2009 starts with a great release on the label: The Understudies / Very Truly Yours split 3″ CD! This is the first reference on the 800 series, a 120 copies limited-run split singles where 2 different bands, from 2 different countries, will contribute with 2 songs. The artwork is a lovely photo by my friend Emma of Swedish ducks in her little town of Rättvik. Lucky her, she lives next to the lake.

I’m listening right now to The Understudies early recordings, some very lo-fi ones done at Brian’s living room. Flicknives and Chip Pan Glam early 2008 versions, on a burned cd in a lovely hand made sleeve that I received from Brian many moons ago. They are so charming. But it wasn’t till I listened to the re-recorded versions that I knew the band had that ’something’, that edge, that makes them different from the average band. It even made me think to release a #101 on Cloudberry. Most importantly, it made me believe (again) that I had to continue supporting the music I loved.

Flicknives by The Understudies opens the CD. It’s magical. It brings memories to the Butcher Boy’s brilliant and timeless debut. It traces their links to Glasgow. But it also goes all the way towards London and back to Edinburgh. Their englishness, their  class, impregnated on such a bright song. Brian sings and everything deliciously crackles. He has his own special timbre, like Lawrence of Felt but not quite. It’s disquieting, it’s haunting. A top tune, with some lush guitars that hammer into you. What a way to start! Then Bree takes the vocal duties bringing Chip Pan Glam to me. Is there some glam influence here? Maybe! perhaps on some on the guitars? Could be. What a lovely track. It’s their sweetest, the one that reminds you of the preciousness of The School or Camera Obscura but without that twee-girl naiveté. The Understudies should be one band to keep an eye (and two ears) this year.

Then like a storm comes the Chicago band Very Truly Yours. I’m not that fond of American bands as they overdose me with that twee-cutesy-gumdrop-ukulele that I can’t take anymore! But Very Truly Yours are special. They do continue the tradition of bands as The Softies or Go Sailor, and that’s fine with me. That’s actually good! Why bands don’t do that instead of that folk-pop nonsense? Follow Very Truly Yours love for POP! is my advice. Why? because they add a layered instrumentation, some 60s ambiance, and they grow up bigger than the aforementioned bands. 1, 2, 3, 4 …. and there they go, winning the race, taking you faster than Mr. Bolt into P!O!P! land. Kristine swoons. Lisle jangles. Dan is pounding the bass. Andy keeping up with the drums. Because they cite Heavenly and The Aislers Set as an influence. That’s the bands you secretly want them to wear on their sleeves.

My friend Jennifer, in her last visit to Miami, made me listen them with attention one afternoon. It makes sense, she is a proud Chicagoan and runs a pop club there. Why wouldn’t she be proud of having such a great local band. I wish there was something like Very Truly Yours in Miami, but there isn’t. I did know Lisle from his fragile sounding Fireflies that recorded a pretty album for Lavender/Music is My Girlfriend and a 7″ for Colm’s Papillons Noirs label. I already knew that he was talented. So take my tip and check his new band with Teresa (ex-The Haircuts) called Two If By Sea. And if you are wondering, Very Truly Yours is no exception for his fine guitar playing.  So I told Jennifer, “I’ll get in touch, we’ll make this split happen”. A couple of days later we were working on it. Two weeks later the CDs were done. Music like The Understudies or Very Truly Yours can’t wait to be listened, they have that sense of urgency that good indiepop bands have. For this CD, the Very Truly Yours songs are new recordings of their the songs that sound much better than the myspace counterparts.

And that’s how such a powerful and strong track as Popsong ‘91 closes the CD. Honestly, I can’t wait to play this song at a dance party, at high volume, it’s catchiness, and the jangly guitars over distorted guitars under the sweet dreamy vocals would be a total floorfiller! Maybe sometime during the summer in Sweden?

This is my press sheet. Take down those corporate templates.

The 3″ CD is out now, you can order directly from the label page.

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Listen
The Understudies – Flicknives
Very Truly Yours – Popsong ‘91

Thanks so much to Guy De Cruz for the interview!

++ When and where did the band start? What was that main reason that make you come together and start it?

In about 1983 I was in a school band with my mate Doug Cheeseman.  We were rubbish but we enjoyed the hopes of stardom. After school we drafted in Mark Parsons on drums and Pete on vocals and became The Bakers Sons.  We were inspired by guitar indie pop and challenged The Housemartins to a game of four-a-side football.  They replied but declined.  I reckon they were scared.  After a year of gigging, Doug decided to go to university and the band split up.  I joined My Life Story as bass player but I was restless and so left to form my own band.  I started on guitar at this point and in 1988, The Men of Westenesse were born.  We began as Me on guitar and songwriting duties, Mark (ex Bakers Sons) on Bass and Rick on drums.
After about a year, Mark got bored on bass and Rick got mored of Mark.  So bored that he went to America!  Mark switched to drums and in came Sean on Bass.  We became great friends and the band worked very well.  We had loads of songs and demo’d very few of them.  Mark was one of the most miserable people you’ll ever meet and went off to sulk somewhere.  In came Andy Hayes to replace him.  Shortly after Doug joined this new band on lead guitar and the final line up was with Jon Grove on drums.  To answer the where part of your question, it began in Cnavey Island and Benfleet and moved on to Southen on Sea – all of which are in Essex (South East of England).

++ Why the name Men of Westenesse?

I always had wanted to call a band I was in Billy Liar but no one thought that was any good.  I had spent ages getting through Lord of the Rings and so plumped for the name from that as I though Strider was quite cool.  I laboured under the misapprehension that some of that cool would rub off. Oh well.

