I can say that the fanzine is almost done. Just missing answers from one of the bands to be interviewed and two songs for the CD. I am hoping I get this sometime this week and I can finish laying out the pages this weekend. Then I just need to set up the pre-press and it should all be good to go! Very very exciting!

In the meantime here are some great new finds for everyone to enjoy!

Baseball Gregg: this superb sounding band from Stockton, California, is releasing an album called “Calendar” on February 28th! The album will be released on vinyl and cassette by the Slovakian label Z Tapes. There is also a companion book that you can get for $15 which is a good deal. Right now we can only preview the song “Young” out of the 12 that will be in the album and I must say it is very very good! Can’t wait to listen to the rest!

Don’t: Another new album that coming out soon is “Lightning Slow” from this Detroit band I just discovered. Again we can only preview one of the tracks, “I Don’t Care”, out of 8, but it is sufficient to get an idea of how good this could be. Female vocals, upbeat melodies and catchy choruses. That’s what the Fort Worth label Dreamy Life Records will be putting out on CD, cassette on March 6!

Operations: continuing in the US, now we head to Milwaukee. Operations does let us listen to the whole album they’ve released digitally called “Fog Museum”. It was released just a few days ago, on Valentine’s Day, and it has 11 songs of dreamy pop. The band is formed by Charles Markowiak, Alisa Rodriguez, Sam Gargulak and John Schoneman!

Shiny Times: remember the great Tape Waves from Charleston? Kim, one half of the duo, has been releasing music on her own as Shiny Times. I have featured her music in the past, but I feel it’s been a while! Happily she just released a new song called “Too Young” that is gorgeous slice of bedroom pop!

Chemical Club: it seems today I only featured bands from the US! This last one comes from New Mexico. They are a bit of a poppy post punk band, kind of like the Marionettes. They have released a 5 song EP on Valentine’s Day called “Mutual Psychosis”. And well, it sounds great! Hope it gets released properly!

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Just found out about this German band on my friend Heinz’s Youtube channel. I had never heard about them before and I was quite surprised by the song Heinz had uploaded, “Time to Get Away”, which turns out to be the 2nd song out of a 3 song CD!

The other two songs were “La Guardia” and “Behind the Fence”. I wonder what is the “La Guardia” song about. Is it about New York’s airport of the same name? Or something else? Maybe it just means the guard, as that what la guardia means in Spanish. Would be interesting to find out.

All three songs had been recorded at the CELLAR Studios in Gütersloh in Germany. Where is that? It is in the North Rhine-Westphalia region in Germany, and it seems the closest big city is Bielefeld. Maybe the band hailed from there? Or Paderborn?

This CD was released in 1991 and it was self-released by the band. But that’s not all, there is at least one compilation appearance on a German CD called “72 Minutes” that the label Pigs Can’t Fly released in 1993. There the band contributed the song “Time To…”. On this comp I recognize just another band I had featured in the past, the wonderful Die Wurzelsepps.

Sadly I can’t seem to find any other information. Discogs lists the band as a goth rock band. Maybe they other songs are more goth-influenced. The one I listen, “Time to Get Away”, sounds great to me!

Anyone know anything else about them? Maybe they could be included in a second volume of the German Leamington Spa series?

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Listen
Gloom of the Grave – Time to Get Away

Thanks so much to Des for the interview! Des contacted me not too long ago as I had written about another band he had been in, The Cherry Brogues! The cool thing is that This Certain Kind, his later band, had just released a retrospective album on Firestation Records called “Inspire” on vinyl LP. It is a favourite record of mine already and I really hope you discover them now as there are only a few copies left of their record!

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

Im really good thanks .. yes im still making music I took the decision a few years ago to set up my own home recording studio called Parkwood Studios and that keeps me busy and still very much involved.

++ 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 first music memory that I can recall that would have prompted me to want to play music was probably me standing on the couch playing air guitar on my old tennis racket to the song  “Love is like Oxygen” by The Sweet when it came on Top of the Pops I must have only been 9 or 10. First Instrument: an old Spanish guitar that a kind neighbour gave us.

Music at home: we all sat around the television every Thurdsay evening to watch Top of The Pops like so many families did back then and tape the songs from the telly to play them during the week.

++ I know you’d been in The Cherry Brogues and I hope we can do an interview about the band. But had you been in other bands before This Certain Kind? What about the rest of the members? If so, how did all of these bands sound like? Are there any recordings?

I was playing bass in a band called Par Excellence at the same time This Certain Kind had started around 1987 both bands had a healthy rivalry and worked alongside each other. Our guitarist Gary Dillon was selected from the crowd at a U2 concert in Dublin and he played on stage with them it was the Joshua Tree tour and that got us a write up in the national newspapers the next gig we did. I never got to record anything with them but they were a great band I think there is a song or two and a video of us on youtube if I’m not mistaken. Most of the bands at that time had a distinct Indie vibe going on ..plenty of guitar riffs!!

++ Where were you from originally?

I was born in Ilford, Essex, London. My parents both Irish, moved to Tallaght, Dublin when I was 7 and I’ve lived here ever since. Its a good place to live.

++ How was Dublin at the time of This Certain Kind? 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?

Dublin was in a recession at that time so being in a band gave you a sense of hope and belief.

I suppose there were some really good bands that I liked: A-House, Hey Paulette, Stars of Heaven and Guernica. We all played in an Indie Pub called The Dublin Underground that was where you made your name then onto The Rock Garden which was bigger. We had good record shops in the city: Golden Discs, Freebird Records Abbey Discs and The Basement for the hard to finds and rarities.

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

We all knew one another from either school or the area or because the pool of musicians at that time was so small f you were involved in music then most people had heard about you. I had written two songs with Anthony our vocalist even though I was with Par Excellence, that may have been the start of my recruiting process.

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

My Mother had allowed me and my younger brother Steve to convert our garage into a rehearsal room. We did this and sound proofed it with large full length cork panels which gave the room a real pro studio feel to it. We rehearsed and wrote lots of songs there then we moved into the larger rehearsal rooms in the Dublin like Temple Lane and Apple Studios.

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

I think some of the original members of the band thought it up after a few pints in  The Dublin Underground. Im not 100% on that one but I think that’s what I heard !!

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

If I had to narrow it down I would have to say  5 bands: The Stone Roses, The Jam, The Cure, The Smiths, and New Order.

++ What about Irish bands? Are there any great Irish bands that for some reason or another remain in obscurity but you loved at the time?

Hummmm, Guernica were great and The Fat Lady Sings. They released a few records but never made it big unfortunately.

++ From what I see in Discogs you recorded your first demo the “Inspire” tape in 1989. Where was it recorded? Was it easy to pick the three songs that were going to be in it?

It was recorded in Sun Studios, Dublin. There was another song from that demo which didn’t make it onto that session and that was called” Better Than None”  but they it made it onto the album instead so that’s alright I guess !!

