The bit of news this week is that the anniversary sale for records released in 2009 is not available anymore. Replacing it we have a similar sale for records released in 2010. Here you can pick 3 of the 7″s that were released that year (Horowitz, Zipper, Sad Day for Puppets, Oh! Custer, A Smile and  Ribbon, Bonne Idée) for a very fair price including shipping. So take advantage of it if you are missing any of these records in your collection as they are, I think, fantastic!

The Go-Betweens: I don’t remember sharing this Youtube link with a conversation between Robert Forster and Peter Paphides talking about the new “G Stands for Go-Betweens Vol. 2” boxset. I post it a bit late here, but I really want to make sure no one misses this. It is not to be missed.

Hangman’s Beautiful Daughters: Optic Nerve has just announce a new LP retrospective compilation for this amazing band that released just a few records back in the 80s, notably on Dan Treacy’s label Dreamworld Records! The new compilation is called “Smashed Full of Wonder” and will have 14 tracks including 2 demos that have never been released in the past!

Teenagers from Outer Space Comeback (A Tribute to Bee Keeper): the Portuguese label Bee Keeper was for sure the most important independent label in that country. Maybe it is still. I wouldn’t know if there has been a better one afterwards. Most probably not. It is no surprise then that there is a tribute to the label being released now by the label Skud & Smarty Records from Castelo Branco on vinyl LP. This tribute includes 19 tracks!! An amazing feat and it includes even The Pastels or Tullycraft. But that’s not all, there are familiar faces here, like Safety Matches who released a 3″ CD with Cloudberry many years ago. Very very cool!

Anuncio en Blanco: now a bedroom project coming from Cuernavaca in Mexico. The man behind this project is Marco Mendoza. He has put together 7 tracks as a mini album called “Este Año”, this year. It is a lovely effort packed with jangle and drum machines!

Mint Julep: “So You Say” is the newest track by Keith and Hollie Kenniff. And as their previous releases it is a superb song. Guitars chime, Hollie’s vocals swoon and the melodies are dreamy. What else can one ask for? Maybe I need this in a physical record? That’d be nice.

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High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe is a large town in Buckinghamshire, England. It is 47 km west north west of Charing Cross in London; this information is also engraved on the Corn Market building in the centre of the town. The name Wycombe appears to come from the river Wye and the old English word for a wooded valley, combe, but according to the Oxford English Dictionary of Place-Names the name, which was first recorded in 799-802 as ‘Wichama’, is more likely to be Old English ‘wic’ and the plural of Old English ‘ham’, and probably means ‘dwellings’; the name of the river was a late back-formation.

That’s where I am transporting the blog today. Because I have just discovered a band that sounds great from there. A band that was around during the early 90s. One that seems left to us a few recorded tracks and nothing else.

It seems that the Record Collector Magazine rediscovered them for new fans back in 2016, when they included their song “Stoke” on a compilation LP called “Small Town Scenery”. It also looks like that the first 100 copies of the magazine then (Jan. 26 2016), came with a bonus 10″ (featuring the band Blindmans Rainbow). I didn’t know of this release. I wish I did. I hope I can find a copy as I am not familiar with any of the bands on it! Maybe I can explore them later on. the blog? One by one?

Anyhow, Triple Blind. Happily on Discogs there are scans of the LP and thanks to that I found out more about the band.

Triple Blind formed in the late 80s and played lots of gigs including an episode of Eastenders. “The Levellers were supposed to do it but refused to sign a deal regarding insurance,” recalls drummer Neil Peters. So Triple Blind performed threesongs in the background before 17 million people and got paid £1,000 for the pleasure. This money funded the recording of “Stoke” in a proper studio and is probably the most exciting thing to come out of the show after Ian Beale’s love life.

I think the band actually recorded 3 songs that time. Not just “Stoke”. The other two songs being “Bus Shelter Boy” and “Take Me Back”. I know that because I found the tracks on Soundcloud! There I find the band’s lineup:

Phil Bird – guitar
Iain Wooster – bass
Neil Peters – drums
Rev A Floyd – guitar and vocals

I believe later on some of the band members were in a band called SubRosa5.

And that’s it really. No more information about them. I hope I can find out more about the band members, if they were in other bands, and if there were more Triple Blind recordings. In any case I need to get this record and I will definitely start checking on the other bands in it. I think this might prove a trove of great indiepop bands!

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Listen
Triple Blind – Stoke

Had a busy weekend so I haven’t finished writing the fanzine questions for the bands, but it is shaping up. Also not this weekend but the next I will be traveling to Mexico City for a week. Again if anyone needs some records in the Mexican capital let me know and I’ll be happy to bring some!

Here are some finds from over the weekend!

Debonaire: it really pains me that the Blue-very label releases cassettes. I just don’t like tapes. And here this label is putting amazing music by classic and legendary Japanese bands on tape! Oh dear. What to do? Their latest release is an album by the superb Debonaire from the 80s titled “Lost from the Pictures”. It is coming out on February 5th and will include 11 tracks! Great stuff!

Curling Dreams: what a discovery this band from Halmstad, Sweden. They only have two songs on their Soundcloud, “Falling Down” and “Happy Now”, but the good thing is that even though their is no big quantity there’s lots of quality here! There’s not many details about them on the web but we know they are formed by Jonas Börjesson, Anton Albertsson, Tobias Söderblom, Jonatan Axetorn. I hope to listen more from them soon!

Big Baby: the Richmond, VA, based band is releasing on January 10th a new EP called “Fizzy Cola” on Jigsaw Records (CD) and Hidden Bay Records (tape). At the moment we can preview the track “String of Pearls” which is a terrific fuzzy jangly track. I can’t wait to hear the rest of the songs on the EP and I have to say I am very glad this will be available on CD and not just tape. Makes my life easier.

Flower Crown: the latest from this Pittsburgh band is a terrific track called “High Fantasy”. Released last December, this song even has a video for us to enjoy. This dreamy band is formed by Richie Colosimo, Mike Iverson, Chris Sexauer, Zach Bronder and Jon Sampson.

