This week, the blog seems to have been all about music business so today, I’m addressing the imbalance with a slew of tunes and albums which are getting a lot of spins this weather.

I’m digging the new British Sea Power album “Do You Like Rock Music?” a lot. I saw them live a couple of years ago and thought they were awesome. Then, I went off and listened to “The Decline Of British Sea Power” album and thought it was very “meh”. The new one, though. is outstanding in a field full of Arcade Firestarters and the like. Here’s the video for “Waving Flags”

The more I listen to Dawn Landes and her new album “Fireproof”, the more I like it. I saw her last year supporting Josh Ritter in a rugby clubhouse in Tullamore and thought she was awesome, just her and her guitar and a whole bunch of fantastic kooky pop songs. Here’s the vid for “Bodyguard”:

The new album from Cadence Weapon is called “After Party Babies”. It’s coming out in March and it’s a zinger. The opening track, “Do You Like My Friends?”, is one of the freshest hip-hop cuts I’ve heard in an age and the rest of the album is proof that Rollie P still has a lot of verbal smarts to share with us. He plays Dublin’s Crawdaddy on February 20. Check out “In Search of the Youth Crew” from the album here or watch the video for “Sharks” from his first album below

I played a track from Our Brother The Native on the radio show a fortnight ago and there was a rush of texts wondering what the hell was THAT. Well, THAT was Our Brother The Native, a bunch of Yankee kids who make the most out-there, emotional, euphoric, dark, hardcore sounds I’ve heard in an age. Their new album is called “Make Amends For We Are Merely Vesels” and it will remind you of all the usual suspects (Sigur Ros, Godspeed, Explosions In The Sky), but there’s an edge here which will take you by surprise. Hear “We Are The Living” from their new album here or check them out below playing “Rejoice” from the new album at a recent gig

I heart Thao. Again, the lass from Virginia someone who I’ve been playing a lot on the radio simply because her new album “We Brave Bee Stings And All” is so darn good. Her band are called The Get Down Stay Down and they’re flipping brilliant, taking Thao’s songs right back to their roots and sounding as if they’re having a whale of a time in the process. Check out various tracks from the album here or watch Thao and band playing “Geography” at a gig in Washington DC below