Last post of newish discoveries for now I believe. Next post, Friday hopefully, should be of the new batch of bands that have been announced at Indietracks. On top of that there were bands that played Wales Go Pop! That I’ve never heard plus should look into the bands at Cologne Popfest. There’s much going on, and even with 3 posts a week it seems that it is not enough!

Anyways, let’s start:

Cariño: where did this beauty come from? Am I back to the early 2000s where Spanish bands sounded a bit like this? I don’t know. I’m just happy to hear their song “Momento Inadecuado </3”. From the photo it looks like a trio, and have another song on Bandcamp called “Canción de Pop de Amor”, which is also ace. They hail from Madrid and they self-define themselves as a neighborhood pop band. Whatever that means. In any case this is fab, and I hope someone puts them out soon. Real soon.

Wrstlng: Anders, Patrik, Jon and Oskar are the Gothenburg based band Wrstlng. They are not very new, it seems their last release dates from December 2016 or so. I missed it. I’m only discovering it now but the thing is, that it is really enjoyable and I should share it with you, right? The EP called “Hoarse Bear”, has 7 songs of top guitar pop. I believe it was only released digitally sadly, unless someone knows better?

Boys: definitely not a big fan of linking to music websites, but if that’s the solution for me to listen to the latest song Nora Karlsson has unveiled, I will do. You can check “That Weekend” if you click on the link. This song is to be included in the album “Rest In Peace” that is coming out on May 11th. Yes, I need to pre-order it. Soon.

Tracyanne & Danny: it must be a week or two when I shared with you some of the music that Tracyanne is doing as a duo with Danny. Well, now there is a video for the song “Alabama” and it is great, not that far from Camera Obscura really. I also noticed they are both performing in NYC very soon. Seems, I will have to attend!

Two for Tea with Duglas T: a Youtube show by Duglas from BMX Bandits? Really? Yes! On this first episode we see Duglas T. Stewart sharing a good time with his friend Norman Blake from Teenage Fanclub. I would suggest subscribing as each episode will feature Duglas chatting and singing with a guest. A top initiative by the Scottish bandito!

——————————————————-

This is a very obscure song, and at this point it feels more of an anecdote than anything else. You see, I found it on Youtube while looking for other bands. There is a Youtube user called Robertpere2 that has a bunch of goodies, a lot of post-punk but also very good jangle pop. And I sometimes just let all videos play. See if there’s something good for me to discover. And just like that, I found out about The Harlows.

Definitely the image that was uploaded caught my attention. It is very indiepop. The guy and the girl in summer clothes, dancing. It looks like it is an “official” image. Perhaps a scan of the cover of a tape or a CD. Though it does look like a photocopy. Most probably it is a tape then. But who are they? Where they are from? Are there more songs? The only information available on this video is a line that says:  “Produce by Dan Boardman and The Harlows, mixer by Dan Boardman and Randy Duerr”.

At least it is something. A hint. Some info so I can start digging. The song itself is really good! To my ears it sounds like mid-90s American indiepop. According to the video, it was released in 1995. So in that sense I’m in the right track.

What is a Harlow? Well, there is a town in Essex, England, with that name. A town were many great jangle pop bands hail from. Then it is a last name. Some famous Harlows, for example, Jean Harlow, a Hollywood actress or George Henry Harlow, an English artist. From what I understand then, that last name, Harlow, is the transferred use of an English surname with Anglo-Saxon origins derived from a place name. The name comes from the Olde English elements “hoer” meaning a pile of rocks or stones and “hlaw” meaning a hill. So the surname essentially developed to identify a person who dwelled on or around a rocky hill area.

That doesn’t shed any lights about the band. That’s true. Well I do have two names, Dan Boardman and Randy Duerr. Maybe that could point me somewhere. I found something where both names appear together. There is a release by The Spectors called “Cockfights & Cakefights 1992-1996”, on the Get Hip Recordings Bandcamp. The Spectors being a garage rock band from Minneapolis. And here I see that Dan Boardman played guitars, drums and vocals, in this band. And that Randy Duerr helped produce some songs at Wigged Out Studios. That kind of gives away that The Harlows were from the area, from Minneapolis. But what else?

Not much more. Can’t find any other mention of the band anywhere. Who were they? Just the one song that appears on the web, which is great, but nothing else. Who were the band members? Were there any releases? Anyone remembers them?

Edit (same day, 3pm)

Just got a comment by Harley Pageot pointing me that the blog Wilfully Obscure has actually written about the band. Why didn’t it show up on Google I don’t know. But there is much information here to be shared.

Actually there are 2 posts about them. The first, is about a 1995 tape, the one that has the cover I was talking about. I learn that the vocals were taken care by a Charlton Metcalf and that they were indeed from Minneapolis. This first tape, had 9 songs: “Catch a Wave”, “February”, “4 Leaf Clover”, “Cowards Sunday Drive”, “Lookout”, “Deminers”,  “Hemingway”, “For Rent” and “Untitled”.  It is interesting though that it is mentioned that this tape, and the latter one, from 1996, sound like two different bands.

That second post on Wilfully Obscure is indeed about the 1996 tape. Here there is a female vocalist named Rachel and the band is compared to The Spinanes and her vocals to that of Sarah Shannon of Velocity Girl. The songs on this second tape were “Purposeful Heart”, “Tsunami”, “Anyway”, “Jetlag”, “Shiner”, “Lean”, “April Shakes” and “Escar Go Karts”. Something that actually got y attention was that a Michael Alan Perry says that he was in the band. Is this the same Michael Alan Perry that was behind Manic Pop Records perhaps? And that is not all. There is a 1999 article on the page Ink19 that talks about a CD by The Harlows called “Stages I” released by Monkey Poop. It was a double CD, a compilation of their four previous releases. I know of two tapes now. There were two more? Now we have more information but there are still lots of questions to be answered!

Edit: Next day, 11am.

Bernd has pointed out a CDR released by Monkey Poop Records (oo1) dating from 1998 called “The Second Contestant is Number Twenty-Three”. There is not much information about it but we do know it included 5 songs, “Fondue”, “Sass-On”, “Bidet”, “Photon Falls” and “Hombre”.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
The Harlows – Catch a Wave

Thanks so much to Chris Hughes for the interview!! I wrote about Red Hour on the blog some time ago looking for information as I loved their songs. Happily he got in touch and was up to answer all my questions. He was also very kind and has shared memorabilia of the band! Check out Sounds Review (Jan. 1991) and Melody Maker Review (Nov 1991).

++ Hi Chris! Thanks so much for getting in touch! How are you? Where are you at now? Still in Barrow-in-Furness?

Where am I. Where am I. Inside. I am fine. Itching eye brows. On a chair. In a studio attached to a farm. Outside it is vertical sleet and wind. Pervades every pore. Nearly as bad as Oymyakon. Barrow in Furness is very west UK. I swapped it years ago for very east UK. East from west. Westerly went easterly. So now I east. Not west. Sun looks different.

++ Are you all from Red Hour still in touch to this day? And when was the last time you picked up your bass? Still in a band perhaps?

Spin out slides onto the record turntable sometimes. Still like the starkness of the white label on the black vinyl test pressing. Simplicity. I listen to that sometimes as I said. So I figure I still in touch musically. We all connect up as individuals one way or another I think. A bit like a circuit in series. We not all connected together adjacent but there is a threaded connection. Like a circuit in series.

Think I picked up my bass about 6570 days ago roughly. I have a habit of leaving basses with other folk and band folk. Think I picked it up when I passed through a while back visiting one of them folks a while back. About 6570 days approximately.

Still in a band? No. Not really. No. An ongoing musical artistic distant collaboration with son palace is about close as I get.

++ Let’s start from the beginning. Like what are your first musical memories? What was the first instrument did you get and how? And how did you learn to play bass?

I cut my dance moves and learnt the tune and words to ‘The Banana Split Show’ in my early youth and if you segue that with some of Sidney Bechet’s ‘Summertime’ and a bit of ‘Black Beauty’ soundtrack well that be the start of my musical education as a youngster. Although I did quite like the quietness of the moon landings on the black and white television we had. And I mean The Clangers were pretty musical too. And I quite liked Bagpuss in a calming quiet way.

I used to hawk around junk shops and second hand stalls in my home town as a teenager. I remember seeing a cheap nasty bass with flat wound strings on it. I bought it. It was cheap. It was a bit nasty. Flat wound strings and the feel of the bass got me hooked.

I tried to sell it 6 months later at a shop near where I bought it from. I told the stall holder I wanted to sell my bass and I handed it to him. He said ‘I don’t want to buy a cricket bat’.

++ Had any of you been involved with other bands prior to Red Hour?

No. This band was the first expedition out into band territory. Prior bands. No. None. No.

++ How was Barrow-in-Furness back then? Were there any bands that you liked? What were the good record stores? Or what about the pubs or venues to go check out up and coming bands?

There was ‘The White Lion’. And then there was ‘The White Lion’ and I guess if you were stuck . . there was ‘The White Lion’. The White Lion pub was the place to be. The musicians hang out. About the size of a small small, small terrace house. Barrow lies on a western peninsula of the U.K. It has a few satellite islands connected to it. Piel island. Sheep island. Tiny islands with stretching dunes of sand hills and natural reservoirs. You could sleep in the dunes and see shooting stars. Lakes and meres filled with char and pike and also mountains lay just outside Barrow.

Record emporiums. Well there was one. Earthquake Records. Genius place. An education. An education and two thirds. And in size much smaller than a small, small terrace hose. Tiny. Almost dog kennel sized shop. Diminutive. But smelt amazing.

++ When and how did the band start? What was the recruiting process like?

Guy turns up at my parents.

With a cassette.

Plays. See no evil.

Plays. Do it clean.

Plays. Read it in books.

Best job interview ever.

No words said.

Didn’t pay too well.

But best job ever. That was the recruiting process.

++ Why the name Red Hour?

The term is used by some employers to describe a one hour slot that is relatively less productive than the other more productive hours in a productive working day. That is where the name came from. Seriously.

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

Creative process. We did more takes and repeats than Stanley Kubrick.

School halls. Basements. Cellars. Church halls. Factory outhouses. Working men’s clubs. Scout huts. Tin sheds. Bowling green huts. Living rooms. Flats. Occasional stairwells. Sometimes outside.

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

Throw together Tom Verlaine, The Mighty Lemon Drops, the Bunnymen, the Fall, the Wedding Present, REM, Captain Beefheart, the Family Cat, Cocteau Twins, Gary Cook, the Pixies, Stravinsky, the Smiths, John Peel, Husker Du. These were pretty much the vinyls and music that were getting spun around that time at the flats and parties that were going on in the Furness Peninsula.

++ I discovered your music through the compilation “I Might Walk Home Alone” that was released by Wilde Club Records. On it, you appear with the song “Treat”. Wondering then two things, if you can tell me the story behind this song and how did you end up appearing on this compilation? I suppose you played the Wilde Club?

‘Treat’ on this compilation was Barry’s (Wilde club) choice as I remember. I seem to recollect we wish a different track had been used but it was pressed and complete. And so it remained.

Story behind Treat. One of the few songs to collapse on stage due to too many cold ales before a gig. No excuse your Honour.

++ Your first release was a 7″ on a label called Cogent Records who mostly released stuff by The Tier Garden. Who were behind this label and what was your relationship with them?

Cogent was ran by ‘The Tier Garden’. They were close to ‘Grown Up Strange’ who I know you have mentioned previously. When we put out ‘5Qs’ as it seemed to make sense to use and grow that label. They kindly let us jump onto it ( a thanking you and salut Cogent). Cogent also put out records by ‘Perfect Circle’. Cogent and The Tier Garden were basically the same team. They were also responsible for getting bands like ‘The Weather Prophets’, ‘The Stone Roses’ and ‘James’ to play the legendary ‘Bluebird club’ in Barrow in the 80s. And yes, Cogent bunch – they frequented The White Lion.

++ The two songs on this record are “Five Questions” and “Films About Me”. Both were recorded at Out of the Blue Studios in Manchester. How was that experience?

I remember the engineer having underpants hanging from his sock. I remember 50 takes at trying to get drum sounds and speeds right (with a hangover). I remember having to travel back weeks later because the master tapes screwed up. I remember folk from the Inspiral Carpets turning up during recording. I remember the cramped travelling down to Manchester in a Hyundai. Recording one day. Mixing the next. Partying and not sleeping.

