Los Angeles, not unlike other great cities such as Detroit, New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia, has given birth to and nurtured many great musicians. One of those young, versatile musicians Los Angeles has produced was Wayne Powell. In High School he played percussion & tuba in the concert band, later he switched to baritone horn. Shortly after Wayne heard Lionel Hampton play vibraphone at the Paramount Theater in downtown Los Angeles, he purchased his own set of vibes. In 1965, Wayne decided to organize his own group which he called The Wayne Powell Octet. That same year he recorded his debut 33rpm record titled "Plays Hallucination".

"Plays Hallucination" is the one and only album by the Wayne Powell Octet. This is spiritual soul-jazz at its very best! A stunning treasure rarely to be found - unless it's on Mo-Jazz!

TRACK LISTING

1. Hallucination
2. Blue And Easy
3. Tutzy
4. Jurkit
5. More Blues
6. Duckin
7. Prelude To Ecstasy
8. Brown's Buckit
9. Quernemoen

First time vinyl reissue of the second album (originally released in 1973) by one of the epoch-making groups in the history of Peruvian rock: We All Together. Their original compositions —all sung in English— betray their passion for McCartney, taking Beatle centrism to new heights in South America. While the Uruguayan Los Shakers could remind us of the first phase of the Fab 4, We All Together is like their seventies version. Amazing compositions, with nods to prog rock and the twilight imprint of singer-songwriters living the end of the hippy dream, that show both diversity and a defined identity. A must for any ‘70s rock collector.

The band, made up of singer/guitarist Billy McCarthy, Eric Sanderson on bass/keys and drummer, Rob Allen, have warmed the hearts and souls of the UK so far with their sublime live shows featuring many of their heartfelt anthems from the album that received the ‘iTunes Alternative Album of the Year’ award in the US at the end of 2011.

Here in the UK, ‘Book of James’ featured in session with John Kennedy, Dermot O’Leary and Steve Lamacq, whilst also collecting plays from Jo Whiley, Zane Lowe, Lauren Laverne and Chris Hawkins. The single was also included on the 6 Music playlist, the XFM A-List, awarded Breakfast Track of the Week, and Record of the Week by Mary Anne Hobbs which led to an invitation to play XFM’s Winter Wonderland show at Brixton’s 02 Academy in December. The group were also tipped as ones to watch by Huw Stephens in NME and picked up on early by Q Magazine before taking Single of the Week at The Sun’s Something for the Weekend section.
Having propelled themselves into the spotlight with former outfit Pela – whose debut (and only) album Anytown Graffiti achieved significant success, the group collapsed from personal tensions, chiefly instigated by the industry at large. Just as it got going with sold out ballrooms under their belts, Pela’s momentum ceased. For two of the group, however, remaining afloat was the only course. Pela was sunk but conditions were made to launch a new vessel and We Are Augustines were born.

Drawn together by a continuing musical vision and mutual understanding, Billy McCarthy and Eric Sanderson, were also, on a more personal level, no strangers to turbulent waters. McCarthy in particular, whose volatile upbringing is candidly documented in the lyrics of his songs, has felt himself frequently capsized by the vagaries of life. Having spent much of his formative years in foster care a sense of self-reliance is perhaps more finely attuned in him than most. McCarthy’s enthusiasm for his current situation is addictive (“The reception we’re getting is just awesome – people are so warm here,” he says of his British reception), yet his affable characteristics also betray a certain gravitas. Like a child who’s been told one too many lies, there’s a sense of restraint – like the very fabric in front of him could vanish in a puff of dissolution at any time. He says the word ‘present’ a lot – though not the gift-wrapped kind – like a man holding on to the NOW with white-knuckle determination. He is also given to shaking his head, with cartoonishly grim disbelief, especially when hitting upon something fortuitous. Through all the upheaval and broken promises that have come, Billy McCarthy is a man who takes nothing for granted.
“It’s quite gratifying to be where we are now,” he says, reflecting on the past two years, which has seen them rise from the ashes of Pela to garner a new, equally fervent following with We Are Augustines – something which, on the back of previous setbacks, looked in danger of being drowned at birth. Fortified by British drummer Rob Allen, who has lived in New York for 10 years – and who met the band through Pela stick-wielder Tom Zovich – We Are Augustines have since embellished their sound with a harder rhythmic edge – the price of adopting an Englishman – with Allen now a fully integrated member of what has, until now, been an extremely closed group.

Much of the material on aptly named album Rise Ye Sunken Ships – most of which was written and recorded when Pela still existed – documents perhaps the most traumatic period of Billy McCarthy’s life. After losing his mother at 19, in 2009, McCarthy's younger brother James, diagnosed schizophrenic, hung himself while still in the apparent care of the hospital that was supposed to be treating him. Having been songwriting for only a couple of years following the death of his mother, initial forays into compositional catharsis fell short (“I lacked the vocabulary and subtlety”), but by the time of James’s death, a virtually obsessive McCarthy had assimilated his understanding of the world with the nuances of his craft.
“There were years of my life that just blend into each other, because all I cared about was writing, it was just pure dedication. When you believe in your art – whether you’re a writer or musician or whatever – you’re essentially believing in yourself. I never put that together until recently.”
Sitting between Sanderson and McCarthy is like watching a game of conversational table tennis. Like an old married couple, the pair seem to be completely aligned to each other’s thought patterns. With Sanderson having shared very similar personal traumas to McCarthy – particularly his own family history of substance abuse – it’s small wonder the pair are so reciprocal.

“The timeline to where we’re at now, we don’t feel robbed or any remorse,” says Sanderson. “We try every day to focus on the immediate circumstances and seeing the bigger picture. As hard as it is when things aren’t going well for you, it’s important to recognise that’s just part of the puzzle.”

And as navigation and momentum remain essential to their survival, We Are Augustines are steering a course by way of a chart speckled with the fragments of shattered dreams and guiding lights long extinguished. Not the easiest of paths to traverse, but then plain sailing was never their command. With Rise Ye Sunken Ships, momentum is about to bring some lost treasures brimming triumphantly to the surface.

Domino are excited to present the self titled debut album from new singing We Are Catchers (real name Peter Jackson).

A beautiful, timeless collection of songs, ‘We Are Catchers’ summons up the spirits of legendary Mersey beasts like Mick and John Head, the Crucial Three, Bill Ryder Jones, Lee Mavers and the Wild Swans whilst chiming gorgeously with dusty echoes of records by Brian Wilson and Arthur Lee.

STAFF COMMENTS

Andy says: D.I.Y, Spector-inspired indie-pop that tugs at the heartstrings as much as it inspires. With his echoey piano and classic, ringing chords to the fore, Peter Jackson has made an album with all the charm and magic of those early Badly Drawn Boy records. Lovely.

From somewhere wild and strange in Cornwall come the idiosyncratic acoustic sounds of We Are Muffy, the happy alliance of Nick Duffy (The Lilac Time, Bait) and Angeline Morrison (The Mighty Sceptres, The Ambassadors of Sorrow).

With influences including the Incredible String Band, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Sam Cooke, Max Romeo and Shirley & Dolly Collins weaving through their music, We Are Muffy spin poetic narratives of remembered and imagined pasts. Their distinctive strain of folk music combines vocal harmonies with unexpected instrumentation (lyre, music box, cutlery, bottle tops, broken china), in amongst the expected (autoharp, banjo, double bass).

It all began when Nick asked Angeline to provide some guest vocals on his Simulacra Two album (2016) - a collection of unorthodox covers. Whilst lively debate ensued on the themes of folk song and cover versions, it soon emerged that they shared a common homeland - Birmingham. In scenes reminiscent of the industrial heyday of this city they began to turn out song upon song depicting the peculiarities of growing up there.

Frosted Candy is a love song to the delights of colour, of texture, and the delicious mysteries of the adult world that reveal themselves upon discovery of the makeup counter at the local chemist. A joyful song that captures the uncertain balance between appearance and identity, outward poise and inward angst performing an intricate dance in a miniature bildungsroman.

Milk Bar depicts everyday life on the furthest reaches of the 56 bus route, back when Spaghetti Junction was still being built, somewhere just over the horizon. When you were just as likely to go to Elmdon Airport as the Beaufort cinema if you were a teenager looking for light entertainment.

Recorded in Nick's garden studio - once a suburban double garage, now inaccessible by motor vehicle due to encroaching foliage - 'The Charcoal Pool' is replete with the sounds of the neighbourhood. Crows, robins and seagulls all put in an appearance, as does the rain on the skylights and the trains on the adjacent branch line.

TRACK LISTING

1.Civil Service
2.Precious Things
3.Outskirts
4.Frosted Candy
5.Milk Bar
6.The Charcoal Pool
7.Jacobean Reggae
8.Unsuitable Footwear
9.The Map And The Light
10.Black Attracts Heat
11.Strange Admixture
12.Coloured Pencils
13.The Lost Carpenter

Drawing as much from the angular guitar-driven sounds of their debut as it does from the finest in modern rock today, first single from the LP, 'Contact High' is raising the bar for the decade ahead. Celebrating the song's potent delivery and unashamed lyrical sentiment, Murray concludes... "it’s just nice to have a song that’s unapologetically sappy, but couched in distorted guitar and metaphors of coincidental intoxication."

Huffy, follows 2018's Megaplex and the enormously successful  "50th anniversary" reissue of With Love And Squalor. The anticipated album is already shaping up to be one of the band’s most hit-tastic albums to date with the inclusion of recently acclaimed bangers 'I Cut My Own Hair' and 'Fault Lines' alongside today's new single 'Contact High'.

Huffy’s fresh music is accompanied by an oh-so-fresh presentation: multi-panelled vinyl and CD packaging offer a blank wall on which listeners can unfold their own unreasonable vision for the Huffy universe. Each includes sticker sheets with over 20 full colour graffiti designed by Keith, Chris, and friends, deployable according to the user’s whim. Tilting reality even further into the hallucinatory gyre, this vinyl comes in a choice of different colours. (The cassette will be manufactured in yellow, and has exclusive content on Side B, giving hard plastic-enthusiasts something to crow about.)

On Huffy’s mosaic form, Chris says, “Usually people bring a vinyl record home, rip it to their iPods, and throw it straight into the fire. Well, not with Huffy. We’re giving our listeners a reason to keep this one around, and even to consider passing it down to future generations, if they’re super-happy with where they put all the stickers.”

TRACK LISTING

1. You’ve Lost Your Shit
2. Contact High
3. Handshake Agreement
4. I Cut My Own Hair
5. Just Education
6. Sentimental Education
7. Fault Lines
8. Pandemonium
9. Bought Myself A Grave
10. Behavior Unbecoming

We Are Scientists, the Brooklyn, New York based power pop troupe are set to return this coming April 22nd with their fifth album. Titled ‘Helter Seltzer’ and released via 100% Records, it is preceded by the single release of ‘Buckle’, the album’s opening track, available today for stream and download.



For this album We Are Scientists asked their ex-keyboard player Max Hart to produce. Max had just finished a three-year stint as the keyboardist for international super-mega-person Katy Perry, choosing as his final gig Ms. Perry’s performance at the 2015 Super Bowl. After a number of small producing projects squeezed in between tours, he was ready to roll up his sleeves and dive in.



Max rented a studio space in Brooklyn’s DUMBO neighbourhood, outfitting it with gear he had accumulated over a decade of obsessive internet shopping. In early March, the team got to work. At their disposal was a trove of new We Are Scientists demos as well as Max’s inside-out familiarity with hits like ‘Teenage Dream’ and ‘Firework’ and ‘Dark Horse.’ Sifting through the options, a direction emerged: they would use the tones and trickery of radio pop to add a sweet sheen to the new crop of distinctively We Are Scientists songs. Months of toil and trial and error finally brought the right balance, and the finished recordings were shipped to mixer Chris Coady at Sunset Sound in L.A. Coady has quietly emerged in recent years as one of the finest mixers of glossy indie pop, with credits that include Future Islands, Beach House, and !!!.



In ‘Helter Seltzer’ he knew he had an album that should shimmer but also bang, and he applied all of the magic and sauce at his disposal to insure it did exactly that. Finally, the music was passed through the deluxe mastering machine that are the ears of Greg Calbi (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Noel Gallagher, Perfume Genius) to add a coat of heft and sparkle, and in January of 2016, nearly a year after construction began, the album was pronounced complete.



"We've always made overtures toward being a pop band, but we've generally had the inclination to obscure those pop leanings in grit and chaos — to screw them up with fuzzed-out tones and raucous performances," says guitarist and vocalist Keith Murray. "It's made us really think about what our musical genre is. We're not punk — we're too interested in making our songs as pretty as possible. We're not straight-up rock — our tastes our too left-of-centre. We're not indie-rock — our heads aren't far enough up our own butts. So finally, after putting as much time into thinking about it as we're apt to — about ten minutes, over beers — we decided that our genre is 'Helter Seltzer.'"



"Declaring a new genre is obviously douchey as hell, though, and impossible to deliver with a straight face," adds bassist Chris Cain, "so we did the noble thing and just made ‘Helter Seltzer’ the album title. It's especially apt for us these days, though. The songs here are more effervescent than we've ever managed to deliver, but they've still maintained a measure of that ‘Helter Skelter’ element — no matter how fizzy and refreshing the tunes are, they've always got a bit of that seamy, scuzzy, 'cult on Spahn Ranch' vibe."



"Incidentally, the album title represents a secondary bonus of proselytizing to the world about seltzer, which is woefully under-recognized outside the United States. We've polled foreign friends and associates about their awareness of seltzer, and found out that most of them thought it related either to a hangover cure or to that fusty comedic "squirt in the face" gag from classic cinema. Almost none recognized the fine pleasure of sipping on a nice, refreshing seltzer water, available everywhere in bottles and cans throughout the U.S. We therefore consider this album, as a vessel of both sweet pop tunes and seltzer outreach, to be a work of undisguised philanthropy on our part."

TRACK LISTING

1. Buckle
2. In My Head
3. Too Late
4. Hold On
5. We Need A Word
6. Want For Nothing
7. Classic Love
8. Waiting For You
9. Headlights
10. Forgiveness

Hot on the heels of 2021’s Huffy (which reached #1 on the UK indie chart), New York indie rock legends We Are Scientists return with their 8th studio album, Lobes. Largely written at the same time as Huffy and once again self-produced, Lobes stays glued to the indie dance floor but showcases a darker, more electronic pop sound than its rock indebted predecessor. Always present though are the catchy melodies and soaring choruses which have become the band’s calling card over their near 2-decade career. 

TRACK LISTING

1: Operator Error
2: Dispense With Sentiment
3: Human Resources
4: Lucky Just To Be Here
5: Turn It Up
6: Settled Accounts
7: Here Goes
8: Parachute
9: Less From You
10: Miracle Of '22

We Are Scientists, the Brooklyn, New York based power pop troupe are set to return with their sixth album. Titled ‘Megaplex’ and released via 100% Records on April 27th, the infamous duo, Keith Murray (guitar/vocals) and Chris Cain (bass), are once again set to dazzle the world with ten brand new splashes of colourful and utterly addictive pop that serve as a welcome distraction to these bleak times we live in.

“In the past we’ve used our music to educate, to enlighten, to awaken people to the depth and complexity of moral concerns. This time, we really wanted to drop a fun-bomb. Something to dance or f*** to,” states Chris and ‘Megaplex’ achieves just that. Recorded at Tim Wheeler from Ash’s Atomic Heart Studios in NYC and once again produced by Max Hart (ex-Katy Perry), the duo set about honing down a sprawling burst of creativity to make the concise pop beast that is ‘Megaplex’.

"At this point in our career, we’ve written so many songs,” explains Keith. “The pool for this record alone was something like 90 songs deep — that we know exactly what we want out of a We Are Scientists record. We want it to be taut, to bang hard, to have a big hook every four seconds or so. We don’t have to be precious about which songs make it onto a record; we can listen to the ones that didn’t make it at home, on our own time. ‘Megaplex’ is just the ten most delicious songs that we have — a stacked-up compound of entertainment."

"It takes a lot of hard work, a lot of honing of craft to make it to six records,” continues Keith. “ I mean, the Velvet Underground never made six albums. The Smiths didn’t. Pavement, Guns N’ Roses, The Stooges — none of them could do it. So, I guess we’re just objectively better than those bands now? It’s just a mathematical fact, right? Van Halen made six with David Lee Roth but only four with Sammy Hagar, so I guess we’re better than Hagar-era Van Halen but only just as good as Roth-era? Which, saying it out loud, makes total sense, yeah."

These are stark facts that cannot be argued when faced with the ten melodious molten nuggets that are simply blinding in their brightness. Yes folks, We Are Scientists are very much back.

“Our brilliant work in pop song writing is unsurpassed,” summarises Keith. “And will probably make the We Are Scientists Name live beyond eternity.”

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Bright, soaring melodies and bolshy, neon synths thump around the stereo image while the vocals soar over the top. Unashamedly retro but brilliantly modern, and great fun throughout.

TRACK LISTING

CD
1. One In, One Out
2. Notes In A Bottle
3. Heart Is A Weapon
4. Your Light Has Changed
5. KIT
6. No Wait At Five Leaves
7. Not Another Word
8. Now Or Never
9. You Failed
10. Properties Of Perception

LP
A1. One In, One Out
A2. Notes In A Bottle
A3. Heart Is A Weapon
A4. Your Light Has Changed
A5. KIT
B1. No Wait At Five Leaves
B2. Not Another Word
B3. Now Or Never
B4. You Failed
B5. Properties Of Perception

The new long player was recorded in New York City over the last year with producer Chris Coady (Smith Westerns, Beach House, Gang Gang Dance, Blonde Redhead), and lands in the middle of the band’s 5 month tour of Europe, America & Australia. A summer of festivals will follow.

Asked to comment on the unusual title, bassist Chris Cain explains, “It’s in French, I think. At least some of the words.”

Singer and guitarist Keith Murray elaborates: “We wanted to get at the seemingly inevitable parallax that happens between two people in a relationship, that sense that you get the gist of what the other person needs and wants and how they feel about you, but only the gist — you’re relying on these broad cues a lot of the time to tell you what the hell’s going on.”

We Are Scientists exploded onto the U.K. scene with one of 2005’s iconic indie dance rock records, ‘With Love & Squalor’. Years of touring followed, as did a second album, ‘Brain Thrust Mastery’, that spawned now-classic nightlife anthem ‘After Hours’ (a #11 charting single). Main stage slots at Reading & Leeds, Glastonbury, T In The Park, and festivals all over Europe, as well as appearances on Later with Jools Holland, and their own series of comedic MTV shorts (‘Steve Wants His Money’), followed by third album ‘Barbara’… all served to cement and increase their legacy.

Now, after releasing a 7-inch and a 5-song EP in 2013, the band prepare to share their finest collection of songs to date.

According to Cain, “The guy who was producing everything looked different from the one who did those other three records.”

Murray further enthuses, “Yeah, working for the first time with Chris Coady as producer had a huge effect — he has such a distinct and well-developed sense of what’s cool and what sounds good, but he’s also emphatic about keeping the rawness of the performances in there.”

