Missive 65
18-04-2005
The One with Bells On......

Singled Out

Missive 65

To Kelly and Mark with love – missing you lots.

The much promised vinyl only Singled Out and off to a flying start with an apology of sorts, last time out – Missive 64 for those not really up to speed and stuff, we featured a superb debut from TIGS ‘And Again’ you remember one sided disappears like er…hot cakes that’s the ticket, Debbie meets Chrissie to front the Only Ones – ah now you remember – turns out TIGS is a young solo artist, all her own work and not a band as first advertised. So er…in the best tradition of Singled Out an apology and by way of recompense and another shameless plug check out demos on www.tigofwar.com to see what all the fuss in six months time is all about.

‘The Sunday Experience – soon’

Other than that nowt – like we have time for a life – hello!?

The rekkids –

The White Sport ‘Dazzlin’ (High Society). Hip swivelling three track debut from the White Sport of whom we know absolutely nuffin (what a way to start a review eh?) other than to say this jittering little babe sounds like it’s been bitten to death by the funky bug. ‘Dazzlin’ is the bastard love child of a frenzied sweaty night of passion in Scouseland featuring Franz Ferdinand, crooked beat pop with more than it’s fair share of spiky demure and simmering cock sure swagger – might just blow a few of you more chilling to cool sorts to a spot of well earned wig flipping. ‘Brown Town’ is the kind of spastically austere stuttering stop start guitar pop much in presence (and yes dare we say very much loved) and to be found rattling outta late night radio via those very early 80’s post Ian Curtis John Peel shows, call it a more accessible union of Fire Engines and the Nightingales if you must – top stuff all the same. Leading the charge at the rear, in other words the flip cut, is ‘Learner Dancer’ which is what can only be described as a deadpan take on Wreckless Eric doing his best Syd Barrett impersonation while the rest of the band think screw that and do their own early career Fall-esque rumble routine. A gem really. www.thewhitesport.com

Three Blind Mice ‘The Velvet Ladder’ (Topanga Canyon). And before you all start firing of emails to tell me in no uncertain terms whilst keenly showing off your ability to cleverly use all the Anglo Saxon phrases in one big sentence – yes we know this has been out for ages as is the case with the next reviewed item – but hey would we keep a good toon from a deserving little bit of wordy praise – no siree – so there – my ball, my rules methinks. Of course I’m only teasing, this little cutie did slip beneath the net and really is deserving of a cherished place in any well-heeled record collection. Limited to 500-jukebox style (i.e. the middle bits missing) copies this is the third release for those nice people at Topango Canyon (and if this is anything to go by we will be shortly starting a nationwide hunt for the other two and will not sleep until we have’ em under our loving gaze). Three Blind Mice chip in then with three sublime cuts of chilling exotica, part Western part supernatural – intoxicating and unnervingly becalming, ‘the Velvet Ladder’ is slyly cut through with the repetitive side winding riff and ethereal backdrops that you’d only ever expect to hear while waiting for your name to be called at the Pearly gates, sorta like those weird dreams that have the effect of dissolving and leaving you slightly fuzzy and confused, think classic era Shadows on a serious acid trip. Flip the disc to be greeted by a brace of as casual as you like treats featuring the slightly warming glow of ever so brief ‘Merry Christmas’ and the slick late night breeze of the off centre tumble pop of ‘the Laughing Lady’. Quite a special thing if you ask me.

The Superimposers ‘Seeing is Believing’ (Little League). Like Three Blind Mice the Superimposers seem to exist in a different time line from the rest of us, their mercurial at ease down tempo soft pastoral psyche suggests too many days wiled away idling around being submerged in the sounds of the 60’s more sunnier aspects and with that the obvious reference points to both Wilson and Spector loom large on their horizons. ‘Seeing is believing’ is an instant shot to the arm, a symphony of softly exuberant flower pop tingled and spiced up with a touch of kaleidoscopic colouring that hints at that Baccharach meets Axelrod sheen deployed by Cinerama but on a lesser scale going head to head with the warped tanginess of say, Lemon Jelly. Flip the platter for ‘Shadows’ a superbly winter dressed slice of top drawer out of time tingle happy sleepy pop seductively rooted with a John Barry-esque personality here revealed at his most sophisticated and splendidly spectral. Of course goes without saying you need this right now. The year’s next big things. www.wonderfulsound.com

We Rock Like Girls Don’t ‘I just wanna stick my head in the bass drum’ (Distort). Quickly following their corking ‘Rock ‘n’ roll freak’ debut from late last year, Glasgow’s feistiest three piece are back to rip up your hi-fi. ‘Ijustwannastickmyheadinthebassdrum’ is a curdling mass of swamp fuzz fuelled blues that just unrelentlessly grinds you into submission. Girls Aloud this isn’t kids, unless of course they happen to be tied to a hell bound racing cart, that aside what you get is a sub 3 minute stab of bruising flame grilled rocking fun that’s sure to upset the neighbours and recalibrate not only your decks but probably your ears to. T’ other side features the far superior ‘Out of Control’ as lifted from their Radio 1 session for Vic and Gill, this up and at ya trip to oblivion kicks sizeable ass with its almost zoned in your face attitude, sounding like a hot wired P J Harvey and blessed with a primitively potent coda that suggests its just been fired up to rampage straight out of its 60’s garage for a spot of frenzied road kill. Caustic stuff. www.werocklikegirlsdont.net

