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Long OOP collab album from two indie rock institutions.

In the ’90s, Jad Fair had five favorite bands and songwriters: Daniel Johnston, The Pastels, Sonic Youth, Teenage Fanclub, and Yo La Tengo. It’s a good list, sure, but what’s most remarkable about it is that, in the course of a dozen years or so, Fair made music with all of them in one form or another.

Jad Fair has been prolific for half a century now, long before the Internet could create a simultaneous and seemingly eternal archive of everything someone with his predilections made. He’s been involved in several hundred titles, at least, many of them out-of-print on tiny labels that do not exist anymore. In fact, one of those collaborations that Fair made in the ’90s—'Strange But True', with Yo La Tengo—has been hard to find, despite its stateside release on October 20th 1998, by Matador Records.

For the first time, the album is being reissued on vinyl by Joyful Noise and Bar/None.

By the time Fair played a party with Yo La Tengo in the mid-’90s, they were all friends, fans, and collaborators, having worked on or released records together. When Fair suggested they all head into the studio, the trio bit. The result, 'Strange But True', is as wonderful, varied, and wild as some enormous lawn of native grasses. This collaborative album showcases the artists’ uncanny range, bringing us back to a time when indie rock was still free to be as weird and unruly as its makers wanted it to be.

TRACK LISTING

1. Helpful Monkey Wallpapers Entire Home
2. Texas Man Abducted By Aliens For Outer Space Joy Ride
3. National Sports Association Hires Retired English Professor To Name New Wrestling Holds
4. Dedicated Thespian Has Teeth Pulled To Play Newborn Baby In High School Play
5. Three-Year-Old Genius Graduates High School At Top Of Her Class
6. Embarrassed Teen Accidentally Uses Valuable Rare Postage Stamp
7. Principal Punishes Students With Bad Impressions And Tired Jokes
8. Retired Grocer Constructs Tiny Mount Rushmore Entirely Of Cheese
9. X-Ray Reveals Doctor Left Wristwatch Inside Patient
10. Clumsy Grandmother Serves Delicious Dessert By Mistake #2
11. Retired Woman Starts New Career In Monkey Fashions
12. Circus Strongman Runs For PTA President
13. High School Shop Class Constructs Bicycle Built For 26
14. Clumsy Grandmother Serves Delicious Dessert By Mistake #1
15. Ohio Town Saved From Killer Bees By Hungry Vampire Bats
16. Nevada Man Invents Piano With 21 Extra Keys
17. Clever Chemist Makes Chewing Gum From Soap
18. Minnesota Man Claims Monkey Bowled Perfect Game
19. Ingenious Scientist Invents Car Of The Future
20. Car Gears Stick In Reverse, Daring Driver Crosses Town Backwards
21. Shocking Fashion Statement Terrorizes Town
22. Feisty Millionaire Fills Potholes With Hundred-Dollar Bills

Samuel Locke Ward and Jad Fair are two of the most prolific musicians working today. Fair is a founding member of the band Half Japanese, and has released over 200 albums, including albums with Yo La Tengo, Daniel Johnston, Moe Tucker, Kramer, Teenage Fanclub, The Pastels, R. Stevie Moore, DQE, Tenniscoats, The Tinklers, Naomi Ishimaru, Jason Willett, Mosquito, and Strobe Talbot. Samuel Locke Ward has released over sixty solo albums as well as a myriad of collaborations with Bob Bucko Jr, Miracles Of God, SLW cc Watt (with Mike Watt) and the cult new age noise group Boundless Relaxation (with Joe Jack Talcum and The Bassturd). He is a cartoonist for Little Village magazine and like Jad Fair, his style musically and visually is wholly his own Pure Candy is the pair’s third album together following 2023’s Happy Hearts and Destroy All Monsters, both issued by Kill Rock Stars.

