This week I have been really enjoying listening to Liverpool’s own, Zuzu. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank my buddy Sam for the recommendation. You know me very well.

It seems that Zuzu had somehow slipped under my radar despite being exactly the kind of thing I would be into and should be into. That’s what Sam is here for – filling in the gaps in my knowledge.

There’s a lot to be said for an artist who sings in her own accent and from the start of debut album, Queensway Tunnel, it was clear that Zuzu was unabashedly Liverpudlian. There’s a cool level of skuzzy cool to her music that sets her in the same space as Sam Fender and Courtney Barnett. I’m always going to enjoy artists who are still making music that reminds me of my formative years and there are nods to it here.

On songs like Timing, All Good and What You Want, I wonder if this is the biggest thing going and I’m just out of the loop. She’s a fucking star and I am going to keep an eye out for any gigs I can make it to.

This week, I have been listening to Belgian musician, Sylvie Kreusch. You may know her from her previous work with Soldier’s Heart or alongside her boyfriend in Warhaus. I didn’t know either. My thanks to my good friend Sarah for the recommendation.

Other than the 2021 album, Montbray, there’s limited work to be found from the young performer but what I did get, I really enjoyed.

Songs like Walk, Walk and Girls belong in a Richard Ayoade film of cool awkwardness. She has a beautiful, breathy voice that is immediately going to catch my attention.

Go and check her out.

This week I have really enjoyed returning to the work of Marina / Marina & The Diamonds. F

For those of you who are not aware, Marina Labrini Diamandis (incredible name) is a Welsh-born singer songwriter best known for the singles Hollywood, Primadonna and How to Be a Heartbreaker. She’s pretty incredible.

Now, you may say, Paul Schiernecker, I thought this project was aimed at musicians you didn’t know. I’m gonna stop you there. While I had The Family Jewels on loop on my iPod, I hadn’t listened to anything beyond Electra Heart, which certainly left a decent amount of wiggle room.

Marina continues to focus on synth pop bangers, reinforced by the up and coming poplettes doing similar things. She’s smart, sassy and most of all fun, and that’s to be applauded in an age where everything else feels a bit like bullshit.

While my ears prick up anew each time I hear one of the singles I remember from my first job where we had to have Radio One on all day, there’s a general feel and quality to her work right up to Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land which was released last year.

If you haven’t listened to Marina in a while, then go and do it.

This week, I have discovered Malvina Reynolds – all thanks to Benjy. Now you might not have heard of Melvina but she was an incredible folk singer-songwriter whose song Little Boxes you must have heard.

Malvina was born in San Francisco in 1900, and is known for her songwriting as much as her political activism – as any good folk singer should be. There’s an element to early recordings that is so raw and honest that you can’t help but sit up and listen. She’s a woman with a lot to say and it certainly bears repeating.

On songs like I Don’t Mind Falling and It Isn’t Nice, there’s no escape from her message and tone. I’m all for it.

This week I have been listening to an absolute legend, someone it has been impossible for me not to have some awareness of. A musical legend who inspired everyone from Jeff Buckley to Jordan Gray. It’s Nina Simone!

Nina Simone (as if you need me to introduce her) was an American singer-songwriter, activist and pianist. On top of those base level accolades, she had one of the most beautiful and iconic voices this world has ever encountered.

As mentioned, it’s impossible not to know about Nina Simone or to recognise her impact. Her versions of songs like Here Comes The Sun, I Put A Spell On You or Just Like A Woman aren’t just vastly different to the originals but cast the songs into a new line through her spirited piano playing and soaring vocals.

It’s the opposite direction that brought Nina Simone to my attention – in covers of her songs performed by other artists. In particular, I recall Jeff Buckley’s Be My Husband on the Live at Sinè bootlegs that I allegedly owned. There’s no escaping her but I’d never listened to anything beyond Sinnerman.

I’ve really enjoyed listening to Simone. There’s so much talent and passion within her that comes across in every performance and that in itself only comes from a true artist.

This week I’ve had the pleasure of listening to Lake Street Dive. My thanks for Benjy Adams for the suggestion, a man who really knows my taste and knows good music.

I’ve just realised that the acronym for the band would be LSD. I imagine that’s done on purpose – in the same way that Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds is most definitely not. This LSD are a force to be reckoned with, including six albums and a number of EPs, there was an immediate groove that I got along with.

On songs like Hypotheticals, Rich Girl and Better Than, it feels, in the best way possible, like you know the songs. There’s a pop sensibility and the groove of a tight band together at once. There are elements of Alabama Shakes, The Dip and Bahamas in there.

This is definitely a band I won’t be forgetting about any time soon.

This week, it was a fabulous return with All Our Exes Live In Texas, a sentiment I wish I could relate to but a band I definitely can.

Now, to date, AOELIT (as maybe people are calling them) have only released one album, the brilliant When We Fall. There’s a folk sensibility there that a lazier man would compare to First Aid Kit, The Maes or The Audreys, so I won’t bother.

It’s the kind of cool, calm and collected tone that would sound incredible as part of a film soundtrack where the final girl is driving away from the horror of their 90-minute experience with the explosive remnants of a haunted cabin visible in the rear view mirror. It’s the sound of revenge, comeuppance and maybe even some cowgirl antics.

In case you couldn’t tell, I really liked it. As a result, I’ve scoured the World Wide Web for more but come up with nothing. Their website still boasts the details of their sole album from 2017.

AOELIT, I hope you are well and that you’re working on something new for us.

This week, I have been listening to Julia Stone, another female artist I was unaware of until she was brought to my attention as part of this project.

This is the first time this year where I’ve really not taken to an artist. There’s something about it that was a little too twee, even for me, and I really couldn’t get into it. Maybe when my head was in a different place or if the circumstances were changed, it might have been more for me.
I’m sorry. First time I’ve felt this during the year/project.

This week, I have been fortunate enough to listen to nothing but Fiona Apple. I did a lot of this during a 30 hour train ride from New York to New Orleans and immediately fell in love with her music.

I always had a theory that I would become obsessed with Fiona Apple as soon as I took the time to listen to her but something in me avoided that commitment which is odd. I can only put it down to a girl I knew who was a big fan and it felt like her thing and then it was too late and would have felt like an odd move to get into.

Fiona Apple has released five studio albums to date, across a career that means fans eagerly await her next output. There are elements of other singer songwriters of the era in which she emerged. Of particular note are Alanis Morissette and Regina Spektor tones to her music which may well have been the result of a “scene” emerging rather than inspiration being taken by one of the artists by the others.

Songs like Criminal, Under The Table and Paper Bag show the true depth of her range. Definitely one I rated and will continue to play on loop from now on.

This week, I have mostly been listening to Nubya Garcia, the wonderful composer and saxophonist from London.

Not only had I not heard of Nubya, but listening to her music immediately made me assume her music was from the 1950s jazz scene and had been mislabelled on Spotify. In fact, she’s a musical prodigy who is younger than me and absolutely rocks the jazz flute and any number of other instruments.

To date, she has released one album and two EPs which are all exceptional, and bring together modern recording with a Coltrane sound. Overall, most excellent.

My Spotify playlist of artists for 2022 will be built up here.