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The Moons - Pocket Melodies - Colorama Rec. - LP/CD
Ever since they landed on earth, The Moons have dipped their feet into the indie genre of the 1960s popular guitar band building their reputation around elegant 3-minute tunes while watching the dapper part in whistles and flutes. Their latest long player titled Pocket Melodies released via Colorama Records on October 23 CD, LP and download sees the band enthusiastically continue their quest to become experts in their sound. The opening song Today is a wonderful daydream pop classic. Originally released via Crofts as a single, while the B-side: Gordelier conceived with the rest of the band members, who live, follow Paul Weller on tour and who call themselves The Songbook Collective for the occasion. The tune wouldn't be out of place in Something Else by The Kinks, it has those dreamy, idyllic harmonies and some high-pitched shimmer of ivories with picturesque lyrics that take your mind away from normal into meadows and fields of wonder and excitement. The rest of the album follows a similar vein, Riding Man has an emotional vibe, Love The One Your With with harmonies by Manfred Mann from the '70s; Old Brigade has acoustical similarities to Dead End Street, Far Away gallops in sight with some crawling drums setting the beat for this adorable lyrically catchy tune; Maybe I'm The Perfect Man (For You) has some similarities to the Beatles with a rotating, descending Rickenbacker guitar coming straight out of the drawing above. My favorite track on the album is Lone Wolf which mixes what sounds like a full orchestra with BBC moog Tomorrows World while playing like a distant cousin of Super Furries It's Not The End Of The World, an absolute cracker. There is also time for a track written with Paul Weller called Tunnel Of Time, but overall the moment belongs to The Moons. A pastoral publication with hints of folk, pop, bookstore and blues, the type of publication that will perfectly suit any lover of the Beatles, the Kinks and the Jam.
Scasso 09/11/2020
VV/AA - Eddie Piller present the Mod Revival - Acid jazz Rec. - 2LP/4CD box set
3987/5000 In 1979, when he was 15, Eddie Piller was in the perfect position to be at the epicenter of the Mod revival. A curious passion for music, a familiar bond with real Mods, Small Faces, and an attitude that saw him traveling to his hometown, then to the countryside and then to the world to absorb the sounds that were emerging. In the following years, Piller was a legendary figure within the music industry creating and continuing to own the groundbreaking Acid Jazz label, signing multi-platinum artists like Jamiroquai and Brand New Heavies, multifaceted compilation artists like Martin Freeman. and as an award-winning broadcaster that has even created its own fully wired radio station. However, in these two releases (double LP and four CD box sets) it is the first time that he has looked back at the movement that was to be his starting point. That Mod is an original 1960s youth movement built on elegant clothing, American soul music and club nights in the city, a movement that never really died. The originals added young British bands to their tastes and then moved on, but their influence echoed in the 1970s in Northern Soul clubs and in the 1960s influenced bands of the pub rock era. When punk came along, it should have wiped out the past, but instead the Sex Pistols were covering the Small Faces. The Clash brought Mod DJ Guy Stevens to produce: London's Calling, the watchwords sounded closer to the Hollies than the Ramones and Paul Weller's Jam there was a musical and sartorial nod to the past of the Who, the Beatles and of pop art arrows. Weller had spent the 1970s becoming obsessed with Mods and saw an era-like youthful energy in punk that he had missed having been born a decade too late. For others, Weller's style proved to be an inspiration, and when the Jam exploded in late 1978, they saw a wave of bands following in their wake, and they themselves influenced others to form their own bands. But there were other things. In bleak Britain of the late 1970s, the glorious optimism of the 1960s looked bright and bright, and as it was only a decade or so, it was easy to grab original records, clothes and books for pennies, and as you did this you found that there were other kindred souls who did the same. For those a little too young for punk, it was a community of concerts, scooters, clothes, bands and records, and for many it has evolved. Eddie has never stopped being a Mod and has a unique perspective having lived through four decades of being intimately involved in the music that has emerged from the Mod scene. In our four CD box set and its modified 2LP version, Ed guides us through some of his favorite music from the scene. He guides us through a plethora of bands whose influences include the Who, the Kinks and the Jam, to 1960s soul and R&B, those with an eye for psychedelia. The records have a vitality and a certain stylistic swagger, which sets them apart as Mod. Piller wrote an in-depth note describing what it meant to him and granted access to his scrapbooks from his many years of concerts from which pages are reproduced. and memorabilia. Eddie piller's Mod revival is a personal assessment from the modcast founder, of what the Mod explosion of the late 70's and 80's meant to him. It's not only great listening, but probably the only box set you'll ever need on the subject. This LP contains 28 classic rarities and underrated gems printed in double LP on 140g blue and red vinyl. In-depth liner notes tracing the scene's history and memorabilia from her personal scrapbook, presented in a wide back with printed inner sleeves.
