Blindness - Wrapped In Plastic [12", LP]

Apparently BLINDNESS was already formed way back in 2008, but it wasn't until last year when their debut album WRAPPED IN PLASTIC came out. These three ladies are indeed from London, as you might have suspected from the London Eye picture on the sleeve, and their best known member is Debbie Smith who played in Curve, Echobelly and Snowpony. Musically, their sound comes pretty close to what Curve did back in the days. It's dark and seductive electro rock, with mechanical beats and distorted guitars. But most importantly it's LOUD. Mighty fine stuff. I bought this album right after it came out late summer last year, and it says on the label's website that the initial run was limited to 250 copies - so my copy must be a part of that. Not even sure if they did a repress since then.

Label: Saint Marie Records
Cat.nr.: SMR066
Year of release: 2015

SIDE A:
01. Serves Me Right
02. Deserving
03. Last One Dies
04. No One Counts
05. Sunday Morning

SIDE B:
01. Humming Song
02. Broken
03. All In One
04. Confessions

Fujiya & Miyagi - Electro Karaoke [7"]

Recently i came across this 7" by FUJIYA & MIYAGI; their debut single from 2002. I just love their modern take on krautrock, and ELECTRO KARAOKE is a perfect example of that. Actually i think it's still one of their best tunes. The motorik beat keeps on going and makes it a great indie dance track. The song on the B-side, Rot, is a pretty laid back tune. Both are from the band's debut album Electro Karaoke In The Negative Style which until now sadly has never been released on vinyl.

Label: Massive Advance
Cat.nr.: MADV001
Year of release: 2002

SIDE A:
01. Electro Karaoke

SIDE B:
01. Rot

David Bowie - Amsterdam [7"]

Today it's been exactly a month since DAVID BOWIE passed away.

This particular 7" on clear orange vinyl was exclusively made for the David Bowie Is exhibition in Groningen. AMSTERDAM on the A-side (originally a B-side to the Sorrow single in 1973) was appropriately chosen, since it's the capital of the Netherlands where the exhibition's final stop takes place. Although it remains to be seen if it won't continue travelling the world after the recent developments, of course.

And i have no idea if Bowie himself was involved in choosing the song on the other side, but also MY DEATH turns out to be more or less appropriately chosen, with today's knowledge. The version on this 7" is from the Carnegie Hall concert on September 28th, 1972. It was previously only released on a compilation CD from 1995 called RarestOneBowie. Apparently RCA recorded the show for a Ziggy Stardust live album that was never released. It's funny by the way how the name Bowie is spelled in typical RCA logo letters on the labels, while the release is on Parlophone. Both songs on this single are covers of Jacques Brel songs, and both were frequently played during the Ziggy Stardust tour.

When i was in Groningen in December last year, when the exhibition had just started a week before, both this 7" and the other exclusive release (the Man Of Words, Man Of Music a.k.a. David Bowie a.k.a. Space Oddity album) had already sold out for the first time. That was a huge disappointment. There were 1500 copies made of each, and apparently they would arrive in batches of 500. I heard stories that people had bought 4 or 5 copies each at the time, and flipped them on eBay for up to 10 times the price they paid for them. The thing is that you don't need to have an entrance ticket to enter the shop, so some locals got smart and scored a whole bunch. Luckily when further copies were supplied, the museum shop at least decided to limit them to 1 copy per person. So when a friend of mine (who's actually not even a Bowie fan and certainly not a vinyl collector) visited the exhibition recently, she managed to buy a copy of each release for me.

Unlike many other collectors i'm not keeping these releases sealed for investment. I enjoy looking at them and even playing them at least once or twice. You only live once, you know. Life is too short to not enjoy the records you have standing on the shelves. And with Bowie records, there's simply a lot to enjoy.

Label: Parlophone

Cat.nr.: DBISH 2015

Year of release: 2015

SIDE A:

01. Amsterdam

SIDE B:

01. My Death (live)

Catherine Wheel - Balloon [12"]

This BALLOON 12" by CATHERINE WHEEL from 1992 is one of the many EP's they released at the time with that distinctive artwork: a white sleeve with a b/w picture in the centre. Two decent studio songs on the A-side, and two live tracks on the B-side that come from the same show (Bathmoles, Nov. 6, 1991) as the bonus live EP that came with the limited edition of the Ferment album. Not really groundbreaking stuff on this release, but still a very solid EP.

Label: Fontana

Cat.nr.: CW 212

Year of release: 1992

SIDE A:

01. Balloon

02. Intravenous

SIDE B:

01. Let Me Down Again (live)

02. Painful Thing (live)

Serena Maneesh - D.I.W.S.W.T.T.D. [12"]

It's been quiet around SERENA MANEESH way too long, to my taste. Emil Nikolaisen did of course collaborate with Todd Rundgren and Hans-Peter Lindstrøm on the Runddans album last year, but his own band's last release 2:Abyss in B Minor already dates back from 2010. I really hope there will be some new stuff released anytime soon.

This 12" contains remixes from that second album. Stereolab did a great job on D.I.W.S.W.T.T.D. (i actually like their krautrock-ish take better than the album version), and also the Melchior version of that song isn't bad at all. Ayisha Abyss on the B-side is transferred into a dance floor filler by Lindstrøm (Hans-Peter indeed), who even put a little Popcorn into the track at the end. All in all, a very pleasant remix EP.

