High On Love

Daníel Ágúst today, a last-minute replacement for my intended post when I discovered that a couple of archive Dubhed selections that I wanted to include have vanished into cyberspace.

Not that Daníel Ágúst is sloppy seconds, by any means. His work with GusGus alone is astonishing but back in April 2006, I discovered that Daníel had released a solo album and this is what I had to say about it on my former blog, twenty years ago today.

Swallowed A Star is the first solo album from the former lead singer with GusGus, whose dancefloor-friendly electronica is immensely popular in their native Iceland, but seems unfairly consigned to the periphery elsewhere. 

I fear the same fate for Swallowed A Star: initially available directly from label One Little Indian in September 2005, the album received a commercial release in January 2006; by April, it was lining the Virgin Megastore bargain bins, which is where I rescued my copy. 

Like many budget purchases, Swallowed A Star turns out to be a hidden treasure, a lavishly illustrated ‘hardback edition’ CD with delicately crafted music to match. Despite the album’s title, the impression is that Daniel Ágúst has swallowed an orchestra’s string section, as bass, cello, viola and violin provide the framework for his distinctive vocals. Björk is the immediate musical comparison, harking back to the spine-tingling orchestral remix of The Sugarcubes’ Deus way back in the late 1980s. 

Swallowed A Star also feels very much like a 4AD label release from that period, evoking both the sleeve and atmospherics of This Mortal Coil’s Blood. Oddly enough, Ágúst’s vocals effortlessly make the transition from GusGus’ (who, ironically, were with 4AD for a time) club-centric sound to this new, largely beatless setting. 

The English lyrics are basic, yet effective; the most extreme example of Ágúst’s minimalist approach being Nobody Else, which repeats the single refrain "You don’t want nobody else / ‘cause you got me babe" throughout. 

The album’s theme appears to be the struggle to see beyond the mundane and appreciate life’s inherent beauty. Agust sings about an existence "under the mainstream…on the outskirts of life" (The Stingray), noting that "the comforts of my yellow blue and white apartment block / block my vision" (Love And Respect). 

However, the narrative optimism seems firmly rooted in companionship: "We can open our eyes / and come to realise / we’re more able in life when we love" (Sparks Fly); or "We’re gonna make a day / and drive away / the gray" (The Gray). 

An instrumental 'Intersection' bisects the ten tracks, though there’s no discernible change in mood between the two halves. The songs could easily become overblown or pretentious, but Ágúst maintains a restraint, an intimacy that serves the songs well. 

With the music of Embrace (grandiose, pompous) and Sigur Rós (sweepingly epic) currently (back) in vogue, now would seem the perfect opportunity for Daniel Ágúst’s album to emerge - One Little Indian are evidently hoping to repeat the success of Björk’s Debut.

Sadly, I think Swallowed A Star may just miss the boat, through no fault of it’s own. I’ve played it dozens of times since buying it and am convinced it’s an album which, once owned, will be treasured constantly. 

Daniel Ágúst has swallowed a star and deserves an opportunity to illuminate people’s lives with his music. Watch the skies.

As a postscript, a year later Daniel returned to the studio with his GusGus compadres to record a new album. The Moss, a standout song on Swallowed A Star, was remade and reborn as the club banger that it was perhaps always meant to be, and it was brilliant.

Even better, GusGus got to perform The Moss at the Icelandic Music Awards in 2009.  Like the song, Daniel had also evolved in the intervening years. A compelling watch.

Massive Waits...And Then Boots On The Ground

Massive Attack.

Tom Waits.

Does any more need to be said?

(Post script, Friday 17th)

As it happens, yes, as a few hours later the full length length version and accompanying video was released.

Stitched Up Days

(The) Afghan Whigs' new single and video, House Of I, is just what I needed after three consecutive days of headaches, both literally and metaphorically.

When I marked Greg Dulli's birthday in May 2023, I reflected that "I wasn't immediately struck by The Afghan Whigs - or Dulli's voice - when I first heard them, but it's fair to say that a combination of great tunes, incisive lyrics and sheer swagger won me over."

I'd go a step further in saying that as a songwriter and performer Greg seems to get better and better with the passage of time, and House Of I is as vital and thrilling as anything in the Whigs' back catalogue. 

Speaking of which, a good excuse to roll out some Dulli delectables from both The Afghan Whigs and his other excursions, which in itself offers me an opportunity to include a couple featuring the legendary Mark Lanegan.

