THE KING OF NO-FI BRIAN ‘BORDELLO’ SHEA REVIEWS ANOTHER HAUL OF NEW AND UPCOMING RELEASES FOR THE MONOLITH COCKTAIl. (Unless stated otherwise, all releases are available at time of publication)
/SINGLES\
Tearless Life ‘Conversations With Angels’
(Other Voices Records)
The debut single from The Tearless Life and a strange thing it is indeed; part post-punk gothitude, part Harry Styles: maybe they should have called themselves Boy Division. It is a quite interesting and enjoyable pop single and is blanketed in a summer warmth that captures the long lost summer radio evenings of Radio one, when Kid Jenson and Janice Long used to entertain us whilst waiting for the stranger sounds from John Peel. And the B-side does not half remind me of Julian Cope in one of his stranger pop explosions of leather flying pants glory. A quite wonderful pairing.
Candid Faces ‘Coming Home’
(Warren Faces)
Every week I seem to have an email box full up of great guitar music by young bands. Sadly I cannot write about them all, so Candid Faces are one of the chosen ones in this month’s round up. And as I have just written, they are young, full of life and humour, vim and vigour, and are blessed with a pop nonchalance that I very much approve of. I’m very sure they will be riding the waves of success when the damn breaks and guitar music will once again become a musical mainstream necessity.
Hydroplane ‘Stars (Twilight Mix)’
(World Of Echo)
A sweet twee last dance of a song, all heavenly bobby socks melodies chiming Buddy Holly guitars and the taste of the end or the beginning of first love; the sound of the ending of innocent wishes and kisses and a rather beautiful thing it all is too.
Slow Pulp ‘Doubt’
(ANTI-)
Slow Pulp’s ‘Doubt’ is an enjoyable little indie rock/emo pop song that my daughter seemed to enjoy. As I was listening to the track she asked what and who it was, and is now considering going to watch them at Jimmys in Liverpool in November. So they must be doing something right, and is nice to know that music still reaches out and touches the souls and inspires youngsters to go out and have a good night with friends. The power and emotional pull of music will never subside.
\ALBUMS-EPS/
Liam Gallagher ‘Live At Knebworth 22’
11th August 2023
Ok, people who know anything about me know that I’m really not an Oasis fan. I find them extremely over-rated and I think they put guitar music back 30 years with their unimaginative paint by numbers guitar sludge. They made it fashionable to be average and beige, and to make mock ‘n’ roll music. For real rock ‘n’ roll has a spirit; a sexiness; a taste of adventure that Oasis songs really do not have: they have as much danger as watching an episode of Hollyoaks.
So I admit I wasn’t expecting to really like this album much. And for once I was right: I really do not like this album at all. It has all the lack of qualities that Oasis had. It is of course Liam Gallagher‘s triumphant return to Knebworth in all its paint by numbers glory. Liam standing bow legged like he has a full nappy singing in his voice like he has just been told off by his mum, backed by a band who knows all the right chords and are played in all the right order with no deviation from the recorded and released versions. Half the songs are Oasis classics (if classics is the right word for songs of such stodgy lack of glamour), but at least they have a melody unlike the other half of the album made up of highlights from his solo albums – again, highlight might not be the right word as the highlight of a Liam album is the last bar of the last song on it. I know people will say Liam must be good because he sold out Knebworth so many times and all these people went to watch him. Yes indeed, but remember people also pay to watch Golf.
Is there anything good I can say about this album? Well actually I can find two things. The first is it does not have a version of ‘Little James’ on it, which is the worst song ever written by a grown up, and the second thing, is at least it is not a Noel Gallagher solo album, which would take tedium to new highs: or would that be lows. So an album to be avoided by all: even if you are an Oasis fan. You might as well listen to your already cherished copies of the studio albums as there is nothing different here, just the same old sameness.
Mick Harvey and Amanda Acevedo ‘Phantasmagoria In Blue’
(Mute) 1st September 2023
Phantasmagoria In Blue is an album of sweeping lush duets between a man and a woman; mostly covers with a couple of originals thrown in. An old and wonderful concept that has done many times before, but a concept that I for one never tire of, as I never grow tired of renditions of ‘Songs For The Siren’. For yes there is another version on Phantasmagoria In Blue, and a fine version it is, swathed in beauty and strings and conjuring up images of windswept lovers meeting on winter beaches with the ocean whispering sweet truths and wishful wants.
The whole album in fact is one long journey; one long story that sets a mood and for the length of the album never loses that mood; an album of romantic redemption; an album to lose yourself in with the partner of your choice or one to soundtrack the unforgiving beauty of loneliness.
Craig Fortnam ‘Ruins In Time EP’
(Believer’s Roast)
Late 60s early 70s psych folk vibes abound with this rather spiffing three-piece slice of Bandcamp magic. From the excellent opener, the Syd Barrett like ‘Shepard’s On The Lawn’, through to the second and my fave of the three, the rather beautiful folky ‘Ruins In Time’ – which had me wondering where I have left my ‘A Game For All To Play Boxset’ – these tracks really do take you back to a much gentler and magical time. The only bad point about this EP is that it not an album.
Funeral Cake ‘One Funny Place EP’
(Dandy Boy Records)
Does anyone out there want a slice of Funeral Cake? A 4 track EP of fuzzy guitar pop and tuneful melodies, that sounds a lot like those pesky Primitives; yes, that band from the 80s that held our pop hearts in their hands and juggled and performed various holiday fairylike tricks with it sprinkling sparkle dust over the pesky blighter. Yes indeed, the Funeral Cake carry the same magic, the same pop suss, the same melodious let-me-tickle-your-funny-bones-and-make-your-day-a-sunny-treat. Yes, Funeral Cake are popadelica: a real treat for you.
