Queen Adreena - Drink Me

I saw this band once at the Wedgewood Rooms in Portsmouth, I was a fan of Daisy Chainsaw so thought it would be cool, needless to say it wasn't. The band were pissed/high/both.. not a bad thing of course but it made for an interesting hour or so

Drink Me was released in 2002 album by Queen Adreena. The band had switched labels from Rough Trade to One Little Indian and this album has fallen out of print and has become somewhat of a collector's item to new fans of the band. 

The original British pressing of the album featured a controversial hidden image in the jewel casing. One Little Indian records have stated that there are currently no plans to re-release the album so here you go...

1 - Pretty Like Drugs

2 - Kitty Collar Tight

3 - Siamese Almeida

4 - Razorblade Sky

5 - Sleeping Pill

6 - A Bed of Roses

7 - My Silent Undoing

8 - Desert Lullaby

9 - Under a Floorboard World

10 - Hotel After Show

11 - For I Am the Way

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NME C86 - Compilation

And in the beginning there was C86

C86 is a cassette compilation released by the British music magazine NME in 1986, featuring new bands licensed from British independent record labels of the time. As a term, C86 quickly evolved into shorthand for a guitar-based musical genre characterized by jangling guitars and melodic power pop song structures, although other musical styles were represented on the tape. In its time, it became a pejorative term for its associations with so-called "shambling" (a John Peel-coined description celebrating the self-conscious primitive approach of some of the music) and underachievement. The C86 scene is now recognized as a pivotal moment for independent music in the UK, as is recognized in the subtitle of the compilation's 2006 extended reissue: CD86: 48 Tracks from the Birth of Indie Pop.

The C86 name was a play on the labelling and length of blank compact cassettes - commonly C60, C90 and C120 - combined with 1986.

1. Primal Scream – “Velocity Girl”

2. The Mighty Lemon Drops – “Happy Head”

3. The Soup Dragons – “Pleasantly Surprised”

4. The Wolfhounds – “Feeling So Strange Again”

5. The Bodines – “Therese”

6. Mighty Mighty – “Law”

7. Stump – “Buffalo”

8. Bogshed – “Run to the Temple”

9. A Witness – “Sharpened Sticks”

10. The Pastels – “Breaking Lines”

11. Age of Chance – “From Now On, This Will Be Your God”

Side two

1. The Shop Assistants – “It’s Up to You”

2. Close Lobsters – “Firestation Towers”

3. Miaow – “Sport Most Royal”

4. Half Man Half Biscuit – “I Hate Nerys Hughes (From The Heart)”

5. The Servants – “Transparent”

6. The Mackenzies – “Big Jim (There’s no pubs in Heaven)”

7. Big Flame – “New Way (Quick Wash And Brush Up With Liberation Theology)”

8. Fuzzbox – “Console Me”

9. McCarthy – “Celestial City”

10. The Shrubs – “Bullfighter’s Bones”

11. The Wedding Present – “This Boy Can Wait”

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Whipping Boy - Submarine

Submarine is the debut album by the Irish rock group Whipping Boy, released in July 1992 on the Liquid Records label.The album used shades of early Sonic Youth and Post Punk Rock along with Ian McCulloch vocal styles in places. Blending music stylings of My Bloody Valentine and The Loop with same kind of drone rock as Spacemen 3.

Safari
Beatle
Sushi
Favourite Sister
Astronaut Blues
Bettyclean
Buffalo
Snow
Valentine 69
Submarine

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Twelve - Live in Brixton

go check out the bandcamp page for more top class krautrock inspired lunacy!

Paris Angels - Eclipse

23 years in the making...

