Features

I first came across the English folk singer Sam Lee just over a year ago, when I wrote about a tribute album to Peter Bellamy. Alongside more familiar names like The Unthanks and Trembling Bells, it was Lee’s version of “Puck’s Song” that stood out, as he cut a fine path through an artful mix of old folk recordings and incantatory drones.

The reunited Beach Boys' return to the stage is reviewed in the latest issue of Uncut, out now – and as their new album "That's Why God Made The Radio" is also fresh in shops, it seemed time to revisit this piece from Uncut's June 2007 issue (Take 121)… Brian Wilson, Mike Love and Al Jardine guide us through their perfect ‘pocket symphony’, three minutes and thirty-six seconds of avant-garde pop. Interviews and intro by Rob Hughes. ________________________________

A short week after all the jubilee bullshit, but a pretty hefty postbag these past two days, and some notable downloads, too, as you’ll see from this list.

In 2005, I went to a talk Ridley Scott gave to ahead of the release of his Crusader epic, Kingdom Of Heaven.

A day or two before Julia Holter’s show at Café Oto, I tweeted something fairly dumb about not understanding why she hadn’t received anything like the same amount of hype as Grimes this year, based on my admittedly rather idiosyncratic idea that, amidst the reveries and abstractions, Holter has a knack for subtly accessible pop music.

Punk's high priestess on poetry, pot and psychedelia

Sixteen entries on the playlist this week, and I should point out that the latest session from the Natch project is, as usual, a free download that’s definitely worth picking up.

Some news first of all on our iPad app version of ‘Bruce Springsteen: The Ultimate Music Guide’, which is finally on sale.

What is Lawrence for? Given the acclaim for the recent “Lawrence Of Belgravia” documentary, you could be forgiven for thinking that his role as a British eccentric and pop star manqué is now much more important than the actual music he makes. That his character is more entertaining than his records.

In tribute to the late Band legend, who died in April 2012, this week’s archive feature is a fascinating piece from October 2009’s Uncut (Take 149) – Barney Hoskyns travels to Levon Helm’s Woodstock barn for one of his Midnight Rambles, a musical hogroast-cum-celebration of the drummer’s life and legacy. “To me,” says Helm, “it’s just rock’n’roll…” ________________________________