You know you’re getting even older than you thought you were when you hear bands that sound like massive Belle and Sebastian fans to the point where they virtually ape their earlier releases. Bad thing? Absolutely not. Sure, B&S might be a flabby, bloated indiepop Dire Straits these days, but that shouldn’t take away from the fact that those first three albums were pretty much perfect.
Celebrating this are bands such as World Atlas, and Spaghetti Anywhere, who are from “Rome, Glasgow and East London.” Rehearsals must be tricky.
Spaghetti Anywhere specialise in those fragile pop masterpieces that B&S used to seemingly knock out whilst sitting on the loo. What’s more, they’ve made a video for ‘Love Again’ featuring two impossibly beautiful human beings, which sort of makes me melt. But I’m putting that down to tiredness. I’m a double hard bastard really.
Here's that video.
Thursday, 15 July 2010
Monday, 12 July 2010
Opposites attract
Yes! A post about the legendary Paula Abdul song from the early 1990s.
There's always at least one new band you fall in love with at Indietracks each year, and this year I've had advance notice of which one it'll be. Cineplexx's new single, 'Tiger Trap' (and that's confusing matters to the most ridiculous degree) features Duglas from BMX Bandits and Norman Blake and should sound fantastic in the church as the sun begins to set at this year's festival.
'Tiger Trap' is the sort of hazy lullaby that I'm a complete sucker for and, even on a rainy Monday, makes the world a much brighter place. Seek them out at Indietracks, for sure. The single is released by Cherry Red today.
Meanwhile, through the angular pop window...
It gives me a little tingle inside to realise that Spraydog are still going strong, and it makes me even more excited that they have a new album out on the excellent Jigsaw Records label. Alas, it looks like ‘Impress and Defend’ will be the band’s last album, but they’ve gone down fighting, ‘cos here are (a lucky) 13 tracks full of ace, skewed pop that brings to mind Urusei Yatsua, Versus, Seafood even.And so there’s some really thrilling discordant stuff here like ‘Trading Zeniths’ that might not get heard by the indiepop community, and that’d be a shame. Or, if you’re after moments of pure beauty go in search of ‘Effort Syndrome’, which reminds me of the dear, departed San Lorenzo.
Basically, this is the sort of stuff I was listening to in The Wilderness Years of the mid- to late-90s, and whilst Spraydog don’t go for the revivalist button, they do remind me that there’s more to life than a ‘Be My Baby’ drumbeat and a perfect fringe. But not much more.
There's always at least one new band you fall in love with at Indietracks each year, and this year I've had advance notice of which one it'll be. Cineplexx's new single, 'Tiger Trap' (and that's confusing matters to the most ridiculous degree) features Duglas from BMX Bandits and Norman Blake and should sound fantastic in the church as the sun begins to set at this year's festival.
'Tiger Trap' is the sort of hazy lullaby that I'm a complete sucker for and, even on a rainy Monday, makes the world a much brighter place. Seek them out at Indietracks, for sure. The single is released by Cherry Red today.
Meanwhile, through the angular pop window...
It gives me a little tingle inside to realise that Spraydog are still going strong, and it makes me even more excited that they have a new album out on the excellent Jigsaw Records label. Alas, it looks like ‘Impress and Defend’ will be the band’s last album, but they’ve gone down fighting, ‘cos here are (a lucky) 13 tracks full of ace, skewed pop that brings to mind Urusei Yatsua, Versus, Seafood even.And so there’s some really thrilling discordant stuff here like ‘Trading Zeniths’ that might not get heard by the indiepop community, and that’d be a shame. Or, if you’re after moments of pure beauty go in search of ‘Effort Syndrome’, which reminds me of the dear, departed San Lorenzo.
Basically, this is the sort of stuff I was listening to in The Wilderness Years of the mid- to late-90s, and whilst Spraydog don’t go for the revivalist button, they do remind me that there’s more to life than a ‘Be My Baby’ drumbeat and a perfect fringe. But not much more.
Sunday, 11 July 2010
Futures and pasts
I'm in the process of moving house again at the moment, which of course means packing stuff up. I was throwing some CDs into a box earlier today when I came across an album I've not listened to in, ooh, it must be 15 years.
