The Return of Mumbles, or why Father John Misty is amazing

Hullo.

In a stunning turn of events, 78sDW returns for a roundup of stuff before we slip back into more regular blogging for the remainder of the year, hopefully with more exclusive to this site content - no promises, mind.

Before that, though, here's that round-up....

In the album reviews section we have:

Marissa Nadler - The Sister
The Mynabirds - Generals
Visions of Trees - Visions of Trees
Guided By Voices - Class Clown Spots A UFO
Blues Control - Valley Tangents
POP ETC - POP ETC  (quite possibly the worst album you'll hear all year)
Sonny and the Sunsets - Longtime Companion
Ikons - Life Rhythm
Mission of Burma - Unsound
Erika Spring - Erika Spring
Serengeti - C.A.R.
Killer Mike - R.A.P. Music
Beat Connection - The Palace Garden
Dignan Porch - Nothing Bad Will Ever Happen

In the interviews, you've missed chats with:

My Heart Belongs to Cecilia Winter
The Legendary Lightness
Metric
Ikons
Dinowalrus
O Children

and one single live review, Bloc Party's first gig in a few years.

Until the next post, I'm going to leave you with some words about my favourite record of the year so far. If you've not heard Father John Misty's Fear Fun then you should rectify that as soon as you can. A record to fall in and out of love to, to drink, laugh and cry along with, it's the sound of Neil Young's On The Beach rewritten by Harry Nilsson, and it's Josh Tillman's crowning achievement thus far. Topping anything he's been a part of as Fleet Foxes or under the J Tillman pseudonym, there aren't enough words to describe the brilliance of this album, so just listen and watch instead:

and if you fancy something a touch louder, here's something from the best guitar record you'll probably hear all year, Japandroids' Celebration Rock:

 or how about some wonderful Julia Holter and her album Ekstasis: