It seems there’s just time before I am forced back to work for me to look back over the previous 12 months of music related ephemera and to award my favourite things with the accolade everyone is after, the Kickers of 2015.
what every musician wants on their mantlepiece, honest
Favourite song
You can hear a detailed exploration of my 25 favourite songs of the year right here, but if I had to choose just one song as being worthy of the Kicker Song of 2015, it would have to be Simon Love’s lyrical masterpiece The New Adam & Eve…
Favourite album
In order, these are my top 25 albums of 2015 and I would recommend demand that you check them all out.
Circus Devils – Stomping Grounds
album cover of the year too!
2. Courtney Barnett – Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit
3. Car Seat Headrest – Teens Of Style
4. JD Meatyard – Taking The Asylum
5. Elvis Depressedly – New Alhambra
6. Jeffrey Lewis & Los Bolts – Manhattan
7. Astral Swans – All My Favourite Singers Are Willie Nelson
album title of the year
8. Evans The Death – Expect Delays
9. Simon Love – Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time
10. Robert Forster – Songs To Play
11. The Lucid Dream – The Lucid Dream
12. Low Low Low La La La Love Love Love – Last
13. Robert Pollard – Faulty Superheroes
14. Trust Fund – No-One’s Coming For Us
15. Sleater-Kinney – No Cities To Love
16. Stephen Jones – Outsider
download only
17. Sierra Manhattan – Tape
18. Low – Ones And Sixes
19. Scott Twynholm – Alasdair Gray, A Life In Progress
20. Frog – Kind Of Blah
21. The Chills – Silver Bullets
22. H Hawkline – In The Pink Of Condition
23. Girlpool – Before The World Was Big
24. Graham Repulski – Success Racist
25. Fiona & Gorwel Owen – Releasing Birds
Mrs O’Elves’ favourite
And here, in alphabetical order, are 25 more albums I have really enjoyed this year and would also highly recommend:
The Advisory Circle – From Out Here, Babybird – Back To The Womb, Euros Childs – Sweetheart, Cleaners From Venus – Rose Of The Lanes, The Decemberists – What A Terrible World, What A Beautiful World, Halma – Granula, King Of Cats – Microwave Oven, Kosmische Laeufer – The Secret Cosmic Music Of The East German Olympic Program 1972-83: Volume Three, Clayborn Lord – iPhone I & II, Lucern Raze – Stockholm One, Nervous Twitch – Get Back In Line, The Nightingales – Mind Over Matter, Papernut Cambridge – Nutlets 1967-80, Passenger Peru – Light Places, Public Service Broadcasting – The Race For Space, Pulco – Innovation In The Trade, Ricked Wicky – I Sell The Circus, The Safe Distance – Do Some More Songs, Sauna Youth – Distractions, Schizo Fun Addict – Schizo Fun Addict, The Sine Waves – Into The Syntax Era, Trans Charger Metropolis – Haunted House Birds, Trust Fund – Seems Unfair, Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat – The Most Important Place In The World, Wreckless Eric – amERICa, Yo La Tengo – Stuff Like That There.
plus a couple of download only albums
Best Compilation
Adventures in Home Taping Volume 2 (Post/Pop Records)
Best EP
Dog! Paper! Submarine! – Signal From Kepler-22B just edging out TV Wonder – Bird Sounds
Best Boxset
The Go-Betweens – G Stands For Go-Betweens: Volume 1, 1978-1984
The Robert Pollard Annual Output Roundup
Another relatively quiet year on the Bobby Pop front with just the 9 singles and 5 LPs from Robert Pollard, Circus Devils and Ricked Wicky. There was also, of course, the best 4xCD 100 Song release of the year in Suitcase Four: Captain Kangaroo Won The War, plus the Briefcase (red vinyl) and a helpful Best Of Robert Pollard 2012-2014 as well as the reissues of Bee Thousand (in 2 colours), Do The Collpase (orange), Isolation Drills (blue) and a stand-alone King Shit & The Golden Boys. In the wider GBV world, we also had 2 great releases from Todd Tobias. Oh, yes, and there was this one off Guided By Voices single (just the one copy made, you understand) that cost a fortune in an auction (apparently).
Worst Record
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Bob Dylan‘s Shadows In The Night was utterly forgettable.
Best Music Book
Actually out at the end of 2014, but not read until the beginning of this year, Steve Hanley’sThe Big Midweek may well be the best book on The Fall I have ever read.
Best Music Film
Bruce Springsteen – The Ties That Bind
Best TV
Fargo – Season 2
The Bridge – Season 3
W1A
Worst TV
Channel 5 Football League Show – unwatchable even when fast forwarding through the modern day Bob Wilson – Anchorman, Adam Virgo, and even on the rare occasions that Leeds have won.
Top 10 Gigs
Super Furry Animals – Albert Hall, Manchester, 6 May – review
Spare Snare – Maguires, Liverpool, 9 September – recording
Sun Kil Moon – The RNCM, Manchester, 19 July
Courtney Barnett – The Ritz, Manchester, 30 November
Richard Dawson – The Shipping Forecast, Liverpool, 18 February – review
Sleater-Kinney – Albert Hall, Manchester, 24/3/15 – review
Euros Childs / Simon Love – Gullivers, Manchester, 7 October – review
The Wave Pictures / Evans The Death – Indietracks, Derbyshire, 25 July – review
Girlpool – The Deaf Institute, Manchester, 8 September
JD Meatyard – The Lomax, Liverpool, 30 January – review
It is perhaps worth noting that I went to more than 30 gigs in 2015 and not one of them was disappointing. Live music is very much alive and well in the North West of England.
This monthly mix rounds up all those tracks from 2015 that oh-so-nearly made my Best of the Year selections.
First up we have particular O’Elves favourites They Might Be Giants with one of a plethora of tracks they have been releasing to their fanclub (hello, Kicker Jr!) throughout the year as part of their Dial-a-Song project. You can also find this song (and some of the others) on the album Why? And why not? Now, you may have noticed that I sneaked a very short track from The Chills onto my Best of the Year selections, but the album Silver Bullets is also worthwhile revisiting for the tremendous title track. You know who I’ve got in my sights, right? On podcast #51, we featured our Scandiwegian pal Martin Meeoonsun Sjeeuuustrand and his band This Heel. Well, Martin is also a key part of the wonderfully named Dog! Paper! Submarine! and their Signal From Kepler-22B EP is a really doozy, so here’s my favourite track from that. This is followed by the always enchanting Helen Love and a cassingle (yes, everyone’s favourite format) that came out on Post Pop Records. It’s not on Spotify, so go and buy it after you’ve enjoyed the shenanigans below.
Darren Hayman has been ludicrously busy again this year multi-tasking his way through loads of great musical projects and collaborations. However, my favourite from him has been the relatively simple solo album Florence and the stand out track for me details unrequited love in the Post Office. One of the many highlights from the Indietracks Festival that Chorizo and I enjoyed was the band Bunnygrunt, topping even the brief glimpse of the aforementioned Mr Hayman. I am guessing the band released their fourth album this year; it is called Vol. 4 after all and features more fine cover artwork that you should check out. The song we walked in on when the band started their set is still my favourite. Following hard on the footsteps of bands I love that have punningly named themselves on other bands, like Elvis Depressedly, come the band Sauna Youth. I have played their Distractions LP a lot this year and really should have included them in my original list. Still, better late than never, here I have gone for the fanatstic racket that is Transmitters. A band who came to my attention rather later in the year via the Espace B. November download was The Soap Opera. I don’t know much about this lot, although I guess they are Canadian, but what I do know is that they have written the best song about Paul Gascoigne ever. It’s not on Spotify, so you’ll just have to enjoy below. Way-aye!
Another reliable source of quality music is the German label Kapitaen Platte and this year my pick from their releases is the instrumental magnificence of Halma from the album Granular. Equally reliable as source of great music has been the band Trust Fund. I already showcased my favourite from their first release this year on my Best Of 2015 list, but the band also produce a second, equally wonderful, album, Seems Unfair, and the song Football is a favourite not only with me, but also with a certain leopard-suited frontman. So, it must be grrrrreat. [TTW Ed. that’s a tiger, you fool.] The slightly more prolific Robert Pollard has given us 5 albums of new material this year under the guises of Ricked Wicky (3 albums), Circus Devils (see my pick of the year) and under his own name with the album Faulty Superheroes. It is from the latter that my second favourite Pollard track of the year is taken – What a Man!!. We wizards have a good old chat about the band Sleaford Mods on the final part of the Best of 2015s triptych (soon to be published), but suffice to say my top track from them was the expletive-strewn B-side to A Little Ditty. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the delicate sensibility of Spotify means you’ll have to enjoy the track in video form:
Another cassingle next, or possibly a cassettep (5 tracks), all the way from Montreal, Québec, it’s Moss Lime and a track from their July First collection that originally came out at the end of 2014, but so good is it that it was re-released in May this year (and that, my friends, gets it onto this list, Strummer Rule and all). Rather more obviously a 2015 release, Wreckless Eric’s amERICa is a particularly fine addition to his canon of work. My favourite track is the politically astute White Bread – also, the best type of bread to toast and have with Marmite incidentally. Another welcome return this year came from pseudo (?) DDR revisionists Kosmische Lauefer with their third instalment of The Secret Cosmic Music Of The East German Olympic Program 1972-83 – another fantastic collection that my fellow, but more (at all) active running, wizards will no doubt be applying to their training regimes next year. Then we have the most prolific artist of the year, out Pollarding Pollard, it’s yer man Stephen Jones with a track taken from one of his 21 (twenty-one, teleprinter fans) albums that saw light in 2015, this one, Back To The Womb, coming out under the Babybird name. Not on Spotify – do yourself a favour and investigate Stephen’s bandcamp page, and enjoy my current favourite from all that below.
