Black Country, New Road - "Forever Howlong" (2025)

Forever Howlong is the third studio LP from the now critical darlings Black Country, New Road. And it has been hotly anticipated following the release of their truly sublime second record, 2022's Ants From Up There, which has grown into mine and many other's favourite record of the 2020s so far. It is such an unashamedly raw and heart-breaking look into the psyche of frontman Isaac Wood. The man was clearly heavily struggling during the creation of the record: and as has become part of the albums 'mythos' at this point, left the band just days before the albums release due to protect his mental health.

This left the band in a difficult spot, having lost their vocalist and one of the biggest driving forces behind the bands direction - and a tour booked that they did not want to cancel. They quickly wrote a bunch of songs to fill the set with, resulting in the release of the Live at Bush Hall live record. While honestly still a really great record, it certainly felt like a transitional moment for the group. While it retained some of the moodier post-rock and experimental rock stylings, it was nowhere near has dark and harrowing as the band's output with Isaac. Instead the band further delved into the chamber pop instrumentation that AFUT toyed with, and included more influence from 60's prog rock and folk music. Similarly, to ease the pressure of any one member being the primary vocalist, three members came forward to share vocal duties: bassist Tyler Hyde, keyboardist May Kershaw, and saxophonist Lewis Evans. And now with the release of Forever Howlong, the live album very much feels like a mid-point between the old and the new.

Forever Howlong pretty much does away with any of the remaining edge that was retained in Live at Bush Hall, basically being a full on baroque pop and progressive folk record. There is barely any electric guitar on the record. Evans has also has stepped away from vocal duties, having decided that its just not something he enjoys. In his place, Georgia Ellery (the group's violinist) has filled the third slot. This makes the most sense to be honest, as Georgia also fronts the art pop duo Jockstrap and is probably the most suited to the limelight in the band. The opening cut and lead single, Besties, exemplifies the records ethos compared to the band's past output. It is a lush, twee, somewhat Beatles-y baroque pop ode to friendship. It is very straight up and earnest, with none of the deflective references or tortured lyrism of before. All in all, it is a very cute tune and sets out the albums vibe and atmosphere very well.

Ellery takes the lead on two other tracks; Two Horses at the mid-point of the record, and the closer Goodbye (Don't Tell Me). These are two of my favourites on the record as Georgia has very confident vocal presence and the tracks as a whole are two of the least understated songs on the album. They feel like tentpole moments with their placement at the middle and end of the record. Two Horses is a galloping, multi-phased prog-folk tune that is initially quite stripped back and moody. The instrumentation slowly builds up, through the woodwind, mandolin and strings. Half way through, the percussion kicks in and the pace picks up. The plucked guitar style gives off a very Nick Drake feel to me. The track then gallops over itself into a sinister sounding climax as the protagonist of the song is betrayed and her titular horses are killed by her former love interest. It is a fantastical and theatrical song that really doesn't get old for me. Goodbye (Don't Tell Me) is probably the closest to an indie rock song, with its gentle acoustic strumming, whooshes of reverby electric guitar and quite a catchy hook. It nicely rounds off the themes of friendship that run through Georgia's tracks; and to bring back The Beatles comparison, it has that kind of full-circle feeling that Stg. Peppers has.

Kershaw also takes three songs, and much like Live From Bush Hall, they are most whimsical on the record. The Big Spin makes reference to fruit and vegetables and baking in a very retro, 'cottage-core' way; however has this subtext of letting go and cutting someone off in a way that seems like quite a traumatic experience. The title track also has this very whimsical presentation of mundanity of daily life, with lyrics about the waves of tiktok wellbeing videos and daylight lamps used for seasonal depression. Both tracks are understatedly really quite sad, but in a hazy, malaise-like way. This is is further enhanced by the very stripped back and spacious instrumentation on Forever Howlong, which is mainly focused around the woodwind section, with a handful of flourishes from the other instruments. For the Cold Country is certainly the most dramatic sounding of May's songs, and follows on from the fantastical story telling on Two Horses. It reads as a tragic lovestory between a knight and a maiden where he goes off to fight for glory and ultimately meets his downfall. The song develops from something very stark and simple into an elaborate, crashing crescendo that is one of the few moments on the record that sounds akin to AFUT.