'The Real Ramona' by Throwing Muses remains a masterpiece that the band never even came close to topping. I bought this record when it came out because the whole world (well, as much of it as I could access from Grimsby) was in raptures about the band. The entire population of my age was split between who they'd want to marry; was it going to be Kristin Hersh or Tanya Donnelly. I was a Tanya fan, for your records. And this album became a staple of my getting-ready-to-go-out routine.
Listening to it now, it has a definite early '90s sound. Those slightly off-kilter, yet sharp guitars were being used on other 4AD releases, like Ultra Vivid Scene's 'Joy 1967-1990', and yet 'The Real Ramona stood out as a record full of soul for me. The nights I used to pretend to misunderstood to songs like 'Red Shoes' and 'Not Too Soon' were countless. Whilst songs like 'Golden Thing' turned a ridiculously shy 18 year old into a dancefloor regular.
Purists might say that 'The Real Ramona''s predecessor 'Hunkpapa' was the high point for Throwing Muses. They might be right, but I think that view is skewed slightly by the fact that the band were lumped in with a new wave of American bands making themselves known to the UK indie scene at that time.
Donnelly left the band after this album, and I never really got into The Breeders (and heavens, how 'Cannonball' grates now) or Belly. Throwing Muses are still going today, of course, but I lost interest completely after 'Red Heaven' which came out in 1992, and went in search of what I thought at the time were more interesting US bands. Still, listening to 'The Real Ramona' this afternoon has reminded me why I cherished it so much nearly 20 years ago.
Twenty years. Yikes! I better get on with the packing, before I die of old age, or something...
'The Real Ramona' by Throwing Muses remains a masterpiece that the band never even came close to topping. I bought this record when it came out because the whole world (well, as much of it as I could access from Grimsby) was in raptures about the band. The entire population of my age was split between who they'd want to marry; was it going to be Kristin Hersh or Tanya Donnelly. I was a Tanya fan, for your records. And this album became a staple of my getting-ready-to-go-out routine.
Listening to it now, it has a definite early '90s sound. Those slightly off-kilter, yet sharp guitars were being used on other 4AD releases, like Ultra Vivid Scene's 'Joy 1967-1990', and yet 'The Real Ramona stood out as a record full of soul for me. The nights I used to pretend to misunderstood to songs like 'Red Shoes' and 'Not Too Soon' were countless. Whilst songs like 'Golden Thing' turned a ridiculously shy 18 year old into a dancefloor regular.
Purists might say that 'The Real Ramona''s predecessor 'Hunkpapa' was the high point for Throwing Muses. They might be right, but I think that view is skewed slightly by the fact that the band were lumped in with a new wave of American bands making themselves known to the UK indie scene at that time.
Donnelly left the band after this album, and I never really got into The Breeders (and heavens, how 'Cannonball' grates now) or Belly. Throwing Muses are still going today, of course, but I lost interest completely after 'Red Heaven' which came out in 1992, and went in search of what I thought at the time were more interesting US bands. Still, listening to 'The Real Ramona' this afternoon has reminded me why I cherished it so much nearly 20 years ago.
Twenty years. Yikes! I better get on with the packing, before I die of old age, or something...
Friday, 9 July 2010
Dancing days
Oddbox Records, the label run by Trev McCabe in London, is making a push for the Second Wave of Indie/Dance Crossover (SWOIDC) by releasing a Smittens remix album. If you have terrible, terrible memories of dancing to Northside and Mock Turtles at a really shit house party just outside Lincoln in 1991, then a quick listen to 'Dancing Shoes: The Smittens Remixed' will banish them.That happened to a mate of mine, obviously. Not me. No way.
Anyway, the album is streaming here, and you can buy it for three measley quid. What's stopping you?
Wednesday, 7 July 2010
Brilliant at Breakfast
The last couple of days I've had that brittle feeling that something terrible is around the corner. I can usually get over it and put it down to tiredness, but if I get run over the number 10 bus to Ruddington at some point before the weekend, don't say I didn't warn you.
However, I think I've found something to calm myself down. It's a band called Brilliant at Breakfast, who, I believe, are from Indonesia. Their myspace page features three precious little songs designed to put a freshly washed duvet over your worries and whisk you off to somewhere a little less stressful.
Brilliant at Breakfast remind me a less peppy A Smile and a Ribbon, or, at times the late Harvest Ministers. They say their influences like in Sarah Records, but I think there's a little more to them than just that. I can hear some synthpop in here, too, and perhaps a passing resemblance to some of the less lounge Siesta pop. Whatever. It's pretty brilliant.
