AN IMAGINARY COMPILATION ALBUM : #407 : SISTER JOHN

A GUEST POSTING BY KHAYEM (dubhed.blogspot.com)

JC writes………

I’m lifting these next five paras, adapted slightly, from the Last Night From Glasgow (LNFG) website.

“Sister John, a Glasgow-based quartet of multi-instrumentalists, has been captivating audiences since their formation in 2016.

Centered around the evocative songwriting of Amanda McKeown (vocals, guitar), the band also features Jonathan Lilley (guitars, keys), Sophie Pragnell (drums, viola), and Heather Phillips (violin, bass).

Their lo-fi yet lush instrumentation and harmonies, and introspective lyricism have garnered critical acclaim and a dedicated following. Their gorgeous, folk-influenced debut, Returned From Sea (2017), was described as “what might have happened had Lou Reed written for Vashti Bunyan.”

Their 2019 self-titled follow-up expanded their sonic reach, described as “The Beatles jamming with John Cale”—a balance of classic songwriting and experimental edge, and included the swaggering I’m The One. In 2021, I Am By Day pushed further into experimental textures and lyrical introspection.

After a four-year hiatus, Sister John returned with their fourth studio album, Don’t Worry, It’s Forever, released on May 30, 2025. This collection offered an intimate portrayal of love amidst loss, reflecting on generational transitions and the evolving nature of identity. Raw, direct, and personal, the album represented Sister John at their deeply affecting finest.”

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I’m now handing over to Khayem, who had all this to say in a posting over at his place a few days ago.

Take The World At 45

I have JC at The Vinyl Villain to thank for my love of Sister John.  It all started innocently enough on 12th March 2022, with #298 of JC’s epic Saturday’s Scottish Song series (still going strong, with #495 dropping yesterday).

Sister John were that week’s featured artist and JC was spot on when he wrote that,

“I’m guessing that, for the vast majority of you, this will be your introduction to Sister John. I thought that it would therefore be worthwhile to post one song from each of the three albums, and should you find yourself enjoying and liking what you hear, then perhaps you might be tempted to place an order with LNFG for some vinyl.”

I did like what I heard but wasn’t sufficiently moved to go to LNFG. After all, I hadn’t bought any vinyl for years! That all changed before the year was out, when JC enthused about the imminent debut album from HiFi Sean & David McAlmont, which was available to LNFG subscribers in 2022, ahead of a general release in 2023.

Suitably motivated, I took out an annual subscription, and got the album – Happy Endings – and was introduced to a load of other artists that I’d either not heard of at all, or not for a very, very long time.

One of the perks of LNFG membership is access to their digital vault of pretty much everything the label has released since day 1. And it was in the vault that I rediscovered Sister John, namely the three albums mentioned in JC’s post, plus singles and one-offs.

2025 saw the release of fourth album, Don’t Worry, It’s Forever, the first that I’ve received in glorious vinyl and it maintains the high standard of the previous releases.

Amanda also writes all of the songs, which manage the balance between achingly sparse and deeply moving. JC reflected on “particularly enjoying [the music] when I’ve needed to, or wanted to, slow things right down.”

He’s absolutely right. Sister John’s albums would fit comfortably in a playlist including Nick Drake, late period Talk Talk, or Portishead, yet sounds like none of these. And chances are, Sister John may have passed me by altogether, were it not for the recommendation from the blogging community, which would have been a tragedy.

Today’s Sister John selection has been sitting on my hard drive and on my phone for well over a month. It was a last minute decision to go ahead with posting it today, and it was only when referring back to The Vinyl Villain that I realised that it’s pretty much 4 years to the day since that fateful Saturday’s Scottish Song post. Sometimes, these things are just meant to be.

So, this is me paying forward. As with JC’s original post, I’ve sampled three songs, one from each of the four albums, plus a 2016 single that also ended up on their debut. More by accident than design, the first half focuses on Sister John’s earlier recordings, the second half their output in the 2020s.

I had half a thought to match the compilation title by bringing the selection in 45 minutes. Sensibly, I went with a sequence that seemed to flow and play well as an album in its own right, so the running time went a bit over, but no regrets.

The closing song here is also the closing song on the current album and is as good a sentiment as any, in a world where it’s easy to become paralysed by fear and self-doubt. I should take Amanda’s advice myself.

And if you like what you hear, but are unsure whether to buy a Sister John album or, better still, subscribe to Last Night From Glasgow, you know what? Just do it anyway.

(JC interrupts……..and with that, Khayem’s 13-song selection magically becomes the latest ICA).

SIDE A

1. Gone (from the album, Returned From Sea, released in 2017, LNFG 8)

2. Silver Whistle (from the album, Sister John, released in 2019, LNFG 18)

3. He Came Down (2016 single, later included on the album Returned From Sea)

4. Lost and Won (from the album, Sister John)

5. Backstreet Swimmers (from the album, Returned From Sea)

6. The Other Side Of Love (from the album, Sister John)

7. Strange Ideas (from the album, I Am By Day, LNFG 45)

SIDE B

1. Thinner Air (from the album, Returned From Sea)

2. Grief (from the album, Don’t Worry, It’s Forever, released in 2025, LNFG 199)

3. The Bud (from the album I Am By Day)

4. Me & Nevine (from the album, Don’t Worry, It’s Forever)

5. How Can I Keep It Alive (from the album, I Am By Day)

6. Just Do It Anyway (from the album, Don’t Worry, It’s Forever)

BONUS TRACK

Secrets You Keep (from the compilation album Isolation Sessions, LNFG 37)

Isolation Sessions was a COVID lockdown project on which one of the LNFG roster would cover a song by another.  In this instance, Sister John offered up their take on a song by Stephen Solo, whose album Pii was given a digital release back in 2016.

 

Khayem (and JC)