++ Both being fantastic songs, can I ask, in a sentence or two, what are they about?

‘Films about me’. Well you did ask. I remember Dave telling me this was a about a young man who took his own life by jumping in front of a train – I think because of bullying. And 5Qs is simply about 5 questions – I would be vaguer if I could. I always try to think what this track is about but always get side tracked by the pretty nice bass line.

++ What inspired you for the artwork, for the design, of the sleeve for this record?

A big thanks to graphics and sleeve designer Jonah F who helped with this. Jonah sorted all the Cogent label decals out and pretty much ran the whole cover himself. The ear shapes used to be a way of telling if you had criminal traits. Black, white and 1 colour due to cost. Also Jonah was not involved in the ‘spin out’ cover and does it show. Yes. My ear is not on the cover.

++ After this release Barry Newman from Wilde Club was to release your 12″ on his label. On it there were four songs and I notice one of them was “Five Questions”. Was it the same version or a re-recorded version of the one that appears on the 7″? And why did you decide to include it again?

I think we all thought 5 Qs might be the song that would get airplay and create a wide wider audience. The recording is exactly the same mix. So including it with ‘Spin Out’ made sense. The wider wider audience never quite happened.

++ I’ve actually worked and been in touch with a few bands that released on the Wilde Club like The Suncharms or Shine! How was your relationship with Barry and with the bands he released? Did you like any?

We gigged at least twice with ‘The Suncharms’. I was at a gig several years ago and I starting talking to the guy next to me. Turned out he was from The Suncharms. We talked about travelling the length and length of the country in a cramped Hyundai to play a gig to one person who was normally the person behind the bar.

I only communicated with Barry via letter as I remember. Records got released. Press releases got sent. I think Barry was waiting for the wider audience to occur also. I know Barry initially wondered if our singer was from ‘The Wolfhounds’. David Canavan compared to David Cavanagh. Our singer was ‘Canavan’.

++ Were there more compilation appearances by the band other than the one on Wilde Club?

No more compilations that I am aware of.

++ Was there any interest from other labels? Perhaps big labels?

The hazy memories of sending out press releases, boxing records, phoning radio stations and phoning record companies and the waiting for the phone to ring and letter box to squeak. Why we never got an agent I don’t know. Proper old school diy approach – the perfect way to make sure you always keep a nice, small, very small niche audience. The Cogent team were much better prepared and business like. Red Hour were not not not business minded.

++ You recorded a Peel Session in 1992. That must have been amazing. How was that? Did you meet Peel or not? How long did it take to record it? Who worked with you? And why did you choose the four songs (“All I Need”, “William Jailor”, “Free Fall”, “Almost There”) for this session?

The Peel session. Got aired twice. Down to Maida Vale studio 3 to record the songs in a day. All sardined into the old Hyundai and straight to London. Was a bit like a kids day out at the Wonka factory. I remember being told to go and have some food at the canteen and there was the whole of the London Philharmonic striking up in the adjacent studio and there was us wondering if we had to pay for our beans on toast as we held our trays looking like something from a Dickens film. We took no photos of that day. Our lack of visual documentation is commendable in general. The songs sound so fast because the situation was so surreal. I think our bodies and coordination were just lost in the strangeness and madness of where we found ourselves.

The 4 songs were pretty much the latest tracks we had done. Rather than rely on 2 or 3 tried and tested older tracks that we knew were solid – we opted for 4 new ones. Another case of not really maximising your search for a wider audience. I don’t think these tracks had what ‘Spin Out’ and ‘5Qs’ had. Would have been nice to hear them recorded at Maida Vale.

I talked to John Peel the night the session went out. I listened to the show live at home and had to dash out to the red phone box one hundred yards from my flat to give him some gig details. Got back in time to hear him announce them. Nice use of technology. Nice surreal phone call.

++ And by the way who is “William Jailor”?

I believe ‘William J Leptimane’ is mentioned in the first line. An oblique nod to Mel Brooks in Blazing Saddles.

++ There are no more releases by the band, that’s kind of a bummer. But I did find on YouTube a bunch of unreleased songs by the band. Where do these come from?

Including the singles released there was probably about an album worth of material that would cut it. In my opinion ‘5Qs’, ‘Spin Out’ and ‘Films about me’ were probably the most accomplished of them. They had a certain spark to them. Some of the unreleased tracks would be from live tapes from the many gigs we played around this time and would not have made it too a next recording. There was a beautiful close knit crowd so many gigs were recorded and passed around.

++ Are there any more unreleased songs aside from the ones I found on Richard Attwood’s YouTube account?

I seem to remember after ‘Spin Out’ we kept looking to put out a new release as quick as we could but ‘Wilde Club’ were booked up with releases and time just seemed to run away. I think those singles and the Peel session were a natural end. Considering when some of us started in the band we could not even string two notes together – I think we did alright. When I say us. I mean mostly me.

We had a few songs that were recorded after Spin Out that definitely started to list towards PJ Harvey and Steve Albini loud and quiet sound dynamics. They be on someone’s dusty tape somewhere.

++ And if you were to choose your favourite Red Hour song, which would it be and why?

Spin out. Films about me. They just have a bit of something. Simple raw pop charm punk.

++ What about gigs? Did you play many? Any in particular that you remember?

Many? Yes. Many. No diary of where we played but we did cover some ground. I did not drive at the time. I got to sleep and slumber whilst others drove. I remember the gigs with ‘The Wedding Present’ vaguely. I remember sitting backstage at the Edinburgh gig. It was incredibly quiet – you could hear a pin drop (don’t call me cliché man). I went from backstage to front stage to check turnings of all the equipment. The place was lifting. Rammed. Electric. Full. Walked back stage again in shock. That was a fun time. I think we sold one t shirt.

Another legendary trip in the Hyundai with guitars on our laps was to play ‘The Arts and Anarchy Festival’ in Lille. (Thanks to being aired on Peel). Great bunch over there looked after us over there. I miss the old Hyundai.

++ And were there any bad gigs at all? Any anecdotes you could share?

Bad gigs. Just the ones where you travelled back in the early hours after playing only to the bar tender for £25 in a pub the size of a dog kennel, where the A&E folk never turned up and the record company folk could not be bothered to turn up either and that was after travelling 300 miles each way. Yes. And breaking down in the snow on the way home. With no food. No drink. In the wilds. With no phones. No money. Yes. That happened loads.

++ When and why did you split? Did you continue making music afterwards?

Right time. Peel session. 2 decent records from a bunch of no hopers. (Well, mainly me). Gigs across Europe. 3 or 4 T shirts sold. That big enough for me. And I think we got tired of being stuck in snow in the Hyundai together.

++ Was there ever a reunion gig or talks of a reunion gig?

No. And. No. No. And. No.

++ How do you feel about the C86 genre, do you feel like you fit there or you’d say you were something else?

I loved the feel of the C86 era. Sarah records. Pastels. Orange Juice. Postcard records. These groups certainly padded out my record collection. I do not think we were part of that particular genre but it did feature a lot within the scene in Furness. The Peach Thieves were very much a perfect fit for that. Another rather cute Furness outfit.

++ Did you get much attention from the radio or press?

I remember the interview with Mark Radcliffe for BBC Radio that Geoff and I did in Carlisle. We turned up feeling a touch anxious or maybe a massively amount anxious. We were not exactly outgoing Shakespearean types. It was about as comfortable as Theresa May meeting Mark E Smith. Another long, long, very, very quiet 150 mile journey home. But at least we got home that time.

I think after that we gave up on radio.

++ What about from fanzines?

We were too busy sending out press releases and phoning record companies and partying and organising gigs and rehearsing and working and waiting for the letter box to open and packaging records and mailing them out to think about involving fanzines. (Now that would have given us a wider audience wouldn’t it. Why did we not get an agent again?)

++ I hear Geoff Cook continues making music to this day. Anywhere you could point us where to listen or check out his music?

Son Palace. Fine recordings by this reclusive outfit. Never play live. Very C86 in the recording philosophy. Think there will be a new album later this year. Was well received by BBC Radio 6 and Gideon Coe. Son Palace – Accumulations is available now through bandcamp.

Also Castles in Space records released Gary Cook recordings a couple years back. Stunning stuff from the C86 era. Also available on bandcamp also and pressed on some pretty good vinyl. To avoid confusion. Gary Cook and Geoff Cooke are not related other than they have the same surname but spelt differently. Both from the Furness Peninsula and both with fine fine recordings to their respective names.

++ And today, aside from music, what other hobbies do you have?

I have a studio I sit in. It is incredibly quiet. There is a chair. Some paper. A few other things. There is rain outside. Cold. I have a chair to sit on. On which I am sitting.

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

That bit were the drumsticks go ‘click’ ‘click’ ‘click’ ‘click’ and you hit the strings and the amps are turned on.

++ How is Barrow-in-Furness today? Has it changed much? If I was to visit one day, what would you say are the sights I shouldn’t miss? Or the traditional food or drinks I should try?

The sights you should not miss in Barrow.

Well. The White Lion has gone.

So.

Well I would say go to either Piel Island or Sheep Island.

Yes. Sheep Island or Piel Island.

If I were you though…. I would opt for Piel Island. It has a pub and a castle and 3 houses.

Sheep Island has no houses, no pub and used to be used as a smallpox isolation quarantine.

++ Thanks again Chris! Is there anything else you’d like to add?

As far as I know. This is true. Salut.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
Red Hour – Five Questions

Starting a new week. I must admit that the last few days I have been out of it. You wouldn’t believe it but I’ve been really busy collecting stickers for the World Cup sticker album by Panini. I know, I know. But I’m enjoying it, feeling like a teenager again. And not just buying them, but trading them with people from all over the US. That is kind of strange though, my memories are of me trading stickers during recess when in school, face to face with someone else. Now everything through Facebook groups. And it seems these people do these with every single football album that comes out! A totally interesting community, with its own rules. In a way similar to indiepop collecting. Anyways, I did save a bunch of new links to share with you. Here they are:

The Catenary Wires: Amelia Fletcher’s band is releasing a new 7″ with WIAIWYA Records this June. You can listen to the first track, “Was That Love”, on the Bandcamp. It is a lovely slow song. No drums. Just Amelia’s classic vocals, an acoustic guitar, and some little sound effects that give the song a cozy atmosphere. And of course “du du du du” boy/girl choruses that are terribly catchy. It is a great song. Wonder how the B side, “What About the Rings” sounds like!

Azure Blue: Tobias Isaksson’s project Azure Blue is a favourite for many years. Even had the chance to see him play live once at NYC Popfest many years ago after sharing a cab ride. His electronic indiepop is quite unique, and his records are truly great. It has been a while since his last release “Beneath the Hill I Smell the Sea”, as it was released in 2015. Well, fear no more, there is a new song streaming on Nöjesguiden now called “My Final Candle”. And it is glorious.

Jonston: here’s some bedroom pop from Spain. I kept seeing ads for the latest album by Jonston on my Facebook as I am a fan of their label, Gramaciones Grabofonicas, and thought giving this a try. “Los Sentimientos” is the name of this 8 song album of eclectic songs. José Ignacio Martorell is the person behind the Jonston moniker and it seems this is his 4th record, but it is definitely the first one I’m listening to. At first listen, I think my favourite song might be “Podría Ser” or “Canción de Autoayuda”.

Distant Creatures: got an email the other day by this Washington D.C. band and I must say I was kind of skeptical at first. Don’t usually trust bands that email me. But as soon as I played the first song from their album “Snares in Safe Harbors”, I thought, “this is great!”. There are 13 songs in this album which is available as a CD through the band page (I need to get a copy!) of superb guitar pop with boy/girl vocals. Just listen to the opening song, “A Friend’s Halo”, and you’ll understand my excitement. Or the jangly “In Real Life” which the guitar bit sounds kind of like The Smiths (right?). The band is formed by Mina Karimi, Dane Di Pierro, Chris Matthews, Ben Silvernail and Mike Lewis.

