More of that Something something something some, more albums, three more down, maybe more, six, we are still picky though, you know the policy in terms of what we choose to review, still cherry picking and we never asked for any of this…

Bed Maker – Bed Maker (Dischord) – I never asked for any of this, should have done though, this is rather good. This is kind of wired, wired in the right way, two left feet, urgent post something or other, late afternoon, watching the rainbows all round the room. Amanda MacKaye on very very (very) colourful vocals, singing in that gloriously way of Johnny Rotten, the man might have lost the plot now, but hey, that’s a compliment not an insult. The whole thing sounds wired, the guitars, the vocals, the words, the rhythms, the relentlessness of it all (the folding down of the top sheet and the fluffing of the pillows) and these are all a good things as is all the leading on and the not keeping it to ourselves for a little longer. Awkwardly good, kind of angular, kind of barbed, they’re a four piece from Washington D.C that kind of sound like a post punk four piece from Washington D.C should, they kind of sound like they have their own way of doing things and what did you hear? Spiky, forceful, the chemistry is immediate, and she never ever ever asked for any of it, she never lets up, none of them do, impressive…

Bandcamp / Dischord

Babe Report – Did You Get Better (Exploding in Sound) – Rushing out of Chicago but you probably knew that already, then again you might not? Has word reached this side of the water yet? They’ve been releasing rather urgent singles and EP over the last couple of years, this is there recently released debut album. Ten righteously raw songs, raw, tough, urgently good, not too rough mind you, this ain’t no half-baked set of demo recordings packaged up as an album, this is the real raw deal and if it is D.I.Y then positively so. Apparently they first existed as a lockdown-inspired duo, and became a fully fledged four-piece, with Ben Grigg and Emily Bernstein expanding their line-up to include Peter Reale on drums and Mech on bass, we’re told what we have here on this album is a bigger and more accomplished version of the band than we’ve heard to-date and that “the album boasts a woozy concoction of 90s-drenched guitars and melodic grooves”. Did they get better? Well we’ve only tasted a handful of tracks prior to this and well, if they were good back there, they’re very good now.

An album recorded over just one weekend in November 2023, it certainly doesn’t sound like it, there’s a rawness but not too raw, not too rushed, actually, this is just right, no one should ever let this band into a studio for more than a weekend, this is how an album and a band should sound, this is proper production, this is a sense of the real band right there like they’re playing in your room, in your face, right there standing on your toes and delivering it. Actually that opening to that first track sounds like Cay, that is sadly obscure of me now I know, it is also meant as high compliment, damn, Cay were good! I guess these Chicago noisemakers have no idea who Cay were, they probably share the same influences though, all those 90s alt rock guitars bands who were revolving around the world of Sonic Youth, Yo La Tengo and such. Do like the flurry here, the noise, the energy and the attitude, there’s more to Babe Report than just noise or attitude though, there’s craft here, depth, more than just the obvious colours used to paint what is a rather tasty debut album and a suggestion that there should be a lot more to come… Rather recommended. Hang on I like this bit on their label’s website where we’re told the album is “part snapshot of the band’s singular and curious perspectives but also by their surroundings in Jefferson Park, and area that is rife with inspiration. “We practice on Wednesdays, when the hyper-local Nadig Newspaper is delivered. We invariably spend the first few minutes of practice reviewing the weekly, idiotic antics of our Alderman,” the band says, while also citing “women driving cars with manual transmissions, the cult of fame and personality, and dreams of throwing your severed body parts into the ocean” as part of the album’s idiosyncratic nature…” 

Bandcamp

2: Scott Collins – Purple Pain – “Nashville musician Scott Collins is one half of the rock duo The Smoking Flowers (with his wife, Kim) and is also known as the slashing guitarist in soulful garage outfit Justin and The Cosmics (fronted by his brother, Justin). Here, after years of playing counterpoint in two of Nashville’s “most feared (and beloved) bands”, Collins has planted his flag on the moon with a long-awaited project entirely his own”. Now I’m sure we’ve seen this story somewhere before, does he know Avery Barkley or Deacon Claybourne? Didn’t he almost sign with Rayna Jaymes? He does kind of sound like Scott Collins would fit in there with his slightly left-field take on alternative mellowness that comes with a colourful bite or two here and there. I know nothing of him or the bands he’s involved in, the link to his album just turned up in our in inbox this morning as these things do. He’s got some drama in there, none of his songs are obvious, that is a good thing, something different here, from the heart, the man has soul, there might even be a hint of Prince’s creativity in there with that rawness of voice and the feeling that comes over, Scott Collins is no Prince but then who is? What we have here are a strong set of heartfelt well crafted left-field alternative singer-songwriter rock songs that have something. Not all of it grabs these ears but enough of it does to make it worth covering here (and you know we are picky about what we cover on these fractured pages, we don’t have time to waste on things that aren’t worth your time).

