An Hour Handed Back

The week ahead, and what to do with the time it returns

By Rafi Mercer

It's Wednesday, and the light is leaving a little earlier each evening. That's the season. Nothing to be done about it.

This week has been about old records and new ones. First the quiet rebellion: the idea that the argument between old and new music is really an argument between attention and flatness. Then a record from Leeds, Wonky Logic's Mek Do & Mend, built from fifteen years of writing and a single day in a room at RAK. It doesn't arrive until 11 November. Some records are worth waiting for. Waiting is part of how you hear them.

Sunday is the day to watch. At two in the morning the clocks go back, and for once the calendar gives something rather than taking it. One hour. Nobody asked for it. Nobody has plans for it yet.

It's also the last Sunday of the month, so the Listening Club gathers. One record, on vinyl, start to finish, the needle down before anyone says a word. On the same day the year hands an hour back.

So here's my suggestion for the days ahead. Before Sunday, choose the record. Not a playlist. One record, old or new, the one you keep saying you'll get to. When the hour comes back, spend it the way it arrived. Unasked. Uninterrupted. Nothing else in the room.

The evenings will keep drawing in.

The hour is yours.

When do the clocks go back in 2026?

In the UK, on Sunday 25 October. At 2am British Summer Time the clocks go back to 1am Greenwich Mean Time.

When does the Listening Club meet?

On the last Sunday of every month, online, so members can join from anywhere in the world.

What's the best way to spend an hour listening?

Choose one full album and play it in order, without your phone or anything else competing for attention. An album fills most of an hour.

If you'd like the next one to find you, subscribe.

Every month, The Listening Club gathers around the world. Join here.