Playlist: one old favourite, two new

That Clare - Get Away

Anyone who rates Songs of Faith and Devotion as her all-time favourite album and picks out Cabaret as another major influence is alright in my book. Teesside’s That Clare produces elegantly dystopian electro pop with a strong political slant.

Get Away, the lead single from Social Konstrukt, Clare’s new album, is a good introduction (although arguably not as good as the album’s disturbingly glitchy opening track, Eat The Rich – check it out on Bandcamp and buy your own copy!). You could be forgiven for an echo of Bronski Beat here, Smalltown Boy’s railway tracks laid through the nightmarish industrial remnants of heavy industry. But instead of a protagonist running away in search of a bigger world, this is a demand to be left alone: instead of running away, it’s chasing them away.

Them, in this case, represents the emboldened regressive forces. Clare, queer, transgender, talented and outspoken, represents everything your average flagshagger fears most. Punk in spirit, post-punk in sound, and fiercely relevant, That Clare is worth checking out when the album drops later this month and when she goes on tour, starting at Newcastle’s Globe on Feb. 27.

Hector Gannet - A Stitch in the Fold

This is something new from an old fave. Not just a new release in anticipation of a new album, but also a kind of new direction. For the first time, Hector Gannet has ditched the guitars and produced a slice of reflective loveliness for piano, voice and brass.

The brass arrangements echo the band’s collaborations at Durham Brass in previous years, while the piano is an instrument that Aaron Duff admits is still pretty new to him. Not that there’s any sign of rustiness on this track, which has already received rapturous receptions when it was tried out at a couple of live shows at The Cluny last month.

Duff has been the driving force behind Hector Gannet since it started, and after seeing the project evolve into a band, this stripped-down track manages to reflect the project’s roots as well as hinting at future evolutions of the gentle folk-rock sound that made its name.

And there’s a chance to hear some of that new musical goodness when Aaron comes to Stanley’s excellent White Room Café on Saturday (tickets running low, book fast!). It’s a small venue, so it’s a scaled-backed show with Aaron appearing on his own and performing his songs as they came into the world. For an artist who’s supported Sam Fender at stadium gigs, it’s a rare opportunity to bring an intimate show in a bijou venue.

This is a great example of why music is best heard live. I’d stumbled across this contemporary folk quintet on YouTube and found them intriguing but not entirely compelling. Catching them on stage – at a lunchtime recital at Newcastle Uni, of all places – flicked the switch. Suddenly, things made sense and the music leapt out of the background.

The group met while studying for a folk music degree. But expectations of hidebound tradition are way off the mark. Instead, we have something closer to a post-rock band fronted by bagpipes (Aiken) and accordion (Heather Ferrier). Those two instruments provide a natural drone, while soft deft fingerwork sets up skirls of sound that produce a minimalist, almost hypnotic effect in places. Behind it all, Alisdair Paul, Bevan Morris and Adam Stapleford provide something akin to a classic rock trio.

China Dolls, which opened Thursday lunchtime’s set, is a good introduction to the band’s sound. Flirtations with a whistle might offer a lazy comparison with the likes of Runrig, but the noodling guitar work offers evidence of band unafraid to mix alt-rock influences into its sound. Aiken, who spins a good yarn between songs, introduces the eponymous China Dolls as creatures from a childhood nightmare; Friday night’s set at the Old Coal Yard, in the hinterland where Ouseburn meets Byker, should be anything but.

Thanks for reading another playlist. If you liked it, give a like and subscribe. If you really liked it, consider buying me a coffee. But, most of all, please consider supporting the artists by buying their music or attending their gigs.

Check out the first year of playlists here, or have a read of last week’s here.