Scasso 08/10/2020
Martin Freeman and Eddie Piller - Jazz on the Corner Vol. 2 - Acid jazz Rec. - 2 CD/2LP
After the success of Jazz On The Corner and Soul On The Corner we are pleased to announce all the details of a new compilation - Jazz on The Corner Two. This compilation sees Martin Freeman and Eddie Piller return to the world of jazz for another bite after Vol.1 was declared "the best jazz compilation of the past 20 years" by Jazz FM's Chris Phillips. The concept is simple: an album chock full of jazz gems from lesser-known songs, from Nina Simone to Nicola Conte, to the classics of Roberta Flack, Roy Ayers and The MJQ; while the new British jazz generation is represented by Emma-Jean Thackray. An exciting listening from start to finish. There is nothing more to add, if not the advice to buy it and listen to it !!
Scasso 07/10/2020
The Spitfires - Life Worth Living - Acid jazz Rec. - LP/CD
Opportunities and successes came in large numbers when The Spitfires first appeared on the scene in 2012, with sold out concerts, lives on television and continuous interviews for the sector newspapers that influenced their calendars. Now they are out with their project, the return of the three Watford boys with a new album more conceived and wanted. "Life Worth Living", their fourth album, sees Billy Sullivan and his strings, showing more ambition than before, experience the genre in new ways, using other methods to achieve the desired results. Following a change of record label, the band is in a place where they can enjoy the coupled support and a new energy boost to satisfy the cravings of the fans and ready to gain a new listening territory. Their work with Simon Dine, who has previously worked with Paul Weller, as a producer was an excellent choice. Dine gets the sound and ambition of the Spitfires, ensures that their vibrant live sound and energy are present on this new studio album. The result is a diversified LP that offers variety and surprise. Silent and introspective at times, the dynamic contrasts are satisfied by the joyful and happier moments of this album. Musically, it's a far-reaching display. From the breathless ska vibrations heard in 'Start All Over Again' and 'It't't Be Done' to the melodic ballad of 'How Could I Lie To You' and the tranquility of the final tracks' Have It Your Way 'and' Make It Through Every Day ', several good moments are created. "(Just Won) Keep Me Down" addresses the experience of returning home from the pub late at night. Capture some of the dangers, chaos and paranoia. Sometimes touching the atmosphere of the dark streets, the sound of police sirens that could also be confused with the sounds of ambulances as if you had a disturbed hearing when you were drunk. Sullivan wanted to "capture the environment that people can relate to wherever they live". "Life Worth Living" celebrates a little "grit" that everyday life has to offer. Normal lives aren't necessarily glamorous, but there is beauty to discover when you take a look. It is a timely snapshot that comes at a time when perhaps there is even more need.