Human Music: found out about this Winnipeg, Canada, band thanks to David. He had shared a brilliant song called “Mortis” so of course I needed to investigate, find out more about them. It turns out this song is part of a self-titled cassette album that you can stream on Bandcamp. It is an album of 15 songs, but it is not long by any means, only two songs are longer than 3 minutes.  This tape is not that new, it was released back in December, and the band is not new either. Their oldest songs on Bandcamp date of June 2014. But well, I’m only discovering them now. They are formed by Mef, Cole and Jory. Good stuff!

——————————————————-

fallout: radioactive particles that are carried into the atmosphere after a nuclear explosion or accident and gradually fall back as dust or in precipitation.

Definitely Heinz’s Youtube channel is a trove of great indiepop music. Obscure and not. I have discovered so much music thanks to his cherry-picked uploads. It is not surprise then that many of these bands he has shared have found their way to be featured on the blog. Today’s Austrian band, Fallout, is one more to add to this list. A list I am sure will keep growing and growing especially if I keep posting 3 posts a week!

3 posts a week is quite a lot, but there is so much going right now, so much new music that if I don’t post this much a lot of music won’t be recommended. Or, if I post it later, it might be old news, maybe the records will be sold out. So I try to stay on top. I remember a year ago when there was so little going on, that even writing a post a week was a challenge. It is definitely a better time for indiepop.

I heard today for the first time the song “Sorry, Bird!” by Fallout thanks to Heinz as I mentioned earlier. I had never heard about this band. Who were they? I loved the chiming guitars. I noticed that he had uploaded the art for what looks like a compilation tape titled “Two By Art 2”. This detail definitely will help me track them down.

Indeed, I could find a Discogs page for them where the band is listed with three compilation appearances. Sadly no proper releases are listed for the band. That is bad news of course. I would have loved to track an album, or a single. But there’s nothing like that. But we do get to know that the band was formed by Chris “das tal” Gissing on drums, Gunther Aigmüller on guitars and Heimo Mitterer on bass. And they hailed from Graz, in Austria.

Graz is the capital of Styria and the second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. On 1 January 2018, it had a population of 325,021. In 2015, the population of the Graz larger urban zone who had principal residence status stood at 633,168. Graz has a long tradition as seat of universities: its six universities have almost 60,000 students. Its historic centre is one of the best-preserved city centres in Central Europe.[4] For centuries, Graz (Slovene: Gradec) was more important to Slovenes, both politically and culturally, than the capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana, and it remains influential to this day. In 1999, Graz was added to the UNESCO list of World Cultural Heritage Sites, and the site was extended in 2010 with Eggenberg Palace. Graz was sole Cultural Capital of Europe for 2003 and got the title of a City of Culinary Delights in 2008.

I don’t know many Austrian bands I must say. This comes as a surprise. Of course when I was doing last year my round of guitar pop bands from around the world I featured the Austrian band Bicycle Thieves. Fallout will be the second one. I can think of one more, Die Brüder, that Uwe Firestation recommended me once. But my knowledge really ends there.

The band as around just for 3 years, from 1985 to 1987, and as I said they appeared on three compilations. The first one seems to have been on the “Zebra Graz U.T.T. Compilation”. This was an LP comp released by the label Ursprung Tonträger (IQ 0185002) in 1985. The first two songs on this record belong to Fallout. They were “Jungs Über Der Stadt” and “Sorry, Bird!”. Interestingly the first song lyrics are credited to a Bogdan Roscic who had been on a band called A Red Flag Souvenir with Gunter Aigmüller.

The Augsburg label Two By Art was to release a bunch of tape compilations in the late 80s. In two of them Fallout was to appear. On the tape “Running Out! Austria Sampler 1” the band contributes 5 songs! These being “The Tue”, “Sonnenstrahl”, “Jungs Über Der Stadt”, “Stang” and “Boy About Town”.  The other bands in this compilation were A Red Flag For a Souvenir, The Sleam, The Passengers and Pete Pram & the Perambulators.

The second appearance is on the “Two By Art 2” tape (Two by Art 2) released in 1987. This is the tape were Heinz took the “Sorry, Bird!” song. I recognize the artwork. This is also the only song the band contributes to this tape which has so many unknown bands. I wonder how did they sound? If they were also jangly or not? I do know that the tape was compiled by a Thomas Wieland who might have been the person behind the label.

When looking if the band members had been involved in other bands I notice that aside from A Red Flag for a Souvenir, Gunter had been also in Pete Pram & the Perambulators and High ‘N’ Mighty. It seems the last thing he had been involved with is with jazz music. Would be nice to find some tracks to have a listen to these bands. Heimo, in the other hand, had also been involved with a band called Portnoy who released an album in 2007. I find a website for this band where there is even a small biography for Heimo, but it is a mystery to me why Fallout is not mentioned at all. I also notice he has done producing work for bands like the Trainleaders and has contributed to Binder & Krieglstein. For Chris I could find that he had guested in a band called Rosi Lebt.

I can’t find anything else really by Fallout. I thought it was going to be hard as there are only 3 comp appearances and 7 songs total. I would definitely would love to know more. Like why they didn’t release anything? What sort of music were they into at the time? Did they gig all Austria? Maybe even Germany? Who knows, there’s very little on the web about them, so I count on you for learning any details about the band!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
Fallout – Sorry, Bird!

Continuing with the new indiepop discoveries, here are 5 more! But I also want to remind you that the Salt Lake Alley 7″ should be out around the corner. Hoping for it to arrive late this month or early May. I’ll keep you updated. So please do keep that in mind as we are taking pre-orders now !

Tiny Fireflies: Well, well, the fantastic Chicago duo whose single I’ve been recommending time and time again with every little piece of news that became available. Now they have unveiled a video for their song “Nothing”. First impression? It is really nice and cinematic. It is great indeed. And hey, Kristine and Lisle, top actors too. I can’t wait to receive the 7″ at home!

The Sunjays: I checked this Hamburg band as they are supporting the Pale Lights on April 16th. That day the Brooklyn band will play that great venue that is Astra Stube (oh! the memories!). The band defines themselves as an indie rock band and that might be right, but they do have a pop sensibility to them that makes me enjoy their music. Their last release was a limited edition CD titled “Apples” which came out in 2016. There are 5 songs total and I think my favourite at first listen might be “Konnichiwa”.

Caliza: another discovery from the Spanish label Gramaciones Grabofonicas. Not exactly indiepop but a very good synthpop band, well, one-woman project. Caliza is Elisa Pérez, who used to drum for Cosmen Adelaida and Rusos Blancos. I haven’t heard the latter but this new song that I’m listening called “El Paso” is much nicer than anything I’ve heard by Cosmen Adelaida. This song will be part of a new album, her 2nd, that will be titled “Mar de Cristal” which will be available only on vinyl (and digital too).

The Color Waves: “Better Angels” is the new song that our friends from Buffalo/Glasgow have uploaded to SoundCloud. What is this about? Well, the band seem to be working on their debut album “At Bay”. When will it be released? I don’t know. Hopefully soon! I’ve loved their music since the first time I heard them. They sent me a demo and loved it. At that moment I couldn’t put it out immediately, but the wait paid off and I released a brilliant, precious, record. I am sure their album will be as good!

The Sherbet Fountains: wow! just wow! Couple of weeks ago I was recommending Laz’s old band on the blog as he had shared the one song. Wasn’t expecting to hear more so soon. But dreams come true and I see the song “In the Picture” was uploaded to Youtube. It is a demo that dates from 1987 and here Laz tells us a bit about the band: The Sherbet Fountains were, from left to right, Ally T (vocals), Laz (guitar), Maggie (violin / drums), David (bass / keyboards ). They played gigs in and around Kilmarnock, Scotland during 1987 and 1988. I saw on Facebook that there might be the intention to release a 7″ with their songs. Wouldn’t that be magnificent? Also, I should ask Laz to do an interview about his band!!

————————————————–

A shoegazey indie-rock band from Melbourne, Australia (1992 – 1995), that appeared on the Summershine label. Hamish Cowan (guitar, vocals), Nick Batterham (guitar, vocals), Chris Smith (bass), Nick Peeters (drums).

That’s how Discogs introduces everyone to this band. I look into my collection and notice I only own so far two of their records, “Plague” and “Idle Eyes” 7″s, but before that they had put out two singles and also an album. I’m far behind. Will I ever catch up?

It is true that all of their releases happened on the very fine Summershine label. Their first was even released in two formats, as a CD and a 7″. That was the “Endless” (SHINE 26) single, that had a CDEP with four songs and a 2 song 7″ vinyl single. It was released in 1992 after being recorded during February that year. The CDEP included the songs “Plague”, “To Be Found”, “Babylon Fallen” and “Endless” while the 7″ had “Plague” and “To Be Found”. I suppose the CD is t he better deal then, 4 songs instead of two. But, I must say these two releases have different art, always designed by Nick Batterham, so might be worth tracking them two. The producer and engineer for this record was Simon Grounds who had been in bands like Rococo Pops and The Shower Scene from Psycho.

Their 2nd single, “Teenage Goth Suicide Cult” (SHINE 43), also was released in both formats. 5 songs on the CDEP, 2 on the 7″. This time though the 7″ didn’t really come with proper artwork. From what I read the 7″ came in a generic Summershine sleeve. Not that nice. Released in 1993, all songs were recorded by Nigel Derricks at Metropolis Audio, a music studio in South Melbourne that sadly closed in 2006. It was mastered by Paul Bryant. The 7″ had two songs, “Teenage Goth Suicide Cult” on the A side and “Anvil…(Cop Out Radio Edit)” on the B side. The CD on the other hand did have a photo of a girl on the front and of a woman on the back as its art. This CD had the songs “Anvil”, “Teenage Goth Suicide Cult”, “In Hollow Time”, “Ebb” and “Anvil (Cop Out Radio Edit)”. Something curious is that on this record there are these names for each of the members. For example Nick Batterham appears as Beebaa and Laalaa. Hamish Cowan has Biggest Muff, Matt Sigley has Spacebass and Crazykeyss and Nick Peeters has The Beat. A new name does appear here right? Matt Sigley. He had been in many bands like The Daytime Frequency, Belles Will Ring, Drop City, Eden, Polak, The Lovetones, The Steinbecks and even The Earthmen who I had interviewed in the past.

Lastly the release of the 7″ “Idle Eyes” (SHINE 34). This time too there was a CDEP for it. It was released in 1993. The CDEP included four songs, “Gummy Bear”, “Idle Eyes”, “Lips Still Move” and “Meccano”. The art is credited to Nick once again and it seems the name of the girl on the front cover photo was Christine. For the CDEP we see a darker take of the photo, while on the 7″ it is a much lighter print. The 7″ just had two songs, “Idle Eyes” on the A side and “Gummy Bear” on the B side. The producer for this record was again Simon Grounds.

Blindside continued having the luck of not many bands in the 90s. Their album was to be released on both vinyl and CD. “Hopes Rise” (SHINELP007) was released in 1993 and had 9 tracks on both of its versions. The songs were “Barely a Glimmer”, “Idle Eyes”, “Gummy Bear”, “Comforts”, “Hopes Rise”, “Past”, “Once Before the Last Time”, “Ether” and “To Be Found”. The songs were recorded on a 16 track during December 1992 and it was once again produced by Simon Grounds. The art for the album was again different in both versions. The LP has a small black and white sort of photography, while the CD has a monotone white and blue building photo.

Then we see listed 4 compilations on Discogs. All after the release of their album. In 1994 on the Summershine compilation “Tomorrow’s Hits Today” (SHINECD002) they appear with the song “To Be Found”. Something interesting is that this album was released in Australia and also in the USA by Summershine itself. Remember that Summershine’s boss moved to the USA around this time.

On “Youngblood 4” (RooArt 4509971130),  released by rooArt in 1994, the band contributed the song “Cliffhangar” which seems to have been unreleased up to this point. This was a compilation of young Australian bands. There was also a “Youngblood 3+4” that included both volumes (volume 3 dates from 1991) of these compilations and again on one of the CDs we see “Cliffhangar”.

Then of course there was the “Just a Taste” compilation that Slumberland Records released in 1995. It was an introduction to the US public of the Australian guitar pop scene that Summershine was championing. We see all the usual suspects here, from The Sugargliders to The Rainyard. Blindside appears on the record with two songs, “To Be Found” and “Ether”.

