THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN

NEXT YEAR’S NOSTALGIA FEST (Part 27 of 48)

Creation Records thought they were onto a good thing with The Loft. The four piece’s first two singles – Why Does The Rain and Up The Hill and Down The Slope in late 1984 and early 1985 had picked up a fair amount of critical acclaim and sold reasonably well for a purely indie-based label. Theirs was the sort of music that had mainstream radio chart potential.

But The Loft called it a day in mid 1985 and out of the ashes emerged The Weather Prophets just under a year later with Pete Astor (vocals/guitar) and Dave Morgan (drums) joined by Oisin Little (guitar) and David Goulding (bass).

The debut single, Almost Prayed, wasn’t all that far removed from the sound of The Loft and by the end of the year a second single and a German import LP that had come out on an overseas imprint of Rough Trade Records had seen many tip them for great things in 1987.

By now Alan McGhee had been given money by Warner Brothers to form a new label which he named Elevation Records and its first releases involved The Weather Prophets – two singles (one of which was a re-recording of The Loft’s debut 45) and an album. But pop music and critical acclaim have always had a fickle relationship and those who had supported the band through the Creation years were disparaging with the Elevation releases although musically there wasn’t much between them.

The band went back to Creation in 1988 and released two more singles and an album which was a little bit rockier than previous efforts but still success eluded them. The band broke up in late 1988 at which point Pete Astor pursued a solo career and Messrs Morgan and Goulding became part of a new alt/country group called The Rockingirds.

The Weather Prophets are still fondly remembered and regarded as one of the ‘should’ve been’ bands of the era and so it is no surprise that they were included on the CD86 double CD. The song was one of the b-sides on their 12″ debut single for Creation back in may 1986:-

mp3 : The Weather Prophets – Like Frankie Lymon

The actual single itself is a belter:-

mp3 : The Weather Prophets – Almost Prayed

Enjoy

Bastard Mountain

SATURDAY’S SCOTTISH SONG : #21 : BASTARD MOUNTAIN

From the Song, By Toad website:-

Bastard Mountain are: Pete Harvey & Neil Pennycook from Meursault, Jill O’Sullivan from Sparrow & the Workshop, Rob St. John from eagleowl & Meursault, Rory Sutherland from Broken Records & Reuben Taylor from James Yorkston & the Athletes.

Farewell, Bastard Mountain was recorded in October 2012. Jill, Neil and Rob each brought three songs, one to sing themselves, and one each for the other two vocalists to sing. Over the course of a week the group wrote and recorded music to go with these new versions, the result of which is Farewell, Bastard Mountain.

It’s a record full of drones and textures, but not as dark and oppressive as that might lead you to imagine. Instead, the semi-improvised nature, live recording and playfulness of the album gives the record a real lightness and sense of unity, to the extent that the vinyl has been pressed without any track breaks at all, as it all just fits seamlessly together as a single piece of work.

This approach to collaborative music was inspired by the Cold Seeds album we did several years ago with Animal Magic Tricks, King Creosote and Meursault. That album was more ad-hoc, there was no real plan for how it was going to happen, the music was almost entirely improvised and it all sort of fell together by happy accident.

This time around we wanted to reproduce that level of experimentation and excitement, but once the musicians got together it turned into something more like a conventional band. They may not have had much time, but they still rehearsed everything a little and then recorded the bulk of each song live, playing off each other to mitigate the uncertainty of trying to record a song they’d only learned a couple of hours ago.

The results are absolutely beautiful, with new takes on older songs as well as new and previously unheard tunes by all three main songwriters, as well as a first ever officially released song by Rory Sutherland which we all liked so much we’re pushing him to write a solo record as soon as possible.

Tracks written by:
Meadow Ghosts & Palisade: Rob St. John, Drone Armatrading: Rory Sutherland, The Mill, New Boy & Pissing on Bonfires: Neil Pennycook, Swam Like Sharks, Old Habits & My Crime: Jill O’Sullivan, Something On Your Mind: Dino Valenti.

mp3 : Bastard Mountain – Something On Your Mind

Enjoy.

Cornershop

NEITHER A HIT NOR A FLOP

Having got to #1 with the Norman Cook remix of Brimful Of Asha back in early 1998 it looked as if Cornershop had a deserved profile after years of toiling in obscurity.

If there was any justice in the world, then this, one of a number of outstanding tracks from the LP When I Was Born For The 7th Time, would have also crashed high into the charts.

Sadly, Sleep On The Left Side stalled at #23, which in my books is enough to keep the band away from those that are listed as ‘one-hit wonders’, but proof that the record-buying public would only embrace the band’s unique mix of indie, dance and Asian music if someone famous like Fatboy Slim put their name to it.

The single is an edited down version of the original track that was on the LP, but it also came with other innovative and wonderful mixes:-

mp3 : Cornershop – Sleep On The Left Side (Radio Edit)
mp3 : Cornershop – Sleep On The Left Side (Ashley Beedle’s Right Hand Radio Edit)
mp3 : Cornershop – Sleep On The Left Side (Les Rythmes Digitales’ Living By Numbers Mix)
mp3 : Cornershop – Sleep On The Left Side (Ashley Beedle’s Right Hand Extended Mix)

New Order fans everywhere will surely adore the LRD mix…….

Enjoy.

Altered Images

THE ALTERED IMAGES SINGLES (10)

File under a sad ending to a recording career.

Altered Images had signalled they were calling it a day but ensured that all touring dates would be honoured, including their first ever gigs in North America. The record label decided it would be fitting to release one last song from Bite and so, in October 1983, this was released on 7″, 12″ and pic disc:-

mp3 : Altered Images – Change Of Heart

It was the third single from the Mike Chapman sessions to be released as a 45 which meant that only Another Lost Look from those sessions hadn’t seen light of day via that format, although you will recall that an alternative version of said song had been put on the b-side of single #9 Love To Stay. But hang on, what’s this on the b-side of this latest single?

mp3 : Altered Images – Another Lost Look

There was absolutely no incentive to buy this single on 7″. The two songs had been available for more than four months. So what about the 12″?

Eh……there’s no extended or dance mix, the b-side is the same….and to rub salt into the wounds the label put the 7″ versions of Happy Birthday and I Could Be Happy onto it.

Absolutely pointless. So it is no surprise that the single didn’t chart.

And that dear readers, concludes a look back at the ten singles released by Altered Images between March 1981 and October 1983. Collectively, they delivered three Top 10 placings, six Top 40 placings and a total of 60 weeks in the Top 75.

