You can add in your own text for hours of fun – and it’s free…

Ain't no use in complainin'
When you got a job to do
Spent my evenings down at the drive-in
And that's when I met you

Fantastic evening out!

…..the ‘Lady with Ermine’ at the Royal Palace, Madrid.

…… Metals by Feist. The plaintive vocal style with some disjointed guitars.

With the new film coming out, it reminded me how fantastic the the original drawings are. When I see them I always think “Herge’s Adventures of Tintin” in that Hollywood voice… I hope it says it at the beginning of the film!

On a recent family trip to London to do all the tourist stuff you never get round to doing… we had a look around Buck House. In the Queens back yard, a sort of cream tea marquee has been erected. Everything was £4. Strawberries, Tea, Coffee, Apple Juice, all £4. I was sort of expecting my tea to come in white china with the gilt edging, but what we got were paper cups. But I really liked them.

Well, what did I expect from one the most recently hyped indie-rockers? Dunno, I have waited a few weeks before posting about this album and still have not made up my mind. When I first heard some tracks on 6Music courtesy of Mark Riley, I thought, yes, this lot have something to say other than their 4th Form snigger track ‘Post break up sex’.

But the subsequent purchase of the CD left me a bit flat. Owning the songs in a tangible form leaves me empty, perhaps I should have downloaded the album and that would have left not such a sense of loss!

Just when you think any of these songs will get tuneful and melodic, they surge off at a tangent or 179 degrees! ‘Two Doves’ starts as a soft folk-song then starts invading your ears. Early songs on the album zig and zag around in eclectic sound waves and voices. The influence of Joanna Newsom is apparent without the harp and orchestration. Not an easy listen but nevertheless well worth the effort as you hear familiar refrains.

The poster says it all! Looking forward to the show/gig/performance/entertainment.

One of the latest offerings from Alt Country’s bad boy harks back to Ryan’s days working with New Yorker, Jesse Malin in their collective, The Finger. I suppose these short punk orientated songs are a release from the normal melodic country songs but one cannot be happy with this self-indulgent quota of blast. This release on vinyl and available as an import through Ryan’s Pax-Am label does have a digital download for use on the iPhone, which is something. However, to go to these lengths to listen to this grunge, I cannot help but be disappointed. There will also be available two CD’s worth of of songs from the ‘Easy Tiger’ sessions. Can I bring myself to invest time and money in what well could be a load of reject tunes? I get the feeling it is going to be a last hooray, or that horror, as The Cardinals split from Ryan. After all he wants to be an icon of ‘Rock & Roll’.