Cast - All Change

Following the demise of The La's (some would call it self-destruction) John Power dusted himself off and formed Cast.. As with the majority of bands who emerged during the Britpop era Cast hark back to the Sixties of the Merseybeat, Carnaby Street, Haight-Astbury, Greenwich Village and Woodstock. They take a pinch of this and a taste of that, add a small amount of originality and, hey presto, a guarantee of a hit in an environment that saw the record buying public almost totally ignorant of their musical sources. In some respects it's easy to understand why Cast are Britpop's perennial whipping boys. The lyrics are as simple as a nursery reading book, the rhythms never raise themselves above a constant jogging pace and the guitars are strummed using only the basic of chords.

Fresh from the La's John Power turned front man and put together a group for his songs and frankly i'm glad he did. Pure pop riffs that grab you by the accompanied by storming guitar work and tunes that many an inferior but more successful bands would die for..If John Power had had a loudmouth, attention seeking brother with a big voice, Cast might have been hailed as the best band since The Beatles? All Change showcased John Power to be one of the best songwriters of the 90's. Power had served his musical apprenticeship under the now legendary Lee Mavers while bass player for The La's. however although Cast could match their contemporaries in songwriting one thing they couldn't match Blur, Oasis etc in was newspaper column inches. This was probably due to the fact that Power was never the kind of frontman that could captivate an audience but more came across as a guitarist playing rhythm guitar.

The story goes that despite not having a ticket to an Oasis gig at a Liverpool venue John Power convinced the club owner to let him in to meet the band. John Power found that Noel Gallagher was a huge fan of The La's (he has in fact stated that Oasis' goal as a band was to complete what the La's had started) and after playing a copy of Cast's demo tape the Gallagher brothers asked him to support the band on a forthcoming tour along with Shed Seven. It was during this tour that Polydor showed their interest in signing the band, which the band duly accepted. Their first single "Finetime", released at the height of the Britpop movement in 1995, proved a successful debut. This success was followed up by "Alright" showcasing a distinctive sound very similar to The La's. But when the band then released their debut album All Change it showcased a more diverse range of music than the two singles: psychedelic rock, guitar-tapping, heavier power-chord based songs, and slow-paced ballad songs. This album would produce three top ten hits for the band in "Sandstorm" (#8) "Walkaway" (#9)."Alright" (#13). The album shot to #7 in the UK, and went platinum. But the band never achieved anything else but attaining cult status. A stand-alone single was released in titled "Flying",(#4) which filled the void between the band's debut All Change and their follow-up Mother Nature Calls. ".

This is a nice little up beat album for lazy summer afternoons, its not a classic because there are too many fillers on the album but after one listen the songs that shine (The singles) will irritating stay in your head for days. If John Power was a more dynamic front man these guys could have been huge. Along with Shed Seven they are however undeservedly one of the lesser acclaimed bands of the era who have some how disappeared into musical obscurity.

Alright

Promised Land

Sandstorm

Mankind

Tell It Like It Is

Four Walls

Finetime

Back of My Mind

Walkaway

Reflections

History

Two of a Kind

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Swervedriver - Ejector Seat Reservation

Creation Records released Ejector Seat Reservation in April 1995 and then dropped the band one week later. A Japanese version was sold in Canada in 1995. Early UK promo pressings featuring additional track "It's All Happening Now" were withdrawn (given away to fan club members) after permission was denied to use lyrics lifted from Bob Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue". Ejector Seat Reservation was never officially released in the U.S., though it was reissued on CD in 2003 by Sony International. It received little to no record company support and ended up being their poorest-selling album. This began a protracted period of record label problems for the band.


Swervedriver emerged in the indie band boom of the late '80s and early '90s that spawned the likes of Ride and The Boo Radleys (both eventual fellow Creation acts). This was a time when dodgy haircuts and FX pedals held sway and Swervedriver were pretty keen on both. I have fond memories of being introduced to the early single 'Son Of Mustang Ford' by an indie-loving friend of mine. Their first album (Raise) was FX heavy and the second, Mezcal Head, was much the same: quite heavy on the guitars and psychedelic shapes. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing, my biggest criticism probably being that the album as a whole lacks the quality of the best tracks ('Duel', 'Last Train To Satansville' and 'A Change Is Gonna Come').
That was set right with this album though, and in my humble opinion, the result of something of a classic. From the pretty, cinematic curio that opens the album ('Single Finger Salute') to the final Beatles-on-heavy-chemicals hidden track, 'Burning Heart', this is a great piece of work.

