Wavelets - Athaletics

Wavelets are a band I'd never heard of (let alone heard) when I bought this record. The fact I own this album is a testament to quite how trigger happy I get when ordering records from the states and how easily swung I am by a good offer. On the other hand, it's a great record so I'm very pleased I own a copy.

I was ordering a bunch of records from the Tiny Engines website and I decided to pick up the Dikembe album since we'd seen them at Fest and I thought they were awesome. The site had an offer where you could order the Dikembe and Wavelets albums together for a small saving and I figured I didn't have much to lose - the postage was already high enough another record wouldn't cost too much and records from the US are so cheap anyway. Plus the description said that Dikembe and Wavelets shared a singer and a guitarist (hence the offer) so it really couldn't go too wrong.

Athaletics isn't a long album (it plays at 45rpm) but they squeeze in some excellent moments. The album is book-ended by my two favourite songs - Julio Won't Get Out of the Car and Cannonball - two songs made excellent by the group-vocals (something that also works pretty well on My Dad the Manatee). The end of Cannonball, with the chorus screamed by a whole bunch of voices, is the highlight of the record for me.

Controversially, I think I might actually prefer the Wavelets album to the Dikembe album; both are excellent, but Athaletics comes across a more fun record and I think it works.

Format: 12", a4 insert
Tracks: 9
Cost: £8.70 new
Bought: Tiny Engines website
When: 10/01/13
Colour: Transparent red (/150)
Etching: none
mp3s: Download code

Dikembe - Broad Shoulders

Both times I've been to Fest I left having discovered so many excellent bands. The Sunday of the first of those two Fests was particularly exciting; I was pretty knackered after three-and-a-half days of watching bands and drinking so decided to hole up in Loosey's for the evening. Failures' Union were playing and I was keen to see them again. Beforehand were a band called Dikembe and afterwards was a band called Restorations. I'd heard of neither but both would shortly go on to completely blow me away. (As if that wasn't enough, on the way home we passed by Eight Seconds and ended up catching the end of The Underground Railroad to Candyland's set, which was also an excellent find. Beforehand all I wanted to do was sit down, but I couldn't tear myself away from that band.)

Anyway, I didn't buy any Dikembe records after their set but did make a mental note to check them out in the future. A year afterwards I finally did so by picking up their debut album, Broad Shoulders. I was ordering the new Run Forever album from the Tiny Engines website and was stocking up to make the most of the postage. I'd enjoyed their set so figured the album would be a safe bet. Luckily, it was as good as I remembered them.

There are some excellent songs throughout the album (like Librarians Would Kill For That Kind of Silence) but it's actually the sparse moments where there are just guitars and vocals like on Nothing, Stuff and Not Today, Angel that really make the album for me.

Format: 12", insert
Tracks: 10
Cost: £8.70 new
Bought: Tiny Engines website
When: 10/01/13
Colour: Light brown (/250)
Etching: Side A: "Take ya lemon and ya honey" Side B: "And get outta here!"
mp3s: Download code

Constantines - Shine a Light

Constantines are a band I regularly have to kick myself about - over a number of years I had a handful of opportunities to see them live and I never once saw them. In my defence, I didn't get into them until long after they'd broken up, but somehow that makes me feel worse; sheer ignorance meant I never saw them, rather than my usual laziness (which I've come to terms with).

I first heard Constantines on their Daytrotter session - this was back when I first discovered Daytrotter and spent all my time at the office just listening to Daytrotter sessions. I have no recollection of what it was that made me click on the Constantines session, but I guess it was that vague familiarity you get when you see a band name in certain places that makes you think they'd be worth checking out. Most notably, they'd played at the Explosions in the Sky-curated All Tomorrow's Parties (and that was a line-up I spent many hours getting excited over). I listened to their session and was so, so incredibly impressed. I had two especially noteworthy moments from that Daytrotter period and they were from hearing Constantines and from hearing Low.

The Constantines session was incredible for how raucous and energetic they sounded. They played like they hated their instruments and I loved it. A short while later I picked up a copy of Shine a Light (on cd) and later Tournament of Hearts and Kensington Heights. I enjoyed them all, but none quite captured the band in the same way that Daytrotter session did (or, for that matter, how I imagine they were every time they played live). Take Sub-Domestic for example - here it's a relatively slow album closer, but on that session everything is dialled up and that outro just has this extra edge to it. Makes you wonder, if that's how they played Sub-Domestic live, how full-on would the heavier songs have sounded? That difference between the band on record and the band live is what makes me think of Constantines every time I see or hear Restorations. All that said, the songs here are all still excellent and National Hum and Shine a Light start the record in incredible style. Insectivora is a huge highlight for me, as are On to You and Tank Commander.

Anyway, a few months ago I found this re-release in Truck Records and snapped it up - not only was it very reasonably priced, but included was a bonus 7" (featuring two covers and a strange, alternative version of Hotline Operator). I'd not seen it there before and I certainly wasn't going to just hope it was still there the next time I went in. I left the store very happy that day (and, interestingly, I've not seen it there since). An excellent find.