Next up in the singles series…………The Jam.

Associates

BILLY MACKENZIE RARITIES….COURTESY OF SID LAW (7)

A very welcome one-off summer special…….

Happy Summer Holidays Mr Vinyl Villain! I’ve been enjoying the Altered Images series and the Devoto “Rainy Season” was good to hear again. I remember being in the front row of an Edinburgh Fringe Show with Claire a few years back (and I still have a lovely signed risque poster). It was called “Lady MacBeth Firmed My Buttocks” and was a delight… however I digress.

I attach a completely unreleased track by The Associates featuring Billy and Alan. It is a cover of Paul Ryan’s song which was a big hit for brother Barry Ryan. Billy loved those kinda “Cabaret” Bacharach style, full-blown songs. On “Eloise” we can hear a young Billy (probably 1979) crooning his way through Rankine’s punky, guitar driven arrangement. Probably recorded at Craighall Studios in Trinity Edinburgh in 1979 with the same unnamed “Cabaret Musicians” responsible for the demos which were released as “Double Hipness” by Virgin in 2000.

Enjoy

Sid

mp3 : Associates – Eloise

JC adds…………It’s a long long way from the sounds that became the hits. As Sid says it is very punky and having been lucky enough to see the Big Gold Dream documentary the other week it is very clear that the boys fitted in perfectly to the scene that was building up in and around the capital city in the late 70s.

14 Iced Bears

OOPS, I DID IT AGAIN….

The thing is….I need to apologise to everyone for a terrible drop in standards. And not for the first time.

The thing is, I do my best to provide a daily posting but there is no way I can sit down every 24 hours and type something up. Things are done in batches, post-dated and the magic of modern technology normally does the rest.

Problem is however, I do make mistakes often through tiredness but nowadays thanks to my advancing years, forgetfulness. Which is why the songs that should have accompanied the piece on 14 Iced Bears last Sunday were missing.

And the reason it took so long to resolve the issue is that I’ve been away for the past three days with no access to the music files.

Sorry. But I can’t promise it won’t happen again. You’ve been warned.

mp3 : 14 Iced Bears – Come Get Me
mp3 : 14 Iced Bears – Sure To See
mp3 : 14 Iced Bears – Unhappy Days

Enjoy

Underworld

AN IMAGINARY COMPILATION ALBUM : #25 : UNDERWORLD

This one comes of my namesake Jim C who has not only been a long-time reader going back to the old blog but an occasional guest contributor:-

HEY JC…

Finally after months of procrastination… Here’s my Underworld compilation. I’ve just concentrated on the songs I genuinely love and have loved for years. I’ve seen them live on countless occasions and they never disappoint – I guess that’s influenced most of my choices – the ones I like them to play live. They’ve kind of soundtracked my life since the early 90s and so many of these songs remind me of happy times and friends. It’s incredibly difficult to pick ten songs and then write ten different stories – essentially most of these should all say – ‘This song is euphoric, it makes me smile and I like dancing to it’. My favourite album by them is Dubnobasswithmyheadman – I’m not sure how I’ve managed it but I’ve not included a single track from it – a couple of b-sides and a live version are about as near as I’ve got.

And at 1 hour and 48 minutes long these eleven tracks would have to be split over a double album!

xxxjim

Side A

01 BEAUTIFUL BURNOUT
From “Oblivion With Bells”

This is the Underworld song I play most these days. Dark, brooding – the perfect soundtrack for driving through a city late at night. It wouldn’t have felt out of place on Dubnobasswithmyheadman.

02 DARK TRAIN
“Dark and Long” B-Side

I always put Underworld on my ipod when I am on my way home drunk. It soundtracks public transport and keeps me awake – and this is always one of the tracks that I go to. I do try and stop myself punching the air when the big chords kick in. Essentially it’s a remix of Dubnobasswithmyheadman opener ‘Dark and Long’ – but it does what all good remixes do and turns it into a completely new track.

Side B

03 SHUDDER/KING OF SNAKE
From “Beaucoup Fish”

Side B kicks off with SNAKE! Always shouted by me and my mates when they play it live.

04 WHY WHY WHY
Rez B-Side

This song is euphoric, it makes me smile and I like dancing to it.

05 DOWNPIPE
Single

The most recent song on the list – a collaboration with DJ Mark Knight. If this is the future direction that Underworld take I’ll be a very happy man. I first heard it on the drive to Glastonbury a few years ago – it set up the weekend quite nicely.

Side C

06 8 BALL
From “The Beach soundtrack”

Another slow one to start side C. This just makes me smile. I wish I’d seen Karl Hyde’s solo shows where he played this – look it up on youtube (but don’t tell JC) it’s great.

07 JUMBO
From Beaucoup Fish

Tough call – it was either this or Two Months Off – but as much as I love dancing to that, I guess I like this song just a little bit more.

08 PEARLS GIRL
From “Second Toughest In The Infants”

The first of two tracks named after greyhounds (the other one is Born Slippy fact fans). And the only one with what sounds like a helicopter taking off in it.

Side D

09 REZ/COWGIRL
From “Bootleg Babies”

A bit of a cheat this one – combining two of their finest records into one with a live version from the “Bootleg Babies” mix – essentially it was the Underworld messageboard putting together a mix of all the best Underworld live tracks to create the ultimate Underworld disc. And this really doesn’t disappoint – it gives a real flavor of what Underworld are like live.

10 MOANER
From Beaucoup Fish

JC posted this song recently so I was in two minds about whether to include it – but for me, there isn’t really any other song that could have ended this compilation – it’s almost impossible to follow. They pretty much always played it last as it was guaranteed to get you dancing like a machete and give you whiplash.

BONUS TRACK: BORN SLIPPY (NUXX)

Might seem a little obvious but how can you resist those euphoric opening chords? Seeing them a couple of times on their recent tour this song always turned into an enormous celebration for the audience – everyone smiling and hugging. It’s crazy to think that this was a B-side – I bought the original when it came out in 1995 and told everyone I knew that this was the best song EVER. Eighteen months later it got to no2 in the charts on the back of its inclusion on the Trainspotting soundtrack (and because it really is fantastic). It was also the nearest that my wife and I got to having a ‘first dance’ at our wedding!

xxxJim

mp3 : Underworld – Beautiful Burnout
mp3 : Underworld – Dark Train
mp3 : Underworld – Shudder/King Of Snake
mp3 : Underworld – Why Why Why
mp3 : Underworld – Downpipe
mp3 : Underworld – 8 Ball
mp3 : Underworld – Jumbo
mp3 : Underworld – Pearls Girl
mp3 : Underworld – Rez/Cowgirl
mp3 : Underworld – Moaner
mp3 : Underworld – Born Slippy (Nuxx)

James Yorkston

READ IT IN BOOKS : JAMES YORKSTON

It’s not that I’ve stopped reading in recent months but of late I’ve been engrossed in a couple of tremendous sports books and haven’t had time to delve into my extensive collection of those volumes related to music and musicians.

