What song makes you think of your childhood home?

When I was in my early teens I would have spells of insomnia where for several days I'd spend most of the night lying awake. I'd lie in bed with my ears hooked up to a pocket radio tuned to the overnight show on local station Cool FM. As I remember it (we're talking thirty-something years ago), the playlist for that show leaned heavily on radio classics, and I remember "Black Velvet" being one that came up regularly. It works well at 3 am when you'd rather be asleep.

Decades later, it's a song that I still find very comforting to listen to.

What’s your favorite track one on a debut album?

This requires me to have some awareness of which were debut albums... But I think I'll go with "Round Here".

Counting Crows have been a regular feature of my listening since I was a teenager, and I think they're still the band I've seen live more than any other. "Round Here" as a song has grown into something more over the years in its various live versions, including two very different - but both wonderful - takes on their late '90s live album Across A Wire. When I listen to the original album version I hear it through the filter of those two in particular, but it's still a stunner.

For a bonus, have Noah Gunderson's live cover.

What’s a hidden gem you wish more people knew about?

"Solar System" by Bill Mallonee and the Vigilantes of Love

I've loved Bill Mallonee's music since some friends took me along to see him play in Edinburgh when he was touring Audible Sigh (the album that includes this song). It remains one of my absolute favourite albums, and this song is one of its stand-out tracks.