Random Record: These Monsters ‘…are ruining our childrens lives’

These Monsters are a local Leeds band who began as post-rock and have evolved into something more along the lines of punk. I believe this was their debut EP and is an extremely impressive piece of work. There’s no indication about which side is which so I picked a side and went from there.

During the record I researched the band a bit to see if I could find track titles and stumbled upon their bandcamp page. The EP is called …are ruining our childrens lives and as it turns out I had luckily started with the beginning of the album. (N.B. since writing this review the bandcamp page for this EP has been deleted but you can listen here.)

These Monsters integrate huge soundscapes amongst distortion, clean but heavily effect laden guitars and a jazzy saxophone melody line, like the icing on the cake. The band have since evolved into something a lot more punk-esque and seem to have lost the delicacy of post-rock, especially with the addition of vocals.

I is for Inspiral Carpets ‘Devil Hopping’

Greater Manchester based Inspiral Carpets were an active band from 1983 to 1995 before reforming in 2003. They produced inoffensive alternative, indie rock which was very much a part of the ‘Madchester’ scene during the late 80s to early 90s, alongside bands such as The Happy Mondays, The Stone Roses and The Fall.  Devil Hopping was Inspiral Carpets’ final album before their split, released in 1994.

Sadly I didn’t get off to a good start with Devil Hopping as first track ‘I Want You’ really didn’t sound that good. It had a really tinny, headache worthy quality that I gathered was caused by the hi-hat and cymbals. Unfortunately these were relentless and after a while nearly ended up distracting me from the song. However, the indie rock chorus is relatively catchy and got me singing along by the end of the track. The lyrics are relatively simple: “I want you, Right now, And forever.” but happily fits their musical style.

Guest Post: The Plasmatics ‘New Hope For The Wretched’

Forgotten Vinyls: I never thought I would include guest posts on this blog but when I read Karin-Renate van der Graaff‘s review of the Plasmatics album New Hope For The Wretched I knew I’d have to include it. I’m all for powerful female frontwomen and surprisingly, before reading Karin-Renate’s review, I had never heard of Wendy O’ Williams. What a woman, to say the least. 

The amazing pictures are all done by Karin-Renate herself and I hope you enjoy reading her review as much as me!

Last weekend, I nosed about in my mom’s records. I picked a random record, and played it. I was stunned! The record was New Hope For The Wretched by the Plasmatics. A band with a female singer, called Wendy O’ Williams. The record has some brilliant punk tunes that rock big-time! The picture below shows two New Hope for the Wretched albums. To vinyl collectors this might be fun, you can see more vinyl-colours and other labels here.

H is for PJ Harvey ‘4-Track Demos’

I’m going to start this review by admitting a huge error on my behalf: initially I though PJ Harvey was a man. Turns out I’m wrong and was very much mistaken.

However, me mistaking PJ Harvey‘s gender actually got me wondering on why she had gone for her initials and surname, rather than calling herself Polly Jean Harvey, for instance. It led me to think of a similar example in the case of the author JK Rowling who was advised by her publisher to conceal her first name in order for her books to appeal to young boys. (N.B. Interesting article here featuring other female authors who have done the same: Female Authors with Male Pseudonyms: A Practice of the Past?).

Did PJ Harvey do the same in order for her music to appeal to a wider audience? It is commonly known that the music industry is male dominated, so maybe this was a clever technique by PJ to avoid people jumping to conclusions before listening to her music. I’d hope it wasn’t and that she, unlike JK Rowling, did not get pressurised to disguise her gender.

Music is music and gender, in my opinion, should be cast aside when judging an album or piece. I could write an essay on this, but this is neither the time nor the place. However, it’s an interesting thought and one to reflect on and I’d also love to get PJ Harvey‘s opinion on this.

G is for Garbage ‘Version 2.0’

Female fronted, electronic, alternative rock band Garbage first came onto the scene in 1994; 18 years later the four piece are still performing and even released their fifth studio album earlier this year. Version 2.0 was their second album released 1998 that reached multi-platinum status worldwide.

