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These New Puritans – Inside the Rose

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What does it sound like?:

These New Puritans don’t really sound like anyone else around right now (don’t be fooled by the band name – they sound nowt like The Fall) – which is something of a rarity these days. This is their 4th one – and the follow up to the hugely acclaimed ‘Field of Reeds’, an extraordinary record which I played to death. There’s some trepidation when a band follows up a record you love, especially after a 6 year gap. Initial signs are promising – the artwork is lavish and quite preposterous depicting the band (essentially now the two brothers George and Jack Barnett) pulling a showroom dummy pose, the Vinyl is coloured to resemble the rusting hulk of a ship or maybe a stained copper pub table – and the inner sleeve depicts a tastefully nude figure with the words TRANSCENDENCE – BRUTALITY – BEAUTY – REALITY superimposed over her. Yeah OK that may put some of you off, but they’re deadly serious so let’s dive in, they’ve nailed their colours to the mast here – this ain’t Mumford & Sons. First off this isn’t as immediate a record as Field of Reeds which has » Continue Reading.

Piroshka

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Venue:

The Soup Kitchen, Manchester

Date: 29/03/2019

Last time I saw Miki Berenyi fronting a band on stage it was in a draughty, half empty Manchester Academy, mopping up a rescheduled final gig for the short lived Lush reunion which appeared to have ended rather abruptly. Lush, hats off to them, honoured the booking and Mick Conroy of Modern English was drafted in as a last minute replacement for Phil King but…it had the vibe of a party where someone has started mopping up spilled drinks waiting for people to go home. The Merch stand were having a Fire Sale…you can guess the rest.

Happily – it seems working with Mick lit a new spark and 3 of this final line-up of Lush (Berenyi, Conroy and former Elastica Drummer Justin Welch) have re-emerged with a whole new band and they’re joined by former Moose guitarist KJ “Moose” McKillop. I’ll refrain from calling them a 90s Indie Supergroup because that would be terribly crass, not least because they’ve made some effort not to sound like their former bands and this is a fresh start.

The venue is yer typical indie grotspot the members of Piroshka will feel very » Continue Reading.

Crackerjack (CRACKERJACK!) does XTC

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Crackerjack (CRACKERJACK!) always used to shoehorn a musical number into their finale, and I’m sure everyone knows the Peter Glaze/Jan Hunt take on Bowie’s Golden Years – I remember that pre-YouTube going around on a Quicktime video for “LOLs”. This take on XTC’s ‘Making Plans for Nigel’ has been around a while but it’s a new one on me…I particularly like ‘Burt Hayes & His Orchestra’ on this – Friday 5 to 5 so they’d be several pints in and the Bass Player is having a good stab at the Dubby bassline

Charity Singles of the 1980s

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If you’ve been following the Top of the Pops re-runs on BBC4 you’ll be reminded that that for 3 or 4 years after Band Aid, any humanitarian disaster or tragic event was often followed by a Charity record involving some quite curious meetings of Pop and showbiz minds. Not for one minute am I knocking the good intentions, nor downplaying the scale of some of these tragic events but it can’t be denied this led to some very unlikely musical collaborations. The Bradford City stadium fire saw Bernie Winters, Rolf Harris, Bruce Forsyth and Cheggers sing on the same record as Lemmy, Phil Lynott, John Entwistle and Peter Cook. Until tonight I had completely forgotten this one from 1987 – a cover of Let it Be with Sir Paul at the helm for the Zeebrugge Ferry disaster. Follow the video -and then keep yer eyes peeled for a genuinely jaw dropping cameo by a total A-List reclusive Pop legend – which is then followed by a completely improbable finale with Su Pollard, Grange Hill cast members and…ah just watch the video..

“I’d never heard anything like The Smiths…”

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..says every Smiths fan ever. They hadn’t heard this then. This single was released in Nov 1982, around the same time the tedious ex-pat nationalist from Stretford formerly known as Mozzer, and his jangly/jazz funk pals played their first gig supporting Blue Rondo A La Turk – several months before ‘Hand in Glove’ was recorded. Not sure whether Marr was aware of these or the similarity is just pure chance. Sad Lovers and Giants are still active with a new album out and an excellent career spanning box set on Cherry Red – well worth a punt if you like that kind of anthemic indie rock in the vein of Chameleons, Bunnymen, The Sound, Comsat Angels, early Simple Minds – y’know, the *really* big music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twrAwBtrwhY

