Playlist: Pigs, parties and Portuguese

Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs – Mr Medicine

It’s easy to mock the metalheads. But we don’t do cheap shots here, plus we like a bit of metal now and then (especially if the now is hammering back up the A1 in the middle of the night). Pigs x7 (the approved shorthand for a name that requires a big billboard) rock like a good ‘un and have a happy knack of pushing their own sonic boundaries without disappearing down an unwanted rabbit hole.

Mr Medicine was the first track from last year’s Land of Sleeper album, a release described elsewhere as “Lord-almighty-dark-as-doom-itself-mood-music-dread-in-the-pit-of-the-stomach”. Or, if that feels a bit wordy, an apocalyptic rumble of guitars with a clarion vocal soaring above. It’s raw. It’s uncompromising. It’s best played loud, in a space with room to roar.

The single itself is kind of distillation of all that, an invitation to the mosh pit and a blast of aural transcendence. This is potent stuff, perfect for those days when a shout matters more than a murmur. The boys are playing Newcastle’s Boiler Shop at the Light Years festival on June 8, topping a bill of psychedelic noisesmiths such as TVAM, Pit Pony, O., GENN and Plantoid.

Amelia Coburn – Sleepy Town

There’s a moment in Sleepy Town when Amelia tosses away a line of Portuguese and is magically transformed into a reincarnation of Kirsty MacColl. Yep, it’s that’s good. The whole track carries that sense of sardonic observation, coupled with a drive for something more that underpins much of Kirsty’s finest work. And, of course, anyone who grew up in the provinces can relate to the urge to head for the bright lights.

In Amelia’s case, that journey involved a language degree and time spent living and studying overseas, from Russia to Mexico. Horizons duly broadened, her music gained new depth and her debut album, Between the Moon and the Milkman, has gone down a storm since its release earlier this year (it got a mention on my first ever playlist, for those who were paying attention back then). Sleepy Town is another track with a broader musical palette: there’s an Americana vibe that has hints of a spaghetti Western (nicely played out in the video), plus some echoes of the Velvet Underground slotted into place under the guidance of producer Bill Ryder-Jones. If the write-up of See Saw didn’t persuade you, maybe this will.

Amelia is currently on her first UK headline tour, culminating in a show with the equally exciting Jodie Nicholson on June 8 at Stockton’s Georgian Theatre. Tickets available here.

House of the Black Gardenia – Ice Cream for Breakfast

There's not much sign of summer so far. We’re struggling to get 24 hours without rain and even the cheeriest of dispositions can find that tough to shrug off. Which might be where House of the Black Gardenia come in. A Tyneside jazz band with a neat line in retro swing, this is all about fun.

This nine-piece band emerged from the swing-dance scene around Newcastle and after get a bit bored of DJing old material, began doing their own music. More swing than trad, it stands out on the circuit; more contemporary that it seems at first glance, the music has no qualm about taking on unwanted dick pics or Donald Trump (two topics, you sense, that may have plenty in common). Ice Cream for Breakfast, meanwhile, is a slice of uncomplicated carpe diem enjoyment, making hay while the sun shines (even on Tynemouth beach, where a sea fret is never all that far away). This clip appeared last year, and is among the band’s more recent releases. But murmurings on the socials suggest that new goodies are on the way soon. With a gig lined up at Hoochie Koochie in Newcastle on June 7, we might be hearing them pretty soon.

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Previous playlists: Folksy flavours / Politics / Stockton Calling / Russia / Aelius / #6 / Border Crossings / #8 / Safe hands throwing stones / More Than a Stone’s Throw / Fusion