Tales from the Attic
Volume XXIV
Revolutions of a 45 and 33 kind……
Included for listening appreciation this edition….
Greguy, Schizo Fun Addict, Schnauser, Crystal Jacqueline, us and them, bronco bulldog, brace / choir, the blood and the bull, mark peters, Ulrich schnauss, the duke st workshop, laura j martin, juche, eats lights become lights, edweena, ssleeping desiress, god is an astronaut, jim kroft, eastern hollows, salems pot, walls, daphne oram, lacrosse, satellites, damn vandals, beautify junkyards, black hearted brother, young husband, timothy blue, get the blessing, Stanley brinks, bathetic records, daniel Carlson, coma coast, stumbleine, generation x, broadcast, ava luna, eshtador, honeybeat, schizo fun addict, cyborgdrive,
Maybe its just me but it seems that the Bearsuit imprint have upped the ante over the course of the last few releases, one time specialising in the odd, the surreal and the frankly obscurest, recent outings have seen this bijou home made industry mature and flex their considerable talent for the eking out of perfect electro pop morsels to such an extent that they now occupy a unique niche as purveyors of crafted experimental electronica. Release numero twenty four perhaps one of their finest and provides without question their most accessible outing to date appears courtesy of Greguy – a Strasbourg based musician – real name Gregory Vrecsics. ‘minor injury’ his debuting EP takes – as he discloses – its influence from the electronic sounds of the 80’s and 90’s and expands outwards, reared on Tangerine Dream, Vangelis and Jarre, there’s a distinct pristinely refined melodic pop chemistry that owes much to the latter to be found on this six track set, irrefutably haloed in a suave euro pop / Francophile grooming radio friendly cuts such as ’minor injury’ and ’American way of life’ recall the purring palettes of both Gulliver and Le Bleu with the latter particularly veering sumptuously into the realms of a late 80’s New Order back catalogue easily falling off the edges of ‘technique‘ if truth be told. That said elegance and sophistication reaches critical heights on the utterly seductive ‘tamps’ as it morphs with nocturnal romance coiled to the svelte murmur of a youthful Pet Shop Boys. And while ’close to me’ might well receive the plaudits steeled as it is in a twinkling tailoring presaged by the silken underlay of string arrangements and pirouetting keys for us it’s the parting sore thumb ’magalomania’ that stole our affection, which swear words aside fetchingly blossoms into a most unreal and surrendering sepia dipped down tempo torch treasure that had us here turning up the place looking for our stash of ROC records to draw comparison.
Nothing quite causes our turntable to skip with joy than the arrival of a new season of Fruits de Mer goodies, and plenty there be, 5 all and each pressed up on limited quantities of 7 inch wax.
First up and fresh from the quiet acclaim brought to bear by the release of their recent ’the sun yard’ full length, it seems as far as we are concerned that Schizo Fun Addict can scarcely put a step out of place. Pressed up on limited coloured wax with inserts to boot, their latest twin set finds them honing their sights on two lost soundtracks from yesteryear. Tucked on the flip you’ll find the kind of effervescent summer drenched flightiness as adored the grooves of the sound carriers debuting platter on the collectives sumptuous re-take of ‘in the long run’ as originally done by the fictional combo Carrie Nations and featured in Russ Meyers’ ‘beyond the Valley of the Dolls’. here spruced up and lushly poppified its succulently dashed in the, as were, care free wide eyed handicraft of Bacharach and David and wonderfully woven in an attractively alluring endless summers shone 60’s beat pop sheen which at worst is breathless and at best beguiled. As to the lead out cut, a cover of Goblin’s frankly immense ’suspiria’ – you know the one – woozy child like lullabies papered precariously over the sinister disquiet of an end of days revelation styled chill countenance. The approach and committing to cover something already perfect as it is, is a thorny subject and something often best avoided, some simply come to pay homage others decide to fiddle about foolish in the belief that they can add and arrest said song as their own, the Schizo‘s you suspect fall into neither camp, they are just fearlessly bloody minded. For their troubles they actually out creep the original endowing their casting with a gloriously fractured and dare we say mind altering aura, heavily dipped in a lysergic treatment and strained through the weird eye of Broadcast, here ’suspiria’ is woozily recalibrated with the supernatural sound craft of komeda and korzynski and swirled in the transcendental trippy folds of the magic mushroom band. A class apart in short.
Next up from the fruits de mer sound studio some freaky wig flipping groove from Schnauser, again pressed up on limited quantities of coloured 7 inch wax, this lot hail from Bristol and have by all accounts been causing something of a stir amid the psych / prog loving community with their album ‘where business meets fashion’ which has apparently been sending all who hear into swooning fits and is something we suspect our turntable is in pining for judging by the two sly treats sitting upon this advance copy of the FdM debut. As previously two covers – a gem from Yes lights years before they went topographical and a lost classic from the oft ignored Soft Machine. In truth ’astral traveller’ is quite something else and something which unless my ears do seriously deceive sounds like a ringer for Supersister at the height of their powers, kooky fairground organs, intricate chord grooved needlework and cosmic tonalities that swerve with subtle nuances between beardy Stereolab workouts, White Noise and er Soft Machine bonkerness, frankly has to be heard to be fully appreciated and certainly something that admirers of Static Caravan dudes Tokolosh ought to tune into as soon as. Over on the flip Soft Machine’s ’as long as he lies perfectly still’ is sweetly harvested in a lightly kooky soft psych flavouring, oozing wah wah’s and an acutely funky floral undertow that veers into darkening prog territories the deeper it gets in emitting wig flipped Mountain montages along the way before jettisoning off into the astral void on a Steve Hillage piloted magic carpet. Out there stuff.
