"A Whole New Shape" by Happynessfits into what I used to call 'Evening Sesson pop' after the 90s early evening BBC Radio 1 show that generally played more accessible indie stuff than John Peel. In those days, a lot of the time I dismissed a lot of the 'Evening Session bands'. They seemed less individual, easier to assimilate and hence less interesting than the more visionary, at times awkward, groups championed by Peel. Embarrassingly, they also seemed like they were trying to be cool. These days, all that seems a very long time ago. Now that I'm 100% older and 72% less snobby, I'm able to enjoy simple thrills (yr listening life can't be all about Half Japanese or Keiji Haino can it?) where I can find them so "A Whole New Shape" has earned its fair share of spins:
A little bit Pavement, a little bit Teenage Fanclub etc., it's full of familiar, comforting sounds for a fellow of my vintage. It's up there with Hooton Tennis Club's touching "Jasper" for youthful charm, too (the 'Woo!' at the start!):
Maybe, given my new mindset, I should revisit bands like Yuck or all those Evening Session bands I haughtily spurned two decades ago. We'll see.
On a recent work trip to London I made the obligatory trip to Rough Trade East. This time, I took a list as browsing time was limited and their stock so ample. Top of that list was "Sea of Murmur" by The Tamborines. Due to a hectic gig schedule of late I haven't had a chance to fully assimilate its myriad charms but one song that made a big dent in my heart on first listen was "Said The Spider To The Fly":
Timeless sounding, sensitively sung and impeccably played and recorded, it's a real heart-stealer from that first slightly hesitant drum crack. There won't be many fresher sounding songs released in 2015. It's Teenage Fanclub, Allen Clapp or Spinning Coin great and that guitar cascade of the last minute or so is a real balm for my gig-bruised ears. "Sea of Murmur" is out via the group's own Beat-Mo Records. I hope tracks from it have been cropping up with regularity on stations such as BBC 6Music as it would be a real shame if it fell through the cracks.
Scant minutes into the first show by the Good Press Gallery house band, Vital Idles, on Sunday, 24th May 2015 at Glasgow's The Old Hairdressers, I knew they would be a group I would clutch to my heart. Informed by the sounds of the early 80s DIY revolutions in both the UK and New Zealand, they zipped through a succession of ever more adorable songs. 'The Garden' was a high-point. Sensibly, someone saw fit to film it:
Jessica, the singer, is a terrific performer prone to bouts of vigorous dancing and insouciant mic use. Sure, not all the notes she hits are the expected ones, but this ain't opera and sometimes a bit of wrongness makes things right. Each of the elements of their sound is as it should be: rhythms are thumped out unfussily on a minimal drum setup, the bass is tight and propulsive and the guitars have the immediacy of Buzzcocks or Crystal Stilts. Manchester-based label Comfortable On A Tightrope has just released a tape of Vital Idles demos. Get it on bandcamp or from the label. Oh,and if you've ever wondered how the children of Messthetics might tackle The Smiths, then wonder no more:
Their inauguration into playing live was such a blast that I can't wait to see Vital Idles again. Somebody make it happen, please!
Those Old Recordsis a record shop in Rugeley, Staffordshire. They run a mailorder and also a label which has just issued a couple of excellent Emidisc acetates from the 60s (bought from a former Sounds journalist, apparently) on 45 for the first time. "Tangled Web" by Bedford's Spell is a lilting dose of soft psych from the same orbit as The Action's trippier, less overtly soul-influenced material:
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Equally enjoyable is "Train" by John Williams which oscillates between a tightly wound Brit R&B shuffle and looser, more psychedelic structures:
How something so distinctive wasn't deemed worthy of a release at the time is a mystery! Those Old Records have to be commended for allowing the music of John Williams and Spell to finally take its rightful place on 7" vinyl. Sterling stuff.
