Day 162.

I continue posting Macguffins orders, So that’s really good. But I still want to ask you for recommendations of bands to feature on the blog! Please send my way!

Foreign Correspondent: wow! I had never heard this Melbourne band but it does sound great. They are releasing a 7″ with the Japanese label Blue-Very with 3 superb jangly songs on November 3rd. The artwork is very nice as well!

Diogenes Club: the other new release on this Japanese label is a 7″ by this Japanese duo. It is really really good. 3 songs on this 7″ and also the first 100 copies will get a CDR with unreleased tracks by the band. For me it is very expensive these Japanese releases but if you can afford don’t miss them out!

Gutingkuku: now to Indonesia, to check out the latest on Shiny Happy Records. It is a 3 song-CD by this band I know little, but it doesn’t matter. This EP titled “Lost and Found” has three sweet and cute bedroom-pop songs, “Leisure Time”, “Shooting Star” and “Something in You”.

The Shop Window: from Maidstone, UK, comes this four-piece featuring Carl Mann, Simon Oxlee, Martin Corder and Phil Elphee, and they have just released a new digital single called “Evacuate”. It is a very fine slice of pop, so do check it out!

Snow Coats: lastly we have to check this indie band from Doetinchem in the Netherlands. It is the first time I am listening to them and I am quite surprised by the poppy song “Navy Blue” which is their latest. I have to check the rest of their songs of course, but this one already won me over.

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When I was working on the Starke Adolf compilation series, the one that only got to see released one volume, I had a huge list of bands that I thought should be included. I was missing Pet Squad. I had Strip Squad, but not the Pet Squad. I have to say I only discovered them lately thanks to my friend David from Barcelona. And yeah, they were from around the same time of all the bands that I wanted to have. So as you can imagine I am terribly curious about them.

The band’s sole release was a CDR album called “Nice to Beat Home” that was released on their own Teknikcirkus. The album included 11 songs, “Bear on the Beach”, “My Name is Moto X”, “Loading a Raft”, “Like the Weather as You Change”, “To Touch the Dingo”, “Passing By Reminder”, “When Company’s Down”, “Nancy’s Dream Theme”, “Windmill”, “Unkown Story” and “Dizzy Airplanes”.

The band seems to have been formed by:
Johan Wickberg – vocals
Kalle Petersson – accordion, bass, flute, guitar, harmonica, keyboards, organ and trumpet
Henrik Kyhlberg – drums

Interestingly enough I had been in touch with Henrik a few years after this release. Henrik was my contact for Caroline Soul, who I released a 3″ back in 2007. I lost touch with him since then sadly.

There is that connection. But what do we know about the other two band members? I don’t have a clue. The band is not listed in Popfakta which I hoped they would be. They don’t have any compilation appearances listed. There’s really nothing on the web. Where in Sweden were they based? Did they have more songs? How long did the band last? Any details would be appreciated!

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Listen
Pet Squad – My Name is Moto X

Day 160. I started posting Macguffins CDs last Monday and today I am posting a new batch of pre-orders. Little by little all will be mailed. Takes some time as I can’t spend much time in the post office, but I feel that by next week all pre-orders will be mailed. I want to thank everyone that has supported the label by buying this new CD. And yes we are working on a new 7″ at the moment. Mastering of the tracks and artwork are being taken care right now. Should be able to announce very soon (unless you saw the news on the band’s Instagram a few weeks ago!).

Another thing, I would love to get more suggestions or requests for bands to cover on the blog. There are lots of bands that haven’t been covered here, but would love to know of some you are interested in. Please do comment or email me, or send a message through Facebook, or Twitter. Just let me know of obscure bands we want more info!

Tricorollars: there are just 3 copies of the 7″ the band released in 2014. It is a great twee EP of three songs called “Fairy Daily EP” and I suggest getting it. It is available on Galaxy Train’s Bandcamp. I can’t order it sadly because it says shipping to the US is 188.04 dollars. Crazy!

Corolla: two new songs from this Chicago project, “Forget this Song” and “Fading”. There is very little information about them, we know the band is formed by John Dugan, Ben Taylor, Erik Cameron and Carlos Lowenstein, and they seem to like Orange Juice. Previously in 2019 they released a 3 song EP.

Cinéma Lumière: two songs by the filipino band are now part of the Indonesian label Shiny Happy Records’ Digital Club. This new single comprises “Dream Catcher” and “Love”, two fine dreamy tracks!

Poolshop: Jaime Fryer, Vlada Edirippulige, Luke Pallier, Peter Bernoth and Dougal Morrison, form this great sounding band from Brisbane. They have released an album called “A Shadow”. It is a great dreampop effort, hopefully gets released in physical formats.

The Lodger: the great UK band is going to be back with an album sometime this year (I hope). They have been very active lately on Facebook and it is there where they have posted a new song called “I’m Over this (Get Over it)”. Sounds like classic the Lodger!

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Going back to the “Mop Up Before You Leave” compilation of bands from Champaign-Urbana that Matt Allison produced and put together (check the previous post about Little Engine for more info), I jump to the third track on Side 1 for a another great pop song, Earwigs’ “One Afternoon”!

This song has a timestamp, as all the songs on this compilation. This one was recorded on May 1989. This song, this compilation, is on Youtube, uploaded by Rob McColley who was part of the band Little Engine. Happily he has added a photo and a scan of a tape that the band put out giving some extra information which is terribly helpful!

One thing that caught my attention is that officially the band was called The Silver Earwigs according to the tape they put out. On the compilation they appear as Earwigs. I guess I’ll call them The Silver Earwigs then as this tape was their own release.

The tape which includes 10 songs was produced by Matt Allison, with art by Archer. We also see that the band was actually a duo, with Pete Eggleson on vocals, balalaika and treschalka and Keith Morris on vocals, guitars, percussion and keyboards.

The songs that appear on this tape (was it their only tape they put out?) were: “Safe Before the Sky”, “You Will be Killed”, “One Afternoon”, “Deadlines” and “The Wasteland” on the A side; “Mulberry St.”, “A Season in a Day”, “Where Were You”, “The City of God” and “Circular Ruins Revisited” on the B side.

I have tried googling for them but I can’t find any hits. So this is all the information I have available at the moment. It is something of course. But would love to hear the music, all the songs, from that tape for example. Any help will be appreciated!