Bandcamp

Die Verlierer – Notausgang (Mangel Records) – Die Verlierer’s second album Notausgang (apparently it means emergency exit), is a pin point set of takes on late 70s/early 80’s Germanic post punk new wave, actually it feels nostalgically good although I’m going to have to trust they’re not singing about the wrong kind of things, it is all in German. Actually some of it is early 80s post punk, some of it is late 70s punk rock, some of it is very German, some of it is kind of American flavoured, now and again they almost touch on US Hardcore as they take on fifty shades of (post) punk whatever and still come out sounding very much like that same rather urgent band all the way through.  Actually after a number of plays you kind of start to think there’s a deeent mini album to be cherry picked here but then you could say that about most albums… 

Bandcamp

Henrik Meierkord – Visitors to Erinnerungen (Audiobulb) – Artwork by Jeff Düngfelder (aka Ümlaut), needed to say that first, strong piece of cover art, album art is always important.  Henrik Meierkord and his remixers – for this is a set of remixes of Henrik’s work, of one piece of work, Erinnerungen – sets us up again and again to go somewhere and then in the most positive of ways, never takes us there, he/they just keeps us in some kind of gloriously understated sense of suspended animation, just hovering there, almost throbbing, almost standing on the runway (almost) waiting to take off but not the in terms of loud jet blasts or anything that demanding, this is something far more warming, far more gentle, something far more cerebral, relaxing. This is the latest musical exploration from renowned cellist and composer Henrik Meierkord who has teamed up with peers to revisit, review and remix his track Erinnerungen. Each artist is invited to bring their own memories and explore an interplay with Henrick’s original form.twelve slow moving versions in all (although it never feels like we’re listening to the same piece twelve time, these are rewarding evolutions).  The whole experience almost feels spiritual, out there somewhere, floating, gently moving (or hardly moving), rather beautiful, at times, most of the time actually, minimalist, always warm though, as full bodied as it needs to be. Slowly moving instrumental pieces of composition –    

“Henrik Meierkord’s music has been praised for its emotional depth and technical brilliance, with Erinnerungen being no exception. Henrik Meierkord is taking a fresh approach to the composition by collaborating with other artists and reimagining it in a whole new light. The result is an innovative blend of classical and electronic elements that brings new life to Erinnerungen while still staying true to its core essence”.

“Henrik Meierkord is a Swedish musician based in Stockholm, experimenting with different genres. With the cello as his main instrument, he also masters viola, double bass, guitar and numerous other instruments. As a composer, Henrik creates vivid, full-bodied pieces that draw as much from ambient music’s meditative qualities as they do from humanity’s rich history of classical styles. As a cellist, he injects emotion that is both relatable and intimate, across a diverse range of musical collaborations. With a work rate that is nothing short of astounding, Henrik continues to explore every possible expression of human feeling, from the heart-wrenching to the transcendental. And yet, a lightness and curiosity run throughout his process, with the sole aim to bring true benefit to the listener. His keywords in making music are pause, vacuum of time, the unconscious, consciousness, dream, meditation, a way of avoiding direct thoughts and reality”.

Visitors to Erinnerungen is a beautiful album, twelve gentle rewarding reworkings of an original theme, an original place and space, well worth your time and more

Bandcamp

London Underground – Live At The 19th Dream Of  Dr. Sardonicus Festival 2023 (Fruits de Mer) – Released back in January of this year, so we’re not really sure why the press release for this has turned up in our inbox this week and without as much as a hello, and from a label, even though we covered their releases in a positive way back there, a label we’ve not heard from for years and years, kind of how it works here though, things just turn up without a hint of explanation or indeed a hello or a thank you, just more not very polite demands for our time and attention along with a Bandcamp or Spotify link (at least back in the day you’d get the actual record in the actual post). 

What have we got here then? Nice version of Midnight Cowboy, little upbeat maybe, the melancholic darkness of the John Barry original kind of lost, surely that melancholia was the point or have I missed the psychedelic juxtaposition? Are the Italian band being ironic? Not a patch on Faith No More’s very ironic version, actually now I think about it, is the name of the Italian outfit ironic? London Underground? Mind the gap and watch out for the Tube Nutters Club on the Circle Line (yes they did go round in circles clutching can of Special Brew), the next train is for Piccadilly Circus and the bright lights of somewhere 1969? What we have here is some kind of more than decent instrumental organ driven slightly acid-flavoured psychedelic easy listening from the rather strangely named band from Italy, it very very (very) retro – sounds like Fruits de Mer are still doing pretty much what they were doing back there when we last encountered them, I’d guess as a label they’re still pretty much dealing in that authentic mix of retro psychedelia laced with hints of old school progressive rock, krautrock, acid-folk, touch of spacerock, they always were pretty good at their chosen thing, the kind of label you could trust in terms of a certain sound and style, an identity.   

“London Underground were formed in December 1998 in Florence by Gianluca Gerlini (Hammond, piano, Mellotron), Daniele Caputo (vocals and drums) and Marco Piaggesi (bass), although the origins of the band stretch back to the classic Italian progressive rock band Standarte (if you don’t already know it, please check out Standarte’s version of ‘Queen St. Gang’ for starters).
The band began by recreating the British underground/psychedelic sound, with a touch of 60s rhythm & blues, based around the Hammond sound that Brian Auger and George Fame are synonymous with; even the band name was intended to pay homage to the amazing music that was played in London during the late 60’s. Twenty-five years on, and despite a few changes of personnel along the way, Gianluca and London Underground remain true to that sound” – so not ironic then, just healthy homage, and yes, they do do their chosen thing very very (very) well indeed, that at times sublime instrumental organ driven 60s flavoured thing that does sound like their wheels are on fire and that now and then during the best bits nod towards the new-fangled progressiveness of band like The Nice. hey, if you’re in the mood then London underground deal in some mellow Hammond Driven Mellotron flavoured atmospheric 60s psych pop rock then London Underground do it well, I can’t say it massive works for me, respect them though, clearly a labour of love and they do positively let the sounds of the instruments do all the work, they thankfully don’t feel the need to show off.     

Bandcamp

Now, seeing as Standarte were just mentioned in the London underground bit…