Monthly Playlist For November 2023: Pidgins, SANITY, Danny Brown, June McDoom, LINA, Flexagon…
November 29, 2023
CHOICE MUSIC FROM THE LAST MONTH/CHOSEN BY THE MONOLITH COCKTAIL TEAM
Every month, depending on who’s contributing, the Monolith Cocktail team create a choice track journey of eclectic music; an encapsulation of that month’s reviews plus those tracks we either didn’t get time or room to write about, but loved all the same. Joining me, Dominic Valvona, this November, there’s selections from our resident Hip-Hop guru Matt Oliver and indie, lo to no-fi and underground motherfucking rock ‘n’ roll maverick, Brian ‘Bordello’ Shea, all-rounder Graham Domain and electronic-classical expert Andrew C. Kidd.
Without further ado, let’s crack on with the playlist and track list:::
Rave At Your Fictional Borders ‘Potion Trigger’
Yungchen Lhamo ‘Sound Healing’
Johanna Burnheart ‘Ems’
Assiko Golden Band De Grand Yoff ‘La Musique Du Coeur’
Pidgins ‘These Models Scale’
Neon Kittens ‘Child In A Pet’
Fir Cone Children ‘The Inability To Raise The Left Corner Of My Mouth’
Ultrasonic Grand Prix, Little Barrie & Shawn Lee ‘Seamoon Rising’
Daneshevskaya ‘Big Bird’
K. Board & The Skreens ‘Gorillino’
Bloom de Wilde ‘Clown’s Ride On A Kangaroo’
U.S. Girls ’28 Days – Live’
Koma Saxo ‘Sista Dansen’
SANITY ‘Part Time’
Elaquent Ft. Skyzoo ‘Spirit Of Richard Wright’
Benaddict, Slim, Ella Mae Sueref ‘Birds Of A Feather’
Uber Magnetics, Sir Beans OBE ‘Brain On Drugs’
Eamon The Destroyer ‘Underscoring The Blues’
Danny Brown ‘Dark Sword Angel’
Sonnyjim & Lee Scott Ft. CRIMEAPPLE, D-Styles ‘Tommy Lee Scott’
Von Pea & The Other Guys Ft. Donwill ‘Putcha Weight On It’
Berke Can Ozcan ‘The Way Back Hill’
The Stance Brothers ‘Futuristic Earth’
George Demure Ft. Stevie Christie ‘Late Again’
H31R, Jwords & Maassai ‘Right Here’
Don Leisure & Amanda Whiting ‘Walk With Us’
Radhika De Saram ‘Little Sloth Bear’
Blockhead & UGLYFRANK ‘Lighthouse’
Essa & Yungun ‘Push’
Metermaids & Seez Mics ‘Still, Life’
EF Knows ‘Bug’
Leisure FM ‘Weather Warning’
Oopsie Dasies ‘Weird Topangas’
Humm ‘Danced Alone (Who I Am When I’m In Love)’
Sweeney ‘The Fear & The Failing’
Roedelius & Arnold Kasar ‘Lifeline’
June McDoom ‘The City – With Strings’
Diepkloof United Voices ‘Round & Round’
LINA & Rodrigo Cuevas ‘Q Que Temo E O Que Desejo’
Flexagon & Lihou ‘Un Vert Bocage’
Nick Frater ‘Little Sister Moon’
Ex Norwegian ‘Send Nudes’
Dog Door ‘Cover-Up Contest’
Zahn ‘Zebra’
Sone Institute ‘Going To Hell In A Handbasket’
Room Of Wires ‘Stormdrains’
Tetsüo ii ‘!!’
N’dox Electrique ‘Sango Mara Rire’
Our Daily Bread 602: Eamon The Destroyer, Ex-Norwegian, St James Infirmary, K. Board & The Skreens…
November 24, 2023
THE INIMITABLE BRIAN ‘BORDELLO’ SHEA DELIVERS HIS VERDICT ON A NEW HAUL OF RELEASES FROM THE LAST MONTH (all of which are available now, unless stated otherwise)
___/SINGLES-EPS\___
Oopsie Daisies ‘Weird Topangas’
(Metal Postcard Records)
The Oopsie Daises are back with another slice of charming pop, replacing their normal Field Mice jangle with two equally charming synth pop ditties, both recalling the 80s synth boom with a charm and freshness that, in fact, gives a new meaning to the saying, “fresh as a Daisy”, as “fresh as an Oopsie Daises” will now sprout forth from the old English caricature of tweed jackets with leather elbow patches and a whiff of tea made with tea leaves (not bags), and a season of it being forever Autumn (not the 70s hit from War Of The Worlds). I might add, this is a double-sided beauty that really should grace a 7-inch vinyl single and be bought from Woolworths with your pocket money on a Saturday after a hellish week of school. Yes, a single to make and break a schoolboy’s heart. But sadly those days are over and all we have left is an occasional burst of the magic of pop to make both us feel both young and old, and will bring a slight smile to your face and a tear to your eye.