As I expected from Live From Bush Hall, Hyde takes the most leads on the record; with those songs being the more moody and sombre tracks on the album. Socks initially meanders around spacious instrumentation, but at the 2 minute mark the percussion kicks in and all the other instruments slot into groove for the chorus. It all drops out again for the second verse before settling into a very 60's vintage pop sounding bridge and outro. Salem Sisters is also quite dynamic, but at just over 3 minutes it does feel like the track is doing a bit too much in not enough time. It features some great backing vocals from May and Georgia. Mary similarly acts as a bit of a reset in the middle of the album after the drama of Two Horses, and is a fine enough song but not a massive highlight of the album for me.

Tyler's two most significant songs on the record are her two on the back end, Happy Birthday and Nancy Tries to Take the Night. Happy Birthday is easily the rockiest song on the record, with some crunchy electric guitars popping into the mix. The themes around inherent sadness in people who, on the surface, appear to have everything they need is also quite poignant and well written. It has one of the punchiest hooks and radio-friendly climaxes of the record - probably why it was chosen as the second single. Nancy Tries to Take the Night is a multi-versed opus telling the tale of the fallout and stigma of an unexpected pregnancy. It is the kind of melodramatic showpiece that the band has steered away from since Isaac left; and while it doesn't have the wailing screams and cacophonies of sound of tracks like Sunglasses or Basketball Shoes, it certainly feels like one of the weightiest and commanding tracks on the record.

One thing I will say about record, and it is not necessarily a criticism, is that each song feels rather segmented from each other - leaving the arc and flow of the record as a whole quite flat. In some ways I quite like it, as it almost feels like the record is out of time and frozen in another place where the world doesn't move so quickly. But on the other hand, the sequencing of the record feels like it really doesn't matter, and most of these tracks could be placed anywhere else on the record (the fact that there is a collectors edition out there with different sequencing further highlights this).

I'm glad I've let Forever Howlong sit with me for a little bit, because it is a slow burner. But the longer I let it seep in, the more I like it. It's imaginative and unique, and takes me out of the grim realities of the modern world with these whimsical and fantastic stories. But they are all layered with a very real and meaningful subtext, making them very multifaceted. It doesn't feel quite as focused or cohesive as the groups first two record; but on a track by track level it is as good as the debut for sure.

Top Tracks: Besties, The Big Spin, Socks, Two Horses, Happy Birthday, For the Cold Country, Nancy Tries to Take the Night, Forever Howlong, Goodbye (Don't Tell Me)

8/10

The Last Dinner Party - "Prelude to Ecstasy" (2024)

This year's indie up and comers chosen to be championed by the UK press are The Last Dinner Party, an all female and one non-binary band from London that had been building hype during 2023 following the release of their debut single, Nothing Matters. The track melded catchy, singalong indie pop with theatrical baroque pop and dramatic glam rock - showing the band had a clear identity and sound from the off (and the gorgeous production courtesy of James Ford further sweetened the deal). I caught onto the hype at the very tail end of the year after the group had released a few more singles leading up to the release of the album, all of which were really great and had me very excited to hear the full thing. 

Prelude to Ecstasy really follows in the footsteps of Nothing Matters, being an extravagant fusion of modern indie and pop rock with 70s glam and baroque pop throwbacks that's exquisitely produced. The sound of the record is what really jumps out first listen, as the opening title track operates as a grandiose orchestral intro to the album like the opening to a stage play before leading into the first proper cut, the bombastic Burn Alive. The thundering drums and meaty synths alongside vocalist Abigail Morris' commanding vocals have such a powerful aura about them, demanding that you stop and pay attention to them. The following track Caesar on a TV Screen alternates between fairly stripped back verses and a melodramatic, theatrical chorus that borders on being something out of a stage play. Both songs lyrically play in ideas of femininity, sacrificing yourself an unworthy partner and the fantasies of power and escaping the unlevel playing field many women face trapped in relationships with thoughtless, self-aggrandising men.

These are the running themes across the album, and are at their most blunt on the following track, The Feminine Urge. The track is an expertly crafted throwback to 60's and 70's female singer / songwriter tunes, with an effortlessly catchy yet lyrically dense hook. "Do you feel like a man when I can't talk back? / Do you want me or do you want control?" Morris belts out at the back end of the chorus. It perfectly encapsulates the clever writing present on the entire record. It's not your average 'girl power / you don't need no man' angle to female empowerment that typically occurs on a record like this, its taking a deeper look at why so many men fall short. It's not that they intrinsically misogynist, but more an outward projection of the lack of control over their own lives. Midpoint track, Beautiful Boy, similarly covers the complex power dynamic between the sexes, tackling the power that women can have through their sexuality and desirability but ultimately concluding in the face of male violence that power means nothing. "What use are red lips when you're faced with something sharp?" The opening line of the song doubles down on this, claiming "The best a boy can be is pretty", clearly stating that while women only have the power of  desirability, men can have both. They can be violent and dominating, and also be attractive and charming. The song took a little while to grow on me, due to how stark the instrumentation is compared to how lush the rest of the album is, but the power of the lyrism on show here really pulls it through.

