The Reds, Pinks & Purples: four songs from a recent gig in San Francisco make up a new live EP by this prolific band. “Heaven Help Us We’re Too Attractive” features the talents of Kati Mashikian, Thomas Rubenstein, Lewis Gallardo, Andrew Hine and Glenn Donaldson when they played at Thee Knockout on Sept. 2.

Quivers: the Melbourne combo is back with a 7″! Two new recordings, “If Only” and a cover of Lucinda Williams’ “I Just Wanted to See You So Bad” that are sung by Bella Quinian, the band’s bassist. The band is to tour the US next week. Sadly I won’t be around and I will miss their gig which is quite a shame.

Grade School: another cool 7″ that just got released is the self-titled record by this North Vancouver band. It will be out on the 16th thanks to Kingfisher Bluez Records and it will include two songs, “Grade School” and “Goin’ Good!”. Nice jangly and mellow pop!

Space Daze: here’s a new song by this superb solo-project from Seattle. The song is called “Maybe Not” and I’m really liking it. There are no details about the track, so I’ll leave the mystery for you all to figure out.

The Crystal Furs: I have recommended previously the two first singles from the band’s new album “In Coastal Light”. You’ll find them also as the two songs you can preview in their Bandcamp. The album is now available to pre-order on both vinyl and CD  and will include 10 songs. Hoping to hear them soon!

—————————————————————–

After my interview with Hiroshi from Johnny Dee I knew I had to check another band he had been in, Johnny Johnny.

It took me a while to listen to their songs. But as they say it is better later than never. This band features Hiroshi Tsutsumida and Tsuyoshi Shimoda, both from Johnnny Dee. I always want to learn more about the Japanese scene, but it is a bit harder to find information in English (or sometimes even in Japanese). For example I tried interviewing Tsuyoshi about the great band he was in after Johnny Dee, 101 Dalmatians, but no luck.

According to an interview on the Anorak Crumble blog that our lovely friends Toshiko and Fabien used to run, Johnny Johnny was formed in 1994 and released a the 12″ single “Still I Always…” in 2001 on the Bananafish label. About the band name Hiroshi says:

First of all, we recognized Jonny Dee was disbanded then, so I named the band Johnny Johnny…like Southern Death Cult → Death Cult → Cult. There is a Prefab Sprout song with the same name, and we were also aware of Duran Duran.

After Johnny Johnny we know that Tsuyoshi was also in Thee Windless Gates and two years ago released an album with a new band called Bug’s Lunchtime. Another band Hiroshi was in and is worth mentioning is The Korova Milk  Bar, who I interviewed him about!

About the label that released their one and only record, Bananafish, I don’t have much info. This label had released a CD compilation in 1998 with great indiepop bands including 101 Dalmatians, Chain Letter and Flower Bellcow.

Johnny Johnny’s release was a 12″ vinyl record that had “Still I Always…” on the A side and “Still I Always… (Good Drivin’ Mix)” and “Style” on the B side.

The artwork looks cool. An old map and six people that look mysterious. 3 of them with hats. One lying down, two hugging, other two sitting down and one standing up not facing us.

The band would also contribute two songs to compilations. “Everything is Allright” was on 2002’s “Pop Comes Up! Bluebadge Compilation Vol. 2” (BBCD-002) CD and “Style” was on “These are the Songs We Always Wanted to Hear” on Firestation, also in 2002.

I do believe that they were also on a compilation called “Airport Terminal 01” with the song “Still I Always…” from 2004.

Not much more info about this band. Was it short-lived? Did they make more recordings? Why only just one release and why a 12″ with so little songs? Maybe I should get back in touch with Hiroshi and find out!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
Johnny Johnny – Still I Always…

The Spanish Amanda: “Let them Eat Art!” is the new EP by the wonderful English band. A true favourite of the blog, it is no surprise I interviewed them back in the day. This EP has 4 songs, “Cats in Uniform”, “The Boy Salome”, “(I’ve Given You Everything You Need) to Destroy Me” and “Watch the Man Burn”. The release is available digitally and it sounds really good. And from what I understand it is free!

Do You Think I’m Flexi: this flexi release on thee UK’s Repeat Records features a song by the Swansea Sound (a combo that has members from the Pooh Sticks and Heavenly) and a track by Simon Love. The flexi will be available on September 30 but pre-orders are up now. It is very limited, 100 copies, so make sure to get your copy soon.

David Christian: 15 more songs by the leader of Comet Gain on this collection titled “Summer’s Ashes, Winter Spines”. These songs are mostly acoustic, with a sound closer to folk than to indiiepop.

Rayventuras: the Berlin band is back with their second album “Blues and Greens”. It is now up on the band’s Bandcamp and includes 10 songs. This new effort after their debut “Sandpaper Honey” sounds superb, with a punchy sound.