++ Men of Westenesse only released one single, the splendid “Coldest Water”. It included also English Tragedy, This is Your Life, Everybody’s Fan Club. What do you remember of these recording session? Did the single get good reviews?

Thanks for the positive feedback about the Coldest Water.  I remember that the session was our first ever time in a recording studio. I remember that Sean and I paid half each ofr recording and pressing.  I had received some money from my dad’s unfortunate death and Sean had some savings – and a job!
I remember the studio was on a farm and that it was summer.  While we were recording, the smell of pig shit kept drifting through the air conditioning – not nice.

I remember putting an electronic piano sound on the chorus to fill out the sound and it being difficult to get to run in time with Mark’s drumming.  I also remember that Mark’s drumming was so dodgy with regard to timing that we put a click track on the headphones.  It came out in all of ours.  We had to have it so loud that if you turn up this is your life very loud, at the end you can hear the click track picking up on the drum microphones! I enjoyed playing the reverse guitar bit at the beginning of English Tragedy and was always a little disappointed that no one seemed to notice that song as a good track.  When Men of Westenesse got Doug and Jon in, we changed our name to Bootless.  We recorded a single with that band as well – Boating which was on the Firestation Records album and 1981 Hero of the Bikesheds. I remember one newspaper reviewing the single and saying that I had a voice like Leonard Cohen on a downer.  I took it as a compliment. We got an interview with Go! Discs at the tiem and they told me my songs needed to grow up.  A little harsh I thought.  Not a nice thing to say to a twenty year old.

++ What about Cassie Records, who were they?

Cassie records?  Completely made up.  One of my friends at the time had a little girl called Cassie so that was it really.

++ Is Coldest Water your full discography or did you take part of compilations?

A new band that I formed with others was The Hypocrites and we were on a charity cd called Southend Rock.  Corny and not very good but it was for a good cause.  There is also a song on there called Laurel.  Our old drummer Andy thought I was making moves on his girlfriend (I wasn’t I hasten to add) so he wrote a nasty song about me and put it on this cd.  Ah the price of fame!

++ You just released “Are You Brothers?”, a 15 song retrospective CD with Firestation Records. How did this happen?

I was so chuffed with the Firestation album.  Sean got a letter from Uwe at his parent’s address and passed it on to me.  I emailed Uwe and he asked if he could use one of our tracks for the Sounds of Leamington Spa compilations.  I said of course and sent him all our old demos.  After a couple of chats it was agreed to put them together on an album.  I am pleased as punch – if not a little mystified by the interest.

++ I’ve heard there are even more songs that didn’t end up on the CD. How many songs did Men of Westenesse record? Why weren’t these released during those late 80s?

As far as other songs go, there were more recorded but they were always released on tapes and sold at gigs – you know, self funding band etc.  They werent included on the final album because I think Uwe had a good idea of exactly what he was after and for me, they are all too personal to choose from.  Also, they always sound like not proper songs to me so I let Uwe decide.  They were never released because at the time (sound like an old man now) indie really did mean indie, not a trendy name for a major label front but a real label like the original Creation label.  We couldnt afford to release any other ones.  The Coldest Water cost us nearly £1000 at the time.  I’m not sure about the real amount of how many more were recorded but there were definitely more.

++ Listening to your songs it’s hard to believe why weren’t you more popular. These songs are GREAT! Was it lack of promotion? Why do you think gems like these had to wait 20 years to be unearthed?

I think they never got heard because after the Go! Discs interview and then one with Bad Girl records (Family Cat) I gave up trying.  Maybe that’s why people seem to like them – because they weren’t written for a purpose, they were just written.  They were honest – if a little pretentious.  I think a fear of failure plus laziness on the part of the whole band stopped us getting any further.  But then, everything has a shelf life I suppose and we reached ours and stopped.

++ How did Men of Westenesse songs came to life? Who wrote the songs? What was the process behind them?

The songwriting duties were mine.  Before Doug joined, I would write all the songs, record a demo of them on my 4 track and then arrogantly proceed to tell everybody what I wanted to hear.  I would write the bass line and teach it to Sean.  When Doug joined, he generally wrote his own guitar parts but the songs were always mine.  They were always about something, never random or made up.  Doug and I got to a point where at times he could be very negative about parts of songs so I invented a rule that if you didnt like a part, you couldnt slag it off unless you had written a better part.  I think we disagreed on a lot of things creatively and this was fundamental in the band splitting up.

++ You were in Bakers Sons and My Life Story. Honestly, never heard about these bands before. Can you tell me a bit about them? Did you release anything with these bands? What about Seamus ex band, Jump Boys?

The Bakers Sons did one demo tape and it had three songs on it.  I used to love that band and our attitude but it was a bright short flame. My Life Story are apparently still touring in Europe etc. Quite big apparently.
The Jump Boys were like the Bakers Sons but more influenced by the Undertones.

++ I read that the main influences for you were The Weather Prophets, Lloyd Cole, Felt and especially The Jam. Did you like any bands from those late 80s? the c86 guitar pop bands?

The C86 bands?  I loved them.  I loved anything with clean and really jangly guitars.  I loved and still love any one who can use a D chord and make it really ring.  You cant beat a Rickenbacker or Telecaster for that sound.

