"Rain Of Roses"

A short film I made to accompany some music I recorded in 2004.

Rejuvenation/Revisitation

"Forgotten Epoch" collage, 2010.

"An Unfamiliar Season" collage, 2009.

"Austerity/Binge" collage, 2004-2005.

Weathercade

My new blog is over here. Just in case you were wondering.

Kilgore Trout - Stick It In The Bank Man

Secondly, here are Kilgore Trout with their debut release from 1986. As their biog at Last.FM states: “Kilgore Trout were an alternative rock band that was based in Nottingham and Sheffield in the north of England between 1985 and 1991. In that time, this band released two EPs, contributed eight tracks to two compilation LPs, and appeared on a flexidisc that came free with the legendary fanzine Ablaze! This band’s mainstay was Chris Trout, a seminal figure in the British alternative music scene whose other bands include A.C. Temple, Spoonfed Hybrid, Lazerboy, Coping Saw, and Bear. He currently plays drums in Smokers Die Younger. Trout wrote the songs and played most of the instruments. He also recorded over 50 four-track demos for the band that were never released at the time. A programme to make the best of these available is currently under way.”

Again, this was one that I heard on Peel and subsequently purchased. I remember quite a glowing interview with the band appeared in the NME around this time. I never saw them play around the time of the release of this EP which is surprising seeing as they were based in Nottingham (I seem to remember them supporting Age Of Chance at The Garage, Autumn 1986 though). I saw them later, May or June 1989, when they’d relocated to Sheffield and replaced the drummer with a drum machine and released the “Bad Puddings” EP – an equally fine release and one I may post here at a later date. I’m also looking for some of their compilation album appearances: particularly “Cornwall” from the album “Imminent 5” and their contribution to the album “Rorschach Blot Test” which also features A.C Temple, who I seemed to see innumerable times playing in and around Nottingham during this era, usually in tandem with the equally great Dog Faced Hermans. If anyone can provide any of the aforementioned then by all means get in touch. I know some of the tracks from this EP are available to download at the bands MySpace and Last.FM pages but the record in it's entirety can be heard here.

1. Quality Control

2. English Never Listen

3. Bank

4. Right Boys

12"EP, Hits $ Corruption HAC002, 1986

Ripped @320 kbps

The Turncoats - Motor Ball Meltbeat

It’s been the usual age since I last wrote anything here. I’ve decided to occasionally post some music this time, to make things a little more interesting. As is customary with this kind of thing, if anyone has any issues with any of these records being posted here then please contact me and I shall remove them forthwith. I’ve decided to start with a couple of 12” EP’s that I haven’t seen available on any other blog.

First up is this EP from The Turncoats. I don’t really know anything about the band at all. I first heard the song “What’s So Funny” on John Peel’s show in November 1986 and liked it so much that I bought the record some time later. I suppose that you could say their sound lies somewhere between The Fall and The Mary Chain, but is quite typical of a lot of bands around in the mid 80’s (ones that were played on Peel anyway). The singer sounds like a more disgruntled Marc Riley. I think the label that released the record, ‘Noise a Noise’ had something to do with That Petrol Emotion. I don’t know whereabouts they were from (possibly Manchester?) – I remember reading an interview in some fanzine or other ("Blank Reception"?) at the time that didn’t give much away. If anyone knows anything more about them I’d be intrigued to hear. Don’t think they released anything else at all. However this is a fine record and deserves to be heard.

1. One Breath

2. What's So Funny

3. Wishing Well

4. Call Her Name

12" EP, Noise A Noise NAN2T, 1986

Ripped @ 320 kbps

The Long Night Out

It has been an aeon since I last posted anything on here, but as it is now another year I shall now endeavour to rid my mind of some esoteric baggage once a week. Perhaps.

I'm currently losing myself in Pink Industry, Famous Grouse scotch and long lonely walks through The Park. I have also rediscovered the genius of Laurence Harvey. He was a bit of a strange fish. But very much a Gent all the same. I'm existing in my own bubble at the moment, which is both inspiring and comforting. Long may it continue.

