W/e 01/08/25 - Folk Bitch Trio, The K's, Golomb, The Dirty Nil, Big Country

Golomb were the winners and had a popular TOTW. No movers or shakers at either end of either chart.

Big Country land next to The Who and the Boss on the classics

Phil takes the 😀 on his anniversary week (aaah), thanks to the rare awarding of a pair of 8+s. Jim and Annette share the ☹️ (aaah) whilst on holiday.

Andy

The Dirty Nil - I really enjoyed their last album. Didn’t think this was quite as good but still rocking good fun, with a bit of a 90s feel, like The Wildhearts or something 7

Folk Bitch Trio - Pleasant stuff that has more than a feel of boygenius without quite having the bite Phoebe et al have 6.5

Golomb - Classic rock sounds ahoy! Obviously the Velvets are strongly represented but the Stones are there too along with a bit of Tom Petty. They even throw in a bit of Dread Zepellin for some reason 6.5

The K’s - A cracking indie album this, even if they go a bit schmaltzy at times. Would make a great addition to the Reading bill if it wasn’t dying, they’ll have to settle for playing the halftime show at multiple Super League grand finals 7

TotW - The Bends (Here We Go Again) by The K’s

Big Country - Not my favourite of theirs but still some corkers on here. Bit long though Guy! 7

Phil

Dirty Nils 6.5

Borderline rawk/metal and much more convincing when they rock out. The slower tracks, and there are a few, lack the same conviction.

Folk Bitch Trio 8

One of the standout performances at this year’s Great Escape and the album is no disappointment. The songs are strong, the accompaniments simple but empathetic, but the harmonies! I haven’t heard such instinctive harmony singing in a long time and it’s an absolute joy.

Golomb 8.5

Well, this was an unexpected treat! This is very possibly the best album I’ve listened to, bar the classics, since becoming a Hannah. Sure, this band’s influences are obvious - the Velvets, Sonic Youth, mbv, even the Stooges – but they have two good singers and a fearlessness that marks them out as something special. I particularly liked their take-it-or-leave reggae track and the way it broke down into an authentic dub. And they finish with a country track. Brilliant!

The K’s 6

Cliched upbeat indie. It’s earnest too and far too long. What happened to the half hour album?

TOTW – Golomb - Real power

Classic

Big Country 7

I only really know Big Country for their breast-beating epics so the variety on here surprised me. Lots of stadium rock, it’s true – before it was a thing, to be fair – but with diversions into folk, and not just Celtic folk neither. Also, I did not know that Stuart Adamson was an early user of the E-bow, which might explain why the Edge was a fan.

Sam

The Dirty Nil: album Number 3 fromThem ! Love a bit of sleazy rock and roll: 8

Folk Bitch Trio : nice voice but ultimately pretty slow and dull : 5

Golomb : yeah ! Proper rock and roll . As long as they stick to this they’ll be fine . 7.9

The K’s : fun upbeat indie . Not gonna win any awards but easy to listen to . 7

TOTW : Real Power by Golomb

Big Country: great debut album. I had Fields of Fire on 7 inch single . Cracking guitars . So sad he ended it all aged 43 in a Best Western…. Great choice 8.4

Guy

The Dirty Nil – Fortunately mostly rock and not much screech. Lots of energy and some good guitar work, but not pulling up too many trees - 6

Folk Bitch Trio – Meandered aimlessly along. Passed me by - 5

Golomb – Quite enjoyed this – albeit not as much as some. The influences previously mentioned are all there, but it lacked any really big tunes – 6.2

The K’s – First time I listened to this, I thought it was a true example of land-fill indie (rather than the ones you lot keep tagging as such). But on second spin, I realised there were some really nice, catchy riffs running through it and a couple of great tunes - 7

TotW – The K’s - The Bends (Here We Go Again)

Big Country – What an album. Stuart Adamson was such a legend. They created a totally distinctive sound, with the mix of rock, indie and Celtic influences. Some absolute bangers on here including In a Big Country, Fields of Fire and the epic Inwards. - 9