That was about it when it comes to releases for the band. But not for the band members. For example Nick Batterham has released music by himself but also with The Earthmen or Cordrazine and Hamish had been part of Cordrazine and released some songs under his own name.

I look for Blindside in Melbourne, and I notice these days there is a Blindside Gallery there. Inspired by the band? Probably not. I need to find more information about the band. My first find is this line: Nick Batterham released his first records as the singer-songwriter of Blindside in 1991. They supported international acts like Smashing Pumpkins and received accolades including “single of the week” in UK Spin Magazine in ‘93. This on a Nick bio on Head Records.

Sadly aside from a mention saying they supported The Sugargliders, there is not much more information on the web about them. There is definitely much more on Nick’s solo project and Cordrazine. Blindside seems to be forgotten. But I’m sure the Aussie readers of the blog remember them. And will definitely let me know if the band had any other releases, compilation appearances, or unreleased tracks. If they had been in any other bands that I haven’t mentioned. And about their gigs, whereabouts in Australia they gigged?

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
Blindside – Plague

Thanks so much to Erik Illes for this great interview! The Watermelon Men might be one of the most important guitar pop bands to ever come from Sweden. They were around the late 80s and released a bunch of singles and 3 albums. They toured many countries in Europe and even graced the cover of Sounds magazine in the UK. On the web there is not much written about it, so took the chance and asked Erik many many questions, and was even surprised that there is actually a 4th album that remains unreleased!

++ Hi Erik! Thanks so much for being up for this interview! Very honoured to do an interview with you. I know you are still making music now with the band Distant Days. Care telling me a bit about the band? Who are part of it? How does it sound like? Maybe there are some links to share? And how different or similar would you say Distant Days is to Watermelon Men?

I lived and worked overseas for many years, in Vientiane, Phnom Penh, Sarajevo and Brussels. I returned to Uppsala in late 2013. Over the years I had written many songs that I wanted to try them out with a band and record. Michael Funke, who plays guitar is an old friend of mine. He found Anders Vretenäs and Ulf Eklund on bass and drums – and it has really worked out with the chemistry. The music, in a spiritual and emotional sense, comes from the same place as with Watermelon Men. It is a bit darker and even more dramatic. Someone described it as a meeting between Simon & Garfunkel and Joy Division. Our first album, Dying of the Light, was released on vinyl last year and has been well received. It’s also available on Spotify and SoundCloud.

++ Now that I’m looking at info on the web about the band something struck, for a band that had quite a following and that released more than a handful of records, the information on the web is little. That is quite strange. Do you know why that may be?

In 1994 I moved to Laos and that was de facto the end of the Watermelon Men. So, it was really before the era of on-line communication. We never ourselves published anything related to the band on internet. It’s nice to see though that people upload and make available songs on Youtube and elsewhere.

++ This might be a long interview! You released 3 albums and around 10 singles/EPs. I have so much to ask you. But  let’s go back to the very beginning. What are your first music memories? Like what music was played at home while growing up? And what was your first instrument and how did you get it?

I have two older brothers who very much was part of intruding me to the world of music. It really started during the era of glitter rock – I heard the intro riff of 20th Century Boy by T. Rex and it had such a transformative effect on me that it lasts until today. Then came punk and new wave, and through that we started to listen to bands from the 60´s that were a source of inspiration for new wave bands like The Jam and XTC.

I started with flute and trumpet but it was the guitar that I was drawn to. I learned to play it on my father’s nylon string guitar. Then I had my first electric, a Gibson Les Paul copy, that I swapped for a Gretsch Chet Atkins when I met Imre von Polgar to complement his Rickenbacker. Then we were in the early 80’s and the quest was to chime louder and clearer the The Byrds. We found out that when certain frequencies met, other and unexpected sounds could appear, it was magic.

We were not very skilled musicians. At the time we started, we very much associated skilled musicians with playing fusion or Toto. Bands looking bad and playing dull music. After a while we realized that being able to play had its merits to develop the arrangement and sound that the song required.

++ How was Uppsala back then? Where do you usually hang out? What were the venues to check out up and coming bands? Or what were the good record stores there?

Uppsala is a university town. Usually we would hang out at cafés. There was a really good record store that had a good collection of punk, new wave and prog. We were fortunate to have two good venues in town where many international bands, The Saints, The Fleshtones, The Triffids, Alex Chilton to name a few, came to play and where we were given the chance to perform.

++ I’m assuming you were in Uppsala studying as it is a university town, am I on the right path? If so, what were you all studying?

Everyone in WM grew up in Uppsala with the exception of our bass player Hans Sacklén who came from the south coast. I studied political science and languages. Imre IT and Hans macro-economics.

++ Were there any like-minded bands in town that you liked?

Not many I would say. The Preachers, a garage-rock outfit, were close allies. I quite liked Webstrarna and The Pretty Triggers as well.

++ And in general, what would you say are your all-time favourite Swedish guitar pop bands ever?

What comes into mind are band like Tages, The Wannadies, Eggstone, Simian Ghost

++ How and when did the band start? How was the recruiting process or how did you all know each other?

It started around 1983. Imre had been in a defunct band with Johan Lundberg. I didn’t know Imre but one day I read an article he wrote that was published in one of the major evening papers comprising a list of the best songs using Rickenbacker guitars. He was only 17 and I was 16 at the time. It made me get in contact with him to propose that we started a band. I think I played the bass guitar for the first rehearsals and we had someone trying out as singer. Then we picked up Hans on bass and I became the singer. Then we recruited Erik Westin as a drummer. He had his own band, called Start, where he played guitar. Erik turned out to be a great drummer and song writer but he never felt as comfortable with the drums as with the guitar.

++ Had any of you had other band experiences before being on Watermelon Men?

Yes, there was a number of short-lived constellations. I was in a band called Allan Ball and then my first band with Imre (The Rave-ups), Hans played with a band in Southern Sweden called RH-negative. Johan played together with Imre in Martin Bendix and the Taxi Drivers and had a band called The Original Rummies.

++ Why the name Watermelon Name? What’s the story?

My grandfather cultivated watermelons in Hungary, then there was the song by Gun Club.

++ How was the creative process for the band? Whereabouts did you practice?

Imre was the mentor of the band. He had this enormous extended network from which he managed to harvest al this fantastic music of all different eras and genres. Soul, psych, pop, French film music, surf, hard core – he had the ability to find quality in all strands of music. We rehearsed in a shelter in the center of town. Usually me and Imre would work on the songs before we introduced them to the band. Erik Westin brought his own material and sometimes recorded home demos he shared.

++ And what would you say were your influences?

So much music of different genres, soul, folk, psych, garage, punk, new wave, pop. You need to mention The Byrds, Love, Velvet Underground and the Kinks. Among our contemporaries our peers were REM, The Barracudas, Robyn Hitchcock, The Triffids, The Go-betweens, The Church among others.

++ Your first releases date from 1985, where the “New Hope for The Lonely” 7″ and the “Past, Present and Future” albums are released. Something that caught my attention was that the album was released in three countries straight away, in Sweden, Germany and UK. I suppose your main label was MNW in Sweden and they licensed the record? And just out of curiosity how did you end up signing to MNW?

As far as I remember, we came in contact with MNW through Jörgen Johansson. It was Jörgen through his Tracks on Wax label who financed the recording of the two first albums. Jörgen was a fan and a very important mentor to us. He has this incredible ability to find and share quality music. A very generous man. Maybe you are acquainted with his Facing Yellow compilations with timeless and forgotten pop music?

++ Was there any chance to release the album in any other countries perhaps?

Yes, the album was licensed in Europe through a German Company, EFA, and in the US and UK through What Goes On Records.

++ Even from this first release I notice something about the art for your records. There’s generally always an evocative photograph on the cover. Who was usually in charge of that?

We were looking for covers that captured the landscape of the music. The artwork was done by Hank, the drummer of the band Wayward Souls, who worked in visual design. All that changed when we were signed by WEA for our third album. How I hate that cover! They brought in an American producer who was instructed to give us a more contemporary slick 80’s sound. The whole project was a trauma and a battle. He hated guitars. Finally, when everything had been recorded and mixed, we persuaded the label to give us two more days to put back the guitars that were erased and to remix the whole thing. It improved things but we were still highly unsatisfied with the way it sounded. It wasn’t us. I was like listening to the record of someone else.

++ This first album has the song “Hungarian Heart”, which speaks of yours and Imre’s background. I wonder though aside from this song, if Hungarian music was much of an influence to your sound?

It was. Me and Imre used to travel to Budapest every year and hang out in restaurants and cafés looking for the best gypsy musicians. We came across this band with the lead violin being replaced by cello. They wore black tuxedos and were incredible. The saddest and most uplifting music you can imagine.

++ The first record I ever bought by Watermelon Men was the “Four Stories by the…” 7″ that was released in 1985. I noticed that that record and many others were recorded at Studio 55 in Uppsala. What can you tell me about this studio. Does it still exist? Who ran it? Was it convenient? Was there a liquor store close by or a cheap restaurant for the breaks?

It was located in an old villa in Uppsala. A quite area, not much else around. The state has liquor monopoly in Sweden, so no off-license liquor stores in the neighborhood. The studio is closed since many years ago.

++ In 1987 there is a split single with the American artist Peter Case. This is quite a one-off release, there are no other split releases by you. And also because it came out on the label Bucketful of Brains and it was the first and only time you collaborated with them. How did this happen? Were you aware of Peter Case beforehand? Did you like his music? Did you ever meet?

I think it was organized by the What Goes On label. We liked the music of Peter Case but we never met. We did a cover of Flaming Groovies’ “I Can’t Hide”. The same year we played it live at The Dingwalls in London together with Chris Wilson from the Flaming Groovies/Barracudas and Robert Wills

++ Your second album dates from 1987 and this time you expand to Austria and Switzerland thanks to the German label Yellow Ltd. On this album I notice that you expanded your sound by having session musicians. How did that come about? Did you know them? Was it easy to work with them?

We loved strings and had already worked with string musicians on our first album. We also expanded with horns, maybe not as successful. The steel guitar player was a friend’s boss from an insurance company. We were influenced by the way the Triffids used steel guitar, but this guy was more old school country in his playing.

++ This album have many of my favourite songs by the band. But I will choose one hoping you can tell me the story behind it: “Postcard View”. Any chance for that?

It was written by Erik Westin. His songs were usually quite light and melodic.

++ Your last album, “Moving Targets” from 1988, was released by a big label, WEA. How was that change? Did it influence in any way your music or the big label is not as terrible as everyone thinks?

It was a horrible experience. They signed us but were not really into what we were doing. They wanted to change it into something contemporary and that could appeal to a larger audience. The main problem was the choice of producer. The album flopped and we were dropped.

++ Your last release dates from 1993 and was an EP on Fat Lady Records and Amigo. I wonder why that gap in between releases? Like 4 years since the “Nobody’s Fool” 7″! In the 80s you were releasing stuff more often. What happened in between the album and this CDEP?

It took a long time to recover after the WEA debacle. Erik Westin left the band. We recruited a new drummer, Ola Jameson, and a keyboard player, Jonas Rehn. We recorded a full album in KHM studios in1993. But it was never released as I moved to Laos in the spring of 1994. There are some really good songs there.

++ I see that on Discogs there’s an unofficial album titled “Fifteen Stories by The Watermelon Men” which is an LP with the whole gig in Stuttgart on February 23rd of 1986. Do you have a copy of that? Did you ever got in touch with the unofficial label Lounge Records?

I think I have copy somewhere, we were never in touch. I like the way they have misspelled the title of some of the songs.

++ Also I did find some Youtube videos from that gig. It looks and sounds great! I like the style of yours, kind of Postcard Records a bit. Were you into vintage clothing? Thrifting? Or where does that look come from?

We certainly did not like the mainstream fashion of the 80’s. We were more into classic and stylish outfits of the 40s-late 60s era. But we were quite eclectic.

++ Your music appeared on a few compilations during the eighties mostly, like on “A Real Cool Time Distorted Sounds from the North”, “Efa’s Tönende Musikschau”, “Bada I Hitz” and “Yellow Unlimited”, but I’m quite curious by you appearing on two compilations dating from the 2000s, “Children of Nuggets” and “A Real Cool Time Revisited”. Was there a renewed interest in the band at the time you think?