Monthly Playlist Revue: July 2023
July 28, 2023
CHOICE MUSIC SELECTION FROM THE LAST MONTH ON THE MONOLITH COCKTAIL
TEAM EFFORT: DOMINIC VALVONA/MATT OLIVER/BRIAN ‘BORDELLO’ SHEA/GRAHAM DOMAIN/ANDREW C. KIDD
The Monolith Cocktail Monthly playlist is a revue of the last month on the blog, plus those tunes we didn’t get time to review or feature: including Matt Oliver‘s special hip-hop selection. Curated as a musical journey by Dominic Valvona, there’s a huge diverse array of choice tunes from across the genres and the globe, collated from an amalgamation of posts by Dominic Valvona, Brian ‘Bordello’ Shea, Graham Domain and Andrew C. Kidd.
THOSE TRACKS IN FULL ARE…
Habitat 617 Ft. Jack Slayta ‘Bricklayer’
Young Van Gundy Ft. Al Divino & Tha God Fahim ‘Fuyu No Senso’
J. Scienide & Napoleon Da Legend ‘Wind Parade’
Annie Taylor ‘Fucking Upset’
White Ring ‘Before He Took The Gun’
African Head Charge ‘Asalatua’
Mokoomba ‘Ndipe’
OKI ‘Tukinahan Kamuy’
Dip In The Dub ‘La Cumbia Del Sufi Que No Sabia Bailer’
Luiza Lian ‘Eu Estou Aqui’
Deja Blu ‘Crash’
It’s Karma It’s Cool ‘Vacations In A Taxi Cab’
Life Strike ‘Whip Around’
K-Nite 13 & Lee Scott Ft. Homeboy Sandman ‘Staple Junk’
The Moose Funk Squad ‘Abe Simpson’
Verb T & Vic Grimes ‘Your Heart Deserves’
SadhuGold ‘Fear Of A Black Yeti’
The Difference Machine ‘His Country’
Rusty Santos ‘Focus’
August Cooke ‘Shed With Me’
Maija Sofia ‘Telling The Bees’
Circe ‘My Boy Aphrodite’
Natalie Rose LeBrecht ‘Holy’
Hackedepicciotto ‘La Femme Sauvage’
Fat Frances ‘The Worm In The Wood’
Mike Gale ‘Summer Be Gone’
Stella Burns & Mick Harvey ‘My Heart Is A Jungle’
Emil Amos ‘Jealous Gods’
Oopsie Dasies ‘Illusioned-Broken Toys’
Zohastre ‘DUNE’ <THIS MONTH’S COVER ART STARS>
The Holy Family ‘Hell Born Babel’
The Dark Jazz Project ‘Jazz’
Healing Force Project ‘Inharmonious Layer’
Sebastian Reynolds ‘Cascade’
Caterina Barbieri ‘Sufyosowirl’
Ziur Ft. Abdullah Miniawy ‘Malikan’
Pierce Artists ‘Black Hooded Generals’
Stu Bangas & Chino XL ‘Who Told You’
Teflon/M.O.P. & DJ Premier ‘The Thoro Side’
Remulak & Moka Only ‘Starlings Green’
Jonny Wickham ‘Uncanny Valley’
Marty Isenberg ‘Life On Mars’
Gibralter Drakus ‘Exode Rural’
Las Mijas ‘Ronca (Carta Para Una Mija)’
CULT NO-FI ICON BRIAN BORDELLO REVIEWS ANOTHER BATCH OF RECENT AND NEW RELEASES (UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE, ALL RELEASES ARE OUT NOW)
____{SINGLES}____
Annie Taylor ‘School Girl’
(Taxi Gauche Records)
‘School Girl’ is a ram jam minute and a half of rambunctious melody and indie guitar rock, a workout of pure pop indiedom. Plus, why don’t more people release songs under two minutes anymore? If it was good enough for Buddy Holly is certainly good enough for everyone else. Well-done Annie Taylor.
Nails ‘Nail Me’
What a splendid racket. This is the debut release by a brand-new band made up of a gang of teenagers all aged between 16-18. The sound of youth, the sound of a band that is still in the development stage when everything is fresh and exciting, with the sound of hormones surging from their guitars.
There are a number of exciting young guitar bands around at the moment and Nails are another one to add to the watch out for list. They have youth, excitement and by the sound of it, the inklings of songwriting talent and a variety of influences: surely Nails are too young to remember the Cardiacs, but at certain points during ‘Nail Me’ the Cardiacs do spring to mind alongside Queens Of The Stone Age. Yes, indeed Nails are the sound of the dreams of the local rehearsal room where anything is possible and where the magic happens.
____{ALBUMS}____
A.R. Kane ‘A.R.Kive (1988 to 1989)’
(Rocket Girl)
Songs that soar and scrape the sky; plowing through the subconscious separating despairing grey clouds of pollution and lost hope, clawing kisses substituting the tick tock of the slow hand taunting you through the everyday workday blues, knowing when that slow hand eventually reaching the magical five, the five that will explode in a star-shine feedback beauty, whispering, swaying, you will once again be free. Be free to soundtrack the small town existence or your lost in the city hustle. A muse, a music that will make you feel special, make you feel like a select and secret club: this is how one of the disciples must have felt. It must have been how one of those teenage girls felt stood inches away from the leather cladded four head monster from Liverpool in that dank cellar full of noise before they erupted and changed the world. Surely you are experiencing the second coming. Surely the moistness, the orgasmic nature of teenage sexual high has never been quite this sexual: never quite taken you this high. This is how the flowers of ‘67 must have felt as Hendrix strutted and pouted biblically, leading the chosen ones to a land that promised much but folded in a squalid syringed end of a decade of could ofs and should of Beens. This is how it must have been like to be in The Velvet Underground selling little but influencing a future generation of youngsters with art in their eyes. This is how it must have felt to be A.R. Kane.