One of the strangest live experiences of the year was seeing the band Vukovar play in support of Brix Smith. Seemingly fully undeterred by the virtually empty room, to all intents and purposes they morphed into a post punk approximation of The Doors. I didn’t recognise any of the tracks they played despite the fact that their Emperor LP has been a particular favourite for most of the year. Anyway, here’s my favourite from them in a form that I do recognise. For the second month running I am playing a Clearance track – this one comes from their Rapid Rewards LP (that still hasn’t arrived btw – too much lovin’ at the P.O., eh?). Our pal Jan, out of off of Spare Snare, has not only taken the band out on tour and released the best cover version of an Argentinian lo-fi anti-folk singer of this or any year, but has also been very busy with his Grand Gestures project this year. The fourth, and final, album again features a treasure trove of vocalists and is well worth checking out here, but it is a track from the Third release that came out at the start of the year that I particularly love. When I first heard the Andrew Mitchell fronted ‘In To The Darkness We Go’, I described it as the saddest song I would hear all year. I was right and it is still absolutely fantastic. Sob. Then to finish off, I have gone with another artist I know nothing about, who again comes to me via Espace B – this time as part of their December, or if you prefer, Décembre release, it’s Inaniel Swims. It’s a great song and just the spur I need to drive me to find out more over the next 12 months…
Those all important tracks in full:
They Might Be Giants – Definition Of Good
The Chills – Silver Bullets
Dog! Paper! Submarine! – New Light
Helen Love – You Can’t Beat A Boy Who Loves The Ramones
The Leaf Library’s “Daylight Versions” is definitely one of our favourite albums of 2015. Their song “Tilting” can be heard on our podcast number 53 which will be available on this site in the next few days.
Listen to (and then buy) the album whilst you read our interview with guitarist Matt Ashton and bassist Gareth Jones.
CG: How did it all begin for The Leaf Library?
MA: I’ve known Kate for years and, in the early days we always talked about doing a band but never got around to it. I went off and did Saloon for a few years and, when it was obvious that that was coming to an end, I decided I wanted to start my own thing. I didn’t want to sing and Kate was the obvious choice. Everything we’ve done since has been built around her voice.
GJ: Do you remember Myspace? Oh those heady days of 2006. I joined as I wanted to pay Matt back in the form of physical labour for only buying Saloon’s albums from the promo bins at Vinyl Exchange.
CG: This is your 2nd album but your first for wiaiwya, how was it different working with a more established label?
MA: Most of the records I’ve put out over the years (in various different groups) have been on established labels so there were no surprises. I’ve known John for many years and it was nice knowing that we could talk to each other and understand each other. The label / artist relationship is a delicate one!
GJ: You have to remember to be nice about your labelmates occasionally.
CG: How long did the album take to record? Was it a difficult “birth”?
MA: The album took about a year and a half from first demo session to final mastering. It wasn’t a difficult birth but it was very hard work. That may sound like a long time but that was us actually rushing to get it finished. We obviously weren’t going to cut any corners but we didn’t do loads of takes.
What took time was editing all the layers we recorded, recording all the guests and then mixing the whole lot. Lots of late nights. Simon the producer (from Cosines, and now our sort of ‘touring’ guitarist) did an amazing job. Gareth helped engineer it but it was mainly Simon at the controls for the whole thing. And neither he, nor any of the others complained about staying late to get something done.
GJ: I went for the full epidural.
MA: …which means endless bottles of Banks’s Bitter for him, Portobello Star for Lewis and I, and many many packets of producer Simon’s Oreos.
CG: The music sounds very collaborative, as if it’s been constructed live with the full band playing together, is that accurate?
MA: No, that’s not how it is. But it’s very well arranged and recorded so I’m glad that that comes across. All the parts (apart from a couple of the group backing vocals) were recorded seperately. We don’t have the space at the studio we use (Studio Klank) to do a full band set up.
But there was lots of collaboration on the record with all the guests that came in to play on it. People were given a bit of direction but were mainly left to their own devices.
CG: The drones and electronic soundscapes add a huge amount to the songs both live and on record. At what point do they appear? Are they a starting point for some songs or added on after the rest of the songs?
MA: They can appear at any point, actually. Some of them are the starting point for a track and others are added towards the end. To be honest though, if we’re getting towards the end of a track and we need a drone then maybe there’s something wrong with it. There are lots of little, non-droney electronic details that Lewis added on all the tracks as well, some of which are my favourite bits.
Check out Kate’s trainers.
Your singer Kate has a fantastic voice, which suits the flow of the group’s music. Please could you ask her which singers have influenced her?
Kate Gibson: There are loads of singers that I like but I very rarely listen to something to try and sound like it, I just try and do the best with my own voice.
CG: Lyrically there’s a lot of references to time (e.g. seasons passing, leaves changing colour, morning/day/night, stuff about stars & planets). Is that a deliberate theme for the album?
MA: Yes, very deliberate. Over the last couple of years seasons, time and the weather started making more of an appearance in the things I was writing. I was reading more about the world outside of cities (as opposed to cities themselves) and I think that had quite an influence. The weather is something I find really useful for songwriting as it’s universal but also very personal. I try not to write deliberately sad songs but I like using little bits of weather writing to create an atmosphere or to subtley shift a song’s direction.
CG: What other themes are lurking in the lyrics? I’ve noticed that water is mentioned quite a bit.
MA: The water stuff is a more recent thing. It was something that started to come up more and more so I decided to embrace it. I’ve always loved the sea (being near it as opposed to on it) but I’ve never been able to write about it before without sounding cliched. It started with the flooding theme of Acre and then spread to songs about Suffolk (Rings of Saturn, April), swimming (Pushing/Swimming), and washing away / new beginnings (Slow Spring), to flooding as a metaphor for dying (Sailing Day).
CG: That bit in Evening Gathers with the multiple drummers is amazing. Whose crazy idea was that?
MA: Um, I can’t remember. Either Lewis or I but I can’t be sure. It started as a 4/4 krautrock thing but we decided that it was too obvious and that we wanted to do something unexpected with it.
CG: Are there any favourite phrases in your lyrics?
MA: I’m really proud of all the lyrics on this record. I always take care with the words but, for the first time ever, there’s nothing on the entire record that doesn’t have some kind of meaning. I’m particularly pleased with the lyrics in Summer Moon. They were the last ones to be finished and proved the hardest. I’ve been trying to capture that particular atmosphere in a song for a while now and I think I’ve got pretty close.
CG: What is your favourite word that you have not managed to get into one of your lyrics? (yet)
MA: Bathysphere [TTW Ed: Smog want to live in one of those in this song]
CG: Which other artists do people say you sound like and how do you feel about it when they say that?
MA: For ages we just got compared to Stereolab which was both a compliment and a big frustration as I don’t think we sound all that much like them. Of course, there are some similarities and complaining about being compared to such a great band could seem churlish, but there was possibly a couple of cases of lazy journalism (girl singer, keyboards, slight dearth of choruses) and you sometimes wonder that, if they’re not noticing all the other people we stole from, what else are they missing. We love Stereolab but we also love LOADS of other people and borrow from them all on a regular basis.
That said, on this new record we’ve had other comparisons – Yo La Tengo, REM, The Clientele, Galaxie 500, Broadcast, Epic 45, Talk Talk. And of course Stereolab, but they’ve been a bit better directed than usual.
The Leaf Library @ Indietracks
CG: I heard you first at Indietracks in the summer. Did you enjoy the gig in the chapel and did you manage to catch any other bands over the weekend?
GJ: I had a great time – hadn’t been to Indietracks since my other band Wintergreen played in 2007 (also in the church). Such a lovely atmosphere all weekend despite the weather. I can’t really remember much else apart from the buffet bar carriage and the secret campsite disco.
MA: I LOVED the Indietracks show. I’ve never been before as I’m not into that many of the bands that usually play but it was still a big honour to be on, and especially on that stage. And they really look after the bands too which is nice.
We worked hard on that set and I think it went really well, even if I did get into trouble for playing an unannounced Morrissey cover. And Simon did a good job of recruiting drummers to play with us at the end of Evening Gathers. It felt pretty good making that much noise in that little church!
CG: What’s planned for 2016?
MA: We’ve got an album of just the drones from Daylight Versions coming out on cassette at some point and I’d like to do a proper release of all the amazing remixes we’ve had back so far. I’d also like to do some recording with Dan and Dave from The Drink, and to start a new record.
People of London, go to this!
GJ: Looking forward to kicking 2016 off at the Winter Sprinter[TTW Ed: brilliant line-up with 4 other bands that have featured in our Best of 2015 list Simon Love, Milky Wimpshake, Martha and Evans the Death] I’d like to play a bit more this year and I think we’re looking at recording new ideas as we go too. Also, there’s a Wintergreen LP out at some point.
Watch this space for Part 2 of this interview coming very soon.
In the first part of the eagerly anticipated triptych of the wizards’ Best of 2015s, Kicker of Elves manages to pack in a full 25 songs that just go to show how much great music has been around in the last 12 months.
outside the wizard studios earlier
Fighting off demands for more beer and slights on the less than festive surroundings, Kicker brings us the best music from his listening world, which, as it turns out, mostly incorporates Scotland and Australia.
