A guest posting by SWC (No Badger Required)
An ICA compiled by the best Radio Stations in the world– Part 1 – Fanatica Indie, Chile.
Recently, I have been having a recurring dream, no not that one involving Helen Baxendale and Usagi from Alice in Borderland, another one. In this dream, I am in the desert, walking blindly towards the horizon. My water bottle has pretty much run out, my feet are sore, I have a beard, and my hair has grown long and straggly.
As I stumble in no particular direction, I see something to my right, half buried in the sand and I stagger towards it, and then I dig using my hands and reveal a radio, an old crappy transistor radio like what my grandad used to listen to the racing results on, in fact it’s probably the same radio.
Then I usually slump on to the ground, exhausted and switch the radio on. There is nothing, so I whack it on the side and a stupid amount of sand falls out of it. Then I play with the volume and the tuner, there is static, then a crackle and then from nowhere there is the faintest chime of music, I turn the tuner a little more and the sound becomes clearer. Then I realise it’s the music of Ed Sheeran, and so I retune but every radio station that I find is playing the same sodding Sheeran song, and then I wake up shaking and covered in sweat. Man, its horrible.
Luckily, thanks, mainly to the Internet, or in my case an App on my phone, there are actually thousands of radio stations that we can now listen to and the chances are that at least one of them won’t be playing Ed Sheeran if you tune into them. I love the radio, and I often find myself tuning into radio stations from across the world for an hour or two just because I can.
Sometimes these radio stations are incredible, for instance there is a radio station broadcasting out of Debrecen that has a live gypsy punk band session every Wednesday evening at around 9pm (UK Time). There is another somewhere in deepest Alabama that only (or seems to) plays heartbreakingly beautiful acoustic country songs sung by females. It’s great because you simply don’t know what you are going to hear.
So, I have decided to do write something about the thrill of listening to brilliant music on the radio in the form of an ICA. I have asked my daughter to pick a number from 1 to 17 (that’s how many radio stations are on my favourites list) and whichever one she chooses I will make an ICA from the first ten songs that it plays. So, it could be awful, it could be amazing.
She picks number 8 – which has Fanatica, Indie written next to it. Fanatica Indie is based in Chile and I have written over at my own blog before about how great it is – you can find it on the Internet – it comes recommended. Here’s what it was playing between 8pm and 9pm (UK Time) on a Wednesday evening.
Side One – Made up of the first five tracks
High Pressure Days – Units (1980, 415 Records)
This kind of what I was talking about when I mentioned the thrill of the unknown, because I’ve never heard of Units before. Google tells me that they are synth pop pioneers from San Francisco. They are sort of brilliant as well. They sound a bit like Devo and a lot like OMD if that helps you out. ‘High Pressure Days’ comes from the debut album ‘Digital Stimulation’ and that too is excellent, as I have found out in the last few days.
Breakfast – Anteros (2015, Distiller Records)
Another band completely new to me. Anteros are an indie band from London and ‘Breakfast’ is taken from their second EP, which was also called ‘Breakfast’. They sound like Wolf Alice, which is no bad thing; most of the female fronted bands that emerged in the teenie decade sounded like Wolf Alice.
World Is The One – Bel Air Lip Bombs (2023, Third Man Records)
A third new sound in a row. The Bel Air Lip Bombs are from Australia and they play a punchy, hook-laden brand of indie rock, and they are really really good. I’ve just listened to their debut record ‘Lush Life’ and it’s great, like what The Strokes would have sounded like if they had PJ Harvey fronting them
Telephone Baby – Delights (2021, Modern Sky Records)
The new bands keep on coming, this one though is not so great. Delights are from Manchester and they play radio friendly indie pop. They want to be Snow Patrol but they sound like Athlete.
Tripped – Whipping Boy (1995, Sony Records)
Side One ends with the best song played so far (although Units runs it close). I adore Whipping Boy and ‘Tripped’ is taken from their second album ‘Heartworm’ which just happens to be one of the best albums of the nineties. Totally ace.
Don’t you just love the radio.
Side Two – made up of the next five tracks.
Doomsday Prepper – Adult DVD (2024, Self Released)
Side Two starts with a relatively new track from Adult DVD. Now those of you who read my own nonsense of a blog, No Badger Required, will know how much I rate Adult DVD. They are put simply one of the finest new bands to have emerged in the last five years. To hear them being played on a radio station broadcasting in Santiago is just mind blowing.
One Thing – China Drum (1997, Mantra Records)
Next up we have China Drum. I love China Drum, but for some reason the choice of song annoys me. I think it’s because the Drum’s first album was just so good and their second (from which ‘One Thing’ is taken) just wasn’t.
Painting of My Time – Floodlights (2023, Self Released)
This is getting weird. Floodlights are an Australian band, they are excellent. Their music is post punk but with a dark pop edge. I really like them. What’s weird is that in November I saw them live on the same night as I saw Adult DVD and now here I am listening to them both in the space of eight minutes on a Chilean radio Show. It’s like they have tapped into my Amazon algorithm
Rain – Wunderhorse (2024, Communion Group Records)
Wunderhorse are next up, they are another rising indie rock band who released their second album ‘Rain’ last year. They have been compared to bands like Fontaines DC and early Radiohead. That sort of holds up. This has been a very good hour indeed (Delights and dodgy China Drum album track asides).
Laid – The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (2011, Painbow Records)
Yup, its that ‘Laid’. It’s a great version of it as well – it’s quite loyal to the original but hearing it sung by a female voice gives it something different and unique. Brilliant way to end the hour.
And there you have it. All things said, not a bad way to spend an hour on a wet Wednesday evening. I hope you enjoyed the music, because, well I’m doing the whole thing again next week, but then the music will come from a Belgian radio station that specialises in ‘Electropop’ – expect lots of Soulwax then.
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 