 

 

 

 

Daring To Procreate

I'm a huge fan of The Anchoress aka Catherine Anne Davies and the prospect of a new album, As We Once Were, in the summer makes 2026 a brighter prospect.

In advance of the album release, a new single has just emerged. I Had A Baby Not A Lobotomy is brilliantly titled, even as the lyrics list some of the crass comments that were made to Catherine after the birth of her own child.

Featuring Gwenno on backing vocals, it's The Anchoress at her best (although in my opinion, there is no "average" or "worst" in her entire catalogue). 

A lyric video has been posted on YT, which also demonstrates that Catherine possesses more character and storytelling in her facial expressions that some higher profile artists can muster with their entire body.

The EP (available on Bandcamp) includes a radio edit and an instrumental, the latter highlighting the wonderfully complex layers of synthesised sound that underpin the song.

In Catherine's regular mailings, she also writes frankly about having to "play the game" in the music industry to some extent, whilst retaining dignity, identity and everything that makes an artist unique in the first place. 

It's been a few weeks since a stark FB post by Thea Gilmore, sharing that she had been told she wasn't worth much "as a proposition" as her social media numbers weren't high enough (which ironically if predictably went viral).

Apart from BlueSky, which I use largely to promote these posts and the music I love, I have very little social media activity so I'm not part of the solution in that respect. I don't subscribe or use Spotify, so I won't be contributing to the pittance that artists receive from streams.

However, I buy a lot of music every month, digitally or physically and The Anchoress' new EP is the latest purchase.

As We Once Were is available to pre-order now in multiple formats from Last Night From Glasgow. I will receive a copy of the double vinyl as a LNFG member, but I have also ordered the deluxe 2CD edition, not just because I value Catherine's music but because I want to do what I can (and can afford) to ensure that she can continue to keep making music.

You know, just like a music lover and record collector. As we once were.

Look Out To The West Now, See Where The Devil Lies

I've rarely if ever dedicated a post to a single song twice, but I've just seen Gorillaz and Sparks' performance of The Happy Dictator on Jimmy Kimmel Live last Friday and it had to be done.

You can find my original post from 12th September 2025 here.

Six months on and the world has gone even more crazy, if possible. Well, when I say 'world'...

Russell Mael is on fine form and whilst I won't be catching any of the Gorillaz live shows, I will have be seeing Sparks live in concert in June. A ray of hope, in more ways than one.

Give Thanks And Praise

My Sunday gift to you is You. No, not you, Yabby You!

Forty-seven minutes of Vivian Jackson, with The Prophets and solo, in full vocal style and on a dub excursion with King Tubby and, right at the end, Tony Tuff.

I didn't cotton on to Yabby You until Andrew Weatherall sampled him for the intro to the Boy's Own Mix of Abandon by That Petrol Emotion in 1990. I was surprised to find that thirty six years later, having considerably grown my reggae and dub collection (mostly CD and digital), I still have relatively little by Yabby You.

Today's selection was prompted by revisiting Walls Of Jerusalem, the 1976 album by The Prophets, where Yabby You first made a name for himself. One side of vocal songs, dubbed up by King Tubby on the flip side, it's one that I habitually break out each year when the clocks go back and the promise of Spring is in the air.

Three songs are drawn from Deliver Me From My Enemies (1977), credited to The Yabby You Vibration, a formidable studio ensemble including Sly & Robbie, Earl 'Chinna' Smith. Bernard 'Touter' Harvey, Clinton 'Basie' Fearon, Albert Griffiths, Tommy McCook, Bobby Ellis and Ansel Collins.

Nippon Skank and Beirut Massacre were recorded in 1980 and released on the 1982 album  African Queen, which was effectively licensed without Vivian's knowledge or consent, a sadly common practice at the time of ripping off the artists, who wouldn't see a penny in revenue.

Yabby You passed in January 2010, age 63, but to paraphrase one of his songs, I can at least give thanks and praise for the incredible music that Yabby You recorded in his lifetime.

1) Tribulation: The Prophets (1976)

2) I Love My Lady / Lady Love Dub: Yabby You & Michael Prophet (1980)

3) Nippon Skank: Yabby You (1980)

4) Conquering Dub: Yabby You & The Prophets (1972)

5) Love In Zimba: The Yabby You Vibration (1977)

6) Firey Dub (Version By King Tubby): The Prophets (1976)

7) Stranger In Love (Cover of John Holt): The Yabby You Vibration (1977)

8) Dub Of Jerusalem (Version By King Tubby): The Prophets (1976)

9) Blood A Go Run Down King Street: The Yabby You Vibration (1977)

10) Dub Plague (Version By King Tubby): The Prophets (1976)

11) Beirut Massacre: Yabby You (1980)

12) Falling Babylon aka Babylon A Fall (Version) (12" Mix By Tony Tuff aka Winston Morris): Yabby U (1979)

Give Thanks And Praise (47:09) (GD) (M)

Just Remember To Fall In Love...There's Nothing Else

The Chemical Brothers light up Saturday with a 46-minute selection drawing on remixes, singles and deep cuts from 1994 to 2010.

