Despite Hounslow boys the Bluetones getting a bit of bad press for being less than uber cool, they were hugely popular in the mid-nineties. They probably would have been even more so had they not been caught up in the middle of the all consuming, attention diverting, battle for the Britpop crown between Blur and Oasis. But they managed to ignore this and continued to make some of the best up-beat feel good indie-pop of their time.
As soon as the jet engine kicks in on the opening track, Talking To Clarry, the memories come flooding back, beer-soaked sweaty gigs, summer tunes and the excitement of being part of the new Britpop era. Their popular single Bluetonic still stands up today as a great indie-pop tune, opening with a strong beat, jangly guitar and Mark Morriss' familiar melodic vocals. They turn it up a notch for Cut Some Rug, a really loud, guitar heavy number, singing 'Its easy living in a bubble, no complication or trouble, but its hard to have responsibilities' and encapsulating the Britpop ethos perfectly. Slight Return, their biggest hit to date, sees the Bluetones doing what they do best; sing-song vocals, tempo changes, strong beats and their familiar guitar riffs all producing a really catchy indie-pop tune.second CD of bonus material consists of a number of radio sessions all recorded in 1995. They include Radio 1 sessions with Mark Radcliffe and the late, great John Peel. All the tracks are previously unreleased and in addition to the one's found on Expecting To Fly, there are a couple of really good live versions of Are You Blue Or Are You Blind?
If you were there the first time round, this re-release will be like taking an enjoyable trip down musical memory lane. But can it stand up on it's own in today's music market? It should do, it has all the hallmarks of an indie-pop classic; the up beat tempo, plenty of guitar, sing along choruses and topped off with the melodic vocals, a real feel-good album and maybe feel-good is just what we need at the moment.
As one of the groups featured on the legendary C86 cassette release by the NME, Scotland's Close Lobsters' place in the history of indie pop was already cemented. Their contribution, "Firestation Towers," was one of the set's highlights and featured all the things that made them special. The skittering and breezily melodic guitars, the uptempo pulse of the rhythm section, Andrew Burnett's inscrutable lyrics, and the solid craft of their songwriting are all present. Over the course of several singles and two really solid album, Close Lobsters operated outside the realm of mass popularity, but listening to Firestation Towers: 1986-1989, Fire's 2015 collection of their complete recorded works, it's clear that the lack of heaping amounts of popularity wasn't their fault at all. The disc of singles (which was previously released as Forever Until Victory! The Singles Collection in 2009) has a bunch of songs that sound like hits, especially "Let's Make Some Plans" and the sprightly "In Spite of These Times." Maybe their songs are less immediate than, say, the Smiths, but the hooks are skyscraper tall and the energy is always infectious. The two albums included here, 1987's Foxheads Stalk This Land and 1988's Headache Rhetoric, are both solid to excellent indie pop collections with plenty of jangle, plenty of mild angst, and a brilliantly shiny sound. Foxheads comes out ahead by just a touch thanks to slightly stronger songs and a looser production style, but really it's a toss-up. The three discs together tell the story of a band that may not have received the same accolades over the years as some of its contemporaries, but which deserves them all the same. Mid- to late-'80s guitar pop doesn't get much better than this, and Fire has done a great favor to both original fans of Close Lobsters and those who might discover the band's charms here for the first time.
On Mobile Safari, the Pastels stretched out to an American audience with their calm and reflective style of blissful indie pop. Stephan Pastel remained the band's primary songwriter, while Katrina Mitchell (drums) and Aggi Wright (bass) began to contribute more this time around. Mitchell sings bittersweet and awkward lead vocals on "Mandarin" and "Token Collecting." Her untrained crooning is part of the allure of her songs. Wright leads on vocals on the festive "Yoga" and composed the instrumental "Mobile Deli." Pastel leads the way on the rest of the songs with his dry and deep vocal style. His delivery speeds up from its normally sluggish pace on the toe-tapping "Classic Line-Up" and "Strategic Gear." He collaborated with former member David Keegan on "Exploration Team" and "Flightpaths to Each Other." The whole trio of Pastel, Mitchell, and Wright collaborated on the disc's final track, the sublimely cool and horn-filled "Worlds of Possibility." Gerard Love added guitar and vocals to some of the tracks, while Luna's Dean Wareham also appeared as a guest guitarist.
