Urusei Yatsura and Project a-Ko
2 Comments Published by magnusk on Wednesday, March 29, 2006 at 23:01.
I (Magnus), can readily admit to liking science fiction. I do like all of the Star Trek movies, and do enjoy the old tv shows with the vibrant colors, silly special effects and far-out plots. And I like raw and fast punkish rock. So my attention was immediately captured when once upon a time I was watching one of two decent shows on MTV, probably Alternative Nation, and there appeared this amazing band, all clad in Star Trek uniforms, rocking their brains out and singing about "Phasers on stun". The band was called Urusei Yatsura, after some japanese anime movies, and they kicked butt.
I never knew anything more about the band at the time, and their albums very likely failed ever to show up in record stores here. However I have now found out they hailed from Glasgow, and made a few, no doubt very cool, albums. At least they have cool titles such as "We are Urusei Yatsura", "Slain by Urusei Yatsura" and "Everybody loves Urusei Yatsura". I am now making it my mission to buy these albums despite my somewhat limited budget at the moment, and it would also be extremely nice to find that video again, preferably online. If anyone has it in digital format please email me.
They have now disbanded, but according to their official website one of them is working on solo material, and the others have formed a new band named Project a-Ko. Anyone with info about this solo project is welcome to contact me and I shall update this accordingly. In the meantime I'm offering two goodies to kindle deserved interest in the bands. Project a-Ko seems not so far removed from the Urusei Yatsura style, and have a kick-ass track online which I'm posting below, plus others on their site.
Urusei Yatsura - Phasers on stun
Project a-Ko - Ichiro on 3rd
In my opinion one of the better bands around today, The Like Young are husband and wife Joe and Amanda, respecively. Describing their music as "lustful, haphazard, confused, angry, relieved", they're songs are also very basic and instantly catchy rock nuggets, with Amanda banging the drums like the devil himself was after her. They've released two full albums so far and a third is in the oven ready to eat on May 9th.
They offer a few delicious songs on their website, the highlights of which I'll link to here. Check them out, ye shall not be sorry.
The LikeYoung - Out to get me (.wmv video file 14.9 mb)
The Like Young - Snobs and slobs (.wmv video file 28 mb) (highly recommended)
The Like Young - Worry a lot (mp3)
The Like Young - Tighten my tie (mp3)
The Like Young - Dead eyes (mp3)
More of their media files are here, including quicktime versions of the videos, and here's their myspace page.
It's all quiet on the indie-mp3 front!
4 Comments Published by Tom on Monday, March 20, 2006 at 10:57.
I'm away until the 8th April 2006 hopefuly finding some decent indie in Toronto or Montreal! I have never been to Canada so i'm looking forward to it. Any last minute tips?
In the meantime:
You can get your hands on the new EP from Santa Dog which is due for release on 22nd March 2006. I'm not going to have time to post a review suffice to say, like all their releases so far, it's excellent! However don't just take my word for it. Lost Music likes it and my name is etched on too! They have also made a new recording of last years single Chemical which you can stream or download via My Space.
Santa Dog - Rosa (from the new Belle De Jour EP)
Santa Dog - Chemical (new Version)
Lost Music also came across The Like Honey who I was convinced I have covered previously but that does not to seem the case. Plenty of mp3's to download but the label site, Hybris, has gone down over the past day or two so you may not be able to get your hands on the actual cdr's.
I like the way bands from long ago are now appearing on My Space including The James Dean Driving Experience and Strawberry Switchblade who have an excellent site here complete with Peel Session mp3's.
See you in April!
In the meantime:
You can get your hands on the new EP from Santa Dog which is due for release on 22nd March 2006. I'm not going to have time to post a review suffice to say, like all their releases so far, it's excellent! However don't just take my word for it. Lost Music likes it and my name is etched on too! They have also made a new recording of last years single Chemical which you can stream or download via My Space.
Santa Dog - Rosa (from the new Belle De Jour EP)
Santa Dog - Chemical (new Version)
Lost Music also came across The Like Honey who I was convinced I have covered previously but that does not to seem the case. Plenty of mp3's to download but the label site, Hybris, has gone down over the past day or two so you may not be able to get your hands on the actual cdr's.
I like the way bands from long ago are now appearing on My Space including The James Dean Driving Experience and Strawberry Switchblade who have an excellent site here complete with Peel Session mp3's.
See you in April!