Present Electric ‘S-T’
(Paisley Shirt Records)
Now as the “king of No-fi” (as anointed by Goldmine Magazine) I can fully appreciate the beauty of this album; all lo-fi and scratchy with primitive drum machines and beautifully played guitars that are plucked and strummed with a gentle abandon. That are swirled and mixed with melodica, handheld percussion and keyboards that add to the beauty of this lo-fi gem. The beauty of lo-fi is the adventures you can take the music only using ltd resources and your own skill and talent and madness. And I’m happy to report that Present Electric has all three with abundance. A really enjoyable listen.
It’s Karma It’s Cool ‘Thrift Store Troubadours’
If you are looking for Throbbing Gristle noise experimentation this may not be the album for you, but if you are looking for an album filled with mid to late 60’s Hollies like pop with a touch of the Smithereens and stand era R.E.M. then Thrift Store Troubadours could be your thing.
Songs where the guitars chime and rock without entering into Slash perm lotion territory; songs that gently erupt in a wash of tight and tuneful harmonies that may entertain Graham Nash enough in the shower to put down his bar of soap and add a fifth high harmony, and him fondly reminisce about the time he lived with Joni Mitchell, and Charles Manson was his next door neighbour. Or the kind of album that will have Chris Pender scratching his head and wondering why the two Searchers Sire albums did not sell in greater quantities. So if you are indeed a fan of any of the bands mentioned or just someone who has a penchant for well-written 60s/70s tinged power pop ditties, give it a listen.
Oopsie Daisies ‘S-T EP’
(Metal Postcard Records)
If Bob Dylan had grown up in the C86 generation, taking in the jangle and indie pop like magic, he may have sounded like the Oopsie Daisies; an EP that is covered in layers of jangly guitars and Field Mice and the Wake like keyboards, and the clipity-clop drum machine that so enamoured me to the whole sound and feel of the DIY bedroom music culture.
This 4-track little beauty is full of charm, lo-fi elegance and a little teetering on the edge magic: especially the last track, the wonderful ‘Illusioned Broken Toys’; a song that captures the melancholy feel of the late 80’s early 90’s Beloved and one of my fave tracks this year.
Flashcubes ‘Pop Masters’
(Big Stir Records)
The pre ghost of Pete Best haunts his old haunts, taking in the memories when he was the backbeat to what would be the greatest and most influential band to ever strum a guitar on the planet; the band that would influence everything from how pop music was not just a thing that teenagers spent their money on and soundtracked their sexual adventures and nights on the town, but to being considered an art form to be studied and dissected by forward thinkers and beard strokers.
Pete shifts through where The Cavern used to stand and moves onto the tourist trap that is the facsimile that stands today. He stops to look at the statues and has a slight tear in his eye when he sees the four lads that shook the world knowing that he was the fifth, the silent partner, and the cast off Beatle. He stops off and smiles when he sees the Cilla statue and remembers the nights when she used to sing with the fabs before they were the fabs: when they were the pre-fabs. But he is not bitter. He has made his million from all the reissues of the handful of recordings he made with the pre-fabs, and he has all those memories knowing they may never have made it to Hamburg without him, where they learned their art and became the greatest rock ‘n’ roll band ever. He stops thinking and remembering and pops a cd into the player… ah good time rock ‘n’ roll pure power pop for everyday people. Pop master‘s by the Flashcubes plays as Pete lights another cig spins his drumstick and smiles.
Life Strike ‘Peak Dystopia’
(Stable Label on Tape/ Bobo Integral on Digital Formats)
What do we have here, I hear no one ask. Well my disappointed little life smugglers, this is an album of pure jingle jangle from the deepest and sunshine filled explosion of finery that is Australia. Yes, Life Strike capture the magic of early Go Betweens with all stuttering post-punk guitar riffs and Primitive melodies, or indeed Primitives melodies as the pop fun track that is ‘Tears On Tuesday’ had myself and my lady wife humming ‘Through The Flowers’ by the end. Peak Dystopia is an album that will appeal to all those indie pop lovers from yesteryear when the June Brides were second in the hearts to the Smiths, or preferred Primal Scream before they discovered the Rolling Stones and showed themselves to be heartless money grabbing bastards.
Monthly Playlist: June 2023: Valia Calda, Killer Mike, Sparks, Kool Keith, Luzmila Carpio…
June 29, 2023
THE JUNE SELECTION: 50 plus tracks from the artists/bands we championed, rated and loved during the last thirty days. This is the eclectic, global and influential Monolith Cocktail Monthly Playlist, with music chosen from all the releases we covered in June plus those we didn’t have room for at that time. Selectors include Dominic Valvona (who curated this expansive playlist), Matt Oliver, Brian ‘Bordello’ Shea, Andrew C. Kidd and Graham Domain.
