It’s Friday and I really need this weekend. Been tired lately.

Things still moving slowly on my side. Trying to find out the DAT tapes from an 80s band that I love. Emailing here and there. Another band trying to figure out publishing deals. Waiting and waiting now for things to be more clear.

Cinema Engines: Our friend Sebastian Voss from Nah… and The Grindcore Poppies has a new project with Nero Bates from The No Colour Twins and it is called Cinema Engines. The two Münster guys have just put out a limited CD single out titled “Hello Springtime, Hello Sunshine” that has two wonderful poppy songs, “Springtime Remains” and “Netty’s House”. Both tracks are excellent. Don’t miss this one out.

The Crooner: here’s a new digital single by Zissimos from Athens! The classic project of his is teaming with Make Me Haappy aand this one is a song I don’t think I’ve heard before! Is it an old one? or a new one? I don’t know! But “I Wish I Were a Jet” is really lovely.

Amor Propio: this new project that features ex-members of Cola Jet Set sounds great. The band just released a self-titled 7″ EP! It has 3 songs of sweet pop Barcelona-style, with influences that go from bands like the aforementioned Cola Jet Set, Brighton 64 or Kamenbert.

Broke Chanter: David McGregor, formerely of Kid Canaveral, is behind this cool project that has released an album titled “Catastrophe Hits”. The album which is available on vinyl and CD has 10 songs of great pop songs! It came out a bit ago, back in October but I just find out about it. So maybe you also missed it or maybe not. The thing is this Glasgow band seems to be on the right track, this is a fine album!

Ferri-Chrome: and we end this week with yet another fantastic album! The new one by Japan’s Ferri-Chrome! Titled “Dazzling Azure” it is indeed dazzling. The dreamy band has released this record on CD with Testcard Records and I would say to everyone to get it. I will try to do so myself too. 10 songs of pop brilliance!

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I thought I had written about Mr Peculiar before. I guess not. I was looking at my 7″ collection and thought, this looks obscure enough for the blog, but I wrote about them before, right? A quick look on my list of bands on the right-hand column of the blog shows me that no, I didn’t yet. So let’s see what can we find about this British band!

The band, as far as I know, only released one 7″ on the label Lust Recordings. Lust was Stephen from Woosh second label. Mr Peculiar’s release was the third on the label (LUST 3) and came out in 1990. Three songs were included, “Loonyverse” on the A side and “How Many Times” and “Isle of View” on the B side.

The producers of the songs were Richard Fromby and Mike Stout. The songs had been recorded at Woodhouse Studios in Leeds in June 1990. There is an address. We know then that the band hailed from Leeds.

I see a photo of the band playing at Daggi’s Bar in June 1990. It says that Simon Spaceman is on vocals. The guitarist has left a comment. He links to a page of his photography. I can’t find his name though…

I find a gigography for the Pale Saints. I see that on March 15 (my birthday!), 1989, Mr Peculiar supported the Pale Saints in Lancaster.

Sadly this is all I could find about them. I hope someone remembers them and can give us some insights, some details, about the band!

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Listen
Mr Peculiar – Isle of View

Not many updates today. Been reading Pete Paphides book “Broken Greek”, it is a nice memoir of how he fall in love with pop music. I wonder if any of you have read it. On my Goodreads just two friends have and have given superb reviews, 5 stars. So far, I’m halfway through, I am really enjoying it.

Dayflower: there is an expanded version of the “Popping Candy” EP our friends of Leicester released two years ago. This time there’s  more songs including a cover of The Flaming Lips as well as different versions of other songs of their catalogue. It is always a good idea to check them out as they are one of the most creative bands out there.

The Photocopies: originally from London but now based in Michigan, we find this nice indiepop project. Their latest release is titled “Quadruple A-Side” which doesn’t have 4 songs but 5. Nice melodies, sunny and jangly, this is a very nice EP. Let’s keep an eye on The Photocopies.

Arts & Letters: now we head to Clare, Australia. To listen to the wonderful song “Asleep”. This is the latest single by this project by Caleb Carr. Previously I believe his project was called English Summer and I had recommended it more than a few times! So yeah, I like his chiming music and don’t mind recommending it even if the name changes!

Swimming Pools and Movie Stars: I already have this on CD. It came out on Jigsaw Records with the title “Modern Architecture”. An 8-song mini-album by this newish Los Angeles project formed by Laurence and Droo. Jigsaw Records comparees theem to Brittle stars, Aberdeen, New Order and JAMC. It’s a good combination of influences and the record is really pretty.

Crystal Eyes: “Don’t Turn Around” is the name of the latest single by Calgary,  Canada, band Crystal Eyes. From what I understand this shoegazy song will be part of the dreampop band’s new album “The Sweetness Restored” that is coming out on April 22 on Bobo Integral from Spain. Good stuff.

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This is weird. I was looking at the Change of Seasons Soundcloud page and noticed two songs from 2010 with a female singer. The songs sound very different to the ones I knew that date from back in the early 90s. Anyone would know? They are called “Like This” and “Why”. The strange thing is that they are in the band account as far as I know.

But let’s rewind. Let’s remember this fine Canadian band…

I first discovered them through Egg Records. In the early 2000s they were part of their “restoration” program. I didn’t get the band’s releases then but I was aware of them. A few years after I managed to get the band’s sole 7″ that was released in 1991. This was the “Soft Spoken” 7″ on Egg Records (EGG 008) that had the song “You Again” as the B side.

This wasn’t the band’s first release. According to Discogs there was a demo tape from 1990 with 6 songs, “You Again”, “Echoes of Sadness”, “Wish I Had”, “Soft Spoken”, “The Waiting” and “Pirates on the South China Sea”. I start to wonder how a Canadian band ended on a Scottish label in those pre-internet dates.

A tape was put together by Egg Records in 1991. It was a promo release that had three of the band’s songs on the B side, “You Again”, “Waiting” and “Soft Spoken”. The A side had three songs by the wonderful The Church Grims (which I’ve tried to interview, no luck yet).