A tribute album to The June Brides has been released on Yesboyicecream Records and comes complete with liner notes by Dave Eggers & Everett True.Tracklisting:
1. Manic Street Preachers -- The Instrumental,
2. The Positions -- Every Conversation,
3. Lovejoy -- In the Rain,
4. The Starlets -- Sunday to Saturday,
5. The Projects -- Heard You Whisper,
6. Television Personalities -- I Fall,
7. House of Mexico -- Sick, Tired and Drunk,
8. The Mad Scene -- No Place like Home,
9. Postal Blue -- Josef's Gone,
10. How to Swim -- On the Rocks,
11. Bunny Grunt -- We Belong,
12. Tompaulin -- Heard You Whisper,
13. The Legend! -- This Town,
14. Jeff Lewis -- Waiting for a Change,
15. The Tyde -- Pound for Pound,
16. Jasmine Minks -- The Instrumental
You can buy it from:
www.cargorecords.com
www.htrecords.co.uk
www.arch-records.com (JP)
www.darla.com (US)
www.parasol.com (US)
www.hmv.co.uk
www.amazon.co.uk
My post on The June Brides
From the Egg Records mailing list:
This is 19 track retrospective covering the career of THE WIDDERSHINS from Sydney, Australia. "Good Songs" contains all the bands vinyl releases on CD for the first time. Sleeve notes by founder member Greg Appel.
Officially released on April 1st via Reverberation (Australia only).
Biography
The Widdershins where formed by Greg Appel and Juliet Ward in 1987 after their former band The Lighthouse Keepers disbanded early 1986, The Widdershins added James Cruickshank (The Cruel Sea), Peter Timmerman and Barry Turnbull (ex-John Kennedy's Love Gone Wrong). The Widdershins short career earned them the respect of critics throughout the country (Australia) and a devoted following in their native Australia following three years of sporadic gigging and 4 releases on vinyl, via acclaimed Waterfront Records, After a final performance on 30th March 1990 at Sydney University, The Widdershins called it a day.
Reviews
RAM Magazine (Aus)
Juliet Ward has a uncommonly wonderful voice. Sensual, husky, plaintive. Even (dare I say) more than a little sexy. And utterly, utterly unique. The first time I saw them they performed, as an encore, a song that made everything else that night seem almost clumsy by comparison. It was, I knew at once, nothing less than a manifestation of that rarest of beasts the perfect pop song. It was Return Of The King.
DO IT FOR FUN Magazine (Uk)
The Widdershins are a peculiar taste but certainly one of the most interesting acts. Their songs are a wistful wail glorifying the beauty of everyday life and do so without falling over the clich of sentimentality or cuteness. The Widdershins play to the ears and mind rather than foot or pelvis. Songs are more often than not thoughtful and sad, the aural equivalent of that melancholy afternoon of daydreams by the fire. The songs weave together around JulietÂ’s soft and distinctive voice and lyrical melodies, beautiful stuff not a million miles away from Natalie Merchant and Co but a million miles better.
Full track listing and samples are available here.
Remember to visit the web site for more info.
This is 19 track retrospective covering the career of THE WIDDERSHINS from Sydney, Australia. "Good Songs" contains all the bands vinyl releases on CD for the first time. Sleeve notes by founder member Greg Appel.
Officially released on April 1st via Reverberation (Australia only).
Biography
The Widdershins where formed by Greg Appel and Juliet Ward in 1987 after their former band The Lighthouse Keepers disbanded early 1986, The Widdershins added James Cruickshank (The Cruel Sea), Peter Timmerman and Barry Turnbull (ex-John Kennedy's Love Gone Wrong). The Widdershins short career earned them the respect of critics throughout the country (Australia) and a devoted following in their native Australia following three years of sporadic gigging and 4 releases on vinyl, via acclaimed Waterfront Records, After a final performance on 30th March 1990 at Sydney University, The Widdershins called it a day.
Reviews
RAM Magazine (Aus)
Juliet Ward has a uncommonly wonderful voice. Sensual, husky, plaintive. Even (dare I say) more than a little sexy. And utterly, utterly unique. The first time I saw them they performed, as an encore, a song that made everything else that night seem almost clumsy by comparison. It was, I knew at once, nothing less than a manifestation of that rarest of beasts the perfect pop song. It was Return Of The King.
