Former Pooh Sticks reunite for political indiepop punk band with a new album

Former Pooh Sticks reunite for political indiepop punk band with a new album
Swansea Sound: a band that came into being during lockdown and decided that fast, loud, political indiepop punk was the answer to being stuck indoors.  Who needs introspection?   

 

Hue Williams is reunited with Pooh Sticks singing partner Amelia Fletcher (ex- Talulah Gosh, Heavenly). Rob Pursey (also ex-Heavenly) and Ian Button (Wreckless Eric’s live collaborator) provide the noise.  
Swansea Sound are the funny, angry, gleeful and savage past, present and future of indie.  The band has played just one gig in real life – but there will be more in 2022.

 

On debut album ‘Live at the Rum Puncheon’, the opening track ‘Rock N Roll Void’ catches you up on the past: a two-minute revision session to make sure you haven’t forgotten The Kinks, The Ramones, and the brief explosion of noise pollution that was C86 pop.

 

The second track ‘I Sold My Soul on eBay’, also two minutes long, savages the corporate piracy of our digital present, where anyone can earn plenty of ‘likes’, but no-one gets paid any money.

 

Next, ‘I’m OK When You’re Around’ is a love song to all the people Swansea Sound would like to meet in the future. People they’ve fallen in love with in digital chatrooms: new allies all over the world who are standing up to the digital giants and the shit-stirring racist trolls everyone’s forced to share the internet with. 

Track 4: ‘The Pooh Sticks’.  Hue pays tribute to his former self in an apparently sincere tribute to one of the great lost indie bands of the 90s.  (No one else was going to do it.)  We have all become our own archivists these days.  We’ve all become our own covers bands...

 

This album whizzes by very quickly: you’re already near the end of Side One.  Four of the tracks have already been released as short-run singles on a variety of formats. ‘Corporate Indie Band’ was cassette-only. ‘I Sold My Soul on eBay’ was a one-off lathe cut 7” single that got auctioned on eBay (with a £400 winning bid). ‘Indies of the World’ was a 7” single/cassette, which briefly hit the UK physical Top Ten chart, before selling out.

 

Most recently, ‘Swansea Sound’ was released as a limited edition cassette/mini-CD on 1st September. This was the date, exactly one year ago when the much-treasured South Wales radio station, Swansea Sound, was re-branded by its new corporate owners and its old name became available.  The song is a requiem for that lost radio station – a DJ describing his final day at work before his show is ‘rationalised’ – but it’s also a wider protest about the culturally stultifying effect of corporatisation.

 

Some of the songs are reflexive – ‘Swansea Sound’ and ‘The Pooh Sticks’.  Others are searching for hope – ‘Let It Happen’, ‘I’m OK When You’re Around’, ‘Pasadena’, ‘Angry Girl’. Whereas ‘Je Ne Sais Quoi’ is pure pop throwaway fun.  The other songs are catchy too, they just happen to express sickness and a contempt for the state of things.  ‘Corporate Indie Band’ is about a group who have mortgaged their creativity to a major label and sold their identities to an online marketing team of public schoolboys.  Freedom of Speechtakes a look at three contemporary ‘alternative’ music stars and considers how they’ve responded to BLM, the pandemic and the rise of right-wing populism.   ‘Like self-serving arseholes’, is the unfortunate answer.  (You won’t struggle to work out who the three ‘alternative’ stars are.) Backing vocals are provided by queer indie punk band The Crystal Furs (Portland, Oregon).

 

Swansea Sound took their name from a radio station, and they even use its abandoned logo.   Something modern, acidic, and angry has taken up residence in a familiar, borrowed frame, just as it has in these indiepunk pop songs.   You can throw yourself around to Swansea Sound like it’s 1986, but if you catch the lyrics you’ll remember you’re in 2021.  Sorry about that.

 

The Rum Puncheon, a notorious pub in Swansea, closed down decades ago.

 

The sleeve is designed by Catrin Saran James. Amelia, Roband Ian also perform in The Catenary Wires.

 

The album is released by – 
SKEP WAX (Vinyl, CD, Bandcamp)
LAVENDER SWEEP (Cassette)

 

In North America, it is released by – 
HHBTM (Vinyl, CD)
AUSTIN TOWN HALL (Cassette)

 

In Indonesia, it is released by – 
SHINY HAPPY RECORDS (Cassette)

 

The album will not be released on streaming sites.

