The year in Medway music

Ten stand-out offerings made by Medway’s musically great and good

It has been another rather splendid year for music in Medway. While the hurdles involved with live music continue – as well documented elsewhere on these pages – bands and artists from the Towns have continued to churn out excellent albums, EPs and singles over the course of the year. The following list assesses these in no particular order – but they are all rather wonderful.

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The Pastel Waves - Between Midnight and Morning
Still very much hot off the press, The Pastel Waves EP Between Midnight and Morning (with artwork by Zara Carpenter) is a fantastic addition to their canon. Forever known, right back to their days as Parker and The Ambience, for their dedication to effects pedals and spaced-out sounds, this four-track EP offers the kind of immersive sonic experience that headphones and comfy chairs were invented for.
Opening track, ‘Rolling’ boasts a slo-mo Madchester swagger while the closer, ‘To Breathe’, opens with busy synthetic sounds, recalling the cerebral experimentalism of German electronica, before the more familiar noodling vocals and guitars emerge over the top to create something rather spellbinding.