September 2020.

Books. Well, lots. Benjamin Markovits is a British novelist whose writing I like a lot, but who seems to go largely unappreciated. A couple of years ago I very much liked his book A Weekend in New York which focused with wit and precision on a family as they gather for a weekend together in The Big Apple. And now there’s a sequel called Christmas in Austin that follows the same group and their extended family as they gather in December. I quite enjoyed it, althoughI found many of the characters peculiarly spineless and boring. I eventually read The Traitor and The Spy by Ben Macintyre and loved it; it’s a brilliantly-told story of the Cold War’s most successful spy. It’s witty, beautifully researched, fast-paced and you couldn’t make it up. Zadie Smith’s lockdown essays Intimations are short, clever and well worth a few hours. I am deep into American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins and loving it; it’s like a long episode of Narcos with more emphasis on family. And on a long drive this week I listened to the audiobook of Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential which has lost none of its razor sharp insight, verve or sparkle with age. It’s new to audible and it’s great.

Music. Fontaines DC knocked me sideways with the maturity of their second album A Hero’s Death. This is a band that draw on PIL, Joy Division, The Strokes and even The Smiths and deliver their own version of things with real maturity. Other highly recommended new music comes from The Flaming Lips whose new album is their best for many years, if not quite a return to their imperial best. There’s a new Lampchop single that clocks in at 13 minutes and has some wonderful words and there’s new, mature, ear worm of a single from Future Islands, too. Lanterns on the Lake’s Spook The Herd is their best yet; if you like Beach House or Slowdive then this is for you, dreamy, guitar driven, elegant and forceful. If you’re craving something nostalgic and really well put together then try Doves’ new album, The Universal Want. This is just scratching the surface really, there is so much great music around. Finally, though, try Four Tet’s remix of Is It True by Tame Impala.