Tales from the Attic
Volume LXI
Revolutions of a 45 and 33 kind….
More early year oldies gubbins…….this particular edition features….
Yukon blonde, code pie, john 3:16, 10000 russos, gt, blackmill, the sandwitches, revenant sea, laica, c duncan, john barry, lalo schiffrin, the memory band, free school, northern plastics, cleaners from venus, the classical, mbongwana star, last days of april, a projection, asian dub foundation, kuki and the bard, lilies on mars, gary numan, biscuit mouth, aj and the hackney empire, lunar twin, elvis Presley, solyst, tarwater, unthanks, vision fortune, lucid dream, wildhart, the holy see, [owt kri], blk tag, grande roses, laura j martin, tir na nog, schnauzer, past tense, crystal Jacqueline, mark and the clouds, hyperslob and the goat meat explosion, sam prekop, map71, stillsuit, deux furieses, rob Clarke and the brown bears, grrlpal, my friend in exile
‘yukon blonde – I wanna be your man (dine alone / caroline).’
Sexiest and sassiest we’ve heard so far today – indeed such is the oncoming rush of tasty tune traffic these days that no sooner do we despatch one drop dead cute cut then along comes another to shove the former out of our affections. This babe comes swaggering and sauntering into ear space pouting and purring upon kiss cool feline flotillas of T-Rex-ian seduction all draped and haloed in 70’s glam threads soothingly coiled in a precision pop acuteness whose slinky savviness steels in some nifty west coast vibed soul smokiness – frankly irresistible and incidentally comes peeled from a forthcoming long player platter ‘on blonde’. https://soundcloud.com/yukonblonde/i-wanna-be-your-man-1
‘code pie – rockets (flagless)’.
Not a lot of information about this lot except to say they hail from Montreal and this delightful twin set is out now via flagship records. Now pardon me for putting in my bit for what it’s worth is a bit of a slow burning killer all lazy eyed inclines and sun spotted smokiness purred to the drift wood sigh of prairie cooled west coast burns that aside much recalling a very youthful Summer Hymns had us of the mind that it might just be one of the loveliest things to have quietly crept and allured our listening space since Jumbo’s jaw dropping debut ‘brighten up’ way back at the back end of the 90’s. flip side ‘hands’ is no slouch either dimpled in shanty opines and the kind of bliss hazed soulfulness that had us imagining Bacharach and David off cuts being teased up by a super chilled Ashley Parks. https://codepie.bandcamp.com/album/rockets-single
‘john 3:16 – the inner life of God / the father, the son and the holy spirit (alrealon musique)’.
Agreed it’s an old one pulled from John 3:16’s acclaimed ‘the visions of the hereafter – visions of heaven, hell and purgatory’ set from a year or so ago (there are rumours abound that a new album is shortly to hatch) but it’s still a good ‘un. Now serviced by a newly framed video, ‘the inner life of God’ perfectly crystallises John 3:16’s storm simmering Old Testament obsessed sonics, bleakly beautiful they resonate with an ancient tongue as old as the sand, to a time where man was but a sacrificial pawn in the eternal battle between light and dark, a brooding panoramic symphonia harnessed upon natures frequenting moods where the magisterial, the macabre and the mysterious all coalesce with apocalyptic portent.
‘10000 Russos – s/t (fuzz club)’.
More essential nu groove from the fuzz club imprint, these dudes hail from London by way of Portugal and call themselves 10000 Russos, their self titled set about to enter Earth orbit is a brain washing locked grooving head-phonic skull splitter featuring five slabs of out there psychotropic kosmiche of which we’ll be re-visiting in full soon though not before earmarking the sets most sedate and trippy moment. ‘barreiro’ is your sub seven minute aural astral planing third eye spirit guide, a hypno inducing bliss out voyage with a seriously super chilled and wasted Mugstar piloting the cruise controlling wheel for a mind altering freefall into the dark side realms of Neu and Ash Ra Tempel. https://fuzzclub.bandcamp.com/album/10000-russos
\\GT// – something’s wrong with my mind (communicating vessels)’.
Head tripping colossal psych groove anyone? In truth you’d have to go some to better this for sheer unravelling psychosis, new thing heading out of the communicating vessels imprint from Austin heavy psych juggernauts \\GT//. Lassoed from a forthcoming full length ‘beats misplaced’ due at the fall of July this is ‘something’s wrong with my mind’ a hulking slab of mind altering pychotropia whose wasted bliss gouged angular motifs had us at times much recalling the early outings of stranger son of WB albeit as though suffering flashbacks following a potent skin full of Butthole Surfers the result of which is crafted a bad tripping ju-ju that comes edgily harnessed upon a flat lining and fracturing descent into white out oblivion. https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/185160995%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-oDYAA&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false
‘blackmill – gaia’.
You mightn’t have heard of Blackmill, better known to kith n’ kin as Robert Cord, he’s crafted himself a well regarded reputation among the underground dub step community and into the bargain clocked up eye watering sales and stream tallies in excess of tens of thousands. ‘Gaia’ his latest sortie comes draped in demurring arc lights of love tipped celestial euphoria all softly traced to ethereal whispers, a lilting cosmic lightshow delicately ushered in by the alluring twinkle toned siren light carousel of floral flotillas all trimmed in the sighing seductive arrest of a lights lowered nocturnal lull. https://soundcloud.com/blackmill/blackmill-gaia-preview
‘the sandwitches – our toast (empty cellar)’.