Label: 4AD

Cat.nr.: BAD3X46

Year of release: 2010

SIDE A:

01. D.I.W.S.W.T.T.D. (Stereolab Mix)

02. Dressed In White She Walks Through The Door (Melchior Mix)

SIDE B:

01. Ayisha Abyss (Lindstrøm Mix)

The Telescopes - The Perfect Needle [12"]

This THE PERFECT NEEDLE EP is one of the earliest releases of THE TELESCOPES. They had two 7"es and a flexi split with Loop on Cheree Records, before their debut full length Taste and this EP came out on What Goes On Records. After the bankruptcy of that label they signed to Creation, and their sound became more laidback and mellow. This however is pretty harsh noisy psychedelic stuff. Clearly influenced by the likes of Velvet Underground, Suicide and the Jesus And Mary Chain. Sadness Pale, on its turn, sounds like a blueprint for the kind of music A Place To Bury Strangers makes these days. Even though i like their Creation stuff better, i'm happy i came across this release a few weeks ago.

Label: What Goes On Records

Cat.nr.: What Goes 15T

Year of release: 1989

SIDE A:

01. The Perfect Needle

02. Sadness Pale

SIDE B:

01. S.H.C. Burn

02. You Can Not Be Sure

03. [unlisted bonus track]

Snowburner - Future Primitive [12", LP]

SNOWBURNER is one of Holland's best kept secrets. A band that plays midpaced, sludgy, heavy, dirty stoner blues with killer riffs. Their shows are energetic and groovy, always guaranteed for a good night out. And i can tell, because i've seen quite a few since they're one of the local bands around here. Until now their only recorded release was a 7" single back in 2012, but now there's finally their long awaited debut album FUTURE PRIMITIVE. It captures their live sound perfectly, but at the same time it's well-produced. Live favourites like Reelin' In The Wasted Years, Ride The Tide, Vultures At Bay are all present. If you're into bands like Fu Manchu, Hermano or Eagles Of Death Metal you'll definitely dig this. Also, Haunt Me No Longer reminds me a bit of Motörhead, and Ashes In The West comes closer to Black Sabbath.

Recorded by Menno Bakker who did a lot of great stuff in the Dutch heavier underground scene, and mastered by James Plotkin (member of OLD and Khanate, and remixing for Earth. ISIS, Pelican, Nadja, Sunn O))), this debut album is a quality release. It should open doors for the band that definitely deserve to be opened. Also the artwork by Cristiano Suarez looks great. The limited orange vinyl version that i have fits really well with the artwork. The album is also available on limited purple and on black.

Last but not least... something that you don't wanna miss is the release party - it will be at Gebr. De Nobel in Leiden on March 5th.  #supportyourlocalscene!

Label: Freebird Records

Cat.nr.: FRV 029

Year of release: 2016

SIDE A:

01. Blizzards Of Gain

02. Ride The Tide

03. You Blues, You Lose

04. Reelin' In The Wasted Years

05. Stabbed On The Throne

SIDE B:

01. Haunt Me No Longer

02. Reap The Sown

03. Ashes In The West

04. Vultures At Bay

05. Bailiff's Blues

DIIV - Is The Is Are [12", 2LP]

In 2012, DIIV debuted with the brilliant album Oshin. It even was my #1 on that year's Finest Vinyl list, leaving bands like Tame Impala, TOY and Ringo Deathstarr behind. Since then, we didn't hear much from them other than main man Zachary Cole Smith (together with his girlfriend Sky Ferreira) being arrested for drug possession, and bass player Devin Ruben Perez posting stupid sexist and racist stuff on 4Chan. But Zachary's finally back in the spotlight for his music. He left rehab and started to work on this second album as remedy instead. As expressed in interviews, IS THE IS ARE is his way to show what he and his band mates can really pull off.

It's become an ambitious lengthy double album, with 17 tracks and more than one hour of music. A very personal and vulnerable one, when you read the lyrics that deal with unrest, inner turmoil, addiction and recovery. Certainly not easy to digest. It also feels like the lyrics are much more important on this new album. Lyrics that can be found in two 12-page art booklets by the way, which make this double vinyl a really nice package. 

Musically it's a varied album as well; there are lush tunes like Under The Sun but also dense and heavy ones, like most of the others. Besides the expected krautrock and shoegaze influences, also The Cure and Sonic Youth are never too far away on this album. Sky Ferreira on Blue Boredom sounds a lot like how Kim Gordon did her thing in SY. Mire (written as Marijuana in the booklet) has lyrics that seem to come straight from Primal Scream's Movin' On Up  (or is it Can's Yoo Doo Right): "I was blind, now i see. You made a believer out of me".

All in all, i think this album is very good. If some more demons will be dealt with along the way, and there won't be accidents like between the first two albums, album number three could be an actual masterpiece. And it doesn't need to be a double or triple album for that.

DIIV will be touring Europe in March and April. Just bought a ticket for the Amsterdam show; can't wait to see them on stage again. The only time i saw them previously was at the Ekko in Utrecht (Le Guess Who 2012).   

Label: Captured Tracks

Cat.nr.: CT-231

Year of release: 2016

SIDE A:

01. Out Of Mind

02. Under The Sun

03. Bent (Roi's Song)

04. Dopamine

SIDE B:

01. Blue Boredom (Sky's Song)

02. Valentine

03. Yr Not Far

04. Take Your Time

SIDE C:

01. Is The Is Are

02. Mire (Grant's Song)

03. Incarnate Devil

04. (Fuck)

05. Healthy Moon

SIDE D:

01. Loose Ends

02. (Napa)

03. Dust

04. Waste Of Breath