So settle down in your favourite chair, set aside an hour or so, and tune in below or download and listen here.
We are proud to present this 8 track EP in tribute to the great Phil Ochs.
This Saturday (19th December) would have been Phil’s 75th birthday.
Trust the Wizards have put together this collection of Phil’s songs to raise money for CALM, a Liverpool based charity that raises awareness of mental health issues affecting young men.
The price for the EP is only £1 but you can pay more if you like to help us raise money for this important cause.
Click the link / picture below to listen to and buy the EP.
Huge and heartfelt thanks go to all the artists who contributed to the EP.
We’ve got just the thing if you’re looking to escape the aural onslaught of all the usual shit Christmas songs. Check out these festive crackers from 2 of our favourite singers.
First up is that cheeky scamp Simon Love who sounds like he’s been knocking back eggnog with the festively named Jesus and Mary Chain on his version of “Winter Wonderland”. It’s brought to you the always reliable Freak Scene and can be downloaded for just a quid right here.
Watch this space for more on Simon Love as we’re recording of “Best of 2015” podcasts very soon.
We’re big fans of songs that are about songs and obviously being wizards we like Wizzard. So this new song from MJ Hibbett & The Validators is ticking a lot of boxes.
It is fitting that I first listened back to this live recording, taken from the Salford show of JD Meatyard’s recent ‘Independents Tour’, in the hours after our Tory government decided to bomb Syria. The helpless sense of outrage and frustration I was feeling then, and still feel now, is all over this album, which at times is as much political rally as music gig.
The set kicks off with a rip-roaring St Peter At The Gate, where JD’s ire is righteously mostly directed at bankers, Tories (some of whom apparently accidently saw him play an earlier gig) and a particular newspaper magnate. An early highlight is a visceral version of Jesse James, where JD’s frenetic strumming could almost match touring partner Jesse Statman’s, and it’s clear we need a John Donaldson (even when ‘doing’ Mark E Smith) as much as we need anyone. This is a political call to arms at its most vital.
The tellingly apt Taking The Asylum reminds us who suffers when wars are declared and the madness of the world we live in and features a couple of fantastic yells that come from deep within the heart of a clearly passionate and honest artist.
We get a couple of ‘hits’ in the form of the John Peel Festive 50 bothering Northern Song and Lies, Lies & Government, both delivered here with typically ad-libbed lyrics that spew out in a stream of consciousness that challenges the audience to keep up. The roars of approval that follow suggest they do just that.
There’s personal heartbreak too with a couple of snippets from Sad Song Of A Singer Songwriter, one which segues neatly into Sorry Song, and the beautifully bleak Anna Had A Kid.
Things round off with a triptych of A Political Song (where never has the repetition of the word ‘guillotine’ sounded so exciting), the fabulous Standing On The Shoulders (with a melody to die for and a roll-call of vital artists that should be listened to by every 18-year-old in this country before they vote), and a phenomenal MySpace Star (where guitarist Steve Lindley really comes to the fore).
JD Meatyard is one of those artist who you have to experience live. This excellent recording gives you a taste of what a protest singer mixing humour and heartfelt politics in the 21st century can and should sound like. As the man himself says, this is the truth.
Support independent artists by going to see them play live in your town and downloading shows like this from German Shepherd Records:
Having taken a new leg stump guard and considered the field, the wizards get stuck into building a second half century of podcasts by taking in a snapshot of Icelandic life.
gómsætum
In this show, we present perhaps our scariest track ever, discuss Rebel Rikkit’s love for Danny Baker and that Elvis Costello’s book. There’s also the welcome (sic) return of Kicker’s Question Time and a wildly off-compass World Of Ska. Oh yes, and a long overdue celebration of Garbanzoes.
Time then for the final mix of the year, and what better way to start than with a song to lead us through the Winter Hours by the remarkable Advisory Circle (that Jon Brooks on that Ghost Box label) from this year’s From Out There LP.
our advice is to stay in
Following on from that instrumental opener, we have the band Clearance (who may very well have heard a Pavement record or two). The song is a B-side on their Greensleeve 7″ that came out a couple of years ago, although they have had a new album out this year called Rapid Rewards that you should check out too (my copy has seemingly permanently been held up in the post). An oldie next and another track from that 60 Songs From The Cramps Crazy Collection compilation that I dipped into last month. This time I’ve gone for a track by Gene Summers, an old-school rockabilly type from Texas (it says here). Then, mostly to contradict our own Chorizo Garbanzo, I’ve gone for another track from a compilation in the form of the ungooglable legendary New York punk duo Snatch and their magnificent late 70s single, which appears on the wonderfully titled Somewhere Between Heaven And Woolworths collection. Disappointingly, this song isn’t on Spotify, but here it is in its full video glory…
A classic from the band they call The Band next and the much underrated Jawbone from their self-titled second album. Then we have a single from the band they call Caesars, featuring future Les Big Byrds no less. Poptastic stuff from Sweden once again. Taking things down a notch comes a track from this year’s release from Simon Joyner, Grass Branch & Bone, which sounds like a dodgy firm of solicitors to me, but is in fact a collection of sparse singer-songwritery gems from Omaha, Nebraska. From rather nearer home, Derby to be exact, come The Telephones, who Tex and I enjoyed at the Cardigan Fruits De Mer shindig early this year. I picked up their Hummingbyrd single then and it’s the B-side that has particularly stuck. It’s not Spotifiable though, so you’ll have to go and buy it via the band’s Facebook page after you’ve heard a live version below.
Electropop courtesy of Minneapolis duo Polica next, with a track that appeared on their Raw Exit EP last year and appears on this mix right about now. Erstwhile wedding singer and current Middle Eastern hearthrob, Omar Souleyman has a new one out this year (Bahdeini Nami) and it’s very much more of the same, which is excellent news for us fans of Arabic scales and squelchy synths. Interestingly enough, I played some of this to an Omani friend whose reaction was to laugh uncontrollably – seems the lyrics are a little ‘cartoony’, sounds great to me though. A song that will not get laughed at next from The Replacements – a favourite from their Pleased To Meet Me album and, in response to Chorizo Garbanzo’s challenge, my first suggestion for a band whose albums just got better and better. Then from the A to Z of Art Is Hard, we have G for Goddam Nobody and another song that Spotify have missed. Luckily, you don’t have to…
As regular readers will testify, a high fibre diet is a must. They will also be aware that I occasionally dabble with Kickstarter projects. One such was last year’s album from The Men They Couldn’t Hang called The Defiant. As a long-term fan of their wonderful debut, it was great to hear the band have still got what it takes nigh on 30 years later. Now, we know that all us wizards love that Chuck Prophet, but did you know that he’s all over the Go Go Market 2003 album Hotel San Jose with his missus, Stephanie Finch? Well, he is, which just make it doubly go-good. At this point, I have to admit not to having kept up with the band The House Of Love. I understand they reformed and had a new album out a couple of years ago, but frankly why listen to that when you can go back to their first album and, of course, the two early non-album singles. Here’s one of them. Talking of avoiding the new stuff… Neil Young. Yes, last year saw perhaps a low point only previously hit with Landing On Water, but there I was a couple of months ago again waiting for his new one to drop onto my doorstep. Fortunately, this The Monsanto Years is a noticeable return to form, and I can happily report that it is well worth a listen or two. Here’s a live taste of one of the standout tracks as it’s not on Spotify (I guess you Pono fans already knew that though, right?).
A welcome return for our Tex Pix feature next, and our lone star star has found a real cracker in the band Shopping. Releasing their Why Choose LP on Big Cat Records is a very good sign, sounding, as the Texster says, like a lo-fi B52s is another. More Welsh wonderfulness next with a track from Melys that appears on yet another compilation I’ve been listening to, the self-explanatory Anskst Records: Radio Crymi Playlist VOL 1 1988-1998, and very pleasingly features the term ‘the big-I-am’. Isn’t the Internet a wonderful thing? Bringing together like minded souls from different parts of the globe at the click of a mouse. And so it was that fellow GBV-nut, Stefan Breuer brought to my attention the fact that his band The World Of Dust had a new album out featuring Robert Pollard associate Todd Tobias called Womb Realm. It was bound to be great, right? Damn right it was. Oh, and how about a Robert Pollard track to wrap things up for the year? From one of three Ricked Wicky albums released in 2015, this track very nearly made my best of the year list, but has been edged out by a Circus Devils masterpiece. Still, get on the I Sell The Circus album and work forwards from there and don’t accept any substitutes.
If The Wedding Present weren’t still gigging, I might never see my oldest friends. We’ve been going to their gigs together since 1989, seeing them in Portsmouth, Reading, Stoke, Wakefield, Holmfirth twice, Liverpool twice, Manchester many times and London too many times to count. These days we’re all living in different parts of the country so we use these events as an excuse to meet up, have a few pints and see if we can still hack it in the moshpit.
Most of the Wedding Present gigs we’ve been to in the last decade have been whole album shows where we’ve seen our favourite albums played in full. But this one was just a straightforward set with support acts chosen by David Gedge himself in celebration of the Academy’s 25th birthday.
After showing my tourist mates some of Manchester’s most important historic sights (the Holy Name Church namechecked in Vicar in a Tutu and yer actual Cemetry Gates), we missed ex-Delgado Emma Pollock‘s solo set unfortunately.
The Holy Name Church. Lead-lifters of the world unite and take over.