DO IT FOR FUN Magazine (Uk)
The Widdershins are a peculiar taste but certainly one of the most interesting acts. Their songs are a wistful wail glorifying the beauty of everyday life and do so without falling over the clich of sentimentality or cuteness. The Widdershins play to the ears and mind rather than foot or pelvis. Songs are more often than not thoughtful and sad, the aural equivalent of that melancholy afternoon of daydreams by the fire. The songs weave together around JulietÂ’s soft and distinctive voice and lyrical melodies, beautiful stuff not a million miles away from Natalie Merchant and Co but a million miles better.
Full track listing and samples are available here.
Remember to visit the web site for more info.
I had better start numbering these digest/round up posts I do!
First up are the All Mighty Whispers who make a 1960's inspired indie rock sound. It's pleasant enough but is not my bag to be honest but others may like it. You can listen to their tracks via The Podsafe Music Network.
The Candy Bars have their debut album out at the moment. Titled On Cutting Ti-Gers in Half and Understanding Narravation it's available on New Granada Records and the two tracks available from the release are very dreamy in a Built To Spill sort of way and are well worth a listen. I hope to cover the band in a bit more depth in the future.
The Candy Bars - Violets
The Candy Bars - Enough To Choke On Cold Air
The Candy Bars on My Space
There is a compilation album from indie popsters Saturday Looks Good To Me in the offing which collates their non-album releases into a 30 track journey. Titled Sound On Sound i'm not sure when it is due to be released but here are a few tracks for you:
Saturday Looks Good To Me - Lift me Up
Saturday Looks Good To Me - Can't Ever Sleep
Saturday Looks Good To Me - Disaster
You can pre-order from Redder Records.
Michael Edwards is a solo artist hailing from Bowling Green (great name!), Ohio and has tracks for downloading or streaming on his My Space page. He also engineered The Tapes EP (see yesterday's post). These songs are not gonna change your world but may be worth a listen if the radio station you are listening too starts to go off the boil.
First up are the All Mighty Whispers who make a 1960's inspired indie rock sound. It's pleasant enough but is not my bag to be honest but others may like it. You can listen to their tracks via The Podsafe Music Network.
The Candy Bars have their debut album out at the moment. Titled On Cutting Ti-Gers in Half and Understanding Narravation it's available on New Granada Records and the two tracks available from the release are very dreamy in a Built To Spill sort of way and are well worth a listen. I hope to cover the band in a bit more depth in the future.
The Candy Bars - Violets
The Candy Bars - Enough To Choke On Cold Air
The Candy Bars on My Space
There is a compilation album from indie popsters Saturday Looks Good To Me in the offing which collates their non-album releases into a 30 track journey. Titled Sound On Sound i'm not sure when it is due to be released but here are a few tracks for you:
Saturday Looks Good To Me - Lift me Up
Saturday Looks Good To Me - Can't Ever Sleep
Saturday Looks Good To Me - Disaster
You can pre-order from Redder Records.
Michael Edwards is a solo artist hailing from Bowling Green (great name!), Ohio and has tracks for downloading or streaming on his My Space page. He also engineered The Tapes EP (see yesterday's post). These songs are not gonna change your world but may be worth a listen if the radio station you are listening too starts to go off the boil.
I came across The Tapes whilst researching for the next indie mp3 digest. They hail from Ohio, self financed their The Wave Of The Future EP and have also been playing with the likes of The Spinto band and Saturday Looks Good To Me recently.The band have got that American sound which has been doing so well in the UK these past couple of years and I cannot see any reason why they shouldn't do as well. The Tapes have got something that I cannot put my finger on at the moment whilst musically the songs are strong with some pretty decent melodies.
There are four tracks from the EP available via their My Space page to stream or download.
The Tapes - Enter Regret
Le Sport have released their latest single titled It's Not The End Of The World which is backed by the tracks Loveboat and Euroheart.The single, which precedes the album Euro Deluxe Dance Party is limited to 300 copies and can be purchased from the Songs I Wish I Had Written shop. Erm, boogie on down!
Le Sport - It's Not The End Of The World
EDIT: Le Sport - It's Not the End Of The World (Mr Suitcase Sky High T Mix)
From the Swedish label that been bringing us the eighties synth pop revival in the form of Unarmed Enemies and Le Sport Songs I Wish I Had Written present this EP from their latest signings, Gentle Touch, who may or may not have been named after a rather crap 1980's TV series starring Jill Gasgoigne.Put away those 1980's 12" CD collections you have been buying from the supermarket and put this EP on instead because influences of the Pet Shop Boys, Heaven 17, Human League and to a lesser extent New Order or Depeche Mode are all here. Opener Memories sets the tone with a classic 80's beat complete with the serious male vocal (mono) tone that generally accompanies such style of music. That's not a negative thing by the way and is the only way you can notice the vocals over the pounding but melodic beats. There is not much too choose from between the songs although Smedby is the pick of the bunch because it is the more noticeable track of the four and is thus more likely to stay in your head just that bit longer.
