W/e 29/05/26 - Maisie Peters, Bleachers, Little Barrie, Lowertown, Radiohead

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A below average week, no great moves on the chart. Little Barrie is our winner and has the TOTW.

Guy takes the 😊. Simon was especially unimpressed with one of his lowest sets, so has the ☹️

Radiohead take a spot in our top 40 classics, alongside the Prodigy and Hard-fi. It’s a fair few spots below The Bends which is half a point ahead and at #13.

They join Oasis, Primal Scream, Beastie Boys and Daft Punk with 2 classics in the top 40.

Andy

Bleachers - Not quite as good as the last outing (no Bruce you see) but still pretty pleasant pop 7

Little Barrie - It’s a bit too jazzy for me but also it does go funky indie at times so not all bad 6

Lowertown - Wednesday like without reaching those heights, although Forgive Yourself comes close 6.5

Maisie Peters - Girlie vocals and acoustic guitars put this in Gracie Abram’s territory without being quite as good as her. Questions is a bop though 6.5

TotW - Something from A’s album but out of respect for the process I’ll say Forgive Yourself by Lowertown

Radiohead - The last time I got on with Thom and Co, some absolute belters on here 8

Justin

Bleachers - Sub Billy Joel mixed with sub Springsteen. A lot of the songs just never get going. 5.5

Little Barrie - Jimi Hendrix style guitar and plenty of distortion. 7

Lowertown - I like the Pixies esque guitar and wailing. Second half not as strong. 7.2

Maisie Peters - I really liked the last Jessie Murph album we reviewed. This is Murphlite and also seems a bit false given that Maisie is from Brighton. 6.2

TOTW Lowertown - Forgive yourself

Radiohead - This is the Radiohead album with my favourite songs. Parts of the album are still tough going but as an overall package it is flawless. 9

Guy

Bleachers - Always liked them / him. In places sounds like Car Seat Headrest. Easy listening with a great closer - 7.7

Little Barrie - Nostalgic sound which in places reminds me of the Stone Roses but without the wallop. Good listen - 7.3

Lowertown – Pretty dull stuff imho. It was slow and steady with little to make it stand out from the crowd – 6.3

Maisie Peters – Some pretty decent pop tunes. Probably not the best we’ve heard but had a sprinkle of Chvrches in places which can never be a bad thing – 7

TOTW – Upstairs at els by Bleachers

Radiohead – I’ll start by saying this lot are not my cup of tea at all. Dull stadium indie - one step up from Coldplay. No bite or energy. Just a load of dreary singing supported by public school boys showing off their Grade 8 music accomplishments including their prowess on the triangle. - 5

Sam

Bleachers : it was ok,But they are definitely going in a downward trajectory.. 6.2

Little Barrie : didn’t know he had played with just about everyone! Parts of this were great tho it was a bit patchy . This weeks winner with a whopping 7.2

Lowertown: bad music alert ! Some of this made me angry it was so awful . Yet they had the TOTW . Odd : 5

Maisie Peters : most of this was sub standard pop , a couple of songs in the middle elevated it a bit : 6

TOTW: Worst Friend by Lowertown

Radiohead : thanks the Lord this was chosen . 8 million sold . It ruled the world as mobiles and the internet took off . Dripping with emotion . What a joy after so much dross this week . 9.5

Mark D

Bleachers 6.5

Slightly confusing mix of styles and some tracks missed the mark completely. Felt a bit like Snow Patrol at points. Nothing to really offend or inspire.

Little Barrie 7.25

Liked the driving bass throughout, guitar licks and vocals giving the whole thing a great style. Didnt think id have gone for it..

Lowertown 6

Good at times but the vocal style began to wear and the constantly slightly downbeat sound left me unconvinced..

Maisie Peters 7

Enjoyed the lyrics and storytelling. Whilst the folk / country sound was familiar at times the songs distinguished themselves a bit above a lot of this sort of pop.