Scasso 09/07/2020
Paul Weller - On Sunset - Polydor Rec. - 2LP\CD
Paul Weller is not a reassuring artist. So are those artists who do not want to please and pursue only what the voice-guide suggests to them that resonates within them. You cannot passively listen to an album by today's 62-year-old English musician. Most of the time you appreciate it, sometimes you don't fully understand it, at other times you remain perplexed and annoyed, but never indifferent. This is what is required of every self-respecting musician: to enjoy his skills, but also to be involved emotionally and, why not, displaced and surprised. It was a surprise, just under two years ago, "True Meanings", because essentially acoustic and delicate, in tones and themes. The new born "On Sunset" connects in direct line to the previous one with "Mirror Ball", the opening track of the tracklist written at the time of "True Meanings". Almost eight kaleidoscopic minutes, just like a mirror ball that reflects the whole thing. Explanatory summary of what is going to be listened to, for the musical variety that is contained in it. "Baptiste" is pure soul as if it were any Van Morrison. Pure secular soul and, precisely for this reason, religious. The R'n'B of "Old Father Thyme" lingers with a good-natured look at the passage of time, and the warm tones of the song make it the right credibility, "Village" tells of a person who is fully satisfied with what he has, the his 'village', and is characterized by the keyboards of Mick Talbot, old pard of Weller in the adventure Style Council. The use of electronics, with a battery programmed to dictate the tempo in "More" which, curiously, has a verse (only one) in French sung by Julie Gros of Le Superhomard, and ends with an irresistible jam across the whole band . The title track is placed at the center of the tracklist and recalls "Village", both in its sound to the Style Council and for the sense of completeness and pacification that reigns at sunset. In the theatrical "Equanimity" the ex Slade Jim Lea offers his violin. The sense of peace, optimism and love becomes almost disturbing ... we expect an explosion that will not come. And then it is a pleasure to even listen to the birds chirping in "Walkin '" and also "Earth Beat" goes to push on the accelerator of optimism. "On Sunset" can be called a pop album in the most positive sense of the term. The tracks on the disc have many influences, even antithetical to each other, which are amalgamated and connected to each other by Paul Weller's vocal timbre. Pop that stands for popular, or that ability that is anything but trivial for a work to be understandable and pleasing to the public. As in "True Meanings" words such as trust, kindness, love, serenity are used. At sunset the sun still shines for Weller. Has the passage of time softened Weller's otherwise sarcastic gaze? It can also be seen in this way, but the result (which is what matters anyway) does not change. Once more he won. Even in the time of the Coronavirus.
Scasso 08/07/2020
Twisted Wheel - Satisfying the Ritual - Autoproduct - CD/LP
After managing to get his life back in his hands, leaving the tunnel of drug addiction and depression, the restless Jonny Brown recovered the Twisted Wheel project and recruited three new musicians: bassist Harry Lavin, guitarist Ben Warwick and drummer Ben Robinson. Back on the scene with the short EP "Jonny Guitar" (2018), the longtime friends of Liam Gallagher, to whom they also acted as a shoulder group for the European dates of February, have finally released their third studio album, free from record labels. The dances start with the single of the Nomad Hat garage matrix, characterized by good bass lines and sustained rhythm, which with its four minutes adequately loads the listener. I Am Immune slightly increases the speed and puts sharp guitar riffs in the foreground, taking up the punk sounds typical of Brown's previous works. The more melancholy Black And Blue hits hard with a text related to depression and a tribute to the poet Sylvia Plath, surprising with a captivating ending, while Jonny's voice appears more and more distant. The sentimental D.N.A. is the anthem par excellence and one of the flagship songs of the album: initially slow and dominated by the pace of the drums and an acoustic guitar, it gradually adds a few electric guitar riffs, culminating in an unexpected explosion where the tones and speed. The path continues with the most distorted and shabby Ghost Man, a piece oriented towards psych rock that has been present in the live playlists for some time, reaching half the disc with the gritty and short Wheels Of Love, whose main protagonist is the drums. Slows down and totally changes pace Wrong Side Of The Road, which takes up the typical atmosphere of the anthem to be sung with the audience during a concert. The unleashed 2020 Vision is characterized by distorted melodies and is almost only instrumental, since with the exception of the title of the song shouted by Brown, it is totally governed by the tight rhythms of the percussions and the guitar riffs. The last part of the disc is the most experimental and sees the semi-acoustic Rebel follow one another which softens the tones and closes in an echo that immediately introduces the title track Satisfying The Ritual, characterized by unexpected trip hop sounds, and finally the light Show Me, final piece dominated only by the sound of a piano and an acoustic guitar. The home-made rock 'n' roll of Satisfying The Ritual has some imperfections, but in spite of this it works and any song lends itself well to being performed live, succeeding in the intent set by the band and even going beyond expectations. A result that should not be underestimated.
