Evoking pulp, sparks, roxy music and the soundtrack to carnival of souls re-imagined by tangerine dream. Producer Christian Gabel used to be in Bob Hund and that’s the direction this orbits to a degree. I guess it’s what might be referred to as “minimal”. As opposed to orchestral maybe. But this quibbling never dampens the bigger cinematic picture. I used lower case on those band names back there because the evocation is spiritual rather than sonic.

“I Forgot About Songs” recalls “I Wonder Who Is Like This One”, quiet, understated and all the better for a faulty electrical connection. “The Crawler” made me wonder if Annika ever heard Ivor Cutler. Probably (possibly) but you never know, and why would she have? Anyway, the point I’m struggling to make is that this is prose as opposed to mere song. The dialect of her voice is as much an instrument as any other employed to give this material the form that we can hear. I’m not sure if that explains anything at all but I know what I mean. “Raspberry Lips” is reminiscent of Suicide’s “Surrender” and I plan to test the suitability of a segue for any future dj stint down the road.

Closing opus, “This Body” is like an astral cousin to Lou Reed’s Berlin with Christian G playing the part of Bob Ezrin. There’s a song on here called “Berlin” too but I think that’s just a coincidence. Anyway, the strings are equally as chilling as “Sad Song”, channelling a similar, spare, forlorn oddness.

No-one not nowhere is making music that is as beguiling as this. It provides an outpost in which to get gone from the mundane, far, far away from any flavour of the minute. This latest diary entry indicates that there’s no end in sight to the magic that this girl has been weaving for the best part of a decade now.  Maybe, just maybe, the world will catch on to this extraordinary catalogue that has been spooning my sad little heart over these past years.

Further direct evidence of the lady in question being “good with words” can be found in “Texter” a book of lyrics that has just come out via Teg Publishing. It resembles a bible of sorts with its red edged pages and it contains everything but the contents of på engelska for some reason. It’s mostly in Swedish with the exception of the Hello Saferide lyrics but completists will need to grab a copy anyway. 

Hearing the stream was one thing but I urge you to seek out the physical release. This is a rare occasion when rare high expectations were actually met and raised. That seldom if ever happens. At least not with me.

This is soul music. Maybe not as you know it but that's what Hello Saferide is. On the Razzia imprint where they know about such things.

Order your copy here!

RIP - Charles M. Young

Now that The Ramones are all gone – you know I don’t include Mark(y) – there’s a vacancy to be filled and there are some Spanish youngsters called Pantones that understand what makes that old punk rock ticker skip a beat or three. Their recent “¿Quién Quiere Primavera?” Is mostly in their native lingo but that doesn’t stop it hitting all the spots.

They have a grasp of what makes rock’n’roll radio great. It’s all about the tunes and these kids have those and the chops to deliver these rather tasty numbers with a gusto that suggests that all may not be lost after all. They’re making inroads at home but sooner or later, Spain won’t be able to contain them and they’ll explode worldwide. Maybe via a movie soundtrack or some such vehicle but somehow or other Pantones are just too contagious not to start a pop pandemic.

Imagine The Fastbacks having cut “Bark Like A Dog”, Paty Critter’s voice isn’t a shouty yelp. I think I mentioned before that she sounds like a smoky mix of Joey and Susannah Hoffs via Belinda Carlisle. Their take of “The Sign” by Ace of Base is a riot and it suggests that they could make a killer record in "English" should they ever care to do so.

Last year’s finest seasonal single is included and there’s always the hope that it might appear struck into 7” vinyl where it so rightly belongs. One of these days I’ll get to see them play but for now getting acquainted with their Subterfuge Records releases will have to suffice.

I should really upgrade this damn thing. In addition, it would probably be an idea to check some of these sidebar links too. Trouble is that I spend all day, every day (nearly) staring at a screen and the last thing I want to do at home is stare some more. I've semi-successfully weaned myself off TV and taken to falling asleep on the sofa but that seems like a start in not being ruled by technology.

So we'll see. If I had any patience at all, I'd work all of this out but I don't and I haven't. One of these days though it'll all fall into place. Right?

From the new album "The Fox, The Hunter and Hello Saferide" out September 3rd on Razzia.

Check what happens at 3.44...

Thanks to Nick Vahlberg for the heads up on this...

I’ve been considering making a concerted effort to post stuff here more regularly. The whys and wherefores are irrelevant to a large extent and this is me sort of typing out loud. Maybe it’s part of the process to convince myself that it could happen? Who knows? Last night I burned two hours watching the Indyref debate and  was blazing by the end of it. I’ve grown weary of living in these spoof-like times. Life imitates outlandish parody far too often these days and a refugee from Still Game and another from Yes Minister are wheeled on to attempt to convince us of the advantages of their own particular corners. I don't give a rats chuff who you think won on points, both of them blew it. Pure and simple. This was a storyline that even Armando Iannucci wouldn’t try to pull off. I believe that in the next season Boris Johnson becomes Prime Minister of this sceptic isle and much knockabout fun will ensue. Malcolm Tucker is now a Time Lord. What the heck he worry?

 

Irrespective of what happens on September 18^th, aye or nay – this is what will represent us so help us. I’m inclined toward the affirmative in idealistic terms but my died in the DNA cynicism suggests that we’ve been sold down a mighty long river. My taking a chance on the unknown is an adventure however the bigger picture, for future generations is an altogether different story. The gilt might come off the gingerbread pretty quick but it could all turn out fine, in spite of all concerned. The only sure thing is that it’s a gamble. Noble in theory, likely to be hijacked by devious bastards in reality but perhaps not, I’d genuinely like to be proven wrong on this one but it could be the reason I've been needing to  

Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose like the song says so lets break out that blue and white face paint and get this thing on the road.

From Brother BB Quattro...

At last! A dream come true. Joining 100 years of careers dedicated to crunchy pop'n'roll! Two years ago it would've been a hundred years, right now it's 100+, but who cares! Here it goes:

THE RUBINOOS (USA) 40+
THE SURFIN' LUNGS (UK) 30+
THE YUM YUMS (Norway) 20+
SUZY & LOS QUATTRO (Spain) 10+

Thursday Oct 2nd, EL SOL (Madrid)

Friday Oct 3rd, FOUR SEASONS (Castellón)

Saturday Oct 4th, La2 de APOLO (Barcelona)

Advance tickets for 18€ on sale by the end of the week (stay tuned). This whole thing is a bloody GIFT for any fan of the genre, but it's also a FINANCIAL SUICIDE for everyone involved, so we'd appreciate your presence and sharing all the news about this festival. Such a legendary bill would only happen once in a lifetime, and this deserves a sold-out on each one of the dates.

There will be the chance to buy a 40€ ticket for the 3 shows. We know there's many people who will want to follow this itinerant festival. There will also be the chance to buy a seat on a vehicle that will make the same route as the bands, so if you wanna come over, party your ass off and forget about driving, we are working on this option too.

Not a bad plan for early October, huh?!?