The 2022 round-up - a prologue

Yep, it's that time of year again. Starting next week, I'll be posting weekly installments of my favourite albums of 2022. It's not been a bad year for music, to be fair. Some really good stuff has come out.  Before all that though, I thought I'd round up a few non-album things that tickled my fancy over the past 12 months...

THE WEDDING PRESENT - '24 Songs'
It's been a while since we had new stuff from our beloved David Gedge and his merry band of troubadors. Six-years, in fact, since the epic 'Going, Going...' LP. They've been busy though. A glut of songs collected over the previous few years were finally recorded and released as their ambitious '24 Songs' project. Emulating their 'Hit Parade' venture waaaaay back in 1992, '24 Songs' saw the release of a brand new 7" vinyl-only single each month. The ever-fluctuating Wedding Present line-up means there is a real range of songwriting styles on there as Gedge shared the duties with his various bandmates. I suspect some of the songs will be compiled and released in album form at some point. I have plenty of favourites among the two-dozen tracks, but one of them is September's We All Came From The Sea.

WEEZER - 'SZNS'
The hardest-working band in rock 'n' roll (probably) released not one, not two, no not even three, but FOUR new records in 2022. Collectively entitled 'SZNS', the project consisted of a quartet of 7-song EPs each released to mark a season - one for Spring, one for Summer, etc. Each record contained a song that incorporated a 'riff' from the relevant piece from Vivaldi's 'Four Seasons'. Saying all that, the Winter EP isn't actually out yet (it's due around Christmastime) but that's just mere pedantry. When it does come out, they will have topped the Weddoes' output by 4 songs, so it's a very noteworthy achievement. This track - from the Summer EP - pretty much sums up my life.

And after those seasoned veterans, it's time for some brilliant youngsters...

DIVORCE - 'Get Mean' EP
Now here's a new band I'm getting rather excited about. Divorce hail from Nottingham and have so far only put out three tracks. But each one is bleddy excellent, especially the most recent, an off-beat alternative country murder ballad called Checking Out which is definitely one of my songs of the year. They don't just make great tunes though, they also make wonderful videos that show off not just a theatrical side, but a very humourous one too. All three songs have just been released together as a digital EP called 'Get Mean'. A 4-track vinyl version is due in May 2023 which suggests another song isn't far away. I have high hopes for Divorce.

And if you loved that (and let's face it - you did!), here are the awesome clips for debut single Services and its follow-up Pretty. And here's where you can buy/pre-order the EP.

PANIC SHACK - 'Baby Shack' EP
This lot also look like they're going to rip up the place pretty damn soon. Cardiff's very own Panic Shack compiled their first six songs to form the 'Baby Shack' EP which disappeared off the record store racks in less time than it takes to play it. Copies are already changing hands for more than £60 a shot! MrsRobster (who is also a big fan of Panic Shack) and I will be seeing them in their hometown supporting Yard Act TONIGHT! Should be raucous and we're both really looking forward to it. Raw and loud like good punk should be, but a lot of fun too.

SPRINTS - 'A Modern Job' EP
Dublin has become a proper hub of great music of late. Sprints are the latest ones to have emerged from the Irish capital seemingly fully formed and taking on the world without a care. 'A Modern Job' was released back in March and is their second EP, following on from last year's debut 'Manifesto' and a series of searing singles, including the brilliant Little Fix.

I also strongly recommend Sprints' latest single Literary Mind which just might be their best track yet.

Next week, the first batch of my 22 favourite albums of 2022.

Something And Nothing - a gig (of sorts)

I haven't really bothered with gig reviews this year (though I have still been keeping track of them), but on Thursday night, MrsRobster and I attended a special show by one of our all-time heroes, Mr David Lewis Gedge. The great man has just published the second volume of his autobiography 'Tales From The Wedding Present'. This one is subtitled 'Something And Nothing' and picks up where volume 1 ('Go Out And Get 'Em Boy') left off, covering the period around the release of the band's first album, the evergreen classic 'George Best'.

I've not had chance to read it yet, but in case you didn't know, it's not your normal autobiography. Gedge has always loved comics, and he has overseen the publication of a few Wedding Present comics over time, featuring different stories from the group's history. The books essentially tell Gedge's story in comic book form. Aided by the wonderful illustrator Lee Thacker, former Cinerama/Wedding Present (and Goya Dress) bassist Terry de Castro, and David's girlfriend Jessica McMillan, Gedge compiled some of the previously published tales along with brand new ones that he and family, friends, acquaintances and exes have recalled.

So a few nights ago, Gedge, Thacker and de Castro (along with current Weddoes bassist Melanie Howard) came to Cardiff on the second date of the book launch tour. The three - led by de Castro - fed us anecdotes covering not just some of the new book's content, but also some insight into how the project came together. There were some fascinating revelations.

(WARNING: If you're planning on going to one of the remaining dates, you might want to skip the next paragraph so as not to spoil things...)

Firstly, we learned that the Kevin in Give My Love To Kevin is not a real person. Like many of Gedge's songs, it was inspired by overhearing a conversation between strangers. When departing one stranger said to the other "Give my love to Kevin", and Gedge thought that would make a good song title! My favourite anecdote was related to the fact that Gedge is absolutely meticulous (read: geeky) in his record keeping to the point where he keeps spreadsheets on everything. Even back as far as the 80s, before he could enter anything onto a computer, he kept a record of which of his loud shirts he wore at which gig. This would ensure he never wore the same shirt twice in the same place on subsequent tours. "In fact, if I wore one shirt in Cardiff, I'd make sure the following year I wore that shirt as far away from Cardiff as I could!"

Following the interviews, the audience was invited to ask questions. I contemplated whether I should ask one. My initial idea was to ask Gedge about all the band members of the past and how some of the numerous sackings had taken place. Someone beat me to it however. So I managed to come up with the final question of the night:

"October 1988, Exeter University. My first ever gig - The Wedding Present. My mate and I were in the lobby just prior to the show and this guy walks right past us. 'That's David Gedge,' I said. 'Nah,' said my mate, 'he wouldn't be here mingling with the likes of us.' But it was you, mingling with the likes of us, and you've done it ever since. Do you think that's an important part of who you are and what you do?"

