The Verve - Forth

Forth probably isn't a bad record, but it's certainly not one that needs to be exist. That sounds bad, but it's proving to be the case for most new-albums-from-reformed-bands. I listen to the first three Verve albums a lot still, each with it's own charms; I almost never play Forth. 2008, when it came out, was eleven years after I'd got Urban Hymns and eight years after I'd got A Storm in Heaven and A Northern Soul; moreover, I was 24 rather than a teenager, listening to punk-rock and had just been to my first All Tomorrow's Parties - The Verve weren't a cool band in the same way the other bands I was listening to were.

That said, 2008 was also the only time I'd ever see The Verve, and I was so fucking excited. It was Glastonbury and we were working on the bar in exchange for free tickets. I was pretty gutted that our Sunday shift was when they were playing, but our bar faced the main stage, so I got to watch from behind the bar, and took my break in the middle of their set. I sang along to Bittersweet Symphony with a bunch of drunk people I'd just sold beer to. I don't want to understate the impact that song had on my life - it was the first song that made me genuinely feel anything about music and I wouldn't be sat here writing about my records had I not heard it. Watching The Verve that day was purely about satisfying teenage-me, and it more than did the job.

If The Verve making a new album is the price we had to pay for them to reform and play shows, then this album is worth it. I got to the see The Verve, which is something I never thought I would do. I remember watching their Haigh Hall set live on the BBC and hearing that they were breaking up and feeling so annoyed that I came to them slightly too late. I'm very pleased I was there the second time around.

Is it a bad album? I mean, maybe. There's no way to hear it without the context of the three albums that came before it, the three albums that had already been played more times than this album could ever expect to be heard. Richard Ashcroft had started his dubious solo career and that would taint the enjoyment here - Rather Be is crazy-catchy but feels like a step further away from the direction they'd gone on Urban Hymns, and sounds more like a Richard Ashcroft solo song than a Verve song, which isn't that surprising when you see that he has the sole credit on it. Love is Noise is somehow both really annoying and one of the best songs on the album. Not sure how they managed that. Valium Skies was also a highlight, and the song I find in my head after playing the album. The closer, Appalachian Springs finally sees them letting loose, which is a long time coming. A whole album of songs like that would have worked for me.

Side B is entirely underwhelming - there are hints of the spaciness of the earlier albums, but executed in the most unexciting way. It's early for the album to start dragging. I See Houses has a chorus that has some bite, but musically is still too restrained; if they'd let themselves go for it, it could have been one of the best songs on the album. Noise Epic has one of those titles that you just know isn't going to deliver - it was a big promise and the six songs that proceed it suggest that they're never going to get as noisy or epic as they used to. It gets going eventually, but in the context of the rest of the album feels a bit out of place. There are two bonus tracks that aren't on the cd album: Ma Ma Soul and Muhammad Ali. The first sounds like a mid-career b-side, that is to say, I actually quite like it. The second has a bit more power than a lot of the album tracks, but isn't particularly memorable.

Partly to appease teenage-me, but also because I had genuinely loved seeing the band play that summer, I bought Forth on the day it came out as my Tuesday-record-from-Spillers that week. I knew it was never going to be the "classic" that the hype sticker (quoting the NME) claimed. Nearly a year later, the Virgin Megastore in Cardiff was closing down and everything was dirt cheap, so I bought a lot of cds. One such album was the cd and dvd edition of Forth for £6. The LP hadn't come with a download code so it felt worth it to get the mp3s, plus I wanted to watch the dvd to see the band play live again (the reissues of the original albums would provide much better live shows on dvd, but I wasn't to know that back then). I remember seeing the ridiculous boxset version of the album quite cheap a few times as well, but given that it just contained this double LP and the cd and dvd, I had no need for it.