But over in Ireland for my annual long-weekend in mid-July saw me grab my copy of It’s Lovely To Be Here by James Yorkston and give it a re-read in the hours spent on planes, trains and inside terminals.

As the subtitle on the cover indicates the book is , a series of extracts from diaries written while the musician was on various tours. On the surface this might sound a bit dull and monotonous – you know the sort of thing….woke up with hangover, travelled to venue, did sound check, gig was great/mundane/OK/awful* (* delete as appropriate), got drunk afterwards and went to bed after crazy party/realising again how much I miss my family back home* (“delete as appropriate).

But this book is nothing at all like that.

It begins, somewhat very helpfully to anyone who might not know too much about the author,with a 20-page introduction explaining how he became part of the roster of the critically acclaimed and increasingly popular indie-label of Domino Records. There then follows five separate chapters for tours covering 2004-2009 in different parts of the world promoting different records to different audiences.

Much of the content of the diaries seems to centre around James trying to convince himself that he is as good and talented a performer as everyone else is telling him. This is not a man who is brimming with the utmost confidence and who seems to be bewildered that he is ‘making it’ as a musician. It’s also very clear from the outset that the author is indeed a true gent from his behaviour towards fellow artistes, including support acts or those above him on the bills and that he is one of life’s genuinely decent blokes in an industry where egos run rampant and you can never really be sure of who your friends really are.

The book is great at reminding anyone who is the slightest bit envious of the rock’n’roll lifestyle that much of it is mundane and repetitive with the added worry of never knowing in advance how well your performance will be received. It’s worth remembering that to musicians this is a job first and foremost…..and I don’t care what anyone says, there are days when nobody wants to go to their work no matter how different or exciting it might seem to most folk.

Other recurring themes are the need to get a decent meal – James is a committed vegan and many a promoter has failed to grasp just what that means – and his feeling that only drink and Valium can get him through the fear of flying. I know all this sounds a bit downbeat and depressing, but at no point does the author seek your sympathy. There’s a great deal of self-deprecating humour in the writing (a trait that he shares with that other T(n)NN hero Malcolm Middleton) and all told you cannot help but feel a lot of warmth and affection for the author….he’s the sort of bloke you’d be proud and honoured to call a mate.

You really don’t need to know anything about the records James Yorkston has released over the years to get something out of this book, and I recommend it highly to all and sundry.

Here’s some songs….

mp3 : James Yorkston & The Athletes – I Spy Dogs
mp3 : James Yorkston & The Athletes – Surf Song
mp3 : James Yorkston & The Athletes – Cheating The Game

Enjoy

14 Iced Bears

NEXT YEAR’S NOSTALGIA FEST (Part 26 of 48)

The potted histories that I’ve been providing throughout this series come from a combination of personal memories, material I have in a couple of reference books and info that is out there on t’internet. But I’m having problems trying to provide a definitive guide to 14 Iced Bears as there are differing accounts out there and being a Brighton band that I can’t personally recall from the era I can’t pretend that what follows is 100% correct.

They did form in 1985 and there is no doubt that in their initial existence across some seven years that they had an ever-shifting line-up of musicians and were on a number of different labels. They did however, centre around two principal songwriters in Rob Sekula (vocals) and Kevin Canham (guitars). They were an atypical 80s indie-pop outfit who had a number of devoted followers, particularly in and around their home town which has of course since become home to many talented and influential musicians of different genres but was seen in those days as being ‘not quite London’. They concentrated on singles for the most part, with Come Get Me, their fourth 45, coming out in April 1988 as one of the earliest Sarah singles and thus now worth a fair bit of money if you’re lucky enough to have an original.

There were five performers on this single with the two main protagonists joined by Steven Ormsby (bass), Graham Durrant (drums) and Susan Freeman (backing vocals).

By the time a self-titled debut LP was released six months later, the band were on a different label with a new bass player and no sign of Susan…..

By 1992 it was all over but they were a band that many later emerging acts on the indie scene frequently name checked as an influence, although whether that was true or was simply the idea of quoting an obscure name in an attempt to be hip is hard to tell.

For a band that sold next to nothing back in the day it was a bit of a surprise that 2010 saw a reunion with a series of gigs, tours and eventually a high-profile slot at the Indietracks Festival in 2012. The following year saw Cherry Red Records release a Hold On Inside, a 2xCD retrospective of their entire back catalogue.

It was the Sarah single that was included on CD86 :-

mp3 : 14 Iced Bears – Come Get Me

It’s a catchy enough bit of music whose chorus will lodge itself into your brain but I’m not convinced that it is a ‘classic’ but that is a matter of personal taste. Here’s the two b-sides to the single:-

mp3 : 14 Iced Bears – Sure To See
mp3 : 14 Iced Bears – Unhappy Days

Enjoy

** links to songs now active….see additional posting on Tuesday 21 July!!

Basil Pieroni

SATURDAY’S SCOTTISH SONG : #20 : BASIL PIERONI

I don’t care that this has already featured on the blog a couple of times previously as this is the one solo song I have from my good mate who is now the guitar player with Butcher Boy:-

mp3 : Basil Pieroni – Don’t Ever Go Away Again

As downloaded from a posting at the wonderful (but now sadly defunct) Consolation Prizes blog

Enjoy.

Orange Juice

MY FAVOURITE EVER CASSETTE ALBUM

A reader made a passing comment the other week about going out of his/her way to purchase a cassette version of an album simply to pick up an extra otherwise unavailable track. That got me thinking back to late 1984 and the release of The Orange Juice, the fourth* and what turned out to be the final studio album by Orange Juice.

* Yes, I know the sleeve states it was (the third album) but I’m one of those who counts Texas Fever, a mini-LP released earlier in 1984 as an OJ album.

In many ways this was really the first ever Edwyn Collins solo album. By now the band had collapsed within itself and Edwyn only had Zeke Manyika for permanent company and so guest musicians were brought in for the recording sessions, most notably Clare Kenny (ex Amazulu) on bass while legendary dub reggae producer Dennis Bovell, who was behind the desk for the record, added his keyboard skills.