His response? "Not really no! It's just to stop the boredom of hanging around backstage waiting to go on." He did elaborate a bit though, and confirmed that he actually enjoys it.

After a short break, David, Terry and Melanie convened for a short semi-acoustic set of songs. It's interesting how well some of the material works in this stripped-back form, even those songs that are usually so fast and frantic. Something And Nothing sounded great, as did both Dare and Crushed. Along with some old crowd-pleasers (Everyone Thinks He Looks Daft, You Should Always Keep In Touch With Your Friends, My Favourite Dress and Brassneck), there was also room for some proper deep cuts, such as Big Rat from the 'Watusi' album, Close Up, from the Cinerama album 'Torino', as well as Science Fiction, the new single due next week - the 11th monthly single of 2022.

All this in the wonderful setting of the Acapela Studios, a beautiful converted chapel in the village of Pentyrch, just a few miles outside Cardiff. MrsRobster and I booked a table so we could indulge in the venue's famous pizzas prior to showtime. It's this that helps raise the money for the venue to book its acts. It's a place you really should visit if you're in this neck of the woods.

So, food, drink, autographed books and David Gedge. Could it really get any better? I highly doubt it. If you get the chance to go along to one of these shows, I very much recommend it. Failing that, buy the book (or books, if you haven't got volume one already).

Here's a couple of tunes from the night someone I know managed to capture.

• Big Rat [live at Acapela Studios, Cardiff] - The Wedding Present
• Brassneck [live at Acapela Studios, Cardiff] - The Wedding Present

L #3

The 1990s

The 90s could be described as my 'peak' decade. The money I spent on music-related activities in the first half of it is nobody's business. Most of my income (when I had some) went on music, booze and drugs. The rest of it I wasted. In 1992, I collected all of the Wedding Present's monthly 7"-only singles while working in Our Price.

Today's 'L' track was single number 9 released in September. The video contains semi nudity and garish colours. Not pretty...

The Lockdown posts: Alternative Kitchen Disco #4

...and the puns just keep on coming. MrsRobster's latest attempt at humour surprised me to say the least. The words, as you may know, come from Hello, Goodbye by The Beatles. Now MrsRobster is one of those strange people who doesn't get the Beatles. I put it down to being too young to appreciate them. So a Beatles lyric was unexpected, even moreso when you consider it's one of Paul's. Macca is MrsRobster's nemesis. She has this irrational hatred of the man. Yes, he's irritating; yes, he was only the third-best Beatle. But he did write Hey Jude and Band On The Run, so not all bad. Mind, he also gave us the Frog Chorus, so maybe she has a point...

Anyway, here's the latest instalment in my kitchen soundtrack this week. First up is 'Walking Like We Do', the new album by The Big Moon who we saw supporting Pixies last autumn. Now, it's not as good as their debut as they've gone all pop with lots of keyboards 'n' all. It's a bit hit and miss, often lacking the energy of their earlier work. But there is enough about it to make me play it a few times. A couple of tracks are actually very good, like this one which would be one of my singles of the year so far if it wasn't actually released last September. They missed the boat I reckon, this is a summer tune if ever I've heard one.



'Viscerals', the new album by the band with my most favourite name ever - Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs - sees them expand their sonic range to new levels. The songs may be getting shorter (five of its eight songs come in at less than five minutes) but the ideas are bigger than ever. The ominous drones and slow, heavy riffs are still in abundance, but there's some thrash, punk, psych - think Sabbath meets Rollins and then some. Throw in lyrics containing social comment with a heavy dose of wit and you get this beast of a motherfucker! And I bought it on 'blood & guts' coloured vinyl too.



Another of my homemade playlists to finish off with. I have an evolving Best Of The Wedding Present, which initially contained 40 songs, and currently stands at 70. It has all the singles, plus various album tracks, b-sides, covers, radio sessions... all sorts of things. One of the most recent updates I made was to add this wonderful version of Bewitched to it. It follows the release of the Marc Riley Sessions Volume 4, featuring two performances they did on Riley's 6 Music show in 2017. On this occasion, they brought a full string section with them - and it sounds amazing!



At least another week or two of lockdown to go, so I suppose I'll be back next week. Maybe.

Memories of 2019 gigs #1-2

You probably won't have noticed, but the one thing I have been doing during my extended hiatus is working on my gig list and keeping it up-to-date. It's been a strange year for shows really. There haven't been as many as in recent years, they've all been in Cardiff and most of them have been for, what you might call, 'bands of a certain vintage'.

I know some of you used to enjoy my gig reviews, so I'm devoting Sundays this month to my live experiences of 2019, starting with these:

The Coral
Tramshed - Thursday, 14th March 2019
Support: Cut Glass Kings, Marvin Powell

I said once before on this blog - I fucking love the Coral. But, somewhat bizarrely, I had never seen them live before this year. Can you believe that? Shocking. So I was excited for this one. Both support acts are signed to the Coral's own label, though we arrived too late for opener Marvin Powell. We walked in to a gargantuan noise in the form of Cut Glass Kings, a two-piece in the mould of Black Keys and Royal Blood. And that's pretty much what they sounded like, to be honest. Some good tunes too.

My anticipation of seeing the Coral might well have led to disappointment. They are one of the most consistently brilliant singles bands of the past 20 years, and most of their albums are top notch too - 2016's 'The Distance Inbetween' being the highlight IMO. Such a solid back catalogue should lead to a cracking live set, shouldn't it? Thankfully, there was no disappointment. What a good band The Coral are live. Forget that the set was rammed with classics, crowdpleasers and all the best of the recent material - this was one of the tightest, best-sounding shows I've been to in recent years.

I often point out highlights in my reviews, but that would be impossible in this case. I've taken the liberty of including the setlist below so you can see what they played. If you're a Coral fan you'll probably wet yourself.

