SINGLES
ROBERT FORSTER - Tender Years (Tapete)
by Jay Lewis
Robert Forster wrote 'Tender Years' as a tribute to his wife after she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer last year and, as you'd expect from him, it's sincere, sometimes heartrending, and sometimes quirkily amusing ('Heidelberg is a German city/By a river - very pretty'). She is now making a full recovery and has even been strong enough to co-direct the video with him. Never has making breakfast seemed so endearing.
For those of you with long-standing partners, even those who don't know anything about Robert or the Go-Betweens, play them this. Time is a precious thing.
THE GO! TEAM - Whammy O (Memphis Industries)
by Tim London
It’s always a joy to watch a Go! vide-o! This example is a pure vision of flicking stations in a 1980s motel room in Wisconsin. The sounds are what Jungle sanitised and The Go! Team patented, cute young woman rapping in a non-sexualploitation style, samples of funky American kid’s TV show themes and forgotten police dramas over a lively beat. They’ve got a tour coming up in March - I saw them once at a freshers night and they were the second most treble band my ears ever suffered, battling with the screams of puking students. Somehow very appropriate.
NUHA RUBY RA - Self Portraiture (Brace Yourself Recs)
by Tim London
Didn’t think I was ready for another spoken-word, RP accented, female performer being bored over post-punk but turns out it’s possible to go deeper and this track becomes… genuinely interesting and makes me want to jiggle both my buttocks whilst I sit trying to synchronise blinks with her heavily strobed promotional video.
LISA O'NEILL - Old Note (Rough Trade)
by Ancient Champion
Lisa O'Neill's Old Note is a rare, very rare, and beautiful thing. Maybe for me in my Irish-ness, too evocative, too painful to dare to connect to too directly. Maybe hearing an Irish dialect on a record is an emotional thing. Breathtaking and breathtakingly beautiful. Richly fascinating and taught and ambitious instrumentation underpins her voice. Is Lisa O'Neill the greatest right now? Yeah, easily. This is not your parents Irish folk music. But it might make you think about your parents and the ol' country. I'm sentimental while this recording is not at all. Old Note taken from her February Rough Trade LP All Of This Is Chance, her first since 2018s highly acclaimed Heard a Long Gone Song. All Of This Is Chance is one thing to look forward to in 2023. Making genius sound easy.
RANE - The Light Within My Heart (Indie)
by Tim Sparks
I like these guys, and this song is a bit special as its been done solely to raise awareness and funds for the Marie Curie UK for their Annual Light remembrance. Kicking off with a nice laid back acoustic guitar with a haunting riff hovering above, then the vocal talents of Kerry Raspberry and Laura Turner carry the lyrics in and out of verse and chorus keeping our attention all the way. The song writing and musicians have done great job of this, with a solid professional production to match, everyone should be very proud of it. Further ingredients from Jack Murphy, Damian Carruthers plus others, I suggest you check this out.
ELI SMART - See Through (Polydor)
by Tim London
Eli should have been on Mogadon (like the rest of us) whilst listening to There’s A Riot Going On but he’s obviously a bouncy puppy type and was probably sipping margaritas whilst cooking something healthy and thought it was a good idea to use Sly Stone’s claustrophobic vibe in a basic positive way whilst he came up with this muffled chugging ditty.
TROPICAL F*CK STORM - The Golden ratio (Joyful Noise)
by Tim London
Fuck maths. I think you could dance to this, even if your ears are getting beat up. The bass line is the one that Paul Simonon lost in his paint box. The guitars refuse to be fenced in, rambling, drunken bar room notes arguing at cross purposes with the singing. Drums squeezed into an over-full suitcase full of flannel. It’s almost perfect.
RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS - The Shape I'm Taking (Warner Records)
ZERO s
by Spanish Pantalones
Masturbatory guitar shredding, compressed vocals, unimaginative video, hippy-dippy lyrics -- this band must hate its fans.
