Black Flag - Damaged

Every genre has records that are essential; the ones that everyone has in their collection. If you're a fan of hardcore, Damaged is surely one of those records. Everything about it is legendary and classic and all those words.

My introduction to Black Flag was roundabout - I first heard of Henry Rollins on the pivotal Kerrang! free cd The Devil's Music Vol. 1 (a cd that introduced me to so many bands) - the cd included Rollins' Illumination from the recent Get Some Go Again album, which I eventually bought when I found it on sale in Southampton. Some time later, I bought Rise Above - the compilation album of Black Flag covers to help the West Memphis Three. The list of artists appearing on it was incredible, so I wanted to hear it. Not only did it introduce me to 20+ Black Flag songs, it introduced me to the all-important genre of "Black Flag covers" - I have more Black Flag covers in my collection than actual Black Flag songs; I've also seen countless bands try them live. It's a punk staple.

Two years later, I got The First Four Years (on a friend's recommendation) and My War (having read good things about it and thinking it could be a good starting point for the band proper). Finally, another two years later, I bought Damaged in Spillers. It took me seven years to get around to buying them album most people would have started with.

Having spent years listening to Black Flag covers - including the notable and strange Dirty Projectors' album where Dave Longstreth re-imagines the album from memory (to odd results) - there were very few surprises to be had in hearing Damaged. I knew almost all of the songs in some form, and had a very good idea of how they'd sound. They say imitation is the highest form of flattery, so Damaged should feel very flattered indeed. Some of the songs are far more enjoyable here than I expected - Depression is far more intense than I could have imagined, for example. The second side has a few songs that haven't been routinely covered throughout my record collection, which are good to hear (although you wonder if there's a reason they haven't been covered much). They also seem to be the ones that bridge the gap more closely between The First Four Years and My War, two albums that are otherwise very different. I like them, but the first side is where the album really shines.

I don't consider myself a huge fan of Black Flag - my collection is far from complete, but I'm content with the albums I have and sometimes it's just nice to play Damaged and enjoy the astounding significance of the album.

Format: 12"
Tracks: 15
Cost: £9.50 new
Bought: Spillers Records, Cardiff
When: 25/03/08
Colour: Black
Etching: Side A: "Comin at ya - the neolithic gelatinous think" Side B: "Sizzled that neo-orthodoxy into my, uh,... aaah,... what the hell!"
mp3s: no

The Besnard Lakes - Until in Excess, Imperceptible UFO

All Tomorrow's Parties introduced me to more music than I could possibly list. Sometimes it was because I saw band play one of their festivals and they were amazing; other times it was simply that they were on a bill with other bands I liked. In the case of The Besnard Lakes, it was on a mixtape given to me by a complete stranger.

At a few of the later festivals, ATP organised a mixtape swap on one of the days - the idea was simple: you made a mixtape in advance, brought it along and swapped it with a stranger; both of you go home with some new music. The first time wasn't the most successful - I wasn't into his music taste and, given what was on the cd I got in return, I'm very doubtful that the guy I swapped with got much out of mine. People who'd been before had brought multiple copies of their mixtape to get multiple new ones back. The next festival I took three copies and got three cds in return. There was an interesting mix of stuff over them, but one name that really stood out was The Besnard Lakes.

This guy had included their song Like the Ocean, Like the Innocent from their third album, The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night (great title). I enjoyed it and made a mental note to check them out. As is often the case, two years passed before I stumbled across their fourth album, Until in Excess, Imperceptible UFO, in the sale section in Truck Store. At £11 it seemed rude not to, even though what they sounded like was now a distant memory.

The music I heard was pretty much what I had in mind from before - partly slow and quiet, partly brooding and deep. It's a very strange mix of sounds - they boarder pop and post-rock in such a strange way you wonder if you're really hearing either influence. I wasn't at all surprised to find out they were Canadian, as there are easy comparisons to be made to bands like Broken Social Scene, Stars and Metric. But they're only ever partial comparisons - take away the vocals and the poppier melodies and there are dark, long songs with unexpected changes that is the traditional style of Godspeed et al.