There was always the aforementioned psychedelic slant to Swervedriver's music, but this really seems like the album where they fully indulged their kaleidoscopic musical vision. The production of the album is quite sympathetic, possibly surprisingly so given that it's by Alan Moulder - indie producer of choice circa 1991 - a man responsible for some pretty dour sounding music. Here though, he gets the best from pretty songs like 'Bubbling Up', allowing the band's swirling psychedelia to take the song away from its more conventionally poppy structure. The title track itself is a more straightforward affair: a relatively simple rhythm propelling it along with a chirpy guitar part giving it an uplifting melody to accompany the droll, stream-of-consciousness lyrics. Not quite rock, not quite pop, not quite full-blown psychedelia, it's one of the best things they ever did.

There are plenty of other highlights: the shuffling pop/rock of 'The Other Jesus', the dry cynicism of 'I Am Superman' and the lovely melancholy of 'Last Day On Earth', a song that combines gentle beauty and grace with epic rock grandeur. It's the sound of a band on top of their game. But then, the whole album gives that feeling. It's still heavy on the guitars and FX pedals, but the touch is lighter, yet more assured, than on previous albums, making for a prettier record, but one that hasn't lost the sense of the band's essential identity.

This album came out in 1995, the same year as The Bends by Radiohead, an acknowledged classic. Ejector Seat Reservation doesn't suffer by comparison. It's an accomplished record, and if you like The Bends then there's every chance you'll like this too. And if you enjoyed the work of The Boo Radleys or The House Of Love, or even the earlier Pink Floyd, then you should really enjoy this.
If you want something a little different but packed with quality and interesting twists, you should give this a go.


Single Finger Salute
Bring Me The Head Of The Fortune Teller
The Other Jesus
Son Of Jaguar 'E'
I Am Superman
Bubbling Up
Ejector Seat Reservation
How Does It Feel To Look Like Candy?
Last Day On Earth
The Birds
Plan 7 Star Satellite 10
Silence
Flaming Heart

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The KLF -The White Room

The KLF. The Ancients of MuMu. The JAMMMs. Whatever you wish to call them or they wish to call themselves it does not matter.

What can I say about this album that hasn’t already been said a hundred times over by a hundred other bloggers before me? It’s the most punk rock rave record ever conceived. The whole concept behind the album and what they did with the money as an artistic/philosophical/political statement is just unprecedented and no one has come even remotely close to doing anything so ambitious or absurd since.

For those that aren’t aware, the idea was to systematically create a hit record (which they succeeded in doing, and Bill Drummond even wrote a manifesto of sorts on how to do it entitled, simply, “The Manual”), then burn all of the money they made off of its record sales in a fire and video tape the event, which subsequently became a short film/documentary entitled “The KLF Burn a Million Quid.” Its pure fucking genius and not only that but the most ballsy statement anyone could possibly consider making – and they made it.

Most importantly, beyond all of this, the album itself is fantastic. They picked a genre that was popular during a certain period of time and just hit the ball out of the park. The quality of the craftsmanship on The White Room surpasses any other early 90s techno/house release by a mile. They essentially copycatted their peers and did so much better than the “real” acts in doing so. You can put this album on and jam out to some truly awesome electronic music, with undertones (such as “Build a Fire”) that hint at the purpose behind it, making it that more of a piece of art work. So, in the end, you’re not just listening to a singular recording of a collection of songs, rather, something much grander in scope.