WORK MONEY DEATH - Freedom As A Heartfelt Song (ATA Records)
by Ancient Champion
Weighing in at a shade over ten minutes I suspect that Work Money Death's Freedom As A Heartfelt Song is the heavyweight champ this week. Taken from the new LP, Thought, Action, Reaction, Interaction. Freedom as a Heartfelt Song is joyously driven. As relentless as it is relentlessly musical and melodic. It just keeps on pushing and pushing right through to the end. Tony Burkill's Tenor Saxophone. Well really, his lungs are out of this world. Wouldn't fancy facing up to him on a park run. You know, if you can only afford one jazzy record this year Thought, Action, Reaction, Interaction has to be it. If you only have ten minutes left to live, forget your friends and family's bedside blandishments, plug in the cans, look ahead to your freedom, Freedom As A Heartfelt Song.
LASZLO GARDONY - Irrepressible (from Close Connection) (Sunnyside Records )
by Toon Traveller
Fairly standard opening piano driven, simple reoccurring themes, skipping refrain, almost waltzes, throughout. The drums pulls the whole together, filling the spaces of otherwise piano dominance. Lovely acoustic bass break. The whole thing, delightfully played, with verve and poise, mixed in a simple tune, repeated pleasing motif, really liked the piece, love to see them live.
JOE RAINEY - Once The Reaper (Psychic Hotline)
by Toon Traveller
SILKE BERLINN - Ball and Chain (Code 213 Records)
by Toon Traveller
Parading around in a Velvets t-shirt, gawd rebel pose. But Silke has a good voice in lower registers, better than the band, but when it comes to power vocals she's not there, a bit ragged. Social Distortion's Ball and Chain of course is one of the most astonishingly great rocknroll anthems of all time. It's tough to top Mike Ness and co. And really is it advisable to try? In some respects this cover, with the band members all shuffling their weight from foot to foot like they're a punk rock wedding band, well... That the song skips along may go down well on Stateside superannuated rock radio stations. They probably rock out harder on their own stuff without looking weak by comparison to Social D. Who doesn't. Those boys are men. I'm reminded of a rocky Kim Carnes.
TAO BOBBY - Nyagblodi ft Simon Grab (LavaLava Records)
ZERO s
by Toon Traveller
Dear oh dear, take Lou Reed's feedback album Metal Machine Music, speed up to 45rpm, sample and spice, throw in some 'sore throat' vocals. You too can make this song. No hearts, just a pained anger at lifes wasted minutes.
CAITY BASER - Kiss You (EMI)
ZERO s
by Tim London
The male model in the video looks wellll embad, bro. For good reason, this is worse than when I got my first paper cut. And that smarted. Like being shafted up the ass with a dry popsicle. If popsicles can be dry. Obvs, it would melt once it’s up there. No? OK, well what else is penis shaped and made from sugar and chemicals and lurid food colouring? This song? No, it’s not that good.
WHOSE RULES - Somber (Under the Radar)
by Toon Traveller
Norwegian producer Marius Elfstedt, aka Whose Rules, single Somber sorta reminded of The Stone Roses. It's got that late 80s, '2nd Summer of love' sound and a great refrain driving the song. There's those far away sounds of The Charlatans, and the rest of the Madchester lot, and I love. But it's the guitar, heavily distorted, not so much a hook, more a supertanker's anchor smashing into the waves, that's the stand out.The more I hear the more hypnotic it becomes. A magical delight.
GENE LOVES JEZEBEL - The Motion of Love (Re-Recorded) (Cleopatra Records)
by Spanish Pantalones
Here's a little something you might not know about Spanish -- the biggest Gene Loves Jezebel fan you'll ever meet. That's why the inferior recording of one of their greatest (and highest charting) compositions is still going to get a generous four hearts. Jay Aston is still singing lead vocals here, but brother Michael's sexy, messy yelps and howls are gone, which leads one to believe that 'The Motion of Love' was re-recorded to skirt copyright laws. A disappointment, but still one of the better singles released this week.
MATT WILSON'S CHRISTMAS TREE-O - Mariah Parusha (Palmetto)
by Toon Traveller
Opens twee, delicate sleigh bells, discordant bass, a flute echoes Christmases past. a haze, a tune I recognise but can't remember. Aren't all Christmases past like that? Drums break, a sax wails, calling the street to order, and we're off. Fast paced, steady driving drums, rocking bass, screaming sax, blowing hard and strong, THE END, just like that. If Tarantino remade "It's a wonderful life" his way, this would be the ideal soundtrack.
