2nd post this week and it feels like a big effort. This week I have been swamped with work due to hurricane Ian and have barely had any time to think about music.

Seventeen Years: here is a discovery, a new one. This Kansas City project is called Seventeen Years and have just released an album titled “Bedroom Gloom”. It is a lovely dreampop effort. It is naive and heartfelt. I am enjoying it very much. The band have been going since 2012, but well, it is never too late, right?

UJU: the latest single bby this filipino 4-piece is called “Summer” and was released 2 years ago in 2020. Yeah, it is an oldie, but I just found out about it and I thought I should!

Laveda: I have recommended this Albany, New York, band in the past. And I want to do it again. That’s because this month they released the single “Surprise”. The band also announces that next year they will be releasing their 2nd album, and for those in Toronto do check them out at the Monarch Tavern on the 29!

Martes Niebla: the Barcelona label El Genio Equivocado has just released on 12″ vinyl the mini-album “Insolación” by this cool project bby Paco Arenas from Blacanova. This is dreampop, shoegaze, with lots of experimental arrangements. It sounds dense, it sounds ethereal, it sounds powerful, quite an interesting release.

Parapertú: and continuing with the same Spanish label, I check out that Parapertú released a new album with them last August. This one has 11 songs and is called “Pantera Eras Tú”. I have enjoyed this band a lot in the past and so it is great to know the band continues crafting top pop songs. Definitely check it out.

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Rich Handyside on vocals and guitar, Tim Naylor on bass and vocals and Richard Jennings on drums formed this superb sounding Fleet 80s band.

Tim Naylor put together a Soundcloud account 10 years ago with so many treasures by his band The Handsome Bastards. Let’s see what we can find there.

The first song that was uploaded was “Love and the Whole World Lost”. This track dates from 1988 and was released in 1989 on Stupid Rabbit Tapes as part of the mini album “Ooer Missus it’s the Handsome Bastards”. As far as I know this tape is not on Discogs.

From this same release we find the songs “Letter to David” and “Big City Wolves”.

Another track is “Jesus in a Winebar”. This one was recorded in 1989 and released on the EP “HB” also on Stupid Rabbit Tapes. About this song Tim says that the band ripped off the bass line of “Psycho Killer”.

Another track from the “HB” EP was “The Map of the World”,

“Good Terrorist (small arms)” is another track recorded on a 4-track in 1989. And then another great track called “Exhuming McCartney (we wish… OK McCarthy)”.

Then we find a live recording. It dates from January 1991 at The George. The song they are playing here is “Katherine” (also called “World Trade Center” which was to be the band’s first single.

And another live recording where they play “Frank the Famous” on January 1991.

Another detail I found online is that The Handsome Bastards supported Jim Jiminee many times in the late 80s including a gig at Fleet Football club.

Tim previously had been in the bands The Bright Young Things, Controls, Nobodies Daughter and Beating Hearts and you can find recordings by them on the Soundcloud. And after being in The Handsome Bastards Rich and Tim were in Sweet Hooligan in the early 90s.

Tim Naylor has also put together a discography of the tape label he released on as well as more information on it. You can check that here. I believe it was his own label.

Tim now lives in Guildford and is head of Public Relations at BCA.

The band sounded great, but only got to put out tapes. I’d love to hear the other songs they recorded and also, of course, find more information about them! Who remembers The Handsome Bastards?

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Listen
The Handsome Bastards – Big City Wolves