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Wednesday 28 September 2011

Adorable - Footnotes, A Best Of


I saw Adorable support Curve in 1992 and actually thought they could really go on to be huge... I loved "Sunshine Smile" and still play it nearly 20 years later... I was going to post debut album Against Perfection but instead give you this as the band in all there wisdom decided to leave the best song they had off the UK version of the album.....

Im sure you all have favourite bands that were criminally ignored by the record buying public, but are loved by a cult following (usually you!). Adorable are probably one of those bands if you've never heard them you'll want to know who or what they sound like: Well think Kitchens Of Distinction or House of Love's soaring guitars, wandering - sometimes groovy - bass lines like The Cure or Stone Roses and a passionate singer who sounds a bit like David Gedge. This complilation takes most of the best bits from their two albums - the more guitar heavy feedback drenched Against Perfection and the dissapointing and comparatively timid, Fake.


What Adorable did, was great songs which built up, slowed down and dragged you along in a maelstrom of noise and emotion. Songs like Homeboy moved from rumbling moody bass lines to clattering guitars which sweep me off my feet. That was why, when the 2nd album ditched these extremes of sound, it sounded poorer for it. Also the songs weren't quite there on the 2nd album.So this compilation is patchy, but the highs are so good (Sistine Chapel Ceiling, Glorious, Sunshine Smile...) that it gets 5 Stars. Few bands reached these heights. In my opinion, better than 5:30, even though "abstain" is a fantastic single and maybe not as good as Kitchens Of Distinction - probably the two easiest comparisons. Shoegazing? Similar guitars at times and the ability to write the sort of epics Catherine Wheel did... i liked them , im sure you will too

Sunshine Smile
Glorious
Sistine Chapel Ceiling
Vendetta
A to Fade In
Submarine
Sunburnt
I'll Be Your Saint
Man in a Suitcase
Homeboy
Summerside
Feed Me
Favourite Fallen Idol
Crash Site
Cut #2
Kangaroo Court
Lettergo
Breathless

Badly Drawn Boy - The Hour of the Bewilderbeast


Mercury music prize winner and co-founder of manchester indie record label Twisted Nerve.... not a bad couple of points on the cv

Known by his mum as Damon Gough this album was released in June 2000 , I heard a single from it on the radio this morning and so i thought id post it up for you... the sun was out and today seemed a good day !  

The Shining
Everybody's Stalking
Bewilder
Fall In A River
Camping Next To Water
Stone On The Water
Another Pearl
Body Rap
Once Around The Block
This Song
Bewilderbeast
Magic In The Air
Cause A Rockslide
Pissing In The Wind
Blistered Heart
Disillusion
Say It Again
Epitaph


Monday 26 September 2011

Cosham Community Players Association


proper mint or a bit of a racket ????? 

Paul Groovy and the Pop Art Experience - Lets Crash The Blue Bus



"EXPLODING from the stifiling apathy that is ENGLAND... A band to make your head SPIN...and your feet MOVE... The next projected SOUND of 1987.... PAUL GROOVY & THE POP ART EXPERIENCE! In their short existance they've played with The Prisoners,The Cannibals,The TV Personalities,The Shop Assistants,The Pastels,Mighty Lemon Drops,The Primitives.... There are 4 people in the band.... Paul Groovy-Vocals,Harmonica Steve Clarke-Guitar,backing Vocals Joanne Irwin-Drums Steve Herlihy-Bass







The Family Cat - Peel Sessions


The Family Cat were ace.... just that.... often seen supporting Carter USM and gigging around the UK in the early 90's here is a collection of peel sessions and rare tracks , there is not much info on this but im sure if you hunt around you'll find all you need.... im tired and im playing poker.... enjoy !! 

Scarlet Mist........Sadly Missed

The sad demise of Scarlet Mist - the ethical ticket exchange - represents another victory for the bad guys and leaves concert and festival-goers without a key service they had come to rely on.


