5 May 2015

All refreshed after the Bank Holiday? Let's do this.

The Vinyl Records - Whims
And we'll start in New Delhi and the title track from their January EP. Perky, quirky, excellent.

Brawlers - Windowmisser
The first of a number of tracks from Leeds bands this week. This is off their debut LP Romantic Errors Of Our Youth which came out last month on Alcopop! Records.

Thee Faction - Choose Your Enemy
And an even longer album title... Songs That Remind The Class Of The Glorious Victory To Come And The Work That Must Be Done To Get There. There's an election soon, y'know.

Cover Version Corner
The Wedding Present/Heathers - Dalliance
Back to Leeds and possibly my favourite Weddoes track, definitely off my favourite of their albums, Seamonsters from 1991. LA's Heathers put their version out on an EP called I Know (Part-Time Punk Session) in May last year.

Flies On You - Action Stations!
And yet another Leeds band... I finally got hold of their latest album Etcetera this week and it is excellent. Did I mention that election?

Crybabycry - Love Got Me Wrong
To Wakey now and one of my favourite bands du jour with a new track.

Serpent Power - Last Ape In Space
Ian Skelly, formerly of The Coral, and Paul Molloy of The Zutons with some contemporary San Francisco psych.

The Vaccines - Dream Lover
A couple of tracks that lean more to the commercial side now, but I'll be independent in my own choice of music thank you. Everything I know suggests I shouldn't like The Vaccines, but I do, so there. This is the second single taken from the album English Graffiti which comes out on the 25th.

The Maccabees - Marks To Prove It
A new single from a forthcoming and as yet unnamed album. Ploughing a unique furrow.

Nueva Costa - Glacé
And now for something completely different... This is lovely. It came out last September on an EP called Ave Del Paraiso. That's all I've got.

One Degree of Separation
Pete & The Pirates - Blood Gets Thin
Teleman - Not In Control
I've played Teleman quite a bit and here's another track from their acclaimed debut album Breakfast, possibly my favourite track off it. But while I've played Teleman often, I've not played the band that spawned them before. Three-quarters of Teleman are three of the Pirates from Pete & The Pirates. And that track is pretty much perfect.

The Smiling Disease - The Klingon Race
A debut album from Olly Moss, bassist from Evans The Death. But as well as a debut, it's also a collection of recordings from the last six years, hence the title Beach Bodies: 2008-2014.

(m+a) - Ninja ft Spank Rock
The m is Michele Ducci, the a is Alessandro Degli Agnoli and that track is ace. Off the EP Anyway Milkyway which came out last month.

Julian Cope - Double Vegetation
And finally, great news for gig-goers in the area, such as myself, as the second-best recording artist ever is playing Holmfirth in July. I've got my ticket already and I'm excited beyond belief. So here's a track from the 1991 album Peggy Suicide.

Here that on YouTube:



and Soundcloud:



and we'll do it again next week. See you.

22 July 2013

Bit cooler today and everything is working fine.

Drenge - Face Like A Skull
John: Show favourites, this is their new single. They suddenly gained national notoriety when namechecked in Tom Watson MP's letter of resignation from his post as Labour's election strategist. Not unwelcome publicity, but they seemed quite bemused by it all.
Carolyn: Yes, it was more about how he was urging Ed Miliband to make sure he had time for the wider pursuits in life. Either way, good band, good feel to it all and more power to them.

Warren Peace - FRANKLYSTVN
John: That's a couple of records in one from Warren Borg and Buddy Peace with some philosophising on love and life from one of our favourite artists Scroobius Pip.
Carolyn: And why not?
John: I guess we pronounce it 'frankly Steven'.

Silver Arm - Dead Tongues
John: Another band that came to my attention via Twitter. 'Listen to this if you like', they said, 'or if not, just imagine a horse with a machine gun ripping your face off'. Which is fair enough I suppose. I don't know a lot about them - they're from down south somewhere - but I like their energy and attitude.