Decepción Cromática: “Hace Frío Afuera” was released just before Christmas by this Barcelona project. The song title translates as “It is Could Outside” and of course it makes sense that it was put out then. I discover it a bit later, but nonetheless it is very enjoyable!

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From Manchester, a band that had in its rank Craig Gannon who would end up in The Smiths. But The Smiths is a story we all know. I want to know about The Cradle. Who were they?

The band was formed by Craig Gannon on guitar, Ivor Perry on guitar, Gary Rostock on drums, Lee Bennett on bass and Andy Housley on vocals. They released just one record when they were around, in 1987. It was released by Rough Trade on both 7″ and 12″ formats (RT 202).

The A side for this record was “It’s Too High” and the B side had “Walk Around” (both written by Ivor Perry) and, on the 12″, the song “Wires” which was penned by Philip Larkin. The A side was recorded at Amazon Studios in Liverpool while the songs on the B side were corded at Out of the Blue Studios in Manchester. All songs were engineered by Nick Garside who we know from the superb band The Distractions.

Discogs doesn’t list any songs on compilations. Just this release. I wonder then if there were more recordings. If there were demo tapes made. Who’d know. And how did they end up on Rough Trade? Were they big or supposed to become big? Well, they did have people in the band that had been in important bands. For example Gary Rostock was in Easterhouse. Craig Gannon was not only in The Smiths, he was in The Bluebells and played with the Blue Orchids, Adult Net, Vinny Peculiar, Terry Hall and even helped on a track on the sole album by the lovely Help Stamp Out Loneliness.

According to Wikipedia, “It’s Too High” was actually a number 12 indie chart hit. In 1987, when Johnny Marr left The Smiths, The Cradle was put on hold. Why? It says that Ivor Perry was considered to replace Marr. He even recorded some new material with the band, including an early version of “Bengali on Platforms”. Perry was uncomfortable with the situation within The Smiths and in the end decided to leave and resurrect The Cradle with new vocalist Craig Davies. But soon enough Davies signed a solo deal with Rough Trade. This in turn made Rough Trade drop The Cradle. It mentions too that the band continued with another singer. Which singer?

I continue digging and find a name, John Barratt, he was The Cradle’s manager. Then on a book “Meetings with Morrissey” by Len Brown it mentions that Ivor got Gannon to join The Cradle after seeing him “staggering round, pissed, at the Hacienda”.

What about the other members? How did The Cradle start as a band?

There’s many questions, especially if there are more recordings, and what happened with the band after they were dropped by Rough Trade. Who knows. It feels like they were supposed to be bigger. Maybe they played live a lot? Maybe they got good gigs supporting top bands? How long did the band last too? Many questions, few answers on the web.

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Listen
The Cradle – It’s Too High

Happy new year to everyone!! Hope this 2020 brings lots of good news to all, more great indiepop records, gigs and bands to all of us. For Cloudberry I really hope it is a good year. Last year we put one retrospective and 2 7″s. Hopefully this year we can do the same or more. That’s the plan at least! This year for sure we are adding a fanzine, that already makes it different!

Have I found any good music in the past few days?

Nah…: “Perfect Game” is the treat the German band is giving us for 2020! It is a song about darts & love and it is darn good! Very influenced by Orange Juice, the jangly track gallops and swoons. It is one of their finest moments and so I hope they release this physically this year!

Golden Teardrops: another band that treats us with new music in 2020 is the duo of Ryan and Lei Marquez! They have a new song “I Won’t Be Fooled Again” that continues what they have been releasing in the past few years. Another great entry to their catalogue of shiny summery songs.

Jetstream Pony: our favourite Brightonians cover 20/20’s “Yellow Pills” for New Year’s. And they do it great! What do I wish the band for 2020? I hope they release more records. Maybe an album. And definitely to come play NYC!

Dummy: a five people band from Los Angeles. That’s all I know about them. They have a self-titled EP supposedly (their artwork looks like a tape with 3 songs on the A side and 2 on the B side), but on Bandcamp I can only find one track, “Angel’s Gear”. It is terrific, so I hope to hear the rest. If it exists!

Tawings: this trio from Tokyo released a few weeks ago a self-titled album consisting of 8 tracks. Dreampop and shoegaze fans will definitely enjoy this, with it’s sweet melodies and dreamy female vocals. The record is available on CD now.

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This might be a short post because I think this is one of those ultra obscure bands that no information is available on the web. And that’s kind of funny as the one and only song I know by Alphabet Extravaganza was released not THAT long ago, in 2007. Not in the 80s. There was internet then. But still there’s nothing about them online.

This one and only song I know they recorded was called “Don’t Pay Attention”. It has female vocals and the sound of it reminds me a lot of the Marine Girls. So yes, it is pretty nice.

The song wasn’t even released in physical format. It was part of an MP3 compilation released by the Swedish label Friendly Noise called “I Godan Ro” (FYN 51). This Stockholm based label was founded by Stefan Zachrisson and Mattias Holmberg and released some very good albums, among my favourite those by The Dreamers and Action Biker.

This compilation included four songs. The Alphabet Extravaganza was the second one in the tracklist. The other bands were We Feed Them Knives, Kim Ki O and The Radio Dept. (doing a glorious version of the Go-Betweens’ “Bachelor Kisses”). The songs were compiled by Per Johansson who had once been in the amazing band Kissing Mirrors.

Aside from all of these connections, I can’t find who was behind the band. I can’t find other songs either. So, I need your help as it would be nice to hear more songs by Alphabet Extravaganza!

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Listen
Alphabet Extravaganza – Don’t Pay Attention

Thanks so much to Ada Wilson for the interview! I wrote about The Magnificent Everything some weeks ago on the blog and Ada got in touch! That was lucky! And even better he was up to tell me the story of the band! I knew very little about them so this was great. If you have never heard them, it is a good time to discover this early 80s Wakefield band!!

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

Hi Roque, I stopped making music 30 years ago, but I’ve finally put a little band together to mark my 60th birthday in 2020. It’s sounding good so far.

