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Los Angeles-based Best Coast is not only Don't Die On My Doorstep's band of the month, they've also released a new single which is so great it must be featured here. 'They' because Bethany has now put a full band together, and they make the two new tracks sound better than anything Vivian Girls or Brilliant Colors have recorded this year. Unfortunately it looks like what could have been one of the best 7"s of the year is only available in digital format, from the label Black Iris. I sure can't find a physical copy anywhere! Well, here is the a-side, shared by the label. Naturally it didn't take long for "This Is Real" to appear on a blog as well, but I'd be happy to pay for it if it was a real b-side!
CLOUD 110 Best Coast - When I'm With You
The Procedure Club have had an upcoming 12" on Captured Tracks for some time now. In the meantime I picked up their second album, which has been put out on CDR by Series Two. I got #9 out of 300. They also have another CDR/cassette out called It's Only Fair, featuring three tracks from the new album, one from their self-titled and four new ones. Music For the Leisure Time is lots of fun, with it's wild mix of synthesisers and guitar noise. Old Myspace favourite "You're Not Poignant" still sounds great, and is pretty much the diametrical opposite to Carnival Park's "Poignant" while remaining in the pop field. "Better Parties" follows immediately after it sounding like Suicide and JAMC with female vocals. The band's more tender side is best showed off by "My Best Friend", which is quite quite beautiful.
From the other side of the Atlantic, Wetdog are also releasing their second full length. Like its predecessor Enterprise Reversal, it's out on Angular and both lps will also be available through Captured Tracks in the US. I instantly liked Wetdog after seeing them supporting Vivian Girls in London, and they came pretty close to what I imagine it being like to have seen Fire Engines back in the day. The new album is a bit more restrained and more pop. I was expecting more eardrum massage, but instead found myself really liking the vocals and the backing vocals, that come to their true right on Frauhaus!. Guitarless opening track "Lower Leg" sounds peculiarly similar to the new single from Weave!, and "Trehorne Beach Song" like a rejuvenated Lung Leg. (Speaking of Lung Leg... and perhaps rejuvenated too, The Yummy Fur are doing some reunion shows in London, Glasgow and the US in January!) The rest of the album ranges from the Young Marble Giants-brittleness of "Night Comes Down" to the cracking drum barrage of "Tidy Up Your Bedroom". Apart from the already mentioned tracks my favourite is the infectiously melodic "Round Vox", which is as good as Liechtenstein on an overcast day.
And I finally had a proper listen to Brighton group Shrag's debut full length from early this year. Shrag is a band that hardly gets any mention in Sweden, even though they deserve to be almost as big as Comet Gain. I'd heard some of the singles but it's great to hear them all rounded up on the album, and there's a new 7" coming out in December on Where It's At Is Where You Are as usual. They're playing at SoundsXP's Christmas party at the Brixton Windmill on the night I get to London, with Standard Fare amongst others, and it's also the release party for "Rabbit Kids". I can't wait to see them, since I have missed previous chances to do so!
More bands should record songs like this! This is actually an instrumental version of "You're Always Around". One of my favourite songs, penned by Jon Williams of fantastic folkrock outfit The WordD. The intertwined story of The WordD and The Penthouse 5 can be unraveled with the help of Cicadelic, who have released a retrospective compilation of the two groups. Essentially, when The WordD broke up, Williams and 12-string player Richard Keithley joined the other band. This resulted in the re-recording of a few WordD songs, including the aforementioned "You're Always Around". Keithley is one of the best 12-string players I've heard, with a sound almost as rich as McGuinn's.
CLOUD 109 The Penthouse 5 - Twelve String Jangle
As most of you will know the fabulous Manhattan Love Suicides split up this summer, their acoustic appearance (a contradiction in it itself) on the Indietracks train turned into a performance by The Medusa Snare. You will probably know the name as Adam John Miller's side-project, and in fact, Skatterbrain posted about them roughly a year ago. But now it's become a full band (including old MLS drummer Rachel Barker), and their first album Cinderella is out on Squirrel - an update of the previously released ep of the same name (on the same label) fleshed out to 10 stunning tracks.
Adam builds on the noisy, lo-fi side of the MLS sound (the side that would've chosen to cover Teenage Jesus & the Jerks' "Orphans") while at the same time sounding more American. The Mountain Goats have been mentioned but I think the album sounds a lot like Knight School, with the MLS rhythm section backing. Matt's old fave "Ixtab" even kicks off with the same euphoria as a Pains of Being Pure At Heart song. My own favourites are the similarly upbeat "NCY" and "Out of the Blue" (paraphrasing, but not covering Neil Young). But they manage to slow things down commendably as well, as in "Monster" which builds on a simple, repeated Beat Happening-like guitar figure. Listen to some of the tracks here.
Two other suicidals have formed The Blanche Hudson Weekend, named after the "good" sister in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? and they've naturally picked Bette Davis to adorn the cover of their first 7". It comes out on Squirrel on the 23rd of this month, but is up for pre-order already.
The self-confessed influence of girl groups and Girls In the Garage is evident and even if the sound is far from polished it is fuller than that of Cinderella. "Crying Shame" has a certain grandeur to it that the Manhattans captured on songs like "Head Over Heels" (one of their best, in my opinion!). Caroline's singing has the same, barely audible charm it had in her previous band, and it does take a certain voice to give du-du-du's the same credibility as the JAMC, which "Noise and Fury" definitely has. I'm looking forward to a full length from this camp too! All three of these great songs can be heard in their entirety here.
While you're placing you order you might also want to pick up the Louder and Longer remaster of MLS' first album, if you like me thought it sounded a bit tame, or if you just want to get at those bonus tracks from the singles and the few tracks they managed to record for their second album!
Plastilina have just released a new album by The Pearly Gatecrashers from Australia. I love their first album Spectacular! from 1994 and also Popsuey (1996), which I first heard only a month ago, has it's highlights. So now, 13 years later, here is But Wait There's More. Undeniably slightly more mature (if a band who made the "Mobile Girl" video can ever be described with that adjective) at least lyrically. The album cover looks like a Richard Hamilton homage, and the songs seem to be simultaneously reveling in glossy production and Martha Rosleresque moods.
But if you think this is an entirely new album, you are wrong. At least "Summer Here's" is 8 years old - since it was once included on Shelflife's Picnic Basket. It's one of my favourite Pearly Gatecrashers songs so I was very happy to see it included here! Otherwise my favourite songs are the jangly hits like "We Are Family", "Asleep", "Your Brother's Drums" and "Sweet Marie". "Penny Drops" sounds like Trembling Blue Stars on 45. And "Fad" might be one of their best songs ever!
I just got hold of a record I've wanted for at least four years. French pop group Evergreen has reached a legend-like status in my mind by now, since hearing about them from a euphoric Jyrki at the Emmaboda festival years ago. At that time all I could find about them was a twee.net entry. I picked up the trail again last week when I heard a track by Lollypops via a There and Back Again Lane post, loved it and soon found out that was an early incarnation of Evergreen. So I searched for their ep again and found a cheap copy via the French CD and LP service. It was a private seller so there might not be anymore copies.