Sat in between these two is On Your Side, a lush, slowburning ballad. The track beautifully envelops you with layers of sound. Its one of the less outwardly theatrical songs, but its ability to just absorb you is equally as strong. Gjuha is a short vocal interlude that seamlessly transitions perhaps the best song on the record, Sinner. The track has drawn comparisons with with Sparks over its breathy staccato verses and explosive chorus. The track is pop-rock perfection, with its catchy singalong chorus, fuzzed out lead guitars and bouncy bassline. Again, the lyrics of the song focus on a really unique and interesting idea, the concept of wishing you knew someone while you were young and 'untainted', before the cynicism and mistrust had time to grow, before you have been hurt and let down.

The album goes on an absolute run from Sinner all the way through to its finish, rolling out banger after banger. My Lady of Mercy is definitely the heaviest the record gets, being indebted to the more swaggering side of glam rock. The meaty guitar riff stomps around as Morris evokes religious imagery to convey the obsessive idolship that many women end up placing on other women they look up to. Portrait of a Dead Girl reprises the themes of sacrificing yourself for a toxic relationship from earlier on in the record, but spins it into the perspective of someone managing to escape from that cycle. Similarly to the Feminine Urge, the chorus is dense and wordy, but still catchy and melodic. There are some great one-liners in it, with my personal favourite being "The time I wasted in your mouth", its just so scathing and petty.

Nothing Matters follows this as the penultimate track, before the album is closed out by the slower and more theatrical Mirror. The song refers back to the themes of Burn Alive and the idea of suffering for someone else for a sense of purpose. The concept focuses on Morris 'just being a mirror' for whoever she's talking to - the audience, a partner, whoever, and how she 'doesn't exist without their gaze'. The track slowly builds into a grand climax with swooning strings, over the top glam rock guitars and choir backing vocals, before the album closes with a short orchestral outro. It gives the album a very cyclic and 'real' feel to it, as the issues detailed in the lyrics wont just disappear because a band made an album about it. It gives it a sense of weight and drama that a happy ending could not.

Prelude to Ecstasy is an incredibly well written and tightly crafted debut from a band that I can see being one of the biggest names in indie rock in a few years. It's my favourite record I've heard so far this year and well worth your time. Every Track is great and can stand on its own.

Top Tracks: Burn Alive, Caeser on a TV Screen, On Your Side, Beautiful Boy, Sinner, My Lady Of Mercy, Portrait of a Dead Girl, Nothing Matters, Mirror

8/10

Black Country, New Road - "Live at Bush Hall" (2023)

This is the first time I've reviewed a live record on the blog, as admittedly I tend to dismiss them as less essential parts of an artist's catalogue (a totally wrong assumption I know!). However, this one has a particular significance that I think will define it as an important listen years from now when going through the band's discography. That being that this is the first release since the departure of the group's vocalist and integral member, Isaac Wood. So unlike a typical live album, this isn't versions of songs we have already heard, but entirely new ones that the group have written and toured live since Isaac's departure last year. And judging by comments the band has made in relation to this live album, it's unlikely they are going to get the studio treatment for the groups third LP. So in effect, this live album is the band's third studio album, except that it is recorded live and in front of an audience.

I've been anticipating what direction the band will take since Isaac left, as his unabashedly honest and neurotic (and sometimes borderline unhinged) persona behind the mic was a big draw of the band for me and many others. While there are a lot of changes to the sound, I am surprised by how consistently it follows on from last years LP, Ants From Up There. Despite how Isaac's personality is so intrinsically tired to that record, the band quite effortlessly follow on in that musical direction on this album. It leans a little more into the chamber pop and indie sides of AFUT rather than the progressive and post-rock parts of that record, and the band has chosen to have three lead vocalists rather than one, but its not a hard switch up in sound (I'd say the progression from the debut to AFUT is more jarring).