Since Nuggets was such a source of inspiration when we started the band, we felt honored to be on the “Children”-compilation.

++ Is there any unreleased material by the band? Or everything was released?

Yes, the whole album we never released in 1994. It is named Stories from the Blue House.

++ From all your repertoire, which is not little by any means, do you have any favourite songs? and why?

From our first album, “Seven years”, “Back in My Dreams”, “New Hope for the Lonely”. They capture the true spirit of the band. “Heading for the Woods” and “In Another World” from “Wild Flowers”. “Tonight” from the “Moving Targets”, there are some other decent songs on that album but I have problems with the overall sound. “Four Heartbeats”, our last single, I also like a lot.

++ What about gigs? Did you play many? What about abroad? Which countries did you visit as a band?

We played many gigs in Europe in 86-87. Lots in Germany, The Netherlands, France, Greece, Switzerland, Austria and the UK.

++ And what would you say were your best gigs and why? Any good anecdotes to share?

The gigs we did by the end of our first tour in Germany. We had become a really tight unit and Johan had developed into a first class show man. The gigs we did in Athens at the Kytaro Club were fantastic. We played two nights. The first night ended in complete mayhem. The following night we were a bit fragile and decided to start with only slower number to keep things under control. Then suddenly we only had fast number left in our repertoire . I remember thinking “Here we go, I hope we will survive the onslaught” as we started the first chords of You should be mine and people started to storm the stage.

++ Were there any bad gigs at all?

No disasters, but the gigs just before Erik left the band were not as exciting as they had been.

++ I read you appeared on the cover of British magazine Sounds. How did that happen?

We had a five star review of Past, Present and Future in Sounds. They followed up the review with the interview and gave us the cover. The article was written by Ralph Traitor, who was an alias for Jeremy Gluck, the singer in Barracudas. Me and Imre were traveling in South America for three months at the time when the article was published. Probably a bad career move.

++ I feel though that your biggest following was in Germany. I even bought some of your records there while visiting. How did this come to be? Was it just because of being released by a German label and having that support? Or perhaps there was another connection? I’m sure you also toured Germany extensively?

We had a good label in Germany. We were well received. Germany was full with great venues where people came for the music. We were not used to that in Sweden.

++ Were there any TV appearances of the band perhaps?

We did some TV appearances in Germany. One live show (could have been Rockpalast) and a few silly play backs.

++ And what about fanzines? Were you part of the fanzine culture of the 80s? Maybe involved in some?

There was one particular Swedish fanzine called Larm that was an essential guide to music. It was a fanzine started by Lennart Persson, a legendary Swedish music journalist, who sadly passed away a few years ago.

++ You released songs on tape, CD and vinyl, this is a simple question, what is your favourite format and why?

I am not too picky, but I have a soft spot for vinyl given that its size and format gives more room for the artwork and that it’s more tangible. I always listen to music while commuting to Stockholm, then vinyl is not that handy.

++ When and why did you split? What did you all do afterwards?

We split because I moved to Laos for work. When I returned after three years everyone had moved on. I am the only one in the band who is still active.

++ Were you involved with any other bands after the demise of Watermelon Men?

No, not until we formed Distant Days.

++ Are you all still in touch to this day? I know that Imre is sadly no longer with us, and that you did a reunion gig after he passed away. That must have been a difficult time to do the reunion? How was that experience?

We are still in touch every now and then. Losing Imre was such a chock and I don’t think we will ever reconcile with the fact that he is gone. I lived in Phnom Penh at the time of the Tsunami in 2004. We had met to spend some time with families in Bangkok before he left for Khao Lak and I went back Phnom Penh. Then came the Tsunami and both Imre and his two daughters died. The reunion gig was a way to gather friends and relatives around something positive and it was an important event to us.

++ Are you still based in Uppsala? Has it changed much since the Watermelon Men days? I visited once and really liked it, but wondering if you could recommend pop fans what to see, what to do, or what to eat in your hometown?

Uppsala has grown in size considerably. We are now over 200 000 habitants. The music scene is not doing well and many of the places hosting live music have closed down in recent years. Restaurants are mushrooming though. You should pay a visit to the vinyl store Open Mind Records, that released the Distant Days album. Dan Olsson, the owner will get you a cup of coffee for free.

++ Today, aside of music, what other hobbies do you have?

I love outdoors stuff like fishing, skating and picking mushrooms.

++ Looking back in time, what would you say was the biggest highlight of the Watermelon Men?

When we received the master of Past, Present and Future and we listened to it in Imre’s flat. We thought it was unbelievable. The tours in Europe, playing venues like the Dingwall’s in London and the Loft in Berlin. But the greatest highlight is always the sense of wonder and achievement when a new song is starting to take form.

++ One last question, taking the cue from “In Another World”, have you ever been to Argentina? 🙂

Yes, Argentina was the last country we visited in South America during our trip there following the release of Past, Present and Future. We started in Quito, Ecuador, and travelled through Peru and Bolivia down to Buenos Aires.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
Watermelon Men – Postcard View

Having a small break now from the Indietracks announcements. Last week I saw a bunch of interesting indiepop news from all over the world and have been saving them for this and future posts. Without further ado, let me get you the first batch of new music to check out this week:

Los Waldners: the Costa Rican band has been a favourite of mine even though I still haven’t found a way of getting their albums. Sometimes life can be hard for record collecting. But this time there’s a new song on Bandcamp that is really nice that is called “No Me Visto Para Vos”. From what I read on the band’s Facebook this song is not exactly new but the band decided to share it because of the situation of women’s violence in their country and around the world.

Olivia’s World: this is a new Vancouver band I discovered thanks to their connection to Alice who used to be in Go Violets back in Brisbane, Australia. Now Alice is in Vancouver and shared a link to their first ever song, “Blotter”, and I thought it is really promising! It is said that the band is recording at the moment their debut EP and just last week were playing with the great band Sleuth in their hometown. Looking forward to hearing more by them!

Palm Ghosts: I open their Bandcamp to encounter a brilliant song titled “Love in Winter”. Upbeat, moody, boy/girl vocals, a love for 80s music that is so obvious that makes me giggle. I read the bio for this band and I find that the band has been going for years now, like from 2014 at least. They are based in Nashville, Tennessee, definitely not the place you expect to hear these sort of sounds. I will have to explore more, see if the rest of their output sounds as great as this.The band is formed by Joseph Lekkas, Jason Springman, Rene Lambert, Erica Whintey Wilkes and Benjamin Douglas.

Foster Studio: I heard from Chiwai from the lovely, fab, unique, Fantastic Day. Remember them? We put a 3″ CD back in the day, and later the band released a couple of superb jangly albums? Well, Chiwai has a new project called Foster Studio and it sounds as good! Great guitars, top melodies, that invite everyone to dance really. Well, at least on the one song I’ve heard, “Moonlight”. It is available on Youtube and it has a cool video and even lyrics for everyone to sing along. I can’t wait to hear more, and hope this gets released! Great stuff coming from Hong Kong!

Die Time Twisters: I love this German band. I have some of their releases from back in the day. Now Tapete Records is releasing a retrospective compilation called “Guten Morgen Sommer” on both LP and CD format and I want it! I think it is a compilation not to be missed. My only concern is that the LP and the CD are about the same price? It doesn’t make sense. So if you buy a CD it costs 19 euros plus shipping. If you buy the LP it costs 24 euros plus shipping. The thing is the LP also includes the CD! So really, the LP costs 5 more euros? It is odd. I feel a bit weird about these prices. I don’t understand them. I am happy with just the CD. But 19 euros for a CD? What kind of CD is this? Made of gold? I wonder. Hopefully at some point I’ll find it for a cheaper price, or maybe, just maybe, I will never find it and I’ll miss this fantastic band, one of the best pop bands from Germany for sure.

————————————————————————-

Nonpareil: having no match or equal; unrivaled or a flat round candy made of chocolate covered with white sugar sprinkles.

At the same time I ordered the Daisy Age 7″ I ordered The Nonpareils 7″ on Papercut Records from 1996. I had some releases by this American label based in Florida and, in general, I’d say they were good. So of course, I needed to add something else to my order, to save some on shipping costs and decided to give The Nonpareils a chance.

I had heard one of their songs, “Inside”, on a compilation 7″ that was released by this same label the previous year called “The Airplane” (PCT 002). I had bought this 7″ many years ago, probably on eBay and possibly it was cheap. I can’t remember exactly. I mostly bought this record because of the appearance of Belmondo, where the legendary Pam Berry does vocals. The other two bands that appear on this comp are Incredible Force of Junior and Wimp Factor 14. The Nonpareils appear on the A side, alongside Belmondo. All were American bands. The song that the band contributes was recoded and mixed by Dave Auchenbach who was in the fantastic Small Factory.

That wasn’t their first compilation appearance. Back in 1994 the band appeared with the same song on a CD sampler titled “A Bitter Pill to Swallow: A Providence Music Sampler” that was released by Over the Counter Records (OTC 6). The odd thing about this release is that this label was a hardcore punk label, and indeed it was based in Providence, Rhode Island. The band also hailed from this city.

Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. It was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He named the area in honor of “God’s merciful Providence” which he believed was responsible for revealing such a haven for him and his followers to settle. The city is situated at the mouth of the Providence River at the head of Narragansett Bay.

Contrast Records from Belgium asked them for a song on their 3rd 500-limited 7″ compilation of their “Split Single Club” (CT 003) series. Here the band opens the B side with the song “Tree”. The two other bands on this record are Lambchop and Bartlebees.

Lastly the band appears with the song “Fear of Dating” on the 1996 CD “Little Darla Has a Treat For You Volume 4, Summer 1996″ (DRL 023). Obviously this was released by Darla Records and was part of their very popular 1990s series of Little Darla compilations.

The first kind of proper release by the band happened in 1995. It was through the hardcore punk label, Over the Counter Records and it was a split 7” (OTC 8) that they shared with the band Difference Engine. This time around the band contributed the song “Exit”, and that was it. There is no information on the sleeve sadly.

The last release by the band that is listed on Discogs is the one 7″ I bought. The “Engine EP”, released on July 1996, by Papercut Records (PCT 003). The record included 4 songs, two on each side. On the A side we find “And She Does” and “Hazel”, while on the B side we find “See-Saw” and “Engine”. All songs were recorded to four track in Providence, the first two by Frank and the last two by Alex Kemp from Small Factory.

On the back of the sleeve we find the first names of the band members. That’s something! So:
Lisa – vocals, guitar, percussion
Ted – vocals, guitar
Frank – bass
Sean – drums

As usual after Discogs I head to Google to find information. And almost immediately I hit the jackpot, a The Nonpareils Bandcamp page with 14 songs! The self-proclaimed minimalist pop combo’s available songs for streaming are: “And She Does”, “Armchair”, “Hazel”, “Exit”, “P.O. Box”, “Lillian”, “Pain Free (*Delayed Start)”, “Fear of Dating”, “Inside”, “One by One”, “Tree Song”, “X-Ray”, “Amuse Me” and “Oblivious (Galaxy 500 cover)”. These all being a collection of assorted recordings from the summer of 93 thru the fall of 94.

Thanks to this page I get to put some last names to the band members. So it is Ted Peffer, Lisa Underhill, Frank Mullin and Sean Thompson. On the credits I see that they worked mostly with Alex Kemp when it came to record the songs, though a new name that appears is that of Toby Fitch who mixed and mastered the first 5 songs that we see on Bandcamp, which had appeared on a self released tape. Which tape is this? A demo? a proper release? There is no information about it. We also see that Mark Cummins played drums at the end of the band.

And then I find a Facebook page!! Wow. It doesn’t seem to have been updated lately, but still, quite a find. It seems it was setup for a comeback gig on January 19th of 2014 where they played along other indiepop bands like Honeybunch or Purple Ivy Shadows. I keep checking any other posts and find that in October of the same year they also played a gig at The Met in Pawtucket alongside the band Polaris. In 2015 they had a show at The Parlour on May 9th alongside Fred Thomas, Working and Pixels. And the last gig I see dates from  June 13th, 2015, at the Providence’s Rock n’ Roll Yard Sale.

