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.

13 May 2014

Stuff from the '40s, '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s and the usual new and recent releases. Not that I've anything against the '50s or 2000s, you understand.

The Vacant Lots - Mad Mary Jones
From Burlington in Vermont, their debut album is due out in July. Departure. Keep your eyes peeled.

Echo and the Bunnymen - Lovers On The Run
Sounds very much like an Echo and the Bunnymen record which, incidentally, is high praise. This is the first release from their first album in 5 years, Meteorites, which has yet to have a release date announced.

Wild Smiles - Fool For You
This is a month old now, the debut single from these which is jolly good. Already looking forward to more.

Cover Version Corner
New York Dolls/Sonic Youth - Personality Crisis
One at the front of the punk wave that was beginning to swell, then 20 years later, some others at the lead of what became known as grunge. 1973 it was when the New York Dolls released that. In 1993, it was on the B-side of Sugar Kane.

The Shocking Blue - Send Me A Postcard
From 1968, that, but something that I think a lot of contemporary bands would like to sound like. Very Jefferson Airplane too.

Chain and The Gang - Crime Don't Pay
Off an album called Minimum Rock And Roll which sounds very interesting indeed. Experimental, like.

The Moody Blues - Question
Because why not. That's from the 1970 album A Question Of Balance.

Drive - Curfew
Their only hit, from 1993. It's notable for featuring Melanie Blatt on vocals and that the hook was then used in a bigger hit - Pump Up The Volume.

One Degree of Separation
Francis Bebey - The Coffee Cola Song
Ella Fitzgerald - Black Coffee
Any excuse for an Ella Fitzgerald record. Obviously your theme is coffee. Black Coffee was recorded in 1948 and still sounds fabulous. Before that, Francis Bebey from Cameroon and a track from the 1982 album Pygmy Love Song.

Eight Rounds Rapid - Dostoyevsky
Finally got my hands on their debut album last week. It's great. Harking back to the pub rock tradition, albeit with a bit more polish, it's half an hour of pure, unadulterated joy. Lossleader is the title. Available now.

Mourning Birds - Breathe
Played these a few times now and this is their new single. Energetic stuff as always.

Julianna Barwick - Meet You At Midnight
This came out in March and it's no wonder it passed me by as it slides effortlessly by. Very cinematic too.

Glimpse - L.E.D.
Chris Spero is the producer behind this. It's off an EP called Baretta and while it's box-fresh dance music, it also harks back to earlier days of the movement. Perhaps a bit less has become more.

Here's that on YouTube:



And Soundcloud:



Back next week.

6 May 2014

Bit of a South American theme this week. And Canada for some reason. Anyway, tuck in...

Dandy Warhols - Every Day Should Be A Holiday
If that's the policy they're standing on, they get my vote. I could have slept all day today given half a chance. More Bank Holidays please. That's from 1997 - crikey - off the album ...The Dandy Warhols Come Down'.

Archie Bronson Outfit - We Are Floating
From Bath, but based out of London now. That's really quite excellent. It's off the album Wild Crush which is out in a fortnight.

Sulfurica Billi - Facada Na Costa
The first of tonight's Brazilian tracks, some furious blues-rock from Sao Luis in the north-east corner of the country. That was on an EP which came out last month.

Cover Version Corner
Kraftwerk - Die Roboter
Rotfront - The Robots
That was different. Rotfront are an interesting band. Based in Berlin, but made up of many nationalities, they blend traditional folk from Ukraine and Hungary, mix in a bit of Yiddish folk with the klezmer as well, and more modern styles and create something quite unique. Before that, of course Kraftwerk, off 1978's Mensch Maschine album.

St Vincent - Prince Johnny
Always inventive, never boring. This is the latest single from the album St Vincent which came out in February. Delightful.

Pink Mountaintops - Ambulance City
Echoing Neu! and others, that's right up my street. They're from Vancouver and have just released their first album in five years. Get Back is the title and it's out now.

Feist - My Moon, My Man
To the other side of Canada now, to Nova Scotia. Leslie Feist has a terrific voice. That's from 2007 and the album The Reminder.

Lorelle Meets The Obsolete - What's Holding You?
Mexico now for some old-school shoegaze. The sort of stuff I spent my later school years listening to and clearly an influence here. That's off Chambers which came out in February.

One Degree of Separation
New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle
Beta Band - Squares
Nothing too taxing here. Polygons. Splendid, down tempo stuff from the Beta Band. That's off Hot Shots II from 2001. Before that, there's no mistaking New Order. From the 1986 album Brotherhood.

The Baggios - Candangos Bar
Back to Brazil for some more blues-infused rock. These are from Sao Cristovao in the east of the country. The track dates back a couple of years. Utterly splendid.