Simon

The Dirty Nil: this sounded pretty much as expected, although in my case that isn't a good thing - not my cup of tea at all. 5.5

Folk Bitch Trio: this is a long way from the sort of stuff I'd normally choose to listen to but found it quite beguiling - Cathode Ray was the highlight. 7

Golomb: of a similar view to Phil, thought this was really good - not difficult to see where they get their influences from but still feels like they've managed to put their own refreshing spin on it. 7.8

The K's: uninspiring and unadventurous indie lite - not bad as such, but nothing particularly edgy or exciting to pique my interest. 6

Big Country: familiar with In A Big Country but what I heard previously never held much appeal so not listened to any of their albums - the Celtic influence means it's a bit different to your usual 80s stadium rock but it's not really my thing. 6

TotW: Golomb - Real Power

Annette

The Dirty Nil: 6

Golomb: 6

Folk Bitch Trio: 5

The Ks: 6.5

TOTW: The Bends (here we go agai n) by The K's

Classic: Big Country - 6 5

Mark

Dirty Nil - decent shredding and tuneful enough on the ear. Reminded me a bit of that last Amazons album in places - 5.5

Folk Bitch Trio - liked this, Angel Olsen, Sharon Van Etten, First Aid Kit kind of reflective country folk with lovely harmonies - 7.5

Golomb - smashing bit of Velvets inspired drone / art rock, with added Exile style country honk at the end. Great stuff, despite the terrible band name - 8

The Ks - I've liked this lot for a while, seen (and met) them at Reading, and they turn out a decent line in indie lad rock. This latest one doesn't break any new ground and it's all a little one-paced, ever so slightly too fast, could do with more changes in tempo. He's got a good voice, can certainly hold a tune, just need a bit more variety to ensure they stay out of the landfill - 7

TOTW - Real Power, by Golomb

Matt

Dirty Nil - 5.8

Folk Bitch Trio - 6.7

Golomb - 7.2

The Ks - 7.9

TOTW - The Bends, The Ks

Erol

The Dirty Nil - dirty rock and roll, a bit like Green Day. Very enjoyable. 7.9

Folk Bitch Trio - lovely harmonies, dull music. 5

Golomb - sounded like a retro rip-off. Fairly decent but it did drone on. I don’t share the same degree of excitement about this as the rest of you. 6.5

The K’s - not indie landfill at all. Uplifting and fun indie rock pop. I agree it’s all a bit one paced but it’s solid nonetheless. 7.5

TOTW - Gallop of the Hounds, the Dirty Nil

Big Country - have always enjoyed the Celtic rock vibe of these guys. The album has not aged that well, though. There are a few timeless tracks on this (eg Chance) but its appeal has started to fade for me. 6.5

Jim

The Dirty Lill 6

Decent if unremarkable no-messing-about rock.

Folk Bitch Trio 4.5

Yawn. Some nice sounds but on its own that ain’t enough and it failed to hold my attention

Golomb 7

70s inspired rock is not my area of expertise but this had a few things going on and was by far the most interesting offering this week

The Ks 6

Mmm , it’s OK, but it’s indie by numbers and the lack of variety meant each song pretty much blurred into the next.

TOTW: Golomb - Real Power

Big Country 7.5

My teen exposure to them was limited to the hits on the compilation albums of the day. I preferred the 80s synth moments to the Celtic folk but overall I enjoyed it.

Adam

The Dirty Nil - 6

Folk Bitch Trio - 5

Golomb - 7

The K’s - 7

TOTW - The K’s - Breakdown in my bedrrom

Classic - 7

Justin

The Dirty Nil - enjoyable bit of hard rock. Quite refreshing. 7

Folk bitch trio - boring 4

Golomb - should have liked this and maybe more listens are required but as it stands found it a bit annoying 5.5

The Ks - no absolute banger but a quality set of enjoyable indie tunes. Have seen them live a few times and always put on a good show. 7.1

Totw Gallop of the Hounds - Dirty Nil