The whole album is lovely, interesting listening. The standout track for me was always Colour Yr Lights In - something about it pulls it above the rest (possibly owing to its big indie-rock chorus) - but The Spectre and At Midnight are great too. I probably don't play the album often enough. I have a bad tendency to forget about it, but then get a pleasant surprise in how much I enjoy it when I do play it. It seems that my forgetfulness has extended to my ability to buy anymore of their albums - this is still the only one I own. I'd like to get more, but it's hard to remember when online and I've only ever seen one of their albums in a shop (and I bought it).

Format: 12", insert
Tracks: 8
Cost: £11 new
Bought: Truck Store, Oxford
When: 15/03/14
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: Download card

Bangers - Crazy Fucking Dreams

A couple of year ago I read an article on the BBC news website that introduced me to the concept of a "gnomic utterance" - a short phrase that is hard to understand but seems wise. For years I'd felt that way about a lot of Bangers' lyrics but never knew there was a defined notion for such a thing. Case in point is Blind Hindsight, the second song and "single" from Bangers' second album - "Do you remember when we invented nostalgia? / What solid proof that the past was really better when there's a word for the feeling". It's such a prominent line in the song and I've spent far too long wondering about whether it's really clever, or just confusing, or maybe I've misunderstood it. I've spent far too long thinking about it in general. I love that it has continued to have such an effect on me over the years.

The same concept feels to come up throughout Crazy Fucking Dreams - most lyrics if you give them a second thought tread that fine line being confusing or genius. If I had to say what the biggest change from their (excellent) debut album was, it would probably be that Roo's lyrics are far deeper (or, at least, appear that way). Musically, it's just what I'd come to expect and love about Bangers - tight, interesting punk-rock songs. This album came out over three years ago, and I bought it fairly soon afterwards. I've seen the band what feels like countless times over those years and these songs have all become live favourites.

Bangers decided to break up last year and I, along with many others, was really saddened by the news. Over the years they were together they put out some of the most enjoyable British punk records and were always a great band to see live. I'm still upset about it, to be honest. I love listening to all their albums, but now it's with an extra bit of sadness.

Format: 12"
Tracks: 10
Cost: £13 new
Bought: Banquet Records, Kingston
When: 25/01/14
Colour: Black
Etching: None
mp3s: no

Biffy Clyro - Blackened Sky

Towards the end of school and at the start of college, I was friends with a guy called Ben. He played guitar in a bunch of bands with other mutual friends and was naturally very good at it. I remember walking away from college one day towards the bus and him telling me about this great band he'd gotten into called Biffy Clyro. He said if I gave him a blank MiniDisc he'd give me a copy of their debut album, so I gave him one the next time I saw him (it was strange, usually people just lent you the cd, but this was the first (and only) time Ben and I exchanged music, so I guess that was just the way he rolled). He also included some songs by this local band I'd recently seen him play with called Fidget. Somewhere in my collection of old MiniDiscs, I still have that. It's funny, Ben wasn't a huge part of my life, but did introduce me to a band who would go on to become huge.

I enjoyed Blackened Sky from the off - Joy.Discovery.Invention was instantly enjoyable - the vocals perfectly smooth (but not annoying) and the music matched it so well. The drum beat throughout the verses of 27 carries the song and falls away just in time for the chorus to break. Justboy and The Go-Slow have these choruses that absolutely soar. Throughout there's a mix of influences that kept you on your toes - sometime indie, sometime punk-rock. It's quite a stunning debut album.

For me, the real star of Blackened Sky was always (and always will be) 57. Many years ago I went on a month long road-trip through central Australia with ten friends. I couldn't drive at the time so helped in the only way I could; I made mix cds for the drive. Some went down well, others not so well, but one in particular stood out - on one cd I included 57 by Biffy and everyone fell in love with it. It started with my friend Christian humming it one day as we set up the tents and trying to sing the words that he'd badly misunderstood (he's Austrian, so there's a language barrier). From there, we kept listening to it and it became a staple of the trip. Afterwards a bunch of people asked for a copy of it. In the UK Biffy were becoming a bigger name, but in the Australian outback I was introducing them to a new audience. The song is incredible - it takes that idea of falling away just before the chorus break from 27, but does it a billion times better - the "do-do-do-do-do" whisper in the break is perfect and the chorus, like so many on the album, is huge.