Dentist: and now a fun, poppy, catchy band from Asbury Park, New Jersey. This trio has just released the album “Making a Scene” which is available on vinyl and CD. The record has 12 songs of terrific punky pop.

—————————————————————–

I can’t seem to find the releases of the Pennsylvania band Waiting for Rain on Discogs. Just one compilation appearance… that’s when their song “Shame” appeared on “In Your Ear: The MAPPS A & R Trip” released by MAPPS in 1994.

That CD compilation featured bands from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. That’s where the band was from. I also know that “Shame” was one of the tracks on a 1993 CD EP release called “Voodoo Pocket”. This CD had “Shame”, “Ugly Shoes”, “Candy Apple Red” and “The Way it Goes”. This was the band’s first release. In any case you can find all four songs on all digital platforms.

The surprise comes when I find a Soundcloud for what looks like another release but it has no name. The songs there are: “Firefly”, “Candy Apple Red”, “Special”, “The Way it Goes”, “Sidestep”, “Little Heart (Big Problem)” and “Sway (The Trumpet Song)”. It also tells us that the Leigh Valley band was around from 1988 to 1998.

I do find a name related to the band. Paul Kleinert. He was the composer, lyricist and guitarist for the band. There is an article on a newspaper called The Morning Call from Allentownn, Pennyslvania. It dates from October 18, 1996. There Paul describes the band’s sound as: “It’s a strong dose of ’80s pop sensibilities with a little bit of honesty and a reality check or two. It’s really nothing special, nothing unique.” He mentions the name other band members, bassist Jeff Larish and guitarist Don Andreas. At that time they were promoting a record and were to play The Funhouse in Bethlehem. This new record was called “If You Must…” and was the band’s fourth release on their own label New Ink Records that was based in Fogelsville. Also this new release would see for the first time drummer Steve Herring in the band. Another cool detail is that Ken Heitmueller from the great band Suddenly, Tammy! produced the songs that were recorded in a church in Columbia, Lancaster County.

It is also good to find that Paul Kleinert continues making music with a band called PK and the In-Betweens. He has a website that has some music by his new project.

Then I find an interview with him on a website called Skope Mag. It is mostly about his current band but he does mention some details about Waiting for the Rain. For example that Jeffrey and him co-founded Waiting for the Rain, they had actually played together in high school.

Then a Facebook page for the band! Cool! There are links to the Morning Call newspaper for articles about them, but you need to pay to access them. Then there’s a link to the Reading Eagle, a scan on Google News. On this article from February 7, 1997, they mention some of the songs that were on their last release, “If You Must…”, like “Half the Way”, “Maria”, “Special” and “Room 101”.

Then there’s a tape that had some more songs. Was this a demo tape? It had the songs “Uncle Wiggly”, “Court Jester”, “The Way it Goes”, “Have a Feeling” and “The Pleasure Song”.

The band reunited in 2013 when they played at The Funhouse in Bethlehem on July 5th. I wonder how did that go for them. The support band was Brother JT. The songs the band played that night were “Brave as Thunder”, “Sweet Maria”, “Sidestep”, “Half the Way”, “Candy Apple Red”, “Throw ’em All Away”, “Shame”, “Ugly Shoes”, “You’ll Be Mine”, “Dandelion”, “Sway”, “Beautiful Disguise”, “Fine By Me”, “Dancing’ Queen”, “The Way it Goes” and “Show me the Light”.

There is some live footage from that gig on Youtube of course. Here is the band playing “Beautiful Disguise”, “Fine By Me” and “Dancin’ Queen”.

Some more details I find is that Paul Kleinert is an Economics teacher. That the band played at the Talent Show in the Dorm Cafeteria in Spring 1991. They won that gig. The band also played on June 16, 1993, at the Zodiac Club opening for 4 Non-Blondes. Other gigs include November 7, 1992, at The Peppercorn Club in Center Valley, November 13, 1992 at The Funhouse, and November 21 at the Moravian College.

That there was a tape called “Stop and Wonder” that had the songs “Brave as Thunder”, “Gonna Bee Alright” and “Lord Help the Man”.

Then we know that the original lineup of the band was with Jeffrey Larish, Bill Howard, Paul Kleinert and Anthony Febbraro.

And that’s it! Quite a lot about this band! Who remembers them?

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
Waiting for Rain – Ugly Shoes

Appleseeds!: “Anything Goes” is the new single by this Copenhagen combo that have a PO! inspired band-name. The song sounds so good. You wonder when they will be releasing a record or something…. and yes, they do tell. This new single will be part of their debut album that will be released in the fall and that will include 10 songs!

Swiss Portrait: another fantastic band that knows how to craft quality indiepop is Swiss Portrait from Edinburgh. This solo project by Michael Kay Terence has the perfect pop sensibility if you ask me. His latest single is a great example of it. Check out “Hideout”, I totally recommend it.

