Here In Music World, Art Speaks

I received a very welcome message from The Woodentops mailing list, announcing a 4-track remix EP.

Not, as you might think, a further song from last year's spectacular album Fruits Of The Deep, but a deeper cut from a decade ago. 

A Pact was originally song two on 2014's Granular Tales and has been reworked here by Bushwacka!, twice by Skyscraper HiFi (aka Jon Dasilva & Jonas Nilsson) and Spatial Awareness. Great remixes, one and all.

But don't take my word for it, have to listen to them and the album version, the latter of which will take you back to Granular Tales, well worth a visit if you're not familiar with it.

A Pact (Remixes) is available on vinyl and digital from the usual places; I've bought the latter.

 

 

 

 

After All These Years, Audrey Is Still A Little Bit Partial

Side 1 of an Andrew Weatherall compilation, recorded 8th December 1996.

Dusting off and representing Dubhed selections yesterday brought the sobering revelation that I posted Side 2 of the Audrey Is A Little Bit Partial mixtape on 17th February 2022 and then promptly forgot to follow up with the other side.

So, three years and two days later, here's the opening side to complete the set.

Given the year of recording, this C90 is very firmly rooted in the early to mid-1990s, with a heavy emphasis on Andrew's music with Jagz Kooner and Gary Burns as The Sabres Of Paradise. 

Four of the five tracks on this side are remixes of other artists, with a solitary Sabres song to round things off. Edge 6 was originally a B-side on the Theme EP, getting a promotion when Sabresonic II, a substantial overhaul of The Sabres Of Paradise's debut album, was released in 1995.

The remixes take the original songs on a long journey, the destination largely unrecognisable from the starting point. 

I first discovered the remix of Give Me Some Love by Love Corporation, aka Edward Ball of The Times, on a Creation label compilation and it's ten minutes of chiming chug-before-chug is one of Andrew's finest moments. 

Always delivering value for money, Andrew, Jagz and Gary delivered three remixes of Conquistador to Espiritu in 1993. I've gone for Mix No. 2, at just under eight minutes the shortest of the lot, but not lesser in any other respect. This one is from vinyl and the only one of the three not to get a CD/digital release, as far as I'm aware, so please excuse the added crackles and pops.

I'd never heard anything by Irish band Bumble before - or, to be honest, after - I picked up a 12" of their single West In Motion for the sole reason that the label stated that it included an Andrew Weatherall mix (one of two, in fact, with a different remix on the CD single). The other mixes on the 12" are so-so but Weatherall's is worth the price alone, twelve minutes of shivery, spooky spaced out grooves.

I've featured The Sabres Of Paradise remix of Brixton by Renegade Soundwave before, when I created a Dubhed selection of their own music. I love RSW's original and dub versions, but this is the business: nine minutes of incessant, propulsive loops built around a sample of Gary Asquith stating, "I'm checking out her rhythms". Great stuff.

1) Give Me Some Love (Remix By Andrew Weatherall): Love Corporation (1991)
2) Conquistador (Sabres Of Paradise Mix No. 2): Espiritu (1993)

3) West In Motion (Andrew Weatherall Mix): Bumble (1992)

4) Brixton (Sabres Of Paradise Mix): Renegade Soundwave (1995)

5) Edge 6: The Sabres Of Paradise (1994)

Side One (45:40) (KF) (Mega)

Side Two here

Ten Years Later, The Debut Single

I saw Ellen Beth Abdi live last May, supporting A Certain Ratio, and thought she was incredible. 

I signed up to Ellen's mailing list and his first newsletter landed in my virtual mailbox on Monday, with some welcome news.

"After 10 years of pursuing music, I’m finally releasing my debut single. 

It’s out [on] Tuesday 18th February. 

This has been a long time coming and I can’t wait to share it with you all."

Tenterhooks is a lovely three-and-a-minute pop song, dripping with hooks, from plinky plonk piano, parping synths and gently insistent percussion, all providing a soft cushion for Ellen's warm hug of a voice. 

And then you listen to the lyrics and, as the title suggests, realise that this is no happy clappy romantic narrative: 

"Tell me what you see and all you do / Make my teeth rot", 

"I feel so heavy, being this empty"

"No, I am not free"

There will be a proper video out later on Tuesday, There's currently a 20-second teaser on Ellen's YouTube page but I'll update this post to swap out the audio only clip at the top with the full length promo. [update - all done!]

