3 June 2014

Another trip round rock's back-roads. Tuck in.


Beta Band - Round The Bend
A glorious cacophony. Almost skiffle-like. That's off their self-titled debut album from 1999.

Frikstailers - Crop Circles
If I have a criticism of this, it's that it's not long enough. Hopefully there are some extended remixes I've yet to hear, but that is fabulous. Pronounced 'freak stylers', apparently, they're Rafa Caivano and Lisandro Sona from Buenos Aires.

Parquet Courts - Black And White
You know by now what you're getting from Parquet Courts. They've got that lo-fi slacker rock thing down pat and here's another slice from the new album Sunbathing Animal, out today.

Cover Version Corner
Killing Joke/Eagulls - Requiem
Not a particularly different version from Eagulls, but certainly faster and more energetic, as is their wont. They're from Leeds and that was the B-side to the single Nerve Endings which we've had on the show previously. Before that, Killing Joke from their self-titled 1980 album.

The Baggios - Sem Condição
This is just great. Off an EP called Sina which came out last autumn. They're from Sao Cristovao in Brazil.

Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - Until The Sun Explodes
Again, you know what you're getting with these and the new album, Days Of Abandon, is no different. Not that there's anything wrong with that. A delight.

The Death Of Pop - Whenever
This is terrific. Another new band to me, a4-piece from Bournemouth on the Art Is Hard label. This is off an EP called Fifths and I look forward to hearing more from them.

One Degree of Separation
Iggy Pop - I'm Bored
Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band - I'm Bored
What could possibly link these two records? Of course it's just the title. The reasons for the boredom are very different though. Iggy seems upset with the trappings of fame, whereas the Bonzos are bored in a very mundane British way. Two good records though, which is the main point. The Bonzos from their 1967 debut album Gorilla, Iggy from 1979's New Values.

Retroject - Herculean Julian
From Doncaster, these are pretty damn good. Another track from their Murky Windows EP for you for no other reason than because.

Maximo Park - Random Regrets
This was their release for Record Store Day in April which I'm only just getting round to playing. Worth the wait.

Clean Bandit ft Sharna Bass - Extraordinary
When I was collating tracks for the show, I chucked this in thinking it's alright, maybe it'll grow on me. Now I realise it hasn't at all. I gave it a chance, but no, not for me.

Fresh Snow - Saturation Complete
Make yourself a cuppa and sit back, this will take a while. 12 minutes, in fact, but totally worth it. This is over a year old, but I've only now had the foresight to plan in such a long record. Utterly fantastic.

Here's that on YouTube:



And Soundcloud:


No show next week - I'm on holiday. Back in a fortnight.

1 April 2014

Back after a football-interrupted week.

Wilko Johnson and Roger Daltrey - Keep It To Myself
Glorious. Good old-fashioned blues-rock. And why not? Going Back Home is the album, out now.

††† - The Epilogue
Or Crosses, to you and me. That came out last November.

Fear Of Men - Luna
New stuff from Brighton. The album is Doom and is out on the 22nd of April.

Cover Version Corner
Jefferson Airplane/The Damned - White Rabbit
Still bonkers. That was a non-album single for The Damned in 1980, punkifying the psychedelia of 1967 and the Surrealistic Pillow album.

The War On Drugs - Lost In The Dream
The second single and title track from the album which came out last month. It's full of great stuff like that.

Kigo - Dress
Absolutely sensational. From Brisbane comes this tribute to the shoegaze scene of the early '90s. That is just brilliant. The EP is called Chance and it's superb.

Mourning Birds - Eve Of The Isle
Their second single and the third and easily the longest track we've played by them on the show. The others were about 90 seconds - this a mighty two-and-a-half minutes. More please.

I, Ludicrous - Fabulous
The show is back-loaded with older stuff today, starting with this. From their debut album It's Like Everything Else from 1987.