Their remix of Voodoo People by The Prodigy was back when they were still trading as The Dust Brothers, but it was subsequently rebranded with their legally-motivated name change and has arguably become one of their best known tunes, remix or not.

The Duke is a previously unreleased outtake that was officially released on the bonus CD accompanying the Singles 93-03 compilation.

Falling Down is late-period Oasis single, featuring Noel on lead vocals. The Chemical Brothers remix first appeared on promo and digital formats, later reappearing as the B-side of follow up The Shock Of The Lightning.

La Tristessa Durera (Scream To A Sigh) is another signature remix, one of many for Manic Preachers, the vocal version ubiquitous on 90s compilations. I've gone for the Dub Mix here, which could originally be found on the CD single of She Is Suffering. 

Swoon is the most contemporary track here, itself a decade and a half old, and provides today's post and selection title. Lindstrøm and Prins Thomas deliver nine and a half minutes of piano-tinkling, guitar-riffing excellence.

The Chemical Brothers are still going strong, although I don't keep pace with their new music as I did 20, 30 years ago. And there's so much from that period alone that I'm constantly discovering tracks and remixes that I missed first time around.

1) Voodoo People (Dust Brothers Remix): The Prodigy (1994)

2) The Duke: The Chemical Brothers (2001)

3) Falling Down (The Chemical Brothers Remix): Oasis (2008)

4) Bring The Pain (Chemical Instrumental) (Remix By The Chemical Brothers): Method Man (1995)

5) Music:Response (Radio Edit): The Chemical Brothers (2000)

6) Nine Acre Dust (The Chemical Brothers Remix) (Altered States Edit): The Charlatans (1996)

7) Swoon (Lindstrøm & Prins Thomas Remix): The Chemical Brothers (2010)

8) La Tristesse Durera (Scream To A Sigh) (Dub Mix By The Dust Brothers): Manic Street Preachers (1994)

Just Remember To Fall In Love...There's Nothing Else (46:13) (GD) (M)

Continuing yesterday's loose 'trilogy' theme, here are two Dubhed selections featuring Brothers Tom and Ed that I posted previously:

Chemical Dust (January 2024)

Shake This Feeling (July 2022)

Sure Would For Rest

Julian Cope's last two conventional song-based albums (and I use the phrase lightly) were Robin Hood (2023) and Friar Tuck (2024).

Touted as a "Sherwood Forest Trilogy", we've yet to see the third and final album (Maid Marian? Little John?) and as it's been a couple of years, I thought I'd revisit the pair that have emerged via the popular format (in Casa K at least) of the Dubhed selection.

I've picked ha;f a dozen from the former, eight from the latter, jumbled them up a bit and created two sides, seven songs apiece. If you're familiar with the albums, a fresh way to enjoy some selected highlights. If you've never heard them, then hopefully this is strong evidence that Julian didn't stop writing good songs in the 1990s / 1980s (delete as applicable).

I still hold out hope that Julian will tour again as it would be great to hear these songs performed live. However, the now slower but still steady stream of releases from Head Heritage of new music, archive releases and the excellent Cope's Notes series is enough to feed the soul.

Side One

1) Four Jehovahs In A Volvo Estate (2024)

2) The Devil's Curse (2023)

3) You Gotta Keep Your Halfwits About You (2024)

4) An Oral History Of Blow-Jobs (Medley) (2023)

5) A Shipwrecked Song (2024)

6) I Was A Punk Before You Was A Hippie (2023)

7) Sol Invicto (2024)

Side Two

1) Four Mohammeds And A Funeral (2023)

2) Done Myself A Mischief (2024)

3) Wrong Side Of The Bed (2023)

4) In Spungent Mansions (2024)

5) Charles The Turd (2023)

6) Too Freud To Rock 'n' Roll Too Jung To Die (2024)

7) R. In The Hood (2024)

2023: Robin Hood: A2, A4, A6, B1, B2. B5

2024: Friar Tuck: A1, A3, A5, A7, B2. B4, B6, B7

Sure Would For Rest (Side One) (22:32) (GD) (M)

Sure Would For Rest (Side Two) (23:19) (GD) (M)

And Do You Have Anything Else To Add To That?

