OFF! - New Album out in May

Taken from their website........

New album out May 8!

Pitchfork has announced the release of our new album. Check it out HERE

The Stranglers - Giants (2012)

I did something this morning I haven't done for years; I bought an album on the day of it's release. I bought the deluxe edition from iTunes for a tenner and I received 24 tracks for that price; 10 new and 14 live.....if anyone says that's not value for money they need help.

I'm trying to restrain myself from yelling how good it is, as I want to give it time to settle in my mind. Howver, it has all the elements of a classic Stranglers album; Dave on fire with the great old style keyboards, Jet as tight as ever, JJ's bass rumbling throughout and Baz is so good you forget about Hugh. I feel bad for saying that last bit as he's a great musician in his own right, but he'll forever have to meet that comparison. He does this, head on, and knocks it for six.

The last few years of The Stranglers has been a real return to the halcyon days of old. No more mediocre albums with the odd bright flash, Norfolk Coast, Suite XVI and now Giants burn as bright as any of the first 5.

The tour started a day or two ago and I only have a few weeks before I get to see them in my town. If, like me a few years ago, you haven't seen them live for some time, do yourself a HUGE favour and buy a ticket. 

I saw them in 1981 and then had a 25 year break from seeing them live. The band fire on all cylinders these days and live they put on a mean show. Baz has more of a rapport with the crowd than previous singers and, thankfully, they've lost the fluff they added towards the end of Hugh's time. Now you get what you expect from The Stranglers; a trip down 38 years of great music that bristles with excitement  and electricity. Don't miss them....seriously.

SNFU

A very long overdue post.

The story of SNFU is well documented, but anyway..... The band formed out of the ashes of "Live Sex Show", the first band to feature the Belke brothers and Ken Chinn, who by now had assumed the name Mr Chi Pig.

They burst into my world as a relative unknown having only heard a few compilation tracks. I was offered a copy of their first album, which I bought having not heard it; £4.00 seemed little to lose if it was shit. Happily, I'd stumbled across a classic. The album had a soon to be banned sleeve and came out in different covers for a while. I had the first three. I still have them.

                                        The banned cover

I followed them throughout their history and they never failed to deliver something. They consisted of a revolving door of drummers and bassists, but contained three friends who'd met through a shared love of skate boarding as kids Mr Chi Pig vocals with Marc and Brent Belke on guitars. They lasted through a breakup and reformation from 1981 - 1998 when Brent left the band. Marc left in 2005 and the band once again split up.

Mr Chi Pig seemed to go off the rails in the late 80's with drink and drugs playing an ever increasing role in his life with a severe impact. As it turns out he fractured his skull head-banging when he connected with a fans head; the resulting chemical imbalance mixed with personal traumas and drugs dragged him about as low as you can go. He sold everything he owned and ended up living on the streets of Vancouver as a destitute homeless person.

Since that time he's managed to beat many of his demons and is back on track with a new version of the band and a possible new album.

 
SNFU stood out from the crowd for a number of reasons to me, they had a singer with a distinctive sound, the tunes were intricate and the lyrics didn't follow the normal fashion. You also can't stop yourself from singing along which is a massive plus in my book.

They went on to release 7 studio albums and a handfull of 7''. All the albums have something to offer with none of them being duds, even Better than a Stick in the Eye has peaks, but only just. Their best work is undoubtedly the first two and the last album, In the Meantime and in Between Time which has the behemoth that is "Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump" on it.

A song so good it just has to be heard. Mediafire

Sideburns in the shape of a prairie province,
Bookcased his face, baby
He looked alot like Elvis,
Long before his name became disgraced,
Back when he was young,
Taking care of business in a flash,

I met him at the Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump, Yeah.
I met him at the Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump, Yeah

He sang deep and low,
Well, he sang in baritone,
And he sang about the buffalo,
He sang about home sweet home,
He sang about cool hot rods
and shiny UFO’s.
He did not sing about,
What he did not know. No, no.

If you don't know this band I highly reccommend all their releases, but especially "And No One Else Wanted to Play" "If You Swear You'll Catch No Fish" and "In the Meantime and In Between Time"; they're all classics. As most of their releases are still in print and are VERY cheap to buy off itunes/amazon etc I won't post them, but I can post the following as they're out of print.

Released in 1987 via the band this was an updated version of She's not on the Menu (dunce mix) with two demo tracks from 1982 on the b-side. Limited to 500 copies on a silk screened cover.

Mediafire

Released in 1993 and long since out of print this 7'' features a re-recorded song from Last of the Big Suspenders and an alternative take of a song from Green and Leafy.

Mediafire

A film was made on Mr Chi Pig a few years ago documenting his, and the bands, history. It's a really good watch, if quite tragic in places, but shows his spirit and determination to beat the shit that dragged him down. You can watch it here - once open click the top link"watch full vidbux" and then click "verify human" and remove the ad.

Naked Raygun - Live (1990)

It's Naked Raygun....you know it has to be good.

Mediafire

Chuck Mosley - We care a Lot (2009)

My fave album of 2009........

Scream - Complete Control (2011)

How strange life is; I was just thinking I wish I still got excited about new music the way I used to as a nipper, and then this arrives and well, er, I got excited. This is fucking great, seriously good. Don't expect Still Screaming as it's more in line with the Fumble era, but three reasons why that makes this 100% better than most releases: -

1. It's Scream.
2. It's Scream.
3. It's Scream.

This is the original line up reformed and releasing new material for the first time in over 20+ years. Where does life go? Pete, Franz, Skeeter, Kent and a new guitarist Clint Walsh have made me one very fucking happy bunny. If my zimmer frame wasn't broken I'd be pogoing right about now.

Seven new tracks recorded in Dave Grohls studio finished with a stomping version of Demolition Dancing by the Ruts.You need to invest a few quid and buy this....pure gold!!!!!!

The Professionals live (1981)

I hated the end of the Pistols, Mclarren dragged a great name right through the mire, and Sid Vicious, he had no place in the Pistols, but well, sad life sadder end . I liked Silly Thing and was always a sucker for a Steve Jones riff; so when the Professionals came along I bought all their releases and I've played them ever since.

I have a dodgy video of them from '81 somewhere that I'll try and upload one day....till then this'll have to do.

Mediafire

Runaways (1977)

Such a great band, such a great quality video.

APC

Moving Targets - Burning in Water (1986)

Since it's been named dropped a couple of time I thought I'd post the album.

Formed in late '81 by Ken Chambers Moving Targets really are a sleeping giant, and sadly so. I'm lost as to why they aren't better known and decades later I'm still bemused as to why they didn't reach the lofty heights of the likes of Husker Du, Replacements, Lemonheads etc; perhaps they were just a little too rough? Who knows. To my ears they are a great blend of punk, pop and melody. I'm sure the world will catch on one day.

This album is by far their finest moment and was delivered by a power trio who could match any, in my opinion. Chambers was joined by Pat Leonard (bass) and Pat Brady (drums) for this release. They were touted as a phenomenal live act, sadly I never got the chance to witness this.

This lineup imploded all too soon and Chambers joined Bullet LaVolta, but continued to write and perform with Moving Targets. They released three more albums under the moniker, but none quite matched this release, although Brave Noise is pretty darn close.. They're all worth tracking down with the final album featuring two members of Jones Very.

I really can't praise this album highly enough it's simply stellar in its beauty....if only they made music like this these days. My Nephew thinks 30 Seconds to Mars and Paramore are punk; I should point him here and educate him, unfortunately I fear his ears aren't refined enough to appreciate it.

Mediafire

Pat Brady passed away a couple of years ago aged just 43, way too young. He as one hell of a drummer.