Drummer Andy Burrows, who also recorded ‘Barbara’ with W.A.S., relocated to New York for a year to work on the new album, and lends his world-class efforts behind the kit and elsewhere.

TRACK LISTING

1: What You Do Best
2: Dumb Luck
3: Make It Easy
4: Sprinkles
5: Courage
6: Overreacting
7: Return The Favor
8: Slow Down
9: Don't Blow It
10: Take An Arrow

We Are Shining, aka producers Morgan Zarate and Acyde, are spontaneous, unpredictable and utterly uncategorisable. Their debut album Kara is a wild ride, twisting and turning from scuzzy blues riffs to squiggly, irresistible melodies, held together by ferocious rhythms and the untethered power of Acyde's voice.

Anything goes: each cut is packed with details from psychedelic synths to gospel choirs. Zarate (the ex-Spacek member who has latterly gained recognition for his brilliant club-focused singles for Hyperdub) and Acyde have known each other since their '90s Mo Wax days, but it was only in 2011 that this shared vision started to take shape. They imagine their music visually - if it was a film, it would be one following a journey along a lost highway - and have been inspired by house parties in Jamaica and Africa where guests would take turns to do their thing on the mic.

A roster of guest singers from Shingai Shoniwa (Noisettes) to Roses Gabor get down and dirty in the We Are Shining cauldron, providing a sweet, soulful counterpoint to the dense, fuzzy layers of sound. There's an incredible energy to Kara, but We Are Shining are always in control of the propulsive kinetic thrust of their music, which sounds like nothing else out there.

Here we have the superb new outing from We Are Willow, a self-styled 'multidisciplinary arts collective', who present a beautiful two-tracker in aid of Stockport Mind, an independent mental health charity working at delivering a range of essential services around the Stockport area. 

First up we get the original mix, featuring an emotive stripped-back guitar line gently accentuated with Chris' gentle vocal line over the top, breaking out mid way through into a cavernous sweep of strummed and slide guitars, working around each other above the organic percussion. We revisit the quiet contemplative respite before the full choral power kicks in around the half-way mark, culminating into an emotive crescentic soar, as beatiful as it is effecting. 

 On the flipside, we get the emphasis based more on the reticent percussive backbone behind the original tune, but accentuated with a spoken word section interjecting before breaking into minimal acidic territory, providing an entirely contrasting idea but entirely in keeping emotionally. It's a bold juxtaposition, but one that ultimately helps to enhance both the diametric ideas and bring them together into a choesive and enjoyable whole. 

Once again, conceptually superb and for a brilliant cause to boot. Top work once again from the venerable We Are Willow. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Ignorance Is Bliss 04:25
2. Ignorance Is Bliss - Bopperson Remix Featuring Ben Mellor 04:46

The second four track EP in this series of three from We Are Willow, a side project from Chris Butler who is one half of Butler-Williams. On this EP, Chris is joined by fellow Manchester artist Simon Connor.

STAFF COMMENTS

Andy says: A gently propulsive, campfire groover; a finger-picked drifter; a strummed shimmer and a lonesome harmonica ballad make up this quietly confident cd. It's urban folk with a hint of Badly Drawn Boy. Thoughtful.

TRACK LISTING

1. Hard Lines
2. Board The Train
3. Cold Pride
4. Pictures You Drew

This third instalment from Chris Butler's We Are Willow project which sees him joined this time around by Sam Lench.
As the electric guitar and pounding drums of the brooding "Slow Moves" kick in, it's clear that this EP takes a very different direction from the previous two all acoustic affairs.
Next up, "Like Fire" is a mellower song with a slight nod to previous releases. "Bring You Round" starts off as stark and haunting and slowly builds into a psyche-rock jam. (Yes, really!)
And finally "Something To Keep In Mind" winds thing's up nicely with it's stripped back guitar and vocal simplicity.
So, in some ways, very different from what you'd expect from WAW, but the quality of the songwriting and ear for a melody are still there.

TRACK LISTING

Slow Moves
Like Fire
Bring You Round
Something To Keep In Mind

'Ternion', from the Latin for a group of three, sees We Have Band make a stylistic leap on from their debut 'WHB', which despite its critical acclaim the band were keen not to repeat.

Dede Wegg-Prosser: "The first album was us getting together and having fun. We really weren’t expecting anyone else to hear it or come watch us play it. Whereas this time we knew we were making a record with the knowledge that people would be listening, it gives you a very different mindset."

Darren Bancroft: "We were very aware of where out first album sat and whilst we were happy with it we knew it wasn't a place we wanted to revisit. We knew there was a task ahead of us in writing this record; we needed to write a different kind of record. People would say to us oh you're a 'buzz band' or 'you're an electro band' and that was fine, but for us it was also clear it was time to move forward."

Moving forward meant a radical change in how the band approached writing the new album. From the music through to the lyrics they wanted to create something 'timeless', and so they began to look inward, mining the experiences that they had shared as their career had taken off.

The result is a very different record, an intensely personal album that manages to be both uplifting and melancholic. Gone are the nonsense lyrics replaced by frank and honest accounts of their relationships, struggles to make sense of the world around them and the effect, both physical and emotional, of a life on the road.

Musically too, 'Ternion' reveals a very different band to the one who first burst onto the scene in 2008. The increased use of live instrumentation and extra time spent getting every sound just right with ex Clor member and Foals producer Luke Smith at his Flesh and Bone Studios in London shines through every song.

Thomas Wegg-Prosser: "The first album was really digital, chopped up and quick, and those things are all quite urban. You can listen to it and pin down when it was recorded and what scene it was part of, but with this record we've moved away from that sound. There's a lot of warmth in the band and that comes through in this record."

TRACK LISTING

CD1:
1. Shift
2. After All
3. Where Are Your People?
4. Visionary
5. What’s Mine, What’s Yours
6. Steel In The Groove
7. Tired Of Running
8. Watertight
9. Rivers Of Blood
10. Pressure On

CD2: 'Ternion Aside' Bonus Disc - A Tom WHB Album Rework

Visitations is the debut album from We Mythical Kings, a duo committed to atomizing the sonic potential of experimental electronics, magnetic recording techniques and free-improvisation. The 16 tracks reveal fragmented analogue synthesizer protractions, fathomless oceans of black drone and snatched moments of prepared guitar serenity, all informed by the landscape in which the album was conceived. Initial sessions for the album took place in a remote cottage on the Isle of Mull, off the west coast of Scotland. Over the course of six days of intense recording, several hours of freeform improvisations were committed to tape. Some were guided by visual scores, others by pre- determined rules.

Completely free from notions of structure and limitation – and created literally hundreds of miles away from their regular musical worlds – these embryonic recordings were the sound of two artists surgically examining their own practice and seeking new modes of expression through their chosen instruments. Guitar strings were tightened and pulled to breaking point, effects pedals were hot-wired and hacked, oscillators and filters were overdriven beyond their limits. The vast well of material was then revisited several months later and through a process of re-sampling, re- configuring and re-contextualising, the 16 tracks on this disc took shape.

We Rock Like Girls Don't are an electrifying DIY rock'n'roll duo from Glasgow and London. WRLGD have slimmed down to a duo without losing an ounce of the visceral ferocity which always made them such a compelling live band.

We wrote and recorded Enjoy The View in the first 8 months of the pandemic, initially working separately before joining up in the studio to finish the album. We always felt like this album was a chance for us to try some things out and approach writing music together differently than we had done before. After getting back out on the road again we thought it may be fun to revisit some of those songs and take another new approach. So after our mammoth six-week tour of North America finished in April 2022 we decided to have another crack at some of these songs and see where else we could take them. Our idea for this EP was to go into the studio and just see where we went from there… I think making music is just making hundreds of tiny decisions that ultimately give the final feeling and sound of a song. We have absolutely loved playing music and spending more time with Andy Monaghan and jumped at the chance to head into the studio with him and make some different decisions! We also thought it would be great to see where other people could take some of those songs and are so delighted that we’re lucky enough to have Andy, Manchester Orchestra and Zoe Graham put their own spin them and make them something that we could never have done.

TRACK LISTING

1. If It Happens (Manchester Orchestra Remix)
2. Fat Chance (EP Version)
3. Nothing Ever Changes (Andy Monaghan Remix)
4. If It Happens (EP Version)
5. Fat Chance (Zoe Graham Remix)
6. All That Glittered (EP Version)

Since releasing 2018’s ‘The More I Sleep The Less I Dream’, We Were Promised Jetpacks’ Adam Thompson, Sean Smith and Darren Lackie have embraced change head-on. Amicably parting ways with guitarist Michael Palmer marked a transitory moment in the band’s acclaimed career, one that would be cemented by events to come. Entering 2020 as a trio with a handful of songs written and a small tour under their belts, the world around them came to a sudden halt. Yet despite the unquestionable hardship that the lockdown brought with it, for a band looking to rebuild following a dramatic change, it also proved to be a blessing in disguise. “I guess it ended up being a lot more collaborative between the three of us,” Sean notes of their fifth studio record, ‘Enjoy The View’.

As well as providing the space to think more broadly about their own roles in the band, isolation also allowed them to approach their collective sound in new ways. “If you’re trying to write a part when two other people are smashing their instruments it’s not the easiest thing,” Adam laughs. “Writing remotely, you could mute parts and work on things in your head. It just gave us a bit more creative freedom to try different things.” With the space to focus on the structure of the songs over what is immediately possible in a practice room, the band shifted gears. “We’ve always considered ourselves a live band more than a studio band,” Darren notes, explaining how the past twelve months have forced a change. “This was more about focussing on making a really great album rather than thinking about how we play it live.”

Fifteen years into their career, the trio are more focussed than ever. “We are doing this for ourselves and the people who like our music and get something out of it,” Adam gleams, “I’m really excited about being able to show them the new record.” “We’re all very appreciative of the people who are still listening to us,” Darren adds, “it pushes us to keep getting better”.

TRACK LISTING

1. Not Me Anymore
2. Fat Chance
3. All That Glittered
4. Don't Hold Your Breath For Too Long
5. What I Know Now
6. If It Happens
7. I Wish You Well
8. Blood, Sweat, Tears
9. Nothing Ever Changes
10. Just Don't Think About It

We Were Promised Jetpacks make their hotly anticipated return with a gripping new album, ‘In The Pit Of The Stomach’ that bears testimony to the poise, control, confidence and vigour the band now command.

Signing off their debut ‘These Four Walls’ campaign with 'The Last Place You'll Look EP' in April 2010 – and a spectacular North American tour with Jimmy Eat World, We Were Promised Jetpacks decamped to Sigur Ros’ Sundlaugin Studios in the frozen wilds of Iceland to record the new record. “We had been touring the debut album extensively for over two years” says singer Adam, “So we were very excited to get back in the studio and record the follow-up, which we hope demonstrates how much we have progressed as a band.”

The approach to recording was markedly different this time around, “We recorded the debut album in 8 days with one short tour under our belts - this time around we spent a full three weeks in the studio recording with [live sound engineer] Andrew Bush and made an album that both captures the sound of our live show and is strong start to finish.” Peter Katis (Frightened Rabbit, The National) was also on hand for mixing and additional production duties.

Armed with the confidence built from their time on the road and firm ideas as to how the new record should sound, ‘In The Pit Of The Stomach’ is emphatically a sustained piece of work full of fiery, muscular and hugely atmospheric epics like (lead single) ‘Medicine’, ‘Picture Of Heath’ and ‘Human Error’ - and impresses with the sheer scale of it’s ambition.

Post the release of their ‘These Four Walls’ debut in June 2009 (sales of which currently stand at 40,000 worldwide) the band have achieved huge success touring America and Europe, highlights of which include selling out New York’s Williamsburg Music Hall and attracting high-profile support slots for gold-selling US rock bands like Passion Pit and Jimmy Eat World.

With thunderous live performances matching the power of fellow Scot’s Mogwai and a pop sensibility comparable to that of Foals or Bloc Party, ‘In The Pit Of The Stomach’ proves how WWPJ have stealthily become a fully-fledged rock band - louder, wilder, avidly literate, fiercely melodic, powerfully restrained.

The More I Sleep The Less I Dream marks a new chapter in We Were Promised Jetpacks’ career. It’s about going back to the heart of who they are, a high school band that never stopped. It’s about four people who have grown up together, making a conscious choice to keep writing music and seeing where that takes them. Sometimes you have to go back to basics in order to find yourself again. But once you have, then what? It’s one thing to say you want to take a step forward, it’s a much more daunting prospect actually doing so. The More I Sleep The Less I Dream contains the essence of what the band have grown into, both as artists and as people. They’ve taken their experiences, both from their ten years as a touring band and from the changes in their personal lives, and forged them into an album that represents a new phase for the band.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Swooning shoegazey melodies, throbbing bass guitar and those unmistakeable vox, We Were Promised Jetpacks provide a thrilling and multi-faceted listen, dynamic and exciting but eminently listenable. Brilliant stuff.

TRACK LISTING

1. Impossible
2. In Light
3. Someone Else's Problem
4. Make It Easier
5. Hanging In
6. Improbable
7. When I Know More
8. Not Wanted
9. Repeating Patterns
10. The More I Sleep, The Less I Dream

Brimming with emotion and passion, this musically strong and assured album sees the unique and identifiable Jetpacks sound now grown and fully galvanised.

‘Unravelling’ is a captivating ride of tense excitement, pounding rhythm, huge walls of cavernous guitar and hyperborean beauty, all kept in check by the band’s gifted songwriting skills.

The album release also sees the addition of a new member to the band in the form of multi-instrumentalist Stuart McGachan. Adam Thompson explains “Stuart is an accomplished keys, piano and guitar player as well as having a lovely little singing voice, and with him we’ve tried to do something a little different. We've known him for ages and played music with him before so we were pretty sure it would work out. It has just been the four of us since 2004, so having someone new with us has been an enjoyable part of the process.”

TRACK LISTING

1: Safety In Numbers
2: Peaks And Troughs
3: I Keep It Composed
4: Peace Sign
5: Night Terror
6: Disconnecting
7: Bright Minds
8: A Part Of It
9: Moral Compass
10: Peace Of Mind
11: Ricochet

We Wild Blood will release their second LP Vicious Virtues on Hot Fools Records in summer 2020. Moving away from the gritty, greased-palm themes of their last record, Vicious Virtues looks inwardly to examine shifting ideas of self and the trappings of identity and mortality. Based in North London’s New River Studios, the band have been expanding their sound and personnel since their creation as a 2-piece in 2011 with Dan Hunt (Luminous Bodies) and Andy Clydesdale (Shjrunken Heads) now flanked by Ben Colhoun Walker (Canoe Club, Ben Colhoun) and Marion Andrau (The Wharves, Melting Hand, Reciprocate, Underground Railroad, Shjrunken Heads).

WWB’s 2016 EP How About Never and 2019 album Blood/Money (both released by Hominid Sounds) received positive reviews by The Quietus, Drowned in Sound and Echoes and Dust, and led to live shows with Deaf Kids, John, Rakta and Oneida. They were due to play London’s Raw Power Festival and Cardiff Psych Fest, and now are planning an adjusted and alternative presentation of their live set in the context of the ongoing health crisis.

TRACK LISTING

1 - YOU DO NOT EXIST BANDCAMP 
2 - EAT YOUR TAIL
3 - PRISON SIMULATOR 
4 - LOCK-IN
5 - LOW IN MY CIRCLE VIDEO
6 - OSIRIS
7 - DRINKING ON TRAINS HOT FOOLS 
8 - YOU CAN’T BURY THE WIND

A keenly awaited re-press for the debut long-player from the mighty We've Got A Fuzzbox And We're Gonna Use It!! Hailing from Birmingham, England, the punk-pop, all-female quartet, also known simply as Fuzzbox first made their mark on the nation when their debut single ‘XX Sex’ / ‘Rules and Regulations’ stormed the UK indie charts reaching the coveted Indie #1 spot in 1986 for a staggering 9 week stint. Cited as a "Loud, gaudy and mildly controversial both visually and aurally, with a willful raw amateurishness to their playing..." the band soon earned the respect of influential publications such as the NME, Melody Maker as well as recognition from DJ's Janice Long and the late, great John Peel. This 2CD/AA Sided "Splendiferous Edition" of the band’s seminal classic "Bostin' Steve Austin" originally made its CD debut on Cherry Red in 2013, some 27 years after its premiere on Vindaloo/WEA Records. Side A features the original 12 track studio album, digitally remastered from its original analogue master tapes, whilst Side AA offers a comprehensive insight into the formative Fuzzbox years compiling 22 of the band’s rarest and sought after recordings.

TRACK LISTING

Disc: 1
1. Love Is The Slug
2. Wait And See
3. Jackie
4. Spirit In The Sky
5. XX Sex
6. Alive
7. What's The Point
8. You Got Me
9. Hollow Girl
10. Console Me
11. Rules And Regulations
12. Preconceptions

Disc: 2
1. Rules And Regulations
2. XX Sex
3. Do I Want To?
4. She
5. Aaarrrggghhh!!!
6. Rockin' With Rita (Head To Toe)
7. Fuzzy Faves
8. Aaarrrggghhh!!!
9. Spirit In The Sky
10. Justine
11. Radio Fuzzbox
12. What's The Point
13. Fever
14. Fuzzy Ramblings
15. Bohemian Rhapsody
16. Rules And Regulations
17. Rockin' With Rita (Head To Toe)
18. Love Is The Slug
19. What's The Point
20. Rules And Regulations
21. XX Sex
22. By The Light Of The Silvery Moon

One of Creation boss Alan McGee’s favourite bands, the Weather Prophets were regulars at the BBC’s Maida Vale Studios, where they recorded this never-before-released four-song session for John Peel late in 1986 featuring early versions of singles Hollow Heart and She Comes From The Rain. Also included are sleeve notes from Pete Astor, free downloads of original BBC files and a set of postcards.

TRACK LISTING

Swimming Pool Blue
Hollow Heart
She Comes From The Rain
Faithful

2014 EP from The Weather Station now available worldwide from Fat Possum.

TRACK LISTING

1. Don’t Understand
2. What Am I Going To Do
3. Seemed True
4. Soft Spoken Man
5. Time
6. Almost Careless

The Weather Station's 2nd LP from 2011, now available from Fat Possum Records.

TRACK LISTING

1. Everything I Saw
2. Came So Easy
3. Traveller
4. Trying
5. Chip On My Shoulder
6. Know It To See It
7. Yarrow And Mint
8. Running Around Asking
9. Nobody
10. If I've Been Fooled

One year after the release of Ignorance, The Weather Station returns with How Is It That I Should Look At The Stars. The album is intended to be heard as a companion piece to Ignorance; songs written at the same time that connect thematically and emotionally, songs that reveal the vulnerability at the heart of the body of work. Recorded live in just three days, How Is It That I Should Look At The Stars is achingly intimate; full of breath, silence, and detail.

How Is It That I Should Look At The Stars was written in the same fruitful winter of songwriting that gave rise to Ignorance, but were songs that Lindeman felt were too internal, too soft to fit on the album she had envisioned.

Not long after completing Ignorance, Lindeman decided to make this album on her own terms, fronting the money herself and not notifying the labels. She assembled a new band, and communicated a new ethos; the music should feel ungrounded, with space, silence, and sensitivity above all else.

