2 June 2015

I've had a week off, so this is one of those times when I dig back through stuff I haven't got round to playing over the last few months.

Man Made - TV Broke My Brain
And they're not alone judging by the number of complaints about a tightrope-walking dog. Anyway, they're from Manchester and include Nile Marr. Son of.

Thomas Wilby Gang - Lordy O
Swampy, gospel-infused blues rock from Wakey. And why not?

Martyr Privates - Sores
This is one I've been after for ages. They're from Brisbane and their self-titled LP came out last September and I've finally got my hands on it. Worth the wait.

Cover Version Corner
Consuelo Velazquez - Besame Mucho
Morrissey - Kiss Me A Lot
Not strictly speaking a cover, but it's my rules and I don't care. Besame Mucho means Kiss Me A Lot and you can pick out bossa-nova cues in Morrissey's track which is on last year's World Peace In None Of Your Business. The original is from 1940. Still sounds great.

The Fall - Venice With The Girls
Another track from the new LP Sub-Lingual Tablet. An ever-changing line-up, but always the same.

Firestations - French Caves
I've had this on my list for ages. Never Closer came out the back end of last year and it's very good.

Frog - King Kong
From New York and off their second album, Kind Of Blah, which came out last week. Quirky, original.

Naturkunde Museum Ostkreuz - Zaragoza Variations
Here's something different. Off an EP that came out in March called Tropycalyptic Excursions.

Gerstaffelen - Invisible Ghosts
And in a similar vein, this from an EP called Night Flowing North And South.

One Degree of Separation
Half Man Half Biscuit - A Shropshire Lad
Wild Billy Chyldish and The Spartan Dreggs - A Shropshire Lad
Two totally unrelated tracks that share a title. From the Spartan Dreggs' 2012 album Coastel Command and from 1997's Voyage To The Bottom Of The Road.

Erosynilegt - Astar Bref
Couple of new ones to finish with. First, this from a Keflavik band that I'm certain I haven't pronounced properly. The name translates as Love Letters anyway. Off an EP of the same name.

Dementio13 - Barley Dance
And to finish, something from the relatively new album Vkhutemas vol 2 which is well worth your time seeking out.

Here's that on YouTube:



and a bit of it on Soundcloud:



Normality next week.

20 May 2014

In which I break my Sisters Of Mercy duck...

Morrissey - World Peace Is None Of Your Business
Always nice to hear from Morrissey. This is off a new album of the same name due out on July 15. While he may raise some salient points, I'm not sure he's thought things through. If there are things that require change, I'm not sure that disenfranchising yourself from the process - denying yourself the one vehicle you have at your disposal - is a great way to go about it. We do have elections on Thursday. The Europeans are PR and your vote will count. Do get out and use it if you can, hoof out the extremists we got lumped with last time, on the back of pitiful turnout, and let's be grown up about all this, eh?

The Modern - Industry
This was their debut single from back in 2005 and I'd pretty much forgotten it until I heard it last week. I still like it. No idea if they're even still going.

Movie -Ads
Is that a bit of Devo I can hear in there? Either way, I like it. Something a little different to anything else out there. It's out on Skelly Records and if you're trying to find it, probably best to start there than enter 'movie ads' in Ask Jeeves or whatever your favourite search engine is.

Cover Version Corner
Binary Finary - 1998
Peace - 1998 (Delicious)
First, a trance classic from, unsurprisingly, 1998. They also did a more flowery version a year later. Originality being their strong point, that was called 1999, but I'm not sure it was strictly needed. Second, a version with guitars and lyrics from Birmingham band Peace off their debut EP Delicious. Completely different in almost every way.

Kitten Pyramid - Uh Oh
These are new to me, from Burton on Trent. This came out late last year and I like it a lot. There's plenty going on and doesn't sound too much like anything else. One to keep an eye on.

Bed Rugs - Wave
We've played these before. They're from Belgium and this is another one from late last year.

Lemon Jelly - The Shouty Track
Because it's warm and sunny and Lemon Jelly works on warm, sunny days. This is not in the usual laid-back vein, though. Off the album '64-'95 from 1998.

