The Blue Yellows: Scribble on a Cheat Sheet

Lo-fi quirky folk rockers The Blue Yellows managed to squeeze in some psychedelic rock and baroque pop on their Scribble on a Cheat Sheet EP, filled with five relatable songs about love in all its guises: the start, the end and everything in between, yes, even the one-sided variant (I Wish I Could Fall). The songs revolve around empathy, with having a sense of humour being a close second.

They have been playing for more than a decade, so they have a good grip of what works best for them: being in sync and acting as equal partners to bring their songs to life. Singing along is optional, but highly appreciated.

HCTF's best of 2019 (15-11)

• 20-16
• |
• 15-11
• |
• 10-6
• |
• 5-1

» Best of playlist

» Listen here

HCTF's annual list of the 20 albums that will be in regular rotation for many years to come. As per usual many genres are represented. This blog covers a lot of ground and it shows in this eclectic, final tally.

Today: countdown from number 15 to 11.

Please shop at your local record store, buy directly from the artist, attend live shows. Don't block anyone's view with with your phone (better still, switch it off altogether). Shut the fuck up while the band is playing. Educate your friends. Word-of-mouth can't be beat as the prime source to discover new music.

The Blue Yellows: Kitchen Sessions

The Blue Yellows took their lo-fi approach to its logical conclusion when they laid down the songs for their Kitchen Sessions, a mix of home recordings and live tracks. Eccentric, funny, tongue-in-cheek vaudevillian garage rock. with enough musical references to keep the music geeks at bay, like the Take Me Tot The River bit in Spiral Dive. Singer Jonathan Tarplee is an old fashioned balladeer turned indie rock musician, but the band's secret weapon is Emma Alcock with her uncanny knack for syncopation on both accordion and keyboards to give the music an off-kilter quality that make the songs jump up and down in a good way.

It was good move not to try to clean up the material. The sheer joy of playing was paramount, creating on the spot moments of inspiration that could have been lost during Take 34 in a recording studio.

The Blue Yellows: All These Things Right Now

Lo-fi quirky folk rock from the UK. Quartet The Blue Yellows have just released their All These Things Right Now EP. The balance is a bit off, but that doesn't get in the way of the tunes. Lead singer and composer Jonathan Tarplee has a powerful voice that can handle the radio-friendly ballad Feels Like Sunshine, the vaudeville ditty Big Low Copper Moon and the EP's stand-out track, the jump blues rocker No Tobacco, No Jesus! with ease.

Don't forget to take note of the good time music backing vocals supplied by the female half of the band. Go see them in cool bar near you and buy them a pint or two.