On this record, there are no drums, no percussion; in the absence of rhythm, time stretches and becomes elastic. Lyrically, many of the songs return to what has often been a hallmark of Lindeman’s writing; a description of a single moment and all the meaning it might encompass. And this dilation of the moment occurs musically too; as the band moves through music so ephemeral it often incorporates stretches of near silence, and breaths, single notes, and brief solos take on greater importance in the absence of other sound. Whereas the recordings on Ignorance leaned towards ambition and grandeur, here the band reaches towards a different goal; grace perhaps.

How Is It That I Should Look At The Stars was recorded from March 10 - 12, 2020. When the band entered the studio, Covid-19 was a news item, not front of mind, but by the time they left, just three days later, everything had changed. Somehow, the music captures that instability; it is ungrounded and diaphanous, it floats and drifts. It is an album of immense sensitivity, a recording of a band and a person daring to reach towards softness without apology.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: A mostly unadorned collection of swooning piano pieces, reminiscent of country rock but a lot more intangible. Otherworldly and veering towards modern classical in parts, but with a firm footing in the realms of folk and pop songwriting.

TRACK LISTING

SIDE A
1. Marsh
2. Taught
3. Ignorance
4. To Talk About
5. Stars
SIDE B
1. Endless Time
2. Song
3. Sway
4. Sleight Of Hand
5. Loving You

Through Ignorance, Lindeman has remade what The Weather Station sounds like, using the occasion of a new record to create a novel sonic landscape, tailor-made to express an emotional idea. Ignorance is sensuous, ravishing, as hi-fi a record as Lindeman has ever made, breaking into pure pop at moments, at others a dense wilderness of notes; a deeply rhythmic and painful record that feels more urgent and clear than her work ever has.

Ignorance began when Lindeman became obsessed with rhythm; specifically straight rhythm, dance rhythm, those achingly simple beats that had never showed up on a Weather Station album before. The album marks Lindeman’s first experience writing on keyboard, not guitar, and her first time building out arrangements before bringing them to a band. Montreal producer Marcus Paquin (Arcade Fire) co-produced, with Lindeman, and also mixed the record.

The lyrics across Ignorance roil with conflict. The narrator confronts characters who turn away from love. “I used to be an actor, now I’m a performer,” Lindeman says. In those roles she often finds herself to be the subject of projection, reflecting back the ideas and emotions of others. In turn, the album cover shows Lindeman laying in the woods, wearing a hand made suit covered in mirrors. Throughout Ignorance, she sings of trying to wear the world as a kind of ill fitting, torn garment, dangerously cold; “it does not keep me warm / I cannot ever seem to fasten it” and of walking the streets in it, so disguised and exposed. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: The jazzy instrumentation and orchestration behind the vocals may indicate something a lot less melodic than the sum of the Weather Station's parts, but the end result is a brilliantly balanced mix of slow lounge, funky soul and classic indie-rock song structure. A beguiling but enduringly deep listen.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. Robber
2. Atlantic
3. Tried To Tell You
4. Parking Lot
5. Loss

Side B
1. Separated
2. Wear
3. Trust
4. Heart
5. Subdivisions

"Convenanza" is the sound of Andrew Weatherall looking back at the clutter of a life thoroughly lived and realising it’s too late to tidy it up in any meaningful way. It would be marvellous to throw out lines about the artist exploring the periphery of his musical vision or redrawing the boundary between confrontational electronica and a fondness for a decent melody. That would however indicate some kind of preconceived plan or, failing that, a musical objective which shaped the record. Even serendipity would suggest a more organised approach to the album than was actually the case. Many years of listening to music with a unique ear has resulted in the disordered cabinet of highlights, touchstones, revelations and half recalled good times that make up being Lord Sabre.

Andrew and his long time fellow recusant Nina Walsh met up in her studio following their enjoyable collaboration as The Woodleigh Research Facility with a view to "doing something" and started tinkering around with the bare bones of some rhythm, top lines and loose vocal meanderings Nina had had sitting on the shelf for a while. Andrew yanked and pulled at the threads and added lyrical ideas until the ghosts of songs started to emerge. Refusing to concern themselves with any kind of structure, they scarpered when tedium threatened and let the music do what it wanted. Sometimes it took a sharp left turn; sometimes it dropped any pretensions of a tune and made do with a wonky groove and at other times simply disintegrated. The post funk punk rhythm of "Frankfurt Advice" takes a deep breath but soldiers on when the disquieting sound of the trumpet playing in the next room intrudes and remains firmly in control despite momentarily stumbling over an unruly guitar. The self-assured top line of "The Confidence Man" collapses in on itself and the loosened beats enjoy a gentle unrestrained boogie atop the solid bassline before the vocal’s final hymnic retreat. Is this sounding incoherent, an uncomfortable disjointed mess? It’s no more so than you’d get dipping arbitrarily into a life or trying to describe any long relationship. Being untidy is allowed; in fact it is to be celebrated as it reflects more truly the jumble of moments any of us experience at the best of times and we all recognise can never be caught on the page. The upside of this promiscuous attitude to music is the sheer joy when it all comes into focus on "We Count Our Sins"… The trumpet returns but this time it’s the soaring spirit of the song which strains against a deeply anchored bassline. The message of abandonment in the verse is thwarted by the obstinate optimism of the key refrain and there’s a sense of resolution as the song ends and melds into the blissful "Thirteenth Night".

That Andrew has grasped random thoughts, memories and life markers then assembled them so they become such a satisfying musical voyage is a testament to a mind that can draw pictures in the air but still has trouble finding the on-off button on his laptop.

TRACK LISTING

01. Intro
02. Frankfurt Advice
03. The Confidence Man
04. The Last Walk
05. Kicking The River
06. Disappear
07. We Count The Stars
08. Thirteenth Night
09. Ghosts Again

Named after the Brixton club where it was road-tested, Phonox Nights is the last album conceptualised and completed by Nina Walsh and Andrew Weatherall at her Facility 4 studio before his February 2020 passing. Starting with the sleek acid majesty of the percolating title track, Andrew playing ethereal synth lines at Nina's coaxing, Phonox Nights' rapturous blend of slow burning acid house and luminescent dub disco tops the pair's 30 year creative relationship with their masterpiece.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Phonox Nights
A2. Cryptic Numeric
B1. Bone Pointer
B2. Infidelity Of Time
C1. Wolves Don't Chase Hope (They Chase Rabbits)
C2. Gates To The South
D1. Church Of Burnt Offerings
D2. Boots & The Pike
D3. One Part Disco

If ‘Convenanza’, released in February, was a distillation of all Andrew Weatherall’s influences in one place then ‘Consolamentum’ takes that instinct a step further. Here he invites friends old and new to rework the tracks from Convenanza in their own style.

On board are redoubtable musical architects such as David Holmes (under his new ‘Unloved’ guise), Justin Robertson (wearing his ‘Deadstock 33s’ hat) and the legendary Bernard Fevre of Black Devil Disco Club notoriety.
Leading the charge by the new guard are Heretic, Red Axes, Solar Bears and Vox Low whose tracks have twisted into existence a quiet storm on ALFOS nights.

TRACK LISTING

01) We Count The Stars (Unloved Remix) ***
02) The Confidence Man (Justin Robertson?s Deadstock 33s Remix) ***
03) Frankfurt Advice (Red Axes Remix) ***
04) The Last Walk (Vox Low Riding The White Horse Version)
05) Disappear (Duncan Gray Remix) ***
06) Thirteenth Night (Timothy J Fairplay Remix) ***
07) The Confidence Man (Sons Of Slough Remix)
08) Frankfurt Advice (Heretic Remix) ***
09) Kicking The River (Solar Bears Remix)
10) The Last Walk (Black Devil Disco Club Rework)
11) Ghosts Again (Scott Fraser Vocal Dub)

Please Note The LP Version Is 8 Tracks And Includes *** Plus
The Confidence Man (The Emperor Machine Dub)
Ghosts Again (Scott Fraser Ghosts In The Piano Mix)

The Weathermen are a humorous electronic duo based in Belgium. Trained by Jean Marc Lederman and Bruce Geduldig, Tuxedomoon's visual specialist. They are gradually moving away from electronic "alternative dance" music towards a more slightly satirical pop EBM music. In 1987 their hit "Poison" caught the attention of a wider audience.

TRACK LISTING

A1. POISON!
A2. BANG!
A3. BARBI AND KEN
B1. LET THEM COME TO BERLIN
B2. DEEP DOWN SOUTH
B3. OLD FRIEND SAM

Remaining faithful to her influences of Germanic märchen tales, Eastern European children’s cinema and mechanical pop music, Jane Weaver expands her critically acclaimed ‘Fallen By Watchbird’ concept album in this ten chapter sequel-of-sorts by employing a cast of new actors and narrators to reinterpret her surreal ‘cosmic aquatic folklore’.

Here Jane experiments with volks-music in its purest, most innocent form using modern tools to re-tell and recycle secondhand stories. Inspired by post-war cinematic interpretations and hand-me-down mistranslations of global folk tales, Jane has collaborated with a close-knit group of musicians, noisemakers and vocalists / narrators to create automatic-music and reilluminate an eleven-page novella about telepathy, technology, lost-love, wiccan, war and watchbirds.

As part of ongoing voice and electronic experiments with the people behind Pre-Cert Records, ‘The Watchbird Alluminate’ includes a wordless vocal introduction and interlude from both Demdike Stare and the elusive Anworth Kirk, while the spoken-word narrative of Finders Keepers’ lost American pop folk singer Susan Christie is reinterpreted by Ghostbox’s Focus Group with results comparable to Ruth White’s 1968 electronic / vox interpretations of Baudelaire’s ‘Flowers Of Evil’.

Jane’s own Bird Records label roster contributes two new cover versions of Weaver’s self-penned tracks re-sung by Italian singer Emma Tricca and Rochdale’s time-slipped falsetto soloist Magpahi (in a track evokes cinematic scenes from ‘Night Of The Hunter’ or ‘The Innocents’). Elsewhere vintage soft-pop royalty appears in the form of a lead vocal from Wendy & Bonnie’s, Wendy Flower, a close friend and confidant of Jane’s since their first collaborations in New York and London in 2006 at the request of Jarvis Cocker for his guest curation at the Meltdown festival.

Other lead performances from Weaver add a new poetic twist to the story in both solo capacity and alongside Samandtheplants’ Sam McLoughlin, whose ‘Natural / Supernatural Lancashire’ library project (with Alison Cooper) from 2010 still resonates as one of that year’s finest new releases.

With a unique approach to making non-linear mechanical music, this pop-up collective adds a further creative perspective to the oft mistreated ‘concept album’ virtually eliminating genre distinction in favour of communal noise - a unique product of genuinely independent music which continues to sprout further branches.

TRACK LISTING

Europium Alluminate (With Demdike Stare)
A Circle And A Star Part 1 (With The Focus Group & Susan Christie)
The Fallen By Watchbird (Video Mix)
Turning In Circles (By Emma Tricca)
Majic Milk
Whispers Of Winter (with Wendy Flower)
Noctilmina (with Anworth Kirk)
My Soul Was Lost, My Soul Was Lost And No-One Saved Me (by Magpahi)
Silver Chord (with Samandtheplants)
A Circle And A Star Part 2 (with The Focus Group & Susan Christie)

One of the North-West’s finest exponents of otherworldly pop has landed back on earth with an album of shimmering space age bliss. Elements of disco, new wave and krautrock are undoubtedly present in Flock, but Jane never relies on genre tropes to carry her work. Instead, she harnesses familiar rhythmic devices and choices of instrumentation in her own distinctive way. And while comparisons could be drawn between Jane and contemporaries like Vanishing Twin and Gwenno, she has undeniably staked out her own domain within the realm of off-kilter synth pop.

Throughout Flock Jane demonstrates her delicate vocal agility over a series of hypnotic loops and clever synthesis. The lazy disco strut of “The Revolution Of Super Visions” sets up a jangling interplay between Jane’s sweetly sung declamations, new wave style guitar interjections and Cowley-esque synth squelch. While “Modern Reputation” is propelled forwards by a Broadcast style motorik rhythm with electronics whirring in the background and mantra-like vocal loops swirling in a strange ecstasy.

In the title track Jane’s gauzy vocals reverberate over the ebb and flow of a loose knit groove, while in “Sunset Dreams” ornate guitar riffs weave in amongst a haze of twinkling chimes and fizzing sawtooth synthesis. The album culminates in a moment of escapist pop euphoria with final track “Solarised”, laden with cascading arps and irresistible vocal hooks. Once again Jane has succeeded in creating something playful, fresh and unpretentious which is in equal parts a fun and intelligent listen. All hail the cosmic synth queen! 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: This new outing from Jane Weaver sees Jane and co skirting the outer reaches of Disco, Synth-pop and ambient to stunning effect, rich with hooks but unmeasurably deep, it's one that will reveal more and more with each listen. Unsurprisingly superb.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
A1 Heartlow
A2 The Revolution Of Super Visions
A3 Stages Of Phases
A4 Lux
A5 Modern Reputation
Side B
B1 Flock
B2 Sunset Dreams
B3 All The Things You Do
B4 Pyramid Schemes
B5 Solarised

When science fiction turns science fact the effect can be truly momentous. The state demands that no-one wants an unlicensed machine-hum from an outbuilding; no-one wants clever prose mapping the future, no-one wants “music” that is attention-seeking, soul-defining, beneficial, Biblical, baroque and beautiful. No-one told Jane Weaver that.

Jane Weaver’s multi-layered synthetics evolved into a welcoming slew with 2014’s ‘The Silver Globe’, continuing through to 2017’s ‘Modern Kosmology’. ‘Loops In The Secret Society’ is a re-imagined journey through parts of both albums, with new ambient pieces primed and polished; with new tangents explored in a lab-friendly blossoming of the Weaver vision that travels yet further into the psych of our future. A continuous experience with one-line observations set in glorious sense-stimulating sound.

That source material was then united in an expansionist experiment in late 2018. The ‘Loops In The Secret Society’ tour fused unrelated sounds set off against sympathetic new textures, tones and drones ; hot-housed into an idealistic soundscape that formed the conducive parts of the imminent album of the same name.

Co-conspirators include Henry Broadhead, PJ Phillipson and Andy Votel. Renegades all, headed by the enigmatic Weaver – all under surveillance.

STAFF COMMENTS

Andy says: Beautiful reinterperations of tracks from Jane's last two albums, interspersed with new ambient style pieces to make a brand new album in its own right. Gorgeous.

TRACK LISTING

1 Element (Loops Variation)
2 Milk Loop
3 Arrows (Loops Variation)
4 Found Birds
5 H>A>K (Loops Variation)
6 Did You See Butterflies (Loops Variation)
7 Sun House
8 I Wish (Loops Variation)
9 Mission Desire (Loops Variation)
10 Battle Ropes
11 Found Birds
12 Slow Motion (Loops Variation)
13 Margins
14 Cells (Loops Variation)
15 Code (Loops Variation)
16 Signs Are Rising
17 Ravenspoint (Loops Variation)
18 Sous Le Même Soleil, Vie Disparu Dans Le Ciel (Loops Variation)
19 Majic Milk (Loops Variation)
20 Conduit
21 Ivana Vessel
22 Battle Ropes

This unique package successfully archives the key elements of Jane’s ‘Loops In The Secret Society’ tour. Housed in a concise limited-edition pocket-compendium the new CD version brings Jane’s fully realised ‘Loops Variations’ and sonic installations into your own environment with new illustrations based on the songs by Andy Votel and DVD featuring the experimental film installation featured on the tour by Nick Farrimond. When science fiction turns science fact the effect can be truly momentous. The state demands that no-one wants an unlicensed machine-hum from an outbuilding; no-one wants clever prose mapping the future, no-one wants “music” that is attention-seeking, soul-defining, beneficial, Biblical, baroque and beautiful.

No-one told Jane Weaver that. Jane Weaver’s multi-layered synthetics evolved into a welcoming slew with 2014’s ‘The Silver Globe’, continuing through to 2017’s ‘Modern Kosmology’. ‘Loops In The Secret Society’ is a re-imagined journey through parts of both albums, with new ambient pieces primed and polished; with new tangents explored in a lab-friendly blossoming of the Weaver vision that travels yet further into the psych of our future. A continuous experience with one-line observations set in glorious sense-stimulating sound. That source material was then united in an expansionist experiment in late 2018. The ‘Loops In The Secret Society’ tour fused unrelated sounds set off against sympathetic new textures, tones and drones; hot-housed into an idealistic soundscape that formed the conducive parts of the imminent album of the same name. Co-conspirators include Henry Broadhead, PJ Phillipson and Andy Votel. Renegades all, headed by the enigmatic Weaver all under surveillance. 

TRACK LISTING

1 Element (Loops Variation)
2 Milk Loop
3 Arrows (Loops Variation)
4 Found Birds
5 H>A>K (Loops Variation)
6 Did You See Butterflies (Loops Variation)
7 Sun House
8 I Wish (Loops Variation)
9 Mission Desire (Loops Variation)
10 Battle Ropes
11 Found Birds
12 Slow Motion (Loops Variation)
13 Margins
14 Cells (Loops Variation)
15 Code (Loops Variation)
16 Signs Are Rising
17 Ravenspoint (Loops Variation)
18 Sous Le Même Soleil, Vie Disparu Dans Le Ciel (Loops Variation)
19 Majic Milk (Loops Variation)
20 Conduit
21 Ivana Vessel
22 Battle Ropes

Recalibrating her singular journey in the British musical landscape with her most open-hearted, direct and intimate collection of material yet. Love In Constant Spectacle evokes spectacular imagery and distills the artists’ vision in its purest form, elevating her inimitable sound and poetic vision to new heights.

Recapturing the melancholy of her early work whilst propelling it forward, she sketches scenes as we watch new colours, shapes and languages emerge and fill the frame. Love In Constant Spectacle sees her take measured steps towards a vivid, dreamlike record, that offers resolve in the face of life’s inevitability.

The foundations of Weaver’s sound are still evident – lush motorik drums, pulsating bass, custom modded synths and exotic fuzz pedals - but the stream is awash with scrabble piece poetry and Letraset lullabies leading to lush escapism, the free abandon that you’d associate with free jazz and the avant-garde. But, as determined and visionary as Weaver might be, Love In Constant Spectacle wasn’t executed without assistance. Here we find a long mooted unison with Jane’s first ever producer, John Parish (PJ Harvey, Aldous Harding), who has shared Weaver’s process in the surrounds of Rockfield Studios and Geoff Barrow’s Invada studio.