Receiving the 7" in the mail today was most special and after only about 5 spins I have to say it's one of my favourite records ever, at least as good as the Rainyard 7". Great jangly pop with surprisingly good English! Each of the four songs is amazing, with the two songs on the b-side (the 'ballad' side, even though one of them does have a rhythm section) augmented by some prominent violin which makes one of the hooks in "Close-Up" sound just like "A Century of Fakers" by Belle & Sebastian. This record came out only a couple of years before Tigermilk and seems strangely isolated both in time and place (France!). The first five seconds of "House of Magic Cards" sounds exactly like another song, which I can't place now - I thought it was a Celestial track but that can't be right. Check the Lollypops version on the There and Back Again Lane blog and enlighten me!
Actually, if anyone has any more information about the band please let me know. All we can gather from the sleeve (hideous use of the Brush Script font!) are the first names of the members (female guitarist!) and the insert has some more info about the label Nessie - maybe a tribute to Scotland's pioneering efforts in pop? Their first release was a tape compilation called Superqualifragilistic after a Mary Poppins song (anyone have that?) which I found a tracklisting for here. As you can see it includes another Lollypops track - a version of "Time" - and a track from their great French contemporaries Mumbly (pre-Watoo Watoo). Otherwise I don't recognise any of the bands. They also list a Christmas 7" featuring Louis Philippe, Gregory Webster and two other bands, which I found here for 3990 yen (or 27 pounds), if anyone wants to pick it up. I can't find anything on the 'forthcoming' Tribute to él EP.
Anyway here's the first track for you to enjoy.
CLOUD 108 Evergreen - Laurie
Brilliant Colors are about to release their first album Introducing on Slumberland. Like the Vivian Girls debut it's got ten songs in about 20 minutes, and this could very well have been the same smash that record was for me last year. And yes, they have recorded one of the best albums of the year, seemingly with a flick of the wrist, but it's a tad too well-produced. The sound quality of their two eps didn't always work in their favour but it definitely gave then a unique sound, which made songs like "Over There" and "Takes So Little" so thrilling. Both "Over There" and "Should I Tell You" are on the album in new speeded-up versions, but if you still want to get their previous records (now sold out) you should pick up the 12" on Captured Tracks that includes all those songs.
A record that keeps growing on me and might even outdo Introducing in my end-of-year list is the new album by The Fresh & Onlys, also from San Francisco. Grey-Eyed Girls is their second full length of the year and I don't even know how many singles they've done! I definitely think it's the best album on Woodsist so far, who are set for more attention with the imminent release of Real Estate's album. I liked The Fresh & Onlys' first album a lot too, but in this case it's actually an improvement with the more pop material and a cleaner production. There's some great overdriven, jangly guitar on tracks like "Dude's Got a Tender Heart" as well, while they're still mining the SF garage rock history deeply - just like The Mantles. The only I thing I don't like is how they, like many current bands, bury the vocals in either reverb or distortion (or both) instead of using real distortion from vintage mics, or simply getting King Kahn to sing for them. Lucky "Clowns (Took My Baby Away)" is such a great song title then.
We can all agree that The Cavalcade is one of the best new bands this year. I was lucky to find a copy of their second ep, released by Edition 59. It's sold out but Unisex might have some more copies. It's got three great songs, which are bit more pop than most of Meet You In the Rain.
Also, be sure not to miss the great new singles on Slumberland - like a new Bats ep (!) which is an excellent companion to last year's brilliant album on Arch Hill. The first single from Frankie Rose (or Frankie & the Outs, as they're called on myspace) is easily one of the best this year and reminds me of Henry's Dress or The Aislers Set at their noisiest. Gregory Webster's recent single on WIAIWYA sees an American release as well, still with Daniel's (So Tough! So Cute!) trademark artwork. But most intriguing is the new Mantles single "Bad Design" which is the first record in ages to be catalogued as a I Wish I Was a Slumberland Record. It's a co-release with Dulc-i-Tone and holds two great non-album tracks. Read more and listen to the a-side here.
CLOUD 107 The Cavalcade - Secret Signs On Stone
1. One these bands is new and has released an album on In the Red, one of the best of the year.
2. Pitchfork has found one of them worth writing about, even though describing them as "charmingly antiquated".
3. One of them actually knows how to play their instruments well.
4. One of them has covered The Beach Boys, while the other has settled for reworking "Be My Baby".
5. One of them has covered Radiohead. The other hasn't (yet).
Other than that it's not much that sets Christmas Island and Heartworms apart. Christmas Island has definitely been helped by the current hip-factor of ramshackle guitars and would most likely have been dismissed as 'twee' in 1994 when Heartworms debuted with the smashing "Thanks For the Headache". Both Christmas Island's music and lyrics are very simple, but very addictive. Take "My Baby" for example, strummed chords over thumping drums and the chorus "my baby, I miss you, in my dreams I still kiss you". All you need for a perfect pop song! I'm buying Blackout Summer now.
Everyone in London should go see Leaving Mornington Crescent tonight. It's at HDIF Presents at Jamm in Brixton, it's free and also playing are Tender Trap and MJ Hibbett! I just saw the two members of LMC in Gothenburg and they were very excited. I witnessed their first gig at So Tough! So Cute! a few months ago (with Harvey Williams playing too) and they were great. They were kind enough to give me their eps yesterday, so here's a song for you to listen to. It's from the Corners ep released by a label called Susy. I maintain my opinion that they're the best new Swedish band this year! They're playing in Malmö again next week, on Tuesday, together with Horowitz at Don't Die On My Doorstep.
How come I was in Gothenburg then? Well, I was playing records at Don't Tell Me That! (playlist here), where the promising new Swedish band with the dubious name Youngfuck (might it be a direct translation of a Swedish word, that means something completely different?) did their first gig. They were sounded even better than this, and two of them were previously in bands you might have heard of, like Signed Papercuts and Second-Hand Furniture. It was great to be in Gothenburg again - first time in what feels like ages!
CLOUD 105 Leaving Mornington Crescent - Seventeen
I got the new Close Lobsters compilation, and it sounds fantastic! The remastering is pretty good overall and it's great to have all the singles on one cd. It actually includes almost everything that wasn't on their two albums, apart from some compilation tracks, and the Caff 7" (but that version of "Just Too Bloody Stupid" is featured on CD86 however).
I got even more excited about the first Spectrals single when I saw that the b-side was a completely new, and not at all the song I thought would be there. The German Measles ep doesn't disappoint either, with 6 new strong tracks, out of which the best are the giddy punk hit "What Are You Going to Do" and the party anthem "Wild Weekend".
