
It really is hard to imagine the shape of pop and soul music without Barrett Strong. While he may not have been the household name that many of his peers were, where would popular music be without his hugely influential and soulful powerhouse that is ‘Money (That’s What I Want)’? There’s more too – he…
Imagine for a second, you’re driving past Abbey Road, and you nearly hit a pedestrian on that famous crossing. Imagine some more, that the pedestrian in question is Paul McCartney. The car in question is a Prius, so it’s kinda funny that he nearly got offed by a green motor. Also, let’s go with the…

Caroline Polacheck’s is an adventurous pop star, and that’s always a good thing. She’s recently hit out at lazy comparisons to Bjork and Kate Bush, preferring to make music under her own steam, which is fair enough. She’s got a big voice and likes to be mildly awkward, which we say as a compliment of…

Hey! Do you like new music and, not just new music, but slightly difficult music that’s fun? Well, you should check outy Rob Mazurek’s Exploding Star Orchestra newbie, ‘Future Shaman’. Apply here if you like wonky jazz and post-rock. It’s discordant, good stuff. Mazurek is a composer/trumpeter and the Exploding Star Orchestra features Damon Locks…

We like a popstar making bold choices, and Sam Smith has been doing exactly that lately. It doesn’t matter whether you like the tunes or not, we should absolutely support a commercial artist when they lean into the experimental and off-kilter. Did you see them on SNL, with Sharon Stone draping themselves all over the…

It feels kinda shitty referring to a new artist as ‘Bjork’s daughter’, but needs must. Isadora Bjarkardottir Barney is her name, and she’s released her debut solo work as part of a comp showcasing Icelandic music. The comp is called ‘DRULLUMALL 4’ and Isadora’s track – ‘bergmál’ – is really good, you’ll be glad to…

The mighty Pet Shop Boys are all set to share some previously unreleased songs in April. It’s all part of a new thing they’re doing and that new thing is a book called ‘Annually’. The 2023 edition of the yearly release (hence the name) will be a 64-page hardback affair, containing journals, photos from their…

You can try and be as clever as you want, deep diving on this, that, and the other… but sometimes it’s just worth reminding yourself how great a band were. From Detroit, America’s greatest music city, Inner City was the brainchild of the great Kevin Saunderson and Paris Grey. Saunderson of course, was one of…

The lovely folks of Saint Etienne have announced details of a new LP called ‘The Night’ and there’s a new song which is borderline ambient called ‘Half Light’ to listen to – it’s genuinely one of the loveliest things you’ll hear all year. The album will land December 13th and is the 12th from the group.…

Kelly Lee Owens has been doing great things lately, and her new LP ‘Dreamstate’ is something that you should absolutely have in rotation. Mixing synthpop with house and tech, she’s collaborated with some big hitters (Daniel Avery, Chemical Brothers, Bjork to name just three) and her own work is genuinely excellent. Have you heard ‘Higher’ yet?…

It is Friday, so let’s have a bop. Jessie Ware has teamed with Salute (normally spelled lower case, but it looked weird in a sentence) for a clubby shuffler, which is just the ticket to send us into the weekend, right? Ware teamed up with the Manchester knob-twiddler and says: “I’ve been a fan of…

Way back in the summer of 1962, Chicago born Shel Talmy decided he wanted to have a trip to Britain. He intended staying for five weeks. What happened when he found himself there, was that he’d change the course of pop forever. A friend asked him if he could help with the production of some…
THERE’S NO MONEY IN THIS GAME ANYMORE, BUT IF YOU WANT TO WRITE SOMETHING FOR THE POP CORPS, YOU ARE WELCOME TO GET IN TOUCH. HAPPY HUNTING.
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