Comanechi ‘Rude’ (White Heat). London based girl / boy duo, and let’s say from the outset – expect bigger things from this pair once word is out cause this second outing is a noise fuelled mongering bastard of a release. ‘Rude’ is the duo’s follow up to their limited and long since gone debut EP for Loose Lips (see Careless Talk, Plan B et al) another release which it pains us to say we missed (cue the sound of gnashing teeth). Not quite the future of rock ‘n’ roll granted, and neither it has to be said are they shifting any goalposts but hell can they make an unruly noise. Pressed on heavy duty wax and limited to just 500 copies (hot cakes springs to mind) ‘Rude’ with its regimental take no prisoners drumming, cut to the bone lunge like paint stripping riff ferocity all tripped off by Akiko’s urgent seizure inflamed vocals tear arsing across the sonic mayhem is at least an all to brief lesson in shock treatment oblivion. Flip side ‘Mr Baba’ growls with a demonic metal underpin, and though disappointingly brief (barely a minute in length) does momentarily reveal a decidedly Ronettes gone real bad edge. Dare you pass up? www.comanechi.com

Nobody featuring Kurt Heasley of the Lilys ‘Fancy’ (Mush). Another gem like release it has to be said and with that another must have alert. Part of the Mush labels seven inch series which is not only came as news to us but has for the best part of the day caused to have momentary bouts of much weeping at the thought of missing out on goodies long since snapped up. Limited to 1000 copies with the warning of no future repress this outing sees LA producer Nobody (Elvin Estela) continues his collaborative head to heads that in the past have seen him team up with various members of Beachwood Sparks and the Aisler’s Set. This time it’s the turn of the sunshine pop alchemist beat combo Lilys front man Kurt Heasley who nudges up alongside for a sublime re-reading of the Kinks ‘Fancy’. Irresistible stuff it has to be said, bathed in the lysergic glow of softly lit honeycombed ultraviolet rays Estela and Heasley create a druggy montage replete with breezily sugared strings idling squelching beats and phased vocals that to these ears sound like a celestial Marc Bolan grooving spicily with Spiritualised. Flip side same again only this time the instrumental version. Talk about spoiling you. Er deputy single of the missive by a short hair.

Matt Sharp ‘Just like movie stars’ (Split). Former Weezer and Rentals bod Matt Sharp returns to action with this slow to burn two-track morsel. Those hoping the vestiges of his previous bands might translate to his solo work had better think again. Both ‘Just like movie stars’ and the attending flip cut ‘Before you go’ are hauntingly spectral acoustic folk rambles. ‘Just like movie stars’ in particular stumbles cautiously before becoming aware and comfortable with its surroundings, all the time it casually toys with the tender like aspects found on those ageless Leonard Cohen cuts, genteel in its pastoral trimmings its washed by icicle like Sunday morning chimes and sleekly arresting slide guitar routines which once done with snaring you will leave you begging for more. The hymnal like ‘Before you go’ has Sharp sounding uncannily like Marc Bolan though this time as though fronting some supergroup pairing of Low and the Earlies, sparsely dreamlike this beauty really begins to take hold in the final third of the track whereupon it blooms audaciously into an alluring celebratory sing-a-long. Well worth a peek or three. www.splitrecords.co.uk

Go Home Productions ‘Processed Waterfall’ (Half Inch). Losing track on these Go Home Production releases big time, we’ve just noticed that somewhere along the line mash up’s featuring by all accounts a nifty looking chunk of vinyl with Jacko being put through the blender, not to mention Alicia Keys sparring with Stevie Wonder’s ‘Superstition’ and a top of the drawer Xmas compilation – drat, drat double drat. For now we’ll have to be content with this little dance floor rumbler. For the uninitiated Go Home Productions is none other than remixer / producer / DJ Mark Vidler who over the course of the last few years has garnered a growing amount of notoriety and reputation (so much so he’s even done official remix work for a certain David Bowie) in the world of mash ups, Jackson Pollock of the grooves if you like or should that be Terry Gillian as he seeks out likely sounds to fuse together and in doing so breathing a new found life into the originals all over again. This time round it’s a one sided 12 inch black vinyl affair featuring the gem like ‘Waterfall’ by the Stones (as in Roses not Rolling) squaring up to the latest new kids on the street corner Kasabian (‘Processed Beats’) – of course the new comers are floored from the word go hit by a sleek combination punch that’d make Ali weep with joy, licking their wounds Kasabian’s cut is stretched, smoothed and lulled into the tranquil monolithic path of Brown and Co’s chilled out glory. Of course you need it – probably ridiculously limited. For further info and a chance to sample a few well heeled mixes (including a superb face off between The Doors and Blondie; XTC head charging Tweet; an audacious ‘Fool on the Hill’ / ‘Crazy little thing called love’ cut up and best of the set a killer cross wiring of the Monkees and the Beatles into ‘Paperback Believer’) go to – www.gohomeproductions.co.uk