___TRACKLIST___
Valia Calda ‘Stalker’
La Jungle ‘La Compagnie de la Chanson’
Ramuntcho Matta ‘Hukai’
Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra ‘Nation Rising’
Killer Mike Ft. Jagged Edge ‘SUMMER’
Royalz Ft. THE HIDDEN CHARACTER ‘God In Da Ghetto’
Professor Elemental ‘Ready Or Not’
DJ Mk & Sonnyjim ‘WORTH THE RISK’
Revival Season ‘Chop’
Vieira and The Silvers ‘The Judge’
Trees Speak ‘Radiation’
Cat Box Room Bois ‘California Stars’
ANGHARAD ‘Postpartum’
Outer Limit Lotus ‘Let The Night Ride You’
The Kingfishers ‘Lapwings’
Sedona ‘Domino’
Katie Von Schleicher Ft. Lady Lamb ‘Elixir’
Mari Kalkun ‘Munamae Loomine (The Creation Of Munamagi|)’
Sparks ‘Not That Well Defined’
Bob Dylan ‘Queen Jane Approximately’
Maija Sofia ‘Four Winters’
Mike Cooper Ft. Viv Corringham ‘A Lemon Fell’
Dirty Dike Ft. Jam Baxter ‘The Places We’ve Been In’
The Chives ‘Your Mom’s A Bitch’
Lunch Money Life ‘The God Phone II’
Martha Skye Murphy ‘Dogs’
Sacrobosco ‘Pearl’
CODED ‘Binary Beautiful (Sunshine Variation)’
Baldruin ‘Zuruckgelassen’
Lauren Bousfield Ft. Ada Rock ‘Hazer’
Ital Tek ‘The Mirror’
Joe Woodham ‘Spring Tides’
WITCH ‘Streets Of Lusaka’
Celestial North ‘Otherworld’
Psyche ‘Kuma’
Omar Ahmad ‘Cygnet Song’
Luzmila Carpio ‘Inti Watana – El Retorno del Sol’
Ricardo Dias Gomes ‘Invernao Astral’
Andrew Heath ‘Fold’
Granny Smith ‘Egypt’
Spindle Ensemble & Evergreen Club Contemporary Gamelan ‘Lucid Living – Live’
Pawz One & Preed One ‘Revenge Of Silky Johnson’
ILL BILL, Non Phixion, La Coka Nostra, Kool G. Rap, Vinnie Paz ‘Root For The Villain’
Syrup Ft. Twit One, C. Tappin & Turt ‘Timing Perfect’
John Coltrane Ft. Eric Dolphy ‘Impressions – Live’
Vermin the Villain & ELAM ZULA ‘POWER OF TWO’
King Kashmere & Alecs Delarge Ft. HPBLK, Ash The Author & Booda French ‘Astro Children’
Lukah ‘First Copy’
Kool Keith ‘First Copy’
Stik Figa & The Expert ‘Slo Pokes’
S. Kalibre Ft. Scoob Rock, Slap Up Mill, Jabba The Kut ‘Murda Sound Bwoy’
Verbz, Nelson Dialect & Mr. Slipz ‘Beside Me’
Dillion & Diamond D ‘Uncut Gems’
The cult leader of the mighty Bordellos rages, swoons and…over a haul of new and recent singles and albums for the Monolith Cocktail
___SINGLES___
Angharad ‘Postpartum’
(Libertino Records)
Oh my lord I love this. I love listening to angry and pissed off Welsh women: maybe that’s why I have been married to one for 30 years. Typing that line has now made me wonder, ‘is my wife pissed off because she has been married to me for thirty years’…surely not, for I am a catch. But I digress. ‘Postpartum’ is a wonderful surge of aggression, an outpouring of pure primal scream emotion but with tinges of dark humour and real life. Art core PJ Harvey with a touch of John Cale at his finest. A beast of a track.
Nora Kelly Band ‘Roswell’
(Mint Records)
The Nora Kelly Band single ‘Roswell’ sweeps us up and gently wraps us in a candyfloss haze of country magic, with a song that aims for the stars and goes far beyond, gently rocking us to a place of seduction and dreams; a gentle place that erupts in a fountain of space cadet wonder and magic. A love song full of quirks and deep yearning. A love song that can make the heart flutter and your eyes water. A special talent indeed. From a forthcoming album Rodeo Clown; an album I will be adding to my collection no doubt.
Lauren Bousfield feat. Ada Rook ‘Hazer’
(Orange Milk Records)
The sound of smart phone pop eating itself, ever wondered what it sounds like? Well give this a listen.
M. Ward Feat. Scott McMicken ‘New Kerrang’
I saw the title and was overcome with a wave of nostalgia with memories of my then 14-year-old daughter texting me asking me every Tuesday if could I pick up the new copy of Kerrang Magazine. But “New Kerrang” is not actually about my then 14-year-old daughter texting me at work (which let’s be honest is not surprising), but it is a rather nifty little pop song that does take me back, but back to the days of late 60s Kinks when they offered flower like gems of pop perfection plastered in irony and heart pulling tugs of pure melancholy and nostalgia, and “New Kerrang” is blessed with the same magic.
Katie Von Schleicher (Ft. Lady Lamb) ‘Elixir’
(Sipsman)
I really like this single, it has a lovely slinkiness about it; a well-written guitar pop song filled with humour and intelligence and a laidback bewitching melody. And I also love the electric guitar, which has a touch of the Marc Bolan’s about it, which believe me is always a feather in the cap, or in this case a feathered boa around the neck. A lovely gem of a song.
Sedona ‘Domino’
I do love pop pop pop music (oh dear an attack of the M’s) and Sedona is indeed all “pop pop pop music”, in the good old fashioned 80s Madonna, Jane Wiedlin (of Rush Hour fame) was a great single way. Yes, Sedona has all it takes to succeed in this cutthroat business. She has all the qualities: the looks, the voice, the song, and has a carefree soulful pop sound that a lot of modern smart phone pop fails at. Sedona is one to watch trust me: have I been wrong before…well, yes many times. But this one is a banker.
Ex Norwegian ‘Real Bad Bunny’
A new single from Ex Norwegian is a wonderful thing in the way great pop music is a wonderful thing, because the new single by Ex Norwegian is great new pop music; the kind of song the radio should be playing on sunny days, and “Real Bad Bunny” really burrows into your head (see what I did there). Great melody, great lyrics, great attitude, just great wonderful pop music, and it’s not even the highlight of the three tracks on this EP. That is track three, “Talk Dirty”, which is all Pete Townsend 60s power chords and late seventies power pop/new wave arrogance and attitude. A wonderful release.
____EPS/ALBUMS___
John Dowler’s Vanity Project ‘Jukebox Amnesia’
(Half A Cow Records)
This is a fun listen, an EP of four covers by the John Dowlers Vanity Project; all four being very fine and wonderful songs, so you would have to be pretty untalented indeed not to make a EP of pure pop frenzy and fun out of them. It kicks off with a masterful version of The Masters Apprentice “War Or Hands Of Time” – I do like a bit of freakbeat it must be said – followed up with a version of the much covered but always fun to listen to “Psychotic Reaction”, which is a bit of a good idea, and then to the garage soul of Them‘s “Could You Would You”, and to finish with a bit of Jethro Tull; adding a bit of prog to the proceedings: well why not. A Vanity project that is indeed fun to listen to (for a change).
