Thursday 28 December 2023

Some favourites from 2023

Not Unloved only deals in facts (and speculation and hyperbole, of course!) and it's a fact that in 2023 I bought more records than I could possibility assimilate in the what little time there was left after workin' for a livin', going to a crazy number of gigs (it was a GREAT year for live music in Glasgow!), attending football matches, listening to music-related podcasts (hiya That Record Got Me High!) and watching copious videos of "Old men talking about records" (copyright J) on YouTube. The inevitable consequence of this was that lots of brilliant records didn't get enough spins which is madness given how expensive a lot of records are these days. Of course, I'll make a resolution to address this unsustainable situation in 2024 and then break it within a fortnight when the first batch of new releases winks at me from from the "Just In" bins. As ever, the only rule for the lists below was that they were bought on a physical format.

N.B. All titles are links to the various records so please check 'em out if you don't know 'em!

Albums:

The Clientele "I'm Not There Anymore" (Merge)
Linda Smith & Nancy Andrews "A Passing Cloud" (Grapefruit)
The Declining Winter "Really Early, Really Late" (Signal)
Purelink "Signs" (Peak Oil) / Intertoto "Thermal Shadow" (Intertoto)
Hotline TNT "Cartwheel" (Third Man)
Man Rei "Health" (Somewhere Press)
Maxine Funke "River Said" (Disciples)
Yo La Tengo "This Stupid World" (Matador)
TKB "Dream Nightclub" (Where To Now?)
seablite "Lemon Lights" (Mt. St. Mtn.)
Pia Fraus "Evening Colours" (Seksound)
GNAC "The Echoes On The Departure" (Vertical Horizon)
Famous Mammals "Instant Pop Expressionism Now!" (Siltbreeze)

E.P.s/singles:


Tara Clerkin Trio "On The Turning Ground" 12" (Tough Love)
Emilia Sisco with Cold Diamond & Mink "Trouble" 7" (Timmion)
Wet Tuna "PARTY PHONE extended play" 12" (Feral Child)
The Laughing Chimes "The Best of The Laughing Chimes E.P." 7" (Slumberland/Prefect)
The Hazmats "Skewed View" 7" (Static Shock)
Quad 90 "Le Blanc" 12" lathe cut (Last Night From Glasgow)
The Prize "First Sight" 7" (Drunken Sailor)
Rain Parade "Last Rays of a Dying Sun" 7" (090)
Lightheaded "Good Good Great!" cassette (Slumberland)
Wild Billy Childish & CTMF "Traces of You" 7" (Spinout Nuggets)
Chime School "Coming To Your Town" 7" (Slumberland)
Thee Marloes "Midnight Hotline" 7" (Big Crown)
Odd Nosdam "End Is Important" 7" (Where To Now?)

Reissues/Compilations:

Wild Carnation "Tricycle (Remastered/Expanded Edition" 2xlp (Delmore)
Ivy "Apartment Life (25h Anniversary Edition)" lp (Bar/None)
Voices From The Lake "s/t" 4 x12" (Spazio Disponibile)
The Particles "1980s Bubblegum" lp (Chapter Music)
The Woods "So Long Before Now" lp (Dot Matrix)
Shizuka "Heavenly Persona" 2xlp (Black Editions)
Hydroplane "Selected Songs 1997-2003" (World of Echo)
Byard Lancaster "It's Not Up To Us" lp (Superior Viaduct)
Primal Scream "Reverberations (Travelling In Time)"  lp (Young Tiki)
Dolly Mixture "BBC Radio Sessions" lp (Sealed)
Air Miami "Me, Me, Me (Deluxe Edition)" 2xlp (4AD)
Hal Blaine "Psychedelic Percussion" lp (Jackpot)
Experimental Audio Research "The Köner Experiment" lp (Space Age Recordings)

One more fact: the most exciting second hand record to find its way into Not Unloved's box of most cherished 45s was this heartfelt slice of  60s Michigan guitar pop:


Haha...looking back on this post it would appear that I was suffering from temporary amnesia. There are so many wonderful records that I didn't recall in the moment. Sigh.

Friday 8 December 2023

Mix for Linda Smith & Nancy Andrews / GNAC show at The Glad Cafe


Last night's Linda Smith and Nancy Andrews set at The Glad Cafe was utterly charming from first note to last. The "Gorgeous Weather"  7" (Harriet Records, 1990) was one of the first records Not Unloved bought by Linda Smith. Unfortunately, the Glasgow weather was anything but gorgeous last night with the rain lashing down in a wholly unacceptable manner beforehand. That was forgotten, however, when the music started. GNAC served up half a dozen elegant instrumentals enhanced by compelling visuals while Linda and Nancy were a gentle joy; a much-needed escape from the work stress and the 24 hour news barrage. Note to self: read more poetry.

There was another Not Unloved mix for the occasion which can be streamed here

1.  Maxine Funke - Call On You
2.  Rose Melberg - Take Some Time
3.  The Cannanes - Lamington Lane
4.  Dear Nora - Ghost In My Head
5.  Cheri Knight - Prime Numbers
6.  Karen Marks - Cold Cafe
7.  Trembling Blue Stars - Frosting
8.  The Durutti Column - Messidor
9.  All Girl Summer Fun Band - The Only Ones
10. Dumb Things - Crash Barrier
11. Siouxsie and The Banshees - Spellbound
12. Rodriguez - You Can't Get Away
13. Tangled Shoelaces - The Biggest Movie Ever Made
14. David Kilgour and The Heavys Eights - Christopher Columbus
15. Nikki Blu - (Whoa Whoa) I Love Him So
16. Juniper - Dawn Stole My Guy
17. The Daughters of Eve - Help Me Boy
18. The Monochrome Set - Jet Set Junta
19. The Siddeleys - Bedlam on the Mezzanine
20. Stereo Total - I Love ONO
21. Robin Saville - An Outdoor Planetarium And...
22. Minimum Chips - Goodbye
23. Summer Snow - Flying on the Ground is Wrong