Had I been home when the postman arrived today I would have struggled not to give him a hug as the parcel he had in his bag for me contained the lp on which this giddy-making slice of British Invasion revival (it's from 1989 not 1965) POP appears:
Now, that's how to open an album! I think it's safe to say that the singer has heard Alex Chilton. If you'd asked me a fortnight ago if I'd ever heard The Event before YouTube's algorithm kindly suggested I give them a whirl, I would have told you unequivocally that I hadn't. I would, of course, have been entirely wrong as a good friend had included them on a compilation for me a few years back. I must have been so snowblind from the avalanche of other great pop songs on that disc to notice it at the time. On first listen "Pop Think In" was only one of a number of tracks on "This Is The Event" to set the pulse racing. "She's Our Girl", in particular, is pop art POP at its best:
Next Sunday the Monorail Film Club is presenting a special screening of Lucy Dawkins' "My Secret World: The Story of Sarah Records" at the Glasgow Film Theatre. Following the screening I (!) will be chairing a Q&A with Clare Wadd who co-ran Sarah Records with Matt Haynes. I've written before of my love for Sarah Records, so it's a great honour to be asked to do it. Last May, I was lucky enough to be able to attend the Sarah Records themed weekender at Bristol's Arnolfini Centre at which the film was premiered. It was a blissful weekend from the film itself, to the exhibition of Sarah Records memorabilia, to the walking tour of Bristol ("Look!...there's There And Back Again Lane!") to the live performances from The Orchids, Secret Shine, The Catenary Wires (Amelia from Heavenly's new group - debut single out NOW on Elefant of Madrid) and the living breathing art exhibit, Julian Henry. It really was, to quote The Sweetest Ache, a heaven scented world for a couple of days.
What a majestic record! Unbelievably, only a b-side, too. Incredible.
There's a Facebook event page here. Here's what I wrote for it:
I was ripe for Clare Wadd and Matt Haynes’s Sarah Records. At the turn of the 90s I was a pretty timid teenager looking for things to help sand-off the rough edges of life. When Sarah released one heart-meltingly beautiful single after another by the likes of The Sea Urchins, The Field Mice, The Orchids, The Wake etc., I was in. Sarah stood out because it proudly celebrated beauty and unashamedly celebrated sensitivity; things which irritated the more laddish element writing for the rock press at the time. They got some savage reviews and were dismissed as “limp-wristed wimp pop”. Professing to a love of Sarah Records was more often than not met with a disparaging sneer. It only made me love them more. Sarah was about more than just music, too. I looked forward to reading Matt and Clare’s writing on the record inserts, fanzines and newsletters almost as much as I did to hearing their new releases; it was so passionate, erudite and slyly funny. Sarah didn’t shy away from the political - check The Wake’s “Major John” and wasn’t ‘Fuck the poll tax!’ etched into the run-out groove on the a-side The Orchids’ “Underneath The Window, Underneath The Sink”? - and it was inclusive: female, male, gay, straight, all were welcomed by Matt and Clare. Like Postcard before it, Sarah produced some wonderful ephemera. There were 5” flexidiscs, the aforementioned newsletters, gorgeous cut and paste fanzines, balloons, the butterfly design Heavenly carrier bag which, inexplicably, got up the noses of the more dunderheaded heavy metal tee wearing types on my university course and so much more. The records consistently looked fabulous, too. When Matt and Clare called it a day in 1995, I was genuinely a bit heartbroken. Happily, however, time has been kind to their uncompromising vision and impeccable taste, what with Lucy’s documentary and a soon to be published book. Even former foe the NME recently proclaimed Sarah to be second best indie label ever. Something which rivals Canadian punks Fucked Up covering Another Sunny Day’s rollicking “Anorak City” in terms of sheer unexpectedness.
Yesterday's Record Store Day at Monorail Music was a blast. As ever, I bought a load of Record Story Day exclusives that I undoubtedly would have bought on any other day of the year: The Liminanas 7", the Hinds/The Parrots split 7", the third archival Half Japanese box, the new Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings 7", Night School's Rose McDowall reissue 12"etc.. I also bought the NF Porter reissue "Keep On Keeping On" / "I Can Only Be Sure" despite its 12.99 asking price because a) the SONGS and b) I'm no Daddy Warbucks so affording the originals is the stuff of delusional daydreams for me. The record I had been looking forward to picking up most, however, was The Wake's subtly shimmying "Clouds Disco" 7". It was a highlight of the cd version of last year's "Testament" compilationbut belongs on 7" vinyl. Caesar's vocals are so gentle and great and those keyboards sway as organically as seaside grass. It's a sweet reminder that The Wake's melodies, heart and uncluttered arrangements are always welcome.
