the finest kiss

My singles collection, Vol. 14

McTells - Break Up 7″ (Vinyl Japan)

The McTells were a UK band that released most of their music on slabs of 7″ vinyl. Vinyl Japan compiled a whole bunch of those records onto a CD called What Happens Next and the band actually did release two alums titled Cut Up and Smash Up. This single came out at, or near the end or the bands career back in 1994. Of all their records, I think that this was my favorite. It was just the right amount of McTells, four songs, 2 on each side. They were as catchy as the band had every wrote and it did what a single is supposed to do, leave you wanting more. The needle on my record player usually stayed on side A of this single with the one two of Clearly and C without I ringing out in my bedroom as long as I had the energy to get up and put the needle back to the beginning.

Half the stuff in my collection I can barely remember where I got it, but this single was purchased on a trip to Boston at Newbury Comics in Cambridge. It got a lot of play from me and a few others on my grad school college radio station, WCDB, Albany. Sorry about the scratches, but that’s the way it goes. It seems like most of the singles that came out on back in the 90’s were on low grade wax, plus when you try to fit two songs on a side, the sound quality tends to go down as well. This was also released on cd single, so someone out there likely has a better copy of this stuff.

Side A 1 mp3: Clearly
Side A 2 mp3: C without I

Side B 1 mp3: Jump Start
Side B 2 mp3: Let You Back

The Wombats are set for their new single Backfire At The Disco.  Their debut full length, Girls, Boys & Marsupials got released in Japan of all places late last year on Vinyl Junkie.  Since they’re from Liverpool and put records out only in Japan, it flew under the radar of most people.  The record is a total rush, indie rock with lots of guitars, funny lyrics, shouted choruses and more woo-woo’s than you can shake a stick at.  They’ll be heading over to these shores for SXSW, so that some right minded record label can start putting out their records in America.

Video: Backfire @ the Disco

If you haven’t heard You!Me!Dancing! by Los Campesinos, then do yourself a favor and hear it.  They signed to the excellent Wichita label late last year and will be releasing their first proper single on 26 Feb, offering it for sale in the usual formats, but also as a free download from their site. If you can’t wait till then, you can head over to their myspace page to hear We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives. They’re not playing SXSW, but have a handfull of dates in early March over in the UK.

mp3: Los Campesinos - You!Me!Dancing!

Cats on Fire are from Finland and will be releasing their debut album, The Province Complains on German label Marsh Marigold in the next few weeks.  Last year’s Draw in the Reins ep was a bit of indie-pop fun that caught my eye.  They’re not playing SXSW either, but they are doing a short tour of Europe with a hand full of dates in Finland, Germany, Italy and the UK.

mp3: Cats on Fire - Draw in the Reins 

So to recap, if you’re going to SXSW you may see Wombats, but no Cats or Campesinos.

Math and Physics Club at Town Hall, Seattle | 17 February 2007

Town Hall has an ongoing concert series for kids they call Saturday Family Concerts. This is the inaugural season for the series that has seen John Doe of X perform as well as the Talking Vegetables. The concerts are geared for youngsters between 5-10, grown-ups can only get in, if they have a kid with them. I saw a bunch of 20-something hipsters getting turned away because they didn’t have a 5 year old kid with them (Just kidding). It’s a pretty good deal, kids are free and old people tickets are only $5. Plus they had free juice boxes and fruit leathers!

How did I get in you may be wondering? I dragged my 5 year old son Ian along with his buddy Simon and Simon’s dad Mike, ensuring my and Mike’s entry. Knowing and liking the Math and Physics Club music quite a bit, I was really curious how they would entertain the youngsters with their maudlin pop songs. It turns out this little show was the brain child of former elementary school teacher Kevin Emerson, who is also the drummer for M&PC as well as for his own band Central Services. The band consisted of members of the afore mentioned M&PC, Central Services and Tullycraft. They kicked things off with the Muppet Show theme, that had excellent violin from Sandra Humphrey. They conducted a science experiment, courtesy of James Werle, about sound. And they performed some original songs, all written by Emerson.

The band was great, and they totally held the attention of the kids. For the Lonely Tomato Song, Emerson plopped a stuffed tomato down at the front of the stage while they sang the song. A few seconds into the song a bunch of kids rushed the stage and grabbed the tomato and began passing it around. Pretty soon one of them takes off running with the tomato and gets chased by all the other kids. Then the tomato gets thrown around the room, but by the end of the song, one of the children brought the tomato back up to the stage and sets it down. That is the first time I’ve ever seen a tomato thrown, passed, and chased around at an indie show, what a blast!

If you have kids (or know some you can borrow) and live in Seattle, I totally recommend going to one of these concerts. You may have more fun than your kid.

You can check out the four original songs written by Kevin Emerson at his myspace page.

I know it’s a little late to be talking about best of lists for 2006, but I’m going to anyway. Seattle’s go-to website for indie music is Three Imaginary Girls. This site focuses on mostly music from the Pacific Northwest, giving us record reviews, interviews and a comprehensive concert calendar for Seattle. Each year they they do a poll for the best NW releases, and each year that I’ve lived here I’ve voted. With the Decemberists, Pearl Jam and Band of Horses all having records out this year I fully expected to see them 1-3 or at least in the top five. What I didn’t expect was to see Boat at number 1, but that’s exactly what happened. I don’t know if it’s because we’ere a bunch of contrarians up here, or we just appreciate the obscure, you gotta hand it to Pacific Northwesterners, or at least readers of the Three Imaginary Girls, they’re always out there looking for new music. I don’t know how many people voted in the pole, but I find it refreshing and a bit crazy that Boat beat out the likes of the Decemberists and Band of Horses. And no it’s not what you’re thinking, I only voted once!

Here’s the top 10

1 BOAT Songs - That You Might Not Like
2 The Decemberists - The Crane Wife
3 The Long Winters - Putting the Days to Bed
4 Band Of Horses - Everything All the Time
5 The Thermals - The Body, The Blood, The Machine
6 Built to Spill - You In Reverse
7 The Trucks - The Trucks
8 Math & Physics Club - Math and Physics Club
9 Viva Voce - Get Yr Blood Sucked Out
10 The Gossip - Standing In the Way of Control

Check out 11-50 at the Three Imaginary Girls

It’s not every day a record label just up and calls it quits, but that’s what Australia’s Candle Records is doing. The Melbourne label was originally started back in 1994 as a way for the Simpletons to put out their records. Later the Lucksmiths, Cuddlefish and the Mabels joined the ranks. I first found out about Candle when I got the Lucksmiths, A Good Kind of Nervous. I still remember biking home from the record store with A Good Kind of Nervous tucked in my bag. It was a whole new world Australian indie. From there I went on to discover the punk/folk of the Simpletons and the mellow, warm pop of the Mabels.

Over the years the Candle newsletter in my inbox has been like a warm blanket, smothering me with the friendly pop sounds from down under. The label’s roster of exclusively Australian artists expanded over the years to include Darren Hanlon, the Guild League, and Mid-State Orange among others. I will miss the label’s friendly demeanor and quality releases. I’ve been wondering where the Lucksmiths in particular but also Darren Hanlon, Mid-State Orange and the others will go to put out their records now!?

On 31 March the Candle will close it’s doors for good, in the meantime they’re putting on some Farewell Concerts around Australia (of course). You can also order records up to then from them as well. They have cut some prices and are offering a few deals. So check it out. If you’ve been putting off ordering that old Simpletons records, now’s your chance.

Here are few mp3’s to make it hard to resist.

Simpletons - These Days

Lucksmiths - Detective Agency

Darren Hanlon - Happiness is a Chemical