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.

7 January 2014

New year, a new you. Well, a new voice for me anyway. Sounding more like Howlin' Wolf after a heavy night on the whiskey and cigars (i.e. I had a bit of a sore throat), it's more tunes and less chat which probably suits the majority.

Pixies - Blue-Eyed Hexe
New from Pixies. Following up last year's EP1 comes the startlingly imaginatively named EP2. EP3 will follow in April and who knows, maybe they'll not change bassist for that one. That role is beginning to resemble that of Spinal Tap's drummer.

Maximo Park - Leave This Island
I'm a fan and the prospect of the forthcoming 'Too Much Information', due out on February 3, is exciting. This is just gorgeous.

Africa Express ft. Ghostpoet and Doucoura - Season Change
One of last year's more interesting projects was Africa Express, something Damon Albarn is involved in. This features Malian drum band Doucoura and the lyrical stylings of Ghostpoet. Lovely stuff.

Cover Version Corner
Kaiser Chiefs/Bonzo Dog Doodah Band - I Predict A Riot
Gloriously silly stuff from the Bonzos from whom it is always a pleasure to hear. That's off the 2007 reunion album 'Pour L'Amour Des Chiens - for the love of dog - albeit very sadly without Vivian Stanshall. Before that, of course the Kaiser Chiefs from their 2005 debut 'Employment'. Lots of woah-woah-woahs and la-la-las which have become their slightly tedious trademark.

Prefab Sprout - The Best Jewel Thief In The World
Another curio that largely by-passed me at the time was the album 'Crimson/Red' - a reference to Mark Rothko it says here - which came out last year. It's pretty much just Paddy McAloon these days, but none the worse for that. Not sure about the synthesised harmonica though.

Stupid Robots - Nightshift
Bryan Drummond from Dunblane is Stupid Robots and this is off 'The Rural Electrification Administration', which is easy for you to say. Delightful.



The War On Drugs - Red Eyes
A couple of records off the Secretly Canadian label now. First, Philadelphia's The War On Drugs. That's off 'Lost In The Dream' which comes out on March 18, when it will hopefully be less crappy weather than tonight.

Damien Jurado - Silver Timothy
He's from Seattle and 'Brothers And Sisters Of The Eternal Son' is out in a couple of weeks time. Kind of a bossa nova feel to that in places.

One Degree Of Separation
Gil Scott Heron - Johannesburg
Latin Quarter - No Rope As Long As Time
Of course the big story while we were on our break was the sad death of Nelson Mandela, so here are two records with an anti-apartheid message. First, and I can't believe we've not played anything by him before, Gil Scott Heron and Brian Jackson from the 1976 album 'From South Africa To South Carolina' and then Latin Quarter from 'Modern Times' which came out in 1985.

Holy Ghost! - Okay (a/jus/ted remix)
The album 'Dynamics' came out in September last year, but this track passed me by. A wonderful remix from Justin Strauss and Teddy Stuart.

East India Youth - Dripping Down
William Doyle is East India Youth and 'Total Strife Forever' is out next week. I did go looking for a different track for this week, but this one got in the way and stuck in my head. I'm sure I'll be playing more of young Master Doyle in the future.

I Break Horses - Denial
To Sweden now. These are from Stockholm and this came out last summer. Again, I question how I missed it at the time.

Colour Of Bone - Keep It That Way
Also from last summer, apparently these feature a lad who starred in Whitechapel. Which I've not seen, but remains one for trivia fans.

Donna Summer - I Feel Love
One chap who did have a good 2013 and something of a career revival, thanks in part to Daft Punk, was Giorgio Moroder. Here's where it started, back in 1977.

Iron Galaxy - The Attendant Army Of Rats
And we close with a dreamy slice of electronica. Iron Galaxy is Adam Hodgins from Montreal and this is off and EP called 'Things We Lost Along The Way' which is another one from last summer that I missed.

More next week when I hope to be able to talk in something other than a gravelly whisper.

Meantime, here's that on YouTube except for the Stupid Robots track which is above:

25 March 2013

Britain resides in winter's icy grip. As such, the studio remains closed today and with good reason, as our John went flying on the ice yesterday and bashed his head quite badly. So for both these reasons, tonight's show is cancelled. And it being Easter next week, we are having the day off in favour of live coverage of Huddersfield Giants against Widnes in Super League.
However, by the power of this blog, here's what we would be playing if we were in the studio tonight.

