To begin, the sad news came in this week that legendary drummer, Sly Dunbar had passed. He was best known as one half of the prolific Jamaican rhythm section and reggae production duo Sly and Robbie. Lowell Fillmore “Sly” Dunbar was born in Kingston, Jamaica, on 10 May 1952, he succumbed to cancer after a long illness on 26 January 2026, at the age of 73. I did a casual search of my archives and Sly’s name came up thousands of time, not only in the reggae lists but also in almost every genre of rock. His influence is legendary, so what to select for a tribute to Mr. Dunbar? So difficult to choose, I settled on the title cut from 1976, the double album Right Time by The Mighty Diamonds. Here Sly & Robbie came to prominence with the then new “rockers” rhythm. The beat is so unusually complex that the story goes Dunbar claimed other drummers initially refused to believe he’d actually played it, assuming it was some kind of studio trickery. The vinyl version I have included is the original 1976 release from my collection, I make no excuses for the poor sound quality, this platter has been played more times than you’ve had hot dinners.

Barzin & Set Feux – Lost My Mind

The album – Singing Through The Walls. Songs For The Peoples Of Western Sahara And Palestine. Barzin, the enormously talented singer-songwriter-poet based in Toronto says, “I’m very proud to be participating in Singing Through the Walls, a collective project created in solidarity with the peoples of Palestine and Western Sahara. Fifty-six artists and bands from around the world have come together to contribute music in support of this release, with the shared aim of raising awareness about the ongoing oppression faced by both the Palestinian and Sahrawi peoples. My contribution is Lost My Mind written in collaboration with Set Feux, who also appears on vocals in this song. This project exists to keep these struggles visible—especially the Palestinian cause, one of the great moral stains of our time. We have now witnessed more than two years of a live-streamed genocide against the Palestinian people, followed by a new phase in which Gaza is being carved up for development and millions of Palestinians face the threat of forcible displacement. Proceeds from this release go toward covering the costs initially absorbed by the organizers to launch the project, as well as supporting continued public awareness efforts in the face of heavy censorship—particularly around Palestine. For those in North America, the album is currently available digitally only. Due to censorship and tariff restrictions surrounding anything related to Palestine, physical CDs shipped from Europe are very likely to be blocked or undelivered in the U.S., Canada, or the UK. There is no guarantee physical copies will reach you.

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PVA – Boyface

This London-based trio have been around for a while now, their 2022 debut LP, Blush garnered considerable attention. With their latest long-player, No More LikeThis PVA offer superbly-crafted joyful, dark yet radiant music as displayed in Boyface. As I always make note of sleeve artwork when warranted, this one has to be mentioned. Singer Ella Harris is photographed disrobed lying on the floor in what looks to be a not-so-comfortable position with the album title imprinted on her naked leg.  From snaps of the photoshoot it appears that Josh Baxter and Louis Satchell the other band members were hovering around as Ella writhed on the studio floor, but neither lads dropped their kit for the cover art. Good, important music.

Eşya – Gold (feat. Laura-Mary Carter)

This could get a little confusing, Eşya is the solo project of Ayşe Hassan out of London. The album, Chasing Desire is an enjoyable collection of songs that straddle electronic, dark wave, industrial and even pop. Hassan is best known as the bassist and co-founder of the post-punk band Savages. She’s also involved in other musical projects, including the electronic duo Kite Base and the collaborative project 180db. Gold, the track we selected features Laura-Mary Carter the London-born, Irish-rooted musician and artist, known as one half of the alternative rock band Blood Red Shoes. Highly-rated American musician, Sharon Van Etten is on another cut, Hiding Place. Cool cover artwork by Cristian Anderson. You are advised to check out the videos from Ayşe Hassan. 

Pi Ja Ma – Imbécile

Pauline de Tarragon, aka Pi Ja Ma, is a multi-faceted artist: musician, illustrator, author and ceramist. She also explores literature, signing children’s books and a graphic novel. The album is Magnétophile with 12 cuts composed and written by Pauline on voice and guitars and Hugo Pillard on drums, guitars and, synths. In the song Imbécile (Idiot) Pauline writes, “All the things I don’t know And the things I don’t say Everything I would like to find in your arm”. Behind the seemingly sweet voice you’ll discover astringent observations. A lot to entertain here.

Accessory – Calcium

Listen carefully to this one, it captured my attention on first listen. Here we have the solo project of Chicago-based Jason Balla who says, “These songs are a constellation of misconnection, desire and the search for certainty in a reality dominated by distraction and defeatism”. While I’m still pondering on that statement, I must report that I find Jason’s voice so appealing. Yes, he does sound like he is barely opening his mouth, singing with clenched teeth perhaps? It’s effective. Their album, Dust is highly recommended.Excellent sleeve art, but no credit otherwise I’d give a name-check.

