Failures' Union - Sinker

I started this blog over four years ago and the very first record I wrote about was In What Way by Failures' Union. In the four years between now and then I've written about over 400 records I own, which on one hand is very pleasing, but on the other quite daunting, as I know I have many more to go and increasingly less time in my day. Still, it's about time I wrote about Failures' Union's first album, Sinker.

About a year after I saw Failures' Union in Kingston I bought Sinker in Banquet. The sticker that's still on the plastic sleeve says £8 but I actually paid even less than that as I had a voucher to use as the result of a full-stamped loyalty card.

These days I enjoy both In What Way and Sinker quite equally. It doesn't help that I have mp3s for neither, so they don't get as much play as I'd like. The result is that when I have a craving for Failures' Union I pick one of these two quite arbitrarily and get a very similar enjoyment. There are certainly moments on Sinker I look forward to - like the pairing of Watch the Sky and Independence Blues. Useless Facts, Classic Car Wreck and the slow Carry It Well are great too.

I hadn't realised that Failures' Union had since released a third album; I should pick a copy up.

Format: 12", insert
Tracks: 16
Cost: £5 new
Bought: Banquet Records, Kingston
When: 17/01/11
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no

The Night Marchers - Allez! Allez!

John Reis being in a band is a pretty strong stamp of approval. In fact, there's a wide network of bands that are all interconnected by the bands he's been in, who are all noteworthy. Whilst RFTC was certainly my introduction to his many bands and music, it was Drive Like Jehu that I first fell in love with.

In 2013 I first heard about The Night Marchers (although they'd long pre-dated that point) via Tim Pop-Kid's vinyl blog. They sounded like an interesting band that I'd probably enjoy. In a rare collection of well-timed events, I was also going to Fest that year, where The Night Marchers were playing and, even more hard-to-predict, Banquet happened to have a copy of their second (and new-at-the-time) LP, Allez! Allez!. I excitedly bought a copy, along with a bunch of other albums, but it was certainly near the top of the ones I wanted to listen to first.

Given the (relatively) wide variety of music Reis has been involved with (his is a much wider range than a lot of prolific musicians) I wasn't entirely sure what to expect, but very much enjoyed what I heard when the needle hit the record. Given the rest of the line-up, it's easy to compare the band most to Hot Snakes, but there's a lighter edge that's more rhythmic and works really well. There are huge hooks and choruses, like on Loud, Dumb & Mean or Big in Germany. Pain always struck me as a funny song, because I can't hear it without hearing 1979 by The Smashing Pumpkins. Whether intentionally or not, I swear there's something similar between the songs - a hint of melody or the beat. I like it, but it dominates the song for me.

Anyway, I saw the band at Fest that year and they were great - it was a really fun show and helped knowing the songs well. It was in the Florida Theatre in Gainesville, which is the biggest venue used for the Fest, but it was strangely empty and we were basically on the front barrier with a handful of other people going mad for the band. I couldn't tell how much the crowd behind were enjoying the show, but the front two rows had a great time.

Format: 12", a4 insert
Tracks: 12
Cost: £15 new
Bought: Banquet Records
When: 07/09/13
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: Download code