Texas is the Reason - Do You Know Who You Are?

A few years ago I read a review of the debut EP by a close friend's band. He was pretty excited that someone who wasn't a friend of the band had even listened to it, let alone given it a good review. The interesting part however was the list of bands in the "For fans of..." section. I think there were four bands listed, three of whom were all bands they were into so were to be expected. The fourth however was Texas is the Reason, a band neither of us, nor the rest of the band, had ever heard of. We found some songs on the internet and gave them a listen; the reviewer had a point, my friends band sounded very much like Texas is the Reason, albeit accidentally.

Sometime later I was in New York visiting a friend. My priorities are rarely straight when in exciting new foreign cities, so before seeing the Statue of Liberty or Central Park I went record shopping and ended up spending hours and a small fortune in Generation Records. I liked it so much I went back again two days later to buy some more records. On the first trip I either hadn't seen, or not remembered the significance of this record, but corrected that and bought it, along with a few other bits. And I'm very glad I did - it's a cracking album. Nine songs of lovely, genuine emo/post-hardcore (before those words came to mean what they mean now). The Drinking Song and Back and to the Left are highlights for me. The instrument title-track is pretty good too.

One of the problems with binge record-shopping is coming with so many records you don't know where to start and albums get neglected or under-appreciated. That happened a bit when I came back from New York (it was also Record Store Day when I was in Colorado on the same trip, so my pile of vinyl was a bit ridiculous - the exchange rate was particularly good). This record got caught up in my hectic return home and ended up being a bit of a slow-burner. That was four years ago now, and over that time the record has had time to shine, and I gradually came to see it for the awesome album it is. The band set up a Twitter account the other day and I'm very hopeful that a reunion will result in at least one UK show (Garrett was due to play some solo shows in April, but they got mysteriously pulled last minute). People are often a bit cynical of reunion shows, but if it means I get to see Texas is the Reason, I'm all for it.


Format: 12", picture sleeve
Tracks: 9
Cost: £5.42 new
Bought: Generation Records, New York
When: 13/04/08
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no

The Smashing Pumpkins - Machina

The Smashing Pumpkins were one of those bands you always knew about, but never knew quite why. I definitely cannot tell you the first time I heard the name The Smashing Pumpkins, but I do remember the first time I heard them after I started really listening to music (my life can basically be partitioned into the pre- and post-Bittersweet Symphony eras, something I'll elaborate on another time. This story takes place in the latter). We had just got Sky tv for the first time and I was about to take my GCSE's (brilliant timing to suddenly go from 5 channels of distraction to 500+) and on one of the music channels I saw the incredible video for Tonight, Tonight and fell in love with this band. I became a big fan; my copy of Mellon Collie on triple vinyl is one of my most prized possessions and, as with many things, be written about sometime in the future.

Anyway, in 2002 my sister had just gone to university and phoned me from a record shop before popping back for the weekend. My birthday was coming up and there were a bunch of records she thought I'd like. I can't remember the other ones she thought I'd enjoy, but when she mentioned a picture disc of Machina I got very excited. It turns out to be a promo release (although the Smashing Pumpkins fan club disagrees) with a selection of 10 songs from the album, and not including the vinyl-only Speed Kills (the abbreviated track-listing can be seen in the last picture). The cover art is pretty lovely so looks great on the picture disc. On the other side there are tiny versions of the pictures in the cd booklet, and a few odd misspellings.

Machina was never my favourite Pumpkins album, but had a few tunes. The Everlasting Gaze was always a classic and I quite like Wound and The Crying Tree of Mercury, the last two here. The quality is obviously not great, as picture discs rarely are, and it crackles and pops more than most records (the very tight-fitting plastic sleeve it came in makes me think people have had their fingers all over the grooves trying to get it out). Still, a very nice one for the collection.


Format: 12" picture disc
Tracks: 10
Cost: Free, second hand
Bought: Gift
When: 20/10/02
Colour: Picture disc
Etching: none
mp3s: no

Broken Social Scene - Broken Social Scene

Earlier today I read Side One Track One's review of In The Aeroplane Over The Sea, which got me thinking about mixtapes I've received, and songs on them that have got me into bands. With that in mind, here is the story of the first time I heard Broken Social Scene. (As a side note, In The Aeroplane Over The Sea is possibly my all-time favourite album and I plan to write a very lengthy post about that when I find the time to gush appropriately).