The album is a mix of rock, electronic and pop boisterousness. They remind me of a poppier version of No Doubt, but without the ska. Personally I reckon they were classified as ‘alternative’ merely because they clearly don’t fit into one single genre. Incorporating so many elements of different musical styles into their sound would have left the band standing alone, however this is precisely what made them so successful.

F is for Faces ‘First Steps’

Faces only lasted for 6 years, from 1969 to 75, producing 4 studio albums during that time; the first of which was this one: First Steps. They reformed with a different line up in 2009 and just this year they were inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame.

Ronnie reading how to play the guitar.

Opening your début album with a cover isn’t something many (if any) bands do. However it is a Bob Dylan cover, but still. High pitched guitar opens ‘Wicked Messenger’ and launches into country rock. Rod Stewart’s vocals are instantly recognisable singing the biblical lyrics.

F is for Faith No More ‘We Care A Lot’

Faith No More are an 80s proto-metal band hailing from San Francisco California. They weren’t just your average 80s heavy band though, as they integrate elements of funk into their powerful statement of rock. We Care A Lot was the five-piece’s debut album that kicked off their approximately 20 year long career. (However that’s not including their reformation in 2009.)

Side One opens with album title track ‘We Care A Lot’, which unfortunately skips every so often. Luckily this doesn’t detract from the song. It begins with a stark drum beat and bassline, providing the foundations for the anthemic song. In contrast, ‘The Jungle’ opens with a wave of football-like chanting gang vocals that’s shortly followed by the main riff, displaying the band’s metal elements. Annoyingly the vocals are almost unintelligible, but this is perhaps due to the fact that they fade in and out; almost as if they were running, shouting through a jungle.

E is for Echo & The Bunnymen ‘Porcupine’

I was attracted to this record for two reasons. Firstly: the beautiful cover photo and secondly: the tiny review written in minuscule handwriting, on a sticker in the top right hand corner.

“Hopeless. Only the singles ____ ½ do the job, + who needs ‘The Back of Love’ when you’ve got Teardrop Explodes? Great cover though.”

This person obviously didn’t think much of Porcupine and went out of their way to let everyone else know about it. The Teardrop Explodes turns out to be another post-punk/neo-pyschedelic 70s band. Singer Ian McCulloch of Echo & The Bunnymen, before forming Echo, was in many bands with original Teardrops member Julian Cope. However due to their ego clashes both formed separate bands that were probably very similar.

The record is also labelled E1, which means it’s probably the first ‘E’ record the Union Music Library ever bought. Just a shame they couldn’t have got a better one.

Random Record: Blondie ‘The Best of’

The Best of Blondie was Blondie‘s first compilation and went multi-platinum twice in both the UK and the US, which I think works out as 8 million in total. Correct me if I’m wrong! Blonde bombshell Debbie Harry is, arguably, the original queen of punk, pop and rock, and front woman of one of the biggest American new wave bands.

Note the hand of Harry’s partner, guitarist Chris Stein. His eyes are unquestionably saying: “Hands off. She’s mine.”

Kicking off with a remix of single ‘Heart of Glass‘, a song that featured originally on the band’s third album Parallel Lines and alone reached platinum and gold statuses. The huge hit is followed by less well-known song ‘Denis‘, that interestingly is sung in a mixture of French and English. Perhaps this was done purposely to appeal to a wider audience? As it certainly helped to attract a more international following and raise the band’s profile further.

Random Record: Pink Floyd ‘Relics’

During Pink Floyd‘s three decade long career the progressive rock band released fourteen studio albums, three live albums and eight compilations. So, if I asked you to name a Pink Floyd album, what would you say? Remember, you can’t go wrong with twenty-five records to choose from. And be honest now, don’t just say Relics because I’ve named it in the title!

I’m guessing the majority of you will have named the iconic: The Dark Side of the Moon. Or even Animals, The Wall or Wish You Were Here. Maybe you’d have also said Atom Heart Mother, you know, the one with the cow on the cover. Unless you were a hardcore fan I would have been very surprised if you’d have known Relics.