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No. 10 - Inheaven - s/t (Pias) Okay, a tie with Alan Vega - It ... SPEW's top 10 countdown

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(Steven J Wilson)
It’s a big, blustery sound south London’s InHeaven make. A sound sonically descended from the buzz of the late Eighties, sometimes like Jesus and Mary Chain, sometimes Nirvana, or even Smashing Pumpkins and all that shit. 

 What I mean is, you can’t imagine this particular sonic blast, given aesthetics and technology, before the late Eighties. It’s already dated, right? At least in this age of indie retro-twee and hip-hop. But that’s part of its audacity. Brazen in its’ sheer rock-is-bloody-king quality. Suck on it. 


 Julian Casablancas likes them. He released their “Regeneration” single on his Cult Records label. 
A proper RAWK band - look at them!
Little Steven likes them. He’s been blasting their bracing, horn-adorned track “Baby’s Alright” on the Underground Garage. 

 When I first heard "Baby's Alright" on the radio, I thought - wtf … is this some strange lovechild of the Small Faces and Cheap Trick? It is, sorta. And it’s also rocking to the max. Moments of dream-pop respite, like “Do You Dream,” soften the blow, but for the most part this is a blast from the hard rock past. Bassist Chloe Little and guitarist James Taylor (ha ha ha) share and trade vocals - hers an anomic purr, his Brit-pop sincere, but the guitars never lose their snarl, or the rhythm section its punch.  


If I had guilty pleasures, I suppose this could be one. But I don’t. This record is a fucking blast of fresh air at eight miles per hour on a cool, grey day. No apologies necessary.
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Mississippi: Old Times There are Not Forgotten

(Steven J Wilson)
The deeper you dig the more tenacious the lies. How could it be otherwise when you start with slavery as a cornerstone of the Southern and let’s be honest - American economy? Chattel slavery is the ethic of capitalism taken to its ugliest, terminal conclusion. If labor is a commodity to be bought, why not introduce the option to buy and sell and eliminate as much as possible the requirements of remuneration? It’s just business.   Once an economy is built on such a repulsive foundation what good could come from it? And now The Peculiar Institution lives on. Its legacy is mass incarceration, wealth inequality, housing discrimination, and other institutions and mechanisms of white superiority. My father’s family was part of it. I am saddened by my ancestors’ participation in slavery. Tracing my ancestry, I found documents confirming that my great-great-grandfather owned slaves. If the records I’ve found are indicative it appears that he had few, mostly devoted to household ...
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2019 (Before I forget)

(Steven J Wilson)
2019 (Before I forget) 2019 Records I Like the Most  Released in 2019: Wives - So Removed @@ Fontaines DC - Dogrel %% Kate Tempest - The Book of Traps and Lessons ## Stella Donnelly - Beware of the Dogs ## Peter Perrett - Human World @@ Mattiel - Satis Factory @@ Tough Shits - Burning in Paradise @@ Felice Brothers - Undress @@ Robert Forster - Inferno ## Danny Brown -uknowhatimsayin %% %% Records I Like that Lots of Other Know-it-Alls Like: Angel Olsen - All Mirrors Jessica Pratt - Quiet Signs FKA  Twigs - Magdalene Charly Bliss - Young Enough Sharon Van Etten - Remind Me Tomorrow Refused - War Music Aldous Harding - Designer Better Oblivion Community Center - s/t Black Midi - Schlagenheim Cate LeBon - Reward Raconteurs - Help Me, Stranger Sturgill Simpson - Sound and Fury Rhiannon Giddens - There is No Other Bruce Springsteen – Western Stars ## Records I Like That A few Know-it-Alls Like: Mick Trouble - Here’s The Mick Trouble Lp T...
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It wasn't all Covid-19 and American decline: The Year in Music - 2020!

(Steven J Wilson)
• My favorite records of 2020. In arbitrary clusters of 10. • 1-10 • Bonny Light Horseman – s/t  • Bruce Springsteen – Letter to You • BLACKSTARKIDS – Whatever, Man • A Swayze and the Ghosts – Paid Salvation • Laura Marling – Song for our Daughter • Luke Haines and Peter Buck – Beat Poetry for Survivalists • RVG – Feral • Phoebe Bridgers – Punisher • Bob Dylan – Rough and Rowdy Ways • X – Alphabetland • 11-20 • Stephen Malkmus – Traditional Techniques • Run the Jewels – RTJ4 • Sports Team – Deep Down Happy • Fantastic Negrito – Have You Lost Your Mind Yet? • Chuck Prophet – The Land That Time Forgot • Fontaines D.C. – a Hero’s Death • Bobby Lees – Skin Suit • Fiona Apple – Fetch the Bolt Cutters • Guided by Voices – Styles We Paid For • 21 Savage and Metro Boomin – Savage Mode II • 21-30 • Maria McKee – La Vita Nuova • Wire – Hive Mind • Morlocks – ...
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