Jellyfish – ‘When These Memories Fade’ Box Set

Jellyfish – ‘When These Memories Fade’ Box Set

JELLYFISH -‘ WHEN THESE MEMORIES FADE 7” VINYL SINGLES BOX SET’ RELEASED BY NEW LAND – 30 SEPTEMBER 2022

On 30th September 2022, reissue label New Land + celebrates the singles career of enigmatic ‘90s US rock band Jellyfish with the release of When These Memories Fade. This is the first-ever Jellyfish vinyl box set and is limited to 1,000 copies only. Inside are 7 remastered 7”s spanning the band’s original run of singles, a bonus ‘covers’ single exclusive to The Box Set, a deluxe 64-page booklet featuring interviews alongside previously unseen photographs, memorabilia, and for the Jellyfish completest, a 3D poster with custom Jellyfish glasses.

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While Jellyfish were only around for a short few years — they released two albums in the early ‘90s, which included some tracks from the singles collected here as well — their legend looms large some three-plus decades after their music first appeared in record shops.

Jellyfish formed in the late ‘80s out of the ashes of Beatnik Beatch, a power-pop band that included Bay Area high school pals Andy Sturmer and Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. That band released one album on Atlantic then split up, leaving Sturmer and Manning to their own devices. This resulted in the creation of Jellyfish and with it some of the most sublime pop music of the MTV era, featuring arrangements that demanded to be put under a microscope and witticism-laden lyrics that gazed at the world through a unique lens. Jellyfish existed both
within the rock trends of times and apart from them, meshing power pop, arena rock, and whatever other types of music fit a song’s mood in a way that turned each song into its own aural spectacle. “We don’t fit anywhere, and we’re up against a wall all the time,” Manning told the Los Angeles Times in 1993. “It would be very easy to slip into whatever the current fad is and cash in on that movement for as long as it lasts. Fortunately, we’re not associated with anything like that.” Their monster-sized hooks made them a pop band; their arch lyrics fit them in snugly alongside the too-cool-for-school modern rock crowd; they had a respect for the pop-rock titans who had preceded them, as proven with covers of Wings, Argent, Badfinger, Styx, Elton John, and other album-rock stars they’d stick into their live sets.


Jellyfish’s two albums, Bellybutton (1990) and their magnum opus Spilt Milk (1993), made clear that Sturmer and Manning were leaders of an album band—the songs flowed and crashed into one another, making each long-player its own self-contained universe. But their keen knowledge of pop’s inner workings, and the minute detailing that they gave to each song, made them undeniably a great singles band as well. Looking at them through this series of
seven 7-inches, we see a group who could create perfect power pop that had allegiances to the Beatles, ELO, Wings, XTC, Queen, Supertramp, and Todd Rundgren.

From their very first single ‘The King Is Half-Undressed’ through to gems like ‘Baby’s Coming Back’, ‘New Mistake’, ‘Bedspring Kiss’ ‘I Wanna Stay Home’, and ‘The Ghost At Number One’, these beautifully presented singles show us how on the money Jellyfish really were.

THE LICKERISH QUARTET – ‘Snollygoster Goon’ Video

THE LICKERISH QUARTET – ‘Snollygoster Goon’ Video

members of Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Slash’s Snake Pit, Finn Brothers, Alice Cooper, Air & Beck – and all formerly of Jellyfish – reunite for 2nd EP with their first official UK release.

Roger Joseph Manning Jr., Tim Smith and Eric Dover are excited to announce their highly anticipated THREESOME VOL.2 EP, to be released 8th January 2021, will be their first on British indie label Lojinx. The first single, “Snollygoster Goon,” is out now.

Of “Snollygoster Goon” Eric Dover says “The music is Adderall-based, in theory, to reflect the absolute breakneck speed at which the corruption flourishes. A frenetic forensic foray into classic old-as-civilization themes involving greed, graft and corruption as applied to any political sphere. The snake oil salesman kissing babies, the saccharine unimaginative public image.”

The new release is, naturally, the follow-up to their debut EP, THREESOME VOL.1 – lauded by critics as “a masterpiece” – which was released in May 2020 in the US.

With song titles “Snollygoster Goon,” “The Dream That Took Me Over,” “Sovereignty Blues,” and “Do You Feel Better?” Manning, Smith, and Dover’s undeniable chemistry can once again be found throughout THREESOME VOL.2.