When Egg Records decided to re-release the band in 2003, they put out two releases. First was the “Echoed in Sadness” (EGGREST003) CDR single that had four songs, “Echoed in Sadness”, “Tragic Town”, “Speaking too Soon” and “Buttered Toast”.

The second release by the Toronto band was the album “Pretty Mouth” (EGGREST002). 15 songs were on this CDR, “Idiot Home”, “Closet Full”, “Soft Spoken”, “After All”, “You Again”, “Portrait of these Times”, “Echoed in Sadness”, “Crocodile Skin”, “Wish I Had”, “The Waiting”, “Pirates of the South China Sea”, “Smoked Eyes”, “Restless Heart”, “Hairdressers Daughter” and “Try”. All of these songs had been recorded at Friendly Fire Studios between the summer in 1989 and April 1990. In Toronto of course.

Other than thees releases the band appeared on many compilations. In 1990 their song “Echoes of Sadness” appeared on the classic French tape compilation “Heol” released by Karen (KAREN02). “Wish I Had” appeared on “Spying on the Blue Sky” tape as well as in “Egg Records Compilation” (ER-008) tape that Elefant Records released. On this tape their song “Echoed in Sadness” is also included. Lastly on the Spanish compilation “Film Fun “There’s No Stopping Her!” released by El Vicio Seecreto de Sister Mary they had the song “Pirates”. This was all in 1991.

“I Wish” appears on “Seahorses” cassette comp that Red Roses for Me (RRT03) put out in 1992. Elefant Records releases another tape that year, “Around the World” and the song “The Waiting” is included. Also the song “Wish I Had” appears on the vinyl LP “Eating a Fish-Shaped Particle” a superb ccompilation released in Germany by Pico Records (CheW 065).

IN 2003 the band is featured on the CDR compilation “Egg Records: An Introduction to 1988-1991” (EGGREST001). Three songs are included, “You Again”, “Soft Spoken” and “Wish I Had”. Then in 2006 on “Souvenirs from Egg Records” (EGGREST015) their songs “Pirates on the South China Sea” and “Soft Spoken” get included.

There is another compilation tape called “The Cordelia Records Presents”. I don’t know when was this released. What we know is that “Wish I Had” was included in it and was released by Project Press & Tapes (PRT 14).

What else do we know aabout them? Well, that the band was formed by Mike Caricari on guitar and vocals, Cameron Gray on guitar and vocals too, Rico Gasborro on drums and Marc DiGirolimo on bass. Many Canadian-Italians in this band!

They had been involved in other bands too. We know that Michael Caricari was in Danko Jones and Tugboat. Cameron Gray was on Tugboat too.

On Last.fm there’s a bio that is really helpful. It tells that the band actually started in 1987 by Marc DiGirolamo and Mike Caricari. Then they added Rico who happened to be Marc’s cousin and Cameron.

The band’s first gig was at a high school gym in Toronto. Their proper debut was at The Slither Club in March 1988 and they would eventually open for bands like The Chills, The Verlaines and The Wedding Present.

The band released two tapes in Canada. The first was called “Up North under Opulescent Skies” that came out in the summer of 1989. The second was “Pretty Mouth” from April 1990. Both had 9 songs, and it was thanks to the second tape that Egg Records found about them and offered a release.

In March 1991, Mike and Cameron moved to Glasgow. There they recruited two members, Scott on bass and Cliff Henderson on drums. With this lineup they recorded the “Soft Spoken” single and played in Glasgow. At the end of the summer of 1991 Cameron returned to Toronto and Change of Seasons was over.

I suppose then that all recorded material by the band was included in the Egg Records album. I do wonder why they took the risk to move to Glasgow. Also why just be there 3 or so months? Were they involved in other bands before Change of Seasons? And again, what about these two songs that are on their Soundcloud!

Who remembers them?!

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Listen
Change of Seasons – Pirates on the South China Sea

Happy Monday. Today let’s go straight to some good recommendations!

Comet Gain: another wonderful set of unheard, forgotten 23 songs. “The Misfit Jukebox Vol  – Somewhere to Belong” is the new collection of Comet Gain on Bandcamp. Included is a 1997 of the classic cover of “Pinstriped Rebel” as well as a bunch of terrific tracks going back as far as 1993.

The Hazmats: Static Shock Records from London is releasing a 7″ by The Hazmats. Limited to 300 copies the single includes two songs, “Empty Rooms” and “Today”. We can preview the A side and it is really good! They mention The Clouds as their big influence and you can see a similar typeface on their sleeve as that one of The Clouds one and only 7″… on purpose? Good stuff.

Humdrum: this band is a true favourite and would be great to see them release something in physical format. The solo project of Loren from Star Tropics has a new song called “Superbloom” that is a rush of chiming and jangling guitars. Essential listening and if you are making a mixtape or CD, a must to include!

The Holiday Crowd: a true surprise to see the comeback of the Toronto band that dazzled all of us many many years ago! A new 7″ with the songs “Party Favours” and “Bullet Train” will be released in May by Shelflife Records. Pre-orders are up now and I need to do that. Hopefully they return to NYC soon too.

Ducks Ltd.: and I end this round of recommendations with another Toronto band. Here there is a great cover of the JAMC’s classicc “Head On”. On this track it says thee Illuminati Hotties are featured. Not sure who they are,  but that’s cool. It is a one off digital single.

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I was very sad to hear about two weeks ago that Vince Keenan from One Thousand Violins passed away. Probably you’ve heard this on social media and already paid tribute…

I am slow with these things as you might have seen in many posts I’ve written about of many of our heroes that have left us. But I still needed to write this. My own little tribute.

One Thousand Violins is a favourite band of mine. Songs like “Like One Thousand Violins”, “Halcyon Days”, “Please Don’t Sandblast My House”, “If I Were a Bullet” or “If Only Words” are indiepop classics, legendary!

Kevin wasn’t part of the first incarnation of the Sheffield band. He joined sometime in 1988, replacing John Wood on vocals. With Vince the band released the band last album “Hey Man That’s Beautiful”.