When I was at university in Australia I met a girl who was into some very cool music (in fact, far cooler music than me; I was impressed by her Les Savy Fav t-shirt while she looked down on me for wearing a Thursday t-shirt). Shortly after I left the country she sent me a mixtape in the post of 15-or-so mostly indie songs by bands I'd either never heard of, or never heard. I like a bit of indie, but it doesn't always do it for me and there were only really two songs the particularly caught my ear. One was The CN Tower Belongs to the Dead by Final Fantasy and the other was the first song on there - Ibi Dreams of Pavement - A Better Day. It was a great opener to a mixtape and a great song.

That summer I went to Pukkelpop festival and saw BSS play on the Sunday evening. They were absolutely incredible to watch; sometimes up to 15 people on stage banging away at various instruments. The set-list was great too. Despite not knowing the songs at the time, I remember hearing Anthem For a Seventeen Year -Old Girl and It's All Gonna Break. I've seen them a number of times since and, with the exception of their set at the Explosions in the Sky ATP, the shows never quite lived up to my memories. (That year's Pukkelpop line-up remains one of the best festival bills I've ever seen - Radiohead, Massive Attack, Daft Punk, Beck, Cursive, Turbonegro, BSS,...)

Anyway, shortly after Pukkelpop I had a look for the self-titled album and found a new copy on eBay for a bargain price, expecially considering it's a double. The album itself spans three sides, with the fourth taken up by the Ep To Be You and Me. There are some great songs here, but given that there are 21 songs overall, there are a few that fall into the background and I forget about. The highlights are definitely Ibi Dreams of Pavement, Windsurfing Nation, Superconnected and It's All Gonna Break. Ibi should be the opener in my opinion - it worked well on the mixtape and would do a similarly good job here. I absolutely love it when the horns start playing on any of their songs.

It's a pretty lovely package too. Nice, thick vinyl, gatefold sleeve and picture inner sleeves. Written inside are notes on the songs including "Get Canning to title more songs" on Handjobs For the Holidays, and "Make sure ghosts doesn't sound like goats", a mistake that would've made It's All Gonna Break a very different song. The EP is alright, but given the strength of the outro of the album, I could live without. It's nice that it's there though.

Overall, a very good record by an awesome band who I might not have heard had it not been for that mixtape. I lost contact with the friend who sent me it a while back (honestly, who isn't on Facebook these days?). After seeing Final Fantasy I tried to email her to say thank you for putting his song on the cd, but I assume she no longer check her uni email. I realise the chances of her reading this are slim, but thank you Kate for playing me Broken Social Scene and Final Fantasy.


Format: double 12", gatefold sleeve, picture sleeves
Tracks: 21
Cost: £8.53 new
Bought: eBay
When: 31/10/06
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no

The Front Bottoms - The Front Bottoms

Banquet Records putting out The Front Bottoms' self-titled album has been one of my favourite things to happen this year. I heard The Beers on the Topshelf Records Sampler last year and thought it was fantastic. I streamed a handful more songs and looked to see where I could get the album from. At the time it was only out in America and would've cost a small fortune to get shipped over, so I forgot about it. (I often think I need to make a friend in the US to receive all my American orders and then bundle them up together and ship over. I've not made any progress on this thought though.) Luckily, a short while later Banquet announced they'd be putting it out and I immediately put my order in. I guess some songs had also caught the ear of JT et al, but they'd been much more proactive in getting the record over. Thanks guys.

Anyway, it's a cracking album. There's not a bad song on there and there are some massive stand-out tunes, like Maps, Rhode Island and The Beers. I can see why Banquet were so excited about it, because it seems to cross the musical styles they love so perfectly - accessible, upbeat indie tunes but with a solid dose of punk. It's not to everyone's taste of course, I played the album whilst in the car on holiday recently and the main complaint was the vocals (with particular comments about the chorus in The Beers), but my friends tend to be into very different music. (Personally I like the vocals - they were one of the things that pulled me in. But then again I also love Jeff Mangum and Billy Corgan's voices, so maybe I just like "quirky" vocals more than most.)