Cover Version Corner
Small Faces/Ride - That Man
John: Same song, one stripped back and bare, the other massively produced and engineered within an inch of it's life. The original is off 1967's 'From The Beginning' while Ride's is off a compilation called 'Long Agos And Worlds Apart: A Tribute To The Small Faces' which came out in 1995. While trying to find out more about that record, I searched online for 'ride that man'. My advice - don't.
Carolyn: Ah. Yeah. Good point. Don't try that at home everyone.
John: Or do while you still can. Don't do it at work though. Four pages...

Hot Vestry - Commiserations
John: Also in the Drenge envelope a bit, these are from Macclesfield and it's off an EP called 'Tell Me How It's Done'. I like that a lot.
Carolyn: The ending drags out a bit. Otherwise, yeah.

The Vaccines - Melody Calling
John: New from these and a bit different to normal. Nice and summery though. Now you like these - how does that stack up?
Carolyn: I want a big chorus to sing along to. I can't sing that in the car.
John: Oh. No.

NYPC - Hard Knocks
John: NYPC is the new name for New Young Pony Club. The first half of the show was guitar-dominated, so it's time to electronicify it up a bit. That's new and is released on August 12.
Carolyn: It went a bit weird towards the end, but yeah, not bad.

Deutsche Amerikanische Freundschaft - Vershwenden Deine Jugend
John: More electronica, this time from 1981 and Dusseldorf. It means 'wasting our youth' and is off the album 'Gold Und Liebe'. I play that because we played a record by Gesaffelstein recently and these are an influence. You can see the lineage and that these things go in cycles. This sort of thing is back.

The Clean - Diamond Shine
John: From Dunedin in New Zealand, this is off their 1990 debut album 'Vehicle'. Always worth a revisit.

One Degree of Separation
The Altered Hours - Sweet Jelly Roll
Lemon Jelly - Nice Weather For Ducks
John: I play that Lemon Jelly track in an ironic sense of our recent weather. That's off the 2002 album 'Lost Horizons' which we've probably done to death on the show now. Last time they featured in this section, it was a lemon link. This time, it's the jelly. 'Sweet Jelly Roll' is the EP from Cork psych-rockers The Altered Hours and that came out in April.

Daughn Gibson - You Don't Fade
John: An interesting character. A former trucker from Pennsyvania, the album is 'Me, Moan' and it came out last month.
Carolyn: So not Dawn? I figured it was a bloke. That's a rich and interesting voice.

Pixies - Debaser
John: From way back in 1989 - where does the time go? - and the album 'Doolittle'. We play that as it contains oblique references to the Bunuel film Un Chien Andalou and we have Andalucian visitors in town on Wednesday when Town play Real Betis. Tenuous? Anyway, we'll be covering that game later in the week.

Here's all that in a YouTube playlist for you apart from the Warren Peace track. Links in the heading for that section. There's also a better, studio, version of the Drenge record up there too.

29 April 2013

The usual stuff plus a special feature. It's Carolyn's birthday, so she's picked out a few tracks in what we're calling Carolyn's Classic Cuts. But first, something brand spanking new.

The National - Demons
John: This reminds me of a number of different things, none of which I can put my finger on.
Carolyn: No, I know what you mean. At the start, that low voice sounds a bit like late Johnny Cash, but there are several other cues there as well.
John: They're from Cincinnatti and the album is 'Trouble Will Find Me' which comes out on May 20.

The Avalanches - Frontier Psychiatrist
John: The first of Carolyn's Classic Cuts. Tell us about it.
Carolyn: Well you played it and I was worried about Dexter.
John: I wouldn't be. He's evil and criminally insane.
Carolyn: Can a child really be evil?
John: The sample is from the John Waters film 'Polyester', and if you know Waters' films... That's off the album 'Since I Left You' from 2000.

Harper Simon - 99
John: That's Harper Simon, son of Paul.
Carolyn: And he's about 40, so singing about a lost love from 14 years ago isn't creepy.
John: That's off the new album 'Division Street' and brings to mind late Teenage Fanclub.