Format: 12", 7", gatefold sleeve
Tracks: 15
Cost: £15 new
Bought: Truck Records
When: 26/07/14
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: Download code

The Paper Chase - Someday This Could All Be Yours, Vol. 1

I'm a big fan of The Paper Chase - in the 11 years I've been listening to them I'm yet to find a band that sounds remotely like them or has excited me in the same way, which is both awesome and a shame. They've since called it a day and the main driving force behind the band, John Congleton, appears to be focusing on his pretty successful career as a producer. It's sad, but they released a lot of good music along the way so I can't complain too much.

I've always planned to complete my Paper Chase collection but once I had everything on at least one format I kinda stopped. It wouldn't be a tricky one to complete I think but I've simply not put in the effort. When I saw this copy of their final album in Music and Video Exchange in Soho I was torn; I knew I wanted to buy a vinyl copy at some point, but did I want this slightly dog-eared copy? I'm certain there are copies in way better condition that I could have bought for a broadly similar price, but it also pained me to see this copy sat in the racks gradually getting more and more battered. I knew I had to buy it really, but part of me will always me slightly annoyed at the tatty sleeve. I'd like to call it "well-loved" but ultimately I know it's more to do with the effect of endless Londoners flicking past it.

Someday This Could All Be Yours, Vol 1 will always be an odd record in The Paper Chase's work - the volume one that never had a volume two. I remember when it came out someone pointed that a curious thing happened on the album that doesn't really happened on any other Paper Chase album - one song finishes and there's a gap before the next one starts. What counts as normal on any other record makes for the strangest thing on a Paper Chase record. Unlike the previous albums, Someday... feels like 10 songs while the others were continuous pieces of music. That's not a bad thing, but I think the theme that holds the album together becomes less apparent because of it.

All of The Paper Chase's albums are great (in my opinion) but over the years I've found myself turning to God Bless Your Black Heart and Hide the Kitchen Knives the most, but that's not to say the other albums aren't excellent too. Someday... holds up well amongst the back-catalogue and has it's fair share of excellent songs - Your Money or Your Life (The Comet), What Should We Do With Your Body (The Lightning) and This is a Rape (The Flood) make for a particularly excellent trio.

Format: 12", insert
Tracks: 10
Cost: £8 second hand
Bought: Music and Video Exchange, London
When: 23/05/14
Colour: Black
Etching: Side A: "We're all aboard the Titanic" Side B: "We're all aboard the Titanic"
mp3s: no

Tomahawk - Eponymous to Anonymous

I've been listening to bands that Mike Patton has been in for years - like most I started with some Faith No More and Mr Bungle, eventually adding some Lovage and Peeping Tom into the mix, as well as with his excellent album with John Kaada; at Roskilde Festival one year I saw him play in four different bands over the weekend; I even made it about half way through one of his solo albums (which is quite something, I can tell you). He's released a lot of music over the years and I doubt there's anyone out there who can enjoy all of it (possibly even including Mike himself). Personally, I've found his metal bands to be less rewarding - I saw Fantomas (at Roskilde) and quite enjoyed it, but I've never been able to get into their albums; similarly, I have a very hit-and-miss relationship with the Mr Bungle albums. Throughout all of this, Tomahawk remained the one band I never actually listened to.

That changed on Record Store Day in 2012. I'd seen that there was a boxset of Tomahawk's first three albums and thought it could be a good chance to finally get into them. As I stood in the queue that day, chatting to the guy behind me about what records we were hoping to get he pretty much convinced me that I'd enjoy Tomahawk and it'd be a great purchase. The key consideration was the price - RSD records tend to be obscenely expensive, but the Tomahawk boxset was a US release meaning that it stood a good chance of being reasonably priced (a very backwards system indeed. It was the same logic that meant I got the first three Piebald albums for £26). We also agreed that if there was only one copy left, he could have it. Luckily, there were still quite a few when we got into the shop and, even better, it was under £30 (even less with the Banquet vouchers I'd been saving from my loyalty cards).

It's a pretty nice package, but suffers from my usual RSD complaint - yes, it's nice to have these albums on vinyl and the box is a good addition, but otherwise it's a fairly basic reissue; no coloured vinyl, download codes, inserts, etc. None of these are vital, but they are nice and I always feel they go a long way.

Of the three albums, Mit Gas is my favourite. It feels like it works best as an album and has some genuinely catchy songs (Desatsre Natural is my favourite of the lot my a long way). In comparison, the other two albums have their faults along with their better moments. The first "eponymous" LP lacks those moments that make it stand out (whereas Mit Gas has plenty). Laredo is a pretty good song, but I usually find that the rest of the album has passed me by and that one catches my ears at the end. Anonymous on the other hand mostly suffers from its concept - traditional Native American songs fleshed out into rock songs. Despite that, Ghost Dance and Omaha Dance are highlights.