After the demise of One Thousand Violins Vince continued making music with the wonderful Splendid Fellows. Even though I never wrote about One Thousand Violins (I don’t know why, probably as they are one of the ‘bigger’ indiepop bands I thought I was going to interview someday…) I did dedicate a post to Splendid Fellows. On that post I say:

“Field of Corn” was written by Vince Keenan and only saw the day of light a demo tape. Splendid Fellows was formed in March 1990 and split in 1992. No records were released but gigs were well attended. In July 1994 Vince Keenan returned to play Leeds Heineken Festival under the name The Haze Office with the drummer of Splendid Fellows, Gordon Leather. He already had used this name in the early 80s before becoming the later singer of 1000 Violins. Now he is performing acoustic gigs under the name of Spigott. And it is only a question of time before he is getting a new band together again.”

And that’s one interesting bit of information, The Haze Office. Did you know though that before being in One Thousand Violins he was in a band called The Hays Office?

I don’t know much about this band or about Spigott, the band he was in in the early 2000s. With Spigott he did release something. He covered “Salvador Dali’s Garden Party” on a tribute to the TVPs that our friend Wally put together back in 2005 for his label The Beautiful Music. That’s really cool. I didn’t know about this until today.

Same with The Hays Office. I am listening to a song called “All the Colour” that is available on the Sheffield Tape Archive Bandcamp as part of a compilation called “The Hard Stuff Presents”. This tape was produced by Radio Sheffield’s The Right Stuff program. I don’t know when this tape was released, according to Bandcamp in 2018. The tape features bands from 1985, from Sheffield.

It is interesting when you start to dig, to find more information about our heroes. Other projects, other recordings, collaborations… for example here they thank Vince for providing the insert of the cassette to the people behind this Bandcamp. That’s why I think this tape was actually released in the 80s. Discogs doeesn’t list it, only the MP3 compilation.

As you continue looking, you find Vince had a Soundcloud page. I start to wonder why I never got in touch. Would have been fantastic to do an interview. There are more songs by The Hays Office here including “Dressed in White” and “Curled Up“. We know now that this project was around from 1984 to 1987.

He also left us some thoughts about the song “Dressed in White” on the One Thousand Violins facebook:
“Excusive…the hays office..vince keenan pre ..1000 violins..1986….and soundyshitty clowd banned it…..I loved doing this track…dressed in white…about a reimagining of a ghostly spirit…or mood we take….I’d just acquired a 60s red watkins guitar and pre dylans..Q jennings was kicking in on trumpet and hammond…noone did anything close to us at that time..they were a mass of ramones and jesus and mary chain clones. …when we were more..jazz…meets ..new wave..60s…and retro robots..guitars/amps….and hashish!…felt good for a short while…then judas always kicks in!..but bigger than 1000 violins in Sheffield on cred scene…..but I even told Q to buy hammond on joining when we went looking…but he did fall in love with the korg hammond himself. ..but at that time only james taylor quartet were doing instrumentals on the indie scene. …so we perservered and I wasn’t one to write normal songs being an art student…but…did want weird sounding pop!…and textured tracks!…track from an unreleased cd of demos I did called the stoned age….”

There’s a blog too, I think it was his where he comments movies. Last updated in January. This would make sense, see Hays Office is a term that has to do with the motion Picture Production Code, was a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most motion pictures released by major studios in the United States from 1934 to 1968. It is also popularly known as the Hays Code, after Will H. Hays, president of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA) from 1922 to 1945.

There’s very little information about this project. If it had more band members or if it was just Vince. He seems to have been an important part of the Sheffield scene back then. I still haven’t visited Sheffield but one thing that is true is that their music history is amazing. A city that produced quality music. One Thousand Violins one of their best for me.

I never met, never chatted, with them. One thing that kept me a bit far away was also their relationship with Cherry Red. I mean, they didn’t need promotion from this humble blog. They were in a different league. But at the same time, when you listen to their wonderful songs you feel they could be your friends, that they were a down-to-earth band. I suppose if Cherry Red offers you something it is hard to say no. It is true though that I first heard them on Vinyl Japan and also on the Leamington Spa compilation series.

One thing that could have happened is that of a One Thousand Violins gig. A reunion gig. And that won’t be happening anymore. That would have been a dream for me. I would have traveled to Sheffield. To London. To wherever they were to be booked. How much I would have loved that!

It’s time to say goodbye. We didn’t cross paths, but the music you made was important to me. I played your songs many times. I want to say a big THANK YOU for that

EDIT April 5th, 2022: My friend Richard had interviewed Vine for his Facebook blog Scratch the Surface. Here Vince shares more of the story of The Hays Office! Thanks to Richard for letting me share these lines:

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Listen
The Hays Office – Dressed in White

We start April!

Records are traveling to Disk Union in Japan, so hopefully many Japanese fans can get Cloudberry releases at a better price.

Other than that things moving slowly for the next releases. Still in very early phases.

Studio Electrophonique: we travel to Sheffield to discover this project by James Leesley. He released this year the EP “Happier Things” on 12″ vinyl and it is still available. The EP has 5 songs of lo-fi bedroom pop. Mellow melodies with simple but smart arrangements. I know it is a cliche but it is the perfect soundtrack for a rainy day.

Hydroplane: many years ago I interviewed the wonderful Melbourne band Hydroplane. Today there’s news about the band re-releasing their 1997 debut album on vinyl. This is fantastic news as the album was previously only available on CD and we know how much people love their vinyl these days. The record includes the same 14 songs as the original release, you can preview two of the tracks, if not familiar with them, on Bandcamp.

Fine.: this is something I am saad that I missed out while I was away. “Fine” was a double CD that the Boston, UK, band released this week but had pre-orders available before. The double CD includes a full album from April 2021 (that was only released digitally) and also tracks from the back catalogue of thee band. It was released by the great Subjangle label.

Truck Train Tractor: I had written about this Australian band many years ago and was in touch with Karl, their guitarist and vocalist too. Tried to do an interview but sadly never heard back. Well, good news is that the band has put all of their recordings on Bandcamp, as a compilation called “Anthologically Challenged”! This is a must listen for any indiepop fan. Hopefully this gets released properly (though it seems it was in 2005 on CDR?!)

