Physical Format-20190417
- Published in Columns
February 2018 now so by the end of this month we'll only be a year behind the curve with Flying Vinyl releases. There is though a certain perverse pleasure in having not managed to listen to all of these records until such a period of time has passed.
Two of this week's acts have certainly risen to a point of being reasonably recognised names (and I've even managed to see one of them live) in the time between release and now - Dream Wife & Boy Azooga.
Dream Wife kick the five discs off with 'Take It Back' and 'Fuu' on transparent bubblegum pink vinyl. Anyone who's aware of the band will be aware of their energetic, punky tunes and their spiky (to the point of dangerous at times) live delivery of the material. Side A is then a bit of a surprise, being at the poppier end of the group's sound as well as a tad unintelligble lyrically. As 'Fuu' is the final song on their debut album how it sounds is no doubt well known. Solid as the release is I'm interested to see how much I can get for it so it's getting listed for sale. The band have a lot of live dates this coming summer. Details here.
Second in line this week is London singer-songwriter Luke Prosser, here recording as Bad News Club. 'The Painter' is another one of those maudlin, Nick Drake-esque tracks which Flying Vinyl seem to hold a lot of stock in for some reason. As the 7" has never gone for more than 75p on Discogs I suppose there's plenty to be maudlin about. B side 'Absent' is surprisingly rather more positive sounding but the discs going in the flea market pile nonetheless. According to his Facebook page Luke's not done much since last spring.
Seeing the name Yonaka again now I'm wondering if I've in fact also seen them live, at Rockaway Beach, seeing as it's just a short trip to there from their base in Brighton. I'll check later if 'Bubblegum' and 'Gods & Lovers' don't ring any bells. The group have a reasonably weighty, if not that exciting, rock sound. Republica come to mind as an influence. 'Gods & Lovers' is a lot lighter in character and a bit crap as a result. Up for sale its nice blue vinyl goes. Turns out I've not seen them before but they have a lot of live dates coming up so you might get to.
Brad Stank (I know ...) seems to be a purveyor of smooooove. 'Daddy Blue' sees him trying to woo the woman of his dreams whilst inviting her to mop up his tears. That might be a good chat up look for some people I suppose. At one point the tune makes a sound like it's disappearing up itself, just before the final chorus brings it to a merciful (though oddly quick) stop. 'OTD' is more of the navel gazing, mumbled same. Surprisingly people have paid as much as £9 for the disc on Discogs so hopefully I'll get something close to that. Facebook shows that Brad's still plugging away.
'Loner Boogie' rings an instant bell, having heard it a lot on 6music prior to getting hold of the Boy Azooga album. Another song which ends too soon but one I'm very happy to retain in the collection. AA side 'Face Behind Her Cigarette' shows the band have variety in their arsenal, being as it's much more of a downbeat groover. Still one you'd be happy to get on a dance floor to. The band's site shows they too are out on the road a bit in the coming months.