So put that bad shirt (or blouse) on, get under the glitterball and erm, dance your butt off!
Songs I Wish I Had Written have released the second single from Stockholm's Unarmed Enemies. Titled Show Me Your Plans it comes with a radio mix and a superb remix from labelmates Le Sport. Buy it the from Songs I Wish shop. Better hurry as it is limited to a 100 copies!Unarmed Enemies - Show Me Your Plans (Radio Edit)
Unarmed Enemies - Show Me Your Plans (le sport remix)
Unarmed Enemies - Show Me Your Plans video (55mb)
Vapnet have released their latest single on Hybris. Titled Thoméegränd it features remixes from the likes of Le Sport and Surburban Kids With Biblical names. Buy it from the Hybris Shop!
Vapent - Thoméegränd
EDIT: Vapnet - Thoméegränd (Ålarens megamix by Le Sport)
Vapent - Thoméegränd
EDIT: Vapnet - Thoméegränd (Ålarens megamix by Le Sport)
The April Skies are a Norwegian band who took their name from a Jesus and Mary Chain single. They play a pretty decent brand of 1980's indie-pop which is best summed up on their single Three Minute Singles. It's a powerful, melodic pop single and the sleeve has the covers of 25 singles that influenced the band including Joy Division, Stone Roses, Dexy's Midnight Runners etc. It's pretty striking.The band, like many others, also draw on influences from the 1960's - anything from The Monkees and the Beach Boys to the likes of Dusty Springfield.
This is pretty good stuff. Sadly their website is not updated on a regular basis and I can see no information on how to get hold of the single. However there are mp3's available. Check them out!
The April Skies - Three Minute Singles
The April Skies - Rise and Rise Again
More mp3's can be downloaded from the bands website, which is all in Norwegian, under låter
Meat Whiplash hailed from East Kilbride, Scotlandand consisted of Paul McDermott (vox), Stephen McLean (guitar), Edward Connelly (bass guitar) and Michael Kerr (drums) taking their name from a Fire Engines b-side. They only released one single Don't Slip Up which was produced by the Jesus and Mary Chains Brothers Reid and released on Creation. Indeed the sleeve for the single was printed by Bobby Gillespie and hand-folded by their record label's owner, Alan McGee (who did the same for the first 20 releases on Creation).
The band also recorded a Peel Session in 1985 but in 1987 they became the Motorcycle Boy when Connelly's girlfriend, Alex Taylor, then of The Shop Assistants joined the group.
Meat Whiplash - Don't Slip Up
Meat Whiplash - Here It Comes
Meat Whiplash Peel Session (via The Perfumed Garden)
Save image to your hard drive to read the text (apologies to Uncut)
Pocketbooks have their latest album Proofreading available as a free download. It features 10 excellent tracks and is well worth a listen - you will need to sign up to Sound Click to download the tracks.Pocketbooks come from London and at the moment consist of just one chap called Andy who hopes to put together a band together some day. He has also contributed to the Let's Be Honeys last record which I wrote about here.
There are similarities in the music with the likes of Belle & Sebastian, Ant and Aberfeldy but an old man like me can also hear plenty of Harvey Williams/Another Sunny day or even Rodney Allen in there too. This is a great little album and if you like your indie pop as a lo-fi variety then you are not going to be disappointed by this. Certainly one of the brightest things shining through in the musically dull phoney war that is 2006 so far.
Pocketbooks - Every Next Day Is A New Adventure
Pocketbooks - Running Circles
Visit the home page for more songs.
Links
Pocketbooks My Space Page
Pocketbooks Last FM Page
Oppenheimer are a band hailing from Belfast who have previously been compared to the likes of Joy Zipper, Stereolab and The Postal Service. This double a-side on Cargo Records is their debut single release.Breakfast In NYC is one of the most sublime pop moments you are likely to hear this year. It's a dreamy synth driven track that will make you swoon and smile as you listen to the tale of the boy seeking out his mystery girl who is "going crazy on the dancefloor". Track of the month and that's no mistake.
