#catherine wheel

[k-i-l-l-e-r-b-e-e-6-9]

𝔄 𝔴𝔦𝔫𝔡𝔬𝔴 𝔦𝔫 𝔖𝔱. 𝔊𝔢𝔬𝔯𝔤𝔢’𝔰 ℭ𝔬𝔩𝔩𝔢𝔤𝔦𝔞𝔱𝔢 ℭ𝔥𝔲𝔯𝔠𝔥 𝔦𝔫 𝔗ü𝔟𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔫, 𝔊𝔢𝔯𝔪𝔞𝔫𝔶

[w-sims]

🏁 Catherine Wheel's Drag Race Simalong 💄

Category is... Join the Ruvolution

Why y'all gagging? She bring it to you every season! That's right, Miss Catherine Wheel is back for another season of Drag Race Simalong. For her promo look, she's serving camouflage high couture... she's ready for a Ruvolution!

Of course, a new season also means a new confessional look! Bonus points for anyone that remembers Catherine's boy name! 😉

[doomandgloomfromthetomb]

Slowdive - The Roxy, Los Angeles, California, August 8, 1993

Thanks to a very kind soul, I'm going to see Slowdive this week in Denver — the show sold out almost immediately when tix went on sale a few months back and I missed out. But on Friday, against all odds, I'll be floating away aboard the Souvlaki Space Station.

Slowdive's return has been one of the nicer surprises of the last decade or so. I didn't pay much attention to their first reunion LP initially, but when I finally did, I was blown away by how great it was, refining and re-imagining the elements that made them so special back in the day. And the latest one, the supremely dreamy Everything Is Alive, might be just as awesome. The world weariness and wooziness might be more well-suited to a group of middle-aged folks than twentysomethings. Whatever, Slowdive rules.

I'm prepping by listening to a vintage recording from just about 30 years ago — Slowdive on the Sunset Strip! Some very sweet, very loud renditions of the classics here, given an extra shot in the arm by the explosive rhythm section of Nick Chaplin and Simon Scott. The band was opening for Catherine Wheel, which is a nice double bill — I haven't tracked down the Wheel's set, but here they are on 120 Minutes a few weeks later. Crank it!

[lovejustforaday]

Shoegaze Classics - Ferment

Ferment - Catherine Wheel (1992)

Main Genres - Alternative Rock, Shoegaze

A decent sampling of: Noise Pop, Dream Pop

Oops, I got lazy and procrastinated the last regular "classics" review. Well, better late than never.

For my final entry on this retrospective, before I move on to my select few magnum opuses of first wave shoegaze, I wanted to cover another band that I feel I could recommend to most casual listeners of alternative rock. So today I'll be taking a closer look at the moonlit melodies of early shoegaze's gruffest band, Catherine Wheel.

The Band

Catherine Wheel formed in Great Yarmouth, U.K. in 1990.

They were probably the biggest band of the first wave not signed to Creation Records or 4AD, though Creation Records' Alan McGee certainly tried. Instead, they got signed to American label Fontana Records.

The band's lineup for the vast majority of its duration was Rob Dickinson on vocals and guitar, Dave Hawes on bass, Brian Futter on guitar, and Neil Sims on drums.

When referring to this band as "early shoegaze's gruffest band", I was especially referring to Rob Dickinson's vocals; less of the typical semi-androgynous, zoned out 20 something year old stoner dude, and more like your cool heavy metal uncle singing lullabies to you.

Rob's gentle but husky voice was often placed rather high in the mix when compared to most other shoegaze acts of the time, giving his lyrics more of a central focus. His general musings involve cerebral, abstract mystical-isms, while sometimes being the brooding, angsty kind of poet that was very much dominating the grunge music and alternative rock airwaves in the United States in the early 90s.

In fact, again I have to say that I would've expected these guys to be a lot more successful in the United States given what was happening overseas at the time. Much like Swervedriver, Catherine Wheel were a bit more hard-rocking than their other peers in the scene that celebrated itself, though not really in the same way as the former.

If Swervedriver's thing was shoegaze mixed with noise rock distortion and post-hardcore levels of intensity, then Catherine Wheel's sound was more of a kind of shoegaze rock and roll, more indebted to the hard rock of the previous few decades than other bands. A lot of their melodies have kind of a timeless feel to them.

Their sound is also distinctly nocturnal, even more so than most other shoegaze bands. Ferment and Chrome are LPs meant to be listened to on night walks and bus rides, especially the latter.

EPs happened. Then came the debut record.

The Record

Ferment is Catherine Wheel's journey into the foggiest recesses of the half-waking, half-asleep mind, with loud, opaque walls of sound and glistening electric guitars.

The production of this record has a very washed-out quality, like the entire record was given the acid wash treatment. If that's your kind of thing, you'll love this record. It certainly lends itself well to the "heavy rocking slumber" quality of Catherine Wheel's general musical aesthetic. That being said, one or two tracks here may sound a bit flat by modern production standards.