Scasso 27/04/2020
VV/AA - Soho Scene '64 '65 jazz goes Mod - R'n'B '58 Rec. - 2 CD/4LP
London in the mid-1960s is often imagined as a city of old gentlemen who wear a bowler hat and who carry umbrellas and women who wear gloves and paperbacks. Young people mingle in carnaby Street with paisley colored shirts, bright striped trousers, pink sunglasses, Chelsea boots, miniskirts and white lipstick. Forgotten in this cultural gash between Savile Row and King's Road was a mod jazz scene crowded with talented artists who play pure warmth. While the popularity of jazz was losing ground in the United States during this period in the 1960s, when rock and soul came out, the traditional London jazz scene was filling with talent and craftsmanship in both small groups and large bands. Now there is yet another "trumpet blast" in the spectacular "Jazz Goes Mod" of U.K. and Soho Scene '64 and '65 (Rhythm & Blues). The 78-track four-CD set includes a wide range of British jazz musicians on the first two discs and with American artists of the same period in the other two. I love this series, as each song is different, dynamic and tasty, you can listen to those sounds directly without ever getting bored. British jazz artists and arrangers could play with ease and sophistication than their American peers, and it wasn't just a scene from a few artists. Dozens of bands were top notch and featured truly capable soloists. Unfortunately, many jazz fans weren't completely exposed to the vast vault of talent in London in those years. This set will help you accelerate your knowledge on the scene in those years. This includes tracks from Johnny Burch, Ronnie Scott, Tubby Hayes, Harold McNair, Ernest Ranglin, Dave Lee, Ken Jones, David Mack, John Dankworth, Peter Compton, John Stevens, Pete King and many, many more. The drummers of these bands are particularly furious and rock crushers. In contrast, the U.S. parts of 1964 and '65 are funky and out of the ordinary canons. This includes Clare Fischer's Way Down East, Jimmy Wilkins Orchestra's Snatchin 'It Back, Upstairs Running Mps's Junior, Merle Saunders' Five More, Theme From Bewitched, Groove Holmes' Soul Message and more. One calm soul-jazz after another, creating a wonderful contrast between the evolution of jazz in London and what are the fascinating African American cultural influences. In the United States, the growing popularity of funk, soul, R&B and television is approaching jazz approaches. In London, there is no pop-rock or soul airing on government-owned BBC radio, nor is there the same level of youth-oriented television. Jazz has evolved differently along sophisticated and refined lines, with similar recordings in the sassy style of British sports cars and fashion. Where the jazz of the American big band stopped in the early 1960s, when the bands led by Oliver Nelson, Quincy Jones and Maynard Ferguson ran out of commercial gas, Britain continued to further develop the genre and tastefully. . It's all here on this new compilation of the R'n'B series, so take your Lambretta and run to buy it!
