27 May 2014

Evening all.

Heaven 17 - (We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang
Because we really don't. Blaming people for being 'other' really isn't a solution to any of your perceived problems. This was their debut single from 1981, off the album Penthouse And Pavement.

Kate Tempest - The Beigeness
The poet and playwright makes her first steps into music. It took me a while to get into this - might be something to do with the accent, which is entirely my issue - but I'm glad I stuck with it as she's clearly got something to say and a new way to say it.

July Talk - Summer Dress
These are from Toronto and this is off a self-titled album which came out last autumn. It bypassed me completely then, but I'm glad it's finally on my radar. This is glorious.

Cover Version Corner
The Monkees/Django Django - The Porpoise Song
Great to have Django Django back on the show. That was their effort for Record Store Day last month. Before that, The Monkees with the theme from the film Head, their ill-fated 1968 cinematic effort. It's a really good film, but flopped at the time given a lack of promotion and a combination of established fans not getting at where they wanted to go and the potential audience they were aiming for having already made up their minds about the band. Worth seeking out.

The Leaf Library - The Greater Good
This is just fabulous. They're from London and this is out on June 7. It's got pretty much everything I want from a single.

The Bamboos - Typhoon
Australian funk from a few years ago. These are from Melbourne and it's off the album 4 which came out in 2010.

Throwing Snow - Avarice
London producer Ross Tones is Throwing Snow. He's had a few releases in the past, but a debut LP is on the way, Mosaic, which this is taken from. Really interesting stuff - lots going on in there. Looking forward to hearing more. That bass....

Kindred Shins - My Resting Piece
Another band with a debut album coming soon - this one is as yet untitled, but due in the summer. Good old rock and roll. Get in.

One Degree of Separation
3D Shark - My Name Is Brian Clough
Dario G - Malaway
The 3D Shark track is taken from an EP called Some Boys Like To Hide Away. He bloody hated Leeds. After that, a track from the 1998 album Sunmachine from Crewe's Dario G, named after long-time Crewe Alexandra boss Dario Gradi. So there's yer link - football managers.

Quirke - Break A Mirrored Leg
This is off an EP which came out just over a week ago called Acid Beth. Eery, atmospheric, moody, and dare I say it, quirky.

Dreadzone - Iron Shirt
Get yer skank on. From their 2005 album Once Upon A Time.

The Egg - Electric City
I keep coming back to the 2012 album Something To Do and it always delivers. It's just a terrific album. This is from said disc.

Jackamo Brown - Lay Low
It's been a while since I last listened to the album Oh No, The Drift Of The World which came out in 2012, but had it on again this last week. It's just lovely. Apparently there's little to no chance of anything else. He's simply not interested in being a professional musician and had to be persuaded to put out the album. So we've got to keep spinning this instead of getting new stuff. Not that that's a bad thing, but also a bit of a shame.

Mr Scruff - Thought To The Meaning
And we'll finish with another track from the new Mr Scruff long-player Friendly Bacteria, again with vocals from Denis Jones. It's a total change of direction and it'll be interesting to see what he does next.

Here's that on YouTube:



And Soundcloud:

20 May 2014

In which I break my Sisters Of Mercy duck...

Morrissey - World Peace Is None Of Your Business
Always nice to hear from Morrissey. This is off a new album of the same name due out on July 15. While he may raise some salient points, I'm not sure he's thought things through. If there are things that require change, I'm not sure that disenfranchising yourself from the process - denying yourself the one vehicle you have at your disposal - is a great way to go about it. We do have elections on Thursday. The Europeans are PR and your vote will count. Do get out and use it if you can, hoof out the extremists we got lumped with last time, on the back of pitiful turnout, and let's be grown up about all this, eh?

The Modern - Industry
This was their debut single from back in 2005 and I'd pretty much forgotten it until I heard it last week. I still like it. No idea if they're even still going.

Movie -Ads
Is that a bit of Devo I can hear in there? Either way, I like it. Something a little different to anything else out there. It's out on Skelly Records and if you're trying to find it, probably best to start there than enter 'movie ads' in Ask Jeeves or whatever your favourite search engine is.

Cover Version Corner
Binary Finary - 1998
Peace - 1998 (Delicious)
First, a trance classic from, unsurprisingly, 1998. They also did a more flowery version a year later. Originality being their strong point, that was called 1999, but I'm not sure it was strictly needed. Second, a version with guitars and lyrics from Birmingham band Peace off their debut EP Delicious. Completely different in almost every way.

Kitten Pyramid - Uh Oh
These are new to me, from Burton on Trent. This came out late last year and I like it a lot. There's plenty going on and doesn't sound too much like anything else. One to keep an eye on.

Bed Rugs - Wave
We've played these before. They're from Belgium and this is another one from late last year.

Lemon Jelly - The Shouty Track
Because it's warm and sunny and Lemon Jelly works on warm, sunny days. This is not in the usual laid-back vein, though. Off the album '64-'95 from 1998.

One Degree of Separation
Teenage Fanclub - What You Do To Me
Sisters Of Mercy - This Corrosion
I warned you about Sisters Of Mercy. They were (are?) from Leeds. That's off the album Floodland from 1987. Before that, the ever-lovely Teenage Fanclub. What a splendid band they are. That's off Bandwagonesque from 1991. The link is that they both appeared on the rather splendid soundtrack to the film The World's End which I finally got round to seeing last week. Gloriously silly.

Aim - Cold Water Music
Take it down a notch from Sisters Of Mercy with this, the title track from Aim's 1999 album. Aim is Andrew Turner from Barrow.

Psychemagik - Black Noir Schwarz
I've been after this for a while. It came out in February, but I've only just got my hands on it. Consider that your Tuesday night banger.

Jamie xx - Girl
I have an inherent suspicion of people who refer to themselves by the name of the band that they're in. This is Jamie Smith of the xx with a rather lovely down tempo track. Quite different to the stripped back style of the xx, it shows there's more to him than that.

Mr Scruff ft Denis Jones - Render Me
A new album from Mr Scruff landed yesterday. Friendly Bacteria is the title and it's steering away from the sampling and beats to something more melodic and with vocals too. It's still bloody good though. This is the first release from it. Bang on.

Here's all that on YouTube:



Back with more next week. Enjoy the Bank Holiday.

13 May 2014

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here's that on YouTube:



And Soundcloud:



Back next week.

6 May 2014

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here's all that on YouTube:


Back next week with more.