Tack>>Head - Ticking Time Bomb
Here's something that takes me back. 1989, this came out in, off the album Friendly As A Hand Grenade. It's a little dated, but the techniques that were being explored at the time still very relevant today. There was always a tendency in the early days of sampling to cram as many in as possible. This is perhaps where people began to realise that less is more.

The Fall - Cyber Insekt
Perhaps this should be a new feature section; The Obligatory Fall Record. Off the 2000 album, The Unutterable. Terrific stuff as always.

Gil Scott Heron -Lady Day And John Coltrane
Sublime stuff from 1971 and the album Pieces Of A Man. Influential to the day he died, and beyond for that matter.

Shit Robot - Take 'Em Up
And to ease into Phil Brook and the Down Tempo show, something from an album he leant me a while ago. From The Cradle To The Rave is that album. It came out in 2010 and this is very much the pick.

Here's all that on YouTube:


Back next week with more.

29 April 2014

I wasn't well last week, hence no show. So you can have it this week instead.

Joy Division - Transmisson
Their debut single from 1979 and still sounding great. I play that as I went to see Half Man Half Biscuit at the Picturedrome in Holmfirth, they played this and it brought the house down.

Malka Spigel - Tall Grey Buildings
From Tel Aviv, that's quite sublime. Don't know a great deal about it, but I'll keep my ears open for anything else, that's for sure.

Gusgus - Crossfade
To Reykjavik now for some electronic dancey type stuff. Really good, that. The album is Mexico and is coming soon.

Cover Version Corner
Dave Sudbury/The Unthanks with the Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band - King Of Rome
A true story. There are a number of versions knocking about, and I've only recently got round to listening to Dave Sudbury's original. The Unthanks performed it with the Brighouse and Rastrick band at 2012's Radio 2 folk festivals. Quite brilliant. Now I think I've got something in my eye, so I'd better play a record and fish it out.

Cate Le Bon - Sisters
The third single from the album Mug Museum which came out last November. It's taken me a while to get into it, but this is my favourite so far.

De Lux - It All Works All The Time
From the album Voyage which came out three weeks ago. And jolly pleasant it is too.

Joanna Gruesome - Anti-Parent Cowboy Killers
One of my favourites around at the moment. This is the latest from Weird Sisters which came out late last year. Nice title.

Edwyn Collins - Gorgeous George
Taking it back to 1994 and from the album of the same name. Always worth a listen.

Young Knives - White Sands
I've little doubt these are the first band from Ashby-de-la-Zouche we've had on. The album is Sick Orange which came out this month. The first release, Klapp Klapp, got lots of publicity, but I wasn't keen. This suggests that early conclusions may have been hasty.

One Degree of Separation
British Sea Power - Monsters Of Sunderland
The Strokes - New York City Cops
British Sea Power from the album Machineries Of Joy which came out about this time last year and the Strokes from back in 2001 from their debut album Is This It. It could be many links. Denis Smith managed both, Marco Gabbiadini played for both, but let's just settle on it being songs with football clubs in the title.

Sonic Youth - Dirty Boots
I've always liked Sonic Youth and I'm just about getting back around to listening to their back catalogue once again. This tends to happen every couple of years or so. Well worth the effort anyway.

Eat Lights, Become Lights - Heavy Electrics
There's a lot going in there. It's a couple of years old, but fresh to my ears. I shall certainly be seeking out more.

Cold War Kids - Hang Me Up To Dry
Superb track, among my very favourites. Seven years old now, off the album Robbers And Cowards, but still sounding great.


Back next week with more of the same.

15 April 2014

Lots of new stuff this week, so let's get right to it.


Peace - World Pleasure
The first release from their forthcoming second album, the tricky one so the cliché goes. They made quite a splash with their first and this is a promising start to the second.

Ruen Brothers - Aces
Scunthorpe rockabilly. It works. Rupert and Henry Stansall are the aforementioned brothers and there's an album coming.

Knuckle - Living Hell
A two-piece blues outfit from right here in Huddersfield. I've seen them live and they are loud and energetic. This track is available as a pay-what-you-like download from their bandcamp page.

Cover Version Corner
The Monkees/Robert Wyatt - I'm A Believer
That was Robert Wyatt's first solo single post-Soft Machine in 1974. There was something of a kerfuffle when he performed it on Top Of The Pops when a producer thought losing the wheelchair was a good idea. Before that, of course the Monkees. From 1966 and the album More Of The Monkees.
Wyatt also lends his name to the phenomenon of Wyatting, by which you stick on a very challenging record umpteen times on a jukebox and clear off. Strange House In The Snow by Teardrop Explodes is a good one.