TOTW

Little Barrie Luggin Hurt

Radiohead 9

Remember this on release pushing expectations after The Bends so brilliantly. Still a fantastic album. Best at its simplest w Exit Music.

Phil (OG)

Bleachers 6

Indie MOR. To judge from his career, as outlined on Wikipedia, Jack Aronoff has plenty of celebrity friends. Well sorry mate, I’m not starstruck. More tracks like Dirty wedding dress and I might have been kinder but, as it is, nah.

Little Barrie 7

Bluesy, a bit like Black Keys-lite. It’s quite a low key album and I enjoyed it a lot more on second listen. They might actually be decent live.

Lowertown 5

I remember, last Friday, dipping into a few of the week’s albums and this was one that I thought sounded interesting. I can’t imagine which track I picked because they all sound awful. This is the sort of album that gives lo-fi a bad name. The singing is awful, the playing is uninspired and it’s only the absence of synths ( 🤣 ) that saves it from a Lowerscore.

Maisie Peters 7.4

I’m starting to notice that some of the best current music at the moment is being made in the pop field. Maisie writes smart songs, has a voice that’s easy on the ear and this album, at least, does not make the mistake of over-production. Twenty, thirty years ago, she would have been called folk, since most tracks start with an acoustic guitar. Now, she’s pop and it’s a crowded field but it looks like there’s room for one more.

TOTW – Maisie Peters – Nothing like being in love

Classic

Radiohead 9

I wouldn’t call myself a Radiohead fan but this album is just a classic from start to finish. Paranoid android, Exit music, Lucky, No surprises, they’re all stunning. I have a lot of time for a band or artist that becomes massive but carries on making uncompromising music. They’re also one of the few bands/artists, along with the Stones, Joy Division and the Cure, to have given their name to one of Ian Rankin’s Rebus novels.

Carlo

Bleachers – 7.8

Not listened to them before. A cracking album with some nice folk undertones running through it.

Little Barrie – 6.6

Funky indie tunes that made for a decent listen.

Lowertown – 5.4

The odd chord progressions, combined with a whiny vocal, made this a little difficult to listen to at times. I think they were trying to be a bit too clever, and it didn’t quite work for me.

Maisie Peters – 6.9

Great, enjoyable pop with a slight touch of country thrown in.

TOTW: Bleachers – Dirty Wedding Dress

Classic – Radiohead – 6.2

For the record, I think Creep is a great song, but I had mixed feelings about this album as a whole. Some tracks were excellent, while others I found pretty dreadful.

Simon

Bleachers 3

Christ this lot are dull - this is the third album of theirs we've done and this is just as bland and insipid as the last two.

Little Barrie 7.5

Album of the week by a country mile - a low-key and laid back slab of blues rock, full of restless rhythms and funky grooves. Lovely stuff.

Lowertown 5.5

In the Wednesday ballpark (they've supported them on tour) but with a lot less appeal, mostly down to the wailing vocals which were a painful listen at times.

Maisie Peters 4

An album for teenage girls - I couldn't have been less interested in this if I'd tried.

TotW: Little Barrie - Luggin' Hurt

Radiohead 9.5

The Bends is a decent, albeit conventional, album, but this is where Radiohead really took flight and showed what they were capable of - intense and paranoid but completely captivating, it's fully worthy of all the plaudits in my opinion. Spectacular.

Annette

Bleachers: 7

Little Barrie: 7 5

Lowertown: 6

Maisie Peters: 6

TOTW: The Van by Bleachers

Classic: Radiohead - 6.5

Mark KE

Bleachers - 6.5 - the guy clearly has talent, but it leaves me a little cold, maybe on account of his Taylor Swift association.

Little Barrie - 8 - part 60s art house flick soundtrack, part Second Coming era noodling, could easily imagine Squire and Reni knocking a load of this out. Can't fault the fretwork, only criticisms would be it's a little quiet and some tracks came across as a bit unfinished, but overall mainly rather groovy.

Lowertown - 6 - didn't mind this to start off with, but it does drag on a bit in the same one paced vein and the vocals really start to grate after a while.