Cover Version Corner
Phoenix/Dinosaur Jr - Entertainment
John: Not just a different style, but a totally different genre. And it works.
Carolyn: Which is what this section is all about.
John: We've played the Phoenix track before - from the album 'Bankrupt!' which came out last week - and Dinosaur Jr were quick to do their version in the immediate aftermath.

Owiny Sigoma Band - Owiny Techno
John: A lot of people say to me 'John, why haven't you played any Kenyan techno on the show yet?' Well there you go. Hopefully I'll stop getting accosted in the street now.
Carolyn: Has that actually happened?
John: No. The album is 'Power Punch' and is out now.

Lemon Jelly - Ramblin' Man
John: The second of Carolyn's Classic Cuts.
Carolyn: You told me that the initial letters spelled out a phrase last time we played it, so I've jotted them down.
John: So you're satisfied that I wasn't making up the fact that between Brixton and San Jose spells 'Bagpuss sees all things'?
Carolyn: Yes, but the rest is gibberish.
John: From the 2002 album 'Lost Horizons'.

Errors - Pleasure Palaces
John: That probably counts as a Monday night banger. From Glasgow, very much in the Mogwai envelope, that's off last year's 'New Relics' album. Great video too.

One Degree of Separation
Dr Feelgood - Roxette
Eight Rounds Rapid - Channel Swimmer
John: Wow. That Eight Rounds Rapid track fair blows your socks off.
Carolyn: Sure does. They pack a lot of notes into a short space of time.
John: Before that, you heard Dr Feelgood's debut single from 1974, from the brilliant album 'Down By The Jetty'. Maybe you can hear a similarity in the guitars, because on the Strat for Eight Rounds is Simon Johnson, son of Wilko, and he's a fair chip off the old block. The old man's legacy is in safe hands. A really exciting band and I'm sure we'll be having lots more from them in the near future.


Simian Mobile Disco - I Believe
John: Another banger for you. That's off the 2007 album 'Attack Decay Sustain Release'. Got a real late '80s/early '90s sort of Hacienda feel to it.
Carolyn: It does. Real thumping beats.

The Vaccines - Teenage Icon
John: And finally, the last of Carolyn's Classic Cuts
Carolyn: I just love it. I can't help singing along when it's on in the car...
John: This is true.
Carolyn: And having a bit of a dance...
John: Also true. That's off 'Come Of Age' which was out last year.

Lots of long tracks tonight, so that's your lot. Here it all is wrapped up by the magic of YouTube for your listening pleasure.

7 January 2013

For the first show of the new year, Carolyn takes the microphone over and presents her highlights from the shows we did in 2012.

The Vaccines - Teenage Icon
Carolyn: Possibly my favourite track of the year. If it's on in the car and I pull up at home, I'll let it play through before getting out.



Django Django - Hail Bop
Carolyn: From their Mercury-nominated debut album that came out last year, these quickly became show favourites. The whole album is great and we'll have another track off it later.

Tame Impala - Elephant
Carolyn: Django Django have a '60s vibe, whereas this is more '70s.
John: I think I said at the time that this is what T-Rex would be doing if they were still around.

Cover Version Corner
Tears For Fears/Gary Jules and Michael Andrews - Mad World
Carolyn: Tears For Fears from 1982 and the christmas number one from 2003 by Gary Jules that also featured on the Donnie Darko soundtrack.

Los Saicos - El Enterrio de los Gatos
Carolyn: A curio John found on the back of a documentary which suggested that punk originated in 1965 in Lima, not ten years later in New York

Fun Boy Three - Our Lips Are Sealed
Carolyn: I didn't know these at all until John played it. I think the name put me off.
John: Terry Hall, Lynval Golding and Neville Staples' first post-Specials project.

Peter, Bjorn and John - Young Folks
Carolyn: Probably better known now from an advert for home improvement stores, but good to hear the full thing .

One Degree of Separation
Electronic - Getting Away With It
Robbie Williams - No Regrets
Carolyn: You have to listen well to get the connection, but it's Neil Tennant's vocals. We had played Electronic before, but the link is all my own work.

