W/e 10/07/26 - acloudskye, Deep Purple, Madonna, Mary in the Junkyard, John Grant

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acloudyskye edge it as Album of the Week with an average of 6.76, just ahead of Mary in the Junkyard on 6.70 — a tight race at the top, with very little separating the two. Deep Purple prop up the table on 5.35, which tells its own story.

Tune of the Week was a dead heat on acloudyskye, with Tomorrow/Fish Storm and Algae both picking up four votes apiece. We'll call it a score draw and move on.

Sam claims the 😊 this week with an impressive 7.33 average — he's been a consistent high scorer over recent weeks and clearly enjoyed the selections. Adam takes the ☹️ on 5.25, finding little to enthuse about across the board.

Andy

acloudyskye - An unexpected treat, in that I had no expectations at all. There’s touches of sonic cathedrals at times, especially on the terrific Surf/Ichor. Good stuff 6.5

Deep Purple - Their biggest draw is also their biggest failing as having OGs Paice and Gillan still involved is great but also means there’s a whole lot of Paice organ work. Still former Reading resident Gillian’s voice holds up well 6

Madonna - Some catchy numbers in here. It felt like Madge was well past her sell by date but with the help of another Reading guy on production in Stuart Price there’s still life in the old Doris yet 6.5

Mary in the Junkyard - Bit of a rollercoaster this. Some of it was quite nice but some of it was a bit too esoteric, heading down those Balck Country new roads that we love so much. 6

TotW - Surf/Ichor by acloudyskye

John Grant - Never listened to this before and quite enjoyed it. Touches of Beck and LCD with a bit of melancholy. Good choice 7

Guy

acloudskye – Basically he sounded like a poor man’s Snow Patrol. Now I don’t mind them so it wasn’t too bad but the sound is not new – 6.5

Deep Purple – So this is where they got Spinal Tap from… Having listened to a song called Jessica’s Bra I was rather expecting a burst of ‘Big Bottoms’ as the next track. Petty awful, out-dated stuff. - 4

Madonna – Kind of what you’d expect from the Queen of Pop. It was pretty decent stuff albeit I didn’t get overly excited and it crested the nightmare 1 hour level – 7

Mary in the Junkyard – Wikipedia said they’d be likened to Wolf Alice. Not sure about that! Very odd wispy, ethereal stuff. Found it boring – 6

TOTW – Algae - acloudskye

John Grant – Found this mostly a bit slow and weirdly folky. The best bits were great though and when he pumped up the electro, as Andy said, songs like Sensitive New Age Guy, were akin to LCD Soundsystem. – 6.9

Phil (OG)

Acloudyskye 6

Pleasant if insipid folky indie. Credit for titling one track Fish Storm.

Deep Purple 6

Well at least I enjoyed this more than Muse. Considering that most of the band are even older than me they rock convincingly but I can’t help wondering what they still get out of it. Apart from money, of course.

Madonna 6

Designed as a continuous dance mix. Now there’s a strategy that’s never going to work with me. Still I’ve reviewed worse. Weirdly, the best track is the last and it doesn't even sound like the rest of the album.

Mary in the Junkyard 7

I enjoyed this on first listen; it sounded like my kind of weird. However, a second spin revealed a lot of the flaws. The singer’s thin voice works on some of the tracks but is plain annoying on others. It’s the viola that leads things in interesting directions. This jury’s out.

TOTW – Mary in the Junkyard – Thou shalt sprout

Classic

John Grant 7

Highly literate rock and very enjoyable with it. Amusingly the gratuitous swearing throughout is one of the major pluses.

