The Charlottes - Things Come Apart [12", LP]

THE CHARLOTTES were a band from the Cambridge area in the UK. A favourite band of BBC's John Peel (they did a Peel Session in 1989 as well) and their drummer was Simon Scott who later joined Slowdive. Awesome music, loud and distorted, with female vocals. A bit like early My Bloody Valentine. This album, THINGS COME APART, was originally released in 1991 on Cherry Red. Optic Nerve Recordings decided to do a limited reissue on green vinyl this year, with two bonus tracks which were B-sides to their "Liar" EP in 1990. "Venus" is of course the Shocking Blue song, and a way better version than Bananarama did (duh!). Inside the gatefold sleeve are some pics of old concert tickets of shows where they supported Ride. Those were the days! There were 500 numbered copies made of this reissue; I've got # 070.

Label: Optic Nerve Recordings
Cat.nr.: OPT4.004
Year of release: 2013 (originally released in 1991 on Cherry Red)

SIDE A:
01. Liar
02. Prayer Song
03. See Me Feel
04. By My Side
05. Mad Girl's Love Song

SIDE B:
01. Beautify
02. Love In The Emptiness
03. We're Going Wrong
04. Blue
05. Venus

Tripping Daisy - Piranha [7"]

In the mid 90's i got to know TRIPPING DAISY through MTV's 120 Minutes and i was immediately hooked. They had a really good psychedelic vibe which reminded me a bit of Jane's Addiction. This song, PIRANHA, was one of my favourite songs of the album I Am An Elastic Firecracker. I even saw them live in Amsterdam in 1996; great show. I bought all of their stuff on CD at the time (including the CD-maxi version of this single) and didn't have anything on vinyl until recently, so i was pretty thrilled when i bumped into this 7" at the latest record fair in Utrecht. I just had to have it, if only for old times' sake.

Interesting detail about Tripping Daisy: i did know that the band continued (in a very different way, musically) as The Polyphonic Spree after the death of their guitar player Wes Berggren in 1999. But what i only recently found out, is that their drummer from 1997 until Tripping Daisy disbanded, was Ben Curtis who plays in School Of Seven Bells. I really didn't know that; they are very different types of bands, yet still i like them both a lot. Sometimes these kind of things go unexpectedly "full circle". I've had that a few times before. It's one of those similar things like seeing your (then) current heroes Billy Corgan, Thurston Moore and Frank Black being invited to join the stage with all-time hero David Bowie at his 50th birthday celebration gig, back in 1997. Or Jeff Schroeder, guitar player for the awesome (yet unknown) indie band Lassie Foundation that i liked a lot, becoming a member of Smashing Pumpkins a few years ago. Suddenly all pieces of the puzzle are put together! Anyway, this 7" is regularly found on my record player since i bought it a few months ago. Tripping Daisy ruled!

Label: Island Records
Cat.nr.: 854 572-2
Year of release: 1995

SIDE A:
01. Piranha

SIDE B:
01. Creature

Catherine Wheel - I Want To Touch You [12"]

This was a pretty good find at the record fair in Utrecht last month. A 12" by CATHERINE WHEEL, still originally sealed and therefore in completely mint condition . It's a limited edition (part one of a two record set, it says) which comes in a screen printed gatefold pvc sleeve. The cardboard sleeve itself is plain white; all the info plus the cover photo of the dog is printed on the pvc. It was sealed with a sticker. The 12" contains 3 demo songs. Two of them ended up on their Ferment album while Wish's final version appeared on the She's My Friend EP. For demo recordings they sound very good, by the way. The other 12" that fits in the sleeve and was available separately, has a remix of the title song I WANT TO TOUCH YOU and some other songs on it. Would be cool if i'd bump into that one some day.

Label: Fontana
Cat.nr.: CWB 312
Year of release: 1992

SIDE A:
01. I Want To Touch You [Original Demo]

SIDE B:
01. Black Metallic [Original Demo]
02. Wish [Original Demo]

Younghusband - Dromes [12", LP]

DROMES is the debut full length by YOUNGHUSBAND from the UK. A great mix of 60’s psychedelica, shoegaze and krautrock. I really like the artwork as well; totally fits with the music. The title track and "Silver Sisters" are my favourite songs of the album, but the rest is also really good. Some bands that come to mind when you listen to this album are for example the Byrds, Spacemen 3, Ride - and more recent bands like Deerhunter and TOY. The Sonic Cathedral label usually stands for quality releases and this is no exception.
For Younghusband it’s a shame that so many other good albums got released in 2013: it was a close call, but otherwise they surely would have had the honour to end up in my Finest Vinyl list ;)

Label: Sonic Cathedral
Cat.nr.: SCR060LP
Year of release: 2013

SIDE A:
01. Running Water
02. Comets Crossed
03. Left Of The Rocks
04. Sunstroke
05. *
06. Silver Sisters