Pure Candy is an album of love songs and is the feel good album of the Summer, Winter, Spring and Fall. The music was composed and performed by Ward who’s love of pop music and avant stylings offer seventeen unexpected turns over the course of a three minute song. The vocals and lyrics are by Fair, lyrics overflowing with words of love, joy, happiness, tenderness, hope and inspiration. Uplifting words for a time dearly in need of some upliftings. As with the previous two albums by Fair and Ward, this album was mixed and mastered by Jonathan Hansen and is being co-released on LP by Shrimper Records (who last worked with Fair on his collaborative three cassette box set Wonderful World) and Chicago’s Stationary (Hearts) Recordings.

TRACK LISTING

1. This Love Of Ours
2. Back On Top
3. I Have A Feeling
4. Geniuses Of Love
5. A Powerful Heart
6. A Better Day
7. That Is That
8. A Time For Love
9. Lucky Ones
10. The Love Bee
11. Right All Wrong
12. The Good Stuff
13. Oh Gee
14. Wonderful
15. Angel You
16. Let's Talk
17. My Poem
18. The Prettiest

There are plenty of performers who rock critics describe by using the label "primitive," but few if any can hold a candle to the greatest American rock primitive Jad Fair - With his wildly influential band Half Japanese or as a solo performer, Fair has constructed a prolific and extremely interesting career.

He writes and records songs that display an uncomplicated emotional directness, unselfconscious charm and warmth, and a genial simplicity that is beyond words. From Jad: "I set a goal for myself to release 100 albums in a year's time. I was able to pass that mark. I released over 150 albums. This album is a "best of" compilation of the songs recorded that year. It's 100 songs chosen from 160 albums."

TRACK LISTING

Disc 1
Side 1
1. Worm Boy
2. Star
3. We Have To
4. Our Now Is Forever
5. We Made Ourselves A Promise
6. Not The Same No More
7. The Love Club
8. Rising Star
9. Garbage Man
10. Zombies Walk The Earth
11. Too Late
12. Together We Will
13. Witch
14. It Is Them
15. Choose Your Own Future
16. Embrace Love
17. June Or July
18. All Around Us
19. Sunshine Happiness
20. No Secret
21. Day In The Sun
22. Whenever
23. Ghost Of Frankenstein
24. Apple, Pear And Peach
25. Curses

Side 2
1. Love Love
2. So Far So Good
3. The House
4. Wonderful
5. Son Of A Gun
6. Stupid Kicks
7. Perfectly Dreadful
8. Them
9. Coffee
10. Run Away Home
11. Even Smaller
12. You And Me
13. Vicious Circle
14. Hear The Call
15. Our Eyes
16. Time For Love
17. The Laughing Monster
18. Invigorate Your Life
19. Got It Made
20. Stayed At Home
21. The Invasion
22. Honey Bear
23. Open The Door
24. On My Palm
25. Not Too Late

Disc 2
Side 1
1. Night Of The Devil Bat
2. Slime
3. Safety Net
4. Chase Away
5. Only One
6. Afraid Of Nothing
7. Life In The Suburbs
8. It's Wonderful
9. Mission Accomplished
10. True Love Is Here
11. Spinning Around
12. Your Wish
13. The Moth Man
14. Make The Pieces Fit
15. What Else Is New?
16. It's Alive
17. One Thing Only
18. The Welcome Mat
19. Sunshine
20. Out There
21. No One Knows For Sure
22. Our Way
23. Listen To The Birds
24. What Can We Do?
25. Viva Love

Side 2
1. Alright
2. Two Of A Kind
3. Pale Green Pants
4. The Word Yes
5. The Vampires Are Back
6. The Biggest Big
7. In Its Net
8. Over Our Heads
9. Without A Clue
10. Haunted Home
11. He Has His Nerve
12. The Knack
13. The Junk Pile
14. Probably Alright
15. Shrunken Head
16. Haunted Hill
17. How It's Done
18. In The Eyes
19. Invading Our Planet
20. Why?
21. Better Good Times
22. Right From The Start
23. Flashing Lights
24. Magic
25. It's Alright

