Blog: the blackened air

2nd ep from kill laura, another belter. 12" released by klee in 1994? get.

second single from frog records, and i remember really rating this at the time, but now i'm struggling to get past the singer's voice. still, some nice elevate/slint style instrumentation. the drummer's next band was the wonderful ganger. 7" released by frog in 1994. get.

first and only 7" by shiva affect, featuring an alternative version of the title track to the one that appeared on the album. if you've never heard this band, then hopefully the info that the record was produced by graham sutton of bark psychosis should tell you all you need to know. 7" released by frog in 1994. get.

first post in a month and first mixtape in a while too. these are all relatively recent chillwave-ish songs. chillwave is obviously a horrific term, but there is a certain reverby thread that runs through these. lie back and think of the jesus & mary chain. ::: wild nothing - cloudbusting ::: twin sister - lady daydream ::: washed out - belong ::: crystal stilts - shake the shackles ::: still corners - don't fall in love ::: la sera - devils hearts grow gold ::: beach house - i do not care for the winter [...]

brilliant third (?) single from nottinghamshire "miner" mc pitman... 7" released by son records in 2003. get.

limited to just 50 copies, this is an early collaboration between lee stokoe and matthew bowers, 3 pieces of superb atmospheric noise. i remember lee telling me at the time that he liked to lie down and let the noise wash over you, revealing itself in layers, and i can totally see what he means from this. i subsequently offered to release a 7" by the duo, but sadly the kylie empire collapsed before this happened. i still have the master though so perhaps i should post it up here. tape released by matching head in [...]

i've posted a couple of tracks from this before (in 2006!), but never ripped the whole thing, so here it is in all its glory. this is still one of the best compilations i've ever heard, partly because it contains some fine songs, but mainly for the spirit and energy it conveys. i bought it from a then rare visit to rough trade in covent garden and was immediately inspired to do it myself. the whole concept is so rough & ready, it was hard to listen to it and not want to have a go. [...]

this is the first thing i ever released, and in time-honoured tradition it's a mixed bag, with some bands you probably know (hood, boyracer, 70 gwen party) and tons that (perhaps rightfully) you don't. listening back now for the first time in a long time, on balance i'd say it's not bad for a first effort. not great, but not terrible either. a bit like the label as a whole. this was ripped from the master tape, but still very much lives up to its title. tape released by kylie productions in 1995. [...]

i was sent this tape to review in '93 (i think), and i liked it straight away. i don't know anything about the band except they're from devizes in wiltshire (uk), and as far as i can tell this tape comprises all the songs they released. meller welle produkte released a 7" with 3 of the songs, plus i included the title track in my first ever release, "deliberately lo-fi" (which i'll get round to ripping eventually). anyway, they have a very early 90s sound - think early bark psychosis, slowdive, butterfly [...]

excellent first offering from cassette boy, a cheeky cut & paste job lampooning the melodrama surrounding the death of england's rose. 7" released by barry's bootlegs in 2000. get.

the internet barely remembers this band, which is a shame. mind you, i found a review i'd written years ago of a carter usm gig that told me i'd seen goty supporting, and i don't remember them either. hm. i had the first 2 girl of the year singles, and liked them both, but somehow managed to misplace them somewhere, possibly about the house, possibly in a skip. anyway, i got this (3rd?) one off ebay recently... 7" released by badlands in 1995. get.

the debut - and possibly only solo - release from want, an indie pop from trondheim, norway. also the first release on mykdroner, a 7" only label that embraced norway's noise and indie scenes beautifully. 7" released by mykedroner in 1996. get.

as far as i can tell this is a one-off collaboration between then-prominent-on-the-4-track- cassette-scene bands orange cake mix and beanpole. the result is some slightly muddy, and in hindsight not terribly exciting lo-fi indie pop - the type the scene was awash with at the time. 7" released by mykedroner in 1997. get.

first only release from the label and possibly a case of putting all your eggs in one basket, given the quality of bands featured, featuring as it does paste, refrigerator, the keatons and kennedy, plus snog 6 - who were never heard of again. 7" released by happy dog rekordz in 1993. get.

the only other record i have by catapult, maybe not quite so good but still up there. anyone have the architecture album they did? 7" released by clairecords in ?. get.

superb one-sided 12" of shoegazey indie rock. i know nothing about this band, but i like this record a lot. 12" released by bbptc in 1997. get.

i don't know anything about this band except they're from norway and this was (i think) their first release. no idea what everything else they did was like, but i like this off-kilter indie pop. 7" released by mykedroner in 1998? get.

the a-side is rather forgettable plinky plonk, but the flip does a pretty good impression of people like ellis island sound, state river widening, etc. 7" released by mykedroner in 1998. get.

unique southern bluegrass stylings from south carolina. eat this, mumford. 7" released by bbptc in 1997? get.

70 gwen party's last record. noam noam noam. 7" released by snape in 1997. get.