While I'm posting anyway, here are my favourite singles and eps of the year so far:
1. The Cave Weddings "Bring Your Love"
2. Spectrals "Leave Me Be"
3. The Magic Kids "Hey Boy"
4. Brilliant Colors "Brilliant Colors"
5. Very Truly Yours "Reminders"
6. German Measles "Wild"
7. The Specfic Heats "Back Through Tyme"
8. Standard Fare "Dancing"
9. Liechtenstein "Everything's For Sale"
10. The Sea Lions "Groove"
11. The Cavalcade "Meet You In the Rain"12. Wake the President/Je Suis Animal split
13. Dum Dum Girls "Yours Alone"
No one really mentions the Wolfhounds compilation The Essential Wolfhounds, which came out on September already in 1988. It contains some of their best songs, from singles and their first album. The liner notes (courtesy of glassdarkly.com) tell us that "they were born in East London in 1985. After years of working in a wool warehouse, a laboratory, a plastics factory and a coffee bar their first record 'Cut The Cake', was published in 1986. Since then they have written many songs on philosophy, the occult, crime and sexual deviance plus a host of successful songs which have won them an international reputation. Their work has been translated into Spanish, French, Swedish, Dutch, Welsh, Arabic, Urdu, Japanese, German, Finnish and Hebrew." Why then may I ask, are their albums not available on cd? All there is, is the compilation Lost But Happy on Cherry Red (who own the rights to all their songs). And if you're lucky you might find the reissue of The Essential Wolfhounds that Midnight did.
Anyway, I just got to hear it, and after some scouring of online sources I was able to find pretty much all the band's songs. With a few exceptions: "Whale On the Beach" from the 12" version of Cruelty, the b-sides to Son of Nothing, the Happy Shopper 12" and their cover of "I'm Not Like Everybody Else". Who's got these?
One of the best songs I hadn't had the pleasure of hearing before is "Cold Shoulder", from The Anti-Midas Touch released on the Pink Label in 1986.
CLOUD 104 The Wolfhounds - Cold Shoulder
I have spent a couple of days last week listening fervently to bands like The Cave Weddings, The Magic Kids, Woven Bones, Ganglians, Surf City, Thee Oh Sees, Coachwhips, Real Estate, The Fresh & Onlys, Pens, The Intelligence, Weave!, The Mantles, The Drums, Nodzzz, P.S. Eliot, Ty Segall, Black Time and Christmas Island. There's so much to check out, so much that is great, but it feels like eventually people will tire of the ever increasing number of bands following in the wake of Vivian Girls, Wavves and Times New Viking. The fact that Dum Dum Girls have been signed to Sub Pop could be one sign. Perhaps the Captured Tracks/Woodsist festival was the climax? But at the moment I still think it is exciting, and if nothing else, I am glad I've listened to all of it if only for the discovery of The Mantles and Christmas Island!
I've ended up with so many songs I have to do something with, that I can't play them all at my club night, so I decided to just make a new podcast out of them. Even though it's not a proper one with spoken links, I hope you will enjoy the mix of sounds and the sequence of the tracks! (It is #13 since I haven't yet finished #12 that I am making for Slumberland.) Captured Tracks are still winning the year's label race, with more fantastic releases than anyone could have hoped for (or afforded). Just recently a new batch was released, including The Spectrals' first 7" that I've raved about enough already, but also the first proper German Measles release, a Christmas Island 7" and Ganglians best post-Brian Wilson work yet! But they're followed closely by HoZac, Woodsist and In the Red, and as usual Siltbreeze have proven reliable.
Here are some notes about the included songs.
Afternoon Naps - Bubblegum 45
What better way to start off than with a hymn to bubblegum pop from Afternoon Naps, whose second album has been massively anticipated (by me) since succumbing to the masterpiece that was Sunbeamed. Them and Brown Recluse are unique on the US pop scene for putting the ray of sunshine back into pop. Parade (out on HHBTM) became a favourite of this year already upon first listen.
The Magic Kids - Good to Be
The b-side of their first 7" (Goner Records) that came completely out of the blue for me. Perhaps the best emulation of The Beach Boys in an indiepop context ever? The flip is bit more mellow, but still charming.
The Cave Weddings - Let's Drive
HoZac's best release yet? The b-side of this American band's first single is a great as the a-side, and prompted me to use my limited funds to order this and the new Girls At Dawn single from the label. They also have a homemade ep you can order from their Myspace.
The Intelligence - Universal Babysitter
A fantastic post-something band that has been around almost 10 years longer than anyone else. I've listened to three of their albums so far and I have to say this year's Fake Surfing on In the Red is their best so far. They even afford themselves calling a song "Fuck Eat Skull" (apparently one of them is in that band too) which is almost as good a title as Jay Reatard's recent "Blank Blogs". Great band name too!
German Measles - Monkey Me, Monkey You
Simply ingenious track from their demo cassette on Captured Tracks. Their first 12" had just been released, and was recorded by Gary Olson, just like the caUSE co-MOTION! singles (a band that shares members with the Measles).
Pens - 1-2
The album is finally here! It was as great as I expected, the best thing of its kind I have heard since Finally Punk. Out on De Stijl on both cd and vinyl. The split with Crocodiles, Dum Dum Girls and Graffiti Island is out of stock at the moment, but will soon be available again from Art Fag.
Bette Davis and the Balconettes - Big Pussy Sound
Finally heard more than their self-titled ep on Slampt!. This is the best of the bunch, among this Manchester group's recordings, from a 1998 7" on Damaged Goods.
Coachwhips - I Drank What
Yes, why have I never really listened to this band before? Their first album doesn't impress me as much as does their last, from 2003. As noisy as Forbidden Tigers, and it makes me want to check out the intervening albums as well. Dwight is now in Thee Oh Sees, and many other bands.
Woven Bones - Janie
Another great garage group on HoZac! They've released three singles so far, and this track is from one on Needless. An album is in the works, also for HoZac.
Gas - Speak No More
Siltbreeze has set about releasing some old gems, including an ep by Christchurch group Gas, who were around in the late 90s apparently. But even more I'd like to hear The McGoohans, which was an 80s group, some of whom moved on to Gas. Or so I've read! Anyone have The McGoohan Sound lp?
The Terrorways - She's a Mod
A punk compilation I felt compelled to listen to recently is AK79, including bands from the first wave of Auckland punk groups (including Toy Love, of course). This is one of my favourites on it, landing somewhere between punk and mod-revival! A cover of Ray Columbus & the Invaders' hit.
The Castels - Save a Chance
You won't escape the usual dose of 60's jangle. This particular track can be found on a Misty Lane compilation called Leave It All Behind. It was originally released by Wildfire in 1965.
Mary Sawrey - A Lover's Plea
Found this on a cd called Del-Fi Girl Groups: Gee Baby Gee. Compiling female artists of that label, this single from 1961 is the best of the set.
The Jet Set - The Jet Set
You might be familiar with the 80s group The Jetset and the pre-Byrds group of course, but this is a sassy girl group track found on Girls Will Be Girls Vol. 1. Hard to find the original release info, because of the name of the group and song!
Mytty Archer - The Life You Wanna Live
New group started by Jen from Boyracer, including the usual suspects. Their first album is here, and judging from this track - available for free on the 555 sampler - it is worth a fair percentage of your income.