Bedflowers: another band that I still don’t understand how there is no compilation out there. The Manchester band had amazing songs! I thought Firestation was working with them… my memory might be wrong, but I totally had the idea that this EP, with the four songs that we find on Bandcamp was to be released years ago on physical format. I was also in touch with Danny and again, an interview didn’t happen, I believe because we were waiting for the release to come out and then promote with an interview… maybe now is a good time? This is essential indiepop!

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What a fantastic find by stoneeyedkiller! Wow. I hope he/she doesn’t mind going through all of his discoveries as of late. I have been away for months and I am only catching up and, as you can see, I am enjoying a lot of their songs!

The song he has shared is called “Ebenezer” and dates from 1988. It is a superb slice of classic indiepop! I don’t know where he found this song as I’ve been googling for any info but couldn’t find anything!

Luckily he has uploaded a cassette sleeve. And there is some info there!

It seems this song was part of a tape album? There are many songs in the cassette, “Devil in my Wardrobe”, “Ebenezer”, “Summer in Africa”, “Ham Green Pill”, “The Day is Long and Restless”, “Blue and Gray”, “Two Dye the Minute” and “Bare Breasted Woman”.

It is a bit hard for me to read some of the words. Everything has been hand-written, so if anyone understands the text better than me and see typos, please correct me.

I see that the band was formed by Bongs on vocals, Jonboy on red guitar, Mike on Gibson guitar, Mayneman on fretful bass, Kevin on timeless percussion and Jim on blues harp. No last names are listed.

It says where the songs were recorded but I don’t understand the handwriting. Does it say Fermain? Les Camps Du Moulins? One thing that seems to be a fact is that the band hailed from Guernsey. So perhaps it is not strange to see these French names?

I have actually never written about a Guernsey band. Quite exciting. It is a place I’d love to visit someday.

Sadly there is no more info on the web as I said. Would be fantastic to listen to all the songs and find out more info about them! Anyone remembers them?

EDIT: All of the songs are on Soundcloud.
The A side with the band’s notes:
1. Devil In My Wardrobe: an invitation to alter ego.
2. Ebenezer: a pagan philosophy of seaweed for breakfast
3. Summer In Africa: Bougs growls in the smoky acacia glade
4. Ham Green Pill: Jim Searle’s harp is witness to the execution of the jongleurs.

The B side with notes too:
1. The Day Is Long And Restless: anthem for the lost souls of finance.
2. Blue And Gray: uneasy guitar haunts the loves games of 2 in the twenty first century.
3. Two Bye The Minute: this side of paradise is out of time.
4. Bare Breasted Woman: all you need is sex!
5. Bonus Track: Movin’ On!

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Listen
Mr. Rottcodd Again – Ebenezer

We start another week and it is almost April.

I’ve been having these great conversations with a friend about copyrights in the UK. A good question was raised, about how long does label own a recording. Is it 30 years and then the ownership goes back to the band? I don’t honestly know. I would need to do some research. I thought maybe some of you know and could explain. Or point me in the right direction. As I mentioned earlier my time is limited, and for example right now I think it might be much more important to find 5 bands with new music to recommend to you….

No Monster Club: I should check the Emotional Response bandcamp and find their latest releases. There’s always quality there. For example the album “Deadbeat Effervescent”, their 8th album! I am not familiar with them to be honest, but this sounds cool. 12 songs. Fun, ironic, smart. The Irish band’s record is out now on vinyl LP and there’s a version with a bonus 7″!

Lande Hekt: I recommended this band some time ago. I really enjoyed the mood, the vocals, that they make with superb craftmanship. Emotional Response is releasing a 7″ on May 6. It will have two songs, “Romantic” and “Octopussy”. We can preview the opening song, which is really good!

Mick Trouble: seems most versions of this record are sold out. The classic black vinyl is still available, I will have to get this version. The album is their second and it is titled “It’s Mick Trouble’s Second LP”. The bad part of getting this release is that it doesn’t come with the bonus flexi. Well, what can you do when you’ve been out of the loop for so long. Two out of 12 songs are available to preview and they sound superb!

Orange Dots: now to check “Deflated”. That’s the name of the cassette album by Shony, an ex-member of the San Francisco band The Magic Bullets. Do you remember them? The album is out now and few copies remain. It has 13 mellow pop songs.

Hipflasks: I tried to get in touch a couple of times so far with the Newcastle band after writing about them many years ago. Sadly they have never gotten back to me. Would have been nice to interview them. Especially as late last year they put together a compilation of demos called “A Lovely Scar” that is great! 14 songs from the vault that any indiepop lover would love.

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Another good Soundcloud find and also from Carlisle, UK, is the band Send it to Harriet!

There are many songs uploaded, all of them recorded between 1988 and 1992. There is no information about each track, but having listened to all of them, I can say you’ll find some great jangly poppy tracks and also some rockier ones.

The songs uploaded are “Manic Caesar”, “You Drown”, “Dischord”, “Moon (Demo)”, “Stay”, “Little Secret”, “Electric”, “Reasons”, “Petrol Man” and “Falcon”.

There is a black and white photo. It shows two guys, one playing guitar the other bass. I can sort of see at the back a drummer. Or maybe I’m imagining him. Maybe it was a three-piece?

But I google for more info. First find is of the band playing live at the Carlisle Art College in 1990. It looks like a four piece. From this gig we find the following songs, “Problem“, “Playpen“, “She Loves You“, “All Seeing Eye“, “The Chair“, “No More” and “Reversal“. None of these songs are on Soundcloud! There are also some nice collections of artwork, clippings, memorabilia, of the band that they’ve put together as slideshows. This is the band’s Youtube channel.

Through these slideshows I see that the band had played at The Grosvenor a few times with support of Bubblehouse and also of Goose. They played at the The Coach House alongside the Pop City Maniacs, at Dallington Brook in Northampto, at the Cumbria College of Art Student Union with Hung Like a Tadpole, at the Carnegie with Without Warning, at The Front Page with Ten Gladioli, at No. 10, at The Falcon in Camden, at the famous Rock Garden, at Monroe’s Bar in Workington, at the Amphitheatre in Barrow, St. Martin’s College in Lancaster, Shaw’s Nightclub in Carlisle, Opera on the Green in Shepherd’s Bush in London, The Aultnamain Inn in Scotland, and more.