 

Swansea Sound: Instagram / Twitter / Facebook / Bandcamp

 

Dany Laj and the Looks Release Video “You & Me” – A Tropical Voyage in Technicolor

Dany Laj and the Looks Release Video “You & Me” – A Tropical Voyage in Technicolor

Sudbury rockers and preeminent road warriors – Dany Laj and the Looks – have released their brand new single and video for “You & Me”. The track is the second offering from their upcoming third full-length album “Ten Easy Pieces”, set for release on June 11 via We Are Busy Bodies.

The video for “You & Me” was created by award winning film director Ryan Thompson (Farm Dogs / Monowhales). As sidekicks Laj and Jeanette Dowling sip cocktails and battle sea serpents on a tropical island, the viewer is taken on a spectacular maritime journey. The track features the unmistakable vocal harmonies of Dowling as the song runs through a variety of classic influences that seamlessly cross genres. Laj says of the new track “You & Me is a sixties-esque pop love blender with seven lines of lyrics, containing seventeen words slapped together with drums, bass, guitar, vocals, keys and tremolo. It’s a vacation on your favourite pure-pop island.”

 

 

Produced, recorded and mixed by Laj at La La Pop Shoppe in Sudbury, “Ten Easy Pieces” speaks volumes to the focus and determination it took to bring together this addictive assortment of tracks. Fans of Chuck Prophet, Cheap Trick, Flamin’ Groovies, The Rubinoos, Sloan, Nick Lowe, The Turtles, or The Kinks will not be disappointed!

 

D I S C O V E R

Website: http://www.danylaj.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/danylaj

Twitter: https://twitter.com/danylaj

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5P76mSOqbsmjpkw5GENs9J

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danylajandthelooks/

Saxon – ‘Inspirations’ (Militia Guard Music)

Saxon – ‘Inspirations’ (Militia Guard Music)

Ah, the mighty Saxon. The band that turned me into a metal head back in 1986. Up until that point it was all about the top 40 and whatever was on Top of the Pops for me! A friend from school did me a mix tape and lent me his vinyl copy of the compilation ‘Strong Arm Metal’ and I was hooked. It was all about heavy metal for me from that pivotal moment. There was something about early Saxon that I connected with and I’ve (mostly) been a fan ever since. They have been through their ups and downs over the years and a few line up changes, but Saxon have had a resurgence over the last 10 years or so and have released some fantastic albums. 2013’s ‘Sacrifice’ and 2015’s ‘Battering Ram’ is up there with their best work, as is 2018’s ‘Thunderbolt’. Enlisting Andy Sneap (Sabbat/Judas Priest) as producer gave their sound a thunderous edge and pushed Saxon back into the big leagues of metal.

The band had been busier than ever in the live arena until the dreaded virus put paid to any dates that were scheduled. What do you do when you have lots of free time on your hands? Put out an album of covers from the bands and artists that have influenced you of course! That’s exactly what Saxon have done here with some fantastic results. It’s a celebration of the music that makes Saxon the band they are. They have gone down the old school route to record the album at Brockfield House near York, using real drums, and lots of Marshall amps! Frontman Biff Byford along with Jacky Lehmann have produced the album and it benefits from a great mix.

The band have dabbled with covers in the past with a great version of The Sweet’s ‘Set Me Free’ on 1984s ‘Crusader’ album and this foray into the bands influences throws up some tracks I would never have dreamed of a band like Saxon covering. The albums kicks off with a crunchy version of The Rolling Stones ‘Paint it Black’, this was the first release from Inspirations and there’s a cool behind the scenes video to accompany it. Zeppelin’s ‘Immigrant Song’ is up next and Biff shows his vocal prowess here (yes, he handles the high notes in his own inimitable style), the bands groove is relentless behind him, this is a great version. The next track is one of the songs that shouldn’t work but it does somehow! The Beatles ‘Paperback Writer’ sounds great with heavier guitars and the vocal harmonies really work well.

We get back on more familiar ground with Black Sabbath’s ‘Evil Woman’, a real showcase for Tim ‘Nibbs’ Carter who is undoubtedly one of metals most underrated bass players. Next up we have a version of Jimi Hendrix’s classic anthem ‘Stone Free’, the band sound like they are having a blast with this one, you can feel the energy. I don’t think Saxon fans would be very happy if there wasn’t a Motorhead cover on here, of course they deliver with a brilliant version of ‘Bomber’ with drummer Nigel Glockler in full double bass monster mode. A great tribute to their old friends.