The High Plane Drifters ‘Hot Property’ EP (Don’t tell Clare). Like having all your birthdays arrive at once, well that’s if you like your toons packed with what sounds like a bastardised concoction of raw as you like early primitive JMC going head to head with the more gritty garage psyche blues ensembles currently causing a fuss on respected and well trusted labels such as Sympathy for the Record Industry and Estrus to name but two. I think we are right in saying that these dudes are a duo based in the North East of England and that this four track debut is by all accounts selling fast based on word of mouth and some incendiary support slots for the likes of the Soledad Brothers and Whirlwind Heat. The High Plane Drifters ransack the whole primitive blues culture, dirty, gritty and without doubt potent, it’s the kind of swamp fest that’d have Tarrantino shitting bricks with its lineage transgressing directly to Gallon Drunk and further beyond to the likes of Link Wray and Muddy Waters. Opening cut ‘Electricity in my home’ is a wired up rabble rousing hot road action number found hauled up in a lay by sniffin’ the blue glue, imagine John Spencer and Co dropped dead centre of the 60’s beat / garage scene – yeah that f**king good. ‘You’ve got to try’ trips into the kaleidoscopic world of classic Spacemen 3, repetitive looping chords and that primal mind-melting core so much in evidence on their early classic outings. Flip over and things get decidedly more fraught and animated, the fucked up wretchedness of the beating a path to oblivion ‘Cry like a River’ has that out of it feel as though Jim Morrison was doing extra curricula work fronting a secret underground student psyche band, listen a little closer and the detachment of early Warsaw / Joy Division begins to eke into view. ‘Road Theme’ is your bog standard hillbilly instrumental executed in the best tradition of those classic Perkins Sun discs. Buy on sight – these kids will break hearts, pressed on red vinyl as if you needed any further prods and without doubt Single of the Missive. www.thehighplanedrifters.co.uk

The Sights ‘Circus’ (Sweet Nothing). More grooving 60’s Hammond action from those dudes at Sweet Nothing this time featuring Singled Out favourites the Sights. ‘Circus’ sees the trio kick their heels for a rollicking glitter fest of garage glam that literally haemorrhages down and dirty hooks galore as it struts on its platforms as though laced and dragged up with an eye for mid 60’s beat pop authenticity. Flip side ‘Everything’ sees the Detroit trio going soulful in a with a little help from your friends sentiment, kinda grows on you after several spins which I guess is no bad thing.

Year Future ‘Nature Unveiled’ (GSL). Weird bastards these dudes at GSL, no two records the same – seems their motto is the stranger and more loose canon like the better and Year Future I’m glad to report don’t see fit to buck the trend. Fronted by Sonny Kay, who incidentally also happens to be the head honcho over at GSL, this second outing for the ensemble (the first being ‘Year Future’ EP which we somehow missed) is one vicious snarling bastard that has more bite than a tank overflowing with rabid piranhas. ‘Nature Unveiled’ heads out gloomily and soon wraps itself in an impenetrable cloak of good time festering fun, underpinned by unrelenting tribal rhythms this swollen scarred charge has enough venom to floor a herd of elephants, very much unhinged, agitated and threatening to a point that you’d have to shimmy up to those old Killing Joke records to come close comparison wise to it’s war mongering intensity. Flip the disc to be, not so much greeted but head butted by the brutal pseudo hardcore mania of the fragmented ‘Police Yourself’ while likewise ‘The Hidden Hand’ is wilfully unlovingly, vicious fragmented riffs run riot jarring and stabbing across a heavy hanging persistent bass line and Kay’s almost at the end of his tether vocal shrieks. Shockingly good of course and on blue vinyl – everyone’s a winner then. www.goldstandardlabs.com

Okay that’s your lot for tonight at least – promise we will be back tomorrow night with a few more goodies plus all being well another – quite possibly – two missives before the end of the week – well by Saturday, then it’s the long suffering albums.

As for The Sunday Experience – we haven’t forgotten just need to sort out time to think this one out – we would appreciate bands who have a little time on their hands getting in touch for a rather special project though obviously logistics etc…are yet to worked out – but put it this way it’ll be the dogs dangly bits.

As usual – er thanks to those who’ve made this missive possible and to you for actually taking time out to read these meandering yarns.

Singled Out – better than a kick to the knackers any day’

Bye for now – take care,

Mark
X

*Singled Out is best served chilled with a speciality side erder all lovingly tendered on a slow bake.

**Singled Out is a fat free product tested on Hi-Fi’s in controlled conditions. Repeated dosages may cause infrequent bouts of exuberance and wig flipping – if side effects continue – desist from all activities retire to a darkened room and repeat experience at maximum volume.

Singled Out was brought to you by ‘Our Records Are Better Than Yours – So ne ne ne ne ne’ productions – we reserve the right to dis your record collection – now piss off – over and out.