Tall Dwarfs: there is a new compilation on CD and LP by the classic band from New Zealand formed by Chris Knox and Alec Bathgate. “Unravelled: 1981-2002” is out now thanks to Merge Records and includes 55 songs by this legendary duo! Must have!

The Golden Rail: “Silver Linings” is the first single from the new album, the 3rd album, by the Melbourne combo that features Ian Freeman, Jeffrey Baker, Dave Chadwick and Saki Garth. In the past I have done interviews with Ian about the legendary bands he has been in like Mars Bastards or The Palisades.

Mt. Misery: and lastly a new EP from this great Hartlepool band! “The Times it Takes” is already out in its digital format and has 4 songs, including a cover of the smash hit “You & Me Song” by The Wannadies.  A very strong release that I hope you will enjoy as much as I did.

—————————————————————–

Five guys, a four-track, in a basement, in 1991. That’s how Paul Dain, guitarist of Simple Simon, describes the recordings by this East Lansing, Michigan, band.

One year ago he uploaded the only demo tape recorded by Simple Simon to Soundcloud. This demo had 8 songs, “A Reason”, “Fool to Think”, “Mary Winndham”, “Mind Collapsing”, “Little Memory”, “Wasting it All”, “A Reason (Muzak mixx)” and “No Words”.

The five guys in the band were Cameron Jamieson on vocals, Darren Tibbits on drums and vocal, Curtis Larkin on acoustic guitar and keyboards, Brad Barnard on bass and Paul Dain on guitar.

There is not much more info here about the band, but we know Paul and Darren had been in a band called No Big Deal previously in 1989 when they were freshmen at the Michigan State University.

I don’t have much more info. I do believe Darren Tibbits is nowadays a creative director at his own company Skully Rebels and used to be a copywriter. He is now based in Minnesota.

I also think Curtis is nowadays in the greater Minneapolis-St. Paul area. He is involved in digital marketing. I am not sure about Brad Barnard, MAYBE he is now an executive director at Raytheon Missiles & Defense in Arizona? But could be another Brad I stumbled upon. And Cameron, could be an strategic account manager at Henry Schein in Detroit. Linkedin are the top results for their names… no Soundcloud or other related music websites.

Anyways, I do hope we find out more info about them soon. They had some quality songs and you wonder what happened to Simple Simon!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
Simple Simon – Fool to Think

The Death of Pop: a new cassette is coming out by the very good south of England band The Death of Pop! “For a Minute” EP will be released on September 23 by Discos de Kirlian and also by Hidden Bay Records. The EP is quite long for an EP, 8 songs. Wee can preview one of the tracks now, the opening track. It is called “For a Minute” and sounds great. Few copies of the tape remain.

Antilopedevega: as I am already looking at Discos de Kirlian, I check some releases I have missed. Antilopedevega is a project I have recommended in the past and now I see they have a new song, “Del Revés” worth checking out!

Orlando Mon Amour: a new band from Mexico City that loves twee and indiepop. They have just released a single with Discos de Kirlian, in digital format, called “Canta Otra Canción”. The band is influenced by female-fronted pop bands like Dolly Mixture, Aventuras de Kirlian or Serpentina.

Tip Top Nap: now we head to Kyoto, Japan, to discover this lovely project by Natsumi Yamamoto, Yuta Ikeda, Yuma Murakami and Mizuki Ueyama. The band’s latest release is actually their 3rd single which is titled ” 街の灯り ” and it is a very nice surprise to me.

Dollgirl: and another dreamy pop project. This one hails from Sacramento and the latest single is aptly titled “Heavenly”. Not much more information about the band, it looks like it’s a solo girl behind it. The only piece of info we get is that she “makes music sometimes”.

—————————————————————–

I believe Grey by the Gun were from Scotland, from Aberdeen. But I have found a trove of their songs on Soundcloud where they say that the band was based in Brighton in the late 80s. What’s true? Were they from the north of Britain or from the south?

These songs had been uploaded 2 years ago. They are from a demo tape called “Cuttin the Rug” from 1988. The songs were “Cut the Rug”, “The Calling”, “Present Souls and Future Dice” and “Last Black Treasure”.

The band was formed by Greg Yule on vocals and guitar, Gordon Eady on guitar, Alan Wiseman on bass and vocals and Gordon McKay on drums.

Thanks to this I find a Soundclick page by Greg Yule. It seems he makes solo music now and is based in Galway, Ireland.

Another name that I find related to the band is that of Larry Shaw, a bassist and celloist. It seems that at some point in the eighties he played with the band.

Then another superb find. The band had played at a venue called thee Kinema Ballroom in Dunfermline. On a page where they collect the story of this legendary venue, there is a small bio about the band:

Aberdeen band ‘Grey by the Gun’ was formed in the mid 1980s and joined by Greg Yule in 1986 when he soon discovered the vocalist was leaving so he took up that role too. Their first record was ‘The Black Heart’ EP, the second, also an EP was ‘Cutting The Rug’, both of which also sold in excess of 10,000 copies.