Bonzo Dog Doodah Band - No Matter Who You Vote For, The Government Always Gets In
Sublime silliness from the genius of Neil Innes and one of Britain's great eccentrics, the late Vivian Stanshall. And with all the major political parties posturing over immigration, the cynicism alluded to in the record seems as apt as ever. Come on, Labour - offer us a proper alternative and stand up for the things you were created to stand up for. Spineless goons. Rant over.
That's from 1992 and got a re-release in 1997. They could do worse than have another go in 2015.

Edwyn Collins - Dilemna
New from the former Orange Juice front man. This is off the forthcoming album 'Understated'. The brain haemorrhage he suffered in 2005 left his speech badly affected, but it seems that singing is a different matter. Apparently, the misspelling of the title was an innocent mistake. I'm told it's quite common, but I've never heard of anyone spelling 'dilemma' with an N before. Odd.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Let The Day Begin
New from these, off the album 'Specter At The Feast' which came out last week. Their misspelling is purely an Americanism.

Cover Version Corner
Pulp/William Shatner - Common People
A classic from Pulp. Can it really be 18 years old? Blimey, it's old enough to drink in pubs. Off their smash hit album 'Different Class'. I tried describing the Bill Shatner version to people and all I could think was 'it's exactly as you'd imagine it to be'. That's off 'Has Been' which came out in 2004.

Lorelle Meets The Obsolete - Medicine To Cure Medicine Sickness
I've been after playing this for a while. They're from Guadalajara in Mexico and this is off the 'Psych For Sore Eyes' EP from Sonic Cathedral which features other favourites of ours like Hookworms.

Sarah Williams White - Close To The Equator
I first came across the vocal stylings of Sarah Williams White on Dan Le Sac's album 'Space Between The Words' which was one of my favourite releases of last year. This is available as a free download.

Foster The People - Helena Beat
Time to get you up and grooving. A couple of years old now, this is off the album 'Torches'.

Suuns - 2020
From Montreal, this is off their second album 'Images du Futur' which came out three weeks ago. It's very different. In a good way.

One Degree of Separation
The The - The Beat(en) Generation
Modest Mouse - I've Got It All (Most)
The first of those is off the 1989 album 'Mind Bomb'. The second closes 2009's 'No-one's First And You're Next'. As well as both having parentheses in the title, ex-Smiths man Johnny Marr played on both of them, two of his many post-Smiths projects. The latest of these has finally seen him release a solo album, 'The Messenger', which we might have a few tracks off in future weeks.

Mazes - Skulking
What's to say here? Fits the style of a few of our favourite recent bands. This is off their second album, 'Ores And Minerals' which came out last month.

Youth Lagoon - Mute
Youth Lagoon is Trevor Powers from Boise, Idaho. I don't know; I quite like the concept of Trevor Powers. An ordinary man, bitten by a radioactive Trevor and now he has Trevor Powers... I digress. I've been trying to fit this in for a while, but at over six minutes it's proven tricky. It's off his second album, 'Wondrous Bughouse', which came out three weeks ago and looks a lot like 'Wondrous Brighouse' when written down. That's a very different album for someone to make.

Soldier's Heart - African Fire
New stuff from Belgium, this debut single came out a couple of weeks ago and is quite a delight.



Bibio - A Tout A L'Heure
Stephen Wilkinson from the West Midlands is Bibio. Not sure how you'd describe that. It's the first release from the forthcoming album - his seventh, titled 'Silver Wilkinson' - which is out in May. Hat tip to friend John for the recommendation.

The Orb - Little Fluffy Clouds
A classic. Off the 1991 album 'The Orb's Adventures In The Underworld' which was the first CD I ever bought.

The Fall - Hit The North
We'll finish with another oldie-but-goody from the immortal Fall. This was released in 1987 and if you're after an easy way into their enormous back-catalogue, it's not a bad place to start.

That's your lot. Listen to the whole shebang here on the YouTube. We're back in a fortnight.