Toilet - Two Fathers [7"]

To be honest i don't know much about this Swedish band called TOILET. I got their TWO FATHERS 7" as a gift from Dennis at record shop Rundgång in Malmö some time ago. It was released on his record label Rundgång Rekords by the end of last year, and is limited to 300 copies. But i like it a lot! Hard to compare, but i think they sound a bit like a mixture of Dinosaur Jr. and The Cure. Pretty good stuff. And i just love the witty logo on the centre label of this 7": a Slayer rip-off logo with toilet brushes and plungers. Would love to see these guys on stage some day.

Label: Rundgång
Cat.nr.: RR006
Year of release: 2013

SIDE A:
01. Two Fathers

SIDE B:
02. Black Oil

The Afghan Whigs - Debonair [7"]

This 7" by THE AFGHAN WHIGS is one of the things i bought while i was in London in May this year for the Slowdive concert, at a store called Flashback Records. A really nice record store based in Islington, with a cellar full of awesome vinyls. I bought quite a few 7"es there, so you'll be reading more about those on this blog sooner or later. (There's actually another record store there close by called Haggle Vinyl, but that owner was so extremely rude and being a total arrogant asshole, that i walked out of there thinking i must have dreamed it had happened. Never experienced anything like it and it was actually the only record shop in London that i didn't buy anything, despite the fact that i initially wanted to). Alright, back to this single. DEBONAIR is probably the band's best known song, and a pretty fine one as well. That whole Gentlemen album is fantastic of course. The single comes in a nice gatefold sleeve, with a cool "Stax rip-off" logo on the front. On the B-side there's album track My Curse, and non-album track Ready which is a cover of a song by a band called Scrawl. Both songs feature vocals by Marcy Mays, who was the singer for Scrawl.

Label: Blast First
Cat.nr.: BFFP95
Year of release: 1994

SIDE A:
01. Debonair

SIDE B:
01. My Curse
02. Ready

Fujiya & Miyagi - Artificial Sweeteners [12", LP]

Before getting to the music of this album, i need to say that i've rarely seen any artwork and vinyl colours matching as well like they do on this LP. It looks like the dripping paint (or melted lollipops?) have reached the disc, which is clear vinyl with yellow, red and blue splatters. Pretty cool. FUJIYA & MIYAGI are not a Japanese duo as their name might suggest, but an English band from Brighton - however they started as a duo indeed. I like them a lot for already quite some years now, but somehow i've never bought anything of them on vinyl, until a few months ago when they released their new album ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS. And i just love it. Catchy electronic tunes with clear influences from krautrock acts such as Neu! and Can. I think i need to be hunting down their previous stuff on vinyl as well. Actually their Ankle Injuries 10" from 2006 is something that's high on my wishlist for quite some time already. Hopefully it will be appearing on this blog at some point ;)

Label: Yep Roc Records
Cat.nr.: YEP-2379
Year of release: 2014

SIDE A:
01. Flaws
02. Acid To My Alkaline
03. Rayleigh Scattering
04. Artificial Sweeteners
05. Little Stabs At Happiness

SIDE B:
01. Tetrahydrofolic Acid
02. Daggers
03. Vagaries Of Fashion
04. A Sea Ringed With Visions

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - Days Of Abandon [12", LP]

Their last album Belong was from 2011, so it was about time THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART released something new. While Belong was already very mellow and polished compared to the debut album, they have taken this another step further with DAYS OF ABANDON. Soothing and sweet indie pop tunes. Nothing wrong with that, but personally i would have liked some more songs like Until The Sun Explodes that are uptempo and at least just a little noisy. The sharp edges have gone completely and to be honest i'm not sure if i'll be buying a next album without listening first. I don't regret buying this album, but it certainly won't end up in my favourite albums 2014 - that's for sure.

