South Central was one of the biggest songs from One Minute Silence's debut album. My friends and I all became fans of the band when they released their second album, Buy Now... Saved Later and eventually dug out copies of their debut (I found mine in a record shop in Bournemouth). In the early 2000's I developed a pretty unhealthy eBay addiction and occasionally saw this 12" picture disc go up for sale, but I never bought a copy. I liked how shamelessly metal the a-side looked (at least back in the day, anyway).
Many years later I was in Auckland and stumbled across a copy in the huge Real Groovy. It was a mere £1.85 (or whatever that was in NZ$ at the time) and it seemed rude not to. It had been three years since OMS had released their third and final album, although I still listened to them from time to time. It wasn't remotely like the indie or post-hardcore I'd been getting into for the few years around that time, but I felt like I owed it to younger me to buy it. He'd have been pleased that I had him in mind when I made that purchase.
I guess the most curious thing about this record is how it made it all the way around the globe in the first place. I wonder if the band ever had much of a following in New Zealand? If so, it almost feels like a bit of a shame that I should buy it and bring it back around the world for it to reside in my record collection in the country it came from. The b-sides are Stuck Between a Rock and a White Face, also from the debut album and Half Empty a song that made it onto the Japanese version of the debut. It's a fine additional song and would have fit on the album just as well as a lot of the other songs.
This is another slightly (understatement) underappreciated record in my collection, but I'm glad I have it.
Format: 12" picture disc
Tracks: 3
Cost: £1.85 second hand
Bought: Real Groovy, Auckland
When: 20/04/06
Colour: Picture disc
Etching: none
mp3s: no