The ten tracks on the album are actually, and this might be sacrilegious on my part, among the best songs that were ever attributed to Orange Juice. Yes, they are a long long way from the rough and ready screechy/jangly guitar indie pop of the Postcard era but there’s a real quality about many of the songs that can be attributed to Edwyn’s continually improving song-writing abilities and quite honestly, if this had been a band’s debut album then the world would have sat up and taken huge notice instead of being dismissed in a whim of huge indifference. By now, Edwyn and Zeke knew that the game was up and that many at Polydor Records had lost patience with the band but in one last brilliant hurrah they managed to get budgets for promo videos (with What Presence?! being directed by the acclaimed Derek Jarman) and what can only be described as some very tongue-in-cheek television advertising.

They also convinced the label to issue the record on what was then standard vinyl and cassette but that the latter should have the 10-track LP on one side while the other should became home to seven songs in what was described as the original 12” mix format. The outcome, rather unusually, was that the cassette format outsold the vinyl format but overall not in enough quantities to have the album make the UK charts.

And that would have been a total travesty and a thoroughly wretched way for the band’s career to come to a close but thankfully the thirty years since have been very kind to Orange Juice and they are probably better known and certainly better loved and appreciated than they ever were in their heyday.

I’d love to offer all seven tracks as they appeared on the cassette but sadly I don’t have the technology to make the transitions from tape to mp3. But I will take what I have from vinyl and CD and do something:-

mp3 : Orange Juice – I Can’t Help Myself (12” vinyl)
mp3 : Orange Juice – Rip It Up (12” version)
mp3 : Orange Juice – Love Sick (re-recording from Rip It Up single )
mp3 : Orange Juice – Flesh Of My Flesh (12” mix)
mp3 : Orange Juice – Out For The Count (alt mix from Texas Fever sessions)
mp3 : Orange Juice – What Presence?! (12” mix)
mp3 : Orange Juice – Lean Period (12” vinyl dub version)

To be honest, I find this mix of Flesh of My Flesh bordering on the unlistenable thanks to the annoying use of effects and gimmicks that take away any sense of rhythm or tempo. And to be completely honest, even the shortened 7” version of the song is one of my least favourite OJ recordings…..I just could never take to it.

But hey…..dig that extra guitar break instead of the harmonica in the middle of What Presence?! Sheer class…………….

Oh and its a fresh ‘rip’ of I Can’t Help Myself that has eliminated what was a jump when it appeared on the blog previously.

Enjoy

Trashcan Sinatras

AN IMAGINARY COMPILATION ALBUM : #24 : TRASHCAN SINATRAS

Another very welcome and interesting contribution today, this time courtesy of rhetor (not his/her real name!!), a resident of Toronto where I spent a very happy four months working on a a secondment back in 2007.

It’s not rhetor’s first contribution to the blog as they explain in this really lovely covering e-mail:-

I am a bit of a long time reader and fan of your blog, and have for many years enjoyed opening every evening’s new column and perusing its song sample. It is a delight, as a Torontonian, to see your unique far-off yet near to home perspective on the musical taste we all too often seem to share. And though you probably do not recall, I have even left the occasional comment or two, entered one of your contests (the draw for Morrissey’s Swords), and even contributed briefly a song and write-up that featured when you were away in Ireland after the death of your brother (the Beloved’s song “Found” from the album “Happiness”).

Actually, as an unhappy anecdote, I must say that I once penned a whole column to contribute to a series you featured a long time ago, where readers wrote about “ten random songs from their iPod shuffle” and what they meant to them, but sadly, just as I clicked send, the laptop froze and I lost everything! I was so disheartened that it took quite the long time, though tempted often, to get around to trying another entry for your consideration and possible inclusion in a series.

I als feel that it is a bit cheeky of me to contribute an entry to your Imaginary Album’s series for The Trashcan Sinatras, as I know that you are indeed a fan too, but also that others in your ken (such as Colin from Fivehungryjoes) are also super-fans, but as I saw that no one had yet tried this exercise of creating the definitive TCS album, and that the long-awaited sixth TCS album is being born in just a month or two, so it would be an ideal time for a bit of a retrospective. So, feel free to include, if you think it might fit, or not, if it is not quite what you see fitting in. But I do need to say that I love your daily entries, and you must promise never to stop writing, as you can see how much you mean to readers even far-off across the proverbial pond.

So without any futher ado:-

For those not aware, the Trashcan Sinatras (formerly known as The Trash Can Sinatras) are soon to release (in September) their sixth studio album, which those who wish to support, I believe, can still do through the group’s Pledge Music campaign. An ideal time, then, to do a bit of a retrospective of the band in anticipation of the coming but long-awaited treat.

Side A

Track 1: Obscurity Knocks (from the album the album Cake)

As the opening track for the band’s debut album, and the debut single released prior to the album that introduced the band to the world, this is the obvious choice for album opener.

Yes, I say world, because the song did very well not only at home in the band’s hometown of Irvine and environs, but also in the USA college radio circuits, and in my native city of Toronto, Canada, thanks to decently heavy airplay on my then-favourite and must-listen radio station CFNY, and the support of the very thoughtful and influential DJ Alan Cross (if you are not familiar with him in other parts of the world, fans of The Vinyl Villain and his musical tastes may well be interested in googling Alan Cross’s name to find the podcasts of his lengthy series The Ongoing History of New Music).

The pun-filled humility of the title is a hallmark of the band that has not left them to this day, despite the fact that this single may have proved a bit more prophetic than the band would have liked…

Track 2: Earlies (from the album the album I’ve Seen Everything)

The band’s musical and song-writing depth is evident in the fact that this early gem is sung by guitarist John Douglas, not the fabulous lead vocalist Frank Reader. And so many lovely covers of this song have sprung up, including (of course) by Eddi Reader (Frank’s sister and John Douglas’ wife) and more recently by Lotte Kestner. Fine, evocative storytelling here…

Track 3: Oranges and Apples (from the album In the Music)

Not to be confused with Pink Floyd’s 1967 song “Apples and Oranges”, this is nonetheless a tribute from the band to the influential and poetic Syd Barrett, with some of the band’s best dreamy-sounding guitar work, and a return on their most recent album to the delightfully playful lyrics that were a hallmark of the earliest albums…Yes, it’s almost 7 minutes long, but hey, boy, you ain’t heard nothing till you heard it live where it just gets longer and longer…

Track 4: The Sleeping Policeman (from the album A Happy Pocket)

Who else could write a song with a title alluding to a traffic-slowing barrier that then turns out to be ostensibly about North Sea fishing trawlers bringing home their catch, but in fact is more profoundly, as the lyrics tell, about “life and death”?

