FIFTY3FRIDAYS: REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL?

So, January has come and gone while, to date, February has brought little cheer: Epstein’s never-ending files, Trump, Mandelson’s shame, Russia’s renewed energy infrastructure strikes in Ukraine, UK flood warnings, more Trump. Reasons to be cheerful? Well, music may bring some relief whether to simply entertain or to provide just cause for reflection. Along with the return of our monthly Spotify Playlist, I hope this week’s choice of music will do both.

Indie-electro artist and producer Kar Stanton has her roots in Dundee where she grew up in a musical household playing in orchestras, brass bands and ensembles ‘of seemingly random combinations of instruments’ as she endearingly puts it. Kar joined erstwhile indie-rock miserablists The Scottish Enlightenment, playing bass and cornet, touring and adding backing vocals on the band’s celebrated St Thomas album.  She also cut her teeth playing guitar and singing in indie-pop bands, including The Terry Stamps, before focusing on a solo career, absorbing the musical heritage of Manchester where she is now settled.

In “The Lamps Have Gone Out”, Kar brings a rare sensitivity to bear as she shares her reflections on the damage of war, the suffering it causes and how easily conflicts could be brought to a halt. The song draws on first-hand civilian testimonials from Gaza, Siegfried Sassoon's WW1 poems and the Book of Job while the accompanying artwork is from a strikingly bleak photograph by Алесь Усцінаў of a bombed-out block of flats in Ukraine. Kar’s voice has a beautiful die-away inflection and a touch of Suzanne Vega about how she delivers her lines while the guitar work and bass syncopations are a total delight. A powerful and sincere reflection.

Although outwardly quite different in style, our next song shares some common ground with Kar Stanton’s in that music provides an outlet to challenge the ills of the world, to reflect and offer perspective. Regulars in this column, the Surrey alt-rock pairing of Laura Callaghan and Paul Smart aka Broken Bear hardly shy away from social commentary in its music, evidenced through earlier songs such as “Exit Through The Gift Shop” and “Awfully Civilised.” Rather than war, the duo’s target in its latest release is the rise of fascism.

“Sirens” takes aim at the danger of extremism being mistaken for hope in this slow-build, darkly etched tale. Populists who operate like sirens luring sailors to their doom are suitably dispatched by Laura's plaintive verses and the contrasting fuzz guitar driven choruses. Broken Bear’s allegorical take compares the dangerous allure of fascism to a siren's call, using customary dynamics to shift from calm to storm. The false hope and simplistic fix characteristic of nationalism can be “so seductive, so beautiful” as in the siren’s call but is ultimately empty of promise and leaves you “even more alone.”

On a different tack, next, but featuring a band that equally should be familiar to Fifty3Fridays readers. I have charted Barbara’s upward mobility since the first single release in January 2021, the Black Mirror inspired “BRB.” Barbara is the creation of Brighton siblings, Henry and John Tydeman, augmented by guitarist Dean Llewellyn and the rhythm section of Jack Hosgood (bass) and Lawrie Miller (drums). Unashamedly drawing from the cream of 70s art pop from 10cc to Sparks and adding a contemporary twist, Barbara crafts quirky episodic songs with humour, panache and polish, culminating in a brilliant debut album last September along with prestigious support spots for the likes of Paul Weller, Haircut 100 and Kid Creole and the Coconuts.

Barbara has kicked off 2026 with a new single “Father Before Me”, fittingly with Henry and John’s dad, Tony, decked out in a white tux on the cover art alongside the boys. Setting aside any comparisons from the 70s, this song could not be from anyone other than Barbara. With bright harmonies, singalong melodies, humour in the ensemble dynamics as well as in the lyrics, the song closes with a delightful extended coda with the repeated refrain: “In my 70s save me from heaven please.” You’ll find it hard to shift it from your psyche. If you have never seen Barbara live, check out the band’s May tour dates here. Fairport regulars can also catch the band at August’s Cropredy Festival. Either way you are in for a live treat.

Photo of Wings of Desire by Amber Little

Next, to Wings of Desire, the dream pop plus pairing of Chloe Little and James Taylor; a band I have regularly included here since first alighting on its charms through the single “Perfect World” back in February 2022. I have always admired how Wings of Desire lives up to its band name in the artful, thoughtful world view it expresses musically and visually. Wings of Desire has announced the release of a new track on every new moon of the 2026 lunar cycle, leading to an album on the final new moon of the year, on 9 December. Each release will be accompanied by an individual visual piece.

Last month the band put out “Whisper” to coincide with the first new moon of the year. Accompanied by a video filmed at the winter solstice which marked the symbolic death and rebirth of the sun in ancient times, music and imagery combine to counter the relentless ‘progress’ of mankind with a contrasting stillness and an affinity with the natural rhythm of the earth. Wings of Desire employ an emotive sound design in which the words are subsumed into the score to create an empathetic sense of oneness with the earth. Stirring stuff for both body and mind.

FIFTY3 FRIDAYS SPOTIFY PLAYLIST JANUARY 2026

Finally, this week I am pleased to revive the tradition of a monthly Playlist. On the first Friday of each month, I publish a Playlist on Spotify which reprises all the songs featured in this column over the previous month – in order, for the organised mind.

Our Fifty3 Fridays Spotify Playlist January 2026 includes the 28 songs from the month’s Fifty3 Fridays. January’s Playlist harks back to Glastonbury 2025 with “Switch Over” from Horsegirl, takes you through another 9 songs from acts I saw at the festival and all those featured in the weekly issues, closing with Babybird and “You’re Gorgeous”. You’ll find 74 individual Playlists on my Spotify page so please follow me @TonyHardy53, put the kettle on and give the latest one a spin.