Bill Drummond has since said publicly that he somewhat regrets burning the money (which wasn’t a petty amount), and that is kind of saddening because it sort of takes away from the powerful nature of the act. However, despite potential regrets, they did something truly remarkable and unique that has yet to be surpassed, and that’s the important part. They just did it; something 99% of the world’s population would deem stupid or crazy, and they had a valid reason for doing it. I personally think it’s one of the biggest "fuck you’s" to global capitalism that’s ever been given and for that alone the record is a must own. But like I said, it’s a damn fine record to boot. If you don’t have this in your collection, I mean it – no ifs, ands, or buts – go get it. This album will one day be recognized as one of the greatest works of art in modern music. Until then, enjoy it on the many levels it was meant to be enjoyed: as an album consisting of 9 songs, lasting just over 44 minutes; but also, as something more, something grandiose and monumental


What Time Is Love?
Make It Rain
3 a.m. Eternal" (Live at the S.S.L.)
Church of the KLF
Last Train to Trancentral" (Live from the Lost Continent) (LP Mix)
Build a Fire
The White Room
No More Tears
Justified and Ancient

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Dead Links and Stuff

Troops....

Firstly many thanks for stopping by my blog, whether you got here by a search for one of the many fine bands mentioned here or you are a regular visitor I thank you one and the same. Come one , come all as they say.  2013 is going to be a slow year... busy with life and the sh**e it throws at you and all that

No doubt as you are aware the music plod are trying to catch up with all this internet malarky, something they should have done 15 years ago im sure but hey... .that's not our look out is it. All of which means (cutting to the chase) is that links to saved music get deleted.

I know you buy the tunes, i buy the tunes, we all buy the tunes.... as the pre mentioned plod have no idea how all this works they do what they do, shout loudest without any thought and hey presto... the fun stops. I know for a fact without blogs like this i wouldn't have been in my local record store buying an old comet gain  record at the weekend , "the gettin' ready EP" if you are interested by the way.

All that really means if the link is still up enjoy the music, support the bands and BUY MUSIC , specifically from your local independent retailer !!

il still be writing random stuff here when i get chance, 

Keep the faith! 

2012 and all that...

So like a really important blog and that we come the the eat junk end of year awards! 

Im going for my top 3 gigs of the year in no particular order...... 

1. CARTER USM at Brixton Acadamy Nov 2012

Sheer unadulterated joy. Words can't explain how good Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine were this year, I won't even try to begin to tell you,  suffice to say if that was the end then it was exactly how all endings should be.... Loud and utterly glorious ! 

2. STONE ROSES at Heaton Park June 2012

Well we waited 16 years.... fuck me it was worth it. 

Iv'e never felt so excited, or felt an atmosphere of excitement like it before. it was only 4 blokes on stage but wow, when mani's bass kicked off adored i don't care where else on earth i have been or where else i could have been, right there at that time all i needed was happening around me. it was perfect in every way.

and that will do , there were plenty of other gigs but thinking about putting them in any sort of list is giving me a headache....  and all top 3's are shite yea...

Neds Atomic Dustbin were incredibly good, nearly as good as carter actually!!

Reverend and the Makers weren't shite... which was a surprise

Pop will Eat Itself were noisy and pretty special

The Wonder Stuff never fail me and never will

Hadouken were bonkers, im too old!

Happy Mondays were on form and Shaun was sober!

Inspiral Carpets went back to there old singer and were better for it

Primal Scream roped in Debbie from MBV. proper proper good

The Vaccines ripped off the Libertines

Martin Rossitor released the album of the year and played one of the great gigs

and iv missed loads but hey I can't go on all night , some were good some were great , others were average, 

Support Live Music yea!! 

Spearmint - A week Away

Fronted by the somewhat unfortunately named Shirley Lee, Spearmint are one of the few truly "indie" bands, sorting out the producing and designing for themselves. 

This lends their first proper album a pleasing quality that is half slapdash schoolboy enthusiasm, half obstinate loner spirit. The heavy Motown and Northern Soul influences hinted at in the first two tracks burst out all over the exuberant "Sweeping The Nation", a tribute to all the bands who never made it. 