Love In Constant Spectacle is otherworldly, it is both intimate yet distant, a surrealist interpretation of the foundations that make us human – the stories and landscapes it paints are habitats of their own. A voyage into undisclosed pastures, it’s a heartfelt manifesto from an artist that continues to boundlessly evolve with each chapter in her career.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: We're big fans of Jane & co. here at Piccadilly, and 'Love In Constant Spectacle' takes everything we've known and loved from previous releases; her rich melodic thread and progressive instrumental leanings, and injects the pieces with perfectly extracted DNA from jazz, 60's psychedelic pop and art-rock.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
A1 Perfect Storm
A2 Emotional Components
A3 Love In Constant Spectacle -
A4 Motif
A5 The Axis And The Seed
Side B
B1 Is Metal
B2 Happiness In Proximity
B3 Romantic Worlds
B4 Univers
B5 Family Of The Sun

Modern Kosmology sees Jane Weaver's melodic-protagonist channeling new depths of creative cosmic energy within. After the huge critical acclaim of 2012's “Fallen By Watchbird”, followed by 2014's exploratory "Silver Globe" LP winning her unanimous "record of the year accolades" and hefty measures of radio play-listing Jane Weaver's conceptual trajectory has sent her neo-kosmische penchants to the point of no-return. Jane Weaver's unwaning yearning for psychoactive pop energy has just reached a new level of magnetism. As snowclones go, Modern Kosmology is the new Silver. Another Spectrum to add to the tension.

TRACK LISTING

A1 H>A>K
A2 Did You See Butterflies?
A3 Modern Kosmology
A4 Slow Motion
A5 Loops In The Secret Society
B1 The Architect
B2 The Lightning Back
B3 Valley
B4 Ravenspoint
B5 I Wish

‘The Amber Light’: Originally issued as a limited CD only bonus disc for ‘The Silver Globe’ album global re-release and a subsequent vinyl pressing, ‘The Amber Light’ surprised fans expecting B-sidesand outtakes with what, for many, stood up as its own isolated project, including some of Jane’s bestmaterial to date, including the pulsating synth anthem ‘I Need A Connection’, which since became aradio favourite also appearing on film and fashion shows throughout the latter half of 2015.

‘The Amber Light’ also included further collaborations with Finders Keepers’ Andy Votel, as well aslong awaited collaborations with Atari / Star Wars synthesist Suzanne Ciani, Tom Furse (keyboardistfrom The Horrors) and Sean Canty from Demdike Stare. Recorded over the course of two long weekends between tours with her custom-built band operating atan energetic optimum, ‘The Amber Light’ captures Jane exuding the passion, experimentalism andjustified confidence which is instantly reflected with some of her best songwriting to date. Currently gearing up for a US tour and within the final throes of recording a brand-new LP for FireRecords, it is a very exciting time for this unique multi-tasking independent female composer whoseloyal long-running fanbase multiplies with everyy closely recorded breath. Trepidation is not requiredhere, ‘The Amber Light’ means you can go.

TRACK LISTING

1. La Pomme D’Argent
2. I Need A Connection
3. You Are Dissolved
4. Cascade In Dark
5. Argent (Tom Furse
6. Extrapolation)
7. The Amber Light (Edit)
8. Parade Of Blood Red Sorrows
9. Neotantrik Globes (Excerpt)

When a handful of broadsheet music columns and reputable blog pages began tomention the vaguely familiar name Jane Weaver in the ‘Here’s One We Missed’-themed features during 2014’s End Of Year round-ups, it became quickly apparent that the singer’s concept album,‘The Silver Globe’, had already independently garnered a ‘must have’ status amongst virtually any self respecting music buyers. But unlike so many other big label campaigns that vied for PR attention viaego-fuelled video promos and down your throat advertising, this unassuming, dedicated, focused piece of experimental female vocal pop was in no way spoon fed to editors nor playlisters. Nor did it fall within the lines of what might have been considered fashionable or culturally relevant.

‘The Silver Globe’ defied species, and for once, was judged on its own merit as a brilliant uncompromising pop record. The sixth album by a long-standing pillar of the North West music scene (loosely based on a lost Polish dystopian feature film and a French novella featuring a personnel of vintage Atari music composers next to Australian synth pioneers) was a simply typical product of the way Jane Weaver has always operated - as an independent and resilient female experimental songwriter, on her own label, on the outskirts of anything that resembles a music industry. Throughout her twenty-year career she has stayed focused, avoided whimsical fads and distractions and used her experience to work as hard as she can when she can. By Christmas ‘The Silver Globe’ had been announced as Piccadilly Records’ Best Album Of The Year, earned a Worldwide Top Ten Track Of The Year accolade by Gilles Peterson, gleaned across the board full-stars and thumbs up from the music press, benefitted unanimous repeat plays from virtually every specialist DJ on 6 Music (amongst many more global radio stations), found DJ mix support from Andrew Weatherall, and filled most of the pages in a twelve month diary with gig and festival requests. Meanwhile, Jane’s own BirdImprint (via Finders Keepers) had to worked around the clock to keep up with stock demands of her new (and old) music. Album collaborators such as David Holmes, Andy Votel and BC Camplight shared gushing pride in the project and with this unanimous critical support (and long earned respect) Jane reacted in the only way she knows best - to keep creating.

STAFF COMMENTS

Andy says: An incredible album, a concept album, a whole world of dreams, a portal. With analogue synths, Krautrock grooves, strange wonky disco and whispy, dislocated folk, Jane created a world of sound you couldn't help but fall in love with and ultimately lose yourself in. The song-writing is top notch, the production incredible, the artwork absolutely beautiful. Everything is perfect about this record.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Silver Globe
2. Argent
3. The Electric Mountain
4. If Only We Could Be In Love
5. Don’t Take My Soul
6. Cells
7. Mission Desire
8. Stealing Gold
9. Arrows
10. Your Time In This Life Is Just
11. Temporary

In a little over two short years, Weaves have gone from a collection of voice memos on Jasmyn Burke’s iPhone to establishing themselves as one of the most stridently individual acts to emerge from the Toronto’s fertile and multifaceted DIY scene. Led by the collaborative efforts of Morgan Waters and Jasmyn Burke, the band have built a devoted audience while capturing the attention of the international media with a brand of ebullient, art-damaged pop music as difficult to categorize as it is to ignore.

The group began in a series of sessions in the living room of Water’s Chinatown apartment, where Waters and Burke would record increasingly elaborate demos built from Burke’s phone full of songs. They transitioned to a full band line up in late 2013, adding bassist Zach Bines and drummer Spencer Cole, and quickly set to work recording their debut EP which was released on Buzz Records in the summer of 2014. The EP made an immediate splash, garnering praise from Noisey, Rookie and Spin, and earning Weaves a “band to watch” tag from Rolling Stone. Glowing write ups of the band’s performances at that year’s CMJ from The Guardian and NME followed, cementing Weaves’ reputation as one of the year's most exciting new bands.

Word continued to spread in 2015 with the release of their single “Tick,” ahead of the band’s first European tour, which included dates with Hinds, Dan Deacon and Pissed Jeans, and appearances at Glastonbury and Iceland Airwaves. With their already sterling live show only sharpened by their time on the road, the band returned to CMJ in October and emerged as one of the hottest acts of the festival, earning "best of the festival" write ups from NPR and The New York Times among others, and further building the anticipation for their forthcoming full length.

Weaves have been working on their debut LP for almost as long as they have been a band, tracking with Leon Taheny (Dilly Dally, Owen Pallett, Austra) in sessions that span most of the last two years. Mixed by Alex Newport (Bloc Party, Melvins, At The Drive In) and mastered by John Greenham (Death Grips, Sky Ferreira), the result is an album that traverses the band’s history, exploring every facet of their always adventurous approach to pop music and leaving no idea unexplored. Filled beyond bursting with hooks and possibilities, it’s the sound of a band propelled forward by the thrill of discovering the limits of their sound and gleefully pushing past them. “We’re always trying to push ourselves,” says Waters, “sometimes it feels like bands aren’t necessary, like they’re not the ones pushing music forward, so I think we’re trying to hopefully prove that bands aren’t boring. If we are going to be a band and if we are going to do this guitar, bass and drums thing then we might as well see how much we can fuck it up.”

It’s been almost exactly a year since Weaves released their acclaimed self-titled debut LP, lauded internationally for its exuberant approach to guitar pop and recently nominated for this year’s Polaris Prize. It was a whirlwind year for the band who spent a nearly uninterrupted 12 months on the road, playing festivals across the globe, and touring with their fellow 2016 breakout artists Sunflower Bean and Mitski. Propelled forward by their own momentum, which they corralled like the barely contained energy of their explosive live sets, it was a life changing-experience, and upon returning home to Toronto the band’s leaders, singer Jasmyn Burke and guitarist Morgan Waters, found themselves possessed by an irrepressible burst of creative energy.

Their lawless approach to being a band is grounded on Wide Open by Burke’s songwriting, which is both more focused and more personal than on past releases. Burke writes in disciplined bursts, which on the last record consisted of isolated sessions with a looping pedal and a guitar recorded as voice memos on her iPhone, but this time around she varied her technique, often writing on an acoustic guitar, which expanded her songwriting palette in unexpected directions. Both Burke and Waters half-jokingly refer to the album as their “Americana” record, and while the statement is made with tongues placed firmly in cheeks, the album, without discarding the punky pyrotechnics that defined their first LP, displays an expansive and anthemic quality in songs like the opener “#53” and the sweeping “Walkaway,” that makes the joke ring half true.

The record sees Burke extend herself as a performer - moving more frequently to the center of arrangements and revealing new facets of her unique and powerful singing voice - as the band find ways to interpret the growing diversity of her expression. From the glammy Saturday night strut of “Slicked,” to the stripped-down, pedal steel abetted torch song “Wide Open,” to the searing “Scream,” a warped duet with Inuit throat singer Tanya Tagaq that likely constitutes Weaves’ wildest recording to date, the album captures a band for whom exploration is a compulsion making a self-assured step into the unknown. 

RIYL: Sonic Youth, Comets on Fire / VU / 60s garage / early Flaming Lips, new band from Leeds/Glasgow - you'll know some of the people involved, we couldn't help but fall in love with it.

Here's some words from T House (Sweet Williams/Charlottefield): “Ostrich tuned and chronically distressed, The Web Of Lies is Neil Robinson (Buffet Lunch) and Edwin Stevens (Irma Vep, Yerba Mansa). Having played together years back in Robert Sotelo’s band and forged a singular connection, the pair have been biding their time, waiting for the perfect moment Nude With Demon, their first LP, lurches from the incendiary to the world-weary, like a drunk alternately haranguing and commiserating on the rush hour tube. Drafted quickly in a handful of hungover early morning sessions, fleshed out with a few carefully chosen collaborators - Kathryn Gray (Mia La Metta, Nape Neck), Dylan Hughes (The Birth Marks), Ruari Maclean and Jess Higgins (Vital Idles), Neil Campbell (Astral Social Club) and Dan Bridgewood Hill (dbh) - it’s one long dribbling lunge at the grab strap, regret seeping from the pores, mitigated by wry humour and, when the rage momentarily subsides, the suggestion of humanity"

TRACK LISTING

1. Receiver
2.The Wasp
3. RnR Resurrection
4. Best Friend
5. Crossed Arms
6. Yeah Yeah Yeah
7. The Golden Road
8. Redeemer
9. Ender

German Jazz supergroup WEB WEB continue their collaboration with songwriter and producer Max Herre on their fifth album WEB MAX II, issued on Compost Records.

First joining forces with Herre for 2021 offering WEB MAX, on this new long player the band has achieved much more than just the pure continuation of a series. Roaming far from its Spiritual Jazz roots, WEB MAX II is, musically and emotionally, probably the most diverse distillation of what WEB WEB has created in its seven years of existence.

TRACK LISTING

1. Perennial Journey
2. Testimony
3. The Source Of All Things Feat. Marja Burchard (Embryo)
4. La Planète Fantastique Feat. Carlos Niño
5. Fellow Travellers
6. The 6th Dimension
7. Ólobo Feat. Carlos Niño
8. Artist Unknown
9. Zutuma
10. Look Beyond The Sun

The Roger Webb Sound's Moonshade is one of the coolest records ever. Originally appearing via the legendary De Wolfe library in 1971, it's a sumptuous jazz-soul-funk instrumental set. Full of melodic, melancholic yet sun-drenched songs, rich with colour and contrast, it was composed by self-taught jazz pianist Roger Webb and features vocal performances by Barbara Moore. That's right; *the* powerhouse library music duo! It makes Moonshade the perfect precursor and accompaniment to Barbara Moore's eternal classic Vocal Shades And Tones. It will come as no surprise that original copies, if you can ever find them, will set you back north of 200 notes.

Moonshade is a phenomenal showcase of Brit maestro Webb's own roots in jazz. Those roots are served up here with a plethora of fast-stepping rhythms that truly give flight to the vocals of Barbara Moore, as they soar in wonderful ways. Moore sings wordlessly throughout, allowing her voice to act like another instrument in concert with the horns and keyboards elevating the fine arrangements. This is a deeply beautiful record.

The album opens with the ornate Baroque pop splendour of the sun-dappled melancholia of "Sunshine". Strings, piano and wordless female vocals combine to create this brief beauty of unimaginable grace. The cool "Gentle Eyes" features haunting and beautiful vocals, smooth jazz piano and horns and a general easy vibe without being easy listening, if you know what we mean. You do. Just listen. The pounding "Heavy Lace" is one for the beat-heads, funky open drums (!) with muted organ, bassy piano chords and ace horns. Sampled by Quakers for their great debut album on Stones Throw. The nostalgic "Yesterday" is wistful and beautifully melodic instrumental soul music with gorgeous acoustic guitar and flutes. It's followed by the light, lilting "Petal Soft" which features more Baroque styles, overflowing with flutes and harps. The bright, bouncing "Coaster" is an easy-going piano-led, guitar-driven swinger whilst "Grey Sigh" is another classic. A real highlight, with more fantastic propulsive drums and percussion and plaintive wordless vocals courtesy of Barbara. Speaking of which, the soft, sweet Rhodes jazz of the lilting "Sweet Thing" is another staggering showcase of the brilliance of Barbara. Just astounding.

Head straight past the honky-tonk-by-numbers piano jaunt "Cough Drop" and luxuriate in the soft, delicate beauty of the album's melodic, cyclical title track, "Moon Shade". Fragile flutes and acoustic guitar float across judicious bass notes before giving way to slightly ominous piano and, again, those beguiling wordless vocals. And then round again to the flute refrain of the intro. This time with the vocals to see us out. Majestic drama jazz at its finest. The cello-and-flute adorned "Sapphire" is a fluid orchestral beauty whilst "Interweave" rides with more urgency in its string and bass stabs. When the warm keys enter, it's a bonafide mellifluous wonder. The softer "Musette" begins in beautifully gentle fashion before pivoting for a driving yet elegant piano middle section. It reverts back to the mellow intro, for its outro. Understood? The melodic organ and prominent rhythm section running through "Reminiscence" makes for a delightfully understated folk-funk instrumental whilst the cool, rolling piano feels of "7.30 For 8.00" seem to perfectly suit the phrase "dinner jazz". It's no bad thing, c'mon. This classy, memorable set is rounded out by the half-minute mince of the Barbara-blessed "Sparky". It's just over too soon!

The audio for Moonshade has been brilliantly remastered by Be With regular Simon Francis, ensuring this release sounds better than ever. Cicely Balston's expert skills have made sure nothing is lost in the cut whilst the records have been pressed to the highest possible standard at Record Industry in Holland. The original, iconic sleeve has been restored here at Be With HQ as the finishing touch to this long overdue re-issue.

TRACK LISTING

A1 Sunshine 1:13
A2 Gentle Eyes 2:08
A3 Heavy Lace 1:32
A4 Yesterday 2:33
A5 Petal Soft 2:54
A6 Coaster 2:20
A7 Grey Sigh 2:38
A8 Sweet Thing 2:17
B1 Cough Drop 1:59
B2 Moon Shade 2:43
B3 Sapphire 2:44
B4 Interweave 2:39
B5 Musette 2:49
B6 Reminiscence 2:29
B7 7.30 For 8.00 2:05
B8 Sparky 0:39

"Ancestor" speaks of modern day paranoia, love, and a host of other human emotions many of us face in our day-to-day, making for not only an amazingly heavy, but also a sincerely beautiful recording. TK Webb (Thomas Kelly) was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri. In 1999, TK made the decision to relocate to Brooklyn, NY, where he built a loyal following through his live performances, which ranged from blues-soaked acoustic shows to spaced out, feedback jams. Following the release of TK Webb's second solo LP, "Phantom Parade" (Social Registry, 2006), dubbed by Rolling Stone Magazine as a four-star, 'oddly gripping' effort, it was evident that Webb's songwriting was beginning to outgrow the sound that had peppered his solo efforts. The new songs that comprise the "Ancestor" album referenced the rock music that Webb has grown up on.

Synth lovers rock at its best! Jamaican born and New-York based, Laury Webb is a singer, musician, producer, actor, former model and writer. He's been called both the Opera Dread and the Frank Sinatra of reggae. Laury's musical career began with a role as keyboardist and later backing vocalist with the reggae vocal group The Meditations (with whom he continues to perform).

Laury Webb posses a unique and eclectic vocal style. He has performed at some of New York city's premier musical venues, including Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, The Village Gate, S.O.B.'s, The Ritz, The Lion's Den, Joe's Pub, Leopard Lounge, Kenny's Castaway, Central Park Summer Stage, The Baggot Inn and The Brooklyn Bowl.

After enjoying years of being a back-up musician, Laury launched a solo career with his Tigerbone Band. During that period he recorded and releases singles "Woman My Queen" and "It Seems The Same". He was fresh out of college and touring with The Meditations, when he purchased a small organ for his girlfriend/mother of his two children for Christmas. By the time her birthday came around he was so broke and could not afford to purchase a birthday present for her so he gave her a writing pad and pen and told her to write down whatever came out of her mouth, and he sat at the keyboard and began playing and singing. “Woman My Queen”, was the result.

“It Seems The Same” was begun in America but he did not finish writing it till the music was recorded. His cousin, Barry Biggs, worked with him on this one. They both sang on the backing tracks.

Written, Composed & Arranged by Laury Webb
Artwork by Parade Studio
Woman My Queen: Recorded at Quadrasonic Studio (New-York) in 1986
Backed by The Tiger Bone Band

Bass: Leroy Guy
Keyboard: Laury Webb
Drums: David Ranglin
Guitar: Royo
Mixed by Peter Lewis
It Seems The Same:

Recorded at Music Mountain Studio (Jamaica) in 1987
Keyboard & Drum Programming: Winston Wright
Backing Vocal: Laury Webb & Barry Biggs

TRACK LISTING

Woman My Queen
It Seems The Same
The Same Dub

The unreleased soundtrack from the 1970 film. Black vinyl with a random sprinkling of “office door” clear ones ie randomly packed.

OVERVIEW:
Oh my God. This is mindblowing. Like Wow. Incredible. Amazing. Breathtaking. Super wow. And wow again. And another wow. Jesus Christ wow. Like bloody hell wow. I really cannot believe it wow. 

THE MUSIC:
Unreleased until now and super duper wow. Like British pastoral jam with killer drums, bass and percussion. Just dying for some huge hip hop producer to come and piss all over it, in a good way. This record is the hidden monster, the one killer OST no one saw or heard.