Regular observers of these postings will no doubt be all to familiar with Crystal Jacqueline and the Honey Pot, providers of a killer album – entitled ‘sun arise’ – for the much admired mega dodo imprint who’ve strangely gone a tad quite of late since releasing that frankly essential Christmas charity listening experience that was ‘home for Christmas’ – though a brief nose at their band camp site reveals four new nuggets on the pressing block awaiting love and adoration – more on those in a second. Back to Crystal Jacqueline and the Honey Pot who appear to share centre stage on this dandified double disc selection – yes you read right – a twin coloured seven inch jamboree replete in gatefold sleeving all accompanied by an eight page story booklet cobbled together by FdM founding father Andy Bracken with artwork penned by Dale Simpson. And that’s just the packaging for inside be prepared to be arrested by a seven track dream coat clocking in at 28 minutes of woozy enchantment. Here you’ll stumble upon the wired and fracturing pop psychosis of ‘white rabbit’ as it veers from flights of fantasy to smoked out mind lost hysteria whilst Floyd’s ‘remember a day’ is completely rewired and rendered as their own arriving clipped and decoded in a sumptuous supernatural aura that oozes freak prog folk magicalia and mysticism. Talking of re-branding and putting a new spin on hardy weather worn classics of yore their rephrasing of Mighty Baby’s ’Egyptian tomb’ has to be heard to be truly appreciated, applied with a fulsome tripadelic tapestry thrown into the honey pot tumble dryer this beauty emerges from the hot wash spruced with a wasted and kookified jiggy wiggy effervescence that’s trippily tangy and totally tuned out in a wig flipping way. Throw in a mind altering freak beat take of Fleur de Lys ‘tick tock’ in truth sounding as though its been time tripped from the late 60’s
And found itself emerging slightly blurry eyed from out of some magic wardrobe not to mention a corking re-enactment of the electric prunes immortal ‘I had too much to dream’ and you have an immensely must hear set. All said we here find our affections split between Curved Air’s ‘puppets’ and the self penned its raining’ – the former faithfully engaged and spirited away in an eerily macabre chamber phrasing all softly charmed by baroque posies and bewitchment while the latter a triperama turn on which nods in equal turns to label mates the Luck of Eden Hall and Tomorrow.
Next up and the first of the seasons Regal Crabomophone releases arrives courtesy of a simply adoring three track slice of charm pop from FdM old masters Us and Them. Combining the beautified, the frail and the fragile, the simplistic care free tonalities of this Swedish duo embrace both an un-worldliness and slender enchantment, much like label mates the Beautify Junkyards, Us and Them’s softly stirred palette is demurred and teased in an exquisite and eclectic detail that’s softly opined in an alluring nether world of twilight fantasia and the lilting tender brushstroke of a lost craft in floral folk. Again as previously this comes in a limited pressing of coloured wax and opens to a spellbinding treatment of Sandy Denny’s ’by the time it gets dark’, an utterly beguiling rephrasing tweaked in twinkling chimes and shimmered in a softly bathed feel good warmth that tenderly trembles to play peek a boo with the heart strings as it magically weaves and arcs to turn everything that was once monochrome into a lush sea of vibrant swirls – of particular interest one would hasten to add to admirers of Camera Obscura. Next up Donovan’s ’jabberwocky’ gets the us and them treatment, with nods to circulus and the owl service this ghostly retelling chills and charms to a lost archaic folk craft these days seemingly kept alive by the likes of men at tol et al, Wicker man purists will swoon to its weird folk wooziness while traditionalists will coo to its haunting visitation of macabre village fayre spell charms of yore, surely some kind of Donovan tribute must be in the offing after this. Last and by no means least the self penned and disquieting ’do I know you’ rounds up proceedings and avails itself as the best thing here, a frost glowed beauty parched in the kind of hollowing more associated with Nico though here pepper corned with a ghostly mysticism that unfurls delicately into intoxicating spell charmed brew of beguiled bewitchment clipped in spectral yearning, quite something all said.
Final release as part of the FdM spring soiree comes from Bronco Bulldog, their third release since reforming in 2011 – incidentally their last one bagged them a runners up spot on the recent Shindig critics poll – sees them proudly wearing their 60’s beat pop influences on their sleeves for this second of the season regal crabomophone outings. Again arriving in limited pressings of coloured 7 inch wax the Bulldogs swoon and swagger in amid a cornucopia of swinging sixties sassiness, primed succinctly for those of you soft psych purists with fringes a floppy this set comes wrapped up by a spiffing reworking of the Sands flip cut ’listen to the sky’ which mushrooms resplendently amid head expanding effervescent sheens of kaleidoscopic swirls and lysergic lilts which towards its finale comes on flowered in freak beat petals. Aligned to this two self penned nuggets that once heard ought to elevate this collectives psych currency, a distant cousin of floyd’s ‘Arnold lane’ the classically drilled 60’s motifs that adore the grooves of ‘time waits for Norman’ come appreciably sun toned and tie dyed in a floral wooziness that’s sumptuously kissed in a golden age song crafting. All said best of the set is by our humble reckoning ’rocking horse mender’ – apparently it was initially written as a ‘shameless love letter to Kaleidoscope’ which is all well and dandy though by our ears sounds like some dream teamed gathering of Small Faces and Byrds types hanging out and chilling to a evening listening to July and Tomorrow gems. Essential in short.