They soon landed supports for ‘Runrig’, ‘Deacon Blue’ and ‘Wet Wet Wet’ though they seemed to suffer from sharing management who were preoccupied with one of their stable mates, ‘Runrig’ so they parted company and moved to Brighton where new management hooked them up with RCA.

They recorded some material for an album and showcased their talents in New York, however the album never saw the light of day as it became victim of a ‘new broom’ Managing Director. Their manager changed their name to ‘The Promise’ but they never used it to record or perform. Gordon Eady left in February 1990 and declined to return that Summer.

Gordon Eady tells me: “Greg now lives with his new wife and two children in northern France, Gordon MacKay returned to Aberdeen with his wife and child, Allan lives with his wife Fiona in Newhaven in Sussex and I live in Brighton with my partner Sue. To my knowledge non of the ex-members of GBTG still work in the music industry although Allan turned his hand to classical composing.””Greg now lives with his new wife and two children in northern France, Gordon MacKay returned to Aberdeen with his wife and child, Allan lives with his wife Fiona in Newhaven in Sussex and I live in Brighton with my partner Sue. To my knowledge non of the ex-members of GBTG still work in the music industry although Allan turned his hand to classical composing.”

In another update Greg Yule has been in touch to say: “Hi, I’m still recording, finished 2 albums and am currently working on the 3rd. Now tour and play in Europe, just opened new recording studio in France.  As far as I know, I’m the only one still playing.

On Sunday March 20, 1988, the band played in Edinburgh with Transaction at the Soundcheck Rock Club. And they went all the way to Lonndon to play at the Rock Garden on Wednesday December 9, 1987.

The band also played in Dundee. I know that on March 4, 1988,  they supported The Sting Rytes. Longhorns were also part of the bill.

Rateyourmusic has listed a 1986 tape with 5 other songs than the 1988 demo. These are “Don’t Look Back”, “People”, “I Would Die for You”, “Heartbeat” and “She Spirit”. I wonder how these songs sounded like…

The band would later rename themselves to be called The Promise. As The Promise they would record a demo with Richard Head.

And that’s what I found about them! Anyone remembers them?

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
Grey by the Gun – The Calling

Thanks so much to Masato Saito for another interview! Some time ago we talked about Pervenche who has made a comeback with the release of “Quiet Small Happiness”. The interesting part is that this CD comes with a bonus CD with lots of material from his previous band Peatmos! I had written about Peatmos in the past, but I needed to know more details about this cool project!

++ Your first release, I believe, was the “Mess” cassette that came out on your own Clover Records. This seems like a rare release these days. Did you make many of these tapes? Why did you choose this format?

Actually, we released a cassette tape called “rich time for you” before “mess”. This was recorded with the original members when the band was formed.
It was still a fun distraction at the time.
It was released in April 1995. The four songs on this cassette are not on this CD.
The cassette “Mess” was released in October 1996. Everything was dubbed by myself.
Of course, the cassette tapes were commercially available. The sleeves were also made using a copy machine at a convenience store.
Unfortunately, there is no record of how many I made. The charm of cassette tapes is that you can make as many as you need when you need them. It doesn’t cost any money.
The selling price can also be low.

++ The artwork of the “Mess” tape has a lot of words on it like “Sun”, “Picnic”, “Light”, “Feed”, etc. What is the meaning of it?

Manami designed them. The words are sampled from song lyrics and arranged.
I like the artwork made of transparent tracing paper.

++ The same year of the tape release, 1996, Sonorama Records from the US released the “Earl Grey Tea” 7″. Tell me how Peatmos was discovered by Dan from Sonorama Records?

I was introduced to Dan by Kactus member Rich Stevens.
I was surprised that he would release a 7-inch.

++ Who is in the 7″ sleeve photo? Is that you?

No, it is not.
The photographer, Kuwabata, happened to take a picture of a sleeping child on the train.
I liked the way he expressed this with a Japanese subject while giving it an American or British indie feel.

++ The songs for this record were recorded all at home. Was wondering if you prefer working at a home studio or at a professional studio?

I have never recorded in a professional studio, as is the case with Pervenche.
I think my work is better suited for recording in a private environment.

++ Other than these two releases you appeared on many compilations. The ones I am curious about are for example the “Cream Cone Compilation Vol. 0”. I had never heard of the Cream Cone Records label. Who were they and how did you end up including a song on their CD?

I was invited by the label owner, Mr. Endo. Sorry, I don’t remember much.

++ And the other compilation I wonder about is the one that came with the Indies Magazine Vol. 47. Did you get much press from music magazines?

Not so much.
But writers who liked it called us.