The record only arrived in the post the other day but the orders came with an instant digital download. I normally try to listen to the record before the mp3s, but my impatience got the better of me here and I've played those mp3s to death over the last few months. The other reason I listened to early was because the band were coming over for a short tour and I wanted to know the songs. They only played six or seven shows but they seemed like a different band by the end of the week. I saw them play (awesomely) in-store at Banquet and nervously to a small crowd at New Slang. By the time they made it to their last show in the Old Blue Last they blew everyone away. They were having a great time, and so were the crowd, singing back most of the lyrics.

It's too early in the year to think seriously about end-of-the-year lists, but that Old Blue Last show might make the top 10 gigs (although it will have to be a top 13 because the first four places are basically reserved for the four Jeff Mangum shows I saw in March). Despite it technically coming out last year, I think it's safe to say though that this album will make the top 10 records though.


Format: 12", picture sleeve
Tracks: 12
Cost: £14.70 new
Bought: Banquet Records
When: 02/07/12
Colour: Blue
Etching: none
mp3s: download

The Mars Volta - Tremulant

Keeping with today's Hard Rock Calling theme, here is a record by the other band that I'm excited about seeing next Friday. The last few times I've seen The Mars Volta have all been amazing so I'm pretty sure they'll be good again. Their most recent album was very good, much better than the few that preceded it, and the first two are both incredible. This is their first EP, which I picked up in a very cool record shop in Melbourne that I can't quite remember the name of. It was a very cool shop though. I reckon I could find it again if I was in Melbourne, assuming it's still there. I would've spent a lot more money if I wasn't a student coming towards the end of term.

Cut That City starts off with an intro of quiet background noise, and then spends a minute scatting about before settling into a good song. Concertina is practically a single in comparison, which is saying a lot given their style and song-lengths. Eunuch Provocateur gives more of a glimpse of The Mars Volta to come - crazy, stretched out, technical songs. Short, but a good record.

The first time I saw The Mars Volta I didn't quite get them. It was at Reading Festival and their set only really consisted of two songs. I ended up buying their debut album at some point and loved it. I'm not sure why, given my live experience. I think people had just consistently raved about it. But it made me a fan of the band, and the second album added to that. Their LPs are always crazy-expensive, but this is a nice record to have. I also have a vinyl-only live album which is pretty lovely, I'll write about it sometime in the future.


Format: 12", insert
Tracks: 3
Cost: £6.88 new
Bought: Melbourne
When: 31/05/06
Colour: Marbled yellow
Etching: Side A:"Nursing a viper in Rome's bosom" Side B:"Relax bros. We're all badass actors here"
mp3s: no

Soundgarden - Screaming Life EP

Soundgarden's reunion has been a slow one. When they announced it on New Year's day a year and a half ago I was very excited. I'd long been a fan and figured I'd never get to see them (Chris Cornell playing a few Soundgarden songs during Audioslave's set at Roskilde didn't quite cut it). But nothing happened. For ages. Then they finally announced a UK show at Hard Rock Calling in Hyde Park in July. I wanted to go, but somehow not quite £55-wanted-to-go. However, it looks like sales have been poor and they're now going for £20, so I bought some and have been mostly listening to Soundgarden since. A week and a half to go!

(I realise how it sounds - not wanting to pay £55 after claiming to be a "big fan", but there are many other factors to play: I'd like to see them in a smaller venue than Hyde Park, the rest of the line up looked a bit rubbish (except The Mars Volta), and £55 is a lot of money.)

Anyway, the Screaming Life EP is a classic bit of Soundgarden. Their first few releases always sound much less grunge to me than the later stuff, but it's all good really. The very first time I heard Soundgarden was a 30-second clip of Nothing to Say on Encarta when my parents bought our second-ever PC. Encarta was Wikipedia on a dvd before Wikipedia made it redundant, and the Grunge article told me about all these great bands and played me one of my favourite Soundgarden songs. Someone working for them must have been a fan of Nothing to Say for it to be chosen over all the other possibilities. Thank you Encarta employee, Pearl Jam or Nirvana may not have led me to such great music. Sometime later I remember Mary Ann Hobbs playing Black Hole Sun and I gradually bought all their albums.

