Jams and Tea

This week's Record Club is a very special - and unusual - one, as we tackle Tom Waits for the second time, zeroing in on his 1999 masterpiece Mule Variations, to examine the craft of his songwriting and all of the ways he is a compelling and moving musical presence and wordsmith. However, to add a wrinkle to the conversation, we also complement this by integrating Scarlett Johansson's 2008 album o...

We have a bumper episode this weekend for you with the long-awaited arrival of Porcupine Tree's first album in 13 years, the sensational Closure / Continuation. We spend a full hour breaking down what this return means for Steven Wilson's beloved band, the place of prog rock in modern music culture, and why the future looks bright for many forms of heavy music. Also, we spend some time discussing...

On this week's Record Club, we are wrapping up our breakdown of the 2000s records of legendary prog band (and the most Jams & Tea-core artist there is) Porcupine Tree with a discussion and debate of the merits of their divisive 2009 concept record The Incident, fashioned as a 55-minute suite of 14 songs with an EP's worth of additional tracks tacked on. It's undeniably a messy record, but is i...

It is Sunday once again, and after missing last week's main episode to do the annual music quiz, we are brimming with new reviews of albums from big artists. As a warm up we have brief dissections of the latest efforts from Bartees Strange, Foals, and Asian Glow, but the main course is a deep thematic and musical analysis of Perfume Genius's latest offering, the abstract and musically eclectic UGL...

This week on Record Club, we are celebrating our favourite Fiona Apple record, 1999's When the Pawn Hits the Conflicts He Thinks Like a King What He Knows Throws the Blows When He Goes to the Fight and He'll Win the Whole Thing 'Fore He Enters the Ring There's No Body to Batter When Your Mind Is Your Might So When You Go Solo, You Hold Your Own Hand and Remember That Depth Is the Greatest of Heigh...

It's that time of year again - for the third time, we are back with our annual music quiz, where the four of us will be pitting our minds against one another, across a variety of rounds covering music of nearly all varieties. But there can be only one winner, and whoever takes away the top spot gets to assign the other three a full discography to listen to and report on every week. No one Jam shou...

In this week's record club, we pay tribute to Depeche Mode, and in particular the passing of founding member, keyboardist, and multi-talented musician Andrew Fletcher, whose contributions were as essential as they were often overlooked. In particular, we zero in on a record that represents the last hurrah of the band in their classic iteration, and as a chart-dominating force, the acrimonious, ugl...

We've been off for a week, but we're back with a new episode where the whole gang is reunited for a characteristically catty takedown of Post Malone's latest indulgent exercise in tuneless pap, Twelve Carat Toothache. Following that, we discuss the merits of podcast-favourite singer/songwriter Angel Olsen's pretty but noncommittal pivot to country with the ethereal and moody Big Time! Watch the vi...

It’s Sunday once again, and Jake, Ryley, and Morgan are delighted to break down two grand statements of new life from two fantastic and beloved podcast-core bands, Everything Everything’s sensational, effervescent, and emotive RAW DATA FEEL, and Cave In’s sludgy, melodic, triumphant return following a tragic loss with HEAVY PENDULUM! Both of these are essential listens and deliver beautifully on t...

This week on Record Club, Jake, August, Morgan, and Ryley are back together to discuss a staple of 90s grunge and also a landmark record in the waning days of 1994 that represented one of the era’s pinnacle bands retreating from the spotlight, falling apart internally, and getting weird. It was the album that nearly broke them but ironically, also probably the one that saved them. It has some of t...

It’s Sunday once again, and Jake, Ryley, and Morgan, are joined by special guest AdequateEmily to review two massive releases from some of the biggest names in music: Kendrick Lamar’s long-awaited and messy psychodrama Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, plus Radiohead side-project The Smile’s effervescent and hard-grooving debut A Light for Attracting Attention. But that’s not all - because this m...

This week on Record Club, Jake, August, Morgan and Ryley are looking back at Linkin Park guitarist Mike Shinoda’s short-lived but commercially successful hip-hop side project Fort Minor, who released a somewhat forgotten LP in 2005 titled The Rising Tied, that showcases an insight into where hip-hop was at the middle of the noughties decade, and provides a good deal of nostalgia for the whole gang...

