Given how long he has been making music, I think David Gedge can be allowed the occasional moment of self-indulgence.
2016 had seen the release of Going, Going…., the ninth studio album by The Wedding Present. It was an incredibly ambitious release, consisting of 20 tracks, as the frontman explained in media interviews at the time:-
I’d already decided [soon after the 2012 release of their last album] that I didn’t want to make the next release just ‘another album’ and so I came up with the idea of twenty ‘interconnected’ pieces of music. Then, in the summer of 2014, I travelled across the USA with photographer Jessica McMillan, and we made some atmospheric short films to accompany the tracks. Since then it’s been a case of progressing through the music, trying all sorts of ideas, seeing how they work set against the visuals.
The album opened up with four instrumental numbers. One reviewer (Simon Tucker, writing on Louder Than War), sums things up nicely:-
Going, Going… is an album that is full of left turns, sudden bursts of feedback-drenched guitars and luscious soundscapes. It is schizophrenic and unsettling yet full of beauty and melancholy. A hard album to grasp as it is constantly going through gear changes (even within the confines of one song) Going, Going… is the sound of a band throwing everything they have into the mix which has in turn created a work that is at once familiar yet progressive, homely and disturbing.
It was released on Scopitones on CD, but also on limited vinyl with additional bonus material via DVD, a 7″EP and a book. A couple of songs were identified as ‘singles’, but were only promoted as such via videos and not with any separate physical release on vinyl or CD.
It was all a bit strange, as some of the songs on the album were among the best that David Gedge had come up with in a very long time, with this being a particular favourite here in Villain Towers
mp3: The Wedding Present – Rachel
It took until May 2017 for an actual single/EP to hit the shops. Here’s the promotional blurb:-
The Wedding Present release a four track instrumental EP called ‘Home Internationals’ on the El Segell del Primavera record label.
‘Wales’ is taken from The Wedding Present’s recent and critically acclaimed album ‘Going, Going…’ while the other three tracks have been specially written and recorded for this release.
David Gedge was inspired by the challenge of writing a number of instrumental tracks for ‘Going, Going…’ and decided to use ‘Wales’ as the starting point for an EP of further instrumental pieces.
Freed from the restriction of a lyrical narrative the music frequently becomes more experimental and delves deeply into David’s love of pop, rock and film scores for inspiration.
England also features poet, playwright and novelist Simon Armitage reading his poem The English. The EP was also inspired by the ‘Home Internationals’ which was an annual football competition between the United Kingdom’s four national teams: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (the last of whom competed as Ireland for most of the competition’s history). It started in 1883 and is the oldest international football tournament in the world. The competition ended in 1983.
mp3: The Wedding Present – Scotland
mp3: The Wedding Present – Northern Ireland
mp3: The Wedding Present – England
mp3: The Wedding Present – Wales
All in all, it’s one of the more unusual offerings across the series.
Things do sort of return to normal next week in that the songs have lyrics. But in keeping with all that was going on with TWP releases at this point in time, it will prove to be a bit different.
JC
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 
Hmmm… I wonder why ‘Rachel’ was such a favourite of yours… 😉
Another collection I’d not heard in ages. This was certainly an experimental era for the Weddoes. My friend covertly recorded the pub noises heard in the middle and end of ‘Scotland’ in a bar in, I think, north Ayrshire. Funny to think those folk probably have no idea of their guest vocals.
Strangeways