They also had supported The Wonder Stuff and The Buzzcocks.

That they had a four track demo at least. Other song names I haven’t mentioned include “Good Times”, “Little Time“, “It’s Sunny“, “You Drown“, “No-one’s Home“, “The Chair / Jack Horner” and “Know My Name“.

I think I found the name of one of the band members, could it be Patrick Brett Young? Anyone could confirm?

And that’s all I could find. Again I need to rely on our Carlisle readers if any!

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Listen
Send it to Harriet – Little Secret

A few quiet days. I hadn’t heard much from you all about the many questions I had asked through my previous posts. I guess we all are very busy.

I keep trying to find time to do these posts, while baby takes his siestas. They are short. Some babies seem to sleep a lot in their naps. Mine doesn’t. Just about 30min. Complicated for me, to find time like that… but so far I’ve been managing. Also I have to say many of these posts about old bands had been prepared back in October, before I traveled. So that helps. But when I run out of these posts and I have to investigate and write new ones?!!!

Crystal Meadows: four very nice tracks by this jangle pop band from Greenfield, Massachusetts. Very little info, other than they formed in 2021. I suppose they say, let the music speak. The EP is titled “Fall to Pieces” and as mentioned it is jangly, sweet, and also lo-fi. Has the charm of a good bedroom pop band.

Chocolate Chainsaw: another band that has no info! We know they hail from Peterborough, UK, and that’s it! There are just two songs on their Bandcamp, “Jeannie Wakes Up” and “Emily’s Fine”. They are fuzzy and a bit ramshackle. A bit like songs you’d expect in early 90s indiepop compilation tapes.

The Jack Rubies: I should get in touch with this classic band. “Foolish Boy” is a true favourite since forever. Lately they put together an EP titled “Doppelganger Songs” where they share 5 rare and remastered alternative versions of their songs “Be With You (Alternative Version)”, “Vegas Throat Stomp (Original Strut)”, “Wrecker of Engines (Buskers Version)”, “Fascinatin’ Vacation (Live on the Radio)” and “Dallas Blues (Live on the Radio)”. Jack Rubies if you read this, drop me a line.

Under the Bridge: Here’s a wonderful compilation put together by Skep Wax Records, the label from Rob and Amelia from Heavenly. On this compilation, available on CD and vinyl we find 14 songs of bands that were in Sarah Records or Sarah Records alumni, meaning bands with people that had been in Sarah Records bands! Very cool! There are plenty of superb songs and this seems essential to me. Chris Jigsaw has promised me he will get copies in the US. So there’s no excuse.

Marinita Precaria: Out now on 10″ on Elefant. It is a 9 song album called “No Me Miréis” and it includes the wonderful songs “Celosa” and “Al Campo” that I had recommended in the past. I’d like to get this in my collection.

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The horse latitudes are the latitudes about 30 degrees north and south of the Equator. They are characterized by sunny skies, calm winds, and very little precipitation. They are also known as subtropical ridges, or highs. It is a high-pressure area at the divergence of trade winds and the westerlies.

I saw on Facebook a flyer from The Vertigo Club at the Camden Falcon from 1991 I believe. On it I see a gig listed for July 31 with the Horse Latitudes and Penny Arcade and thought… I should write about Horse Latitudes!

This short-lived band featured members from superb bands like The Raw Herbs, Summerhill and The Passmore Sisters. As you’ve seen I’ve interviewed two of these bands, and yes, I should try to talk with The Passmore Sisters. The band was formed by Chris Clarke on bass, Derek Parker on acoustic guitar and vocals, Robert Grace on drums and Wilson N. Scott on electric guitar and piano. And so, speaking of the other bands, let’s say that Derek Parker (also known as Del Parker) was in The Del Parker Band and The Raw Herbs. Robert Grace had been in The Rob Wilson Band and The Passmore Sisters. Chris Clarke was in Danny & The Champions of the World and The Rockingbirds. Wilson N. Scott was on Summerhill and also played with Peter Astor.

The band was signed to Cherry Red and released two records with them. Both came out in 1990. Which one came first? Not sure. Let’s start with the album…

“September Songs” (MBRED90) came out on CD and LP vinyl and there were promo cassettes as well. It had 9 songs, “O Caroline” (a cover of Robert Wyatt and David Sinclair), “What is More than Life”, “Baby Don’t Go”, “Harvest Days”, “Thrown Away”, “Building Mansions (That Will Fall)”, “Northern Country Line”, “I Can’t Stop Loving You” and “Untitled”.

The songs were recorded at Bark Studio in Walthamstow, London, in July 1990. The producer and engineer was Brian O’Shaughnessey with John William as assistant engineer. John Hymas from Hoover the Dog and who had worked on some of McCarthy’s recordings arranged the strings. David Robinson played the cello and Geraint Tellem and Philip Aird played violin.

The album would be released in Japan by Toy’s Factory (TFCK-88819) in 1991. It would include 3 more songs, “Younger One”, “Some One”, “There I Go Again”.

The “What is More than Life” single would come out in 1990 on Cherry Red (CHERRY 111). This one was released on CD and 12″ vinyl. The songs included were “What is More than Life”, “Younger Generation” (a cover of The Lovin Spoonful), “Someone”, “There I Go Again (demo 3/90)” and “Untitled”. The untitled track is not listed on the sleeve, it contains a few drum sounds.

When it comes to compilations the song “Oh Caroline” was included in Toy Factory’s CD compilation “Pastel Beans” (PR-882) in 1991. And lately, as their songs are part of Cherry Red catalogue they found the way to the many boxsets the label has been putting out. “What is More than Life” was included in “C90” (CDTRED802) in 2020 and “Northern Country Lie” on “C91” (CRCDBOX119) that came this year, 2022.

Then I find something great! A song that wasn’t released on the records. It is called “Word” and it is on Derek Parker’s Soundcloud! Wow! And then another called “Sorry“.

And that’s what I could find out about them. I wonder how long the band lasted. I read short-lived, maybe a year? And why so little then? Are there more recordings by them? Any info would be appreciated!

