indie rewind
Not Forgotten: They Might Be Giants – John Henry
With the Two Johns having forged an enduring career releasing a series of albums that appeal to socially awkward types who perhaps spend just a little bit too much time in their own heads, it’s a tiny regret of mine that I didn’t encounter the music of They Might Be Giants during my teenage years, …
Not Forgotten: XTC – Drums and Wires
Drums and Wires has much more to offer than just XTC’s breakthrough hit single
Classic Compilation: Various Artists – Step Right Up: The Songs of Tom Waits
As an example of the Tribute Album sub-genre, it’s fair to say that Step Right Up is easily one of the best.
Not Forgotten: Fiery Furnaces – Blueberry Boat
I still remember the level of disappointment I experienced when I first heard Blueberry Boat. Fiery Furnaces debut, Gallowsbird’s Bark, is for my money, one of the best debut albums of the last two decades. A thrillingly shakey series of travelogue sketches recorded in a lo-fi manner, propelled by tumbling pianos, nicely rhythmic guitars and …
Not Forgotten: The Duckworth Lewis Method – The Duckworth Lewis Method
While concept albums about cricket may not be the most obvious career move, The Duckworth Lewis Method seemed to be just the project that The Divine Comedy’s Neil Hannon and Pugwash’s Thomas Walsh needed at that point in their respective careers. While Divine Comedy had enjoyed their commercial heyday as the 20th Century closed, their …
A Beginners Guide to Sparks
Sparks aren’t just any old pop band. Formed by brothers Ron and Russell Mael, the former child models were just too weird for the macho chest-beating alpha male loving American rock scene of the 70s, Sparks have always enjoyed far greater success in Europe. Following some tentative steps as Halfnelson, the brothers would form Sparks …
Classic Compilation: Various Artists – I’m Your Fan
The compilation album consisting of multiple acts recording a variety of songs penned by a single artist by way of tribute resulted in a series of releases which can be generously considered ‘patchy’. For every Step Right Up, or A Testimonial Dinner, two examples which actually worked, there were a dozen more ham-fisted attempts at …
Not Forgotten: Cud – When in Rome, Kill Me
It is one of the less talked about pages of late 80s indie lore that the budget was so tight when Cud recorded their debut album, that when they over spent the band elected not to master it and release it in its natural state. This meant that the original release of When in Rome, …
Not Forgotten: Travis – The Man Who
Good old Travis. Good old sensible Travis. For a while they had a reputation for doing exactly what you expected of them. So honest, so reliable, so steady, always taking the off-target accusations of being slightly dull in good humour. In the nicest possible sense, for a few years Travis were the Ned Flanders of …
Not Forgotten: David Byrne – David Byrne
Like most people, I had been aware of David Byrne via his work with the Talking Heads, however I’d also heard that his solo albums were generally a bit more arty and just a little bit pretentious, but a friend of mine advised that this was a good album to take a risk with and …