Format: Double 12", gatefold sleeve, picture sleeves
Tracks: 12
Cost: £19 new
Bought: Spillers Records, Cardiff
When: 27/08/08
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: none

Calvinball - Last Orders

Despite Calvinball firmly being a part of the UK punk scene for a while before I began to get into it, they very nearly passed me by. I've never quite worked out why that was - it's quite possible that they just never played South Wales when I was about. The first time I saw them was at K-Fest in Kingston nearly two years after I'd left Cardiff. They really came into their own for me on the split record they did with ONSIND and Apologies, I Have None - I really enjoyed their cover of ONSIND's Heterosexuality is a Construct and think it works as well as a gruff-punk song as it does an acoustic recording. I'd been a fan of ONSIND since also seeing them at K-Fest, so it was great to hear how Calvinball reimagined that song. I've seen them play at least two "last ever" shows, including one at Fest, which I remember being really impressive. They're a great band and I'm glad they didn't pass me by - it would have been a huge loss.

Around the time they were breaking up (one of the times) they were selling off the last of their records and I decided to finally pick up a copy of their only actual LP, Last Orders. I think the cassette compilation, The Adventures Of..., had just sold out on their website, but I found a copy of that on another distro about a month later. Between the two releases they cover everything Calvinball ever recorded, and I'd say both are essential parts of any collection. This album alone is great, but songs like Goodnight Sweet Prince and Brighter Lights shouldn't be ignored for not being on an album.

The band are at their best when the songs gradually explode into layers of gruff vocals and heavy guitars, as they frequently do - The Lost City of Atlanta, #OystonOut and No More Half Measures are all fine examples of that. My favourite has always been the closer, Ron Swansong, and not just for the comedy title; it's a fine way to finish a record they intended to be their last.

Format: 12", insert
Tracks: 11
Cost: £9.76 new
Bought: Band website
When: 03/02/14
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: none

Sunn O))) + Ulver - Terrestrials

I first saw Sunn O))) at All Tomorrow's Parties in 2009; I had no idea what hit me and it took years to decide if I actually liked what I heard or if it was just a thoroughly overwhelming gimmick. In 2015 I saw them again at Primavera Sound and decided that not only do I actually like Sunn O))), but they were a hugely impressive band. After a day of drinking in the sun, they sobered me right up as they rattled my bones for an hour. There was a dude onstage waving his hands at a microphone for half the set - when he finally opened his mouth it scared the shit out of me.

For a long time I thought I should get a Sunn O))) album, but never got round to it. My friend Aled saw them with me at ATP and immediately bought a copy of The Grimmrobe Demos, the album we saw them play (they also played Monoliths and Dimensions that weekend, but I wanted to watch The Mars Volta in the main room; I think Aled watched a bit of both bands). A couple of months after Primavera Sound I was in San Francisco for work and took my usual trip to Amoeba Records. I decided that I'd finally buy a Sunn O))) album, and picked up this copy of the record they did with Ulver.

In hindsight, I probably should have bought one of the albums I knew to be amongst their best, or at least one of the well-known ones. I think I went with this one because it was cheap. I can't remember what other ones were there to choose from, but there wasn't a huge selection either way. It's not a bad release just somewhat underwhelming, which is a shame given how entirely overwhelming their live shows are. Maybe I'm just not playing it loud enough. It didn't come with a download code, so it's not spent a huge amount of time in my ears, which is a shame - I could see myself getting on well with this whilst working.

The third and last track, Eternal Return, is the most interesting. I remember being confused by the printed lyrics on the back of the sleeve because I had no memories of there being any lyrics on the first few listens, such is the trance Sunn O))) leave you in. I'm probably downplaying the role Ulver have in this record, but that's only because I have no knowledge of them at all. A few years ago I recommended Sunn O))) to a colleague who had very strange taste in music and his first reaction was "they remind me of Ulver". Needless to say, I sent him a link to this album.

I'm still keen to get into Sunn O))) properly, but I wonder if I just enjoy songs too much; I get a lot out of someone singing with an acoustic guitar. I get something out of this, but I doubt I'll ever be a fan of drone metal as a genre. I foresee a future here I have two or three Sunn O))) albums and consider that all the drone metal I need. I'm going to try to choose them wisely, I think that'll be key.

Format: 12", insert
Tracks: 3
Cost: £10.77 new
Bought: Amoeba Records, San Francisco
When: 08/07/15
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: none

Dave House - Kingston's Current

The first time I heard Dave House was when he supported Lemuria in Swansea's Bar Sigma. The Arteries opened the show and there was a good crowd of people I knew there that night - Lemuria had got a bit of a buzz going, and we seemed to see The Arteries pretty much weekly back then. I enjoyed Dave's set and bought a copy of See That No One Else Escapes at the end of the show. I think I asked him which album to go for, and he recommended that one; I went through a phase of asking which album to buy at the merch table, sandwiched between phases of buying the ones with the best covers (who says you shouldn't judge a book by its cover?).

