#cocteau twins have a very distinct sound to their music and that’s what makes me love them a whole lot

[cynical-cemeteries]

🎶✨when you get this, list 5 songs you like it to listen to, publish, then send this ask to 10 of your favorite followers. (positivity is cool)🎶✨

OMG HIII!!! i have been. Chosen

i’m gonna pick the top 5 from my “on repeat” playlist on spotify:

Safety by Reliqa ft. Sean Harmanis

Five Ten Fiftyfold by Cocteau Twins

TRIALS by STARSET

Shaken (not stirred) by Tallah

Mr. Magic by Reliqa

[doomedandstoned]

FAMYNE

~Songs in the Night~

Interview & Photographs by Angelique Le Marchand

I am wrestling with all the crap in my pockets for ages as my mobile goes off on a London double-decker bus. I just missed a call, and it’s neither my bestie nor a robot calling to offer me PPI. It’s Jake Cook drummer for the band FAMYNE calling to finalise our plans to meet up for an interview in Camden, just before the band’s gig at The Black Heart. This proper phone call feels like such a good omen. It is refreshing to come across someone like Jake, who doesn’t solely rely on texts or emails nowadays.

As I had feared, my quest for a reasonably quiet room suitable for recording the interview is not fruitful, and the initial plan of booking a copacetic space ahead of time was impeded by the band’s busy schedule prior to tonight's show. As a result, all seven of us decide to make the band’s tour bus our "office" for the duration of our discussion. Parked outside the venue, it’s perfect -- quiet and well lit, with plenty of armrests to prop pints of cider on (the band’s drink of choice).

Famyne is:

Tom Vane (vox)

Jake Cook (drums)

Martin Emmons (rhythm guitar)

Chris Travers (bass)

Alex Tolson (lead guitar)

Justin Crouch (silent member and head roadie)

Famyne by Famyne

Origins

The Canterbury doomers were inspired by Opeth’s song "Famine" to name their band. The song is an extract from the pivotal album 'Heritage' (2014), which Famyne’s founding members have a predilection for, and although their taste in music stems from a variety of influences, all five share an admiration for the Swedish prog-metal legends.

At the time that Famyne were formed, Tom was studying the history of English as part of his undergraduate degree, which played a big part in personalising the band’s name. The spelling is a reference to orthographic variations in Old English, with the vowel "i" being interchanged with “y” depending on your geographical position across the country during the Early Medieval Period.

Like all bands, Famyne went through a great number of possible names before coming up with one that clicked. "It’s like naming a baby almost," says Tom. "You think of how people could take the piss out of it. In that case, no. Let’s not be called that." Their search had to be brought to a halt when the band was offered their first gig with Skull Tank and Death Truck Mutiny at their local bar. They already had a set put together, but they still hadn’t decided on a name. They needed to come up with one -- fast -- if anything, for the gig’s promotion poster. "Famyne seemed to fit," recalls Jake.

Famyne underwent several changes before progressing to their final line-up. The band was initially put together by founding members Jake on drums, Tom on vocals, and first lead guitarist, Wesley. Wesley departed the band after their first show in October of 2014, as he was unable to commit to an increasingly busy live schedule. Jake slowly met the other members of Famyne in local pubs, including bassist Chris Travers. Both admit having no clear recollection of their first encounter due to the consumption of large amounts of alcohol, although the legend goes that Chris may have been found headbanging on his own at either The Cherry Tree or The Foundry in Canterbury.

Jake also met lead guitarist Alex Tolson in a Canterbury bar. Alex was invited to one of the band’s practice after making a big impression at one of his early live performances. He was instantly enthused to becoming part of the project, interestingly bringing with him some amps specially built for Famyne by his father. Alex Williams and Alex Johns successively played rhythm guitar, with Johns serving as long-standing guitarist for two-and-a-half years, although he never officially committed as a full-on member of the band.

As touring and the release of Famyne’s debut album required a more permanent rhythm guitarist, it felt a natural progression for Martin Emmons to complete the line-up, and he made his first live appearance as official member of the band at The UCA Bar in Canterbury on the 29th of June 2018. Martin, who has known Jake since he was 14 years old, is another eminent musician on the Canterbury scene. His prog-punk band Witchdoctor shared stage with Famyne several times, and he stood-in for Johns at some of Famyne’s shows, enabling a very smooth transition. To date, Martin continues to play with Witchdoctor and they are currently working on new material.

Guilty Pleasures

Having a peep at somebody’s music collection is a quick way of breaking the ice and getting to know them better. But picking out unexpected pieces is even more interesting as it helps defining their quirkiness, so I am curious about surprising records that may be dotting the bandmates’ personal collections. Jeff Beck’s guitar play and the way he becomes one with his instrument are an inspiration for Alex. At the moment, he is also digging Funkadelic for their fusion of funk, rock and metal. Tom’s revelation that Cocteau Twins and The Cure -- with attention to Disintegration -- get a regular spin, is coherent with some of the discrete brush strokes of post- punk in Famyne’s outputs. In his own words, Martin likes a lot of "weird shit." Quite a range on the spectrum in fact, from math rock to Zappa and King Crimson, with Cardiacs being top of his list of weird.

Although the bandmates tease the head (and only) roadie Justin that he has no choice but to listen to Famyne, he manages to explain that he is also a nü-metal fan, particularly enjoying Korn and Slipknot. Chris cites "Voulez-Vous" by Abba as one of his guilty pleasures. A single that he does own and that gets blasted in his living room, together with a lot of doom. His disclosure is met with roars of laughter from the rest of the band, but a spirited approval from me as a fellow owner of Abba’s records. If you’re going to indulge in unpretentious pop, you may as well listen to the good shit. But Chris currently also listens to a lot of Uncle Acid and the deadbeats, as well as 1000mods, and some early Metallica. Time to turn to Jake and ask him about any records in his collection that may surprise our readers.

Jake: "I’ve become a very big Ghost fan."

The "office" erupts in a huge scream. I’m ashamed to say, I suddenly forget my place. I catch myself curled up in fetal position, repeatedly punching my knees. In stitches, Alex and Martin, have completely disappeared behind their seats, while Justin is crying so hard that he looks dangerously close to having a fit. Chris briefly recovers to come to my rescue with a sympathetic handshake and a piercing "Yesssss!!! Her, too!!!" Jake is a man who will stand by his convictions, and he calmly continues.

Jake: "I know there’s a lot..." (interrupted by more laughter).

Tom: "He’s always trying to play it at parties and stuff."

Jake: "Well, say what you will but they influence me, it’s a band I like. I can’t argue with the thousands of turns up at shows."

Tom: "Yeah, you can say that about Britney Spears."

Jake redeems himself by talking us through his boundless admiration for Opeth. Then comes the revelation that he also recently acquired a soft spot for The Darkness.

Chris: "Because you can hit those notes!"

Jake (grinning): "Of course, I’m a very impressive singer actually!"

Chris proceeds to entertain us with a superb impersonation of Justin Hawkins, beating Jake to it.

No Stone Left Unturned

It’s difficult to listen to Famyne’s debut album and pick just the one favourite song, and one that would remain such as set in stone. All of them sound so unique, yet they work harmoniously juxtaposed in an album. In just over four years in existence, the band have already created a signature sound that, within split seconds of a first listen, is capable of prompting inner-monologues running along the lines of: "Ah, I recognise this...it’s Famyne."