++ Who is on the photo on the cover of this tape?

My Brother Steve did the design work on that cassette cover. The image he used was from a Clip-art book that anyone was free to use. It has a kind of Smiths album cover feel to it really but it looks well. Or should have I just said I don’t know !!

++ And aside from this tape, are there any other demos that were released? How many?

We tried to go into the recording studio as much as we could afford as it was expensive at that tim.e I think through the years we recorded 5 or 6 times each time we would record 3 tracks per session. Nearly all of those recordings were cleaned up and remastered and are on the album.

++ Were these demo cassettes mostly for promo? To send to labels or radio stations? Or were these sold at gigs as well?

They were primarily for promotional purposes. We sent them into local radio stations and into Hot Press and various other music magazines to be reviewed in the hope that we would get some air play.

++ And many years later, Firestation finds you and includes you in the “The Sound of Leamington Spa Vol. 9”. How did they find you?

Our Bass player Mark had put some of our songs up on YouTube a few years ago. Then out of the blue. Uwe from Firestation left a message on the comment section asking about us and I guess one thing led to another. We ended up putting two tracks onto that album: “Unfortunate” and then another secret hidden track at the end of side 4 a swell.

++ After being included Firestation Records notices that your songs are amazing and offers to release a compilation of all your previously recordings, right? Are there more still unreleased?

The songs and recordings are all our own no question. But as we were sifting through our old session and Demo tapes we did discover 3 songs that we had never recorded. We have since recorded one of them songs which was written in 1990 called ” Here Comes a Love Song and its due out for release this summer.

++ This new album is called just like the first demo tape, “Inspire”. Why?

We thought it was a good omen as it would have been 30yrs ago it was made when Firestation would release our album of the same name in 2019. We had given up on it ever being made to be honest so I guess that’s why 🙂

++ For people that have never heard your songs before what would you say they can expect?

They can expect to hear a lot of catchy riffs and interwoven bass lines which cover an array of Indie styles together with solid melodic vocal lines and meaningful lyrics which I hope leave the listener humming at least one of our tunes !!

++ One thing I noticed in the credits is that someone with your last name arranged “Better than None”. Is it family? Tell me a bit more!

Yes thats my younger Brother Steve who did that arrangement .. its different to all the other tracks as he went a bit electro on it it still has guitars and drums and stuff but with Bass synth and Keyboards it took on a real dance vibe which works well on it. Steve and two of the other members of The Cherry Brogues would then later go on to form Polyteen.

++ And do tell me too about the photos on the sleeve. Where were they taken?

That photo was taken from the upstairs balcony in Whelans which is a great gig venue in Dublin and still draws in a good crowd. It was taken by our drummers father Mick Shortt ..cheers Mick we owe you big time for that one !!!!

++ I think my favourite song of yours might as well be “Make Your Heart Bleed”, wondering if you could tell me what inspired this song? What’s the story behind it?

I could be wrong but I think its about a female narcissist .. someone with a hidden agenda perhaps. The lyrics would definitely steer me in that direction to think so. Nonetheless its also a song about realisation and knowing when your being played !

++ If you were to choose your favorite This Certain Kind song, which one would that be and why?

This is  the toughest question of the lot but if I had to I would pick “I Like You There” as it was one of the first songs I wrote with This Certain Kind and Anthony’s lyrics speaking out about people who are self obsessed and their projected self image is probably more relevant in today’s world and especially among our young people.

++ What about gigs? Did you play many? 

Yes we played lots of them throughout our time, its hard to say how many though.

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

The nights we played in The Dublin Underground will always stand out. The stage was tiny but the atmosphere in the place was electric and welcoming and the crowd was definitely alternative, goths, mods, punks you name it. I think we have some pictures on our Facebook page of us playing in there if anyone wants to look.

++ And were there any bad ones?

Thankfully I have to say no. I can’t remember there being any catastrophes. We were lucky maybe I guess.

++ When and why did This Certain Kind stop making music? Were you involved in any other bands afterwards?

We stopped around 1997 or 1998. The reason we stopped was because we had been together for a good number of years and life was also making its own separate demands on us, work, mortgages, kids, etc.

I’ve always believed if something hasnt happened within four years then its unlikely that it will at all ..

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

No, not after we finished in 98. We did you a reunion gig a few years after that. But that was it then it was a wrap !

++ But recently you are playing again, right? Are there any future plans for the band?

The release of the album has certainly sparked a new found interest in the band but I guess we shall have to see how our single release goes later this year before we start to go tuning up again to quickly lol.

++ Did you get much attention from the radio? TV?

Dave Fanning did a radio interview with Anthony after the release of “The Sound of Leamington Spa volume 9” that interview went well and its up on our Youtube page its not to long but its funny !!

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

The press have been very interested in our story. They covered it twice once when our songs were released on the compilation album in 2018 and then also last year with the release of our very own album as well so that was cool .

++ What about from fanzines?

Errr, not really I doubt if they would have us on their radar to be honest !!

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

I think it would have to be the making of this album after all this time. Its such a nice feeling to have all your recordings in one collection and see it pressed into vinyl and to see it in the record shops. The past coming flying back to greet you again in such a good way is unreal .

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

I’m big into the outdoors and switching off my phone and heading out with my German shepherd for a long walk is where I’m at. I do a bit of cycling too. Nothing too crazy tho !!

++ I was in Dublin two years ago and I really loved but I’ll take the opportunity to ask a local for any recommendations you’d have for a future visit! Like sights one shouldn’t miss? Food and drinks one should try?

Well the open top tour of Dublin is very good and a visit to the Guiness hop store is a must. Try Bruxxelles for a good pint and food you wont go wrong plus the music in there is always spot on !!

++ Anything else you’d like to add?

Just like to give a big shout out to Uwe from Firestation records Berlin for making this happen and also to you and your readers for taking the time to read this. Cheers folks !!

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Listen
This Certain Kind – Make Your Heart Bleed

This whole weekend I’ve been working on the fanzine! Today I will continue doing so. It is really shaping up nicely and I am hoping it will be ready by the end of next month as the latest!

And here is some great music from over the weekend!

SeafoodCake: the very good Guangzhou based label Qiii Snacks Records has just uploaded a new song called “Telephone Honey” by this new band from China. They are formed by Bee on vocals, Yongchao on guitar, Jiayu on guitar, Phil on drums and ACong on bass. The song sounds terrific, a sweet indiepop slice that leaves me looking for more music by them!

Un.Real: not a great name for a band but still this Puerto Rican band make some terrific shoegaze. Their latest offering is the track “Lovely One / Islands” and we know the band is formed by Bernice Cruz, Gardy Perez-Ruiz, Hector Caolo and Eden Cruz. Is there a cool up and coming scene in San Juan?