Thanks For Coming – The Whole Of The Moon

Thanks For Coming – Sister Golden Hair

Thanks For Coming is the songwriting project of Rachel Brown (they/them), one half of the duo Water From Your Eyes. Except here on a double-sided single, Rachel gives us a couple of covers, hence the title, Love Karaoke, Hate Paying Rent. Oh, and what darling covers they are, honestly, I tink it’s a brave choice to attempt a rendition of the fabulous The Waterboys classic, The Whole Of The Moon. Here Rachel sounds so completely engaged and genuinely in awe of the song. They give such a poignant take that I wonder if I ever appreciated how good this song is. Then, we have an earnest version of America’s Sister Golden Hair. The way Rachel’s voice is double-tracked, along with their laissez-faire vocal styling we get an emotionally unique version. Thanks For Coming have an huge back catalogue you are encouraged to delve into.

Monsieur Mellow – Paris Strut

From our good friends at Mammal Sounds over there in Sydney, Australian songwriter and producer Callum MacDonald, with his solo project, Monsieur Mellow. At the heart of the track is a raw, emotive acappella sample from Parbleu’s Pas de Saints Au Paradis, which MacDonald chops and weaves through understated drums, soft pads, guitar, and bass, allowing each element to bounce off the next and create the feeling of a real band playing together in a room. Paris Strut says, Callum was inspired by wandering the streets of Paris in the Spring. Delightful.

Hunter As A Horse – Lighthouse

Mia van Wyk is a South African musician and vocalist based in the Western Cape, she has spent the last few years self-releasing a diverse series of singles and EPs. Mia says her new song single, Lighthouse is deeply authentic and inspired by death, addiction, astral visions, melancholia, nostalgia and magical thinking. It’s worth visiting Hunter As A Horse’s YouTube page for a number of excellent, cinematic,  moody videos. 

Rocket Rules – Sweetest Thing

The first thing you need to know about Rocket Rules is their moniker suggests a far different genre. I was sure that our dear friend Nico at Shoredive Records had ventured off into the world of Rockabilly. A completely daft assumption of course. These dear Rocket Rules people specialize in expertly crafted jangly-shoegaze-dreampop. With a decidedly confident panache Baxter Barnham on instruments, songwriting, backing vocals, engineering, mastering and Rachael Lam on lead vocals offer us eight cuts on their Dearden’s Number album. Not one misstep here, I’ll go as far as saying this has to be one of my favorite releases from the Brighton-based label. Do note that Rocket Rules hail from Melbourne and tell us proudly that all the songs were recorded on their home in South Yarra, Australia. Sabrina Nguyen-Ladera is responsible for the delightful artwork. A big thumbs up for this one.

Miss Grit – Stranger

I first listened to the LP, Under My Umbrella while driving early one Sunday morning down a relatively empty freeway. A perfect circumstance to hear the opening track, Tourist Mind. That set the tone for following eight cuts.   Margaret Sohn AKA Miss Grit (they/she) says this their second full-length album started to take shape when they returned from an intense touring schedule where they’d driven themself around North America totally alone. When they returned home, Sohn found themself yearning to capture that specific, less restrained energy of playing live. Beautifully executed. Another very cool sleeve.

Babe, Wait – Bleed On

“Babe, wait!” is the much touted quote from the 2007 Hot Rod – it also happens to be the moniker of this fine band out of Massachusetts. Jess Hesse, Emily Higgins, and Zoë Stone are Babe, Wait, their EP is Debut and they tell us, “There is no vocal line or harmony structure too complex or poppy for these indie rock gyals.” Our selected cut, Bleed On suggests this is a band we would willingly pay to see live. Just love their energy. Do not overlook Babe, Wait.

Kolomin – Logica

The brothers Evgenievich, Denis & Dmitri who go by the moniker of Kolomin explain that they specialize in slow deep or chillwave – it’s curious how adding genre tags has become so crucial to artists. There is a lot to enjoy here on their Stoica EP from Your Skin Records out of Berlin. Dmitry mentions that “Music has always played a big role in our life, we were trying to create music using all the possible ways and instruments.” While Denis opines, “We don’t think out the music, we are just trying to materialize at least a part of tune playing in a head some moments. It’s quite hard to catch it, but if you catch it – new track is born” Top marks!

Photograph by Ron “Bodger” Boding “Kitchen utensils” 2023 digital print on archival paper. Courtesy of Norman B’s collection