Maisie Peters - 5.5 - latest in a long long line of these wafty sub Taylor artists peppering songs with incongruous F-bombs for no reason. Not terrible, but nor is it really distinguishable from so many other similar acts.

TOTW - Luggin' Hurt by Little Barrie

Paul

Bleachers (6.5)

A few nice moments but didn’t blow me away, all a bit bland.

Little Barrie (7.5)

Really nice chilled out blues, really liked the nice quiet jazzy drumming.

Lowertown (6)

Didn’t mind the vocals and some of the tracks were fairly good. However there a few terrible tracks in there that knocked the score back, Dipshit being a particular low point.

Maisie peters (5.5)

Just found this all a bit dull, a nice voice though.

TOTW - Lowertown - Forgive Yourself

Radiohead (9.5)

Flawless with too many top tunes to mention.

Erol

Bleachers - a moderately enjoyable, summery serving of gentle indie folksy rock from the Jersey boys. A decent listen on the hottest day of the year so far. Shades of Billy Joel but the quality, unfortunately, falls short of those heights. 6.8

Little Barrie - one of the best albums we’ve heard in a while. Refreshingly different, I really liked the Hendrix/ Clapton style guitars with plenty of reverb, all wrapped around a lounge lizard style. It hints of jazz but stays the right side of blues. A really good head bobbing, foot tapper of an album. 8.5

Lowertown - the vocals were awful and out of tune. The music’s not that much better. I’m all for a dash of maudlin sentiment but it has to tug at the heart strings. This fell miserably short. 4

Maisie Peters – her voice has a tendency to go a bit ‘pinky and perky’ on occasion but, apart from that, this really wasn’t bad at all. A nice slice of folky pop that is unashamedly commercial. I agree with others that the middle section was the strongest. 6.9

TOTW - Luggin’ Hurt, Little Barrie

Radiohead - a work of genius: quite simply, the best album of the 90s and one of the best ever made. The intricate artistry of the music, combined with Thom Yorke’s intensely emotional, angst-ridden vocal delivery is exceptional. I’ve listened to this so many times and will continue to do so for a long time to come. Am listening to it again as I type and it absolutely deserves the highest score. 10

Matt

Bleachers - 7.5

Little Barrie - 7.6

Lowertown - 5

Maise Peters - 6.5

TOTW - Bleachers Upstairs at Els

Jim

Bleachers 5

Disappointing. I thought they had a little more edge, but this was bland/MOR.

Little Barrie 7

Defo saved the week. An usual mix of Hendrix riffs and some big-beat beats. Coralisa was a cracker.

Lowertown 4

Yeesch, mostly tuneless rubbish.

Masie Peters 5.5

It’s a nice sound, has a little depth but not so much – background at best.

TOTW: Coralisa by Little Barrie.

Radiohead 8.5

I never gave these guys much time in the 90s, not completely sure why, so it had a few listens this week. It oozes class for sure, and there are a trio of worldies. Perhaps lacks a couple more in the first half with the horsepower of Karma Police at the expense of the more melancholy numbers. But I get it, and if I’d been listening to it for 30 years and seen them live in their pomp, I’d probably be in the 9+s

Adam

Bleachers 6

Not as good as previous outings. Enjoy the infusion of brass into indie music. Definitely carries the New Jersey sound and you can hear the passion from their frontman. Little dull in places.

Little Barrie 6

Felt like going back into a Time Machine to the 90s for some northern soul/funk rock.

Lowertown 7

Slightly chaotic indie folk outing. Works in places, unravels in others.

Maise Peters 5

A little too sugared for my liking

TOTW - lowertown - forgive yourself

Classic 7

Never quite got into these. Some iconic tracks on here however and a distinct sound.

Phil (New)

Bleachers 6.1

Little Barrie 7.2

Lowertown 5.5

Masie Peters 7

TOTW: Coralisa - Little Barrie

Radiohead 8.2