I keep looking on the web but I mostly see recipes. How to make the most delicious nonpareils. Semisweet and patriotic chocolate nonpareils, whatever that means. I find a mention of Ted Peffer on the band page of The ‘Mericans. Here I see that Lisa has a different name, she appears as Lisa Dermanouelian. Interesting. It also mentions that Ted has been behind the local printing company IO Labs. Sadly there are some news in this paragraph, it mentions Sean passed away when he was 43 because of leukemia. If you want to hear the cover of “X-Ray” by The ‘Mericans, check it here. I also find that Frank Mullin was also in the Godrays and Purple Ivy Shadows and played at New England Popfest 97 with the band Flora Street as their bassist just for that occasion. I try to find out what he is doing today, and notice there is a photographer based in Providence with the same name, might it be him?

And that’s about it. Why weren’t most of the songs on Bandcamp not properly released? What about that tape mentioned there? And were there any other compilation appearances? What other bands were they involved with? What are they up to now? When and why did they call it a day? How were these reunion shows? Are they preparing any new gigs? Would be interesting to find out more about this underrated American pop band!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
The Nonpareils – And She Does

Want to start this post sharing a gig I wish to attend in Sheffield. Two great bands, The Suncharms and All Ashore will be playing the Record Junkee on June 16th.  Those in the area or close by (or why not, far away) that an attend, do so. I’m sure it will be brilliant!

Surfin’ In The Subway presents Sheffield legends The Suncharms. Returning to play live in their hometown city for the first time since 1993 this gig is unmissable for fans of jangly indie and shoegaze! Originally active between 1989 and 1993 their sound is characterised by a juxtaposition of gentle melodies and hushed vocals with relentlessly noisy guitars, producing an overall sound that bridges the gap between the noisier end of indiepop and shoegaze. Support comes from Sheffield band All Ashore! featuring ex-members of Velodrome 2000. Their buzzsaw pop and jangly overtones will have you grinning your chops off!  Tickets are £6 adv and will be £8 on the door. On sale from Thursday March 1st at this link http://www.wegottickets.com/event/431951

Now, onto the 4 bands that are left on our Indietracks review: Rebecka Reinhard, Tekla, Whitelands and The Sunset Beach Hut.

Rebecka Reinhard: might be the only one of the bands at Indietracks that on their Facebook page I don’t see any of my friends being fans. That is quite interesting. Rebecka grew up in Sweden and now lives in London. She is a singer/songwriter. Folk music of course. Now, let’s see how it sounds. Her latest songs seem to be the 5 tracks that were included in her “Cherry Trees EP”. So I’ll have a listen. Hmm. First song is “Pisces” and I’m a pisces. So I want to like it. But it is too fragile, too soft for my taste. I need some nerve, some action. Some pop. Will I find it in the other songs? Not really, but it does get close on “Like a Dream”.

Tekla: I thought it was the name of a band, but it seems it is a person called Tekla Szersynska from Manchester. I found a SoundCloud and I have a listen of the songs “The Brightest Light”, “Dressing Up Box” or “Climbing Frames”. And I sadly got bored by them.

Whitelands: more acoustic guitars, I suppose for the train or chapel stages. Their latest work is a 4 song EP on Bandcamp titled “Old News” that was released on February 18th. I’m not that interested in this sort of folksy music, so can’t say much, it is not bad, but doesn’t say much to me.

The Sunset Beach Hut: a band from Shrewsbury, let’s see how it sounds. Guitar pop, but with a hipster twist I’d say. With an eye on indie, another on the mainstream. Their last song on Soundcloud dates of just 4 months ago and is called “Comfort”. When I say mainstream, you’ll understand me when you hear the vocals and choruses. That’s the kind of music I expect on the radio. It is not bad at all, I think within its style this must be good. But not really what I go for when I attended Indietracks. I like my classic guitar pop, with jangly, chiming guitars, and that sort Englishness in its vocals. For some reason, I feel here the vocals are very US influenced? Or am I the only one seeing this?

———————————————————————-

70s ‘Budgie’ Jacket: this jacket got it’s name from the TV series ‘Budgie’ featuring Adam Faith, always had the rounded collars. The ‘real’ budgie jacket was two tone cotton. Quite light and thin. It had side pockets too. 

Or perhaps they named themselves after the Felt song of the same name?

More archaeology on indiepop records that are missing from my collection. In this case all of Budgie Jacket releases. I can’t believe it. I thought I might have one or two of their 7″s but a closer look into my collection, as I have them sorted out alphabetically, showed me I don’t own any. I hope then that I can fix this in the near future of course.

My first encounter with the Japanese band was through compilations. They did appear on many, Discogs lists 10 of them. There might be more even, I wouldn’t be surprised. But why don’t I start in order. If I am to do that, it seems there was a tape titled “Kiss Our Thought Goodbye?” that was their first release, dating from 1991. It looks like a demo tape. Might that be the case? It has no label, and has that photocopy DIY look. Maybe. There were 6 songs on it, 3 on each side. On the A side there was “Heaven Can Wait”, “Sugarmaple”, “Ain’t Nothing New Under the Sun” and on the B side we find “International Velvet”, “Different Strokes for Different Folk” and “My Girl Friday”. Many of these songs were to be re-released later on.

1992 would see the band at its busiest. Starting with compilations they contribute the song “I’m Waiting for the Day” to the cassette compilation”Around the World Again” that was released by Elefant Records (ER-020). A fine indiepop compilation that I hope to hear sometime as there are many unknown bands for me like The Napkin’s Thorns, The Mellow Gravy or Mercenary Tree Freaks. Were they any good? Another appearance that year was on the “Whoops!” tape released by Houpla (HOUPLA01) in France. Another fine compilation with The Tables, The Cudgels, Acid House Kings and more.

More from 1992, they appear on the “Around the World” tape on Elefant (ER-016). So yes, they appeared on both volumes of this tape compilations. On this one they have the song “Wik From You”. Also on Elefant, on the label’s first release “La Línea del Arco – La Banda Sonora 3″ (ER-01) they have the song”Three Card Mountie”. I hope to hear all these songs someday!

1992 will also mean the start of the band’s relationship with two labels, Anorak and A Trumpet Trumpet. On the French label Anorak Records, they were included on a tape compilation titled “Teeny Poppers” (SHOUBIDOUWA 01) where they had their song “Gone Too Far”. On the Japanese A Trumpet Trumpet on the other hand, they appeared on the 3″ CD compilation “Television Personalities From Japan” (TT001) where they had the song “Sweet Loving”. On this same label the band had two more songs on a tape compilation called “The Birth of the Untruth”(TT003) where they appear alongside a band that has been featured on the blog, “The Love Mushrooms“.

That year was also going to be the year when Budgie Jacket was to release their first proper record, a 7″ vinyl with three songs on A Trumpet Trumpet Records (TT002). The 7” opens with the wonderful “I Don’t Care About Time I Don’t Want to Surmise” on the A side while on the B side there’s another brilliant track “The Wax Won’t Get On Your Wick” and “The Birds And the World” which I haven’t had the chance to listen yet. I’m thoroughly surprised by their ease in creating pop melodies. The guitars are great too. Indiepop in its pure form. I’m happy listening to these songs! This 7″, that came with postcard and poster, also introduces us to the people behind the band:
Kunihiro Isami on bass
Tetsuji Kamata on drums
Keisuke Hatsuda on guitar
Shogo Matsuda on vocals

The record was engineered by Yoshiaki Kondo who owned the studios GOK Sound and produced by the band and Masashi Naka who had been involved in the band Losfeld.

In 1993 the band continued appearing on compilations. On the German label Pico Records’ LP comp “Smash Tinkle – International Pop Underground Compilation”, the band appears with the song “International Velvet”. This same song, “International Velvet”, and “Puppet Hooligan” appeared on a French tape compilation called “Gloomy Biscuit 1” that was released by the Gloomy Biscuit fanzine. Here the band appears next to another two bands that have been featured on the blog, Tricycle Popstar and Bulldozer Crash.

That year their music was going to cross the Pacific to the USA. They were to release a 7″ titled “World’s Famous EP” on the Urbana, Illinois, label Parasol Records. Four songs were included, on the A side: “A Lot of Lovin’ To Do” and “When the First Rain Fall” and on the B side: “Streetwise” and “Lions After Slumber”. For this record we notice that Mami Otomo is credited with backing vocals. Mami had been involved with other important Japanese pop bands like Bridge, Chicago Bass and Maylove.

Their last 7″ was released in 1994 on the French label Ad Libitum Pop !? (Ad Lib 2). “My Girl Friday”, with artwork by the band Maylove, had three songs. On the A side, the title song “My Girl Friday”. On the B side, “A Lot of Loving To Do” and “Heaven Can Wait”. All songs were recorded at Studio Shatou.

A release that I can’t find on Discogs but does show up on Twee.net is the “Wheels Go Round” CD compilation released by A Trumpet Trumpet in 1993. On this comp Budgie Jacket appears with a love at Budou-Kan version of “Gone Too Far”.

There are two other releases listed on Discogs but they don’t have any date for when they were released, both on Anorak Records, which you can read an interview on the blog too. The first is a tape called “Anorak Demos” were we see 4 bands (Meek, The Almanacs, Maylove and Budgie Jacket) each with a bunch of songs. Actually it is Budgie Jacket the band that includes more songs, 8! They were “The Man I Love”, “Heaven Can Wait”, “Blue Juice”, “Afternoon Ritual”, “I Don’t Care About Time I Don’t Want to Surmise”, “Streetwise”, “The Wax Won’t Get On Your Wick” and “Luck From You”. It is said that this was a promo tape. The other Budgie Jacket release on Anorak Records was a self-titled tape (SHOUBIDOUWA 02). On this tape the band had 19 songs!! Maybe they were all of their recorded output? I wonder. On the A side there was “Love Hewitt”, “Bitter End… So Why”, “Blue Juice”, “The Wax Won’t Get On Your Wick”, “Genius Move” “Waiting for the Day”, “Sugarcoat”, “The Man I Love” and “Afternoon Ritual”. The B side had “A Lot of Loving To Do”, “Lions After Slumber”, “When The First Rain Fall”, “Streetwise”, “Gone Too Far”, “Luck From You”, “I Don’t Care About Time, I Don’t Want to Surmise”, “Sweet Loving”, “Bizarre Image On Screen” and “Black Bamboo Building”. Oh! How much I would love to listen to all these songs!

I start checking in which other projects the bands had been involved or credited. For example Tetsuji Kamata and Shogo Matsuda had done photography for the “Snapshot of Your Sweet Mountain” album released by the band Snapshot on Escalator Records in 1993. Keisuke Hatsuda had played guitars & keyboards, as well as writing songs, for Maylove. It is also worth noting that it is Keisuke who had been behind the fantastic label Motorway Records.

For me it is quite interesting that there is not much more information on the web. Even in Japanese. I do find one blog where the writer remembers the band but in a personal view, without many details. It is a fact that the band hailed from Tokyo, but aside from that I can’t seem to find anything else. There are a few uploads of their songs on Youtube. Not many for a band that was important at the time, in the early 90s, in the Japanese scene, a band that reached out to Germany, France and Spain, appearing in compilations in those countries. I know it is hard to get in touch with Japanese bands, but I’d definitely would love to interview their members. Hopefully that will happen in the near future!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
Budgie Jacket – Gone Too Far

The next batch of Indietracks bands are to be reviewed today! I kind of feel bad though that by doing this I have missed the lineup of Wales Go Pop, which is happening this weekend. In any case, I won’t be able to go anyways, but I’ll try to discover the new bands that played there on the coming weeks. But now let’s do some homework!

Cat Apostrophe: “radically soft pop” from Leeds. I will have a listen of their latest digital release, “The World is Fucked”. There are 3 songs, “I Left My Room” “Roast Dinner/Comfort Eater” and “Small Things”. These are by no means all their songs, they have been around since 2016 with two previous releases. The band is formed by Alex Shaw, Jack William, Julia Downes, Kate Stonestreet and Kirsty Fife. Musically it sounds ok but I’m not enjoying the girl vocals. Oh well… probably she sings better than me, but it is a bit too much for me.

Strange New Places: a band from Belfast. A nice change. One song pops up when I open their Bandcamp and it is called “Trombone”. And it starts good. Promising! Guitars, melodies. Now I wait for the vocals to kick in. Oh, this is pretty good. Definitely Belle and Sebastian influenced, but in a good way, reminding me a bit of my all-time favourite Tales of Jenny. This band I would definitely check out at Indietracks on the strength of this song. The two previous demos they have on Youtube are not that interesting though.