Describing their own sound and uniqueness is not an easy task for a band. Famyne are self-aware about revealing their personal thoughts on the subject as they are interested in their listeners’ interpretations without influencing them. "Famyne is Famyne," says Jake. "We all have one central point that we’re influenced by, and that is doom. That’s why we all come together." Doom may be the binding agent of their sound, but the bandmates’ varied musical influences prevented them from falling too rigidly within the frames of the genre.

Famyne EP by Famyne

"Everything gets thrown in and we knock each other’s ideas," adds Jake, "we’ll change this and we’ll add this, and it all gets messed around." "We do what we like to do," explains Chris. "What appeals to us and what we think sounds good. No stone is left unturned, for sure." If the bandmates agree on the importance of sounding different, their self-awareness guards them from placing this thought process before the quality of their songwriting. "I wouldn’t say we try specifically to sound different," Jake says. "We don’t do it at the expense of the song," adds Tom. "The song needs to feel right, it needs to flow."

Working in a super-tight collaborative way plays a big part in sounding unique, but Tom pushes the concept further by explaining how Famyne work as a true democratic band. "Let’s say someone is really passionate about how a song needs to be. It doesn’t matter how passionate they are if four of us disagree, it’s not going to happen."

"There is a good mixture of the heart and the head in the direction of the band," he adds. Tom’s vocals stand out as a distinctive piece of the jigsaw defining Famyne’s unique sound. "I know that my vocals aren’t the same as everyone else’s," he reflects. "It’s definitely influenced by a range of different artists. Every time I sing something, I kind of have a meter in my head saying: how predictable is this? I don’t want it to be so predictable, but I also want it to feel right."

With an imposing vocal range technically flawless on record, his precision on stage singes a lasting impression. As Tom reveals that he was stage trained, his ease suddenly makes perfect sense; he has been singing since the age of four, working in musicals in several different countries as well as in the West End. Having gained a lot of singing practice from such a young age certainly shows.

‘No one really knows the whole full story of how we got this album put together’

Famyne released their self- titled, first full- length in September 2018. The band recorded the album over four different studios, each chosen to craft a specific sound envisioned not only for the band’s vocal parts and own instruments, but also for guest string musicians Cat Ledgerwood (cello) and Karen Jolliffe (violin/ viola).

Every single detail gone into putting the album together was overseen by the band themselves. As there is a heartfelt abundance of detail, it’s surprising to hear that the album was entirely self-funded. Producing such an accomplished piece with no backing financial support strikes as a respectable tour de force, and a good measure of the passion that Famyne poured into their output.

While the bandmates pride themselves in their independence, discussing recording their new album also spurs on memories of considerable hardship. "We’ve gone to do what we do, we’ve just gone for it no matter what," says Chris. "No one really knows the whole full story of how we got this album put together and our struggle in places, especially financially, sometimes. But no matter what, we just spent the money to do it. If it needs to be changed, and that means another day in the studio for this little bit, it doesn’t fucking matter. We’re doing it."

Tom composed the lyrics and cites Neil Peart as influential on his writing process. He likes the way the Rush’s lyricist produces massive songs that develop into concept albums. Tom observes that he may be perceived as goobledegooking the lyrics, but he does in fact put a lot of thought into them. I suggest that the atmosphere and themes developed have a feel of the poètes maudits from the 19th Century, but the texts are in fact quite personal. "It’s a mixture of philosophy, and fear, and also just honesty. These three things are what are behind a lot of my lyrics, a lot of the time," says Tom.

The album comes beautifully presented with an ongoing monochrome theme. A refined band shot by photographer Phill Morgan adorns the inner sleeve, while Russian artist Vergvoktre was commissioned to create a dramatic tryptic, reminiscent of Romanticism and the engravings of Gustave Doré. Vergvoktre featured the city of Canterbury on the front panel as Famyne are close to their local roots and heritage, as well as being inspired by the Canterbury sound and scene.

This is a feel they wanted to represent in the album’s artwork. "We don’t know much about the guy," says Tom about Vergvoktre. "He’s somewhat mysterious. We had these ideas for four panels that were interconnected and when put together, provided a kind of 360 degrees feel, which is why they blend together if you put them next to each other."   "Like a Famyne lampshade!" Jake adds, prompting laughs and my comment that they could easily sell those in Ikea. "We could brand that," he adds, "We need to go to Stockholm, boys!"

On point with their natural attention to detail, the band put a lot of planning into the artwork’s commission, carefully assembling ideas and atmospheres inspired by different sections of Vergvoktre’s existing pieces. This resulted in a thorough brief emailed over to Vergvoktre, comprised of themes and pictures. "As well as stick man drawings!" photobombs Chris, with his customary wit. "If you looked at it, you’d see the difference. It’s like a very young child’s drawing and then we just said, do your thing, dude! He did it justice, I’d say."

"The best gig for me is when you see people mouthing the words as I’m singing."

Tom should be pleased with tonight’s show at The Black Heart, and both "Slave Ship" and "Grand Majesty" were particularly notable in prompting this very reaction in the audience. Slightly unusual for any band opening up on any night, but truly remarkable given that "Grand Majesty" hasn’t even been released. Enquiries on reasons why the empyrean song hasn’t been committed to record yet are met with a shroud of mystery: Famyne may have some surprises in store for us.

Film by Mathijs Kooij of VoidManiac

The band’s presence live has increased tenfold over the past couple of years, with Bloodstock already under their belt. Despite being a relative young band, Famyne are steadily growing a legion of converts thanks to their sterling musicianship combined with their trademark neck brace-inducing energy.

Over the past few months, on top of recording and releasing their debut album, somehow the bandmates found the time to play a sizeable number of dates in the UK, as well as across eight different countries on the Old Continent. Playing Into The Void last year in The Netherlands and Germany for the first time were highlights for them. "The thing that was good about the tour was playing in places we’d never played and being busy," says Jake. "Beautiful place, beautiful people -- really beautiful people. Everyone was really ready to get down. The set went really well," Chris adds about Karlsruhe. "We had space on stage so we got to do our thing a bit more." Witnessing Chris fiendishly jumping on stage twenty minutes later will enlighten on the latter detail being of importance to him. It comes as a relief that live, his bandmates have apparently become very good at dodging -- although Martin still has room for improvement.

Touring, Tiger Bread, and Transport Police

One of my favourite questions to ask a band is if they have any unusual items on their riders, as it usually prompts some interesting responses. "We like to have uncut tiger bread," Jake starts off. "It hasn’t turned up once," adds Chris, solemn. The band’s need for starchy food was once covered by their promoter in Austria. He once baked a Famyne cake for Martin’s birthday and decorated it with the name of the band. Two of the letters were missing, though, as the cake turned out to be quite small. It’s the thought that counts, as they say.

Film by Mathijs Kooij of VoidManiac

As the band’s reach progresses and their touring schedules grow, so do their riders. They are appreciative of folks putting them on in the first place, but they don’t expect anything outside of the essentials. "I think we don’t want to put people into too much trouble, as we don’t want to inconvenience them," Tom says. "It’s unnecessary crap for us. All we want is some food, we want some alcohol, some soft drinks, and a nice printed picture of Bill Ward," Jake adds, as a nod to Monolord’s response to this very question in a previous Doomed and Stoned interview. "I’ll wait for the day when we get some nice lemon scented towels," says Jake.