Sweet Release, Chasing the Tail of a Dream, Something Inside of Me, Outside My Window, She’s a Runaway, Jacqueline, Pass It On, Bill McCai, In the Morning, Holy Revelation, Miss Fortune, In the Rain, 1000 Years, Reaching Out for a Friend, Eyes Like Pearls, Heart Full of Soul (Yardbirds cover), Stormbreaker. Encore: Goodbye, Dreaming of You.

Here's a sublime, beautifully rich rendition of Eyes Like Pearls. Stunning!




The Wedding Present
Tramshed - Thursday, 2nd May 2019
Support: The Flatmates

Yeah yeah, another year, another Wedding Present gig. Nothing to see here? Well, maybe, maybe not, but think about this - and prepare yourselves... this was the tour to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the band's second album 'Bizarro'. Let that sink in a moment - THIRTY YEARS since the release of 'Bizarro'. If that depresses you, I suggest you go and give the record a spin at high volume. It'll make you feel better.

As if that isn't enough to make you feel old, the re-emergence of fellow C86-ers The Flatmates surely must evoke some distant memories in some of you. There was bound to have been some murmurs of "Now this is what you call music, not like the crap you hear today..." etc from certain members of the audience. To be fair, I never really got into the Flatmates - this was a time when I was in flux between being in school having crap music taste to going to college and discovering the Wedding Present, so I guess they flew under my radar first time around. They did only release five singles at the tail end of the 80s so that's understandable I suppose. But there were still plenty of knowing smiles in the crowd when Happy All The Time was aired.

The boy Gedge has tweaked the Wedding Present line-up yet again, but drummer Charles Layton is revealed as being the longest-serving member of the band bar Gedge himself, having been a constant fixture behind the kit for a whole decade now. However, I'm not sure how old the female members of this line-up would have been when 'Bizarro' came out...

Of course, all songs from that record were played in order, although they were interspersed with choice cuts from the Wedding Present's vast back catalogue - some obvious, but many not so (I mean, when was the last time they opened with two b-sides like Dan Dare and Nothing Comes Easy?). But that's the beauty of a Wedding Present gig nowadays, you always know what you're going to get, while never really knowing what you're going to get

While performance-wise this wasn't one of the best Weddoes shows I've been to, it was still a Wedding Present show, so hugely enjoyable.

Very little decent live footage from 2019 online, but I found this from a show in Sweden later in the tour. I'm sure it won't disappoint...

It was 30 years ago today... Memories of my first gig

Gawd I feel old. Three decades ago on this very day, 8th of October 1988, I attended my very first concert. I didn't consider that 30 years later I'd be writing about it. To be honest, when you're 17, you don't consider anything in 30 years time. To mark the occasion, I've decided to republish one of the first articles to appear on this blog, the very first of my rather long-winded 'Memories of a thousand gigs' series - the tale of my very first gig. It's pretty much exactly the same as the original piece (footnotes and all!), though I've taken the opportunity to update one or two little factoids...

Originally published on 19 February 2014; updated October 2018

The Wedding Present
Support: The Heart Throbs
The Great Hall, Exeter University - 8 October 1988

You never forget your first. Your first gig, that is. Mine was a relatively obscure indie band from Yorkshire that a much cooler friend of mine at college introduced me to. The Wedding Present were ‘between albums’ when I lost my live band virginity to them. Their debut ‘George Best’ had made a reasonable dent in the consciousness of NME readers and Peel listeners alike and major labels were taking an interest. As it was, I had recently bought the non-album single Nobody’s Twisting Your Arm and was awaiting the follow-up Why Are You Being So Reasonable Now? when they descended on Devon.

My best buddy Wayne and I decided to buy tickets, but not being able to drive yet, would have to work out a way to get there later. A minor detail! Wayne had beaten me to the first gig experience by a few months, when he went with his cousins to see Wet Wet Wet in Plymouth. I wonder if he’d admit to it nowadays; by the time of the Weddoes show, he was already showing signs of denial.

Somehow I managed to convince my mum to take us. Living, as we did, 30-odd miles away from the venue – an hour-long drive on largely rural B roads – it was a nice gesture from her to say yes without hesitation. Wayne’s mum Val was taken along for the ride; they would have a girl’s night out in Exeter as Wayne and I mixed it with students older, smarter and considerably cooler than us.

Mum and Val dropped us off outside and drove off into town. Wayne and I joined the queue and patiently waited in line with the cooler kids. The next hour or so is hazy, partly because it was so long ago, and partly because I couldn’t really take it all in. I do, however, remember sitting in the foyer with Wayne and noticing Weddoes frontman David Gedge standing just to my left.Wayne and I argued briefly over whether it really was him or not – he didn’t think so, but I was pretty sure.[1] I also remember where I stood as the support band came on. Facing the stage, I was pretty near the front by the speaker stack on the right. Perhaps not the best idea for a gig newbie like myself.

As I remember it, opening act The Heart Throbs were a decent band. Well, they must have been because I became an immediate fan, buying some of their early singles and all three of their subsequent albums. They were fronted by the bleach-blonde Carlotti sisters Rose and Rachel, sisters of Echo and the Bunnymen drummer Pete de Freitas. Like a number of bands of the time – the Primitives, the Darling Buds, Transvision Vamp – the blonde girls out front were the focus of the group, the male members remained largely anonymous.

The Weddoes were a blast, of course. They tore through most of the songs from ‘George Best’, added a healthy splash of old faves, and even played one or two new ones including a song called Kennedy which, a year or so later, would become their debut major label single and their first ever Top 40 hit.

Throughout the show, I had been forced further back the crowd, from front right to halfway back to the left. That didn’t matter though. From there I could take more in without being blasted by the speakers or getting a wayward elbow smashing into my nose. Surveying the scene – a crowd of sweaty moshers, Mr Gedge bent over his furiously-strummed semi-acoustic in his trademark way, the reaction when the band finally launched into A Million Miles after the crowd had been shouting for it all night – a huge grin fixed itself to my face and stayed there for days. I was hooked, and over the coming years I would see hundreds – yes, hundreds – of bands at various places around the country. I would even see the Wedding Present on another six occasions (to date).[2]

So, technically, the Heart Throbs were the first band I saw live[3] Officially though, it was Gedge & co. that took my virginity. If you’re reading David – you were great. How was it for you?