The songs formed from the same sessions that begun in 2017 offer a slinky and feisty landscape of temptation, freedom of thought, hope and dreams, and a shout out to all who game the systems. An edgy second round of soaring vocals, angular guitars, and pulsing drums, enveloped by timeless keyboard arrangements requires multiple listens to appreciate fully. Manning, Dover and Smith ruminate on the other 3 new songs:

“Do You Feel Better?” as told by Tim Smith:

A romp along the primrose path of temptations, internal and external, real or imagined, the tiny demons we dance with throughout our lives. A pulsing bass and hypnotic guitar rhythm plays like the backing band to a striptease you’ve sneaked into, and don’t know where to sit, but all are welcome!

Some things are more dangerous than others, of course, but this song is sort of a combination of letting your guard down, because of preconceived notions of what’s right or wrong, and justification of actions you think you understand to have under control. Who knows?

Experiences do give us perspective, and this song tries to play between the id and superego – a Screwtape letter demon, and an Angel of Mercy.

“Sovereignty Blues” as told by Roger Joseph Manning Jr.:

“Fears fire’s all they’re fanning, but I won’t light up their fuse.” A tale as old as humanity. Group control over another through the tried and true tactic of fear. And always partnered with a fatal dose of “divide and conquer.” But who’s actually pulling the levers and pushing the buttons of the propaganda machine behind the Wizard of Oz’ curtain of crowd control, so to speak? Irrelevant.

 

Ultimately, the perennial question for any person, provided they value sovereignty above all else, is: am I going to choose love over fear, peace over chaos, and God over the ego in any given moment? Everything can be taken from a man but one thing (to quote Viktor Frankl): “The last of the human freedoms, to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” And with that in mind, grab a torch, march to your own drum, and sing along!

“The Dream That Took Me Over” as told by Eric Dover:

 

You are driving without a destination lured by the wanderlust of your own making.  You turn up the stereo volume and continue along, moonlight reflecting off the chrome of your vehicle.

 

We invite you to put the top down and take a ride into the inner dialectic of our conflicted protagonist as we answer the question: Is there equilibrium in the chaos or does science hold the key?

The first single from THREESOME VOL.1, “Lighthouse Spaceship,” has had nearly 100,000 plays on Spotify since its release in March with the vinyl release undergoing multiple re-pressings due to rabid demand.

Connect with THE LICKERISH QUARTET: Youtube / Facebook / Instagram

The Dowling Poole – ‘See You See Me’ (369 Music)

The Dowling Poole – ‘See You See Me’ (369 Music)

There were a couple of recent(ish) episodes of the superb YouTube series ‘Produce Like A Pro’ that featured Roger Joseph Manning Jnr talking with the host Warren Huart about how Jellyfish recorded their wonderful ‘Bellybutton’ and ‘Spilt Milk’ albums. Within each of the enthralling episodes (a must-watch for music nerds everywhere, trust me) Roger revealed how the band would always go back to one other band’s music to sense check if what they were doing was right – and if it’s good enough for them it’s good enough for us kind of thing -and (spoiler alert) that band was the greatest band to ever come out of Swindon, XTC.

 

So, what the hell has this got to do with the third studio album from Willie Dowling and Jon Poole I hear you ask? Well, Jellyfish and their influences are exactly the right place from which to start this review, not least because ‘See You See Me’ opens with a title track that welcomes the listener in like some long lost friend of the masters of 90s bubblegum pop, a band who introduced a whole new generation of us to the delights of Supertramp, The Beach Boys and the Raspberries amongst many others.

 

Where The Dowling Poole perhaps now have the slight edge on Jellyfish is that they have almost three decades of new influences that they can channel into their songwriting and that’s why whilst ‘The Product’ might sound at times like an in his prime Elvis Costello its comes complete with a haunting Rialto (remember them?) like harmony vocal refrain and sounds just like the guys had Missy Elliott helping out behind the desk. It really shouldn’t work, but by God it does.

 

Likewise, ‘Keeping The Stupid Stupid’ has that Marilyn Manson patented march as a backbeat but over it, Dowling and Poole sounds more like the modern-day Squeeze, and without a doubt things are certainly very cool for these cats.

 

Then there’s the white soul of recent video/single ‘Hope’ a song so fantastic you could just imagine Robert Palmer or Prince having it on one of their mega Platinum selling records. In fact, it’s a song I’d love to hear Jarle Bernhoft get to grips with one day. Now that really would be one hell of a collaboration.