It’s Sunday once again, and Jake, Ryley, Morgan, and Brett are breaking down two big new releases from established indie names: first up is Sharon van Etten’s wonderfully ambitious and beautifully produced new record WE’VE BEEN GOING ABOUT THIS ALL WRONG, followed by the humorless and dire “comeback” attempt from Arcade Fire, WE. Things get… upsetting. Watch the video version of this episode and s...

This week on Record Club, Jake and Ryley are celebrating the 30th anniversary of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ classic record, Henry’s Dream! Watch the video version of this episode and subscribe to the channel on YouTube

It’s Sunday once again, and Jake, August, and Ryley are back to discuss two new records from beloved English groups; first, the new album from post-punk revival stalwarts Bloc Party, ALPHA GAMES, and following that the latest record from young synth-poppers Let’s Eat Grandma, TWO RIBBONS. Check out the video version of this episode and subscribe to the channel on YouTube.

This week’s Record Club is a special deep dive into some of the 2000s’ most regrettable Christian radio rock to make it big on the charts and in wider culture. First of all we dig into the massive success of Switchfoot at their prime with 2003’s The Beautiful Letdown, before plunging into the depths of the genre’s lowest with Skillet’s abysmal - but hugely successful - 2009 record Awake. Watch the...

It’s Sunday once again, and Jake and Ryley are joined by Jakob to talk about the hottest new releases. Today we dive deep into the heavily anticipated new record from Pusha T, IT’S ALMOST DRY, discuss the “Ye vs Pharrell” debate, and consider the strengths and weaknesses of Push as a writer versus as a crafter of albums. Following this, we also dig into the 20th album (and first double album) of l...

This week’s Record Club is our fourth Porcupine Tree episode, as we dig into the band’s penultimate record before their hiatus, the conceptual, intense, and collaborative Fear of a Blank Planet. Watch the video version of this episode and subscribe to the channel on YouTube.

In this week’s main episode of Jams & Tea, Jake and Ryley are joined by special guest Brett to review two of the most beloved and rapturously received records of the year so far, abstract hip-hop mainstay Billy Woods’ nightmarish new opus Aethiopes, and Daniel Rossen of Grizzly Bear’s solo debut with the delightfully warm and colourfully progressive You Belong There. Watch the video version of...

This week’s Record Club looks back on a classic of the distinctly 90s meeting point of rock, hip-hop, and rave music, the short-lived but ecstatic era of Big Beat, represented most powerfully by The Chemical Brothers and their dynamic, explosive second album Dig Your Own Hole, which recently turned 25 (just a couple of days before Ryley!). Join us as we dig into the unique sound and appeal of this...

In this week’s main episode of Jams & Tea, Jake, August, and Ryley are back to review two hotly anticipated records from iconic figures. First up is Father John Misty’s soulful turn as a 1920s crooner in the baroque and ornate Chloe and the Next 20th Century, followed by a closer look at Jack White’s perplexing new ProTools-recorded garage rock exercise, Fear of the Dawn! Check out the video v...

This week’s Record Club is maybe our most unhinged to date, as we dive into the bizarre gentrified adult contemporary of 80s AM radio staple Michael Bolton, specifically to review his successful 1989 record Soul Provider. Join us as we fall into the rabbit hole of this bizarre and surreal era of popular music and attempt to understand the success and appeal of such a radically intense voice in thi...

In this week’s main episode of Jams & Tea, the gang are back to review three new records: the auspicious comeback from pod favourite band Placebo, the raucous and self-destructive new album from PUP, and the latest creation from the Red Hot Chili Peppers! Watch the video version of this episode and subscribe to the channel on YouTube.

This week’s Record Club sees us celebrating a band and a record that remain among the most successful in all of popular metal, and yet still haven’t received the proper critical reappraisal they deserve: Evanescence, guided by the stirring vocals and lyricism of the inimitable Amy Lee, altered the face of alternative metal, and presented a potent counterpoint to the hypermasculine dominance of the...

In this week’s main episode of Jams & Tea, Jake and Ryley are joined by regular guest Jen to discuss the fiery, intense new record from hardcore band Soul Glo, DIASPORA PROBLEMS! We also break down the heavily anticipated and luxurious sounding new return from Denzel Curry, MELT MY EYEZ SEE YOUR FUTURE, and discuss at length the bizarre and ugly pop punk of chart mainstay Machine Gun Kelly and...