When I experienced Ellen's live set last year, I enthused that she was "A genuinely lovely person with a humble stage presence and engaging between-song chat and background to the songs, all of that pales into comparison when Ellen starts to sing."

Here are a couple of performances to demonstrate. The first is an on-stage performance with Jamie Finlay, alongside Caitlin Laing-McEvoy and Kemani Anderson on vocals, with a version of Family from Jamie's album Sun Dogs.

This is followed by Ellen solo at the piano, performing Kingsway Bouquet at The Glasshouse International Centre For Music in Gateshead. Kingsway Bouquet was a highlight among highlights in Ellen's live set, and this version sent shivers down my spine.

You can find more Ellen-in-session loveliness here.

Tenterhooks will be available digitally via Bandcamp and all the usual outlets, with a debut album to follow in the Spring. I've joined the queue.

 

One Thousand, Eight Hundred And Twenty Eight Days

Celebrating Andrew Weatherall, 6th April 1963 to 17th February 2020.
 
Five Years. Never forgotten.

Touched By The Hand Of Andrew Weatherall (17th February 2021)

A Mix In Two Halves (19th May 2021)

Schismatic (Split One) (21st May 2021) / Schismatic (Split Two) (21st August 2021)

Skimming Not Swimming (25th November 2021)

Audrey Is A Little Bit Partial (17th February 2022)

If I Stand Up, The World Will Spin Away (31st August 2022)

All I Want To Hear... (13th January 2023)

Came Back And The Spooks Were Gone (6th April 2023)

As If All This Would Do, When All We Want To Have Is Fun (11th December 2024)

Decadance III: 1995

Side 2 of a time-travel mixtape, crashing in at 1995.

This series is whizzing by, more than half way through already and exactly 30 years ago. My brain cannot compute, so much of this music still feels 'recent' to me!

Very little evidence in this selection of Britpop, Trip Hop or Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop, although I think Scatman John was the sole proponent of the latter, anyway. 

However, in 1995 everything was big: the beats, the brass, the strings, the voices. And so were the hits: all but one of the songs in today's selection made the Top 30, four the Top 10, though the #1 position proved elusive for all.

Pulp nearly made it, with Common People getting all the way to #2, held off the top spot by effing Robson and effing Jerome, whose risible cover of Unchained Melody floated at the top like a turd in a toilet bowl for a mind-boggling seven weeks.

Several artists from Decade, my previous series of 80s mixtapes, make a welcome reappearance here: Marc Almond, Julian Cope and, perhaps the most surprising, Edwyn Collins. 

A Girl Like You was first released in December 1994 and didn't make much of a dent in the UK charts, but there was a groundswell of interest in Europe, leading to re-release here in June 1995. A month later and it was at #4. It also boosted the accompanying album Gorgeous George to #8 in July 1995, twelve months after it came out.

Leftfield had been tied up in contractual hell with their former label, which meant that they could little more than remix other artists for several years. Finally free to release their own material, their monumental debut album Leftism crashed in at #3 in February 1995. 

Leftism contained a version of Open Up, their 1993 comeback single with John Lydon, and collaborations with Djum Djum and Lemn Sissay. Leftfield's first single of 1995 was another collaboration, this time time with Toni Halliday of Curve on the sublime Original. Thirty years on, both it and the album sound as fresh and exciting as they did back then.

Another single by The Sabres Of Paradise for the MAW selection. Andrew Weatherall, Jagz Kooner and Gary Burns had previously remixed Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons music as The Dust Brothers. When the original Dust Brothers required Tom and Ed to cease and desist nicking their name, The Chemical Brothers were born.  

 

The Sabres Of Paradise remixed their debut single Leave Home, itself a Top 20 hit in June 1995. The previous month, the favour was (p)repaid when The Chemical Brothers refashioned Tow Truck, one of several tracks from Haunted Dancehall reworked for the Versus EP. When I say 'refashioned', it's basically a Chemical Brothers track, but the original Sabres components shine through.

 

Describing Fluke's beats as big and bouncy sounds smuttier than it's supposed to, but that's what always springs to mind when I think of their music. Ironically, The Dust Brothers (the original, that is, not Tom & Ed's knock off) remixed today's featured single Bullet, though nothing tops Fluke's own versions. In a box somewhere in the loft, I have Fluke promo plastic bag, which itself ripped off the Tesco carriers of the time. Never used it.