++ 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?

I was born in 1960 and music seemed to be a lot more important in the 60s and 70s. I can’t remember not being aware of songs – from the Beatles on. When my brother fell out of a tree and had to go to hospital, I was allowed to go to the Beatles Club, which the girls on our street had. I’d be about four I guess. So it was always there. I had a guitar from the age of around eight, a Framus, fumbled about with it and started playing in Working Men’s Clubs when I was 12 – old rock’n’roll standards etc.

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

Bob, Bas, myself and drummer Ringo Higginbottom had been in a band called Strangeways from 1977-79. We got a little success too young really, signing to Real Records, a subsidiary of Warner Brothers, which also signed the Pretenders and Johnny Thunders. The Pretenders supported us for their first low-key gig in Wakefield, then became a hot thing and we had to support them. I’m sending you an unreleased track of Chrissie Hynde singing ‘Wild Thing’ with us at an early recording session. It was pretty obvious she had something special, wasn’t it? We also supported The Ramones, Johnny Thunders, Graham Parker & the Rumour and various others and released two singles, Wasting Time and Show Her You Care on Real Records. A compilation of our songs called Powerpop! came out about ten years ago on Detour Records. We also appeared on the TV programme ‘Get it Together’ with Roy North at this time – it’s on YouTube somewhere – and I just found this bio from somewhere else here.

++ Where were you from originally?

Wakefield.

++ How was Wakefield at the time of The Magnificent Everything? 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?

This was the early 80s, so the venues were The Hellfire Club at Heppy’s, Unity Hall, The Red Shed, Henry Boon’s, The Grove and a few other pubs. The record shop was JAT records and a second I can’t remember now. There were some great local bands like Fiat Lux, Citron Girls, The Fourth Estate, The Juvies, The Rainy Days – many more. Wakefield had Bretton Art College at that time, so there were lots of young people moving in and out and forming bands for five minutes.

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

After Strangeways split up, I did some solo gigs and released a single called ‘In the Quiet of my Room’, which did quite well and was Single of the Week in Sounds, the weekly music paper. I sold the rights to Chas Chandler – former Animal and manager of Jimi Hendrix and Slade etc., so it seemed to make sense. It promptly sank without trace. I then formed another band called Ada Wilson and Keeping Dark, who were on the Hicks from the Sticks compilation and released a (pretty lame) single called Head in the Clouds. Inevitably, I started playing with Bob and Bas again, because I missed the harmonies we had between us.

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

Bas or I would have a chord sequence or melody and go from there. We rehearsed under a pub called The Hammer in a little pit village called Ryhill. The pub disappeared years ago.

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

It was the New Romantic period and there was a definite move towards swing and jazz in pop. Dexy’s were the big influence for me at this time.

++ I know you released only one record, back in 1982 on the label Handful of Snake Enterprises. I was wondering about this label, was it a self-release? Or who was behind it? Care telling me a bit more about it!

Yes, it was a self release.

++ This 7″ had a very cool art made by Lee Walsh. How did he come to work with the band? Who came up with the idea behind the art?

Lee’s an old friend and I’m pretty sure it was just his idea.

++ The 7″ included two songs, “Tuxedo Lights” and “Jackpot”, and I was curious where were they recorded? Who produced the record?

There were a few local studios we used but mainly Woodlands in Normanton run by Neil Ferguson, which was perversely the home of both Chumbawamba and Black Lace! ‘Jackpot’ was recorded in a home studio in Ryhill.

++ And was that your first time in a studio recording or you had already previous experience?

We were spoilt during our Strangeways period – ‘Wasting Time’ our second single was recorded at Abbey Road, produced by Tommy Ramone.

++ You also appeared on the compilation “On the Rocks” that was released by TPL Records. You contributed two songs, “Blue Sky, North Street:” and “Uptown Electric”. Were these songs recorded at the same time as the single? Or are they from a different session? And how did you end up on this comp?

I think the band had split up by the time that compilation finally came out. It was a labour of love from the chap who put it together and didn’t really hang together.

++ You were also on another compilation, “Real Time 7”, on Unlikely Records. Who were Unlikely Records? Did it come with a magazine or fanzine?

Unlikely Records was an endeavour of a chap called Robert Cox, who put out wonderful cassette compilations of a lot of obscure music. I wonder what he’s doing now?

++ I was wondering too if you were friends or part of a scene with the bands that appear on these two compilations? Or perhaps not?

No, not really – we used to communicate by old-fashioned mail – that’s how long ago this is, so didn’t know any of the other bands.

++ Are there more recordings by the band? Unreleased tracks? Demo tapes?

Yes there are. I’m sending you a track which I think is great, called ‘Suddenly It’s Not Funny’, written by Bas., please feel free to use it as you like.

++ When and why did The Magnificent Everything stop making music? Were you involved in any other bands afterwards?

I had a band called That Uncertain Feeling before deciding I was sick of having no money and it was time to do something else. That Uncertain Feeling released one album called What the World Wants. It wasn’t really.

++ Never been to Wakefield so I would love to ask a local for some recommendations. If  I was to 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?

To behold our wonderful city in its splendour you probably need to be in The Pie Shop overlooking Westgate at 11.30 on a Saturday night. It will tell you all you need to know.

++ Anything else you’d like to add?

It’s amazing what you can find out about your past on the internet.

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Listen
The Magnificent Everything – Tuxedo Lights

Happy New Year! This is the last post for 2019 and of course I’ll continue posting and updating the blog. It will be the 12th year of updating it! Time does fly! The format has changed through the years but still the curiosity, the hopes of finding new great popsongs and popbands. Meeting bands, making new friends, and releasing records as part of the Cloudberry Cake Kitchen.

We have two releases for the series lined up for the new year. I am working on a new fanzine as we speak and also discussing possible new releases on Cloudberry as part of the 7″ series. It is exciting times!

Here are my last finds for 2019!