TRACK LISTING

Side One:
Bartleby 1
Bartleby 2
Bartleby 3
Bartleby 4
Bartleby 5
Bartleby 6

Side Two:
Bartleby 7
Bartleby 8
Bartleby 9
Bartleby 10
Bartleby 11

Drummer Tilo Weber joins forces with bassist Petter Eldh (Koma Saxo) and Elias Stemeseder, who plays harpsichord and keys here on Weber's We Jazz debut, "Tesserae", to be released 21 April 2023. The three musicians plus guests present a unique jazz trio sound for all times, without boundaries. Weber, based in Berlin, came to the attention of We Jazz Records with his his highly inspired drum work on Otis Sandsjö's Y-OTIS, and has since then also been awarded with the prestigious Deutscher Jazz Preis for the arrangement of the year in 2022.

"Tesserae" is the work of not only Tilo Weber the drummer, but also the visionary "full stack" artist on the rise, and the entire record consists of new, original compositions by Weber. Eldh and Stemeseder, both also part of the first incarnation of the Y-OTIS live band and the first album, are close musical partners to Weber, and the whole album brims with natural innovation and musical joy shared among the three. Each of the versatile musicians also move beyond their main instruments on the album, with Weber bringing on the vibraphone, Stemeseder tackling the celesta(!), and Eldh picking about acoustic guitar. It's easy to hear that all three are keen on going beyond what would be expected while creating this music.

The harpsichord dominates the first spin, as the very sound of the instrument sounds so delightfully alien to the modern trio setting. Indeed, "Tesserae" sounds at once baroque and futuristic. Flute, played on two tracks by Anna-Lena Schnabel and ney by Bastian Duncker on one selection, add levels that make the sound float at almost otherworldly dimensions (check "Sacre Sacre" for a case in point). The lead single "Nacre Nacre" introduces the trio in an apt way, snapping with an irresistible groove while moving not only from left to right, but also forward on a 3D spectrum of its own.

These added dimensions are there to be found for the repeated listens, suggesting "Tesserae" is an enduring album with plenty of mileage. The whole kaleidoscope of the sound reveals itself slowly, yet the impact is an instant one. Making something seemingly minimal turn out so colorful is no mean feat, and Tilo Weber & co pull it off here with remarkable ease. The album has a flow that grabs you from the first notes and builds monuments from there on.

Tilo Weber says:



"I was writing a lot of different music for various ensembles and instruments over the last 3 years. When I started this Trio I wanted it to represent a strong compositional trademark besides the improvisational impact of the players. Since Petter and Elias are both rhythmically versatile and experienced, I wanted to challenge them and collected all my musical odd-metre sketches and rhythmic patterns that I found interesting.

I have always dreamt about forming my own trio, but never really wanted to add another piano trio to the endless sea of them already out there. One day Elias told me about his harpsichord and that set this in motion. I had written some musical sketches for a trio setting, but wasn't hearing a piano playing this music. The sound of the harpsichord changed everything and inspired me to finish all tunes.

The music of this album might be the most "drummer-like" music I have written and released under my own name so far. My goal with these pieces is definitely to disrupt the conceptional composition with improvisations. Some pieces are connected to each other, because they share the same musical material. That's why they also have "related" titles. For example the bass line of 'Nacre Nacre' and 'Sacre Sacre' are the same but in different tempos. 'Sacre Sacre' is somehow a recycled version of "Nacre Nacre" and it creates a totally different atmosphere. 'Entrope Nestled' is somehow recycled from 'Time Traveler's Vessel'. The melody on the celesta is written out for the opening track of the album and lay foundation for the group improvisation in 'Entrope Nestled'. Then there are some conceptional pieces such as 'In Rapture and Rubble', that has a melody which is a transcription of the pitches made by water dripping into a cistern.

A lot of my inspiration comes from literature. I mostly read nonfiction and poems. The compositional aspect within written language fascinates me. Besides the actual meaning of the words and their power, there is always an ambiguous shadow which somehow reflects our irrational world.

The mystic nature of Rainer Maria Rilke's poems inspired me a lot. The ambiguity of his words stimulates the brain and you start reflecting your life and how you are positioned in the world. Following that tarin of thought, the track titles of the album assume the form of a poem. I asked Katie O'Riley to write a poem about mother pearl (nacre). The theme also inspired the album's title, 'Tesserae', because you mostly come across nacre when it's formed in a specific way.

When you watch nacre under the microscope you can see it's made of different layers, which almost look chaotic. That reminds me a lot of how we recorded the music of the album. We kept adding layers with synthesizers, guitar, vibraphone and additional flute and sax solos in a pretty random way and a short amount of time. I love exploring a creative process which becomes somehow irrational. Live, we always start a new process with these compositions, and that takes us into new territory each time around."

TRACK LISTING

1. Time Traveler's Vessel (feat. Petter Eldh & Elias Stemeseder)
2. Worn Not Weary (feat. Petter Eldh & Elias Stemeseder)
3. Nacre Nacre (feat. Petter Eldh & Elias Stemeseder)
4. In Epitaxy (feat. Petter Eldh & Elias Stemeseder)
5. Entrope Nestled (feat. Petter Eldh & Elias Stemeseder)
6. In Rapture And Rubble (feat. Petter Eldh & Elias Stemeseder)
7. Sacre Sacre (feat. Petter Eldh, Elias Stemeseder & Anna-Lena Schnabel)
8. Soul Redoubled (feat. Petter Eldh, Elias Stemeseder, Anna-Lena Schnabel & Bastian Duncker)

Operating in house music since the mid '80s, Charles Webster is revered as something like the producer's producer, spoken about in the same breath as Larry Heard or Ron Trent amongst the DJ cognoscenti.

Growing up in the Peak District and falling in love with electronic music through a parent's Kraftwerk record, Charles' apprenticeship was with Juan Atkins and Kevin Saunderson, back when they'd record at Square Dance studio in Nottingham, where Charles worked as a recording engineer. His production work started right at the roots of electronic music in the British Isles, writing tracks for electro/breakdance outfit The Rock City Crew and 1987 UK house cut T-CUT-F. Since then he's released music under 30 different pseudonyms with over 500 remixes.

'Decision Time' is Charles' first major solo record since 2001's 'Born On The 24th July', and features an array of artists from a number of different eras, guises and genres Charles has been involved with over his prolific career.

After moving to San Francisco in the late nineties, he created an album under the alias Presence entitled 'All Systems Gone'. The "pillowy" sound design of this classic is cited as a key influence on the music of Burial. For 'Decision Time', Burial has paid a further tribute here, contributing a rare co-production, 'The Second Spell'. This track featuring the words of Prince muse Ingrid Chavez. who also wrote the spoken word poetry in Madonna's 'Justify My Love'.

Charles was at the forefront of the halcyon years of deep house, working with vocal talents like Robert Owens, Tracey Thorn, Terra Deva (aka Furry Freaks), who features here on 'Wait And See', and Shara Nelson, perhaps best known for her vocals on Massive Attack's 'Blue Lines' album, featuring here on 'This Is Real'.

Charles' influence also spreads to the South African house scene with his Presence single 'Better Day' becoming a huge radio hit there in 1997. Charles later moved to South Africa and immersed himself in the local scene, collaborating with some of the country's most exciting talent, including Sio, Thandi Draai and Sipho – all of whom appear on this project.

With an album of this quality and the 20-year cycles of electronic culture, it feels like this is the perfect moment to celebrate the brilliance of Charles Webster's legacy. From the downtempo soul of 'This Is Real', to the impressionistic words and ethereal two-step on 'The Spell', a new generation of ears are about to discover the influential underground sound of Charles Webster.

TRACK LISTING

1. Burning (feat. Sio)
2. This Is Real (feat. Shara Nelson)
3. We Belong Together (feat. Thandi Draai)
4. Love Lives (feat. Sio)
5. I Wonder Why (feat. Sipho Hotstix Mabuse)
6. Music (feat. Thandi Draai)
7. Wait And See (feat. Terra Deva)
8. Secrets Held (feat. Emilie Chick)
9. The Spell (feat. Ingrid Chavez)
10. The Second Spell (feat. Ingrid Chavez)

‘Atlanta Millionaires Club’ is in Faye Webster’s feelings and that’s the way she likes it. “Everything is way personal,” Webster says. “I have to write about very personal things for me to even want to write.”

On the 21-year-old Atlanta native’s new album, the omnipresence of pedal steel eschews bluegrass trappings, flexible under Webster’s genre-bending direction. Webster didn’t set out to make it sound like any artist in particular but she cites Aaliyah as her main musical inspiration for how she uses sound. “That’s where I first heard, ‘Oh, there’s this weird guitar that’s bendy and it could totally be in a country song,’ but the way she’s using it is what makes her music so special to me,” Webster explains. “I try to do that. I try to change the way pedal steel is supposed to sound, or keys, to make it more R&B.”

Pulling from a familial lineage of folk storytelling and time spent in Atlanta’s hip hop scene, Webster’s work is a study of duality, weaving through her own introversion and heartbreak; it’s an idiosyncratic sadness punctuated by fleeting observations and an unexpected, sly sense of humour. And like the way Webster takes the traditional instrumentation of Americana and flips it into something else, she uses her own calm, laid-back demeanour to say you can be boldly and unapologetically yourself in a quiet way, too.

TRACK LISTING

Room Temperature
Right Side Of My Neck
Hurts Me Too
Pigeon
Jonny
Kingstonv
Come To Atlanta
What Used To Be Mine
Flowers (ft Father)
Jonny (Reprise)

Faye Webster announces ‘Car Therapy Sessions’, an EP of new and re-imagined songs by Websterrecorded at Spacebomb Studios with a 24 pieceorchestra. The orchestra was headed by Trey Pollard,who was responsible for both conducting andarranging, and Drew Vandenburg produced and mixedthe EP.

“I have a vivid memory of walking around London in2018 listening to a mix of ‘Jonny’, which I had justwritten. I remember thinking ‘I want to perform thissong with an orchestra’. I truly have had my heart seton it since then, always talking about it and figuring outhow or when to make it happen,” says Webster.

On the EP, Webster reimagines three songs from hercritically acclaimed 2021 release, ‘I Know I’m Funnyhaha’, and 2019’s ‘Atlanta Millionaire’s Club’. Thesongs ‘Kind Of’, ‘Sometimes’ and ‘Cheers’ take on acinematic and glimmering new sheen.

In addition to the title track, she also shares asprawling and emotional work - ‘Suite: Jonny’ - whichcombines fan-favourites ‘Jonny’ and ‘Jonny (Reprise)’.The two songs originally appeared on the ‘AtlantaMillionaire’s Club’ tracklist, two different views on thesame narrative. Here they are presented together. It’s remarkable how beautifully Webster’s work cantake on this orchestral treatment. Like Cole Porter, orJudy Garland, her delicate and emotional deliverypacks a gut punch when dramatized by the EP’srobust arrangements.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Kind Of (Type Of Way)
A2. Sometimes (Overanalyze)
A3. Car Therapy
B1. Suite: Jonny
B2. Cheers (To You & Me)

I Know I’m Funny haha is Webster’s most realized manifestation yet of this emotional and musical alchemy. Continuing to bloom from her 2019 breakthrough and Secretly Canadian debut Atlanta Millionaires Club, Webster’s sound draws as much from the lap-steel singer-songwriter pop of the 1970s and teardrop country tunes as it does from the audacious personalities of her city’s rap and R&B community. The album began for Webster with the stirring ballad “In a Good Way,” as in “You make me want to cry in a good way”—an instantclassic Faye Webster one-liner. It’s beguilingly simple, the kind of melody and arrangement that seem to have existed forever. A sense of relief charges the neo-psychedelic pop of “Cheers,” where Webster experiments with an overdriven guitar tone.

She also collaborated, on “Overslept,” with the Japanese artist Mei Ehara, who she calls the biggest influence on her new music. Webster’s music is full of personality. Many of her songs contain bits of girl-group-esque talk-singing, which color her atypical storysongs. Webster says she’s in a growth mindset, pushing herself to learn more, to be more vulnerable. “Growth is really important to me,” she says. “I hope people will relate to my songs, and not just be like ‘this is a good record’ but ‘this makes me feel something. This is making me think differently, this is making me question things.’ I told myself a few years ago that I was going to be more honest in my songwriting, that honesty is the best route to take with music. If I have a voice and people are listening to me, I’m not going to waste it.”

TRACK LISTING

1. Better Distractions
2. Sometimes
3. I Know I’m Funny Haha
4. In A Good Way
5. Kind Of
6. Cheers
7. Both All The Time
8. A Stranger
9. A Dream With A Baseball Player
10. Overslept (feat. Mei Ehara)
11. Half Of Me

Faye Webster’s songs are direct lines to the human subconscious, and Underdressed at the Symphony documents what happens once you begin to build a new self from the ashes of your old routines. This rebirth isn’t flashy or definitive, but is instead a series of seemingly mundane moments that, scattered across weeks and months, sneak their way toward something like healing. Yes, there’s a breakup in play, but Webster is not documenting the heartbreak of a breakup so much as she’s navigating the contours of heartbreak itself.

Recorded at Sonic Ranch Studios in Texas with her longtime band, Webster is accompanied on Underdressed at the Symphony by Matt Stoessel’s arcs of shimmering pedal steel, the plaintive, unhurried drums of Charles Garner, and, occasionally, additional guitarwork from Wilco’s Nels Cline, among many other crucial players. The title of the album refers to Webster’s post-breakup compulsion to visit the symphony on a whim, usually buying a ticket at the last possible second. “Going to the symphony was almost like therapy for me. I was quite literally underdressed at the symphony because I would just decide at that moment that that's what I wanted to do,” she says. “That's what I felt like I needed to hear. I got to leave what I felt like was kind of a shitty time in my life and be in this different world for a minute.”

That strain of lightheartedness with a melancholic backbone permeates the album, and is the major driving force behind “Lego Ring,” which features Atlanta multi-hyphenate Lil Yachty, the only guest voice on the entire album. Yachty’s ghostly warble floats just under Webster’s voice, jabbing through empty space, trembling over a low rumble of bass. The song is also a sort of release—a buoyant moment that cuts through the sadness. “I think I hit a point in songwriting during this record where I was just like, man, I said a lot.” Webster says. “I'm just going to sit down and sing about this ring that I really want.” Like the rest of the album, Webster isn’t providing answers, nor is she on some epic journey of healing and self-care. Instead, she’s choosing to just live, to document heartbreak and ridiculous moments right next to each other, until they start to blur together, becoming real enough for us all to feel.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: A soaring, swooning selection of beautifully penned ballads, grooving guitar lines and cracked vocoder vox from the brilliant Faye Webster. 'Lego Ring' is for me, one of the top bangers of the year thus far. A perfectly mixed cocktail of synth-pop, indie and with wisps of country woven through her compositions, Webster is a true talent. Brilliant.

TRACK LISTING

1.Thinking About You
2. But Not Kiss
3. Wanna Quit All The Time
4. Lego Ring
5. Feeling Good Today
6. Lifetime
7. He Loves Me Yeah!
8. EBay Purchase History
9. Underdressed At TheSymphony
10. Tttttime

He’ll always be a man of his people, but Jamie Webster’s message has cut through hearts all over the land since the folk troubadour’s debut album ‘We Get By’ in 2020. The songwriting may have evolved from those defiant early days on the acoustic guitar, but the hard-hitting storytelling that made his name remains as he continues to give a voice to the masses through towering anthems to hold close through uncertain times.

Though born from frustration and adversity, Webster's music has always managed to encapsulate a sense of unity and togetherness through tough times. Take the breakthrough single ‘Weekend In Paradise’ which distills a living for the weekend ideology of the working classes. An anthem just about everyone working nine to five can relate to, the flagship single speaks volumes of the journey so far as it surpasses 20 million streams on Spotify alone. His second album ‘Moments’ charted in the Official UK Album Chart #3, Indie Chart #2, Official Vinyl Chart #2, Scottish Album Chart #2.

Blazing through not only his biggest Glastonbury appearance in June, but two nights in front of a combined 26,000 people at Liverpool’s Pier Head a week later and enjoying a televised repeat performance on Glasgow’s TRNSMT’s Main Stage, those turning to look in Webster’s direction are discovering an artist inexorably on the rise. His UK Winter Tour now peaked by two sold out dates at Manchester’s O2 Victoria Warehouse, added dates in Glasgow, an upgrade in Sheffield and a showpiece night ahead at London’s iconic Roundhouse, yet no homecoming date, tickets for Sefton Park’s celebration are set to be summer 2024’s hottest as Webster returns to Merseyside.

With Voice Of The Voiceless, Webster’s pledge to fans has been to sing songs that will always make sense to their real lives whilst upping the sonic ante. Like 2021’s No.3-charting success story album, Moments, Webster assembled 10 For The People in the company of producer, Dave Eringa (Manic Street Preachers, Kylie Minogue), in a range of studio settings over the last 18 months, including the infamous Rockfield Studios in south Wales and, for the first time, the musician’s own studio in the former industrial heartlands of his home city.

Jamie: “I came up with the concept of ’10 For The People’ when I was listening back to a lot of the new albums released in the past year; some these albums charted at number 1 and had songs played all over the place and were on every television and radio show known to man. While these records undoubtedly had some great songs within them, and 1 or 2 big singles; when listening to the albums as a body of work I thought to myself, why are there so many fillers? Nothing tracks that must get skipped past after the first listens and slowly fade into the back pages of our minds. That then got me thinking, who are these albums written for? Who do they represent? What message are they carrying? Besides 1 or 2 that were genuinely brilliant I struggled to find answers in my head.

10 For The People is 10 tracks long and every song has 10 put into it, and every song tells a story or holds a message for the people that I represent. Those people are your every day working class mums and dads, sons and daughters, the people on the ground who keep the world running without even knowing it, the people who are systematically put down time and time again by governments with no option but to take it on the chin and make the best of the situation for their families and for their own sanity. The people who have supported me from the ground up and got me to the position I'm currently at.

This whole body of work is for the people who supported me when nobody else would, so I’m using my platform to speak for these people because not enough of us currently are. This album is conceptually about everyday life. And musically speaking it couldn't be any bigger, I've mixed influences of McCartney, Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, CSN all the way down to current greats like Sam Fender. I hope you like it but even if you don't... the people will.”

TRACK LISTING

1. Better Day (featuring Brooke Combe)
2. Voice Of The Voiceless (Album Mix)
3. Lovers In The Supermarket
4. Dolly Bird
5. Fickle Fran (featuring Bill Bragg)
6. Looking Good
7. Sing Your Tears
8. The Boy (Chapter 1)
9. The Girl (Chapter 2)
10. Something To Eat
11. How Do You Sleep At Night?

