2023: 23 Highlights (pt.4)

The last post of 2023 - and it's a final summary of my 23 fave records of the year, starting off with some great EPs, including a couple of debuts.

Hallan - 'The Noise Of A Firing Gun'
Second EP from a band I'd never even heard of until Steve Lamacq played this brilliant track on his 6Music show. Definitely worth checking them out, they have some very good, powerful tracks in their small canon, full of cutting, cynical and often scathing lyrics about modern society, culture and politics. The Unwomanly Face Of War is inspired by the real-life stories detailed in the book of the same name by Nobel award-winning author Svetlana Alexievich.

 

Heartworms - 'A Comforting Notion'
Lambrini Girls - 'You're Welcome'
Both of these were mentioned back in my short run of posts in the summer, so here's a different track from each. Both EPs are debuts and show a lot of promise.

 

Micky Dolenz - 'Dolenz Sings R.E.M.'
Now this is one that will probably surprise you as much as it surprised me. I normally steer well clear of things like this, but I'd read good things about it so gave it a go. And who would have thought that a 78-year-old former member of a band who were made up for a TV show in the 60s could, in 2023, have made an EP of songs by my favourite band of all time and, in a couple of cases, actually make them sound better? Shiny Happy People is nowhere near as excruciatingly sickly as the original, and Leaving New York makes me wish R.E.M. had made all of 'Around The Sun' as vaguely listenable as this. But this version of Radio Free Europe tops the lot - classic American power-pop with a touch of psych thrown in! Bonkers but brilliant. (Oh, and the sleeve depicts Dolenz outside Wuxtry Records, the very store where Peter Buck and Michael Stipe first met. Nice touch.)

 

And a few more albums to round things off. To be fair, I could have included a few more (H. Hawkline, Shame, even the Tolhurst/Budgie/Lee collaboration etc.), but that would take it over the 23 which kind of defeats the point of having 23 for '23. What a silly rule to make...

SHONEN KNIFE - 'Our Best Place' I mean, you know what to expect. You can't be disappointed with a Shonen Knife record. A shame though that my favourite track (Ocean Sunfish) isn't on YouTube to post here, but hey, this will do nicely.	THERAPY? - 'Cold Hard Fire' Continuing their recent string of excellent albums, the Northern Irish trio delivered their 16th set of short sharp shocks, trimmed of fat and filler, and as riffy, angry and blunt as ever.
BIG BLISS - 'Vital Return' Not sure how Big Bliss passed me by before now, but their second album sounds exactly like the sort of thing I should've picked up on, evoking classic 80s US 'college bands' like a certain Athens, GA. quartet...	JENNY OWEN YOUNGS - 'Avalanche' It's been ELEVEN years since Jenny's last studio album, and this year she released two! The first comprised instrumental ambient pieces, while 'Avalanche' was more akin to what us fans love about her.
SQUID - 'O Monolith' A Squid record is never less than interesting. Their second full-length continues that tradition. "We were keen for things surrounding this album not to make too much sense," they tell us. Box ticked!	EASY STAR ALL-STARS - 'Ziggy Stardub' What's that? A classic Bowie record done reggae-style? Count me in! The latest in the Easy Star All-Stars' series of iconic album remakes featuring a host of special guest vocalists, and it's one of the best.

As for what 2024 holds? Well the debut album from Sprints is out in January which is hugely exciting - make sure you buy it! A new Idles album is also just around the corner, and Grandaddy have new stuff coming out too! But, if this track is anything to go by, the new Nadine Shah record due in February could already be a contender for album of the year. I mean, this is just FUCKING BRILLIANT!

 

And that's it. You haven't heard much from me this year. Be prepared to hear even less of me in 2024. But there will be an announcement in February so stay tuned. Cheers all.

The Devil's Music

Devil House by Shonen Knife

Yes, He's back. In this fallow period for my muse, I thought I'd give our old friend Satan a call to see if he'd like to offer up a few more tunes, seeing as the last time we did this it went down rather well. You can imagine my delight when he not only agreed, but suggested we play Shonen Knife as the first tune of the new season. Can't argue with that.