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Listen
The Silver Earwigs – One Afternoon

Thanks so much to Paul Isaac for the interview! Where’s Jules was a Plymouth, UK, band who released just one record in their day. I wrote about them on the blog hoping to learn more about them as they are one of the most obscures bands I know! Happily Paul got in touch and was quick to answer my questions! Discover them!

++ Hi Paul! Thanks so much for being up for this interview! How are you? Still making music?

Hi Roque. I’m not in a band, but I have a guitar at home and music is still a big part of my life.

++ Let’s go back in time. What are your first music memories? Do you remember what was your first instrument? How did you learn to play it? What sort of music did you listen at home while growing up?

My dad was in the navy and, one day when I was quite young, he brought home a broken mandolin someone on his ship had thrown away. It was broken at the neck, but I somehow worked out how to play one-string tunes on it.

++ When and how did the band start? How did you all meet? How was the recruiting process?

The whole band lived in Plymouth. That’s a good place to start. We were all pretty accomplished musicians when we came together and had played a wide variety of music, far beyond the straight pop which is represented by the single Nothing At All. We sort of figured, “Well other bands make it who are less good than we are, so let’s give it a go.” Plymouth is the back of beyond, almost nobody famous ever came from there. It was pretty naive to think we could do it without all moving to London, but that’s what we thought.

++ Were there any lineup changes?

We worked at it for 4 or 5 years. Went through a lot of lineup changes. We learned a lot and the band got better each time.

++ How was the creative process for you? Where did you usually practice?

The creative process was that individual members wrote the songs mostly on their own and then we got together to work on them, arrange them.

++ What’s the story behind the band’s name? 

Our guitarist, Jules, missed so many practices. To be honest, it pissed us off, but we made a joke of it by using that as the band’s name.

++ As far as I know you only released a 7″. Is that so? Are there no more releases by the band? compilation appearances?

We did make other recordings. Mostly for demo tapes. Again, we figured we could just walk into record companies with it and get a deal. Even walking into record companies was a challenge when you didn’t already know anyone, as it turned out.

++ For the 7″, released in 1986, there is no catalog number. I am guessing ti was a self-release? Why did you decide to go that way? Was there any interest by any labels?

Yes, totally self released. We didn’t even sell many, we thought that just making a record would impress someone who would give us a deal. Like I said, we were pretty naive.

++ Where were the two songs on the 7″ recorded? Who produced it?

We produced it totally ourselves.

++ Also credited on the 7″ is Stan for playing ebony, ivory and larynx and William who played drums. Who were they? Did they play in other bands?

I would say that the core of the band was myself, my brother, keyboard player Andy (nicknamed Stan for some reason) and our guitarist Jules Partidge. Will Collier was a long time friend of mine from other bands. More recently we added Andy Whitfield, an outstanding singer we came across and Donna who did great backup vocals and added some style to the band.

++ You were telling me about the credits too, about why they appear as Issac, Partridge and Isaac, what’s the story behind that?

Like I said, the core of the songwriting was myself, Jules and my brother Andy. We thought it would be clever to attribute all writing to Isaac-Partridge-Isaac because it reminded us of Holland-Dozier-Holland the famous Motown writing team.

++ And do tell me about the artwork on the sleeve? Who made that cool illustration?

A friend of mine, who was a drummer, had a day job as a graphic designer and he made it for us as a favour.

++ Were there any plans to follow this single with another or an album?

The music business is all about young people. Well, I had started too late and taken too long to get good, so when I was offered a work gig in The Netherlands, it was one of the most exciting things which had happened to me, so I went for it. (I’ve lived in The Netherlands ever since.) I expected the band to replace me, but they didn’t. They just broke up.

++ What about the press? Did they give you any attention?

Honestly, we got almost no attention. We played a few gigs to small audiences and that was about it. The most amazing thing is that all these years later, someone like yourself gets a copy of the single we made and is interested. I don’t even have that single myself. I’ve no idea how it got into your hands!

++ Never been to Plymouth. So I will ask for some recommendations. If  I was to visit your city what shouldn’t I miss? What are your favourite sights? And any particular food or drinks that you think one shouldn’t miss?

Well, I’ve lived in The Netherlands in the intervening time. I hardly ever go back to Plymouth. After being in The Netherlands so long – which is quite affluent and neat – Plymouth seem a bit down at heel.

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Listen
Where’s Jules? – Nothing at All

Day 158. We have received the MacGuffins CDs! Exciting! Our 2nd release this year after the fanzine. Yeah, we’ve been slow this year, but that’s cool still. It is good to release records! So we have set the official release date as for August 30th, but any pre-orders will start shipping RIGHT NOW! Remember you can order the CD by itself or as a combo with a 3″CDR that includes the MacGuffins first demo!

Hannah Barberas: this favourite UK band  of the blog is back with a new EP titled “Fallow Days”. It is already out and all proceeds of it will be donated to the Lewisham Foodbank. Oh! I once stayed in Lewisham. I get nostalgic. The four songs sound great, so there’s no doubt you all will like it! Check it out now!

Fantasy Postcards: the 2nd song of the combo formed by Johan Gille (ex-Able) and Mattias Jonsson (ex-Seashells) sounds great! It is called “Polaroid Epitaph” and it features some great guitars and fine melodies. The question that arises is when will their third, fourth, fifth, song will be released? I feel the band is slowly gathering material for something bigger. These two tunes are already promising good things to come, and this last one is very very good.

Davey Woodward & the Winter Orphans: wow! the great Davey Woodward who fronted The Brilliant Corners is back with an album called “Love & Optimism”. The album will be released on vinyl and CD on October 2nd and at this point we can preview two of the tracks, “Warm Hands” and “Occupy this Space”. Good stuff!

Candy Opera: the Liverpool band that remained obscure for years until Firestation Records rediscovered them will be releasing a new album on November 6th. It will be available on CD and vinyl and from the one song we can preview “These Days are Ours” this record called “The Patron Saint of Heartache” seems to be one we can’t miss this year!

Smokescreens: lastly we should check out LA band Smokescreens who are releasing a new album called “A Strange Dream” on October 30th on Slumberland Records. Here we can also only preview one of the songs, “Fork in the Road” which is great. The album will be out on vinyl and CD!