Famyne recently came across a band (which they will not name) who was asking for hot lemon-scented towels on their riders for when they came off stage. Although they initially laughed at the extravagant requirement, looking back some of them are finding the idea quite smart. "You know what? You’re a sweaty mess, you’re dying. Shove my face all over a nice, hot lemon-scented towel. That would be fucking nice, actually!" Chris muses. Famyne do love their cider, as I will discover at my expense while naively trying to keep up with them at The Dev in Camden following the interview. It's an experience that will leave me crucified by the cruelest hangover for three days solid. "I think double the amount of cider next time, never enough cider!" concludes Chris.   Terrifying.

Looking at the band’s social media feeds gives the impression that the band are striking the balance right between hard work and brothers-in-arms fun, especially on tour. "We’re in this band not only because we love the music, but because we are friends. We have a good time," says Jake. "We want to play music, we want to travel," Chris chimes in, "so we get to do the best of both while touring."

The band is planning to go back on tour across Europe in May, and they are looking forward to playing in front of fans who have wanted to see them live for some time. They are also planning to revisit places they travelled through in 2018, including Slovenia, where Chris and Justin famously jumped in Lake Bled in their underwear...in the middle of winter. Due to the freezing temperatures at the time, they had to abandon their plans to swim across to the picturesque Bled Island popping out of the lake, with its cliffs mounted by an opulent church and a medieval castle. But Chris is determined to give this another go. "I’m getting to that, I’m swimming to the middle man. I’ve got targets," he says, sparking laughter and cheers.

The tour went really well for the Canterbury doomers, aside from them being chased down the motorway by the Slovenian traffic police. The bandmates were unaware that they had to purchase and display a little sticker before jumping on the carriageway. As their rider was a little slower than the vehicle chasing them, it soon caught up with them, causing quite a fright with a yellow flashing sign demanding that they pull over. A distressing experience for those amongst the passengers who were chilling out by listening to some music, while consuming considerable amounts of alcohol. Fortunately, the incident drew to a close with the payment of a hefty fine then and there, and didn’t affect shows the band were travelling to.

Famyne’s album launch is one of their personal highlights of 2018. The band invited prog-doomer friends Garganjua to open up for them, and the event took place on The Golden Jubilee, a 240-capacity cruiser on London’s river Thames. Why go for the logical choice of Camden venues, when you could have a boat to doom on? Knowing of the financial struggles associated with self-recording their debut album in the months preceding the event, it is quite telling about the bandmates that they should decide to treat their fans to an unusual, lavish party. Not only did the bandmates chip in to book the boat, but they also hired a coach travelling from their home city to London, as they wanted to give something back to all their friends and fans from Canterbury.

On the trip down to London, the coach got packed with party-goers who got in the mood with a couple of drinks (or ten), further relaxed by the thought of safely returning home after the show. Karma must have heard the rumours. As the album launch was popular with fans, the memory wasn’t tarnished by a financial hangover that could have been the albatross dangling from the bandmates’ necks for months to come.

The party sounded like a hell of a lot of fun. Instead of being crammed in a stuffed venue, folks mingled around in the fresh air, admiring iconic London landmarks as the boat sailed on. It must have been quite a sight for those tourists perched on London bridges. Attracted to look over by waves of extreme music booming out of the boat’s lower decks, they were cheerfully greeted by a crowd dressed in black, partially composed of pirate-resembling hirsute gentlemen yelling at them while brandishing the sign of the horns. "We released our album in I think the best possible way," says Jake, "and we made..." "A SPLASH!" is yelled, of course, by several people at once.

I suddenly become aware that I have spent almost an hour with Famyne in their "office." The other bands billed tonight at the Black Heart are still playing, but I have lost track of time and missed most of their sets. I have become completely relaxed in the company of Famyne, to the point that I have lost the awareness that I was entrusted by our editor with a specific task. With time, folks who gravitate around lots of bands must learn to tell the difference between a genuine human interaction and a PR exercise. This is something that I am generally aware of, yet meeting the band for the first time strangely feels like catching up with old friends that you haven’t seen in a very long time. So many great stories, so much laughter -- and banter! -- some of which was at my own expense (well, most at my own expense). Also a great candeur, particularly in relation with some of the challenges that everyday life throws at folks making space to express their creativity.

In such a short space of time, the bandmates’ gentle manners and openness have enabled me to find out so much about this band. A band that, until now, had remained rather mysterious, other than through the medium of their music, and some photographs shared on their social media feeds. Jake had used these words to describe the sound of his band at the start of the interview, and as I press the stop button on my Dictaphone they resonate with a deeper amplitude: Famyne is Famyne.

LIVE & LOUD

Famyne, Serpent Venom, and Iron Void at The Black Heart

~Review by Connah Davies | Photos by Angelique Le Marchand~

The Black Heart is the scene of day two of the three-day jaunt for this ragtag gang of doom metal miscreants as they roll down from Coventry, having just played The Phoenix on the previous night. Their run finished the following day in Bristol at The Old England pub.

This is Iron Void's first London show in quite some time and it comes off the back of the release of a new album. Having originally formed in 1998, these guys are no strangers to the scene, and their 2008 reformation saw them release a string of interesting EPs and LPs. The band's latest effort, 'Excalibur' (2018), was released in October on Shadow Kingdom Records.

Serpent Venom are the only band on their home turf tonight. After regrettably having to cancel an appearance in early-October, they seem keen to get back out there and conquer the stage again.

Canterbury doomers Famyne recently concluded a spate of European shows following the release of their self-titled LP, before taking to the stage at Camden’s The Black Heart. With the venue's long history of incredible gigs, this would be a fitting place for tonight’s line-up.

Famyne

Famyne started the evening with a barrage of riffs as subtle and powerful as the turning of the tides. Drone-like at times, with subtle and nuanced variation and instrumental interplay, while at other times the riffs leap from the stage and forcibly bang every head in the room. Songs reach a level of incredible intensity before resolving, then the next song starts working its way over you.

Famyne by Famyne

The reverb-soaked vocals from Tom Vane coax and lure the listeners in, before infecting them all with the same brand of insanity he throws himself into throughout the performance. By the end of their set, one might swear the sound of his voice originated from within their own head. These guys have mastered the art of decelerating the tempo of a song in an exceptionally musical way, appearing to never really lose any steam and certainly never losing any bite from the insistently heavy riffs. This, combined with great use of dynamics across their set ensure that they never lose the audience's attention.

Jake Cook (drums), Chris Travers (bass), and Martin Emmons (guitar) are really locked in tight and allow the music to sway and swing about the room or stampede as they see fit. Famyne’s lead guitarist Alex Tolson uses his understated, but technically fantastic, leads sparingly. The ethos of serving the song could leave some listeners wanting more, but that’s quite the point. Never overstaying their welcome, the solos always lift the song exactly when needed before the weight of the riffs come crashing down again. All in all, an equally vital and menacing performance.