Various Cardiacs/Spratleys/Knifeworld and Zoff

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Venue:

The Garage, Highbury

Date: 21/12/2018

I’m a relative latecomer to the mighty Cardiacs – in fact it was through this very site that I was lead to reconsider the band I only previously knew from the knockabout video for ‘Tarred and Feathered’ and gradually became obsessed with their unruly, unhinged and hugely entertaining take on Art Rock – basically a supercharged, absurdist hybrid of XTC, King Crimson and Madness. Alas this was too late to see them live because, as is well documented, front man Tim Smith suffered a stroke & heart attack in 2008 which left his mind entirely intact but physically severely debilitated and unable to speak or walk due to a rare and complex condition. However, interest in the band continues to grow, and indeed there’s been a successful crowd funding campaign this year to raise money for Tim’s rehabilitation. Meanwhile. it’s becoming a bit of annual thing for some of the bands that sprung up around Cardiacs orbit to have a festive shindig in celebration of the music. It’s a bit close to Xmas to be heading down to the big smoke but I can’t miss this one. It’s a an early start (first » Continue Reading.

Student Discos ain’t what they used to be

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Gross generalisation alert but from what I can gather Student club nights now all seem to have a sneery/ironic twist and seem to revolve around novelty. Music is just a sort of cheesy soundtrack to the Radio1 Roadshow style FUN FUN FUN. The big nights right now are a thing called ‘Ultimate Power’ which seems to be playing horrible 80s Power Ballads and 70s Soft Rock, and ‘Bongos Bingo’ where they play ‘ironic’ Bingo, dance to Vengaboys and all sorts of Millenial larks occur. Peel would be appalled but Wooh Gary Davis and DLT would feel right at home. Nothing new – remember ‘Guilty Pleasures’ and ‘School Disco’. It made me think back to my student days in Liverpool. Freak Scene was the best night. Here’s the playlist – it was early 1990s so kind of a collision of Grunge, Indie/Dance, Crusty Rave, Hip Hop and Industrial beats, very loud and stompy. Of it’s time, but at least it wasn’t cheesy, arch nostalgia. Anyone else got a playlist of their student disco or early dancing days to share?

Let’s talk about Sax baby

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I know some people hate the sound of a Sax but I love it -but particularly when it’s just part of the palette of colours a band paint with rather than a wailing solo bolted on. So many examples, the Bass Sax on Pet Sounds, the Sax and Guitar duking it out on ’21st Century Schizoid man’. the UB40 brass section at their best – here’s Morphine who used the instrument in place of a guitar. Show us yours!

12 O’ Clock and no sign of Dick…It’s Panto Time!

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About this time of year I like to check the marvelous its-behind-you.com and see who is putting bums on seats in the provinces for the Panto season this year. I have fond memories of seeing Les Dawson at the Palace Theatre in Manchester, going completely off script throughout, and the great John Inman as Mother Goose in Stockport had me in stitches. I’m kind of amazed it’s still going -so it’s kind of nice that in a world full of competing ‘experiences’ for kids who are probably taken to gigs or Glastonbury with their parents pre-teen (unheard of in my yoof) , or can see their favourite TV & film stuff recreated as high concept live events there’s still a place for this extremely broad, camp, end-of-the-pier showbiz silliness even if the thrill of ‘someone off the telly’ being there in person surely can’t have the same pulling power. It also provides gainful employment for TV and light entertainment staples of the 70s and 80s -so – The Grumbleweeds, The Krankies, Little Jimmy Osmond, Bernie Clifton, Ian Beale, Paul ‘Reggae Like it Used to Be’ Nicholas, Todd ‘Tucker’ Carty, Jeffrey ‘Do your funny Policeman Spike’ Holland – and many many » Continue Reading.

Hookworms debacle

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I’ve posted previously about the Leeds band Hookworms. Their recent LP ‘Microshift’ went Top 20 and won loads of plaudits (not least on this site) and this month they were about to play the biggest gigs of their career. I had tickets to see them at the 1,500 capacity Ritz in Manchester. That was until last Wednesday when a former girlfriend of their frontman MJ, accused him of sexual assault and abuse. Absolutely right that someone should be able to speak out about abuse, and I don’t want to reignite “that” debate. Unfortunately this was taken straight to Social media rather than via the Police (which is a whole can of worms I don’t want to open either). The weird thing is, what I’d always assumed were a tight knit band very quickly issued a statement to distance themselves from him and announced the cancellation of all gigs and the end of the band – so they’ve pretty much sealed his fate anyway.

