Youngfuck

Thanks to Kris at Heaven is Above Your Head for bringing Youngfuck to my attention. Despite the, erm, strange name this band from Gothenburg make the sweetest, most melancholy sounds you'll hear this year. They have songs that you feel like you've known them for years; songs that can express more emotion in one verse than most bands struggle to do in their entire existence.

If they ever come to the UK, I might just smother them in love.

Hope not hate

It's kind of ironic that Grimsby sacked Mike Newell after a defeat to Rochdale, because although supporting Rochdale must be like stuck in some kind of footballing Groundhog Day year on year, supporting Town is never, ever dull.

Sure, you might be infuriated or depressed with the Club most of the time, but when stories like this appear, a small smile crosses your lips, and you realise that you really shouldn't be suprised if this actually happens. If your manager can throw some tea cups at you best player during a half time team talk, then simple things like employing the first female manager in the Football League are bound to happen.

Well, sadly, it won't of course. But it's brightened the afternoon up.

In the meantime, have a listen to The Blanche Hudson Weekend, which is an offshoot of Manhattan Love Suicides. I never really understood MLS, but this is ace.

Pocketbooks step into the sunshine

There are some bands that you follow who you couldn't really care less about on a personal level. And then there are bands like Pocketbooks, made up of people so life-enhacingly charming, gracious, witty, self-effacing and just downright perfect who you care deeply about for one reason or another. Or all of the reasons above. And it's nice when other people see what you see in them. Which is why it's such wonderful news that Pocketbooks have managed to snag a support slot with God Help The Girl at the 100 Club in London on Saturday 21 November.

Now, whilst this blog may think that GHTG is a load of self-indulgent toss by a few people well past the peak of their powers, the fact that Pocketbooks will get the chance to play in front of so many people really brightens up a damp Tuesday afternoon. Especially after they've spent the last couple of years tramping around the provinces playing to people who wouldn't know a great pop song if it came up and French kissed their cat.

So, you see, sometimes good things happen to good people.

You can buy tickets to see Pocketbooks at the 100 Club here. They'll be on sale in, ooh, about four minutes.

Here endeth the lesson.

Lardpony beached

Downstairs at Cabaret, Nottingham, on a screaming hot summer day in June 2005 and Lardpony take to the stage, supporting Milky Wimpshake and Mirah. Later, Vanessa would get so drunk that she'd fall off her stool during an extra-quiet Mirah moment, and about 100 people would turn around and gawp at her, as she struggled not to show everyone her pants. But now it was time for Lardpony.

I can't remember where I first came across Lardpony, but I think it was some time during 2004, when I heard the majestic 'I'm in Love With a Noxious Gas'. I'd seen them live a few times, and they'd never really managed to recreate the effervescent sound they got in the studio. Until that gig supporting Mirah, when - for me - it all started to make sense.

That day Lardpony very nearly managed to blow Milky Wimpshake away, which is something not many bands can do. Tom, beardless for once, managed to fight the shyness and sing his heart out; Pod and Nathan were tighter than a gnat's nether regions, and at last - at last! - you could hear Mandy's keys.

Thus began a run of putting Lardpony on whenever I could, simply because they made me smile, and they had fantastic songs. It was a run that ended earlier this year, when they decided to call it a day because of people growing up and having kids, and the general pressures of life when you have to worry about more than where your next pair of jeans is coming from.

Perversely, Lardpony exited stage left in peculiar circumstances at the horrendous Bodega Social in Nottingham. Mandy's keyboard wouldn't work, and they played their final gig as a three piece. Of course they were still brilliant But after seeing the band over a dozen times over the last seven years, it was a weird way to end, and singer Tom seemed genuinely upset by everything. Well, of course he was.

Things carry on, of course, and Nathan is slapping his bass in a macho fashion in The Making Of, who feature members of Mascot Fight amongst them, and Kristian releases stuff as Waar. Tom continues to make music on his own as Vom Vorton, and as part of the Deirdres/Lardpony supergroup, Of Mice and Mental Arithmetic, who, not surprisingly, sound like The Deirdres covering Lardpony songs. Such a precious thought.

Anyway, the reason for this belated obituary is to tell you that Lardpony have made their final load of songs available for free, under the title of Seaside in Painless. You can download it here.

They've obviously never been to Mablethorpe.

Listen to 'I'm in Love With a Noxious Gas' and weep with pleasure.

Something to look forward to

It's Friday afternoon and I'm pooped. This week has been murder; all late work events and early morning train rides to the arse end of nowhere. And Manchester. And I don't have a bath soon, I reckon someone will call environmental health. It sort of makes you long for somethig to look forward to.

Something like this...