SIDE B:
01. Reunion Message
02. **
03. Wavelength
04. Divisions
05. Constantly In Love
06. Dromes

David Bowie / Iggy Pop / Roxy Music / Syd Barrett - The Photography Of Mick Rock [7", Book, Tin]

A few years ago, four MICK ROCK photograph books in 7" tins were released, each carrying a 7" vinyl single by the artist featured in the book. The man was mostly known (to me at least) for his pictures of DAVID BOWIE, but he also made some really nice ones of IGGY POP, SYD BARRETT and various glam rock bands like ROXY MUSIC. These tins were released as limited editions and were rather expensive, but lately they have been available on offer for a very reasonable price. The 7"es are each on a different colour vinyl and feature not necessarily the artist's biggest hits, yet pretty cool songs nevertheless. Each book has 128 pages which makes it a pretty heavy package, but definitely worth buying it if you're into high class rock photography. I decided to buy all four of them and this is what the 7"es are about:

David Bowie

Label: EMI
Cat.nr.: 5099964038070           
Year of release: 2011

SIDE A:
01. Starman

SIDE B:
01. Suffragette City

Roxy Music

Label: EMI
Cat.nr.: 5099964038179          
Year of release: 2011

SIDE A:
01. Virginia Plain

SIDE B:
01. The Numberer

Iggy Pop

Label: EMI
Cat.nr.: 5099964038278          
Year of release: 2011

SIDE A:
01. Success

SIDE B:
01. The Passenger

Syd Barrett

Label: EMI
Cat.nr.: 5099964037974          
Year of release: 2011

SIDE A:
01. Octopus

SIDE B:
01. Golden Hair

Tropical Popsicle - Dawn Of Delight [12", LP]

This album by TROPICAL POPSICLE was released earlier this year. I bought it shortly after it came out, but didn't write something about it so far, i noticed while compiling my Finest Vinyl list for 2013. It didn't make it to the list but was definitely a runner-up. DAWN OF DELIGHT is a cool mix of garage and psychedelic music (and some post-punk, like the song Ghost Beacons - my favourite song of the album). Think Velvet Underground meets Wire, or Jesus And Mary Chain meets Echo And The Bunnymen; or something like that. Like said they didn't make it to my top 10, but if i would've made one for silliest band name or weirdest album cover of the year, they would have had a fair chance to win it. Seriously. But having said that, the music is really good and i look forward to hear more from them in the near future.

Label: Talitres
Cat.nr.: TAL070LP
Year of release: 2013

SIDE A:
01. Always Awake In Shadows
02. The Age Of Attraction
03. Ghost Beacons
04. The Beach With Now Footprints
05. Tethers
06. View From The Dihedral Wall

SIDE B:
01. Canyons
02. Cathedral City
03. Havana
04. The Omnipresent Heart Shield
05. Queen Of New York
06. Universe Of God Shadow

David Bowie - Love Is Lost [12"]

In this year's Finest Vinyl list, DAVID BOWIE's album The Next Day came second after My Bloody Valentine. Only just, though. While i had a lot of trouble making up my mind what would be 2013's best album, it would be an easy victory for Bowie if i would make a list of the year's best remixes. Because as far as i'm concerned, the version that James "LCD Soundstystem" Murphy did of the song LOVE IS LOST is definitely the best remix of the year. The mix is called "Hello Steve Reich Mix By James Murphy For The DFA" and it combines Clapping Music, a minimalist piece by composer Steve Reich, and Love Is Lost from Bowie's latest album. But where it gets really interesting is in the middle of the song, where the distinctive piano intro from Bowie's Ashes To Ashes suddenly kicks in. I'm not very often putting audio or video links on this blog, but for this one i'll gladly make an exception. Check Clapping Music, Ashes To Ashes and then this great remix of Love Is Lost.
Besides the 10+ minute version there's also an edited version of around 4 minutes on side B, plus a somewhat baroque sounding remix of I'd Rather Be High.

Label: Columbia
Cat.nr.: 88843016561
Year of release: 2013

SIDE A:
01. Love Is Lost (Hello Steve Reich Mix By James Murphy For The DFA)

SIDE B:
01. I'd Rather Be High (Venetian Mix)
02. Love Is Lost (Hello Steve Reich Mix By James Murphy For The DFA - edit)

Nothing - Downward Years To Come EP [12"]

A couple of days ago i wrote about the Dreampunx album by Anne. It was released on the same label as this DOWNWARD YEARS TO COME EP by the band NOTHING: the hardcore/metal label A389 Recordings. As far as i understood from their bio on the website of Relapse Records, to which they recently signed, Nothing's main man used to be in a hardcore band called Horror Show. That could explain the fact that this release is on a typical hardcore label, because otherwise (just like Anne) Nothing's music has nothing to do with hardcore nor metal. It's pure shoegaze. Signing to (extreme metal label) Relapse for their upcoming full length is for that matter also a very interesting fact. This particular EP was released in 3 versions (a black, white, and clear vinyl edition) for Black Friday in 2012. As you can see, i have the clear version. It contains 5 tracks, of which the title track is the best one i think. As far as i'm concerned, Nothing's sound can best be described as some kind of mix between Starflyer 59 and A Place To Bury Strangers, with the obvious bit of My Bloody Valentine added as well. Excellent stuff, and i look forward to hear their full length when it comes out early 2014.