Mentioned in passing just a wee while ago word reaches us that thos dudes over at mega dodo are gearing up for the release of a quartet of dansette dandies, as ever no doubt limited in nature and the envy of psych pop purists the globe over. The promised roster features a wig flipped gathering of sets by Strange Turn, Octopus Syng both of whom have featured to undying acclaim and affection in these pages along with a face off groove splitting set from both Mordecai Smyth and Icarus Peel whilst ringing up the rear a by all accounts must hear debut full length from mark and the clouds. Further details go to http://www.megadodo.bandcamp.com
We’ve got shed loads of tapete releases to be swooning to, reviews will appear I promise in forthcoming missives, I know it makes you jealous as hell don’t it. Anyhow one release that’s caught our ear and had us a swooning like we were teens again is a limited release download only outing from Bill Pritchard, now we’ve an inkling that we’ve got an album lurking somewhere entitled ’a trip to the coast’ from which ’trentham’ has been pulled and set ahead as something of a herald. To whet appetites the press release says of it ‘guitar pop, hooky chorus, melodic ballads and personal everyday lyrics about love, loss and stoke on trent’. rock n’ roll here we go. In truth Bill Pritchard been brit pop before brit pop was a twinkle in the musical inkies eyes, not quite the brit pop we came to love, tire and despise throughout the 90’s for Pritchard was carving admiring glances across the globe heading up Beatitude and being prone to disappear off radar for years on end. ‘trentham’ glows with a maser class maturity that purrs to a power popped drive time gear change, slyly infectious and immediately adorable, its smokes and opines embraced by the sly tug of west coast tinges all clipped to a smooth strut steeled craft that veers ever so subtly into the sound worlds of Chris Stamey and Kevin Tihista.
More tapete loveliness this time from Brace / Choir whose – I think I’m right in saying – forthcoming debut full length ‘turning on your double’ has been hogging the turntable of late proving to be one of the best sets we’ve heard since the turn of the year. As a taster the label has released a teaser twin set available as a limited download due for docking in pop world towards the end of the month pairing together ‘five fingered leaf’ and ‘satisfier’. the former cut in brief is monumental, an absolute slow burn head turner that’s liable to turn your mind inside out, in short imagine Bardo Pond at their most chilled and out of it time travelling back to hook up with a totally blessed out gathering of Curved Air and Jefferson Airplane types and dragging along with them for added assistance a totally shit faced Fuxa. And that space cadets is only half the picture formed for ‘five fingered leaf’ is shadow lined in a brooding hymnal like psych tweaked grace that’s both bewitching and beguiled, built upon a slowly opining axis of woozy farfisas and orbiting as were mystical netherworlds this babe purrs sumptuously to an out there hollowing hallucinogenic head trip. As for ‘Satisfier’ – a totally different beast steeled in cosmicalia and drenched in dream pop motifs that shift and stutter in shoe gazed formation which all said and done ought to appeal first hand to admirers of dead leaf echo with a side order of the Church.
Video accompanying the forthcoming flip side to Schizo Fun Addicts fruit de mer single ‘suspiria’….simply divine….
<p><a href=”http://vimeo.com/86079699″>IN THE LONG RUN by Schizo Fun Addict on Fruits de Mer Records.</a> from <a href=”http://vimeo.com/jetwintzer”>jet wintzer</a> on <a href=”https://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a>.</p>Don’t mind admitting that I am totally in love with this ‘un, forthcoming on the soft power imprint – who you might recall released that rather dandy split pairing together the rosy crucifixtion and the wharves a little while back. Latest off the presses is a limited 12 inch by Blood and the Bull who are or more rightly is – Hillary Van Scoy of divorce and aggi doom fame. Four tracks sit upon this crystalline pop gem, a breathtaking bouquet of 60’s psych fugues and chime chirpy psych pop is what’s on offer, opening ambit ’bend over’ bristling beautifully winter spun in the kind of magnetic magicalia rarely heard around here since the days of Mary Hopkins albeit filtered fancifully through the minds eye of the haight ashbury’s. the charmingly named ’hold your head up high and go fuck yourself’ – in our humbled opinion the best thing here by some distance – draws a line of perfect psych symmetry that joins together the exquisite craft of the Smoke Fairies and Linda Perhacs. That said proving no slouch in the ear candy stakes ’I am a dog’ is bitter sweetly crushed in an affectionately woozy Beatles-esque charm albeit rephrased as were through the kooky kaleidoscopic viewfinder of the Elephant 6 collective most notably of montreal and Olivia tremor control whilst ’you are my favourite communist’ rounds up the set with a swoon and a candy pop sway replete with tootling keys crookedly chirping and cooing to possess us with a strange desire to reinvestigate our forgotten stash of slinkiness goodies from yesteryear. http://www.softpowerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/bend-over-e-p
Prized from a forthcoming album for the esteemed bureau imprint entitled ‘tomorrow is another day’, ’’walking with my eyes’ finds Ulrich Schnauss sharing collaborative groove space with Mark Peters for what I must admit sounds very much like a pre industrial Mr Numan being parachuted into the recording sessions for Japan’s ’Tin Drum’ to dispatch oriental motifs a la Bill Nelson in a softly fried pan Euro pop groove space that hints of mystery and a distant species of shoe gaze, mid career Depeche fans will no doubt swoon aplenty.