A frenetic take on Deep Purple’s ‘Speed King’ again highlights the vocal range of Biff Byford, he screams like a man possessed here and guitarists Paul Quinn and Doug Scarratt play an absolute blinder with some serious shredding. A lesser know Thin Lizzy track gets the Saxon treatment, ‘The Rocker’ is a welcome addition instead of the usual Lizzy covers. Byford surprises again here with his range and really carries the song. A true to the original version of ‘Hold the Line’ by Toto grooves along nicely with Glockler showing he can handle the famous ‘Porcaro Shuffle’ with ease. (Google it kids). AC/DC’s ‘Problem Child’ doesn’t have the raw energy of the original, but it’s a solid effort all the same with Biff doing his best Bon impression. To close the album, we have a version of The Kinks ‘See My Friends’ which is probably the only track that doesn’t transition very well over to the metal titans even though it does chunk up towards the end.

Saxon have done a great job here and the main thing is to remember that it’s a bit of fun to try and lighten up these darkest of days that we have all been experiencing over the last year. Don’t take it too seriously, Saxon certainly haven’t. Crank it up with a beer in hand and sing along, you know the words!

 

Buy Inspirations Here

Author: Kenny Kendrick

 

Happy Birthday Brian James & other news

Happy Birthday Brian James & other news

Happy Birthday Brian James the guy who kickstarted punk in London –  Hell he Invented UK Punk for God’s sake even The Captain says as much. Brian was the force behind The Damned who were the first to do this first to do that – The FIRST! remember that.

It didn’t end there for Brian Who when he left The Damned (the band he started) he went on to play for Iggy Pop then put together his own supergroup – The Lords Of The New Church. Before heading out under his own name.

Born in In Hammersmith in 1955.  Brian Robertson as he was christened first came to prominence when he picked up the guitar alongside fellow punk icons Mick Jones (the Clash) and Brady (Hollywood Brats) under the banner SS London, he then formed The Damned and the rest, as they say, is history.  I don’t think Brian or The Damned ever got the props they truly deserved and history has ushered The Pistols and The Clash to the top of the pile yet it was The Damned led by Brian that reached all the firsts and has remained punk to the core until this day where he still writes and occasionally plays.

 

If you don’t know Brians style then you’ve not really heard real punk rock from the first chords of ‘New Rose’ to his unique style on ‘Grand Cru’ or ‘The Guitar That Dripped Blood’ Brian has always done things on his own terms and stayed true to himself.  He has an impeccable CV and a list of albums he’s played on that can go toe to toe with any of his peers no question about it.

Buy Brian James: Here

Brian switched from his Les Paul to the Telecaster and that drag as seen on the Lords footage is what sets the great from the good.

Ten years after Brian James popped into the world Ray and Dave Davies as The Kinks were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Tired Of Waiting For You’, the group’s second UK No.1. According to Ray Davies, the music for ‘Tired of Waiting for You’ was written on the train to the recording studio and the words were written at a coffee shop during a break in the session. So let that be a lesson pop pickers last minute changes can work.

On a sadder note on this day in 1995 Replacements guitarist, Bob Stinson passed away. Stinson was found in his apartment in Uptown Minneapolis. Bob was only 35. He founded The Replacements with Chris Mars and His Brother Tommy and later roped in Westerberg. He lasted up until the sessions for ‘Pleased To Meet Me’ before leaving due to creative differences Now this stacks up more than for his drug or alcohol use C’mon this was the Replacements.

The band headed down a more commercial route after Bob left but he hadn’t finished with music quite yet as he Went on to form Model Prisoner with Sonny Vincent, Static Taxi who recorded two albums.  In a rather amusing anecdote, Vincent remembered a time when former Dead Boy Cheetah Chrome relocated to Minneapolis to play in shotgun rationale “quite insane for a while… You have to imagine a band consisting of both Bob Stinson and Cheetah Chrome playing and working together.. then add to that I was no angel and you start to get a glimpse of the mercurial energy and intense chaos that we lived in, it didn’t last long but it was like living in a constant lightning storm and the sound was the same, tight and concentrated but always exploding over the edge”. Stinson didn’t die of a drug overdose but the frequent drug use caused his overall health to diminish, resulting in organ failure. So if you get the chance put on one of those early Mats records or Model Prisoner and toast a life most certainly lived. Rest In Peace Bob Stinson.

Buy Bob Stinson Here