The problems of ticket returns, refunds and exchanges are complex and the interests of promoters and fans sometimes conflict. For the promoters, a ticket refund can represent a potential lost sale, hassle and inconvenience. To fans equally, a ticket returns also represent hassle and inconvenience. Box offices are usually unhelpful. The relatively high fees demanded by the websites ‘for real fans’, together with the unwelcome attention of touts and even police at the event, all make it difficult to get refunds, even in part, for spare or unusable tickets.

Scarlet Mist offered a utopian ideal. “We don’t need the Scalpers, Whores or Ticket Touts - we can do this ourselves” was our mantra. Free to use, with a nag screen asking for a charitable donation, it offered the opportunity for the music community to help itself. It cut out the touts and middlemen, directly introducing buyers to sellers with the sole stipulation that tickets be sold at face value or below.

Two thousand users a day logged onto the site, knowledge about which spread largely through a combination of word of mouth, press and blog coverage. Users fell in love with the ethos and karma of the site - it restored their faith in human nature and it represented a blow against cynical profiteers. Even the name of the site - Scarlet Mist - suggested an ethereal warm and mysterious presence, with a hint of anger at the forces of greed.

But in thwarting the evils of the touts, Scarlet Mist fell victim to an even greater evil – the blatant thieves and fraudsters. We started to receive reports from users who had sent money in good faith to a seller, only to find that the supposed seller had disappeared without trace. The stories broke our hearts, as we watched the service that we had developed for the good of the community become invaded by these crooks.

The original intention had been for users to meet one another face-to-face, but the fraudsters demanded payment in advance, usually by bank transfer. We struggled to find a way to protect our ticket-buyers.

We partnered with an escrow company who offered to make the transactions more secure. This involved a fee, on which we took no commission, but many preferred to take the risk rather than pay it.

We maintained a log of the names, addresses and bank details of known fraudsters, which we posted to all buyers, and we posted it on our Myspace blog so that it could be picked up by internet search engines.

We used cookies to block the machines of known fraudsters, and we scanned all the tickets to try and weed out the dodgy ones.

We also put victims in touch with one another so that they could share Crime Reference Numbers and we liaised closely with the police on individual cases. Both the police and the courts are far more interested in regular and persistent offenders than the odd one-offs.

The plain fact is that ticket fraud is just too easy to perpetrate, and the risks of getting caught are too slim. Victims are dissuaded from reporting the crime, and the police are hamstrung by logistical difficulties in proving the intent to defraud. Persistent offenders can reoffend again and again, sometimes not even bothering to change their pseudonym.

The banks who launder the money are truly limp and spineless. A policeman working in a regional CID unit with an interest in these crimes, told me of his frustrations. In one particular case that he had worked on, a fraudster had opened two accounts with the same bank, which he used for taking money for non-existent tickets. Not only did the bank refuse to cooperate with the police, they also allowed him to open a third account in the same name.

Eventually, the pain and misery generated by thieves outweighed the good feeling that Olly and I had from running Scarlet Mist. We never ran it for profit (it barely covered its costs) but we wanted to play our part in helping the community of music lovers that we are a part of. We do not feel able to continue running it whilst our users are put to such risk.

The problems of ticket returns have not gone away. Music fans still need a way of getting refunds on tickets they cannot use. They do not want to make a profit from the sale, but neither do they want to pay exorbitant handling or financial charges. Neither do they want to use websites, such as the AIF Ticket Trust, that solely handle sold-out events to protect the interests of the promoters. I am not sure that these conflicting interests can ever be reconciled. An amicable and workable solution that suits all the parties still remains as elusive as a puff of red mist.

Tuesday 20 September 2011

The Jennifers - Just Got Back Today


The Jennifers or Supergrass as the became a year or so later. Terrific little single which was there only one. I would love to hear any other tracks if anyone has some.... Fans of the Oxford bands Radiohead and RIDE will recognise the sound and should find something to enjoy in this one - the band showed great potential which they then pretty much fulfilled with Supergrass.