Loca Polka: another great Indonesian band? Yes! It is no surprise anymore to surprise more great Indo Pop! This band formed by Nuri Hapsari, Mikael Yudi Priamuda, Ginanjar Wahyu Aji and Christian Agung formed back in 20017 in Magelang. But only this year they released their super first single “Surrender”!

Tusindfald: this Danish band has made a very good 80s new wave influenced dreampop mini-album called “Blik”. The record is quite short, 7 songs, and seems to be only available now in digital format. It does sound great and I hope it gets released properly, meaning, physically.

The Reds, Pinks & Purples: three more songs by the San Francisco band, “The Record Player & the Damage Done”, “Life with the Damned (has gone Sour)” and “The Walking-Away World” are now on their Bandcamp. I don’t know how they are this prolific. Really impressive!

Blondehouse: more from Indonesia! The label Don’t Fade Away Records has just released a tape by the band Blondehouse titled “Melt”. It is a 5 song EP of shoegazy sounds and dreamy melodies. The EP is out now in cassette format.

The Orange Peels: the classic California band has put together a new version of their debut album “Square”! it is released on vinyl LP and it comes accompanied by a double CD that includes a bunch of demos and bonus tracks. This is a terrific release that no none should miss!

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The label Cornflakes Zoo was created in the early 90s by Stéphane Teynié who at the time was the writer of the Anorak fanzine and also was in charge of the Anorak mail order. This label released many classic French bands like Les Autres and Non Stop Kazoo Organization, both featured already on the blog. Among these French bands there was one that excelled when it came to jangly guitars, that was Des Garçons Ordinaires!

But the band’s first release wasn’t on Cornflakes Zoo. it was actually on Glam Records. It was a single sided flexi (GLAM 003) and it is not surprise as this label had previously released flexis by Solace and Smily Post (both also featured on the blog in the past!). I believe Des Garçons Ordinaires’ flexi was the last one this label released. They managed to include three songs on the flexi, “Sister Love and Mr Moon”, “Caroline” and “My Favorite Garden”. These songs were recorded on a 4track in November 1991. The artwork for the sleeve is very indiepop I’d say, with a drawing of four girls.

Des Garçons Ordinaires released their debut album in 1993. This one came out on Cornflakes Zoo (ZOO6). The album was self-titled and included 12 songs of superb jangly pop. The songs were: “Flower Power”, “Bung a Loo Goo”, “Nice Price”, “Funk Them All”, “Galaxy”, “Clouds”, “Freud’s Hairstyle Technique”, “La La La”, “Bass Drum”, “Sometimes We Smile”, “Sixteen Cannons” and “Lost in Space #3”. All songs were recorded and mixed by Damien Bertrand on most of the songs and Vincent Lecouplier (also known as Vincent Balloon, owner of Studio balloon Farm in Rennes, France) on “Nice Price”, “La La La” and “Bass Drum”.

The credits give us the names of the band members:
Alban Rautenstrauch – bass
Emmanuel Lamour – drums, guitar, keyboards, vocals
Bors – guitar
Stéphane – vocals, guitar, harmonica.

The band appeared on many compilations during the 90s. First was the song “Into Space” that was included in the “Heol Daou” tape compilation that Katiho (Katiho 002) released in 1990. Then in 1991 they included two songs on the compilation tape “In the Limelight” which was a French ompilation as well. This tape came with a fanzine-type booklet that I would guess had information about the bands on it. Des Garçons Ordinaires appears on this one with the tracks “Circle Corners” and “Into Space”.

Elefant Records from Spain would include them in “Around the World Again’ (ER-020) in 1992. The band had the song “Summer Songs” on this one. That same year the band had their song “Little World” on the French compilation “Whoops!” that the label Houpla (HOUPLA01) put out. The song “Summer Games” would also be included in “Garden Party” another tape compilation from 1992. It was on another famous French label, Aliénor Records (ALIEN α).

Then in 1993 the band would have their song “Sometimes We Smile” on the tape “Ces Chères Têtes Blondes” (CIN 01) on Cindie. And then in the classic German CD compilation “The Noise and The Melodies – The Pearl Compilation” (PERLE 1).

Lastly in 1994 the band had their song “Laughing Box” in the Alienor Records’ box set of 7″s called “The Onion Most Dangerous Game” (ALIEN λ). I believe this compilation was sort of a tribute to the fanzine Onion’s Soup.

It is also worth mentioning that in 1994 the band had the video for their song “Flower Power” on the VHS compilation of indiepop videos “Munch Part I (An International Independant Music Video Compilation )” that Season Records (Season Two) put out. Oddly enough I can’t find a copy of the video on Youtube. I feel it was on Youtube some years ago? Maybe?

Aside from all this info I know that Emmanuel Lamour has made music under the names Emmanuel, Manu, Manu Love, Mr De Cuny, Polar Bear, Mark 2, Love and Dave Quartet and Shop. Stéphane on the other hand had been in the band Mum’s The Word.

The blog of the Shoegaze Movement has a post about them and there the author talks mostly about the quality of the tracks. There is also a post about the flexi the band released by my good friend Alex at his blog 7iete Pulgadas.

Then on Les Autres’ Bandcamp I find them covering Des Garçons Ordinaires’ “Sister Love and Mr Moon”.

What else? Well, the band hailed from Rennes. I know that thanks to the archive page of the venue Krakatoa in Mérignac, close to Bordeaux. I know they played there on January 23rd 1993.

And that’s it really! I thought the band was much more known, at least to have more written about them on the web. I still have many questions about them. And I really hope I could find out why they split? What other bands had the band members being involved with? What are they doing now? Are there more songs recorded by the band? I hope to find out soon!

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Listen
Des Garçons Ordinaires – Clouds

I hope everyone had a great Christmas! Here are some cool finds, see you again Monday!

Night Flowers: the London band has a song called “Snowfall” which they’ve recorded just for this holiday season with a good cause behind it. All proceeds will be donated to the Epilepsy Action charity. I really like this band a lot. And I think everyone should too. This reminds me I still haven’t got myself a copy of their album. I should change that in 2020.

