Christmas presents for Medway Buffs

Ten of the best Medway albums released this year

It sounds like an exaggeration that Medway is known pretty much the world over for its music, but it isn’t. There are fans of The Claim residing in Arizona, The Singing Loins went down a treat in Slovenia and you can quite easily lay your hands on albums by the likes of The Solarflares in Stockholm.

With Christmas fast approaching, you may know and love someone who (a) lives in this aforementioned world and (b) also likes music. With this in mind, why not cast your eyes over this list of ten albums created by residents – past or present – of the unitary authority we call home? Most impressively, they have all been released in 2023.

Tape Error – Tape Error
In 2013, the Medway Towns lost a musical talent far too soon. At the time of his passing, Chris Austin was fronting a band called Tape Error, whose music was – and is – haunting, lingering and fragile.
This self-titled album, released to mark a decade since Chris’s death, is a beautiful monument to an extraordinary songwriting talent. With its contemporary folk, singer-songwriter vibe, this album will be perfect for lovers of lo-fi, heart-on-sleeve confessional music. Think Elliott Smith. Think Lupen Crook. Think “Maybe I should keep this one for myself”.
Tape Error - album (CD) | Dancing Turtle