Strangely, despite loving the album, I pretty much ignored Biffy for the best part of ten years that follwed. I remember hearing a single from their second album and thinking it was terrible. I've not even listened to the albums they've released since, which is pretty bad of me. I just assumed they'd gone shit and I was too busy getting to a string of other genres. At some point they became the biggest band in the UK and I felt pleased for them. Then in 2011 I saw them play Milton Keynes Bowl with the biggest band in the world, the Foo Fighters. It was a great show and I understood why they'd gotten so big.

At some point they announced they were reissuing their albums with bonus discs and I thought it'd be nice to have Blackened Sky on vinyl. It wasn't by any means an essential purchase, so I didn't do anything about for a long time, until I found this at the Independent Label Market in London. There had been far fewer bargains and exciting purchases than the last time I went, so it seemed like a good time to pick this up. It's a nice double purple vinyl and it's cool having all the extra songs. Not being a mega-fan, they don't add a huge amount for me. They're nice, and there are some interesting moments (Hope For An Angel, Instructio4, Being Gabriel - the latter being such classic early-2000's UK alt-rock). Annoyingly, no download card, so they don't get played as much as they might otherwise.

I imagine I'm in the minority of people who have this record on their shelves without the rest of the Biffy back-catalogue next to it. Maybe I should make more of an effort. Or maybe I'll just listen to 57 on repeat instead.

Format: Double 12", gatefold sleeve
Tracks: 21
Cost: £20 new
Bought: Independent Label Market
When: 12/07/14
Colour: Purple
Etching: none
mp3s: no

Jello Biafra with The Melvins - Sieg Howdy!

I consider myself a very low-level fan of The Melvins: I have a few albums that I rarely play because I find them a bit too abrasive in a way I can't put my finger but doesn't do it for me (abrasive in itself isn't bad, but something about The Melvins doesn't make me often want to listen to them). On the other hand, I love seeing them live. What they have works brilliantly on stage - it cuts through the thing that makes me want to not listen to their records and I love it. I will tell anyone who'll listen how brilliant it was when they played ATP and rolled out two extra drummers (from Modest Mouse) for the last song, leaving four drummers on stage bashing away. We were all floored. (Side note: I'm a big fan of Big Business, so maybe it's just the rhythm section I enjoy.)

Jello Biafra, on the other hand, I've had very little to do with. My introduction to him was via Pitchshifter, who collaborated with him on a song for Deviant. I ended up seeing them play together at a strange festival in Bristol, which was Jello's first show in the UK with a band for a very long time. I knew he was from the Dead Kennedys and had heard California Über Alles on the Radio 1 Rock Show at least once. Many years later, I've never sought out any other Dead Kennedys songs.

The reason for that ambivalence towards a legendary punk band is that I really don't like Jello's voice at all. I hadn't had that realisation when I bought this collaboration on something of a whim (I was making myself buy an LP once a month from Damaged in Cardiff and this was the only thing that caught my eye that month). The first two minutes of this album started out ok - The Melvins covering an Alice Cooper song that I'm not familiar with. Then Jello starts singing and I lost interest. He's a very hard man to listen to. On top of that, a lot of the songs are kinda sprawling, which is hard work. I wonder if that's a function of Jello's many years of spoken word - he's used to rambling on at tangents. The irony of Jello singing about bands reuniting and playing songs from the "good old days" only to then offer a re-working of his old band most famous song seems lost. Voted Off the Island is terrible but thankfully short. The final remix is spread across two sides of a 7" (with a half-hearted fade-out between the two), which feels like a chore by that point.

It's not all bad: Lessons in What Not To Become is quite cool (musically) and there's a great break before the chorus. Despite what I just said, the reworking Kalifornia Über Alles 21st Century is alright too and it's nice to hear The Melvins smashing out a punk song. Dälek do a surprisingly good remix of Dawn of the Locusts (of which I've never heard the original) - I'm normally against rock remixes, but I'm a fan of Dälek, so maybe that's why I enjoy it.

When I bought the album I hadn't realised that it was a collection of odds and ends from the actual album they recorded together (of which I think heard good things). I should have noticed the word "remix" in small font on the back after three of the songs. Had I known, this might not be sat in my record collection, somewhat neglected; knowing the stock in Damaged, a Black Flag album would probably take its place.