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Listen
Horse Latitudes – What is More than Life

End of the week. Not much news today other that Disk Union is now accepting orders for Alfie in Japan. That’s good news. I hope Japanese indiepop fans like this release!

Hope you all have a good weekend!

Fanta Panda: I wasn’t aware of this fantastic project by the duo of Frauke from Tripping the Light Fantastic and Mawe N. Klavee from Mikrofisch and The Voltarenes. Their songs are a bit old but so good! Check out “Enya”, what a fun poppy song. Wonder if the Hamburg duo are still making music?

Fleeting Joys: a very nice digital single by this Californian duo. That’s what I found on their Bandcamp. Titled “Everything You’re Running To”, the song has beautiful swirling guitars. On top of this all proceeds will go to the World Central Kitchen, so that’s great. The band is formed by John Loring and Rorika Loring and based in LA as far as I know.

Stephen’s Shore: our favourite friends from Stockholm are releasing a new 12″ on Meritorio Records. It is called “Green” and will include four songs. We can preview two of them, “Ocean’s Calling” and “Carefree Time”, as usual they sound fantastic! A must have! Will be out on April 15.

Ruth Po!: a brand new song, a demo, from Ruth from the mighty Po! It is called “Something Your Wife Doesn’t Know”. Great lyrics, great melodies… and sure it is a bit lo-fi, but that has a lot of charm to me! How talented is Ruth, love all her projects!!

Melk: and last band for this week is Melk from DC. The band formed by Melissa Kain on vocals and guitar, Alex Scheuer on drums and AJ DiGregorio on bass, have a new EP titled “Somebody, Nobody, Anybody”. The first thing that came to mind when listening their songs was Velocity Girl, another band from their area, from back in the day. Tell me if I am wrong? Sounds good!

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Tracing them back to Soundcloud. That’s where I found four songs by Flourish after discovering them on stoneeyedkiller’s Youtube. It seems he has been doing the job I love on Soundcloud, track down 80s obscure indiepop in this fine platform. I guess I need to up my game now, as I shouldn’t just rely on his/her work!

There is some information about the band which is great. We see that they were around 1986 to 1989. They were formerly called Flour and at some point they changed their name to Flourish. Was it in 1986? Or are they counting their time as Four during those 4 or so years?

They were formed by Rob Bulman on vocals, Sean Campbell on guitar, Joel Wirth on bass and Justyn Palmer on drums. They were based in a city I’d love to visit someday, Carlisle.

The songs uploaded are four demos. There is info about each of them, so let’s see…

The first one we encounter is called “Example”. This one was engineered by Alex Warnes at Omega, Cumbria on October 28, 1987. Was it recorded at the same studio? Doesn’t say. It does say that the song belongs to the Carlton Company and Kentmere Publishing though… very professional?

Then we find “Chainsmoker”. There is the same info for this song, so I am assuming they were part of the same demo tape. There is some more details saying that the band considered this song as their “anti-imperialist song” and they introduced it like that at their biggest gig which happened to be at Sands Centre in August 1988.

“When Will I See You Again?” might be my favourite. This one was recorded at Naworth Castle in Cubria in 1988 with Alex Warnes as their engineer. Here they mention that the band used to play often at a venue called Front Page mostly between 1987 and 1988.

“Endlessly Falling Snow” is the last song and was recorded at the same place and time as “When Will I See You Again?”. Most probably part of the same demo.

There is a comment by someone called G A Williams too that mentions that there are more songs by Flourish! I wonder if we will ever hear them! Were they from other demo tapes? Would be good to find out.

Not much more info online.  There is this tweet by Jim Wirth, maybe brother of Joel Wirth? He says that there was sort of a competition going on between Flour and Keltic Storm in Carlisle.

And that’s all. Who remembers them?!

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Listen
Flourish – When Will I See You Again?

How are things? After all the time I was gone I find it a bit harder to run the blog and the label. Maybe we’ve lost a bit of the attention we used to have? I wonder. Will need to recover our supporters.

Those that keep supporting the label by ordering records and people that leave me comments still on the blog and get in touch through any other social media, I appreciate that. Many have told me nice things, about how they missed the blog for example, and the music recommendations. But things are quieter for sure. Maybe this is good for me, as I need time, but at the same time I miss the attention. I guess it is part of it.

I do have a question for all. I have started planning Cloudberry 1050. I think I may do a 10″. But I wonder about the pricing. Would people be ok to pay $15 plus postage? So, within the US it would be something like $22, and for orders abroad something like $35? I find it expensive but at the same time I understand these are the prices that are normal now. The band and the songs would be more than worth it. What do you think?

Letting Up Despite Great Faults: as I continue going back in time, the months I was away, I keep finding out releases that I missed out that are really good. For example “IV” by the great Austin combo. The album is still available on CD and vinyl, with 10 songs of their trademark upbeat dreampop. I should order this one soon!

Comet Gain: the classic London band released back in December a winter EP titled “Winter Fingers”. It is an interesting release where some forgotten songs are rescued, others are changed, and some others remained unreleased until now. Only digital.

The Terrible Hildas: this superb global indie pop band is back! I don’t know who are the people behind this band. I think I know who Knut may be from Norway, but the rest? Not sure! Anyhow, this group that has members in the US and the UK, released another EP back in October that is ace. Titled “Get Surfing!” it has three songs of catchy pop tunes!

The Caroline’s: this Indonesian band sounds great! Their cassette “On My Way To U” is out now on Paska Records from Surabaya. It is a short one, 4 songs of female fronted jangle pop! The band hails from Bandung and is formed by Eureka, Baiq, Indra and Rizal and that’s all the info I have about them.

Cœur-Joie: “Allumettes au bout des îles” is the name of this French band’s mini-album that is out now on Melotron Recordings. This label is one you can always trust. They know to pick up terribly great jangly bands. This time is no exception. The 7 songs on this record that is available on limited quantities on CD are great.

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There are tons of great discoveries on the stoneeyedkiller Youtube channel. It’s been a while since I listen to any of the songs uploaded there. Hard to pick one, but let’s start with the US band Nag Nag Nag.