++ Are there unreleased songs by the band?

Yes, there are; we still have some demos that didn’t make it onto Disc 2 of the CD that was released in August.

Fanzines, everyone in the indie scene supported us.
A very small intimate scene. That was enough for us.
And the support from our American fans! It was great.

The Photocopies: the Michigan based Londoner Sean Turner is a very prolific indiepopster. The good news is that Subjangle Records has done a double CD compilation, with 45 of his songs, that is available right now. The album is called “Pop Trivia” and it is a true jangle extravaganza!

Field School: five new songs by this superb jangle fuzz pop band from Olympia, Washington. “Swainson’s Thrush” EP is the name of the new cassette that is available now! There are 50 copies available of this beauty, that comes with original art by Jimmy Ulvenes. Very recommended.

The Age of Colored Lizards: a new song by the Oslo band called “Don’t Say Goodbye”. ON this new single thee band gets two of their original members, Anders and Håvard to play and record with them again. This new song will be part of the band’s upcoming album to be released early 2023.

Annual Leaf: now we head to Melbourne, Australia. Annual Leaf just released a 5 song digital EP titled “Racing Heart” that sounds pretty good. IT says that the band was gestated in Christchurch, New Zealand, and nurtured in Seoul, Tokyo, London and Auckland, to end up in Melbourne. Interesting!

Trementina: It’s been a while since I heard from Valdivia, Chile, band Trementina. The good news is that they are back with a song called “I Can Show You Wonders”! It is as ace as their older songs and that makes me happy. The band is currently working on a new album so I promise to keep an eye on them!

—————————————————————–

Another great Soundcloud find is the UK’s The Finest. This band was active between the late 80s and the early 90s and recorded a bunch of songs, though it doesn’t look like they put out any releases.

The band hailed from Ancoats in Manchester and was a four-piece.

Their songs had been uploaded 9 years ago and well, there’s a link to a website and to a Facebook page that don’t work. So this may prove a bit difficult. Their name is not the most original so it will be hard to google them. But I am going to try.

The songs uploaded are “Sacred Heart”, “Sound of Your Voice”, “That’s Alright”, “Believing”, “One Day a Week”, “Mirror Man”, “Foolish Feelings”, “The Key”, “Bottles & Chains”, “Indian Telephone”, “Send” and “Like Dreamers Do”.

The last song has some more details. “Like Dreamers Do” was the 1st track off “Death of Green” and was recorded at Abbey Road in 1996. What is “Death of Green”? An album? An EP? I have to find out.

But then there’s more to be found on Youtube!

The account I have linked has live footage of the band. Here is them playing “Foolish Feelings” at The Witchwood in Ashton-under-Lyne in the early 90s.

I am not sure if it is from the same gig but there are more videos from The Witchwood, them playing live there. On this one we find them playing the songs “Send”, “That’s Alright” and “One Day a Week”. The second part of the gig where they play “Foolish Feelings”, “Mirror Man and “Bottle & Chains”. Part 3 has “You”, “One for the North” and “Annabelle” while part 4 has “The One I Love”, a REM cover and “One for the North” again.

There’s another gig by them divided in part 1 and part 2. This one was at Manchester University but this time we don’t get a tracklist.

Then I found the name of one of the members, Stephen Maylett, their drummer. Then I find that he owns a boxing gym in Manchester called… guess… The Finest!

Then another good find, on the Manchester Digital Music Archive there’s a photo of the band from 1996. Here we learn a few more names. Bernard Maylett (is he Stephen’s brother?) and Andy Barcoe.

And that’s what I could gather about them. Not a lot, but not little. Anyone that has more details please share!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
The Finest – Send

April June: I’ve become a fan of the Spanish band April June. I believe it is just one girl behind this project, but Bandcamp doesn’t give us any details. The latest song is the digital single “Biking to Your House” that has a lovely vibe. Really good!

Strawberry Generation: next up is this Providence duo that we discovered some time ago when they released on Sunday Records. Their latest release is also a digital single! It is such a well-crafted pop song that I think everyone will enjoy. Do check out “Miss Me”, it is a winner.

Fine.: another favourite band of the blog are Fine. from Boston, UK. This project formed  by James Marsh and Alice Kat have been producing just perfect popsongs for some time now. They are releasing an album this autumn and I am waiting eagerly for it. Here we get a taster, a song that will be included in the album. The song is titled “Breathe Out” and it is yet another winner.

Lilac: dreamy pop from Stockholm! Cool! I don’t know much about this band to  be honest but their latest song, the second single from their upcoming debut album, sounds ace. It is titled “Crystalline” and it is a rush of mellow fuzzy pop!

Beach Vacation: and we end with another digital single. 5 songs toady. All singles. This one comes from Seeattle and is also fantastic. It is called “All for Me” and it may be part of the band’s debut album “I Fell Apart” that is coming out on November 13 on Z Tapes.