I still buy original indie records when I can find them.  The Shop Assistants, Jesse Gaaron and the Desperadoes, The Loft, Orange Juice (a little earlier than 86), later on I loved the first Trashcan Sinatras album.  The Feelies were a great band.  The Lemonheads – again, later but still great.  World Party for the political bit.  Never got too much into the Waterboys – bit too diddlee dee for me.

++ Did you feel part of a scene at all? Were you involved in the fanzine culture?

I dont think we ever felt part of a scene.  We were very insulated and into what we were doing never really lifting our heads to get involved in cliques.  They are, from experience, a very dangerous animal and one that I wanted to steer well clear of.  Having said that, there were some fantastic bands in Southend at the time.  The Windmills were probably the best of them.  Tortoise Shout were a great band and there was, originally an all girl band, Wednesday’s Child who at one point had interest from Steve Lamacq but I think it was too overblown.

++ Were you more of a recording band or did you gig often?

We were much more of a gigging band.  I used to love playing live but we went through a phase where I was writing quiet songs – some of my favourites actually – and you could hear people in the audience talking.  It used to really piss me off.

++ Looking back in time, what is that that you miss the most of being part of Men of Westenesse?

What do I miss most?  Being a part of something that I made, that I trusted and that I had full belief in. That’s prbably another reason why we didnt get anywhere, because it didnt matter if no one else like it, I did and that was all that mattered.  I had the conviction of Morrissey/Marr without the talent.  I blame them personally – bad role models.I

++ Why and when did the band call it a day?

I think the band called it a day because I got tired of the attitude of the others and they got tired of me.  It’s a shame but then it was all quite amicable.  Sean said, I’m fed up with this, I’m leaving the band and I said, ‘Yeah, me too’ and that was it.  Must have been around 1993-4 I think.

++ Anything you’d like to tell to the guitar pop fans of the world?

Guitar pop fans of the world?  Yes I’d like to tell them something.
It’s not worth it unless there’s been some cost to the person writing the song.  A well played D chord is as close as you’ll get to heaven on earth and anyone who says they’re in an indie band now is mistaken.  Keep enjoying real music made by real people.  What’s the line?  ‘All I’ve got is this red guitar, three chords and the truth.’

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Listen
Men of Westenesse – The Coldest Water

Thanks to Stewart Tudor-Jackman for the interview!

++ Who were The Kensingtons? How did it start? Why did you choose that name?

It started with me at university in the late 80s, just sat in the bedroom writing and recording stuff onto a 4 track in the corner of the room. I was in another band at the time, which I loved, but which wasn’t really suited to some of the songs I was writing. The name came from a great pop song called ‘the kid from Kensington’ by Dogs D’Amour. When I left university and went back home to Somerset I got together with Andy Howlett, who I’d recently met, and then we were off. For a while we also had Adam Discombe (who I went to school with) on guitar. All 3 of us are on the hope Corner lane ep, and pretty much everything else was recorded with just me at home.

++ What inspired The Kensingtons to make music? Were you a Sarah fan? What about trains? Did you travel a lot on them?

The main inspiration for me was simply the fact that I enjoyed my life so much – that’s what made me write songs. Despite the fact that I had no money whatsoever, I was having an absolute ball with my chums. My memory is that the sun was out all the time, I had time to play music, I sold music for a living, and I had a fabulous haircut. Perfect.

I was a Sarah fan until number 60 something, when I thought they got a bit bland to be honest. My favourites were the Sea Urchins, the Hit Parade, and Action Painting.

Trains were just a functional part of my life, getting me from home to either Bristol (for gigs) or back to Leicester (for uni) or to London (to see my now wife). Londoners tend to get more emotional about trains than the rest of us in England. Must be an Underground thing.

++ Were you in any bands before or after The Kensingtons?

Prior to the Kensingtons I was in a few bands that did nothing much. During and after the Kensingtons I was also in Satchel and Cellophane. Satchel (which was me and Andrew Anorak) appeared on a fair few compilation tapes in the early 90s, despite the fact that we only ever recorded 4 songs in one afternoon. And Cellophane appeared on a pillar Box Red single along with southville and a few others. It was called ‘Tales from the pillarbox’.

++ How did the PillarBox Red flexi ‘Searching for the blake hall’ happen?

I’d already been on the Cellophane joint single, and Andrew at Pillar Box had also heard some of my own Kensingtons material. I remember that he phoned me and said ‘’We need a song about trains, and we need it in a couple of weeks…’’. So that original version of ‘intercity Baby’  then got written and recorded in my bedroom within 2 hours. Amazing what you can do under pressure, and with a bottle of cider.

++ Why did it take 3 years for the next record? What were you doing during this time?

The songs for ‘hope corner lane’ were actually recorded in 1993, but the record didn’t come out till early 1995. So the delay was more to do with the record company rather than us. By the time it came out, Andy and I had already parted ways. Basically between 1991 and early 1994 we were writing and playing pretty much most of the time.

++ Hope Corner Lane was released on a German label in 1995. How did Jorg from Meller Welle come to you? How come you ended up on a non British label?

I think Jorg heard us on a compilation tape, and then he ended up putting some of our songs on one of his compilations. I think they went down fairly well, which resulted in the record. I’d have loved to have released more stuff on British labels, but most of our fans seemed to be overseas for some reason.

++ What do you remember of these recording sessions? How did you decide which 4 to put on the vinyl?

We actually recorded them in 1993 at a friend’s studio in Somerset. Because we pre-programmed most of it on a sequencer, we were able to record 7 songs in one day, which is unheard of. To be honest, the 4 that got chosen were the only 4 that came out ok as we did it so quickly. We had a manager by that time too, who was already trying to rip us off, and we weren’t in a great mood on the day because of him being an arse. So at the end of the recording session we fired him.