Long time no hear from the Static Caravan sound factory, Wigan’s finest tune house are about the rekindle operations and mess with your hi-fi’s with a handful of select releases by the Grafham Water Sailing Club and a by all accounts essential face off between the dudes of ghost box and the memory band. Before all that though an imminent 300 only clear wax 7 inch from the Duke St. Workshop is currently causing swooning fits at pre release outlets. This honey follows the collectives uber limited ’lexicon of paragon pines’ lathe cut full length which we here alas missed to much sobbing and gnashing of teeth – type in the duke st workshop band camp on your search engine to download the digital version. Two new compositions sit upon this latest limited release entitled ‘hospital’ / ‘cyclone fence. The former is your 70’s styled minimalist electronica which whilst echoing the cold futuristic sonic visions of human league mark 1, john foxx and early prototype visage is succulently suffused and vividly sired in warmth by the familiar influential craft of fortdax and the post magnetophone work of Messrs Hanson and Saunders to be gracefully courted and steeled in a Euro pop grooving shimmered in Brontean bouquets. Similarly dimpled in vintage visions ‘Cyclone Fence’ has its title referencing the murder of Mary Quigley who was one morning in September 1977 discovered hanged – the crime remained unsolved for three decades until advances in DNA matching finally brought her killer to justice. As to the song itself – a kind of lo-fi Radiophonic Workshop disco for austere analogue heads whose listening choices stray to the oblique aural architecture of the likes of Tristram Cary and Karl Bartos.
Staying with Static Caravan a little while longer – here’s the latest video / single by Laura J Martin taken from her utterly enchanting ’dazzle days’ album which all good homes should deserve – this un is called ’half perfect’ – you’ll not hear anything as gorgeous as this outside of the forthcoming blood and the bull set coming at you shortly from soft power records (see above)……
Not content with showering you with news of fruits de mer releases looming large on the horizon, a quick spy on the labels website has revealed news of the May release roster which includes full lengths by Australasia, Craig Padilla, Tor Peders and a seven inch from the Simones. In addition to that it seems everyone is now hosting their own Crabstock festival – Sendelica of course head up the much advertised soiree in Cardigan Bay, while it now seems similar events are planned for Helsinki and Hamden, Connecticut – all will be limited ticket availability and each will be serviced by their own Fruits de Mer goodie bags which judging by last years gift bearing freebies should start auction site stampedes. Go to http://www.fruitsdemerrecords.com for more info.
News reaches us from afar, well a face book update as it happens – that there are plans for an eat lights become lights remix album tentatively planned for June, if all goes well and the tapes come back the plan is to release a double vinyl set. More news as we get it. For now though the collective are currently busy demoing tracks for their forthcoming ’into forever’ album from out of which has been sneaked this little dream drifting darling. Entitled ’follow me down’ its continues the bands steady trajectory into ambient climes, celestial whispers married to the soft sleepy headed opine of mind weaving mirages craft out murmuring mosaics that suggest the emission of tender toned love notes woozily weaving through the glacial nothingness of space either that or the spectral echo of the Cocteau Twins in half light state. Mesmeric stuff all said. http://www.eatlightsbecomelights.blogspot.co.uk
I see we’ve a fair bit of catching up that needs doing in respect of the everything is chemical imprint. Fast becoming one of our favourite labels, these dudes releases fortnightly virtual sevens all of which have in recent memory had us all a swooning with the Sunday Experience listening tree house. Latest outing is quite possibly their most genteel for a while. Best experienced after dark when all the outside world is adrift in sleep, Juche’s three track offering is wired to such frail and fragile presets that you suspect it would run and hide if exposed to the glower and frantic activity that daylight provides. As said three tracks appear on this virtual 7 inch set crafted incidentally by way of found cassettes, static transmissions and old radio station tunings, initial listens of which had us recalling the quaintly kooky ambient sound hybrids that preface releases bearing the handiwork of moomlooo, but then drill down a tad and repeat visitations reveal a subtle aural ancestry whose bloodline traces its way back to the early outing of 4treck and more notably Cornelius for the sound worlds created by Juche hint of sonic illustrations pressed between the pages of a children’s library corner and hint of enchantment and fairytale crookedness lined in a vintage glow and snow set in clock working Oriental motifs that rustle and coo like murmuring electronic lullabies. Best of the trio is the softly yearned ’in Lincolns’ which snoozes and yawns like some ice frosted hymnal to draw distant dots that latch loosely to Simon Joyner and the Microphones. http://www.eicvirtual7inch.bandcamp.com/album/eic7-no-62
Release 61 from Everything is Chemical features a quite quietly sublime twin set from ssleeping desiress who unless ears do deceive are admirers of the sounds peeling from the turntables of that golden year 1981, I say ‘81 because ‘art object’ is stripped and steeled in the same kind of monochromatic edginess that imagines it being the result of some secret studio summit meeting convened and attended by an as were post punk / dystopian super group made up of members of Clock DVA, Cabaret Voltaire, danse society and A Certain Ratio and something which should appeal first hand to lovers of clockwork era. That said ‘acts of dreams’ over on the flip may well have just edged matters in the affection stakes not least because aside its ice cold frontage and lo-fi minimalism there’s something stark and unsettlingly darkly brooding peering from out of the shadows that had us imagining a seriously unhinged mark one version of Human League teetering about on some macabre dub drilled descent. http://www.eicvirtual7inch.bandcamp.com/album/eic7-no-61
I’m guessing by this stage you’re a little keen on some vapour trailing shoe gazer groove. We picked this up on a face book posting from northern star whereupon reports reached us of the untimely passing of Edweena’s Magnus. Taken from the bands ’solar days and lunar nights’ full length this is ’perspective’ which by our reckoning swoons seductively tailgating upon as were a sweetly arrested and lovelorn My Bloody Valentine trajectory albeit infused and honeycombed by the teen tremble of 50’s bubblegum halos and succulently flavoured in honeyed harmonies. Our thoughts are with you.