—————————————————————–

Portishead is a coastal town on the Severn Estuary, 8 miles (12 km) to the west of Bristol, but within the unitary district of North Somerset, which falls within the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. It has a population of around 25,000, with a growth rate considerably in excess of surrounding towns.

And I thought it was just the name of a band. How ignorant. I have been to Bristol once, what a great time I had. I would love to return to the UK soon and explore some more, visit more medieval castles and be in awe of amazing cathedrals. Maybe next year? I don’t think I want to wait longer than 2024, that’s for sure. 2024 would be 10 years since the last time I was there, 2014!

Bishops of Durham was formed in 1986 in Portishead. They have a Soundcloud with many of their songs. I wonder about their name. Durham is much further north than where they were from.

The band recorded numerous demos and performed a handful of gigs in the Bristol area before breaking up that same year. They lasted so little.

There was a tape called “Not-quite Complete Bishops of Durham”. I don’t know exactly which songs were on it, but we know that one of these songs was “Gods Will Smile”. This song was the band’s first studio recording.

I believe the band had plans to upload more songs but it seems it never happened. The one upload they did dates from 9 years ago.

Anyone that has any more details about them, please share. If they recorded numerous demos, many demos, then how come we only know one song? I hope we find out more details about them, like band members, and maybe know which other bands they were involved with.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
Bishops of Durham – Gods Will Smile

The Vapour Veils: this Stockholm four-piece sounds superb. Even better is to know that the first single from their debut album is up on Bandcamp. That single is “Live Forever” and includes another track that won’t be included in the album, “Shadows”. The album is to be released this autumn, so I am looking forward to it. I hope it gets released in physical format of course. The band is formed by Magnus, Carl, Andy and Totte and again, this is great. Hope one day I can catch them live.

Greenhouse: Sound as Ever released a retrospective compilation of Geelong band Greenhouse last year in September. The compilation of 13 songs, including two live tracks at Triple J Live, is still available on CD and is definitely worth getting! It is titled “Full Circles” and has artwork by acclaimed artist Jim Pavidis plus a booklet of 24 pages… full liner notes! Just how CDs should be packaged!

Hanging onto the 90s: Sound as Ever 90-99 Compilation #4: continuing with the great Melbourne label, I must say their new compilation, a double CD, is a must have. It includes superb indiepop bands like The Mandelbrot Set, The Mars Bastards, Club Hoy, Pollyaana, Dazy Chains and more! This is a must have! It includes classic songs as well as rare versions. Do not miss this one.

Calamity Jane’s Live Radio Sessions: I missed this release as well. This one came out last November on Sound As Ever. Calamity was a radio show that was around from 1992 and 1995 in Australia. On this CD we find a collection of recordings from different bands when visiting the radio station in Victoria St, Fitzroy. Bands like Autohaze and The Lucksmiths will be familiar to indiepop fans.

Holy Coves: lastly a band from Holy Island, Anglesey, Wales! Holy Coves released their latest single “Grey” last June and it is really good. The band will be touring the UK including gigs inn Liverpool, Newcastle, Glasgow, Manchester and more is sort of a supergroup including peeople from Gorky’s and from Morrissey’s band.

—————————————————————–

Long Eaton is a town in the Erewash district of Derbyshire, England, just north of the River Trent, about 7 miles (11 km) south-west of Nottingham and some 8½ miles (13.7 km) south-east of Derby. The town population was 37,760 at the 2011 census. It has been part of Erewash borough since 1 April 1974, when Long Eaton Urban District was disbanded.

That’s where we are heading today, Long Eaton, to read more about The Prismatic Colours, who I believe reformed a few years ago…

At least that’s what their website says. 25 years ago. There are links there to Facebook, Soundcloud, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube… so I am guessing I am going to find out a lot about this obscure English band.

I will start with the music, with Soundcloud. There my first encounter is a 4-track demo called “3 Men and a Korg” dating from 1989. This demo included the songs “Prismatic Colours”, “Free”, “Babblings”, “Visions”, “Ride” and “Morning Haze”.

Then there’s another demo called “In Your Eyes” consisting of 4 songs. This one doesn’t have a date sadly. It has the following songs: “Visions”, “Morning Haze”, “Prismatic Colours” and “You are Here”.

The band’s 3rd demo had 3 songs, “Lift”, “Don’t Look at Me That Way” and “So Close to Me”. This one doesn’t seem to have a name and again no date for its release.

Then a “lost demo” with 3 songs that was remastered in 2018. This one had “Lift”, “Alf Thompson” and “Soon”. This was band’s 4th demo tape.

Then a live gig! How many great finds here! This live gig was actually the band’s first ever at The Yorker in Nottingham. That day they supported The Yons. It was February 1990 and the band played seven songs, “Alternative”, “Can’t Cope”, “Visions”, “Management”, “Ride”, “Sister Ray” and “Purple Haze Ish”.

