The Five music thing again for whatever it might be worth. Five? Again? Already? Five more? Stats? Maybe Six? Do we need a new editorial yet? Is there a point? Is there any point? Was there ever? What do points make? Again and again and again (and again). Five more, same as last time (and the time before) five (or six) more musical things and yeah, we did say all this last week and the weeks before and blah blah blah while the whole world window and no, we never do and the proof of the pudding and all that proof reading. When we started this thing, oh never mind, it doesn’t matter and like we did ask last time, does anyone bother reading the editorial? Does anyone ever actually look down the rabbit hole or is it all just method acting? Cut to the chase, we could just cut ‘n paste the editorial from the last time, there’s loads of music further down the page, well five or so pieces of music that have come our way in the last few days and cut to the damn chase, who needs an editorial? Who needs any of this? Who needs it, who needs it, Cynical what? Same thing every day? Here’s your five for today

Five musical things then

1: Stats – Now this one build in a rather stylish way, let it build now, let it take you with it like you’d let Sparks take you, this is a beautiful thing but you need to let it take you with it, let it own you, what a swan song

“Ahead of our farewell gig on Nov 19th at The Lexington (London), here’s the last single from the Deluxe Edition of ‘Powys 1999’, which also comes out out Nov 19th on Memphis Industries – this one is a look back almost exactly 5 years ago.

‘Own It’ is one of three songs on the Deluxe Edition revived from our deleted 2016 self-release ‘Temping’. This album was about the precariousness I’d felt for a long time, and saw in my friends and all around the city. For years my life hung from strings of temp office jobs, crappy flats and unstable relationships, none of it taking on any meaningful shape. I felt thin, insubstantial and fragile, like everything I did was temporary. This seemed like a common feeling then, probably even more so now.

To embody it, amazing tailor Nina Penlington made me a see-through suit out of organza, shown on the cover photo by Robin Persona At my temp jobs I often had to wear suits, which felt like costumes I was transparently failing to fill. They represented in fabric the permanence, purpose and prosperity that I lacked. We made a hundred ‘Temping’ tapes, launched at the Lexington, and had the songs online for a couple of years, then one day I deleted them. ‘Own It’ was one of the best: we recorded it in live sessions at Real World Studios with our dear friend @alistaton, who mixed the song after @antwhiting and I finished the production back in London”.

More details here or via the Bandcamp thing just down there. (and we should say this was all brough to our attention by artist Emma Harvey)

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2: Duquette Johnston – a taster from the new album “The Social Animals”, out February 25 on Single Lock Records, a fine set of 90’s alt rock flavours, that Teenage Fan Club, Big Star, Dinosaur Jr feel. he was a member of Verbena, a band we rather liked back there and although this is nothing revolutionary and you might say it could be a tiny bit retro, it feels rather good this morning (maybe something ot do that 30 years ago last weekend we were experiencing Nirvana at the Astoria and selling a shed load of zimes outsice before heading over to Camden Palace for a midnight performance from Daisy Chainsaw) or maybe just because this is jsut an easy on the ears slice of goodness?

The background

“On his first new album in nearly a decade, Duquette Johnston has partnered with producer, John Agnello ((Waxahatchee, Dinosaur Jr) and an all-star cast of players including Sonic Youth’s Steve Shelley to create his boldest and most powerful music to date.  By his own admissionJohnston has lived a “wild, incredible life,” but even that might be underselling the three-act 25-year journey that’s led to the Alabama musician’s new album The Social Animals; out February 25th on Single Lock Records. 

A founding member of the breakout 90s indie band Verbena, Johnston toured with acts such as The Strokes and Foo Fighters before leaving the band somewhere around their first major label deal (instead joining Juliana Hatfield in a reunited Blake Babies). In the years that followed (“I thought I had to live in misery to create great art”), a drug charge began Johnston’s treacherous cycle through a prison system more focused on “zero tolerance” than recovery and rehabilitation. Emerging against the odds with a resolute optimism and renewed focus on community, Duquette returned to Birmingham, Alabama  to help bring the arts back to a historic part of town that had seen better days…Seemingly insurmountable challenges would hit Duquette again, but this time he would be ready.

The result of Johnston’s expanded creativity now takes shape in his new album which reverberates with hopefulness and an awe for the mysteries of our dandelion existence. “I was holding on for one more year to run / so I started closing eyes and seeing sun,” Johnston sings  on “Year To Run.” He explains, “Coming out of darkness, choosing my family and how we want to live about the noise and demands of this world. Written in the deep hours of nighttime, this song is finding the good. Being your own Light when there isn’t one anywhere else.”

The Social Animals came together over the course of an eight year period, during which
Duquette’s wife developed a life-threatening condition after giving birth to the couple’s first child through a complicated pregnancy. It took everything the family had to pick up the pieces…emotionally, financially, spiritually…but leaning on the lessons of past adversities, Duquette had what he calls “a radical break from the old way of living and looking at life.” It was at that moment he returned to music, and came up with the idea for Club Duquette and further dedicated his life to service in his beloved Birmingham community. Pulsating with an unwavering hopefulness, The Social Animals feels more urgent at this moment than it ever could have when Johnston began writing the album nearly a decade ago.

In bringing the new album to life, Johnston drew from his indie rock past to unite a remarkable group of collaborators, featuring Steve Shelley (drums), Emil Amos (bass), David Swatzell (guitar) and Seth Brown (keys).

Ultimately, The Social Animals is a way for Duquette to bring as much good to others as he can, “If my story and my experiences can open other people’s eyes, then everything I’ve done is worth it.”

3: The Weird Era – Recorded at East Brighton Park, June 2021 and just released s othey say. We kno absolutely nothing about the who, where, when or why of this one, it jsut floated passed on a social media feed a day or two ago…

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4: L’Rain – “Brooklyn-born and based experimentalist and multi-instrumentalist Taja Cheek, aka L’Rain, is mapping the enormity of how to change. Her forthcoming second album, Fatigue, demands introspection from ready ears with an array of keyboards, synths, and hauntingly delicate vocals that create a genre entirely her own. Cheek has dipped her toes in every corner of the arts, through her work at some of the most prestigious art institutions in NYC and collaborations with the likes of Naama Tsabar, Kevin Beasley, Justin Allen, and others in contemporary arts…. read more here L.Rain is at London’s Cage Oto this Monday 15th November, that link you jsut pasted will tell you more…

And a bit more….

5:The Osiris Club – The latest album from long time Organ favourites The Osiris Club is finally released this week, here’s a new video. Read more about the new album here for we have spoken about it and played it on the (proper FM) radio a time or two already – ORGAN THING: A prog rock rabbit hole, The Osiris Club, Cheer Accident, Birth, The Mercury Tree, PoiL and…. You do have to

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Dod you catch last weekend’s radio show?

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This did get a little mellow around here this time, this did pass our way this week as well though, timeless goodness and well there’s always wholeseome goodness and healthy punk rock thought be found via those loonies from the bus station and thier Bandcamp page…

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And while we’re here, we’ll jsut leave this parked for you just bavuase this remider past through our social media as well this week and these things should not be forgotten, The events of the Battle of Beanfield soundtracked by Ian Dury’s Itinerant Child.