If m’learned friends are reading AFAIK he’s not been charged with anything at this time but if he’s proved to be a wrong’un – MJ joins a long list of rock musicians who weren’t exactly model » Continue Reading.

Stop attaching strings to Pop’s past

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Is there nothing immune from being ‘re-imagined with Strings’? It’s not a new idea but we’ve had the Elvis and Beach Boys things, we’ve had Ibiza and Hacienda Classical, and now Hooky is doing Joy Division with strings which is a disgusting idea (I’d forgive him if he called it Hooky’d On Classics). There are two Classic 80s albums in the offing, OMD, The Bunnymen, even Flock of Seagulls have done it. The record labels are going all out on the Alan Partridge maxim “People like them..let’s make some more of them”. What next? All good news for classical musicians (although suspect some might prefer to play actual classical and contemporary music). So WHY do people crave this syrupy, easy listening gloss over everything all of a sudden? When I hear old music I really appreciate the original choice of instrumentation, the magic that happened in the studio, the textures – be it a sparse Chicago House tune, an overly bombastic 80s production, some early 60s Joe Meek thing or some 70s Glam filth. The past is endlessly fascinating so why not enjoy that time travel – none of it needs the LSO sawing away on top.

Felt – A Decade in Music (Part 2)

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What does it sound like?:

Here comes the next and final batch of Felt reissues – five more from them if you will. I’ve actually not heard the last 4 albums so here goes.

If you’ve heard the band, you know the drill by now. Drums buried low in the mix, simple twinkling guitar riffs, Martin Duffy’s deft organ work and Lawrence’s half-spoken, wayward vocal. There’s vague hints of Modern Lovers, The Velvets and perhaps a loose stab at being a sort of Brummie Bedsit Dylan and the Band; but really the sound and style is so idiosyncratic it can only be Lawrence and Felt (bar one exception).

‘Forever Breathes the Lonely Word’ from 1986, features ace Organist Martin Duffy (later of Primal Scream) as it’s cover star and it’s his playing that is the keynote of later Felt stuff – ace guitarist Maurice Deebank having departed. It’s a bit a cracker this one, full of sparkly pop hooks and might be a good entry point for the newcomer. Think a soft-focus Teenage Fanclub.

There’s no huge stylistic shift on ‘Poem of the River’ but this sounds more stripped back and lo-fi. It starts with the » Continue Reading.

Eg and Alice – 24 Years of Hunger

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This came up on this weeks Bigmouth Podcast (former Word writer Andrew Harrison’s current ‘vehicle’ – like and subscribe if you haven’t already). I vaguely recall this record coming out at the time and some excitable reviews in the press but I ignored it – to be fair in 1991 the last thing I wanted to hear was a collaboration between a BMX Champion/Model and a former member of Brother Beyond (I wanted to hear Primal Scream, The Orb and Spacemen 3). It tanked at the time and this record is long out of print and has never been re-released, it’s not on Spotify or iTunes. It is that most unusual thing of our time – a genuinely lost record. Someone has uploaded bits of it to YouTube and flipping heck it’s really good – immaculate, elegant Blue Nile/Prefab Sprout/Japan style 80s pop with a dash of Steely Dan. I’ve tracked down a CD from 1991 on Discogs for a reasonable price. I wonder why it’s never been reissued especially when Eg White has gone on to write billions of hit records including tunes for Will Young, Adele, Kylie etc and this offbeat, 80s hinterland music is all the rage » Continue Reading.

F**kin Millennials

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…is a sentiment I hear and read increasingly often. I’ve said it myself recently, under my breath but just loud enough for the lad who barged in front of me at a gig, nearly knocking my pint over with his Fjällräven Kanken backpack and then proceeded to stare at his iPhone tweeting or Instagramming or whatever they do. But are we in danger of demonising a whole generation? I know people my age who are glued to their phones even while talking to you (they don’t get invited out very often) so that’s not unique to the Millennials. Buying expensive Craft Ale and sporting beards is certainly not limited to people coming of age post 2000 (and I hear that booze consumption is down among the youth, so this new wave of breweries – actually run by Millennials will be desperately hoping to flog their wares to people 35 and over). What is perhaps worrying about this generation is their obsession with self. Everything is about “Instagram opportunities”, kids are growing up with YouTubers as their heroes (as far as I can tell these people are total fucking airheads, and their job is to push products and » Continue Reading.