The record opens with "Texture", a menacing 6/8 splattering of radioactive glowing guitar chords creating a radiant, moonlit shoegazing mosaic. A very bold opener with possibly the most aptly titled song for a shoegazing band ever.

"I Want To Touch You" is, also true to its name, a nervously erotic track that is both enticing and surreal. There's about a hundred ways that a track with this title could go wrong and turn into failed-seriousness or something off-putting, but somehow this ends up working really well with its breezy melody and flashy guitar leads over tingling shoegaze drones. It's a certified banger.

If ever there was a song worthy of the moniker "shoegaze" in its most literal interpretation, then that song would be "Black Metallic". The drowsy-eyed, cerebral introspection of this behemoth of a song is communicated through sonic timbres of pleasantly tender abrasion, perfectly capturing what it would sound like to be quite literally lost in a labyrinth of your own thoughts while staring absently into the apparent abyss of one's own shoes. "Black Metallic" is a masterclass in evoking a state of mind for the listener through well-crafted, gorgeous guitar soundscapes. This is probably among the first two or three tracks that I'd recommend to any of the uninitiated.

Sadly, my one major gripe with this record is that it starts with the excellent three track run that I just mentioned, and then never comes close to picking up that momentum again. And at 38 minutes onward of mostly by-the-numbers shoegaze-alt. rock, the record becomes a bit of a slog to get through.

Mind you, by-the-numbers shoegaze is still something I could very comfortably put on and just vibe to, enjoying it for what it is, but the promise of the first three tracks leaves something to be desired from the rest of the record. Ferment is honestly one of the most front-loaded rock LPs that I can think of.

The title track "Ferment" is fairly transcendent for me until it gets to that effing jumpscare at two minutes and forty eight seconds in (maybe I'm exaggerating for most listeners, but that shit certainly made me jump).

Unfortunately, much like Drop Nineteens' Delaware which I reviewed much earlier on in this series, Ferment is more of a record that I recognize as a classic because of its importance to the scene and the reputation it holds versus my own personal enjoyment of the project as a whole.

I can see why this record really does it for some folks who like their shoegaze loud and heavy, and I do really love those first three tracks and "Black Metallic" in particular is probably one of my most played shoegaze tracks period, having graced me with its blissful textures on many a zero-sleep bus rides into uni after pulling an essay all-nighter (cuz I'm trash like that sometimes). But the rest of it just never lives up to what it could have been for me.

But like I said in the Drop Nineteens review, a lot of shoegazers love this record. So again, I implore you to listen and form your own opinion. All in all, this is still a solid record by my tastes, but then I'm also very biased in favour of shoegaze as a genre of music.

What Came After That?

Catherine Wheel is yet another shoegaze band that did not survive of the turn of the century, though they did release four more records in the 90s.

Truthfully, I'd definitely recommend their sophomore LP Chrome over the debut album, because I feel that it's a more fully-realized project, with a track listing that flows better and contains overall better songwriting ("Black Metallic" notwithstanding).

The only real reason why I didn't opt for covering the follow-up record instead is because I wouldn't exactly call Chrome a shoegaze record in the primary sense; more of a heavy, dreamy alternative rock record with its roots in the scene, with roughly three or four actual shoegaze tracks here and there.

After dropping three more records, Catherine Wheel disbanded in 2000. I haven't really checked the rest of the records out, but going off of the RYM genre tags at least, it would seem the band never really put out another full-on shoegaze record.

Rob Dickinson released one solo record in 2005 after the group disbanded. Nowadays, the dude seems...very much into cars? Not exactly what I would expect from the usual shoegazing crowd, but then there was that one Lush song on their last LP.

Brian and Neil went on to form their own indie band called "50ft. Monster", which funnily enough immediately calls to mind the similarly titled PJ Harvey single. Again, haven't bothered to check this out yet.

I know it may sound like I'm not a big fan of this band based on the score I end up giving this record, but I'd be lying if I said there weren't more than a few great gems in this bands discography. Both of their first two records have a small but pretty loyal following, so I'm gonna strongly recommend you check both of them out and see if either of those records tickles your fancy. Regardless, "Black Metallic" at least is basically god tier shoegaze.

7/10

Highlights: "Black Metallic", "Texture", "I Want To Touch You"

[ourladyofomega]

📷  source: Wax Trax! Records (FB)

[blackmarket-playlists]

Second part with forgotten treasures of the shoegaze/dreampop genre and closely related styles (influenced by the time in which they were released) Most bands are pretty much forgotten with less than 200 monthly listeners on Spotify, despite excellent songs. (The Songs mentioned below are my favourites from them).

All songs can be found in one playlist! (Playlist will be updated in the coming weeks with further posts here on this channel and more lost songs from great bands. So stay tuned...)

Playlistcover: Old Magic Pellas (Brazil) – just remastered their brilliant album „Pull My Daisy“ from 1995.

