Slowdive - The Ballad of Sister Sue

Slowdive: Just For A Day

In these days I am probably going to post some shoegazing bands, and I'll start today with one of my favourite, Slowdive, and with their best effort, the debut album "Just for one day". The so-called shoegazing scene was a brief flame in the history of music (or UK music), that burned out at really fast pace mainly because not even its top band (My Bloody Valentine) achieved success, and partly because -or at least that's what I think- there were too many copycat versions in the biz. Unlike these, Slowdive showed some peculiarities, and de facto survived the fisrt 90's carnage of these bands, going on under another name (with 3/5 of Slowdive they chose the new name Mojave 3, and they are still alive and kicking, though they have been through varios shifts and changes: Neil Hamstead became the lead vocalist, and they started anew as an almost country-rock ensemble, only to return these days with their new LP "Puzzles like you" to a more pop-rock oriented thing).
Sure, still there are many resemblances between this album and MBV's ones, but it is also hard to think of Kevin Shields' band playing something like Ballad of sister blue, a dense and vaporous waltz, or Erik's song (a minimalist instrumental drone), an hommage to XI-XX century pianist and composer Erik Satie.

INFO:
Slowdive on Wiki.

Just For A Day

Julie's Haircut

Julie's Haircut - Satan Eats Seitan

I'm posting this because I really think Julie's Haircut are a hell of a band and not enogh people know them (plus this videoclip is great and in fact it has been also awarded). So watch the song and download these couple of songs from their last album "After dark my sweet", and if you feel like it, go see their site and spread the word, okay?

PS
The surprise link is for David Lynch fans this time (but he talks about the Web!)

Download:

Open Wound
Purple Jewel
Afterdark

Retribution Gospel Choir: Summer EP

A short record today: The Retribution Gospel Choir are Andy Sparhawk (Low's singer and composer) side project (he obvously plays guitar, while Eric Pollard is on drums and Eric Pollard is on bass, who also plays in Low) that he sometimes takes on tour with his main band.
This EP is one out of the two they have recorded and sold during their concerts, and includes two songs (Hatchet and Breaker) that will appear on Low's next album ("Drums and guns") as well.
What about this EP? The first track (El coro) is a great improvisation-noise piece, the two songs from Low's repertoire are one (Breaker) not very different from its "Drums and guns" version, whereas the other (Hatchet) is more stripped-down and acoustic, and the last song from this "Summer Ep" (Body electric) has the feel of some old Low songs, maybe something out of "Trust", but with a shimmering dissonant guitar solo at he end.

PS
The surprise link for all the West Wing fans out there.

Download:

01 - El Coro
02 - Breaker
03 - Hatchet
04 - Body Electric

By the way, the new band formed by Nick Cave on streaming here on the right is named Grinderman (and not Gingerman...which would be a bit of a laugh).

Lullatone: Plays pajama pop pour vous

Some time ago I had promised some jap electronic music, so here it comes: Lullatones' new album, "Plays pajama pop pour vous", a band that you may already know if you have been visiting this blog for a year or so: tender music-box-like music, with girlish tunes and glokenspiel filling in the elctronic soft beats. This last effort of Shawn James Seymour & Yoshimi Tomida is maybe the most pop-oriented of their catalogue, but also the richest with influences, from brazilian music (Bedroom bossa band) or light-hearted discotheque music (Floating away).
Anyway, Lullatones are an easy-going fun band that can help you relax, a nice example of what I'd like to call "bedroom music", not meaning something that gets you sleepy, but something that makes you feel like lying on your bed, stretch your arms and be still and warm as if nothing could bother you.



More info:
Lullatone @ Myspace

Plays pajama pop pour vous

The Pop Group: Y

The Pop Group was a great agit prop band, whose roots (if such term can be used for a new wave group) are in so many musical styles and approaches: jazz, world music, funk and (of course) punk. The quality of this album is a good reason to post it on my blog, but another good reason why is that The Pop Group had a strong bond with The Slits, with whom they were buddies and that they probably influenced (both their first LP's covers were overtly about their interest on primitivism, and moreover both were produced by Dennis Bowell, the biggest name in producing raggae at the end if the 70's in the UK).
Anyway, the "Y" LP is a new wave milestone, whose sound is still a smash in the face with its clanging guitars, great funky rhythm section ("Simon Underwood [bass] and Buce Smith [drums] were post-punk's Sly & Robbie", according to Dennis Bowell), and Mark Stewart's political angst. Imagine a Gang of Four flirting with dub/ethnic experimentalisms and you might get what they sound like. Or you could try and download this 1979 gem (it really is: the Amazon link over here will tell you that you can have it delivered for 42,99 USD, not really change money).

More on The Pop Group:
Here's what you are looking for: a very well done fansite with some live mp3's as well.

Y