Hot Water Music - Till the Wheels Fall Off

I listen to Till the Wheel Fall Off a lot more than I do regular HWM music albums. The album collects what Wikipedia is calling "b-sides and rarities", but I think calling these songs b-sides would be doing most of these songs a disservice - some bands produce some incredible songs when working to create an EP or a one-off track, and that definitely seems true of HWM.

One of the reasons I listen to this so much is that there are some incredible songs on it - Kill the Night is amongst my favourite HWM songs and a great way to start the album. Beyond that you've also got "God Deciding", their excellent cover of Alkaline Trio's Bleeder (both, as it happens, songs that Chuck has often played solo), Home (unreleased before this record) and an early version of Wayfarer which is also up there amongst their best songs. Some brilliant songs for a collection album.

The latter half is dominated by a variety of covers, including their Turbonegro cover that I also have on the Alpha Motherfuckers tribute album. It feels much less coherent towards the end but that adds some charm (and it says a lot that it was so coherent at the start). The Springsteen cover came at a very bad time for my friend's band when we lived in Cardiff, as they'd just finished working on their own cover of No Surrender when this album came out; given how heavily influenced by HWM they already were, I think they felt that doing the same cover was a step too far (although that cover had been knocking around since 2000, so perhaps it was just bad research). Their's was about as scrappy as HWM's version here is.

I found this copy in an excellent record shop in Toronto called Criminal Records, where I also stocked up on a lot of Attack in Black records. I hadn't seen it around before so I figured it'd be a good addition. I knew it was a collection album as I recognised Prince of the Rodeo on the tracklist, but thought I'd enjoy it either way. I didn't realise quite to what extent I'd like it mind you. This is the double transparent green vinyl from the first pressing (/625). Or at least I think it is - I don't know what the "green mix /32" from the second pressing looks like, but odds are this is the first. The second record is a much darker green than the first. It's a nice package too with the lyrics on the picture sleeves and a very nice way to capture the band.


Format: Double 12", gatefold sleeve, picture sleeves
Tracks: 23
Cost: £12 new
Bought: Criminal Records, Toronto
When: 13/05/09
Colour: Transparent green
Etching: Side A: "We.re all put to the test... to drown like all the rest" Side B: "We fend and fight what we know best" Side C: "Alone or siding with the chosen few" Side D: "Breaking up is hard to do"
mp3s: no

Attack in Black - Years (By One Thousand Fingertips)

Years (By One Thousand Fingertips) was Attack in Black's third and final album. The word "final" is particularly gutting because I had a lot of time for them. I've written about them on here twice before and I hope to again when I one day find a copy of their excellent LP Marriage.

Years, like The Curve of the Earth, is very different to Marriage. There are moments like Liberties and Seeds where you can hear that they are the same band, but on the whole you wouldn't think so; the record is calm, quiet and less angry. The songs are still good, but somehow the word "nice" seems most fitting. If their first EP was them doing hardcore, and Marriage was them doing punk (perfectly), then Years is their album of nice songs.

I picked up this double LP in Canada shortly after it came out. What makes the fact that they broke up even more gutting is that they were touring Canada the same time I was there. The tour never stopped in the same city that I was in at the right time, but there was one night that with a short drive I could have made it to. Of course I didn't know they were going to break up and that would be the last chance I'd ever get to see them. When I saw them the first (and only) time, they were touring Marriage and I saw punk-Attack in Black (which they did incredibly well - I remember standing to the right of the stage in TJ's not expecting much but then almost instantly being blown away by how good they were). I've come to love the "nice" side of the band too and I wish I'd gone to see these songs live - it could have been completely different to how they were in TJ's or exactly the same and I think I would have been glad to see it either way. Five years later I'm certainly upset I never got to find out.

Format: Double 12", gatefold sleeve, insert
Tracks: 16
Cost: £13.20 new
Bought: Criminal Records, Toronto
When: 13/05/09
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no

Attack in Black + Baby Eagle - Attack in Black and Baby Eagle

I bought this one whilst on holiday in Canada a few years back. A bunch of us had been travelling around the East a bit and at the end I had a few days to kill in Toronto, so I did the usual and went out in search of record shops. I found a couple of good ones, this one came from Criminal Records (I just googled them and it turns out they've closed down. Sad news).

I got into Attack in Black after seeing them support Far in TJ's in Newport. The name is terrible, so we assumed they'd be shit. Luckily they were the exact opposite; fantastic songs played awesomely, and the singer had this cockiness that added to their charm. Hugh bought Marriage on vinyl at the show and I remain annoyed that I didn't/jealous of his copy. I got the cd from my sister at Christmas and I adore it. The thing that got me was that it was so different to my memories of their live show. But it turns out that is something Attack in Black seem to specialise in; every one of their records sounds totally different. The songs they play here sound more like the ones on Years, but it was around the same time so it makes sense I guess.

It's a split record in the way I always felt splits should be: two bands covering each other's songs. Attack in Black take on four songs by Baby Eagle, and vice versa. When I bought it I think I hadn't even heard of the Constantines, let alone known the singer also wrote songs as Baby Eagle, so we can safely say I bought it for Attack in Black. Their songs are good, but I really do prefer the heavier sound they used to have. The dual vocals on Let Wander Your Restless Hearts are lovely though.

I really enjoy the Baby Eagle side. Maybe its because I know the songs as their originals. I bought Years on the same trip so I didn't know Leather Jacket and Leaving Your Death... that well. However, I had listened to Inches and Ages and Marriage countless times and these covers are great. I think it's because they're punk songs originally (whereas the other two are basically country). When stripped down like these versions (Marriage is nearly spoken-word) are you can see them as much more.

It's a short record, but it's pretty nice. I'd fully recommend picking it up, although Marriage is the essential Attack in Black record as far as I'm concerned.

Format: 12"
Tracks: 8
Cost: £10.35 new
Bought: Criminal Records, Toronto
When: 13/05/09
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: download