Christmas Island - Bed Island
I heard this band thanks to the cool 8th volume of The World's Lousy With Ideas, which together with the Yeti 7 compilation was what started last week's listening spree. This song is from their upcoming first album on In the Red. At the moment they a have a split-7" with Le Jonathan Reilly and a new single on Captured Tracks out. Maybe they will soon have one of the best albums this year too.
Black Time - You Don't Love Me
This British group continue to release fantastic, ear-spliting pop - this song is from a recent split-lp with Ty Segall - and they continue to stay out of Sweden, unfortunately.
DNA - Lionel
An old one, from the 1978 compilation No New York. One the same record you'll find some tracks by the next band.
Teenage Jesus & the Jerks - Less of Me
Lydia Lunch and James Chance in the same band can only mean one thing, noise and popular music coming together in a promising union (at least for 1979). This was the b-side of their first single, by which time Chance had already left.
Weave! - Man He Can
A new San Fracisco group who sound a bit like The Slits and Delta 5. With minimal inclusion of guitar, they've already recorded a great ep. This track is their best yet and is the first we've got to hear from the upcoming full-length.
Sado-Nation - Gimme You
The quest for Neo Boys led me to another punk compilation: History of Portland Punk Vol. 1 (no sequels as far as I know). The second best band on it (no, not Wipers) is this group, also featuring female members. There is a retrospective of their whole output called Future Past, Present, Tense if you're interested.
The Fresh & Onlys - Peacock and Wing
This group have already released their second album of the year, on top of a slew of singles. I've only heard the first, self-titled record in full so far, but it's definitely destined for the top 20 of the year. Great SF garage!
The Mantles - Burden
This is from what will definitely be the best album of the year for me, unless Pants Yell! cook up something that outdoes Alison Statton... The album is out on Siltbreeze and builds on two previous 7"s, with a superior sound and simply brilliant songs with one stylus on Nuggets and the other on an 80s indiepop single I've never even heard of.
Present - I Know
Another jangly present from the 60s. Ugly Things tell us this group was from New York, and released a single in 1967. Google won't tell us that much, even.
The Field Twins - We Were Lovers
I really love this girl group from Australia, who only cut two singles I think. One is from 1966, so I guess this one must be from around the same time. The singing isn't great, but I can't stop playing it!
How come no one talks about this? Well I think I know why, but this first single from Brooklyn's The Girls At Dawn is actually great. As usual on HoZac, they care about their vinyl, and the first 200 copies are on orange transparent vinyl. Both "Never Enough" and "Every Night" are fuzzy Shangri-Las lo-fi and you should look out for a 12" on Captured Tracks.
While you're ordering from HoZac you have to pick up The Cave Weddings' first single too - probably the best single I've heard this year and I mean both sides! You can also get the songs plus three more as a cdep, directly from them.
It's more than time to announce that my favourite album of the year will no doubt be the debut longplayer from San Francisco's The Mantles. Together, SF and LA have by now caught up with Brooklyn, being the homes of groups like Dum Dum Girls and The Fresh & Onlys (more about them later) and perhaps best exemplified by the Part Time Punks festival which is on right now. Like a more fun-packed equivalent to the Captured Tracks/Woodsist fest, the line-up includes bands like The Raincoats, Section 25, The Jazz Butcher, The Intelligence and locals Weave!. And let's not forget The Smell.
But The Mantles self-titled lp on Siltbreeze is, to my ears, the first record landing exactly between the otherwise widely separated worlds of indiepop and 60s garage. Other people have mentioned the similarity to Flying Nun bands and the Paisley Underground scene of early 80s San Francisco (two things that are suddenly hip again). But I think the garage element of their sound goes right back to Golden Dawn and The Mantles' Californian predecessors The Seeds and The Chocolate Watchband. It's a perfectly produced album and every song knocks me out. It sounds very simple and I bet the rest of the American punk-pop bands are regretting all the time they spent disfiguring and tweaking their guitar sounds. Like the very few garage-revival bands who actually achieved a pure 60s sound in spite of the despicable production values of the 80s (LA's The Last come to mind of course!), songs like "What We Do Matters" and "Yesterday's Gone" give me the same thrill as a crackly 45 from 1967. "Samantha" makes me think of The Summer Suns (who have song called the same thing) and the 12-string-laden "Don't Lie" and "Burden" sound like a mix of them, Dom Mariani's other group The Someloves and "Misty Lane" by The Chocolate Watchband. "Disappering Act" kicks off the record, just like the equally 60s-influenced Biff Bang Pow!, with it's frantic strumming. "James" is the most blantant pop offering, and crashes along like The Wedding Present or This Poison!, before stopping just shy of the 2-minute mark.
I can't see myself tiring of this album in the foreseeable future.
Although half of what I listen to is from the 60s, it's not something usually apparent here. But today I felt like recommending some albums and reissues that all have something in common, somewhere.
3's a Crowd were sunshine pop / folk-rock group who not only released several topnotch singles, but a whole album. They are included on compilation series like Fading Yellow and Soft Sounds For Gentle People, but their 1968 album Christopher's Movie Matinée is well worth a listen! There are no reissues, but you will be able to find it online, and if you want some background history there is a beefy article on Garage Hangover.
Also shamefully lacking a re-release (Sundazed, what are you doing?) is the magnificent only album by another number group: The Eighth Day. On the Eighth Day was released in the same year and holds eleven great tunes. It is among the best sunshine albums I have heard, right up there with The Inner Dialogue and the best of The Sunshine Company. Like 3's a Crowd, they employ a healthy dose of 12-string picking
The Enfields were a jangly garage group from... Enfield, Delaware. I first heard them on a compilation called What a Way to Day, but recently heard this cd released by Get Hip! in 1993. You might still be able to find a copy, but it also exists online. The group was fronted by Ted Munda who later formed a band called Friends of the Family, who sound a lot like late era Love or even Montage. A Bomp list post calls him a white Arthur Lee, and it's easy to see why. A track by Friends of the Family is on a volume of Fading Yellow but I doubt it is the same band as that song sounds very different.
Cicadelic doesn't have much on Sundazed or Rev-Ola when it comes to reissues, but they've just dropped a great retrospective on The JuJus, known from Pebbles and Teenage Shutdown and many other comps. I love all the songs I have heard this band, so I'm going to pick it up soon as my wallet allows.
While you're checking out Cicadelic it might also be worth taking a look at The Kreeg cd. It's not available from them anymore, but can still be found on mailorders. The title-track is known from Garage Beat '66 and is one of my fave 60s songs, both jangly and forceful. The cd contains both more gentle and folky cuts and fuzzy garage rock stomp, all of it pretty much in a Revolver-era Beatles vein.