The Chives ‘S-T’
(Metal Postcard Records)
If shambolic rock ‘n’ roll is your thing, here is the album for you. A sublime car crash of The Rolling Stones, The Strokes and the great-lost American band 20TH Century Princess all wrapped in a not so neat parcel, but with melodies galore and not giving a damn attitude. It even has probably the third finest version of ‘Pleasant Valley Sunday’ you are ever likely to hear: For those who care the two better versions are the Carol King Demo version, followed by the Monkees classic, and not that far behind it this gem of a version. Rock ‘n’ roll is supposed to be fun slightly dangerous and sexy and The Chives debut ticks all the boxes; the box being filled full of post-punk speed fuelled frogs.
Our Daily Bread 576: Vieira and The Silvers, Tony Valentino, Fossil Beach, The Budos Band…
June 2, 2023
The idiosyncratic Brian ‘Bordello’ Shea rummages through another month of new and upcoming releases. (Unless stated otherwise, all releases are already available to buy).
SINGLES
Vieira and The Silvers ‘The Judge’
(Catch 21 Records)
There is something very Liverpool about this track; I was sure they would have been from Liverpool as they have the same Scouse pop feel that the Coral and the many bands from the Bandit era have. Maybe they take the same drugs and listen to the same records, either way this track is very good.
It starts off all Captain Beefheart and ends with the kind of Gospel inflections that Booby Gillespie would sell his favourite battered egg to have included on the much over-rated Screamadelica album; a good album, but not all as it is made up to be, unlike this single, which is pretty spiffing and yes spiffing is indeed pretty, and my word of the day. As is this single is my song of the day.
The Budos Band ‘Frontiers Edge’
(Diamond West Records)
I love this track; a sexy shimmy of spy Bond glamour with a hint of 60s hip swinging jazz in a spaghetti western type of way. The kind of track you want your night out on the town to be like – all glittered mini dresses bouffant hair and neon lights offering temptation and seduction. Yes indeed, just the kind of track to paint your evening. A hip swinging triumph.
Josienne Clarke ‘Anyone But Me’
“Anyone But Me” is a dark and bewitching folk song filled with both a sadness and relief that the affair is over, and I am quite taken with how Josienne sings the line, “how can you love anyone but me”. But that is the magic of song, a few brief seconds can transport one back to the dim and distant past and remember not so happy times. A beautiful song and an excellent video to go with it.
Beach Fossils ‘Dare Me’
(Bayonet) 2nd June 2023
Modern indie radio friendly guitar pop normally bores the pants off me: it does. I normally end up taking off my pants and wandering around the house with my them on my head, pulled over my ears whilst wondering how long the kettle is going to take to boil and what would come first: the boiling kettle or the end of the soulless dirge that someone has sent for me to review? Or the soulless dirge that BBC 6 music is forcing upon their daytime listeners, who I think have probably given up on life. But saying that, for some strange reason this song by Beach Fossil does not have that effect on me, even though it has all the lack of qualities that modern produced indie guitar pop has; the soulless production and the spray on radio BBC6 music sheen. But for some reason I like this. Why? Answers on a postcard.
bigflower ‘The Event’
The event by name, an Event by nature, we have a fine slab of mellow dance solitude that is both funky and slinky and electronic-like. And at just over three minutes long is far too short for its own good; double it and you have an ideal floor filler: yes, a floor filled with fine Manchester musicality. This could and should be a 12”, and reminds me a touch of Fatima Mansions in its dark outer grooves. How many times do I need to say, come on record labels sign this man up.
ALBUMS/EPS
Tony Valentino ‘Dirty Water Revisited’
(Big Stir Records) 26th May 2023
Tony Valentino was of course the lead vocalist with the 60s garage punk legends The Standells, and this, the Dirty Water Revisited album, is where he revisits his past with an album of reworkings of some the band’s classics, and some new songs too. And the reworkings of the classics are fun as all 60s garage songs should indeed be. “Good Guys Don’t Always Wear White” was always one of my fave garage rock songs and this version does not really take anything away from the original, as does none of the reworkings. And lets be honest, garage rock bands have been including these classics in their sets for years so why should Tony not revisit and pay respect to his own past. On the whole he has made an enjoyable romp of 60s garage punk/pop reworkings. And with last years new song single, “I’m A Sexy Punk Rocker”, included reminding us all where Iggy might have got some of his pop from.
Armstrong ‘Summer Is Here EP’
Summer is on its way, so what better way to celebrate than to listen to this 4-track beauty of pop overthrow; a quartet of summer breeze pop; an EP of pure jangle and sci-fi synths; a 4-track treasure of shadows of yesterday’s delights. But what else can one expect when it is the latest release from Armstrong, everybody’s favourite pop picker songs that has one thinking back to when Aztec Camera and Prefab Sprout would occasionally sneak into the top 40 and the internet was only something Leeds Utd supporters used to shout at three o clock on a Saturday afternoon. Sublime pop indeed and Summer Is Here is so summer sounding it has brought on my hay fever.
Cat Box Room Bois ‘Tinder Vittles’
(Metal Postcard Records)
Ah the lovely subtleties of American shambolic rock ‘n’ roll spews forth from this magical album featuring a member from the genius Legless Crabs. So it being shambolic rock ‘n’ roll is indeed nothing to be surprised at. And indeed, it is pure undiluted rock ‘n’ roll, with traces of the DNA of The Modern Lovers, Neil Young, The Marychain, the Velvet Underground and The Stooges in a loose and casual way that gives casual a new looseness.
