Lizzie No "Sweeter Than Strychnine"

Not Unloved spent a blissful couple of hours sifting through Portishead's videos and live performances the other day. Having never seen most of them in the 90s (and I thought I watched way too much tv!), it was a real treat. After that, Lizzie No's recent Ben Pirani-penned "Sweeter Than Strychnine" single (Colemine Records, 2022) sounded even better. Pairing twanging spy movie guitar with subtle strings is always gonna work and Lizzie's reverb-cloaked vocal is a study in elegance and restraint. Colemine, Big Crown etc. have released an avalanche of music over the last few years so Not Unloved has to pick and choose but with the gorgeous Temptations-like "Stop Bothering Me" on the flip, this 45 was a must-buy.

Emilia Sisco and Cold Diamond & Mink "Don't Believe You Like That"

In 2019 it's not news that the presence of the words 'Timmion Records' on a record's label are as close to a guarantee of quality as the record industry can manage and, thankfully, their most recent 7" does nothing to dispel that. Emilia Sisco teams up with Timmion's regular backing group, Cold Diamond & Mink, for a haunting (check the ghostly waft of the backing vocals!) but sweet number that is so addictive in a dead of night Amy Winehouse way that Not Unloved is seriously contemplating the purchase of another copy for when our first copy wears through. 

Thee Lakesiders

Not Unloved was, as is so often the case, slow on the uptake when it came to the classy soul/pop output of Big Crown Records. It was only when Lady Wray released her majestic "Queen Soul" lp in 2016 that it became unavoidable. Since then, of course, The Shacks have soundtracked an iPhone ad and released an ace debut lp (not to mention a run of wonderful 7"s, especially this charming li'l dancer), Paul & The Tall Trees released the sparse, brooding "I Explained It All" and Sunny & The Sunliners releases became mainstays of soul sections in the classier independent record shops. The quality of Big Crown's releases shows no sign of dropping-off any time soon if the debut 7" by Thee Lakesiders is any guide. Their name may hint at 60s garage orthodoxy - 'thee' is usually a giveaway, ain't it? - but "Parachute", the b-side of their debut single, is far more subtle and nuanced than that. A recumbent, floating affair with a sublime vocal and an undulating rhythm, it is tailor made for soundtracking warm summer evenings spent contemplating. The top side, "Si Me Faltaras Tu" is a far peppier affair. Sung in Spanish (duh!), it zips along in the verses before the multi-tracked vocals of the chorus crank things up a notch. Grindhouse film-makers need look no further for their next house band.

Big Crown, it would appear, are also releasing the debut lp by Bobby Oroza in 'late 2018'. In the meantime, they've had the good sense to reissue Bobby's stunning "This Love" single that got Not Unloved hot under the collar in May, 2017. A mandatory purchase for those who missed it first time round!

Dreamin's For Free

With 7"s being released in ever smaller pressings and becoming pricier by the year, it's impossible to be on top of every good label, or cherished (micro)genre so, inevitably, a lot of gems slip between the cracks and when they do, it's always a downer to see just how expensive they've become. After Did Not Chart shone a light on The Flying Stars of Brooklyn NY's sublime "My God Has A Telephone", I followed a bunch of sidebar links and found myself smitten with Benjamin and The Right Direction's ultra-romantic "Dreamin's For Free" (Palmetto St. Recording Co.):

Sure enough, a quick check on discogs revealed that it is now a £100+ record. Not for the likes of me, then. Ah well, at least YouTube-in's (almost) for free.  Benjamin and co.'s 7" was released on Palmetto St. Recording Co., which seems to be a sub-label of the mighty Daptone Records whose garage imprint, Wick, just unleashed the zesty new Mark Sultan single. "Let Me Out":

It's sure to have people in highly flammable clothing frugging wildly at retro-themed dance parties the world over. Mark Sultan is scheduled to play both Edinburgh and Glasgow in March, 2018. Let me in!

Curtis Harding "Keep On Shining"

10 minutes ago I'd never heard of Curtis Harding but then I visited the Burger Records website just, you know, to see what they're up to - I'm nosey like that - and spotted that Iggy Pop had given a 'shout-out' to the label.  That shout-out came after he'd played a Curtis Harding track on his BBC6 Music radio show in July and what a startlingly good track it is:



Easily the best Iggy tip since he alerted me to the wondrous Lift To The Scaffold by choosing it as one of the films for his Fantasy Multiplex on Radio 1. I've not felt so aflame with excitement about a new soul act since Did Not Chart first posted about Myron & E.  If that intro doesn't hook you then, well, I despair!  Well done to Burger for not sticking to one sound and going where their ears and heart lead them.  I, for one, never expected to hear them release anything remotely like this; Timmion yes, Daptone yes, Burger no.  I may be a bit skint at the moment but that won't stop me buying Curtis's lp the very second it hits the shelves of Glasgow's record shops.  (Please let it hit the shelves of Glasgow's record shops!)

3 yellow 7"s

Imagine being the soul loving Numero Group employee who happened upon the The Young Souls' "Quit Waiting For Tomorrow To Come" and "Puppet On A String" lurking on tapes from a dusty box marked 'unreleased'.  Their heart must've been thumping like a Tour de France cyclist's midway through a mountain stage climb!  Both songs are sung so elegantly and their arrangements so classy and uncluttered that I'll be endlessly flipping the 7" on which they now appear in a vain attempt to figure out which one I love more.

Over the last few years I've become seriously enamoured with the guitar playing of Rachel Aggs.  With Sacred Paws and before that with Trash Kit (amongst others!), she's carved a series of guitar lines into my memory and prompted many an awkward dance move.  Her latest group, SHOPPING, is set to do likewise with both sides of their recent 7" for Milk Records benefiting from particularly incisive, dancefloor-honed examples of her craft.  Roll back the carpet and jerk it out like yr at some Thatcher-era youth club disco and the awkward kid by the stereo just sullenly slammed in his new Bush Tetras cassette!

When Ghost Box finally started releasing 7" vinyl via their Study Series I was delighted and jumped on the first few.  Somehow, though, after maybe 4 or 5 releases, they quietly stopped finding their way into my record bags.  There was no real reason for this.  The quality didn't drop noticeably and they continued to look great thanks to Julian House's consistently brilliant graphic designs.  With the release of the ninth volume - Listening Center's "Titoli" - I'm happy to be  back in the Study Series fold once more.  Comparisons with Birmingham's slightly overlooked but sorely missed Plone are accurate.  There's a similar sense of wonder spiked with just a little melancholy to that group's bakelite mini-symphonies.  It's ideal music for this half-summer, really.  Time now to look back and see what I missed when my ears were turned elsewhere, I think.