++ The songs are upbeat, but the lyrics are quite sad, mostly about missing a girl. Were Surbiton girl and Intercity Baby real?

Surbiton girl was real. She used to write to me twice a week once she’d bought one of our tapes, which was of course extremely flattering, but a bit weird. And me being an idiot, I wrote ‘Surbiton Girl’ and sent it to her. That just made her even more of a nutter, rather predictably, so I stopped keeping in touch. I love the song, but I really didn’t handle the attention very well.

Intercity Baby is about the trip from Taunton, where I grew up, to Leicester, where I went to uni. It’s the train journey I knew best.  Although a lot of the songs are quite sad, I really don’t think of myself a sad person. Quite the opposite in fact. I just think sad lyrics are a bit easier to write than happy ones.

++ Why didn’t the Pillar Box split LP with Southville happen?

I don’t know. I remember getting really excited when it was talked about, but I think money was the issue with the label.

++ Why didn’t you release more records? What about demo tapes? Did you record some?

We were happy just doing our thing locally, and really got quite surprised by the attention we had for a while. We never chased anything, the opportunities just ended up at our feet every now and again. We had a number of labels tell us ‘’you’ll be on the next record’’ but they all seemed to run out of money at the wrong time…

I ended recording around 50 songs (mostly at home), and still do so now.

++ Did the Kensingtons gig a lot? Any particular ones you remember? What was your favourite venue?

We probably played once a month or so in the early 90s. My favourite place was a pub in Taunton where we played regularly – we were well known in the pub, it got packed, and we got looked after from the fancy restaurant upstairs. Like all gigs we did, it was very small, but I always used to really enjoy it there. Once I’d decided to move away from Somerset, we held our ‘farewell’ gig there, and that was the one I have the fondest memories of.  A great night.

I also remember our first home-town gig, which was in a very dodgy boozer with a couple of other bands. By that stage Andy and I only had 5 songs, and we hadn’t had time to pre-program any of the drums. So we got a friend of ours who knew nothing about music, and who knew none of our songs, to stand at the back of the stage  next to the drum machine. It only had one drum pattern on it, which therefore became the backing to all 5 songs…and it was started and stopped by me nodding to our mate at the back, who then pressed ‘start’ and ‘stop’. I bet Coldplay don’t do that.

++ How was the relationship between the Kensingtons and fanzine culture? Do you remember being written about in any of them at the time?

We were in them a fair bit. I’ve still got the Waaah! one we were in, plus another few like Cherry Fizz Pop and Scholarship is the enemy of Romance. I loved them, because they are the perfect DIY music tool. I love the fact that noone cared if you sounded shit – as long as you had some great songs.

I used to love the excitement of sending off for a fanzine, and then it arriving with 20 flyers in the envelope for other fanzines and tapes. A great way of getting to hear new stuff and meet lots of fabulous people.

++ Indiepop being underground at the time – did that affect the band?

I liked the fact that indiiepop was a counter culture, and had that perfect bedroom pop ethic. I don’t think if affected us directly though, as we were into a lot of other stuff at the time too like the Wedding Present, Weather Prophets, Mary Chain, MBV and so on.

++ Do you still listen to indiepop?

I still listen to the stuff from the 80s and 90s a lot, but not so much the newer stuff. I found that a lot of the spark had gone from a lot of it, and it became style over substance. Sarah went horribly downhill, the Fat Tulips split up – it was the end of an era.

++ When and why did you call it a day?

I never have called it a day really. I’ve just been a little slow for 13 years. I moved away from Taunton in 1994, thinking that I should probably go and earn a proper living, which I’m still trying to do.  These days I’m in Australia, and still looking for someone else to make music with. The reason it worked with Andy was that we were chums first, and then started playing music together. Over the last few years I’ve started getting stuff together with people, but I’ve just not really clicked with anyone else. I’ve still being recording stuff over the years, but when I do it on my own I’m really slow, and probably need someone like Andy to kick me up the arse.

One thing I have been doing over the last couple of years is trying to record some decent versions of the old Kensington’s material that was only ever recorded onto 4-track tape. Eventually I’ll end up with all the old songs recorded, plus a number of newer ones from the last 10 years.

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Listen

The Kensingtons – Intercity Baby ‘94

Wikipedia: Ammonites are an extinct group of marine animals of the subclass Ammonoidea in the class Cephalopoda, phylum Mollusca. They are excellent index fossils, and it is often possible to link the rock layer in which they are found to specific geological time periods.

Our own indiepop history: The Ammonites are also an extinct group of guitar pop enthusiasts. They were Rich (guitars/vocals), Robbe (bass), Shane (guitar) and Robyn (drums). Robyn had changed his name from “Robin” in honour of his hero, Robyn Hitchcock. It was a band that only had one proper release and by google indexing standards they are only linked to… well, nothing aside one blog entry by my good friend Alex from Spain. Their time period is easy task. They were around the late eighties early nineties, like most of the bands I like. What else? Rock layers? not quite, this is pretty much P!O!P! with a youthful punk-ish attitude that bursts joy. Class? guitar driven pop. Phylum? They were part of the Rutland family. Does that cover it all? Not really. Indiepop is much more than encyclopeadiac terms.