“Somewhere in England”: Sunday Records has just released on CD a tribute to the wonderful band They Go Boom!! It features 12 bands including Cloudberry favourites like the Royal Landscaping Society, Shoestrings, The Sunbathers, The Pristines and more. Definitely it is not a release one can miss. Essential.

Store Front: maybe my favourite new New York band formed by Amy Rose Spiegel, Brandon Louro, Bob Marshall, Peggy Wang and Chalky have just released their “Task EP”. It has 5 songs of superb indiepop. I still haven’t seen them play live. I see their next gig is next week but SO FAR away from me, at Elsewhere… I really hope I can catch up with them soon, and also hoping they put a proper record on vinyl or CD. These songs deserve that!

Massage: and if I was mentioning Peggy from the Pains of Being Pure at Heart in the previous band, now it is time to see what Alex is doing. He and his band Massage have just released a superb slice of jangle called “Michael is My Girlfriend”. Yes this also deserves to be released as a single though it seems this track will be part of their second LP later this year. Not to be missed clearly!

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Thomas Clayton Wolfe (October 3, 1900 – September 15, 1938) was an American novelist of the early twentieth century.[1]Wolfe wrote four lengthy novels as well as many short stories, dramatic works, and novellas. He is known for mixing highly original, poetic, rhapsodic, and impressionistic prose with autobiographical writing. His books, written and published from the 1920s to the 1940s, vividly reflect on American culture and the mores of that period, filtered through Wolfe’s sensitive, sophisticated, and hyper-analytical perspective.

I was introduced to The DaVincis through their song “Thomas Wolfe”. I wonder of course if the name of the song was after the American writer? Maybe? Perhaps? Who could confirm me that?

Before The DaVincis, there was The Dream Play. That was 1984 and they were formed by Paul McCormick (vocals, guitars), Martin Smith (guitars), Chris Stevens (bass) and Faith Moore (drums). I wonder if there are recordings for this band somewhere? Then in 1985 Smith would be replaced by Martin Ward and Moore by Iain Bickle and thus The DaVincis were born. They were part of the scene that worked at the Vulcan Studios. That included great bands like The Jactars or The Decemberists. It is worth mentioning that in 1987, Vulcan Studios put together a compilation LP called “Ways to Wear Coats – A Compilation From Vulcan Studios” (VULC 001) that included The DaVincis’ track “The Book”. This track was engineered by Noddy Knowler. On this compilation the band appears under the name Da Vincis. Yeah, I’ve seen their name written in different ways.

That same year, 1987, they contributed the song “Ava Gardner” to the  “Merseyside Musicians Bureau” demo compilation tape.  Another compilation appearance of theirs is on the tape “D.O.A. – Brochure Two”. They had two songs on this one, “Pull” and “on And On”. There were many fine bands on this one like Fallover 24 and The Dubious Brothers among others. The date for this release must have been sometime between 1987 and 1989. D.O.A. stood for Definite Option Agency, a music press based in Liverpool.

Much later on, in 2018, the band would contribute tracks to two Cherry Red boxsets. Their track “Thomas Wolfe” was included in “C89” (CRCDBOX59) and “When You’re In” on “Revolutionary Spirit: The Sound of Liverpool 1976-1988″ (CRCDBOX39).

But most importantly the band left us two releases. A 12” maxi single and a mini-LP, both released in 1988 on Pink Moon Records.

I know this label because they released the wonderful Jactars and Barbel. But I also notice that in 1989 they released a record for Paul McCormick, the DaVincis’ vocalist, called “Another Day at Home”.

I guess that the 12″ single (PMT 12) came second and the mini-albm (PMM 1) came first. So let’s start with the mini-album.

It had six songs, three on each side. The A side had “When You’re In”, “Thoughtless” and “Charlotte” while the B side had “Thomas Wolfe”, “Safe Locked Alone” and “Chris Said”. The engineer was Keith Hartley and the art is credited to Malcolm’s House with Martin Smith’s photography. The songs were recorded in February 1988 at Amazon Studios. Something interesting too is that there were runout etchings on the record. The A side said “1234 Sun Ray Lamp!!” whilst the B side had “Strings for Breakfast”.

Now the 12″ single. The A side had “Pull” while the B side included “Something Missing” and “On and On”. The band is credited for producing the record while Keith Hartley was the engineer. The tracks were recorded on the 15 and 16 of October of 1988 at Amazon Studios. The photography on the sleeve was from Colin Heaney while the artwork is credited to Malcolm’s House. The executive producer was Andy Jones. Here we find etchings as well. The A side said “Townhouse Bye Bye” while the B side said “A Byrd song of the Mersey”. I believe that on this 12″ the band had replaced drummers, having Steve Ashton on drums.

It seems that in 1989 the band replaced Martin Ward with Mike James according to the blog “Music-isms“. With this new lineup the band toured Germany during November and December that year. Then they toured France and many lineup changes happened, even working as a three-piece for some time. Then in 1990 the band split. Their last gig was in March 1990.

But there is more about them. The band actually recorded two Peel Sessions! The first one was recorded January 18th 1987 and broadcast on February 2nd that year. The songs recorded for this session were “Something Missing”, “Ava Gardner”, “When You’re In” and “New Ways to Wear Coats”. This last song title parodying the compilation they had been in.

The second Peel Session was recorded in Septrember 27 of 1988 and broadcast on October 10 that same year. The songs for this second session were “This is What We Look Like”, “Eating Gifted Children”, “On and On” and “Second Home”.

About other music involvements I know that later on Chris Stevens would be involved in bands like Mugstar, Cicada Falls and Rattlebus. Martin Ward had been in Redo Zebri, Mugstar and Rattlebus as well. Iain Bickle had been in Fire.

Lastly I found a promo video the band did for the song “Pull“! Great find!

What else? Were there more songs by the band? Where are they now? Who remembers the Liverpool band The DaVincis?!

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Listen
The DaVincis – Thomas Wolfe

Let’s go! Here’s some new music for this week!

Ivory Past / Shino Kobayashi: Ivory Past is one of my favourite bands from the past few years. It features Hitoshi from the fantastic Sloppy Joe and it is no surprise that the 3 songs he is contributing to a split tape shared with Shino Kobayashi are wonderful. This tape is now available to preorder on the Blue-Very Label Bandcamp. It is not available to preview but I am very curious of his cover of The Hepburns’ “The World Is” and do check Shino Kobayashi who was unknown to me but sounds amazing!

Cigarettes for Breakfast: this Philadelphia band is releasing a self-titled EP on February 20th. It will have 5 songs and at this point we can only check out the fuzzy shoegazy track “Daylight”.

The Oilies: this California band formed by Carly Putnam has a new track out on Bandcamp called “Dead Tires demo”, and it is really good! It is a fine slice of bedroom pop. It is lo-fi and in a way mysterious. Sounds like it was taken from an indiepop cassette compilation from the 90s!