The record opens up with the Triumphant Up Song, which comes across as the mission statement of the record. Crashing baroque pop crescendos are matched up against bassist Tyler Hyde's emotive but optimistic vocals singing the group's catchiest pop hook yet - "Look at what we did together, BC, NR friends forever!". The song feels very much like a celebration of the band's achievements thus far, while still be forward looking and optimistic for their future without Isaac. Regardless of whether it ever ends up on a studio release, it feels like an anthem which will remain in their live set for a long time. The record ends with a reprise of the song, which only amplifies the weight of it to the band.

Hyde has the most leads on the record, singing on 3 of the remaining 7 tunes, which I can see her being positioned as the band's lead vocalist going forward. This makes sense as her vocal and lyrical style is the closest to Isaac's out of the three. While nowhere near as dark and uncomfortable, she brings a sense of upfront rawness that lines up with the band's output on the studio albums. I Won't Always Love You quite bluntly progresses through the slow disillusionment felt at the end of a relationship, with the first line being "I will always love you" and the last being "I won't always want you". The track linearly builds from slow, folky acoustic guitar through to some meaty bass and finally a cacophonous  crescendo of piano, sax and guitar. Laughing Song shows the other side of the coin, with Hyde quite obviously blaming herself for the end of this relationship, exposing her character flaws and claiming that she let the 'best person she knows walk away' on the bridge. The track is one of the slower and more reserved on the record, but still feels like it has so much weight and heft to it as it builds to it's thunderous refrain. The last of Hyde's tracks is the penultimate song, Dancers. It's the only track here that I haven't really connected with like the others, it's the only one that does feel like it's a work in progress. The story of the song isn't particularly fleshed out, and the refrain of "Dancers stand very still on the stage" does start to wear thin by the end of the track. 

Saxophonist Lewis Evans and keyboardist May Kershaw lead two tracks each, and both bring a very different vibe and tone to the songs they feature on. Evans' tracks have a earnest sense of joyousness and hope to them, with his slightly nasal and very English sounding vocals. His presence on these songs gives me the same vibe as the awkward, lovable English guy that Martin Freeman and Eddie Redmayne are typecast in films. Across The Pond Friend is so sweet, telling the story of a long distance relationship and the longing that comes when you're an ocean apart. It's just very wholesome with its ascending piano lines and swells of sax. The Wrong Trousers is similarly earnest, with Evan's revealing the impact of Isaac's departure from the band on him. The track is more low key than Across The Pond Friend, and presents the situation from that same awkward, lovable guy perspective. Lewis is not mad that Isaac left, just proud of what they achieved together as a band. The Wallace and Gromit reference in the title is also a great touch.

Kershaw's songs are definitely the most different from anything else from the band's output, both with Isaac and on this record, being very indebted to folk and singer / songwriter styles. The record's second track, The Boy is a folky, multi-part story of a robin with a broken wing on a journey through the forest to find someone who can fix it for him. It has quite a theatrical and vintage feel to it, like something you'll here in a local folk festival (as opposed to the band than made a track like Sunglasses 3 years ago). It's very different for the group and works incredibly well. Kershaw's other track is the nearly 10 minute slow burn, Turbines/Pigs. The song starts off as a simple tune comprised off a simple piano melody and Kershaw's vocals, slowly progressing through the song allowing her isolating and evocative lyrics to resonate deeply. Kershaw imagines herself as pig flying up into the air, above turbines, leaving everyone and everything behind. It's hauntingly self deprecating as she sings "Don't waste your pearls on me", as if she's telling us she doesn't feel good enough for anyone's affection. The track slowly builds to a cathartic climax. It's a beautiful song and one of the real highlights of the record.

Live at Bush Hall is definitely more than a footnote in the BC, NR's story, and it clearly shows the band are still on top form despite such an important shift in personnel. It's not quite on the same level as AFUT, but that is a ridiculously high bar to set. I do hope a fair few of these songs get the full studio treatment, as they absolutely deserve it. I'm left even more intrigued about the band's next steps now, as on this record it doesn't seem like there are any definitive direction's on who the lead singer will be going forward (or whether it will remain all three), or quite what style they should follow for LP 3. I also think it might be a good gateway into the band for people who found Isaac's vocals and lyrics a little to off-putting and pretentious.