I’ll be honest in saying that this one has in recent days caught us on the blind side, one of those rare releases where you have to really sit down and patiently wait for it to give itself up, that’s not to say it’s a difficult listen rather more it prefers not to put all its party tricks up in the window. A full review is primed for the sandwiches forthcoming long player ‘our toast’ coming at you via empty cellar records (where if I recall rightly early doors limited vinyl variants come adorned upon oxblood coloured vinyl – not that you should need further prods of encouragement) though for now we’ve settled on a brace of cuts from this most becoming set. According to the playlist stats ‘play it again Dick’ has been getting the admiring glances from all who’ve heard thus far, arrested by a delicious lolloping motif this withered beauty hiccups and coos its way upon the genteel purr of a 50’s etched prairie porch recline that’s shadow lined by the gnawing growl of a riff howling twanging opine that could easily have been swamp dragged out of a Lynchian soundtrack, beautifully bruised and very much stalking the kind of crooked paths once the trademark of June Panic. However us being the awkward souls we are have been somewhat smitten by ‘Dead Prudence’ which perfectly encapsulates the freefalling unbounded artistry of this femme trio, much like staring into a gem stone when the sun refracts through it, the deeper you stare the more you become aware of the multi faceted shape shifting structures, much like this demurring gem then for there’s an almost lightly drizzled jazz soul blues detailing emerging from out of the lazy eyed fog seductively smoked in a ghost light shimmer toned sophistication that appears to hang in an airless suspended state back dropped upon a deeply alluring sepia twisted key braid that’s pressed upon an ever deepening emotional intimacy you’ll struggle to hear done with such forlorn tenderness.
‘revenant sea and laica – sulphide fractures (Arell)’.
Debut release on the newly formed Arell imprint, a collective experiment in some respects that intends to bypass the would be listeners want for skipping tracks by releasing both albums and EP’s as a single extended track that way giving the consumer the chance to hear and appreciate the release as the artist intended. Exploring sound collages ranging from drone, glitch, ambient and beyond, each invited artist will be given a black and white photograph which is meant to serve as a point of reference, over the course of time it is hoped that these photos and their accompanying music will form a larger interconnecting canvas / portrait. ‘Sulphide Fractures’ is intended to serve as a blueprint for future releases and pairs together both Laica (of Alrealon Musique fame) and the Revenant Sea (one of the many sonic heads of Matt Bower – see Wizards Tell Lies and Isobel Ccircle) who over the course of the last few months have been sending backwards and forwards across the information loaded ether clouds, found sounds that each has remodelled, remoulded and rephrased into a sonic skin that has eventually come to bear here. The 20 minute ‘Sulphide Fractures’ comes sub divided into four interlocking suites each offering a slow shape shift in sonic perspective, a full on head rush in immersive meditative ambience that takes its structural cue, or so it would seem, from Jean Michel Jarre’s ‘magnetic fields 1’ in so much as its bookended by vibrantly busy peaks and mellowed by intervening dream states accentuated by the adept of space, atmosphere and mood. Barely given time to adjust to your surroundings and focus ‘dislocation climb’ is about you in an instant swarming you in deep psychtronic trance tonalities that come soldered up on heavy bearing industrial structures that in many respects recall Pan Sonic in their more experimental Fat Cat years, a white hot intensifier steadily assuming critical mass so that by its fall its hypno grooved pulsar rays are off the scale and into head bleaching territories. ’03.11.14.V2’ is by comparison a more serene serving, the drone tides traced to a vapour trailing bliss like calm before seamlessly crystallising into ‘incidental incremental’ – here the atmospherics assume a more chill tipped readily passive and ethereal dream like subterranean persona that’s tethered and teased upon disorientating mosaics where chattering ghost lights, murmuring electrode frequencies and insectoid clicks flicker, flutter and dissipate into the gaseous void, very Aphex-ian it ought to said which leaves the softly purred dubtronic daubs of ‘marble detach’ to slowly take you by hand on the return journey back conscious states, essential headphonic groove all said.
‘c Duncan – garden (fat cat).’
Mentioned this in previous despatches, an album ‘architect’ is due to descend soon, early listening visitations suggest it be one of the most eagerly anticipated debuts of the year, ‘garden’ taken from said set is applied with such impeccable beauty and divine craft as to suggest Mr Duncan has heaven on speed dial for this is an amorphous magical carpet ride shimmered upon the very finest trappings of baroque psych, prog and floral chorals into a multi coloured shape bending dream coat.
‘radio frequencies….1 – sound of cinema’..
Matthew Sweet continues his excellent ‘sound of cinema’ series via BBC Radio 3, this particular selection inspired by Paul Feig’s recently premiered ‘Spy’ – an hour’s worth of cold war espionage related soundtracks indelibly populated in the main by master of the suave John Barry (Bond, the Quiller Memorandum and the iconic Ipcress File) along with Kaplan, Levy, Bennett, Webb (the symphonic winter casting of ‘Notorious’ being the best cut here), Schifrin and the most memorable of the lot Karas’ zither daubed ‘the third man’. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05xj1qx#auto
‘the memory band – children of the stones (static caravan)’.