La Vida Padre: when I saw the name of the band I thought they would be Mexican. You see in Mexico you say “padre” for “cool”. So it may sense to me, for their name to be ‘the cool life’. But no, the band hails from Barcelona and last November they released a joyful jangly mini-album of 7 songs! The band is actually a one-man project by Xavi Escriche. And again, it sounds great!

Lawnchair: and the last new recommendation is the twee-east of all. This crash-pop band, all ramshackle beauty has a lo-fi EP called “Go-Karting” consisting of 4 tracks packed with boy/girl vocals and evoking the great 2000s Soulseek and CDR bands! .

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One more from the WokingSoundscene Soundcloud and Facebook group. And this one sounds pretty good!

So I just discovered the band Pretty Green thanks to the song “Call” that WokingSoundscene has shared in their Soundcloud. By this point I don’t think I need to tell you about it, I’ve written a few posts about this fine resource of bands from the 80s and 90s.

There is also another song they have uploaded, “Deception”. And I wonder are these the only two songs they recorded? Let’s find out.

It turns out that “Call” was included, as well as their song “Small Town Scene”, on the “Snakebite City” (BLU03) compilation that Bluefire Records released in 1992. Whereas “Deception” appeared on the second of the Farnborough Groove series comp, “Son of Farnborough Groove”, also in 1992. Interesting. Now we have 3 songs we know of.

I just found that there was a fourth. It was called “The Wrong Conclusion” and it appeared on the 1994 compilation “Snakebite City Two” (BLU05) also released by Bluefire Records. Something that I am curious about is that these compilations used to come with an insert with information about the bands on the record. Maybe there were interesting details there about them?

We also know the last names of the band members, Abnett, Beagley, Fowler, Gambrill and Pritchard. They were around from 1991 to 94. But that is not all, in 2016 Record Collector  included them on the vinyl compilation “Small Town Scenery” with their song “Small Town Scene” (RCLP018). This is interesting. I wrote about one of the bands that appear on it, Triple Blind, not so long ago. Small world. This compilation, which I don’t have sadly, also includes an insert with info about the bands on it. Again, is there anything worthy in it? On Discogs there is a scan, and I can read that the band was formed in Fleet and the guitar player was called Matthew Pritchard. He mentions that they played quite a lot at the back room of The Fox and Hounds pub. Then, at some point, the band split into two bands, The Hairy Things and Skipper.

We know too of some gigs they played. It is said that the band opened for Mega City Four on many gigs but we also know they played the wonderful Buzz Club in Aldershot on Saturday January 16th 1993 alongside Peach Razor, Pomery, Backlash, Phobia and Big Boy Tomato. It was the “Snakebite City” launch party. Another gig was at the same club, on February 1st of 1993 along Ha Ha Men, The Riverthieves and Peach Razor. Two months later, on April 3rd, again at Jo’s club, playing with The Flowers of Sacrifice, Backlash and Peach Razor. How did these bands sound like? I am curious.

I wonder if there were demo tapes. There must have been. There must have been more songs too. I’d love to find out.

Not much info on the web, but at least we know a bit more now. I wonder who remembers them? Who can fill in the blanks?

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Listen
Pretty Green – Call

So as I said there are new stickers we’ll have next month. I am looking into making a new batch of badges too. It’s been a while since we had some.

On my latest order from Slumberland, the East Village 12″, I got some trading cards for Slumberland. I thought that was a cool idea. I wonder what other sort of memorabilie we could do. I don’t want to copy of course. But if you have some cool ideas let me know.

The fanzine is shaping up nicely. I will be having more news next weekend I hope! And then I really want to have news of releases soon. It is taking a bit, but let’s keep hope that it will be soon!

West Coast Music Club: originally this West Kirby band was a collective of musicians recording songs by Martin Adams. Then the band expanded and other song-writers emerged. Their latest release is a CD with three songs, an EP called “All that I Wanted”. The songs on it are “All that I Wanted”, “If I had a Dream” and “Love Affar”, being the middle one my favourite!

Topographies: it is kind of weird that a label doesn’t give any information about their release. The label seems to be called Dream Recordings and it looks likt the track “In Crept Doubt” that appears on Soundcloud was included in a cassette EP by Topographies called “Difference & Repetition”. There seem to be also three other songs.

Deer Grove: this Odense, Denmark, band has released a new song called “The Men on the Moon”, a fine slice of dreampop. But just a few days ago they also released an EP called “A Dream of Magic” that included three fine songs, “Shut Up About Flying Saucers”, “Cloudgazer” and “Did You Make it?”. Very good!

Bllume: the solo project of Arthur Bennell from Edmonton, Canada. The latest release by this sweet DIY lo-fi shoegazey band is called “Still Believe”. It is a four-song EP that has the songs “Still Believe”, “Didn’t Care”, “When You Took My Hand” and “I Miss You”. The EP is mysterious, dreamy, and cool sounding.

Addy: from Richmond, Virginia, comes a new album called “Eclipse”. I have previewed the two tracks available on Bandcamp, “Planted” and “Easier”, and they are these light soft popsongs whose melodies creep into you. It is a quite interesting sound. The album which will have 9 songs will be released on vinyl, cassette and CD on March 6th.

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Euonymus europaeus, the spindle, European spindle, or common spindle, is a species of flowering plant in the family Celastraceae, native to much of Europe, where it inhabits the edges of forest, hedges and gentle slopes, tending to thrive on nutrient-rich, chalky and salt-poor soils. It is a deciduous shrub or small tree. Other names include fusoria, fusanum, ananbeam, shemshad rasmi (Iran), while it may have given its name to the ancient Greek settlement of Euonymeia.

This will probably be a short post. To be honest I think the Spindle Berries are as obscure as it gets. I only know one song by them but that is enough for me to try to track them down. The song is pretty, girl vocals and slow jangly guitars. How could I not like it?

This song is called “I’m So Clumsy”. It appeared on a compilation tape from 1990 called “Heol”. This tape, which I believe I’ve mentioned in the blog in the past, was released in France by the Karen label (KAREN 02). This label had released previously a tape by the amazing Les Freluquets who I interviewed many many years ago. Then there was a second “Heol” compilation, “Heol 2” which is not on Discogs.

The vocals sound as if the band hailed from the UK. I may be wrong as this tape features lots of French bands as well. But I am going to bet they were British. Aside from it, there is absolutely no information about the Spindle Berries on the web. Just this contribution to a tape. No other songs. No band members. I can’t find anything at all. I really like this track, so I am hoping someone remembers them or someone knew them. Would really love to find out more about them!

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Listen
Spindle Berries – I’m So Clumsy

Not much news this week. I had an uncle visiting over so was out and about int the city but I’ll try to get you some interesting Cloudberry news this week. A good thing though is that for the first time there will be Cloudberry stickers. So starting next month all orders will be getting them!! Exciting right?