Duane Eddy - Rebel Rouser
From 1958 and the album Have 'Twangy' Guitar Will Travel, but getting a release on Record Store Day which is this Saturday. It's a fun record and it's good to introduce this sort of stuff, back when rock and roll began, to a new generation.

Wolf Alice - Moaning Lisa Smile
Brilliant. Very grungey, but the vocals offset against the rough-edged guitars lift it to something else. That's off the album Creature Songs which is out on May 26.

Black Lips - Funny
A band that have become in vogue simply by never changing and allowing fashion to catch up with them. That's a very now sound and comes off the album Underneath The Rainbow which came out last month.

The Horrors - So Now You Know
New from these, off the forthcoming album Luminous which is out on May 5. Sounds a bit like late-period Simple Minds, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

One Degree of Separation
The Smiths - The Headmaster Ritual
Nirvana - School
Nirvana from their debut album Bleach from back in 1989. Before that, The Smiths at the height of their powers and the Meat is Murder album from 1985. One of the great intros.
The link should be obvious.

Honeyblood - Killer Bangs
A two-piece from Glasgow - Stina Tweeddale and Shona McVicar make up the band - that's off their self-titled debut which is out in July. Great stuff.

Oxygen Thieves - To Boast
To the Wirral now, and some more new grunge type stuff. Reckon it's safe to say Nirvana were an influence here. That's off the EP We found The thieves which is out on May 5.

Teleman - 23 Floors Up
These have been touring with Maximo Park, but are about to embark on a tour of their own and are well worth seeking out. This is off Breakfast which is out on June 2. Sounds a little bit Floyd, methinks.

Todd Terje - Inspector Norse
He's from Norway. Inspector Norse. See what you did there. His first album, It's Album Time, came out last week and has done extremely well so far. No better reason to play another track off it than that.

Applescal - The Veil
And to finish, another new cut from Amsterdam producer and DJ Pascal Terstappen. We're fans.

Here's most of that on YouTube:


And most of it on Soundcloud:


Back next week...

8 April 2014

We should have been bumped for football this week, but - long story short - technical issues. So we're in as normal.

Therapy? - Nowhere
From the now 20-year old Troublegum album. Difficult to reconcile with my self that it's that old. Still sounds good too.

The Amazing Snakeheads - Here It Comes Again
New from the Glaswegian retronauts, off the album Amphetamine Ballads which is out next Monday. Fits in with a bunch of retro type stuff around at the moment - Fat White Family, Jim Jones Revue and others.

Klaxons - Children Of The Sun
Never been a huge fan, but this is promising. This single came out a week ago and is off Love frequency which is released in June.

Cover Version Corner
The Beatles/Cornershop - Norwegian Wood
Sung in Punjabi and off their 1997 album When I Was Born For The Seventh Time, that's Cornershop, seizing back some culture appropriated by the Beatles during the Maharishi years.

Sabina - Sailor's Daughter
Sabina is Sabina Sciubba, ex of the Brazilian Girls. The album is Toujours and came out on the 24th of last month. Delightful. And from the sublime, now the ridiculous...

Bogshed - Champion Love Shoes
Leading the Hebden Bridge post-punk scene, that's Bogshed from 1987's EP Tried And Tested Public Speaker.

Liliput - Die Matrosen
And speaking of post-punk... From Geneva and from 1980. They didn't last long, which is a shame as that's a cracker. One of those that keeps popping up on my mp3 player every now and then. So I'm playing it for you now.

One Degree of Separation
The Fall - Two Librans
God Is An Astronaut - Sunrise On Aries
Pretty basic link - constellations. First, The Fall from 2000's The Unutterable LP. Second, from 2007 and County Wicklow in Ireland. Very much in the Mogwai envelope, that's lovely stuff. Far From Refuge is the album.

Mariam The Believer - Invisible Giving
I've been after playing this for some time, but it is long and difficult to schedule. Still, we're here now. Marian Wallentin is from Sweden and this is off last summer's long-player Blood Donation. There's a lot going on in there and it's wonderful.

Dead Skeletons - Dead Mantra
Keeping things Norse, these are from Reykjavik and 2011's album Dead Magick. Dark, brooding.

Swans - A Little God In My Hands
To New York now. This is a couple of years old now, off To Be Kind.

Big Black Delta - Huggin' And Kissin'
From the self-titled album released last summer, Big Black Delta is the solo project of Jonathan Bates from Mellowdrone. I like that so very much - both retro and contemporary at the same time, which is a clever trick.

Frankie Knuckles - Tears
The news of Frankie Knuckles' death came too late to alter the show last week, so how could I close with anything else. This 1989 classic is among his better known records. He'll be missed.

Here's that on YouTube:


More next week

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