Ultra limited and as far as we can tell only available at the bands recent appearance at 2015’s Supersonic Festival, ‘children of the stones’ / ‘nightingale with bombers’ is a strictly scarce 100 only two track release pressed upon lathe cut vinyl by Phil Macy of 454545 fame (more from him later somewhere). Both tracks within, incidentally specially commissioned by the festival organisers and the British Library, truly reveal the memory band to be master crafts-men connecting to a long forgotten past preserving a lost melodic art form, for through a sighing and snoozing primordial haze (our favoured cut) ’nightingale with bombers’ emerges bedded upon the eerie waking call of a woodland glade yawning and stretching invigorated and brought to life by the morning glow of natures alarm call, genteel and transcendental the twilight parade soon dissipates and in its place the airy tumbling timbre of ‘John Riley’ lightens the landscape to the crisp courtship of spell crafted string corteges and the nimble quick fingered mesmeric weave of a joyously lazy eyed rustic ramble. As to ‘children of the stones’ – strobes of woozy afterglows attach to this softly psyched folk nugget, its earthy wood crafted interior shaped and shaken in a sonic imagining not a million miles it has to be said from that of seeland in a face off with dark captain light captain with the ensuing bout being fervently overseen by yellow moon band who with them have brought to the event the additional side serving of essences drawn from working for a nuclear free city. https://soundcloud.com/the-memory-band
‘free school – love calling (static caravan)’.
Staying with Static Caravan here’s a little something we mentioned a few weeks ago before we all went ominously dark on you – imminent happenings from the static sonic shed courtesy of Free School here aided and abetted by tomlin mystic…..
‘northern plastics – someone else’s memories’.
Sometimes haunting, occasionally macabre, Northern Plastics ‘someone else’s memories’ is a fragmented trip into the headspace in sleep mode, for the best part a disjointed and often disconnected journey populated and punctuated by brief intermissions or rather more best described as sonic cul de sacs that relay a shadowy often barbed pathway into the sinister and surreal, it’s a disorientating affair pierced by moments of bliss as on ‘flutter’ contrasted solemnly by pensive periods of detachment as on ‘destruction’ and the cold shrill grip of ‘doorway to darkness’. That said the moments of oddness are outweighed by the dreamy interludes with ‘solar roadway’ doing as it says on the tin while ‘you’re not her’ is perhaps responsible for taking up the mantle for being the sets most serenely lulling passage with the set coalescing perfectly with the parting and dare I say aptly titled ‘home’ guided back from dreamland to grim reality. http://northernplastics.bandcamp.com/album/someone-elses-memories
‘EurNoVision 2015 – sampler (soft bodies)’.
A word of warning – we will be featuring this in much greater detail in a few days, once that is, we’ve gotten through all the urgent to do’s that have managed to build up around here since we went all dark and off radar. This superb compilation is being put out by Soft Bodies – the perfect antidote to Eurovision naffness, vote rigging and nations in fighting not to mention featuring sounds that, okay arguably, may find their roots in late 70’s no wave and 90’s abstraction, but which at least sound more current and up to the mark not to mention forward thinking than the safe chocolate box smaltz that rots the core of pops out dated musical equivalent of ‘it’s a knockout’ – not quite sure what the lemon graphics are about but leading the flag for England are Cleaners from Venus which by our reckoning is more than worthy of the entrance fee alone.
<p><a href=”https://vimeo.com/129224410″>EurNoVision 2015 Trailer</a> from <a href=”https://vimeo.com/eurnovision”>EurNoVision</a> on <a href=”https://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a>.</p>
‘mbongwana star – kala (world circuit)’.
I won’t deny in admitting that we have been totally smitten by this nugget, so much so have we been obsessed and taken by it that their album ‘from kinshasa’ has scarcely been off our spotify player in recent weeks featuring as it does a guest collaboration with the mighty Konono No 1. Without doubt one of the best and most forward sounding sets we’ve heard the year thus far with ‘Kala’ heading up matters in the affection stakes – a multi faceted genre b(l)ending mutant melting pot that fuses an intoxicative native afrobeat rhythm into a hybrid patchwork informed of psychedelic tongues all gouged in the street wise funk savvy of an early 80’s New York sound scene and fried to a deeply alluring afro-tronic pulsar to be wrapped in a head expanding cosmic mesh, in short – off the radar.
‘the classical – shovel and bevel (time sensitive records)’.
Another release responsible for causing a fair amount of damage in our gaff since passing our way earlier today is a forthcoming set entitled ‘diptych’ from San Francisco based duo the Classical from which ‘shovel and bevel’ has been hoisted to serve as a teaser taste of what to expect. Impossible to categorize with any ease, as much a pleasure as it is perplexing and certainly something that’ll split the ranks between those who’ll love it and those who’ll loathe it and dare I say a track that should find fans among those whose usual turntable treats appear to orbit around the likes of dEUS and quite frankly anything brushed by the genius that is Ruby Trouve. ‘shovel and bevel’ comes adorned in acutely ad hoc time signatures of the type that hint of an impish curtsy to a jazz understanding, its push pull dynamic teasingly giving away to a mutant and minimalist curve ball that draws upon a curious fracturing no wave – art rock – post punk lineage that pokes and purrs in equal measure to almost instil a feeling of being against the ropes trying desperately to shuffle away from a jabbing combination of a would be opponent forever leaving you on the back foot as it discards any notions of an easy listening happy clappy verse chorus verse sing-a-long. Instead what you get is something brutally intense, wired and traced with a scarring detail of neo classical frenz.
‘last days of april – someone for everyone (tapete).’