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One of the bands I had slated to appear on the second volume of The Sound of Starke Adolf was Handsome Train. From what I remember I was in touch with Mårten Andersson from the band and he sent me a song called “Last Sunday”. He promised to send a hi-res photo and a bio for the booklet but that never came to my mailbox. This happened with many bands back then, in 2009, and sadly couldn’t get enough songs to release this compilation. I wonder if one day I’ll be able to retake it. The first volume, now long sold out, is one of my favourite projects I ever put together.

I had known of the band through my days in Soulseek, back in those early 2000s. Swedish pop bands were releasing CDRs and sharing Mp3s of their songs all over the place. It was a great time for sure. Handsome Train was no exception with their trademark boy/girl vocals and catchy songs. I really liked them.

Their first release I believe was a demo CDR with three songs, “We’d Have Time”, “That Girl” and “September”. I can’t remember much about, and I can’t even remember if I ever heard these songs. Maybe.

There was another demo CD with 6 songs. This one again I don’t know much but we know thanks to Popfakta that the songs were “Last Sunday”, “Budapest”, “Holiday”, “Lovely”, “Morrissey” and “Farmen”.

Then a 7″ was released on Tommy Gunnarsson’s label Heavenly Pop Hits (POPH02). This 7″ EP was called “Pop” and included 5 songs: “Pop”, “I Want You to Know” and “Everyone Says Hi” on the A side and “Riot Girls” and “In this Time” on the B side. It is worth noting that Mårten was in The Gentle Smiles with Tommy too at some point. People with good music taste, making good music. The songs for this EP were recorded in 2002 at Studio Stäpelston, except track 3, side A, which was recorded in John’s basement. The technician at the studio was Lars Claesson.

I do remember very much their 2004 CDR EP “This Engine Should Do” released by the great Popkonst Recordings (POPK07). This EP I played over and over. It had four songs, “You Might Not Believe”, “Horse, Boy, Girl”, “Watching the Sky” and “When I Work I Cry”. I really loved “Horse, Boy, Girl”. Played it a thousand times.

This CDR tells us that the band was formed by Mårten Andersson on bass, Sara Ericsson on vocals, flute and keyboards, Linnea Karlsson on vocals and guitars, John on vocals, keyboards and guitars. That all songs were recorded in the summer of 2004 and all of the songs were written by John except “Watching the Sky” that was by Sara. On the front cover, there is a photo of a guy on a Levi’s t-shirt. This guy was called Bartek Machaj. A friend of the band?

Lastly the band would appear on there compilations. The first is on the classic Heavenly Pop Hits comp “Hit Music Only” (POPH1) released in 2002. Here they appear with the track “September”. In 2004 they appear on two Popkonst CD comps, “Rundgång – Skinkmacka På Teckenspråk” (POPK01) with the song “I Want You to Know” and on “This is Popkonst And We Love You” (POPK02) with the song “When I Work I Cry”.

We also know a few more facts. First the band hailed from Halmstad. They would play the festival Mitt Nästa Liv in Kalmar in 2003 and also Rundgång festival in 2004 in Karlskrona.

After the band split Sara was involved with the Malmö band Birds on Clouds while Mårten played with Full Effekt. I believe John became a diplomat. What about Linnea?

Then there is a blog post about the 7″ release. It is on a blog written by Tommy in memory of his Heavenly Pop Hits Label. Here he mentions how he was blown away by the band and surprised an indiepop band could appear out of nowhere in Halmstad, which is mostly known for giving the world Roxette. So he immediately approached the band and offered a release, a 7″. They had organized a release party at Rockstugan in Halmstad but sadly by the time of the party the vinyl records had been delayed. Anyways the band played and a week later the records arrived. The 7″s when mailed came with a badge. That’s cool. According to the blog the band left lots of unreleased tracks.

For those who know Swedish there is a fanzine called En Garde by Anton Gustavson from Södertälje which is available to read on Dropbox. On it there is an interview with Handsome Train!

Another thing I found online is that the band played with Pipas at Blekingska Nationen in 2004.

And that’s it really. Now it is time to find out what happened to them and to those unreleased songs they had. Everything they put out was quality. So definitely we need to know more!

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Listen
Handsome Train – Horse, Boy, Girl

Day 155.

English Summer: wow this does sound up my street. This project from Clare, Australia, does make some classic indiepop!! Jangly, very Bodines-like, just how I like it. Their latest song is called “A New Colour For You” but do check their previous releases! Good stuff.

Pet: this LA band formed by Honor Nezzo, Neeraj Kane and Todd Cooper make an edgier style of indiepop. Their latest track is called “Blood Orange” and sounds good. Like what? I am trying to think, maybe the Heart Throbs? Could that be a good comparison? In any case have a listen and let me know what you think!

Hazy Sour Cherry: the Japanese band that features members of many Tokyo indiepop scene bands is back with a new song called “Summer demo” and how nice it is! It makes you want to dance. It is simple and sweet. Perfect for the summer.

Sleepy: last time I wrote about this cool Sydney project was back in March. Well back in May they put out a song called “Flowers” that is great and somehow I missed it. It is time then to make amends. It is time to share this great song which was recorded in isolation.

Key Out: the latest on the Australian label Half A Cow is a digital single by the band Key Out. There are 2 songs on this single, “Buildings”, which is available to preview, and “Chorus (An Heirloom Austeremix)” which is not. So yeah, I enjoy the one I can listen.

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Anna Felix: Bathing beauty that disguises herself as a pirate captain to avoid marriage to the cruel Dey of Algiers. She suffers the insults of market-women.

That’s the sort of bio that appears on the “Don Quixote. A Quixotic Musical Fantasy with the Touch of Siesta” CD compilation that the Spanish label released in 2002 (SIESTA 150). This is a lovely compilation with amazing songs. I have already written about one of the projects in it, C de Constancia, in the past. I thought picking another one today, Anna Felix.

Anna Felix is actually a character in the most important novel in Spanish language. Her lover was Don Gaspar Gregorio and she is the daughter of Ricote the Moor. But I am curious about the Siesta bio, mentioning she is a bathing beauty. See, Siesta had in many compilations a band called Bathing Beauty that sounded amazing. Was it the same person behind both of these projects?

I feel with Siesta everything was very secretive, a world of smoke and mirrors. That doesn’t help a fan like me. But we do know a few facts of course. For example in the aforementioned compilation Anna Felix released the only two songs we know she recorded, “But For Love” and “I Will”.

These two songs would later reappear on a handful of international compilation showcasing Siesta Records’ music.