Label: A389 Recordings
Cat.nr.: A389-112
Year of release: 2012

SIDE A:
01. The Dives
02. Downward Years To Come
03. Mine Is Clouds
04. If Only

SIDE B:
01. The Rites Of Love And Death

The Finest Vinyl of 2013

Mid December; time to look back at the year's best vinyl releases.
And i dare say it's been a darn good year in music. I found it pretty hard to compile a Top 10, because there were so many good releases this year. It was a tough choice between #1 and #2, for example, but also i had a shortlist of 20+ albums that i honestly think were just really good. Had to narrow that list down to less than half of them. It's only fair to mention the ones that nearly made it here, i think.

These are the ones that didn't make it to my Top 10 of 2013, but only just.
In alphabetical order: Austra - Olympia / Besnard Lakes - Until In Excess, Imperceptible UFO / Deafheaven - Sunbather / Edweena - Solar Days And Lunar Nights / Esben And The Witch - Wash The Sins Not Only The Face / Girls Names - The New Life / Still Corners - Strange Pleasures / Team Ghost - Rituals / The Knife - Shaking The Habitual / Tropical Popsicle - Dawn Of Delight / Younghusband - Dromes.

And this, my friends, is The Finest Vinyl of 2013:

01. My Bloody Valentine - mbv
Just when you thought it would never happen anymore, MBV makes a glorious comeback.

02. David Bowie - The Next Day
Berlin (and therefore his best work) revisited. Best Bowie album since Scary Monsters.

03. Stargazer Lilies - We Are The Dreamers
Hands down the best dreampop album of the year. Or even: of the past decade.

04. Sigur Rós - Kveikur
Ég elska bara þá.

05. Yuck - Glow & Behold
"Difficult second" passes the test without any problems.

06. Medicine - To The Happy Few
Really, really good. And really, really underrated, unfortunately. Hence the title, perhaps?

07. The Flaming Lips - The Terror
Weird but beautiful. As always.

08. Primal Scream - More Light
100% back at the top of their form.

09. Chvrches - The Bones Of What You Believe
Totally worth the hype.

10. Black Hearted Brother - Stars Are Our Home
Slowdive frontman going into the right direction again.

The Knife - Gender Bender [10"]

This GENDER BENDER 10" EP by THE KNIFE is nowadays a pretty rare item, and it goes for steep prices on sites like Discogs and eBay. I bumped into it at the Utrecht record fair a few weeks ago for a very reasonable price however, so it was hard to leave it standing in the crate. The only song that i didn't have yet was Manhood; the others are from the Deep Cuts album. It's a limited numbered release. I couldn't find anywhere online how many copies were made, but my copy is # 0986, so at least 1000 i assume.

Label: Rabid Records
Cat.nr.: RABID022
Year of release: 2004

SIDE A:
01. Handy-Man
02. Manhood

SIDE B:
01. You Make Me Like Charity
02. Hangin' Out

Anne - Dreampunx [12", LP]

This LP by the band ANNE is actually a compilation of various demo and mixtape recordings from 2010 and 2011. It's a really cool shoegaze/dreampop album, released on A389 Recordings, which is otherwise home to hardcore and metalcore bands like Ringworm and Integrity. Perhaps that's how they came to the title DREAMPUNX. Anyway, the title may be a bit silly, but the music's certainly not. I knew the band's name from a split 7" they did with Whirr (still looking for the thing, actually) and stumbled upon this LP some time ago. So after double-checking if it was the same band, i decided to take a chance buy it. Turned out to be certainly worth it! And not only is their sound great; the beautiful album artwork and coloured vinyl top it off.

Label: A389 Recordings
Cat.nr.: A389-081
Year of release: 2011

SIDE A:
01. All Your Time
02. Virginal Plight
03. Thrush
04. Lower Faiths

SIDE B:
01. Tarvantovaara
02. Get It How You Live
03. Perfect Teeth
04. Summer Babies
05. Punk Bike

The Flaming Lips - The Terror [12", 2LP, Bonus 7"]

After releasing The Flaming Lips And Heady Fwends last year, THE FLAMING LIPS decided that this year the time was right to release a new album completely on their own. The result is just great. Weird and psychedelic as ever. It's even so that THE TERROR has become one of my favourite Flaming Lips albums ever. It took a while to grow on me, but songs like Try To Explain and Be Free... A Way are among the best the band has ever done. The vinyl edition has one track extra compared to the CD (We Don't Control The Controls, which fills the whole D-side) and there's a bonus 7" as well, with an extra track and a Beatles cover. Together with the beautiful shiny cover artwork it makes a really nice package.