It is the sound of a party in your pants. It is raunchy. It is sexy. It is funny. It actually sounds like a band rehearsing in your neighbour’s shed whilst the singer juggles extravagances in a cartoon denim and leather clad clown like way. Whilst the guitarist shows off his fretboard prowess imagining he was once a member of Red-Hot Chilli Peppers but was thrown out for being good and having lo-fi punk attitude. So if Lo-fi rock ‘n’ roll is your thing and you want an album that sounds like one of the most out of it bands from your neighbourhood jamming wildly on a summers day with the essence of weed and alcohol slowly drifting on a gentle summer breeze, or, The Beach Boys Party album but made by drug addled stoners brought up on a soundtrack of 70s Fm Rock and early 80s American punk , this album is for you. This a gem of an album.
Monthly Playlist: May 2023: Delilah Holliday, Tony Allen, Alecs DeLarge & King Kashmere, Lucia Cadotsch…
May 31, 2023
CHOICE MUSIC FROM THE LAST MONTH: TEAM EFFORT
The Monthly Revue playlist of 2023; a choice selection of tracks from the last month on the blog. Curated by Dominic Valvona with Matt Oliver on the Rap Control once more, and music from reviews by Brian ‘Bordello’ Shea, Graham Domain and Andrew C. Kidd. Expect to hear the unexpected.
TRACKLIST//
Alecs DeLarge & King Kashmere ‘Damien Darhk’
Samuele Strufaldi ‘Davorio’
Les Dynamites ‘Pop Oud #2’
Andrew Hung ‘Ocean Mouth’
Matt Saxton ‘Freedom’
John Parish & Aldous Harding ‘Three Hours’
Lunar Bird ‘The Birthday Party’
YOVA ‘Feel Your Fear’
Atmosphere ‘Dotted Lines’
Illogic ‘Hot Lead’
Odd Holiday, Mattic & Daylight Robbery! ‘It Is Whut It Iz’
Delilah Holliday ‘Silent Streets’
Big Yawn ‘Crying’
Tony Allen ‘No Beginning’
Harold Land ‘Chocolate Mess’
Baby Cool ‘Magic (Live)’
Dyr Faser ‘This Menace’
Mekong ‘Out Of Control’
The Telescopes ‘(The Other Side)’
The Bordellos ‘Attack Of The Killer B-Sides’
Adjunct Ensemble ‘Nothing Grows/How Dare You Be Free’
Kassa Overkill, Danny Brown & Wiki ‘Clock Ticking’
Depf & Linefizzy ‘My Love’
Paw One ‘Sepekku’
Cas One ‘Silver Spoons’
Axel Holy & Badhabitz ‘Runnin’
Efeks, The Strange Neighbour & Downstroke ‘Its Only Right’
Chocolate Hills ‘Mermaids’
Orange Crate Art ‘We’re Just Innocent Men’
Tinariwen Ft. Fats Kaplin ‘Ezlan’
Cherry Bandora ‘Esy’
Danuk ‘Sewqo’
Lucia Cadotsch ‘I Won’t’
Jman & The Argonautz ‘Green Light’
Chuck Strangers & Obii Say ‘Say’
Billy Woods, Kenny Segal & Danny Brown ‘Year Zero’
Caterina Barbieri ‘Swirls Of You’
August Cooke ‘Flying Swimming Dredging’
Liz Davinci ‘I’m Through With Love’
Kayhan Kalhor & Toumani Diabate ‘Anywhere That Is Not Here’
Oceans ‘Mike Tysong’
Creep Show Ft. John Grant ‘Moneyback’
Jean Mignon ‘Canadian Exit’
GRAHAM DOMAIN’S RUN-THROUGH OF RECENT AND UPCOMING NEW RELEASES
__/SINGLES\__
THE TELESCOPES ‘Where Do We Begin’
(Tapete Records) (Download only Single)
It seems only vocalist Stephen Lawrie remains from the original group and only his voice reminds of The Telescopes classic sound!
This is the first single taken from forthcoming album Of Tomorrow. As such, it sounds a bit like the House of Love with Lou Reed – a psychedelic song about filling in the hole in your soul with more emptiness – the modern consumer society looking for fulfillment amid the waffle of internet influencers, ‘reality’ celebrity and brand name hypnosis! I await the new album with interest!
MATT SAXTON ‘Freedom’
(Bandcamp) (Download Single)
This is an electronic track with folktronica leanings that reminds me of John Grant. It’s a delight – like eating your favourite ice cream! Give it a listen while eating a Cornetto!
YOVA ‘Feel Your Fear’
(Bandcamp) (Download Single)
Unusual pop song from Yova – interesting, odd and compelling! Yova are a duo – with exposure they could be massive!
SALEM TRIALS ‘ESPERS SYC (See Your Crime)’ / ‘End of Level Boss’
(Metal Postcard) (Download Double A Side Single)
Excellent Double A Side from Salem Trials – ‘Espers SYC’ comes across like the Fall playing a speeded-up Joy Division ‘Exercise One’ – some nice jarring chords and fried bacon rhythm!
With singalongs like ‘reasonable doubt my arse’ it could become a staple at Strangeways Indie disco! The crime? Presumably using your intuition (ESP) – contravening Section 7 of the State Controlled Thought Act 2023.
‘End of Level Boss’ meanwhile conjures up the ghost of Ian Curtis dancing to James Brown after the sacked JB’s were replaced by a funky Sunn O))) – Mesmeric!
___/ALBUMS\___
OCEANS ‘Dreamers in Dark Cities’
(Bandcamp) (Vinyl/DL)
There are a few bands named Oceans but this particular band hail from Melbourne Australia. They sound like they have been listening to a lot of 1980’s indie music like the Sound, the Chameleons, New Model Army, Cocteau Twins, Pale Saints, Slowdive, The Scars.
‘Pure’ sounds like a poppier Pale Saints and is perhaps the best song on the album. “I just want to feel alive” he cries as the music rises in life affirming sonic radiance! ‘Apart’ reminds me of the Scars with touches of Ride and Pale Saints. ‘Feels Like You’ hints towards Slowdive, MBV and Ride.