Here are a few new finds tho!

Palm Ghosts: the very fine Nashville band is releasing a new record called “Wide Awake and Waiting” on February 7th! It sounds really really good!  The question then is will this be released physically? I hope so. The 6 songs shine. They are terrific. There is even a video made for the opening track “Wide Awake and Waiting”!

The Tubs: the band that has two ex-Joanna Gruesome in their ranks has released a great 7″ on Prefect Records. To promote it they have also made a promo video for the track “I Don’t Know How it Works” which you shouldn’t miss!

акульи слёз: this Ufa, Russia, band has been featured in the blog in the past, and there is a good reason to have them again. Their newest song “малость” is very very good! Female vocals, a melancholic vibe and the mystery, at least for me, of what they are saying! It all works perfectly together.

Flyying Colours: “Big Mess” is a beautiful mess of guitars and melodies that swirl. This song is now available digitally through the labels Poison City and Club AC30.

The Spires: the Ventura, California, three-piece have released a new digital album called “LOOK”. It has 9 songs but it is not really a new-thing per se. This is a collection of lost songs, alternate versions and covers (there’s a Magnetic Fields one) through the years. Worth checking this out.

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Another fine sounding band I found through the WokingSoundscene Soundcloud is Blue Velvet. And actually for Blue Velvet they had many songs uploaded.

We find “Guiding Light“, “Salvation“, “Shot Yourself Down“, “Note Turned Blue” and “Gold That Shines“, this last one perhaps my favourite of them all. Were they all from the same tape? From compilations? Let’s find out then!

The band was around 1989 to 1991 and was formed by Patrick James Sullivan on lead vocals, guitar, harmonica and e-bow, Graham Judd on guitar, Sid Stovold on guitar and backing vocals, Ady Evans on bass and John Metcalfe on drums. They were based in Aldershot.

In 1989 they released their first demo tape, “Believe”, which included three songs, “Salvation”, “Gold That Shines” and “Don’t Dare the Devil”. One of these songs, “Gold That Shines”, ended up in the compilation tape “Farnborough Groove Vol. 1”, the first compilation of the Farnborough Groove series, in 1991.

That same year we’d see Graham Judd leaving the band and Jim O’Neil joining to play keyboards. With the new lineup the band recorded a second demo tape, “On the Eve of Tomorrow” that included 8 tracks. Which were they? I believe they were “Sudden Change in Faith”, “Shot Yourself Down”, “Guiding Light”, “Falling Star”, “These are the Towers”, “It Only Takes a Lifetime”, “Raining” and “Rollercoaster”. All of these songs were recorded at Ghost Studios between November and December of 91. The Farnborough Groove series would again pick one of the songs, “Shot Yourself Down”, and include it on the 3rd of their compilation series that featured up and coming unsigned bands from the area, “Farnborough Groove Vol. 3”.

At some point they also combined their two demos on a single tape, picking songs from both releases. In this tape they had four songs from 1991 on the A side: “Sudden Change in Faith”, “Shot Yourself Down”, “Guiding Light” and “Falling Star”, and four from 1989 on the B side: “Salvation”, “Gold that Shines”, “Note Turned Blue” and “Don’t Dare the Devil”.

On the Facebook page of WokingSoundscene I find too that the band used to cover The Wonderstuff’s “Wish You Were Here” as well as some gigs they played: at the Aldershot West End Centre supporting Mega City Four and Ned’s Atomic Dustbin on March 2nd 1990, the Georgein Ash Vale on February 20 1990, Cricketers in Westfield on February 22 1990, at the British Legion on August 30 1991, at the Four Horseshoes in Camberley in 1991, at the classic venue the Bull & Gate in 1989 and supporting Bradford and Frantic at the Buzz Club, the club the our friend Jo from Bluetrain used to run!

According to Soundcloud it seems that their song “Note Turned Blue” appeared on a 1991 compilation called “Parafornia” but I haven’t been able to find any information about this comp.

I find out that in 2009, Blue Velvet’ Graham Judd and Patrick Sullivan and some members from another Aldershot band called West One, combined their efforts and performed as Velvet West on August 29th of that year. They played many of their classic songs like “Note Turned Blue”.

I wonder too if they had been involved with any other bands. It seems that gig was a one-off. And what about the other two members of the band? What happened to them?

It is pretty interesting that they played alongside important bands in the late 80s and early 90s, but for some reason I don’t think their name is well known for indiepop fans. Would be great to find more details about them! Who remembers them?!

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Listen
Blu Velvet – Gold that Shines

Friday! This weekend I should be able to start working on the fanzine inner pages, I mean the interviews! Last weekend I worked on the front cover and the CD sleeve. So yes, little by little this cool new zine is shaping up. I really really hope I can publish this by late March or mid April as the latest. I’ll keep you updated.

Also I want to say that I will be in Lima, Peru, from March 27 to April 4th. Just as we did in Mexico, please let me know if you want to save some postage. I can bring you any records that are available from the Cloudberry catalog to Lima. Just let me know in advance and this way you can just pay for the price of the record and save on postage. Just drop me an email with the records you’d like me to bring and we’ll figure out a way to meet.

Now, here are some new music worth checking out!

The Drain on the Balcony: on February 28th the Greek label Old Bad Habits is releasing a 7″ by this band. It also seems that this song  that we can listen, that is the A side, “Truly Deeply Madly” will be part of an album called “Greetings from Solihull” that will be coming out on the label Local Underground. Sounds great!

Flower Tattoo: this Seattle band released an album called “You Can Never Have a Long Enough Head Start” last month. It has 12 songs and it seems is only available digitally at the moment. The record has some great tracks and others not so good, a bit of a mixed bag, but when they are good, the tracks are pretty good, like the song “She”!

Huevos II:  Western Massachussetts band on a Louisville, Kentucky label called Sophomore Lounge. That is quite a discovery. They have released a 12″EP  called “Huevos II ‘III'” that has 5 jangly tracks influenced by New Zealand pop. It is quite a very nice surprise by this band formed by Ma Turner, John McGuigan and Patrick Borezo. Do they ever come down south to NYC? And what about their band name?

“Sampler Vol.1”: is the name of a new compilation put together by the Buenos Aires label Café y Ruido. There are 10 songs here, all by Argentinean bands and there is one song that is simply superb, Bruxismo’s “Tengo Ganas de Verte”. Just because of that song I am telling you to check this out.

The Claim: the classic Rochester band is releasing a split 7″ with the band Jim Riley’s Blues Foundation on March 3rd. It is being released by the Spinout Nuggets label and each band will be contributing a track. The Claim ‘s song is titled “Spring Turns to Winter” and it is a terrific slice of pop magic!

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It is always a good idea to return to check the WokingSoundscene Soundcloud and explore the obscure bands they feature. Last time I discovered Summersalt, today my surprise came when I heard the band giant Arc and their song “Fire Up the Sun”, a fine guitar pop song.

