June 2022 – Page 2 – THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN

THE EIGHT DAYS OF INDIETRACKS COMPILATIONS (4)

Indietracks-2015-compilation

The 2015 Indietracks compilation contains 49 songs, with, as far as I can tell, seven of the acts having previously featured on TVV in one form or another – The Catenary Wires, Cinerama, Darling Buds, Euros Childs, Laetitia Sadier, Pete Astor, and The Wave Pictures

I’m going to offer up two tracks today, on the basis that the first of them is a cover version:-

mp3: Cristina Quesada – Just Like Honey

From all music:-

Hailing from Madrid but well-versed in a number of different languages, soft-spoken indie pop singer Cristina Quesada harks back to the gentle world of vintage Europop.

Taking up the guitar at age 13, she learned to play her favorite songs, working in theatre troupes and eventually joining the cast of a children’s television program in the Canary Islands. A couple of years later, she discovered the ukulele, which became her primary instrument and led to the recording of her first 7″ single for Spanish indie pop label Elefant Records in 2013. Working with a number of collaborators in and out of the Elefant stable, Quesada began recording her debut LP in 2014. A mix of originals and unusual covers sung in Spanish, English, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, and even Japanese, You Are the One was released in early 2015.

mp3: Rodney Cromwell – Barry Was An Arms Dealer

Adapted from an official website:-

From Catford in South London, Rodney Cromwell is the solo electronic project of Adam Cresswell, founding member of indie-folktronica act Saloon and one half of acclaimed electronic two-piece Arthur & Martha.

His 2015 debut album ‘Age of Anxiety’ combined danceable rhythms with melodic bass lines, the chimes of toy instruments, and the bleeps and whistles of retro synths. It explored themes such as paranoia, despair, love, loss and depression while retaining an upbeat pop sensibility, and was featured by among others NME, Electronic Sound, Huffington Post, Louder Than War, BBC 6 Music and RNE3 in Spain for whom he recorded a live session. A follow-up EP ‘Rodney’s English Disco’ was released in 2018 that took his analogue synth sound in an often bleaker new direction.

See…..Indietracks wasn’t just twee-pop and guitars.

JC

Manhattan Love Suicides

THE EIGHT DAYS OF INDIETRACKS COMPILATIONS (3)

Indietracks-2014-compilation

The 2014 Indietracks compilation contains 56 songs, with, as far as I can tell, nine of the acts having previously featured on TVV – Allo Darlin’, The Flatmates, Hidden Camera, Just Joans, Lonely Tourist, Popguns, Spook School, TeenCanteen, and Withered Hand.

There’s been quite a few decent acts to originate or emerge out of Leeds over the years. Here’s one you night not have heard of

mp3: The Manhattan Loves Suicides – (Never Stop) Hating You

From a combination of wiki and all music:-

The Manhattan Love Suicides was a UK-based rock band from Leeds, originally active between 2006 and 2009, and then again between 2013 and 2016.

With a sound directly inspired by the likes of the Jesus and Mary Chain, the Shop Assistants, and the Primitives, a black-and-blonde fashion sense, and a knack for buzzy three-minute guitar pop tunes, they were an unapologetic throwback to the sound of the British indie scene from 20 years before their time. They even took their name from a 1985 short film by Richard Kern, the “transgressive” New York filmmaker.

Their eponymous debut album was released in 2006 in the UK as vinyl-only (although it was made available in the US in CD format through the Magic Marker record label) and a 27-track compilation, entitled Burnt Out Landscapes, followed two years later. The band reformed in 2013 with “(Never Stop) Hating You” and released a new album, More Heat! More Panic! in March 2015.

Again, this is the only song of theirs I have on the hard drive, and I’d be interested if anyone out there has any more and would consider a guest posting of some sorts, as they tick a lot of the boxes on TVV.

JC

When Nalda Became Punk

THE EIGHT DAYS OF INDIETRACKS COMPILATIONS (2)

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The 2013 Indietracks compilation contains 47 songs, with, as far as I can tell, only four of the acts having previously featured on TVV – bis, Lovely Eggs, The Wake, and The Wave Pictures.