Just out via the admired Tapete imprint and culled from their ‘Sea of Clouds’ full length, here’s a spot bandages to wounds resulting from the battle lines and fall-out suffered at the hands of the game of love going by the name ‘someone for everyone’. Indeed we here are well versed in its unforgiving arts these days preferring to keep our emotions locked away in the deep freezer just next to the chicken nuggets, sausage in batter, garden peas and various other inedible horrors that appear to be taking up space in the bowels of this rarely visited upon ice mausoleum. Ah well, where were we, oh yea Last Days of April, headed up by one Karl Larsson, this sprightly little pop plaster breezily swoons in on an warming feel good vibe flanked by the sound of sun tanned crystalline chord chimes and the hazily lazy bliss tones of sliding riffola to emerge fully formed, perfectly pop purred and cradled in murmurs of hope and healing like something one might suspect had been hoodwinked from a George Harrison notebook by the World Party. Any questions at the back?
‘A Projection – another face (tapete).’
More tapete happenings, this ‘un coming pulled from a recently released set entitled ‘exit’. These dudes hail from Stockholm and go by the name A Projection, ‘another face’ their latest single harks back to a time when the indie / post punk wastelands where scattered with overcoat wearing emotionally turbulent souls with guitars whittling out anthems for the silent bedroom masses, Zerra 1 and the Chameleons and perhaps to a lesser degree Joy Division are easily called to mind on this searing slab of storm ravaged groove, its cloud parting siren riffola, sense of urgency and intent not to mentuion panic attacking fervour coalescing superbly into an at the edge burning star colossus.
‘asian dub foundation – the signal and the noise’.
Mentioned a little while back – here in fact https://marklosingtoday.wordpress.com/2015/05/28/asian-dub-foundation/ – here’s the newly peeled video…..
http://cache.vevo.com/assets/html/embed.html?video=GB45A1500100&autoplay=0
‘kuki and the bard – dalai lama (RAK).’
Something else we mentioned a little while back – incidentally still doing bad things on our turntable – moving picture soiree to accompany that new darling of a release by brother and sister duo Kuki and the Bard…..which for those who missed it first time of asking was much enthused about here https://marklosingtoday.wordpress.com/2015/05/31/kuki-and-the-bard/
‘lilies on mars – dancing star’.
Uber gorgeous and pretty much perfection – what more can I say that we didn’t say here https://marklosingtoday.wordpress.com/2015/05/29/lilies-on-mars/
‘Gary Numan – premier hits (arkive)’.
Due to surface shortly for the first time on vinyl the re-release of ‘premier hits’ marks the start of a re-issue campaign that will see returns to wax of iconic sets ‘replicas’, ‘pleasure principle’ and ‘telekon’ later this year (to coincide with a handful of brief appearances wherein he will be playing the albums in their entirety live – dates / venues below), the latter incidentally always a personal favourite around our gaff. The double album set pretty much includes all the singles from 78 to 83 from the early Tubeway platters ‘bombers’ and ‘that’s too bad’ right through to ‘sister surprise’ ripped from the ‘Warriors’ full length, it covers the first flourishes of Numan’s creative peak (before the grey patch wilderness years and his return to form and critical re-assessment / acclaim in the mid 90’s) and features one of the most influential melodic signatures in modern times – ‘Cars’. The set is bolstered by four additional cuts ‘me, I disconnect from you’, ‘we are so fragile’, ‘films’ and ‘metal’.
In addition whilst having a rummage through you tube world we upended this little curio – an extended interview / documentary charting the rise / fall and rise again of Mr Webb.
‘biscuit mouth – that’s some cool change sonny, for sure (self released)’.
More brain damaging gouged groove from our favourite Derby based barn pots Biscuit Mouth whose undoubted fondness for all things Jesus-y Lizard and Shallac-y literally tears itself from this nugget to poke you incessantly in the eye (the left one I believe). Last here to worry our sound system sometimes last year when they dropped the frankly feral and fractured bludgeoned blues treat ‘roll into the dancer’ our way with promises of an album to follow – which alas we never heard – enquiries in gruff tones are being made as we write this. Anyway communication cock ups aside ‘that’s some cool change sonny, for sure’ is your potent 140 second slab of wired out mutant mathian discordant boog-a-loo freak formed amid shards of stuttering white out hysteria and scavenged upon a scalding sonic head butt that to these ears imagines some brutal face off between that fucking tank and a very young shit and shine.
‘AJ and the Hackney Empire – vanishing breed (from the album Soft Power on singing dune)’.
We’ve cheated a tad with this one, alas no sound links just yet, but we’ve been idling away the last hour or so listening to the forthcoming AJ and the Hackney Empire full length ‘soft power’ due soon via singing dunes and found ourselves somewhat smitten by this little nugget tucked away in the middle. Now the hackney empire ought need no introductions here given we fell over ourselves in admiration for their recent ‘martyn’s elephant charm’ / ‘ghost daddy’ single – both tracks incidentally featuring on this teasingly short though perfectly formed set. ‘vanishing breed’ I have to admit might well be the albums centrepiece
‘lunar twin – champagne (Doreen and emerald)’.