Just Got Back Today
Rock And Boulders
Danny's Song
Tomorrows Rain

Monday 19 September 2011

Rocket from The Crypt - Scream Dracula Scream

Rocket From The Crypt played my local venue around the time of this albums release, the played so hard the blew the power! undeterred once the power to the stage was back they played on in the dark and finished the gig....
Scream, Dracula, Scream! is an album by the San Diego, California rock band Rocket from the Crypt, released in 1995 by Interscope Records.It was the band's first major-label release. Music videos were filmed for the singles "On a Rope," "Born in '69" and "Young Livers," and the band embarked on extensive tours of the US, UK and Europe. They experienced a surge of popularity in the UK, where "On a Rope" entered music charts at #12 and was a hit on MTV Europe, earning them rave reviews in New Musical Express and allowing them to play Top of the Pops.
The album also made the band an alternative rock hit in the US, where their videos were featured on MTV and the album received many positive reviews in both mainstream and underground music presses. A large headlining tour in support of the album ensued in 1996, as well as supporting tours with Rancid and Soundgarden. During these tours the band gained a reputation for a series of interesting and, at times, seemingly ludicrous gimmicks and stage antics which included holding raffles during live performances, spinning a large game show wheel to determine set lists, onstage fire breathing, annual Halloween and New Year's shows, and the wearing of coordinated and progressively more ornate stage costumes. In Europe the band also hosted a German variety show, played children's shows and morning shows, and did interviews with fashion magazines. While unorthodox, these antics increased the band's reputation as an energetic live act and helped to increased album sales.
Middle
Born in '69
On a Rope
Young Livers
Drop Out
Used
Ball Lightning
Fat Lip
Suit City
Heater Hands
Misbeaten
Come See, Come Saw
Salt Future
Burnt Alive


Thursday 15 September 2011

Drugstore - Drugstore


After a slew of singles that won praise for their smoky and sweet feelings of Jesus and Mary Chain/Mazzy Star strung-out psych-and-bliss late-night atmosphere, Drugstore went ahead and created an album that lived up to those expectations. But that's a too simplistic comparison in some ways, thanks largely to the inspired singing from bassist Isabel Monteiro. A just-confrontational-enough character in interviews, that quality carries over to her recorded work as well, able to hit aggressive points more than Hope Sandoval ever could and unafraid of not always being cool like the Reid brothers. No trace of her Brazilian accent surfaces -- if anything she sounds like she could be a cross between Patsy Cline and Marianne Faithfull, with all the ability and control that implies. Consider "Alive" as a particularly fine example, her simple conclusion of "I am burning" suiting the circular feedback loop and hint of violin that concludes the track, or the low-key backing vocals overdubs on the hushed "Saturday Sunset." As a group, Drugstore clearly has its inspirations, but the result is thoroughly attractive while retaining a strong sense of individual drama. Guitarist/keyboardist Daron Robinson knows how to crank it up and keep it calm, and while it becomes something of a formula by the end of the disc, it still works very well. Call it a sense of loud/soft dynamics in a different setting, rather than repeating the obvious Pixies/Nirvana conclusions so many other '90s bands ground into the dust. "Favorite Sinner" is a fantastic example of same, with a soft sense of building threat as Chris Isaak-styled reverb twang turns into a slow burning feedback frazz and retreating again before an abrupt ending. "Solitary Party Groover" and the wonderful "Starcrossed" received the most attention due to their appearance as singles, but this whole album is an excellent, quietly enveloping treat... of the current bands around Howling Bells make a similar racket.

Speaker 12
Favourite Sinner
Alive
Solitary Party Groover
If
Devil
Saturday Sunset
Fader
Super Glider
Baby Astrolab
Gravity
Nectarine
Star-Crossed
Accelerate


Monday 12 September 2011

Cosham Community Players Association

No link this time but i wanted to write about Cosham Community Players Association...





What the fuck just happend??.......its not every band you see that leaves you with a sense of disbelief..... Sometimes when you see a band you've never heard of you can forget about them as quick as it takes to order a pint at the bar, sometimes they are as bad as 18 Wheeler (and dont tell me they were good because they were not) sometimes they fill half an hour with tunes and are perfectly agreeable without being future Knebworth headliners......now when i had the good fortune to see CCAP as iv taken to calling them something changed...something was different...id gone to see a mates band, as is often the case, and when CCAP walked onstage to play a drum kit, a black and decker work bench, a bucket (empty at first then filled with water halfway through the set) and a pair of handle bars from a child bike i knew this was going to be special... i wasnt to be disappointed!