BJORN MAGNUSSON - Ghost Riders (Specter Fix Press)
by Toon Traveller
Love the opening sounds, the treated guitar jangling guitar, and piano, and drawled dragged out vocals, pained, wavering as the piano, and guitar play a 21stC take on blues at a lazy nights end. Away out of sight, down some desert road, way beyond the road to nowhere. This is where that dark place of emptied nothingness starts. Love the discord, contempt and despair in one voice. A totally different take on classic.
KING TUFF - Portrait of God (Sub Pop)
by Toon Traveller
Happy intro then. Reminded of 60's British Bands, first USA invasion. Manfred Man meets The Kinks, strange memories. Begins as a paean to religious beliefs, and morphs into what? A parody / tribute to the 60's hippies, think Donovan. Piles of charm, and smiley face feels, but really second listen, it's forgettable. What was it all about? Who cares.
METALLICA - Lux Æterna (Blackened Records)
ZERO s
by Spanish Pantalones
Fuck these guys for their pretentious use of a Latin diphthong in a song title. No hearts for Metallica, now or ever. (Except for you, Robert Trujillo -- you're cool.)
STARS - Christmas Anyway (Last gang)
by Tim London
Try watching Apocalypse Now with the sound down while this plays… if you’re after perspective. Paddy Macaroon can also be similarly jazzed up by interesting contrasts. In fact, there’s nothing that won’t work in a similar fashion. But this soppy old bollox was almost moving in this context. No it wasn’t.
JOSH SINTON'S PREDICATE QUARTET - Step 01 (Form is Possibility Records)
by Toon Traveller
Josh Sinton's 3rd LP of 2022 is The Four Freedoms. The four Freedoms Josh wants you to consider: freedom from fear, freedom to be oneself, freedom to love and freedom from advertising. Admirable and hopeful. Step, the opening track from the LP, and wow opens with a bass brass sound, rumbling whispers, flutters of sound, scraps as barely exhaled air air seeps out broken, by a strident sax. Pondering, waking, gathering pace and power, runs flutters and flurries race in cols air. A wonderful example of a solo brass instrument, blowing and soaring, aural delights. This is delicious playing, full of pleasure and imaginary, lose yourself in the autumnal crisp golden dawn, this piece describes.
MICHAEL CERVERIS - Christmas This Year (Dream Puppy Records)
by Toon Traveller
It's that time of year, Christmas cheer and flat pints of beer. Christmas records out in airplay force. Michael Cerveris sings one of the sad to be alone songs, not the happy Christmas we're all supposed to dream of. Empty nester with the kids gone, he's alone, a song for millions of self-pity-ers across the globe. His loss palpable, lover gone, sounds like he's lost the lot. The strings whimper, and shimmer, but is there self pity? Maybe this is the sound of solace found in the lonely bottle, and empty homes, sinking hearts as he sings "who has mistletoe, when there's no one to kiss". Listening to this, it should be tragic and sad and we could empathise, but somehow he seems be elevating self-pity to an art form, celebrating rather than drowning in it. I'm with you on that.
EPs
JOHN OLIVER - Squid in Chains - Sirens of Kyiv (Soundcloud)
by Toon Traveller
LPs
THE WILLIAM LOVEDAY INTENTION - Blud in My Eyes for You (Damaged Goods)
by Alex V. Cook
This latest identity crisis of Billy Childish, Peter Sellars to the Dr. Strangelove that is song, has released four albums of prison gang quality blues this winter, of which this the fourth and liveliest. White guy version of old Black blues AF, all about the devil and doing things like "I'm Sitting on Top of the World" as a dirge, etc. - Don't they know the actual blues is largely about getting laid and not laying the railroad? - and is excellent in its way. Fiddles and harmonicas galore. I expect to hear this at a friend's party while nibbling at an excellent cheeseboard. An accelerated anti-Mekon particle spinning in the cyclotron of expressing oneself with music that doesn't reflect ones life, but one you find meaningful in its distant suffering. This sounds like a diss, and maybe it iss, but Billy Childish is one of our century's great conceptual artists, and maybe this is a gilt mirror showing us our cartoon costume life while also being crack cracker blues. Or maybe not. Either way, it's great!