I’ve been glued to Youtube watching their video for You, Me and the Sun. How old were they? They seem as if they were 16 when they recorded this funny backyard video. I wonder about this track. Maybe it was released on any of those cassette demos? Maybe on The Ammonites tape? Or in the Doncaster EP? Perhaps on the FunLovePopFish one? Could be on the In Their Element? Or on that compilation tape? I can’t tell. I’ve never seen one of these cassettes.  Maybe somebody out there knows?

All of these tapes were released by Rutland Records, home of PO!, The Originals, The Waiting List, and more; in summary, many of the best bands from Leicestershire. So it was no surprise that the wonder kids of Leicester released here their Head Full of Strange 7″. A rush of guitar juvenilia expressed in three songs: A side “Coming Down” and B sides “Stupid” and “Teenage Pop-Kid Dreamin’”. A brilliant debut especially thanks to the nervy Teenage Pop-Kid Dreamin’, with it’s witty tongue-in-cheek lyrics and Ramones’ guitar blazes. This is the last notice there was from the band. It was 1991.

They did contribute to a couple of compilations and split flexis:

// All We Had – on the Mind the Gap compilation. This tape was released by Peter Twee.net, when he used to run this German mailorder. “All We Had” is actually really good, this time The Ammonites go berserk with fuzzy guitars!

// Stupid – same track from the 7″ on a tape compilation that came with the third issue of the Big Muff fanzine. The compilation is not that great and it’s quite long. There are some hits, like The Emotionals or The Love Buttons, and misses, like Sofahead or Scott Bond. There’s a live Amelia Fletcher song though, always interesting for all her fans.

// Missing You – on the first Waterbomb fanzine flexi. A lovely Brigitte Bardot on the picture sleeve maybe missing us? On the credits Robin is still Robin with an I. They share the flexi with Paintbox.

// Jennifer – a lovely track, one of The Ammonite’s best. I do hope my friend Jennifer knows about. I think I forgot to show it to her! It was released on 1990 on The Boshi Label which later became Sugarfrost Records. This was Akiko’s original Japanese label. She used to write the 5000 Miles From George Square fanzine. I really enjoy that her catalog numbering nods to Roddy Frame. This is a split flexi shared with The Philips. This is RODDY 007.

// Stupid – again the 7″ track, this time on another compilation called “And they Call it Pop” on Fragrant Records. I don’t know much about this one.

// It Hurts Inside – maybe my least favourite song by them. Perhaps because it’s the least pop of them all? It appeared on the Everlasting Happiness tape, which is really good overall. This tape was made by another good friend, Andreas Hering from Germany, who now is half of Adventure Playground, bringing some great bands to Hamburg!

// Stupid – again and again! this time on the Just Another… Compilation cassette. The label is Flippin Ace Recording Co. No idea about this compilation. Nada.

They wanted to release an album. I wonder what happened. They totally disappeared. Robyn went to join Ruth’s Refrigerator, The Calender Dream, a mod band called Immediate and Ambrose Tompkins. But that’s all I can tell. Maybe somebody there knows a bit more? Maybe it’s time to unearth these gems and release that long overdue album? I think it is!

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Listen
The Ammonites -You, Me and the Sun

A sudden rush of nostalgia has stopped me from this Australian pop phase I was going through. I’ve opened a time capsule finding the forgotten soundtrack of what I was listening to during the late 90s. It makes me remember Lima’s gray skies oppressing the almost 10 million people that only see the sun during the summer. That winter fog that blinds us while walking down the promenade. The dusty streets that never see a drop of rain. The monochrome clothed people, that like shadows, wander between graffiti and nightmarish traffic. The stray dogs. The shouts of kids playing football on the roads, two stones being the goal posts. The yellow flavored Inca Kola afternoons. Sunday’s at the ice cream shop. Tea time with coca leaves. Those were the days when the bleakness of the city couldn’t crush us. We were up to overthrow the president. We felt we were making history.

Radio days weren’t over. Spanish pop was my first love. Though it wasn’t indiepop clearly, I always enjoyed guitar pop. A pop upbringing that now I feel grateful for. And though this is a wild guess, I’m pretty sure we were the most 80s pop influenced country of the region. It’s still quite common to go to the clubs and listen to The Lightning Seeds, The Jesus and Mary Chain or even The Primitives. This doesn’t happen here in Miami, mind you. Spanish pop was popular, very popular. Till today people are passionate about Aviador Dro, Aerolíneas Federales, Décima Victima, and many more. You can tune radio shows playing these songs on FM. There are bands like Religión or Flash Strato that were more popular in Lima than in Spain.

It was 1997 when “Los Días y las Sombras” by Voz Propia was released. Voz Propia is a cult Peruvian band, they’ve been around since the 80s where they were part of a burgeoning underground movement in Lima. If you ask me a genre I’d say they are post punk. This is their third release and it is their best, which means it is just OK, nothing great. But I always had a soft spot for the opening, eponymous, track. Back then it was like opening a time capsule too: it was recorded in the 90s but it is a song that sounds, breathes, eats, lives, exudes 80s. Another surprise, or maybe a nod, was the album’s artwork, as it shares the same photo as The Pale Fountain’s Pacific Street. I wonder if Voz Propia liked them or if Michael Head would enjoy this record. Do you remember those puzzles, when we were kids, where you had to connect dots to make a picture appear? I like doing that with bands. Finding out how everything correlates, making the six degrees of separation a fact and not a theory. And then I realize, if it was a nod to The Pale Fountains, it could have been a hint to the Liverpudlian scene. And pondering a little more, I get this strong suspicion that this track could have been recorded by The Wild Swans after an intensive Spanish class. What do you say?