Top Tracks: Up Song, The Boy, I Won't Always Love You, Across The Pond Friend, Laughing Song, The Wrong Trousers, Turbines/Pigs

8/10

Arctic Monkeys - "The Car" (2022)

Arctic Monkey's last album, 2018's Tranquillity Base Hotel + Casino, proved to be quite divisive - discarding AM's pop rock riffs and coked up bravado that blew them up into global superstars in favour of a tongue-in-cheek 70's-esque lounge pop sound and Alex Turner rambling about about a hotel on the moon. I, for one, loved it. AM's swaggering cockiness always felt a little one note to me, and the shift to taking themselves a little less seriously (once again) made for a much more interesting listen. It also helps that the songs are actually really well written and there is a fair amount to dig into with the themes and subtext of the record beyond Alex pretending to be some washed up rockstar singing in a lobby of a fictional moon resort. The Car, on the surface, appears to be following in TBH+C's footsteps, forgoing any semblance to indie rock for a 70's inspired baroque pop and soul record. But when digging a little deeper, it feels a lot closer to AM than TBH+C, and not in a good way.

What I mean by that is that it feels much more earnest and self-serious, and somewhat of a pastiche (or even a novelty) of the genres it's mimicking. AM borrowed from 70's hard rock riffs and matched them with Alex's fairly generic 'rockstar' posturing - 'sex, drugs and rock'n'roll' and the like. The Car does the same thing, but replaces these elements with layers of lavish strings and pastiche funk guitar likes, and Alex's formless, lounge-y vocals sprawling over these tracks with little regard for metre or consistency. He did this a bit on TBH+C, but it was much more restrained there, and also fitted with the character he was playing on that album. However, when this album is clearly trying to be taken a lot more earnestly, it just comes of as a kind of bad vocal performance. In places, it feels like he is trying (and failing) to do his best Bowie impression, which made me associate the album with a phrase Bowie said to describe his foray into soul and funk - "plastic soul". Bowie used it as a reference to how he originally wasn't part of the soul scene and he was a plastic imitation of it (I disagree - and I'll get back to the Bowie reviews I promise); but that descriptor seems apt for The Car. While as lavish and ornate as it sounds, it just feels plastic-y and uncanny.

The record opens with by far its best track, the lead single There'd Better Be A Mirrorball. It's the only song I wholeheartedly love on the album and I think best represents what the band is going for on here. It is a heartfelt and sentimental break up ballad set to swooning and cinematic strings and a warbling synth line. The lyrics are some of the sweetest and most grounded Alex has ever written, and the track builds such an atmosphere to accompany them. It certainly feels like it could accompany a movie scene of someone walking back to their car in the rain post-breakup. This atmosphere is unfortunately killed right away by the following track (and first one they teased live) I Ain't Quite Where I Think I Am and its tacky 'wah-wah' funk lead guitar part. The song just feels like such a hodgepodge of ideas that never really connect together. The lyrics are disconnected and all over the place, supposedly reflecting a disconnect Alex feels between himself and the environments he finds himself in, but there's too many obtuse references and metaphors masking any sort of depth in the lyrics. I do quite like the string instrumentation that comes in for the chorus, but the cheesy funk guitar comes straight back in for the second verse and takes me straight out of the song. The song feels like a half formed b-side, not one of the big singles from the record.

Sculptures Of Anything Goes has drawn comparisons to AM, which I can certainly see as the mix is mainly comprised of Alex's vocals set against a super-heavy Moog synth bass part - similarly to AM's bass heavy mixes. Once again there are parts of the song I do like; the focus on the synth bass gives the track a lot of tension, and the contrast between it and the strings in the back half of the song is some of the most dynamic use of the orchestra on the album. However, similarly to I Ain't Quite Where I Think I Am, the themes of the song are buried in obtuse references that take away from the emotional resonance; and Alex's performance frankly doesn't do it any favours - he just sounds so underwhelming when set against the drama of music. Jet Skis On A Moat is perhaps my least favourite on the record, with Alex cringily crooning over returning 'wah-wah' guitars. The whole thing feels like the edgeless smooth.fm soul designed to appeal to the type of boomer that can't stand any passion or fire in their music. It really rubs me the wrong way. This leads into the big centrepiece of the record, Body Paint. The track does have its moments, but much like many of the moments on the first half, aimlessly meanders through its disparate sections not really building to a greater whole. It also may be Alex's weakest performance on the record, where the inflections are the most egregious and his voice in general coming across strained and raspy.

The second half of the record is more consistent, sonically and quality wise. The album settles into a more run of the mill vintage baroque pop sound, and Alex's delivery becomes more restrained and professional. However, I will say while there's not much I outright dislike about these songs, they also don't have that much unique going for them to make them stand out. They don't even sound particularly 'Arctic Monkeys' - they're just missing a bit of the snark and tonge-in-cheek fun. There are a couple of songs on the back half that I do enjoy, being the title track and Hello You. The Car is nostalgic look back at childhood memories related to the family vehicle, and features some lush jangly acoustic guitar and melancholic piano. The track feels quite tense, and is so close to being really good - I just wish it had more of a fully formed chorus or climax to pay off that tension. Hello You is apparently the only track that survived the band's first attempt in the studio back in 2019, and certainly feels the closest to TBH+C with it's oddball stream of consciences lyrics and more playful, quirky energy. The song is one of the most dynamic on the record, with a catchy chorus and a somewhat bouncy interplay between the lead guitar and string parts on the song.