But we did see her perform 2 songs with Cinerama, both of which she sang on the original recordings. Wah wah heavy B-side “Love” was great but “Ears” has always been a big favourite of mine. It’s a rather curious tale of listening in on your ex making whoopee with her new beau. Is there a word for that, you linguistic experts out there? I know that if you were observing them visually that would be called “voyeuristic” but is there an aural equivalent?
As well as the 4 musicians from the headline band and the 2 additional keyboard players I saw them with at Indietracks, the lineup has expanded further to include flute and trumpet. This really added to the sound, especially on “146 Degrees” and the appropriately-titled set closer “Wow”
Next up was Badly Drawn Boy playing a home match. Tough gig for him really because I don’t think that many people in the crowd were that interested in seeing a solo artist and you could hear a lot of chat in the crowd. I’ve heard people rave about how great he is live and others say he’s shambolic, unnecessarily aggressive to the audience and just shit.
Having seen him live for the first time tonight, I’d say all of those points are valid.
He messed up a few guitar parts, abandoned some songs halfway through for no apparent reason, announced that today was the happiest day of his life. That raised a few eyebrows given the news events of the previous night but he explained that it was because his girlfriend came back to him. “I love you Leanne” he proclaimed, reminiscent of Johnny Vegas when you’re not quite sure if he’s acting a character or whether he genuinely is having some kind of breakdown.
He told us and told us again how honoured he was to be opening for The Wedding Present but then he said that David Gedge was one of the worst singers ever and has no sense of humour. He flicked the V’s at the crowd a few times without much, or indeed any, provocation. He didn’t seem to be that sure of what he was doing and saying. It all left me wondering if maybe he’s a bit too keen on helping the economy of Colombia.
But you know what, when he stopped wittering on and just sang it was actually bloody good.
Badly Rehearsed Boy
He wandered offstage having said his goodnights before a crew member seemed to tell him that he needed to play for longer and pushed him back out on the stage. He finished up with a solo version of “I Wanna Be Adored”, a surefire crowd-pleaser in Manchester but definitely a song to add to the list of “songs that don’t really work without a band”.
So on to the main event then. Regular readers of the blog (hello again to you both) will know that I am a massive Wedding Present fan so you know what’s coming. It was a bloody great gig. Genuinely one of the best I’ve seen out of the 30-ish I’ve seen. Part of that was due to a lively crowd and a great setlist taking in every era of the band.
There were a few new songs in there, the most immediate of which was “1000 Fahrenheit”. New album in 2016 maybe?
We leapt around down the front with a load of other people old enough to know better. They played “You Should Always Keep In Touch With Your Friends” and I looked around and smiled to see that this band have helped me to do just that.
They finished up with “My Favourite Dress” which I’m pretty sure was the song that got us all hooked in the first place. As we walked back to the car in the stereotypical Manchester rain, we tried to figure out what it was that made this band so special to us all. It can’t just be nostalgia because other bands we liked in our teenage indie-disco years are still gigging but we don’t really bother with them these days. We all loved The Fall but can barely work up enough enthusiasm to keep buying their new releases. We all hero-worshipped Billy Bragg but none of us still buy his records or would go to see him now. We all agree that Inspiral Carpets at Brighton Top Rank in 1990 was one of the greatest gigs since the dawn of humanity but none of us are remotely interested in going to see them in 2015. So what makes The Wedding Present different to those bands? Are these other bands just not as good as they used to be? Or maybe they weren’t even that good in the first place? (hello there The Wonder Stuff)
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
25 years ago, The Wedding Present released an EP with a cover that said “All the songs sound the same.” When they returned in 2005, they sold t-shirts with the slogan “All the songs still sound the same.” It’s a pretty safe bet that if you like 1 Wedding Present album then you’d like all the others too. John Peel’s oft-quoted words about The Fall seem appropriate for The Wedding Present too: “they are always different, they are always the same”
As Pompey Mike said on the drive home: “They never disappoint.”
The gig was on Saturday, it’s now Wednesday and my t-shirt is still soaking wet.
The individual verdict from me and my mates:
Chorizo Garbanzo
Travelled from: near Manchester
Highlights: Come Play With Me, Deer Caught In The Headlights, Flying Saucer
Mr Fingers
Travelled from: Bath
Highlights: My Favourite Dress & Everyone Thinks He Looks Daft
Bebbo a.k.a. The Human Lamp-post
Travelled from: London
Highlights: “all the old ones”
New Zealand’s number 1 Wedding Present fan Tom Williams
Travelled from: not jetting in especially from New Zealand disappointingly but half an hour from Manchester
Highlights: ears are still ringing from “No Christmas”
Pompey Mike
Travelled from: Pompey, obviously
Highlights: Dalliance and Dare. He added “with my besties”. Not quite sure when this middle-aged man who I’ve been friends with for more than 30 years has suddenly started talking like a 9 year old girl but anyway luvs u gorge BFF wit woo ❤♡❤♡❤♡ xxxx
Bonus photo:
Check out my “Seamonsters” pint glass, handmade by Mr Fingers.
Spotify playlist of Cinerama / Wedding Present playlist (excluding the new songs obviously):
The wizards finally make it through the nervous 40s and see out a chanceless half century of podcasts.
another musical legend acknowledges the crowd
In this show, there’s excitable talk of some of the fine gigs attended by some (but rarely all) of the wizards, the strange parallel between Kicker and Julian Cope, and a story from the 60s Detroit music scene that’s not to be missed. Oh, and we also play a shedload of great music.
Download all of that from this link or stream and download via our pals at soundcloud.
This December would have been the 75th birthday of the great Phil Ochs. If you’re anywhere near Liverpool this weekend then you should go to the tribute concert on Saturday. It’s at 81 Renshaw Street and tickets are only £3 – all profits in aid of C.A.L.M – a registered charity, which exists to prevent male suicide in the UK.
Phil Ochs ended his own life in 1976 and in 2013, male suicide accounted for 78% of all suicides and is the single biggest cause of death in men aged 20 – 45 in the UK.
I spoke to fellow Phil Ochs fan Huw from The Swapsies to find out more.
CG: How did you first become a fan of Phil Ochs?
H: I first heard about Phil through the Billy Bragg song ‘I Dreamed I Saw Phil Ochs Last Night’. I got the American Troubadour album soon after. I must have been around 17 or 18 and I just wasn’t ready for Phil then! It took me a fair few listens to really get into him, but once I did I was hooked. There was so much I didn’t understand, but I loved finding out.
CG: Phil was one of many singers who got their first break singing in the folk clubs of Greenwich Village in the early 60s. What is it about Phil that sets him apart from his contemporaries?
H: I wouldn’t dare try and persuade someone that they should like Phil’s music. Unlike someone such as Tim Hardin say (who Phil loved too), I can understand why Phil didn’t become massive. That said, Tim Hardin’s back catalogue is somewhat slight. Someone like Tom Paxton just seems too genial to me. [check out Paxton’s heart-breaking song for his friend Phil here] I just don’t trust Dylan (what seems like cool detachment to some just comes across as cop-out indifference to me).
Phil immersed himself in his times and let all the hubbub of 1960s America infect his songs. They are positively dripping with ideas, with passion, with poetry, with politics, with a kind of hard-earned feeling for the issues of the day that is most usually associated with love songs. His songs are about stuff. He defined a protest song as “a song that’s so specific it cannot be mistaken for bullshit.” I think that sums up my feelings towards all his songs, protest or otherwise.
CG: Early acoustic stuff vs. the more extravagant songs / arrangements on the later A&M albums. Discuss.
H: Phil had a pretty confrontational attitude to politics (pointing his ire at those to the left as well as the right) that remained pretty consistent. He never lost that anger, no matter how depressed he became. His attitude to music was far more open however. He spoke of creating a mixture of the poetry of Dylan with the musicality of The Beatles – and while he had moments of over-egging both the music and poetry at time, his willingness to experiment was incredible. His albums really are beautiful, and considering he is a singer best known for his protest music, that really is something special.
The jump from his totally acoustic third album to his harpsichord and strings laden fourth album is quite staggering. He could quite easily have just gone “rock” but instead found more interesting musical textures – from baroque to bar-room to electronica to lush classical to Kenyan-rumba to good old C/W – the range is staggering. And through it all he always sounds like Phil Ochs – the greatest protest singer that ever lived. I honestly think that listening to Phil’s LPs would really surprise people.
CG: What are your favourite Phil Ochs songs?
H: Man…so many! I can’t help but enjoy his finest protest songs – like Love Me I’m A Liberal, We Seek No Wider War and White Boots Marching In A Yellow Land, but I’m particularly drawn to his more personal stuff. There is always a little politics lurking somewhere in his songs, but songs like When I’m Gone, Rehearsals For Retirement and Songs of My Returning never fail to move me.
CG: What album would you recommend to the first-time listener?
Phil’s songs are so varied that recommended stuff is rather hard. My favourite album is Rehearsals For Retirement, but part of the beauty of that LP is the journey he took in getting there.
A great place to start is Phil Ochs In Concert. [CG: good choice, that’s the album that got me hooked] It’s a document of Phil at his best – alone on a stage with his acoustic guitar. His between song banter is disarmingly cute – especially considering the rather no-quarter nature of many of the songs that follows.
CG: So tell us more about the gig on Saturday.
I’m incredibly nervous and proud to be hosting a Phil Ochs tribute gig in Liverpool. It really is unusual to go out for the night and hear shitloads of Phil Ochs songs! I hope people will enjoy it regardless of whether they are Phil fans or not.
There are four of us singing – Andy Holland is a kind of 60’s influenced singer-songwriter, Morgan Brown is in several punk bands, I’m gonna be singing some of Phil’s less-political songs and Ash Centi has a really beautiful delicate touch. I think between us we cover much of what made Phil special – though not all of course.