Panic Pocket: a London duo formed by Sophie and Nat. They write about trash men, bad bosses, being creepy on the internet. Two songs are available to stream on their Bandcamp. Maybe there’s more, or maybe two songs were enough to get them to the festival. So let’s check them out. The first song “Don’t Get Me Started” is alright. Bedroom pop casio-pop, mid-tempo. Maybe they if they sped it up, it would be more fun. “Front Teeth” does that, it is more upbeat, and even though it has a demo feel to it because of its lo-finess, it is a better pop song, it is much catchier and fun.

French Boutik: well, well, a French band. Pop Moderniste from Paris. That sounds already promising. There is a playlist on their SoundCloud called Front Pop! and that’s what I’m listening now. It sounds good and I start to wonder why my Parisien friends haven’t told me about them, or they haven’t played any of the pop gigs. Who knows really. But their first song, “Le Mac”, is definitely above the Indietracks average. I click on their Facebook page but takes me to the personal page of Olivia, the vocalist. Ok, won’t find more information there, but that’s ok. I just wanted to know if they have any proper releases. Definitely one of the bands to check out at the festival.

Ghum: atmospheric dark pop from London. I’m loving how the bands are describing themselves on Bandcamp. This all-girl combo formed by Laura, Marina, Vicki and Jojo, have four songs to stream as part of their self-titled EP: “Shallow”, “The Window”, “TV” and “Witches”. It does sound a bit dark and because of that perhaps lacks hooks and melodies? I don’t know. I didn’t get into their music at all.

And that’s it for today. 4 more bands left for next post: Rebecka Reinhard, Tekla, Whitelands and The Sunset Beach Hut. See you then.

——————————————

In 2011, after 35 years, the Panda Pop fizzy drinks were scrapped. According to news of the time, health-conscious mums were blamed for the demise of the children fizzy drink. The soft drink firm Nichols ditched the lunchbox range to concentrate on healthier juice drinks and flavoured water and that was it. I never tried it. But I do suppose, the English band Panda Pops did, and maybe they were fans of it.

The Panda Pops are not that obscure. If you consider that the members of the band went to form Tramway who released on Sarah and also on Siesta. Well, that’s sort of everything I know about the band. I know that connection. But in due honesty I really don’t know much about the band called Panda Pops. I only know they had a 7″ released, posthumously on Elefant Records, which I still don’t have on my collection!

There were three songs on the “Bristol Fashion” 7″ that was released by Elefant Records (ER-103) in 1992. They were “Pillar Box” on the A side, and “Tramway” and “Star” on the B side. Was it because of that second song that the band was to change their name to Tramway later on? That is very probable.

The three songs were recorded in 1989. The A side at P.I.J. Studios and the B side at La Cav. Both sides were later remixed in 1992 for this release. Three names appear on the credits, C. Young, M. Evans and N. Evans. Chris Young, Matthew Evans and Nancy Evans. And yes, as the title of their 7″ says, the band hailed from Bristol, and of course they were later be, as Tramway, one of the two bands from that city that released a record on the Bristol based label Sarah.

Of course, this post is about Panda Pops and not Tramway, but there are always these interesting connections worth mentioning. And all in all, it was kind of the same band as they were exactly the same members in both. Anyhow, the Panda Pops have two compilation appearances listed on Discogs. The first dates from 1990 on the classic tape compilation “Positively Teenage” released by Dolphin 7. On this record the band appears with the song “Submarine”. This is a fantastic compilation that has been mentioned on the blog before as it has many fab bands like Love Parade, Remember Fun, The Penny Candles and more.

The other tape compilation that the Panda Pops graced was the “It’s All About Love” tape that was released by the pre-Firestation Records label Smuf (SMUF 003). Just a week or so ago I was talking about this tape because of the Moosblüten, amazing. The Panda Pops in this compilation appeared with the song “Still”. What’s funny though is that on this same compilation Tramway also appears playing “Pillar Box”. Is this the same version of “Pillar Box” from the 7″?

I look as it is normal for me to check out the band members. See what other bands aside from Tramway they were involved with. I notice Matthew was also in a band called Murry The Hump who released an album and many singles in the late 90s, early 00s.

Another mention of the Panda Pops was on the Popkiss: The Life and Afterlife of Sarah Records book by Michael White. This is what it says: “This was actually the case for Tramway. The first Bristol band to record for Sarah, their original intention had been to join forces with Cosmic English Music, a label co-founded by former Razorcuts singer-guitarist Gregory Webster (who also happened to be their producer). Webster extended the courtesy of convincing the trio to make history of their original name, the Panda Pops (‘He thought that, ironic or not, it was not cool,’ says singer Matthew Evans), but ultimately decided not to release their music…”

So Gregory Webster was the reason the band changed names. I read, afterwards, on the Elefant site, that the three songs on the 7″ were two demos and a live version. That’s interesting. That raises a question though, if these songs were demos, then there was probably a demo tape with more songs on them. Or maybe more than one demo tape. I’d be curious to hear that.

Do you, my Bristol friends, remember them?

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
Panda Pops – Pillar Box

Part 2 for Indietracks announcements. Let’s see, these are all the bands we have on the list still: Happy Accidents, Let’s Whisper, Wolf Girl, Just Blankets, Dream Nails, Mikey Collins, Sink Ya Teeth, Tugboat Captain, The Baby Seals, Life Model, Cat Apostrophe, Strange New Places, Melenas, Panic Pocket, French Boutik, Ghum, Rebecka Reinhard, Tekla, Whitelands and The Sunset Beach Hut. I’ll skip the repeats, Let’s Whisper and Wolf Girl. Will also skip the bands that I’ve recommended on the blog, Just Blankets, Melenas and Life Model. That’s 15 bands I need to discover! Maybe I can split them in three posts this week? That is quite a lot, especially as I have posts ready with new discoveries, that when posted will probably be “old” discoveries! But what’s promised has to be done. And also I’m very curious what I will be missing this year.

Dream Nails: self-proclaimed DIY punk witches. Interesting. The last effort from this London trio was a 2-song 7″ released last February. The A side is “Vagina Police” and the B side is “Fascism is Coming (Get Out of Bed)”. If you like shouty punk, well this is for you.  I don’t think I could listen a whole gig of shouting. So this is definitely not for me. I do salute though their efforts of giving all proceeds of their last record to the Abortion Support Network. That I respect very much. Just wish their music was much more punk pop than punk I suppose.

Mikey Collins: I can’t find any music by them. If anyone can point me out where to listen I’d be thankful. My only knowledge comes from the bio at Indietracks website where it mentions the band is formed by Mike Collins, Paul Rains, Laura Kovic, Tom Parkinson and Ian Button. I suppose the band has the advantage that Mike played in Allo Darlin’ as their drummer and that opens doors even with no records or anything under their belt. But I give them the benefit of the doubt until I hear something.

Sink Ya Teeth: their Bandcamp has no songs, it seems the band uses it mostly for selling their records and merch. But I did find this video for their song “If You See Me” where the band is described as a post-punk synth pop duo. That was their first single, later they released another 7″ for the song “Glass”. So I listen, and I must say I don’t get hooked to their electronic beats or the vocals. I need hooks I suppose and this sounds kind of flat to me. I miss my indiepop so far, 3 bands and not a good song yet.

Tugboat Captain: London band. Released two songs last month, February. The songs names are “The Distance” and “1003”. Okay, this is guitar pop at last! But while I check a song after another I see the quality vary, and that most of their stuff is quite folky. But I keep listening, and find a very good song, “Little Life”, where there are female vocals. Much better! That track appears on an album called “Everybody Seems to Think That I’m a Raincloud” and I believe there are some very fine songs (“Don’t Want to Wake Up On My Own” for example), but ends up being way too long, 21 songs, and being inconsistent.

The Baby Seals: I start playing the debut CD EP by this Peterborough based band. The first song is “My Labia is Lopsided But I Don’t Mind”. Punk pop is my first thought. Not bad, not amazing either. So onto the next song, “Nipple Hair”. Much better I think, I like the guitars, the melodies, though the chorus is not that inspired. I think they are interesting though, I see talent and wouldn’t mind checking out their gig. “Guuurrrl”, the third song, is catchy too, so far my favourite. You know this review of bands is like all first impressions. I’m not overanalyzing any of the bands. I want love at first sight with the music. I feel that is a very honest approach. There are 3 more songs to go. “Yawn Porn” suffers the same from “Nipple Hair”, good song but the chorus doesn’t hook me. The rest of the song does. And then suddenly, “Period Drama”, which is really good too! This one has a good chorus! Their last song, “It’s Not About The Money Honey”, is not upbeat and has some odd moans and well, probably my least favourite one. But in general, I’d say I would love to see how the band evolves.

————————————————————-

Met with Ed Shelflife last Thursday for lunch and after trading some records we talked extensively about bands that could work well on a retrospective compilation and also about some obscure discoveries he has made lately. One of the bands he mentioned to me and had no clue whatsoever were The Mistakes. So I decided to investigate.

The song he showed me was called “Jukebox”, it was on Youtube. He described it as a kind-of Dolly Mixture sounding band. I thought so as well. It was a very nice female fronted pop song. The description on the video just said that they were British and obscure. So who were they? Thankfully Discogs had some answers, the band did release some records in the 80s, but not in the mid or late 80s as many of the bands we like did, but in the very early 80s.

The song “Jukebox” and the rest of their output, all of it, came out in 1981. It seems that was their year. There is nothing listed for 1980 or 1982. Maybe they were just around for a year? “Jukebox” appeared on a compilation LP called “Club Sandwich” that was released by Polydor. I must say I don’t know any of the other bands on this LP. Maybe there are some good songs in there? The Mistakes track, produced by Michael Klein and written by Penny Wood, appears as the 4th song on the B side.

There is another compilation appearance listed for the band and this one looks pretty interesting. It is called “Making Waves – A Collection of 12 Womens Bands from the UK”. I do see one band that I know here, the Gymslips, who I like very much. The Mistakes contribute the second song of the LP, it is called “Romance”. This LP was released by Girlfriend Records (Girlfriend LP 001). This song is a bit different to “Jukebox”, it seems much more lo-fi, less produced, but it has a naivety that I love and which I think is hard to come by!

Aside from these two appearances on compilations the band had two releases under their belt. There was a 7″ single for the song “Radiation” with the B side “16 Pins”. From the sleeve we learn the full lineup of the band:
Georgina Clarke – bass guitar
Judy Parsons – drums, backing vocals
Mavis Bayton – vocals, guitar
Penny Wood – guitar, organ, backing vocals
Alison West – keyboards, backing vocals

I don’t own yet any records by the band, but happily Discogs has scans for the back cover of the 7″. Here I see that there is a little description of what the songs are about and I can tell the band was political. For example for “Radiation” it says that “Today in the UK there is more nuclear weaponry per head of population than any other country in the world”. And for “16 Pins” it says “Since the 1970 Equal Pay Act the gap between men’s and women’s wages has increased!”.

The two songs were recorded at Blackwing Studios in South London under the engineer Eric. It seems after this release Judy left the band to play with the Bellestars and Penny went onto the Dots. So the band ended up being Alison, Georgina, Mavis and Linda on drums. Jill joined as an administrator, I suppose that means manager (?). Then there’s an address for the band in Oxford. So they weren’t from London then as I initially thought. Other credits are for Janey for designed the record sleeve.  Lastly the record was put out by the Twist N’ Shout Label (TNS 2) who had released before a 7″ by Andrew Hayward & The Panic Buttons. This label was actually part of a second hand record shop that was based in South London, on Battersea High Street.

Their other record was an LP that looks as if it was self-released as the label was Mistakes Music (MS1). This LP was titled “Live at The Caribbean” and it was recorded at the Caribbean Sunshine Club in Paradise Street, Oxford on September 26, 1981. It was then mixed at Pathway Studios in London and produced by Jim Parsons.

