A love affair with the beguiling city of London, an awesome mix of musicianship, songwriting, art, literature, history and healthy doses of romanticism and cockiness.

Allow me to gush for a moment about this band. The Good, The Bad and The Queen have a roster and collective history to make your mouth water and your heart race (especially if you're a music junkie and Anglophile like me) - Simon Tong (The Verve), Tony Allen (Fela Kult/Africa 70), Damon Albarn (Blur/Gorillaz) and Paul Simonon (The Clash) - this is like a supergroup with bonus features! And if that weren't enough, their debut album was produced by the innovative Brian "Danger Mouse" Burton (Gorillaz/Gnarls Barkley).

It's gloomy, it's glorious and it's going to be huge! (via thegoodthebadandthequeen.com)

Damon Albarn sure is an interesting bloke. Her he eschews more mainstream pop music to explore a slightly darker side. Employing some really great comrades in legendary African drummer Tony Allen, ex-Clash bassist Paul Simonon, and the Verve's guitarist Simon Tong. Given the rhythm section, there definitely could have been stronger African influences, but it's still a really interesting album, with some great songs on it. And bully to him for getting Paul Simonon to come out of retirement!

Genius!

If you have a love affair with the city of London, even if it's a love from afar like mine, this album is a culmination of the bleakness, the despair, the hope and the fires that have fueled the city since it was a small pre-Roman settlement.

The talent involved in this is amazing, and you're no doubt familiar with at least the work of one artist. Give it a listen, and see what sort of London it conjures up in your mind's eye.

Good stuff