Truth Or Dare, the other a side, is a more upbeat track demonstrating a rockier side to the band whilst the extra track Getting By is doing just that in a short sweet kinda way.
The single will be a 7" single release limited to 500 copies which you can pre-order from Smalltown America.
The band will also be part of the Alternative Ulster Tour that is coming to English and Scottish venues in April.
You can preview tracks via their my space page.
I first wrote about South London based Lucky Soul towards the end of last year. They have also featured on the indie mp3 podcast. I caught the band at Carnaby Street's Merc (a clothes shops) last night where they were launching their new double a-sided debut single My Brittle Heart/Give Me Love. Despite the clothes being too poncey for me the music certainly wasn't! The band played seven songs and front woman Ali Howard has something about her which is almost Claire Grogan-ish! Her vocals are reminiscent of 60's girl bands mixed with The Cardigan's Nina Perrson. The band play a brand of music, which like many Swedish bands such as The Acid House Kings or Club 8, takes it's inspirations from the sixties and mixes it with some more up to date indie pop. A fine cocktail i'm sure you will agree! Pictures of the gig can be found here.
They also received the accolade of single of the week in this week's Guardian which said of the new single "both tracks are glorious confections of classic Spector-esque pop". I couldn't have put it better myself!
The band are playing this coming Saturday (11th) at The Tavistock Hotel whilst the single is launched digitally on the 20th of this month with the limited edition vinyl copy following a week later.
The band also confirmed the new single will be Lips Are Unhappy whilst Sounds XP have booked them to appear at The Purple Turtle on April 26th alongside Fonda 500 and two bands to be announced.
Lucky Soul - Give Me Love (Zip File)
Lucky Soul - Lips Are Unhappy (zip file)
More tracks are available at their site or you can stream them via My Space.
Dubstar was a somewhat dancy band, formed, according to various sources on the internet, either in 1992, 1993 or 1994. Most sources name 1994 and I guess that's as good as any other. They may not be very indie, but I've long since grown past my distaste for pop music which followed my discovery of indie and alternative rock, and now appreciate the value of a good pop song, which indeed most of Dubstar's songs are. Pop is good too. And Dubstar is good pop. A kind of indie-pop if you like.
Apart from that I remember reading some interview where one of them cited Cocteau Twins as an inspiration, and as soon as I read that it seemed obvious, shining through so many of their songs.
Founded by Steve Hillier and Chris Wilkie in Newcastle, England, they were soon joined by vocalist Sarah Blackwood, and signed to Food Records. They had a few minor hits, but the song that captured me was "In Charge" which I heard in the excellent movie "Shooting Fish". You might remember them better by songs like the Happy Mondayesque "I will be your girlfriend" or "No More Talk". Like all good things that must come to an end, this band met it's maker in 2000 after releasing 3 albums, Disgraceful, Goodbye and Make it Better. Sarah Blackwood then moved on to form a band named Client.
I take delight in listening to these songs, the programmed drums, Sarah's lovely vocals and all the tiny little hooks scattered around. The best website I've found dedicated to them is http://www.dubstar.org.uk/, where f.e. a lot of videos can be found. For your convenience and hopefully to spark your interest in listening to more here's one song from the album Goodbye, and some direct links to videos.
Dubstar - Wearchest (mp3)
Dubstar - Stars (33 MB .avi file)
Dubstar - No More Talk (a whopping 72 MB .mpg file)
Lucky Misu has a new song out and features Ame on vocals. It's a great track and shows how much Lucky Misu has come on the past few months.
Lucky Misu - Sounds like falling in love (high hopes)
Santa Dog have started their own Santa Pod. No it's nothing to do with drag racing but is the name of their new podcast which you can find more details about from here.
Lucky Misu - Sounds like falling in love (high hopes)
Santa Dog have started their own Santa Pod. No it's nothing to do with drag racing but is the name of their new podcast which you can find more details about from here.
Po! are one of those indie bands that existed in the early 1990's when my musical head was elsewhere and that I am slowly catching up on (thanks e-bay!) even though their last release was in 1998.
The band were formed in Leicestershire, 1987 and that's it. Apart from the discography on Twee Net there seems to be no other information (or pictures) regarding the band on the net nor do they appear in Great Indie Discography
. If anyone has any information on the band can they please e-mail me so I can update this post!
Northern Wonder is one of the bands 7" singles I have picked up in recent months and was released on Rutland Records in 1994. And good stuff it is too!