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Listen
Voz Propia – Los Días y las Sombras

Every New Year, in my country, we have a tradition of burning firework life-sized figures of people that have been bad during the past year. This will make things go great the next year, free of these illnesses. That’s what I want to do. I want to get rid of the bad stuff that troubles us now and start anew; see a brighter 2009!

So, before you continue reading please know: “this is not a love story.” Don’t despair.

// I refuse to do a best of 2008 list. Seems unfair as I’ve loved so many songs and bands over the year. Maybe I should write a book about it. That could be fair.

// All of the end of year lists kind of look the same. Vivian Girls, Crystal Stilts and Cause Co-Motion are up there. I don’t get why they are up there. Some do deserve to be repeated in these lists like the fabulous Liechtenstein though.

// People don’t change. Our other favourite label will continue releasing series of compilations. Some bands have been asked four dollars so they can be part of it.

// A revitalized label that enjoyed praise on 2008 will start releasing records in digital form. One more goes down to the dark side. Are we all trying to follow the major label model now?

// Magic Marker once wrote: “Starting a record label at this stage seems moronic. I was pretty impressed with Cloudberry though. It is the now classic Long Tail business method. Selling a little of a lot of bands. That was pretty much genius. What a great way to make a name for yourself and raise funds.” – what does he mean?

// Again Magic Marker: “I am not really sure what I am trying to say. I guess that illegal downloading is illegal downloading please don’t justify it. I download stuff as well”. – again, what does he mean?

// Twee.net poll winners most probably will be (fill here), because they ask their bands to vote for themselves and their label. No wonder the first place last year. I love these ethics!

// A label releases a great tribute album. But I believe tribute albums should happen when people are alive. I bet they had good intentions, but it also feels like pure gimmickry. How do you feel about it?

// Bloggers shouldn’t take credit for “mixes” they do. Keep it to your friends like the old times, pass the tape, swap your CDRs. Of course back in the day fanzine writers did take credit for their tape mixes, indeed, but they made it happen, asking bands to be part, organizing it, and recording them! What’s so great of choosing 12 songs (which bands/labels are totally unaware they are being featured) and putting them on a zip file? Anyone can do that. Or is it that these bloggers have such an exquisite taste that we are all in awe?

// “How can you trust someone that sells a CD-R (with 3 songs) for $5 that costs about $2 to produce (an incredibly generous estimate on my part), does no promotion for that release, sells that release by building up a brand, like any good capitalist does, and then claims to be an anti-capitalist representing DIY ethics and the “indie-pop way”. – someone needs a calculator. Hopefully got if for Christmas.

// Procrastination is not something to be proud of.

// I will be called grumpy after this post.

// They will ask me to keep things private.

// That won’t be a New Year’s resolution.

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Listen
Yeah Jazz – This is Not Love

The Australian indiepop family tree is such an affliction of incestuous relationships. If you try to trace it, during the 90s, names like Bart Cummings, Mia Schoen and Andrew Withycombe, are repeated many times. Everyone has played together at a certain moment and everyone has helped each other making this scene flourish. I was unaware Super Falling Star was part of the Melbourne revolving door scene till Saturday when Teresa asked me if I knew them.

To be honest, I knew I had a record by them but I couldn’t remember what the Searchlight 7″ sounded like. I didn’t recall when was the last time I played it. Strange. Because for music I do have good memory, for other things, not really. But, what I do remember was that I got it when Drive-In Records made a huge sale, 25 7″s just for the postage price. What a deal, right? But then, at that time, I didn’t have a turntable. And the question immediately arose, maybe I had never played it?

If so, Saturday was the first time I played it and it was love at first sight. Teresa had already gave me a taster. She sent me “Love is Blue”, which is such a fantastic song. For the collectors inside us, this song appeared on the Melbourne Holiday 7″ and the Clover Club CD, both on Clover Records from Japan, both compilations. Time for me to get those? Indeed. But, back to this wonderful 7″, that I’m sure you can find dead cheap in many stores, it has a stunning B side! No wonder why Teresa made it clear to me before playing it, “Closer to the Sun is my favourite Super Falling Star song, I couldn’t care less for the A sides”.

And it’s true, both Searchlight and Full, the two songs on the A side, get eclipsed by the precious and uplifting Closer to the Sun. Why had I missed such a lush song? And it was here, in my room!

Super Falling Star started in 1993, when Vicky Barker and Rod McQueen placed an ad at their local music shop looking for a female guitarist. Not female, but a guitarist, Ian Finlay gave them a call, taking the risk of being turned down. He got on board. The band was soon completed when Julia Caluzzi joined them to play drums. After nine months Rod and Vicky called it quits, though they did participate in the recording of the first release by the band, the Someday single. This one appeared on 1994 on Quiddity Records. The B sides are Falling Girl and Shipwrecked.

After four years, in 1998, the band releases some new stuff, this time on Drive-In Records (which was run by Mike Babb, who also ran Quiddity, so more or less, the same thing). Now it was Natasha Dragun in charge of vocals and, with her, they released the “Searchlight” 7″ that I’ve been praising and also a split 7″ with Detroit’s Fuxa. A new band on my list to check out, though Detroit does bias me, “Detroit Rock City” anyone? On these recordings is Andrew Withycombe who joins to play bass. Maybe you know him from Hydroplane, the Cat’s Miaow and Huon? Such a jet set star!

