Feel good hits of the 1st July

1. 'Little Green Apples' - Bobbie Gentry & Glen Campbell

A sensational duet, as recommended by a friend after I'd watched THAT performance of 'Ode To Billie Joe' for the umpteenth time. It's fair to say they don't make 'em like this any more.

2. 'Sound' - Big Brave

As good as In Grief Or In Hope is, I found myself going back to where it all began (for me): this stunner from 2017's Ardor.

3. 'Lift' - Marisa Anderson

I'd never heard of solo guitarist Anderson until she featured among the picks on Big Brave's episode of Deep Digs, on which Thrill Jockey artists take the opportunity to champion others on the label's extensive roster. 2018's Cloud Corner, on which 'Lift' features, is sublime.

4. 'Black Paint' - Ty Segall

Ty Segall can pretty much do whatever he turns his hand to - but just as long as he continues to circle back to chunky fuzz riffs and squealing solos once in a while, I'll be more than happy. New album Chrome can't come soon enough.

5. 'I Am' - Alison Cotton

Sitting comfortably? Well, this track - tense, droning, harrowing - will change all that, as will the rest of new LP The Gods Laugh.

6. 'Gnistran / Hematopoesi / Emlodi' - Anna Hogberg Attack

A lesson that good things frequently come from following up on intriguing Bluesky tip-offs. This - the second of two tracks on last year's Ensamseglaren LP - starts out like a deconstructed orchestra, launches into big-band space-jazz and breaks down into percussive frenzy.

7. 'Capture/Release' - Elder

I've been under the impression that Innate Passage is the only Elder record I'd ever need. Wrong. New album Through Zero is another expansive proggy head-nodder.

8. 'Because The Night' - Patti Smith

An earworm from the music round of a recent pub quiz. (It could definitely have been worse.) How did I not know it was part-written by Bruce Springsteen?!

9. 'Bells Of Ireland' - Mono

I was perhaps a bit harsh on new album Snowdrop, but 'Bells Of Ireland's stirring/soothing piano-and-orchestra majesty is best enjoyed now, before it inevitably becomes a ubiquitous music bed on TV programmes.

10. 'Fireball' - Life Coach

Another of Big Brave's selections on Deep Digs. Life Coach feature guitarist Phil Manley (Trans Am, The Fucking Champs and many more) and drummer Jon Theodore (Queens Of The Stone Age, The Mars Volta), and were never likely to disappoint with that pedigree.