A Certain Ratio – Sextet/Change the Station/Mind Made Up

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What does it sound like?:

This is the final batch of the reissues of the ACR back catalogue on Mute Records and we end with their 1982 release ‘Sextet’ which many consider their masterpiece. It’s joined by an album from 1996 ‘Change the Station’ which slipped out in such a low-key way that I have never got around to hearing – and finally their most recent release ‘Mind Made Up’ (originally released in 2008).

Sextet has been re-issued several times, and rightly so. This is a superlative record and it’s only right that this remains ‘in print’ on CD, deluxe orange Vinyl and whatever digital channels you prefer. If you only get one Ratio record, this is the one. Everything about this record is odd, intriguing and mysterious and wonderful- summed up by the beautiful sleeve design, the odd typeface, the old desert aviation image inside (ACR are obsessed with trains and planes), the water tower, and the turkeys. The music was recorded somewhere in Stockport but the sound is informed by their trips to New York, their immersion in Latin rhythms, and their own attempts to approximate the Jazz, Funk and electro imports they were listening to » Continue Reading.

Ultramarine

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Anyone else into these? I go back with these guys…their ‘Every Man and Woman is a Star’ album was on heavy rotation in the early 90s as was the follow up ‘United Kingdoms’. They were a heady mix of Ambient Dub on similar territory to The Orb but with a very curious swerve into what was (back then) obscure art rock/folk/psychedelic music as well as the early Factory Records/Les Disques Du Crepuscule bands and the Canterbury Scene – they later collaborated with Kevin Ayers and Robert Wyatt. In other words, a world away from their contemporaries like The Prodigy or The Shamen. They’ve been a huge influence on my own music making and listening. They still crop up from time to time and they’re back with a new LP soon – as well as curious little 7″ single which has some suitably atmospheric sounds to accompany photographs, graphics and poetry inspired by a stretch of the Blackwater Estuary in Essex – get it here https://www.stjudesprints.co.uk/products/blackwaterside

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSpGJJiUbyg

Pram

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Venue:

The Soup Kitchen, Manchester

Date: 25/07/2018

It’s fair to say Pram were way ahead of their time. They were mixing strangely evocative sounds from the past, arcane atmospheres and curiously timeless music rooted in exotica and Krautrock long before Ghost Box and before Simon Reynolds called this stuff ‘Hauntology’. They’re back with their first LP in 10 years the excellent ‘Across the Meridian’ and I was very pleased to catch a very rare live appearance by them.

Defying the “long hot summer” of 2018 and the festival season, the faithful are gathered in the basement of the Soup Kitchen which it turns out is damp and cool like all good cellars. The lights dim and vaguely unsettling, ghostly images of masked figures running around a spooky house flicker across the screens while bird song plays – and we’re transported away from Brexit, austerity and the muggy temperatures above ground into Pram’s wonderfully weird and playful world.

The set is largely drawn from the new record and begins with ‘Shimmer and Disappear’ which sets the scene perfectly – the band are all versatile players so there are trombones, woodwind, a Theremin, samplers, synths as well as the » Continue Reading.

That Echo & The Bunnymen interview in Mojo

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Has anyone read the jaw dropping interview with Echo and His Bunnyman in the current edition of The Mojo? David Cavanagh spends 22 hours with Mac the Mouth and it’s unexpectedly sad and moving. I won’t give too many spoilers but on the surface all is well in Bunnyworld – after several years in the wilderness crowdfunding their own LPs they’ve actually got a major label deal with BMG. The first fruits of which – is – oh…Bunnymen classics ‘re-imagined’ with strings or more ‘intimate arrangements’ (Alarm bells ringing already). Will (interviewed separately of course) sounds as chipper as ever, and remains one my all time under-rated guitar heroes. As for Ian… The things that stuck with me most were the teddy, the fly-zapping machine and the blue plastic bag deliveries. A sobering read. Still one of the great voices in rock and when he’s on form – a stellar front man who flaunts the smoking ban (although last time I saw the band he got a bit handy with his fists with a sound engineer). Ah well, he may have his demons but still worth more than a billion Morrisseys.