‘Mike Tysong’ sounds like New Model Army circa ‘The Ghost of Cain’ but with vocals akin to Adrian Borland (the Sound of ‘The Lions Roar’ fame). ‘Soft’ has hints of The Chameleons guitar sound combined with vocals akin to Lush! ‘Look Into My Eyes’ employs the 3 / 4 rhythm beloved of The Cocteau Twins circa ‘Treasure’. An album of youthful energy and life affirming beauty. The songs are energetic, well-constructed and well-produced. I like the album, but the band need to bring more of their own creativity to the table so they sound like themselves rather than the sum of their influences. Once they find their own sound, they will be magnificent. They are part way there and I predict great things for them in the future.
CREEP SHOW ‘Yawning Abyss’
(Bella Union) (CD/Download Album)
Make no mistake, John Grant is a genius! As half of Creep Show he provides the moments of sheer joy! ‘Bungalow’ comes over like a song that could have been on any of his brilliant solo albums, post ‘Queen of Denmark’. It’s a fantastic vocal, the music dark, funny, sexy, – electronic music at its best and a good song to boot! Elsewhere we find him singing strange rhymes on the title track ‘Yamning Abyss’ – a song that grows on you with each play.
The band Wrangler are the other half of Creepshow. Cabaret Voltaire’s Stephen Mallinder sharing vocal duties on such tracks as ‘Moneyback’ – “You want your money back / I didn’t think so”! Overall, a fine return from Creep Show who are doing a short tour of the UK over the summer!
JEAN MIGNON ‘AN/AL’
(Metal Postcard) (Download Album)
Raucous debut album by New York based Johnny Steines. A mixture of high energy garage punk and high-speed rock and roll – it sounds like a live album such is the energy contained in the grooves!
‘Tackled By Men’ recycles parts of ‘Jumping Jack Flash’, whilst ‘Canadian Exit’ has echoes of Warsaw’s ‘Failures’. If he can produce this excitement in a live-setting he willsurely make his own impact! Primal Rock and Roll that screams from the speakers andexcites like a high-speed car chase!
Key Tracks: All of them!
The BORDELLOS ‘Starcrossed Radio’
(Metal Postcard Records) (Download Album)
The latest release by St Helens finest is a cabinet of curiosities containing some wonderful lo-fi gems and hitherto lost standards!
Beginning with the glam stomp of ‘Attack of The Killer B-Sides’ – name checking great B- Sides by the likes of The Smiths, Stone Roses, The Beatles, Billy Fury, Shangri-Las, New Order, Rolling Stones, Mersey Beats etc… All delivered in a Mark Smith type drawl. Like any music fan, flipping a 45 over and discovering a great B Side was exciting and would lead to more investigation of the artist’s music.
‘Never Learn’ sounds like a lost standard to me – reminding of Morrissey when he was good, the accordion sound giving it a shade of the Pogues! The nice melody is under-pinned by what sounds like a balloon deflating, a synth or a cat being slowly trod on mixed with static and silence! Experimental brilliance!
‘Free New Music Day’ meanwhile takes the sound of the Doors Texas Radio and the Big Beat and transfers it to Northern England where you can ’take a cut price trip to the stars – singing Hallelujah in Karaoke bars’ – poetry from the streets Jim Morrison could only aspire to!
Other highlights include the strange melody picked out on guitar on ‘Sunk and Screwed’, which could be the theme to a weird kids cartoon! Oddly disturbing! I’m still humming it! ‘Vicious Circle’ could be a single. ‘Hurting Kind’ sounds like a lost Beach Boys campfire surf song – Brilliant!
The album ends with the sublime ‘Life Love and Billy Fury’ – a part electronic song where the melody or maybe some of the chord changes put me in mind of New Order without actually sounding like them! Great lyrics – another ‘lost standard’!
This album is one to treasure, an Aladdin’s cave of eclectic life affirming songs. The Bordellos are the fine web that holds the stars in place!
Monthly Playlist: April 2023: Circe, Micall Parknsun, Suki Sou, Carla Boregas, Ammar 808…
April 27, 2023
CHOICE MUSIC FROM THE LAST MONTH: TEAM EFFORT
The Monthly Revue playlist of 2023; a choice selection of tracks from the last month on the blog. Curated by Dominic Valvona with Matt Oliver on the Rap Control once more, and music from reviews by our latest recruit Gillian Stone plus Brian ‘Bordello’ Shea, Graham Domain and a returning Andrew C. Kidd. Expect to hear the unexpected as we leave you with this 45 track selection before we go off on a May sabbatical (well half of May, be back around the 15th with a packed schedule of choice music).
TRACKLIST//
Altın Gün ‘Çıt Çıt Çedene’
Ammar 808 Ft. Belhassen Mihoub ‘Yarima’
Les Abranis ‘Achethkhi’
Orti, Mayorga y Chiriboga ‘Muñequita Blanca’
Tuzeint ‘Mujer Divina’
United Grind Ft. Gamechangers ‘Doin This All Night’
King Kashmere & Alecs DeLarge ‘Most Blunted’
Neon Kittens ‘Loving Your Neighbour’s Wife’
Opus Kink ‘1:18’
Gabrielle Ornate ‘Delirium’
H. Hawkline ‘Plastic Man’
Land Of OOO ‘Matthew’
African Head Charge ‘A Bad Attitude’
Swans ‘Paradise Is Mine’
The Oldest Voice In The World ‘Talysh Mountain Border’
La Faute ‘The Crown’
fhae ‘Love You’
Alice ‘Triste et tout seul’
foil ‘Don’t Look’
Ali Murray ‘Spirit Of Unknowing’
Khotin ‘Lovely’
MultiTraction Orchestra ‘Reactor One’
Tobias Meinhart ‘Luna Park’
Deca & Ol’ Burger Beats ‘Blight’
Prastense & Shortrock Ft. Uncommon Nasa ‘A Broken Letter’
Micall Parknsun ‘Back’
Your Old Droog ‘Pronouns’
Illinformed Ft. Eric The Red ‘Doctor’
Silver Moth ‘Sedna’
Escupemetralla ‘Several specimens of ruminant animals with large udders chewing grass in a Cambridge meadow’
Sweeney ‘High School Damage’
Ale Hop & Laura Robles ‘Son de los diablos’
Cornelius Corvidae ‘Silver Flower’
James Howard ‘The Reckoning’
Draag ‘Mitsuwa’
Mike Cale ‘Slow Club’
Suki Sou ‘Petrichor’
Issei Herr ‘Aria’
Carla Boregas ‘A Cidade doe Outros’
Simon McCorry ‘Halcyon Fire’
CIEL ‘Somebody’
Tomato Flower ‘Destroyer’
Cindy ‘Earthly Belonging’
Circe ‘Riot Of Sunlight’
Chloe Gallardo ‘Bloodline’
The Inimitable Brian ‘Bordello’ Shea’s Perusal Of New Releases
SINGLES
Fruit Bats ‘We Used To Live Here’
‘We Used To Live Here’ is a bittersweet lament full of sadness and hope. A nostalgic waltz through the past, a memory, a snapshot set to a country/folk beat; a stroll of beauty we all take in our lives. A lovely song, which I am very much taken with.