The gig is in aid of CALM, a Liverpool based charity that raises awareness of mental health issues affecting young men. It’s a subject very close to my heart – not least because depression led to Phil’s suicide. Phil devoted his time to so many causes that I wouldn’t dream of doing such a gig unless it raised money for a cause such as this.
Further recommendations if you want to find out more about Phil Ochs:
A little aside: The very first time someone (my dad actually) showed me this thing called “the world wide web”, the first thing I did was to type “Phil Ochs chords” into this thing called Netscape. Some considerable time later, this site came back and I printed out a load of stuff. For some reason, it pleases me very much to see that the site is still there!
Here’s a playlist of the songs Huw picked along with some of my favourites.
In the second of two alphabet specials (here’s part one), the wizards predictably select tracks to represent the letters N to Z and get to grips with big questions like where to put compilations.
what about soundtracks, then?
There are also more nominations for ‘the best rock and roll letter ever’, clarification on where to put our P.J.s, and, er, two slices of cake.
Remember, remember, the first of November, Woodentops, T. Rex and Goat.
guy rawkes
Yes, it’s time for the penultimate mix of the year and this time we head off down to the south coast for our opening track, which comes from leaders of the East Sussex Surf Scene, The Sinewaves – their Into The Syntax Era EP has been on heavy rotation in these parts recently. It’s not on Spotify, so do yourselves a favour and tune into the video below.
How about some American culture next? OK, then. Here’s, er, American Culture with one of their tracks on a split single with the legendary Boyracer that came out last year. Bringing a bit of Cambodian pop into the mix, inevitably takes us to Dengue Fever and, for me, the stand out track from this year’s The Deepest Lake collection. Going back in time a little, and we have a track from, to date, the final instalment of Fuzzy Warbles from wizard favourite, Andy Partridge. Not available on Spotify, enjoy the puntastic track below. Also, if you happen to have a spare copy of Warbles #7, please let me know as I’m sure we could come to a mutually beneficial agreement.
Over the last few weeks I have literally not been inundated by requests for more doo-wop on these monthly mixes, but still, you’ve got to love The Blenders, right? This foul-mouthed ditty came to my attention via the impressive, and very literally titled, 60 Songs From the Cramps Crazy Collection compilation. I have a feeling the song has been censored on Spotify, so you might want to check out the original f-bomb laden version elsewhere on the Interweb. Those boys were from New York (and not the Chicagoan imposters of the same name), but The Colorblind James Experience weren’t interested in visiting either of those fine cities on the next track. A track, incidentally, that as well as being the centrepiece of their self-titled debut rather incongruously appeared in John Peel’s Festive Fifty in 1987. Goat have a new single out and it’s more of the same, which is to say it is really rather wonderful. The same might be said of Sheffield poptarts, Faerground Accidents, who have followed up last year’s brilliant We Hate The Same Things 7″ with the fantastic Woeful Small Town single, the second track of which is helpfully on Spotify, the lead track of which you can experience in a live setting below. What a shame a bout of flu forced the band to drop out of supporting The Nightingales in Manchester early this year when all 3 wizards were in anticipatory attendance. We must catch them in the next 12 months.
Australian punk next, but this time from the town of Geelong with Living Eyes and a track from their Living Large LP that, quite honestly, I have no recollection of getting hold of. It’s pretty neat though. No problem recalling where the marvellous Marvin Rainwater track that follows it comes from though because it’s another tip top track from that Cramps collection that doesn’t feature anything by the Cramps. Don’t cry. Back up-to-date next with my favourite track from the new début Owl & Mouse LP – Departures – another hit from the partially Australian band on the ever-reliable Fika Recordings label following last year’s Somewhere To Go EP. This is followed by a track from those noisy blighters, Luxurious Bags, taken from the wonderfully titled album Voluntary Lifelong Quarantine. An album that, I should point out, will set you back more than 5p. Oh, and it’s not on Spotify either.
We’d all rather Earl Vince & The Valiants than Fleetwood Mac, right? But better still, let’s have The Rezillos doing that B-side from the still tremendous Can’t Stand The Rezillos. You could imagine the likes of Fay Fife, future ‘League member, Luke Warm and Gail Warning getting up to no good back in the day, perhaps even Cow Tipping, eh? Well, that particular (mythical?) stunt is neatly documented by Stoke-on-Trent troubadour, Merrym’n on the track of the same name on his Black Over Bill’s Mothers collection. Bob Moston, for it is he, does a very fine line in oddball folky pop songs and is well worth checking out. As, of course, is the T. Rex back catalogue, ahem. That neat link takes us to yet another underrated gem from the elfin-faced one. This time a killer track from the Tanx album is just the job. Bristol based label, Art Is Hard, have popped up on these mixes before offering up tracks from the likes of Radstewart and Best Friends. Here they are again with an excellent effort from the New Zealand based band Shunkan that appears on the An A-Z Of Art Is Hard compilation (yes, another one, Chorizo!). It goes like this…
I ummed and erred about getting hold of the new Modest Mouse LP, having been fairly underwhelmed by the most recent efforts. Eventually, the completist in me one again won over and I got hold of Strangers To Ourselves. And whilst, not an immediate classic, there seems to be plenty here to enjoy. I guess, I’ll just have to Give It Time. And so say The Woodentops on the next track, a winner from their third album, Giant. An album everyone I knew in 1986 seemed to own. Something everyone reading this blog should definitely consider owning is the fourth Suitcase coming from the vaults of Robert Pollard. These 4 x CD, 100 track collections will keep you going for months. The latest box set comes out at the end of this month, so I have gone back to the first, the Suitcase subtitled Failed Experiment & Trashed Aircraft and plumped for the song recorded under the guise of God’s Brother, which all things considered, is an excellent thing. As is lead-Nightingale, Robert Lloyd, who back in the late 80s put out a couple of singles with The New Four Seasons that it’s fair to say you may have missed. Here’s your chance to catch up and for us to finish the mix with something nice.
Those all important tracks in full:
The Sinewaves – Moon Computer
American Culture – Actual Alien
Dengue Fever – No Sudden Moves
Andy Partridge – The Bland Leading The Bland
The Blenders – Don’t Fuck Around With Love
Colourblind James Experience – Considering A Move To Memphis
In the extremely unlikely event that anyone would ever choose to make a rom-com about my relationship with Mrs Garbanzo, the music of The Proclaimers would surely feature heavily on the soundtrack. We went to see them at Shepherds Bush Empire on one of our first dates. One of our first nights out after we moved up north was to see them play at Pacific Road Arts Centre which sounds like quite a grand venue but is actually a converted bus depot in Birkenhead. About 10 days after our first child was born and still shellshocked and reeling from the terror of it all, we briefly ventured out into the world of normal people to see them in Liverpool. Coincidentally they were on tour again and playing at The Lowry a few days after our second son was born. This time around I stayed at home on babywipe duty and lucky Mrs G got to step out with the other 2 wizards instead.
obligatory poor quality photo
So with all that family history, it seems quite fitting that tonight was Chorizo Junior’s first proper gig. I’m saying proper gig because I’m not counting the Elvis impersonator who did a turn at the school fete. Technically Chorizo Junior was present with me at this festival too but he didn’t really go to that through choice, more due to lack of available babysitters and my own determination to attend no matter how inconvenient it was for him.
But tonight was different. This was a band he actually likes and wanted to see! So off we went, Mrs Garbanzo and me taking him to the Liverpool Philharmonic, the same venue where we’d seen the same band just a few days after his birth.
Kevin Rowland and Pete Williams onstage with Dexys in 2012
Unfortunately we arrived too late to see any more than about 45 seconds of support act Pete Williams. Last time I saw him was at the same venue 3 years ago when he was playing foil to the beloved genius Kevin Rowland when Dexys toured their incredible “One Day I’m Going To Soar” album, probably the greatest gig I’ve ever seen at this venue. The Proclaimers and Dexys go back a long way as the Reid twins were huge Dexys fans who were given help and career advice by Kevin at the very start of their career. Apparently part of that advice was to tone down their accents otherwise nobody would understand what they were singing which is a bit rich coming from such a notoriously indecipherable vowel-mangler as Kevin!
Both Dexys and The Proclaimers have been blessed / cursed with having one particular song that they are particularly known for. “Come on Eileen” and “500 Miles” are ubiquitous wedding-DJ drivetime radio feelgood fare. As a result both bands are often unfairly dismissed as novelties or one hit wonders.
Tonight’s gig started with a trio of songs from the debut album “This is the Story”. There is no band on that album, just Craig and Charlie’s voices with acoustic guitar and a bit of tambourine, harmonica and tin whistle. The opening song “Sky Takes The Soul” was played partly in that style with the band dropping in and out for the choruses. That was followed by “Over and Done With” and the first really big crowd singalong “Letter from America”. All 3 of those songs feature prominently in the hit stage musical and film adaptation “Sunshine on Leith”
If there’s one thing I hate more than hit stage musicals then it’s film adaptations of hit stage musicals* but despite this I watched “Sunshine on Leith” a while ago fully expecting to hate it but actually it was alright.
Clearly the stage show and film have exposed the music and lyrics of The Proclaimers to a wider audience and despite my distaste, I do recognise that more people hearing these songs can only be a good thing. The average age of the audience was definitely a bit higher than usual.
After that, they played “Should Have Been Loved”, the first of 2 songs tonight from their most under-rated album “Born Innocent”, produced by Edwyn Collins, another unique Scottish talent idolised by us wizards.