The song uploaded is called “Winona Westcott” and it is a superb jangly track. So of course I wonder, are there more songs? And the answer is yes. They are on Soundcloud. Someone called Clarke Moore has uploaded 17 songs by Nag Nag Nag.

The songs vary in their style. Some are rockier and others are jangly. They are part of an album called “7 Too Many”. Not sure if it was released like that or was put together for digital with this name. The album dates from 1992 but was released in 1993 and includes these songs: “Intro”, “Voodoo Doll”, “You’re On”, “Winona Westcott”, “Sophia’s Song”, “Chara”, “Mr. Lee”, “Get Well Party”, “Autumn Leaves”, “Sex with my TV”, “Bad Mood”, “Interference”, “Mr. Happy”, “Cheerleader”, “Trouble in Mind”, “Pus” and “Mosquitoes”.

Some info is available too. All of the songs were recorded during the summer of 1992 at the Slaughterhouse in Hadley, Massachusetts and also at the OSB Underground in Springfield.  There is a photo of the band where we find the names of the band members, Anthony Westcott, Paul Pelis, Ari Vais and Brian Osley.

Thanks to these names I find out that Anthony lives now in Atlanta. He has a Soundcloud were there’s a song called “I Want” by Bespectacalia. The interesting bit here is that this band was formed by Anthony, Paul and Brian. The sound is a bit harder than Nag Nag Nag, so not my cup of tea, but still, pretty interesting to see how they evolved.

I keep looking for more connections. I find that Ari Vais and Paul Pelis were in a band called Humbert that was based in Northampton, MA. They have a Bandcamp.

So that’s that. All I could find. Would be nice to know if the band released anything on physical format…

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Listen
Nag Nag Nag – Winona Westcott

This weekend I noticed I don’t have any more copies of the Parcel Post 7″. This is good and bad news of course. Good that all the records found a good home and bad because many people probably would miss this great 7″.

I have started working on new projects, new releases. It is still early days but I’ve been emailing here and there to get the ball rolling. I hope I will have news in the coming months. As you know, now with a baby, things are a bit slower for me. But I want to continue putting records out. At least a few more.

Also take advantage of the mixed bag offer we have. Those who are not familiar with the label, give it a try. I need space at home and I am selling all these great records for a very small price.

Anyhow, here are my weekend finds.

Un Día Soleado: here’s a fine compilation by the Argentinean one-man band of Enzo Raffler. It is titled “Y Todo Sigue Igual…” and you can find on it 13 songs of lovely and jangly pop songs. 6 of them are original tracks by the band, the rest are covers, including an “Anorak City” cover! and live tracks. This is a good way to discover this band.

Jim Shepherd: Spinout Nuggets will release on March 25 the album “The Circle” by Jim Shephard, the lead singer of the legendary band The Jasmine Minks! The album will be available on vinyl and CD and includes 12 songs. We can preview one of them, “Coming Alive”, which is great! The record has contributions from many great indie people like Beth from Aberdeen, Arash from The Distractions, Frank Sweeney of The June Brides, Dave Morgan from The Loft, and so on!

Salt Lake Alley: “It Takes Two” is the name of the album the duo formed by Gustav and Mikael will be reeleasing on June 20 with Shelflife Records. I remember the days when we released a 7″ (copies still available) and seeing them now releasing a 2nd album, is quite amazing. Time goes fast!! The album has 11 songs, including a coveer of Twig’s “Now I’ve Realized”. This is truly good. The band’s orthodox indie pop shines bright here. This is one of the records I look forward the most this year!

Astragal: the Houston band, a favourite of the blog, is releasing their album “Cashmere” on April 1st. It will be a 9 song vinyl LP and two of their songs are available to preview right now, “Mirrored Writing” and “Ponte Vedra”. The songs are superb as usual. I can’t wait to listen the rest of the album. Great job by Jimmy Bent, David Sosa and Sam Enkelmann.

David Christian: “Your Pinecone Companion” is a homemade companion to the album “For Those Wee Met on the Way” that the Comet Gain leader released last year. On this digital only release we find demos of the songs that were properly released. Demos with different words, chords and moods as David mentions. As always essential listening.

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Not sure why I left a draft, two years ago, saying that I should write about the Japanese band Jenny on the Planet. I should have written about them immediately. Or at least some weeks later…

I guess I forgot, but now that I am going through all my drafts, and checking bands that never answered my interviews and writing about them, I also find drafts like this where I have collected a bunch of links, where I have saved my research.

Jenny on the Planet started releasing music in 1997 and their last release dates of 2008. Let’s see what we find about them.

Let’s do this chronologically. So in 1997, as Momoiro Jenny the band released two songs on a tape called “Space Tape Vol.8” that came with a fanzine of the same name. At this point we see the band using this other name, Momoiro Jenny, but we are sure it is the same band. The songs were on the B side and they were “Short Story” and “Surf Cycle”. The other band on this tape were The Cartoon Characters. I have never heard them!

In 1998 the band releases a self-titled tape on the Onion label (ONICT-006). This tape had 6 songs, 3 on each side. The A side had “Space Ship”, “Sleeping Cherry Tree” and “Go Away”. The B side included “Little Orange”, “Pastel Summer” and “I’ll Be Your Mirror”.

That same year the band signs to the fine K.O.G.A. Records and releases a self-titled debut album (K.O.G.A. 054). This album comes out on CD and includes 10 songs, “Talk Away, Baby”, “Short Story”, “Sail Seven Seas”, “Cowcadden”, “Canned Air”, “Lost Satellite”, “Surf Cycle”, “Sleeping Cherry Tree”, “White as Snow” and “Andy”. This album was produced by Keizo Suhara, Nobuhiko Kurose, Noriyuki Morimoto and the band at Studio Puzzle in Osaka in the spring of that year. The engineer was Noriyuki Morimoto. The mastering was done by Hikari Mitsufuji at AST Mastering Studio. All the photos on the CD were taken by the band while the illustration is credited to Michael from Glasgow. Sadly the credits don’t tell us the band members’ names.

Lastly, in 1998, the band contributed a song to the CD compilation that came along the Indies Magazine number 18. The song the band gave away was “Short Story”.