THE CLOUDS - No You Can't Take Them (DFA)
by Ancient Champion
Wow! Wow! Wow! Stuart Hyatt first released The Clouds LP in 2004 and it hasn't been heard of much since. Although we've been listening to it the whole time. A cult classic but broadly ignored in the way that classics so often are. It's taken someone of the standing of a James Murphy, actually the James Murphy to get this re-released and into public consciousness. I feel we should put it amongst the holiday releases because James Murphy has delivered a present for sure. In 2003 the Coleman Center, an Alabama non-profit arts organization, welcomed Stuart Hyatt as an artist-musician in residence. The center, which encourages and supports projects that engage and reflect the unique surrounding community, invited Hyatt to explore local music. Four weeks later, he emerged with The Clouds. Hyatt, reckoning with the notion of mortality, had written and recorded songs with a variety of local citizens, social groups, and schoolchildren. That's the backstory. The original album was released on CD in a cardboard sleeve assembled with the hands on help of Hyatt's grandparents. No You Can't Take Them is the first single off the LP and it's a tearjerker for sure. I love this so much. "All you take is love..." Thank you James Murphy.
GHOST WOMAN - Ghost Woman (Full Time Hobby)
by Tim London
If you like garage rock done with a touch of psych then you’ll like this. Although it’s possible to make this kind of tribute with all the right original instruments and recording gear and for it to ‘not work’, this sort of does, on its own terms.
I mean, it’s totally pointless apart from imagining you’ve found a particularly tidy example of forgotten nuggets. When the drugs available nowadays can show you a glimpse of hell and convince you it’s heaven and the adverts on bus stops in most towns are almost as psychedelic as a Fillmore poster you really have removed the concept of what this type of music was originally for.
But I like tremolo guitars and wide reverb and just about hanging together rhythm sections recorded how they sound. And I suppose I forgive the blatant retro-ism because it’s done with a minimum of fuss. It just is.
A gentle Roky keeping it down because the neighbours, or, possibly paranoid about the police. Is dope legal in Canada yet?
JADED TRUTH - Take A Seat (YouTube)
by Tim London
I was going to write this review like this:
Track 1 - hahahahahaha!
Track 2 - hahahahaha!
And so on. But I listened to it. And like the way the guitars go from sloppy to metal chug. And the sloppy vocals. The influence of American grungers. And the way the guitars go ‘nneeeow!’ in between chords. And the bass guitar sounds like a bass player who likes bass, which should go without saying but I have to remind those four string fuckers too many times: if you like bass make my rib cage rattle, don’t try and squeeze a solo in between riffs, Jack Bruce tried that and look what happened to him.
To be honest I did flick. There’s not a rock song that doesn’t benefit from losing practically all of the intro and all the bridges. So I had to guess, but about a minute off each track worked. Lovely guitar feedback solo on Pork Product then, jump! - another long-ass intro looking for the bit when they tread on the fuzz, then another solo. Next. O fuck, they’ve found reverb. Flick. Jump. The chorus fx are getting on me tits. That’s better, I’m Not Your Stepping Stone chord sequence. Surf guitar solo. Next!
Governbent. Governbent! It’s pawlitikal! Drummer gets a bit knackered one minute in. Like a police charge. Yankee Irish punk rock. Next!
They remind me of a band I used to know at the start of the 1990s who wore unironic long hair but weren’t at all ravers. They used to make great feedback, too. Were also very silly. Also did slow, fast-ish/quiet/loud. They knew they were funny. Do Jaded Truth?
CORY SMYTHE - Smoke Gets in your eyes (Pyroclastic records)
by Toon Traveller
THE FALL - 1970s (Cherry Red)
by Jay Lewis
Earlier this year I wrote a piece marking the 40th anniversary of one of The Fall's most celebrated albums: 'Hex Enduction Hour.' I've never had anyone correct me on something I'd written before so I was a little taken aback by the response. Apparently, the abandoned cinema in Hitchin where part of the album was recorded wasn't as bad as I'd made out, similarly, the cave in Rekjavik in Iceland where the rest was recorded was made was actually quite beautiful. Thank you, you dismal pedants!
I won't bother giving you too many details of '1970s', just in case I'm challenged on any of my opinions. All I will say is that it contains the first two studio albums, all the singles from that era, and eight live shows. There are over nine hours of music spread over 12 discs. Maybe if you live with a Fall obsessive, it'll make an ideal seasonal gift. You'll be buying yourself at least one whole day's worth of peace and quiet from the tiresome know-all. Happy Christmas.
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