Track 5: Trouble Sleeping (from the album Weightlifting)

For me, this is the eerie heart of the Weightlifting album. A gentle and beautiful sound, but just under the surface the lyrics tell the story of grisly unsolved murders that took place near the bands hometown…

Side B

Track 6: All the Dark Horses (from the album Weightlifting)

This is the beautiful track that really makes the Weightlifting album (the band’s long-awaited “Comeback Album” after the bankruptcy that followed the collapse of Go! Discs and the end of their recording deal.

It has been used as a TV soundtrack leader on American TV, remixed into a club song and made available through the band’s website, covered by adoring TCS tribute bands, and even released in two versions on the Weightlifting deluxe album (acoustic as well as the radio single version)…but of course nothing beats the original…

Track 7: The Safecracker (from the album A Happy Pocket)

I think many, many fans would have this on their list.

The opening lines, “As fly to tarantula, as jugular to Dracula/ to me in my ford spectacular, you’ll be drawn…” give a feel for what the rest of the Happy Pocket album is like: a highly literate, but tongue-firmly-in-cheek ironic look at a variety of odd characters and personages both real (of the band’s ken) and very hopefully imaginary.

Track 8: The Hairy Years (from the album I’ve Seen Everything)

Again, this is a song that is not likely to have made the cut of every TCS fan out there, but is a personal favourite that just had to make the cut.

I had originally bought the band’s first album, Cake, as a whim upon seeing it in the music shop, as it had a sticker that claimed it was Scotland’s answer to The Smiths (?!) and as it was on the Go! Discs label that was a home for my other current favourites The La’s, Billy Bragg, The Housemartins, and The Beautiful South. I figured I could trust a label that was perspicacious enough to snap up such a collection of great artists, and it turned out to be a wise decision as I loved the album on first hearing, though I really never heard much of The Smiths in their sound.

By the time the second album, ISE, was released I bought it the first day, and was equally impressed on first hearing, though by no track more immediately than The Hairy Years, which seemed to me to be so delicate in the beauty of its harmonies and child-like simplicity of lyrics that covered over some mysteriously dark content, that I recall being afraid to listen to the album too many times, for fear that the first impression would wear out and I might tire of that first feeling…Of course, I never did.

Track 9: The Best Man’s Fall (from the album Cake)

No more need be said to convert casual friends to TCS fans than to quote a few selections of their lyrics. And there are few better or more frequently quoted than these (and looking at them, no wonder that plenty of fine bands overtly cite the Trashcan Sinatras and their lyrics as major influences, not least of which include The Lucksmiths (featured here recently) and the popular and rising Canadian indie band Stars).

could i interest you in a little something special
pay the earth but if you have no money
your attention’ll do
and if you don’t give a damn
you’re welcome to keep it…
the hands of the clock give me a round of applause
for getting out of bed and the scars of the night before
have turned into scabs and still I’m seeing double
and i’m looking twice my age
it’s getting to the stage where
i’m old, not wise, just worried
and stories of rags to riches leave me in stitches
and with a thread that’s hard to follow
you came into my life like a brick through a window
and i cracked a smile

‘Nuff said.

Track 10: Mr. Grisly (the acoustic version taken from the band’s self-produced Radio Sessions: Volume 1 rather than the original b-side from the single for Twisted and Bent):

Another song that is not every fan’s favourite necessarily, and only ever saw light of day as a b-side, but happens to be my own personal TCS #1, so here it is.

I was a genuine life-time highlight when they agreed to play it live in concert at my request, at a small venue in Toronto in 2011 as part of their “all- request private house party” concert series.

Hidden Bonus: Astronomy (acoustic version taken from the band’s self-produced Radio Sessions: Volume 1, rather than the original Japanese-only bonus track from the Weightlifting album).

The beauty speaks for itself, and makes a very lovely surprise closer for this Imaginary Album…

The Almost-Made-Its

Hayfever: This was the band’s second highest charting single, reaching the dizzying heights of #11 on the U.S. Modern Rock charts and a fine pop song it is too. The music video was reviewed somewhat favourably by Beavis and Butthead back in the day, despite their predictable juvenile mocking of the band’s accents!

Ghosts of American Astronauts: As TCS began their career back in the mid-to-late ‘80’s as a covers band, it would have been nice to find space for this gem (a cover of a Mekons song which was never released but made its way to the very scarce CD Zebra of the Family, which the band released as a way to both clear their recording studio closets of some gems and skeletons that somehow never saw the light of day, as well as to raise some much needed funds to help record their fourth album, Weightlifting, after the awful spectre of bankruptcy followed the collapse of their record label, Go! Discs, and the end of their recording deal.

Drunken Chorus: A true gem, and proof of the strength of the band’s depth of songwriting that this only made it as a b-side, or as one of six bonus tracks for the Cake album if you happen to live in Japan. As I indicated above, some of the very best Trashcan songs appear buried on the backs of singles releases! This is the one that the rowdy drunk guy at the back of the concert hall always shouts out for, and sometimes gets…

Wild Mountainside: A lovely ballad about the geography of their home country of Scotland, and one of the better known songs by the band, as it has been covered by John Douglas’ wife Eddi Reader and performed before royalty…

And now, having finished, I feel that all of the other TCS fans out there will begin the howls about what I left out, but let me say, as all of the others who have contributed have said before, that this is an outrageously difficult thing to do, to reduce a band that you love to one album of ten songs, and having come out from the grueling experience, I can only answer the critics by quoting from the delightful lyrics of the TCS song I’m Immortal:-

I took a kick in the confidence, down in the tackle I hurt
I took a shine to your big size tens
now all around the subject I skirt, gingerly, gingerly…

rhetor

mp3 : Trashcan Sinatras – Obscurity Knocks
mp3 : Trashcan Sinatras – Earlies
mp3 : Trashcan Sinatras – Oranges and Apples
mp3 : Trashcan Sinatras – The Sleeping Policeman
mp3 : Trashcan Sinatras – Trouble Sleeping
mp3 : Trashcan Sinatras – All The Dark Horses
mp3 : Trashcan Sinatras – The Safecracker
mp3 : Trashcan Sinatras – The Hairy Years
mp3 : Trashcan Sinatras – The Best Man’s Fall
mp3 : Trashcan Sinatras – Mr Grisly (acoustic)
mp3 : Trashcan Sinatras – Astronomy (acoustic)

Altered Images

THE ALTERED IMAGES SINGLES (9)

The album Bite had been released in June 1983. While Don’t Talk To Me About Love and Bring Me Closer had signposed the direction that the band were taking I still recall the total shock that greeted the sleeve of the parent LP. The pixie queen of indie pop music had an amazing new image, one that was clearly based on Audrey Hepburn a la Breakfast at Tiffany’s. It was an astonishing transformation that was matched by the music on the new record.