In 1974 Jad and David Fair teamed up to form a band called Half Japanese. The route was simple, at first. If one pounded on drums the other could squeeze sounds from an electric guitar. There were no other band members to stay in tune with, so there was no particular reason for them to worry about tuning the guitar in a traditional manner or learning traditional chords. They were free from the start to express their music in their own way. They traded off the guitar and drumming rolls. Whichever one sang the words also played the guitar and the other one drummed. For a couple of years they wrote, recorded and performed this way, without the convention of more members. When they did decide to expand they went big. They first thought of recruiting an outside drummer, so that both could play guitars at the same time.

In 2014 Jad and David stripped things back to the roots. They went back to recording as a duo. One sang and played guitar, the other one drummed. 40 years had passed, but they slipped right back into the original roles and churned out a number of breath-stealing songs. 40 years later; 40 years better. One pick, two sticks and heart-warming vocals...... That's all they needed; two brothers, still rockin' the same damn deal! 

The words and primary voice are those of Jad Fair, that enduringly idiosyncratic artist revered in discerning pockets of the global indie rock underground for decades. Danielson’s Daniel Smith has long admired Fair, drawing inspiration from Half Japanese (the band Fair formed with his brother in the ‘70s) on through to his prolific career today. Their discussions of collaborating finally came to fruition when Joyful Noise Recordings designated Fair its “Artist In Residence” for 2014 and Danielson was tapped as one of 4 artists (including R. Stevie Moore; Teenage Fanclub's Norman Blake; and Strobe Talbot) to record separate respective albums with him for a boxed-set limited release.

“Flattered and honored” is how Smith sums up his feelings about the project -- and grateful to get a game-plan for what always seemed a complementary pairing. Sounds Familyre will be doing their own non-limited release of Solid Gold Heart in June, on CD, digital and gold vinyl. The 11 tracks of sweet collaboration collected under said title sound like what you might expect, given the respective artists: gleaming tunes of sincere sing-speak, resplendent with sparkling back-up vocals and warmly melodic, inventive instrumentation; a sunshine-bright outlook of positive encouragement to keep “rockin’ on the side of gooood” -- because, after all, “We deserve chocolate cake/ We deserve apple pie/ Enjoy your life ...”

The collaborative process commenced with Fair sending Smith his unique vocal demos of recited lyrics with articulated mouthsound musical qualities (some bits remain in the final mixes). Smith then wrote music for each chosen track, eventually getting Fair and drummer Gilles Rieder into his Clarksboro, NJ studio to record their parts during a few hours break from touring. Aside from Smith’s own guitar-playing and singing throughout the album, there were contributions made by his brothers David and Andrew on percussion, and sisters Rachel and Megan along with wife Elin on vocals. Spicing things up at Fair’s behest were members of Texas art-polka band Brave Combo: Carl Finch on accordion and keys; Jeffrey Barnes on sax and woodwinds; and Danny O’Brien on trumpet. Bringing things full-circle was Kramer (Shockabilly, Bongwater, B.A.L.L. et al.) on bass, who also co-mixed and mastered the album.

The result is a beguiling blend that builds off each participant’s strengths, truly a fresh sum that is greater than its parts. “The goal was to make 3-minute pop songs, as accessible and fun and immediate as possible,” notes Smith. And that’s what you’ll hear, each track an uplifting, mutually enhanced concoction. Anyone who ever had a Solid Gold Heart -- wouldn’t they want to turn around and share it? Of course they would. Jad Fair and Danielson are happy to offer up theirs.

TRACK LISTING

1. Go Ahead
2. Rockin On The Good Side
3. Ready Steady
4. Here We Stand
5. Solid Gold Heart
6. With The Knowledge 
7. Apple Apple
8. Not No
9. On And On
10. You Got Me In A Spin
11. Here’s Our Time