There’ll always be a place in our heart for you Edwyn
They followed that with the powerful “The Long Haul”, the best anti-Iraq war protest song I’ve heard and one that you can hear us discussing in our political podcast earlier this year.
Then they began to play songs from the most recent album “Let’s Hear It For the Dogs”. These included the very catchy Motown-flavoured love song “Forever Young” which surely would have been a single if bands like The Proclaimers still released singles. They also played my favourite song from that album “What School”. The lyrics of this song are just amazing. It’s a hard-hitting song about Glaswegian sectarianism that somehow manages to mention Stairway to Heaven, Henry Kissinger, Wolverhampton Wanderers and dogs sniffing each other’s arses. You need to listen to this song.
Before playing “Sean” from the brilliant second album “Sunshine on Leith” Charlie made many in the crowd feel their age by explaining that the song was written for his son when he was 2 and now he’s 28! That song was another highlight of the set, as were other songs from the same album “Then I Met You” and “I’m On My Way” (“the Shrek song” as Chorizo Junior calls it). Those songs sound as great now as they did the first time I saw The Proclaimers live at Glastonbury in 1989. In some cases, the anthem for Scottish independence “Cap in Hand” for example, the lyrics have become even more relevant as the calls for independence have grown and moved further into the mainstream.
Other family favourites from the Proclaimers playlist we have on in the car followed, more very clever lyrics in “Spinning Around in the Air”, the soulful “What Makes You Cry?”, more fantastic harmonies on “Misty Blue”. By the way, give “Misty Blue” and some others from the first album a listen and ask yourself where on earth did these brothers learn to harmonise with each other in that way? When they first appeared, they were frequently compared to the Everly Brothers but like most pop harmony vocalists Phil and Don sang together, the same words at the same time I mean, following the same melodic paths but just a 3rd or a 6th apart. Craig and Charlie don’t do any of that. Well, they can when they want to, “Make My Heart Fly” for example. But much of the time they’re singing completely different words or making different sounds over the top of each other. And when they get to the same bit in the next verse they’ll often sing a different thing altogether. They seem to break so many rules of harmony vocals. It’s a pretty unique style. Or maybe that’s just how everybody sings in Auchtermuchty?
The anthemic“Sunshine on Leith” was just breathtaking, with incredible vocals and wonderful lap steel. Quite a few people in audience seemed to simultaneously have “something in their eye” during this one and a whole load of people got up for a deserved standing ovation at the end.
We’ve covered it before on this blog but just in case you’ve never seen the Hibs fans singing this one…
The main set closed with “500 Miles” and anybody that wasn’t already on their feet was up for this, even in the Upper Stalls where we were. Rapturous singing along for this one of course, rarely can the words “ba da da da” have been sung with such passion.
Earlier in the day, Chorizo Junior had asked me why do people go to see bands live when they could just stay at home listening to the CD instead. I’d explained that the music often sounds better live and that it’s quite exciting to be in the same place as the performers. But the main point I tried to convey to him was about that sense of community and shared experience. Most of the time, listening to a song is a solitary activity, whereas at a gig you’re there with a whole community of people brought together by a shared love for the same music. I think he got what I was trying to say at least partially when they were singing “500 Miles” because he was beaming and later he explained that he was really pleased to discover that the song his favourite Proclaimers song is also their most famous and popular song.
another of my poor quality photos
I barely had time to explain to Chorizo Junior how the ritual of the encore works before they were back on for a 3 song encore. “Make My Heart Fly” was followed by a rocking version of “Joyfuil Kilmarnock Blues”, a song that is a standout at every one of their gigs and surely the best song ever about a day out to watch an away match. For the final line of the final song, the band stops and the boys sing “I want to spend my life with you” it seems as if they’re singing that line to the audience as a thank you.
Overall, I thought it was actually the best of all the many Proclaimers gigs I’ve seen! A final thought from Chorizo Junior:
“I thought it would be outside and I was happy that it wasn’t outside because it was very cold and if I got tired in the cold I don’t really know how to do anything to stop me from getting tired in the cold.”
The Proclaimers tour continues through November and December. Dates and ticket details all here.
* Apart from My Fair Lady and Tommy obvs. I love Madness as much as the next nutty boy but I once made the mistake of going to see the stage musical “Our House”. Somebody somewhere was given a challenge: “You’ve got 15 minutes, this “Divine Madness” CD and a big bag of amphetamine sulphate. Can you come up with a storyline that could incorporate all of these songs in the shortest possible amount of time based around the most implausibly one-dimensional characters you can create. Quick, stick in a bit where they go driving in a car, that’s another song ticked off the list.” I know that the guys from Madness made a packet from that musical and I’m very glad that they did because they deserve it but it was still shit. I don’t need to go and watch the Queen one or the Rod Stewart one to know that they are also shit.
Having been posting the nation’s favourite dual-music-video-brain-teaser on a weekly basis since January 2013, we have, much like the lobule of auricle, come to the end of an era. Always finish when you’re on top of your game, they say, or at least, for god’s sake, finish.
So, in this our final pairing, we have the finest talents ever to have emerged from Chobham and Dundee respectively with Peter Gabriel and, wizards’ favourites, Spare Snare. But what connects the two?
If you feel you might know, please tell Rebel Rikkit, whose bulging sack will almost certainly be full of futile attempts to persuade us to reinstate this feature, and he will send you a personalised message full of curious Boltonian turns of phrase just for your amusement.
In the first of two alphabet specials, the wizards select tracks to represent the letters A to M and begin to investigate the difficulties of organising their record collections.
non alphabetic chaos
There are also early nominations for ‘the best rock and roll letter ever’ and the hint of a Chorizo Garbanzo graph to come. Oh, and loads of great music (played in order).
A few days after we recorded this, we were very saddened to read that Carey Lander from Camera Obscura had died. Please visit the website www. justgiving.com / carey-lander to donate to Sarcoma UK. Thank you.
Here we go again (almost certainly) on our own, going down the only road we’ve ever known...
Oh yeah. And this week we bring you the twin delights of orchestral popsters, My Life Story and the finest harmonium playing poet who ever lived, Ivor Cutler.
So, what on earth could link these two? If you know, beat Rebel Rikkit senseless with the answer until he concedes that you are happy.
Kicker and Chorizo meet up in a Manchester boozer to share their limited knowledge of the Welsh language and look forward to the dream line-up of of ex-Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci man, Euros Childs, and sweary troubadour, Simon Love performing at Gullivers.
no talking horses here
Have a listen to their insights and reflections on a top night of music and raconteuring right here.
Some typically inept photographic evidence of us being there:
One email was sent, with one video of a strange song about a plastic fox in a garden, and that was enough to lure Chorizo Garbanzo, Rebel Rikkit and Toyota Jim to Parr Hall to see the Mik Artistik’s Ego Trip. Well, that, and an endorsement from Dr Cooper Clarke (you don’t see many of those around).
After a deep analysis of boyhood toy envy to resolve whether a Grifter was better than a Chopper and whether a Chipper was better than a Raleigh Power Drive, and was it indeed social death for a 10 year old boy to be gifted a ‘girls’ bike, it was time to explore the newly developed Parr Hall, which had gone all Hacienda Club on us with stark urban greys and plain wood finishes more Amsterdam than Warrington!
First up were The Nylon Hearts, a vocal trio singing Boogie Woogie with a bit of northern verve and cheek. They kept the harmonies tight and were not afraid to call the crowd a “bunch of pervs”.
This was, however, not a precursor to what was to follow, for a very different trio adorned the performance space thereafter as Mik Artistik’s Ego Trip was launched on an unsuspecting audience. It’s hard to describe Mik without the ability to glare manically into your eyes (because that’s what he would have wanted). 60 years old, wearing a soiled Lab Technician’s white coat, a flat cap with a single red bobble on the front, absent mindedly singing into his maraca, he cuts an unlikely musical shaman, yet over the next 2 hours that’s exactly what he became.
Whipping the ecstatic crowd into a vortex of hilarity, laughter, tension, and transcendence while always finding time to stop to identify a deeper human truth, like if he’s at the window with a leather, he’s a window cleaner or that when you turn 60, young people stop handing you flyers. In fact, most of the surreal bases of human wonder were covered, such as the erotic glamorous pull of the library, the unusual muscles developed by dads from all the exhausting weird tasks they have to carry out, and why does your own nose contain so much culinary delights?
Mik delivers this madness with a swagger and spontaneity that is hard to keep up with. As a lady in a pink dress walks by, he launches into the riff “Lady in a pink top goes to the lavatory, hope she doesn’t know that I just want her to pee on me”. His ability to improvise was assisted by the requirement for anyone wanting the toilet having to do a walk of shame past the stage to be the next victim of Mik’s razor sharp wit.
The knock-about humour was served with many raw slices of musings on love and regret and the realisation that it’s not about fame, it’s not about money, it’s about getting together and communicating and having a party in the knowledge that real transcendence can be found in a pair of Adidas Sambas. Come on everyone, let’s buy some towels!
Did I mention he and the rest of the them could really sing? That’s probably important to note.
Thanks to Mik and the boys, come back to Warrington again soon! And as for you, rest of the world. Like and follow, like and follow!
Being the Elvis Costello nerd that I am, over the years I’ve seen Steve Nieve many times. I’ve seen him & Elvis play with The Attractions, The Imposters, The Brodsky Quartet, with Allen Toussaint’s band, the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and possibly my favourite of all, just Steve and Elvis.
