ABOUT MUSOLYTICA
Different strokes for different folks...
Musolytica began at the start of the lockdown in March 2020.
We're a group of mates who grew up in Reading and then flew in different directions. We're all big music fans, who make the Reading Festival our annual pilgrimage home.
To overcome boredom, we decided to hold regular Zoom calls to keep in touch. These calls often turned into discussions about music and the latest albums we were all listening too. So we decided to turn the group into a music club.
Each week we pick four albums to review. They're normally latest releases although we do sometimes throw a curve ball in if we're about to go to a festival and want to do some advance research on a band we aren't familiar with. We also pick one classic album which is selected on a rotating basis - this can be from any era.
All albums are rated out of ten. We remove outlier scores and average the results. These are analysed on a weekly basis and the results published. Further number crunching is provided at ad-hoc points in the year to provide additional insight.
You can find out more about the club members below...
MEET THE TEAM!
Who We Are
GUY
Guy's preferred genre is Indie Pop / Jingle Jangle - although he's also partial to a bit of electronica / dance on the side. Guy hates tuneless music and shouty heavy metal. His favourite band is The Stone Roses and he also has a penchant for songs under 2 minutes in length.
JIM
Jim's a Reading lad and loves his dance and Indie music. A bigger fan of the shouty new wave than some - he's also in charge of compiling and reporting on the group stats. Boy does he love a spreadsheet.
ANDY
Andy cut his teeth on rock and heavy metal but now harbours an eclectic taste which includes many of the current female pop acts beloved by young girls. He's a big fan of the Boss and is usually the one to complete his 'homework' first or to put in some extra work on other non-selected albums. Swot.
SAM
Sam grew up on heavy metal and glam rock but now has a broad taste. In fact, there's nothing Sam likes more than painting his nails black, putting on his guyliner and heading to a goth concert. Sam lives down in Brighton where he hosts a show (The Hot Sauce Committee) on Radio Reverb.
MARK
A former local DJ in Reading, Mark loves his Indie music. Brought up on Echo and the Bunneymen and New Order, his top bands now include The Hold Steady and Sea Power. If you're at a gig - Mark's quite likely to be there too. Holds the team record for most consecutive Reading Festivals attended.
MATT
Matt is a man of few words on the review front but his scores often speak for themselves. If he doesn't like something you know it. Matt is the team member least likely to be taken in by a new music fad...
JUSTIN
Justin's musical tastes range from ambient house to Zodiac Mindwarp. Whilst enjoying prog rock and the odd flirtation with metal and goth his true home is indie rock and electronica.
SIMON
Simon joined the group about a year ago. He's a full on muso who really loves his Indie Dance and Electronica. He's most likely to do pre-research and make suggestions on new albums to be reviewed. Not a great lover of the Heavy Metal genre.
EROL
Erol is the most recent person to join the club. He likes the softer rock sound of bands like Radiohead but you'll also find him bouncing round his garden with his hands in the air to the dance sounds of bands like Chase and Status. Usually gives us a nice long review for each album. A good boy.