Six months later I'd moved to London and just discovered Banquet Records in Kingston (a story documented in detail here). On that first trip, I bought a copy of Lemuria's First Collection and Kingston's Current by Dave House on cd. Those two releases were linked to Banquet Records in ways I wouldn't realise for a while to come - I'd bought the cd of Lemuria's first proper album, Get Better, in Spillers about a year earlier, a cd that Banquet themselves had put out. Dave House, who I'd first seen supporting Lemuria, used to work in Banquet (and possibly still did when I bought the cd). I wouldn't find this out for another year or so, having replaced another longtime Banquet staff member in a house share in Surbiton, and getting to know JT and Mike and co through him. If this story didn't need yet another set of semi-related anecdotes, I also bought an Above Them split 7" on that first trip to Banquet; that 7" contained photos of a very drunken night out we'd had with the guys in Above Them in Bar Sigma on the only other time I went there. I knew none of these (tenuous) connections that day when I first let Banquet Records begin to change my life.

Anyway, some years later Kingston's Current got a vinyl reissue for Record Store Day. By this point I'd just moved to Oxford but was back in Kingston a few days after RSD and popped into Banquet to see if they had any of the records Truck hadn't got in. I think this had actually been a release from a previous year, because I got it for the bargain price of £5 (the same price I paid for the cd). I was pleased to add it to my collection, partly because it's a good album, but mostly because the title-track is by far my favourite Dave House song. There was something nice about getting that song, singing the praises of Kingston so nicely, either end of my time in Surbiton/South London. I'm a sucker for acoustic punk-rock and gang-vocals.

The strongest songs on the album are often the more lamentful - Weeknights and Weekends and Stereo are both great, slower songs. I'm not 100% sold on the electronic beats used elsewhere, but perhaps that's because my introduction to Dave's music was as an acoustic singer at a punk-rock show. I didn't notice until I was taking the pictures below that the insert is numbered in pencil and mine is #3/250. I wonder who has #1 and #2?

Format: 12", numbered (3\250), insert
Tracks: 10
Cost: £5 new
Bought: Banquet Records, Kingston
When: 21/04/14
Colour: White
Etching: none
mp3s: none

Various Artists - The Lost Boys OST

When I was at college a few of my friends were really into skating and BMX-ing (as is probably true of every teenager everywhere, regardless of time or place). Tom and Nick were really into both sports and, along with Hugh, we spent a lot of time at Tom's parents' house watching skate and BMX videos. I always found the flatland BMX bits the most fascinating and eventually bought an old BMX from Nick with the intention of learning how to do some of the cool stuff I'd seen. The notion of understanding where my weight was and how to move it wasn't something I'd figure out until I tried snowboarding many years later, so trying out these BMX tricks usually just involved me falling off the bike a lot. I learned one trick and pretty much gave up there.

In one of those videos - and it's important to note that this was the early-2000's, so YouTube wasn't a thing; these were actual videos - there was a section of someone BMX-ing to Cry Little Sister from the film The Lost Boys. It was nothing like the music I was listening to at the time, but I was crazy into it. That choir! It was perfect. The song is dark and brooding and the layering of the vocals is brilliant. The organ adds to the gothic feel along with all the reverb on the vocals. I know nothing about Gerald McMann, but he had a stroke of genius with this song at least. I can't remember anything about the BMX video but setting anything to this music is a bold move, especially something that is so commonly soundtracked by shitty punk bands, so fair play to them.

I can't remember the order of events - I'd either seen the film before seeing that BMX video or I hadn't. I think I hadn't, so must have looked up the song from the closing credits, researched it on the internet and seen it was from the soundtrack (I'm reluctant to use the verb "google" because at this point in time it probably would have been Yahoo search or even Ask Jeeves - reminiscing about the early days of the internet makes me feel like a grandad). I've watched the movie a good handful of time over the years, and it's a great vampire movie but I certainly don't consider it one of my all time favourite movies. I imagine it's riding the wave of 80's nostalgia really well though - the second song here Lost in the Shadows (The Lost Boys) wouldn't sound out of place in a montage in Stranger Things.