Latest from purveyors of all shoegaze / dream pop / ethereal Doreen and Emerald, these are Lunar Twin whose ‘Champagne’ and ‘metroplex’ finds itself rephrased and remodelled by a gathering of specially commissioned remixes. As you can probably gather Lunar Twin are a duo – Chris and Bryce as it happens – the original mix of ‘champagne’ which you can find on the accompanying video comes traced and courted in the dark svelte majesty of the Church all trimmed in the tender procession of shadowy spectral wisps ghosted upon the soft hypnotic weave of wide screen down tempo dialects led from the fore the melt of a deeply sonorous vocal. As to the remixes EP two newly forged edits (the grand cru edit particularly touched with a spacious ice sculptured exquisiteness that borders on the ethereal and elegiac) by the duo are accompanied by re-treatments by the likes of ummagma, haioka, statickman, romin, mushrooms project, go satta and woolfy – the latter of whom takes the original template on a trippy and funky journey into cool club world hinterlands. Dropping the temperature and upping the seductive mood factor several notches, Haioka arrests all with a sublimely sophisticated recalibration oozed and allured in star glazed nocturnal murmurs and floating flurries. Typically classy and crushed with a tenderly ached noir trimming Ummagma apply the heart string hanging works to their recoding dream dipping all in svelte lunar whisper kisses. Next up Statickman do a nifty funk struck work out
We will be trying to wrestle download codes for this in order to throw it on the workbench for a closer inspection in the coming days, but for now a quick heads up on the latest Kollektion set put out by Bureau B – an ongoing series wherein guest mixers are hauled in to delve into the BB vaults not emerging until they’ve compiled a selection set of gems from the labels extensive back catalogue. Previous guest selectors have seen Lloyd Cole, Tim Gane and Holger Hiller painstakingly rummaging through the tape archive while the fourth instalment welcomes Death in Vegas’ Richard Fearless to prep his want list across a mammoth 6 side wax / 2 cd set – among the offerings Faust, cluster and 39 clocks – in the meantime here’s a brief extract of what to expect…… https://soundcloud.com/bureau-1/kollektion-4-bureau-b-compiled-by-r-fearless-snippets-out-june-26-2015
Do not adjust your turntable settings
We here are still a tad weepy at missing the Elvis RSD release – a double I believe on red vinyl no less – and something we are doing our damnedest to nab for future mentions. Tears and recriminations aside our moods where more than slightly buoyed by the snaring of a killer 7 inch entitled ‘Elvis sings the hits of Specialty….’ on the El Toro imprint that features the Memphis flash covering cuts penned by Little Richard and Lloyd Price that originally appeared on the LA based specialty label in the early 50’s. The first of four planned releases marking the 80th anniversary of the King’s birth the others will see the El covering Sun, Atlantic and Doo Wop – alas no dates for arrival, still this particular releases comes pressed on eye catching yellow / tangerine jukebox vinyl and arrives housed in a cool looking retro jacket, okay the label / sides don’t tally up to the sleeve credits but damn – it’s good to hear the Presley boy at the height of his powers sounding so raw, loose and untamed not forgetting that it provides a useful reminder as to how tight a backing combo Scotty, Bill and DJ where not to mention the historical cultural footprints brought to bear by these cuts when they were first released for the USA was still a divided nation where segregation and racism ran hand in hand and this was essentially a white man bringing black music into the homes of middle America. Of the four cuts on show – all holding up to the test of time, ‘lawdy miss clawdy’ is still possessed of that howling primal bite that suggests it was from another planet. www.eltororecords.com
As promised back with bureau b for the second of those essential RSD15 specials this time finding Solyst sharing groove space with Tarwater, again all the featured tracks are previously unreleased – numbering six in total. The two Solyst cuts – extended re-workings of tracks found on their ‘lead’ full length – feature guest vocals by Noblesse Oblige’s Valerie and Sebastian the former of whom does a spot of nifty seductive shadow playing across a lights lowered noir trimmed minimalist monolith threaded and masked in darkly weaved atmospherics that had I not known better I would have hazarded a guess was the work of a mellowing Clock DVA c. ‘resistance’ scoring studio points with a similar era sounding Cabaret Voltaire. Likewise the hypno-grooved ‘polar’ is trimmed in a mellowed seductive sophistication that’s pierced in a ghostly monochrome shell that draws you near to its lonesome ice framed noir charm, its acute sparse reflectiveness poised and purred by the fleeting passing of choral apparitions. Most becoming. Over on the flip side Tarwater impart a quartet of out takes to their side of the 12 inch groove space out of which ‘Swift’ took our fancy shimmered as it is in ghostly trance toned frosted oriental motifs that appear to dissolve into dream dipped hazes. ‘gnostic serenade’ is no slouch either in the affection stakes as it recalibrates its aural radar to view austere early 80’s electro landscapes most notably coming on like a bruised and forlorn B Movie sharing counselling sessions with an equally fraught and disconsolate ‘organisation’ era Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. All this comes bookended by two slabs of trippy toned earth beat courtesy of ‘figures of a folk’ and ‘le chambriste’ the latter of which comes smoked and haloed in the demurring spectacle of mushrooming lunar dub configurations.
Future Fruits happenings – those members purchasing the Cranium Pie will also be treated to an additional CD (‘friends of the fish’ 2) of gems featuring a wealth of covers and woozy weirdness from the likes of the Magic Mushroom Band, the Green Telescope, the Blue Giant Zeta Puppies (who incidentally ought by right be appearing later this missives), Schizo Fun Addict, the Telephones, the Mystery Crystals and many many more spread across 75 minutes of groove space…… http://www.fruitsdemerrecords.com/friendscd2.html
This just stings, second single pre-empting the forthcoming release of the new Unthanks full length ‘mount the air’ due next month. Much like the previous taster (the edited version of the title track – released before Christmas) ‘flutter’ comes shrouded within an alluring chamber folk noir casing, this time more fragile, frail, vulnerable and emotionally wide open, achingly tender this ghost like beauty is nonetheless spirited with a spellbinding classically tutored aura that’s softly bruised and dimpled in reflective melancholia the type of which was the one time trademark prestige of a youthful 4AD, guaranteed to leave you head bowed and jaw agape.