One track already makes Nick Heyward's first solo LP after leaving Haircut 100 a must-hear. The breezy "Whistle Down the Wind" is among Heyward's most moving songs, a story of unrequited love with a "hello, hello, hope you're feeling fine" chorus that is both heartwarming and heartbreaking. Heyward sings the opening lines in a whispery tone, caressing the ears with the sweetness of his voice; when the tempo builds up, the track manages to simultaneously elevate and sadden the listener. "Whistle Down the Wind" is lush, hopelessly romantic pop that may have been too subtle for Top 40 radio in 1983. Although North of a Miracle doesn't strike those highs again, it's still just as charming and catchy as Heyward's finest Haircut 100 work. "When It Started to Begin" sounds a lot like Haircut 100, especially the chirpy horns, but much of North of a Miracle is more mature and introspective. "Blue Hat for a Blue Day" speaks of divorce with a deceptively cheerful beat, while the atmospheric "The Day It Rained Forever" is a wintry ballad with a palpable depth of emotion. Like the Colourfield's Virgins & Philistines, North of a Miracle doesn't seem like a '80s record; its apparent influences -- the Beatles, the Walker Brothers, jazz, R&B -- are as timeless as the album. Anybody expecting a boyish romp like Haircut 100's "Love Plus One" might be a tad startled.
Being the most thorough and astute compilation of the Jazz Butcher's prime, Glass Records' recordings from the mid-'80s make Draining the Glass a very essential collection indeed. Lead wit, vocalist, and talented multi-instrumentalist Pat Fish (aka the Jazz Butcher) penned most of these sophisticated pop gems, all variously infused with generous doses of jazz and humor. Joined by fellow composer, vocalist, and guitarist Max Eider, Bauhaus/Love and Rockets bassist David J., drummer O.P. Jones, and a revolving cast of guest musicians, Fish guided the first incarnation of the Jazz Butcher through a handful of loose, yet deceptively urbane albums between 1982-1986 (A Scandal in Bohemia, Sex and Travel, etc.). Drawing from this inspired musical run, Draining the Glass features fleet, high-end pop movers like "The Human Jungle," "Big Saturday," and "Girlfriend," along with tongue-in-cheek production numbers like "The Jazz Butcher Meets Count Dracula" and "Bigfoot Motel." And shoring up the band's well-publicized love affair with booze, Fish contributes the fine, jazz-guitar swinger "Partytime," with Eider chiming in with his own cabaret-style homage "D.R.I.N.K." Changing course a bit, Fish also indulges in relatively sincere and melancholy cuts like "Angels" and "Girls Who Keep Goldfish," the likes of which would crop up even more on future outings. A great collection tailored made for those who like their pop bristling with casual brilliance, particularly when it's emanating from a jukebox at the local pub.
This album, the group's best, explores a wide range of variations on the band's signature manic pop style, here adding occasional marimba, trumpet, accordion, and strings to the mix. The nervous single "Get It On" is presented in an intricately redone version, an improvement over its appearance on Well Well Well. Other great jittery numbers here include the frantic "Love Train" and "Travelling Man," as well as the stun-level manic "Shout" and "Hear Me James." The midtempo numbers here are generally excellent, especially the warmly expressive "Good Thing" and the lovely, loping "Give It Time." "Last Time" is a sadly yearning number with some odd touches that nearly undermine its mood, while "So Good Today" is a breezy, accordion-dominated selection that shamelessly flirts with wimpiness and only partially escapes. "Everything Breaks" manages to combine martial drums, funk guitar touches, a ringing arrangement, and production-number aspirations into one very effective package. There are also two songs that are just plain wacky fun, the nerdy Devo-inspired number "History" and the hiccuping fiddle-flecked song "Love Affair with Everyday Living." Production values here are utterly inspired. If you like pure, bouncy pop, you'll love this release.