Scasso 24/01/2020
The Divine Commedy - Offices Politics - Chamber Pop Rec. - LP/CD
If there is a lesson that, in his own way, Neil Hannon has taken care to teach us over more than three decades of making music, it is probably the simplest and most visible one: the elixir of long life consists in remaining on foot equal to outside of temporal logics, of the fashions of fashions, of the effort to remain current when instead, simply, you can wear the jacket of a perennial classicism. At best, here, you can change the shape: you can pretend to be Napoleon for an entire tour, just for the sake of doing, inaugurating an impromptu imperialist phase in itself that follows an album, "Foreverland", which more out from time you can't. Then, with an invisible blow of the sponge, you can pretend to find yourself in the quirks of any office, with its tics, gossip, dislikes, logics that are created with or without a reason, precisely. The world of work as a privileged stage for the study of human nature. "Office Politics" is perhaps not a true concept, but allows Hannon to do what he likes most: to wear a completely new mask and try to try his hand at the small-big theater of human nature, extricating himself in a forest of strengths and weaknesses to highlight and mock. To do this, he gets help from the machines: in the thirteenth work in the studio of the Northern Irish artist, his words, "there are synths and songs on synths". In fact, the synthetic component has never been so present in the plots of the Divine Comedy, as well as the reflection on the role and use of the machines, not by chance defined as "infernal" in the homonymous song. If, however, "Foreverland" was a sheltered shelter within the confines of a fiercely twentieth-century and decadent classicism, "Office Politics" is by Dante's law of retaliation the most avant-garde answer ever given by Neil Hannon to the world out there, and even before himself same. The extemporaneous rap of "Psychological Evaluation" stages a dialogue between man and artificial intelligence. "The Synthesiser Service Center Super Summer Sale" stands halfway up the line as the outpost of a new, ephemeral policy (precisely) that seems to want to look to the future through the lenses of an eighties past. And what about the pseudo-industrial march of "Infernal Machines", that sort of three-dimensional nightmare that seems to want to swallow the listener in his gears? And finally, how to welcome the oriental chimes that follow the vocalizations and then the choruses of "Philip And Steve's Furniture Removal Company"? These are operations that only Hannon could succeed, for the simple reason that only he could come to mind. But this does not necessarily mean that the outcome is always up to the almost unlimited credit that Ours has enjoyed for a long time now. And in fact, bragging brand new aside, and certainly not mysteriously, "Office Politics" convinces where the good Neil stops hanging around alien territories to return to being the primactor in the most congenial spotlight. "Norman And Norma" is a new pop classic from the Northern Irish forge that tells the story of a perfect middle class couple now over the years and fully happy with the normality received as a gift. Conversely, the cheeky pop of "Queuejumper" does not manage to conquer completely, while inviting to jump on the rubble of a humanity that has stopped scrupling. For "You'll Never Work In This Town Again" the tails are dusted off in a melting pot of small orchestrations that wink at a swing just mentioned. Even more "classic" is the reflection on the value of each of "Absolutely Obsolete", in turn endowed with precise orchestrations in a game of mirrors between ridicule and seriousness. "The Life And Soul Of The Party" rekindles the desire to party, but without overdoing it, because demeanor is another unshakeable dogma of this calculated madness. The slot dedicated to ballatona is occupied by "A Feather In Your Cap", again immersed in synthesizers and eighties atmospheres, but honestly little stuff compared to any other epigone of the past. And then there is the minute and precious lyricism of "I'm A Stranger Here", imbued with that démodé existentialism that Hannon has been able to raise to art. The truth is that "Office Politics" is a complex album, particularly long (sixteen tracks, one hour in all) and perhaps less immediate than the processors. A work that alternates ups and downs, and as far as we are concerned, less accomplished as a whole than the two chapters that had characterized the Ten years in the Divine Comedy house: "Bang Goes The Knighthood" and "Foreverland". But it is also the most out of the box, and it was not easy, considering the tenor of the predecessors. But, as Hannon reiterates, "I try to make normal albums, but I always seem to be going to strange territories".
Scasso 16/01/2020
The Ride - This is not a safe place - Wichita Rec. - LP/CD
