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