Po! - Northern Wonder
Po! - No Flowers
EDIT: In response to my post Chris and Jyrki dropped me a line about the band. Chris supplied me with this link for more details on Po!
Jyrki also wrote with the liner notes from a Po! compilation titled "Past Perfect Tense". They are as follows:
I started the band back in 1987, as a way of expressing a lot of anger and hurt that I was too polite to let out any other way. I thought that PO! was a good name because it meant lots of different things in other languages.
After playing a lot of gigs, we recorded a demo tape, which locally-based fanzine "Samantha" made into a flexi-disc. John Peel played the flexi on his radio programme which resulted in lots of postal enquiries. However, the two other members of the band left at this point, and so in 1989, I decided to release an LP using musicians from another band "The Originals". This album "Little stones" was recorded on borrowed 4-track equipment, and cost £20 to make. I folded and glued all of the 1000 sleeves by hand.
Following a couple of years playing and recording with another band "Ruth´s refrigerator", I managed to presuade Terri Lowe, Paul Knight and Gary Gilchrist to join PO! on guitars, drums and bass respectively. This line-up went on to record several 7" EPs, a radio 1FM session for John Peel, and the second album "Ducks and drakes".
Gary Gilchrist left, just before PO!´s third album "Not marked on the ordnance map" was recorded, so Terri Lowe played both guitar and bass on the album. A 7" single on Elefant Records was aslo released in 1996.
The next album "Horse blanket weather" is due for release on Ruthland Records early 1998.
Thanks to Chris and Jyrki - appreciated.
EDIT2: More on Po!, this time from Lee (thanks!) and is a copy of a response to an e-mail he sent Terri Lowe at Rutland Records.
Congratulations on finding us reclusives. We don't have the software to let you hear samples of Po! tunes. However, all Po! material is still available, but some of it is extremely collectable and this can lead to high prices on e-bay. We hope you will like our stuff.
You can buy any of the material from Rutland Records directly. The sales help the bands to record again, as there is no profit element - all the funds raised are reinvested in the bands and the label. There is a discount if you order two CDs at once - the postage would be cheaper. We have a friend who operates a Pay-Pal account for us should you wish to use that medium. We still have copies of all our CDs available. I recommended Past Perfect Tense? as it represents a reasonable overview of Po!s career. However, Horse Blanket Weather was a significant leap forward in terms of the band's sound. It runs in at half the time of Ducks & Drakes and Not Marked On The Ordnance Map. PPT was constructed by Luis at Elefant Records and is composed of his favourite songs.
Po! fans are a very small and dedicated group of people scattered all over the world. They are fiercely loyal and obsessed with owning all the songs that Ruth wrote. Some of them have been fans for a long time. The taste for Rutland Records is an acquired one, and it can be difficult to withdraw! That's probably why you see so few copies of our output on e-bay or other music auction sites. For those in North America, you can either purchase directly from Rutland, or try Poppolar.com.
The band were formed in Leicestershire, 1987 and that's it. Apart from the discography on Twee Net there seems to be no other information (or pictures) regarding the band on the net nor do they appear in Great Indie Discography
. If anyone has any information on the band can they please e-mail me so I can update this post!Northern Wonder is one of the bands 7" singles I have picked up in recent months and was released on Rutland Records in 1994. And good stuff it is too!
Po! - Northern Wonder
Po! - No Flowers
EDIT: In response to my post Chris and Jyrki dropped me a line about the band. Chris supplied me with this link for more details on Po!
Jyrki also wrote with the liner notes from a Po! compilation titled "Past Perfect Tense". They are as follows:
I started the band back in 1987, as a way of expressing a lot of anger and hurt that I was too polite to let out any other way. I thought that PO! was a good name because it meant lots of different things in other languages.
After playing a lot of gigs, we recorded a demo tape, which locally-based fanzine "Samantha" made into a flexi-disc. John Peel played the flexi on his radio programme which resulted in lots of postal enquiries. However, the two other members of the band left at this point, and so in 1989, I decided to release an LP using musicians from another band "The Originals". This album "Little stones" was recorded on borrowed 4-track equipment, and cost £20 to make. I folded and glued all of the 1000 sleeves by hand.
Following a couple of years playing and recording with another band "Ruth´s refrigerator", I managed to presuade Terri Lowe, Paul Knight and Gary Gilchrist to join PO! on guitars, drums and bass respectively. This line-up went on to record several 7" EPs, a radio 1FM session for John Peel, and the second album "Ducks and drakes".