K. Board & The Skreens ‘Gorillino’
(Metal Postcard Records)
A wonderful pop song, not just tuneful, experimental and funky, but also very catchy indeed; a song I would expect to be drifting from BBC6 music if BBC6 music actually did what it was put on air to do, which is play experimental cutting edge alternative pop. But saying that, nowadays you are more likely hear the Small Faces than a new and upcoming band: I will not hold my breath. But anyway, it is a fine track filled with adventure and charm.
No Drama ‘No Drama EP’
(Hidden Bay Records)
This Debut EP by French indie band No Drama, called No Drama, is actually not just full of drama but also melodies and pure guitar surge (Surge Gainsbourg maybe). Actually it’s more Wedding Present on “Exit”. It has some rather excellent lyrics too. And it’s quite nice also to hear a French bands’ point of view on Brexit, as we Brits on the whole can now agree what a huge mistake it was; and it would also be a huge mistake not to partake in this rather excellent five-track beauty of indie guitar joy. One of my fave eps of the year perhaps.
___/ALBUMS\___
St James Infirmary ‘Abandoned’
(Cruel Nature Records)
I love this album. It’s an album full of beautifully written indie, country, folk songs: so what on earth is their not to love? An album that brings to mind Dylan, The Weather Prophets, Hefner and Lee Hazelwood – especially on the rather splendid ‘Old Fashion Arms’; I am always a sucker for male/female duets as all the regular readers will know. And this one is a humdinger of a song, one worthy of Lee and Nancy.
It is nice to see and to hear that humour and heartache can still go hand-in-hand in this day of throwaway pop frippery, and Abandoned is an album to pop in your cassette player (if you are lucky enough to be one of the 35 purchasers to purchase it) and admire the wit and wisdom wrapped in country-ish melodies.
Look To The North ‘A Shadow Homeland’
(Cruel Nature Records)
The challenge of melancholia is laid down by the formation of grey clowns that gather over the blink of the child from yesterdays eye escapade, the subtle indifference from the bus driver, whether you catch the bus or miss the bus he really does not give a damn, to him it’s just another missed opportunity, another possible night of near passion from the lady in the bar who drinks too much but dreams even more, and dreams very rarely come true, but the drink can deaden the pain, takes off the edges, leaving a hazy smothered blanket of maybe one days. Music by Look To The North is very much like that. It is the soundtrack of everyday sadness and life in all its Technicolor greyness; a drone of a shallow puddle of rain inviting droplets of shared hopes and wishes; a glisten of the magic that occurs in everybody’s existence even if only very occasionally, and very occasionally sometimes can be enough.
Shplang ‘Thank You, Valued Customer’
(Big Stir Records) 1st December 2023
If I owned a jeep, or even in fact if I owned a jeep and could actually drive – no point in owning a jeep if you cannot drive the yellow bastard; yes I imagine the jeep to be yellow, why? I do not know. Anyway I digress – yes it is going to be one of those reviews when I go off in tangents, and really if you do not want to read one of those reviews I would stop reading now and go and buy Mojo and read about how good the new Bob Dylan album is, or how Paul and Ringo took a heartfelt Lennon demo and made it sound average.
If I had a yellow jeep and lived in a place where the sun shone and the streets were bustling with life, not a place that is grey and cold and the streets are paved with last night’s excesses, and the boarded shop doorways inhabited by the homeless, and the only gainful employment is being unemployed, in which this is where I do actually live: and actually, I’m making it sound better than it really is. But living in a sun drenched dreamlike state where yellow jeeps are plentiful, this is the kind of album I would have being played in aforementioned jeep; an album of wah-wah guitars and catchy choruses and the occasional beautiful baroque ballad – “Everyone Can Change” is like the Zombies covering a Wings track from the mid seventies or visa versa; anyway it is bloody beautiful. This is an album one can escape to whether you drive a yellow jeep or have a smack-head as a next-door neighbour; an album of wilful adventure and escape and one I am grateful exists at this point in time.
Eamon The Destroyer ‘We’ll Be Piranhas’
(Bearsuit Records)
The new album by Eamon The Destroyer is once again a trip through a strange old life; a life that involves espionage on a Man From Uncle scale, with 60s spy themes galore performed with a wit and wisdom only matched by the beauty and musical genre hopping extravagance not seen since John Peel dropped his record collection down three flights of stairs only to land at the feet of a 70s Tom O Conner who said, “I’ll name that tune in two”.