To say that the original early-'80s incarnation of the Wild Swans had a reputation outsized by its formal releases puts it mildly -- only one single was ever released, but such was both the impact of the band on its times and the long shadow it cast that the release of Incandescent seems like a logical conclusion more than a case of overkill. It is, certainly, as exhaustive as one could want -- both sides of that single, "Revolutionary Spirit" and "God Forbid," in both U.K. and U.S. mixes, are here, plus three BBC radio sessions and assorted studio and live tracks, as well as an astonishingly large set of liner notes, including commentary on every track by bandleader and iconic figure Paul Simpson among other essays. It's very much a fan's dream first and foremost, and as enjoyable and inspiring as "Revolutionary Spirit" is, Simpson's own recollection of the rough and limiting conditions it was recorded under matches the murky-yet-soaring end results of the U.K. mix. It's a post-punk landmark of swift rhythm, rich guitar and wide-eyed vocal power that is still a flawed diamond ("God Forbid" might actually be the more powerful number, though it's more Echo & the Bunnymen-like in comparison), and most casual listeners would need no more than this, or the cleaner U.S. mix. In comparison, meanwhile, the tracks from the three radio sessions are the real heart of the collection -- repeating no cuts from the single or each other, and often consisting of songs newly created for each one, they collectively function as the mini-album that never was, and the no-frills yet professional sound serves the band much better. As a result, songs like "Flowers of England," "Now You're Perfect," "No Bleeding," "Crowning Glory" and "Enchanted" all collectively serve notice to the band deserving to be ranked among legends like Orange Juice, the Sound and the Comsat Angels. The live set, from a show opening for Echo in late 1981, is equally strong, fairly to very well-recorded and proof that the band could bring it live and then some, the rhythm section (with Joey McKechnie on drums) ripping along and Simpson's guitar cascading from the sky.
A full decade of acid jazz never produced a more stunning fusion of electronic music with live instrumentation than Making Bones. Poised halfway between Sly & Robbie and Roni Size, Red Snapper's first album for a worldwide audience surfs a wave of breakbeat funk that includes nods to dub, punk, soul, drum'n'bass and hip-hop. The rock-steady rhythm section of Richard Thair (drums) and Ali Friend (bass) holds the groove better than any sampler, tying together radically different material like classic British soul on "Image of You," metallic drum'n'bass on "The Sleepless" (with excellent rapping by MC Det) and the fusion update "Bogeyman" (with trumpeter Byron Wallen). It's obvious the Snapper have mastered all aspects of '90s electronic dance, and Making Bones is proof positive.
Both the title Moodfood and the subtitle ("Aural Medication for Tired Minds") neatly encapsulate the listening experience offered by producers Fred Hood and Grant Showbiz on this heady mix of ambient, trance, house, pop, and rock. The duo conceived of this project in almost therapeutic terms, envisaging the album as an extended, seamless composition that would stimulate, enhance or complement a range of emotional states. The resulting recording certainly reflects that intention: While it comprises individual tracks that evoke specific moods, to a certain extent they blend into one another and share recurring musical motifs. With contributions from such diverse talents as Jeff Beck, Chrissie Hynde, Johnny Marr, and Linda Muriel, this genre-blending debut displays an enormous emotive range, running the gamut from calming to exhilarating. The contemplative end of that spectrum can be heard on tracks like "Rainsong," beautifully enhanced by the soulful voice of Linda Muriel, and on the gentle "Hairy Piano," which pianist Liz Upchurch peppers with decorative new age melodies. The ambient calm of some of this material is shattered, however, by the driving rock of "Skinthieves." Later appropriated as the theme music to America's Most Wanted, this number showcases the distinctive, blistering guitar work of perennial axe-hero Jeff Beck. Meanwhile, the spaced-out house groove of "Problem Solved" and the heavier hip-hop rhythms of "100% Total Success" are more dance-oriented. The album's centerpiece is undoubtedly the soothing and poignant "Spiritual High," a 15-minute suite comprising three tracks that revisit Jon & Vangelis' "State of Independence," feature the vocals of Chrissie Hynde and, elsewhere, sample Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 1963 Lincoln Memorial speech