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2014 EXCLUSIVE, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

The Wedding Present’s 'Record Store Day' releases seem to have become something of a little obsession for David Gedge. The yearly 10” EPs make him little profit; he just gets the satisfaction of singing and recording in other languages… and producing Extremely collectable records. In 2012 he tried his tongue at French and 2013 brought us his Teutonic warblings. This year, he’s really gone all out… this 10” vinyl only release has been sung in Welsh! A big fan of Wales and the Welsh in general, David doesn’t actually speak the language, but this didn’t stop him. He called in renowned Welsh actor, Andrew Teilo, who translated and created demos of four existing Wedding Present songs. David then travelled to Penarth where he and Andrew recorded the vocals with some recording expertise from Arwyn Davies. They kept the Welshness going with a little help from Andrew's fellow actor, Llinor ap Gwynedd, on backing vocals. The songs [recorded in the same session as the recent album, ‘Valentina’] are different from the songs on the other two ‘language’ EPs from Record Store Days past… and include the charming ‘Valentina’ album track ‘Meet Cute’. There were a few little hiccoughs during the translation from English into Welsh… the first song, 1000 Fahrenheit, had to be translated into Welsh as 10,000 (Deng Mil) Fahrenheit... not because there is no word for 1000, but apparently it just sounded better! Perhaps the songs all sound better in Welsh! All Welsh album next time Mr. Gedge?! The band will be promoting the release of ‘EP 4 Cân’ with a performance at the 'Wales Goes Pop’ festival in Cardiff during the evening of April 19 following an acoustic set at Spiller’s Records during the afternoon.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. 1000 Fahrenheit [Welsh Version]
2. Meet Cute [Welsh Version]

Side B
1. Journey Into Space [Welsh Version]
2. Can You Keep A Secret? [Welsh Version]

Come Play With Me proudly presents a collection of 20 Bond themes covered by current and former members of The Wedding Present. 100% of the profits from its sale will be donated to the ‘Campaign Against Living Miserably’ (CALM). Questioned about the origins of the project, David Gedge of The Wedding Present said: “Where do ideas like this come from? Well, I can tell you that this one was born during a soundcheck in New Zealand, in 2013, when the band were playing around with the main melody of the classic Bond theme ‘You Only Live Twice’. We decided then that, one day, we should probably attempt to cover this amazing song. We ended up doing just that dur-ing the recording sessions for our ‘Going, Going...’ album in Studios La Fabrique (Saint-R my-de-Provence, France). And that was that. For a while, anyway. During a later tour, drummer Charles Layton was driving the van and I was sitting in the front passenger seat. On journeys like these Charlie would often plant little seeds of ideas into my mind, knowing that I would go away, think about it, and then return with some kind of master plan.

“You should release a compilation of Bond songs,” he declared. And that was all that he needed to say, really. Most of the themes from the Bond films would effortlessly feature in a list of my favourite ever pieces of music, so I was never not going to be excited by the idea of re-imaginings of twenty of them! One of the defining moments of my career was when I per-formed with the BBC Big Band in 2009 and got to meet Derek Watkins, who had played the lead trumpet on every single one of the Bond themes up until his death in 2013. And then came another idea. Each of the artists on this proposed compilation would be required to have a physical connection to Cinerama or The Wedding Present. I liked the unifying feel of that. I suppose it appealed to the collector in me. None of the artists I approached asked for payment for their track and so the obvious thing to do was to make this a benefit album. The ‘CALM’ organisation was suggested to me as a charity that’s doing great work and, af-ter we’d heard more, we were keen to support it. Throw in a beautiful sleeve design and here, seven years after that fateful sound check in Auckland, you have The Wedding Pre-sent... and their lovely friends... saluting the astounding music of Bond. James Bond.”.

The Wedding Present are a band that have always been keen to explore new ways to showcase their music but this album also serves as a fascinating insight into the strength and diversity of the musicians that have been members... as well as revealing their favourite Bond tunes! In addition to the expected contributions from Cinerama and The Wedding Present, the album features a first ‘super-group’ outing for ‘Sleeper featuring David Gedge’ and also a solo rendition of Louis Armstrong’s classic ‘We Have All The Time In The World’ by David himself. There's also, potentially, the first-ever Ukrainian-language cover of a Madonna track!

TRACK LISTING

View To A Kill - Terry De Castro
James Bond Theme - The Sleazoids
Live And Let Die - The Donalds
Nobody Does It Better - Samuel Beer-Pearce
Die Another Day - The Ukrainians
You Only Live Twice - The Wedding Present
The World Is Not Enough - Maria Scaroni
For Your Eyes Only - Klee
Skyfall - Such Small Hands
Goldfinger - Simone White
Diamonds Are Forever - Cinerama
Thunderball - The Legendary Len Liggins
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service - Shaun Charman
Goldeneye - Follow The Moths
Tomorrow Never Dies - Danielle Wadey & Charles Layton
Mr Kiss Kiss Bang Bang - Sleeper Featuring David Lewis Gedge
We Have All The Time In The World - David Lewis Gedge
The Man With The Golden Gun - Jetstream Pony
All Time High - Minitel
From Russia With Love - Graeme Ramsay

Four classic covers recorded for ‘One Music with Huw Stephens’ 19th July 2006

“The release of The Wedding Present sessions done for our programme over the years is something of an honour. In the great tradition of the Peel/Selwood releases on the Strange Fruit label this record proves that even without John the BBC can still be a place where great bands can continue to grow and be creative… amongst friends.”

TRACK LISTING

1. Step Inside Love
2. Lovin’ You
3. Our Lips Are Sealed
4. Back For Good

A band with a history that’s inextricably intertwined with the BBC and in particular the late BBC DJ John Peel, an early champion of the band, the ‘Marc Riley Sessions’ series echoes the famous Peel/Selwood releases on the Strange Fruit label that included BBC sessions from the likes of New Order, Buzzcocks, The Cure and Echo & The Bunnymen.

An avid Wedding Present fan himself, Riley, with his team of producers, has formed a close bond with The Wedding Present’s David Gedge and the band. “The release of the Wedding Present sessions done for our 6 Music programme over the years is something of an honour. In the great tradition of the Peel / Selwood releases on the Strange Fruit label, this record proves that, even without John, the BBC can still be a place where great bands can continue to grow and be creative... amongst friends.”

Having received critical acclaim for releases 1 and 2, ‘Marc Riley Sessions Volume 3’, features 9 tracks recorded for the awardwinning BBC Radio 6 Music show in 2015 and 2016. “The two sessions on this compilation feature many songs that appear on ‘Going, Going...’ the studio album that The Wedding Present released in 2016. ‘Going, Going...’ itself was an extensive audio-visual project recorded over the space of eighteen months in Provence, Liverpool and Seattle. By the time of the 2016 session, however, the album had been completed and had actually been released the previous week. Consequently, The Wedding Present were touring the UK (playing ‘Going, Going...’ in its entirety) and so, in-between our Cardiff and Gateshead concerts, we stopped off in Salford to record some tracks for Marc. As a result, you can hear the ‘live’ feel in these performances. This was a band that was literally on the road!”, says David.

The album also features two glorious cover versions including a heartfelt cover of the theme music from the fifth James Bond film, ‘You Only Live Twice’. “I’ve always been fond of recording cover versions and there a couple of great ones on this LP. In 2015 we had a go at John Barry and Leslie Bricusse’s ‘You Only Live Twice’ - and enjoyed it so much that I’m now planning a compilation of Bond covers to be released on my label, Scopitones”, says David. The second cover is the off-kilter ‘Jumper Clown’, a Marc Riley composition. “Marc’s band The Creepers released this song – which poked fun at his previous band’s singer [Mark E. Smith from The Fall] – in 1983 and The Wedding Present covered it eleven years later for the B-side of our ‘It’s A Gas’ single. We decided that an unannounced rendering for a live session while Marc himself was sat in the room watching would be a great surprise to spring on our DJ pal. We managed to keep the whole thing secret with the help of the show’s producer Michelle. This involved hastily rehearsing and sound-checking the song whenever we got the nod from the recording engineer that Marc was out of earshot!”, says David.

TRACK LISTING

A. Recorded 04/11/15
1. Ten Sleep
2. Broken Bow
3. You Only Live Twice
4. 1000 Fahrenheit

B. Recorded 08/09/16
1. Rachel
2. Bear
3. Jumper Clown
4. Kill Devil Hills
5. Santa Monica

Throughout 2022, The Wedding Present’s ‘24 Songs’ series saw the legendary indie band release two new tracks a month as double A sided 7”s, ultimately creating a much-sought-after box set. David Gedge has now re-curated full-length versions of all twenty-four tracks for a new compilation album that will also comprise five bonus recordings including one featuring The Wedding Present’s first guitarist, Peter Solowka.

‘24 Songs’ was a doff of the cap to The Wedding Present’s ‘Hit Parade’ project of 30 years previous. That series proved to be a real milestone for the band with them becoming only the second-ever artist to achieve twelve Official UK Top 40 hits in a calendar year – at the time something that only Elvis had achieved!

David Gedge says: “When it came to compiling the ‘24 Songs’ album, I decided not to sequence the tracks in chronological order. With six sides of vinyl, you have six ‘beginnings’ and six ‘ends’ to play with, and I felt that the opportunity to build some kind of a musical journey was too good to miss! Listening back to this collection, I have to say that I genuinely believe that, for this project, The Wedding Present have recorded some of the best tracks in our history. I loved releasing the singles, but it’s satisfying to have them all rounded up together.”

“The idea of releasing another collection of twenty-four tracks did initially seem quite daunting,” admits David Gedge in the deluxe-CD sleeve notes but, with Jon Stewart (also of Sleeper) having joined the band at the end of 2019 and their subsequent writing partnership flourishing, he began to feel confident that they would be able to produce a year’s worth of music. And, with one of the UK’s most influential independent record labels by their side in Clue, a key partner to EMI North who will be distributing the record - there was no looking back.

TRACK LISTING

24 Songs
1. I Am Not Going To Fall In Love With You
2. Memento Mori
3. That Would Only Happen In A Movie
4. We Interrupt Our Programme
5. We Should Be Together
6. Strike!
7. Science Fiction
8. Summer
9. Each Time You Open Your Eyes
10. We All Came From The Sea
11. Monochrome
12. Kerplunk!
13. Don’t Give Up Without A Fight
14. X Marks The Spot
15. You’re Just A Habit That I’m Trying To Break
16. Plot Twist
17. Whodunnit
18. A Song From Under The Floorboards
19. Telemark
20. Astronomic
21. Go Go Go
22. Once Bitten
23. La La La
24. The Loneliest Time Of Year

5 Songs
25. White Riot
26. Panama
27. Jump In, The Water’s Fine [Japanese Edit]
28. We All Came From The Sea [Utah Saints Remix]
29. Teper My Hovorymo

Deluxe DVD:
Featuring The Band Playing Live During The ‘24 Songs Launch’ Event At The Old Market, Hove, In January 2022, Plus A Fascinating Fly-on-the-wall Documentary Filmed As The Songs Were Being Written, Arranged And Recorded. 

Tenth release in monthly series.

A 'National Album Day' release - Pressed on standard Black LP Vinyl. 

'Bizarro' was the second Wedding Present album, originally released in 1989. The band's first album on a major label, 'Bizarro' saw The Wedding Present toughening up rather than selling out. Toying with extremes of tempo and mood, the result was a vibrant hybrid of astringency and the band's quintessential pop euphoria.

Originally released for RSD2019 The Single That Never Was’; ‘Davni Chasy / Katrusya’. A rollicking, Ukrainian folk song with the usual Wedding Present thrashy brilliance, the song was initially set for release in 1988 when The Wedding Present were signed to RCA but the band felt the song was not appropriate for their first single on a major label, and with test pressings already in existence, that band pulled the single. Fast forward 30 years and ‘Davni Chasy / Katrusya’ finally gets its well-deserved release. Remastered for the first time, the 7” includes artwork re-designed by Jonathan Hitchen, designer of the original 1989 ‘Ukrainski Vistupi’ LP artwork.

'George Best' is the debut album by The Wedding Present, originally released in 1987. Hugely anticipated, 'George Best' saw indie heroes The Wedding Present refine the blitzkrieg pop brilliance of the band's early singles into a nuanced styled that was distinctively theirs: heartbreak at the bus stop, set to the soundtrack of a million jangling guitars. 

TRACK LISTING

LP Tracklisting
Everyone Thinks He Looks Daft
What Did Your Last Servant Die Of?
Don't Be So Hard
A Million Miles
All This And More
My Favourite Dress
Shatner
Something And Nothing
It's What You Want That Matters
Give My Love To Kevin
Anyone Can Make A Mistake
You Can't Moan Can You?

CD Tracklisting
1 Everyone Thinks He Looks Daft
2 What Did Your Last Servant Die Of?
3 Don't Be So Hard
4 A Million Miles
5 All This And More
6 My Favourite Dress
7 Shatner
8 Something And Nothing
9 It's What You Want That Matters
10 Give My Love To Kevin
11 Anyone Can Make A Mistake
12 You Can't Moan Can You?
13 All About Eve
14 Getting Nowhere Fast
15 Nobody's Twisting Your Arm
16 Nothing Comes Easy
17 Don't Laugh
18 I'm Not Always So Stupid
19 Why Are You Being So Reasonable Now?
20 Not From Where I'm Standing
21 Give My Love To Kevin (Acoustic Version)
22 Getting Better
23 Pourquoi Es Tu Devenue Si Raisonnable?

24 Songs. A new project from The Wedding Present. A new 7” single every month throughout 2022. 24 Songs sees David Gedge writing with legendary Sleeper guitarist Jon Stewart for the first time, and a more perfect union could not have been predicted. The notion of a monthly 7” single is not new to The Wedding Present, but 24 Songs shows us that even classic concepts can be reinvented. The series also continues the band’s association with photographer Jessica McMillan, who has created stunning images and films as a visual accompaniment to the recordings.

The Wedding Present, recorded and filmed at the Atomic Café, Munich, on 24 October 2010. This double disc release includes both a CD and a DVD of the concert. Of the original Bizarro release, Allmusic says: The Wedding Present's second proper studio album, Bizarro, cut down a bit on the frenetic jangle the band was known for in its early days and replaced it with healthy doses of darkness and power. Adding some fuzzy, crunchy distortion to give the guitars some hefty impact, slowing the tempos down to speeds that allow vocalist David Gedge to squeeze more heartbroken despair and bleak sarcasm out of every line, and generally upping their game in every way, the album was the fullest realization of The Wedding Present's sound yet. Leading off with the unstoppably hooky ‘Brassneck’ which features a brilliant Gedge reading of lines that rhyme "grow up" and "throw up," the album plays like a collection of thematically related singles.

The most single-y among them is ‘Kennedy’ which has some brilliant sing-along lyrics and an intensely dramatic guitar strum buildup that crescendos into a maelstrom of sound. The rest of the record isn't far behind; whether it's the sparse ‘What Have I Said Now?’ or the slowly grinding ‘Bewitched’ one could extract any song and it would feel like a highlight - even the epic-length ‘Take Me!’ which closes the album in a fury of strums, drum fills, and chugging bass that builds and builds until it seems like the song is going to levitate and take the listener right along with it. The Wedding Present didn't necessarily need to improve their already winning template, but they did and it pays off big time on Bizarro

TRACK LISTING

01. Heather
02. What Did Your Last Servant Die Of?
03. Interstate 5 [Dvd Only]
04. End Credits
05. Real Thing
06. Mystery Date
07. Brassneck
08. Crushed
09. No
10. Thanks
11. Kennedy
12. What Have I Said Now?
13. Granadaland
14. Bewitched
15. Take Me!
16. Be Honest.

The Wedding Present, recorded and filmed at the Ritz, Manchester, on 9 November 2012. This double disc release includes both a CD and a DVD of the concert. Following the release of Seamonsters in 1991 the Guardian newspaper noted that: “Engineer Steve Albini has given The Wedding Present considerable weight, with Gedge’s voice trickling between banks of scowling guitars” and went on to feature the LP in its list of ‘1,000 albums to hear before you die’. Despite its uncompromising sound the album reached No. 13 in the British album charts and has been hailed as a classic.

TRACK LISTING

01. End Credits
02. Sports Car*
03. The Girl From The Ddr
04. You Should Always Keep In Touch With Your Friends
05. My Favourite Dress
06. Don't Touch That Dial*
07. Deer Caught In The Headlights
08. Dalliance
09. Dare
10. Suck
11. Blonde
12. Rotterdam
13. Lovenest
14. Corduroy
15. Carolyn
16. Heather
17. Octopussy
18. Click Click
19. What Have I Said Now? *DVD ONLY

 Locked Down And Stripped Back Volume Two features home recordings of Wedding Present classics along with a previously unreleased song: ‘That Would Only Happen In A Movie’.The first volume in the series came about when David Gedge’s annual festival At The Edge Of The Sea went ‘virtual’ in 2020 and the band recorded semi-acoustic versions of songs to be streamed. An album of the tracks was compiled and released due to popular demand. The same thing happened the following year and so Volume Two features tracks initially recorded for 2021’s online festival. There’s a bevy of guest stars on this second album! Jon Stewart [of Platinum-album-selling Sleeper fame] reprises his new role as Wedding Present guitarist but is joined here by some Wedding Present members of old. Peter Solowka, from the band’s first line-up appears on ‘Nobody’s Twisting Your Arm’ playing his second instrument, the accordion, while Hit Parade guitarist Paul Dorrington contributes to a re-working of the Top 30 single ‘Blue Eyes’. Long-time Wedding Present bass player Terry de Castro returns to infuse the album with her own unique style, while current Wedding Present bass player Melanie Howard takes over the lead vocal duties on a beautiful version of 1986’s ‘At The Edge Of The Sea’. Last, but certainly not least, Amelia Fletcher – backing vocalist on George Best and Bizarro – also returns to the party! As on the first volume, each musician recorded and filmed their parts at home and, as before, it is fascinating to see how stripped-back arrangements bring out different aspects of these brilliant songs.

TRACK LISTING

1. Brassneck
2. No
3. Careless
4. Nobody’s Twisting Your Arm
5. What Have I Said Now?
6. Perfect Blue
7. Everyone Thinks He Looks Daft
8. That Would Only Happen In A Movie
9. At The Edge Of The Sea
10. Blue Eyes
11. Dare
12. Octopussy

A new project from The Wedding Present. A new 7” single every month throughout 2022. 24 Songs sees David Gedge writing with legendary Sleeper guitarist Jon Stewart for the first time, and a more perfect union could not have been predicted. The notion of a monthly 7” single is not new to The Wedding Present, but 24 Songs shows us that even classic concepts can be reinvented. The series also continues the band’s association with photographer Jessica McMillan, who has created stunning images and films as a visual accompaniment to the recordings.

Explaining 24 Songs, David Gedge said: “In 1991, The Wedding Present were rehearsing in a studio in Yorkshire when we hit upon an idea that immediately thrilled us all. Our bass player [Keith Gregory] had been a member of the ‘Sub Pop Singles Club’ - a service that allowed subscribers to receive 7”s released by that Seattle label on a monthly basis. Keith wondered if we, as a band, could attempt a similar thing. In that instant, The Wedding Present’s Hit Parade series was born and, during 1992, we managed to release a brand new 7” single each and every month. “The Hit Parade went on to become something of a significant milestone in the history of the band and it’s a project about which I’m often asked. As its thirtieth anniversary approached, I began to wonder if we should celebrate it in some way.