• A Million Miles [live] - The Wedding Present (from 'Live 1988')
• Why Are You Being So Reasonable Now? [live] - The Wedding Present (from 'Live 1988')
• Kennedy [live] - The Wedding Present (from 'Live 1988')

Fast forward 30 years, and the gigging hasn't stopped. In fact, next week I'm taking in two - TWO! - shows on consecutive nights. You know where you can read all about it...

---

[1] I was right, as Wayne himself admitted following the show. To this day, Gedge mingles with his audience before and after each show.
[2] On the 'Bizarro' tour a year later in Bristol; on the 'Bizarro' 21^st Anniversary tour in 2010 in Cardiff; on the 'Seamonsters' 21^st Anniversary/'Valentina' tour in 2012 in Cardiff again; briefly, the tail-end of an in-store show at the Plymouth Virgin Megastore in 1996, after which David Gedge himself commented on my well-worn Bizarro t-shirt; and since this article first appeared, on the 2016 'Going, Going...' tour and last year's 'George Best 30^th Anniversary' tour.
[3] Even this isn’t technically true if you include the resident holiday camp bands I saw as a kid, and those that always seemed to play at family parties and weddings etc. But, for obvious reasons, they don’t count!

Memories of 2017 gigs #6

The Wedding Present
O2 Academy, Bristol - 15 June 2017
Support: Young Romance

Not really sure what to write about this one. I know some of you have seen the Wedding Present on their 'George Best' 30th Anniversary Tour already, a couple of you have even written about your experiences. The sets have barely changed from date-to-date either. And even if you haven't caught them this time around, most of my readers will be more than familiar with Gedge and his cohorts.

So perhaps I'll start by mentioning the support band Young Romance. They're a boy/girl duo. He plays guitar, has very long hair and wore a shirt Bobby Gillespie would have been proud of circa 1986. She sings, plays drums standing up and wears glitter on her face. Sometimes they sounded like early Kills. I also thought there was a bit of mid-period Gossip in there too. The songs were OK, but the sound let them down a bit. Well worth checking out.

We've never been to Bristol's 02 Academy before, although I have a feeling it was at one point known as The Studio. I did see one gig at The Studio. It was in 1991 and it was... The Wedding Present. I may have remembered this incorrectly, but it was 26 years ago so cut me some slack...

It seems every time I see the Wedding Present nowadays, Gedge has decided to freshen things up once again. This time we get a new guitarist (from Australia) and another new female bass player who, rather brilliantly, also plays keyboards, sometimes while she's playing bass at the same time. She's from Devon though, so obviously naturally talented.

Another observation really came to light about half way through the set. There was a short set of new songs and lesser-known tracks from the band's back catalogue before they began playing 'George Best'. After What Did Your Last Servant Die Of?, Gedge noted: "We're into the 'George Best' part of the set. The songs sound quite similar now." And that's when I realised that, compared to their recent output, they do. No slow songs, lots of furiously strummed trebly semi-acoustic guitar and nothing longer than four minutes. Compare that to last year's ambitious 'Going, Going...' set and it's clear how Gedge has developed over the past 30 years. Yet he remains the inimitable David Gedge, indie legend.

A rousing rendition of Kennedy tacked on as a sort-of non-encore produced a massive mosh and singalong. There may not have been many people under the age of 45 present, but there were still plenty of exuberant voices hollering about apple pie and loving TV shows.

My seventh or eighth Wedding Present gig then (I forget exactly). So how was it? Well, I'll let MrsRobster sum it up with what is very probably the best one-line gig review you'll ever read: "I like seeing the Wedding Present. They're like a satisfying sex session after you haven't had it for a while. You're never disappointed." Quite...


Two of my fave songs from 'George Best' - one recorded during the original tour in 1987, the other captured this year:

• A Million Miles [live] - The Wedding Present (from 'Live 1987')
• My Favourite Dress [live] - The Wedding Present (live at the BBC 6 Music Festival 2017)

RSD: Sweet as Sugar

I've resisted Record Store Day before now owing to the whole idea of fighting swarms of people (who will probably just put their purchases on eBay) only to find whatever I'm after has sold out. Plus, most of the items are overpriced and not particularly exciting. However, Saturday saw me casting my cynicism aside and queuing outside of Spillers in Cardiff (the oldest record shop in the world). I'm in the slow process of collecting as many of my 50 albums to take to my grave on vinyl as I possibly can. Some I still have from when I first bought them, some I replaced with CDs and some I never bought on vinyl in the first place. In this latter category was Sugar's 1992 masterpiece 'Copper Blue'.

Record Store Day saw a very special release of 'Copper Blue' - a triple LP on three different colour platters. The original album is on silvery-grey. The other two discs contain a great live show from the time and are on gold and blue vinyl respectively. It was simply too lovely-a-thing to miss. Worth getting up early on a (frankly gorgeous) Saturday morning for.

I stood in the queue with a lady I know through work and a young Mancunian guy who is a student nurse. We talked music, gigs, a teeny bit of work, and more music. After an hour we finally crossed the Spillers threshold and managed to get what we wanted. Yes, I bagged a 'Copper Blue', and believe me it's even more beautiful in real life.

The experience was far nicer than I thought it would be. Friendly, relaxed and, dare I say it, fun. Quite looking forward to next year now...

Here's a couple of live tracks from that Sugar set. The version of JC Auto is particularly brutal.

• Helpless [live] - Sugar (from 'Copper Blue' [25th Anniversary Edition])
• JC Auto [live] - Sugar (from 'Copper Blue' [25th Anniversary Edition])

I also managed to grab Spillers' last copy of 'The Home Internationals' EP by the Wedding Present. Many of you will know the track Wales from last year's brilliant 'Going, Going...' album. As well as that song, Gedge and gang recorded three more post-rock instrumentals for the EP, each one named after a UK nation. England contains a poem written and narrated by Simon Armitage, while Northern Ireland is a paen to a certain legendary footballer called George Best, who I seem to remember a previous record was named after...