Renovation. This is certainly the word at the center of the Ride's record return. It was clear already in 2017, when "Weather Diaries" (the first post-reunion record release of Bell, Gardener, Queralt and Colbert) proved far from the shoegaze of "Nowhere" and "Going Blank Again", instead marrying less saturated atmospheres of noise and more properly neo-psychedelic. The distance from sounds that made the fortune of the Oxford formation at the beginning of the nineties widened further the following year, with an Ep, "Tomorrow's Shore", which, taking advantage of the experience in electronic music of the producer Erol Alkan, introduced consistent doses of synthesizers in the sound. The thing must have surprised, however, only occasional connoisseurs of the quartet, which is not at all new to rejuvenation attempts, more ("Carnival Of Light") or less ("Tarantula") successful. Even if all this is admitted, it is still difficult not to be surprised in front of the amount of suggestions and influences put into play in this new full length, which make it a definitely fascinating and multifaceted, but also discontinuous and episodic work, showing the Ride not always at one's comfortable with the subjects at stake. The clogged electronics of "R.I.D.E.", which grants itself to shoegaze reminiscences only in the plaintive sung parts, actually opens a pinwheel of which it is difficult, if not impossible, to find a logic. Then follow "Future Love", the concession to the past jingle-jangle of "Twisterella" and "Repetition", dilated neo-psych adaptation of the cyber-punk of Primal Scream. The tense "Kill Switch" is a bad as inspired shoegaze hit; the fringes of fuzz that section "Fifteen Minutes", yet another rhythmic marvel of Queralt and Loz, are also very thunderous. The more atmospheric side of the Ride finds its outlet in the folk ballad "Dial Up", liquid and placid, barely streaked by vintage electronic interferences reminiscent of the old ISDN connections; while the introduction of the long "In This Room" even recalls certain mechanisms of the Notwists. "Clouds Of Saint Marie" and "Eternal Recurrence" constitute a full-bodied central block faithful to the spirit of "Weather Diaries". The first of the two is a very successful song, thanks above all to a decidedly catchy chorus, while the second is a weak attempt at stadium rock, a problem that also affects "Jump Jet". The beautiful "End Game", which culminates in a piercing tremolo guitar ending, is finally a juicy saucer for diehard fans of the shoegaze phase. In short, everything can be attributed to the Ride except cowardice or inability to look around. "This Is Not A Safe Place" is yet another testimony of this attitude, as well as the confirmation that their coming back was not dictated by the possibility of monetizing the return to vogue of a genre that was helped to found, but from the need of the four music ideas, perhaps not always worthy, but brand new.
Scasso 15/01/2020
Garry Bushell - '79 The Mod Revival - RedPlanetBooks - Book
A great book with a choice of five different large covers. Make your choice on the one you want. The Ska, Rock & Mod revival of the late 70s to early 80s brought life and laughter into a politically gloomy UK music scene. Journalist Garry Bushell was at the forefront, worked for Sounds and Dance Craze magazine, and was present to attend all critical events. More than forty years have passed since Jam has inspired a new generation with their album All Mod Cons - released in the final months of 1978. But the Mod revival was much more than a simple phenomenon inspired by the arrival of the film version of Quadrophenia of the Who. A succession of bands including The Purple Hearts, The Jolt, The Chords and Secret Affair, among many who were born at the time and who added a lot of "sound content" to Weller's already powerful songs and great melodies. It was a movement that had been growing organically for more than a year and was a fitting response to the increasingly gloomy post-punk scene with hits such as: 'David Watts',' The Modern World ',' Down in the Tube Station at Midnight ',' Eton Rifles', 'That's entertainement', 'Going Underground' ... This is the story written in a fun, informative and affectionate way by Garry Bushell of the rise and influence of the revival mod. In it, it describes all the main bands and most of the smaller ones. It is the story of those times through the dispatches that he sent from the front line and put on all the musical newspapers of the time.
Scasso 14/01/2020
Brighton 64 - Como Debe Ser - BCore Rec. - LP/CD
BRIGHTON 64 return to the label with the fourth album of their second and prolific musical stage through the 2010 reunion. After the intense tour de force that represented the concept album: El tren de la bruja (2017), the veteran band from Barcelona now launches: Como Debe Ser, a handful of denunciation and anger at the precarious situation of freedom in Spain and a devastating criticism and hypocrisy that invades us from all fronts. The law of the strongest in "La cara infame del poder" and "Miedo me das", death and indifference in "Playas del mediterraneo", justice of many or say piloted in the Spanish judiciary in "Juez y parte", annihilation of the freedom of expression in "Este es un pais libre", the legacy of exile and civil war in "Avui he tornat casa", the manipulation of the media in "Gato por Liebre", and a desperate call for political action in " El estado de la nacion "or" La flor que sustainia en la mano ". A gloomy panoramic view of which the band left only for the three minutes of the self-deprecating song "La balada de los perfidos hermanos Gil". 11 direct and unceremonious songs, 11 stabs of political rock and frenetic power-pop co-produced with Paco Loco, whose savoir faire have given a new boost to the band's repertoire. A record relevant to the times that haunt us (especially in Spain). Without a doubt, the most relevant and political BRIGHTON 64 album.
Scasso 13/01/2020