In 2005 the song “But For Love” would appear on “Sol y Sombra. La Primera Alta Comedia Musical de Siesta” released on CD by Avant Garden (AG 1005) from Taiwan. Avant Garden would also release “The Music from Beautiful Spain Spring-Simmer 2005” (AG 1004) that would have “But For Love” in it. That same year “I Will” would be released on “El Cielo Azul – Music for Siesta” released by Rambling Records (RBCS-2116) in Japan.

In 2007 “But for Love” was to be included in “La Vie Est Belle” a compilation released by Jointt Corporation (JT9001) in Thailand. This compilation included songs licensed from not only Siesta but also from Elefant Records and Jabalina Musica.

Lastly in 2008 Avant Garden Records would again have “But For Love” in the compilation “Voces del Verano – The Exquisite Voices to Love”, a promo CD.

It was indeed other times. I don’t see these sort of licensing anymore.

And that’s that really. Nothing else on the web. I feel with Siesta bands and projects it ends up being almost impossible to find out who were behind these bands. Even more weird is that a lot of the songs are covers of somewhat obscure music (at least to me). And on the CDs Siesta doesn’t even credit the original writer of the song. For example I found that “But For Love” is actually written by Gene Pistilli from the band Cashman Pistilli & West, appearing as a B side on a 7″ single and also in the “Bound to Happen” album from 1968. And what about “I Will”? Is that a cover as well? Anyone recognize it?

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Listen
Anna Felix – But For Love

Day 153

Tampopo: 4 cool songs from this Copenhagen based band are now available on their Bandcamp on the “Poppy Felties for Everyone” EP. These songs are really cool as they are tributes to people we all know, our friend Heinz from Hamburg gets a song called “Heinz, Hamburg’s Not so Far Away”, then David from Madrid gets “Casio”, “La Merienda” is a song about the Spanish radio show and “Lynn Chan” is of course about Lynn who makes the lovely felties!

The Reds, Pinks & Purples: two more by the prolific Glenn Donaldson from San Francisco. The new jangly songs are called “New Light” and “Poems & Pictures”. They are great as usual.

Arrest! Charlie Tipper: the album “Red” should be out on September 21st on the Greek label Old Bad Habits! AT this moment we can preview two songs from the ex-Groove Farm, Beatnik Filmstars, Rorschach, Rosehips, and more legendary bands members. Yeah legendary in Bristol and everywhere else we love indiepop. The two songs for preview out of the 11 songs on the album are “Shelf” and “Don’t Leave Me Alone”.

Cor Blanc: another great release out now on Galaxy Train Records from Japan is a 7 song mini-album by a duo formed by Mireia and Sergi from Barcelona! It sounds really lovely, naive and dreamy pop. I wonder why I had never heard them before! They even have toured across Italy and Japan!

The Sastro: who are The Sastro? it seems that the 8 songs that are available on Anoa  Records from Jakarta were recorded back in 2005. It must be a band from that great first wave of Indonesian indiepop. But I don’t remember them! But hey that’s not a bad thing, it is great that I am rediscovering them!

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“Fläskfarmen” (The Pork Farm) is a 1986 Swedish comedy film directed by Lars Molin . The roles include Ingvar Hirdwall , Bo Brundin and Knut Pettersen . The doctor at an asylum decides that it would be good for the patients if they could take care of a few pigs. This turns out so well that they start selling pigs to make money. The patients gets saner for every day that goes by and the staff start to behave rather strangely.

That’s a little synopsis I found on IMDB of the 1986 Swedish film that I am quite sure inspired the name of the Swedish band Fläskfarmen. Now the two songs the band released are pretty great. They are as far as I know the only proper release they put out. So let’s find out more about them!

The band was formed by:
Georga (Peter Öfverberg) on guitar and vocals
Saba (Lars Ekstrand( on guitar, vocals and harmonica
Soda (P-O Nilsson) on bass
Ricke (Rickard Jonsson) on drums
Lotta Björn and Ove on backing vocals

The band would release a 7″ in 1988 on the label PLC Records (PLC 806-01). Their release is the only one listed on this label so it might be a good guess to say that it was a self-release. We know too that the band produced the record with Peter Jingsätter who had been in bands like Blue Heaven, Face It and Modest Attraction.

The songs on the record were “Blundar & Ser” on the A side, written by Georga, and “Min Sång” on the B side written by Saba.

Something quite interesting is that the front cover has a photo of the famous Swedish football coach Sven-Göran Eriksson.

Georga and Lotta would later be in 2271, Seventh Wave and Tambumajoren. Soda would sing in one of the Danish popstar Mirah’s albums.

And that’s all I could find. Happily I just found a copy of the record for a decent price. But I definitely want to know more about them. The songs sound pretty good with boy/girl vocals and catchy melodies! Where in Sweden were they based? What are they up to these days? Did they record more songs? Any help would be great!

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Listen
Fläskfarmen – Blundar & Ser

Day 151.

Lunchbox: the Oakland based duo of Tim and Donna have a new song called “Every Time I Go Away”. It is a nice digital single with boy/girl vocals. it was posted on Friday when all proceeds of this single were to be donated to the People’s Breakfast Oakland, a grassroots socialist organization.

NewCastle: the fine Uruguayan band has just posted 6 new songs which are labeled as B sides that haven’t been released. Released where? I don’t know of any releases by the band! In any case, here are 6 lovely poppy songs by our new favourite band from the Oriental Republic of Uruguay.

Phantom Handshakes: this duo from New York is totally new to me. How cool. Federica and Matt are Phantom Handshakes and it seems they’ve been around since 2014. Interesting. Why didn’t they play NYC Popfest when it was going on? I had no clue they existed. Maybe the organizers didn’t then. Their latest is a 7 song mini-album called “Be Estranged” that is a superb collection of dreamy and jangly songs. Very nice.

Fowl Science: now this project from Toronto that makes some psychedelic dreampop that sounds really good. Their latest track is called “Samsara”  and from what I understand it is just one person behind this project, Stephen Kerr, who records at home. Looking forward to more songs by him!

Falling Sugar: lastly from Tokyo this new band that just formed! They are Mikko, Pako, Brono and Toyozo and they published their first ever song, “Thank You Boys”, last April! And it is really good. They have to record more!

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Another top band that I discovered when “The Sound of Leamington Spa Volume 5” was released back in 2005 was The Honeymooners. They had contributed the song “Untitled” which many will agree is not a great song title. But it is a very good song. So that’s what matters.