Loads to select from, so hopefully this meets with approval.

mp3: When Nalda Became Punk – Summer, You and Me

From all music:-

Spanish indie pop group When Nalda Became Punk began in 2006 as a solo project for vocalist/guitarist Elena Sestelo.

Pairing classic C86-inspired indie pop songwriting with fuzzy guitars, synths, and drum machines, she released a demo titled “Tiny Noises Make Tiny Music” under the name Nalda before taking a break from recording until 2010. At that time, she recorded another demo (“Time to Meet Your Family”) and expanded to the full name before adding guitarist Roberto Cibeira to the lineup.

The duo recorded a single for Pebble Records (“When Nalda Became Punk”/”D.I.Y.”) in 2011 before gearing up for live shows and working on their debut album A Farewell to Youth.

Recorded with fellow countrymen Eva Guilala and Ivan Juniper, it was released in early 2013 by Shelflife Records. The band added keyboardist Antonio Llarena to the line-up and proceeded to play shows, including the 2013 Indietracks Festival.

After a respite from recording, the trio returned in 2014 with a single for Elefant, the four-song Indiepop or Whatever! After adding another member, bassist Bruno Murmura, the band recorded the Those Words Broke Our Hearts EP, which Elefant shared with the world in early 2017.

Again, this is the only song of theirs I have on the hard drive, and the above description of C86 with fuzzy guitars is bang-on.

JC

Go Sailor

THE EIGHT DAYS OF INDIETRACKS COMPILATIONS (1)

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So….for the next couple of weeks, you will either love or loath this blog as I’m locking down into a pattern. Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays will see the continuation of the various series that have been long-running, while Tuesdays to Fridays will feature music from compilation albums that were issued on an annual basis from 2012 to 2019 to commemorate the staging of the Indietracks festival.

As the official website states:-

Indietracks was a celebration of independent, creative and DIY pop music that took place at the Midland Railway – Butterley in the Derbyshire countryside from 2007 to 2019. Each year, around 50 new and established artists performed across a range of stages at the festival. Visitors were free to enjoy steam train rides, railway attractions and museums, discos, art and craft workshops, great food and a selection of real ales.

In November 2021, the Indietracks organisers made an unexpected announcement:-

We’re very sad to say that we’re bringing the Indietracks festival to a close. We’ve had over a decade of wonderful memories, and so it’s heartbreaking to let you know that 2019’s festival was our final event. We realise that the festival was very special to many people, and this isn’t a decision that we’ve taken lightly. However, despite significant effort from all concerned, the event has sadly proved unsustainable, principally due to the ongoing ramifications of the pandemic.

My dear friend Aldo was a regular at the Festival, and I had promised him that once I stopped working, I’d make an effort to come along one year. Sadly, my retiral in March 2020 coincided with the first wave of COVID….you can join the dots.

Every year a download compilation album featuring bands playing at the festival was released with all proceeds going to the Midland Railway charity. I’ve downloaded each of the volumes from 2012-2019 via bandcamp, and the idea is now to share with one track per day from a singer or band yet to feature on TVV.

The 2012 compilation contains 52 songs, with, as far as I can tell, only nine of the acts having previously featured – 14 Iced Bears, Allo’ Darlin, Ballboy, Jasmine Minks, June Brides, Just Joans, Monochrome Set, The Smittens, and Spook School.

I’m opening up with something which, to my ears, sums up what I imagined much of Indietracks to be like:-

mp3: Go Sailor – Last Year

Wiki informs us that Go Sailor was a short-lived Berkeley based twee pop band. Its members included Rose Melberg of Tiger Trap and The Softies (guitar, vocals), Paul Curran of Crimpshrine (bass) and Amy Linton of Henry’s Dress (later of The Aislers Set) (drums). They recorded three 7″ singles and a full-length CD on Lookout! Records in 1996. The trio re-grouped in 2012 to play a handful of shows, including an appearance at Indietracks.

It’s the only song of theirs I have on the hard drive, and I reckon it’s rather splendid.

JC

Go-Betweens

THE MONDAY MORNING HI-QUALITY VINYL RIP : Part sixty: THE WRONG ROAD

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The Go-Betweens are best known for indie-pop with guitars, albeit the addition of Amanda Brown on violin to the group added a new dynamic to the songs on the fourth and fifth studio albums, Tallulah (1987) and 16 Lovers Lane (1988).