Label: Bella Union
Cat.nr.: LP388
Year of release: 2013

SIDE A:
01. Look The Sun Is Rising
02. Be Free... A Way
03. Try To Explain

SIDE B:
01. You Lust
02. The Terrror

SIDE C:
01. You Are Alone
02. Butterfly, How Long It Takes To Die
03. Turning Violent
04. Always There In Our Hearts

SIDE D:
01. We Don't Control The Controls
mashed-the-fuck-up-remix
Dan Deacon and Electric Worms insight violence

Label: Bella Union
Cat.nr.: BU7666
Year of release: 2013

SIDE A:
01. Sun Blows Up Today

SIDE B:
01. All You Need Is Love

Chvrches - The Bones Of What You Believe [12", LP]

Before CHVRCHES released their debut full length THE BONES OF WHAT YOU BELIEVE a few months ago, the band was hyped quite a bit. They had some pretty strong singles/videos out (The Mother We Share, Lies and Recover) that had caught the attention of various magazines and blogs. Some critics say that the album hasn't got any other songs of the same quality; well, i totally disagree. We Sink is one of my favourites; catchy as hell. Gun is another one. These people sound like they're influenced by both ABBA and M83, and simply delivered an album with great pop tunes. Funny fact: Iain, one of the band members, used to be in a band called Aerogramme. I have their split EP "In The Fishtank" with Isis. Great stuff, but completely different from what Chvrches is doing.

Label: Vertigo
Cat.nr.: 3748517
Year of release: 2013

SIDE A:
01. The Mother We Share
02. We Sink
03. Gun
04. Tether
05. Lies
06. Under The Tide

SIDE B:
01. Recover
02. Night Sky
03. Science/Visions
04. Lungs
05. By The Throat
06. You Caught The Light

Death In Vegas - Satan's Circus [12", 3LP]

SATAN'S CIRCUS by DEATH IN VEGAS is pretty different from the other Death In Vegas albums, in that it is completely instrumental. Also musically it's not as diverse as the other albums: it's pure krautrock and not much anything else. Which is, when done properly like it's done here, not at all a bad thing of course. Perhaps a little cheesy for a krautrock album, but a lot of song titles are related to Germany: Ein Für Die Damen, Kontroll, Sons Of Rother (must be referring to Neu's Michael Rother), Reigen (a controversial play by Arthur Schnitzler) and Anita Berber (a bisexual drug-addicted and alcoholic actress/nightclub dancer from Berlin, during the Weimar period). I found this 3LP for a really good price at the record fair in Utrecht, a few weeks ago. It's been on my wishlist for quite some time so i'm glad i finally have it now.

Label: Drone
Cat.nr.: DRONELPONE
Year of release: 2004

SIDE A:
01. Ein Für Die Damen

SIDE B:
01. Zugaga
02. Heil Xanax

SIDE C:
01. Black Lead
02. Sons Of Rother

SIDE D:
01. Candy McKenzie
02. Reigen

SIDE E:
01. Kontroll
02. Anita Berber

SIDE F:
01. Head

David Bowie - The Next Day [12", 2LP]

A lot has been written already about DAVID BOWIE's majestic return this year with THE NEXT DAY, his first album since 2003's Reality. So i won't go into that too much. It truly is a masterpiece, and the references to parts of his impressive oeuvre in the lyrics, album artwork (obviously) and even the videos are witty to say the least. Of course i already had this album from day one, but since there was (rightfully) such a buzz around it, i didn't feel the urge to write something about it on my blog. But hey, the end of the year is approaching and i'm compiling my yearlist, so.... You feel it coming, right? In a few weeks you'll know where exactly it ended up in my Top 10, but it's definitely going to show up in there. An amazing piece of work.

Label: Columbia
Cat.nr.: 88765461861
Year of release: 2013

SIDE A:
01. The Next Day
02. Dirty Boys
03. The Stars (Are Out Tonight)
04. Love Is Lost

SIDE B:
01. Where Are We Now?
02. Valentine's Day
03. If You Can See Me
04. I'd Rather Be High

SIDE C:
01. Boss Of Me
02. Dancing Out InSpace
03. How Does The Grass Grow?
04. (You Will) Set The World On Fire

SIDE D:
01. You Feel So Lonely You Could Die
02. Heat
03. So She
04. Plan
05. I'll Take You There