Drinking Boys and Girls Choir: Damnably Records, home of the excellent Say Sue Me, seem to have found another great Korean band! It may sound more punky than pop, not your usual recommendation on the blog. But it is poppy enough, fun enough, I think. The vocals are sweet. And I said why not. The band has just released a self-titled album packed with 18 tracks! It is available on CD and vinyl of course.

Les Bicyclettes de Belsize: a very fine Christmas song called “Another Christmas Song” is what the London band presents us this year. Lyrics are posted too for singing along. The last few days I was making a playlist of cool indiepop Christmas songs, and I missed this one. But for sure it is going on my next year playlist. You do the same.

Close Lobsters: the Scottish band is back with a new album on February 28th. We are able now to preview one of the tracks, “All Compasses Go Wild”, and it sounds faaaaaantastic! I can’t wait to get a copy of this record which will be available on orange and grey vinyl. And CD too. The album which is called “Post Neo Anti: Arte Povera in the Forest of Symbols” comes with 10 tracks and a very cool artwork on its sleeve!

The Fisherman and his Soul: and lastly another Christmas song, ” A Christmas Tree Bright as a Lighthouse”! This one comes all the way from Münster in Germany, thanks to Sebastian Voss, who you might know from the lovely Nah… and his older band The Grindcore Poppies which made me a fan of his music. This track is another one I need to add to my Christmas playlist next year!

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Wow, really wow! What a discovery for me. This Falkirk band, who once supported The Bluebells at the Queens Hall in Edinburgh, has a brilliant sound. At least on this superb song I’ve found on Youtube called “I Believe its Love”. I really want to hear more! If there’s more, and they sound like this, I wouldn’t mind releasing a retrospective compilation too!

I know only a few little facts about the band. “I Believe its Love” was a single. I think it was taken from a cassette single released in 1983 by A&M Records called “Long Summers”. It got some radio play on Radio One by Peter Powell.  Was there a B side for the cassingle? I would love to know.

The band was around from 1981 to 1985. It was formed by:
Gordon Davidson on guitar
Chas Fotheringham on bass and vocals
Ally Gibb on guitar, saxophone and keyboards
George Smith on drums
Barbara on vocals

The band recorded a Radio Royal session in 1982. Where is that? I’d love to hear it. What songs were recorded?

After this session Barbara was replaced by Diane Smith. I am confused if on the song “I Believe its Love” is Barbara or Diane singing? Who could confirm me that?

Then in 1983 the band recorded a Radio Forth session. Again, what songs were recorded? Is there any way to listen to it? After this session more lineup changes, Davidson was replaced by Alex Irvine (ex Shout) and with this new lineup the band would win the Levi’s Battle of the Bands in Edinburgh which was judged by Radio One DJ Peter Powell. Thanks to this success the band ended up supporting The Bluebells.

Another interesting fact is that Ally Gibb guested in the Cocteau Twins album “Head Over Heels” playing sax on the track “Five Ten Fiftyfold”. It also seems that David Hair, who would later be in the Smokehouse Blues Band, played a few dates with the band.

In 1985 Diane Smith left the band as she wanted to become a dancer and even appearing on the Cadbury’s Twirl advert and in the video for “Radio Ga Ga” by Queen! It was this year too when the band split. Ally Gibb would join The Breakfast Boyz and later The Bottleneck Blues Band and Alex Irvine would join Frank’s Wild Years.

I find also some info about gigs they played. For example headlining at The Burns with support of Complex. It seems they played this venue many times.

Then an old Myspace. Here I see two more songs by the band, they are called “What Does it Take” (which looks as it was the last song the band recorded), “Make My Day” (recorded at Cava Studio for A&M Records) and “Fred Astaire” (recorded live).

Then I find out that Ally Gibb played last November a solo gig at The Graeme Hotel in Falkirk. I believe he played many of the songs of Pastis 51 in this occasion. Must have been a nice evening!

I am craving so much to listen to more of their tracks. The one I’ve heard is great. Hopefully I’ll be able in the near future! Maybe someone will help me with this wish!

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Listen
Pastis 51 – I Believe It’s Love

Started working on the fanzine this weekend. At least planning it. I will email today the bands I hope to interview and hopefully there will be news soon about that early in the next year. Then of course there are many projects for releases in the coming year, so yeah, should be a good one. This is the last post before Christmas too, so I do hope you all have a merry merry Christmas, and I’ll see you on Wednesday, right? Lots of indiepop presents I hope everyone gets!

No Middle Name: the Saint Leonards, UK, band is back with a two part single called “Meet the Folks”. Yeah, a single that is broken apart as “Meet the Folks Part 1” and “Meet the Folks Part 2”. Interesting idea! The two songs are really lovely as usual. No Middle Name never disappoints.

Grids and Dots: always looking and checking what’s happening in Australia. That country, alongside Japan and Indonesia, are the places where more indiepop I see been made in the last few years. And quality indiepop that is. The latest is this Sydney band that only has one song on Bandcamp, “Never Change”. But it is great. It seems there will be more songs recorded in the near future, so we should bookmark their site!

The Groove Farm: the Bristol classic band is also back with a new album called “Groovy Pharmacy”. It is now available to pre-order on their Bandcamp on vinyl. It does look like there are only a few copies left though. So be quick! The record is being put out by their own Raving Pop Blast! Recordings and it sounds like everyone expects, catchy garagey noisy pop! Cool!

The Perfect English Weather: the ex-Popguns have recorded four acoustic tracks live at Sunny Studios in Hove. These are part of a new live EP they have available on Bandcamp that includes acoustic versions of “English Weather”, “Rockin’ to the Beat”, “Under My Feet” and “Christmas Single”.

Lia Pamina e Os Peregrinos: “It’s Gonna Be a Cold Christmas (Unas Navidades tan Frías)” is only available digitally on Bandcamp and I suppose other digital platforms. Lia who recorded one of my favourite 7″s some years ago has teamed up with Os Peregrinos, the band of Charlie Mysterio and Roger de Flor, and with them they have covered the original 1975 song by Dana and adapted it to Spanish. It is a good one to add it to your Christmas playlist.