Justin

Acloudskye - okay indie. Some tracks like Surf/Ichor above average. 6.7

Deep Purple;- I should like this particularly the more prog ones but I felt it veered to parody a bit too often. 5.8

Madonna - Aspects of it sounded a bit dated and nothing was massively standout albeit as a whole it was an easy listen. 6.8

Mary in the Junkyard - I enjoyed this as a bit eccentric and varied. In places it reminded me of the Sugarcubes. 6.9

TOTW. Thou shall sprout - Mary in the Junkyard

John Grant - I found his voice a bit painful and the album a bit of a grind but the last few songs were really good and Glacier was the best tune of the week 6.5

Simon

acloudyskye 7

Couldn't get excited about this initially but it really picks up in the second half, particularly when they go all Mogwai-ish on the excellent Surf/Ichor - Ache - Tomorrow/Fish storm triple header.

Deep Purple 5

The Tap skewered this genre so perfectly that it's no longer possible to take it seriously, but fortunately tracks like The Rider at least suggests that this lot have a sense of humour as well.

Madonna 6.5

Confessions I was a great album partly because it came out of nowhere and was full of bangers, but it's a case of diminishing returns here - the first half dozen or so tracks are decent enough but after that it really tails off and the second half is mostly filler.

mary in the junkyard 7.5

In the same ballpark as the likes of bar italia and English Teacher - I liked it, a bit quirky in places but that's all part of the charm. Good debut.

TotW: acloudyskye - Tomorrow/Fish storm

John Grant 8.5

Hadn't heard of John Grant until I stumbled across him performing a track from this album on Later with Jools - love the sparse electro backing, which is a perfect foil to his baritone voice and the candid lyrics full of vitriol and black humour. Cracking.

Mark KE

A Cloud Skye - 7.5 - liked this, inventive folktronica / rock crossover, bit of Bon Iver and Arcade Fire going on.

Deep Purple - 5.5 - more then a touch of Tap about this, with some mind boggling song titles (Jessica's Bra ??) and some of the lyrics made me laugh as much Half Man Half Biscuit just for different reasons. Not all terrible as I do like a wooshing Hammond organ, but overall it's just too close to parody.

Madonna - 6.5 - promising opening with its bubbling Moroder bleeps courtesy of good old Reading boy Stuart Price whose sound dominates the production and keeps it sounding reasonably contemporary, not bad all things considered.

Mary In The Junkyard - 7 - I'd heard good things about this lot so was hoping/wanting to like it. It's an interesting listen, took a while to get into it but it grew on me, a few tuneless tracks hold it back from a higher score, but they've got potential.

TOTW - Algae, by Acloudskye

Paul

acloudsky (6)

Liked the tunes a lot, didn’t get on with his voice. Made for a fairly dull listen.

Deep Purple (5)

Well put together but really not my thing. As others have mentioned, feels very dated.

Madonna (4)

Like a bit of dance but this was just dull, all sounded very one paced.

Mary in the Junkyard (7.6)

Bit of a grower, interesting folkie indie, liked the voice . New Muscles & Crash Landing are really good.

TOTW Mary in the Junkyard - New Muscles

John Grant (7.5)

Quite enjoyed the folky take on indie and the electro influenced tracks helped to lift it. Did drag a little in parts but good overall.

Mark D

Acloudyskye 7

Enjoyed this - he's got a good voice and the production / heavier distorted electronic sound suited music well on Diffuse etc. It's not pushing boundaries but strong.

Deep Purple 5.75

Didnt listen to this stuff when it was current. Is it a new album and for what audience? They still know how to write these sort of songs and keyboards / organ saved it but pretty naff in places.

Madonna 6.25

Bit surprised by how much of a dance album this was. That leaves Madge a little out of the picture by my reckoning esp. when so heavily produced. It's all slick and Danceteria good as Vogue 2.0 but a bit soulless overall.

mary in the junkyard 7.25

This grew on me through album. Agree she sounds a bit like Wolf Alice. The slightly distorded guitars / bass on some tracks weakened the album at the start but felt like a different band by the end.

TOTW Mary in the Junkyard - Crash Landing (could have been two others)

John Grant 8

Never heard of him but what a great mix of dark storytelling and humour. Pale Green Ghosts as an opener was brilliant and liked the electronic / country feel through the album. A keeper for me!