A ‘Hit Parade Part 2’ didn’t feel quite right, though. Then, someone said to me: “Other bands have released music in similar ways but there has been nothing like the Hit Parade.” And they were right! A 7” single a month seems, somehow, very ‘Wedding Present’. So, inspired by that little idea from three decades ago, we’ve embarked on this new project, 24 Songs. “Even though The Wedding Present have never been known for taking the easy route, the idea of recording 24 tracks and releasing them in this way could seem daunting to any band. However, I’ve been inspired by the music that has been written since Jon and Melanie joined the group. The thought of celebrating this exciting new line-up with an exciting new series has motivated us all… and I suppose we also didn’t want any of these songs to be hidden away in the middle of an album!”

CD & DVD Doublepack Released to coincide with 21st Anniversary Hit Parade Autumn tour.

Penultimate release in the series.

It is the third studio album by the British band and was recorded in 10 days in America with producer Steve Albini, which gave the album a rougher, harsher overall sound than the group's earlier albums. It was well received on release and has continued to be featured in critics ‘Best Of’ lists such as The Guardian’s 1000 Albums To Hear Before You Die (“ one of the most excoriating, exhilarating British indie albums of (the 90s)”.

The package includes the studio album alongside the 3 Songs, Dalliance, and Lovenest EPs plus the John Peel BBC Radio 1 Session from 1991 featuring versions of four songs from the album.

The expanded artwork has been put together by Hitch, the original designer, and the whole project has been overseen by the band’s leader David Gedge.

TRACK LISTING

ORIGINAL ALBUM
SIDE A
1 Dalliance
2 Dare
3 Suck
4 Blonde
5 Rotterdam
SIDE B
1 Lovenest
2 Corduroy
3 Carolyn
4 Heather
5 Octopussy

EPs AND SESSION
SIDE C
1 Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me)
2 Crawl
3 Corduroy (Single Version)
4 She's My Best Friend
5 Niagara
6 Mothers
SIDE D
1 Dan Dare
2 Fleshworld
3 Dalliance (John Peel BBC Radio 1 Session Version)
4 Heather (John Peel BBC Radio 1 Session Version)
5 Blonde (John Peel BBC Radio 1 Session Version)
6 Niagara (John Peel BBC Radio 1 Session Version)

2022 marks the 30th Anniversary of the original Hit Parade single releases, where The Wedding Present released a limited edition 7” single every month throughout 1992 with each making the UK Top 30, equalling the then record of Most UK Top 30 Hits in a year set by Elvis. An original Gedge composition on the a-side of each single was accompanied by a cover version on the b-side encompassing a wide range of artists from Neil Young and The Go-Betweens to Isaac Hayes and Elton John.

We are releasing a 2LP vinyl set collecting together the A and B-Sides of all 12 of the 7” singles. The vinyl package also includes CDs of all 24 tracks. The newly configured artwork drawing on the original 7” sleeves has been put together by Hitch, the original designer, and the whole project has been overseen by the band’s leader David Gedge. In addition to the 2LP release we will also be releasing an updated version of the 2CD product with the new artwork.

TRACK LISTING

SIDE A 
1. Blue Eyes 
2. Go-Go Dancer 
3. Three 
4. Silver Shorts 
5. Come Play With Me 
6. California 
SIDE B 
1. Flying Saucer 
2. Boing! 
3. Love Slave 
4. Sticky 
5. The Queen Of Outer Space 
6. No Christmas 
SIDE C
1. Cattle And Cane
2. Don't Cry No Tears
3. Think That It Might
4. Falling
5. Pleasant Valley Sunday
6. Let's Make Some Plans
SIDE D
1. Rocket
2. Theme From Shaft
3. Chant Of The Ever Circling Skeletal Family
4. Go Wild In The Country
5. U.F.O.
6. Step Into Christmas

The Wedding Present release a four track instrumental EP called ‘Home Internationals’ on the El Segell del Primavera record label.

‘Wales’ is taken from The Wedding Present’s recent and critically acclaimed album ‘Going, Going...’ while the other three tracks have been specially written and recorded for this release.

David Gedge was inspired by the challenge of writing a number of instrumental tracks for ‘Going, Going...’ and decided to use ‘Wales’ as the starting point for an EP of further instrumental pieces.

Freed from the restriction of a lyrical narrative the music frequently becomes more experimental and delves deeply into David’s love of pop, rock and film scores for inspiration.

“Going, Going... is a remarkable album. A joy from start to finish” - Louder Than War.

The EP was also inspired by the ‘Home Internationals’ which was an annual football competition between the United Kingdom's four national teams: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (the last of whom competed as Ireland for most of the competition's history).

It started in 1883 and is the oldest international football tournament in the world. The competition ended in 1983 after 100 years.

TRACK LISTING

Scotland
Northern Ireland
England
Wales

Final one in the series.

'Tommy' is a compilation album by The Wedding Present, originally released in 1988, collecting songs from the band’s first four singles, plus four tracks recorded for BBC Radio sessions. Bringing together material written in the band’s first two years of existence, 'Tommy' proved that The Wedding Present’s essence was in place from the start. These kinetic blasts of homespun high-velocity bedsit drama presaged the more finessed 'George Best', but represented the band’s definitive portrayal.

TRACK LISTING

1 Go Out And Get Em Boy!
2 (The Moment Before) Everything Spoiled Again
3 Once More
4 At The Edge Of The Sea
5 Living And Learning
6 This Boy Can Wait
7 You Should Always Keep In Touch With Your Friends
8 Felicity
9 What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted?
10 Never Said
11 Every Mothers Son
12 My Favourite Dress

24 Songs. A new project from The Wedding Present. A new 7” single every month throughout 2022. 24 Songs sees David Gedge writing with legendary Sleeper guitarist Jon Stewart for the first time, and a more perfect union could not have been predicted. The notion of a monthly 7” single is not new to The Wedding Present, but 24 Songs shows us that even classic concepts can be reinvented. The series also continues the band’s association with photographer Jessica McMillan, who has created stunning images and films as a visual accompaniment to the recordings.

Explaining 24 Songs, David Gedge said: “In 1991, The Wedding Present were rehearsing in a studio in Yorkshire when we hit upon an idea that immediately thrilled us all. Our bass player [Keith Gregory] had been a member of the ‘Sub Pop Singles Club’ - a service that allowed subscribers to receive 7”s released by that Seattle label on a monthly basis. Keith wondered if we, as a band, could attempt a similar thing. In that instant, The Wedding Present’s Hit Parade series was born and, during 1992, we managed to release a brand new 7” single each and every month.

“The Hit Parade went on to become something of a significant milestone in the history of the band and it’s a project about which I’m often asked. As its thirtieth anniversary approached, I began to wonder if we should celebrate it in some way. A ‘Hit Parade Part 2’ didn’t feel quite right, though. Then, someone said to me: “Other bands have released music in similar ways but there has been nothing like the Hit Parade.” And they were right! A 7” single a month seems, somehow, very ‘Wedding Present’.

So, inspired by that little idea from three decades ago, we’ve embarked on this new project, 24 Songs. “Even though The Wedding Present have never been known for taking the easy route, the idea of recording 24 tracks and releasing them in this way could seem daunting to any band. However, I’ve been inspired by the music that has been written since Jon and Melanie joined the group. The thought of celebrating this exciting new line-up with an exciting new series has motivated us all… and I suppose we also didn’t want any of these songs to be hidden away in the middle of an album!”

The Wedding Present’s third single originally released in 1986.

Company card inner, re-printed copy of original promo poster. Pressed on transparent blue vinyl.

Sleeve is a copy of original 12” release.

This Boy Can Wait is the unedited 12” version.

TRACK LISTING

You Should Always Keep In Touch With Your Friends
This Boy Can Wait

Formed in 1985, the group rose to prominence as part of the so-called C86 scene (a free NME cassette that showcased new bands of the era), with their fast-paced jangle- pop and intelligent lyrics by founder and only band constant David Gedge.The group built on the critical and commercial success of their debut album, George Best, and, in 1992, made headlines with their cunning ruse of issuing a single a month, all of which made the UK Top 40.

Signing to Island Records, the group – at this point Gedge, guitarist PaulDorrington, bassist Darren Belk and drummer Simon Smith – went to Seattle to record with producer/ engineer Steve Fisk, known then for his work with the fabled Sub- Pop label. As a result, Watusi is both razor sharp and slyly commercial, as typified by its singles Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah and It's A Gas. There is much to enjoy beyond – especially the tender confessional Big Rat and the reflective garden party drama Gazebo. Both underline John Peel's comment that Gedge had written "some of the best love songs of the rock'n'roll era."

For lovers of grunge- based indie with generous dashes of melody, Watusi is a must-have.

It is presented with scrupulous attention to the detail of the original UK first pressing and available in audiophile 180gm vinyl.

TRACK LISTING

So Long, Baby
Click Click
Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah
Let Him Have It
Gazebo
Shake It
Spangle
It's A Gas
Swimming Polls, Movie Stars
Big Rat
Catwoman
Hot Pants

Originally released on Island Records in September 1994, it was the first album the group had made for the label and has long been a fan favourite.

For many, The Wedding Present are the very epitome of indie. Formed in 1985, the group rose to prominence as part of the so- called C86 scene (a free NME cassette that showcased new bands of the era), with their fast-paced jangle-pop and intelligent lyrics by founder and only band constant David Gedge.

Signing to Island Records, the group – at this point Gedge, guitarist Paul Dorrington, bassist Darren Belk and drummer Simon Smith – went to Seattle to record with producer/engineer Steve Fisk, known then for his work with the fabled Sub- Pop label. As a result, Watusi is both razor sharp and slyly commercial, as typified by its singles, the poptastic Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah and the Monkees' ramalama of It's A Gas. There is much to enjoy beyond – especially the tender confessional Big Rat and the reflective garden party drama Gazebo. Both underline John Peel's comment that Gedge had written "some of the best love songs of the rock'n'roll era."

No other Wedding Present album comprises such an eclectic array of material, thoughtfully arranged and consistently strong. The ghostly heartache waltz of 'Spangle', the tautly groovy 'Let Him Have It', 'Catwoman's' Velvet Underground zone- out, the surf strains of 'Hot Pants'... all would demand inclusion on a Wedding Present best-of. Most captivating of all was 'Click Click', a hypnotic duet of sexual compulsion...

TRACK LISTING

So Long, Baby
Click Click
Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah
Let Him Have It
Gazebo
Shake It
Spangle
It's A Gas
Swimming Polls, Movie Stars
Big Rat
Catwoman
Hot Pants
Le Bikini
Flame On
Him Or Me (What’s It Gonna Be?)
Jumper Clown
It’s A Gas (Acoustic Version)
Bubbles
Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah (Alternate Version)
Spangle (Alternate Version)
Gazebo (Alternate Version)
So Long, Baby (Alternate Version)
It’s A Gas (Single Version)
So Long, Baby
Click Click
Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah
Let Him Have It
Gazebo
Shake It
Spangle
It's A Gas
Swimming Polls, Movie Stars
Big Rat
Catwoman
Hot Pants
Le Bikini
Flame On
Him Or Me (What’s It Gonna Be?)
Jumper Clown
It’s A Gas (Acoustic Version)
Bubbles
Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah (Alternate Version)
Spangle (Alternate Version)
Gazebo (Alternate Version) 
So Long, Baby (Alternate Version)
It’s A Gas (Single Version)

Heads High keeps up the good early work with a third interesting offering, this time in the form of a meeting of the fiendish minds of Mike Misiu and Eddie Smilie, aka Wednesday Club. They offer up late-night club sounds with plenty of musical nouse and worldly nuance that comes as a result of late-night sample mining across the African musical landscape. Their tunes are crafted on nice analogue gear so have that lovely freed edge feel and from the space-house of 'Magic Body' to the swaggering dub of 'Magic Dub' via the cosmic expressiveness of cruising groover 'Love & Care'. This one gets dubbed out to close a fine dancefloor adventure.

TRACK LISTING

Magic Body
Magic Dub
Love & Care
Dub & Care

I Was Trying to Describe You to Someone is Wednesday’s second full length album & first as a full band. The Asheville, NC quintet (guitarist/ vocalist Karly Hartzman, lead guitarist Daniel Gorham, pedal steel guitarist Xandy Chelmis, bassist Margo Schultz & drummer Alan Miller) maximizes the dark dissonance of a three guitar attack to highlight the emotionality of Hartzman’s bell-clear vocals & wisps of half-recalled memories & literary references that make up her lyrics.

I Was Trying to Describe You to Someone’s eight songs meld elements of shoegaze, grunge, indie pop & southern American culture into a uniquely personal style of modern rock music that resonates with power & tenderness. The ever-darkening & deepening of Wednesdays’ sound on I Was Trying to Describe You to Someone owes a debt of influence to The Swirlies, Arthur Russell, Red House Painters, Tenniscoats, Ana Roxanne, Acetone, & their continued collaboration with MJ Lenderman (who lends backing vocals to the songs “Billboard” & “November”).

I Was Trying to Describe You to Someone was recorded at Hartzman’s home with engineering assistance from her roommate Colin Miller. The depth & clarity of the recordings balance the distorted volume of Wednesday’s live performances with the intimacy of Hartzman’s voice. Her words hold the center of the chaos, unobscured by the power of the band. Hartzman describes her lyrics as “attempts to access old personal memories & do them justice through prose, with inspiration from the writings of Richard Brautigan, Flannery O’Connor, David Berman & Tom Robbins, & movies like Steel Magnolias.”

TRACK LISTING

1) Fate Is…
2) Billboard
3) Love Has No Pride (Condemned)
4) Underneath
5) November
6) Maura
8) Coyote
9) Revenge Of The Lawn

A Wednesday song is a quilt. A short story collection, a half-memory, a patchwork of portraits of the American south, disparate moments that somehow make sense as a whole. Karly Hartzman, the songwriter/ vocalist/guitarist at the helm of the project, is a story collector as much as she is a storyteller: a scholar of people and one-liners. Rat Saw God, the Asheville quintet’s new and best record, is ekphrastic but autobiographical and above all, deeply empathetic. Across the album’s ten tracks Hartzman, guitarist MJ Lenderman, bassist Margo Shultz, drummer Alan Miller, and lap/pedal steel player Xandy Chelmis build a shrine to minutiae. Half-funny, half-tragic dispatches from North Carolina unfurling somewhere between the wailing skuzz of Nineties shoegaze and classic country twang, that distorted lap steel and Hartzman’s voice slicing through the din.

Rat Saw God is an album about riding a bike down a suburban stretch in Greensboro while listening to My Bloody Valentine for the first time on an iPod Nano, past a creek that runs through the neighborhood riddled with broken glass bottles and condoms, a front yard filled with broken and rusted car parts, a lonely and dilapidated house reclaimed by kudzu. Four Lokos and rodeo clowns and a kid who burns down a corn field. Roadside monuments, church marquees, poppers and vodka in a plastic water bottle, the shit you get away with at Jewish summer camp, strange sentimental family heirlooms at the thrift stores. The way the South hums alive all night in the summers and into fall, the sound of high school football games, the halo effect from the lights polluting the darkness. It’s not really bright enough to see in front of you, but in that stretch of inky void – somehow – you see everything.

The songs on Rat Saw God don’t recount epics, just the everyday. They’re true, they’re real life, blurry and chaotic and strange – which is in-line with Hartzman’s own ethos: “Everyone’s story is worthy,” she says, plainly. “Literally every life story is worth writing down, because people are so fascinating.”

But the thing about Rat Saw God - and about any Wednesday song, really - is you don’t necessarily even need all the references to get it, the weirdly specific elation of a song that really hits. Yeah, it’s all in the details – how fucked up you got or get, how you break a heart, how you fall in love, how you make yourself and others feel seen – but it’s mostly the way those tiny moments add up into a song or album or a person.

TRACK LISTING

01. Hot Grass Smell
02. Bull Believer
03. Got Shocked
04. Formula One
05. Chosen To Deserve
06. Bath County
07. Quarry
08. Turkey Vultures
09. What’s So Funny
10. TV In The Gas Pump

In a long and emotionally exhausting year of being inside (alone, in my case,) I have found myself thinking about mirrors. How to avoid spending too much time in them, most days. Taking inventory of the real, physical self is difficult work, work that I’m not entirely opposed to but work that became immediately more treacherous for me when I had to witness the very real toll that time, modern anxieties, isolation, and boredom were taking on me. It was easier, it seemed, to spiral into a not-so-distant glorious past, to use memory as a tool of both excitement and healing. But, speaking of excitement, I like to stumble towards a band with no agenda, no purpose, uncovering sound almost on accident. This is how I first heard Wednesday. The band came to me and I don’t remember how, or why. They simply arrived, as if we’d been traveling toward each other our whole lives.

I Was Trying To Describe You To Someone soaked into my summer of 2020, and in sound, in spirit, in central concerns and the execution of them, it took me back to an era before the current era, which I’d needed at the time. The past can feel less hellish than the present if we are, sometimes, not fully honest with ourselves. There is the trick of nostalgia that I spend a lot of time playing with in my own writing, and somewhat tormented by in my own living. The very real idea that nostalgia is both a useful tool and also a weapon if it isn’t paired with something that approaches a type of rigorous honesty.

But if I may go back to all of these ideas of nostalgia and our old, tricky, past selves that are, indeed, a part of the house of bricks that make up our present self, what I also hope you, listener, might adore about this album is the exact moment at the start of “The Burned Down Dairy Queen” when Karly sings I was hiding in a room in my mind / and I made me take a look at myself. Because if you, like me, have been avoiding mirrors – both metaphorical and real – this is where the album becomes a lighthouse, echoing bright across the darkness of my otherwise dark and empty chambers.

So much of these songs meditate on the past in far less romantic ways than I have found myself meditating on the past, and I was desperate for the recalibration that this album provided. So, yes, the songs are good. You will maybe roll down your windows on a comfortable day on the right stretch of road in a warm season and turn the volume up when “Birthday Song” gets good and loud and singalong-able. You might sit atop a rooftop at night, closer to the moon than you were on the ground, and let “Ghost Of A Dog” churn and rattle you to some nighttime realization that you couldn’t have had in silence. But, even on top of all of this, on top of all the pleasures and the mercies that the sounds on this album might afford. I hope and think, too, that it will remind anyone who listens that we are a collection of many reflections. All of them deserving patience. —Hanif Abdurraqib

TRACK LISTING

1) Twin Plagues
2) Handsome Man
3) The Burned Down Dairy Queen
4) Cliff
5) How Can You Live If You Can’t
Love How Can You If You Do
6) Cody’s Only
7) Toothache
8) Birthday Song
9) One More Last One
10) Three Sisters
11) Gary’s
12) Ghost Of A Dog

Before The Bachelor Pad, there was The Wee Cherubs.
A collection of lost recordings made in Glasgow between 1982 & 1985. Restored and remastered especially for this release.

Formed in 1982 by Martin Cotter, Christine Gibson and Graham Adam & part of the Glasgow indie scene of the early 80’s.

The Wee Cherubs only released one single. The recently reissued Dreaming, (which is included in this set) before calling it a day in 1985. Their range of influences are on show here, and although some tracks are redolent of Orange Juice and Aztec Camera there is no definitive Wee Cherubs sound, which makes this collection an exciting and rewarding discovery

Cotter went on to The Bachelor Pad a psyche fuelled head on collision between The Buzzcocks & Syd Barrett. 

