The New Cue #295 June 23: Lloyd Cole, Geese, Fabiano Do Nascimento, M. Ward, Aphex Twin, Picture Parlour, The Smile, The Pretenders, Bonny Doon, The Guy Hamper Trio

"I can see why most people on earth would hate this thing..."

Yes, TNC crew! And a second yes to you amongst the crew at Glastonbury. Even though you’re stressing about how long your phone battery is going to last, you’ve opened your regular Friday correspondence from The New Cue because you just can’t wait. Rogue move! Good on you, please remember to charge your phone responsibly.

In today’s edition, we’ve got two excellent mind-blower selections from crack DJ mob Deptford Northern Social Club and New York psychedelic-rock crew Geese, plus all the Recommending you could possibly need until you need more next Friday.

We’ll see you on Monday, when we’ve got a special Glastonbury report from star guest contributor Dorian Lynskey. We would call it Dorian’s Diary but Niall did that on WhatsApp the other day and it just looked a bit sinister.

Hey, want to get that battery right the way down? Listen to this week’s playlist!:

OK, see you Monday, enjoy the edition,

Ted, Niall and Chris

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An Album To Blow Your Mind #1

Lewis Henderson of DJ duo Deptford Northern Social Club picks a modern soul classic.

Deptford Northern Social Club are a London duo made up of Lewis Henderson and Will Foot who run a celebrated club night that has forthcoming residencies at London’s Moth Club and Manchester’s YES plus a 7^th birthday special at the capital’s EarTH. They also run their own label releasing rare remastered Northern Soul tracks. Get tickets for their forthcoming shows here, and then read why Lewis loves Charles Bradley’s 2011 breakthrough.

Charles Bradley
No Time For Dreaming (2011)

“As an album, No Time For Dreaming is massive. For the label, Daptone, it’s their pièce de résistance. Some may say Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings’ might take that mantle or even Daptone’s work on Amy Winehouse’s Back To Black but for us the buck stops here. Right at the feet of the great man himself; Charles Bradley. From the fact he helped build the Daptone studio that this record was recorded in, plumbing in radiators, tearing down walls and even building a staircase, in true New York DIY fashion, thus pulling himself and the label out of obscurity and paving a way for the most sublime soul music of the last 22 years.

This record boasts upbeat tracks such as the hard driving The World (Is Going Up In Flames), the heartbreakingly melodic funk influenced The Telephone Song and instantly catchy Why Is It So Hard. Bradley also delves to a deeper darker side of his life with How Long and Lovin' You, Baby. Honestly, we can’t begin to articulate the beauty in his gruff hard voice, backed by the majestic The Menahan Street Band going toe-to-toe with the pain and emotion in Bradley’s vocals. Although this record in our view is carried by the tracks written by Bradley and The Menahan Street Band it’s also accentuated by covers of Neil Young’s Heart Of Gold, Sir Joe Quarterman & Free Soul's No Time for Dreaming and Nirvana's Stay Away.

It’s true The Dap-Kings and Neal Sugarman in particular will be forever credited for their influence and contribution on Amy Winehouse’s soulful transition, and that is what Daptone will probably be most remembered for, but for us it's Charles Bradley and The Menahan Street Band that gave soul music a new lust for life. God bless Charles Bradley. You were truly one of the greatest. Long live Daptone. And finally, go pick up this modern classic.