Day 371

Would-Be-Goods: there are 5 new songs from Jessica Griffin on Bandcamp. That’s amazing. One of my favourite bands is still recording even though these recordings are just by herself, no full-band. These songs are part of a challenge, one where here partner Peter gives her a daily title and then she has 24 hours to write a song. I hope a new record will happen soon. It’s been a while!

Axolotes Mexicanos: finally is out ” :3 ” the new album by the Madrid based band (with Asturian roots). Elefant Records have released it on vinyl and CD and it include 13 songs, all of which are available to preview on Bandcamp. This is great. Always fun, always poppy and upbeat, and also great live, I will definitely get a copy of this!

Ruth Po!: 10 more songs from Ruth Miller! One can only be happy with news like this! These 10 songs titled “The Bedroom Tapes 3” come from a home-made recording that was released in August 1992. This is classic songwriting and Ruth’s unique vocals. Lovely. Keep them coming!

The Muldoons: if you read yesterday’s interview you know The Muldoons were covering Cath by The Bluebells. Well if you need a link to check this song out, with guest vocals from Niamh Mullen, here it is. Wonderful!

Watoo Watoo: this is a surprise, to see the 1997 CD EP “Un Peu de Moi”. This is a reissue, even though it seems 1 copy is left at the time I am writing this, of the original release that sold 1,000 copies within a year. This is classic indiepop, in French, with top melodies. I interviewed Watoo Watoo once, saw them live once too…  the nostalgia of being stuck at home, listening to great music.

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I got confused the other day. I found on Youtube a video of an English band called Romeo Suspect. I don’t know what song they are playing, but it seems like a promo video. Made in the 80s. All my life I thought Romeo Suspect was a French band. One that released a 7″ on Aliénor Records. They do sound different, may they be two different bands? The Romeo Suspect I am a bit more familiar with released the 7″ in the 90s. Maybe the decades not overlapping is a clue? Let’s see if I can clear my doubts.

Romeo Suspect released a double 7″ on Aliénor Records indeed in 1994. Catalog number is Alien θ [thêta]. 8 songs in total. I have heard a few of them, I am still looking for a copy. Maybe soon, I’ll get one for myself. Anyways, the songs on this record were “Another World” and “Romeo Suspect” on the A side, “Loose Fitting” and “Somewhere” on the B side. That’s the first vinyl 7″. The second one has “I Don’t Know Where You Come From” and “Better Days” on the C side and “20th Summer” and “Cut Off” on the D side.

Something that seems cool about this release is that it came with an 8-page booklet about Bordeaux wine, wood pigeon’s hunting and an interview with the band. Okay, it has to be a French band to include something about Bordeaux wine, right? Who has this booklet? Would be nice to know what it says on the interview.

As far as I know there are two different sleeves for this record. One has white background and another one has half white and half green background. There is also a photo of a lady that I can’t recognize on the front. Who is she? Some famous actress probably?

Aside from this release the band appeared on a bunch of French compilations mostly. They have to be French, right?

In 1993 their song “The End” appears on “Summer 93 Hits” a tape compilation put togetheer by Lo Label from France. That same year we see the song “University” finding itself on “Ces Chères Têtes Blondes” another French tape that came out on Cindie (CIN01).

1994 sees their song “Le Sort” on “Quality Sweet” a cassette comp released by Pâte A Modeler (001). Then in 1996, on the tribute CD “Can You Talk to the Dude? A Tribute to Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers Vol. 2” (Alien o [Omicron]‎) they have “Tandem Jump”.

In 2000 the band had “Just 15” and “Soslucky” on “Eden Love” a tape compilation released by A Secret Song. Again a French compilation.

There are few other ones that I don’t know the date. On “Playing Around Sandcastles” that came out on the German label Meller Welle Produkte (MEL 31) they have the song “Atlantic Ocean”. Then on the tape “Entreinte & Tempo” a French cassette released by Disco 2000 (Discompil 01) they had the song “Rain”. This one gives actually another clue, most bands on this compilation hailed from the area of Toulouse. They must be French then. We can start forgetting the English band, right?

Lastly sometime in the 90s Aliénor Records used to put together promo tapes. One of them included three songs by the band, “Loose-Fitting”, “Another World” and “Romeo Suspect”.

And that’s it really. I can’t find who were the band members or where exactly they were from. Or why there are no more releases. I do think though that I am pretty confident that they were very much French and that they made some wonderful pop tunes!

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Listen
Romeo Suspect – Loose Fitting