Gary Gilchrist left, just before PO!´s third album "Not marked on the ordnance map" was recorded, so Terri Lowe played both guitar and bass on the album. A 7" single on Elefant Records was aslo released in 1996.
The next album "Horse blanket weather" is due for release on Ruthland Records early 1998.
Thanks to Chris and Jyrki - appreciated.
EDIT2: More on Po!, this time from Lee (thanks!) and is a copy of a response to an e-mail he sent Terri Lowe at Rutland Records.
Congratulations on finding us reclusives. We don't have the software to let you hear samples of Po! tunes. However, all Po! material is still available, but some of it is extremely collectable and this can lead to high prices on e-bay. We hope you will like our stuff.
You can buy any of the material from Rutland Records directly. The sales help the bands to record again, as there is no profit element - all the funds raised are reinvested in the bands and the label. There is a discount if you order two CDs at once - the postage would be cheaper. We have a friend who operates a Pay-Pal account for us should you wish to use that medium. We still have copies of all our CDs available. I recommended Past Perfect Tense? as it represents a reasonable overview of Po!s career. However, Horse Blanket Weather was a significant leap forward in terms of the band's sound. It runs in at half the time of Ducks & Drakes and Not Marked On The Ordnance Map. PPT was constructed by Luis at Elefant Records and is composed of his favourite songs.
Po! fans are a very small and dedicated group of people scattered all over the world. They are fiercely loyal and obsessed with owning all the songs that Ruth wrote. Some of them have been fans for a long time. The taste for Rutland Records is an acquired one, and it can be difficult to withdraw! That's probably why you see so few copies of our output on e-bay or other music auction sites. For those in North America, you can either purchase directly from Rutland, or try Poppolar.com.
Sky Larkin - Your Favourite New Band
1 Comments Published by Tom on Sunday, March 05, 2006 at 08:35.
I mentioned Sky Larkin briefly in a post earlier this week where I posted the bands recent Ghosttown sessions. I must say I am enjoying their Somersault track more and more each time I play it and have added it to the indie-mp3 podcast (Take Your Medicine has included it on their podcast for the second month running!). It's a wonderful track and their other songs have a hard time keeping up with it! These songs however hint at future potential with plenty of ideas and the band have time on their side!Katie from the band e-mailed me and supplied me with some further information and two more tracks for your listening pleasure.
The band are Katie (19), Nestor (18) and Lindsay (20):
Having cut their milk-teeth playing music together in the back-rooms of many a Yorkshire Pub, Nestor Matthews and Katie Harkin went on to form Sky Larkin. Katie and Lindsay met in the ladies toilet at such a gig and the band played live for the first time when they signed up for a slot at the Nokia tent at the Leeds half of the 2005 Carling Weekend, Katie played in her wellies. More gigs and ‘The Souvenir EP’ have cemented their reputation as one of Leeds’ most exciting and original new bands.
“If Sky Larkin are anything to go by, then there's still a whole lot left to discover in the much lauded Leeds music scene" (Quote taken from leedsmusicscene.co.uk)
If you live in Leeds then the band have plenty more gigs lined up (sadly I was away watching the Orient yesterday and missed their gig at the Rota in London - sob!) There are two pencilled in for the remainder of March and you can catch them at the following two Leeds venues:
Mar 24 2006 8:00 Club Wired, Fenton
Mar 31 2006 8:00 The Vine (supporting Metronomy)
Sky Larkin - Traits and Traitors
Sky Larkin - Rolling Pin
The Ghosttown Sessions:
Balcony To City
Delivery
Somersault (Notes!)
Shipwreck
Download from here (Rapidshare, 11mb)
Interview with the band from Leeds Music net
The Left Outsides - Leaving The Frozen Butterflies Behind
The Tamborines - Sally O'Gannon
Manic Cough - There You Are
Sky Larkin - Somersault (version)
Track A Tiger - Sound As Ever
Taxi Taxi - Big Old Tree
The Sequins - Happy Chappie
Voxtrot - Mothers, Sisters, Daughters & Wives
Subscribe to the Podcast or download direct (18mb)
Remember I appreciate any feedback on the podcasts and if you want your music played send a CD to the site address.
All tracks were made freely available by the artists at the time this podcast was put together.