Imminent on the mighty fine rocket girl imprint is the second single to be pulled from the current and dare we say acclaimed ‘origins’ set by God is an Astronaut. ‘the last march’ is an immense emotional divider set within several short steps over the sub 4 minute mark, what first appears bitter sweetly hollowed in regret and sighing of what might have been soon quickly shifts focus erupting in miniature charges of euphoria to blossom brightly to part the clouds and pepper the pulses in a glorious full on triumphal regale to which here at least not a dry eye can be found.
Something we’ll be taking a keener ear to next week when we have time is a new full length from eastern hollows entitled er ’eastern hollows’ which is due imminently on the wonderful club ac30 imprint. We’ve had a sneak peek inside and much taken were we with the opening cut ’space spirits’ which in truth had us in mind of a seriously blissed out Bunnymen sharing head space with a ’dream baby dream’ era Suicide and found cosy toed amid swirling seas of crystalline chorals and candy kissed chiming riffage. Similarly proving itself as a tasty slice of ear candy is ‘the way that you’ve gone’ which comes indelibly coded in all manner of late 80’s motifs shimmered in Gene loves jezebel showers as were rephrased by a youthful sounding Church
Must admit that this caught us on the blindside, immediately hummable chorus hooks teased upon a ridiculously infectious melody and audaciously crushed underfoot by a strut grooved swagger and a knowing euphoric sassiness that most of his peers would do well to take note of, ’I hope you know’ – the first single prised off Jim Kroft’s forthcoming ’lunatic lullabies’ full length has all the wherewithal to suggest the lid being uncorked from the pop genie bottle.
Video goes a little like this…..
Boasting a roster that includes slow season, albino python, black prism and shooting guns as well as securing exclusive rights to cassette releases from the likes of witchcraft, kadavar, sleep and orchid, LA based imprint EasyRider are set to unleash a three track creeper from Swedish dark psych lords Salem’s Pot. Inspired by 70’s horror flicks and feasting on grizzled and stoned out Sabbath riffs ‘lurar ut dig pa prarien’ is set to drive clued up turntables into the very depths of disturbed psychosis, teaser cut ‘nothing hill’ is a macabre and twisted stoner gouged headlock of grimly festering flashbacks and skin tingling paranoia upon whose grooves the sickness and dread literally seeps from as its swamp dragged and thrown in to the blood splattered boot of a blackened hearse, in short – bad to the bone boogie.
<p><a href=”http://vimeo.com/86454823″>Nothing Hill Vimeo</a> from <a href=”http://vimeo.com/easyriderrecords”>EasyRider Records</a> on <a href=”https://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a>.</p>Here’s a little something truly special. In 2003 one of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop’s founding aural alchemists Daphne Oram sadly passed away leaving behind her a massive library of weird sounds. Fast forward several years and Sam Willis and Alessio Natalizia better known as WALLS manage to secure permissions to access the sound vaults with a view to utilising said sound sources and by the applying and fusing of the old with the new the pair craft something that peeks behind the veil to sound like tomorrow. By way of vintage electronic hardware, processed tapes and modular synths the duo are set to unveil their collaborative wares in May on the ten track ’sound house’ on their own ecstatic imprint. As a teaser Fact mag are showcasing the opening cut ‘extremely long corridor’ – a stark and sparse slab of aural architecture exploring sounds deep inner space and magnifying to chilling effect alien landscapes bleached in a post ’Blade Runner’ futurism that blends droning whirrs and processor chatter. http://www.soundcloud.com/factmag/walls-oram-extremely-long/s-Kc2Ak
Not the first time this missive that we’ve had cause to recall the mercurial craft of the Church by way of reference to a track but ‘encore encore’ is pitched with such finite tenderness, classicism and emotional depth all drilled to an embracing and purring 60’s shadow play to have it silently shining as the pride of the pack of this latest 4 track EP from Satellites. Entitled ‘istedgade’ it follows on from the acclaim lavished upon last years ‘02’ set which I’m sad to admit that we missed along the way and reveals a collective comfortable in their own skin and adept at the workings of mercurial song craft. ‘encore encore’ courts a finite balance between the hollowed hurting and healing for what initially translates as forlorn regret soon swiftly sheds anew to beam and burn with hope and salvation to recall Beatglider at their finest. Lead out charge ‘neon sun’ twists and turns upon the heartstrings taking into its sight line the finest moments drawn from the back catalogues of british sea power and dark captain light captain whilst simultaneously burning a path to court with the trace lines of Swimmer One albeit here a glowed in quiet euphoria and removed of the bruising impacts. Elsewhere the opining ‘spent venom’ is rested in faded grandeur swept along broken and bruised to wound licking anthem gouged crescendos while ‘a million drums’ mischievously tucked in at the parting grooves provides a master class in svelte pop detailing drawing the listener close and low with its measured murmur like silken symphonic whisper
Taken from their recently released ‘are you thinking of me every minute of the day’ full length for the incredibly busy of late tapete imprint and available as a limited download single comes ‘50% of your love’ by the hotly tipped Swede combo Lacrosse. A sub three minute party pack wired to the teeth on dance heavy dislocated electro grooves and fried with the kind of kooky pop schizoid exuberance as to have your turntable tripping wildly to its Devo-teque meets Flying Lizards proto new wave Dadaism.