TRACK LISTING

Side 1 
1. Dreaming
2. Pastures New
3. Waiting
4. Two Things At One Time
5.Flame

Side 2
6 Poor Little Lost Soul
7 Painless
8 Goodbye
9 Theme
10 Waiting For My Man 

New album from the Sunderland based Field Music stable this time helmed by Peter Brewis. An epic 32 minutes, sonically inspired by the Linn Drum and Fairlight experiments of Kate Bush, Japan and Peter Gabriel. A loosely conceptual album based around a dreamt up murder mystery and the strain between the public's reliance and distrust of mass media.

San Francisco's (via Brooklyn) post- punk trio, WEEKEND, release their sophomore LP, 'Jinx' internationally on Nov 25th through the bands own label, Strange Dog Records, distributed by INgrooves.

Founding band members Shaun Durkan (vocalist/bassist/guitarist) and Kevin Johnson (guitarist) first met and joined creative forces when they were just 12 years old, both performing in their middle school band. Their schooling continued through the record collection of Durkan’s father, the singer in post-punk band Half Church, who exposed the boys to the likes of the venerable Killing Joke and the Cure, both bands that have remained influential for the band today. Abe Pedroza on drums, the boys room mate from their time at San Francisco Art Institute, makes up the trio for this album.

After the release of the WEEKEND's debut long player 'Sports' in 2009 and the subsequent international touring that followed with bands such as The Kills and The Wire; the WEEKEND relocated from their native San Francisco and headed East; across country; to arrive on the already saturated music scene shores of Brooklyn NYC.

Despite the drastic change in scenery the band spent most of 2012 writing, recording and painstakingly mixing the 10 songs that make up 'Jinx' a time that Durkan describes “the most trying though rewarding experience so far.” And what about the move itself? Well Durkan goes on to explain: “Feeling at home is evidence of stagnation and so I’m happy to say New York still feels alien to me. Geographically-based music scenes are for the most part defunct due to the internet but I don’t think we’ll ever be part of any scene. We stand on our own.” When asked to described the album 'Jinx' in 3 adjectives, Durkan states, “Volatile. Cathartic. Bittersweet. The record is a collage of inspiration and ideas from each member of the band. Shards of experiences, images, smells, sounds moulded into something we can collectively call ours.” The themes behind 'Jinx' are visually represented on the album too, through personal possessions of each band member that “...had singular and emotional connections which were then democratized through a physical process. Painting the objects black adds a new, collective ownership over the previous personal meaning. [There is] the coalescence of our individual art to make something new, stark, and powerful.” That stark black visual sheen compliments the songs that embody ‘Jinx’. Memories and experiences have been reinterpreted and recalled into existence from haunting, beautiful places. Each song on the album charges through a polarizing emotion through an ebb and flow of sounds both ominous and soothing. Lastly, the LP’s superstitious title compliments this body of work thematically. Shaun recalls his father’s stage name, ‘Jinks’ which played a ghostly role in the creation of this album. That name, like all the inspirations, emotions and experiences has returned to haunt the band – this time delivered with a lustrous and magnificent black sheen. The band are fittingly marking the announcement of the albums international release with the launch of a haunting new video for album track 'Rosaries' and will be touring Europe throughout Nov and Dec.

'Weekend's new second album Jinx calls to mind My Bloody Valentine and Psychedlic Furs simultaneously with its mix of shoegazey guitar swirl and pretty, ringing gloom.' NPR

TRACK LISTING

1. Mirror
2. July
3. Oubliette
4. Celebration
5. Sirens
6. Adelaide
7. It's Alright
8. Rosaries
9. Scream Queen
10. Just Drive

Greg's words on the album: 'Frustrated with new methods and mindset in recording technology I threw up my hands and built my own analog recording studio. My last album, Blood Is Trouble (as well as the first Espers record) was recorded on a 1⁄2" 8 track machine. Eventually I was able to upgrade to an MCI 2" machine and professional recording console which have allowed for better sound quality and greater experimentation. Having a home studio has allowed me to record and produce albums at a comfortable pace consistent with my own levels of inspiration. Key to the album's sound was the acquisition of a vintage Mellotron keyboard. The Mellotron is doubtless my spirit animal in instrument form and is certainly one of the main inspirations behind "The Hive". No other instrument conveys the characteristics of hive insects as well as this legendarily warbley tape based sampler. "The Hive" is primarily a response to the atmosphere of apocalypse that permeates the lives of those who are open and receptive to their environment (not to mention the general global condition). That's not to say the album's entirely about misery and despair. Quite the contrary; I have a good amount of fun trolling through the backwaters of my own dank grey matter (often darkly comical), and each of these songs have multiple meanings, so glean from them what you will. It also contains a cover of Madonna's "Borderline", my first recorded cover since tackling Cat Power's "King Rides By" on "Fire In The Arms Of The Sun". This was meant to be a future Espers release but I got antsy waiting for the next covers record to come about so here it is (after three years of simmering on my mental back burner).'

As the birth of Orlando Weeks’ son drew near, he wanted to try to make sense of an experience that is both ordinary and extraordinary at the same time. The result is ‘A Quickening’, an album that tells the story from the point of view of a prospective father-to-be, a figure both vital to the story and yet also somewhat removed, in awe of what the mother goes through and often helpless to do anything about it.

“I was trying to find a course through something that happens all the time, but still feels exceptional,” Weeks says.

A baby is born every minute, and yet the experience of becoming a parent - and the way it promises to change your life - is unprecedented.

Weeks’ voice shimmers as it expresses feelings of love, fear and wonder that are overwhelming but still delicate. Drums trip, woodwind and brass can be heard, piano lines run in and out, vocals layer and guitars are few and far between. This is not the indie rock and roll that some may have predicted.You might think of Talk Talk. You might think of Robert Wyatt. You might think of Radiohead or Bon Iver. You might think of the wonder of Kate Bush. You might think of Lambchop’s late career electronic turn, replacing in that case Kurt Wagner’s Nashville-inflected fragments with Orlando’s chiming and pure delivery, served up by way of South London.

Many of those influences surge and flourish throughout the new single ‘Blood Sugar’. A mesmeric, all-enveloping layer of sound highlighted by choral vocal harmonies. The track includes the line “gone the bell that rung forever… at least as long as I can remember”, a reference to Big Ben which was under repair and had stopped chiming at the time of his son’s birth, Weeks commented; ‘’I couldn’t work out if its silence was a good omen or a bad one.’’ Stranger than that, for much of their time at hospital, Weeks and his partner found themselves in the very same room he was born in.

‘A Quickening’ was created with the help of Weeks’ old friend Nic Nell, who produced, engineered and mixed the album. The pair collaborated on the music that accompanied Weeks’ 2012 graphic novel, ‘Young Colossus’. Nell also runs the label Algebra Records and makes music under the name Casually Here. The album also highlights select performances from members of Weeks’ live band: Caruso (drums on ‘Blame Or Love Or Nothing’ and ‘All The Things’), Sami El-Enany (piano on ‘Takes A Village’ and ‘Summer Clothes’), and Will Petherbridge (the freewheeling solo on ‘St Thomas’’).

In addition to its digital and streaming releases, it will also be available on three physical formats: heavyweight vinyl, CD packaged with a poster, and a limited edition clear deluxe vinyl which will include a signed and hand-finished print. The deluxe vinyl will only be available via Orlando Weeks’ Music Glue store and in select UK independent record stores.

Weeks spent much of his young life as the frontman of Ivor Novello wining band The Maccabees, going on to become a children’s book author in the wake of the band’s disbanding. His first book, ‘The Gritterman’ (2017), came with an accompanying soundtrack and was described by the Financial Times as recalling “Raymond Briggs at his darkest.”

TRACK LISTING

Milk Breath
Blood Sugar
Safe In Sound
St. Thomas’
Takes A Village
Moon’s Opera
All The Things
Blame Or Love Or Nothing
None Too Tough
Summer Clothes
Dream

Arriving in the wake of his critically acclaimed debut solo album ‘A Quickening’, Week’s forthcoming record once again leans into themes of new life & parenthood, but whereas his previous work catalogued the emotions, expectations and anxieties that accompany imminent parenthood, Hop Up is an altogether more joyous and life affirming statement.

Featuring inspiring contributions from Katy J Pearson, Willie J Healey and Ben Reed (best known as part of Frank Ocean’s live band, he also played bass on the seminal ‘Blonde’ album ).

Weeks notes “It started with the idea of wanting to fill in some of the blanks that I felt I had left with ‘A Quickening’, but quite quickly it turned into something broader. The choice was always to take the more positive and uplifting sounding step. Perhaps it shouldn’t have, but as an approach it felt surprisingly novel to me.”

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Hop Up is an unashamedly upbeat and undeniably lovely collection of synth-pop abstractions and a wonderful testament to Weeks' abilities as a songwriter. 'Look who's Talking Now' mixes 80's pop groove with crisp production and swimming, echoic bliss.

TRACK LISTING

1. Deep Down Way Out
2. Look Who’s Talking Now
3. Bigger
4. Yup Yup Yup Yup
5. High Kicking (featuring Willie J Healey)
6. No End To Love
7. Hey You Hop Up
8. Make You Happy
9. Big Skies Silly Faces (featuring Katy J Pearson)
10. Silver
11. Way To Go

Orlando Weeks’ forthcoming new album ‘LOJA’ (Portuguese for ‘store’) was written in both London and Lisbon. Recording began in earnest in January 2023 at the beautiful Chale Abbey Studios with longtime live collaborator Sergio Maschetzko as producer, supported by co-producer and engineer David Granshaw. In its latter stages, Nathan Jerkins (BULLION) contributed additional production and mixing.

Lead single ‘Dig’, featuring Rhian Teasdale (Wet Leg), is 3 minutes of half argument, long worn-out promises being remade and road weary offences being retaken.

The record features a number of other key collaborators including Katy J Pearson, Tony Njoku, Oliver Hamilton (Caroline) and Alejandro Aranda (Scary Pool Party).

The core musical contributions come from long standing live collaborators Sami El-Enany, Luca Caruso, William Doyle and Alexander Painter.
A love letter to his new home, lyrically ‘Loja’ toys with both the fantastical and stark realism. There are sleeping giants in Track 2's 'Best Night' and the final song on the album, ‘Beautiful Place’, tells the story of a beach death.

The novelty of a new city afforded Weeks the opportunity to romanticise his present and reevaluate his past.

The first live performances in over a year will be at Copeland Gallery this June. During a 4 day/night residency, Weeks will preview music from 'Loja' alongside an exhibition of the prints and drawings that are the accompanying visual aspect of the album.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. Longing
2. Best Night
3. Wake Up
4. Dig Feat. Rhian Teasdale
5. You & The Packhorse Blues
6. Good To See You

Side B
1. My Love Is (Daylight Saving)
2. Please Hold
3. Sorry
4. Tomorrow
5. Beautiful Place

Names You Can Trust continues its years-long revival work with one of Panama's most gifted and legendary soul artists, Ralph Weeks, returning the singer to the studio for another brand new recording that highlights the now 80-year old's still silky vocals and masterful songwriting. Up for the challenge with their own studio savoir-faire is a most fitting and genuine purveyor of modern day soul themselves, Ben Pirani and The Means of Production, whose output on Palmetto Street Recording and Colemine Records has already achieved high praise and collectible status in just a few years. The mission, record two unreleased home studio demos that were penned and tracked in the early 1980's and recently excavated from Ralph's extensive archive of personal songs. These original compositions were faithfully given the full treatment and arrangement they never received, but always deserved. The A-Side, "Nobody Loves Me (Like You Do)", a quintessential Ralph testimonial of love, now shines alive and energized against the backdrop of a funky Latin soul dancer. The B-Side, "Got To Keep On Trying" is one of Ralph's many unpublished monster ballads, a deep and heartfelt tear jerker reminiscent of his classic hits from yesteryear. Now, forty plus years later, both songs can finally be released into the world, and ultimately serve as another testament to Ralph's prolific yet private musical career and legacy.

TRACK LISTING

1. Nobody Loves Me (Like You Do) [feat. Ben Pirani & The Means Of Production]
2. Got To Keep On Trying (feat. Ben Pirani & The Means Of Production)

The record was written and produced by Jim Duncombe and Chris Palmer - owner of London's legendary Groove Records and also the man behind UK funk/disco label Groove Production (Surface Noise, Linda Taylor, Caché etc). Chris & Jim had met earlier in the year at the Midem music conference in Cannes, and started writing together shortly after. The initial recording sessions were completed at Duncombe's Powerplay Recording Studios in Switzerland, with American vocalist Gloria Weems (then on a club tour of Switzerland) brought in on vocal duties. Palmer then added additional recordings and mixed the record down at Groove Production's London base. Criminally it was only ever picked up for release in super limited numbers through the South African label CCP Records - though Chris, through an ongoing licensing relationship via his Groove Production label, managed to license "Wanna Dance With You" and it's dubbed-out b-side "Wanna Version" to the legendary NYC label Prelude. Nevertheless the Lovelight LP represents a lost classic and a rare example of a transatlantic disco-boogie project in the era's golden period, in it's linking up of UK, European and American elements.

TRACK LISTING

1. Wanna Dance With You
2. Never Give It Up
3. Push It Up
4. Wanna Version
5. Don't Let Me Drop
6. Lovelight

Los Angeles, CA’s Weezer will release their eleventh album, Pacific Daydream on Crush Music/Atlantic Records. Produced by Butch Walker, Pacific Daydream is the follow up to the critically acclaimed album Weezer (The White Album), which was nominated for a Grammy for Best Rock Album at the end of last year.

Following the release of Weezer (The White Album), the band began working on what they called “The Black Album,” but as they worked, they found the songs they were writing felt more like reveries from a beach at the end of the world. Instead of forcing a different direction, they began an entirely new album; Pacific Daydream was born.

SZNZ: Autumn, the third part in Weezer’s four-EP song cycle, continues the narrative started on SZNZ: Spring and SZNZ: Summer bringing Pagan myths, Shakespeare, Catholic rituals, Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, and more to life. Each SZNZ EP offers its own palette of colors, creatures, and emotions to explore. They’re also being created in real time, made in tandem with the season themselves. Once they’ve all been released, however, the EPs will create an incredible collection of some of Weezer’s best songs yet, which is no small feat for a band that never leaves the Zeitgeist.

The band is fresh off a banner year in 2021. First up was the critically acclaimed Ok Human featuring the hit song ‘All My Favorite Songs’ which was nominated for Best Rock Song at the Grammys, reached Top 20 at Hot AC radio, and #1 at Alternative & Triple A radio, the latter of which is a first for the band! The band also released the long-awaited Van Weezer, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Rock and Alternative charts. The album featured hit single “Hero”, which reached #1 on the alternative radio charts, and “The End of the Game” which reached Top 5. The band also rocked stadiums across America last summer on the Hella Mega Tour alongside Green Day & Fall Out Boy. The tour will continue this Summer in Europe. The Grammy-nominated band have amassed a social reach of over 8M followers, earned FOUR RIAA-certified platinum albums, and have over 2 BILLION streams in the US alone!

Weezer is Brian Bell (backing vocals, guitar), Rivers Cuomo (vocals, guitar, piano), Scott Shriner (backing vocals, bass), and Pat Wilson (drums).

SZNZ: Spring is the first of four in the SZNZ series of EPs by Weezer and is now available on Black and Glow In The Dark Vinyl. The EP was produced by Weezer’s frequent collaborators Jake Sinclair and Suzy Shinn, as well as new collaborator Ethan Gruska.

Each EP offers its own palette of colors, creatures, and emotions to explore. Created in real time, made in tandem with the season themselves, the EPs form an incredible collection of some of Weezer's best songs yet, which is no small feat for a band that never leaves the Zeitgeist.

Weezer is Brian Bell (backing vocals, guitar), Rivers Cuomo (vocals, guitar, piano), Scott Shriner (backing vocals, bass), and Pat Wilson (drums).

TRACK LISTING

1. Opening Night
2. Angels On Vacation
3. A Little Bit Of Love
4. The Garden Of Eden
5. The Sound Of Drums
6. All This Love
7. Wild At Heart
8. Across The Meadow**

**only Available On The Vinyl Release.

SZNZ: Summer is the second instalment in one of the bands most exciting projects to date: SZNZ, a four EP song cycle of sorts and is being released as a CD on July 15th. Already mythical across the internet, SZNZ will, fittingly, be released at the start of every season. Each EP will offer its own palette of colours, creatures, and emotions to explore. They’re also being created in real time, made in tandem with the season themselves. The projects lead single “Records” is a big classic Weezer rock song, with a chorus built around thunderous drums, chunky power chords and a memorable melody about songs that get stuck in your head, which is exactly what this one is sure to do

TRACK LISTING

1. Lawn Chair
2. Records
3. Blue Like Jazz
4. The Opposite Of Me
5. What’s The Good Of Being Good
6. Cuomoville
7. Thank You And Good Night

In celebration of Weezer’s innovative SZNZ project - a collection of four EPs matching each season that have been made and released in real time throughout 2022 - the band is thrilled to share the final instalment, ‘SZNZ: Winter’.

Like SZNZ: Spring, SZNZ: Summer and SZNZ: Autumn before, the seasonal equinox on December 21 will arrive alongside a new Weezer EP. A stripped back, acoustic-leaning body of work, SZNZ: Winter encompasses the harrowing sadness that can so easily pair with the winter months.

SZNZ: Winter, the final part in Weezer’s four-EP song cycle, continues the narrative started on SZNZ: Autumn, SZNZ: Spring and SZNZ: Summer bringing Pagan myths, Shakespeare, Catholic rituals, Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, and more to life. Each SZNZ EP offers its own palette of colors, creatures, and emotions to explore. They were all created in real time, made in tandem with the season themselves. Once they’ve all been released on December 21, the EPs will create an incredible collection of some of Weezer’s best songs yet, no small feat for a band that never leaves the Zeitgeist.

TRACK LISTING

I Want A Dog
Iambic Pentameter
Basketball
Sheraton Commander
Dark Enough To See The Stars
The One That Got Away
The Deep And Dreamless Sleep

Van Weezer is the 14th studio album from American Rock Band Weezer. The inspiration for this album derives from the deepest roots of Weezer - metal! What has metal got to do with Weezer, you ask? In his earliest years, Rivers was a huge KISS fan; Brian was a big Black Sabbath fan; Pat worshipped at the altar of Van Halen and Rush; Scott loved Slayer and Metallica.

The last time this vein of harder rock was mined by Weezer was on their much-loved 2002 album Maladroit; Van Weezer is primed to take that album's sonics many steps further courtesy of producer Suzy Shinn. "The End of the Game" was Weezer's first new song since the release of Weezer (The Black Album), as well as their covers album, Weezer (The Teal Album), whose streaming numbers have surpassed 100 million. Weezer has sold 10 million albums in the U.S., and over 35 million records worldwide since their debut album’s release in 1994. Their catalogue has included such megahits as “Buddy Holly,” “Undone (The Sweater Song),” “Say It Ain’t So,” “El Scorcho,” “Hash Pipe,” “Island In The Sun,” “Beverly Hills,” “Pork and Beans,” and more.