Format: 12", 7", insert
Tracks: 10
Cost: £10 new
Bought: Damaged, Cardiff
When: 07/06/08
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no

Baroness - Yellow & Green

I started writing a blog post about this record a few years ago. The saddest thing is that was probably when I last listened to this album (these albums?) - I chronically under-appreciate Baroness.

I bought this double LP on something of a whim - I was in Banquet and found it in the racks. It was about a month after their infamous tour of the UK where their bus crashed near Bath, so the name was firmly lodged in my head. However, I'd heard a lot about Baroness in the months leading up to that event too - Yellow & Green had got great reviews and their tour was clearly incredible based on the things I'd been reading. On top of that, there were a bunch of other factors that made me decide to buy it that day - it'd been a month since I'd bought any records and I was already picking up a bunch of other ones, and at £20 for a double album, it was only really £10 per album, which is a steal (kind of). I also hoped that the records would be coloured, since having them on yellow and green vinyl is so obvious, but it seems that that luxury was saved for those who bought the album sooner. Oh well.

I knew Baroness were a bit proggy, because it's impossible to have a prog-influence without someone calling it out, but up to the point the needle hit the record, I don't think I actually knew what Baroness sounded like. The vocals were the thing that hit me first - they're very distinct and not 100% my cup of tea, but I enjoy them nonetheless. The thing that really surprised me about Baroness was that they weren't heavier - I was definitely expecting a much heavier sound from them. I guess that was guided by a few things, but most notably from thinking about the people I knew who were fans, as well as the name and that very-metal artwork.

Despite those initial struggles, I enjoy these albums - whilst I just said they weren't as heavy as I was expecting, they're certainly heavier than most prog-rock (just not as heavy as regular metal) and that really works. On top of that, there are some huge choruses (take March to the River and The Line Between for example) and great moments littered throughout (like Psalms Alive). The slower ones like Eula work well too. Green starts in a hugely triumphant way, which always reminds me of Bill and Ted in the best possible way and Board Up the House was the first time I heard their punk-influence coming through.

It feels like such a petty complaint, but not getting an mp3 download with this LP has really impacted my enjoyment it though - that is, I've not spent anywhere near enough time with it to really get into it properly. I certainly wouldn't have gone years without playing it had I had mp3s of the album to listen to at work. The sad reality of life is that I don't spend anywhere near as much time in front of my record player as I do sat in front of my work computer with iTunes open. I like Baroness, I should probably try harder with them.

Format: 12", gatefold sleeve, picture sleeves
Tracks: 18
Cost: £20 new
Bought: Banquet Records, Kingston
When: 11/09/12
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no

Atmosphere - When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold

I have three Atmosphere albums - Godlovesugly, Seven's Travels and When Life Gives You Lemons... , their most recent back when I was getting into them. A week after I found Godlovesugly in London I found this copy in Spillers in the hip-hop section, which I didn't check out anywhere near as frequently as I ought to have during the Tuesday-record-from-Spillers year. I had been enjoying Godlovesugly and was easily convinced by the limited edition coloured vinyl.

When Life Gives You Lemons... is a mixed bag for me. Much like the other two albums of theirs I have, there are some great songs - really genuinely brilliant rap songs. But, like the other two, there are far too many songs and a few of them that are either really annoying or really unnecessary. Case in point is the opening duo: Like the Rest of Us is both annoying and unnecessary and does nothing for me except to ruin the opening of the album; Puppets on the other hand is one of the best songs on the album and would make for a far better opener. If I'd heard Puppets as the first song on the first listen to this record, I'd have been in a much better mood than I was after hearing Like the Rest of Us. (Incidentally, Seven's Travels tries that approach with Trying to Find a Balance as the first proper song. The result is that the rest of the album can't hold up what they've started, so maybe there's method in their madness).

There are some other interesting moments on the album - Dreamer is a fine example of Slug crafting a rich story (which makes for a pleasant change to his usual self-loathing), Your Glass House is a bleak tale that most people can relate to a bit and Guarantees is the highlight of the second record by a long way. Wild Wild Horses and The Waitress are good songs too.