 

Thirty years before he released possibly the best album of 2025 with Hifi Sean, David McAlmont launched another wildly creative and successful partnership, with Bernard Butler. Yes was the perfect introduction, all Wall-of-Sound meets Sylvester meets Suede and a deserved Top 10 smash. 

 

Bernard of course used to be in Suede with Brett Anderson, who co-founded the band with Justine Frischmann, who went on to form Elastica. You'd almost believe I wasn't winging it and had some kind of plan, wouldn't you? 

Elastica were brilliant, even if they did have a habit of getting old rockers riled up and litigious over their songs. Waking Up is a case in point: who cares if it's reminiscent of No More Heroes by The Stranglers? Well, The Stranglers did obviously.

 

The music press were already getting into a lather about Radiohead, though The Bends was the album that hooked me in. There were tons of singles from the album, though admittedly it so full of great songs, that it was difficult to argue that none of them were worthy picks. It all started off with a double A-single of High And Dry and Planet Telex, the latter's abrasive squall offset by the former's soft-yet-brittle side. 

There was very nearly two helpings of Tracey Thorn. Reluctantly, Massive Attack's Protection had to go, justified by the fact that they appeared in the 1994 selection. Of the two picks, in the end it just had to be the Todd Terry remix of Missing by Everything But The Girl. 

I loved the original and the remixes that accompanied the single's original release in 1994. Todd Terry gave the song a whole new lease of life - and audience - when his remix rocketed Missing to #3 in the UK in November 1995. And with that, the confidence for Everything But The Girl to take a divergent musical path that led to a run of great albums in subsequent years.

 

Given the three decade anniversary, I was keen to include something from the UK Top 40 as at 16th February 1995. But jeez, the record buying public didn't half make it difficult.

 

Celine Dion and Annie Lennox at #1 and #2 respectively. Cotton Eye Joe by Rednex and cover of Total Eclipse Of The Heart (I mean, why?) by Nicki French in the Top 10. A few places down, Jimmy Nail and Sting both with songs about cowboys (though at least Jimmy's was written by Paddy McAloon). It's not until #20 that the first half decent song appears, with Mansize Rooster by Supergrass. 

Thankfully, a new entry that week at #38 saved the day. Down By The Water by Polly Jean Harvey was the first single from third album To Bring You My Love and ends this 1995 mixtape on a suitably sinister note.

 

It's no spoiler to say that next weekend will look at 1996 and 1997. Life-changing in so many ways...but was the music any good?

 

Well, if I mention Spice Girls, Babylon Zoo, Gina G, Elton John, Aqua and Teletubbies, you'll no doubt be thrilled to know that none of them will be appearing here!

 

1) Original (Radio Edit): Leftfield ft. Toni Halliday

2) Tow Truck (Chemical Brothers Mix): The Sabres Of Paradise

3) Bullet (Bitten 7"): Fluke

4) Adored And Explored (7" Edit By The Beatmasters): Marc Almond

5) Waking Up (Album Version): Elastica

6) Yes (Edit): McAlmont & Butler

7) High And Dry (Album Version): Radiohead

8) Missing (Todd Terry Club Mix) (Blanco/Eternal Radio Edit): Everything But The Girl

9) Common People (7" Edit): Pulp

10) Try, Try, Try (Album Version): Julian Cope

11) A Girl Like You (Album Version): Edwyn Collins

12) Down By The Water (Album Version): PJ Harvey

12th February 1995: To Bring You My Love (#38): 12

19th February 1995: Elastica (#13): 5

5th March 1995: The Bends (#17): 7

19th March 1995: Original EP (#18): 1

7th May 1995: Fantastic Star (#25): 4

7th May 1995: Versus EP (#77): 2

28th May 1995: Common People EP (#2): 9

28th May 1995: Yes EP (#8): 6

16th July 1995: Gorgeous George (#4): 11

23rd July 1995: Bullet EP (#23): 3

6th August 1995: 20 Mothers (#24): 10

19th November 1995: Missing EP (#3): 8

Side Two (46:11) (KF) (Mega) 

Decadance III: 1994

Side 1 of a nonsensical Nineties mixtape, today landing in 1994.