Django Django - Storm
Carolyn: We did say we'd have another from these. It really is a great album.
John: The test now comes with the second album. We've seen a couple last year that offered nothing above the first - the xx, Mumford and Sons, for two examples - and we hope these lot can keep innovating.

Haim - Don't Save Me
Carolyn: The LA sisters who won the BBC Sound of 2013 recently.
John: We expect an album shortly, but this will keep you ticking over for now.

Friends - Va Fan Gor Du
Carolyn: Don't know why they sing in Swedish, but there aren't enough songs to clap along to.

And here's your YouTube playlist.

22 October 2012

Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons - The Night
John: Reached number seven in 1975, but it's got a real contemporary feel to it. Mark Ronson's doing this, basically.
Carolyn: It's certainly stood the test of time.

The Vaccines - I Always Knew
Carolyn: That's two for two off that album now. Teenage Icon is catchy and so is this.
John: That's the new single and it's out on November 11.

Little Comets - A Little Opus
John: From Newcastle and the album, Life Is Elsewhere, was out last week.

Cover Version Corner
Velvet Underground and Nico/Record Club - Femme Fatale
John: Record Club is a project Beck has put together where they cover a whole album in a day and this is off their first one. Also, Velvet Underground and Nico is re-released after a coat of varnish this week for it's 35th anniversary.

Django Django - Life's A Beach
John: The fourth or fifth record from the album we've played on the show. It's terrific.
Carolyn: It has a real '60s vibe.

The Go! Team - Buy Nothing Day
John: As peppy a pop record as you could wish for.

No Ceremony - feelsolow
John: I don't know anything about these, because there's nothing to know.

The Kingstonians - Sufferer
John: Skanking round the studio to that one. We don't play enough ska.
Carolyn: Well you pick the records!
John: Originally out in 1970, that's on a Trojan Records compilation called Boss Reggae

The Black Keys - Lonely Boy
John: Less of a country feel to that than some of their others.
Carolyn: I like the woah-woah-woahs


One Degree Of Separation
The Streets - Let's Push Things Forward
The d.o.t. feat. Claire Maguire and Danny Brown - You Never Asked
John: Your link here is Mike Skinner, formerly recording as The Streets and that was his second single from way back in 2002. His new project with Rob Harvey, formerly of The Music, is The d.o.t. and their debut album, And That, is out today.

Vampire Weekend - Giving Up The Gun 
John: From the album Contra from 2010.

Grimes - Genesis
John: Grimes is Canadian chanteuse Claire Boucher.

Peace - Bloodshake
John: From their debut EP Delicious which was out in August.

We're away next week. Back in a fortnight. In the meantime, here's your YouTube playlist.

10 September 2012

Another one where we had an extra half hour

Jack White - I'm Shakin'
John: He's 'noivous'

Pet Shop Boys - Everything Means Something
John: A new album from the Pet Shop Boys is always an event. Elysium is their 11th.

Dan Croll - From Nowhere
John: Bloomin' love this


Lovely Eggs - I Like Birds But I Like Other Animals Too
John: Cuckoo-coo indeed

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Only In My Dreams

The Vaccines - Teenage Icon
John: Not sure their target audience are going to be too familiar with Frankie Avalon
Carolyn: I like that. That's going to stick in my head

Cover Version Corner
Kate Bush/The Futureheads - Hounds Of Love


Family Of The Year - St Croix

Two Door Cinema Club - Sleep Alone
Carolyn: How many doors do cinemas clubs normally have?

Fun Boy Three - Our Lips Are Sealed

PJ Harvey - Good Fortune
John: One of the country's great songwriters

Bloc Party - Truth

We Are Augustines - Book Of James
Carolyn: There's a lot going on in that and I'm not sure all of it works

A Certain Ratio - Shack Up

Liminanas - Hospital Boogie
John: File under C for curio

Metronomy - Everything Goes My Way

Toy - Lose My Way
John: Toy were losing their way, but it's all going Metronomy's. It's almost like I plan this show sometimes

Matthew Dear - Earthforms

Here's your YouTube playlist.