A video of the band in the studio has been released for Scotland and includes some sounds from a Scottish pub, no doubt something more than a few readers will be familiar with.

Three

The picture? Well, what's wrong with bunnies? I know it'll make MrsRobster go all gooey. Anyway, it's not the fact it's bunnies that's significant, but how many bunnies there are.

This week marks the third anniversary of Is This The Life?, which is a bit of a surprise. I didn't think it would still be going. If I'm being totally honest, I'm really not sure how much I have left in me, but that might just be my current ongoing less-than-happy mood talking.

Regardless, I ought to say thanks for bothering to stop by and read the words, play the tunes, leave the comments and all that. So thanks. No, really, it means a lot. I dont know what else to say, so let's have some music.

The very first thing I posted here was a Velvet Underground track. Today, I'm going to give you something else by the late, great Lou Reed. Modern Dance featured on his 2000 album 'Ecstacy', one of my fave Lou solo records. This live version was recorded in Dusseldorf that same year and is from a superb bootleg I have.

• Modern Dance [live] - Lou Reed (recorded live in Dusseldorf, 2000)

One of the blog's biggest focuses is on the music of Wales. So here's one of the bands who featured in my Welsh Wednesday series, The Earth, who feature a couple of Super Furry Animals like so many great things in life.

• Rear View Mirror - The Earth (from 'Keltic Voodoo Boogaloo')

And to round things off, another of the blog's favourite bands with a fitting track to mark its birthday. I just wonder how the boy Gedge managed to keep a straight face during this video...

The Best (and Worst?) of 2016 (part 2)

I think the five records I listed on Monday were probably my top 5 of 2016, but a few others came close. Major credit must be given to the following records, all of which had more than their fair share of plays in these parts during the past 12 months:

SEPTEMBER GIRLS - 'Age Of Indignation'
Superb second album from Ireland's premier psych-femmes. Some great songs on this in addition to the psych vibe I've been wallowing in during 2016. One of my favourite in-car albums of the year.

• Love No One - September Girls (from 'Age Of Indignation')

JAMES - 'Girl At The End Of The World'
I feel I ought to mention our old mates James who put out their finest album in 20 years. It would have been number one too if it hadn't been for a certain "singer" who shall remain nameless. If you want some cheer in an otherwise repulsive year, you can't go far wrong with 'Girl At The End Of The World'.

• Girl At The End Of The World - James (from 'Girl At The End Of The World')

YAK - 'Alas Salvation'
Yak were a band hotly-tipped at the start of the year. They definitely proved they have something and can knock you for six when you see them live. Some cracking tracks on their debut album.



THE WEDDING PRESENT - 'Going Going...'
David Gedge returned and went all post-rock on our asses. Without a doubt the most ambitious Weddoes album to date (as well as the series of live shows that accompanied it) but very probably one of their best.

• Bear - The Wedding Present (from 'Going, Going...')

NEW MODEL ARMY - 'Winter'
I find it amazing how after thirty-odd years, a band like New Model Army are not only still going, but remain relevant and making bloody good records. 'Winter' is as good as anything they've done since the early 90s.

• Part The Waters - New Model Army (from 'Winter')

Lots of points for these as well: TELEMAN - 'Brilliant Sanity'; CATE LE BON - 'Crab Day'; WEEZER - 'Weezer (The White Album)'; EAGULLS - 'Ullages'; and, of course, LUSH's wonderful comeback - and sadly ultimate farewell - 'Blind Spot' EP.



Seeing as they've called it quits again so soon, I just want to put it out there that I'm more than happy to give Miki's gorgeous 12-string a good home in its retirement...

2016 was a busy year for gigs for us, even if it started off quite slowly. More than two-thirds of the 13 shows we attended in 2016 took place in the last four months. Strangely, there seemed to be more 'classic' acts than usual. I think, on reflection, my top 5 gigs of the year were:

1. Pixies
2. New Model Army (MrsRobster's #1 gig of the year...)
3. Le Butcherettes
4. Half Man Half Biscuit
5. Bob Mould

Worst gig of the year? Regrettably I have to say it was young Welsh newcomers Pretty Vicious who were the victims of appalling sound quality, one of the worst I've experienced in nearly 30 years of gig-going. I still think they're going to be massive, though.

As for 2017 - well, I don't want to think about it too much. Reckon I should just let it happen and see what comes of it. I'd like to think it can't be half as shitty as 2016 but I've never been much of an optimist. Blog-wise, I have ideas but little motivation to bring them to life, so don't expect too much.

On the upside, I do have a Grandaddy album and gig to look forward to in March, so that'll do nicely for starters. And believe it or not, it's THIRTY YEARS since the Wedding Present's debut album was released! I've heard Gedge is going to tour it one last time...

Enjoy the ride folks.

(The next post will be on Sunday - yes, that's right, SUNDAY - and it's the first of SEVEN DAILY POSTS. It's a very special week on Is This The Life? - Can you handle it?)

Memories of 2016 gigs #5

A slow start to the gig year (only four gigs in the first few months and nowt throughout the summer), but things really kick off now with a whopping 10 shows before the year is out. The first one took place on Wednesday night and provides us with a rather unique offering today - a joint album and gig review all in one!

#5: The Wedding Present
The Tramshed - 7 September 2016
Support: Such Small Hands

A six piece band, a stage festooned with fairy lights, films projected onto a backdrop, five-part male/female harmony vocals, keyboards, some Welsh-language narration, a 20-track concept album played through start to finish, a seated audience, a free printed tote bag for each punter...

"We're the Wedding Present, but a Wedding Present the likes of which you've probably never seen before." These were the first words from David Gedge's mouth, and by golly he wasn't wrong. We were already four songs in and all he'd sung to that point was a few "aaahhhhh"s! The new Wedding Present album is called 'Going, Going...' and it's fair to say it's somewhat different. So is the tour to promote it. No classics tonight, no hits - no My Favourite Dress; no Kennedy; no Interstate 5 - just 'Going, Going...' And it was fantastic!