The lyrics are pure look-on-the-bright-side philosophy, although this doesn't stop a couple of more melancholy gems from sneaking in (the sweet "A Third Of My Life" and the ambitious "You Are Still My Brother"). Shamelessly stealing from the Style Council and even New Order in places, and throwing in the occasional obscenity (skip "Start Again" if you're easily offended)

Spearmint are sometimes haphazard but always endearing.

Week Away

Isn't It Great To Be Alive

Sweeping The Nation

Third Of My Life

We're Going Out

Start Again

Best Ballroom

You Carry This With You

Trip Into Space

It Won't Be Long Now

Making You Laugh

You Are Still My Brother

Saturday

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Mega city Four - Tranzophobia

This 1989 debut album release from Farnborough's (that's the Hampshire one) finest, Mega City Four, is a magnificently vibrant slice of post-punk. Sound-wise, the band (for me, at least) have definite echoes of some of the finest punk (OK, those with more of a pop edge) bands, namely, The Undertones, Stiff Little Fingers and (even at times) The Ramones. As with a good deal of music from the punk era (and its immediate aftermath) Mega City Four's sound admittedly has relatively little variation, but, of course, The Ramones' early material dispelled any notion that this was a requirement for musical invigoration and/or excellence. What the MC4 (as distinct from the MC5, I guess) did have, however, was a tight rhythm section overlain with Danny Brown's pulsating guitar and brother Darren's (known as Wiz and sadly deceased in 2006) soaring vocal, delivering a series of unadulterated, infectious pop songs.

First up, there are no weak songs on Tranzophobia, pretty much everything has a memorable hook. Subject-wise, the songs deal with the common (punk/indie) music themes of youth angst and rebellion, disillusion with authority and failed relationships. My album favourites would certainly include Paper Tiger, a story of parental rejection penned to possibly the most exquisite melody on the album, Things I Never Said (with its Jimmy, Jimmy-like opening), the classic tale of youth and political disaffection, Occupation, the most overtly political song here about the troubles in Northern Ireland, and Alternative Arrangements, with its infectious (off-)beat and tale of shattered romantic illusions. But, of course, the album standout has to be that tale of youthful realisation, the rollercoaster that is Severe Attack Of The Truth, with its initial battle cry of, 'Stop your grinning and drop your linen'. Marvellous stuff.

Start

Pride And Prejudice

Severe Attack Of The Truth

Paper Tiger

January

Twenty One Again

On Another Planet

Things I Never Said

New Years Day

Occupation

Alternative Arrangements

Promise

What You've Got

Stupid Way To Die

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Keep The Faith

Keep The Faith

Eat Junk is literally moving house, that's like in the real world not moving URL ! 

in the meantime enjoy the Neds

Cud - Elvis Belt

Carter USM kick off a trio of gigs tonight and Eat Junk will be going to the London date as usual on Saturday.. First on the bill at Brixton are Cud, followed by Neds Atomic Dustbin, not bad for the price of one ticket I think you will agree

Originally released in 1990 on Imaginary Records, Elvis Belt was a compilation that gathered all of the Leeds-based band Cud's songs that preceded their first proper album, 1989's When in Rome, Kill Me. Gathering singles dating back to 1987's "Slack Time" with a pair of previously un issued tracks and Cud's contributions to a pair of Imaginary Records' trademark tribute albums (the Kinks' "Lola" and the Bonzo Dog Band's "I'm the Urban Spaceman," both flattened out and speeded up into near oblivion), Elvis Belt showcases the band's sardonic sense of humour and punk-derived D.I.Y. scrappiness in its earliest and crudest forms. By the time of When in Rome, Kill Me, the band had matured a bit lyrically and gained considerably more polish musically.