The year that 'The Bristol Sound' was gaining traction as a viable commercial prospect was also the year that I spent most of it living in another city. Yep, rather than chasing the zeitgeist, I seemed to spend most of my time racing away from it...!

Whilst Lloyd Cole had a lost weekend in a hotel in Amsterdam, I spent late 1993 to autumn 1994 in Derby. A large chunk of that was spent (over)staying with my incredibly understanding friend and his understandably increasingly pissed off girlfriend, before moving into a bedsit on the other side of town.

I'd lived in worse places, though not much. The winter was so cold that ice formed on the inside of the windows, faux-brickwork wallpaper covered the crumbly real stuff behind, and 50p in the meter would just about get enough water for a bath...as long as my neighbour didn't jump into the communal bathroom and nick it first!

Oh, and after several break-in attempts, I had to resort to removing my car battery every evening and keep it in my bedsit. It was quite literally the only thing worth nicking from car, but half-arsed attempts to do so had caused even more damage. 

I spent most of my time in Derby working for a paint company, 2.00-10.00pm shifts in their distribution warehouse, trying to input schedules on to spreadsheet with fingers that had turned blue and lost all feeling about 30 minutes into the shift. 

And it was where I gained a valuable lesson in the pronunciation of UK place names. My Scottish compadres may raise a wry smile when I mention the reaction I got from the person at the other end of the phone, when I wanted to update them on "a delivery to Hawick". They let me repeat several times before putting me out of my misery...

 

For all the anti-social aspects of the group, the people were fun, and I had a brief relationship with a woman in the upstairs office (I was one of the privileged few from downstairs allowed to go upstairs!), who lived out in the sticks and introduced me to some lovely walks in the Peak District. 

I also went clubbing a lot, given that I would finish work at 10.00pm and sleep was the last thing on my mind. I've forgotten most of the places I went to, but they included the Wherehouse for indie-type gigs and club nights. I also went to a few Renaissance nights at the relatively newly opened The Conservatory. I may have seen Sasha there but I have no recollection; I do remember that John Digweed and Ian Ossia were there pretty much every time, and seeing Justin Robertson, the latter peppered all over my record buying at the time.

Gigs were few and far between in that time. In fact, I've only recorded three that I can recall, and what a mixed bag: Freak Realistic playing to a handful of people; The Boo Radleys riding a wave of acclaim on the back of the magnificent Giant Steps, which proved to be impossible to capture live on stage. 

And then a brief trip over to Nottingham in March 1994, for a Megadog event featuring Transglobal Underground, Banco De Gaia and Loop Guru, which was superb. I was also supposed to be seeing Primal Scream at the legendary Rock City the same month but for some reason it never happened. Thirty years later and I've still never been there.

So how is it all of that reflected in today's selection of sounds from 1994? Not very well, if I honest!

Although the peaks for both genres were arguably still ahead, I've eschewed Britpop for Trip Hop, so there's no Blur, Pulp or Oasis (or, thankfully, Ocean Colour Scene) but Bristol's finest are represented with Massive Attack, Portishead and Tricky. Incredibly, only the first of these made the Top 30 though bigger hits were to come. 

 

In fact, this selection is much lighter on Top 40 hits - a mere 5 - compared to previous years, though I couldn't swap out any of these choices, even if it meant no room for Mazzy Star, Underworld, Gene, The Jesus & Mary Chain, Elastica, Kristin Hersh & Michael Stipe, Ride and Billie Ray Martin. And poor Pop Will Eat Itself never did get a look in this time around.

Beastie Boys make a long overdue appearance with Sabotage, which came with a typically brilliant video. Lazarus, possibly The Boo Radleys' greatest moment, wasn't a hit in 1992 and arguably still wasn't in 1994 compared to other singles though it was good to see it get a second crack at the Top, er, 55.

Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart also returned with what I personally consider to be their best album, Take Me To God. I can't award it perfect album due to the guest spot of Dolores from The Cranberries, whose voice I can best and diplomatically describe as grating (sorry). However the single Becoming More Like God is monumental.

Pavement and Stereolab are largely thanks to John Peel playing them on the radio and a friend falling heavily for their music, which provided a sideways door to their songs. Veruca Salt too, although my collection remains largely limited to the Seether and Number One Blind EPs.