This was billed as an audio-visual tour, something very different to anything the band had attempted before, so we knew what we weren’t going to get. As for what we would get? Well, the current four-piece line-up was augmented by two female keyboardists/singers, one of whom was the support act while the other also doubled as a second drummer at one point. If this makes it sound like Gedge was evoking the spirit of Cinerama, think again; Cinerama never made songs like this. The first four songs on ‘Going, Going...’ – and thus of the show – are post-rock instrumentals a la Godspeed You! Black Emperor or Mogwai.

The album itself is a kind of concept album - all the song titles are places in the States. Apparently, if you find them in order on a map, you get a road trip across America! Live, the running order of the tracks was altered slightly, but every one was present and correct. Each track has its own specially-filmed visual which was beamed onto a large screen at the back of the stage, and it was for that reason that Gedge took the decision to make the shows on the tour seated-only to allow the audience to immerse itself in the whole experience. For what it’s worth though, I’m not convinced they were of much benefit. I've seen similar things at other gigs before and it rarely achieves a lot. I go to gigs to see a band, not to watch a screen. I can do that at home. So as Gedge sang of another troubled relationship or the trials of everyday life, we saw images of rain, hills, bridges and trees. I live in Wales. There's lots of all of those things here - especially rain. I had hoped the films would help tell a story, but they were just a bit random and uninteresting.

That was, however, the only real downside for me. While Our Mate Colin reckoned that sitting down takes something away from the atmosphere of the audience, I and MrsRobster found that actually it allowed us to concentrate more on the band and not have to constantly crane our necks to see over the shoulders of the tall fucker who inevitably always stands in front of us wherever we are. We were also largely spared the annoyance of phones being held aloft to film segments of the show.

Musically, the band performed as well as I have ever seen them. The sound was the best I’ve heard at the Tramshed, and Gedge is certainly not mellowing in his old age. Many of the tracks are as noisy and crunchy as anything on ‘Seamonsters’, and in places surprisingly heavy too. The biggest cheers of the night went to Ten Sleep (a new moshpit-pleaser if ever there was one) and Rachel ("the best pop song you'll hear this year" according to Gedge). My personal faves were Broken Bow, Bear and Fifty-Six (which coincidentally - or not - is also David Gedge's age). Predictably, there was also a decent cheer at the announcement of the song Wales and for Gedge's Welsh-speaking mate who provides the 'vocals' (such as they are) both on the record and on stage.

In summary then, this really was the Wedding Present as we’d never seen them before. I've seen the Weddoes now about seven times. This was by far the most different show of theirs (and maybe anyone) I've seen, and in 'Going, Going...' Gedge may even have made one of his best albums to date. “It’s more like an art installation than a concert,” Gedge mused as he told us he hoped we weren’t disappointed with the show. He acknowledged it was a gamble, but I for one reckon it paid off.

MrsRobster’s verdict (of the visuals): "I kept thinking I could have filmed something better than that." She did, however, think the band were great. And she's right about the visuals - knowing her eye for a good shot and her skills with a camera, I reckon she probably could have made something more interesting.


Soundtrack:
No MP3s as the album is barely a week old. You should buy it. Instead, here’s a clip of Fifty-Six from the night itself (rather decent quality, too), some studio footage accompanying Bear, plus the official visuals for Rachel.

50 songs to take to my grave #49: Interstate 5

I originally wrote this for my Genius of David Gedge series and it first appeared in September 2014. I said at the time I was considering it for this series as well, and it remained on the shortlist as I approached the last 10. In the end, it had to get into the final list and the Weddoes become one of only a few acts to make both my songs and albums series (albeit very different incarnations of the band). I've tweaked the original article a bit, but most of it remains intact.


OK, briefly for those of you who don't know the story. The Wedding Present went on hiatus in 1996 while Gedge indulged in a new project, Cinerama, with girlfriend Sally Murrel. The couple split in 2003 following the release of Cinerama's third album 'Torino'. He continued however, recording a new album. It was after the recording had finished that it was suggested the new record, entitled 'Take Fountain', sounded more like a Wedding Present album due to its proliferation of guitars. And so it was decided - after a layoff of some eight years - the Wedding Present were reborn.

The first fruit of these labours was a song I consider to be among the best David Gedge ever made. Interstate 5 could be described as a bit of a slow-burner. In fact, it's a bit slow, full-stop. At six minutes long, it was never going to be a radio hit either. It's a curious choice of comeback single, yet it took my breath away. It's a great song, all about a bloke's consternation at being used by a woman as a one-night-stand, a typical Gedge juxtaposition of the perceived sexual norms.

  I have this nagging fear / That sex was all you needed
  I tried to persevere / I guess I've not succeeded

It does build gradually - starting with a single repeated chord, overlaid by a chiming second guitar playing a simple melody. The rhythmic pulsing of that same chord runs throughout the song, rarely giving way until the bridge when Gedge acknowledges there were doubts about the femme fatale's motives at the time of the episode in question:

  And yes there was one particular glance / That made me afraid
  That you were just seeing me as a chance / Of getting laid

The resentment of the protagonist is felt in the closing minute and a half as those guitars get louder and more agitated at our hero's predicament. There's no doubt that Instersate 5 really was a mission statement from the boy Gedge - the Wedding Present were back! I agree, this was no Cinerama track. The album emerged to rave reviews and much joy at the return of one of indie music's great names.

That in itself raises an interesting point though - it was only a name. The record was recorded as Cinerama, only a late decision to attribute it to the Wedding Present really drew people's attention to it. Would it have been so hailed as a Cinerama record? Would I have cared so much about a new Cinerama record? Discuss.


(Here's the astonishing video recorded in locations the length and breadth of the UK. One of my favourite vids of all time in fact.)

From Inside The Pod Revisited #10

As much as I've always tried to seek out and promote new music, I still cannot accept most people not giving a shit. I'm better than I was, mind. I used to get in a right strop about it. I closed my old blog down when I realised my audience only seemed to enjoy the covers podcast I used to post over those that consisted mainly of original material. Nowadays, I'm more likely to satisfy myself that I'm far more advanced, educated and superior in my musical interest tht 99% of everyone else. Even if that's not true, I still like to think it is.