Yes indeed, a madness of electronica, psychedelia, dance and pop; at times sounding like an inspired Momus after indulging in sharing magic mushroom soup with Cornelius and Ivor Cutler. Yes, there is magic in these tracks that one can lie back and completely lose themselves in: a journey of selfless discovery.
Ex-Norwegian ‘Sooo Extra’
(Think Like A Key)
Sooo Extra is the 14th album from Ex Norwegian and like all the other Ex Norwegian albums I have heard it is a rather excellent affair full of pop hooks and has a lovely undercurrent of darkness, a bittersweet taste of songwriting savvy you really do not come across everyday: sadly.
They take in old new wave, power pop and alt rock and weave a mighty spell of spell weaver-y that has not been woven since that lost great album The Return Of The Rentals by the equally great Rentals. There is no justice in the music world, but if there were this would be album of the week on WFMU and the like. But as we know we can’t trust the radio. But dear readers trust your own instincts and gave this mighty diamond of a record a listen.
CSE Art Project ‘I Played This Cassette Till It Broke’
(Metal Postcard Records)
I am writing this review on the anniversary of John Peel’s death, which is quite apt as I Played This Cassette Till It Broke is a tribute to the influential DJ, one who has not, and in this day and age, will never be replaced.
It has a splendid moody guitar bass and drums instrumental with a sample running throughout of John Peel running down a Festive 50, which again is very apt as the song is released on Metal Postcard Records which is run by Sean Hocking who is also a DJ on Dandelion Radio, which is the station that was started in John Peel’s memory and the station that was officially handed the mantle of carrying on the Festive 50: so see how it all falls together.
THE INIMITABLE BRIAN ‘BORDELLO’ SHEA DELIVERS HIS VERDICT ON A NEW HAUL OF RELEASES FROM THE LAST MONTH (all of which are available now, unless stated otherwise)
___/SINGLES/EPS\___
Humm ‘Danced Alone (Who I Am When I’m In love)’
This month’s cover stars
‘Danced Alone [who I Am When I Am In Love]’ is a lovely jaunt of melancholy wonder, a respite of fulfilment; the kind of charming acoustic pop that Eddi Reader used to occasionally bother the bottom end of the Top 40 with when people cared about such things. I think Humm could be ones to watch, and expect them to pop up on the radio 2 playlists soon: that is, if there is any justice in this musical world.
Bloom de Wilde ‘Clown’s Ride On A Kangaroo’
(Cherry Red)
There is something quite joyous and magical about ‘Clown’s Ride On A Kangaroo’. It’s perfect radio pop with a bewitching quality that seeps into your soul, takes hold of your heart and spins it around leaving you a giddy mess of stirred up emotions. It’s a hopeful future memory of found love, that old 60s or 70s pop song appearing on your transistor radio as you dance by yourself, imagining in your arms was the partner of your dreams. Pure pop perfection.
Tom Satch Kerans ‘Those Lies’
If catchy Stones-like rock ‘n’ roll is your thing, and if it is not your thing, what on earth are you doing reading the Monolith Cocktail! For what we have here is a catchy slice of early 80s like Rolling Stones or a Tom Petty with a Bee in his Bonnet – in fact have you ever heard of anyone who has ever had a Bee in his Bonnet? I have squashed a wasp in my ear, but that is a whole completely different story. But I cannot imagine having a bee in your bonnet being a very pleasant experience, unlike this song, which is a very pleasant experience and one more people should share in.
Dragged Up ‘Hex Domestic’
(Cruel Nature Records)
With a shiver and a shudder, the rumbles and vibrations of a bass, and the warmness of an escape from everyday life, you enter the indie world of the cassette label. You enter into the world of Cruel Nature Records, a world that exists not just in films directed by Jason Reitman but also in real life; in real life UK, a place that is in need of a shot of indie alternative art more and more everyday. And it’s labels like Cruel Nature Records that is somehow making my life tolerable and giving me hope. For they release ltd edition cassettes as splendid and life affirming as this little 4 track beauty by Dragged Up; 4 tracks of pure Velvets, Teenage Fanclub and Vaselines like gems of warmth and cold walks on rain soaked pavements attempting to window shop in boarded up shop windows in the decaying memories of what the High Street used to be: 4 tracks of pure beauty, melancholy and hope.