One Degree of Separation
Muddy Waters - Mississippi Delta Blues
The Standells - Dirty Water
Muddy Waters - Dirty Water. You see? Course you do. First, McKinley Morganfield from 1948 and then some classic garage rock from 1966 and easily their biggest hit. Totally misread by many Bostonians, it's more complaining about the state of the rivers, but was quickly adopted by sporting franchises there.

The Chambers Brothers - Time Has Come Today (part 1)
Just five minutes, not the full eleven and some. Their biggest hit, from 1968 and the album The Time Has Come.

Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - Simple And Sure
Love 'em. Off the forthcoming album Days Of Abandon.

Retroject - Sourbridge
Another track from the Murky Window EP. Keep 'em coming, lads.

Shit Robot ft Reggie Watts - We Got A Love
Excellent Chicago-style house from Dublin's Marcus Lambkin.

Ed Harcourt - Come Into My Dreamland
And to finish on a wind-down, a slice of relaxatory music from the Time Of Dust album that came out in January.

There's this on YouTube:



And Soundcloud:



More next week

15 October 2013

Our 50th show! And we didn't even realise. How time flies...

Wooden Shjips - These Shadows
Shjips with a J. New from these from the new album 'Back To Land' which is out on November 12. A nice, gentle entry into the show.

Factory Floor - Turn It Up
I've been after playing some stuff from the debut album by these - also called 'Factory Floor' - for a while. It's a cracking album and as I've been so lax, I'll make up for it by playing a couple of tracks from it tonight starting with this one.

Disclosure ft London Grammar - Help Me Lose My Mind
And from a very similar envelope, Disclosure. We've played a fair bit from the hit album 'Settle' which came out in May. I've been listening to this a lot this week. It's just dreamy.

Cover Version Corner
BB King ft Robert Cray/Masters In France - Playin' With My Friends
I'm told that the Masters In France version is on an IKEA advert. I don't know - I normally mute the adverts. Anyway, it's a cracking tune and completely different to BB King's blues classic. Unmistakeable guitar sounds on that, off 'Blues Summit' from 1993. He's 88, y'know.

Pinkunoizu - Tin Can Valley
To Denmark now and these purveyors of noisy... well I don't know what you'd call it. Good though, innit. That's off 'the Drop' which came out in August.

Vessels - Elliptic
New from these off an EP also called 'Elliptic' which is out on November 25. I like what these do.

Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - My Terrible Friend
A little bit New Order, a little bit Cure, but also completely unique. Can't believe it's taken 50 shows to get round to playing them as I like them a lot. This is off 'Belong' which came out a couple of years ago.

The KVB - Run Away
Klaus Von Barrel lends his initials to The KVB and collaborates with Kat Day to make the magic happen. This is a forerunner to a new album due soon.

Aphrodite's Child - Four Horsemen
From 1970's seminal '666' album, which is prog-tastic. I got listening to it in the week off the back of hearing Mary Epworth do a live version of it which was fantastic. And '70s Greek prog deserves a revisit anyway.

One Degree of Separation
Deadwall - Metropolis, Of Sorts
Hookworms - Form And Function
Not an obvious link today, bar them both being from Leeds. No, it's more a description of out Friday night out at Hebden Trades Club. We went to see Hookworms and they... were... loud. Brilliant, but loud. That track, taken from the album 'Pearl Mystic', played live was just a wall of sound. Deadwall provided support and were an utter delight and total surprise. That's off an EP that came out last year called 'Four Songs', but there's an album in the offing which I will very much look forward to.

Chemical Brothers ft Flaming Lips - The Golden Path
Why not, eh? It's easy to overlook the rich body of work by the Chemical Brothers. This is from 2003. Did you know they're not really brothers?

Factory Floor - Fall Back
We'll finish with the other Factory Floor track I promised. Eight and a half minutes of pulsing, electronic rhythm. I love it. The album is a triumph and more power to their elbow.

All that's wrapped up in a YouTube playlist here and that's 50. Raise the bat to the balcony, acknowledge the polite applause and dig in and build towards the next milestone.