Serpent Venom

From the word go Serpent Venom were an altogether different beast. The guitar tones had a more metallic edge to them which, whilst being less atmospheric than the evening's opening act, did allow for more fist pumping from the crowd. The tone of the single guitar on stage added a real weight to the riffs, which came thick and fast, designed to force feed every ear in the room hot gravel. It really sounded like there was more than the one guitar on stage.

Of Things Seen & Unseen by Serpent Venom

Garry Ricketts’ vocals were well-delivered and came in a direct fashion, fitting nicely with the instrumental factions of the band. It could be said that the reverb on the vocals (ramped up to obscene levels) slightly drew away from the poignancy and edge of the vocal performance. A little less would have been a real benefit to this band. Despite this, Ricketts still commanded the attention of everyone in the room. There were a few moments where it seemed he might push into a slightly more aggressive delivery but that never came. If only to occasionally match the snarl, grunt, and crash of the guitar, bass, and drums, it would have been nice to see.

The instrumental sections of the songs often come in a relentless gallop of fuzzed-out madness. It’s during the shifts from these up-tempo moments to the slower sections where it’s genuinely apparent just how tight these guys are. This is accentuated further by the way Ricketts allows his melodies to drift around and in between the band.

One misstep from the engineer during the show temporarily took the wind out of the sails of the performance, when a request for no more strobes was mistaken for a request for no more reverb -- and for half a song that was the case. Serpent Venom didn’t miss a beat during this and the issue was soon rendered, but it did disrupt the atmosphere of the set.

Serpent Venom closed out with a Sabbath-inspired bombardment of riffs. When all was said and done it seemed that, despite being very good, they were capable of putting on a more compelling show under different circumstances.

Iron Void

Opening with "Dragon’s Breath" from their new album, you know where you stand with Iron Void almost immediately. They’ll do little to change one’s mind over the course of the set, but if they’ve got their hooks in and there’s no escape.

Jonathan Seale (bass, vox) and Steve Wilson (guitar, vox) really opened up the sonic range of tonight's show with their vocal harmonies. This lends their sound a more grandiose quality, with the vibe of Gregorian vocal chants thrown in. They use a good dose of pace throughout, with their average tempo being the fastest so far.

Excalibur by Iron Void

Wilson's blues-scorched guitar lines move both with and against the vocals, creating lifting counter melodies and sturdy reinforcements. The well-constructed riffs fit remarkably well with the lyrical themes of the material. The overall sound had a certain ‘70s hard rock twist, which is just as present on their recorded material.

Nothing bad can be said of the lead guitar parts, as they live to serve the almighty riffs they stem from. The new material was comfortably at home amongst their older songs and really added to the slew of fuzz-soaked guitar work and soaring vocals. The only thing that could be said about the performance is that it doesn’t come with too many surprises throughout. This was by no means a boring show, but perhaps with a more carefully curated setlist Iron Void could have kept heads banging more consistently.

Conclusion

All in all, a solid night of doom. With the headline act being the most niche of the three bands that performed tonight it was always a risk that they might experience some drop off in the room, but this wasn’t the case. The room stayed pretty much full, excited, and in motion throughout the night.

The only gripe one might have is the same one you would find in this venue during any gig. The FOH level is always pushed to the very limit of what the system can handle. This causes a degree of clarity to be lost during the fuller on moments. Fortunately, the roster tonight didn’t suffer too greatly from this and there wasn’t many of the issues this can cause for other bands.

Taking a genre like doom-stoner, the parameters of which are well defined, and having such different corners of it touched during a three band lineup really says a lot about the creativity of those who played tonight and love this music. With the same artists playing in Bristol the following evening, one can only hope that things went down as well there, too.

The highlight of the night came early on with Famyne. They had the right blend of strut and intensity, but also knew when to hold back. This may be relatively early days for the band, but it’s clear they’ve got an interesting future ahead of them.

More Famyne

More Serpent Venom

More Iron Void

[purkkaklubi-blog]

Shoegaze

a Bit background to one of the most underappreciated genres of the 90s, how the revival of the scene has brought a whole new generation of youth to redefine the genre and what impact the woozy, spinning, swirling, distorted guitar sounds has on me.  

I heard about shoegazing first time in 2015. I was listening to quite a lot of Sonic Youth at the time which I guess was the reason on how I found My Bloody Valentine through Spotify algorithm. First thoughts were okay this is nice but doesn’t really evoke any special feelings in me. I just thought it was less poppy and more ’indie’ spin on the 90s alternative rock and grunge scene. Surely now I know I will always go through a small fact and background check on artists, genres, labels and albums before I make any further assumptions on how artistically remarkable something is. Back then I was a bit ignorant on popular-cultures music history. I knew the basics, Elvis and The Beatles, how white men made Disco cool for the white audience, Punk Rock scene breaking out in UK and across the sea beginning of the Rap and DJ scene, synth sounds in your every favorite 80’s aerobic videos, Kurt Cobain’s sudden death shaking the whole rock world, shiny pop stars rising and falling.

I thought back then that good music is good music. Music being boxed into a certain genre didn’t bring any new artistic meaning into it and putting on labels was only limiting and blurring our minds from the actual sounds. Now it seems like the only way I know how to wrap my head around new music is to put labels on them. Maybe i’m not a free soul anymore finding only pleasures in sounds that elaborate with my every unspoken thought and emotion in the comfort of my own bedroom and in the warmness of my bed. Maybe i’ve become and seem to some of you like a boring music square who is ready to start battling you with my non-existing musical knowledge while being blissfully drunk at the que outside the entrance of a club. Maybe I’m overthinking and actually me taking interests in the backgrounds of different music scenes show that i’m passionate and appreciative towards this beautiful art form that has been given to us. In this world where I can’t see sense and find reason behind anything I find it calming that I can analyze and make clear distinctions between different musical styles. That sounds more like this and this sounds more like that. i’m not an absolutist but obviously through history people have always tried to find answers to their questions. We feel anxiety and nervousness when we’re on a mind puzzle we cannot solve. It being possible that music can be pinned down and defined brings me tranquility.

Well, Shoegaze is a bit different for me. I can’t completely pin down what it is cause it feels and sounds that it has gotten influence from so many genres and the origins of where it all began is very blurry.

Shoegaze began to rise somewhere middle of the 80s. In my last post I mentioned about this Scottish ethereal gothic band called Cocteau Twins. Robin Guthrie the guitarist of this certain band began to use the effect pedals in his guitar work. Back in the day he stated that the idea of using pedals came from the lack of sound and texture in electric guitars but later on admitted that it was actually the lack of his own technical skills that made him start to use the effect pedals. Whatever the reason behind it was I’m grateful that he began to use them. Pedals enabled the possibility to create guitar sounds that were atmospheric and otherworldly. Using effects like delay, reverb, distortion, fuzz etc created these layered textures called wall of sounds that combined many genres at the same time. Noise, Drone, Psychedelic, Progressive, Lo-fi even Ambient. Maybe that’s why I’m so fascinated about it. It’s one specific genre but same time you also hear the inspiration coming from the 60s psychedelic bands, Gothic Rock, Noise Rock etc. You get lost because you think it’s a genre on its own balance but then you start to put the pieces together and find out that it has combined all these things together to make it as one. Then again you know it has its own definite style and not just any kind of music made with pedals can be defined as Shoegaze. You need that woozy, head spinning, swirling guitar that takes you on a musical trip. I feel like shoegazers are the ultimate music fans and their process of making something new was looking back at the bands and the music that they loved.

