Pop banger #1: "Caterpillar"

German (Berlin) group Laura Lee & The Jettes landed in Not Unloved's pop orbit via BBC 6Music a bit back. Adult life then conspired to ensure that only a hefty session of hypnotic regression could conceivably bring back the memory of them. Roll on a few months and Gideon Coe, also on 6Music, played the glorious "Caterpillar" from their imminent "Wasteland" lp (out December, 3rd 2021). If anything their second first impression was even better than their first. It's fabulous post-Stereolab propulsive pop with periodic effervescent starbursts:

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!)

Anjo Gabriel

Today's highight? Easy. It was hearing Dom La Nena's "Anjo Gabriel" for the first time.

It's all about the voice and the simple, beautiful piano line.  I've Gideon Coe to thank for hearing it and I've The Pastels to thank for being tuned-in to his show when it aired through their tweeting that Swell Maps were being played on it 'right now!' earlier in the evening.  If I'm being 100% honest, I'd rather that Dom La Nena's was the sole voice so that it was hers which was heard last but that's a minor gripe and won't prevent me from thinking of the song fondly and wanting to hear it again and again.  I bet if she teamed up with Francois and The Atlas Mountains the results would be sublime.

Pet Cat

These days, I forget more than I remember.  Listening to Gideon Coe's show to hear Stephen Pastel talking about the new Pastels record, I was reminded that I'd resolved to seek out the group Pet Cat who Gideon played a week or two ago; the song "Puppet", I think.  They're one of the most promising noisy guitar pop bands to chafe my ears since, say, Sweet Bulbs or possibly the Ringo Deathstarr of "Rip".  Just listen to the way "Dreams" picks up momentum over time, getting ever more exhilarating as it goes:

Their debut physical release is a cassette (plus download, of course!) limited to a paltry 50 copies. Best get in there quick!  Part of me wants to hold off, however, in the hope that these songs find a home on vinyl where they'd prosper and grow.  At 9 minutes and 16 seconds, the title track, "Wires", demonstrates that they can produce compelling long-form pieces that are dynamic and varied enough to hold the interest.  It's to Gideon Coe's credit that a bunch of noisy young pretenders can send him an unsolicited tape of songs recorded in a day, receive a fair listen and find themselves blasting out over the airwaves without having a PR machine behind them.  It's how radio should be but so seldom is.  Public service broadcasting at its best, I'd say!

Keel Her "Enid Coleslaw"

Sometimes the great stuff is right under your nose and you just don't realise it.  The always ahead-of-the-race Did Not Chart posted about Keel Her a few weeks ago and I read and listened.  Only I didn't listen enough.  If I had, I would've heard the maddeningly brilliant "Enid Coleslaw" before now.  It was only when Sea Pinks included it on their astute little half hour mix for Tom Ravenscroft on BBC6 Music that I really sat up and took notice of Keel Her. Or, more accurately, nearly choked on my Halls Soother (cherry) and drowned in the bath and took notice of Keel Her.  Singing "You're living in a ghost world" in an airy  manner reminiscent of Lush's Miki Berenyi was always going to endear Rose Keeler-Schäffeler to Not Unloved but playing the perfect guitar solo with almost perceptible tongue poking out in concentration could only ever result in heart-flipped true love.  "Enid Coleslaw" was nonchalantly tucked away at track 5 of 6 on the "Emmanuel e.p." cassette/download.  I'm glad Sea Pinks were paying attention.