What it comes down to, I suppose, is that I'm just not that much of a fan of Atmosphere. After this album I got Seven's Travels a few months later on cd and realised I should probably stop buying Atmosphere albums. I don't think they're incapable of writing an album of songs that I want to hear, I just don't think they're ever going to make such an album. And that's fine - it just means they're not the band for me.

Format: Double 12"
Tracks: 15
Cost: £13 new
Bought: Spillers
When: 23/09/08
Colour: Yellow
Etching: none
mp3s: no

Apologies, I Have None - Black Everything

A few years ago Apologies, I Have None released their debut album, London. I was quite the fan - so much so, I picked it as my album of the year. Three and a half years later, I'm still a fan, although I don't listen to it quite as much as I used to - I know the songs very well. After that album, it felt like the band slipped on the momentum they'd built up. I remember a few line-up changes and a shows that all felt very different. I've increasingly realised that AIHN are something of a chameleon band - whatever bill they're on they'll sound like the bands they're playing with - whether it's punk with Calvinball and ONSIND, or metalcore with Pianos Become the Teeth.

Having seen them on that second bill above, with Pianos Become the Teeth and Touche Amore, it wasn't too much of a surprise to hear AIHN go dark and heavy on their follow-up EP, Black Everything. The opening track, Raging Through the Thick and Heavy Darkness of a Bloodlust, is brilliantly heavy and sounds nothing like London, a comment I mean in the best possible way. It wasn't what I'd come to expect from the band, but I enjoyed it. The chorus is pure sludge. With a title like that, there was no way the song couldn't sound the way it does. The only problem was that it was the only song that sounded that way. The other three songs couldn't stand up to the beast that is ...Bloodlust - Two Bombs in a Box in particular always pains me as a way to follow on; the intro feels strangely triumphant (given the previous song) and grates a little. It's also something that came across live for a while - I remember seeing them at the Dead Punk All-Dayer and the first song sounding very different to the rest. It's settled these days, especially with their new album. The other two songs are both fine.

I was very excited to get the new EP, having enjoyed the album so much, and ordered a copy to pick up from Banquet. The artwork - or lack thereof - is nothing to get excited about but the 12" is one-sided with lyrics printed on the reverse - the only place where there are any words at all other than the sticker on the sleeve. It certainly fits the theme of the EP. The internet tells me that it was supposed to be black lettering but a mistake mean it ended up being bright white, which is a hilarious mistake all considering.

Format: One-sided 12"
Tracks: 5
Cost: £9 new
Bought: Banquet Records
When: 24/05/14
Colour: Black
Etching: Screen-printed lyrics
mp3s: Download code

Art of Burning Water - Love You Dead

I bought this record on something of a whim - I don't think I'd ever heard or seen The Art of Burning Water before, but I knew the name for some reason. It was £5 in All Ages, which seemed like a bargain, so I decided to chance it; wherever I'd heard their name, it was in such a light that I thought they'd be worth listening to (the more I think about it, there was some connection to a friend of a friend's record label possibly. I think I knew they were relatively local, somehow).

I mentioned the purchase to my friend Sarah who said "you might like it. It's very crust-punk", which was a term I've never heard used for music, just about the older punks people seem to complain about at Fest. It meant I went into the first listen of The Art of Burning Water slightly sceptical about whether I'd actually like it, which isn't the best of starts.

Despite that initial worry, I've spent most of the second half of 2016 absolutely loving Love You Dead. My usual go-to albums at work tend to be instrumental and calming, but I've found that sometimes I need the exact opposite in my day, and this album does that perfectly. After a brilliant intro about the revolution, the album let's you know exactly what's going to happen for the next half an hour with a huge wall of heavy guitars and blistering drums. Every now and again, it settles into groove, which is the closest you get to a reprieve other than turning the record over. The vocals aren't my usual style, but in this context I love it. The songs are fairly hard to tell apart, except for the lengthy, sludgier Nicaragua at the end, although you don't really notice whether you're listening to three 4-minute songs with slight gaps between or one 12-minute song. But then again, I'm not listening to these guys expecting to hear a perfect single - I play it to hear 30 minutes of brutal, intense noise and ticks that box very firmly.

Format: 12", folded sleeve
Tracks: 8
Cost: £5 new
Bought: All Ages
When: 25/03/16
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no