According to this terrific group that celebrates the band from their area, from the 80s and 90s, the band was around between 1991 and 1993. It was formed by Dave on bass, Michael on guitar, Lee on drums, Geoff on vocals and guitar and Gary on vocals. No last names are available though. It is going to be hard to track them down.

The band released just a demo tape, that was all. It was released in late 1991 and the cassette tape was titled “Time Becomes a Monster” and it included 3 tracks: “Hunters”, “Burn” and “Care”. These were recorded at Von’s Studio in autumn of that same year with Ottie/Lee producing.

Before that, earlier in 1991 the band had appeared on the tape compilation “Farnborough Groove Vol. 1”. On my post about Summersalt I talked a bit about this series of compilations that showcased up and coming bands from the area. On this one, the first one of the series, the band contributed the song “Fire Up the Sun”. It was the very last track on the B side. Later on, one of the songs from the demo, “Hunters”, appeared on the 3rd tape of the series, “Return of Farnborough Groove Vol. 3”

It seems there was also a “Farnborough Groove Best” of all 10 volumes of the series that was released in 2015. On it the band appeared once more with “Fire Up the Sun”.

Something interesting on the tape is that all lyrics are credited to Hawkes. Could it be that it was Gary Hawkes? Or Geoff Hawkes? I am just guessing here.

Also the art is pretty curious, it is credited to HA! Design and Miclantecuhli and Mosaic Guitar. It looks like a pre-hispanic muummy on the cover. It looks familiar but I can’t remember where I’ve seen it before.

I can’t find any other information about the band. Hopefully someone remembers them and can share details about them! Or even let us listen the songs from their demo?!

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Listen
Giant Arc – Fire Up the Sun

I had written, two years ago, about the Bradford 80s band The Word on the blog. I had discovered them through a fantastic single, “Schoolboy Saint”, and I had wondered who were behind it. In the end I was lucky that Jon Macdonald got in touch with me and finally could get many questions answered! Here’s the interview!

++ Hi Jon! Thanks so much for being up for this interview! How are you? I hear you are still making music under Icecream4freaks, right? Tell me a bit about this project?

First of all Roque, thanks for your comments and interest. Icecream4freaks started out as a idea to work with some old friends. I had walked away from music for a while, but as it seems to be in my blood, I built a digital recording studio in my home (Addingham, Yorkshire, England) and started nervously writing some songs. Nervously, because I have always collaborated and not done words and music by myself. I didn’t know if anyone would like it but pressed ahead anyway. We have no record deal or management, but have managed some limited airplay on BBC national and local radio…
The line up is
Julian Walker: voice, occasional keyboards
Jo Dixon: guitars, programming and production,
Myself: songwriting, synthesisers, keyboards, bass etc etc
There will be more to come…

++ How similar or different would you say it is compared to The Word?

Compared to The Word, pretty different I’d say, but melodic indie pop is still the goal. Jock wrote the lions share of the songs, but we all contributed ideas.

++ And what are the future plans for the band? Where are you based, not in Tulsa, Oklahoma, as the Bandcamp says?

I am based in Yorkshire, Julian and Jo in Wiltshire so live is an issue.

We would gig if there was a demand, but I’m not sure there is ha ha.

++ Let’s go back in time then. 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?

Well, my first instrument (and still my favourite) is drums. I am self taught with the aid of many famous drummers I listened to as a lad, notably John Bonham, Keith Moon, Billy Cobham and especially Jaki Leibezeit from Can (my all time favourite band). All these players were a source of influence, along with bands like King Crimson, Led Zeppelin, The Who and Talking Heads plus of course Can.

++ Had you been in other bands before The Word? What about the rest of the members? If so, how did all of these bands sound like? Are there any recordings?

Previous bands I played in, whilst at art college mostly, were garage bands in Bradford, Yorkshire. They included such luminaries as Japanese Soldiers (with Mark Manning who went on to become Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction… somewhat notorious, Vex and Radio 5, where I met Jock.

Recordings were made by all these bands, but sadly I’m not much of an archivist…

++ Where were you from originally?

I am from a small town in Yorkshire called Skipton… I studied at Bradford Art School, so all my musical endeavors were based there.

++ How was Bradford at the time of The Word? 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 of The Word, Bradford was a fairly upbeat place with a thriving music scene, and a general drive for bands to make themselves heard. Venues like The 1 in 12 Club and Queens Hall were good to play and also a decent amount of pubs put bands on… I remember it as quite a creative time. We developed quite a decent following and played all over the country, including The Marquee and The Rock Garden in London.

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

Jock and I met in a pub called The Manville and hit it off… I joined his the band Radio 5. Some time later, we met Paul and decided to start The Word as both our outfits weren’t getting anywhere, although we had some interest from John Peel on Radio 1.

We just all got on, and got down to making ourselves the tightest unit we could be.

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

We practised in Jock’s girlfriends house in the basement. The neighbours were not impressed.

Creatively, we wanted power and melody above egotistical noodling!

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

We were into The Beatles Revolver and Rubber Soul era, The Word was a Lennon song.

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

Influences were definitely The Beatles, although we all liked a wide range of stuff, from Scott Walker to The Psychedelic Furs and The Cure.

++ Your first 7″ was the “Colour It!” 7″ released in 1983. It was released by Menace Music. It was your own label, right? How did that work for you, doing a self-release? How challenging was it? Did you enjoy doing the label part of music?

Yes… nobody was battering the door down to sign us so we did it ourselves… Paul was the main driver of that. I enjoyed designing the sleeve though…

++ Were these two songs your first recordings as The Word? And how was your experience at Box Studios and working with Nyk Goss who had worked with many high profile bands?

Nyk was always fun… we did those songs because they seemed to go down really well live.

++ Then came “The Next Big Thing” 12″. I believe you first release it under your own Menace Music and then Abstract Sounds signed you and re-release it. Is that how it happened? How did you end up releasing on this London label and how was your relationship with them? Did you had to go down to London?

Memories area bit hazy about Abstract… I know we signed something ha ha.

We mastered the ep in London and I had a cup of tea with Ozzy Osbourne who’s band were in the next studio.

++What about the photo on the sleeve? Who took it?

I think the sleeve pic was by Jean Reeman, Jock’s girlfriend who was into photography. Once again I did the design for it.

++ Then came “Schoolboy Saint” 7″. Something that caught my curiosity was that it came out on the sister label Abstract Dance. How come it came out there instead of in Abstract Sounds?

Sorry on this one Roque… I cannot for the life of me remember!

++ This time around you recorded in the well known Alaska Studios. How was that? Any different to recording in other studios?

Alaska was a better studio than we had been able to afford previously so the outboard was better… We used real violin, courtesy of Carolyn Harley which sounded great. Although the song was Jocks, I was pleased with my string arrangement on the track (derived from my backing vocals live)… a played the notes to Carolyn on a crappy kiddies keyboard and she did the rest.