Bugger me this is cool, new thang from the damn vandals is set to service your hi-fi with some much needed bad boogie and while new full length set ‘rocket out of London’ is primed for April time action via sexy beast records the whiff of cranked up old school devils blues rears its head on the pre teasing twin set ‘twist up and tangle’. of course being the awkward souls that we are it’s the flip we’ll take up the action with to immediate effect for ‘I bring you love’ is your primal raw as f**k Captain Beefheart groove going toe to toe in a no holds barred bruising face off with Tom Waits for some killer bourbon soaked voodoo blues, dirty devilish dead eyed ramalama that howls like a beaten around the edges and wasted Gallon Drunk while speared to the kind of scowled blues ju-ju that imagines a two way fist fight between mojo Nixon and RL Burnside. As to the lead out cut ’twist up and tangle’ a searing shakedown strutting and scowling with all the primitive cut loose bombast and hell fire howl of the Jim Jones Revue with the devils poker up their tail pipe. Nuff said.
Quite adorable in short. Prized from their debuting self titled set, Beautify Junkyards have just unveiled the video for their rather exquisite rephrasing of Heron’s lost classic ’yellow roses’ – a sun glowed floral fancy woozily a drift in feel good shimmers and care free willowyness all serenely serenaded in flotillas of twinkling chimes and shrouded in innocence, a mellowing half way point between Dylan and McKenzie, the videos not bad either.
Sounds to us like Air’s ‘kelly watch the skies’ being fed through the Cerrone spin dryer and sprayed with some Moroder magic dust and bleached with flecks of Jarre ju-ju, but then that might just be us and our ears playing up, that said we suspect not for this baby just terraforms and shape shifts in the most alluring and mind morphing way. So pray tell us what the feck is it and who is it by and where can we get it I hear all three of you ask in chattering excitement. Well it be the new thing from Sonic Cathedral dudes Black Hearted Brother who as you all should know are headed up by Slowdive man Neil Halstead. This version remixed by Ricardo Tobar is one of three takes of the track ’got your love’ – one of the stand out cuts from last years debuting ’stars are our home’ full length. Packaged onto an EP due to dock next month, the set also features the original mix and re-edit by the recently re-activated Ultramarine plus a new composition ’don’t take the weight’.
http://www.soundcloud.com/sonic-cathedral/black-hearted-brother-got-your/s-Vct5T
Staying with sonic cathedral happenings latest from young husband finds their ‘left of the rocks’ single just released and arriving accompanied by a pretty nifty old style VHS video directed by Rebecca Salvadori who recent work has centred on acclaimed promos for the savages and bo ningen. As to the song itself, annoyingly this has been nagging me since first hearing it, what the hell does it remind me of, its been something that’s literally stalled by listening enjoyment which after some serious memory searching has had us finally nailing it as a cross between Magazine’s ’the light pours out of me’ and the Human League’s ’keep feeling fascination’ – so with that moment of distraction driving out of the way must admit that this is a bit of a dandy haloed in kraut grooves and finitely speckled in kaleidoscopic hues buttoned to a pulse racing motif that quite frankly is irresistibly infectious in a should come with jabs variety.
Time for some lost groove, this comes from a forthcoming compilation entitled ‘popsike sparks from denmark street 1968 – 70’ being put out by Cherry Red re-issue off shoot grapefruit – this nugget is the ‘68 Timothy Blue gem ‘room at the top of the stairs’…..