The Tamborines - Sally O'Gannon
Manic Cough - There You Are
Sky Larkin - Somersault (version)
Track A Tiger - Sound As Ever
Taxi Taxi - Big Old Tree
The Sequins - Happy Chappie
Voxtrot - Mothers, Sisters, Daughters & Wives
Subscribe to the Podcast or download direct (18mb)
Remember I appreciate any feedback on the podcasts and if you want your music played send a CD to the site address.
All tracks were made freely available by the artists at the time this podcast was put together.
The other band who I enjoyed last night at Sounds XP Presents were Coventry's The Sequins who take their inspiration from the UK 1980's indie scene such as the likes of The Smiths and The Wedding Present. They played a frantic but very entertaining set full of extremely catchy tunes and it was nice to see a band enjoying themselves on stage, frontman Hywel and the guitarist Justin in particuliar. They also seemed a nice bunch of lads when we were chatting to them afterwards.The band have a new single titled Patients due for release next Monday, 6th March. It is spread across two formats (7" and CD) and is limited to 500 copies in each format. You can pre-order your copy from Tough Love Records now. The bands previous release sold like the proverbial hotcakes - alledgely! I will write a review when my copies drop through the door but in the meantime you can read what a colleague of mine at SoundsXP thought.
The Sequins - Happy Chappie (new single b-side)
The Sequins - Dear Old Bill (previous single)
The Sequins - Nobody Dreams About Me (previous single)
More songs from the 2003 demos can be downloaded from here.
The Tamborines are a West London band but all three members (Lulu, Veronique and Henrz) are originally from Brazil. I caught the band last night at the Sounds XP presents night as we had drafted them in as late replacements for And What Will Be left Of Them? who had to pull out due to ill health the day before. What an inspired substitution it was!
I had not heard anything by the band previously and was struck by their sound which falls into various camps such as The Jesus and Mary Chain, Spacemen Three, My Bloody Valentine, 1960's Garage, 1980's indie-pop etc. They had a very good retro feel about them thanks to all those influences and they also looked pretty cool as well which is something I do not normally notice about bands.
I have asked them for a demo so hopefully I can cover them in more depth in the future but in the meantime download or stream some tracks courtesy of their My Space page.
The Tamborines - Sally O'Gannon
The Tamborines - Looking Glass House
Some delightful stuff from Sweden
1 Comments Published by magnusk on Wednesday, March 01, 2006 at 21:22.
Sweden seems to be constantly churning out talented songwriters. Amongst those are the apparently 16 year old twins of Taxi, Taxi! Now that happens to be all I know about them apart from the fact they have a delightful song named "Old Big Trees" available online. Judging from their Myspace page they're not signed to any label yet, but if they have more hits like this one they're bound for greatness. Since Myspace download can be rather hectic I've copied this song to my site and you can download it from there probably with better results:
Taxi, Taxi! - Old Big Trees
Another cool band I know Tom mentioned sometime, but that was a long time ago and before I discovered them also, so I feel the urge to mention them too. My Enemy is a band from Gothenburg in Sweden. Formed in 2004 they've so far managed to put out two EP's and a single, which, despite the fact it's a single, consists of more songs than either of the EP's. They also have a new video available on their website, as well as some reeeeaaaallly good songs. Do check them out, and say hi to them on Myspace also.My Enemy - Khreis
My Enemy - My Time Coming
The Darling Buds were formed in Cardiff, Wales by Andrea Lewis and Harley Farr in early 1986 taking their name from the H.E Bates novel "The Darling Buds of May". With Simon (surname unknown) they released their first single If I Said which was financed by themselves. The pair recruited Chris McDonagh and a drummer called Bloss then upped sticks heading to Gwent. They signed to Native releasing three singles for that label which not only brought them to the attention of John Peel, for whom they recorded three sessions, but to the major label Epic.At this point the band were lumped into the so called Blonde movement alongside The Primitives and to a lesser extent Transvision Vamp. Even Epic started allocating the Darling Buds Blond as part of their releases catalogue numbers!
From September 1988 until mid 1989 the band released four singles for Epic with Hit The Ground peaking at number 27 to become their biggest hit single in the UK Charts. Their debut album, the brilliant Pop Said also did well in the UK charts reaching as high as number 23.
I will cover the rest of the bands history in a future post.
These tracks are the debut single and it's b-side. A copy is up for sale on e-bay at present.
The Darling Buds - If I Said
The Darling Buds - Just To Be Seen
Download The Darling Buds in concert from 1987