So on this compilation CD co-released by Firestation Records (FST065), Bilberry Records (BILB 09) and Clarendon Records (W6 7CD), there was a booklet that has some small bios for each band. That is one thing one has to be very grateful as online it proves hard to find any information on these bands. For The Honeymooners we find the following info:

The Honeymooners – formed in spring 1984 from the nucleus of Yeah Yeah – were Jean McClure (voice), Stewart Reid (drums), David Russell (bass) with Keith Dunn and Martin Connelly on guitars. Part of the (at the time) flourishing Glasgow indie scene, they released only one 7″ single: “Another Fit of Laughter/There They Were” on their own Mr Ridiculous label before disintegrating amicably in 1988. Their music was described at the time by some like a “cross between Burt Bacharach and The Buzzcocks”. Stewart, David and Keith went on to form Jailhouse with former Yeah Yeah collaborator Joe White until David’s tragic death from cancer in 1990. Meanwhile, Martin had moved to London and joined The Ginger Bottles, teaming up with two ex-Glasgow-scene stalwarts Martin Muir (The Original Mixed Up Kid) and Steve (Sam) Davis (Playing Soldiers). Jean had reinvented herself as DJ Jean Honeymoon and to the day runs her own funky house club night in Glasgow – The Honeytrap. Finally, Jean and MArtin have recently hooked-up again and are working on some new material with Steve Boyle under the name Honey (are you noticing a certain connection here?). Their first 12″ single release on Water Glass records is scheduled for July 2004.

it is not surprise that I got their one and only 7″ when I visited the Firestation headquarters years later of the release of the compilation. The 7″ with its black and white sleeve has a photo of a woman in the front cover. Who is she? Is it Jean? The record that had “Another Fit of Laughter” on the A side and “…And there They Were” on the B side, had the catalog number Mr. Ridiculous 1001. Some interesting details is that the A had a matrix runout that said “A Taste of Good Things”  while the B side said “Again……”.

On the 7″ there was some help from Seamus Corr who played the sax. He had also been part of a band called Basss Bassa.

Aside from the bands listed on the Firestation booklet, we know that David Russell and Stewart Reid had been in the band End Result who contributed a song to the 7″ compilation “Backlash!” in 1981.

On the blog The New Vinyl Villain we learn that the band hailed from Airdrie, a small town to the east of Glasgow.

Then there s a post by Alistair Fitchett about them on the Backed With blog. Here it mentions that there were three demo tapes. At least. It mentions a few songs from these tapes,  “Apple of My Eye” (which he shared a box link!), “Pulsebeat” and “What Pleasure”. Also it mentions the song “Untitled” that was on the Leamington Spa CD. He says that this was the best song the band recorded. He also mentions that Jean had a Myspace at some point were she had some songs were she provided vocals. These are long lost though. The Myspace is no more. But she does have a website these days. And a Soundcloud.

I keep digging and on Discogs commented that there was an August 1984 demo tape that included three tracks, “Fate”, “Wild Woman” and “Fun Machine”. Would be great to find these songs, how they sounded like. And definitely if there are more songs and demo tapes it’d be great to find out!

I’d definitely would love to hear to all their songs. If there are good enough songs as “Untitled” or “Another Fit of Laughter”, that would be thrilling. Any other information will be appreciated!

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Listen
The Honeymooners – Untitled

Day 148.

Charlie Darling: “A Radio Romance” is a 16 song album by Charlie that is up now on the Bandcamp of his other project Les Bicyclettes de Belsize. There is not much info about this album, not sure if these are recordings from before he started calling himself Les Bicyclettes de Belsize, but it doesn’t matter really, the thing is that these are very lovely songs! Makes you happy and tap your feet!

The Violent Hearts: from Birmingham two songs recorded during the great lockdown of 2020. The names of these songs are “Porcelain World (Acoustic)” and “Strange Powers” and they are great indiepop songs, classic sounding!

The Leave Me Alones: now to Oakland, California, to check out the “Be Alone EP” by this four-piece formed by Marc, Damian, Dasha and Hayley. So far we can only preview one of the songs, “Choices”, and it sounds terrific. It does remind me of the Canadian band Sleuth. Cool!

Mañana el Espacio: the Caracas, Venezuela, band is back with a new single called “Estrellas Fugaces”. It is a charming lo-fi bedroom pop song with a happy-go-lucky feel. Check it out.

Midpoint Union: not very common to feature a Portuguese band but happy to do it today. This solo project by Pedro R from somewhere in Portugal sounds interesting. He released last January a dreamy album called “New Turn” which is worth giving a listen. I wonder if there are more indiepop influenced bands there these days…

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Wow! What a discovery! Just stumbled upon a whole rip of a tape called “Mop Up Before You Leave” on Youtube. And guess what, there are tons of great bands and music here that are totally new to me. I will share my favourites with you in this and in following posts. So let’s start with the first band on the tape, Little Engine.

One thing that is worth mentioning is that this tape was released in 1989 and from what I understand it was put together by Matt Allison. The songs were recorded at his place at 4th and White in Champaign, Illinois. I know there is a 7″ by Matt Allison on the Bus Stop Label and I always assumed he was more of a musician, but it seems he is best known as an audio engineer who has mostly worked at Atlas Studios in Chicago.

Ok, so he put this tape together in 1989 with bands from that period. AMong the names that are more familiar I can think of Paul Chastain and Uncle Tupelo. The rest are all new to me. Little Engine is definitely new and sounds great. The song that was included in this tape was called “Good Day, Sad Girl” and was recorded in August 1989.

I continue googling and I find that the band hailed from the city of Urbana, which is just next door to Champaign.

Then I find a name that was involved in the band, Rob McColley. Then I put two and two together and it is Rob McColley who had uploaded the Matt Allison tape! Everything starts making sense. Then I find in his account another tape by Little Engine one called “Here’s a Cookie from Other Side of Reality” which dates form 1988. This was was also recorded by Matt Allison and the songs included in this EP were “Watch Me”, “I Think I Can Manage”, “Colors of the Broom”, “(Gorilla Shit)”, “Empty Room”, “Through the Wall” and “Two Times”. The first three were on the A side called (Side Burns) while the last three on the B side (Side Winders).

