June Playlist: Set the Silverware Shaking

Another month has come and gone, which means that it's time for another monthly digest playlist thing! Here are ten of the songs that kept me boppin' last month...

1. The Stranger Fair - Jack Hayter and Ralegh Long

(from Songs About Albums: Volume 1)

I could have chosen any of the ten tracks from Songs About Albums for this month's playlist, but this beautiful tribute to Richard and Linda Thompson's Shoot Out the Lights seemed like a wonderful way to kick things off. If you haven't downloaded the compilation yet, go here now - it's free!

2. Falcons - DiskothiQ

(from The Football Albums: National Conference)

Here's something a little more upbeat from the album that prompted me to do something I never thought I would: write a blog about American football. This catchy cut is one of my favourites from National Conference; I spent most of my holiday in Barcelona singing the chorus over and over again, much to my girlfriend Vicky's chagrin. ATLAAANTA! FAAALCONS!

3. Let Me Get to Know You - Quiet Marauder

(from 11 Shades of Love)

The irony of this song, of course, is that "Let me get to know you" would have been a far better thing to say than any of those awful pick-up lines. You can read my track-by-track review of 11 Shades of Love here.

4. Amor Tece Dor - Fumaça Preta
(from Fumaça Preta)
Fumaça Preta's set at Primavera was one of my highlights, and so it should come as no surprise that I've been giving their album a lot of airtime this month. Catch 'em live if you can.

5. Stevie Nix - The Hold Steady

(from Separation Sunday)

Separation Sunday was the subject I selected for my own contribution to the Songs About Albums project, and this song demonstrates why rather nicely - it's a rollicking rock song, it's a regretful hymn to lost childhood, and it somehow manages to be both of these things without sounding at all disjointed.

6. I Don't Want to Change You - Damien Rice

(from My Favourite Faded Fantasy)

Damien Rice was another of the best acts I saw at Primavera, and this - the lead single from Rice's most recent album - sounded particularly splendid of a Spanish evening.

7. Atomic - Helen Love

(from Day-Glo Dreams)

Sticking with the Primavera theme, Helen Love's Day-Glo Dreams was one of the CDs I picked up during my time at the festival (they're signed to Spanish label Elefant, in spite of being from Swansea), and what a CD it is. This exuberant little number is my personal favourite.

8. Sprinter - Torres

(from Sprinter)

Another Primavera discovery. When I saw Torres in Barcelona, it was just her immensely powerful voice and an electric guitar; she sounded great then, but she sounds even better with a full band behind her.

9. Kings of the Animal Kingdom - The Burning Hell

(from Flux Capacitor)

The Burning Hell are a band I've been itching to blog about ever since I caught them at The Moon a couple of weeks ago; I'll tell you more about Flux Capacitor, the album I bought at that gig, later this month, but in the meantime, here's a quick taster of why I'm so completely enamoured with this lot. WARNING: This song may make you cry, particularly if you're a dog person.

10. Land: Horses/Land of a Thousand Dances/La Mer (De) - Patti Smith

(from Horses)
Finally, I thought I'd test my theory (first proposed here) that the epic, multi-movement Land would make a better closing track than boring old Elegie. What do you reckon?

Last month's playlist is here.