Dog Door ‘Cover Up Contest’
‘Cover Up Contest’ by Dog Door submerges into your yesterdays with a trip down to the days when Sparklehorse was an essential part of ones record collection; when Mercury Rev used to soundtrack your evening with your not quite married friends, and sipping to much alcohol was a daily occurrence. This is a track that almost catches the magic of those carefree days, and is a quite lovely thing indeed.
___/ALBUMS\___
Nick Frater ‘Bivouac’
17th November 2023
The art of the concept album is alive and well and living in the confines of Nick Frater’s new album Bivouac; an album about escaping post industrial Britain and seeking solitude in a woodland sanctuary.
All the tracks run into each other giving you the blanket of warmth and melody, which really is not a bad thing and with the coming Winter months can indeed be an essential requirement as it may be the only warmth we get this year. It’s sunshine pop after all. It brings to mind the magic of Jellyfish and Squeeze at their best. The 70s am pop of Andrew Gold, Billy Joel, Todd Rundgren all collide and cause an explosion of one of the most heart warming and joyful albums of the year.
The Quantum Surf Garage Dolls ‘The Ship, The Compass And The New World’
At last, the debut album from The Quantum Surf Garage Dolls. And it’s just what the world needs; honestly it does. In this time of war and death we need the sound of an instrumental like Joe Meek magic/madness brought to us by three tiny plastic dolls. We need adventure guitar twang; the whirring and whirling of sci-fi sounds; the feeling you are witnessing the second coming of the black and white TV age: the age when cobble streets and Minnie Caldwell were everybody’s sweetheart.
The Quantum Surf Garage Dolls sound like they could have stepped straight out of the wonderful explosion of 60s teenage high musical melodrama that was “Live It Up” – the Smart Alecs would have killed to have tracks like these, or at least swapped their motorbikes for. A wonderful album, the perfect soundtrack for sitting in a coffee house: the coffee house being the 2 i’s not Costa.
The Conspiracy ‘The New Zeitgeist’
(Metal Postcard Records)
Eccentricity is not a common thing in music these days. It is on the whole frowned upon, with record labels and radio stations tending to play safe and stick with the same old or the same new soulless pop or indie by-numbers strum alongs. Music with intelligence and verve and wit are pushed to the backwaters; the likes of the great Julian Cope and Luke Haines becoming nothing more than an influential cult. And that dear readers can be the only explanation why The Conspiracy are not better known, and currently reside in the ‘never heard of them, they cannot be any good brigade’, where in fact I have heard of them and they are very good indeed. As I’ve written in previous reviews of their music, they are very bloody British; they wear their love of The Kinks and the aforementioned Julian Cope on their sleeves.
Intelligent witty lyrics and riffs that at times sound like an upmarket Billy Childish – the days of him not slumming it at Aldi but buying his riffs from Selfridges. See The Conspiracy are intelligent contrary buggers who do not dumb down their art, and in these days of Neanderthals wanting Oasis to reform that can only be applauded, and they should be given medals for trying to keep intelligent artful pop alive and well.
Neon Kittens ‘Nine Doesn’t Work For An Outside Line’
(Metal Postcard Records)
Post-punk beatnik shenanigans are afoot with this the new release from Neon Kittens. Their second album [I think] carries on where their last left off, with spoken female vocals purring erotically like an attractive nun filing her nails, smiling, knowing her crotchless knickers are only slightly hidden by her too short mini habit wondering just where to place her oversized cross next, over the scratch and sniff guitar yearnings that are part Fire Engines, part Scary Monster & Super Creeps, part rock ‘n’ roll, and part sexual abandonment. Yes, this is the true sound of total derailment. This is the sound of a 15 year old girl French kissing her jazz induced slightly older best friend with benefits; an album of pure off-center genius.
Monthly Playlist For October 2023: Bex Burch, Tele Novella, Fantastic Twins, The God Fahim…
October 31, 2023
CHOICE MUSIC FROM THE LAST MONTH/CHOSEN BY THE MONOLITH COCKTAIL TEAM
Every month, depending on who’s contributing, the Monolith Cocktail team create a choice track journey of eclectic music; an encapsulation of that month’s reviews plus those tracks we either didn’t get time or room to write about but loved. Joining me, Dominic Valvona, in October, there’s selections from our resident Hip-Hop guru Matt Oliver and indie, lo to no-fi and underground motherfucking rock ‘n’ roll maverick, Brian ‘Bordello’ Shea.
