Today, a Sunday at work replacing a sick colleague, has been quite painful. The air conditioning’s temperature has been terribly low. Winter came too early in the newsroom and my fingers are chilling while I type and keep them in shape. Who takes care of the air conditioning central system? No one knows. It’s one of the biggest mysteries in this building. It’s winter and a boy. But it is also a boy that has rediscovered that music can keep him warm. A boy that has rediscovered the tales of a fine lyricist. A boy that wants to hear Imogen Velouria’s Lean Tales.

February 2010: Lean Tales split up. The Glasgow band is no more. Some lucky people have seen them live, not me. My chances are reduced to 0% unless 20 years from now, in true c86 fashion, they regroup for Indietracks 2031. But they were not even as big as Mighty Mighty, so perhaps I shouldn’t even hold my breathe. Whatever reason they had to split up, is not reason enough for me. This is a late tribute to a band that tasted of superglue.

Superglue should have been what kept them together. Lean Tales formed during the winter of 2007, with Imogen Velouria on vocals, Chris Harvie on guitar, Erika Sella on bass and Craig Patrick on drums. Most probably a colder winter that the one I’m experiencing in my office. A snowy Glasgow, dufflecoats and wet sidewalks. They took their name from an anthology of short stories written by Scottish authors Alasdair Gray, Agnes Owens and James Kelman, with author illustrations by Alasdair Gray. They never changed their lineup. They got praises and good reviews on their EP. They deserved more, they deserved people going head over heels.

They have no Myspace these days and that’s understandable. Myspace is crap nowadays. But I’m sure that’s not their reason. Must be one tied to the demise of the band. Anyways, I’ve had their EP on massive rotation this weekend, and I’ve understood a couple of things, firstly, the lyrics are genius, secondly, they are troubled, and thirdly, something as immediate as this music, is hard to keep it up for years. It makes sense they broke up for whatever reason it was. That ramshackle spirit of theirs, that immediacy, is the same of all of those bands in the indiepop pantheon that recorded one single and broke up. The “Flesh and Paper” CD-EP, beautifully presented in red and black digipack, released on Bubblegum Records, was one of the finest releases of 2009. It included 4 songs, “The Taste of Superglue”, “Penny on the Floor”. “Money Smile”, and “Days are Quick”. All recorded at the Green Door Studios in Glasgow. How I wish I had an autographed copy. Their songs sound very different to anything that was currently being done in indiepop mostly due to Imogen’s particular vocals. A fair dissection of their music would make the Golden Pathway label proud. Lean Tales sound uncannily close to Number 4 Joystreet in many of their songs. And throw in some Chesterf¡elds-like guitars in their most poppy songs like Money Smile for example. Haunting, beautiful, smart.

A year before they had put together some songs and included them in what they called the “Displaced Persons” demos. On here they had two unreleased, but downloadable from last.fm, songs: “Winter and a Boy” and “Running Birthday Cake”. The latter included in the “Pic’n’Mix” compilation released on Bubblegum Records. Must have been more around this time that I heard from them for the first time. We emailed for a couple of times. They had nice words for the Cloudberry too. They wanted to send me a CD with demos of their new songs. Upon receiving the marker written jewel case, I played it, to be blown away by “Money Smile”, a song so in your face that, I believe, should have been a single by itself. I like it so much that I’ve given myself the treat of DJing it twice, once in London and once in Malmö. Can I say I’m very jealous Gary Bubblegum that you were the one to release it?

Today came to my surprise that they had two songs slated for a 7″ release: “Come Take Me” and “Laundry Pills”. Who was going to release this and bailed out? I’d love to know, so I could cut their head off. Both songs are downloadable at the Lean Tales’ bandcamp. A bit less shivering than their previous efforts, and even “Come Take Me” having a quite summery feel! Ah! could it be the warmth of that violin?! Lean Tales was getting better and better as it also shows on the videos from the Bubblegum Records gig of last December (where they sang two unreleased songs, “All on You” and “Maybe”). Wonder when this ‘single’ were recorded. Should have been a bona fide contender for single of the year. The bandcamp also has the “Flesh and Paper” EP to download entirely, which makes me think of the band losing all interest in their songs. Because they are worth more than just a simple click. I highly suggest buying the copy from Bubblegum Records. I believe they are limited to 500 copies.

I never heard back from them. We’ll never hear from Lean Tales again probably. Though I could always try the Erika’s phone number on the sleeve of the demo CD when I’m in Glasgow next February. I hope in a way or another, they make music again. There is some genius in these songs. Genius enough to keep us warm in the coldest winter. Thank you.

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Listen
Lean Tales – Money Smile