But besides Cocteau Twins or Jesus and the Mary Chain and their noise pop sound it was the defining moment of 1988 debut album Isn’t Anything by My Bloody Valentine and the single You Made Me Realise that a genre was born. From My Bloody Valentine bands like Slowdive, Ride, Chapterhouse, Swervedriver etc got inspiration for their work that on.

So, why is it called Shoegaze? The term was invented by music media, actually specifically by one NME journalist who referred the artists as shoegazers because of their way of performing on stage. They lacked of presence and connection with the audience due the heavy use of guitar effect pedals which led them to stare at their feet all the time so they could switch their pedals right. Often times they were kind of like step dancing through the sets because of the amount of effect shifting. Shoegazer was a slur word in that time and was only used in an offensive way. There wasn't really a lot of appreciation and understanding shown towards the scene. Grunge and Brit pop scenes were hitting hard on that time and music media was praising enormously acts like Nirvana and Oasis. Anything that was considered Shoegaze or related to it was doomed to get bad reviews when it was released. In the end supporters and gigs got smaller and smaller and labels like Creation had to let their Shoegaze artists go. 

The history with how Shoegaze was perceived saddens me. To me the music sounds and feels that it was a way ahead of it’s time. Electronica and the so called ’indie pop’ music we have now wouldn’t be if it wasn’t for Shoegaze. Music medias harshness made it hard to be taken seriously and made the scene look like wimpy angsty teens mocking rock music with their amateurish noise playing. Luckily the change of that has come.

Through the whole 00s Shoegaze and Dream pop stayed as an underground scene but in 2010s it began to come back on surface. In 2013 My Bloody Valentine released their 3rd album called MBV, 20 years later when Loveless the 2nd album was released. I think the most significant moment of how Shoegaze is being known again pin points to the digital era we’re living now and social media. Internet and the possibility to access information nowadays is easier and travels faster. You don’t have to go into a record store anymore and spend 8 hours of searching and listening to different albums you have probably picked because of the cover or the name of the artist or band or on what ever genre section it’s in. There is of course nice and authentic feeling into it but all i’m saying is that it takes time and what we have now you can be minutes away from your favorite music. Problem in the 90s was that they didn't have enough promotion and a proper platform to be shown on. Now people can make more decisions based on their own mind and not on what the industry and critics are promoting us. Of course you have to be willing to go searching different informative platforms because the music is not handed to you. Music that is handed has the most radio playing and pop on your recommended page on Youtube, Spotify etc. That music has the most skilled promotion and advertising which means the industry is placing more of their finances in them. It’s strictly business. On Spotify I’m not talking about the recommended artist page which can appear if I listen to a certain artist. That’s based on the algorithm of what other listeners who listen to that specific artist also listen to. I’m talking about the browse page where the first playlists you see are probably something like ”Hits right now!” or ”Top 50 Viral” which are promoted playlists including promoted artists.

Thanks to the internet as a platform Shoegaze has started spreading again without the help of the industry and critique reviews. New bands have come who are inspired of Shoegaze and are making music influenced by that genre. The musical form of the 90s movement has moved on to being Nu-gaze. Nu-gaze is a term to describe a new wave form of Shoegaze. New bands like Wild Nothing and Deerhunter are infusing the old characteristics with other genres and new producing techniques. Also the original form of the genre is very tied to the period it existed in and is a 90s youth scene more than an actual genre so there’s a reason it’s impossible to be a traditionalist in that sense.

Things are looking up. Literally. Because the media can’t crush these new up-comers with their name-calling or ridiculous criticism of being the ”scene that celebrates itself”.

They’re not consistently gazing at their shoes, they’re gazing at something new.

I’ve made a list of 4 essential albums which includes the so called Holy Trinity of Shoegaze. Imagine of having this family tree where these three bands are the founders and when you go up, the branches are separating into other sections of noisier -, dreamier - and ’indie rockier’  Shoegaze. Then there’s a 6 album list recommended by me which contains traditional Shoegaze and Nu-Gaze. The 4 essentials are a must-know if you want to engage with this scene and understand the stylistic features of the music.  

4 essential albums

1. Jesus and the Mary Chain - Psychocandy

Psychocandy isn’t actually a Shoegaze album more like Noise Pop and avantgardist Proto-Punk but I listed it here as an essential because of the impact this album did have on this genre that was about to come. The guitar lead blurred by noisiness in the whole album was one of the main

inspirations for Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine. Distorted Guitar leads are defining sound of Shoegaze and this album gives a wide spectrum of static sounds like the pixel rain in your old tv.

This 1985 debut album by band lead by two brothers Jim and William Reid is a wonder work of teenage I don’t give a fuck how I play, I just play. They didn’t care about the looks and actually about anything. Their style of playing and making music was messy, sloppy and lazy as they wanted it to be, it showed the rebelliousness they had against falling into the same patterns and roles as other musicians, not wanting to be molded as the rockstars with all the booze and women (even though they did get heavily drunk while performing). It doesn’t really contain the real social statements of punk rock but still has that familiar adolescent rebellion. Psychocandy found inspiration from 60s girl groups and was filled with easy poppy 3-chord progressions which were masterfully hid with all the noise.

Favorite tracks: Just Like Honey, Taste of Cindy, My Little Underground, Never Understand

2. My Bloody Valentine - Loveless  (Holy Trinity, part of the noisy side)

The 2nd studio album they released in 1991 after the Shoegaze pioneering album Isn’t Anything, My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless makes you think of the bright vibrant intensive colors and hues burning out, melting and mixing together. It has a tense feeling of abstraction. it’s expressed in a way of mind you can’t express it, not with words at least. Kevin Shields work seems to come from some what sub-conscious mind that is trying to tell you emotions he has. Not with words but with sounds. The whole album is strongly based only on guitar leads and in the engineering of them. Which is probably why Kevin was obsessed with getting the effects and mixing into perfection. In one of Kevin’s interviews he stated that the problem was in the recording sessions, it was nearly impossible the get even the smallest frequencies heard. This album approximately cost 250 000 pounds, it took 2 years to record and the band visited 9 studios in total. After it’s release Creation Records went bankrupt and there has been a bit pointing fingers between both parties on who’s to blame for the downfall. What ever side your on Loveless is a well-deserved masterpiece and all the trouble that went along with it had a meaning into it. I’ll always imagine though if hypothetically financial problems wouldn’t be the issue would’ve there been even more different sound layers and textures? Would’ve it taken even more time to be released? 2 years or maybe even 5? Well we can tell that MBV the 3rd album took 20 years to be released so maybe we can count from that.