Without further ado, let’s crack on with the playlist and track list:::
Bex Burch “Joy Is Not Meant To Be A Crumb’
Lukid ‘Haringey Leisure’
Mike Reed’s The Separatist Party ‘A Low Frequency Nightmare’
Chouk Bwa & The Angstromers ‘Sala’ <THIS MONTH’S COVER STARS>
Slimzee, Boylan & Riko Dan ‘Mile End’
Daiistar ‘LMN BB LMN’
Axis: Sova ‘Hardcore Maps’
Pound Land ‘Bunker – Live’
Party Dozen ‘Wake In Might’
Crime & The City Solution ‘Brave Hearted Woman’
Tele Novella ‘Poet’s Tooth’
Aesop Rock ‘By The River’
Verb T & Vic Grimes ‘Inner Child’
Joker Starr & DTY FT ‘Revelation’
Les Amazones d’Afrique ‘Kuma Fo (What They Say)’
Fantastic Twins ‘Twins Can’t Love’
Beans & Anti-Pop Consortium ‘ZWAARD_OVER’
The god Fahim ‘Big Money Talk’
Black Josh & Wino Willy ‘Today’s The Day’
Dylan Jack Quartet ‘Of Caves, Tombs And Coffins’
Daykoda ‘TONGUES’
Dhani Harrison ‘La Sirena’
Salisman & His Unwavering Circle ‘Empty Pool’
Fortunato Durutti Marinetti ‘Clerk Of Oblivion’
Junkboy ‘Chase The Knucker’
Tele Novella ‘Hard-Hearted Way’
Maria Arnqvist ‘Morning Sun’
Apathy & Kappa Gamma ‘Fenwick’
Mendoza Hoff Revels ‘Interwhining’
Cookin Soul & The God Fahim ‘Blood Sport’
Guilty Simpson & Uncommon Nasa ‘Easy’
Black Josh & Wino Willy ‘Close To The Edge’
Les Mamans du Congo & PROBIN ‘Mpemba’
fhae ‘I Just Want To Know Where We Go When We Die’
August Cooke ‘Family Portrait’
Michelle Lordi ‘Only Love Can Break Your Heart’
Raf And O ‘Still Sitting In Our Time Machines’
A. Savage ‘David’s Dead’
twin coast ‘Scratch On You’
Dirty Harry ‘Through Chaos’
The Smile Rays ‘To Do List’
Daniel Son & Wino Willy ‘CAMH’
Raul Refree & Pedro Vian ‘La Vera Pau VIII’
Andrew Heath ‘Heavy Water, Pt. 1’
aus ‘Flo – Red Snapper Rework’
Tonn3rr3 & Bikaye ‘Balobi’
Hooveriii ‘Dreaming’
Louis Carnell & Ben Vince ‘three’
Koum Tara ‘Corona Chitana’
Catrin Finch & Aoife Ni Bhrain ‘Waggle’
Our Daily Bread 595: Axis: Sova, Daiistar, Simon Waldram, A Savage…
October 10, 2023
THE INIMITABLE BRIAN ‘BORDELLO’ SHEA DELIVERS HIS VERDICT ON A NEW HAUL OF RELEASES FROM THE LAST MONTH – all releases available now unless stated otherwise
___/SINGLES\___
Daiistar ‘Parallel’
(Fuzz Club)
Daiistar is sadly pronounced as DayStar and not Dai Star, as how good would that be to have a psychedelic Welsh Elvis to come and lead us Pied Piper style to the dangers of rock ‘n’ roll. But what we have instead is a rather fetching journey back to the halcyon days of the early 90s, with baggy beats and The Darkside type guitar riffs [hands up those who remember the Darkside?]. In fact, watching this video made me think of Sunday evenings and Snuff TV.
Once again a fine track that fills me with a sense of nostalgia from those good eggs at Fuzz Club Records. I do not hold a grudge, but they turned down the chance to release The Bordellos ‘Bring Me The Head Of Justin Beiber’ single: I bet it keeps them awake at night.
Axis: Sova ‘I’m A Ghost’
(Drag City)
I like this single because it reminds me of The Cars. The funny thing about that, being I am not actually much of a Cars fan. So why do I like this? Maybe because it has a drum solo of sorts, which you do not hear much these days; not that I am a fan of drum solos or drums even, but I still find it appealing in this short foray into the American new wave sound of the early eighties.
Twin Coast ‘Wake Up Older (We Will)’
Twin Coast, a young noise/shoegaze band from Chicago, has just offered up this two-track download single. And very good it is too, all melody and feedback and performed with a joyous abandon that I also enjoyed and found very heartwarming. And which took me back when I was young and had an abandon that was joyous. In fact it took me back to the days when I used to enjoy a bit of shoegaze and would annoy my fellow record shop workmates with my playing of Smashing Orange and Ultra Vivid Scene and the first Mercury Rev album. Yes indeed, fine days. And Twin Coast seems to be a fine band/duo.