I had Screaming Life/Fopp on cd but found this in Replay Records in Bristol, a shop I probably wouldn't be able to find again (I always get lost in Bristol) and have no idea if it still exists. I'm guessing it's a reissue since it was cheap, in mint condition, but most of all because it has "subpop.com" printed on the back, which I'm pretty sure didn't exist in 1987.

It really is a great EP. Hunted Down, Entering and Nothing to Say are some of my favourite Soundgarden songs, especially of the early era. Chris Cornell's voice has always been one of the best in rock music (his solo career has been embarrassing at times, but that Bond theme was pretty good). I'm also a fan cool live photos for album sleeves and this one has a good one back and front. All in all, a record I'm very pleased to have in my collection.


Format: 12"
Tracks: 6
Cost: £8 new
Bought: Replay Records, Bristol
When: 10/12/04
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no

Hell is For Heroes - The Neon Handshake

Last week tickets went on sale for a line-up that made me a little weak at the knees: Hundred Reasons, Hell is For Heroes and Cable, with the first two playing their classic debut albums in full. Clearly I wasn't the only one excited by this as tickets sold out in hours and they announced a second London show. I get quite excited by bands playing an album in full at the best of times, but add in the fact that Ideas Above Our Station and The Neon Handshake are two records I'm a huge fan of and you have a very large smile on my face!

A few years ago I wrote a list of my Top 50 Records of the 2000's, a list that I don't agree with entirely now but is largely accurate. The Neon Handshake just pipped End Transmission and came in at number 17, which should give you an idea of how much I love this album. (As a side note, I'm doing pretty well on seeing these albums played in full - a lot of them are turning 10 years old so bands seem to be playing them. So far I've seen IAOS, Full Collapse and Fever to Tell.)

I first heard HIFH on a Kerrang! cd before the album came out. There was a demo of Sick/Happy that might have been the highlight of the cd. It certainly stuck out regardless and made me aware of the band. My local HMV would get in a few 7"s from time to time and I picked up the singles from this album as they came out and bought the album (on cd) on release day. I immediately loved every second of it; there's not a bad song on there and it was just the sort of music I was into at the time - heavy but not metal. I'm still into it now. The whisper/break in Out of Sight is perfect and Five Kids Go is a stunning opener. Sick Happy and the singles are still massive (blog posts on them to come at some point) and the closer rounds it off very nicely. I can't fault it.

A year of so after it came out I found the LP for a bargain £4.50 in Selectadisc in Nottingham whilst visiting my sister. That store was great - so much vinyl and so many awesome albums in the sale. I've not been to Nottingham since so I have no idea if it's still there or still so great. The London one tends to be too pricey for me these days. I think I bought so much that day I had to put some records back because I couldn't carry them all. Anyway, it's a record I'm very glad to have in my collection. Red vinyl and numbered (#344). There's a slight bit on the top right of the sleeve where the price sticker took away the colour, but otherwise it's perfect.

I only got to see the band once, in Preston with The Lucky Nine supporting, but it was incredible. I'd missed them at Reading at least once and later realised my mistake. They were due to play Cardiff on their last ever tour but cancelled the last few shows. I think The Neon Handshake shows will make up for that. It was a shame they called it quits, because all three of their albums were incredibly strong. A few months ago a friend and I went to New Noise in Kingston and were slightly shocked by how few songs we knew (perhaps we're too old for clubbing!) but requested Hundred Reasons and HIFH. They played our requests back to back and I had a fantastic 7 minutes jumping around to I'll Find You and Five Kids Go (nearly accidentally head-butting some girl). At Banquet's Big Day Out I had the fun of seeing HR again and in November I get Hundred Reasons and Hell is For Heroes in one night, except this time I'll be jumping around to the bands instead of a DJ and it won't just be me and Sarah excited!

Format: 12", picture sleeve
Tracks: 12
Cost: £4.50 new
Bought: Selectadisc Nottingham
When: 15/03/04
Colour: Transparent red
Etching: none
mp3s: no