• Artist name: Tse Tse Fly

Country: Leeds, UK

Latest release (Spotify): Mudflat Joey (1994)

Highlight song: Itchy (1994)

Info: From 1988 to 1994, all three founding members later joined The Wedding Present.

• Artist name: Morellas Forest 1988

Country: California, US

Latest release (Spotify): Tales (1988)

Highlight song: Cherry Tree Prairie

Info: Recorded by a pair of 16-and-18-year-old brothers. Great album!

• Artist name: Strata Florida

Country: Wales, UK

Latest release (Spotify): Made of Stars (2014)

Highlight song: Monster (2014)

Info: Formed in 2012 by Louise Trehy, known in the early 90s as one half of the fantastic band Swallow

• Artist name: LOCO-HOLIDAYS

Country: Japan

Latest release (Spotify): Screw (1992)

Highlight song: The Fountain (1992)

Info: one of the first shoegaze bands from Japan

• Artist name: For Those Who Know

Country: Austin, Texas

Latest release (Spotify): Pop Sickle (2011)

Highlight song: Wimbledon (2011)

Info: Formed in 2003; besides „Pop Sickle“, the debut album from 2006 is also legendary

• Artist name: Believo!

Country: Belgium

Latest release (Spotify): Hard To Find (2012)

Highlight song: It’s Now (2012)

Info: Formed in 2003

• Artist name: Decahedron

Country: Washington D.C., US

Latest release (Spotify): Disconnection_imminent (2004)

Highlight song: Landscapes (2002)

Info: Formed in 2001, emerged from DC punk band Frodus

• Artist name: Mindscape

Country: Stockholm, Sweden

Latest release (Spotify): Bring You Down (1992)

Highlight song: Blueprint (1992)

Info: Formed in 1992; in 1993 it was all over. Nice to hear the influences of the time (roaring guitars and Madchester dance music beats)

• Artist name: Lenola

Country: New Jersey, US

Latest release (Spotify): Sharks & Flames (2003)

Highlight song: Shared a Route (1996)

Info: Formed in 1994

[thedepartmentofdiscoveries]

Artemisia Gentileschi (1593–1653) - Santa Caterina di Alessandria, c. 1615–1617.

The painting is a representation of Catherine, the daughter of King Costus of Alexandria, who defied the emperor Maxentius with her staunch defense of her Christian faith. She was sentenced to death by use of a spiked wheel, but was saved when the instrument miraculously broke. She was subsequently beheaded and later recognized as a Christian martyr, with the broken spiked wheel as her symbol. She is portrayed in a striking red gown with gold embellishment, holding the martyr's palm frond and wearing an elaborate gem-encrusted crown.

Self portrait of Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1654) as Saint Catherine, c. 1616.

Self-Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria is a 1615–1617 painting by the Italian Baroque artist Artemisia Gentileschi, showing the artist in the guise of Catherine of Alexandria. It is now in the collection of the National Gallery, London, which purchased it in 2018 for £3.6 million, including about £2.7 million from its American Friends group.

It was painted during Gentileschi's time in Florence, and is similar to her Saint Catherine of Alexandria (c. 1619), now in the Uffizi Gallery. It is one of several paintings of female martyrs that Gentileschi made after her famous 1612 rape trial, in which she (unlike the accused) was subject to torture to test the veracity of her testimony.

[big-low-t]

Catherine Wheel - Indigo Is Blue

[theditchlillies]

Catherine Wheel // 1992

[w-sims]

🏁 Catherine Wheel's Drag Race Simalong 💄

Category is... Faster Pussycat! Wig, Wig! 🐱

Short hair, don't care. This look took me a bit of time, but I then found this gorgeous 'Date Night' collection by @ice-creamforbreakfast and thought it was very fitting, given it was Valentine's Day this week.

[heidismagblog]

[fireland]

Catherine Wheel / Black Metallic

[rainingmusic]

Catherine Wheel - Crank

[sunseekerdeluxe]

Tunesday 10

Also heard this week:

Acid King - Beyond Vision Blazon Rite - Wild Rites and Ancient Songs Boston - Life, Love & Hope Children of the Reptile - Heavy Is the Head Cocteau Twins - Garlands Depeche Mode - Sounds of the Universe Disillusion - Ayam Dopethrone - Hochelaga Eagles - Hotel California Peter Gabriel - “i/o (Dark-Side Mix)” Hammers of Misfortune - Overtaker Hanging Garden - Skeleton Lake Iron & Wine - The Sea & the Rhythm ISIS - Oceanic The Jesus and Mary Chain - Darklands Kayo Dot - Coffins on Io Kayo Dot - Plastic House on Base of Sky Kingcrow - Eidos Lord - What Tomorrow Brings Night Demon - Outsider Sagen - Roots of Proctor Sermon - Of Golden Verse Stygian Crown - Stygian Crown Sunrot - The Unfailing Rope Richard Thompson - Rumor and Sigh Veldune - Veldune A Wake in Providence - Eternity While Heaven Wept - Suspended at Aphelion

Backlog: 179.