There was one last release under this formation, it was the single “Dead Letters” on Basingtoke’s Roisin Recordings. The B side is “The Fading Light”. The date was 2000. After releasing this single, changes happened. On 2001 Emily Fullerton and James Dean (who plays on Tugboat, the Australian band, not the Canadian one) joined the band to replace Julia and Andrew, respectively. That was the last time we heard from Super Falling Star. And even though there hasn’t been an official break up, I would guess the band is over now. But maybe not? Anyone has any news?

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Listen
Super Falling Star – Closer to the Sun

Thanks to Andrew Everett for the interview!

++ ” Described by those in the know as a ‘vanity project that got out of control” what do you mean by that?

Basically I had the money to make some records but not the fan base to justify making them.

++ How did the band start? How did you all meet? What was the music direction you wanted to follow with The Blue Smarties? Why did you decided to make pop music?

The band started in early 1990 in Leicester when Gary and I started jamming on our guitars, I knew Andy who was on the same course as me and played bass and we did our first 3 song gig in Feb, Karen joined some months later after we had done about 10 gigs, she knew Gary, initially she was on flute until it turned out she could sing when she started singing along to ‘Nothing Compares 2U’ at her first practice. We never had a drummer, cause we didn’t know any, so we used a drum machine that was available on the course Andy and I were doing and we used to mix the drums onto a cassette tape with some samples between the drum tracks and plug that into the PA using Gary’s cassette deck and play along to it. We didn’t worry about the type of music etc, just played whatever people wrote.

++ What were the influences of the band?

I guess Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine were an influence as they used a taped backing and I saw them live and saw how it could work but otherwise we all liked different things.

++ Why having always people helping with keyboards, kazoos and other instruments, you always had a drum machine and not a drummer? Was that on purpose?

As things developed and we all ended up living in different places, it was easier not to have a drummer as it was one less thing to worry about. If you wrote the song, you sorted out the drums!

++ Your relationship with Cordelia Records main man Alan Jenkins comes a long way. He had produced and recorded both albums. How did this relationship start and how big was his influence? Why didn’t you end up releasing on his label?

We met Alan and Ruth when Ruth’s Refrigerator came to watch one of our gigs. Gary already knew Alan and so we all got chatting. Alan was a big influence in terms of the fact he released his own records and was willing to help us with recording stuff and also that he was positive about our music. We didn’t release anything on his label because we had no fans so no one was going to buy our CD so I paid for it to happen, hence the ‘vanity project’ tag.

++ The other important label and person in Leicester was Rutland Records and it’s Ruth Miller. What did having this people around you mean? This is a scene that has been overlooked by many popkids, but bands like Po!, Ruth’s Refrigerator, The Originals and The Ammonites are all GREAT! Did you feel part of a scene?

Not at all.

++ I don’t have any clue about the “File Under Spoon” tape. Can you tell me a bit about it? Was it the first release?

It was our first release and was on Rutland on cassette. It was a collection of demos we recorded in 1990 and 91, basically it’s the ‘Teeth Like Sheep’ tracks.

++ Were you involved in other bands prior or after The Blue Smarties?

Sort of before but nothing much was ever recorded and after the BS I started The Shandy Express. Gary has played in PO! The Freed Unit and Thurston Lava Tube.

++ The Blue Smarties came to life in 1990 but it wasn’t till 1994 that you had your first proper release, the album Teeth Like Sheep. Why did it take you too long? What were you doing during those years?

From August 1990 I was working in London in retail, Gary was working in Leicester, Karen was working in Scotland and later Andy was working in Bristol. We weren’t really functioning as a band by the time we recorded the album but I had the money to do the album and was keen and the others were up for it too. We had the demos as templates so it wasn’t too tricky to do.

++ This first album was released on Grape Star Records. This is the only release I know on this label. Did they do anything else? Who were they?

It was a label I created named after a type of lipstick. ‘Teeth Like Sheep’ never had any distribution although I did sell a few copies by putting an ad in Select magazine and selling it for £2.00

++ Teeth Like Sheep is such a fun record, I bet that same enthusiasm happened at gigs! What was the usual Blue Smarties fare for a gig? How long would your sets last? Any particular gigs you remember?

We were pretty good live and played over 20 gigs altogether including Leicester, Hereford and three times in Edinburgh once supporting Swervedriver. We used to throw smarties at the crowd till they started throwing them back! My personal favourite gig was when we played a pub called the Royal Mail in Leicester not long before I went to work in London, a good crowd showed up and I met Alan Jenkins that night as well.

++ The band started being a four piece, with Andy, Gary, Karen and you. For the second album Fruit Tree Feeling it was only Karen and you. There was a seven year gap between both albums as well. What happened in between?

Basically the band split up in about 1994, though I continued to do some recording with Alan and then in 1999 I decided it would be fun to record a vinyl single and the others were up for it. Karen was keen to do her Ian Beale song which we had demoed in 1994, see Myspace page to hear it, so that was included, Steve Lamacq like it, so we did another vinyl ep but by this time Andy went off to work in Australia for a while, so missed that. With the actual album it was basically down to Karen and I and some people who helped us out and many thanks to them.

++ Fruit Tree Feeling is a true gem! The song “I Feel Like Ian Beale” was praised by Steve Lamacq. Was that the biggest highlight of The Blue Smarties?

Not for me as I didn’t write it or even play on it and was jealous at its success although it was very exciting hearing it on the radio. The highlight for me was completing the end section of a song called ‘Rewire’ and hearing it for the first time and also some very nice fan letters I got from someone called Clare – thanks again.

