Songs for the weekend Vol.1- Rainy Days

As has become typical of mid- August weather in the UK over the past few years, it's raining. Also as usual, there don't seem to be any signs of it improving any time soon. Those planning to return home from work on Friday and sit in the garden, in the sun and sipping Budweiser have had their hopes dashed. It's times like this when, for us musical addicts, music is a saving grace. So whether you fit in to the category of people described above, or you just want some nice and cosy tunes to enjoy this evening, then this mix is for you.


Frightened Rabbit- The Modern Leper

This song from their 2008 album and breakthrough record "The Midnight Organ Fight" is still the band's most anthemic and probably most popular song to date. The lush acoustic chord changes provide a cosy and warm feeling, and the pounding foot- drum and violin add a light- hearted effect to the backdrop for the potty- mouthed lyrics, riddled with dark humour and despair, but then addressing that ever present glint of light at the end of the tunnel, as front man Scott Hutchinson sings at the close of the song: "You and me/ We'll start again/ And you can tell me all about what you did today." Light the fire, make a mug of hot chocolate and revel in this song's wintry charm.

Four Tet- Locked

Keiran Hebden, aka Four Tet, dispensed of his dub- step roots a long time ago, instead favouring the expansive and often intensely dramatic world of long, drawn- out 9 minute minimalistic dance epics and atmospheric two- step. "Locked," Four Tet's first single from his upcoming "Fabriclive" collection, initially starts off with a shuffling dub- step- esque beat, before being joined by gloriously rattling percussion, which then evolves into a beautiful mesh of low- rumbling bass and the twinkling, starry- eyed synths that he has come to master. Every time the man releases something new it's entirely different from his last release. That fact alone is enough to make this an intriguing and wonderful listen.

Crystal Antlers- Summer Solstice

LA psych/ punk/ funk/ garage/ almost- everything- else rockers Crystal Antlers released their second full- length "Two- Way Mirror" in June. This gorgeous track from it has a hazy fog about it and layers of lo- fi mist hanging over it, as a piano leads the way into a gloriously melodic and hazy piece of garage- rock loveliness. It's a song that suits both sitting outside in the garden in the sun, but it's also perfect for those hazy and humid days trapped inside by the rain.

Wild Beasts- The Fun Powder Plot

"The Fun Powder Plot" is the opening track to what is possibly my favourite album of all time, Wild Beasts' 2009 opus "Two Dancers." It starts off a- wash with a gorgeous synth- y haze that hangs heavy before the bass line and the rattling and brilliantly percussive but unobtrusive drumming kicks in, which is shortly joined by the masterful picking of guitarist Ben Little and Hayden Thorpe's fluttering third- sex, Kate Bush- esque tenor. It contains that hazy fog which gives an ultimately cosy feeling, a trait which can be likened to Talk Talk's later albums, a band who the Kendal four piece have cited as a key influence on many occasions. Rarely ever will you hear sexual prowess portrayed in such a genius, minimalistic fashion. Above is a video of the band performing live in the studio for KRCW.

The Smiths- The Boy With The Thorn In His Side

Taken from their classic 1986 masterpiece "The Queen Is Dead" which recently celebrated it's 25th anniversary comes one of the finest slabs of miserabilia ever recorded. It harks back to a time when Johnny Marr's guitar playing was second to none, and Morrisey's lyrics and feelings that he portrayed in his songs were at their most fertile, vulnerable and quiveringly brilliant. The rain and cloud of this evening's weather provides the perfect backdrop to Morrisey's dreary but penetrating story- telling.