There were just eight songs on the album, four of which came from the Mike Chapman sessions dating back to October/December 1982 and four from the work with Toni Visconti in March 1983. The songs were richly arranged and produced packed with synth strings and backing vocals from top-quality session singers. It was a tremendously mature piece of work that was as far removed from days of Dead Pop Stars and Insects as could be possibly imagined. The only thing was, to my ears, that the one obvious single had already been lifted (and been huge smash) and none of the others were likely to have daytime radio DJs falling over themselves to play them.

Bite had gone Top 20 on its release but it hadn’t proved to have any sort of longevity and the sales were far less than the previous two albums. The label decided to do the traditional thing and go with a third single and so it came to pass that Love To Stay was released in mid July 1983, again on 7″, and 12″ (but this time instead of a pic disc the label went with a poster inside the sleeve:-

7″

mp3 : Altered Images – Love To Stay
mp3 : Altered Images – Another Lost Look (recorded live)

It is one of the band’s finest bits of music and thus one of their best singles but it is so completely out of kilter with many of the other 45s.

The b-side is an alternative version of another of the tracks on Bite and offered a band production on one of the tracks from the Chapman sessions. From memory, the extended version is just the version found on the album….but I can’t confirm as I can’t find the 12″ version just now. It’s been filed away in the wrong place and I can’t be arsed looking for it..

mp3 : Altered Images – Love To Stay (extended)

The single spent three weeks in the charts but got no higher than #45 and so brought an end to the run of the Altered Images 45s hitting at least the Top 40.

At the time, I thought that would be the last single lifted from Bite – after all four of the eight tracks had now featured as either an A or B side in a relatively short space of time and the impact of the third single in terms of album sales was negligible. But I was wrong…..

Tune in next week for the final part of this particular series.

Pavement

PIGS THEY TEND TO WIGGLE WHEN THEY WALK…

One of my favourite ever opening lines.

I’m not an enormous fan of Pavement – I sometimes think they were just too clever/deliberately obscure to be entirely loveable – but there’s a fair number of their tunes that have found their way onto the i-pod.

For a short while, it did look as if they would enjoy a fair amount of chart success, with the two singles taken from the 1997 LP Brighten The Corners, getting a fair amount of airplay. I was sure this went higher than #48 in the charts, but that’s what the record books tell me:-

mp3 : Pavement – Stereo
mp3 : Pavement – Westie Can Drum
mp3 : Pavement – Winner of The

And no, I haven’t missed out any words on the title of the last track.

Listening to these nowadays, there’s still a lot to enjoy. It is unashamedly indie-pop that can trace its roots back to the 70s and US guitar bands like Television and Blondie. And while his voice does seemingly get on the nerves on a few folk, I quite like the delivery of Stephen Malkmus.

And yes, Graham Coxon was listening to this sort of stuff a lot as well when he was churning out Blur tunes at the end of the 20th Century.

Enjoy

Semisonic

IS THERE ANY LOVE OUT THERE FOR THIS?

mp3 : Semisonic – Closing Time

I’m posing the question as a number of you were happy enough to come out in admiration for Just Like Fred Astaire when it featured and this, from 1998, is another of my guilty pleasures.

I only own one Semisonic album and it was bought on the back of hearing Closing Time on the radio. It just struck me as one of those great alt rock love songs that don’t come along all that often and it was one of those occasions where the choice of buying a single for £4 or an album for £12 was a no-brainer (and typing that is also an awful reminder of just how much the music industry was prepared to rip us off back in those CD crazy years).

The album was called Feeling Strangely Fine but it didn’t do all that much for me and indeed it has been many years since I’ve played any Semisonic songs other than the featured track. But I’ll throw in the two other songs lifted from it and released as singles:-

mp3 : Semisonic – Singing In My Sleep
mp3 : Semisonic – Secret Smile

Enjoy

Meat Whiplash

NEXT YEAR’S NOSTALGIA FEST (Part 25 of 48)

Two weeks ago it was Fizzbombs who had plenty of links with Shop Assistants from seven days ago. This week’s CD86 song has links with Shop Assistants as was explained when they featured in the Scottish Singles Series back in February 2014:-

Meat Whiplash from East Kilbride were amongst the first to be signed to Creation Records.

The line-up was Paul McDermott (vocals), Stephen McLean (guitar), Edward Connelly (bass guitar) and Michael Kerr (drums). They took their name from a B-side track by The Fire Engines. They then became The Motorcycle Boy when Alex Taylor (of The Shop Assistants) joined the group in 1987.

Meat Whiplash only ever released one 7″ record. It was in September 1985 with a sleeve featuring actor Robert Vaughan that had been printed up by Bobby Gillespie and hand-folded by their record label’s owner, Alan McGee.

The band were the opening act at North London Polytechnic on 15 March 1985 on the occasion of the infamous “riot gig” by Jesus and Mary Chain.

That one 7″ single was included on CD 86 and here it is along with its b-side. It’s a bit high on the noisy and tuneless scale:-

mp3 : Meat Whiplash – Don’t Slip Up
mp3 : Meat Whiplash – Here It Comes

Enjoy

Barn Owl

SATURDAY’S SCOTTISH SONG : #19 : BARN OWL

Today features a song that I have downloaded from somewhere at some point. They are a Scottish band and they are a band I’ve actually seen play as a support act at one time or another (when and where I can’t recall) but bear with me as you have a listen to a song from the mid 2000s which more than reminds me of Arcade Fire:-

mp3 : Barn Owl – When No-One Is Around

The thing is, I recall downloading it when it was a song by a band called Gambas Pil Pil (named after a prawn based tapas dish) and then I heard it played live a few years later but by a band called Barn Owl. From what I can tell, the bands are one and the same with just a name change. But trying to track down a photo of the band, far less any relevant info has proved beyond me.

I’m guessig that they may well have formed around a group of friends who were studying togeher at University and then when the time came to use thier hard earned degrees to make an honest living the band fell by the wayside. But that’s just idle and unsupported speculation on my part.

