In other news though the disc by Cleopatrick from a column or two ago has sold in recent days, bringing in a few £ so there's hope that some of the rest will sell yet.

 

This time around we begin with another Canadian duo, B.B. Except there are three names on the back of the 7" cover so maybe, a la Dream Wife, their drummer is some kind of non-person. 'Drowning' has obvious shades of L7 & Deap Vally about it, with a bit of surf twang thrown in. Streets ahead of anything similar UK Flying Vinyl acts are producing anyway. 'Nu Blue' takes the surf element a bit further. A very good start to this particular box. Facebook shows the band are doing stuff throughout 2019.

 

Jagara are the second band I've come across in this series who have a two tracker disc described as an EP. Hard to see how that extends things past the length of a single. Anyway, musically they're style is yearning, angsty electro-pop. 'Twice' and 'Real Love' are pretty formulaic, Radio 1-friendly numbers. The band seem to have stopped updating their Facebook page in spring 2018 so your guess is as good as mine as to what they're up to now.

 

Laulia are an indie rock act. 'Burning Out' aims to be anthemic but fails to set the heather on fire whilst 'Machines' is a softer prospect the likes of which you've heard many times before. The band at least have their own site but no gigs past spring this year it seems.

 

Safe To Swim have a bit of Wavves' sound about them. 'Make Things Like They Used To Be' moves along at a good pace and is generally fun but, if that's the best they have then it's still not much. 'Friends' is not as good as the A side. Facebook shows the band had a new track released last week.

 

Food this time around comes in the shape of Mystic Peach. 'Across The Pond' gets a bit muscular and they can growl a bit as well as sing but there's no real hook in this shoegaze/brit-pop/'psych' melange. 'Normal' is a more dramatic song but again it kind of washes over me. The band are still promoting 'Across The Pond' and have been quiet on Facebook for about a month.

Hey Charlie returned to Flying Vinyl in February of this year, getting the pink vinyl treatment for 'Bad Things' (a heavyweight pop thumper) and 'Electric Dream', more emphasis on the pop here. Both are reasonable with the latter bringing Ash to mind at points. The group's Facebook shows they now seem to be a duo and are on tour for a week in England this month.

 

'On The Subject Of Breathing' doesn't seem like the sort of catchy title that will rhyme easily or be shouted out by stadium audiences. Bryde has it as the A side on her single here though and it's as angsty and heartfelt as the name would have you expect. 'To Be Brave' sounds a bit like The Cranberries. Bryde's website indicates she's playing the SWN Festival in October.

 

Moreish Idols (the worst name this month) will apparently "always leave you wanting more". In the case of 'JnT' it's more earplugs. This smooth, pervy crooning song is laughable. 'Electric Beach' isn't any better. Whoever's not needed anymore in the subject matter of the song is far better off. Unsurprisingly it's the flea market box for this rubbish. Head over to the band's Facebook page if you want to help fund their next video.

 

Spinn are another act keeping stammers in band names alive. 'Notice Me' and 'Shallow' are decent, jangly indie numbers from a quartet who seem like likeable types. Since writing this the disc has been bought by someone in Japan for £11. The group's Facebook page shows they have an album out and will be touring the UK at the end of November/start of December.

 

Seafret end this month with the orange vinyl single. 'Monsters' and 'Can't Look Away' are both decked out in the tropes of indie rock, to no special effect. Anthem fans will probably be well served though. The band's website shows they have two gigs in Brazil this week.

 

Raced through that lot, chucking the word count rule to the winds. Just so little that's possible to say about such generally average music.

 

And we're into 2019. Only this and three more weeks of me finding it hard to see any redeeming features in most of the music Flying Vinyl have been releasing, which no doubt makes everyone happy. As an aside though no further sales have been made via Discogs at time of writing (May) so that may be relevant.

 

Right from reading their name I dislike Dahlia Sleeps. As soon as the needle hits their white vinyl my dislike is confirmed. Hold on while I go and turn it off. 'Love, Lost' is one of the drippiest songs I've heard whilst writing this column. Get over it. 'Settle Down' is a bit more like White Lies in pace & weight and indeed has me seeing the quartet in a new light. It would have been a good contender at Eurovision, rather than the lad in jeggings. No one seems to want it on Discogs though so it's flea market bound. Twitter shows the band have a tie-in with Ellesse and are working on new material.

 

Ivory Wave are seemingly trying to be the new Flowered Up. It's probably rather discourteous to mention Oasis in connection with them as the booklet this month does. 'Separate Beat', at least musically, owes more to the wackier group although the vocals do sound a bit desperate to conjure up Gallagher junior at times. 'Club' is a bit more Happy Mondays-like. Facebook shows the band to have a few live dates between now and the end of August.

 

Miqui Brightside's 'Panorama' is a wobbly, drunken slice of electro-pop, the core tune of which quickly becomes annoying. B side 'Burning Bridges' employs the talents of Adriana Proenza to mumble unintelligibly and then witter over it at points, in the age old game of trying to work out why one is no longer wanted. Facebook shows Miqui to be keeping his hand in DJing.

 

The Starlight Magic Hour are trying to hard to create some after-hours, singalong thing on 'Song To Bethy'. Convinced the pressing's iffy too. 'I Am The Swan To Your Song' is a bit better in a Bonzo Dog Band vein. Facebook shows the band have a gig i Manchester in the middle of August.

 

"Vistas are the Edinburgh trio making fiery indie-rock". The only one. In the whole city. And no one I know in town has yet mentioned them to me. That aside 'Fade' isn't bad. It races along anyway. Like a cheerier Hookworms (if one can yet mention them in polite company). I'd stick around to watch a number or two if I stumbled upon them at a festival but I'd not make the effort to walk in to town and see a whole show. 'Like An American' has a more mainstream, anthemic sound about it. Possibly addressing the subject of the city's yearly tourist invasion. The band's website reveals they have a slew of live dates coming up across the UK, particularly in October.