Second single to be pulled from their forthcoming debut set for ATP entitled ‘country music’, the welcome return to these pages of Vision Fortune with ‘back crawl II’ finds these oft compared to the Liars dudes navigating the type of out there environs more commonly frequented by Battles. A colossus in terms of the way its manages to swarm and spam your senses amid an overload of melodic messaging, ‘back crawl II’ courts with the strange – though nevertheless disarming – effect of being simultaneously threatening yet therapeutic and chaotic yet calming as it grapples amid critical meltdowns and degrading mutant dubtronics to craft a grizzled and impenetrable wall of sound. Best thing we’ve heard of its ilk since that killer debut from Automat for bureau b last year. https://soundcloud.com/alltomorrowsparties/back-crawl-ii-1
Literally hammering down on all our buttons at once the much admired Lucid Dream are shortly to break cover with the impending release of a new self-titled full length via holy are you with a special vinyl title coming courtesy of the ever cool great pop supplement imprint. From that set serving as a taster of what’s in store emerges the head kicking ‘cold killer’ – this babe veers ever so teasingly into the darkening psychotropic voids of Insect Guide at their most volatile and potent and arrives awash in a pulse racing urgency rippled in marauding motoriks, shimmering reverbs and sky rocketing strobe sirens not to mentioned coming ripped in the kind of fringe parting shade adorned uber cool that just leaves you sighing in admiration. https://soundcloud.com/the_lucid_dream/2-cold-killer-the-lucid-dream
Now here’s us rightly expecting something a little dreamy and ethereal given that the last release from the Gaphals stable was that quite divine slice of adorable symphonia from Wildhart. Mind you it’s our fault in that had we bothered to read the press release before pressing play we’d have been alerted to several key note clues such as the littering of descriptions such as ‘metal heads’, ‘hardcore’ and ‘stone giants’ which had we been forearmed in the knowledge of may well have prepared us for the gruff grizzled intensity that near blew us off our listening perch the moment this beast cackled into life. Taken from last years ‘modern age mausoleum’ set this is ‘hollow bearer’ by Swedish collective Siberian – a killer slab of bleakly boiled and gnarled n’ grizzled apocalyptic groove which one suspects may well have been raised on the edges of one of hell’s infamous circles, brutalised fury at its most unforgiving all gouged in suffocating despair and damn fine with it.
I really must apologise to all those who we’ve seemingly let down of late with the delays in reviews and such, you know who you are, and surely but surely we will get around to putting matters right. That said I’m especially embarrassed that so far those long promised reviews of Wizards Tell Lies, the Unseen and the Holy See are yet to see the light of day, I hope you guys haven’t been holding your breath and believe you me it goes without saying that I’m mortified by the thus far omissions. Not that it’s any consolation but by way of an olive branch here’s a nifty little slice of retro groove from the latter mentioned Holy See. Taken from their ‘Osiris’ soundtrack (a cult 60’s TV show aired in a parallel time line)’the love infinity’ is a kooky slice lounge lilted kitsch the type of which one suspects that those dudes over at Trunk records may well appreciably nod approvingly whilst shaking their pants to, a wigged out slice of shimmering wooziness that initially sounds as though its bagged a ride on the tail feathers of the Stones ‘2000 light years’ before going all out there to cook up tripping mosaics of fried farfisas funkiness the likes of which expand heads and sound in truth not unlike some wigged out Barry Gray happening for Anderson’s ‘UFO’ as reheated by a freaky Ozric gathering. https://soundcloud.com/villa-9-1/the-love-infinity-by-the-holy-see
This is the newly pressed video to accompany the [owt kri] cut ‘conformations’ prized from last years acclaimed ‘the new seed’ which you can hear in all its undiluted majesty (well two teaser tracks as it happens) over at https://alrealonmusique.bandcamp.com/album/the-new-seed-alrn041 – directed by fellow Alrealon Musique traveller and head honcho John 3:16, ‘Confrontations’ sees [owt kri] shifting into sparser and starker environs to adopt a somewhat harsher trajectory rippled with fracturing riff squalls which to these ears tunes directly to reference the one time sounds emanating from New Zealand in the late 80’s namely via the scenes main protagonists Bruce Russell and Roy Montgomery.
John 3:16 appears again this time reconstructing BLK TAG’s ‘mona / harm / mona’ – this one coming prized from a collection out via tracer entitled ‘my God, it’s full of stairs’ which features a gathering of like-minded souls invited along to re-wire and stamp their own persona on the aforementioned BT track – among the assembled group Chester Hawkins, PAS Musique, Rothko, the sly and unseen, making matchsticks out of castles and many more besides including the aforementioned John 3:16 whose retelling is graced upon a panoramic canvas of demurred dreaminess wherein dissipating riff coils dissolve, diffuse and disperse into woozy sea ripples of reflective and forlorn ambi-hypno-groove, most affecting stuff and very much traversing territories on one side occupied by yellow6 and manual whilst on the other la Bradford and stars of the lid. https://soundcloud.com/john316john/blk-tag-mona-harm-mona-john-316-reconstruction
pulled from their forthcoming ‘built on schemes’ full length due shortly via gaphals, this is the latest single from Grande Roses entitled ‘spread the ashes (and love)’ – in short a sub four minute stratospheric beauty that freewheels ever so adeptly into classic era Chameleons air space arriving as it does primed and locked down with a pulse racing urgency replete with huge hulking riffs and sonorous at the edge vocals all colliding and dispersing like sparks from a Catherine wheel emitting sprays of feel good euphoria. Need I say more? https://soundcloud.com/gaphals/grande-roses-spread-the-ashes-and-love
Originally appearing on her second critically acclaimed Static Caravan full length ‘dazzle days’ from about a year or so ago, this is the quite enchanting Laura J Martin performing ‘red flag’ on the set of the Jeff Young penned play ‘bright phoenix’ in which she recently appeared performing in at the Liverpool Everyman Theatre. ‘Red Flag’ of course proved to be one of many highlights from Ms Martin’s kooky ‘dazzle’ set, – a strangely alluring and wonky wood crafted spell charm shimmered in archaic folk fancies and willowy wind instrument incantations, in short like imagining a revitalised Ms Bush reconnecting with her youthful self and finding herself lost in the peculiar floral worlds of Linda Perhacs. The video incidentally was shot by Ewan Jones Morris.