Sam

Acloudyskye: Mainly pretty good . 2 bangers . Went a bit off at the end . 7.5

Deep Purple : I’m a fan , and GIllan is 81 next month and his voice is amazing . All the requisite parts are there and I enjoyed it . Some rubbish lyrics but that aside it was a winner for me : 7.8

Madonna : decent dance album . Went on a bit but I liked It overall . 7

Mary in the junkyard : wandered around a bit for sure . But at times hit the jackpot . Mixed : 7

TOTW Ache : Acloudyskye

John Grant : I don’t remember this very well but it’s great fun . Ace lyrics and a well made set of dancey tracks . Great choice . 8.2

Carlo

Acloudyskye – 6.5

Easy to listen to, with just enough variation to stop me getting too bored. Definitely improved on the second listen.

Deep Purple – 6.1

Old rockers who perhaps need to hang up their boots? You can’t deny what they’ve achieved, so maybe my review is a little unfair – it’s just not really for me.

Madonna – CONFESSIONS II – 7.6

Typical smooth production from Madonna’s team. Happy to give this a few more listens.

Mary in the Junkyard – 6.5

I do wonder how seriously some artists take the music. Seems like the extra quirkiness was added more for effect/marketing, rather than musical enjoyment.

TOTW: Madonna – My Sins Are My Savior

Classic – John Grant – 6.7

I only recognised one of the songs, but found the rest OK.

Adam

Acloudyskye 6

Interesting collection of indie, electronic and distorted moments.

Deep Purple 4

Moments of organ and guitar goodness but rambling otherwise.

Madonna 5

Somehow upbeat but flat. Might be good in a club/live but not on this album. Missing a few killer tracks.

Mary in the Junkyard 6

Some beautiful tracks on this. Slow, but serene.

TOTW – acloudyskye - algae

Classic 7

Melodic and electronic. Interesting mix of stuff on here.

Erol

Acloudyskye - lively, folky indie with some catchy riffs. Can definitely hear Snowpatrol on some of the bigger numbers. Really quite enjoyable. 7.3

Deep Purple - I wanted to like this given their back catalogue but sadly, this was well past its sell-by date. Some of the lyrics are cringe. It’s time they called it a day. 5

Madonna - is Madge past it? Not at all, based on this album. This is mostly a super slick serving of high-end dance music with some clever lyrical overlays. Sounds ace turned up loud. 8

Mary in the Junkyard - decent listening for the flight home. Eclectic but gentle indie with an interesting female vocal. Crash Landing is the standout track. 6.8

TOTW - Love Sensation by Madonna

John Grant - a bit of an oddity for me. Some decent electronic sounds and lyrics.

Not bad but I doubt I’ll be going back for more. An album that’s more for the purists perhaps. 6

Jim

acloudyskye 7

Smooth indie, a mix of Snow Patrol and Mogwai when they went a little trippier. The 10 min number at the end was excellent

Deep Purple 5

Occasional good riffage though it sounded like a band knocking out what they can probably do in their sleep.

Madonna 6

Polished but pretty soulless EDM. Imagine her and team of expensive producers could have knocked this out in a few days

mary in the junkyard 7

Liked plenty of this, nice voice with some KoL melodies on the less wispy numbers. Blood was the standout.

TOTW: acloudyskye – Tomorrow/Fish storm

John Grant 7.5

An unusual mix of synth-pop, reaching SMD/LCD heights on Sensitive New Age Guy, and quirky folk numbers. A trim of the later would have helped but overall I enjoyed it.

Matt

acloudyskye - 6.7

Deep Purple - 4

Madonna - 6.9

Mary in the Junkyard - 6.2

TOTW - Danceteria, Madonna

Phil (New)

acloudyskye - 6.9

Deep Purple - 6.8

Madonna - 5.5

Mary in the Junkyard - 6.1

TOTW - Tomorrow/fish storm - acloudskye

John Grant - 7

Annette

Acloudskye: 7

Deep Purple: 5

Madonna: 7

Mary in the Junkyard: 6.5

TOTW: Algae by Acloudskye

Classic: John Grant - 7