16. Rialto – Neon & Ghost Signs
Louis Eliot’s Rialto were a particular favourite of mine in the late 90s post-Britpop landscape, mixing Suede’s urban glamour with more personal, storytelling songs like Monday Morning 5:19 and Summer’s Over. Although they didn’t really make it in the UK, apparently they were very big in Southeast Asia, where they even managed to knock Celine Dion off the top of the album chart. They split up in 2004 when Louis went solo… so I figured there was as much chance of a new Rialto record this year as there was of Pulp getting back together.
Guess what?
Neon & Ghost Signs picks up where they left off, as
though the last 21 years never happened. It was never going to win them an army
of new fans, but for anyone who remembers them from the first time round, it
does the job. Although the lead single clearly owes a huge debt to Kylie… but
there’s nothing wrong with that.
15. Todd Snider – High, Lonesome & Then Some
And so we say farewell to Todd Snider, an Americana hero of mine since the moment I first heard Talkin' Seattle Grunge Rock Blues when it cropped up on an Uncut CD back in the early 90s.
Todd
Snider – The Temptation To Exist
Todd’s final album, written and recorded while he struggled
with chronic pain due to spinal stenosis, is a rambling, bluesy, low key affair
which I wouldn’t recommend to anyone who’s not sampled his work before. Start
with Songs for the Daily Planet, East Nashville Skyline or 2021’s First
Agnostic Church of Hope and Wonder. For those of us who’ve been with Todd for
the long ride though, it’s his last hurrah, and just as worthy of our time as
anything he’s ever recorded.
14. Kathleen Edwards – Billionaire
Some artists keep reinventing themselves, striving for the new sound, trying to keep ahead of the crowd. Others take the Tom Petty template and refuse to tamper with a successful sound, just continue giving the people what they want. Kathleen Edwards is from the latter camp – the songs on her 6th album, Billionaire, wouldn’t sound out of place on her 2002 debut record, Failer. (And if half a dozen albums doesn’t sound much for 23 years, bear in mind that she took 8 years off to run a coffee shop in the middle of last decade.) If you liked any of her previous records, chances are you’ll find much to enjoy here.
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