And so we are back with Fruits de Mer (and Mega Dodo as it happens) for an unexpected treat that greeted our return from 9 to 5 boredom for the eagle eyed among you may have noticed and indeed already nabbed tickets for a celebratory all dayer over at the legendary Half Moon in Putney this coming May bank holiday (incidentally called ‘Games for May’ – now without resorting to google wasn’t that a famous Floyd festival or some other such) which hosted by both labels incorporates a happening whereupon attendees will be wowed by stage appearances by Tir na Nog, Schnauser, the Past Tense, Mark and the Clouds and Crystal Jacqueline and the Honey Pot. Not only will there be live performances and wigged out deejay sets but for your hard earned dosh you get a limited 7 five track seven inch features the aforementioned bands, a brimming to bursting goodie bag featuring a CD featuring a previously unreleased album by PIPE who these days masquerade as the Past Tense, a poster, a game (‘crabs and dodos’) and a stash of CD’s from both labels extended family and friends. And so it with thanks to Keith because we have a CD of that mentioned 7 inch – and a bit of a killer it is to featuring upon its grooves four previously unreleased gems three of which have been recorded specially for this limited release. First up Tir na Nog who fresh from their stunning 7 inch appearance on the label early last year kick off the celebrations with a track culled from their ‘live at Sirius’ CD. ‘Time is like a promise’ is an alluring pastoral posy tendered and tempted in soft psych undulates that whisper prettified poetry, in truth not a million miles from fellow label mates Soft Hearted Scientists all cast upon a rarefied vintage that reveals an ear for the lost, the timeless and the romantic. Now we here are of the thinking that had Peel and Waters still been alive (along with Viv) that around about now they’d be holed up in a Maida Vale snug having merrily imbibed on several red wines and a selection of strangely curious sounding beers – purely for medicinal purposes you understand – and upon hearing Schnauser’s ridiculously eccentric freak psych master class ‘henry and his magic horse’ where now impishly guffawing and concocting up a spot of televisual surrealism much like ‘gurney slade’ but with Mr Stanshall in the lead role doing his best Cat Weazel meets Gummidge meets Dumbledore with this as his theme tune. Absolute barking and the point at which the Cardiacs and the Pretty Things collide and all sense of normality goes out of the window. ‘Vision from another world’ – the chosen poison brought to the waxen grooves by the Past Tense is a muscular no nonsense strutting psych out blighter of some biff, bang, pow measure that amid its riff riddled scowls and kaleidoscopic keys kicks, buzzes and pouts like a prime time Inspiral Carpets in some kind of face off with Julian Cope. As ever you can always rely Crystal Jacqueline and the Honey Pot to both enchant and weave their mysterious psych spell craft and so ‘three Sisters of Silence’ proves no exception sounding so late vintage late 60’s you’d think it had peeled itself of a Hapsash and the Coloured Coat poster, in short the love children of Jefferson Airplane. Mark and the Clouds round up the set with something a little different from their usual comfort zone for ‘any part of town’ – think Love meets Byrds part II meets ‘paint your wagon’ – a husky mountain blues rambler free spirited journeying the road replete with moonshine mosaics, prairie opines and oodles of lolloping motifs, quite homely if you ask me.
Those with an eye for these things may well note with interest the inclusion of catalogue numbers 61 to 64 on the fruits de mer web site – four albums with an estimated turntable action around late May curiously titled ‘sideways’, ‘sidesteps’, ‘sidetracks’ and ‘sideshows’ which look like another Strange Fish type of venture with them all being listed separately and collectively indicating a box type thing. Alas no details just yet. http://www.fruitsdemerrecords.com/discography.html
Moving picture type for thing for that killer Hyperslob and the Goat Meat Explosion track ‘Little Claus’ – demonic, deranged, dangerous and undeniably essential ear gear…… sounds to freak out your headspace over at https://hyperslob.bandcamp.com/
Must admit to being somewhat adoring of this little gem, first fruits from a forthcoming Sam Prekop set entitled ‘republic’, this is the mellowing ‘weather vane’ – utilising modular synth rhythms, this murmuring honey oscillates along cosmic drift-spaces from a frosted starting point to thaw, blossom and radiate whilst veering into orbit to shower your listening space with a lunar love noted chill down Balearic bouquet before passing by and setting off on its lonesome passage into the endless voids, wonderfully understated and assured in short. Out via thrill jockey end of February.