Spiral Scratch presents

The Just Joans (Glasgow)

Bitter and twisted lovesongs about exes and Coia that will change your life.

http://www.myspace.com/thejustjoans

Stars of Aviation (London/Brighton)

Playfulness and trumpets and all manner of things that are good about the world http://www.starsofaviation.co.uk/

The Rocky Nest (Hull)

Are they minimal? Are they orchestral? Are they bonkers? Oh, they are beautiful.

http://therockynest.co.uk/

Friday 13 November

Downstairs at the Betsey Trotwood, 56 Farringdon Road, EC1 (here's map)

Doors at 8pm - first band on stage at half eight

Tickets are £5 in advance from http://www.wegottickets.com/event/58989

For some reason half the tickets have already gone, so please don't wait too long to buy one if you haven't already - the Betsey is only tiny.

last.fm event

Isn't that a beautiful flyer? Nobody does it better than Spiral Scratch. This is the same weekend as our all-dayer, and what better way than start the weekend off, eh? Right, I'm off to hose myself down in the back yard.

Besties RIP

You've probably read the obituaries already, and I won't add much more, but The Besties have decided to go their separate ways. They leave behind them a bunch of amazing records, and some truly memorable shows.

As I rattle on about incessantly to anyone - alive or dead - who happens to be in front of me, the most exciting gig I've ever organised was their show with A Smile and a Ribbon and a nascent (where they ever anything else?) Deirdres right after Indietracks 2007. This sounds schmaltzy and saccharine, but that night will live with me for the rest of my life, and I don't think I'm along in thinking that.

Those of you fortunate enough to be in New York in December can catch all the fun of a Besties show two last times, culminating in a mighty bill on 6 December. Details, along with a the band's good bye message below. Godspeed, you Besties.

Hi.

So, bad news first: The Besties are officially done. As happens with many awesome relationships, stuff happens and things get hard, and so you end it and remain friends and all that junk. It’s like that. We guess? Well, Kelly moved to Asheville, and Frank renewed his vows with the city of Boston. And other stuff. So there’s that.

Here’s the good news! We are playing two last shows around NYC in December, and we plan on going out with a serious bang. So sell some CDs (keep the Lemonheads ones), bodily fluids or organs for plane ticket money, start hitchhiking, do whatever you need to do – let’s party! The shows are:

***Friday December 4th at Asbury Lanes in Asbury Park , NJ with The Measure, Black Wine, Psyched to Die and Night Birds. This is Jay Insult's annual b-day extravaganza and you were probably going to go anyway. Can you even believe that lineup? Makes our heads spin. ***

Sunday December 6th Final Show at Braur Falls in Brooklyn, NY with our dearest buds The Specific Heats and Bunnygrunt, who are coming ALL THE WAY FROM ST. LOUIS TO PLAY THIS SHOW!!! Holy crap! Now that's love. Plus, for any outta towners who are on the fence about coming... Psssst! Our good friends the mighty Pants Yell are playing Bruar Falls the night before (the 5th) in celebration of their new record on Slumberland. So come hang out, and make a weekend of it! We would love to see every single one of your beautiful faces there.
More good news! We have one last 7” coming out as part of the Art of The Underground single series - http://www.artoftheunderground.com/single-series.php More details on that soon!

We also recorded a cover of "Our Days In Kansas" for the Tullycraft tribute record. Stay tuned for details!

And we have a new video up here - http://estherbell.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=35 – so even if you miss the shows, you can watch us play ‘Helgafell’ for all eternity. This was written and directed by the lovely and talented Esther Bell. Check her out, she rules!

We are very likely more heartbroken about this than anyone – this band has shaped our lives in so many ways, and is responsible for us meeting so many incredible people and bands. Thank you so much to everyone who bought our records, came to see us play (or played with us!), set up a show for us, let us sleep on your floor, or pointed us towards the best burritos in town. You are all awesome and we love you! No sad goodbyes!
xoxo

Kelly, Marisa, Frank and Rikky

The Lovely Eggs are scary

As a rule, your blogger here doesn't go in for Hallowe'en shenanigans, prefering to leave that back when he was eight years old and had to hollow a swede out because his Dad was too skint/useless/working 76 hours a day down t'pint to buy a pumpkin. But he'll make an exception for the mighty Lovely Eggs' new, scary single 'Haunt Me Out', which is, er, out on 26 October.

It's truly the SCARIEST THING EVER COMMITTED TO VINYL. Or CD, or however they're releasing it. Holly sounds like a northern Cruella de Vil, whilst David wants to eat your babies. And then throw them up on your settee.

Be afraid pop fans. Then pull yourself together and go and buy The Lovely Eggs new single. You can get it from Cherryade Records, it's backed with the equally pant-shittingly terrifying 'It's Spooky', and 'Rappin' in Plastic', which reminds me - wonderfully - of The Calvin Party.

Oh, and it's limited to 100 copies, so get your finger out.