The spoils of today's record hunt. I had the two Erasure records in my old vinyl collection, so it was nice to find them! Shame the 2-Tone 7"s aren't in the labels' iconic sleeves, but you can't have everything.
It's not often i love a new album enough to play it on repeat - not since my late twenties any rate - but that's what happened when i put my Eco-vinyl copy of IDLES Crawler on the turntable. After the deliberate self parody of last year's Ultra Mono Joe Talbot and co. have taken a bold step forward: Crawler largely dispenses with the political sloganeering and post-punk moshpit anthems and reaches within for inspiration. Talbots' well documented 14 year struggle with alcohol and drug abuse, and his long road to recovery are the dominant themes here, in all their ugly details, but with a life affirming sense of redemption. The music is largely quieter and more measured too. Opener "MTT 420 RR" is a slow burning electronic textured track which represents the crash that saw him at his lowest point, the spare and eerie atmosphere over which Talbot recites the details in gruesome honesty. "Car Crash" sounds exactly like just that: a minimalist dubby, g...
Record labels aren't just businesses, or just a channel between musicians and the public. They're an identity, an aesthetic, and an iconic part of the mythology of music. Motown, Stax, Virgin, Island, Columbia, Blue Beat, Postcard - all names that will instantly bring to mind the artists signed to them, and the eras and genres associated. Thinking back to my introduction to music as a kid, the paper label in the middle of the 7" single was just as interesting to me as the music itself. The record company logo, the artwork (if there was any), the information about the artist and song too. Delving through my parents collection (mainly my Dads), certain labels became attached to certain types of music. The Bell and Rak record labels are forever attached to Glam Rock, the former being the home of the now disgraced king of glam, Gary Glitter, as well as his backing group, The Glitter Band, who had several big hits on their own, whilst the Mickie Most-owned RAK, with i...
During the last great age of alternative pop and indie (1990 - 2010), loads of great little bands popped up who, despite much acclaim from the music weeklies, never quite achieved the success of some of their contemporaries. One such band was The Long Blondes. A five piece formed in Sheffield in 2003, they traded in a brand of catchy, literate alt indie-pop, or to put it in singer Kate Jackson's words: " Nico , Nancy Sinatra , Diana Dors and Barbara Windsor . Sexy and literate, flippant and heartbreaking all at once." Blondie were also an influence on their sound and style. They also peppered their lyrics with references from film and tv. They claimed to have all chosen an instrument and learned how to play it, lending their first few independent singles a rawer feel. The then unsigned band - Kate Jackson (vocals), Kathryn "Reenie" Hollis (bass/backing vocals), Dorian Cox (lead guitar/keyboards/principal songwriter), Emma Chapl...
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