Slack Time
Make No Bones
Treat Me Bad
Punishment-Reward Relationship
Under My Hat
Lola
Urban Spaceman
Art!
You're The Boss
Only (A Prawn In Whitby)
Hey!Wire (The Stratospheric Mix)
I've Had It With Blondes

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Marion - The Program

An album that was deserving of far greater plaudits. Marion's break up album , released almost without promotion or any great sentiment at the back end of 1998. Produced by former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr the album failed to chart in the UK,( i know thats not always the greatest indication of greatness) but the album did deserve to be listened to by a few more people than it actually did!

Iv blogged elsewhere about the band being back together , lets hope they come back with a killer record and some live gigs

The Smile

Miyako Hideaway (Full Length Mix)

Sparkle

Is That So?

What Are We Waiting For?

Strangers

The Powder Room Plan

The Program

All Of These Days

Comeback

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Stone Roses - 2013

We are all having it yea?? 

For some reason im more relaxed about getting a ticket this year, maybe the 16 year wait meant 2012 was always going to be a massive event with a massive build up, the day came and went in a blur but was truly immense.... I think i'l actually enjoy this year a little bit more.. 

now all we need is a smith re-union right ?

Ooberman - The Magic Treehouse

I had briefly heard of Ooberman in the mid 90's through the single Shorley Wall, I had passed them off as some scouse wierdo's... i shouldn't have been so hasty as this there debut album proves.

 From the opening track to the hidden delights at the end of Silver planet, Ooberman have managed to lay down life, love and all those things that keep the mind young in a 14 track musical treat. Special mention goes to the following tracks, which are a 'must listen' for anyone who has ever loved and been loved by someone special; Track 11) Amazing in Bed & 12) Shorley Wall. The latter was the first track to bring me to the attention of Ooberman and no doubt was for many others too. Further listening confirmed this band have what many other bands have lost..."The desire to write music on what truly matters in life after all the layers of corporate varnish have been stripped away. 'Sur la Plage' gives us the wonderful vocals of Sophia as does 'Shorley Wall', together with the kicking base line in 'Bees' and 'Sugar Bum' gives this album depth and variation as well as melodic menageries such as 'Roll me in Cotton' and 'Roro Blue'.

The whole album is a wonderful mix of musical enlightenment and honest lyrics, which leaves the listener feeling young again and with the feeling they have just discovered something very special. No record collection is complete without it.

Million Suns

Blossoms Falling

Sur La Plage

Roro Blue

Tears From A Willow

Bees

Sugar Bum

Roll Me In Cotton

Physics Disco

Magic Treehouse

Amazing In Bed

My Baby's Too Tall & Thin

Shorley Wall

Silver Planet

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Wire - Pink flag

Like other punk bands Wire strived to re-focus rock from it's growing excesses, but they took that aesthetic a step further. Unlike other artists Wire's aim wasn't a return to rock's roots, but minimalism. Wire didn't approach music as a rock band, but as an art experiment. On Pink Flag, Wire eliminate every extraneous element resulting pure, angular music. While not musically accomplished (in fact, the band members admit they were barely competent technically), Pink Flag contains an astounding variety and depth of creative ideas.

While other punk bands (The Clash, The Sex Pistols, The Ramones, etc.) acheived notoriety with genuine angst and shock, Wire distinguished themselves through unpredictabilty and vocalist Colin Newman's sly, oft acerbic wit (while oft incomprehensible, he's always compelling). In a sense it seems Wire's limited musicianship actually works to their advantage; since they have limited tools the band is forced to rely soley on ideas and chemistry. The 21 songs on Pink Flag rarely exceed three minutes (most are 1-2 min in duration) and rarely conform to any standard notions of song structure.

With titles like "Field Day for the Sundays", "Three Girl Rhumba", "Ex Lion Tamer", and "Mannequin", many understandably view the songs as minimalist paintings tranformed into music. Arty as Wire can be at times, they're anything but pretentious. Pithy and snobbish as Wire might seem, Pink Flag is remarkably entertaining; it's intense, wryly witty, and at times undeniably funny. Wire's breadth of ideas is remarkable; they cover ground which includes proto-hardcore ("106 Beats That", "Different to Me"), tweaked power-pop ("Reuters", "Champs"), power-blues ("Lowdown"), and even spare texture experiments ("Strange"). "Mr. Suit" is the only marginal track... and it's still pretty enjoyable.