The album had 15 songs in total. On the A side there’s “I Don’t Know”, “Do It Now”, “Cookie”, “Rose Tinted Spectacles”, “Us Or Them”, “Give Me More Love” and “File It Away”. The B side had “Romance”, “Single”, “Man Or Woman”, “16 Pins”, “Hiroshima” and “Radiation”. The back sleeve has a photo for each member of the band though they also thanks a Tinkerbell for percussion and drums. I wonder in which tracks did Tinkerbell played.

I find a mention of the band on the website Women’s Liberation Music Archive. There’s some interesting info here. Firstly I learn that the band formed after George put an advert in the local newspaper, The Backstreet Bugle, looking for women that were tired of dancing to sexist male music at the monthly lesbian disco. Just 6 weeks after the advert the band was playing their first gig. At first they played covers such as “My Girl”, “In the Midnight Hour” and “Green Onions”  and later they penned their own songs and they mention here a song called “Crystal Clear” which I don’t see in any of their records. Then it mentions that Jim Parsons who produced the live album was Judy’s husband. They together also ran a rock PA hire company. The band used to practice at a print room of an alternative press called Pauper’s Press Cooperative Ltd.

There is even more information about the band, a true treasure trove. There’s two audios (1, 2) of bassist George Clarke talking about recording with the band. A flyer where we see that the band played Action Space in London and another at Dingwalls on June 21st of 1981 alongside Jam Today in support of the London Rape Crisis Centre. Other places we know they played were at a CND gig at Greenham Common, Undercurrents, Anti-Nazi gigs, Rock Against Racism and also at 101, Rock Garden, or the ICA. During 1980 they also played Oxford Poly, U.C.H. in London, Henderson Hospital Benefit in London, Brighton Resources Centre, Norwich U.E.A., East Oxford Community Centre, Newcastle, Swan in Oxford, Reading, U.L.U. in London, Brighton Ritzi, RAS in York, Nottingham and South Bank Poly in London. They also played many gigs at the Spare Rib parties, Bisexual conferences and the Women in Manual Trade Conference in Nottingham. Bands they shared gigs included Delta 5, Poison Girls, Alix Dobkin, Girlschool and Aswad.

They seem to have also appeared on a TV documentary about young lesbians called “Veronica 4 Rose” where they appear performing “My Girl” and “That’s The Way The Cookie Crumbles” that were filmed live at the Spare Rib Tenth Anniversary. I wish there was a video of this on Youtube.

Remember I was thinking that 1981 was their year? Well according to this already in 1979 the band had signed to Oval Records that was run by Charlie Gilett. It seems he dropped the band as it was taking long to release anything by them and instead decided to fund the Thompson Twins! In 1980 the band was to sign to Deviant Records who via Twist n’ Shout released the 7″.

The story of Judy leaving the band is also explained. She was offered a temporary drumming job with The Bodysnatchers who were to tour along The Specials, Madness, the Selector and UB40. So she took it. But then the band split and her and Penny Leyton formed the Belle Stars. Then Penny decided to go solo with a band called The Dots.

During this time, and for a year, the band performed as a 4 piece. Then Penny rejoined and they did a mini tour in Italy. Which cities? Doesn’t say. Afterwards George left the band. It is at this time that the band calls it a day and does a farewell gig at the Caribbean Sunshine Club. That was all recorded and released as an LP.

Many, many, years later, Mavis published a book about why so few women were playing in bands. The book is called “Frock Rock” and came out in 1998. Would be interesting to find a copy of it. Ali on the other hand left Oxford and got into choral music.

Well, and that’s quite the story of The Mistakes. Not too little as I expected. It is kind of an obscure band but it seems that while they were around they made an impact and they are well-remembered. There are still many questions to be answered I think. For example why didn’t they record anything for Oval? Are there any unreleased songs? Why no more records, really just one 7″? Where in Italy did they play? Did they play any other countries? If they continue making music after they split? It would be interesting to know more about this pop band from the early 80s!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
The Mistakes – Jukebox

Finally, having a look at the Indietracks announcements. A bit late, almost a month late. It was on March 1st that the organizers let the first batch of bands out. At the time I was in Madrid, attending Popfest, so didn’t give it an in-depth look but I got the impression that it was kind of the same old. Now, with fresh eyes I will try to see if that first impression was right, or not.

You know I’ve been critical of the festival for the past few years. They haven’t topped earlier lineups were it was indeed Indiepop paradise. The last few years we see repeated bands again and again and bands that are not indiepop at all. To give the festival some credits they did change their motto quietly from an “indiepop festival” to a “DIY festival”. So sure, now they can do whatever they want and that’s fair. But as I come from the old school, the people that attended the “indiepop years”, I will look at the lineup under that light.

British Sea Power, Honeyblood, The Lovely Eggs, Dream Wife, Girl Ray and Sacred Paws are among 35 artists confirmed today for this year’s Indietracks festival.

So, let’s start. These are the headliners. British Sea Power is a big band, don’t need any introduction and of course we know they are not indiepop, so I will skip. The Lovely Eggs, well, they are a repeat, so I’m sure you all are familiar with them. The only band of the three that I’ve never heard before is Honeyblood.

Honeyblood:  I look for them on the web, and found a Bandcamp of Brighton-based label Fatcat Records, where the self-titled album is available for streaming. There are 12 songs penned by the duo formed by two Scottish girls, singer/guitarist Stina Tweeddale and drummer Shona McVicar. The first album seems was released back in 2014, so not new at all, maybe they have something else out? I should check. They do sound all right, a bit like hipster indiepop, in the vein of Dum Dum Girls. Noisy, with girl vocals, having the dream of becoming mainstream perhaps. Then I find their second album, “Babes Never Die”, on the same Bandcamp and it is similar to the first album. But it seems after that release their sound has changed a bit, their latest single seems to be “Walking at Midnight” and it has a video on Youtube. And this might be my least favourite song of the few I’ve heard by them.

Dream Wife: another band from that first sentence by Indietracks that I don’t know. I find their songs and press play. And I hear shouts. I’m not a fan of shouty music aside from a few exceptions. It gets a bit on my nerve. I think to myself that maybe it is only the first song, “Let’s Make Out”, that is shouty. So I give it another shot, now I play the second song “Somebody” from their self-titled album. To be honest this is much much better! I have some hope maybe. But then I continue playing the album and it continues, all the shouting, ending up on “F.U.U.” which is a scream-fest. Not for me.

Sacred Paws: I found a Bandcamp with two lo-fi recordings. They don’t sound very good. I do notice that the two members used to be in the very fine band Golden Grrrls. So there must be something good about them, it can’t just be these two demos. On Youtube I find the video for “Everyday“, and I do enjoy the guitars! And yes, this is a great song with handclaps and a bit of a party/beach vibe. There’s another video available, for “Strike a Match“, this will give me confirmation that I like the band or not. Again the cool fun guitars. Okay, I can like this one. First point for team Indietracks. Good choice.

Girl Ray: many friends are fans of this band, so I am quite curious to see what I think of their music. Well, it sounds nice. Perhaps I was hoping for something else, don’t know why, but I thought they were going to be more upbeat and packed with hooks, maybe because of the name? Instead they have a 60s vibe, they are mellow, and sweet. Poppy, Sophie and Iris comprise this North London trio that have released a few records in their short lifetime. Could work well at the church I think.

The above artists are joined by Darren Hayman (playing ‘Breaking God’s Heart’), Even As We Speak, Haiku Salut, Onsind, The Smittens, Anna Burch, Boyracer, Night Flowers and Eureka California.

Those are the next bands announced, the “big names” after the headliners. Darren Hayman seems to play every single Indietracks that is already getting boring. Onsind I don’t like at all and they are a repeat. The Smittens, another repeat. Night Flowers, I think are ace, but another repeat. Eureka California, yet another repeat. Did they run out of ideas? Haiku Salut  another repeat. This is no fun.

Of course the two bands that thrill everyone are Even as We Speak and Boyracer. Two brilliant bands from the indiepop heyday are playing the festival. I would go and see them. Totally. EAWS I saw at NYC Popfest and were the best that year. Boyracer I’ve never seen, but I wish I could. But then, these two bands need no introduction, they were part of Sarah Records and are in the “legendary” status of indiepop bands. Classics. So I have to move on. What about then Anna Burch? Never heard her music.

Anna Burch: “Tea-Soaked Letter” is the first song I play, there’s a promo video for this song, and I’m immediately hooked. It is good! What do I learn from Anna on the web? She is based in Detroit, so no, not British, so definitely a good expense by the festival. She releases records through Polyvinyl Records, just like everyone darlings Alvvays. Her last effort, the album “Quit the Curse”, was released last month and it is already sold out in its vinyl version. It is available still on CD and tape. On her Bandcamp you can order the record and also stream it all. And after listening to it on a whole, I must say that the first song I ever heard by her, “Tea-Soaked Letter”, is the best. Well, it is the jangliest and indiepoppiest. What can I say.

There are more bands announced by Indietracks (Happy Accidents, Let’s Whisper, Wolf Girl, Just Blankets, Dream Nails, Mikey Collins, Sink Ya Teeth, Tugboat Captain, The Baby Seals, Life Model, Cat Apostrophe, Strange New Places, Melenas, Panic Pocket, French Boutik, Ghum, Rebecka Reinhard, Tekla, Whitelands and The Sunset Beach Hut) but as I like to keep at 5 reviews a post, they’ll need to wait until next posts.

—————————————————————–

I ordered the only 7″ I know by Daisy Age just a few days ago. Then I thought that it could be a good obscure French band to feature here after quite a long brainstorming. Yes, I’m trying to be more international on the blog, not just cover bands from the UK.

I must say that I know very little about this band so this is a good exercise, an opportunity, to find out more. So where to start? Maybe the name? Does it have any connection with De La Soul? Their first album by Long Island hip hop band “3 Feet High and Rising” introduced the concept of the “D.A.I.S.Y. Age” (an acronym standing for “da inner sound, y’all”). As a result, audiences were quick to peg the members of De La Soul as hippies. Could that be it? Or is there another reason for the name? Or it is just a nod to the hippies in general?

We do know that the band released one 7″ in 1994 on the label Disco 2000 (catalog Disco 2002). This was a label based in Toulouse which was run by someone called Stéphane. The 7″ had two songs on each side. The A side had “L’Imprévu” and “Hier” and the B side had “Ce N’Est Pas Si Facile” and “Wee Pee”. All four songs were recorded on an 8-track and mixed the same day. The credits for the photos on the sleeve are Fabien Rames and Laurent Lafon.

There’s no other information about the band on the sleeve. Nor on the insert that comes with the record where the label tells more or less what to expect on the 7″ and also the announcement of a tape compilation to be released next.

On Discogs the band appears on there compilations. The first one dates from 1993 on the Lo Label’s compilation tape “Summer 93 Hits”. It seems this tape came with a 32 page mini-booklet, perhaps with information about each band. Maybe there are the details I want to know. Maybe someone who has it can help? On this tape, the band appears with the song “Hier” and we see that they are in good company, mostly French bands like Les Poissons Solubles, Amanda By Night or Chelsea, but also we see the Acid House Kings.

Another compilation tape that had them participating was “A Tribute to the Jamc Vol.2”. Here they cover the Jesus and Mary Chain’s “Between Planets”. This tape was released by Candy Chérie in 1995 (Candy Chérie 002).

Lastly they contribute the song “Dieu Seul Sait” to the tape compilation that was announced on the 7″. “Etreinte & Tempo” was released by Disco 2000 and JMS Records probably around 1995. I must say that I don’t know many of the bands that appear on this tape, only a few! They were mostly from the Toulouse region and would love to hear them someday, especially those ones with poppy names like Crystal Fields, Scoubidou or Edgar Trampoline. No clue who they are. This tape also came with a booklet, a 50-page one, this time.

I look on the web and see that on March 18th 1994 there was a gig by the Daisy Age and Lucie Vacarme at Le Bikini. And that’s about it. I can’t seem to find any band member name, though from photos it seems it was just two guys. The label does have a working website but there is no information about the band whatsoever though it seems you can order a copy of the 7″ from there.

Hopefully my French friends will let me know any details they remember about them. It’s been a while since I interviewed a French band on the blog, I believe only Les Freluquets and Fear Performance have answered my questions, so yeah, I definitely would love to know more about them and try to understand a bit better that exciting French scene of the early 90s, and that of Toulouse as well!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
Daisy Age – Hier