++ Aside from the singles and EP you appeared on the compilation”Enemies of the State” that was put out by 1 in 12 Records. This label was actually put together by 1 in 12 Club in Bradford. I was wondering how important was that club for you and the city and if you were familiar or even friends with the bands there?

The 1 in 12 Club was quite a large part of our lives at that time, not only as a venue but as a social club. Paul was more involved than Jock and me, but we were friendly with a lot of other bands around at the time. Quite a few of them supported us on some gigs, like Wild Willy Becket, Boys from the East and various others. The 1 in 12 was so named because 1 in 12 people were un-employed in Bradford at that time.

++ Also quite curious that on the other three compilations you were in you always contributed always the same song, “Different”. Was that on purpose or just a coincidence?

Just a coincidence I think.

++ And are there more recordings by the band? Unreleased tracks?

There are quite a few tracks out there from The Word, I think… probably enough for a double LP… Paul might be the best person to ask,

He runs a record company in Bradford called Sound Shack Records… he goes by the moniker Nagbea these days… I haven’t seen him in a while, but you could try getting in touch…

++ Have you ever thought of putting all songs together in a retrospective release?

Again, Paul may have the old tapes… my copies are long gone.

++ I think my favourite song of yours might as well be “Schoolboy Saint”, wondering if you could tell me what inspired this song? What’s the story behind it?

“Schoolboy Saint” was written by Jock, one of his more accessible lyrics I think, about a kid at school everyone looked up to (I think).

++ If you were to choose your favorite The Word song, which one would that be and why?

My favourite Word song would have to be “Garden Street”.

Another great song from Jock, basically “Garden Street” was the name of the street Peter Sutcliffe (the Yorkshire ripper) lived Some one out there in Bradford should have copies of this stuff, but it was a long time ago 🙂

++ I read on the web that you won a Battle of the Bands hosted at the Halifax Town Hall. That must been exciting! What year was it, do you remember? How was that experience and what did you win?

I was never keen on Battle of the Bands type things… I never felt music should be a contest and I still don’t. Simon Cowell and his sort should be marooned on a desert island ha ha. I think we won some rather useless recording equipment.

++ What about other gigs? Did you play many?

We played loads of gigs all over the country… most of them were really well received.

We had a bit of a sense of humour… I remember one gig, no one was allowed in without a banana…also one where we organised a massive food fight… most gigs ended with stage invasions… usually triggered by our roadies… this could be quite dangerous, as the drummer I was a little safer.

The worst gigs in terms of audience were in London, as they were all to cool to dance!

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

One of the best gigs we did was supporting The Icicle Works at Queens Hall… we gave them a run for their money!

++ And were there any bad ones?

There are always bad gigs… I got very drunk at a gig in Sheffield and fucked all the songs up before falling of my stool… the rest of the band were pretty fed up! My excuse? Waiting too long to go on.

++ When and why did The Word stop making music? You were involved in Cotton and Poppy Factory, right? Can you tell me a bit about these bands? Were you involved in other bands?

I can’t remember exactly when we called it a day… I know we were frustrated not getting anywhere.Jock kind of gave up, and didn’t want to do much, but I kept at him suggesting a new band where I would switch to keyboards and we could write together.A friend of mine Mick Dale was invited to join when we felt we had some decent tunes.

The Poppy Factory was a book I read about World War 1, and it seemed a good name for what we were doing. No drug references should be inferred ha ha.

Mick was classically trained on piano and he and I divided up keyboards and bass between us… I was responsible for most of the melodies and Jock the vocals and guitar.Mick polished it all up. It worked for a time… we played a handful of gigs and got signed by Chrysalis Records in 1990.

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

Paul was with his own band Hyacinth House for a time, the last thing Jock and I did together was Poppy Factory.
I should say Poppy Factory ended rather badly… I think there was little regard for each other at the end… I have not seen Jock or Mick since 1991…I believe the two of them carried on for a while, but were dropped shortly after I left.

++ Has there been any The Word reunion?

There won’t be a Word reunion.

++ Did you get much attention from the press, radio? TV?

We had quite a bit of press from the local paper in Bradford, The Telegraph & Argus, and the odd bit of TV I think.

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

Can’t think of any one highlight, but I do remember enjoying nearly all of it. We had some laughs and a lot of respect from our peers.</p>

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

I really enjoy cooking and do a fair bit of walking… Yorkshire is good for that, oh and of course going to the pub with my friends and putting the world to rights ha ha

++ Never been in the Bradford area, but I’ll ask a local about some recommendations you’d have? Like sights one shouldn’t miss? Food and drinks one should try?

If your ever in Bradford… two words… Curry and Beer… not necessarily in that order!

++ Anything else you’d like to add?

Hope this is ok Roque…
Some contacts you might find useful:
•Nagbea (Paul as was) Sound Shack Records, Bradford.
• Gary Cavanagh, 1 in 12 Club, Bradford, author of “Bradford Noise of the Valleys” books, a history of local Bradford bands.
Best wishes and anything I can help you with let me know.

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Listen
The Word – Schoolboy Saint

I continue working on the fanzine (this week I got another interview answered plus another song), I hope to have a better idea very soon for when I can publish it. Blog readers will be the first to know. I do think that the fanzine this time around will be dark blue/navy blue!

New music for this week? Here you go!

Remington Super 60: the Norwegian band is back with a new EP called just “New EP”! It will be released on tape by the Slovakian label Z Tapes in a limited run of 70 copies. The EP comes with 6 songs of terrific casiopop. It is amazing how this band gets better with the years!

Meltway: close to Norway, in Denmark, I discover this shoegaze band. They are releasing an EP titled “Everytime” on February 10th that will include 5 songs. So far we can preview just one of them, “From Blue”, which is a gorgeous lo-fi fuzzy track. The band is formed by Mathias Hammerstrøm, Mikkel Schmidt, Thomas Brunbjerg and Magnus Rullestad Bjørnsen.

The Radio Dept.: continuing with this Scandinavian journey we head to Malmö for the newest song by the legendary band The Radio Dept. It is called “The Absence of Birds” and there are two versions, the ‘normal’ one and also the one called “Untitled Version 2 by Civilistjävell”. I must say I prefer the original version, with lyrics, but have a listen yourselves. I really hope they come back soon to NYC!

The Reds, Pinks & Purples: three more songs by the most prolific of all indiepop bands around. The San Francisco band now presents us with “I Hope I Never Fall in Love”, “Is Your Mind that Free? (ver2)” and “I Wouldn’t Die for Anyone”. Time to give them a listen!

