162 Mel Murtagh

📸 – ( @andichrist19 )

Playlist

I’m Mel from Gaydar. I’m the bassist, I get angry at politics, and I make cocktails. That’s about the jist of it, all the key points covered.

Skating Polly – All Show

Track – Little Girl Blue and the Battle Envy

I discovered this band sadly through the Spotify algorithm which I’m not proud of, but it’s ended up becoming a favourite of mine. Its got songs that hit ya right in the feels, it gets down and dirty at times, and to quote Garth Elgar, “man she can wail!”.

Dream Wife – So When You Gonna…

Track – Homesick

I have a really fond memory of going to my mates flat in uni after they were banging on about this track debuting on BBC radio by a band they like, which ended up being ‘Sports!’. It was my first time hearing these guys and I loved em. We’d always play em at our parties and ended up seeing em in Manchester in 2023, where we just screamed the lyrics at each other.

The Shins – Wincing the Night Away.

Track – Phantom Limb

This might be my favourite album of all time. My brother got me into the Shins years ago, and we ended up seeing them the day before heading to Leeds Fest in 2017. Their lyrics are so weird and cryptic, and ooh they have some real nice basslines, Phantom Limb is one I regularly play at home, the whole thing hits me right in the feels.

Wolf Alice – Blue Weekend

Track – How Can I Make it OK

If there’s such a thing as a perfect album it might be this. From start to finish it takes you on a beautifully bittersweet journey, you can’t help but get a pang in your chest listening to it. And the fact they made videos for each song to accompany it; I’ll stick this on in the shower and usually get out at How Can I Make it OK, and just have to stick on Youtube and watch the whole thing from there. Love it. Song.

Public Service Broadcasting – Inform-Educate-Entertain

Track – Spitfire

Another one that really takes you on a (very different) journey. It uses samples from old broadcasts instead of lyrics, and this crazy mix of genres. It’s basically a 43 minute history lesson via music, which if anyone knows me is what I live for. They manage to really transport you to what the songs talk about, whether it’s climbing Mt Everest, fairy lamps in a naval showcase or wherever. (Their album Race for Space is equally incredible).