Some have argued that Pink Flag's songs are only fragments, but close analysis reveals Wire's brilliance; each song serves to convey it's ideas as expediently as possible and once this objective is reached it ends immediately. In his Rollingstone review Greil Marcus remarked about the lack of personality on Pink Flag ("You hear cleverness, wit, irony, but not personality."). While this might be accurate the lack of intimacy isn't a problem in the musical context and actually coincides well with Wire's aesthetic . One of the many things that makes Pink Flag unique is it's combination of emotional intensity and vaguely arty distance (which eventually became dominant in their later work). Wire's somewhat impersonal approach also makes Pink Flag transcendent; unlike many late 70s punk bands who focused on the sociopolitical climate, Pink Flag's more esoteric themes (both musical and lyrical) make it vital and relevant 25 years after it's release.

Pink Flag is proudly touted as a profound influence by artists as diverse as Big Black, Sonic Youth, The Minutemen, Elastica ...and REM (who covered a more straight-forward version of "Strange" on their album Document). Wire would later make other ambitious and noteworthy albums (most notably "Chairs Missing" and "154"), but never made another as seminal, ageless, and visionary as Pink Flag.

Reuters

Field Day For The Sundays

Three Girl Rhumba

Ex Lion Tamer

Lowdown

Start To Move

Brazil

It's So Obvious

Surgeon's Girl

Pink Flag

The Commercial

Straight Line

106 Beats That

Mr. Suit

Strange

Fragile

Mannequin

Different To Me

Champs

Feeling Called Love

1 2 X U

Options R

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MC Tunes - The North At Its Heights

MC Tunes.....or Nicholas Lockett to his mum!!

 A genre-defining, time-defining album. Brought to everyone's attention by the synonymous track The Only Rhyme That Bites, listeners to the album were confronted with what can only be described as a blistering assault of hip-hop/rap and gritty reality.

Drugs, death, hard times, politics... all were given vicious-yet-poetic treatment, and all tracks leave such an impression at the time, that each will be forever embedded in your memory. The stark and brutal depiction that is My Own Worst Enemy might be the track that lives longest, though. Even more so than the popular and brilliant chart single tracks (T.O.R.T.B and Tunes Splits The Atom). The depth of feeling in his vocal performances are more than equalled by the song-writing and lyricism. 808 State provided the beats in their trademark understated brilliant fashion.

The Only Rhyme That Bites

This Ain’t No Fantasy

Dance Yourself To Death

Own Worst Enemy

The North At Its Heights

Tunes Splits The Atom

Mancunian Blues

The Sequel

Primary Rhyming

Dub At Its Heights

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Lowgold - Just Backward Of Square

Few debut albums sound as lived-in as Lowgold's Just Backward Of Square, which has a depth of thought, a wealth of experience and an aching that most acts take decades to find. 

As it is, the four--who sound like they are straight out of America's Midwest but come from Poole, St Albans and South London--got it just-so first time round. By rights, their sombre road movie rock should be both demoralising and depressing; certainly, there's very little to smile about in lyrics like "make the most of today/for beauty dies young" ("Beauty Dies Young") and "my lungs may be bleeding/so I breathe in mercury/decay" ("Mercury"). But there's also a hint of hope and a glint of optimism in Darren Ford's voice as he sings these songs of introspection, and a positive and reassuring power to the dragging guitars and plodding bass. 

That there is hope in the darkest tunes is where the maturity and magic of Just Backward Of Square lies. 

Golden Ratio

Beauty Dies Young

Mercury

Out Of Reach

Back Here Again

Counterfeit

Never Alone

In Amber

Open The Airwaves

Less I Offer

Into The Void

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