I was disappointed to say the least that this cd is no longer available. The Heart Beats is one of those groups on Girls In the Garage that tend to pass you by. But now I think "Cryin' Inside" is a great track! What changed my mind was this amazing performance of "Time Won't Let Me". Those Texas girl look like they are about 14 and must have had a hip manager, seeing as they're obviously sponsored by Vox and are playing a song by The Outsiders! The best song by far I've heard by them though, is their take on "Little Latin Lupe Lu". It's on volume five of Garage Beat '66, but for some reason the download I had of that was lacking this and another track right at the end. It's been amended now, and I will definitely play this somewhere in the near future.
I thought I'd steal a Slumberland catalogue number, as they're up to about the same numbers as here anyway. We've all enjoyed Skatterbrain's Subjective Best of Slumberland 90-95, and I wanted to compile my favourites from their whole catalogue, now that they've been around for 20 years. Some of the best stuff has come out in the last two years actually. I've stuck to no re-releases as a rule, so I've not included anything previously released on other labels - there went the Black Tambourine and 14 Iced Bears comps, the Bright Coloured Lights single and the Just a Taste Summershine retrospective! Here are my favourite Slumberland songs, presented in an order that couples bands for the old and new era, to reveal some interesting lineages.
1. Liechtenstein - All At Once (SLR 96, 2009)
2. Rocketship - I Love You Like the Way I Used to Do (SLR 40, 1996)
3. The Lodger - A Year Since Last Summer (SLR 80, 2008)
4. The Ropers - I Don't Mind (SLR 38, 1994)
5. Summer Cats - In June (SLR 101, 2009)
6. The Saturday People - Working For the Weekend (SLR 67, 2001)
7. Brown Recluse - Contour and Context (SLR 102, 2009)
8. The Clientele - Porcelain (single version) (SLR 63, 2001)
9. The Softies - Half As Much (SLR 47, 1998)
10. Glo-Worm - Change of Heart (SLR 45, 1995)
11. The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - Stay Alive (SLR 89, 2009)
12. Black Tambourine - Drown (DRYL 9, 1991)
13. Crystal Stilts - Love Is a Wave (SLR 91, 2009)
14. Henry's Dress - You Killed a Boy For Me (SLR 34, 1995)
15. caUSE co-MOTION! - Leave It All (SLR 93, 2009)
16. Go Sailor - The Boy Who Sailed Around the World (SLR 36, 1995)
17. Sexy Kids - Drown Me (SLR 79, 2008)
18. The Aislers Set - Been Hiding (SLR 52, 1999)
19. Boyracer - Vitamin B (SLR 48, 1996)
20. Honeybunch - Candy Breath (DRYL 5, 1991)
SLR 106 V/A - I Wish I Was Slumberland Records
...you should step out tonight for the last So Tough! So Cute! (at Retro). It's sad to see it go as I've always regarded it as the only indiepop club in Sweden with a proper dancefloor. Tonight is a tribute to Slumberland, and the late Ellie Greenwich. By a stroke of luck I found the only Raindrops album earlier today (The Raindrops was of course the alias Ellie and her songwriting partner Jeff Barry used for their own recordings), perched delicately on a pile of rubble. I bet the guy or girl who once picked it up for the considerable sum of 1 crown is kicking themselves now! It's also available on cd these days (on Sequel I think) with a bunch of bonus tracks. But this 1963 Jubilee release is so much nicer, pressed on that super-thick vinyl you only got back in those days. It proves that not only were they able to pen megahits like "The Kind of Boy You Can't Forget", but also swooning tracks like "That Boy's Messin' Up My Mind" and my new favorite "Isn't That Love".
CLOUD 103 The Raindrops - Isn't That Love
This image of Paul Handyside has come to you across several different media - recorded, broadcast, rerecorded, ripped, encoded, transcoded, copied and saved digitally and virtually. Still, it is an image. We can just about make out the beautiful, black Burns Doublesix he is playing. Or simulating playing. Because there is music as well, only this image has now been stripped of its soundtrack. The sound that should go with this image is an edited down version of a song recorded in a different place and different time. In its full context, we can even see Paul happily strumming along when he should actually be playing something completely different. So it would make as much sense to present this image here, totally out of context, and out of time.
To provide some context, a virtual person has recently uploaded several videos spanning the whole career of Newcastle band Hurrah!, perhaps in excitement over Monday's reissue of Tell God I'm Here on Cherry Red (following the surely unprecedented success of the Another Sunny Day reissue last month). You can watch them here. The early ones are magnificent, while the later ones can best be described with the adjectives 'silly' and 'sexist'. Now, the reason for picking up the in many respects forgettable Tell God I'm Here (already reissued in Japan last year) is the second disc, which includes 11 tracks from desirable compilation The Sound of Philadelphia. While they have omitted the best Hurrah! track "Around and Around" (ask Bob Stanley) you are treated to the b-side to "Hip Hip" and the best cuts from second album The Beautiful.
The reason why I say they are the best is because I have just had the pleasure of hearing this 1989 lp in it its entirety. I think it is beautiful, landing somewhere in-between their more fragile early recordings and the sound of Bronze. It includes new versions of several old songs: "Saturday's Train" (recorded for radio in 1982), "Big Sky" (intended to be their third single, in 1984) and "Velveteen" (documented on the live lp Way Ahead, recorded in 1985). Since the only way to hear the whole record is to download it illegally, perhaps you should suggest to Cherry Red that they reissue The Beautiful as well!
On the same cherry red note, next Monday sees the release of Black Path, a retrospective of my favourite Medway group The Claim, culled from their singles (including both sides of their Caff 7"!) and two albums plus plenty of unreleased material.
German Measles is the among the very best bands of the inbred Brooklyn scene. They've got a sense of humour, their first release was called "Demos Sorry" - a tape now proudly listed as 'sold out' in the already impressive catalogue of Captured Tracks - and they don't hesitate to call themselves a party rock band. In the tradition of the wildest 60s garage and fratrock groups of course. I can definitely imagine them playing new track "Totally Wild" at a North-West college dance in 1966. Or as a track on The Savages' album Live 'n' Wild from the same year. The 'demos' are obvious live recordings too, most of them introduced with "take one". The only thing about it is that the guitar sound is a bit too thin, but then again that makes them sound like Desperate Bicycles! Especially on the opening track "Monkey Me, Monkey You", whose haphazard rhythms has the unusual effect of putting a big grin on anyone's face. Indie music has always had too many pretentious saddos, and such a work of simple genius as this is as rare these days as ever. To me, lyrics like those to "Mosco Street" and "We Want You" is the most fantastic thing since Helen Love's "We Love You". That they have one foot in the 60s (tempted to say in the grave) is proved by the silly "Japanese Beetles" and their playful inversion of Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe" (also covered, of course, by many garage and folk-rock groups). Perhaps none of this would have got them far if they hadn't had a singer with a real personality. A true (post)modern Gerry Roslie! German Measles may be a live band (proved by the fantastic session on WFMU that you can listen to here) but at least the sound on the soon to be released 12" on Captured Tracks has improved dramatically, thanks to Gary Olson's production. I talked about the recording with him when we played in Germany and he says he's very happy with it. Two mp3s from it are floating around as I write, so if you don't buy it... And don't forget to buy the 12"!
