#Maz Vernas

[eyydragons]

All the little queer people in my head (DnD)

[daggerzine]

Holiday Flyer- TRY NOT TO WORRY and THE RAINBOW CONFECTION (DARLA RECORDS)

It’s hard to believe that next year will be 25 years since this lovely Sacramento band’s debut album came out. That’s a long time ago and the band came and went and siblings/leaders John and Katie Conley (and their pal Verna Brock) had/have gone on to other bands. The Darla label has done us all a big favor here by reissuing the band’s first two albums 1995’s Try Not to Worry and 1997’s The Rainbow Confection (both were originally released on small San Diego label Silver Girl Records).  The band’s sound was certainly unique at the time: gently strummed guitars, lightly tapped drums, gentle vocals and Vera’s lovely cello all weaving together to create quite a hypnotic sound (Brock also added piano and flute as well so she was a triple threat in the band!). They probably got nailed with the “twee” tag more than a few times and I hear some of that as well as some folk music as well, but no other band sounded quite like Holiday Flyer at the time (or since).

The debut LP is presented here in an edition of 500 vinyl copies and it has and it has their original record’s 14 tracks plus 11 bonus tracks (download only) culled from the band’s earliest singles and comp tracks. It was good to hear instant classics like “Runaround,” “Secondhand” and “Wrap the Covers Up Over My Head” among others. Of the bonus tracks it was a blast from the past to hear the songs from the first single from 1995 on Fingerpaint Records as well as the one cut on the Pop American Style comp (1996- March Records) among others.

1997’s The Rainbow Confection reissue is the same, 500 vinyl copies including the original 12 songs plus 12 bonus tracks including tunes from the excellent Sweet and Sour CD EP (1996 on Darla)  as well as the cuts on the Going Against Maz’s Advice comp that Clint Barnes released plus more. The songs on this sophomore album are generally more upbeat and energetic (but, like the debut, still deal with themes of loss and regret). A few gems from this one include the awesome, nearly–orchestrated “This Town” “Three Times Might Be Nice” and the near-perfect “Things That Made You Blue.’ In addition to the above-mentioned bonus cuts there’s also a cover of Galaxie 500’s “It’s Getting Late” that will surely make your ears dance.  

Currently John Conley leads the strong, harder-hitting Desario while Katie went more a shoegaze/dreampop route with the excellent Soft Science (and Verna Brock released several recordings of her own under the name Beanpole which are collected on a cd on the Jigsaw label that is well-worth seeking out). Listening to these songs again is like seeing an old friend you haven’t seen in years. Major kudos to Darla for these reissues. www.darla.com

[eyydragons]

Guess who finally got to play dnd?