7 Seconds by Youssou N'Dour was slow burning single, taking a good couple of months to climb up the UK charts and reaching a peak of #3. No idea why, it's a fantastic song, made even better by appearance of Neneh Cherry and the inspired production of Booga Bear & Jonny Dollar aka Cameron McVey (aka Neneh's hubby) and Jonathan Sharp (who sadly passed in 2009). Neneh...sigh.

And I end with a start. If you've been following this series from the beginning, then you will know that there will always be more MAW. Today's Mandatory Andrew Weatherall is one of his own songs, for a change. Weatherall teamed up with Jagz Kooner and Gary Burns to form The Sabres Of Paradise. In 1994, second album Haunted Dancehall dropped, including a truncated version of preceding single Theme.

Theme, as the title may suggest, was a big, bold brassy cinematic epic, so it was no surprise that it literally ended up soundtracking a film. I don't remember all that much about Shopping the film, if I'm honest; I probably only saw it that one time in 1994. The soundtrack album however is phenomenal: Weatherall/Sabres appear twice, alongside Orbital, Smith & Mighty, The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy, and more. 

The version of Theme on the Shopping OST comes in at just under five and a half minutes, longer than the album version, shorter than the single version, though carrying all of the heft of the original.

 

1) Theme ("Shopping" OST Version): The Sabres Of Paradise

2) Sly (Underdog Mix By Trevor Jackson): Massive Attack ft. Nicolette

3) Sabotage (Album Version): Beastie Boys

4) Numb (Revenge Of The Number): Portishead

5) Lazarus (7 Inch Version): The Boo Radleys

6) Cut Your Hair (Album Version): Pavement

7) Ping Pong (Album Version): Stereolab

8) Ponderosa (Dobie's Rub Part 1): TrIcky ft. Martina Topley-Bird

9) Becoming More Like God (Radio Edit By Mark 'Spike' Stent): Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart ft. Anneli Drecker

10) I Want You (Single Mix): Inspiral Carpets ft. Mark E. Smith

11) Seether (Album Version): Veruca Salt

12) 7 Seconds (Album Version By Booga Bear & Jonny Dollar): Youssou N'Dour ft. Neneh Cherry

6th February 1994: Crooked Rain Crooked Rain (#52): 6

27th February 1994: I Want You EP (#18): 10

3rd April 1994: Haunted Dancehall / Shopping OST (#56): 1

24th April 1994: Becoming More Like God EP (#36): 9

1st May 1994: Ponderosa EP (#77): 8

5th June 1994: Lazarus EP (#54): 5

13th June 1994: Numb EP (# n/a): 4

26th June 1994: American Thighs (#61): 11

3rd July 1994: Ill Communication (#19): 3

24th July 1994: Mars Audiac Quintet (#45): 7

4th September 1994: The Guide (Wommat) (#3): 12

23rd October 1994: Sly EP (#24): 2

 

Side One (45:59) (KF) (Mega)

Twilight Of The Valentines

A Valentine's Day gift from Hifi Sean and David McAlmont, in the form of Twilight, their frankly spectacular third album, released today. No need for spoilers here.

Valentine's Day is a mixed bag, whether you are loved up, loveless, joyous or jaded. And yes, it sells love when it's something that should be felt and freely given all year round. 

But, in the midst of all that commercial crap are moments of beauty and genuine joy, and in the shape of Twilight, something worth buying, holding close to your heart and treasuring. This album is for life, not just 14th February.

In an act of perfect timing, my vinyl copy arrived on Thursday night, so I am sitting here at 5.00am on Friday morning, listening to the album for the first time and typing away live, trying to keep up with the needle in the groove. 

And failing spectacularly, because I keep stopping to let David's warm vocals wash over me, or pausing because Sean has created a beautifully layered sound or little musical motif that just demands your undivided attention.

Sean's comment in the promo that he "wanted to make this album feel like you were in a dark head space while being hugged by your favourite person at the same time" is not hyperbole, it's exactly what it feels like.

Opening song The Comedown mirrors sister album Daylight, with the outer space broadcast of the thematic phrase, 

Daylight becomes twilight, 

Twilight becomes daylight, 

Daylight becomes twilight, 

Twilight becomes daylight

Set to the pulse of a beating heart, guest star The Blessed Madonna then comes in with a spoken word intro before handing over the mic to David. This is the moment in a comedown when you've washed up on the beach and realise you're still alive, that first moment of hope, that you will get through this, that there is a way out. 