But this weekend I’m thrilled to be going to see Steve Nieve play his own gig in Liverpool. That gig is the start of a small tour that also takes in Bristol and London. Click below for details and tickets.
Trust the Wizards are extremely grateful to Steve for answering our questions.
What can people expect from the shows?
People can expect some surprises – I’m introducing them to Elvis’ music without Elvis’ texts, this won’t be a surprise to everyone in the room of course, just how great his melodies are on their own, some of us already know it. Second surprise will be a few stories and anecdotes about our musical adventures. And a third surprise, I have some young friends, wonderful musicians, who love Elvis’ songs as much as I do, and they put in a lot of work, learning some of the more demanding and rare songs and they will be joining me in these concerts – Tall Ulysse, a Paris based singer-songwriter, film composer, the man who played drums on every track of my record “Together”, and sang the lead vocal on “Save the World”. I love Tall’s music, I’ve played on many of his recordings, and we have shared many adventures playing live in a small club like Largo in LA or on a giant stage like Fuji Rock in Japan. And also Alex Cornish, who lives near Edinburgh, and has some beautiful songs and a beautiful singing voice on his many records. Alex wrote to me and told me he had figured out and was playing my piano composition “Muriel on the Beach” in his live show, so I just had to invite him along…
Are you bringing the theremin / organ / melodica?
My initial thought was to limit myself to the piano, but as the rehearsals are going down, I am starting to have ideas that might require the use of a couple of extra colours, so maybe a synthesiser, maybe a theremin, let’s see.
Surprise #4 either way!
With such a massive back catalogue, how do you even begin to choose which songs you want to play?
I thought the choice would be easy, almost every song I’ve thought about doing seems to work beautifully on the piano. The harmony and melody of Elvis’ songs often suggests something new to me, each time I play them. So the songs can be like a musical springboard and launch me off into something new. For example “All Grown Up” tends to propel me into unknown territory. Even when I play with the Attractions or the Imposters, backing up Elvis, new musical thoughts spring to mind. I also have a lot of fun tackling the few songs that Elvis has composed and recorded without me. So Spike and Mighty Like A Rose are a spring or source as my French friends say, a sauce of wonder. I’m playing “The Birds Will Still be Singing” from the Juliet Letters which was originally conceived as a vocal and string quartet number. It’s one of my favourite Costello songs, and I took the string quartet score, to understand perfectly all the very intricate details of harmony, then rearranged it for piano. I’ve worked on a couple of the more melodic songs from Wise Up Ghost too you know. So, having played the mighty Spinning Songbook show, I’m even tempted to play songs at random or ask the folk in the audience a song they’d like to hear. Anything is possible.
After nearly 40 years as an Attraction / Imposter, are there any songs that you’ve got fed up of playing that you definitely won’t be playing now the setlist is completely in your control?
It’s really a great question because I honestly search, and I cannot find a tune of Elvis’ that’s not a challenge for me. A song like Uncomplicated with just one chord in it, might become complicated to play over and over for many years, I mean it’s also a song designed for the guitar or the drums, but I always find pleasure playing these kind of songs, there’s always a line I can add somewhere in the song that makes it interesting for me.
Conversely are there any songs that Elvis or the other Imposters are reluctant to play live that you can’t wait to play on this tour?
Songs that I have composed with Elvis, of course he doesn’t put them up on the Big Wheel “Spinning Songbook” for the Imposters, but Tall Ulysse sings them extraordinarilly well, like “Passionate Fight” recorded by Ute Lemper, or “You Lie Sweetly” recorded by Sting. “Can You Be True” is a killer piece of music, ‘Schubertian’ and my piano intro was actually sampled by the Roots for Wise Up Ghost, so if I play that song, it kind of covers two albums…
I don’t think people give Elvis enough credit for writing music. Very often fans and critics talk a lot about the lyrics and the vocals but I think his melodies have just got better and better. What in your opinion are the most under-rated melodies?
The songs on the North album a lot of rock fans tend to under rate. Having said that, a lot of people I’ve spoken to consider North Elvis’ greatest album, full of extraordinary ballads unlike anything else he has composed. I can understand why Elvis likes to explore distant musical planets, because Rock is probably the tinniest and least hospitable planet in the musical solar system.
Which records have been the most enjoyable to make and why?
Brutal Youth is high up there for a very unfair reason, it’s the period where I met Muriel and we started out love affair. We lived in Rye for a while, I love to take her to places she’s never been. We started writing Welcome to the Voice back then. It was still a time where musicians could be in the studio for a month to create an album. And it was the second coming of the Attractions, it surprised all of us just how powerful that combination was. And Nick Lowe was there too, also the man who played the keys on the albums I missed, Mitchell Froom, producing the producers, it was an amazing album in many respects. After, When I was Cruel, the first record we made with the Imposters, was also fun, creative work. We experimented a lot with some of those songs, with effects pedals and strange gadgets. We recorded in Dublin, and we worked with some younger talented engineers, recording tape becoming so rare, you reused it, copying master takes onto Protools and then going over them with the next song. The production became very much a team effort.
Which records have been the least enjoyable to make and why?
The least enjoyable album to make, for me, was “Wise Up Ghost’ by this I mean: I have, for a number of years been wanting to work a new moment of creation in the studio with E.C. When I first heard this record, produced secretly, and using some of my trademark sounds and even samples of myself, so I’m there on the record but not in anyway involved in the process, has to be my ‘least favourite’ . Other side of the coin, I’m happy we get to play some of those songs in our latest live sets.
Have you ever been onstage with Elvis when he starts playing a song and you suddenly think “oh no, I can’t remember how this one goes”? If yes, when was the last time that happened.
That never happened, but on the Spectacle show, I got to accompany Smokey Robinson on Tracks of My Tears, vocal and piano. The producer said we only have time for a verse and a chorus, so we only rehearsed that much of it. Just as the time came, live to perform the song, it suddenly occurred to me, that perhaps we might do the whole song for the studio audience, after all it’s such a killer song. Obviously I know that song, but the fact we hadn’t even tried the whole thing, gave the performance a certain edge! I was playing and at the same time going over how the song continues.
Speaking of memory, I lost my father to Alzheimers such a slow horrible process, as anyone who’s been through it with someone knows. Remembering all these songs, not just Elvis songs, but every song you ever heard or played is a kind of suit of armour, a sort of protection. I am working on memorising Shakespeare sonnets, a great exercise and for me more difficult than music notes. I guess it’s a terrible time we live in when each moment someone doesn’t remember something, they can just ask Google on their smart phone an obtain an answer. Dangerous. I’d like to quote my friend David Coulter, brilliant musician, and improviser, who posted this on his Facebook the other day:
In 2015 there are over 850,000 people with dementia in the UK. There are 40,000 younger people with dementia in the UK. There are 25,000 people with dementia from black and minority ethnic groups in the UK. There will be 1 million people with dementia in the UK by 2025. Two thirds of people with dementia are women. The proportion of people with dementia doubles for every five-year age group. One in six people aged 80 and over have dementia. 60,000 deaths a year are directly attributable to dementia. Delaying the onset of dementia by five years would reduce deaths directly attributable to dementia by 30,000 a year. The financial cost of dementia to the UK is £26 billion per annum. There are 670,000 carers of people with dementia in the UK. Family carers of people with dementia save the UK £11 billion a year. 80 per cent of people living in care homes have a form of dementia or severe memory problems. Two thirds of people with dementia live in the community while one third live in a care home. Only 44% of people with dementia in England, Wales and Northern Ireland receive a diagnosis.
Click logo for Alzheimers Society website
As well as Elvis, there are other people you’ve collaborated with repeatedly over a long period of time so clearly you must be doing something right! What attributes do you have that keeps people coming back?
I’m a coward, so I always say Yes to anything they want!!
You’ve worked with such a lot of greats over the years. Who else would you really want to work with? Who would you most like to get a call from asking you to play with them?
I love playing with people born at least a couple of decades after me. Their musical perceptions head from a different perspective, refreshing, I learn so many things from collaborating with young people. I’d like to play keys for: Damon Albarn, (with) James Rhodes, the National, Christine and the Queens, Florence and the Machine, Josh Kumra, Rihanna, Tata Dindin Jobarté, (with) James Blake, Jun Miyake, The War on Drugs, (with) Nils Frahm, Tricky, Annie Clark (we played together already) to name but a few off the top of my head.
I’ve been enjoying the Heath Cullen album you worked on, but I don’t know much about him. Who is he and how did The Imposters end up playing on his album?
You won’t believe it, but Heath did a KickStarter type thing, told all his fans he wanted to go into the studio with the Imposters. We are incredibly expensive, but that’s how he got it done. I’m dying to hear the results as the sessions in Australia were very pleasurable, and I recall the songs Heath asked us to collaborate on were cool too. What can I tell you about him? He is a wonderful songwriter, a genuine and thoughtful soul, musician with a real love for old guitars and amps, not a lot of technology on his musical landscapes, sings with real passion in his voice. I love his previous record with Marc Ribot, Silver Wings is often on in my car when I’m racing down the German Autobahn. Must grab myself a copy.
Yes, I’m about to complete recording a trilogy, it started with Mumu 1 which is titled Mumu, then came Mumu 2, which is titled “2gether” and next Mumu 3 – could be subtitled “Alone” as it’s going to be a totally solo batch of songs, but the title might be “Leaves from the Mumu Tree” – too soon to say for sure, but all the songs are now composed, just looking for the right producer for this one. Also I’m planning on releasing a piano solo album Steve Nieve Plays Elvis Costello, and then following that up with several volumes of Steve Nieve Plays… all my favourite composers and songwriters…
Finally we have 2 traditional Trust the Wizards questions that we ask everybody we interview. Apologies in advance.