Only two more podcasts after this one were forthcoming before I crashed the pod. I still intend to post a few more here though before I finally bring the whole thing to a definitive halt. This was the last of the covers ones I released at the time. As usual, the following notes remain as they were at the time of the original posting.

Pod 28: re:Covering 4
(first published March 2012)

Covers yada-yada-yada.  You sure you're not getting tired of this concept yet?  You wouldn't rather hear some original material?  Well?  Oh go on then, here's another bunch for you.

1. Ian McCulloch Lover Lover Lover [1992, Mysterio]
(original by Leonard Cohen)
Len's back in vogue with his new album 'Old Ideas' topping the charts in 9 countries (making him, at 77, the oldest artist to score a number one in Finland.  How's that, fact fans?!) and reaching number 3 in the States, his highest ever chart position there.  The critics have raved about the record and everyone seems to want to cover his songs again.  Echo And The Bunnymen frontman Ian McCulloch has done a couple himself, this excellent take on 'Lover Lover Lover' being released as a single from his second solo album.

2. Zee Avi First Of The Gang To Die [2009, Zee Avi]
(original by Morrissey)
It's always an act of bravery to even attempt a cover of a Smiths/Morrissey song.  You leave yourself wide open to all sorts of (often unjustified) criticism from the diehards.  God forbid you should tamper with the gospel, eh?  Zee Avi, a 27-year-old singer-songwriter from Malaysia, makes a bold move with her fine version of the track Morrissey recently declared to be the one he is most proud of.  Stripping it down to just voice and acoustic guitar, she even deviates from the original melody line to make the song totally her own.  The cheek of it! Can you hear the purists seething?

3. The Raveonettes I Wanna Be Adored [2010, 50 Years Of Dr. Martens]
(original by the Stone Roses)
Talking of seething purists... I'm personally not overwhelmed by the Stone Roses reunion.  I mean, just listen to that pretty-much perfect debut album.  How can you recapture that 23 years after the event?  Mind, with that attitude, it might be easy to dismiss anyone else's interpretations of those great (and I really do mean GREAT) songs.  But I love the Raveonettes.  While the Roses very much defined an era, the dynamic Danish duo constantly sound like they're trying to discover some lost musical paradise hidden in a rift in space and time that falls somewhere between 1957 and the present day.  If this had come out in 1989 instead of the original, we could have been talking about Copenhagen instead of 'Madchester'.  Maybe.

4. Sonic Youth Ça Plane Pour Moi [1992, Freedom of Choice: Yesterday's New Wave Hits As Performed By Today's Stars]
(original by Plastic Bertrand)
Right, without resorting to Google or Wikipedia, how many famous rock & roll Belgians can you name?  Give up?  You probably got Plastic Bertrand and then...?  And to be honest, 'Ça Plane Pour Moi' was his only big hit, but the fact it became one of the biggest selling French language songs worldwide ever makes him worthy of 'fame'.  Sadly, it all went wrong for Bertrand (real name Roger Jouret) when after a decade of living the rock 'n' roll lifestyle, he began to resemble Elvis circa 1977, before going on to flop in the Eurovision Song Contest representing Luxembourg!  The song lives on however, having been covered countless times - Richard Thompson, Vampire Weekend, the Presidents of the United States of America and Kim Wilde (!) have all had a pop - but Sonic Youth's noise-drenched romp-thru is up there with the better ones.  Oh, the guy who invented the saxophone was Belgian.  And so, apparently, was Audrey Hepburn...

5. A Camp Boys Keep Swinging [2009, Covers EP]
(original by David Bowie)
Strangely, Bowie fans are not as fiercly protective of their idol's work as Morrissey/Stone Roses nuts.  They tend to welcome covers of his songs rather than forbid them.  No wonder then that there have been many superb interpretations of Bowie classics (and one or two duff ones).  A Camp is a side-project of Swedish popmeisters The Cardigans, led by Nina Persson.  They update our Dave's cocksure, coke-fuelled original (from 1979's 'Lodger'), adding a touch of typically Scandinavian pop-pizazz to the proceedings.

6. Miranda Sex Garden Exit Music (For A Film) [2001, Anyone Can Play Radiohead - A Tribute to Radiohead]
(original by Radiohead)
Pretentious buggers, Radiohead.  Agreed?  Fitting therefore that they should be covered by London's finest (only?) neo-classical avant-garde goths Miranda Sex Garden.  This take on one of 'OK Computer's more downbeat moments (and there were more than a few of them) was actually the very last thing MSG released.

7. Hayseed Dixie Ace Of Spades [2004, Let There Be Rockgrass]
(original by Motörhead (on The Young Ones!))
Something to cheer us up a bit after that.  There can be no-one who doesn't know 'Ace of Spades'.  If there is, I don't want to know them.  Ever.  But if Lemmy's brand of heavy, fast punk-metal doesn't do it for you, how's about a bluegrass version?  Hayseed Dixie began life as an AC/DC tribute band (AC/DC = Hayseed Dixie... see what they did there?) but branched out, covering (in a redneck-stylee) other rock behemoths such as Kiss, Queen and Black Sabbath, before moving onto pop in the form of Franz Ferdinand and Scissor Sisters.  Nowadays, they write more of their own material, but remain hilarious and actually bloody amazing musicians.

8. Camille O'Sullivan Sna Bróga Seo (In These Shoes) [2009, Ceol 09]
(original by Kirsty MacColl)
I understand the Burlesque movement is making a bit of a comeback.  Not that I would know about such things of course.  Irish chanteuse Camille O'Sullivan is tapping into that, taking an interesting array of other people's songs to such audiences.  She seems to be a fan of Nick Cave, tackling three or four of his songs, and her latest album also includes two Radiohead numbers.  This stab at Kirsty MacColl's 'In These Shoes?' was recorded in the Irish Gaelic language for a compilation album.  The more I hear it, the less I actually care for it that much.  Perhaps it's because I'm a Kirsty purist (oh the irony!) but I think the lyrics really make this song and unless you speak Gaelic, it's kind of wasted.  And performance-wise it's a little... meh, something you could never have accused the lovely Kirsty of.