Today’s hi-quality vinyl rip comes from Liberty Belle and The Black Diamond Express, the third album which dates back to 1986. It’s a song written by the late Grant McLennan and is one in which strings, in the shape of a cello, two violins and a viola are very much to the fore, especially in the middle section instrumental break, leading to a five-minute masterpiece of chamber pop:-

mp3: The Go-Betweens – The Wrong Road

The first time I saw Butcher Boy play immediately put The Wrong Road into my head, thanks to the presence of a string section among the usual mix of guitars, bass, keyboards and drums – oh and the fact John Hunt on lead vocals had such a shy yet magnetic presence on stage that he reminded me of Grant. It’s little wonder I fell under his and his band’s spell.

JC

Fall

THE WONDERFUL AND FRIGHTENING SERIES FOR SUNDAYS (Part 50)

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It was a quiet twelve months for The Fall between the release of Night of The Humerons for Record Store Day 2012 and the next again time any new product was in the shops. Indeed, it was Record Store Day 2013 when 1,500 copies of a 7″ single found their way onto various shelves and racks.

mp3: The Fall – Sir William Wray
mp3: The Fall – Jetplane
mp3: The Fall – Hittite Man

The now well-established quintet of MES (vocals), Peter Greenway (guitar), David Spurr (bass), Keiron Melling (drums) and Eleni Poulou (keyboards) were the musicians on board, and again it was Cherry Red Records on which it was released. All three songs would be included on the album Re-Mit, which came out a couple of weeks after RSD 2013.

I hadn’t heard any of these prior to pullling this post together. I was surprised to discover that they are quite diverse, which is something to behold given that The Fall had now, at this point, been making music for 35 years, but I feel that Jetplane is the only one worth repeated listens.

Having said that, a different version of Hittite Man was put out on Facebook (!!) just after the album was released, and is an improvement on the original.

mp3: The Fall – Hittite Man (alternate version)

This line-up of The Fall, it has to be said, sound quite professional and polished in many places but, to my ears, without the spark of the classic line-ups who have featured in past postings. Indeed, as you can hear best on the alternative version of Hittite Man, they are almost a bog-standard rock band. Or am I being unfair??

This series is drawing to its natural conclusion, and I’ve already decided what’s going to take its place on Sundays going forward. I hope most of you will be happy…..

JC

Sons Of The Descent

SATURDAY’S SCOTTISH SONG : #310: SONS OF THE DESCENT

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I’ll simply pull the band bio from the bandcamp page:-

Sons of The Descent were formed by Edinburgh duo Hugh Duggie and Ian White, ex Factory Records and Mute artists, and between them they were in the Wendys, Foil, and Lowlife. Joined by Stephen ‘Bendy Toy’ Evans. It is all about the electronica, and the guitars, and the songs. All songs are written, performed, and produced by SOTD, for their own Brawsome Productions

They are a much under-appreciated trio, whose debut album was featured a couple of times on the blog back in 2017, especially via this guest posting by Jacques the Kipper.

Since then, there’s been a few digital releases, all of which can be tried and tested right here before you plunge in and spend some currency.

mp3: Sons of The Descent – Golden Misfits

One from the debut album, a record which draws upon many influences. JtK cited Stone Roses for this track in his review……

JC

A Certain Ratio

FAC 5 : ALL NIGHT PARTY by A CERTAIN RATIO

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The short series looking at the contents of the Use Hearing Protection box set. FAC5 proved to be the first ‘proper’ or traditional Factory 45 in that it had one track on the a-side and one track on the b-side, both by the same act:-

mp3: A Certain Ratio – All Night Party
mp3: A Certain Ratio – The Thin Boys

This one has featured previously on the blog as part of the debut singles series, and I’ll simply cut’n’paste from November 2018:-

“The debut single from A Certain Ratio sounds unlike anything else they would ever release during their recording career for the simple reason that it doesn’t feature Donald Johnson on percussion or drums. Indeed, this September 1979 release is one which will be of huge appeal to the raincoat-wearing brigade, particularly those whose tastes encompassed Joy Division or Bauhaus, featuring that brooding guitar sound which producer Martin Hannett was beginning to refine in his work with the former and a vocal that was goth-lite.

