Something's Gone

Recently, when it looked like redundancy might be a very real prospect, I did the immature, counter-intuitive thing and went on a bit of a trolley dash, snapping up a bunch of records that I figured I wouldn't be able to afford if I lost my job.  I knew at the time that it was probably a bit silly and that the smart thing would be to look after my money but, I guess, we all deal with uncertainty in different ways.  One of the (many - whoops!) 7"s I bought was an (allegedly) unplayed copy of this Seymour Stein produced masterwork from 1968:

"Something's Gone" was new to me when I heard it play over the closing credits of Paul Kelly's "Take Three Girls" nearly a year ago but its melody lived on way beyond the curtains closing in the cinema and I'd frequently catch myself singing it in the car or on lunchtime walks so finding a nice copy felt imperative.  It came, therefore, as a sweet and moving surprise to hear The Pastels quoting its plaintive "Something's gone from my heart" refrain in "Over My Shoulder", which closed their immensely beautiful Chickfactor: For The Love Of Pop set at London's Bush Hall on Saturday.  Special moments like that, the blistering, beercan slide enhanced rendition of "Baby Honey" and hearing a new song (yes!) - its title has gone already in a haze of return-to-work blues - sure justified the trip down from Glasgow .  Their new album is pencilled in for March, 2013.  If that thought doesn't see you through the winter, I fear nothing will.

Update: horsemeatpie's cool photo of The Pastels' setlist reveals that the new song was called "Come To The Dance".  Sweet.