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Time to fly to Japan! To the early 90s and to one of my favourite bands from the period, the Tip Top Planets. What a name! I love it. So poppy, so colorful and sounds like fun. And indeed this band made among the best anorak-pop to ever come from the land of the rising sun!

The band’s first release dates from 1992, a 7-song mini-album called “We Can Stay in Paradise For Ever”. It was released by the label Chocolat Art Records (CA002) and had the following songs “We Can Stay in Paradise for Ever”, “I Don’t Care”, “Wake”, “Every Time”, “Paranoia”, “Tell Me Why” and “Thunderstom”. On this record we see that Naomi Funakoshi sang and played tambourine and maracas, Koji Isaka played guitar and sang, Kazutoshi Ohno played bass and Kaname Banba played drums on the first and last song while Takehide Fukasawa played drums on the rest of tracks.

The names are not too familiar to me. Maybe Kaname Banba is a bit more known as he had also played in bands like Luminous Orange, Lucy Van Pelt, Littlestone and Advantage Lucy. And Kazutoshi played in the very fine Jenka. The rest seem to have only been part of Tip Top Planets.

In 1993 the band released their debut album called “Bomb” on the superb label Pushbike Records (UFPB-003). As you know I love this label, so I must get this record in my collection! The 12 songs on it are superb, “Speak Your Mind”, “To the Shining Sea”, “Cosmic Panic”, “Silent”, “Pearl”, “Scarlet”, “Blue Boat”, “Until You Come”, “Sun Dress”, “Bomb Bomb Planet’s Hour”, “Sunday Everyday” and “In the Time Casket”. Here the drummer changed, we know see Shigeto Morohara. Also it is worth mentioning that Seiko Ishiguro (from Sunshower and Jenka) played accordion in “In the Time Casket”.

Lastly in 1995, on Vinyl Japan, the band would release the “Go Go Pepper EP” (TASKCD32). This is the one release I have of theirs. And I love it of course. It only has four songs, but what songs! “Go Go Pepper”, “Sunshine Babies”, “Rain” and “Rady Made Boy – Dear Violet”.

Aside from these three releases the band appeared on many compilations.

There was a 7″  that was given for free at the Japanese tour of the Television Personalities and The Chesterfields. Not sure what year it was. But it was released by the Pop Anarchy Label. On it we find three bands, Sunnychar, Tip Top Planets and Melcles. Tip Top Planets appear with the songs “My Day Star” as the A2 and “Give Me L” on B1.

In 1992 the band appeared on the first ever release of Chocolat Art Records, a comp tape called “Story Under Fun” (CA001). On it they appear first and last with the songs “My Day Star” and “Brand New Morning” . That same year they appeared on another comp, “The Reality of Flowers” (FLOWER-002), that was released by Under Flower Records. Here the band contributed the song “Holiday”.

Pushbike Records would include them on the CD comps “See-See-You, Tomorrow!” (UFPB-001) with the songs “Rosy Moon Knows” and “Big Boy And Little Girl” and “Happy Day, Happy Time! Pushbike Compilation Vol. 2” (UFPB-004) with the song “He has the White Dream”. Both came out in 1993.

That same year they contribute the song “Give Me L” on the tape “We Don’t Need Another Hero” (HAAR002) on the Japanese label Haarnadel.

Then Vinyl Japan included their song “Wake” on the compilation “What Do You Want a Japanese To Do Again?” (ASKCD 36) in 1994. Then they had the song “Brand New Morning (Dry Breeze Version)” on the Giant-Robot Records comp “Here We Go ‘Round Giant-Robot Compilation Vol. 1” (ROBOT-002). And afterwards, to close 1994, they appeared on yet another Pusbike comp, “Into Somethin’ Pushbike Compilation Vol. 3” (UFPB 006) with the song “in the Time Casket” and on the comp “The Cacaous Go Like Hotcakes” released by Chocolat Art (CA-010) and Pushbike (UFPB 005) with the songs “Let Me Fly to the Brightest Star” and “Cherry Red Guitar Girl”.

Lastly, in 1995, the band appeared on the CD compilation “Cloudy Records Compilation Vol.1 / Cloud6” released by Cloudy Records (CRCD001) with the song “Rainbow Way”.

Lots of songs in compilations, they may have been able to put out another CD I think!

Something curious I stumbled upon was that the UK band The Hannah Barberas covered the song “Go Go Pepper” in September 2018.

Sadly as it is the case with many Japanese bands the information is scarce. I wonder what happened to the band members afterwards. What did they do? Were they in other bands? Where are they now? Who remembers them? Such a fun band, I hope I can find more information about them!

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Listen
Tip Top Planets – Speak Your Mind

Alright! weekend is here! And here are 5 good finds for you to listen this weekend. I hope too that I will have time to start planning the new fanzine I want to put out next year. At least get an outline done and then contact the bands I want to interview.

Salt Lake Alley: our friends from Stockholm are back after releasing a 7″ on Cloudberry! And that is good news! I know they have recorded enough songs for an album, and only now I am trying to catch up after being out for holidays. But they have put out one of these songs, “Chop Away!” as a digital single and what a track this is! It is definitely one of the best they have recorded. It starts with an 80s sort of vibe and then carries on with some great melody, a bit JAMC, a bit The Prayers, a bit great Scottish pop then. This definitely tells everyone they are up to great things. Can only wait for more. If you haven’t heard them yet, this is a good place to discover the wonderful music Gustav and Mikael are making!

Las Perdón: I featured this duo from Madrid some time ago. Back then they didn’t have the EP “Melón y Sandía” out yet, but two songs were on their Bandcamp. Well, since last week there are 4 songs, 2 more. So we find “Asco Total”, “El Chico Más Tonto de Madrid”, “Toc, Toc” and “El Secuestro” now, four songs of  catchy indiepop with fun singalong lyrics, boy/girl vocals, and infectious choruses. I can’t wait for a Spanish label to pick them up. A 7″ would be nice!