Simon Waldram ‘Mary Magdalene (Walton-on-the-Hill)’
A brand new single from Simon Waldram, who is a fine singer-songwriter. Over the years he’s released a number of fine albums, and this, the excellent beautiful ‘Mary Magdelene’, is no different; a lovely psych folk ballad that is worthy of Stephen Duffy in his Lilac Time guise: and there can be no higher compliment believe me. A song and a songwriter to hold close and cherish.
bigflower ‘The Right Way’
There is something cinematic about the widescreen outpourings of bigflower. They are just really suited to be featured on some blockbuster or another, and I am sure in time a director will stumble over the bigflower Bandcamp page and have a field day. ‘The Right Way’ is no different; another excellent dark slice of moody guitar alt rock from Ivor.
A Savage ‘David’s Dead’
(Rough Trade Records)
I really like this single by A Savage. It’s like a lo-fi-ish Brit pop song, with elements of Blur and the old mid nineties shenanigans and suchlike: a song that explores the past both lyrically and musically in a very English way. You can almost hear the rain on the pavement as the music plays, and Mr A Savage sadly bemoan to himself how he misses the days of sitting in the cafe [which is now a vape shop] reading the music weeklies and wondering what the weekend ahead brings. A nostalgic treat.
__/THE ALBUM\__
Snowcrushed ‘Snowcrush’
Snowcrushed’s A Frightened Man debut album was one of my fave albums of 2021; an album of beguiling atmospheric found sounds ambient gems. But on Snowcrush he’s gone on an alternative music journey of post-punk, Goth and Darkwave, and on occasion lo-fi folk – the excellent ‘Cowardice’ sounding like someone has taken Kurt Cobain’s tortured soul and spread it on Johnny Cash’s toast, which he ate before recording the American Recordings series of albums: A truly dark wonderful song. Although nothing else on the album quite matches up to the brilliance of ‘Cowardice’, which is no slight as not many other tracks I have heard this year matches up to it, the rest of the album is still full of unsettling dark gems.
Monthly Playlist Revue: September ’23: Flagboy Giz, Darius Jones, Vumbi Dekula, Rob Cave, Lalalar, Babel…
September 28, 2023
PLAYLIST SPECIAL/SELECTED BY DOMINIC VALVONA/MATT OLIVER/BRIAN ‘BORDELLO’ SHEA
Each month the Monolith Cocktail distils an entire month’s worth of posts into a choice, eclectic and defining playlist. Due to the sheer volume of releases on our radar, we don’t always get the time or room to feature all of them. And so, the Monthly is also an opportunity to include those tracks we missed out.
Dominic Valvona, Matt ‘rap control’ Oliver, and Brian ‘Bordello’ Shea put September’s selection together, which features New Orleans rap and bustle, émigré Russian post-punk, Fluxus imbued jazz and diaphanous vaporous ambience.
____/TRACK LIST\____
Flagboy Giz Ft. Spyboy T3 ‘Still Beat Cha’
Kurious, Cut Beetlez/Yahzeed The Divine ‘Mint Leaves’
Lucidvox ‘Don’t Look Away’
Flat Worms ‘Sigalert’
Public Speaking ‘Swollen Feet’
Guilty Simpson, Uncommon Nasa, Guillotine Crowns, Short Fuze ‘The Era That Doesn’t Know’
Donwill Ft. Rob Cave ‘Snob’
Apollo Brown, Planet Asia ‘Fly Anomalies’
Black Josh, Wino Willy, Lee Scott, Sonnyjim ‘E R M8’
Darius Jones ‘Zubot’
Gard Nilssen’s Supersonic Orchestra ‘The Space Dance Expirement’
Marike Van Dijk ‘Landed’
Trupa Trupa ‘Thrill’
Red Pants ‘Watch The Sky’
The Crystal Teardrop ‘By The River’
Connie Lovatt ‘Heart’
Mike Gale ‘Grumble Pie’
Yungchen Lhamo ‘Sound Healing’
Violet Nox ‘Ascent’
Vumbi Dekula ‘Afro Blues’
Anon (Parchman Prison) ‘I Give Myself Away, So You Can Use Me’
Blck.Beetl, Vermin The Villain ‘flowers.’