I've just been reading about the soundtrack on Wikipedia and never released how many of these songs were covers - mostly because the originals and people playing them here are largely unknown to me (Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me being an obvious exception, here recorded by Roger Daltrey, who I feel like I should know was in The Who, but they're just not a band I care enough about to store these things away in my mind. My initial thought was a strange mix of James Bonds: Roger Moore and Timothy Dalton. That's not who he is). The feeling isn't consistently "incredibly 80's", in fact Good Times is really upbeat and ends quite far away from a typical 80's sound. The Echo and the Bunnymen cover of People Are Strange doesn't try anything similar.

Every song that appears after Cry Little Sister just makes me wish I was still listening to Cry Little Sister. I've not played this album a huge amount over the years, but it's always a waiting game until that song, then a case of letting side-B play out pretty much out of pity that the songs aren't as memorable or interesting; almost like it's rude to just play the song I want to hear and skip the rest (in case you needed any more clues that I'm not embracing the Spotify-generation). I Still Believe by Tim Cappello has something going for it; it reminds me of Talk Talk a bit, which, having just googled who Tim Cappello is, is probably pretty offensive to Talk Talk.

Anyway, a few years later on Christmas Eve as we headed out for the tradition of getting Christmas-ruiningly-drunk back in Winchester, Hugh gave me this copy of The Lost Boys soundtrack that he'd found in a charity shop that day. It was an unexpected gift, and I appreciated the thought. It was something of a pain carry it around the rest of the evening, but I managed to avoid it getting covered in drinks and it's mostly still in the condition I was given it in. It doesn't get much play, so I'm just going to listen to Cry Little Sister one more time before I put it back away...

Format: 12"
Tracks: 10
Cost: Free second hand
Bought: Gift
When: 24/12/05
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: none

Witching Waves - Persistence

Any regular readers will notice something odd about this post - this album has just been released today, and normally I'm about three or four years behind the times. I like to give albums time to sit, and spend a bit of time with them before committing to writing about them. On top of that, I've also got a huge backlog to work through. A while ago Specialist Subject put together a guide for "supporting bands in the streaming age", which got me thinking - I'm not the proponent of new music I was once was; I don't go to as many gigs as I used to (I have a baby now who takes up a lot of my time - time I'm very happy to give) and I don't feel the same connection to the DIY music scene as I did when I was living in Cardiff or Kingston. I'm also 34 and still finding important bands from the mid-90's I've not properly explored yet (I recently heard Copper Blue by Sugar for the first time - what a record!). But I was lucky enough to get sent a stream of the new Witching Waves album (for review! Like a proper website!) and it inspired me to change things up a bit. So here's a first - a review of an album on the day of release.

I was introduced to Witching Waves in what I suspect is the same way a lot of other people of a certain background were - they played last summer with Jonah Matranga, filling the shoes of the other Far members as Jonah toured Water & Solutions for its 20th anniversary. I've been a fan of Far for nearly longer than I haven't, and was very excited to see the show (I was always more of a Tin Cans man, but can definitely understand why W&S is the album that gets the most praise). I hadn't heard of Witching Waves before that point, but saw them play twice that night - once as themselves, once as Far. Both sets were great, albeit in vastly different ways - there are few ways you could compare the band to Far, other than that they have a guitar, bass and drums, and both play music people would very broadly define as "rock". However, both versions worked for me.

I was a bit surprised I hadn't heard of Witching Waves before, but I began to wonder if there was a London scene that operated almost independently of bands I'd been around, which seemed to be based around South Wales, Exeter and Leeds (given the spread of those locations, you could forgive me for thinking I had a good grasp on the "UK scene"). The fact that this album is out on (Bristol- and formerly Exeter-based) Specialist Subject Records suggests that these things aren't happening as independently as I'd thought. Maybe I'm just out of the loop.

I'd enjoyed Witching Waves that night and quickly went to Bandcamp to check out a new song when this album was announced. Except they hadn't premiered any at that point, so I couldn't excitedly listen to any. When I got sent through the stream for review, I played it because I wanted to hear it not necessarily because I thought about reviewing it with any urgency. On that first listen I decided it was something I should write about, and on the many subsequent listens I just wanted to tell everyone about how great it is. This album is very good, and I've played those mp3s a lot in the last two months.