German Measles was one of the many bands who played the Captured Tracks / Woodsist festival in New York this summer. For those of you as envious of the visitors as me, there are some great videos over here.
The first copy of Wildwood Lights' debut ep has made it to Sweden! You remember Wildwood Lights, right? That lovely, talented band I had the pleasure of not only meeting and seeing live in Auckland, but also arranging a gig for. We've waited eagerly for the first release and now it's here! Reports from the release party have been very favourable, especially of the new tote bags. The True Love Woes ep contains three songs, including my first favourite "Town and Country" which has subsequently made it to no. 1 on bFM's top ten. It only exists in 100 copies, handmade by the ladies themselves, so get yours now on their site!
The Gladeyes also have news songs on Myspace, from the long awaited new album. Another cause for celebration!
In other homemade record news I have been enjoying the digital version of the first Sugarplums release. They have been selling it at gigs, and I assume you can buy it directly from them! Covers vary, but at least one of them looked like what you can see above. It includes five old and new songs, full of ramshackle guitars recorded with minimal means. "Cate's Crush" is a new favourite with its pairing of Juniper's choppy guitar sound with the fizz of Henry's Dress. The melodies are everywhere, hardly concealed by the lo-fi trappings. "Plum Coloured Sky" will have to be the old favourite then, with a guitar intro that sounds like it's been nicked from the most credible of sources. I do wish they'd let the lyrics come through a bit more, which is why I'd love to hear them with newly added (from the looks of it on Myspace) singer Rachel. But this is an amazing start that could well mean that their next release will be on a label like Art Fag, Captured Tracks or HoZac.
This is what this month's DDOMD booklets look like, well, folded in half of course. Still no colour printer, so I had to add some colour with the trusty John Bull kit. Featured in this issue is a diary entry from an 11-year-old, the CO-RITUS manifesto from 1962 and some short features on Neo Boys and Les Misérables (no, not the musical). Will be given out tonight if you can make it.
What do these bands have in common? Cartwheel, Colors & Shapes, Casino Ashtrays, The Autocollants, Tears Run Rings, In a Day and Evening Lights. Well probably several things, but one is Laura Watling. Perhaps most well-known for being the female voice in The Autocollants, she now plays with Tears Run Rings (the picture is from one of their gigs). Apart from all these pseudonyms she also has releases under her own name. The album Early Morning Walk is one the finest things Shelflife have ever put out, and it's a true honour to be in a band that has a record out on the same label! The sound is so brittle and beautiful that the only thing I can really compare it to is a Motifs record. From the poignant lyrics of "Perfect Penmanship", to the laudable cover of The Motorcycle Boy's perhaps best number "The World Falls Into Place", to the gorgeous harmonies of "It's All I Can Do" (that always reminds me of a West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band song), the whole album bears the mark of Watling's penchant for simple arrangements, utilised to the fullest to accompany her plainly wonderful voice.
I've put together one song each by the bands of hers that I know of (there might be more?), starting with a solo number from a Popgun tape I have dated to 1997. Casino Ashtrays were Watling and Raoul who runs Popgun, and formed after The Autocollants split. Someone should really compile a full discography of Laura's releases, because even though I thought I had gotten hold of everything, at least digitally, I just found out that there is Popgun cassette from 2006 with three leftover Casino Ashtrays songs!
Colors & Shapes' (Watling + Tim Gauslin) only release was also a Popgun tape, with two songs, however doubled over both sides. In a Day (perhaps named after the Evening Lights song?) only had one release as well, a split-7" with the reformed Even As We Speak in 2003. Evening Lights themselves seem to be the group that prefigured Tears Run Rings, as it also included Shelflife proprietors Matthew and Ed. The song here is from their only ep, released of course, on Shelflife. Cartwheel was Watling and Dwayne Palasek (also in Autocollants and In a Day) and they released a 7" on Sandcastle. That label isn't around anymore, but their site is still up at Indiepages.
As you can see there is also a 'Library tape' with Laura Watling songs. If anyone knows where you could get hold of these songs please let me know! Apparently Sandcastle's idea was to create a library of songs, so that when you ordered something you could get a tape with your own selections recorded. What a great idea!
Just now I also found another band called The Disappointment, who had the same members as Evening Lights it would seem. I don't have any of their songs, but you can hear a few on Myspace. Right now you'll have to do with these:
Laura Watling - I Fell In Love On Saturday
Casino Ashtrays - Comfortable Distance
Colors & Shapes - Song One
The Autocollants - Skybloom
In a Day - Lazy Summer Days
Cartwheel - Halfway There
Evening Lights - Starless
Tears Run Rings - Waiting For the End
CLOUD 102 V/A - We're Still Fun
NEWS!
Ed told me that there is a Laura Watling retrospective coming out soon, with some unreleased songs. It's called Songs From Dreams and a track is included in the Shelflife sampler that you can get here. Also included is a track from an upcoming Evening Lights cd, compiling the odds and ends they never released! Called The Disappointment, not surprisingly.
Apart from studying, today has been spent listening to 14 Iced Bears' 14 Iced Bears (reissued on the now equally out of print Let the Breeze Open Our Hearts) and my latest parcel of records from Matinée. People who were quick (like me!) could make some real bargains among the newly discovered leftovers from Jimmy's old Roundabout mailorder. Finally got a mint copy of the Bubblegum Splash! ep, the second Gentle Despite single (not as great as their first one but worth it just for 6-minute opus "Shadow of a Girl" on the b-side), that treasured first single from The Fairways (which has been sold out for years) and last but not least the first ep by Oxford folk-rock group The Relationships.
That came out on Twee Kitten in 1998, and Twee Kitten being a name that probably wouldn't be passable a for newly established label today, they did package their releases commendably. Among the noteworthy ones are a Casino Ashtrays ep and (later Matinée signees) Sweet William's excellent Ambiguous ep. I definitely like how they've applied the 80s diy 7"-packaging (folded paper sleeve in plastic bag) to the cd format - complete with catalogue insert, and in this case a "bonus mini-'zine accompaniment"! In it you can read details about the members of Relationships (including their current mode of transport and favourite Beatle) and about their love for 60s groups with hand-drawn logos. The reviews from the Twee Kitten team sets the timeframe for the release perfectly, with reviews of Moon Safari, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, a Magick Heads ep and (yay!) #Poundsign#s best single.
The Relationships, it can't hurt to remind you of, was once formed by former members of the excellent Anyways and their sound-a-likes Razorcuts. Their latest album came out recently and we enthusiastically played a track from it on the HIAYH radio show in Auckland. But here's a reminder to go out and purchase Space as soon as the credit crunch lifts! Country Catalogue itself is impressive for a debut ep, my favourites being the closing tracks "Sea Street" and "Disappearing Girl". The former has some magnificently airy guitar-playing from Angus, his twelve strings reverberating at the bottom of the mix, while the latter is a classic 3-minute powerpop hit.