The Strangers, General Elektriks, Leeroy, Lateef The Truthspeaker ‘2222 (Go That Way)’
Dillion, Diamond D ‘Turn The Heat Up’
Napoleon Da Legend Ft. Crazy DJ Bazarro ‘Burning My Cosmos’
Ol’ Burger Beat, Gabe ‘Nandez Ft. Fly Anakin ‘Recuperating’
Smoke DZA, Flying Lotus Ft. Black Thought ‘Drug Trade’
Bisk, Spectacular Diagnostics ‘DIVE’
Declaime, Theory Hazit ‘Asylum Walk 2023’
Rob Cave, Thxk_u ‘Morning Prayers For Strange Days’
Dead Players, Jam Baxter, Dabbla, Ghosttown ‘Death By A Thousand Cocktail Sticks’
Marina Herlop ‘La Alhambra’
Aoife Nessa Francis ‘Fantasy’
Maija Sofia ‘Saint Aquinas’
Tori Freestone, Alcyona Mick, Natacha Atlas, Brigitte Beraha ‘Who We Are Now’
Charlie Kaplan ‘I Was Doing Alright’
Novelistme ‘I Need New Music’
Neon Kittens ‘I Was Clumsy’ Tony Jay ‘The Switch For The Light’
Graham Parker & The Goldtops ‘Sun Valley’
Lalalar ‘Göt’
Buildings And Food ‘Blank Slate Cycle’
Carlos Niño & Friends ‘Etheric Windsurfing, Flips And Twirls’
Richard Sears ‘Oceans’
Babel ‘Crush’
Louis Jucker ‘Seasonable’
Late Aster ‘Safety Second (Live)’
Rita Braga ‘Illegal Planet’
Paula Bujes, Alessandra Leão ‘Na Sombra Da Cajazeira’
BRIAN ‘BORDELLO’ SHEA DELIVERS THE VERDICTS ON A NEW HAUL OF RELEASES FROM THE LAST MONTH – all releases available now unless stated otherwise
THE SINGLES & EPS
Aoife Nessa Frances ‘Fantasy’
(Partisan)
‘Fantasy’ is a rather lovely thing indeed. A song of baroque darkness, this has a magical bewitching almost Beach Boys quality; a McCartney circa Ram quality I really like. Aoife Nessa Frances has a beautiful voice and is a fine songwriter, and ‘Fantasy’ is a fine song, which makes me want to hear more of the ladies quite wonderful music.
Neon Kittens ‘Sunburn On My Legs EP’
(Metal Postcard)
Just what this rain filled summer needs is a splash of post-punk sunshine from everybody’s favourite feline named act: the Neon Kittens. And of course the Neon Kittens do not disappoint. This three-track EP has all the sultry seedy glamour one expects from a Kittens release, all discordant guitars that have been wooed away from Bowie’s Scary Monsters album, offered the chance of a salacious dalliance with a younger and newer model, and will cast away all memories of the tat Bowie released in the eighties post Scary Monsters. Yes a three track EP that will not just put hairs on your chest but will also wax the parts that need waxing, leaving you all slinky and sexy for the sunbed that lies ahead.
Crystal Teardrop ‘By The River’
15th September 2023
The Crystal Teardrop‘s new single “By The River” is a bit of a psychedelic treat: all Bangles like harmonies and 1967 vibes. And could easily slip onto the Pandoras classic 1984 debut album Its About Time and no one would blink an eyelid. I love modern day psych when it is done well, and this is done very well indeed.
Juppe ‘Teardrops On Used Vinyl’
(Soliti)
There is something slinky and slightly sleazy about this song, which I enjoy. It’s pop music after all, and pop music should have at least one of the following S’s: slinkiness, sleaziness, sensuality and sprightliness. And this has two, maybe 3 of those. I can imagine being dressed like a Tiger and patrolling the house to this, which believe me can only be a good thing: like a young Elvis walking like a cat.
Charlie Kaplan ‘Gas Station Bathroom’
I have chosen to write about this track so obviously I like it, as I do not write about music that does not appeal, unless it is Oasis or post Syd Barrett Pink Floyd as they deserve all the public humiliation that can be heaped on them for their placid soggy lumpen pretence at rock ‘n’ roll. But this is not about them. This is about Charlie Kaplan and his rather lovely slice of Alt country; a slice from the same country pie Bob Dylan sang about on Nashville Skyline. But who cares, certainly not me. Anyway this is a rather fine single so give it a listen.
Novelistme ‘I Need New Music’
A song and subject matter that very much appeals to my good self, or bad self even – I am not as heavenly as I appear to be. Yes indeed, a rambunctious assault of melody that encapsulates all I love about indie/alternative guitar music: jerky, pointed, full of catchiness and charm. Novelistme are breath of fresh air in this current heatwave of smugness and ineptitude that currently resides in my email review pile. I indeed need new music like Novelistme. So please Jimmy can u fix for me to hear an album sometime [have I been cancelled yet?].