For me, the greatest thing about this album is how the band manages to switch between who is singing at the exact perfect point every time. Post-punk does have a tendency to rely on repetition, which is why its so pleasing that whenever you think they're about to fall into a moment of over-repetition, Emma and Mark will swap who is singing (or all sing) and it'll suddenly sound fresh and exciting. I can't emphasise enough how well timed this always is - it's not enough that's it's different, it's also because each time I think "yes, that was the exact perfect moment to switch it up". Listen to Best of Me or Melt it Down and tell me the change in singer isn't at the exact moment you wanted it to be. A while ago a friend told me about a hire car he had that had an indicator telling you when to change gear and how annoying it was that it always seemed timed such that it told you after you've already decided to change gear. Persistence would be the equivalent of a car that tells you change gear and you think "fuck, that was a good time to change". I feel like a better writer might have started with such an analogy, but this isn't Pitchfork. The closer Waiting For the Sun is one of the highlights and a great way to end the record. Strong vibes of The Ex throughout, which is always a positive in my book.

I ordered a copy straight away and get to maintain the idea that this blog is me writing about my record collection. It's nice to finally hear it playing on my hifi rather than just as a set of mp3s. I genuinely recommend this album and would love to see the band get the praise they deserve for it.

Format: 12", picture sleeve
Tracks: 10
Cost: £25 new
Bought: Specialist Subject Records
When: 05/04/19
Colour: Yellow
Etching: none
mp3s: Download code

Car Seat Headrest - Teens of Denial

The story of how I got into Car Seat Headrest is such a classic story that I'm sure everybody who has ever set foot in a record shop has at least one similar story. In July 2016, I was in Brighton for the annual Develop Conference and was nursing a fairly heavy hangover from a party on the first night (a hangover that would pale in comparison to the one I had the next day). I was working out of the Brighton office and decided to go to Resident Records in my lunch break. It was a few minutes walk from the office and I'd formed a habit of going regularly when I was visiting there.

It was a sunny day and for the whole time I was in there they were playing this Car Seat Headrest album - I must have heard most of it because I was in there for nearly the whole hour. I'd heard the band name before but never heard the music, or even knew what sort of music they played. My first memory is thinking that it sounded like Pavement (and I'm a strong believer that Pavement is sunny day music). I remember also getting hints of Jeffrey Lewis, which worked well with the Pavement themes. The third thing I noticed was a steady stream of people going up to the counter to ask what was playing - it was like that Belle & Sebastian scene in High Fidelity. I loved that everybody was equally bowled over by the music. I'm capable of seeing the "now playing" sign from a distance, so didn't need to ask myself, but did add this copy of the album to my pile and went to the counter to pay up. The person who served me commented on how many people were getting into Car Seat Headrest just from them playing them over the stereo. It's such a great way to discover a band.

I knew I was going to enjoy the album because I'd heard most of it in Resident that lunchtime, but I still played it first when I got home and loved it even more. I then text a bunch of friends who were into Pavement to tell them to give it a play. They mostly fell in love too. It was a big album that summer and ended the year as my #2 album of the year (behind Radiohead, which is a pretty good place to be). There was a lot of hype around Will and the band, but I'd say it was totally justified. This is an excellent album.

There's a run of songs - Vincent, Destroyed By Hippie Powers, Drugs With Friends, Not What I Needed and Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales - that could all be the best song on the album. I remember making a mixtape and shortlisting all of them, before eventually settling on Drugs With Friends - Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales was a close second - both having huge outros that you just want to sing along to. That makes for a pretty strong first half of the album. The Ballad of Costa Concordia is incredible too, its charm partly coming from its ridiculous length (which is also why it didn't get shortlisted for the mixtape), partly from the way it drifts between stupid teenage choices and the responsibility of making sure a giant cruise ship doesn't run aground off the coast of Italy - an unusual pairing by anyone's standards.

