Heading into 2025 with jazz hands
Twelve shows, 90 songs, 53 blog posts, 1 podcast and many thanks to the people that were part of blank mood in 2024. Here’s a few things I’m looking forward to in 2025 in combination with a quick review of ‘24. Shout outs, fist bumps, and jazz hands for those who gave the blog time this year.
Thank you
To all of the bands and artists included on blank mood this year, thank you for making music that I enjoyed and wanted to tell people about. I appreciate the time you gave.
A Deeper Heaven (Marc)
Automatic Music (Antonio)
Basavriuk (Kevin)
Blankenberge (Daniil)
Casper Iskov
Cheerless
Cloudtangle (Amber)
Colfax Abbey (Troy)
Damon Krukowski
Get Wrong (Naomi + Adam)
Gift (TJ)
Glassmanet
Hazelene (Andrea)
Hilarie Sidney
Japanese Heart Software (Nat Chippy)
4000 Records (John)
Jo Johnson
Jonas Munk
Karen Vogt
Landing (Aaron)
last past.
Loula Yorke
sonhos tomam conta (Lua)
Mahogany (Andrew + Jaclyn)
Masal (Ozlem)
Maud Anyways
Mooncowboy (Ricardo)
NEW MOON
Peel Dream Magazine
Rachel Love
Rafael Anton Irisarri
rippedd.
Robin Rimbaud
SGO (Kris, Liz + Tom)
Slow Salvation (Travis)
somesurprises (Natasha)
So, Reverie (Andy)
SWiiMS (Colin + Mai)
Three Quarter Skies (Simon)
ultranøia
Whitelands (Etienne)
Yearns
Every song included in an episode of blank mood was purchased by me. At least 70% of those songs were created by women or bands that included women1. I’m putting it out there because I know there’s discussion about streaming, distribution, access to audiences and opportunities, and what fair pay is. I listen to music, I buy and ask about the stuff I like. I tell people about it and hope they might like it too.
Like I said, thank you for making music that I enjoy and want to tell others about. One does not show their face much in recorded audio, so here I am earlier this year on a rare day when the sky was blue in Amsterdam.
The Cure in Berlin, 1981
“…he had his hair in the air…and then the hair fell down and then he…”
Remember those few days in early November this year when there was a Threads-wide Songs Of A Lost World appreciation movement going on?! Sigh.
Special thanks to Friederike for sharing her memories of The Cure playing in Berlin back in 1981. You can find out what Robert did about his hair by listening to our conversation. There’s also also a transcript though I think you miss out on Freddie’s Berliner sensibility.
Psychedelic summer + relentless winter
Six albums really stood out for me this year, so I wrote a bit about why I liked them.
I didn’t include singles on my list, but a few stood out for me this year:
“A Scaffold” b/w “Polyvalence” by Mahogany
“Every Loss” by Hazelene
“The Ghost of Last Christmas” by Slow Salvation
Mahogany has live shows in Europe early in the new year, Hazelene’s Andrea Parra has been performing with kraut/kosmische Lines of Silence and Slow Salvation recently indicated new music would be coming in 2025.
Indications from other artists on the blog are that 2025 will be another good year for dream pop and shoegaze. Blankenberge, Mumrunner, bdrmm, and SWiiMS have all said they have new music slated for release in 2025. Might there be another collab from Steve Queralt and Emma Anderson to follow their “Swiss Air” / “Queen Moth” 7 inch? We’ll see. In the meantime, a new Ozean track has appeared. And how about this bass-heavy tune from EMPEREUR of Belgium? Sounds like a forthcoming album worth checking.
Cool kids with new stuff
Okay, they aren’t kids, but they were the most popular posts on blank mood in 2024: Damon Krukowski, Jo Johnson, and Simon Scott. If you haven’t listened to Simon’s Three Quarter Skies, get on the good foot. Jo recently published a book with her comrades from Huggy Bear, KILLED (OF KIDS). Damon (& Naomi) recently played some shows in Tokyo and Galaxie 500 released Uncollected Noise New York ‘88-’90 this year.
Shout outs, fist bumps and jazz hands
Shout outs and fist bumps to the people who engage with blank mood. Jazz hands and tap shoes for Erwin Herber, Matt Saunders and Andrea Parra who share, suggest, listen and laugh with me. Gratitude to my dad for collecting the records that I buy and ship to the US because it’s cheaper. Nod to Sonic Cathedral for shipping all the 7 inches - more brightly coloured things next year?
Scaring Mary Lattimore in the Dam
Really nice to meet some of you at live shows in Amsterdam and London this year.
My favourite show this year was Mary Lattimore at Butcher’s Tears Brewery in Amsterdam. After the show I introduced myself to Mary as her biggest fan in Amsterdam, at which she seemed stunned and didn’t know what to say… lolololol. The brewery and taproom have since relocated. Mary must have been one of the last artists to perform at their space in Oud Zuid. She sounded magical.
In October I met some friendly and funny people at Sonic Cathedral’s Sunday Service in London. The DJ sets and acoustic performances were great, but so was the conversation about the best condiments for fries/chips/frites. Mayo or brown sauce? I also met those guys who designed all the brightly coloured things.
Here in The Netherlands there’s plenty of live shows to look forward to in Q1:
Efterklang, 20 January, Utrecht (did you know they have a Sock Society for fans?!)
The Automatic Noise Festival, 25-26 January, Amsterdam
Mogwai + Kathryn Joseph, 4 February, Amsterdam
Grauzone Festival, 7-9 February, The Hague
Alan Sparhawk, 3 March, Amsterdam
Slowdive, 31 March, Utrecht
Ride, 24 April, Utrecht
See you out there in 2025?
Wishing you a pleasant turn of the year.
Wendy
This is part of my Keychange Pledge towards gender equality in the music industry, whereby I commit the show to gender-diverse programming or at least 50% of the music being the work of people identifying as women or gender-expansive.