Brunch Club: the Edmonton, Canada, band became quickly a favourite of mine. Definitely one of the most exciting bands in the last few years. Terrific indiepop with classic influences. Surprising though their latest album is only available digitally. The 8 song album “Another Wasted Summer” is jangly and wonderful. I really hope I can play it at home on a CD player, or on the turntable someday. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this on many year-end lists.

Sugar World: the San Diego band has also been featured in the past. But hey, they do have a brand new song “We Fell in Love” that I have been playing on repeat. It has that feeling of the late 90s indiepop, early 2000s. Kind of a sweeter Marine Time Keepers, sort of? It is dreamy, evocative of good past places and times. This is another band that needs to put out some records!

Goodbye Idiots III: this is the name of the new compilation put together by the Mexico netlabel Stupid Decisions. There are a bunch of great tracks by mostly unknown bands (at least they are not known to me) on it waiting to be discovered.

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I was reading a post on Blaskoteket, a post that is actually grabbed from a Sound Affects article I believe. It was about the Kristiansand, Sweden, band Leslies. A superb pop combo that released a bunch of records in the 90s in many labels like H. Lime, Labrador, La Belle Pop and more. The part that caught my attention about the article was that it said that the band was born from the ashes of two pop bands, Shelleys and Shoplifters.

So what did I do? I went to look for music and information about these two bands. So far I haven’t been able to find anything about Shelleys but I did find a post on a Japanese blog about Shoplifters. There I could even listen to two tracks, “I Don’t Like to Think” and “Kneedancing”, and I thought they were really great.

Sadly the songs are not complete, they are kind of cut at the end. Shame, I would love to listen to the whole thing. In any case it seems these two songs come from a demo tape called “Shoplifting the Moon”. Happily the blog mentions some details about this tape. It was released in 1993 and included six songs in total, “I Don’t Like to Think”, “Getting High in a Paperbag”, “Kneedance”, “Dizzy Reflections”, “Miss Place” and “Ode to Friends”. It mentions too that the vocalist and guitarist from the Leslies were in Shoplifters. Does this mean that Tony Ivarsson and Martin Berndtsson (or Martin Engvall) were in Shoplifters? I would love to confirm this!

I keep searching for any other details about them but I can’t find really anything. Were these the only songs they ever recorded? The two I’ve heard, even incomplete, sound fabulous, that’s why I am sharing them like that. I would really love to listen to the rest. And of course find out any details and sounds by Shelleys! Any help will be appreciated!

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Listen
Shoplifters – I Don’t Like to Think

I am still jetlagged and haven’t managed to organize myself. I want to write a new fanzine. I want to find the next 7″ release on the label. These should be my next projects. The next Cloudberry Cake Kitchen release is already set. So that front is in a good state now. Just needs the mastering done. But the other two are still things I need to put time and effort. Hopefully by the weekend I’ll have a better idea. In the meantime I continue discovering new music. And so, I will share it with you!

The Know: a husband and a wife, from Los Angeles, making music. That’s how the band describes themselves. I would add that they make pretty dreampop. At least that’s what I can tell from the only song they have up on their Bandcamp, “143”. Do they have more? That is the question as I am left wanting to hear more by them.

The Hannah Barberas: this favourite band is back with four new tracks which make up an EP called “Christmas Bandwagon Vol. 2”. Yes! It is the time of the year for Christmas songs, and these songs are perfect for the season. Jangly and ramshackley. And also they have a good purpose, the proceeds form the EP will be donated to Shelter.

The Reds, Pinks & Purple: the San Francisco band must be the band I have featured the most. They are so prolific! Two weeks ago they released two new songs, “I Should Have Helped You” and “Losing Something”. Maybe you’ve heard them already, but hey, if you didn’t this is a good reminder as they are great (as usual!).

Citrus Clouds:  the Phoenix band is another one that I have featured in the past. This time I write about them because they have a new track, “A Pastel Sky”. And as expected it is a terrific shoegaze song. Lyrics are shared if you want to sing along.

Fanclub: and the Austin band have also released a new song that is truly sweet and catchy. I really hope this one gets released physically. The vocals are great, it does feel like early 2000s indiepop, with the lo-fi cosy melodies and the sugarcoated female vocals. The song is called “Trespassing” and I highly recommend it.

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I’ve been going through a few old compilation tapes. Seeing if there are bands I’ve missed, bands that deserve a second chance. Bands that need to be rediscovered. Bands that didn’t get the attention they probably deserved back in the day. Today I went through the track list of the classic “You Can’t Be Loved Forever No. 3” that our friend Phil Ball released in 1990. And I found that I didn’t know nothing about Big Decision.

I have featured a bunch of the bands on this tape like Nervous Curve, Blue Summer, The Hoverchairs, Home and Abroad, All Over the Place and more. I don’t have this tape, but I do have MP3s of the tracks. This tape came with a fanzine of the same name. That I don’t have either. Did it include any info on the bands?

Big Decision appeared on the B side with the track “Greg’s Theme”. It was the seventh song on this side of the tape, in between The Hoverchairs and Blue Summer. What inspired the song? Who is/was Greg? Perhaps someone in the band?

On Discogs there are no other songs or releases listed for this band.

Then I look and look and find a PDF of the magazine “Scene and Heard”. The issue is Oct./Nov./Dec. 1991. This magazine covered Mid-Anglia’s scene. Here I learn that after The Charlottes, some members formed Ether. Then in the review section I see a tape called “…Gorgeous…” being reviewed. It is by a band called Donald Elsey’s Big Decision. Is it the same band? I notice that the opening track is called “Greg’s Theme”. It sounds like it is the same band. Right? It mentions that this demo tape had been played by WFDH-FM in New Jersey. It traveled far!

Aside from “Greg’s Theme” the tape included the tracks “Mystery” and “Strange Fascination”. It also says that these are not the first recordings by the band, that there have been at least one previous demo tape. Then we know that for this demo there was a new line-up (what was the old line-up?) formed by Martin Holt (from The Denial, where he played guitar and vocals) and Gary Todd (the former bassist of Cactus Jack. Plus Donald Elsey of course.

