indie rewind
Not Forgotten: Frank Black & The Catholics – Dog in the Sand
The relationship between musician and listener is not always easy. Occasionally the misunderstandings are inevitable and sometimes compromises need to be made. However with the appropriate patience and open hearts and minds, you can reach a level of mutual understanding that you had not previously considered to be possible. There are times when your appreciation …
Not Forgotten: Grandaddy – Sumday
In the process of comprehensively out-OK Computered Radiohead with the stunning The Sophtware Slump in 2000, Grandaddy had gained an enviable reputation for musical brilliance, but that hadn’t really translated into sales. However, with a line of cosmic americana shot through with a thread of melancholy, Grandaddy’s career had organically grown from self-releasing EPs and …
Not Forgotten: Paul Westerberg – 14 Songs
The former The Replacements frontman Paul Westerberg had been the main creative force behind his former band for the last few years of their career, so in the early 90s, him transitioning to a solo career on the same record label was a natural move for him. Not that he leapt straight into recording his …
Not Forgotten: The Czars – Before… But Longer
Like many people, I only know The Czars as the band John Grant was in before he temporarily turned his back on the music industry. As such it is tempting to approach them as little more than a footnote in what is proving to be an extraordinary solo career, however there’s more to them than …
Remembering: Bradford’s Ian H Interview
I suppose you’d say they were nearly men, Bradford. And just writing that makes me feel a little sad. The Blackburn five piece, Ian H. (Ian Michael Hodgson, vocals), Ewan Butler (guitar), John Baulcombe (Keyboards),Jos Murphy (bass guitar), and Mark McVitie (drums), released a handful of singles and one brilliant album Shouting Quietly, as well …
Not Forgotten: Aimee Mann – Whatever
I have always kept an eye open for new female singer-songwriters. In general I am a huge fan of the genre (if you can call it a genre in its own right). But for every good one, there are a handful of bad ones. For every Tori or Alanis, there is a Sandi Thom or …
Not Forgotten: Modest Mouse – Good News For People Who Love Bad News
There are times when a band hits a point in their career where everything is just right, where they make that quantum leap forward that they’ve been threatening to make for years. Such are the vagaries of music fandom that point isn’t recognised by all their fans immediately and there are inevitably those that feel …
Soundtrack Of Our Lives: Rowetta from The Happy Mondays
Whether its “twistin’ yer melon” with The Happy Mondays or paying homage to Ian Curtis alongside Peter Hook and the Light, Rowetta is the undisputed Queen of Madchester. A very influential artist in her own right, we wanted to know what songs she loved, the ones that she would say made the Soundtrack of Her …
Not Forgotten: Tracey Thorn – Tinsel & Lights
It seemed unlikely that queen of cool Tracey Thorn would release an album of festive hits. Her melancholic sound doesn’t really seem to lend itself to the joy and happiness needed for a Christmas song. But in 2012 that’s exactly what she did. ‘Tinsel & Lights’ was her fourth solo effort away from husband Ben …
Not Forgotten: Big Star – Radio City
If Big Star’s #1 Record was an album that charmed me from the moment I heard it, Radio City is an album with which my relationship has evolved incrementally over time. When I first heard it, I have to admit, I was disappointed. Sure, “September Gurls” is a great song, to the point where it …