We also find the band members names:
Matt Pearson – drums, tambourine
Ed Schaller – bass, tambourine
Rob McColley – vocals
Jon Beck – guitar

The video includes some tidbits about the songs which is really cool. For example each tape used to cost 2 dollars and they were usually sold at the Urbana High School cafeteria!

The second song on this tape, “I Think I Can Manage” was included in Trashcan Records compilation tape “Lubricant” that was released in 1988. Another interesting thing mentioned here is that they named their “publishing company” Strawberry in the Prairie. Why? They have no clue. They weren’t affiliated to any organization. They didn’t get any money for their songs.

Lastly there is another video uploaded. This one is their unreleased and never finished album from 1990. It was also recorded by Matt Allison but this time it was at Windy City Recorders  in Chicago during the winter and spring of 1990. It seems at this point the band members had changed. Matt Pearson had left and was replaced by Pat Hawley. Sadly this time around there are no song titles for these songs.

And this seems to be the end of this great sounding band that reminds us of the great Rick Menck and Paul Chastain bands. They should have released at least a 7″! They had good songs as you will see!

Whatever happened to Little Engine? Where are they now? Were they involved with any other bands?!

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Listen
Little Engine – Good Day, Sad Girl

Thanks so much to Alan Harpley for the interview! Merry Go Rhythms was an 80s Sydney band who only released one 7″ back in the day. But they did record many more songs and I wanted to know more about them. So I wrote about them on the blog some time ago and last week Alan got in touch with me and was kind enough to answer all my questions!

++ Hi Alan! Thanks so much for being up for this interview! How are you? Still making music?

I’m well, and yes still making music 😊

++ Let’s go back in time. What are your first music memories? Do you remember what was your first instrument? How did you learn to play it? What sort of music did you listen at home while growing up?

Mmmm? Music was always in our house when I was growing up. My mother used to sing and act in local stage shows productions and there was always a piano in the house. I have a photo from 1969 with a 2 year old me sitting at the piano trying to play it. My first instrument was the piano but I never had the patience to practice (which I’ve regretted now for years). Guitar became my weapon of choice. I wanted to be on a stage like all the bands we were watching on TV music shows back in the day. So a 14 year old me started to learn guitar at school and played my first gig in 1981.

Growing up I listened to a lot of Beatles and Australian Rock at the time. We had a thriving pub rock scene here in Australia back in the 70’s & 80’s.

++ Had you been in other bands before Merry Go Rhythms? If so, how did they sound like? Are there any recordings?

Yeah, my first band was called THE START in 1981. Then there was a band called CON-FUSION in 1982. Then there was THE ACCOOSTIX from 1983 to 1985. Each of these bands sounded like raw pop rock I guess??? I have a recording (2 songs) of the ACCOOSTIX. All I wanna do & In The City Tonight. All I wanna do was the first of my originals to get played on the radio. I was 17 at the time. 😊 I can send you an audio file if you would like it.

++ What about the rest of the band members?

Paul was in the final ACCOOSTIX line up in 1985. I met Gary in 1984 while doing lights & lugging gear for his band The SILENT TYPES. And good old Andy was playing in the band SOUTH BOUND TRAIN. I was just about to do a project with Paul when Covid-19 stuffed it all up for us. Andy is a radio DJ in Tuncurry Australia. Unfortunately, I lost contact with Gary a few years ago. But he never played after we broke up.

++ Where were you from originally?

We were all from Sydney, mainly the south of Sydney. Well, except for Andy. He’s an Englishman but live in Australia most of his life.

++ How was Sydney at the time of Merry Go Rhythms? Were there any bands that you liked? Were there any good record stores? Or what about the pubs or venues to go check out up and coming bands?

At the time Merry Go Rhythms were playing, almost every pub had a band on. Every night of the week! It was a great time to be in bands. There were lot’s of great music happening back then. A lot of bands made the big time, a lot didn’t, but still made a good impact on the suburbs. One of my favourite bands at the time were The FINGER GUNS. Great band. Their bass player was Murray Cook who became a worldwide star being the Red Wiggle. Our bands worked together quite often. Most venues had up and coming bands so there was variety plus back then.

++ When and how did the band start? How did you all meet? How was the recruiting process?

OK, Gary approached me when The Silent Types broke up. I had just finished up with The Accoostix at the time. This was early 1986. Paul was rehearsing with some guys which included drummer David Frazer. I told Gary that we should check them out, which we did and the next thing you know Paul and David joined up with us. Pretty simple really, we all just jelled. We did our first gig on the 17th May 1986 at the Oatley Hotel. Good fun pub. Still is.

++ Were there any lineup changes?

Yeah mate, we had a few changes over the years. A few name changes too.

David left to play cover songs and make some money. (we always put our share of the money back into the band for recordings and merch) That’s when Andy came along. We had a name change in 1988. Our sound was getting a little rockier and we thought the name wasn’t strong enough. So, we went with PUBLIC ENEMY. Bad move, right? As we discovered there was already a Public Enemy overseas. Long story short, arguments started happening about money and royalties, so I was the one to quit. Not too long after Gary convinced me to come back and we were then joined by Norm Debonis on guitar and Jason Boylan on drums. This line up didn’t last very long. Too many ego’s I guess. In 89 we change the name again to D-LUXE AND THE RHYTHM. Paul was back in the fold, Gary’s brother in law came on board as an extra guitarist and a drummer named George Muscat,(later to be in the band Black Label) then a drummer named Mark Sullivan. That was the last line up which finished up in 1992.

++ How was the creative process for you? Where did you usually practice?

Creative wise, Gary and I wrote most of the songs. Paul wrote a couple. But we would just be in the studio and one of us would say “I’ve got this song I’ve been working on” and we would all just start to make it happen. It was really easy like that, magic just happened 😊 There were two main rehearsal studios we used to use. A place called Take 5 studios and Downunder Studios. Both great rooms to rehearse.

++ What’s the story behind the band’s name? 

Yes, the name. I personally never really liked it. lol (Hence the MGR reference).

We were going to be called Merry Go Round after a rocking song by the band Cold Chisel. But as per our luck someone beat us to it. I remember we were sitting in Accent recording studios doing some mix downs of our first recordings, (we recorded before we had even played a gig together) and names were being thrown back and forwards and one was Merry something??? And the other was rhythmic something??? And somehow it ended up as Merry go rhythms. By then I was over it and just went with the flow.

++ And who would you say were influences in the sound of the band?