Favorite tracks: Only Shallow, When you Sleep, Sometimes

3. Slowdive - Souvlaki (Holy Trinity, part of the dreamy side)

Souvlaki is personally my favorite Shoegaze album. Brian Eno the godfather of ambient worked on three songs here and you can hear the ambient touch he gave into it. This 1993 released 2nd studio album by Slowdive is beautifully made timeless classic that stands out with it’s capability to unite heart-breaking melancholy with the optimistic hopefulness of the future. This kind of music can only come out from a teenagers or young adults mind. It brings that authenticity of emotionality that carries through the younger years when you haven’t build a thick skin yet. The way how the dreamy and hazy sounds and vocals have been tied together with Neil Halstead’s sensitive song-writing builds up into this climax of a cry baby music, in a good way. Souvlaki is a breakup album between the two band members Rachel Goswell, the guitarist and vocalist and Neil Halstead, the second guitarist, vocalist, producer and song-writer. It’s like reading their open diary posts. Their love of writing, playing and producing music was bigger than the personal issues they had so they decided to push them aside and stay professional. All that was kept unsaid transformed into poetic song-writing. Both of them showed truly artistic behavior while noticing the circumstances they were working on. Unfortunately media hated it and called it a soulless and outdated piece of work. After the 3rd album Pygmalion they were signed off and left to pay the rest of the US tour on its halfway. At least they’re getting now the credit they deserved and are back on touring. 2017 they released a new Self-titled comeback album Slowdive which is highly recommendable also.

Favorite tracks: Alison, Machine Gun, When the Sun Hits, Dagger (I could pick them all though)

4. Ride - Nowhere (Holy Trinity, part of the 90s more typical alternative side)

Ride’s 1990 released debut album is a dynamic work of guitar distortion that creates a crashing wall of sound. Like the waves moving upwards and downwards while growing into spirally holes which speed up and eventually shatter when they hit the seashore. And in that same scenery the sounds of the rumbling wind that pierce your eardrums. That is the main feeling that Nowhere contains. It’s an album focused on high energy. It has more melodic and rhythmic patterning and simple song-crafting compared to the other Shoegaze essentials. Ride was signed to Creation Records in 1989 when Alan McGee found interest in them after one of their demos Jesus and Mary Chain’s Jim Reid had a hold on. They were the few Shoegazing bands that had the opportunity of experiencing commercial success and Nowhere hit 11. place in the UK charts. Andy Bell and Mark Gardener had artistic differences between what style direction the band should move on. Their childish arguments and battling with it eventually broke the band in 1996 and the members Bell, Gardener, Laurence Colbert and Steve Queralt moved on to different projects. Bell for example became the bassist of the Brit-Pop band Oasis. In 2015 they reunited on touring and released a new Album Weather Diaries in 2017. Like many other Shoegaze bands Ride wasn’t and still isn’t a fan of being categorized as a Shoegaze band stating that it’s a boring tag. They still have a place on being one of the most influencing and essential bands in shoegazing history.

Favorite tracks: In a Different Place, Vapour trail, Dreams Burn Down

6 albums i recommend:

1. Asobi Seksu - Citrus (Nu-Gaze)

This 2nd studio album released 2006 by the Brooklyn based band is lyrically a smooth mix of english and Japanese language together with poppy candy-colored tunes flourished with happiness. Citrus is a refreshing take on Shoegaze. Yuki Chikudate’s adorably pitched and pretty vocals are a candy topping on a pile of upbeat guitar leads that are washed out with loads of effects and drums which are equally noticeable. In total it’s a catchy album with some jingly-jangle Nu-Gaze pop-tunes.

Favorite Tracks: Red Seas, Exotic Animal Paradise, Thursday

  2.  Loveliescrushing - Bloweyelashwish (Shoegaze)

Recorded with a simple four-track recorder, 1993 released debut album Bloweyelashwish by Loveliescrushing is an innovative work of otherworldly and precisely structured fuzzy sounds with some interesting choices of additional instruments. Often mistaken of using keyboards Scott Cortes the guitarist and second vocalist used forks, knives, vibrators, paint scrapers and so on to find new creative ways to make his guitar work even more stretched out. His extremely reverbed and lushed guitar leads, thanks to the technical additions, builds up a gothic atmosphere into the sound landscape. The noisy sounds are hectic, evolving and moving towards to this chaotic drone that feels like it’s eating up all the space and becoming a massive blackhole of squeaky static sounds that create a sonic boom. Paired up with softly haunting and beautifully ethereal vocals of Melissa Arpin the duo has made an impressive first album that’s an escape to other world where soothing hypnotizing sounds are waves where you can float on and sink into the bottom of deep ambience.

Favorite Tracks: Moinaexquisitewallflower, Sugaredglowing, Crushing, Darkglassdolleyes

3. Pinkshinyultrablast - Everything Else Matters (Nu-Gaze)

St. Petersburg based band called Pinkshinyultrablast which is named after one of Astrobrite’s albums is a band thats inspiration runs deep in the waters of Shoegaze. 2013 released debut album Everything Else Matters is a strong mix of electronica with extremely delayed vocals of the singer Lyubov Soloveva that bounces between the walls until the ever-growing guitar lead comes in-front of it all with adrenaline pumped kiddy sort of energy. Playful melody and thunderous pop styling of the album makes it one of the many Nu-gaze albums that give a solid ground to it’s genre.

Favorite tracks: Wish We Were, Holy Forest, Umi

4.  Medicine - Shot Forth Self Living (Shoegaze)

The noise bottom of shoegazing, Shot Forth Self Living the 1992 debut album by American band Medicine is definitely not suitable for everyone but which has such an intensive and massive static explosion that it has to be noted. The screeching textures of guitar feedback seem to claw their way through your skin until it’s scratched into burning and flaming red rash caused by the noise extremeness. Medicine was the first American band that got a record deal from the British independent label Creation Records. It has been praised of being one of the closest american acts to My Bloody Valentine but I like to think that they brought their own unique touch to the noisy shoegazing scene and weren’t just a follow-ups. They dig deeper into the distorted, fuzzed almost intolerable noise sounds. I shall warn you: do not listen to this album with maximum level of volume. Especially with headphones, i’m pretty sure your hearing would get a bit damaged.  

Favorite Tracks: Love You Anywhere, To Your Friends, The Powder

5. Lilys - In the Presence of Nothing (Shoegaze)

Lilys is an interesting band considering the stylistic changes it has gone through the years. First album starting of with the My Bloody Valentine inspired Shoegaze where it took its next direction to another spaces of dream pop, then sudden not-expected obscure change to Mod Revival and the latest releases go back to the bands early roots of more psychedelic rock and shoegazing style. Also it consists only one permanent band member Kurt Heasley and ever-changing visiting members. 1992 first studio album In the Presence of Nothing is characteristically clear Shoegaze album. It has that up-front woozy and distorted guitar with vocals hid underneath that are the main basic shoegazing style My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless defined. It might be a wave rider but it has that alternative rock’s charm that stands on it’s own.    

Favorite Tracks: There Is No Such Things As Black Orchids, Elizabeth Colour Wheel, Tone Bender

6. M83 - Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts (Nu-Gaze)

Unlike the other Nu-gaze or Shoegaze picks I’ve selected in here 2003 released 2nd studio album Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts by M83 focuses on heavy robotic synthesizer sounds instead of more organic and analogically produced guitar effects. French Electronic Group assembled together by producers Anthony Gonzales, Nicolas Fromageau, Nicolas Barlet and Morgan Daguenet have concentrated producing more of instrumental tracks than ones backed up with vocals. The small amount of vocals this album has are filtered with effects that create an artificial human sound. Signature move of creating heavily breath-taking and majestic chord-progressions which overflow into softly tuned harmonic static until peacefully vanishing away Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts is a standout piece of electronic noise producing. Last song of the album Beauties Can Die floats gently into this complete silence near middle of the song and rises back up from the dark void with evolving synth strings. Something that I haven’t heard more in music producing. Don’t know if it’s just the cheap quality of my speakers that can’t capture all the frequencies of the sound waves or is it just meant to be that way, it brings a fascinating structure to the song anyways.  

