I’m rather intensely working on a big grant proposal bid right now which necessitates rather intense listening sessions while working. Of these, I’ve listened to 2026 releases that have been absolutely blowing my mind with their brilliance. First off is Kim Gordon’s Play Me which is absolutely incandescent and for me it’s even better than … Continue reading Aural Chambers Notes 17/03/2026
Yet another Friday the 13th! It’s been a very satisfactory week for music thusfar. I listened to some excellent new albums: Hen’s Teeth by Iron & Wine, The Mirror by Buck Meek (of Big Thief), and Heaven 2 by Lala Lala. On the more classical/experimental end of things I listened to Erland Cooper’s Music for … Continue reading Aural Chambers Notes 13/03/2026
I’ve been listening to a lot of gorgeous, warm indie, indie folk and folk-inflected indie music this week while I worked on articles, resumed supervision and recuperated in the aftermath of having midwifed two PhD dissertations that have now been submitted. These included Sufjan Stevens’s Seven Swans (which always makes me nostalgic for my weekend … Continue reading Aural Chambers Notes 07/03/2026
February’s been a pretty intense month for me but in a productive way. After the illnesses that beset me in the second half of January to early February, I needed to really ramp up my energy/focus to clear off my mountain of tasks. Naturally, this had me listening to a lot of comfort music including … Continue reading Aural Chambers Notes 28/02/2026
The Postal Modern Theatrette returns to Growing Fins! I tried to have it over on my book blog but it just didn’t feel like the right place for it. This is mostly a catch-up post of the past year (and maybe a little bit beyond that!) There are other bits and bobs that I’ve been … Continue reading Postal Modern Theatrette Notes 08/02/2026
Considering it’s nearly midway through the second month of the year, I thought I’d better do an update about my listening for the past few months. The last month of the year was mostly about tunes from the 80s and the 90s because my rewatch/watch of Stranger Things had me on nostalgia overload. I made … Continue reading Aural Chambers Notes 08/02/2026
This is my last Growing Fins post of the year! I managed to be a lot more systematic and dangerously organized about my listening this year. The result is this list which I am posting earlier than in previous years. I’ll do a separate listing for Ambient and New Music titles, but that’s a 2026 … Continue reading My Favourite Albums of 2025
Hello from the land of spotty internet connectivity! I’m typing this on my macbook using the hotspot from one of my mobile devices because my home broadband connection has gone kaput to the extent that they’re sending a team to check matters (and give me a new modem). Nevertheless, I’ve been enjoying a lot of … Continue reading Aural Chambers Notes 06/10/2025
It’s that time again! I’m not going to list these as “repeated play” because it’s been a very selected, eclectic play kind of time. I’ve enjoyed all the newer releases that I’ve had on my listening schedule but a lot of my time went for my deadline comfort listens. The Amaarae and New Eve albums … Continue reading Aural Chambers Notes 27/09/2025
The past three months since my last post have been pretty intense on more than one front as I juggled post-(minor)operation recovery which exacerbated disability/accessibility issues, my academic deadlines and creative work. I’ve also been trying to be as prepared as I can for my much-postponed music exam. I’ve listened to A LOT of music … Continue reading Aural Chambers Notes 02/08/2025
I’ve been very intensely working on both academic research and short fiction writing for the past couple of weeks which has determined the nature of my listening. But there’s also been a heavy component of nostalgia which influenced my listening choices. Soundgarden’s Superunknown has been on repeated play on my evening drives home and occasional … Continue reading Aural Chambers Notes 11/05/2025
I’ve had a month of listening to truly excellent music, from older comfort listens to new albums. It’s also been a matter of some amusement to me that in the year that I turn 50, a lot of the newer music releases sound like they could fit into the landscape of my twenties (the `90s). … Continue reading Aural Chambers Notes 30/04/2025