In 1999 the band continues to release music. A split 7″ with Chain Letter (interviewed with them!) where Jenny on the Planet appear on the B side with the song “Overground”. This 7″ appeared on Chain Letter’s own label Tulip House with catalog number TULIP 007. I’d like to get a copy of this record! The credits do tell us that the artwork was created by Masafumi Hiramatsu who had played drums for Chain Letter. We also get first names for the band members of Jenny on the Planet but no last names, Hiroyoshi, Miori and Sachiko. We know too now that the band hailed from Osaka.

A cassette and CD compilation titled “Tribute to Nippon” or “トリビュート・トゥ・ニッポン” on Ummo Records (UOCA-1007) includes their track Comlate. This came out in 2000. In 2001, the band contributes “Still Water Run Deepp”, “Sylla Bub” and “Cul-Ce-Suc” to the compilation “Chaan! Ban! Thank You Ben.” released by Monarch Records (MNRC-001). This limited CD compilation of 500 copies included other indiepop bands like Soda-Pop, Maple Drive, Soft Parade, Cry Baby, The Beauties and The Cartoon Characters.

In 2003 the band have their song “Sleeping Cherry Tree”, which is perhaps my favourite of theirs, on “Good Girls Don’t! (K.O.G.A. Records 10th Anniversary Compilation Album Vol.1) released of course by K.O.G.A. (KOGA-159). This same year the band releases their second album “Jenny on the Planet”. Yes, yet again another self-titled release though it seems this CD album is also known as “II”. This one was released by two labels, Gyuune Cassette (CSCD-15) and Childish Soup (CSCD-15). The Gyuune label was based in Osaka and was owned by Keizo Suhara who had produced the band’s first album. I believe Childish Soup was also his label! Anyhow, 10 songs were on this album, “Let Me Know Where I Belong”, “Harmony”, “Cloud”, “I Feel Out of Place”, “Closed Door Are Like Bad Secrets”, “Pause”, “Promenade”, “Dive into the Sea”, “Live in the Past” and “El Gato”. And here we finally find the band members names!

Hiroyoshi Yamato was on guitar and vocals, Miori Matsuzawa was on bass and vocals and Sachiko One was on drums and vocals. This album was produced again by Keizo Suhara. He also engineered and mixed it at Studio Puzzle. The master was done at Studio You by Katsunori Owa. The assistant engineeer was Koji Atsuzawa. The art direction and design for the album is credited to Shota Matsuo, the cover art photo to Fumitaka Amada and the band member’s photo to Ken Tanaka.

It will be 5 more years, 2008, for the band to release their third album, “For”. This one was released on CD by Gyuune Cassette (CD95-39) and includeed 12 songs: “Summer Rain”, “まどあかり”, “The Moment”, “葡萄”, “Weekend Boots”, “Moralistic Telephone”, “Still”, “Monochrome”, “キリンと月”, “日々の陽, “遠路航海士, and “袋の底”. This album was again recorded, engineered and mixed by Keizo Suhara at Studio Puzzle. The master again done by Katsunori Owa at Studio You in Osaka.

For the art credits, Miori from the band took the cover photo and did the drawings. The live photo was by Yukako Inooka. The design and band member’s photo was taken by Shota Matsuo.

On Youtube there is some stuff by them. There is live footage of the band playing “Summer Rain” on October 2nd, 2008. There is a 2009 video of the band playing at a small place it seems. Cozy and cute. Then there is a full gig from February 28, 2013 at the Bears venue. 50 plus minutes of the band playing. Cool!

And that is all I could find on the web. No info about if the band members ended up in any other bands. No clue when exactly did they stop making music. I wonder what are they up to these days. Would be great to know more about this ace Japanese indiepop band!

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Listen
Jenny on the Planet – Sleeping Cherry Tree

Field School: Olympia, Washington. A great college town for music. “It’s Only Everything EP” was released back in January on cassette. This was the first release ever as far as I know by this pop band. The EP had 5 songs and it quickly sold out. Not sure how many copies were made. I have just discovered them. I came late, but as I am only catching up with releases of the past 5 months, I think it is worth for me telling you about them. They say they make jangly guitar pop. I thought it was a bit fuzzier than jangly, but hey, it doesn’t matter. It has a good sound.

No Suits on Miami: You know I love this band and would have loved to release a record by them. Now they are on Shelflife Records who know who to bring to their label. With them they will release “Nothing Ever Happens” a superb 10 song album! Can’t wait for this record to be out, a true favourite band of mine for the last few years.

Flying Fish Cove: the Seattle indiepop duo last release was a digital single. It came out about a month ago and again, just listening this for the first time! Sorry if this is old for you. It is brand brand new for me! “Tinsel Tavern” is a great song. As always a band to follow!

The Kensingtons: great to hear new songs by the pop craftsmen that are The Kensingtons! Their newest single is called “How Was I to Know?” and was released as digital-only about a month ago too.

The Happy Somethings: and I end up this roundup with this English combo that I have reviewed many times in the past. They also have a digital single called “Stand Together Song” and previously an EP ccalled “Tall Stories Long Grass” which are worth listening! Fun pop songs!

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Another good find on Soundcloud. It seems this is the place for 80s bands to upload their old demos.

The account is owned by Dave Hindle who was part of a band called Wolf Cries Boy in the UK. Probably based in Rotherham, that’s the city that appears on the account, but of course, Dave could have moved afterwards.

Here we find many songs by different projects of Dave. The one I am interested in is Wolf Cries Boy and he has four songs for this band: “Give Me Somewhere”, “The Last Time”, “Silver Hand” and “Eyes of a Child”.

From the photo that has been uploaded we see that the band was formed by four guys. Which one is Dave? What are the names of the other members?

We also know that the songs were recorded at The Darnall Music Factory between 1987 and 1988. We don’t have more info about these early demos sadly.

One important piece of information I find is that the band would later change names to Skyfire. Probably around in 1990.

Sadly that’s all I could find online. Anyone that has any more details, please let us know. Would be great to find out what happened to them!

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Listen
Wolf Cries Boy – The Last Time