Not much more to be found on the web. Now it is just a matter of finding the other tracks from that demo tape. How they sounded like. I definitely want to know more about them. And where from Mid-Anglia was the band from?!

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Listen
Big Decision – Greg’s Theme

Thanks so much to Fred Twigg for the interview! I wrote about this obscure Midlands band like a month or so ago. Happily Fred wrote me to set the record straight of who were the original members of the band. That let me to ask hi if he’d be up for an interview, and his answer was just what I hoped for, “yes!”. So finally I know some more details about them! Discover them!

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

I’m fine thank you 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?

My first instrument was guitar. I bought a book by Burt Weedom called play in a day and had guitar lessons at the Bandbox based in Wolverhampton. I started listening to Lonny Donnigan, skiffle music and later Jimi Hendrix.

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

I don’t know about the other members of the Blue Toys,but I had a successful band with my brother called the Suspects ,based in Norwich. We had a compilation album out in the alternative charts ( it was number one for six weeks) on the Crass label distributed by Rough Trade called the Bullshit Detector 11.The name of the track is Random Relations Part 2. We also played a lot of gigs in the Norwich and Yarmouth area and a tour of Holland. The music was protest ( punk -rock).

++ Where were you from originally?

Wolverhampton (West Midlands)

++ How was your town at the time of The Blue Toys? 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?

Wolverhampton had a good music scene at the time. There was a venue called Croakers, J.B’s in Dudley,and the Blue Toys had a residency spot in the Bull’s Head in Bilston,Wolverhampton ,but we played all over the West Midlands and a festival in the West park. The bands around at the time were the Neon Hearts,Slade,killing Joke and the Jazz bass player Dave Holland. Record stores: Sundown records and HMV.

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

Myself and My twin brother who is a drummer were looking for a bass player so I put an advert in the Express & Star and Baz Ketley answered the add. We formed a 3 piece band called the Sudden Impact.We played a few times together ,but it didn’t work out,so Baz quit and the band fell apart. Later Baz informed me that he was setting a new band up and he needed a guitarist /singer,so I agreed to join. Then came Vernon Charles on bass ,because Baz decided to change instruments from bass to guitar. Vernon was working at the local music shop in Wolverhampton.Later Baz came down to my house and introduced me to saxophone player Anne Marie. We were short of a drummer so we held auditions in a local pub and Dennis Coke passed the audition. We were now complete and Vernon came up with the name the Blue Toys.

++ There were some lineup changes too right? You were telling me that the names that appear on the book “The Charlatans We Are Rock” are more of a second lineup of the band and that creates confusion. How did these changes come about?

After 2 successful years of gigging around the Midlands,Baz decided to call a band meeting.During that meeting in the Bull’s Head Baz told the band that there were 2 members of the band he didn’t want to continue with any longer.The 2 members were myself and drummer Dennis Coke.No explanation or anything,he just wanted me and Dennis out,so we had no choice but to leave.He had already lined up 2 new members.Later Vernon had enough and left the Blue toys,so Anne Marie was the only Original member left,apart from Baz himself.

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

Baz wrote most of the songs. He would come to me with an idea and ask me my thoughts about the song. I would arrange the guitar parts and then work them out in the practicing room at the Bull’s Head pub,with the rest of the band.

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

We had our personal influences. Mine were from the Stranglers to Hendrix.

++ As far as I know you only put out one record though it did come out on 7″ and 12″. It was released by the London-based label Sedition. I was wondering if you could tell me a bit about them? How did you end up working with them?

I couldn’t tell you about that,because I was thrown out of the band before the record came out. Myself ,Vernon and Dennis were not involved with the record company at that time.

++ Then the B side was “Survivalists” and this one was actually from a Radio One Session for the Dixie Peach Show. I haven’t been able to find any info about this session. When was it recorded? How did it happen? Were more songs recorded other than “Survivalists”?

I never went on the Dixie Peach show,because that was after my time with the band.I don’t know anything about that session. The only thing that I have of my time with the Blue Toys is a video recording of “Survivalists”  and “This is Not Heaven”.

++ I read that one big reason for the band to split was that your manager wanted a new direction for your music. What direction was that?

I never met the manager. At the time Baz was acting very strange, because he had contact with a manager,I don’t know which one,but he got invited to a gig of ours in Snobs Birmingham and after that Baz called the band meeting and wanted us out.

++ Are there more recordings by the band? Unreleased songs?

Yes, there were a lot of unreleased songs

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

Survivalists. The music,the way we played and sang it.

++ What about gigs? Did you play many? 

Yes, throughout the West Midlands. Favourite gigs are the West park (festival  2/9 1984 Wolverhampton) and Snobs’s in Birmingham.

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

In Cannock

++ And were there any bad ones?

++ When and why did The Blue Toys stop making music? Were you involved in any other bands afterwards? The Bells I believe?

That was after my time ,but apparently I heard after receiving a call from Baz, he had done all he could with the band. I moved to Holland and form the Clean Cut Guru’s, Criminal Noise gang, Alice D ,The Silent Srceam and band under my own name Twigg and I just released a single called “Borrowed Time”.

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

Only Vernon played in other bands and still is. Anne Marie went to work on cruise ships as a solo act.

++ Has there been any The Blue Toys reunions?

Yes in 2010 with the Original Blue Toys members in Stoke on Trent.

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

We had a write up in the Express and Star of the West Park gig.

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

Being together and playing with Wolverhampton Lads. Only Anne Marie came from Bloxwich.

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

Traveling, backpacking, international cuisine.

++ Anything else you’d like to add?

I would like you to add the Original member of the Blue Toys :
Baz Ketley : guitar/lead vocals
Fred Twigg ; lead guitar/vocals
Vernon Charles: bass / vocals
Dennis Coke : drums
Anne Marie : saxophone

This was the Original line up from 1983 till 1985. Thank you for this questionaire .  I hope this will set record straight.

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Listen
The Blue Toys – A Good Day