Each week we like to champion the music scene with ten songs in our playlist that all have a connection to the RaW (Reading and Wokingham) area and sometimes beyond. We’ve got three new entries this week, connected with the area. As always, we have a wide variety of musical styles, but we think they’re all worth a listen and we hope you find something new to enjoy as well as maybe getting out to experience the thrill of live music.

1. Little Red – Dusk –

Another new band to us, but one which has been around the area for a while; we saw that Little Red would be appearing at The Rising Sun Arts Centre, and listened to a couple of tracks, and enjoyed what we heard, so went along last Friday and had a great time listening to their dark alt-folk songs. Little Red have returned with new material after a hiatus caused by real life events, some of which have informed the new tracks, and they are definitely worth seeing live. (It was only later we realised we’ve seen Ian from Little Red before, both solo as Page of Swords and in BarrelHaus; busy chap!) https:// www.facebook.com/littleredband

2. David J – Requiem for the Rose Garden –

David J was co-founder, bass player and joint songwriter in Bauhaus (best known for “Bela Lugosi’s Dead”) and Love and Rockets; this is a track from his forthcoming new album Postcards from the Afterlife, a protest song about the literal and metaphorical destruction wrought by the current incumbent of the White House. You can see David J perform live at the Face Bar on 2nd December, courtesy of Future Transmissions. https://www.facebook.com/mcnightshade

3. Ro Jordan – sirens –

We saw Ro Jordan at Wokingham Festival and at the Purple Turtle this year, both courtesy of Radio Wigwam. She’s just released this, her latest single, about the experience of waking up to the sound of sirens and the person who stayed with her through the emergency. It’s full of beautiful harmonies, and is about the strength of the support overcoming the situation. https://www.instagram.com/ rojordanofficial/

4. Sundaughter – Silver –

We featured Sundaughter last year, and said we’d be looking to check them out. We did just that, seeing them at The Butler, then support Pale Blue Eyes at South Street Arts, and then on the main stage at Down At The Abbey, and we liked what we saw. This is their latest single, a shimmering piece of shoegaze with dreamy vocals. They are playing a run of gigs in London and Bristol over the next few weeks, see their socials for details. https://www.instagram.com/sundaughterband/

5. Nick Saxton – Lonely Hearts Keep Running –

Nick Saxton is a local singer-songwriter who’s been active on the local scene for a few years now. He’s appearing at the Rising Sun Arts Centre on 27th November supporting Wilswood Buoys courtesy of Future Transmissions (Rocket Kings are also on the bill, so it will definitely be a good night), and you can catch him at McCafferty’s bar in the New Year. https:// www.nicksaxton.com/

6. Really Good Time – The Love Song –

Another good evening at the Purple Turtle, this time organised by Reading-based label Hot Earth Records, home of doops and My Liberal Pony. Three trios played; doops, Leeches, and, all the way from Dublin, Really Good Time. Their name could be a hostage to fortune, but luckily the headliners put on a great show, well worth seeing if you get the chance. This is a track from their debut album, Affirmations. https://www.facebook.com/reallygoodtimeband

7. One Last Day – Hourglass –

We’ve followed One Last Day since seeing them at the Acoustic Couch in Bracknell in 2018, as they’ve grown and developed through a couple of line up changes, and most recently they headlined with an impressive show on the second stage at this year’s Wokingham Festival (with even better things to come, we’re sure). They are back on stage at the Face Bar as part of the two day Reading Rising alt-rock festival this weekend. This is the first single from their debut album, which released last week. https://www.instagram.com/onelastdayofficial

8. Lost Velvet – 2003 –

Lost Velvet is a new Reading-based band based around multi-instrumentalist Robert Butcher and vocalist Melissa Morris, and we caught them this year at Are You Listening? and then at

Down At The Abbey. They produce dreamy, atmospheric sounds, evocative of late-night cinema, with ethereal vocals. This is their latest single, the lead track on from their debut Dark Cells album. https:// www.facebook.com/lostvelvet

9. Launch Control – Plastic Fruit –

Launch Control is another great live band from Reading, and they’ve been going since 2011; we recently saw them on a bill of folk/punk at The Butler headlined by Nasty Fishmonger from Bristol. This is their most recent single, which is a brooding meditation on powerlessness and consequential dread, a bit different from their usual high energy punk, but still showing their usual socio political concerns. https://www.facebook.com/launchcontrolhq

10. Steve Hackett – Every Day –

Time for a bit of a classic as we went along to the Basingstoke Anvil to see the legendary Steve Hackett. It was billed as a show of gems from his solo career and from his time with Genesis. It was certainly that! Every track was a gem performed expertly by Steve’s group of incredible musicians with Steve showing why he is so renowned as an innovative and exceptional guitarist. The solo classics included our featured track and amongst the Genesis classics was ‘Firth of Fifth’ which surely has one of the most beautiful guitar solos ever. The tour is ongoing so it’s well worth getting along to a show if you can – https://www.hackettsongs.com

You can listen to all the songs featured in our Spotify playlist at https://bit.ly/rawsoundstoday

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