Then there  is a remaster from 2019 for the song “Lift” as well as a raw practice recording of the same track. And another song called “Different Ways of Thinking (edit)”.

On Youtube what we find is the band practicing again in 2018. You can see the band playing in their practice space the songs “Morning Haze”, “Echoes”, “Visions”, “You Are Here and I’m Half Way to Nowhere” and “Don’t Look Me That Way”.

And now time to check their Facebook where there is a trove of photos and memorabilia.

I read about Mr. Quiff Records. Was this the name of the band’s own label that put out their demos? Could be. They mention too that under this label they were going to release “The Sound of Long Eaton”, a retrospective look at the Prismatic Colours. This just made me grin, probably the Berlin based Firestation Records think they stole the name of their compilation?

Then some flyers. The band had played The Tiger in Long Eaton, at least one time headlining with Indigo Twist as their support, and also supporting the fantastic Manchester band The Jerks at Demodisco at the Old Angel in Nottingham. Another venue they hit was the Bobby Browns in Nottingham where they played with The Yons.

Then we see the event when they made their comeback in 2018 where they played along Blackmail Box and The Jons at the White Lion Bar & Kitchen. Wow! I wonder how was that gig!

Lastly there is a setlist of their gig at The Tiger with Indigo Twist on August 17, 1990. The band played that day these songs: “Prismatic Colours”, “Morning Haze”, “Ride”, “You Are Here”, “Free” and “Visions”.

Wee don’t see band member names or what instruments they played. We don’t know why they didn’t get to release any records. But hopefully we will find out more about them soon. Crossing fingers!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
Prismatic Colors – Prismatic Colors

A few more weeks of August, a few more weeks of summer. Summers are usually slow for indiepop, it was the time for festivals. Nowadays we saw the Glas-Goes Pop festival and the upcoming Paris Popfest. But maybe I am missing other ones? Would be nice if anyone aware of other festivals can share the details. I won’t be able to go, but I am sure it is still of interest!

The Photocopies: two new songs by this project from Michigan. The Londoner Sean Turner has penned “I Can’t Imagine What You See in Him” and “The Next Train Out of Here” and they are, as usual, solid indiepop songs! On top of it, he has put together “karaoke videos” so you can sing along to these songs!

Janelane: there are still tapes available for the “Okay with Dancing Alone” cassette that came out last April. Janelane is a cool project from Los Angeles by Sophie Negrini. This EP had 4 tracks that are catchy and fun. There is a new song coming out soon called “Running Away (Sure Sounds Fine)” but there is no way to listen to it.

Milet no Marukako Band: this is sadly sold out. A tape titled “First Aid”. limited to 70 copies, was released by the Japanese indiepop label Galaxy Train on August 19. The tape was an EP of 4 songs that is quite fun. Do check it out!

Chikorita: this Argentinean band from Cordoba, named after a Pokemon, has released a self-titled mini-album on An Der Pop. The band formed by Camila Callieri and Lau Torres, started in 2015, and this is a superb and lovely record. As far as I know it is only available digitally, but it is quite a nice surprise!

Oktober86: and lastly this solo project from Thresa Sandra Desfika from Jakarta. His latest release is “Yang Kurindukan”, a jangle, chiming, digital EP with three songs. I don’t think I’ve heard this band before, so I am happily surprised as well. Love to discover new sounds, especially from Indonesia. They know how to make some great indiepop.

—————————————————————–

Rhondda, is a former coalmining area in South Wales, previously in Glamorgan, now a local government district, of 16 communities around the River Rhondda. It embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fawr valley (mawr large) and the smaller Rhondda Fach valley (bach small) – so that the singular “Rhondda Valley” and the plural are both commonly used. Rhondda or the Rhondda Valley, is a former coalmining area in South Wales, previously in Glamorgan, now a local government district, of 16 communities around the River Rhondda. It embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fawr valley (mawr large) and the smaller Rhondda Fach valley (bach small) – so that the singular “Rhondda Valley” and the plural are both commonly used.

I don’t know if the band actually hailed from Rhondda. But that’s the one location I have for some of the recordings from Deja Vu.

On a Soundcloud account by Gareth Morgan we find a bunch of the recordings of this late 80s Welsh band. I am assuming of course that Gareth was part of the band. But who else was on the band?

There is a whole gig, of 8 songs, of the band playing the Penygraig Rugby Club in Rhondda on May 24 1987. In an afternoon session that day the band played “A Poet’s Tale”, “Don’t Look Back”, “Eat the Peach”, “Long Nights”, “No Time to Lose”, “Romaine”, “Hope” and “Easy Now”.

I googled this club and was surprised that this club was actually formeed in 1877 and continues going strong. They play their matches at Graig Park ni the Rhondda Valley.

