A horror film

Sending and receiving records through the mail can be a fraught business. Anyone who buys significant numbers of records online will have their own horror stories of parcels gone missing, inadequate packaging, seams splits, badly dinged corners etc.. A couple of months back a Mint- copy of one of the best garage pop 7"s to hit Not Unloved's eardrums - The Reasons Why "Tell Her One More Time" (Amy) - came up for sale so I stumped up the pennies and waited excitedly/nervously for the postal system to do its work. What a record! :

When it finally arrived, however, the parcel was damaged; it looked suspiciously like it had been stood on. Despite being well enough packaged, the vinyl was cracked and unplayable. Argh! In more than two decades of buying records I had never had that happen before. The seller was very understanding so I got a full refund and moved on mourning yet another one that got away. I hadn't really thought too much more about it until I stumbled upon this horror clip on Friday:

Imagine paying 9000GBP for one of the rarest soul records ever only for it to be run over by a truck - *shudder*. It sure puts my comparatively meagre loss into perspective.

The Mice "Little Rage" (What Goes On)

It can't be that often that the mighty Yo La Tengo get upstaged on a split 7" but on 1987's split with Cleveland, Ohio's The Mice (What Goes On Records), I reckon that's exactly what happened. "Little Rage" by The Mice - lifted from their "Scooter" lp - is a cascade of jangling guitars, youthful vocals, melody and even the odd blast of trumpet. Not Unloved bought this for the Yo La Tengo side (the fairly fried"House Fall Down" from "New Wave Hot Dogs") but ended up only having ears for "Little Rage".  Such is the way of things, however, I got distracted and never did dedicate the time to explore the group's other work. Lockdown 2020 seems like just the time to do it, eh?

Various Artists "Music Over Distance" (Signal Records)

"Collaborations during lockdown to raise money for personal protective equipment for NHS workers."

"Music Over Distance" is raising money for a good cause and features a host of ace artists working together remotely. Having road tested it today, Not Unloved can vouch for its suitably as a working from home soundtrack. That is in no way meant to demean it as mere background music! No, there is so much to admire among the 22 tracks including a touching finale. If you've ever cocked an ear to the kind of music sold or championed via boomkat or Norman Records, you'll find much to enjoy and a fair few familiar names including a bunch from the Hood orbit. It's only 8 quid and if you download it you'll get the rosy glow that comes from knowing you did a good thing. Plus, if, like Not Unloved, you were looking forward to seeing The Declining Winter on their mini-tour next week, track 15 goes a little way towards making up for its postponement.

Lures "New Boy" (Salvaged Productions, 2011)

Woah, woah New-hoo Boy! Years before Not Unloved went a bundle on Real Numbers, a shadowy duo from (cough!) Hull named Lures wrote and recorded the brilliant "New Boy", a version of which  subsequently appeared on Real Numbers' ace Slumberland lp. The Lures version rattles like the fittings on a corporation bus trying to beat the red lights on the Kings Road circa 1978. It's utterly glorious from start to end. Luckily for the latecomers, it's still available from the Three Dimensional Records bandcamp page. No Messtheticist's 45 box should be without a copy or two!

Protruders "No More" 7"

Italy's Goodbye Boozy cranks out an admirable but unmanageable (not to mention unaffordable) number of 7"s so I have to be choosy. Within seconds of hearing "No More" by Canadian chaos-bringers Protruders, however, I was scrambling to Paypal Julian at Drunken Sailor Mailorder the pennies to secure a copy. "No More" is a sandwich of 2 blasts of premium blend 142mph scrap-punk either side of a minute or so of derailing noise. Mayhem seldom sounded more fun!

Tara Jane O'Neil & Marisa Anderson "Polly" (Jealous Butcher)

Not Unloved has been blessed to witness both Tara Jane O'Neil and Marisa Anderson play spellbinding shows in Glasgow in recent years so it doesn't come as too much of a surprise that their collaborative 7" (forthcoming on Jealous Butcher Records) is nothing short of stunning. Their take on Dillard & Clark's divine "Polly" is something truly special. Even sparser than the original, Anderson's intimate guitar playing and O'Neil's hushed, beautiful singing combine to incredibly moving effect. Gene Clark occupies an exalted position round these parts so I don't say this lightly, but this version may be even more emotionally resonant than the original. Should I make it, I'll still be listening to this in 30 years.

The pre-order is now live here.