The Comedown ends with waves crashing on the shore, the album's title track then coming in with beats, synths and an insistent bassline, before David sings about walking on the moon, hyperspace and "greetings from the nearest planet".

Uptown / Downtown keeps the BPMs relatively low with some lovely whooping synths and keyboard tinkles. I want to write about how beautiful David's vocals are on this song but that would be doing a disservice to the rest of the album as he is giving his all on every single line in every single song. Lots of shivers down the spine moments.

Driftaway also rides on a bubbly, warm bassline, sounding absolutely contemporary yet with a repeating key sequence that reminds me of mid-80s O.M.D. (and that is a good thing). I bought the limited edition vinyl version, which means that there's an additional flexi 7" single, containing Driftaway Dub. 

Side 1 closes with Sorry I Made You Cry, released as a single on Monday and described in the promo for Twilight as "A warped doo-wop influenced torch song from Sean’s twisted droning synths to its wonky exploding chorus". I'd say "yes, and so much more". 

Sorry I Made You Cry is described as one of the standout moments on Twilight. Having heard Side 1's five songs for the very first time, I'm honestly struggling to pick one over the other, they're all so good.

And so to the second side, with Goodbye Drama Queen. Also previewed as one of the four singles to promote Twilight, I avoided listening to it until I had the entire album in my hands. It was worth the wait. Sonically, there's a Depeche Mode vibe to this one, though these are always mere reference points, the music is unmistakably Hifi Sean. Much as I love their vocals, neither Dave Gahan nor Martin Gore could soar into the stratosphere the way David does, every time. 

Whilst Twilight is the album title, lyrically speaking, the songs lean heavily on what lies beyond.out there and Equinox's Children is a prime example, references to starlit dreams, planets, heaven's deep lagoon couple with the moon, and impact like asteroids. It's another connecting element that ties the whole thing together, creating a layered, immersive experience.

High With You contains some warming bossa rhythms, pseudo trumpet that sounds (and possibly is) Sean blowing through a rolled up paper cone, and David laughing after singing "Baby". For music that is so structured, technically proficient and thematically coherent, don't mistake this for a wholly serious record. What's evident throughout the record is how fun it must have been to make, the warmth and joy emanating with each revolution on the turntable.

Night Drive is a beatless interlude, bridging the two halves of Side 2. As I was chuckling to myself for mishearing "Can we get, can we get where we need to get" as an exhortation to Cary Grant, the needle got stuck on the word "today". Which served as a sobering reminder that I'm supposed to be getting ready for work and not lost in the twilight world of Sean and David's making. Much as I'd rather be there than here right now.

Star was the first single from the album and the only song that I heard in advance of this listening...well, I can't go so far as to say party, when I'm sat here on my own at the computer and even the cat hasn't been arsed to get up and bother me for food yet. I love Star. In an album full of them, this one shines especially brightly and beautifully.

And suddenly, it's the final two songs. Sleeping Pill offers up a juxtaposition of slowed down sounds, waves and waves countered by David's vocals, setting the pace up and down, mirroring the enervating and energising effect of the alien chemicals put in the body, tracing "your momentary incoherence into oblivious delerium".

Twilight's coda is Sirens, David observing that "it was a gift / It wasn't free / Feel no hate now / It's a home run honey" before the music drifts away into the Daylight becomes twilight cycle for one final time.

As an album review, this is all first draft, typed live whilst listening, and as such it's a mess. Which is the exact opposite of Twilight. As the second of two 12-song albums released in the space of sic months, it's an astonishing feat of ambition, coherence and execution that achieves exactly what it set out to do.

Apt for Valentine's Day, I've fallen in love with this album at first listen and I know that this will only grow deeper over time. 

In other words, you really should buy this album. Today. This minute! You will not regret it.

Side One

1) The Comedown

2) Twilight

3) Uptown / Downtown

4) Driftaway

5) Sorry I Made You Cry

Side Two

1) Goodbye Drama Queen

2) Equinox's Children

3) High With You

4) Night Drive

5) Star

6) Sleeping Pill

7) Sirens

Bonus flexi 7"

1) Driftaway Dub

The Powerless Are The Problem...As If, As If

Same Old Riff is the second single from The Nightingales' upcoming album The Awful Truth, which arrives in April.