Devil House originally featured, in Japanese, on Shonen Knife's 1986 album 'Pretty Little Baka Guy'. Following Kurt Cobain proclaiming his undying love for them, they re-recorded it in English - along with numerous other oldies - for 1992's 'Let's Knife'. To celebrate the Dark Lord's return, let's have both versions today.

• Devil's House [original Japanese version] - Shonen Knife (from 'Pretty Little Baka Guy')
• Devil's House [re-recorded English version] - Shonen Knife (from 'Let's Knife')

Memories of a thousand* gigs #18

(* probably not actually that many, but who’s counting?)

A change of plan. I’ve delayed my intended tale of a sweaty Lush gig in 1996 as I just had to tell you about a show I attended only last week…

#18: Shonen Knife

Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff – 15th May 2014
Support: Small Gang, Former Utopia
Also in attendance: Colin

There are many great unsolved mysteries in life:
- Where do Big Brother contestants actually come from? Do they grow them in laboratories or something?
- Why does the word "lisp" have an s in it?
- And how the hell can it be that so many people have still never heard of Shonen Knife?

It is to my eternal shame that it has taken until 2014 for me to actually see Shonen Knife in concert. Wayne saw them at the Reading Festival back in 1992 and couldn’t stop telling people how amazing they were. Since then I have sporadically encountered them and dipped into their catalogue without really paying them the attention they deserved. But the legend prevailed – whenever their name came up, their reputation as a live band would usually get a mention. 

The Shonen Knife legend was strong indeed. Kurt Cobain was, apparently, “transformed into a hysterical nine-year-old girl at a Beatles concert” when he attended a Shonen Knife gig. John Peel started playing their records before they had even played a show outside of Japan. Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore was responsible for taking them to the US for the first time. With fans like that, it’s little wonder word spread quickly and their reputation grew.

So earlier this year, when I saw they were coming to Cardiff, I took my chance and bought tickets. Turns out it was a damn good decision. While on record Shonen Knife can sound a little lightweight in places, rather twee and poppy in others, live they undoubtedly ROCK! The Ramones-esque punk-pop they are renowned for is intertwined with slow, dark riffs a la Black Sabbath, hardcore punk, 60s girl group vocals and riffs that any rock band would kill for.

Their set was neatly split into two halves; the first half featured recent songs, many of which feature on their new album ‘Overdrive’. A triptych of such tracks played back-to-back summed up the Shonen Knife experience: bassist Ritsuko sang a song about noodles (Ramen Rock), drummer Emi sang about green tea (in, erm, Green Tea), and legendary frontwoman Naoko sang about living life Like A Cat. What’s not to love?

Later on, they delved into the archive and gave an airing to classics like Twist Barbie, Riding On The Rocket and the utterly bonkers Cobra vs. Mongoose. Throughout, the well-rehearsed and choreographed stage show proved why Shonen Knife are regarded as highly as they are. The identical, self-designed costumes; the simulated headbanging; the twirling arms with devil’s horn fingers held aloft; the huge grins... if nothing else, Shonen Knife are great to watch.

They encored with a version of Blitzkrieg Bop that even Johnny, Joey et al would have been proud of before exiting the stage for good leaving me in that sadly rare state of wanting more; I would gladly have stood there and watched Shonen Knife all bloody night. After a pretty shitty and heavy week, this was a real tonic. The only disappointment was the size of the crowd – the venue was only half full. This pretty much sums up the state of the world; what a happier place it would be if everyone had a bit of Shonen Knife in their lives.

The word ‘trailblazers’ is often rightly used to describe Shonen Knife. Nearly every female rock and punk band of the last 20-odd years owes them a significant debt, yet Shonen Knife remain unique and distinctive. Seriously, if you’ve never seen them, make it your mission to do so before you die.

Soundtrack:

• Ramen Rock – Shonen Knife (from ‘Overdrive’) - link dead, buy the album!
• Blitzkrieg Bop – Shonen Knife (from ‘Osaka Ramones’) - link dead, buy the album!
• Riding On The Rocket – Shonen Knife (from ‘Let's Knife’)
• Cobra vs. Mongoose [live in Sydney] – Shonen Knife (recorded for MoshCam) - this track is a beast!