Absolutely no info on this but safe to say it was sent over as a track for consideration and had us wigging out cutting strange shapes across the listening space which for a person of advancing years has much alarmed neighbours to such an extent I dare say report features will soon appear in the local parish gazette with a side section saved for complaining comments. But how could we resist when the tantalising description read thus – ‘completely improvised album recorded in a potting shed – amazing jazz with subtle electronics’ – hell fire dudes we are ahead of you and currently printing t-shirts. Now I’ll admit that jazz is our Achilles heel but I’m gathering that I need not be a fully paid up member of the Miles Davis appreciation club to spot a killer slab of jazz ju-ju when I hear. Which neatly brings me on to Get the Blessing whose recently released set for Naim Jazz records features the quite remarkable ‘corniche’- an uber chilled slab of mooching boogie that wouldn’t look to out of place on Stereolab’s Duophonic label and at one time would have proudly taken up air space on Radio 3’s flagship ‘mixing it’ show, all at once free flowing and loose it’s the kind of thing you’d imagine being cooked up in the studio had the space been shared by Beefheart and Soft Machine and overseen by the Wizards of Twiddly, a kind of math jazz sub species that whiffs of Jim O’Rourke and yet simultaneously reaches back to dip and delight in the forays of those kraut schooled bands from the early 70’s whose palettes widened to incorporate and fuse freeform ethnic grooves, we’d also reference Ariel Kalma but I’m gathering you are way ahead of us already. http://www.soundcloud.com/naimedge/gettheblessing-corniche
Available as a free download is this un, recorded during the same sessions from whence the single ‘orange juice’ and the ensuing ‘gin’ album sprouted – which I must apologise in advance or perhaps retrospectively we loved so much that we puzzlingly forgot to commit to review and write about. ‘spinola bay’ be its title and its by former Herman Dune dude Stanley Brinks (and the wave) – indeed its featured before but this version has Stan himself on lead vocals for what is a quite kooky little number which for a moment had us recalling an as were moonshine mooching Rodriguez initially, a notion that was soon replaced by an overarching desire to dig out ditties by Darren Hayman in his Hefner guise before normality being resumed with strange images floating around our head space of a seriously chilled out Jonathan Richman wooing grass skirted lovelies on some idyllic far flung tropical retreat. Anyhow whatever the case its available via the critically cool Fika recording imprint. http://www.soundcloud.com/fikarecordings/stanley-brinks-and-the-wave-1
While we scratch out some well phrased begging missive in the hope of procuring downloads for review we best warn you that bathetic records are set to release three uber limited cassette only releases shortly – first up a triple cassette box capturing over 2 hours of sounds from the bitchin bajas. ’live at the hideout’ features recordings taken from the collectives residency at Chicago’s ’hideout’ last year wherein every Tuesday throughout January the band played two different sets a week mixing things up by playing with friends and utilising quadraphonic films, these recordings gather together a six side document of that residency to include rehearsals. Next up – a seriously limited cassette variation of Angel Olsen’s latest opus ’burn your fire for no witness’ – jagjaguwar will be releasing the full on all other formats version. Last but by no means least a double cassette pairing together Lolly Gasserit and Rale in a sides competing face off. More details via http://www.batheticrecords.com
Incoming via folkwit this April the latest Daniel Carlson platter entitled ‘me you you me’ from which the this here cut – ‘Eko’ – is lifted. Described in passing as ‘trippy Floyd meets Beck psychedelia’ I’m guessing that once heard this is going to be on a fair few wants lists this coming Easter. Best described as a cosmic carousel ‘eko’ sounds as though its been soldered by the wispy floaty moments that strayed amid the grooves of Stereolab’s amorphous ‘Cobra and Phases….’ set which all said makes way for a trippy and tranced dream dipped odyssey of sonic space walking delights replete with the subtle glazing of shimmering 60’s John Barry styled riffola and a recall of J Xaverre no less.
Apologies about this but we can’t for the life of us recall exactly how we stumbled upon this, we can’t locate any mail outs and more frustratingly scant sign of a press release with which to impart upon you oodles upon oodles of fab info and band secrets. Ah well suppose we better get on with the boring business of the music. An EP no less released on the cool sounding parissi la musique imprint by Coma Coast which gathering together select remixes by Attar and Sano as well as a brace of originals which alas aside the opening cut ‘1989’ our prone to hissy fits PC refuses to give up and play. Still ‘1989’ on its own is a bit of a corker which I should hasten to add features lyrics which thus go something like – quote – ‘we are going to dance like its 1989’ which is no bad thing in itself until your visited upon by the sounds which either deliberate or by happy coincidence actually time travel you right back to that exact year and by these finite ears sound not unlike New Order boogying hard with AR Kane, that said repeat listens reveal it to be something of a ringer for the Beloved which again is by no stretch of the imagination a bad thing – did we mention its slyly infectious – no – well its slyly infectious.
I know you shouldn’t laugh but there was a wry smile threatening to break upon our lips as the Dooleys recalled their visit to BBC broadcasting house to record their Top of the Pops spot whereupon they were rained upon from above as Generation X relieved themselves from the roof themselves no doubt having discovered the very secret and exclusive members only BBC bar. All this came to play on an hour long show broadcast by BBC4 entitled ‘Top of the Pops – the story of 1979’ which talked strikes, politics, chart rigging, plastic cymbals, overbearing BBC execs, the dreaded naughty step and the last golden age of the 7 inch single. The underlying question posed being ‘was 1979 the best year for music ever. Discuss’. true to say it was the year when even the naff stuff sounded good, a year where punk crystallised into new wave, disco reached its peak, where reggae rubbed shoulders with the daft, Pink Floyd saw the decade out reaching peak spot, a year of change and musical revolution in the air with the acceptance of electronic pop and the last great gasp of a televisual institution in Top of the Pops who for the next two decades would pitifully descend into cruel death throes and clueless makeovers.
On a happy note here’s Gen X…….