I would say we were very influenced by the Australian music styles at the time, maybe even a little Beatles thrown in. Paul was more of a sort of Jazz player so our sound I think was our own. It was a good mix.

++ As far as I know you only released one 7″ back in 1987 on your own label MGR Records. Why did you go the self-release route? Was there no labels interesting in putting your music out? Or you preferred doing it your own way?

That’s correct. We only ever released the one record. It was our idea to go it independently and hopefully get the attention of the larger labels. We ended up doing two pressings of the record. We recorded the next single RAIN but it was never released on vinyl.

++ And how did you like the experience of doing label stuff? Was it easy to get your record distributed?

I would have to give all the credit to Gary for all that sort of stuff. He was the business man, I was more the writing, playing and partying guy. 😊 Paul and Andy just wanted to play.

++ Both songs on the 7″ were recorded at Reel-Time-Studios in Sydney. Was it your first experience at a proper recording studios? How did you like this recording studios?

Reel time was a great studio. Not our first studio but the most professional studio we had been in. It was a good place to record. I loved every second of it.

++ And how was working with Mark Tinson, who produced the record?

Mark was great, he helped guide us through the sessions with ease. Mark was a top bloke. I was thrilled to be working with him. He was a guitarist for the Ted Mulry Gang who were one time pretty big in Australia. So yeah, I looked up to him.

++ On your website you have releases like the “Famous Lies” EP or the “Living on the Edge” EP. Were these two EPs properly released? They were recorded at Accent Studios, right? I couldn’t find any other information on the web!

No, none of these songs were ever released. Famous Lies was recorded at Accent recording studios in the Sydney suburb of Kogarah. Living on the edge was recorded at Riversond Recordings in the Sydney suburb of Riverwood. Something missing and Rain were also recorded there.

++ Care telling me a bit about these two EPs? When and where were they recorded?

Opps, Think I jumped ahead and answered that one. My bad 😊

++ And what about the “Somethings Missing” EP? That was recorded in 1989. Was it released? There is a different version of “Perpetual Motion” on this one, right?

Perpetual motion was always a crowd favourite, but as the band progressed we thought, let’s kick this up a notch. I do like this version much better than the original. It was more us. Perpetual motion had been in the Silent Types live set before we recorded it. So by the time the latest version was recorded, it sounded more like where the band was at the time.

++ I see you have many songs, so I wonder was there plans to release an album at some point? What about these days, a retrospective compilation perhaps?

Not really. I have them all on file. It could be possible to put them all together and throw them on iTunes and Spotify. But there weren’t any plans to do it.

++ Were there any other demo tapes by Merry Go Rhythms?

I think Paul still has some rehearsal tapes somewhere. I’ve got some live ones and I know Andy still has some live ones as well.

++ What about compilation albums, did you contribute songs to any?

No. Not that I’m aware of???? But hey? I didn’t know about your blog and you found us! How did you come across us by the way? Now I’m asking you questions. Sorry.

++ And are there more unreleased songs by the band?

No. We only recorded the 11 songs during our time.

++ I think my favourite song of your is “Face the War”, wondering if you could tell me what inspired this song? What’s the story behind it?

Once again, I would have to give Gary the credit for that song. He came into the studio with it already written. We just created it. It turned into a monster. 7 something minuets!! Sorry, I don’t know what inspired Gary to write it.

++ If you were to choose your favorite Merry Go Rhythms song, which one would that be and why?

Wow, Hard question. I like them all. If I had to choose? I would say the re-recorded Perpetual Motion because it just sounds fresher and up compared to the original recording. And Rain. I like Rain. The song had a more commercial / international style to it.

++ What about gigs? Did you play many? I read about 200? Is that so?!

Yeah about that. Between 1986 and 1992. There were a few gaps in there. I have a list of most of them from old diaries but I’m sure there are some I have forgotten in there.

++ And what were the best gigs you remember? Any anecdotes you can share?

They were all fun for me. But the record release run of shows were the best I think. We did some good support shows and some great headlining shows. A funny story comes from a weekend tour back in 1987. We left Sydney in our trusty hire van and drove 107kms to a venue called the Illawarra leagues Club. Played a cool gig then packed up the hire van and drove 532Kms through the night with Andy at the wheel (and lots of laughs along the way with our road crew Leo) to a country town called Griffith. Not so unusual for a band on the road. We arrived at the hotel sometime during the day and go in for sound check. Great big PA System. We play one of our rockier songs (Living on the edge) and the sound guy loves us! Then he says, “You guys should play that sort of stuff all the time. It rocks”. We all look at each other and just shrug shoulders. We go rest up in the motel for a few hours then back to the venue for show time. That’s when we discovered what the sound guy was talking about. The place was full with old rock n roll 1950’s dancers!!!!! Being a country town, people came from miles around to see (what we were billed as) Merry-Go-Rhythms the 50’s, 60’s rock and roll review! I know it sounds like something out of The Blues Brothers movie but it’s all true. We stumble through the first set, making it up as we went along. Unlike the Blues Brothers, it was horrible. The manager comes up to us when we have a break, pays us, gives us a case of beer and said “Not your fault the promoter is about to get a phone call”. “Go back to the motel and enjoy, the DJ will finish the night”. So forever more, that weekend was known as the Pull the plug tour.

++ And were there any bad ones?

Oh yeah. As above. There was only one other I remember being a bit of a shocker. A show at the Kings Head Tavern. What I remember of the gig was that we were on fire! Sounding great. But before the last set, someone had offered me some 420 in the carpark. On top of the amount of beer already consumed by me things could of gone much worse. I do recall all the guys looking at me during one song (could not tell which one) But apparently, I have started playing a different song mid solo. I thought it was sounding great. I had no idea. That only ever happened once. But the worst one was at some venue in a beach side suburb called Coogee. Poor Andy was outside having a smoke in our break and some Asshole decided to beat the crap out of him. Poor Andy lost a couple of teeth and was laid out for a few weeks. That cut the gig short real quick.

++ When and why did Merry Go Rhythms stop making music? Were you involved in any other bands afterwards?

We just fell apart, I guess. We had run our course. Line-up changes, different opinions, growing different musically. All that stuff. Our last gig was at the Villawood Hotel in Sydney on the 15th May 1992. That was the end. Since 1994 I have been playing consistently in cover bands and trios and duos. My longest stint has been playing in the GTS DUO. I did 15 years and 601 shows with GTS. We only stopped because the world did.

