unpopular

Just Handshakes on purple and grey.

 

Vinyl copies of the new 'Say It' LP by the very fabulous Just Handshakes (now no longer with 'We're British' in parenthesis) arrived at the Geek Lair recently and it all looks as delicious as it sounds. The swirly purple is long since sold out and there appear to be less than thirty copies of the grey version left at the band's Bandcamp site. Go swiftly and purchase! You won't regret it.

Oh, and thanks to Bleeding Gold for sneaking a copy of the very fine 'Greetings From Cuckoo Bay' 7" by Os Drongos in with my purple version. It's a wee cracker. You can catch 'Dancing Balloon' on the 'These Song Will Make You Love Me' Unpopular mix, for which there is a limited edition re-release download available now. Unless you read this after I've removed the links, in which case, um, tough luck.

 

 

Comics and music. Music and comics. With The All-About & Shambles Miller

 

Comics and music. Music and comics. What could be finer? The All-About turn in a peppy, poppy set with 'Suburban Hearts'. It's a record that sounds fine in the sunshine and has hooks that sink deep. Lines from 'Summer Sheets' (catch it quick on the new Unpopular mix) in particular have proven difficult to shake, reverberating through my head as I heave my bicycle up Devon and Somerset hills. The accompanying comic is sparse, wordless and a perfect partner. Shambles Miller meanwhile turns in a sparse song in 'Deadpool', accompanied by a more colourful illustration. It's an interesting take on what you actually get when you buy a 'single' these days - when the music is downloaded and digital the physical product can be something other than a CD, vinyl or tape. I really think more people should explore this idea.

Young Sinclairs

 

When I first came across Young Sinclairs (via the 7 Inches blog) I was mildly intrigued, but not quite inspired enough to pick up any of their Bandcamp offerings. This single for the Market Square label however has had me scurrying back to reappraise my first impressions. The 7" is a gem of contemporary pop-psych, with hints of Rain Parade drifting out through the garage door. If you are quick you can catch 'Problems' on the new Unpopular mix, then head on over here and buy the vinyl.

 

Wilder

 

‘Wilder’ was one of thee important records of my youth. So much so that my bedroom came to be known as The Culture Bunker. Though how accurate that was heaven only knows.

Listening to the reissued set inevitably brings back a lot of memories. You don’t want to know about those, but they’ll be same as yours regardless of time and context: Unrequited love. Eyes that misted in the sunlight. Missed kisses that bled in the moonlight. Bluebells and Babycham. Whisky and cigarettes.

Who’d be a teenager?

Bob Stanley wrote a good piece about this reissue for the Croydon Municipal. I don’t agree with his assertion that Side One is patchy, but hey...

Speaking of memories, I took a trawl through the Tangential archive and found a few references to Cope, The Teardrop Explodes and the Crucial Three that made me smile to read again. Maybe you’ll do the same:

Gibberish - J.Wentworth Crazy on Julian Cope and The Teardrop Explodes (1999)
Shot By Both Sides - On Echo & The Bunnymen and Buzzkunst (2002)
For All The Great Explorers - Kevin Pearce on Bill Drummond and all that stuff... (2002)

It's Not A Summer Without You

Got my headphone splitter and your head on my shoulder <Carefully disguised download link

The Sailor's Song - BMX Bandits (YouTube)
Young Girl - Dear Georgiana (from 'Dear Georgiana'. On Bandcamp)
Problems - The Young Sinclairs (from 7" on Market Square records. On Bandcamp)
Tightrope - Firestations (from 'Meanwhile Gardens' EP. On Bandcamp)
Seersucker - Swiss Alps (from 'Seersucker & Gingham'. On Bandcamp)
She's Lost - The Vickers (from 7" on Sybertree Records. On Bandcamp)
It's Not A Summer Without You - Ginnels (from 'Crowns'. On Bandcamp)
New Penzance - Break It Up (from 'Break It Up'. On Bandcamp)
Trusted Lies - Sailors of Neptune (from 'Sailors of Fortune'. On Bandcamp)
Summer Sheets - The All-About (from 'Suburban Hearts'. On Bandcamp)
Easier to Cry - TV Girl (from 'Lonely Women'. On Bandcamp)
Yr Own World - The Blue Aeroplanes (from Beatsongs reissue. YouTube)
Eleanor (The City & Sea) - The Secret History (from Americans Singing in the Dark)
Deadpool - Shambles Miller (single/comic. On Bandcamp)
Goat - French for rabbits (On Bandcamp)
Dear Joseph (feat. Evelyn Ida Morris) - t:dy t:wns (from 't:dy t:wns'. On Bandcamp)
Keep Your Children in a Coma - Future Bible Heroes (from Partygoing. YouTube)
It Could've Been Me - The Boy Least Likely To (from The Great Perhaps. Vimeo)
Bottle Shop - Velcro (On Bandcamp)
Summer Rain - The Pastels (from Slow Summits)

I've been missing those summer schemes

It Could've Been Me

The Boy Least Likely To and Gwenno - It Could've Been Me from The Boy Least Likely To on Vimeo.

In This Place

Green light, green light. <Download, download. It's gone. It's gone.

Kim Kelly is my Cognitive Behavioural Therapist - ONSIND (Bandcamp)
Confessions - Shambles Miller (Bandcamp)
Robert Millar - The Intercepteurs (from 'Aunt Peggy Goes Motoring')
A Kind Of Loving - The Death Of Pop (Bandcamp)
Holland - Esterhazy (Bandcamp)
I Want To Wear Your Shoes - The Sweets (Bandcamp)
War in The Netherlands - Lost Tapes (free from Eardrums Pop)
Superfreak - Howth (Bandcamp)
Buried In The Ground - Tyrannosaurus Dead (Bandcamp)
Goldmine - Big Wave (Bandcamp)
Cut And Run - Just Handshakes (from 'Say It' - Bandcamp)
In This Place - Chaos Chaos (YouTube and website)
She Smokes in Bed - TV Girl (Bandcamp)
Stamping On Snails - Songs For Walter (Bandcamp)
Alice - Dick Diver (from Calendar Days)
Avenue Blues - Lowpines (Bandcamp)
Loosen - Lizard Kisses (Bandcamp)
Red Little Heart - Without Feathers (Bandcamp)
For a Thousand Years - Daybehavior (new single from 'Follow That Car!')
Under The Milky Way - Victoria and Jacob (Bandcamp)

Jay Gatsby, you were a martyr...

A Vancouver Care Package