The Conspiracy ‘Venus’
(Metal Postcard Records)
Chunky Kinks-like guitar riffs sends one off to the adrift of nostalgic England; a place where chunky Kinks guitar riffs go when all hope of rock ‘n’ roll future dies. That is what I love about The Conspiracy: they are so bloody British. They take the past and wrap it in a warm post-punk pop guitar feel; a place where strangers meet and discuss the early albums by Cleaners From Venus and how XTC demos are always better than the finished article. Yes indeed, I love The Conspiracy one of the many great current British bands not clogging up the airwaves.
Opus Kink ‘1 : 18’
(Nice Swan Records)
I do like Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds. So I see no reason not to like this, as they take all the early Bad Seeds charm – if charm is the word – and cover it with some youthful enthusiasm. Nothing I haven’t heard before, but Opus Kink does it pretty well. Plus for some reason I approve of a record label called Nice Swan Records. And there really is not much more to add.
CIEL ‘Somebody’
The sound of perfect guitar pop that is what the Ciel single is. Less than two minutes of jangly guitar, power pop hooks and pop punk attitude. A song so sweet it will rot your teeth, and because it is so short something we need not worry about. A lovely little gem of jangly power punk pop delight.
Tomato Flower ‘Destroyer’
Another short single. This must be the new thing, releasing singles less than two minutes in length. A thing that I hope to see more of, especially as this wonderful piece of pop buffoonery, a unhinged little gem of disposing the milk bottle in the grey area of wagstaffs once flowing blond locks, is a triumph. It has an uneasy easy feeling about it; the kind of song people who enjoy their nightmares the next morning might hum to themselves while looking through the situations vacant column knowing they do not want to work for any company willing to employ them. Tomato Flower are a band to watch out for, in a good way.
Cindy ‘Earthly Belonging’
The sound of a Summer jangle delight, at just under one and half minutes long it doesn’t give you time think about anything really. Just gives you time to wonder whether the album will be filled with such pop joy. And of course pop joy at any length is always welcome, and I look forward to the album (Why Not Now?).
Chloe Gallardo ‘Bloodline’
(Taxi Gauche)
Awwwww this is really beautiful. A really lovely sad song full of self doubt and regret. And when the young lady sings “I’m fucked up” it makes me want to give her a hug. Any song that succeeds in bringing out my natural fatherly instinct should only be applauded, for it proves Chloe Gallardo has the gift of writing from the heart and has plenty of empathy and soul. She also wraps it in a melody so beautiful it is like a discarded bubblegum wrapper blowing in a strong.
ALBUMS
Lemon Twigs ‘Everything Harmony’
(Captured Tracks) 5th May 2023
The Lemon Twigs are masters of taking influences from the masters of pop and rock and weaving blankets of musical warmth and reflection from them; whether it be the Beach Boys on ‘Corner Of My Eye’, The Carpenters on ‘Any Time Of The Day’, Simon And Garfunkel on ‘When Winter Comes Around’, Big Star on ‘What You Where Doing’…the list goes on as the album goes on. And plays and unwinds, each track casting shadows of former rock ‘n’ roll greats, and each track reminding you how special and magical classic pop music can be.
Everything Harmony is like listening to an amazing oldies radio show but never having heard any of the songs before. So take a trip in this musical time machine to go back and discover some quite wonderful new songs.
Unlettered ‘New Egypt’
I am indeed Slanted And Enchanted by this lovey 5 track EP of late 80s early 90s sounding alt rock; an invitation to revisit my youth and long for the days of John Peel and pubs shutting at 11pm, and myself being still young enough to care about these happenings. For New Egypt by Unlettered is a time box of sonic explosions a musical box of unease and bewildered fuzz bass whimsy; a 5 track wonder that takes the influences of JAMC and early Pavement and covers the tracks in a slightly tainted fairy dust of its own. And two of the tracks are available on a very ltd 7 inch single, which I am sure by the time you read this will be snapped up.
A word about the Author of these reviews::
Brian ‘Bordello’ Shea joined the Monolith Cocktail team in January 2019. The cult leader of the infamous lo fi gods, The Bordellos, has released countless recordings over the decades with his family band of hapless unfortunates, and is the owner of a most self-deprecating sound-off style blog. Far too many projects, asides and oddities to mention, but his latest album is Songs For Cilla Black (released on Think Like A Key Music) threatened to trouble some online alternative chart for a week on Amazon – so things must be looking up.
Each week we send a mountain of new releases to the self-depreciating maverick to see what sticks. In his own idiosyncratic style and turn-of-phrase, pontificating aloud and reviewing with scrutiny an eclectic deluge of releases.
Monolith Cocktail Blog 