Anyone out there any knowledge?

Robert Smith, Twilight Sad

SOME NEW MUSIC FOR A CHANGE

It’s been kicking around the internet for a few months now that Robert Smith of The Cure had been asked and agreed to do a cover of a song by The Twilight Sad.

He has been a fan of the band for years and there had been hopes that he would have been able to get involved in the remix version of the No One Can Ever Know LP but that didn’t work out due to work and touring commitments. However, having been given a copy of the band’s newest LP Nobody Wants Be Here And Nobody Wants To Leave and described it as ‘BEAUTIFUL’ he was then approached with what the band thought was an audacious request to cover one of their songs for inclusion as a future b-side. And to their great delight he said yes and selected There’s A Girl In The Corner which is the opener on the latest LP.

The version has been available to listen to on the web for a long while now, but knowing that I was going to physically get a hold of the track via the purchase of the single, I decided I would wait until I had the piece of plastic in my hands before ever my first ever listen. I wanted to hark back to those days when buying 7″ singles provided a sense of adventure as playing a new song by a much-loved singer or band via a b-side provided real excitement.

I was pleased to read that the version Smith had recorded was brand new – I had a fear it was going to be karaoke by numbers with him just supplying a new vocal to the Sad’s music. But there it was on the sleeve : “Voices and Instruments by Robert Smith. Engineered, Produced and Mixed by Robert Smith at Homestudio. Assisted by Bunny Lake.”

This however, only provided a new fear.

What if it was rubbish in comparison to the original?

I should remind regular readers that I went for The Twilight Sad very early on in the Imaginary Albums series specifically to avoid the dilemma of having to include songs from their then upcoming album. It was a great move on my part as it is a really mature and classy record that also sounded magnificent in the live setting with a gig in Stirling last December rounding off what had been an exceptional and i doubt ever to be repeated year of live music thanks in the main to so many special events that supported Glasgow staging the 2014 Commonwealth Games. The song the band had chosen for this single – It Was Never The Same – is a standout from the album as indeed is the song Smith had selected.

mp3 : The Twilight Sad – There’s A Girl In The Corner
mp3 : The Twilight Sad – It Was Never The Same

These were high standards…….and so just seven days ago, at the end of what has been a trying and difficult few days, I gave it a spin:-

mp3 : Robert Smith – There’s A Girl In The Corner

If I had heard this without knowing the original then I’d have been hugely impressed with the fact that the best part of 40 years on since bursting onto the scene that Robert Smith still had a great ability to deliver marvellous music.

In other words….I was impressed. Very Impressed.

But to add some additional other words…..it ain’t as good as the original. Which confirms the conclusion I’ve been coming to over the past nine months or so since the fourth album was released and on the back of what have been some unforgettable live outings in different formats over the past few years.

The Twilight Sad are the best band going right now.

No arguments please.

Altered Images

THE ALTERED IMAGES SINGLES (8)

The next single was even more surprising than the last….

Bring Me Closer was released at the end of May 1983 just as Don’t Talk To Me About Love was easing its way out of the charts. This was a sound even more unlike Altered Images than could ever have been imagined. It was also interesting to see that having already worked with one of the giants of lush production in Mike Chapman the band had gone for the double whammy and roped in Tony Visconti for the latest 45.

I wasn’t sure if I liked this single much when I first heard it. It felt too cluttered with so much going on including synth strings and prominent backing singers whose delivery was every bit on the edge as Clare’s normal singing style. To be honest, I’m still not sure if I like it all that much and I’d have no hesitation in ranking it as my second least favourite 45 by them.

The other thing that struck me was when I first causght sight of the single in the racks of the local record shop. Up until this point the sleeves of the 45s had almost always featured unique and stylish artwork from David Band, an illustrator who came to prominence via Altered Images but had since gone on to see his work used by, among others Aztec Camera while in future years he would be commissioned by Spandau Ballet for the multi-million selling True. This time however, it was a photograph of a young lady with stylish black clothes and an exceedingly modern and fashionable haircut. It was only at the second or third glance did you realise you were looking at a new-look Clare Grogan…

Which leads me to the bizarre story behind the writing of True as told by the songwriter Gary Kemp:-

“I wrote the song at my parents’ house, where I was still living at the time. As a working-class boy, I wouldn’t think of moving out till I got married. I was infatuated with Clare Grogan. I met her on Top of the Pops and, at one point, travelled up to Scotland to have tea with her and her mum and dad. Although my feelings were unrequited and the relationship was platonic, it was enough to trigger a song, True, which became the name of our 1983 album, too.

True is about how difficult it is to be honest when you’re trying to write a love song to someone. Hence: “Why do I find it hard to write the next line?” The lyrics are full of coded messages to Clare. I’m still berated for the line “Take your seaside arms” but it’s straight out of Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, which she had given me as a present – although in the book, it’s “seaside limbs”. The line “With a thrill in my head and a pill on my tongue” is also a bastardisation of Nabokov. I don’t want to embarrass Clare. I was 22 and she was 18. True was really a song about me and my idea of love.”

This only emerged some three years ago and I’m guessing that the decision to use David Band’s terrific artwork on the sleeve of True was Gary Kemp sending a subliminal message to Clare who by this time had now met Stephen Lironi who she would go on to marry in 1994.

But back to the matter in hand….the feelgood factor from the previous single helped Bring Me Closer reach #29 two weeks after its release but unusually for an Altered Images 45 it immediately dropped down the following week but selling enough to hang around in the thirty-somethings for a short while before disappearing just as the parent album was released.

This 45 was released in 7″ and 12″ editions:-

7″

mp3 : Altered Images – Bring Me Closer
mp3 : Altered Images – Surprise Me

12″

mp3 : Altered Images – Bring Me Closer (extended version)

The 7″ and 12″ also came as picture discs. The 12″ pic disc is one of just two pieces of plastic originally released by the band in the singles format that I don’t own.

Enjoy

SBTRKT

AN IMAGINARY COMPILATION ALBUM : #23 : SBTRKT

Just Two Guys Messing Around

(An Imaginary Compilation of sorts – Part 2) by S-WC

I should start by stating two things, firstly, The Duckworth-Lewis Method has ruined 20/20 cricket. There was no way that team was going to get 77 runs in 5 overs. Secondly, my iPod has what I call a ‘safe playlist’ this contains a number of tracks that I wouldn’t listen to normally but the entire playlist is there for background entertainment at parties and such like. Mrs S-WC quite often identifies tracks that she likes and they too go in the safe playlist. These two things will become relevant in a short while.