Then two of these same songs, “Long Nights” and “Don’t Look Back”, were recorded at Red Dragon Radio in May 1988. Those two songs are also available.

And I also looked to find info about Dragon Radio, and yeah, it is a regional radio that broadcasts in Wales on FM.

And what is surprising is that in 2012 Gareth decided to re-record some of his songs. After 25 years he re-recorded “Long Nights” and “Slow Waters”.

I find a Gareth Morgan in the area and you wonder if it is the same. On Twitter I find that if he is the same one, he would be the chairman of Llanrumney United Football Club, a senior team in South Wales.

And then finally a breakthrough! A bio about the band on Google Sites.

We learn the names of all members, Anthony Barrett on bass, Geraint Evans on drums, Adrian Hibbbert on keyboards, Jonathan Hibbert on guitar and Gareth Morgan on vocals.

The band was active between 1986 and 1988 and practiced in The Central in Clydach. The band played gigs at The Prince, The Pentre Hotel or at The Pandy Con. The band supported the fantastic The Peruvian Hipsters (a band I wrote about on the early days of the blog, who I tried to interview but never got answers sadly) at the Four7s Club in Maesteg and also supported Scared of the Dark in Port Talbot.

The band was also part of a festival inn Penrhiwfer.

They mention too some bands I am not familiar that they liked from their time like The Promise, The Atmospheric Cherries and Shere Khan. Would be nice to track them down.

We also learn that the songs that were recorded at the Red Dragon Radio studios in Cardiff in May 1988 didn’t have Adrian in the band. He had left. But the cool thing is that in these recordings the vocalist was Ashley Evans from The Peruvian Hipsters. Gareth wasn’t around for these recordings.

There is also another Soundcloud account. This time by Ant Barrett where we find the same songs by Deja Vu but also songs by other projects of his like Little Miracle or Meridian One.

Great! In the end I found more information about the band than I expected and even found connections to other Welsh bands!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
Deja Vu – Romaine

Happy Friday. Wishing all a good weekend!

The Reds, Pinks & Purples: “They Only Wanted Your Soul” is a new release coming out on September 25 on vinyl. This 10 song album is more of a compilation. It includes the very rare 4-song 7″ “I Should Have Helped You” plus 6 more tracks about record shopping, religion, worker’s rights aand more.

Soft Pastels: “California Circus” is the latest single by this San Francisco project. The dreampop project from thee Bay Area has show us before some lovely songs and this is no exception. I am not a big fan of little lyrics (and ones that are hard to grasp), but on this song I think it works well!

Adults: Fika Recordings from London is releasing the album “For Everything, Always” by this pop punk band also from London. The four piece formed by Carl, Joe, Joely and Tom have crafted a poppy and catchy album of 13 songs. Two of them we can preview now, “All We’ve Got // All We Need” and “Things We Achieve”. Thee album is releasing on October 14 on vinyl.

Linda Smith: the legendary Linda Smith just uploaded to Bandcamp a collection of songs from 1987 called “The Space Between Buildings”. It looks like this was released then as a tape and you wonder how rare it is. But happy to be able to listen to it now! On it she covers “Put a Little Love in Your Heart” too.

Boyish: our Japanese friends released many years ago a wonderful album titled “Sketch for 8000 Days of Moratorium”. Now we can listen to the songs on the album but as demo versions. That’s quite cool!

—————————————————————–

Another great find on Soundcloud.

We head to Bristol, to 1987. What a great time that must have been. Sarah Records was being born. There were great venues like the Tropic Club. There was the Subway Organisation. There were superb bands too like The Groove Farm or The Five Year Plan. And now I found there was a band called The Jade.

An account called Bristolsound by someone called Matt Barrett has uploaded 6 songs. These 6 songs seem to have come from a 1987 demo tape by this band. I can’t say for certain if Matt was part of the band or not. The only certainty I have are these six wonderful songs.

The songs are “The Man”, “A Cloud of Sound”, “How Many”, “Perpetual Motion”, “Stay Awake” and “Vague in Vogue”. There are no details about any of these songs, but listening to them is quite enough. They are fantastic!

But then I do a little more digging. I find that Alex Lee was in The Jade and played guitar and keyboards for the band. Alex Lee was also in The Coltraines, The Blue Aeroplanes, Strangelove, Suede, Placebo and Goldfrapp among others. Two other names may appear on tags, Joe and Allen. Allen could it be Rodney Allen? I don’t know. It is just a guess. I’ve read too that The Jade is considered by many Bristol fans that they were the best Bristol band that never made it.

I haven’t been able to find much more about the band, but this is some good info.

Edit: just a little piece of extra info from our friend Paul from The Haywains. He told me he once saw them live at a venue called The Bristol Bridge.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Listen
The Jade – Perpetual Motion