Double header between Blue Tapes and x-ray records finds Brighton’s Map 71 and Oakland’s Stillsuit sharing tape space on a frankly must have limited cassette release. Last time out serving up something decidedly ominous and dare we say eclectically special in the guise of a rare appearance by Father Murphy the latest outing from the imprint that alerted all to the creative tour de force Katie Gately now concentrates the hearts and mind with a spot of ‘abstract punk’ which per the press release describes Stillsuit loosely as treble punksters blooded in the art of crafting needle taught jabs of frenetic 2 minute shocks who apparently where asked if they fancied doing a longer song – like a prog one – to which they walked away, cobbled about returning when done with the 11 minute agit pop sortie ‘16’. Decidedly edgy ‘16’ seesaws precariously upon an axis that on one side sits no wave while t’other looms angular art pop at its most impish, spiked by spidery riffage Stillsuit have taken the hammer to the prog rock nudge and with a wilful disregard to structured verse / chorus / verse dynamics instead appearing happily to wallow in discordance, disharmony and derangement all the time dragging you by the hair roots to collide with the acute corners and preponderance of sonic cul de sacs, it really is most effecting and should you need a reference point then try imagining a gnawing nag nag nag mantra battered into existence by a serious freak Slits in a face-off with an acute un-playful Shaggs. Map 71 need no introduction in these pages, gracing the Foolproof Projects imprint on the odd occasion, the duo feature workaholic multi band member Andy Pyne (see Kellar, west hill blast quartet, the black neck of the common loon…..) and poet Lisa Jayne. One album and a limited single already under their colle ctive belt and both utterly adored around these here parts, ‘laced’ finds them in darker brooding moods, this is bleak stuff, raw and open wounded, sparse – edgy – detached – there are elements of Pink Military grimly souring the grooves, Lisa Jayne’s spoken word narration icily coiling around Pyne’s minimalist percussive clangs and chants with a choking disquiet that in the deep recesses of my mind eye (and ear) had us with a want to seek out our copy of ‘I was dora suarez’
Short sharp shock treated second helping from agit gouged duo Deux Furieuses courtesy of the scalding ‘party of shaitaan’ finds the queens of disharmonious disquiet precariously seesawing amid angular art pop scratched mathian motifs. Riddled with wiring dynamics, summersaulting sonics and stutter stop rhythms this teeth bearing beauty zigzags with furious delight disavowing any notion or intent to conform to the tiresome standard bearing pretty pop cuddliness instead preferring to light the blue touch paper and ratchet up the panic attacking quotient several notches to heart failure – frankly folks that does it for us. https://soundcloud.com/deuxfurieuses/the-party-of-shaitaan-1
Latest to the fat cat fold, C Duncan is about to follow deserved acclaim in the light of his debuting ‘for’ outing with a new single next month entitled ‘say’. Just when you thought he’d have trouble topping his last recorded feat the blighter turns volte face in terms of style, texture and effect to draw upon something truly transfixing and affecting. Without wishing to put too finer point on matters, a sublime way to spend 4 minutes of your life, a moment spent that you will not regret when you come to shuffle up to the great pearly gates reflecting where the hell did the time go. This syncopating treasure shimmies and swoons held aloft drifting dreamily upon south sea undercurrents while sweetly hazeled in the most mesmerising of hymnal hues all tripped off by a teasingly tasty off set funky underpin. https://soundcloud.com/mrduncan/say-1/s-Hkdil
I’m going to start by using the not so unusual tried and tested step of mentioning the flip side of this next one first. The latest single from Americana bluegrass hillbilly scousers Rob Clarke with the Brown Bears. Rob Clarke as you know or at least ought to know sometimes frequents with 60’s beat grooved messiahs the Wooltones though of late appears to have taken to moonlighting swapping winkle pickers and skinny three pieces for dusty cowboy boots and all manner of ranch hand get ups. ‘Another country song’ sighs sorrowfully amid a congregation of weeping and wailing pedal steels all bruisingly opining as though led from the fore by a broken and dispirited Willie Nelson aided and abetted by a similarly crushed Billy Swan. Of course the lead cut over the A side is no slouch in the affection stakes for ‘blaze of fire’ comes despatched in a rich mid west vintage that’s distilled and smoked in a delightfully lolloping prairie blue lilt. There’s an album idly dozing away rocking on the porch entitled ’10 country greats and one other’ which we suggest you seek out at your earliest convenience. https://robclarkewiththebrownbears.bandcamp.com/album/blaze-of-fire-another-country-song-single
We’d be hard pushed to understand why you wouldn’t find yourselves falling head over heels in adoration of this, so alluring, so cute, so insidiously catchy and most of all so pop that we’ve half a mind to end our secret embargo on chart bothering sounds in having a sly little listen of daytime radio if this is a sampling to judge by. Apparently the third instalment in a promised year-long song a month marathon from duo Grrlpal entitled ‘dare’ – this babe comes primed in the kind of retro wired old school ear candy sun beaming life affirming effervescence that imagines a loved up and playful Go Team playing hopscotch whilst back dropped to an infectiously feel good nursery rhyme motif all dimpled in kookily cute and sumptuous dubtronic electronic swathes – adorable stuff that ought to by rights come bottled and sold at chemists as a blue beating pick me up tonic. https://soundcloud.com/grrl-pal/dare
Been a while since we featured anything remotely drone-y – fear not there’s plenty of stuff from the artetetra and old bicycle records looming large on the horizon – yet for now we eyed this with much admiring interest, entitled ‘control heartbeat delete’ this is be my friend in exile of whom alas we have no information. What we do know is that there’s an album ‘creator, you destroy me’ currently doing the rounds via already dead tapes which we suggest you grab an earful of not least if your chosen listening loves settle upon the kind of sounds ghosted in a stilled immersive aural experience that haunt like the disquieting aftermath of some bleak apocalyptic happening for this is strangely majesty yet macabrely harrowing and tearfully graceful.
As ever thanks for tuning……
Take care,
Mark
x
the sunday experience 