Together with these timeless pop artifacts came a shiny copy of Strawberry Whiplash's new ep. Picture Perfect is their second outing and slightly less fuzzy than Who's In Your Dreams, but ever-so-pop. The title-track is the big hit of the bunch, and with "Hay In a Needlestack" Laz continues his playful referencing of pop culture (cf. "Surfin' USB" on the recent Bubblegum Lemonade ep) helped on by some nifty 12-string picking. Sandra's vocals sound perfectly smooth throughout, upheld by seriously hook-laden melodies. "Celestial" turns up the overdrive and gives Laz the opportunity for that solo even pop guitarists itch for. "Falling Through" sounds as great as when we heard the first recording of it on Myspace all those years ago, utilising a clever variation of that Byrds riff. It's very hard for my to pick a favourite here, I guess the only solution is to buy it so that you can play all four songs on repeat!
In Melbourne I was talking to Alex about making a mix for driving to. Now I've finally finished it! 21 songs about cars, driving, and roads leading everywhere. Named after the Mighty Mighty song, which they even played at Indietracks this summer. Of course there are many more songs that would fit the theme, but if you find any embarrassing omissions, they might be on another mix with the same theme that I just made! The live version of "Driving South" is incredible, and I captured it from Swedish radio several years. In fact it was the first time I properly listened to The Clientele, and there could not be a better introduction. "Big Blue Bus" is an earlier version of the Choo Choo Train tune "Big Blue Buzz", and is from the first release on the Bus Stop label. I'm sure you'll recognise the rest of it. Now, all proud car-owners can scroll down and download the mix from the link. Everyone else will simply have to be satisfied with gazing at the tracklist.
CLOUD 101 V/A - Built Like a Car
One of the most confusing things about 60s garage is that almost every band name was used by more than one group. The Rogues is probably the worst/best example, but recently I have been listening to different Beefeaters. Perhaps most well-known is the group that was first known as The Jet Set, and after recording a Bob Dylan tune became The Byrds. They only released one single, "Please Let Me Love You" and on the flip is a less interesting recording of "Don't Be Long" (or "It Won't Be Long" as it was called on Turn! Turn! Turn!). There is also a Danish group called Beefeaters that some people will have heard of, at least in Scandinavia. But the first group of this name that I heard is a much lesser known group from Dallas. They only recorded two songs (at least as far as I know). "Don't Hurt Me" was included in the Garage Beat '66 series, and both are also on the much older Texas Punk 1966 Vol. 1 on Cicadelic. As you can read on Allmusic, they're not entirely different from early Byrds. Especially so on the 12-string-equipped "Change My Mind".
CLOUD 99 The Beefeaters - Change My Mind
We're extremely chuffed to announce that the fantastic fuzzpop duo Horowitz from Stoke/Nottingham will be coming to these shores in October! It's the resourceful Don't Tell Me That! who have finally convinced them, and of course Don't Die On My Doorstep are in on the deal. On Tuesday the 27th the walls at På Besök will have guitars bouncing off them and John from the secret pop heroes of Malmö: Chocolate Barry, will be playing records. John also plays with the in no way inferior garage trio The Branded and we're looking forward to his selections! There might even be an equally fantastic support act..
Horowitz's next single is first on the list of upcoming releases on Cloudberry, and it will be their best record so far! It felt virtually impossible to top "Tracyanne", but with "How to Look Imploring" c/w "The Drunks Are Writing Punk Songs" they have achieved it. We know because we played it almost a year ago already! An mp3 should turn up on Cloudberry HQ soon, otherwise check it out on Myspace. Already out is an ep with 3 even fresher recordings. On Stephen's This Almighty Pop! label, "Super Snuggles" should already be selling as fast as the drum machine beat of the title-track. It's a slightly new direction for the band, heralded by "Drop the Hat" on January's WeePOP! compilation Starting Anew. They have stifled the sugar-rush somewhat and present us with three thoughtfully varied songs - from the melodic hit-potential of "Super Snuggles" to the beautiful waltz "The Boy From Whatstandwell". "Winona" (presented below, via This Almighty Pop!) lands somewhere in the middle, with it's chugging spiral stairs guitar.
CLOUD 98 Horowitz - Winona
I've been listening to Monade and Testbild! today, after a week so full of studies I haven't had time to listen to much music, it feels like. I would definitely not have said no a Monade gig with Testbild! supporting, as the musical moods they create are closely related and I have still not seen Testbild! live, despite the fact that they are based in Malmö.
Aquatint is the name of their fifth album, and also their most ambitious. The Inexplicable Feeling of September was long, but this album contains 20 tracks. A copy has been lying here in Malmö, waiting for me to get back to Sweden, perhaps ripening over the months. It is named after a reproduction technique, which you can see above, but also refers to the marine themes of the music. It is eemingly based around a novel (without author) reproduced in the booklet. Throughout the artwork, all the 'g's are printed in red, something that is explained once you read the story - I am not going to reveal too much of it here.
It is also the first record in the label Friendly Noise's new strategy scheme for releases, which you can read here. Basically a by-subscription affair, like recent albums by Louis Philippe and The Orange Peels, it's encouraging to know that enough people wanted to hear this for it to actually go to the pressing plant. It has undeniably been worth it because the album is full of haunting instrumentals and interspersed moments of pop, not completely unlike the latest Hepburns album Trojan Hearse. Matt and Petter have collaborated quite extensively and on Aquatint you will also find a cover of "My Brother the Submariner". You can hear the Hepburns original here and it is supposedly from a trio of albums they were supposed to have released in 2007!
As always the lyrics are intriguing, whether sung in close male harmonies or by female accomplice 'Jana'. My favourite title is possible "Beneath Transparent Felt" but also "Rippling Icicle". Most of the songs seem connected to the short story inside, and as always with Testbild! they have created a seamless whole, packaged in a matt digipak and even including a short film by Pontus Lindqvist.
The nautical theme perhaps also leads back to a previous release on Johan Jacobsson's label Vågor och Strömmar. A single copy a cd was put in a glass bottle and thrown into the sea outside Malmö in 2007 - still no one knows if it was found. The master recording was erased and the whole concept garnered them coverage on national radio and in several daily papers. Earlier this year a similar event, called Imagine a Balloon, took place in Malmö. Shamefully I missed it, and with it the only chance to hear the Testbild! songs included. At least some photos of the event can be scrutinised here.
Roque included a song by Spanish duo Superété when he made me a mix of Spanish-language pop quite a while ago. I was really excited to hear them, as I knew that Sandra from California Snow Story had been in that band before she moved to Glasgow. Unlike Roque's story, I'd seen her but not spoken to her. Of course, I loved her vocals on Close to the Ocean and the Superété track on the mix, "Martina Feliz" was equally great. I asked Roque if there was more music, but as you can read in his post they only recorded two demos. That song is from the second, and best in my opinion. It's from 2004 and below you will find another track from it. It's very lucky that I'm able to present you with this, because Roque had lost the mp3s for a long time and only just found them on a back-up harddrive! California Snow Story aren't really around anymore, as David Skirving lives in Japan since a few years ago. So here's hoping that Sandra and David continue making music, on their own or by correspondence!