++ There were two singles, plus the Fruit Tree Feeling album, on Sorted Records. Also there was a compilation appearance. Is that the full discography? Why did you change labels? Who were Sorted Records?

Sorted records still exist and are a Leicester label. They had a distribution deal and I was keen our music had distribution so we ended up funding the releases but they came out on Sorted so they got distributed. I was very grateful to them and liked this arrangement as I still own the copyright to my songs and recordings.

As far as I remember the BS are on:

• Rutland Records – A compilation tape (a couple of tunes from ‘File Under spoon’
• Rutland Records – ‘File Under Spoon’ A collection of demo
• Grape Star Records ‘Teeth Like Sheep’ 16 track CD album released in 199
• Sorted Record ‘A chimp can dream’ 4 track EP 199
• Sorted Records ‘Nodding Dogs’ 4 track EP 200
• Sorted records ‘’Left hand side of Egypt’ 3 track vinyl compliation EP (BS has one track on it
• Sorted records ‘Fruit Tree Feeling’ 13 track CD album 200
• Sorted Records ‘Havock Junction’ Compilation CD (BS has one track on it) 2001

++ Why did you stop making music as The Blue Smarties? Btw, why did you call the band like that? I just read that the blue smarties have just being reintroduced again last February. Did you miss them?

Communication between Karen and I was never great and eventually dwindled away. I haven’t spoken to her for at least four years and I have no idea what she is up to but with the BS you can never say its over……………….!! We were originally called The Blue Smartie Syndrome in reference to the strange additives they used to put in the blue ones.

++ “Only Smarties have the answer”, so, what’s the answer Andrew?

Spoon-Spurt-Dump.

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Listen
The Blue Smarties – I Feel Like Ian Beale

New York 2007. The Baskervilles, one of those underrated bands in indiepop, is playing their Popfest gig. They are doing such a fine job, Rob, with his new wavy haircut, is singing “I Danced With Kate Moss” and I’m dancing wishing Kate Moss was there. They decide it’s time to end their set. They will cover the TVP’s “I Remember Bridget Riley”. I’m thrilled. The Delancey is as hot as a cauldron but that won’t impede me to keep singing and dancing a brilliant song. And I keep going while the New Yorkers try to find a place to sit down.

New York 1965. Bridget Riley arrives to America and she is featured in the ‘Responsive Eye’ exhibition at the MOMA. Her work arouses suspicion. Her optically disorienting paintings had critics complaining of an unfeminine aggression. Abstractionists accused her  ‘opticality’ of being just pure gimmickry. But people embraced her, her motifs migrated onto dresses in shop windows. And god knows how pretty a girl can be wearing one of this.

Miami 2008. The Art Basel fair. Jennifer and me are going to the main event, at the Miami Beach Convention Center. It’s a huge festival. There are so many tourists from all over. The amount of artwork under this roof is really overwhelming. Post-modern art has taken over. It’s all about the concept. The prices for any of these pieces is exorbitant. We stop at a Rauschenberg painting and Jennifer doesn’t like it. We stop at a Bridget Riley monochromatic illusion. Jennifer wants a dress with the motif. And I think she is totally right. She does understand art.

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Listen
Television Personalities – I Remember Bridget Riley

I didn’t want to end up as a soothsayer when days ago I wrote in the Anorak forum:

Eventually most of the blogs will disappear, people will get bored and stop writing, later not paying for the domain and all that info, again, lost.

Call it destiny, those lines were an answer to Trev. He used to contribute in Indie-Mp3. This blog, maybe the most important and influential, has just folded. It’s sad news indeed. For five years this was the column where Tom Bartlett and his contributors have been recommending and championing indiepop. Some was good, some was bad. Some I loved, some I thought ‘what are they thinking about’. But this didn’t matter at all. What they did for indiepop is what matters. Their taste became an authority: what they recommended ended up as a snowball, all the other little blogs would follow them. They were trend setters. Pretension wasn’t their flag, their input was real and trustworthy, even if you didn’t like what they recommended. The total opposite that Pitchfork does. And they were inspiring. Mirroring their enthusiasm, I started to blog back in November 2004.

Things can’t last forever, I know. But the question is: who will take their place? Small labels and new bands appreciated the support from Indie-MP3. As I said, it triggered a domino effect after you were showcased there. No other blog has had that same power. This, I tell from personal experience. Who will take a chance to start something as dedicated? Something as decent? Mind you, they weren’t looking for personal fame as bloggers, as many others do, offering immense amounts of MP3 downloads as rapidshare links or unauthorized mixes just to be read. No. They supported and respected labels and bands. And that’s the spirit of indiepop.

They are moving all the information to a blogspot account. I’m scared of these things though. I was hacked once and four years of blogging went down the sink. Important knowledge, information, interviews, all gone. I’m afraid that that could happen to Indie-MP3 or any other blog out there. Then is when you see the fragility of blogs compared to the paper fanzine. Same thing with mp3 and records.

I really wish the best to them and to their new projects. They are continuing their label LostMusic which will release a split 7″ with two good friends of mine, The Morning Paper and Moscow Olympics. This will be out now in January. It should be great. I mean, how could a single with these two bands go bad? Great choice.

But now is time to say goodbye. I want to send a big thanks to Tom and his contributors for doing Indie-MP3 all these years, for their immense contribution and for spreading the holy word of indiepop. THANK YOU

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Listen
The Pooh Sticks – Indiepop Ain’t Noise Pollution