Whilst I've grabbed your gaze, the band have a single out on the prolific February Records at the moment called 'Almost Verbose'. I heartily approve of 'Nobody Ever Died of a Broken Heart'. This'll be followed up by an album on Paperplane Records later in the year.
However, I think I've found something to calm myself down. It's a band called Brilliant at Breakfast, who, I believe, are from Indonesia. Their myspace page features three precious little songs designed to put a freshly washed duvet over your worries and whisk you off to somewhere a little less stressful.
Brilliant at Breakfast remind me a less peppy A Smile and a Ribbon, or, at times the late Harvest Ministers. They say their influences like in Sarah Records, but I think there's a little more to them than just that. I can hear some synthpop in here, too, and perhaps a passing resemblance to some of the less lounge Siesta pop. Whatever. It's pretty brilliant.
Whilst I've grabbed your gaze, the band have a single out on the prolific February Records at the moment called 'Almost Verbose'. I heartily approve of 'Nobody Ever Died of a Broken Heart'. This'll be followed up by an album on Paperplane Records later in the year.
Monday, 5 July 2010
Talk about the passion
There’s a lot said about the feeling of togetherness amongst the indiepop micro-scene, and I’m not really sure I agree with all of it, but when you’ve fretted madly over putting a gig on - as I did in the weeks leading up to the Cannanes/Sarandon show at the weekend - then it makes all the sweeter when it all, despite everything, feels right.
That’s what happened when I was stood there on Saturday night at about half ten, with the tension washed away by some supportive friends and a certain amount of dodgy continental lager. Sure, the gig wasn’t packed - far from it. But when The Cannanes start playing their songs, then you could be stood alone in the middle of Mansfield and the world would seem like a brighter place. The only downside to the whole evening was learning that I’d been pronouncing Cannanes wrongly for about 15 years, which was kind of mortifying. Still, when you struggle to say “statistics”, then nothing is sacred.
Tony came up to me half way through the gig. We were both a bit drunk, and he leant on my shoulder and said: "Frances from The Cannanes has the best modern folk voice in the world!" He said it about four more times, but I'll put that down to extreme refreshment, but for a while we were both convinced he was right. And maybe he is.
A pretty much perfect weekend (bar a deathly hangover yesterday) was rounded off by listening to the new Liechtenstein single, ‘Passion for Water’. I think it was Lynsey who said to me over the weekend, that she could tell from the first five seconds of this song that it was going to be wonderful. She wasn’t wrong. If anything signals that summer is here, then this song is it. Also, I'm pretty much sure this song is about Cleethorpes boating lake. I'll assume it is until told otherwise by someone in authority.
Look at me name-dropping people like I HAVE FRIENDS. Pathetic.
That’s what happened when I was stood there on Saturday night at about half ten, with the tension washed away by some supportive friends and a certain amount of dodgy continental lager. Sure, the gig wasn’t packed - far from it. But when The Cannanes start playing their songs, then you could be stood alone in the middle of Mansfield and the world would seem like a brighter place. The only downside to the whole evening was learning that I’d been pronouncing Cannanes wrongly for about 15 years, which was kind of mortifying. Still, when you struggle to say “statistics”, then nothing is sacred.
Tony came up to me half way through the gig. We were both a bit drunk, and he leant on my shoulder and said: "Frances from The Cannanes has the best modern folk voice in the world!" He said it about four more times, but I'll put that down to extreme refreshment, but for a while we were both convinced he was right. And maybe he is.
A pretty much perfect weekend (bar a deathly hangover yesterday) was rounded off by listening to the new Liechtenstein single, ‘Passion for Water’. I think it was Lynsey who said to me over the weekend, that she could tell from the first five seconds of this song that it was going to be wonderful. She wasn’t wrong. If anything signals that summer is here, then this song is it. Also, I'm pretty much sure this song is about Cleethorpes boating lake. I'll assume it is until told otherwise by someone in authority.
Look at me name-dropping people like I HAVE FRIENDS. Pathetic.
Friday, 2 July 2010
You! Me! Tomorrow night! The Cannanes! Nottingham!
Just to remind you before you book yourself into that babysitting job, that The Cannanes, Sarandon, Alberto Veto and Slowcoaches are playing in Nottingham tomorrow night (Saturday 3 July). It'd be a wonder and a delight to see you there.
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