Favorite Tracks: Run Into Flowers, Be Wild, On a White Lake Near a Green Mountain

Last Words:

In this album listing I tried to focus on recommending albums where you can clearly hear the layered guitars. Especially with the Nu-gaze picks where you can tell it’s definitely influenced by shoegazing. This time there was more experimental albums than albums that could reach a pop success. The focus mainly still was on guitar textures and producing. There’s a bit mixed opinions between what is and what can not be considered Shoegaze. I switched up the albums back and forth from the list cause I wasn’t satisfied with the guitar textures and felt like they were too distant from shoegazing after all which is the reason this post took time to come out. Also back a while ago I found this Tumblr post that was a take on one of Kevin Shields interviews where there is revealed that the actual inspiration for shoegazing was drawn from the american grunge scene. I tried to search how legit it was but couldn’t find a source proper enough in my opinion so I decided to stick with the story that media and all the music enthusiasts support. Went through podcasts, interviews with the artists and old concert footage to find more information. I’m obviously not a skillful writer but I focus on giving accurate information and I hope I managed to get to the bottom of this genre in the most simplest way.

Rey

[rastagong-tearoom]

Inspirational Blend #6: Dream Pop

Hello everyone,

Today's post is the very last one in a series where I reveal the inspirations behind Sylvan Disappearance.

Today, I'll be getting away from webcomics, novels and movies to focus on music! It is the first time I attempt to describe something musical in written words, which is difficult enough, but to spice it up, I chose the most nebulous kind of music genre: Dream Pop.

It is difficult to provide a pertinent definition of Dream Pop if you know nothing of it. The corresponding Wikipedia page, citing the AllMusic Guide to Electronica, tells us that it is:

“An atmospheric subgenre of alternative rock that relies on sonic textures as much as melody.”

This is in all good faith as close as we can get to a valid explanation, the key idea being: Dream Pop music means hazy, blurry textures which produce an impression similar to that of dreams. There is no pertinent instrumental or theoretical category, the genre is largely characterised by the subjective texture as it is experienced.

The definition is not exactly wrong in categorising Dream Pop as an alternative rock subgenre, but personally, I would say it is wiser to outright admit that it is not a very-well defined genre, that it comprises artists from very different backgrounds who can appeal to vastly different sensibilities.

Below are a number of Dream Pop artists and albums I particularly enjoy, along with a short blurb explaining what's so dreamy about their music.

In the course of the article, I provide links to listen to the music I mention on Youtube. If you'd prefer to listen to everything on your own, without having to read the article, I also provide the following playlist, which contains all the songs referenced here:

Julee Cruise

I personally fell into Dream Pop through Twin Peaks, that I watched for the first time last summer, at the time of the release of the 2017 Return of the series. It was a deeply moving experience in many ways, but one of the highlights was discovering the music of Julee Cruise. In the world of Twin Peaks, there's one bar and dancing just outside the titular town that is frequented by everyone —teenagers, small crooks and couples alike: the Roadhouse. The regular performer of the Roadhouse is Julee Cruise, a woman who sings love songs very softly. It is rare for the viewer to hear her songs in entirety, but usually, they're soft, slightly kitsch love songs. The scene on which Julee Cruise sings is usually lit in bright purple and red tones, with an iconic red curtain in the background, which produces an eerie, retro atmosphere.

Excerpt from Twin Peaks. Do not look at the comments if you haven't seen the show.

While watching Twin Peaks, it's easy to leave aside Julee Cruise's music, which serves an atmospheric purpose most of the time. However, Floating into the Night (1989) deserves to be listened on its own terms. It is arguably her most famous album, the one co-produced by David Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti, who later had her perform it in various parts of Twin Peaks.

It is a very special album that I like listen from start to finish at nightfall. It is carried by Julee Cruise's singing, always lingering and slow, and by backing guitars and synths, which produces a very retro atmosphere. The albums hides both dark, melancholic moments, and lighter interludes. Depending on the song, the lyrics can be either sensual, pronounced through rose-colored glasses, or on the contrary, abstract, surreal and disturing —much like Twin Peaks.

If Floating into the Night was a dream, then it would be something at the border between nightmare and dreams; at the single moment where subconscious truths emerge from the night, and into your consciousness.

The Cocteau Twins

Most of the time, Dream Pop is strongly associated with its more famous neighbour, shoegazing. There is indeed a lot of overlap in both shoegaze and certain Dream Pop artists, in their common focus on atmosphere, and in their descendence from punk and psychedelic rock.

The work of the Cocteau Twins could be considered to be the most representative of this Dream Pop variant. In the 80s and early 90s, the Scottish trio enjoyed a large success in the UK alternative scene, like other artists under the independent 4AD label.

It is impossible to put in words the Twins' appeal. Fans will always tell you about the voice of Liz Fraser, the vocalist of the trio, but it is difficult to describe it. As for me, the least I could say is that ever since I started listening to them, a year ago, I gained access to a whole new dimension of existence. The Cocteau Twins offered me a new lens to view life through, and made it infinitely richer.

If you listen to them, you'll notice that in many cases, no words can be discerned in the singing of Liz Fraser, because it is not made out of words —it is a texture, something both abstract and yet so very life-like. But there is a great variety in their production. You'll find both haunting, Gothic songs like Alice, dark riffs like Blue Bell Knoll, and upbeat, light clouds like Cherry-Coloured Funk, which is also very beautiful in its breezy, alternative recording from a later album.

Since their breakup in the 90s, the Cocteau Twins have had a large influence on a number of contemporary artists, and gained a cult following. One of my favourite secret hobbies is to read about what the Cocteau Twins mean to their fans, in Youtube comment sections. There are plenty of anecdotes, often dating from the 80s, and they never fail to bring me a smile. If the Cocteau Twins were a dream, they would be a daydream; a soft fantasy which somehow finds a way into your daily life, and enriches it in ways that cannot be expressed.

Beach House

Beach House is a duo of musicians from Baltimore, in the USA. They might be the most popular contemporary band to fall under the Dream Pop umbrella.

On the surface, they're an indie pop band, but Victoria Legrand's soft singing, their simple synth melodies and their poetic lyrics makes their music sound as soft as velvet. They've just released 7, their latest album, but my favourite so far is their previous one, Depression Cherry.

If Beach House was a dream, it would be, in a straightfoward way, a pleasant fantasy dream.

Nicole Dollanganger

Nicole Dollanganger is an independent Canadian singer and songwriter. She has a very distinctive voice, both very soft and high, and writes songs with very simple lofi instrumentals, which clash with her bleak lyrics about emotional abuse, sexual and gun violence. The result is a dreamy, Gothic atmosphere from which transpires a lot of sadness underneath.