ALBUMS
Legless Crabs ‘American Russ’
(Metal Postcard)
What if Joan Jett was telling lies and she did not love Rock ‘n’ roll at all, and she was just playing at it to make her millions, and really she loved nothing better than to listen to the old sequence dance compilations – the Swing And Sway series say – or was really a closet Pat Boone fan and preferred his version of Long Tall Sally and not in a ironic way, and did not believe in the old adage that the devil had all the best tunes (which to be truthful is not true, as Cliff Richards Jesus single was one of the finest singles of the 1970s). If Joan Jett was indeed a fake I am sure The Legless Crabs could and would turn the leather panted one to the dark side. And I don’t mean the Dark Side Of The Moon as that is as rock ‘n’ roll as a defrosted box of Fish Fingers. I mean the dark side of rock ‘n’ roll, the side filled with feedback and Cramps like guitar riffs and both sexual frustration and sexual exploitation (in a seedy 70s porn like way). See, that is what I like about the Legless Crabs, they are rock ‘n’ roll in a seedy 70s porn like way.
Tony Jay ‘Perfect Worlds’
(Slumberlands) 15th September 2023
If you go to San Francisco be sure to wear dead flowers in your hair, for San Franciscan Tony Jay’s Perfect Worlds is a lovely dark album of lo-fi songs of loneliness and rejection and heartbreak; an album that will appeal to those who love the music of Sparklehorse or early Jesus And Marychain in their quieter moments. And will appeal to those among us who love to wile away the hours watching the sun set from your bedroom window, as people pass by unaware that music of great beauty is happening just above their heads; that concealed behind the walls there are people writing listening, getting it on, soundtracking the sadness and gladness in their lives. Perfect Worlds is the perfect album to soundtrack a not so just perfect life.
Graham Parker ‘Last Chance To Learn The Twist’
(Big Stir Records)
I wonder how many reviews Graham Parker has had over the years. I bet it must run into the thousands. I wonder if he collects them in a scrapbook? But how in these day of online blogs does one collect them together. He must have to print them off on his printer and then stick them in his scrapbook. That is the question that he should be asked in one of the thousands of interviews Graham Parker must still do. Just how much does he spend on printer ink and paper, as we know the price of printer ink is ridiculously high. Maybe he has it in part of the deal he does with the record label, that they must supply ink for his printer to print off the reviews. And just how big must Graham Parkers house be to hold all these volumes of review scrapbooks; unless he keeps them in storage. The mind boggles. And in all these reviews he has received over the years I wonder how many are good reviews. I expect a good 90 per cent will be good as Graham Parker is a fine songwriter, has always has been and no doubt always will be. And I think Last Chance To Learn The Twist is his 25th album. And after 25 albums we all know what you get with a Graham Parker album; a good mixture of soul, rock, pop, blues and well written and performed songs. And Last Chance To Learn The Twist is certainly no different, and fans of the man will not be disappointed. As an aside note, my old friend John who was a mod had a Parka and he used to call his coat Graham…always amused me.
Semiwestern ‘Semiwestern’
(Spirit Goth/ AudioSport) 13th September 2023
I like this album, even though I was slightly disappointed when discovering that the band did not live up to their name and was not a band with country influences. I was there all sat with my tasseled jacket and Flying Burrito Brothers suit trying my best to restage the album cover of the In The Gilded Palace Of Sin with my wife and two cats, and have you ever tried to dress a cat in Gilded Palace Sin suit, it is not easy believe me. But luckily my disappointment soon faded when the subtle My Bloody Valentine like grace of the opening track ‘I Never Mean What I Say’ started to drift from my laptop speakers. And the on further listen throughs, the following tracks took me on an alternative music journey; a journey that took in the sights and sounds of Granddaddy and The Cure and Ride and the sort of music you would hear from an American alt radio station in the early noughties. But sadly not a yee haw or round ‘em up partner, but one can not have everything.
rOZZ ‘United’
(Nub Music)
This is an enjoyable album. It has all the things I like about DIY music; it has a looseness, a poetic charm, a melancholy a fragility, and at times it sounds like it’s going to all come crashing down to floor in a paperweight frenzy of artistic endeavor.
rOZZ is an artist who I feel makes music because she has a burning need to. Not because it will make her look cool and be featured in a music blog. It has simply strummed guitars and an easy to play keyboards style, plus she has a quite lovely voice – like a Belgian Cerys Matthews -, and the songs have beautiful melodies. On the whole, this is a quite beautiful album.
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.
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