It's a shame that following Hello You, the album limps out with two of its least notable and most underwhelming tunes. Mr Schwartz is a fine, bog standard bossa nova cut, and the closer Perfect Sense feels like it's attempting to be some semblance of a big cinematic closer, but then chickens out before it ever gets there, and then the album just kind of ends. My first listen to the record was while doing some jobs and I wasn't looking at the tracklist and I genuinely thought "Oh is it over?.." when the track finished.

The Car isn't an awful album, and it's not like I don't think it's a sound that the band can't do. I loved TBH+C and Alex's two albums with The Last Shadow Puppets that play in a lot of similar soundscapes. It's just I feel that these are easily the weakest crop of songs the band has come out with so far, and some poor aesthetical choices particularly in the first half make it a kind of drab and tiresome listen. As much as I personally have problems with AM, at least that album succeeds in having a load of fun catchy hooks to draw you in, so I can safely say that this is my least favourite record from the band thus far. (I'd still take it over the boring, commercial, 'safe for Radio 2' garbage that a lot of the bands from this generation are making nowadays).

Top Tracks: There'd Better Be A Mirrorball, The Car, Hello You

5/10

David Bowie - "Hunky Dory" (1971)

 

Heading backwards in time through David Bowie's discography now, Hunky Dory is the album previous to his breakthrough classic The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars, and was brought into the mainstream consciousness by the success of that album. I find it so strange that it didn't break through on its release, because it features some of Bowie's most anthemic, feel good singles that are now considered some of his most iconic tracks.

The album opens on such a run, with the first four tracks being brilliant. The album opens with Changes, which is such an anthemic and sing-a-long tune with sweeping strings that sound like a film score. The stuttering way Bowie sings the chorus is just so charismatic and fun. This leads into Oh! You Pretty Things which is much more of a bouncy, stomping glam rock jam, which is just as fun and theatrical. Eight Line Poem slows the pace down into something more bluesy and sorrowful, which is exactly what is needed to lead into the dramatic, emotional masterpiece that is Life on Mars?. Everyone has heard this song, it's one of Bowies most famous, and it has such a cathartic release to it that makes it obvious why. The intense swells of strings, the powerful storytelling about escaping in cinema, and Bowie's soaring, impassioned vocals work so perfectly.

However, after this point I feel like the record is nowhere as consistent and a bit lightweight in places. I think this is a bit of a controversial opinions as it's generally considered one of the best Bowie records by most fans. None of the songs are noticeably poor quality, but it feels like Bowie is still finding his footing as an artist, with the songs feeling generally lacking in the grand conceptual themes and experimental musical elements that Bowie delves head first in from Ziggy Stardust onwards. There is also an obvious sense of Bowie trying to imitate his idols on this record. There are tracks titled Song for Bob Dylan and Andy Warhol, and Queen Bitch is just straight up Lou Reed worship. These tracks lean far to much on trying to sound like the artists in question, rather than being their own thing. Some of the other tracks deeper into the record just sort of breeze by without much impact on me. They're sweet and cute little ditties, but just lack that weight and importance that the first four tracks (and Bowie's future records) do.

There are a couple of real hidden gems in the record though. Quicksand is a slow stripped back ballad which builds in intensity through each chorus, sounding very bare and emotive; as does the closer The Belway Brothers. This track is mainly just an acoustic guitar and Bowie's vocals, but the guitar tone and Bowie's performance turn it into something sounding much larger and dramatic. The hints of reverby trumpets that crop up here and there make it seem so spooky and somewhat sinister.

Hunky Dory has some absolute classics on it, but the record as a whole feels breezy and easy on the ears. It's not a record I feel I can sink into and explore like some of Bowie's later works (yes I will get to them - Spoiler: Station To Station is particularly phenomenal), and the reliance on tributing his idols mean's it doesn't really have a strong identity compared to what would come immediately after.

Top Tracks: Changes, Oh! You Pretty Things, Eight Line Poem, Life on Mars?, Quicksand, The Belway Brothers

7/10