Melenas: wow! wow! wow! the Pamplona band is back with an amazing new song called “3 segundos”. They have put together a video for it that is so much fun! It looks very 80s kitsch, a parody of American series of the time. They are definitely one of my favourite bands right now and you have to remember that last year they made the best single of 2019. What will bring this year? A new album? More concerts around the world? I hope to catch them live again. What a great band!

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Sage: an aromatic plant with grayish-green leaves that are used as a culinary herb, native to southern Europe and the Mediterranean.

Who were Sage? Who were behind this wonderful lofi pop band? I want to know!

The band was around in the nineties, that is what I know. Was it a French band? I think so, that would definitely be my guess. I say that because they appeared on two French compilations and that was it. Which compilations were they? Okay, just a minute. Let’s go in chronological order.

I was to discover the sweet female vocals of Sage on a song called “Silence is the Safest Thing” that appeared on a 1996 cassette compilation called “Imbroglio” (PAM 008) that the French label Pâte A Modeler released. This label put out very fine tape compilations in the nineties, I would love to listen to them all. Anyone has digitized them by any chance?

Imbroglio means an extremely confused, complicated or embarrassing situation. I didn’t know this word existed in English if I am honest. I thought it was an Italian word only. Anyhow, the band contributed not just one song on it, but three. The other two were “What it Means” and “Directions for Use”. I would love to listen to them of course. Other bands on the compilation that are familiar to me are Ego and River, but then I don’t know the other ones! Who were Gallous? or Monsieur Soprano?

Then a few years later, in 1999, the band would contribute two songs to a comp tape called “Love Song”. This tape was released by A Secret Song (019), another tape label that released some tapes in the late 90s. The songs they gave away were “Silence is the Safest Thing” and “What it Means”. Two songs taht had previously appeared on the other compilation. Did they only record these three? Didn’t they have more songs? I’d like to find out. This tape feels more familiar to an indiepop fan as you see names like Gypsophile, Watoo Watoo or Tahiti 80.

Sadly aside from this information, information about the compilations there were in, I can’t find anything else on the web. I will need my French friends to help me on this one. Because I do want to know more about them!

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Listen
Sage – Silence is the Safest Thing

Well, well, I have started working on the fanzine now and it is looking great! I can give you heads up that the fanzine will feature The BV’s, Dayflower, Okama Flannel Boy, Salt Lake Alley, The Seashells, Stephen’s Shore and Den Baron. And maybe more! The CD that will accompany is slowly taking shape too and will let you know when I have more info on that too!

Now here are this weekend’s good finds!!

Náufragos Permanentes: my friend Cris, from Sevilla, shared this with me the other day and I was WOW! How haven’t I heard this band before. The band formed by José Luis Maestro on guitar, Pedro Ortega on bass Goyo Campos on drums and Emilio Carmona on guitar and vocals have recorded a classy EP called “Naranja Miel”. It has 5 songs and looks to be available only on digital format. I do hope a Spanish label picks them up as here’s lots of sweet jangle!

Violet Cheri: I got an email a few days ago about the newest single “I’m Fine” by this Stockholm based band. I am always skeptical about emails I get about bands, they are usually quite bad. But this one sounded pretty neat. Formed in 2015 the band is now working on their debut album which should be released this year.

Gaarden: the video for the Ruso-Estonian band’s “Shiny Day” was released 5 months ago! But I missed it and now I am re-discovering it. The band signed to the Australian label Library Records sounds ace. They are a very promising band and I hope I get to see them play live someday. The guitars are terrific and the melodies make are too.

Mint Julep: and finally the whole album by the Portland duo is up to listen! “Stray Fantasies” is so far the best album released this year. Now the question is where are the CDs, the vinyls? It only seems to be available online. There are 12 songs of perfectly crafted popsongs with electronic beats, dreamy pop melodies and smart lyrics. Don’t miss this one.

Mumrunner: Shelflife Records is back with a few superb releases. The latest is by this shoegaze band called Mumrunner, I believe from Portland, who had already made a splash touring Europe and Japan. They will be releasing an 8 song album called “Valeriana” on CD and vinyl. We can preview one of the tracks, “Foe”, which is truly fantastic. Is the rest of the album as good? I hope so!

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What would be an average prophecy? I think it is an interesting question.

I wonder where this English 5-piece got their name from. I know very little about them (I still don’t own their records) so I am now digging the web, see what I can find.

The band was around the early nineties. Perhaps during the late 80s too. I know they put out two records in 1990. That’s why. Both of them were released by Dream Discs. It seems that this label was the band’s own. There are no other records listed for this label. Or maybe not? It is always hard to be sure 100%.

The first release was a 7″ (DREAM 0017) with two songs: “Was She the One?” on the A side and “Tie Me to the Railway Line”. The sleeve art shows a baby being carried, a black and white photo. The labels tell us that the songs were composed by Ben Gunstone and that they were produced and engineered by Pete Lamb.

The back of the sleeve tells us that the band was based in Melksham, Wiltshire. It is the first time I hear of this town to be honest.

Melksham is a town on the River Avon in Wiltshire, England, about 7 km northeast of Trowbridge and 10 km south of Chippenham. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 19,357, making it Wiltshire’s fifth-largest town after Swindon, Salisbury, Chippenham and Trowbridge. Melksham developed at a ford across the River Avon and the name is presumed to derive from “meolc”, the Old English for milk, and “ham”, a village. On John Speed’s map of Wiltshire (1611), the name is spelt both Melkesam (for the hundred) and Milsham (for the town itself). Melksham was a royal estate at the time of the Norman Conquest. Melksham is also the name of the Royal forest that occupied the surrounding of the area in the Middle Ages.

That same year, 1990, they put out a 3-song 12″ (DREAM 0212). The A side featured the fine “Goodnight England” while the B side had “This is My Land” and “Still Life”.  All three songs were produced and engineered by Steve Evans.

At this point we know the band was formed by:
Justin Daniell on bass
Daniel Tayler on drums
Andy Tilley on keys
Wendy Laws on vocals
Ben Gunstone on vocals, guitar and effects.

We know that “Goodnight England” was written by Ben Gunstone while the music is credited to himself and also Steve Evans. The two other songs are solely credited to Gunstone.

In 1991 the band would record a demo tape with three songs. The songs on it were “Bible Song”, “Over” and “V.H”. It was a white tape that was distributed by PowerPlay. It doesn’t seem as the tape had any paper inserts.

No compilation appearances are listed. So I look into what other bands were the band members involved with. It looks like 15 years after, in 2015, Andy Tilley was involved in a project called Real Deep. Ben Gunstone, in the other hand, released two solo records: “Merchant Venturer” (2000) and “Songs from the Corner of the Room” (2004). I believe too he was in a band called Johnny Panic during the Britpop era.

I dug and dug for more information about the band but I couldn’t really find much. I wonder what years were they active, if they had more demo tapes, and what happened them… many questions which I hope to get answers some time!

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Listen
Some Average Prophecy – Goodnight England