Label: Fierce Panda Records
Cat.nr.: NONG88LP
Year of release: 2014

SIDE A:
01. Art Smock
02. Simple And Sure
03. Kelly
04. Beautiful You
05. Coral And Gold

SIDE B:
01. Eurydice
02. Masokissed
03. Until The Sun Explodes
04. Life After Life
05. The Asp At My Chest

The Raveonettes - Pe'Ahi [12", LP]

Maybe i hadn't been really paying attention, but this new album by THE RAVEONETTES came a bit as a surprise to me a few weeks ago. A pleasant surprise i must say, because this band had steadily become one of my current favourites. And despite the fact that this new album is quite different than anything they ever did before, i really like it. Musically it's more diverse and complex, and they use a huge range of instruments. A song like Kill! could've easily been a Primal Scream song in its structure, with the beats and noise. Favourite tracks at this point: Sisters and Summer Ends. Oh, PE'AHI is named after a famous surf spot on Hawaii, in case you wonder where they'd get such a title from. By now i still have not been able to see them play live, and they are really high on my wishlist for bands to check out whenever they'd play near me.

Label: Beat Dies Records
Cat.nr.: RAV-00004-1
Year of release: 2014

SIDE A:
01. Endless Sleeper
02. Sisters
03. Killer In The Streets
04. Wake Me Up
05. Z-Boys

SIDE B:
01. A Hell Below
02. The Rains Of May
03. Kill!
04. When Night Is Almost Done
05. Summer Ends

Mark Gardener - The Story Of The Eye [7"]

I never saw Ride play live back in the days to my deepest regret, and the joy about MARK GARDENER being one of the special guests at the 10th anniversary party of the Sonic Cathedral label in May, was a bit pushed aside by the fact that i'd see Slowdive that evening for the first time in my life. But Mark's show was really good, and i was so happy to hear him play a few Ride songs that evening. I'd so much like to see them reunite! If it would happen, i already made up my mind that this would be another band that i'd go to the UK for, just to see them.  
THE STORY OF THE EYE is a song that was released as a 7" in late 2006, and it was one of the things i bought at the party. Ulrich Schnauss, who also played there, remixed the B-side. A nice little gem, this 7".

Label: Sonic Cathedral
Cat.nr.: SCR002
Year of release: 2006

SIDE A:
01. The Story Of The Eye (Ulrich Schnauss Mix)

SIDE AA:
01. The Story Of The Eye

Flyying Colours - Flyying Colours EP [12"]

Every now and then i hear cool songs online by bands that are unknown to me, and then it turns out that they have a vinyl release out. Obviously i just have to score a copy then! Such was the case with FLYYING COLOURS who released this amazing self-titled EP earlier this year. Apparently these guys come from Melbourne, Australia, and they sound a bit like Ride or Swervedriver. Absolutely great stuff! It's hard to pick a favourite track, but if i'd have to choose i'd say Wavygravy. This EP is only their debut release, so I hope they'll be releasing much more like this. The EP was pressed in two colours: 250x "black grape" for the US and 250x "royal blue" for Europe.

Label: Club AC30 / Shelflife
Cat.nr.: AC30  11022 / LIFE107
Year of release: 2014

SIDE A:
01. Like You Said
02. Wavygravy
03. She Leaves

SIDE B:
01. Feathers
02. Bugs

Cocteau Twins - Heaven Or Las Vegas [12", LP]

It's been a while since my previous post, because i've been on a (well-deserved, if i may say so) holiday to the south of France. But now the batteries are loaded again and i'm going through my never shrinking pile of vinyls that i need to write something about. What about this one: HEAVEN OR LAS VEGAS by the amazing COCTEAU TWINS. I love this album to death; my absolute favourite album by them and i has so happy that it got reissued not too long ago because until then i never managed to score a copy on vinyl. No need to go into many details about this classic i think, but the song Frou-Frou Foxes In Midsummer Fires is of such beauty that i still can listen to it over and over and over...

Label: 4AD
Cat.nr.: CAD3420
Year of release: 2014 (originally 1990)

SIDE A:
01. Cherry-Coloured Funk
02. Pitch The Baby
03. Iceblink Luck
04. Fifty-Fifty Clown
05. Heaven Or Las Vegas

SIDE B:
01. I Wear Your Ring
02. Fotzepolitic
03. Wolf In The Breast
04. Road, River And Rail
05. Frou-Frou Foxes In Midsummer Fires