The Band, if i can call them that hammered, banged and scratched away at their "instruments" whilst the drummer - complete with tissues hanging out of both ears kept up the furious pace, the tunes melting and punching into a mass of  noise and confusion ...there was no let up , no slow down as this went on for a full 30 mins.. i stood grinning like a fool......eventually the band walked off without a word to the crowd, feedback from broken machines and bust guitar strings strewn everywhere.....Perfect !!



A quick web search didnt really throw up all that much apart from a facebook page, Cosham Community Players Association are worth hunting down



Thursday 8 September 2011

Tiger - We Are Puppets


Tiger sounded and looked out of place in the post-Brit-pop indie-rock world of the late '90s. Older than their peers and possessing utterly no fashion sense, Tiger relied on traditional indie-rock values, cribbing their sound from late-'80s alternative rock groups like the Pixies and the Wedding Present, while lacing it with droning chords borrowed from Stereolab and strong British melodies. We Are Puppets, the group's debut album, is filled with jagged, fuzzy guitars, call-and-response vocals, angular hooks and oddly ingratiating flat vocals. The best songs -- including the roaring singles "shining in the wood", "Race" and "My Puppet Pal" -- bristle with unconventional hooks and pounding rhythms. Tiger likes to make noise and their glee is infectious, even when the noise outweighs the melody.
As an aside the first time i saw Tiger live supporting The Wannadies of all people i couldnt work out which language they were actually singing in for at least the first 4 songs.... fantastic if you ask me, they blagged a spot on the NME tour with 3 colours Red, Symposium and Geneva i think around 1997


My Puppet Pal
Shamed All Over
Race
Bollinger Farm
Storm Injector
Depot
On the Rose
Sorry Monkeys
Cateader Reddle
She's O.K.
Ray Travez
Keep in Touch

Monday 5 September 2011

Capdown - Civil Disobedients


Unite To Progress
Kained But Able
Ska Wars
JNR NBC
Dub No.1
Cousin Cleotis
Positivity
The Neverlution
Headstrong
Deal Real
Bitches And Nike Shoes

Civil Disobedients is the debut album by UK Ska-core band Capdown, released on May 22, 2000 through Household Name Records. It was included in NME magazine's Top 100 Greatest Albums of the Decade list....thats good enough for me to have a listen... you should too !!


Quickspace - Precious Falling


Precious Falling

Death + Annie
Take Away
Mouse
7 Like That
Quickspace Happy Song #2
Hadid
Melo
Minors
Coca Lola
Obvious
Walk Me Home
The Mountain Waltz
Goodbye Precious Mountain



"Quickspace supply new credence to the hoary notion that Sonic Youth tangling with Can’s ‘Mother Sky’ would be the greatest record ever."

Formed in the middle of London in the middle of the nineteen nineties by Tom Cullinan (formally ring leader in The’ Faith Healers) the Quickspace philosophy was hard to place but easy to like. Shunning big money major label offers in favor of setting up their own Kitty Kitty Organisation within the UK, the band issued their first long-player Quickspace late in ’96 which was followed in ’97 by Supospot, a round up of singles and one-offs. Both releases along with their pop-intense live appearances sealed their reputation as a happy force of neat depth in the English independent community. The second full-length Quickspace album, Precious Falling, was released in the UK during the latter half of 1998. Sounding unique on the street, the Quickspace sound is a rush of riff-rattle repetition, heavy bass and pop vocals. Precious Falling is an exploration of mood. The melodies sometimes taste of melancholy and contemplation – "Take Away and the self-explanatory "Minors" are sweetly blue, while the second installment of Quickspace’s laudable campaign for optimism, "Quickspace Happy Song No. 2" illustrates the importance of catchy bleeps in keeping your chin up. The song is then deconstructed and cut up and messed up to produce "Hadid." This post Scratch-Perry production technique is then repeated for "Walk Me Home" which is slightly sinister and slightly cute. Precious Falling then shakes itself down for the epic Morricone mood swings of "Goodbye Precious Mountain" leaving the listener blinking at a new horizon.