I am slightly obsessed with her 2012 album Natural Born Losers.

If she was a dream, Nicole Dollanganger would be an afternoon nightmare: it may start peacefully, but remain asleep long enough, and it will awaken long buried trauma, and leave you with a strange aftertaste upon waking up.

The Cranberries

I'm still sadder than I'd like to admit about the recent passing of Dolores O'Riordan, the lead singer of the Cranberries. I have a lot of memories associated with the band. I know I used to listen to Ode to My Family as a child, without knowing who the band was at all. Later, I got obsessed with Zombie like many teenagers. But it is only many years later that I re-discovered all of their music, and found out that some of their songs sounded like Dream Pop.

The last song I will leave you with is perhaps the best-known from Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? which is the Cranberries' 1993 debut album. It's one of the songs I most listened to while writing Sylvan Disappearance, and its title, lyrics and aesthetics are quite self-explanatory: Dreams.

[futuresandpasts]

Futures & Pasts | MRR #405

From Maximum Rocknroll #405 (February 2017): reissues of two crucial Kiwi post-punk LPs & some truly fractured early ‘80s US DIY; a brilliantly sparse one-off single from a band who should have been the next Young Marble Giants & the latest seething synth-punk export from Australia. 

The waning months of 2016 have yielded two absolutely essential reissues culled from the rich archives of the New Zealand underground. First, there’s X-Features, an anthology LP collecting the two EPs from early ‘80s post-punks the FEATURES, plus an entire side’s worth of material that had never been officially released until now. Where many of the Kiwi DIY agitators of the era drew liberal influence from the FALL’s caustic and jagged sneer (SHOES THIS HIGH or the GORDONS, to name two), the FEATURES seemed more closely aligned with the American strain of intellectual art-punk that had its heyday from from about 1979 to 1982. “City Scenes,” taken from the group’s 1980 debut single, has all of the rubbery, herky-jerky danceability of NYC’s pre-new wave downtown weirdos COME ON, while the desperate, angular dissonance of “Party” and “Mirror” (from their Perfect Features Exposed EP, released later that same year) suggests MISSION OF BURMA transported to the Southern Hemisphere. The group’s avowed love of PUBLIC IMAGE LIMITED is also worth noting, particularly given that like so many of their UK post-punk counterparts, the FEATURES origins can be traced back to relatively straightforward early punk combos (in this case, the PRIMMERS and the TERRORWAYS), before ultimately branching out from what was quickly becoming a stale musical orthodoxy post-‘77 - SEX PISTOLS to PIL, BUZZCOCKS to MAGAZINE, the list goes on. They definitely made the right call with that particular trajectory, and this collection is a total gem. (Flying Nun, flyingout.co.nz)

Then there’s the latest entry in the Hozac Archival series, a reissue of the TERMINALS’ brilliant Uncoffined LP from 1990. The independent music scene in New Zealand in the 1980s has since come to be largely defined by the warm, kaleidoscopic pop hooks of the holy trinity of the CLEAN, the CHILLS, and the BATS, but more so than their contemporaries, the TERMINALS’ jangly melodies were spiked by a sinister organ-accented drone that was most likely the product of a good number of hours spent studying the VELVET UNDERGROUND’s White Light/White Heat album. It’s that thread of somber psychedelia that ties Uncoffined to the bands lurking in some of the darker corners of the early Flying Nun catalog, like the PIN GROUP and SCORCHED EARTH POLICY (both of whom had personnel overlap with the TERMINALS, appropriately enough). But for all of their moodier leanings, the TERMINALS were still very much a continuation of the mid-to-late ‘80s Kiwi-pop tradition - “Frozen Car” is right up there with the CHILLS’ ‘Pink Frost” when it comes to haunting and heartbreaking NZ underground classics, and “Gasoline” reimagines the CLEAN’s most freewheeling and giddy side (think “Tally Ho!”) with an anxious post-punk edge. Buy the damn thing! (Hozac, hozacrecords.com)

On a non-New Zealand reissue tip: the ZOOMERS existed more or less parallel to the council flat-centered DIY racket of the late ‘70s/early ‘80s UK post-punkers and hometapers, but with their own uniquely warped (and, truth be told, heavily drug-addled) approach to crafting true freak sounds perfectly representative of the Louisiana swamps from which they were spawned. They held it together long enough to press a few hundred copies of a three-song single in 1981, then apparently proceeded to toss a good number of them out of the window of a moving car during an acid trip in a move that was easily way more punk than the Sex Pistols memorabilia bonfire stunt that Vivienne Westwood’s son recently pulled. The records that survived that particular joyride have since been fetching triple digit prices, so Mighty Mouth have truly done their good deed in re-releasing the 7”, complete with recreations of the original garishly colored hand-painted sleeves and everything. “From the Planet Moon” has rightfully become an iconic song in the pantheon of Hyped to Death compilations, showing all of the ramshackle art-punk charm of legends like SWELL MAPS, the HOMOSEXUALS or TRONICS, but with the addition of the sort of bent melodic knack that the New South jangle-pop groups who followed  in the wake of the ZOOMERS just a few years later ultimately straightened out. The way they not-so-subtly swipe from LOU REED’s “Vicious” in “You’ll See” is pretty genius, too. (Mighty Mouth, almostreadyrecords.com/mmm.htm)

Not reissued, but someone should really get on it: INDIFFERENT DANCE CENTRE’s entire recorded legacy is limited to an impossibly rare single from 1981, which includes an A-side (“Flight and Pursuit”) that’s basically the best YOUNG MARBLE GIANTS song that YOUNG MARBLE GIANTS never wrote. There’s the same stark, brittle foundation of chilly drum machine beats, ethereally-detached female vocals and steady bass throb, all delicately arranged like a house of cards. On the flip side, “Release” takes those Moxham and Statton-patented hyper-minimalist post-punk vibes and filters them through the kind of gauzy dream-pop atmospherics that 4AD would go on to make their name with post-COCTEAU TWINS, without any of the dour goth pretensions. It’s hard to believe that this 7” appeared just a year after Rough Trade released Colossal Youth - is there a whole secret history of early ‘80s UK-based YOUNG MARBLE GIANTS disciples out there that has eluded me all of this time? I really hope so.

And last but not least, we return to the here and now. I’ll admit that the KLEENEX and SCREAMERS comparisons that were thrown around to describe the new demo cassette from Australia’s SPOTTING were what initially reeled me in, although those reference points are actually, at least to my ears, tenuous at best. Not nearly as loopy and off-kilter as the former, nor as unhinged and terrifying as the latter, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not an absolute scorcher of a tape. If anything, I’d put SPOTTING on the same general axis as the Goner Records-affiliated cohort that’s drawn equally from raucous, no-fi garage and synth-damaged post-punk as of late (think AQUARIAN BLOOD and BLACK ABBA, or if you want to go back a little further, even ANGRY ANGLES). The shouting in an echo chamber vocals, wobbly, distorted synth, and TV static used for sonic texture do give everything a distinct “recorded directly to VHS” feel - maybe that’s where the SCREAMERS analogy really comes in? Future-punk is now; it’s SPOTTING’s world and we’re just living in it. (No Patience, nopatiencerecords.bandcamp.com/album/demo-cs-6)