You’re in a caff ordering breakfast. You can have toast and your choice of tea or coffee and then you’re allowed 4 more items. What would you choose?
Breakfast, never need to think about it, I have Muriel…
And the question that causes endless controversy between me & the other 2 wizards. Cricket, is it any good or is it just bollocks?
I was talking to Malcolm McDowell the other day. He told me when he met Stanley and they decided to do Clockwork Orange together they couldn’t decide what the look of the “droogs” should be. Malcolm turned up for the audition in his cricket outfit. “Perfect” said Stanley, “just put him a bowler hat on that, it’ll work a treat”. Viddy well, little brother.
Here we have the talents of the woman probably best known for playing bass on the US top ten smash Voices Carry by the band ‘Til Tuesday, and the band probably best known for being listed as 100th in Rolling Stone magazine’s bollocks of a list of best bands ever.
If you know more about these two artists, you will be able to tell Rebel Rikkit what connects them for sure. He almost certainly will respond in French. Mon dieu!
Finding out that TV-AM were the support act at this gig was a real bonus. Their debut single “No Explanations” was one of my top tracks of 2014 and featured on our podcast number 32. I caught them live supporting Moon Duo in May and was dazzled by the innovative combo of cut-up messed-up found VHS footage and distorted vocals / guitar. This time around I think I enjoyed it even more. He opened with mechanophiliac-friendly new single “Porsche Majeure“, which Gideon Coe’s been playing on his 6Music show recently. Literally car crash telly. The set went on with the aforementioned “No Expectations” and the magnificently-titled “Kryptonian Semen” before ending with the brilliant (in both senses of the word) “Bathed in Light by Total Immersion”
It’s difficult to accurately describe the TV-AM live experience but I’m sure that whatever it is that he’s doing, he’s the only one doing it and for that reason alone you should make the effort to catch him at one of his gigs around the north-west. Check him out on Facebook and Twitter.
On to the main band then and this is a band I’ve been wanting to catch live ever since I bought their debut CD back in 2003. Onstage they make for a pretty visually arresting bunch. You’ve got Zac who looks like a younger Warren Ellis and has a beard you could quite easily hide a prairie dog in. He plays a mean guitar with a surf-rock flavour, carving out deceptively intricate lead guitar lines. Stage right is Senon, surely the tallest bassplayer in the business with a mighty right thumb that can move mountains and at the back is drummer Paul who gets a hell of a lot of groove out of a fairly minimal kit.
And then there’s singer Chhom with the lights reflecting off her sparkly silver dress and a voice that just grabs your attention. At one point she started a song without the band and the whole room just stood in awe of her voice. Even more amazing live than on the records.
My 2 favourite songs from the debut album “Tiger Phone Card” and “Sober Driver” were played back to back and were particular highlights for me but the whole gig was just sensational.
Like all the best bands, they seem to be really enjoying themselves onstage. They clinked glasses with us, called out “cheers” and toasted the crowd with Senon and Zac pogoing in unison shortly after.
Many of the songs were from the new self-released album “The Deepest Lake” which I bought after the gig and enjoyed very much on the drive home. You can buy it yourself from here.
And if you happen to be in Switzerland, Turkey, Russia, Norway or Sweden then you can still catch them on tour this month. Full details here.
Welcome then, dear listeners, to not only the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, but also the latest monthly mix lovingly compiled by our very own Kicker of Elves. Best then conspire with him how to (down)load and bless his little cotton socks…
there he is!
Back by popular demand, we revert to an instrumental to start things off, this time featuring a track from Three Cane Whale’s wonderful self-titled album (with friend of the pod, Paul Bradley on guitar and teeny tiny harp). Then it’s back to 1982 with a favourite track from REM’s Chronic Town EP debut that I was reminded of when listening to a cracking live bootleg of the band at their peak. Next it’s an excerpt from an already micro opera from certified nutjob Luke Haines with a top track from his Adventures In Dementia collection that takes as its theme a Mark E Smith impersonator and an Austin Metro road trip. Obviously. Of course, as the fabulous Boyracer remind us, everyone is a critic but not every track of theirs is on Spotify, so get yer lugs round this magnificent single below and then go and buy it.
Another fab mid-80s track next with the one song I know by the band Working Week as it just squeaked into John Peel’s Festive Fifty some 31 years ago. It’s a tribute to Victor Jara that features both Robert Wyatt and Tracey Thorn. Still sounds great too. Now, many of you will have noticed that the undoubted ‘best band of all-time’, Guided By Voices have announced the release of a fourth Suitcase collection (for those uninitiated amongst you – for shame! – these are 4CD boxsets of 100 tracks from the Robert Pollard archives) that has me all a quiver. So, it seems duly appropriate to take this month’s GBV track from the first such set, Failed Experiments & Trashed Aircraft, here under the guise of Champion Hairpuller. With Texas Paul all at sea, literally, our guest contributor this month is everyone’s favourite O’Elves, Kicker Jr. He has plumped for a track from his beloved They Might Be Giants with one from this year’s Glean album. Another fine taster from Aussie label Hidden Shoal threw up the next track, a mighty piece of ambient electronica from German’s Jumpel – one of many excellent tracks on a sampler you can get for nowt right here – and can see in full below.
Almost certainly natives of America next with Native America, a band from New Orleans who deliver fine fuzzed up psych pop on their Bad Weed / But Still Weed EP. If you like the track here, you’ll be wanting to get the whole set (again for a name your price price) via this link. Another free collection that comes highly recommended is brought to us once again by our friends at Active Listener. Here we have an impossibly difficult to pronounce track from The Prefab Messiahs that appeared on Sampler #29. We have previously documented our love for all things Throwing Muses and, in particular, Kristin Hersh, but this month we want to highlight the genius of Tanya Donelly with a top track from her Whiskey Tango Ghosts LP. Time to party after that (to your Om – eh?) with a tremendous piece of New Zealand indie from the wonderfully named Scattered Brains Of The Lovely Union that appeared on the Temporary compilation that we have previously dipped in to. This one isn’t on Spotify, but can be heard below:
Another Belfast boy, Robb Murphy put out a beautiful album called Sleep Tonight earlier this year and my favourite track on it is coming out as a single this month, so what a good time to include it. You can buy it here too. A compilation that came out in 2003 from the Welsh indie label Ankst Records was their Radio Crymi Playlist that compiled releases from the label from 1988-1998 – 10 years of Welsh domination. Last Saturday’s uplifting victory in some rugby match (it’s not cricket, is it?) seems as good a reason as any for including a top track from it, and I’ve gone for the one from Rheinallt H Rowlands. Maintaining the Western coast theme, but extending outside the UK to the Isle of Man next and the band Suicide Highlife, who made some great C86 type jangle back in the day. You can get their Where’s The Matter album here from our friends at Small Bear Records… and you should. You should then have a listen to great lost US 80s college band 28th Day. From their self-titled LP, check out Burnsite…
After seeing The Wave Pictures live for the first time at Indietracks earlier this year, I have been investigating the band’s impressive back catalogue. Possibly my favourite release of theirs (and not just to prove a well made point) is their first, Instant Coffee Baby, and there are loads of tracks that I might have included from it. In the end, though I went for Kiss Me, which you can do. Following that there’s a track from the latest compilation of stuff from all-round genius songwriter, Martin Newell. The Teatime Assortment set picks up on some of the more recent Cleaners From Venus releases, but be aware that the Essex Robert Pollard has a new one out next month, so keep the fuck up. An album that came to me via a strong recommendation through the Pollard supporting Interweb groups I am inevitably involved in (thanks, Daniel Taylor!) was Flotation Toy Warning’s Bluffers Guide To The First Deck and now I am strongly recommending it to you. Check out the opening track on the playlist below. To round things off this month then, we have a track from Calvin Party that is one of those that doesn’t appear on the album of the same name. There is almost certainly a Popcorn Double Feature in this, but in any case enjoy the track Life And Other Sex Tragedies from the album Lies Lies & Government (the album that followed the album Life And Other Sex Tragedies) and then go and buy both albums, cos they’re great. Oh, and here’s the irrepressible live musical force of JD Meatyard (for it is he) from back in 2009. Do yourself another favour and see him as part of the Independents Tour through October – including a special date in Liverpool with new local sensations Fort Baxter.
Those all important tracks in full:
Three Cane Whale – Dancing Ledge
REM – Carnival Of Sorts (Boxcar)
Luke Haines – Caravan Man
Boyracer – Everyone’s A Critic
Working Week – Venceramos
Champion Hairpuller – James Riot
They Might Be Giants – Madam, I Challenge You To A Duel
Jumpel – Blue Ceiling
Native America – Heroine
The Prefab Messiahs – Ssydarthurr
Tanya Donelly – Story High
Scattered Brains Of The Lovely Union – Party To Your Om
Robb Murphy – Headstrong
Rheinallt H. Rowlands – Merch O Gaerdydd
Suicide Highlife – McCarthyville
28th Day – Burnsite
The Wave Pictures – Kiss Me
Martin Newell – All The Lights In This House
Flotation Toy Warning – Happy 13
Calvin Party – Life And Other Sex Tragedies
Writhe And Twitch
Playlist
Previous monthly mixes
All twenty-seven previous mixes are still available for free! Why not follow us on Spotify to avoid missing out?
TRUST THE WIZARDS 