There are moments throughout the boxset that are really great, but it doesn't get as much play as I thought it would and, when I do think to play it, I generally find myself listening to Mit Gas. I enjoy it, but it's not my favourite Patton-related band by a long shot.

Format: Triple 12", boxset
Tracks: 38
Cost: £18.24 new
Bought: Banquet Records
When: 21/04/12
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no

El-P - I'll Sleep When You're Dead

Before April 2007 I'd never heard of El-P. I was in Cardiff visiting a friend and we spent the Saturday morning visiting the record shops in town. In Fopp he picked up a copy of El-P's new-at-the-time album I'll Sleep When You're Dead which got him into a conversation with the fairly attractive woman at the till. As first impressions of musicians go, "El-P makes woman impressed by your music taste" is a pretty good one. She was noticeably underwhelmed by my choices, which really reinforced that idea in my mind.

Anyway, later in the day we got back to my friends house and he played me a couple of songs from the album whilst he cooked and I thought it was great. He started with The Overly Dramatic Truth and Flyentology, knowing that the Glassjaw and Nine Inch Nails cameos would appeal to me. It certainly worked and a few months later I stumbled across this vinyl copy in the HMV in Basingstoke (which shouldn't be ignored as something that happens easily - I'd rarely even seen the cd about, let alone the LP. That HMV didn't have a particularly great selection of vinyl but did have this. I've never seen the vinyl in a shop since. Sadly I was served by a dude who barely even looked at what I was buying). As if finding this album on vinyl (for a mere £11.50) wasn't enough, when I got home I discovered it also contained a bonus red 7" with alternate mixes of Smithereens and The Overly Dramatic Truth on; a very pleasant surprise indeed.

In the seven years since I bought this album, it's been consistently on very regular rotation. The beats are brilliantly dark in places and compliment the rapping perfectly. Most of the songs subtlety build up, gradually adding instruments and beats, until there's so much going on it's hard to concentrate on anything else (the drums-and-vocals-only mix of The Overly Dramatic Truth on the 7" is perfect example - the drums start off quite peacefully but but end up riotous before dropping away completely just leaving El's rap). There are highlights throughout the album, but Tasmanian Pain Coaster, Up All Night, Poisenville Kids No Wins and the entirety of side C are all worth calling out.

There's not a great deal of hip-hop in my record collection, but the albums I do have generally have some relation to El-P. Not only is I'll Sleep When You're Dead a great record, it introduced me to a wealth of other great music too. What more can you ask for?

Format: Double 12", 7", insert
Tracks: 15
Cost: £11.50 new
Bought: HMV, Basingstoke
When: 01/07/07
Colour: Black, Red 7"
Etching: none
mp3s: no

Run Forever - Settling

Run Forever blew me away with their first album. I played The Devil, and Death and Me pretty much on repeat for ages and I had an excellent time watching them at Fest that year. It was a perfect band-crush. To a certain extent, I played that album too much, which meant I was pretty excited when they announced their second album was coming out; I was definitely in need of some new Run Forever music.

On first listen, I enjoyed the record, but it didn't knock me off my feet like the debut did. I was a bit disappointed but knew I'd probably built the excitement up in my mind to a point where it was never going to live up to expectations. Where Settling and The Devil... differ is that Settling is a grower. In the year-and-a-half that I've had this album it's gone from being this enjoyable punk-rock record to being a great album I want to go back to over and over again. At some point the albums shifted and Settling became the Run Forever album I'd go to first.

The highlights for me appear at either end of the album - Good Enough and Forget are both incredible songs. The former sets the scene for the album reflecting on past times but the latter looks forward optimistically. I like that a lot - Settling isn't just ten songs, but a journey of dealing with the past and moving on. There are great songs in the middle as well - Basement, Postcards and Drop Out are all brilliant too.

I'm not great at ordering records from the states - the exchange rate is usually pretty good but the postage soon adds up and every now and again Customs decide they want a slice of the pie too. When I do order from abroad, I tend to stock up (there'll be a bunch more posts on here about that particular shopping spree). I knew I'd have to order this record to get a copy - it certainly wasn't going to appear in any UK shops any time soon and I hadn't planned to go back to Fest at that point.

There were four colour options on the Tiny Engines website and I was a bit torn about what to do - the smoke-white vinyl sounded the nicest, but part of me wanted the least numerous press (the green in the picture). They also had the option to order all four colours. Normally I wouldn't go for this, but I'd been reading some blogs of some guys who obsessively hunted down every colour of records for certain bands and a part of me really liked that. Combined with my indecision about the colour, I decided to order all four. They've since released some other pressings (including one only available on a US tour), so my dream of owning every variant of their records was shot down pretty soon (although it's probably for the best - I know that a better use of my money is to spend it getting into other bands). Still, the four colours I do own look very lovely when all lined up.

Format: 12", insert
Tracks: 10
Cost: £9.30 (each) new
Bought: Tiny Engines webstore
When: 10/01/13
Colour: Green (/100), pink (/125), blue (/125), smoke-white (/150)
Etching: none
mp3s: Download code