A couple of weekends ago Leeds group
City Yelps inaugurated the
7th Annual Nottingham Pop Alldayer at The Maze and they were utterly glorious. Within minutes I was sold on their sparky fusion of the inspirational 70s pop of the
Swell Maps/
Modern Lovers with
Parquet Courts-style 2000s DIY. A poster above the merch table advertising their self-released
“Cheap Psych” tape – only 3 quid! - proudly boasted of
“10 Songs, 2 Chords”. Only a fool would resist.
Across a remarkably consistent set of songs there's a cascade of instantly lovable guitar lines, vocals caked in rodeo announcer Tannoy reverb and a raft of drums battered with glee (see opener, “Psych On The Cheap”)
. The final song,
“Veterinary Centre”, is maybe my favourite of the bunch; a great live cut with the winning feel of a
VU Quine tape, its ominous intro suggesting something cataclysmic to follow:
City Yelps' submission for the
Odd Box Singles Club (Vol. 2 #4) was released in August and is also well worth firing up Paypal for.
Hehe, "Psych on the Cheap", self-described "shit-gaze" band. They don't facebook or tweet, but instead make raw 80s fanzine-style newsletters. Rehearsal hall cassettes, a 7" as raw as can be but suggesting greatness. Song titles revealing a wicked sense of humour. It's debatable whether they even aspire to things like a proper recording studio, producer, multiple takes etc. Interesting group, I bought the 7" but don't know what to make of it.
ReplyDelete*How would you describe your music?
SA: Like a shitty Go-Betweens.
G: Shitgaze.
*I would never have got that. I wouldn’t have got that influence at all.
SA: In my head we’re like The Go Betweens. But to the crowd it sounds like, I dunno, shitty.
-- Interview in ‘Don’t Split It’ # 3, quoted in The City Yelps Newsletter, June 2013.
http://stereosanctity.blogspot.ca/2013/10/city-yelps-vetinary-centre-ep-oddbox.html
Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan for all of the above and I knew they'd be compelling live.
ReplyDeleteJings...I don't hear much Go-Betweens in their music! Glad to hear you bought the 7" :)
ReplyDeletecheers, brogues