Who will rid me of these turbulent proles?

Today the weather is most pleasant, dull, dank, almost cold and raining. This is what an English summer should be like. Let's hope it continues. When I was but a sullen effete youth it was always like this (I'm now a sullen effete thirtysomething). Which brings me neatly around to my next subject.

I've been submerging myself in the sounds of my twee late teenage years rather an alarming amount lately. My latest re-discovery is McCarthy. God, how I used to love this band! After a bit of research I recently read that the album I rate the most, "The Enraged Will Inherit The Earth" was in fact the bands least favourite of their oeuvre. The music chimes along beautifully, like some dream marriage of The Smiths and The Byrds in Weimar Germany. I always liked the way that Malcolm Eden would seem to write himself lines that appeared on paper to be virtually un -singable in any melodic sense only to deliver them like some disgruntled choirboy. Most of his lyrics are sung from the point of a narrator as well ; a genius move which caused much amusing confusion and consternation amongst fans and critics alike at the time.
And the song titles are hilarious; "The Home Secretary Briefs The Forces Of Law And Order", anyone? I also used to have a compilation of their early singles, "A la Guillotine" which I held dear. Thankfully most of this seems to be available on a best of CD "That's All Very Well But...". The sound on these early ones is a little more rougher hewn and post-punk tinged. "From The Damned" is one of the most pertinent and concise depictions of the drudgery of the nine to five workaday existence ever recorded.

I did once see the band, March 1990, in their death throes, supporting The Chills at some hideous club in Birmingham called Burberries. Laetitia Sadier had joined them by this point; they pretty much just played material from the then forthcoming final album "Banking , Violence and The Inner Life Today" (which I remember being a bit disappointed with at the time - I shall have to re-investigate).

Tomorrow I think I will go and see this Scott Walker documentary film that is currently doing the rounds. So I might report on that soon. Let's hope the weather stays suitably maudlin for it.

The horizon bleeds and sucks its thumb

So, Summer turned into Autumn which then subsided into the usual muddy grey version of Winter; now it is late Spring and I have decided to re-activate this. It has been some time, but now I think the time is here to exercise some discipline. I will try to write something here every other day. So things may get a little dense and esoteric. But as you know, nobody reads these things anyway and if they do, well, they really do get what they deserve.

So last Sunday, I took it upon myself to visit a record fair. Something I don't do too often. But once in a while is ok. As you may or may not know, these events do perhaps attract a percentage of the more challenged, bewildered and shall we say slightly closeted music collectors among us. But it's generally a pleasant and amusing way to while away a Sunday morning. If you ignore the fact that these events also seem to be attended by an alarming number of middle aged men with personal hygiene problems. But let's not go into that.

My usual plan of action is to scour every stall that appears vaguely interesting (generally the ones that have a section marked "Punk/New Wave", "80's/Indie" or even worse, "Goth/Alternative"), then decide whether I really need another copy of Japan's "Vision Of China" 12"or a Wolfgang Press CD that I already own on vinyl ...or whatever.

So after a little deliberation, I finally plumped for Girl At Our Best's "Pleasure" LP; I remember Peel playing their song "Fast Boyfriends" in the late 80's and being rather taken with it (probably when the horrid Wedding Present had the audacity to massacre one of their tunes on a session). And the friendly and knowledgeable man on the stall commended me on my good taste. So that was alright. I succumbed to temptation and purchased The Wolfgang Press' "Standing Up Straight" on CD for a mere £4. It's probably my favourite album by them; a finely crafted record of contrasting reflections on the many shades of melancholia. Staying with 4AD, This Mortal Coil's second opus "Filigree And Shadow" also caught my eye. Previously I've only had the best bits of this album on cassette. It is somewhat self indulgent as is often the way with double albums (and contains a lamentable destruction of Colin Newman's exquisite "Alone") but the first side is absolutely essential. I digress...

When the stench of greasy breakfasts wafted in my direction from the "cafeteria" I knew it was time to leave. I'd stayed too long already.