9. The Joy Formidable It's Over [2011, The Big More EP]
(original by Roy Orbison)
I talked of bravery when describing Zee Avi taking on a Morrissey track.  So how about a young Welsh trio with a female vocalist tackling one of the most famous songs by arguably the most remarkable, heartbreaking male voice of all-time?  A hardy challenge for sure, and make of it what you will, but I simply cannot rate this band highly enough.  I demand that you love them! Here's the video for this amazing version.

10. The Wedding Present Back For Good [2008, How The West Was Won (box set)]
(original by Take That)
Let's face it, if anyone can take a bonafide British boyband classic and turn it into a gloomy indie anthem complete with loud guitars, squealing feedback and a Northern accent, the boy Gedge can.  And how!  I hope he's still churning stuff out when he gets to Leonard Cohen's age.

Download it!

The Genius Of... David Gedge #10

#10: Kennedy by The Wedding Present

This will be the last of this series for the time being. It hasn't been as popular as I'd hoped so I'm calling time on the regular postings, though I may well sporadically post additional articles when the mood takes me. There will be one more Tim Smith post and one more Jack White post, but it's most likely the Tim Smith series will be revived at some point as it was by far the most popular.

So to finish the Gedge installment, an absolute classic, not just in terms of Gedge's output but in the entire output of the indie music genre. A big claim yes, but I defy anyone to argue the point. Kennedy was the Wedding Present's first single on a major label and their first UK Top 40 hit. It featured on their second album 'Bizarro' in 1989, but I first heard it the previous year when they played it at my first ever gig.

There was no new sound to accompany the major label deal, just classic jangly Weddoes. Lyrically it's one of Gedge's simplest - a single repeated verse referring to JFK and the so-called American dream. If you ever hear the Wedding Present on the radio, it's most likely Kennedy that's being played. It's a song that still gets me going all these years later, and a fine way to wrap this series up.

The Genius of... David Gedge #9

#9: Spiderman On Hollywood by The Wedding Present

2008's 'El Rey' is sadly not regarded as Gedge's finest work, which is a shame as it's got some excellent songs on it.  Spiderman On Hollywood, for instance, is one of my fave Gedge tunes post-reformation. It's a song about things - in this case, and in typical Gedge fashion, a relationship - not always being what they first appear.  Musically it's not far removed from 'Bizarro'-era Weddoes. Lyrically it's also one of Gedge's best, his wit shining through as much as in any song he's written.

  "I thought I saw a superhero but it was just Spiderman on Hollywood
  I thought I saw a supermodel but she had hair where I don't think she should."

One of our Dave's favourite topics is that of failing relationships. While most of them tend to be bitter and resentful, this one seems to be a more amicable split with the protagonist seemingly accepting of his own misplaced assumptions and naïveté.

  "That's what's so funny, honey
  You looked like my girl for so long
  That I thought you would always be beside me
  But I'll be the first to admit I was wrong."

There are a few other dead good tracks on 'El Rey'. It's a somewhat lighter record than its predecessor 'Take Fountain', harking back to some classic Wedding Present reference points. Spiderman on Hollywood is probably its most illustrative number.

The Genius of... David Gedge #7

Three by The Wedding Present

1992's 'Hit Parade' project was remarkable in a number of ways. The good old seven inch single was dead; I was working at Our Price at the time and can say this with authority. No one wanted these silly little bits of black plastic anymore. So what do Gedge and cohorts do? They release 12 singles on 7" vinyl format only. A winner, yeah?

Well actually, yeah. Following the critical acclaim of 'Seamonsters', the Weddoes hit upon a surprise period of commercial success. Each of their strictly limited monthly singles made the Top 40 which was a UK chart record (only Elvis had ever achieved this before, but none of his hits were self-penned). They remain the only British act to achieve this feat. What's also interesting is that compiling all 12 a-sides together actually creates a cohesive album[1].

Three was the third of the series (Ha! Clever!) and is one of my fave Gedge tunes. It's somewhat restrained in its approach, a little quiet and understated, but lyrically it's probably as saucy as Gedge ever got.

  "I'm yours, she's mine
  Two's company but three have a better time."

Is he trying to initiate a ménage à trois here? Probably, the naughty devil. Yet it's downplayed in both his vocal delivery and the music which is notably slower than many of the tracks from the 'Hit Parade' project. Gedge isn't going to shout about his encounters from the rooftops a la Van Halen or Aerosmith. This is a private matter between him and his partner(s). It's another fine example of how Gedge gets the best out of his songs and is a bit of a dark horse in his canon.

---

[1] Originally the first six A-sides and B-sides were compiled, followed by the latter 6 A's and B's. Subsequent re-issues of 'Hit Parade' have been double CD affairs with all 12 A's on one disc and the B-sides on the other. Far more sensible.
 

The Genius Of... David Gedge #6

#6: My Favourite Dress by The Wedding Present
 
Probably the first true sign of David Gedge's talent. My Favourite Dress was released as the Wedding Present's fourth single in 1987 and later that year featured (in a slightly altered form) on the debut album 'George Best'. It displays everything you need to know about Gedge's approach to songwriting, particularly in those early days.

Musically, it sums up what the Wedding Present were all about - jangly guitars, simple three-chord structures and that all-important extended coda. Lyrically, it's trademark Gedge. Our hero has been stood up, only to spot his girlfriend in the arms of another man:

  Uneaten meals, a lonely star
  A welcome ride in a neighbour's car
  A long walk home in the pouring rain
  I fell asleep when you never came
  Some rare delight in Manchester town
  It took six hours before you let me down
  To see it all in a drunken kiss
  A stranger's hand on my favourite dress
  That was my favourite dress you wore

My Favourite Dress was one of the first songs I ever taught myself to play on guitar (yes, it's that simple) and has remained a huge fave of mine over the years. On occasion I've shamefully forgotten what a good song it is. One listen, and I'm hooked once more.