I love hearing about new bands from other bands, and what influences and favourites people have. Just like Brogues apparently, who recently linked to this fascinating article about Stephen Pastel's faves at 5-year intervals.
A band that Horowitz has spoken very warmly of is Cambridge's punk pride The Users, who only released two singles. I recently found one of them in Repeat Records here in Malmö for 120 kr, which was a bit expensive I thought (the same store that I found the Girl of My Best Friend single in, for 40kr!). Their first, "Sick of You" is simply amazing and will on its own warrant a purchase of Secondary Modern, a 9-track cd that was released last year. The group also have a presence on Myspace.
Grass Widow have taken it upon themselves to champion all-female post-punk group Neo Boys, which is lucky because there is scarcely anything about them online. They were from Portland, Oregon and shared labels with the Wipers. Only two records were released, a self-titled 7" ep in 1981 and the Crumbling Myths 12" a year later. Neo Boys is one of the best bands I have heard all year and it is nothing but criminal that there is as of yet no cd retrospective of their music. If you can, you should track down the History of Portland Punk Vol. 1 comp, which is the only digital source of Neo Boys music.
There's plenty more to find about Texas post-punk group Mydolls, who were three women and one of their male cousins on drums (one of the guitarists is pictured above). I found them through Brilliant Colors' Myspace, and they have their own page here. Mydolls too, only release two singles and a mini-LP called Speak Softly & Carry a Big Stick on the CIA label. The latter is all I have heard, but it's truly wonderful. The group play together every now and then and also have a double-disc compilation A World of Her Own out since last year. The best song I have heard by them so far is the relentless "21st Century Compliments"
CLOUD 96 Mydolls - 21st Century Compliments
While checking in on Captured Tracks to see whether the Spectrals 7" was out yet I discovered that they have not only got themselves a proper website (finally, with info about the releases!) there has also been a new burst of releases. No Spectrals stuff yet, but a new 12" with Grass Widow, whose debut album on Make a Mess made me very happy. The four new songs, out of which two have been on a Rank/Xerox split-cassette, are even better than most of the LP, so it'd be clever to snap this up before it sells out. Grass Widow now stands out as one of the best new American bands to appear this year, and in this interesting interview for Vice Magazine of all people, they reveal their main influences to be The Move and LiLiPuT amongst others. Not bad!
Also back with new material is Blank Dogs/Dum Dum Girls collaboration The Mayfair Set. The new six-track ep Young One is denser more worked-over than the brilliant first single "Already Warm". Me fave tracks are "Dark House" that builds up over 4 minutes and the short but intense "I've Been Watching You".
Also out now is an lp with Brilliant Colors, the best new American band of the year. It rounds up the two now sold out singles on CT and Make a Mess and adds "I Start With Your Name" for your pleasure.
At Indietracks this summer it really seemed as if the world and his wife had suddenly become Cats On Fire fans. I'm certain there were more than a hundred people dancing fervently up front, something that is highly unusual with an unpretentious, slightly camp group like Cats On Fire. If possible, they have become even tighter and more professional than last year, and new songs like "Tears On Your Cup" lets them rock out in their own anti-rock way. The summer has already given me two opportunities to see them and tonight they are playing in Malmö for the first time since the We & You festival in 2004. That was the first time I ever saw or heard them, which makes it an even more pressing cause for celebration.
Also, it's high time that I wrote more extensively about their new and second album Our Temperance Movement which has grown on me to become my favourite release of theirs since it came out on Matinée Recordings earlier this year. The thing that defines the new record for me is both the wider variation in instrumentation and the improved coherency compared to The Province Complains. When I saw them at Indietracks Ville was also playing a Telecaster with intermittent bursts of chorus, which gave them a fresh sound that I think suited them well. I later found out the guitar was on loan from Basil Butcher Boy! At Cosy Den they reverted into their familiar Swedish mode and played mainly old material, partly due to the 5-year anniversary of course, since they were one of the bands that played Cosy Den in 2004, when it still took place in arranger Mattias' flat in Gothenburg.
There's something about the record that keeps drawing my thoughts towards The Go-Betweens. Of course Mattias has always had a Forsterian air about him, but maybe it's because they've dared to take a softer approach to many of the songs this time, with the guitars mixed further back and plenty of picked acoustics, baring the songwriting to the bone. They used to be best at the faster, electric numbers but here it is the midtempo songs like "The Steady Pace" that stand out. The scornful "Letters From a Voyage to Sweden", about trips on the seedy ferry connecting Stockholm and Åbo or Helsinki, is as succinct as "Draining the Pool For You" and where else today will you hear someone sing that "too much adultery just poisons your mind"? They even risk slowing the album down to a halt with "Never Sell the House" that seems to be addressed to Mattias' mother, but the very quiet organ in the background keeps everything afloat. There are plenty of references to ships, water and other more intoxicating liquids. And of course the cover is of a ship in a bottle - a symbol for the paradoxical, but also the traditional. A riddle that leaves us guessing at what their temperance movement really is. Perhaps 'our' means belonging to all of us. Several of the songs are about being a better person, or wishing others to be. The lyrics come through much more clearly on this album as well, and the audience at Indietracks was not only dancing but singing along. If there are any standout tracks, it must be "Tears In Your Cup", built on a mock rock'n'roll guitar line and telling the story of someone listening to The Yardbirds while enjoying a glass of wine. It contains my favourite line "so if I want to hear you talk I see you when you're under your favourite spell". Also "The Borders of This Land" with its Deebank-style guitar lines that accompany the vocal throughout, is a firm favourite. Our Temperance Movement is not a happy album, it doesn't take any shortcuts to your heart, but it's daring and most if the time its aim is true. Without boasting, Cats On Fire can say that they have recorded one of the best albums of the decade.
Unfortunately (as McCarthy declared), you sometimes have to - e.g. to be able to buy records, which is something I hope at least some of you are still doing. One of the records I'm most looking forward to at the moment is an upcoming release on German Firestation Records, who after last year's brilliant Men of Westenesse comp are returning with a retrospective of English pop group The Ogdens. You can read the full pressrelease here, but it will be a 22-track compilation which means plenty or unreleased material. Because as Ogdens fans will know, the group only released three singles between 1989 and 1990. My favourite song of theirs is perhaps "Train to London Bridge" which you should be able to find online, otherwise check out one of the live tracks on cd on the group's Myspace. I met Uwe this summer and apart from a new Sound of Leamington Spa volume the reissue of Pontification is now finally happening as well! It will be improved with several unreleased tracks even.
Roque (who's working with Uwe on a Greek edition of Leamington Spa) has just released a retrospective compilation of a great lost indiepop group as well. Crush 22 are much more recent and in fact the precursor to one of my most dearly loved bands - Brittle Stars. I've written about Crush 22 here before, but now you can get a cute 3" cd with all the songs they've had on Myspace as well as two extra tracks that no one has heard before! Part of the Cloudberry Classics series that also includes essential compilations with The Artisans and The Proctors.