Billed as "Australia’s propulsive post-punk" purveyors of scuzz/rock, Body Type is coming up to 10 years since their debut 7" and I've only just heard them for the first time. 

With two albums, two EPs and a clutch of singles in the catalogue, I was hooked by new song, And What Else?, when the video was offered up as something I might like. And I do.

Body Type are based in Sydney and comprise Sophie McComish (vocals and guitar), Annabel Blackman (vocals and guitar), Georgia Wilkinson-Derums (vocals and bass) and Cecil Coleman (drums and, er, not credited with vocals).

Despite the references to post-punk and scuzz/rock above, the handful of songs I've heard so far seem to be on the poppier end of the spectrum, and not necessarily ground breaking, but hugely appealing all the same. Their biog on Discogs ends with "just loud enough to annoy the neighbours", which made me smile and is spot on.

I've included below the random selection that I've sampled so far and I will be going back for more, shopping bag at the ready.

 

 

 

 

A Thousand Things To Do, Busy Doing Nothing

Sometimes Love Is All you need, especially is you're thinking about the Swedish indie pop noiseniks that were a burst of energy in the 2000s but seem to have ceased activity following third album Two Thousand And Ten Injuries in 2010.

If you've been following the Bagging Area blog (and if not, today's as good as any to start), then you'll be familiar with the Oblique Saturdays series that's been running for a while.  Inspired by Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt's set of cards, Oblique Strategies (Over One Hundred Worthwhile Dilemmas), this Saturday's Oblique Strategy was "Do nothing for as long as possible"

My immediate reaction is often the most obvious and I thought of 4’33" by John Cage as the most extreme and literal expression of ‘do nothing’. 

I recalled that Orbital took a similar tack in 1994 with Are We Here? (Criminal Justice Bill?), a reaction to the Tory government's attempts to crack down on dance culture by targeting repetitive beats, taken to it's most ridiculous and reductive conclusion.

Richard Norris’ Music For Healing series is a also a strong contender, a long-running monthly series of 20-minute ambient pieces that provide a great encouragement to relax and do nothing. I posited that the (currently 130+) tracks could be edited into one long sequence of several days… (I've just checked, it's currently just under two days' worth) as long as skipping food, sleep and ablutions for the duration wasn't a concern.

In 2006, Love Is All released the single Busy Doing Nothing which, picking up on their fascination with numbers lists a bunch of things that they could be doing. Instead... well, the title kind of gives it away.

Musically, it's a 215-second burst of energy and a good indication of what Love Is All is generally about, if you enjoy this song.

I actually came into their music via a slightly different route, their 2008 album Love Is All Mixed Up, nine radical reworks of singles and tracks from their debut album Nine Times The Same Song (a line from Busy Doing Nothing).

The list of artists was enough to make me buy the album without having heard a single note by Love Is All up to that point: Hot Chip, Metronomy, Studio, Chicken Lips, Fryars, The Bees and Maps.

Busy Doing Nothing gets two remixes, one from Tapedeck aka Alexander Shields and another - worth the price of purchase alone - "An Optimo (Espacio) Mix" by Keith McIvor/JD Twitch and Dave Clark.

Five movie marathons

Nine times that same song

I'll have to get back to you

I've got a thousand things to do

Ten hours in the bed

Four hours on the phone

What have I got to eat?

One hour in the shower

Two hours trying shoes on

I ain't got time to talk

I'm heading for a walk

Five movie marathons

Nine times that same song

I'll have to get back to you

I've got a thousand things to do

I write my name a hundred times

I'm thinking of words that will rhyme

Yeah, I write my name a hundred times

I'm thinking of words that will rhyme

I'm staring out the window

Oh, where to does the wind blow?

Ten hours in the bed

Four hours on the phone

And I forgot to eat

One hour in the shower

Two hours trying shoes on

I ain't got time to talk

Five-movies marathon

Oh, nine times the same song

I'll have to get back to you

 

I write your name a hundred times

I'm thinking of words that will rhyme

I'm staring out the window

Oh, where to does the wind blow?

(Five movie marathons)

I'm always busy doing nothing

Busy, busy doing nothing

I'll have to get back to you

I've got a thousand things to do

I'm always busy doing nothing

Nothing, nothing

(I've got a thousand things to do)