone: these kind of spiraling, arpeggiating motifs, that that kind of reoccur. And there's kind of idea of circularity about the whole whole kind of record and concept of the record, from the artwork to that kind of idea of the continuums

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Andrew's iPhone: and that kind of idea of a journey from life to death.

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Andrew's iPhone: of kind of coming full circle, a life cycle kind of thing. So so yeah, there's kind of lofty ideas here. And there's a lot of kind of brain in this going into it. But it's also just a really, as you say, a really chill record. And it's a really emotive record as well. It's not a cold record. It's a really kind of warm electronic jazz record. And and yeah, I just just think it's wonderful.

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Andrew's iPhone: And and again, she's kind of pushing herself with the use of strings on this record. It's kind of pushing her even further into that

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Andrew's iPhone: Pharaoh Sanders floating points, territory.

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Alternate Line: Yeah.

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Andrew's iPhone: With the promises record. It's got a very kind of similar feel to that, but also got got enough of our own stamp on it as well.

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Andrew's iPhone: So yeah, just a ridiculously talented musician.

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Alternate Line: Lovely stuff. I mean, everyone should just go listen to this record. It's it's great, it is fantastic, well deserved being top of your or near the top of your pill, not quite top of the pile. That's still to come. Just before we get to that, Andrew, I was thinking. Since this is our 100th episode. And since we're doing something a little bit different tonight. And what if I put you on the spot with a 2024 music quiz

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Alternate Line: and listeners. You can feel free to play along in the background here. So I'm going to ask you 5 music questions, all related to 2024. I can, actually, because this is an audio medium. Everyone can't see what I'm saying. But he looks actually stressed right now.

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Alternate Line: yeah, really? Well, which is really what was

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Alternate Line: cause you cause you are, you are the music expert. So you're thinking, if I get 0 to 5 on this thing. I'm gonna look like a bloody idiot. I don't think I don't think that would be the case now, some of these questions are deliberately quite tricky. So if you nail this, I'm gonna be, I'm gonna be laughing to be honest, right?

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Alternate Line: 5 questions. What we'll do is we'll do a question and answer, and then I'll give you the answers at the end. So if anyone's playing along, they can, they can play along to all right. Okay, you ready.

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Andrew's iPhone: I think so.

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Alternate Line: I haven't really taken your consent for this. I've just dropped this right on top of it

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Alternate Line: to apologize. Okay, so question one.

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Alternate Line: Which avant-garde electronic composer released the album. Fractal memories in 2024, exploring the intersection of generative algorithms and ambient soundscapes.

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Andrew's iPhone: Say the 1st part again. Sorry.

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Alternate Line: Which avant garde electronic composer released the album. Fractal memories in 2024.

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Andrew's iPhone: Wolf.

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Andrew's iPhone: I don't recognize it.

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Alternate Line: Okay.

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Andrew's iPhone: Philip, glass.

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Alternate Line: Glass. Okay, I'll take that down, Andrew, says Philip Glass. Okay.

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Alternate Line: Question number 2.

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Alternate Line: Which legendary, which legendary rock band kicked off the farewell tour, titled End of the Road again in 2024.

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Andrew's iPhone: Oh, dear!

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Andrew's iPhone: End of the road again.

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Andrew's iPhone: I'll go. Acdc. Although I don't think they're. I don't think they're finishing up, but I can't think of anybody.

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Alternate Line: That's not a dreadful guess.

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Andrew's iPhone: It's not right, but it's not.

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Alternate Line: Not right. It's just not a dreadful guess.

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Alternate Line: Okay, so hold on a wee second.

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Alternate Line: Okay.

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Alternate Line: Do you know what, Andrew? I'm just realizing that my 1st question might be bollocks here. That might be a mistake with my 1st question, so I might just delete this whole section. If that's all right.

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Andrew's iPhone: So.

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Alternate Line: Toxic.

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Andrew's iPhone: That would work for me.

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Alternate Line: We can just stitch something together. Hold on! I'm just going to stop right now.