One Degree of Separation
Teenage Fanclub - What You Do To Me
Sisters Of Mercy - This Corrosion
I warned you about Sisters Of Mercy. They were (are?) from Leeds. That's off the album Floodland from 1987. Before that, the ever-lovely Teenage Fanclub. What a splendid band they are. That's off Bandwagonesque from 1991. The link is that they both appeared on the rather splendid soundtrack to the film The World's End which I finally got round to seeing last week. Gloriously silly.

Aim - Cold Water Music
Take it down a notch from Sisters Of Mercy with this, the title track from Aim's 1999 album. Aim is Andrew Turner from Barrow.

Psychemagik - Black Noir Schwarz
I've been after this for a while. It came out in February, but I've only just got my hands on it. Consider that your Tuesday night banger.

Jamie xx - Girl
I have an inherent suspicion of people who refer to themselves by the name of the band that they're in. This is Jamie Smith of the xx with a rather lovely down tempo track. Quite different to the stripped back style of the xx, it shows there's more to him than that.

Mr Scruff ft Denis Jones - Render Me
A new album from Mr Scruff landed yesterday. Friendly Bacteria is the title and it's steering away from the sampling and beats to something more melodic and with vocals too. It's still bloody good though. This is the first release from it. Bang on.

Here's all that on YouTube:



Back with more next week. Enjoy the Bank Holiday.

26 November 2012

Usual guff, but this time with guest Matt in the studio with us

The Beatles - Taxman
John: George didn't want to pay his taxes back in 1966. Dangerously close to jumping the shark there, you class warriors.

Eric B and Rakim - Paid In Full
John: Yeah, which we'd rather be too. Some early hip-hop there from 1987, a time when there was no such thing as too many samples.
Carolyn: Yes, like 'we've got all these bits, let's shove another one in'

The Divine Comedy - Complete Banker
John: From the 2010 album Bang Goes The Knighthood. I think I've thumped that tub enough now.
Carolyn: Yes dear, shall we move on?

Cover Version Corner
Royal Festival Orchestra/The Cats - Swan Lake
John: The Royal Festival Orchestra playing Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake - well, a bit of it - and a ska'd up version which is great for when the sun's out, roof down on the car and the volume up.

The Shins - Simple Song
John: From the current album Port Of Morrow. They are from Albuquerque.

Massive Attack - Unfinished Sympathy
John: In what is becoming a feature where we make everyone feel old, that's off Blue Lines which is 21 years old.
Carolyn: It can't be. I refuse to accept time has passed so quickly.
John: This show is becoming like a musical Logan's Run. 'I'm still young!'

Groove Armada - Paper Romance
John: They have a new single out, Pull Up, but this is from a couple of years ago off the album Black Light.

Adam Green and Binki Shapiro - Here I Am
John: Out now, that's off the album also called Adam Green and Binki Shapiro and jolly pleasant it is too.
Carolyn: Binki?

Professor Kliq - Moth Returns
John: Chicago artist Mike Else performs as Professor Kliq - with a K and a Q.

One Degree Of Separation
The Smiths - I Want The One I Can't Have
Morrissey - You're The One For Me, Fatty
John: Not exactly going for a massive leap here. These are Matt's choices. Any reason behind picking those tracks?
Matt: I still think he's among the best live artists around today and they're two really good tunes.
John: First the Smiths from Meat Is Murder back in 1985 and the second from Your Arsenal in 1992.

Steve Mason - Lost and Found
John: The ex-Beta Band man, that's off Boys Outside which came out in 2010.

The Primitives - Crash
John: Another one to make us feel old, that's from 1988. Two minutes, bosh, done, perfect.
Carolyn: I was looking for that the other day. And now we have it. That's not the single version though is it?
John: No, that was a recording from an Andy Kershaw session.



White Denim - Street Joy
John: From Austin, Texas, that's off last year's album D. As in the letter D.
Carolyn: White Denim had to be from Texas.

Ty Segall - Thank God For Sinners
John: From San Francisco, that's off the album Twins which is out now.
Carolyn: Lots of old stuff tonight, but finish on something new.

Here's your YouTube playlist.