I quite liked the first incarnation of The Nightingales (1979-1986), though it was mainly from listening to them on John Peel's Radio 1 show. Perversely, the only records I bought were a couple of Robert Lloyd 12" singles from his brief major label solo career.

After nearly 20 years, The Nightingales reformed in 2004, with a formidable run of live shows, singles and albums. Again, I've been shockingly remiss in this regard, but Same Old Riff has prompted me to delve into their back catalogue.

Two songs from The Nightingales' first phase: debut single Idiot Strength from 1981 and Crafty Fag from their first album Pigs On Purpose, albeit in a live version from 2013. 

Black Country features Robert Lloyd joined on vocals by Gina Birch, taken from the soundtrack to the 2013 documentary King Rocker by Stewart Lee and Michael Cumming. I still haven't seen this (the trailer is here if you haven't either) and I really should.

A couple more singles and videos from 2022 and then we're back to the present day with the opening song from The Awful Truth.

The Nightingales are on the road in May.

1) Same Old Riff (The Awful Truth) (2025)

2) Idiot Strength (Idiot Strength EP) (1981)

3) Wot No Blog (What's Not To Love EP) (2007)

4) Crafty Fag (Live @ Prince Albert, Brighton) (2013)

5) Black Country (7" Version ft. Gina Birch) (King Rocker OST) (2021)

6)  I 🖤 CCTV ( I 🖤 CCTV EP) (2022)

7) I Needed The Money At The Time (The Last Laugh) (2022)

8) The New Emperor's New Clothes (The Awful Truth) (2025)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wash Before Use

 

Horsegirl featured here for the very first time a month ago in various artists/new releases post. They're back today in their own right with the fourth (and presumably final) single to drop in advance of their album, Phonetics On and On, which arrives on Valentine's Day.

With Cate Le Bon at the controls - itself a big draw - the promo blurb enthuses that "the songs are a testament to experimenting with space and texture while maintaining a pop song at the core."

On the basis of the four pre-release songs - 2468, Julie, Switch Over and now Frontrunner - they're not wrong. The latter is the most stripped down of the bunch, an acoustic-driven number with percussive twangs and vocals that border on indifference, but which suit the narrative. 

Not groundbreaking perhaps but enjoyable nevertheless. 

Not sure I'd agree with the implicit message re: apples in the video, though. Not rinsing your apples before eating is not exactly sticking it to The Man, is it? And no, dropping your apple into a water-filled pot hole in the middle of the road does not count as 'wash before use'.

fff is available from all the usual places including Bandcamp. You can catch Horsegirl playing live in Manchester, London, Glasgow and Bristol in late June.

They Could Have Been Contenders

I'm having a lot of fun compiling the Decadance series and revisiting tunes from the 1990s. 

Making the cut for the final dozen can be a challenge though, and many excellent, or memorable, or both, songs get discarded along the way (and not just Pop Will Eat Itself, I mean).

I've rescued a couple from each year that I've covered so far, not least because most of them were accompanied by hugely enjoyable videos, albeit each for different videos. Step up (or step on) Pet Shop Boys, The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy, R.E.M., Siouxsie & The Banshees, Depeche Mode and Happy Mondays.

There was no video for Her Jazz by Huggy Bear, but they did make an unforgettable appearance on Channel 4's The Word, not least for their post-performance diss of Terry Christian and subsequent removal from the studio. 

Likewise, no pricey promo for Middle Of The Road by Denim. What you get instead is a video filmed specially for ITV's graveyard shift music programme The Beat in 1993. With an intro by presenter Gary Crowley and Lawrence and co. squashed into the back of a stretch limo, of course it's brilliant.

1) I Wouldn’t Normally Do This Kind Of Thing: Pet Shop Boys (1993)
2) Her Jazz (Live @ The Word): Huggy Bear (1993)

3) Television, The Drug Of The Nation: The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy (1992)

4) Middle Of The Road: Denim (1992)

5) Losing My Religion: R.E.M. (1991)

6) Kiss Them For Me: Siouxsie & The Banshees (1991)

7) Enjoy The Silence: Depeche Mode (1990)

8) Step On: Happy Mondays (1990)