Echorich, very bravely, had this open up his ACR ICA back in February 2017 and I don’t think there’s any way of topping (pun intended) his description of it:-

“All Night Party has a soulless urgency that just builds and builds until it stops. It is certainly night music, but the only party it would soundtrack would likely occur in a mausoleum.”

FAC5 confounded the critics, albeit Jon Savage in a review in Melody Maker said the band displayed ‘rudimentary skills with more panache and imagination than most since the Sex Pistols’

Neither track was helped much by the cheap pressing afforded to the recording, but such has become the modern-day demand for vinyl of this vintage that you can expect to pay £50 for a copy of a 7″ single that’s in decent nick as only 5,000 were pressed….there’s a lot of Factory obsessives out there you know.

The addition of the new drummer and percussionist, allied to the other members own tastes, took them down a road in which funk, dub and disco played their parts in making them quite unlike any other on the Manchester label. It’s hard to imagine they would have lasted that long if they hadn’t shifted direction, but there’s just something I find alluring and very appealing about the debut.”

The difference in this posting and that from November 2018 is that the mp3s come from the vinyl within the box set.

JC

Breeders

10″ OF (NOT GREEN) VINYL FROM 1994

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1993 was the year when The Breeders made a commercial breakthrough in the UK, thanks to the critically acclaimed album Last Splash going Top 5, with two of its tracks – Cannonball and Divine Hammer – being minor hits in the singles charts.

Nobody knew that it would take until 2002 for a follow-up album to be made available, with the band more or less becoming inactive for the most part after taking part in the two-month-long Lollapalooza Tour in 1994, where they shared the main stage with Smashing Pumpkins, Beastie Boys, George Clinton & the P-Funk All Stars, A Tribe Called Quest, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, L7, and Green Day.

It was while that tour was underway that their labels – 4AD in Europe and Elektra in the USA – quietly issued a four-track EP, with the 4AD release being on 10″ ~~green~~ standard black vinyl:-

mp3: The Breeders – Head To Toe
mp3: The Breeders – Shocker In Gloomtown
mp3: The Breeders – Freed Pig
mp3: The Breeders – Saints

I didn’t pick this up at the time, only finding it many years later in a second-hand shop. I was quite disappointed when I played it, thinking the lead track was a step-back from the polished efforts that I had enjoyed on Last Splash…it sort of sounds as if it’s a hurried, unfinished track that had been issued just to ensure there was product on sale as they made their way across the States.

Shocker In Gloomtown lasts less time than it takes to type this descriptive sentence – it’s a hard-rocking noisy cover of a song written and recorded by Guided By Voices.

Freed Pig is another cover – lending weight to my theory that the EP was a rushed release – this time of a Sebadoh number, but there is a bit of a tune there in comparison to the two previous tracks.

Rounding things off is an alternative version of Saints, one of the most popular and enduring songs from Last Splash. It’s okay, but not a patch on the original.

The EP barely cracked the Top 75 here in the UK and made no impact in the States.

JC

Lunchtime addendum

This was posted first thing as saying it was on green vinyl.

It isn’t….and thanks to the folk who came on this morning questioning things. I’ve just been into the big cupboard full of vinyl where the singles are stored to check.

Sorry for being an arse!

Various

THAT SUMMER FEELING

sun-summer-sunshine-bright

Sorry if you’ve popped by thinking you’ll find Jonathan Richman hanging round the front porch……

mp3: Various – That Summer Feeling

Town Called Malice – The Jam
Graffiti – Maximo Park
So When You Gonna… – Dream Wife
The Overload – Yard Act
Senses Working Overtime – XTC
Pictures Of You – The Cure
Road Rage – Catatonia
Atomic – Blondie
I Love Myself and I Always Have – Robert Forster
Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair – Arctic Monkeys
Portions For Foxes – Rilo Kiley
Wrecking Bar (ra ra ra) – The Vaccines
With Handclaps – Y’all Is Fantasy Island
Slow Train To Dawn – The The
He’s Frank (Slight Return) – The Monochrome Set
Being In Love – Wet Leg
Bankrobber – The Clash

Five seconds beyond sixty minutes for the second successive month. Don’t be fooled by the title….it’s simply down to it being June’s offering.