Adore this I must admit, forthcoming from monotreme records by stumbleine who those of you with instant recall may well remember wowed us several missives ago. Now paired up with Welsh vocalist Violet Skies the collaborative chemistry between the two has been such that following hot on the heels of this 5 track EP there are plans afoot for a new full length tentatively pencilled in for April release schedules. Oozing seduction ‘clip my wings’ shimmers and serenades amid a floorshow of showering celestial snowfalls, teased in ice thawed dubstep motifs and softly graced in the delicate crunch of a down tempo dimpling, this softly surrendering dream pop lovely sweetly arrests amid flotillas of lunar love notes to both seduce and entrance. http://www.soundcloud.com/monotreme-records/01-clip-my-wing/s-e3dex
Many thanks to Peter Gofton – I think – who alerted us to Broadcast’s James’ sound cloud page upon which he’s posted a few curios as you’d rightly come to expect the most interesting of which ‘Trish’s toys and techniques birthday tape’ which title alone gives you an idea of what’s hidden within and accounts for nearly an hours worth of the late Trish Keenan doodling about with all manner of sound mediums, rhythmic modulations and vintage electronic bric n’ brac all interspersed with dreamy moments of Radiophonic styled hypno-groove and the occasional rustle of arid dry spaghetti western styled riff tweaking. http://www.soundcloud.com/james-broadcast
Bugger me this is gruesome stuff, the info is a little sketchy but from what we can make out this lot have just signed to gordeon music and are proud winners of the Colombian music awards, eshtadur be their name, a
collective of grizzled death metallers of whom it wouldn’t surprise me to find have a direct line to old Nick for ‘stay away from evil and get close to me’ is pure rapid fire end of days apocalyptic groove, a choking cauldron of sacrificial seizure stricken hysteria and dark deeds bled to a unforgiving blood letting sonic rampage. A debut full length looms large casting a lengthening war like shadow on the horizon.
Now if you were to pick a three way art punk post funk fantasy football styled collective from say Gang of 4, Talking Heads and maybe perhaps the Fire Engines and then sat comfortably back musing upon how exactly said assembling of souls would sound, then look no further than Ava Luna who are about to release ‘electric ballroom’ via the eminent western vinyl imprint. Sneaked out as a teaser the frankly hot n’ horny ‘daydream’ is a shock treated slice of frenetically drilled and wired to the teeth funk out riffage bleached onto a skittish stutter gouged rhythmic grooving replete with frantic vocals. Guessing that answers your question. http://www.soundcloud.com/western_vinyl/ava-luna-daydream-1/
Be honest for a second, have you truthfully heard anything so beaming in bright crystalline sun glows as this little beauty from Honeybeat, from the moment its Stex styled Marr in exotic paradise setting riff spikes hark its start your literally swept up and taken by the hand to a forgotten world of pop’s teen trimmed golden age on a 5 minute odyssey that impishly cherry picks the finest moments of effervescent groove, a place where all at once Spector fuses into Studio 54 and the kitsch 60’s trimmings of St Etienne are let loose to blossom in full glorious rapture whilst from the sidings and with a slyly fond gaze towards France Gal a Spiller styled sassiness lays waste to the dance floor whilst between all this feel good radiance some neat moment of sophisticated torch sultriness seduces like nothing heard here since the smoky cool caress of musetta. Incidentally the tracks called ‘twinkling melancholy’ and its prized from their ‘winner’s identity’ set out via tanukineiri records……
We are so proud to be given the exclusive on this, the world premiere of the Schizo Fun Addict ‘Suspiria’ video. The single is due for release shortly via the esteemed Fruits de Mer and is a quite frankly exquisite cover of the Goblin catalogue corner stone which back dropped the first of a trilogy of Italo horror films referred to as the ‘three mothers’ by Dario Argento – see ‘Suspiria’, ‘Inferno’ and ‘the mother of tears’ – according to IMDB sources the music was recorded as a collaboration between Argento and Goblin, to unnerve the actors and urge a sense of unease and tension Argento would have the soundtrack playing at full tilt thus creating an ice cold sinister tension on set. The single follows the release of the New York psych pop combos recent free to download ‘the Sun Yard’ set – a last gasp rush that ensured a top 3 album placing in our end of year selections – hard copies of the album will be given a limited and one time only release by Fruits de Mer and included in the rare as hen’s teeth goodie bags at the forthcoming Crabstock festival. And now a word from Jet from Schizo Fun Addict –
‘part of an ongoing concept – art of forced collaboration series of works – outlaw video. An official Schizo Fun Addict video. I chose this project because the Satanic coven gets burned in their temple by the triumphant victim / victor – it’s a metaphor for love’s triumphant inferno. I love the last scene, after she walks out of the burning building after going through hell, and she’s laughing, I can relate to that.’
Must admit to feeling a bit of a div but I’m putting my hands up in saying that I haven’t a clue who this is by, well I do but the info is a little scatty – shall we settle for Cyborgdrive, who from what we can gather have been drafted in by way of special invitation to re-drill some choice cuts for a set entitled ‘Sequential Point – back to Zero’ via the Kalma imprint. Now this is where things get a little hazy – are Sequential Point the original artist – I’m lost and confused. As to the sounds no issues here for cyborgdrive’s rephrasing of ‘distant mountains’ is simply smoking. Agreed heavily indebted to Vangelis’ score for blade runner but hey who isn’t – but there’s a twist here that suggests its something you’d readily expect to be shimmering out of the front entrance of the exquisite and hugely fancied ear candy sound house that is Bureau B. An amorphous dream collage crafted upon a rarefied krautrock sub species lushly drizzled in subtle oriental motifs all spiked with a futuristic wide screen aura and lovingly traced with an affectionate trance trimmed nod to a certain Mr Jarre. Quite stunning if you ask me. http://www.soundcloud.com/kalmarecords/distant-mountains-cyborgdrive?in=kalmarecords%2Fsets%2sequential-point-back-to
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As ever take care of yourselves…..xx
Marklosingtoday
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