++ What about the rest of the band, had they been in other bands afterwards?

Andy went back and played with South Bound Train again for a while from memory. Paul has been playing in a band called Skylark for like 20 something years now. (I was just about to join them on bass guitar when Covid hit). Gary never played after the Villawood gig.

++ Has there been any reunion gigs?

No gigs, but we had a reunion rehearsal a few years back. It was like riding a bike. I had a photographer came and take some memories for us.

++ Did you get much attention from the radio?

Not a lot. We did get spun a few times on commercial radio but in those days without label backing?? We did get a lot of plays on community radio. That was where we got played the most.

++ What about TV? Made any promo videos?

No TV or promo videos unfortunately.

++ What about the press? Did they give you any attention?

Yeah, we got quite a lot in the local newspapers from the areas we were playing. All good reviews. Which was nice.

++ Looking back in retrospective, what would you say was the biggest highlight for the band?

It would have to be releasing the Perpetual Motion / Face The War record. And finally, being able to play some great venues as headliners instead of support acts.

++ Aside from music, what other hobbies do you have?

Mate, when I’m not playing music and have the time, I love to get out on the lake and go fishing. It doesn’t happen very often though.

++ Never been to the Sydney or Australia! So I will ask for some recommendations. If  I was to visit your city what shouldn’t I miss? What are your favourite sights? And any particular food or drinks that you think one shouldn’t miss?

I guess you would have to do the Harbour Bridge climb. Check out The Sydney Opera House and Darling Harbour. Doyals Seafood at Watsons Bay 😊

++ Anything else you’d like to add?

Yeah, I just want to say thanks for discovering us after so many years. Andy was the one who sent your blog to Paul and myself. He found it online somewhere 😊

Hope any of this info is good for you.

Just to add, these are my memories and answers of events and may not necessarily represent the opinions of all members.

Paul & Andy have read this and have no problem with me sending it to you.

Cheers

Alan.

www.alanharpley.net

https://alharpley.bandcamp.com/

https://soundcloud.com/alan-harpley

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Listen
Merry Go Rhythms – Face the War

Day 146.

Smudge: the Australian label Half a Cow has made available the “Scary Cassettes” by the classic Smudge band on Bandcamp! 28 songs of terrific pop that are compiled here by Tom Morgan. These songs feature the second line-up of the band, Tom Morgan, Alison Galloway, Adam Yee and Pete Kelly. Great stuff!

Passmore Sisters: previously only heard as part of the bands BBC Radio 1 session for Janice Long in 1987, the song “These Things I Feel” has been re-recorded b y the band this year and is now available as a digital single on Bandcamp! How great to hear again from this amazing band!

Victorian Tin: a new song, well from 2000, that has been re-recorded, by the duo from Karlstad, Sweden. Erik and Christian seem to continue being active and that’s quite cool. Hopefully there will be a new release soon!

Agent Blå: the Gothenburg band is also back with a new song. It is called “Atopos” and it is superb. I feel it came just in time for the summer. Not much info about it, it just looks like a digital single.

Throw Like a Girl: Two girls from Leicester playing some cool upbeat punky pop! There are two songs up on Bandcamp and they actually date from January! So yeah, quite late to discover “Fight or Flight” and “Wednesday”.

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Who remembers Hospitalle?

David Hansson, Emanuel Hallongren, Maria von Hall, Patrick Jensen and Philip Gates are listed on Discogs as band members. I remember them because of the connection of Philip Gates as he had been in that wonderful, terrific, amazing, band Days. But only now I am discovering Hospitalle. See if I can track down all their records.

Actually there are two records they released properly. The other stuff is only available digitally.

The first release was actually a split 7″ on the classic label Dolores Recordings (DOL 164) back in 2005. There were 300 copies made of this record that was part of the Dolores singles club. The band would appear in the B side of the 7″ with the song “Let’s Not Tell Our Sad Stories”. The A side had the band Dreams End with the song “She Touched My Hand”. Now that I think of it I should try to write a post about Dreams End at some point.

The next year, 2006, the band released on the label Little Hill Recordings (LHR 001) the EP “Day Before May”. This EP had four songs, “Black Heart”, “I Envy You All”, “In a Bag” and “Heavenly Grey”. This release is the only one listed on this label, it makes me think it might have been a self-release.

We get some credits here too. Now we can point which instruments each band member played.
Maria Von Hall – vocals, xylophone, strings
Patrick Jensen – vocals, bass and he also wrote the songs
David Hansson – guitar, piano, vocals
Philip Gates – guitar
Emanuel Hallongren – drums

Other people that are credited on this record are Linn Lauterhorn, Maja Rasmusson and Stefan Strömberg (from the great band Vapnet) on vocals (I am guessing backing vocals), David Chocron (from the band Hemstad) on trumpet and Karl Ander (from Hemstad and Agent Simple) on guitar, piano, vocals, bass, organ, drums and accordion. The production and mixing (aside from also playing guitar, keys, percussion) was done by Kalle Von Hall who had been in the Bad Cash Quartet.

Going through all these people and bands made me curious and I checked in which other bands had the members of Hospitalle been. So I find out that:
-David Hansson had been in High Voltage, Los Ochos, Pats and Vapnet
-Emanuel Hallongren on Agent Simple and Hemstad
-Maria Von Hall on Pats
-Patrick Jensen on Pats
-Philip Gates on Los Ochos, Vapnet and Days

It is also worth mentioning that in 2010 these songs were re-released as 4 MP3s by the label Record Union. Not sure why 4 years later or why a new label. It is very curious.

But this date does match with three MP3 releases they did that year. Aside from this release they also put out 6 more songs on Record Union that year. This 6 songs were “Drinking the Memories Away”, “For Every Kind”, “These Screwed Up Times”, “You Fell Asleep”, “Violence, Ambulance!” and “The Clouds”. The EP was called “L’Antidote Dernière”.

Then they would put out stuff on a label called Knoppar. Two Mp3s would be released separately, “Forest Fire” and “Let’s Not Tell Our Sad Stories”. This last one was the same song that was included in the split 7″ back in 2005!

And that’s it. That’s all the info I could find for them. They disappeared at some point after releasing their EP, then they reappeared re-releasing MP3s.  But after that what happened? Who remembers them? Where are they now?

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Listen
Hospitalle – Violence, Ambulance!