perfect for easing into Spring with
I was at University somewhere in a deep West Yorkshire hole during the mid nineteen nineties and, although I’m sure there were many more exciting places in the world to have spent those years, I look back on those times fondly. I’m nostalgic for it, in that way that you do become nostalgic for the times in your life when you didn’t really have much to care about apart from when you were going to find the time to write your dissertation and whether or not you had enough money to go out on a Tuesday night. It’s not that it was all 50p double vodka sessions – that was only Thursdays – and, to be honest, there was a lot of stuff going on in my life at that point that was pretty problematic to deal with and stressful, but when I think about those times, I tend to forget all that. It’s music that usually does it. If I listen to Pulp, Blur, The Charlatans or Supergrass, then I’m transported right back to the sticky floor of my favourite nightclub, where it was only two quid to get in and 10p a pint and 10p a shot. Oh what a place.
I’m sure that most people have a similar relationship with the music of their youth.If what I’ve said above strikes a similar chord within you, then give The Shortwave Set a bit of your time because if you’ve ever spent a weekend morning nursing a bad head or braving a come down whilst listening to Air, Portishead, Tricky, Beth Orton or Spiritualized, then you’ll bloody love this. It’s a totally beguiling album, very smooth and inoffensive and perfect for easing into Spring with. Laid back, relaxed and charming from start to finish, The Shortwave Set is as perfect a fit for a hazy Sunday morning as a fried egg sandwich and a can of Coke.
Finally, hangovers are worth having again.
Words: Damian Leslie