Format: Double 12", gatefold, picture sleeves
Tracks: 12
Cost: £20 new
Bought: Resident Records, Brighton
When: 13/07/16
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: Download code

Grand-Pop - Eight Nights

Records like this are the reason why subscriptions are awesome; I'd probably never have heard Grand-Pop had this record not arrived in the post. That would have been a huge shame, because I love this record. It's only eight songs long, but was my #2 album of the year in 2017 - that might help give you an idea how much I love it.

That said, I don't remember the first time I played it - it would have been within a few days of it arriving, but I wasn't anywhere near as into it then as I am now. In the coming weeks I found myself playing the mp3s at work a bit and thinking that more and more of the songs were great. I kept finding I had the songs in my head afterwards, and began listening to it even more. It's funny, because playing it now I can't think how I wasn't into it straight away.

For me, it's almost all about Warren's unusual and captivating vocals - he hits notes that most punk singers wouldn't go near and uses intonation like an instrument. It's almost operatic in places. There are choruses that approach RVIVR-levels of catchiness, but other than that it's hard to characterise the music exactly. That's probably why I like it so much - I've always been a fan of unusual vocals.

The highlights are Nova Scotia and Soul Man, two songs that almost demand to be sung along with - the first time the chorus in Soul Man kicks in is just perfect. That is also the worst thing about this record - I will never get the chance to sing along to these songs live; Grand-Pop ceased to be before the record was even released (I'm reasonably sure that's the case?). I'm glad I got the album, but I wish I'd had the chance to see them. I don't even remember seeing their name on line-ups, so I can only assume it was a very short-lived thing. Having Lou from Caves on drums seems like the sort of connection I'd have heard about. Maybe I'm just more out of the loop than I think I am.

Luckily, Specialist Subject put out the record, so it arrived as part of my subscription. I've got a lot of records that I knew I was going to enjoy from their subscription, but the unexpected treats like this are the reason it's such a great idea; I can't imagine any other way that these songs would have made their way to my ears, so I'm unbelievably thankful that they did in the way that they did.

Format: 12"
Tracks: 8
Cost: £10 new
Bought: Specialist Subject Records
When: 22/03/17
Colour: Grey/blue
Etching: none
mp3s: Download code

Great Cynics - In the Valley

Six-and-a-half years ago I wrote about the debut Cynics 7", Stones I've Thrown. A short while later, Giles re-recorded two of the songs there with Iona and Bob, the line-up that made up Great Cynics for most of their run. The sleeve notes that In the Valley was also on an older Cynics release, although not one I have.

These versions work really well - particularly with Iona's vocals - having the variety adds a lot. The fact that both acoustic and full-band renditions work so well is either a sign that the songs themselves are just really good, or perhaps that the full-band arrangements were done with a good eye. I guess by that point they were pretty good at making songs as a three, rather as a one.

Format: 7", insert
Tracks: 3
Cost: £4 new
Bought: Banquet Records, Kingston
When: 09/07/12
Colour: Clear
Etching: none
mp3s: Download code

Elway + The Magnificent - Split

I always meant to complete at least one series of the All in Vinyl split series 7"s, but haven't yet. I have quite a few from the first two series but never got round to seeking out the rest. I often see them in All Ages still, but there are always more pressing purchases.

I bought this record because I was getting into The Magnificent so wanted to hear more. 1990 was one of the songs that Jimmy recorded a solo version of for the four-way split with Chuck Ragan, Sam Russo and Helen Chambers. It was also one of the highlights, so I was keen to hear another version of it (it was also on Bad Lucky). The chorus is huge and crazy-catchy, and the trade-off between the male and females vocals at the end is perfect. Their second song is a cover of A Song for the Helenas by The Bomb. I didn't read the sleeve the first few times I played it, so assumed it was an original. The sleeve recommends buying Speed is Everything and I did have a listen after I read that, but didn't care for them much. I'd go so far as to say I prefer The Magnificent cover, which might be an unpopular opinion.

Elway are pretty enjoyable too - they remind of the Riverboat Gamblers, a band I briefly enjoyed on a Daytrotter Session, but never properly got into. Actually, these Elway songs are really good. I probably should have checked them out six years ago when I bought this. Better late than never I suppose.

Format: 7", insert
Tracks: 4
Cost: £4 new
Bought: Banquet Records, Kingston
When: 11/09/12
Colour: Clear
Etching: none
mp3s: Download code