So we are travelling back from the beautiful city of Worcester to Devon, it is my turn to have a random act picked for me to design a compilation on them. Secretly I am quite worried about what act I will get – but obviously I pretend that I don’t care. Personally I hope I get something good, I really want it to be Teenage Fanclub, The Beta Band or The Libertines just because I think it would be fun to do anyone of these. I hope it’s not Primal Scream, Spiritualized or PJ Harvey because it will take me about 17 years to finally decide on the tracklist. Anyway the music has started….

First track is Blur – Trimm Trabb from their album 13. Blur would be easy to do because I only like about ten of their songs. Next up is Dubstar and their wonderful cover of St Swithians Day. I miss Dubstar. Years ago when Dubstar were quite popular I hung around with a chap called Chris, he and I had a massive argument over the singer in Dubstar, Sarah Blackwood, which revolved around whether or not she was born in Gateshead or Halifax (he said Gateshead, I said Halifax, seriously it literally went on like that for like an hour Gateshead, Halifax, Gateshead, Halifax then after about thirty minutes it was Gateshead you twat, Halifax you knobhead etc). He has not spoken to me since that argument. Chris if you are reading, she was born in Halifax you turdball. I really miss Dubstar. Erm where was I…

Next up was the Hives, and some song of theirs that I’d forgotten almost as soon as it was finished, I like the Hives it’s just that they have one truly memorable song and lots of good but identical songs. Track four was She Bangs The Drums by the Stone Roses, now they would be a difficult band to do an Imaginary Compilation for because basically everything after the first album is shocking. Then we get an album track by brilliant dub pioneers Renegade Soundwave and my phone rings. It’s work and it’s a matter of National Importance, or that is how they justify phoning me in the evening (it wasn’t but it did involve a Hornby Train set so it was fairly important). The phone call takes a while and Tim turns the stereo down but not off. Keep count I tell him. He nods.

Track Six fades into the memory, track seven is definitely Reverance by the Jesus and Mary Chain, and then I kind of switch off and have to actually listen to the phone call and do a lot of talking. Eventually I finish the call – just as the last ten seconds or so or Flowers and Football Tops by Glasvegas is on the stereo. What number are we on I ask the Badgerman.

He says (and this is important) ‘This is Number Ten’. Wow that was lucky I think, here comes track 11, I haven’t had time to get nervous or anything I can take this in my stride, the iPod is being nice today as well – so I am confident.

Ahh, shit, no, please, no, that’s a plinky plonky piano, that goes on and on and then about thirty seconds in my fears are confirmed.

Fuck.

Its Coldplay. Fucking Coldplay and the insufferable bollocks that is The Scientist – now dear reader – scroll back up – Mrs S-WC likes this song, solely for the reason that the video for it is filmed about three miles from our house, at a place called Haldon Moor. She refers to Chris Martin as ‘Whiney Balls’ but this song sits in the safe playlist and now this safe playlist has kicked me squarely in the balls. I sigh, then I sigh louder as Badgerman taps along to the song on the steering wheel, probably just to annoy me – he looks very smug. Why have you got Coldplay on your iPod he asks. For the same reason you have Maneater by Hall and Oates I say. Ah, the wife, he says.

I sit glumly, its fine, I’ll write up an imaginary compilation by Coldplay and then I’ll vanish into the distance, there is a placement coming up in St Helena that looks inviting – if I can keep this secret from future job interviews I might be able to show my face on the Internet in about twenty years time. But there by the pick of an iPod the day, the month, the year is ruined. I now have to listen to Coldplay, properly, and I will probably have to buy some of their bloody annoyingly dismal records to actually do it properly instead of just sending JC a recording of a buffalo grunting ten times over the same piano loop. Its been nice knowing you all.

Coldplay has finished and then the strands of New Dorp, New York by excellent dance guru SBTRKT comes on. Never has a song sounded so fantastic, never has a record been so welcomed. Tim looks at me and grins ‘Well that’s not so bad’ he says ‘Much easier than Asian Dub Foundation’ he says. Yeah. I reply. Hang on. What. Rewind. Say that again. He looks at me strangely, ‘The 11th track. SBTRKT’ he says. What. It was Coldplay wasn’t it. ‘No that was tenth I told you that’.

No you didn’t. You said Glasvegas was tenth. An argument ensues for about three minutes – after which we are silent largely because Howling Bells have come on the iPod. Then we laugh and double check by clicking the back button and obviously Tim is right. For those of you who really want to know, track six was an album track by much missed and under rated weirdoes Wu Lyf, track seven was indeed ‘Reverence’ by JAMC and track eight was Wasted Hours by Arcade Fire

Readers with children will know this feeling, the lovely feeling you get when you get back into bed after sleeping on a floor under a rug or blanket next to your childs bed because they are poorly or upset or just a bit scared, that wonderful indescribable comfy feeling of a duvet and soft mattress. That’s how I felt when I realised that I didn’t have to do a Coldplay compilation. To the point where the journey and the Coldplay thing became more important than actually writing about SBRKT.

SBTRKT are the work of the bemasked and supposedly anonymous chap Aaron Jerome and have released two albums, the first one (SBTRKT) is perhaps one of the most important dance releases of the last five years or so. I heartily recommend it to you. I’m not going to write about each song on this compilation because its insignificant right now. Just enjoy the fact that it is not Coldplay. Saying that Tim and I are off to the cricket again on August 17th – and we have agreed to do this again – so let’s rewrite that last sentence to enjoy the fact that it is not Coldplay for now.

In honour of the confusing Duckworth Lewis Thing I have compiled this in concept album style.

The Duckworth Side

New Dorp, New York (featuring Ezra Koenig) from ‘Wonder Where We Land’

Hold On (featuring Sampha) from ‘SBTRKT’

Pharaohs (featuring Roses Gabor) from ‘SBTRKT’

Look Away (featuring Caroline Polacheck) from ‘Wonder Where We Land’

Sanctuary (featuring Jessie Ware and Sampha) from ‘SBTRKT’

The Lewis Side

Wildfire (featuring Little Dragon) from ‘SBTRKT’

The Light (featuring Denai Moore) from ‘Wonder Where We Land’

Problem (solved) (featuring Jessie Ware) from ‘Wonder Where We Land’

Higher (featuring Raury) from ‘Wonder Where We Land’

Heatwave from ‘SBTRKT’

Take care out there.