 

Elsewhere ‘Made In Heaven’ suddenly has me looking for the Andy Partridge co-write credit on the press sheet, and ‘Human Soup’ has me thinking that The Dowling Poole might just be the ideal support act for Crowded House’s UK return this summer, and at the same time ‘Alison’s Going Home’ suddenly makes me want to go dig out those classic Head Automatica albums all over again.

 

Lyrically on point throughout the album, there are those who will argue that politics (however subliminal they might be) should be kept out of music, but when the songs are as joyous as those contained here on ‘See You See Me’ you’d have to be a total moron not to appreciate the social context in which these tracks are being written. Oh, and for those of you thinking “all he’s done here is reference other bands in his review”, just look at those bands, XTC, Jellyfish, Elvis Costello and Squeeze. I’m sure that’s a quartet of artists Willie Dowling and Jon Poole won’t mind sharing some review space with.

 

So, with their former Wildhearts bandmates justifiably receiving plaudits galore for their ‘Renaissance Men’ album, ‘See You See Me’ whilst an altogether different beast, is every bit as great as that record. The million-dollar question I suppose though is will you be brave enough to make the purchase leap when it’s released at the end of February? Go on I dare you – and who knows – perhaps in just a few years’ time we may be watching Willie and Jon doing their very own ‘Produce Like A Pro’ webisode, because to my ears ‘See You See Me’ is absolute powerpop genius.

Buy ‘See You See Me’: Here

Author: Johnny Hayward

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They’re only making plans for… A new Book. ‘What Do You Call That Noise? An XTC Discovery Book’

They’re only making plans for… A new Book. ‘What Do You Call That Noise? An XTC Discovery Book’


Author MARK FISHER presents a new musical exploration of this highly talented and intriguing group:  ‘What Do You Call That Noise? An XTC Discovery Book‘ is a compelling 228-page book that involves not only these artists, but also some of the world’s leading musicians and keenest XTC fans. In 2017, Fisher published ‘The XTC Bumper Book of Fun for Boys and Girls’, which Louder Than War dubbed “Music publication of the year” and Prog Magazine called “The most comprehensive and incisive book about XTC yet published”.

In this new XTC book, you’ll find contributions from Peter Gabriel and members of The Jam, Squeeze, The Bangles, Dr Hook, New York Dolls, Barenaked Ladies, The Waitresses, Voice of the Beehive, Odds, Jellyfish, Fassine and Future of the Left, among many others.

Order link Here
Burning Shed order Here
photo of XTC by Garry Stuart

 

“The song is a little machine. If you take apart the machine, it’s not a clock any more and you can’t tell the time by it.” – Andy Partridge

“Music… I couldn’t imagine life without it. It’s always there.” – Dave Gregory

“I was always quite envious of XTC because they weren’t put in the same pigeonhole as punk bands. They were regarded as a bit more arty than that. We always had to fight off this flag, being under the banner of punk… XTC never seemed to fall into that trap. They had that freedom.” – Rick Buckler ( The Jam)

“Seeing them on TV was like being in a tribe. Together I thought we might rule the world… Yes, I stole from them. I’m sure I was not the only one. The wit did woo mee. I fell head over heels for the clever word play, the charge of the story and the sentimental Britishness of it all.” – Chris Difford (Squeeze)

“XTC’s music has always been there in my consciousness. I think about it a lot when I’m making records… They come across as an everyday group of people and that’s very much what Barenaked Ladies were about too – living as ordinary a life as you can in a bizarre lifestyle like rock’n’roll.” – Steven Page (Barenaked Ladies)

“I remember when I first heard Making Plans for Nigel on the radio… I absolutely loved the song, especially the drum part… Terry’s drumming was so rhythmic. I was very much influenced by him. In fact, I would drum along to XTC songs to warm up. It was very inspiring to me!” – Debbi Peterson (The Bangles)

2018 marked the 40-year anniversary of XTC’s first studio album ‘White Music’. While XTC was founded in 1972, it wasn’t until 1979 that XTC had their first UK charting single. Colin Moulding and Andy Partridge continued their partnership until the group’s dissolution in 2006.

Lately, there has been renewed interest in XTC, in part due to the release of eye-opening XTC documentary ‘This Is Pop’ about the band’s history and legacy, which looks at XTC and their journey from mercurial pop outsiders to full-blown national treasures and one of Britain’s most influential yet unsung bands.

‘What Do You Call That Noise?’ will be released on March 4. Anyone ordering ‘What Do You Call That Noise?’ before midnight on Sunday, January 27 will be inducted into the Venerable League of Neon Shufflers and have their name published in the book. The book can be obtained for £17.99 + free UK p&p (from £5 international p&p)