Just Played - On The Record #4
Also available as a picture disc, splatter vinyl and Rough Trade exclusive.
The debut release from Rose Elinor Dougall and Graham Coxon as The WAEVE seems excellent to these ears. If folky, synthy, new wave indie post-punk Bowie pop sounds like your sort of thing, then I’d be sure to give it a listen. Having long been a fan of both artists, I was little trepidatious about them combining their sizeable talents. However, this is so good, I’ve even forgiven Coxon for the hours wasted last year on his interminably mundane autobiography. While you’re probably au fait with his solo work, if Dougall’s music hasn’t been on your radar then you’ve got a superb trio of albums to explore.
Although the Takt-pressed vinyl edition of this new project hasn’t yet arrived, the 24bit/48kHz hi-res stream has already proved suitably beguiling. If your time is precious, sample the first three tracks and then try to tell me there isn’t something for you in amongst those rather varied, genre-hopping companions. The strength of Dougall’s vocals fit perfectly with the inherent nasal fragility of Coxon’s. ‘Sleepwalking’ is one of a number of personal highlights right now, offering a clear bridge from the former’s previous solo work. Artists in a relationship beyond their work can sometimes stray into self-indulgent territory but this really feels like a record where they have served the songs and delivered something fully alive. (And, talking of attached artists who never disappoint, isn’t it lovely to know there’s a new Everything But The Girl album imminent too?)
I find this era of occasional teaser tracks rather unexciting. It doesn’t have the same allure as a proper single release, with bonus tracks and artwork that all offered tangible clues about what lay ahead. As a consequence, despite The WAEVE being work by two personal favourites, I didn’t actively seek out any of this music prior to hearing the album as a whole and I suspect that worked in its favour. Its hugely endearing refusal to do what you’re expecting means it may well be poorly served when expectations are tested against a single piece of music. If you’ve previously doubted the project based an excerpt in isolation, I’d urge you to try the whole thing in one sitting. Preferably after 9pm. Honestly, I feel like the first true contender for my albums of 2023 list has made itself known.
Misc-Cogs
Did you know that the Discogs app has a neat feature for the indecisive mind? When on the collection tab, give your phone a shake and it’ll select something at random from your library. Each week, I flex my wrist and see which disc comes up. No censoring - if it’s Eternal’s ‘Always and Forever’, I’ll give you my thoughts on it. The first one was John Martyn’s ‘Solid Air’, followed by Lone Wolf’s superb ‘Lodge’ and last week’s words on Kylie’s joyous ‘Infinite Disco’.
Record Store Day 2010. I’m living in rural Derbyshire at this point and have strategically opted for an early morning trip to Leicester in an attempt to secure Blur’s ‘Fool’s Day’ 7”. Rather than queuing outside the city’s indie-totem Rockaboom, I’m working to the theory that short-lived Zavvi replacement Powerplay will be less popular with hardcore.
Despite some briefly troubling moments when the entry door was changed close to opening, this cold-hearted logic paid off and I was one of two to avoid disappointment. The next two items on my list that day were the Arab Strap box set ‘Scenes Of A Sexual Nature’ and Steve Mason’s debut solo record under his own name, ‘Boys Outside’. This was the first year that RSD in the UK really took off, thanks to the aforementioned single and accompanying titles from The Beatles and Pet Shop Boys in distinctive blue Parlophone sleeves. And yet, I secure that pair of desirables as well, merrily strolling to the till in mild disbelief. All three remain treasured parts of the collection, but Mason’s record has had the most time on the turntable. That album is not far off perfect: it’s a vivid, concise and affecting set of ten songs that showcased his distinctive vocals at their most emotive.
Drop the needle on this typically expansive Domino pressing and you’re straight into ‘Understand My Heart’, its emphatic, slightly ominous piano stabs and floaty synths combining to great effect. The sweeping orchestration of ‘The Letter’ is absolutely gorgeous, accompanied by a stirring lyric. ‘Yesterday’ opens with textures akin to Massive Attack’s ‘Protection’ album and nods to the whirlwind of styles that Mason’s previous work with The Beta Band tended to encompass. The title track is a wondrous example of using dynamics and particularly suits the format. The soundstage is huge, handling a sizeable bottom end with precision and carving out vocal sounds in 3D.
A subsequent dub reworking with Dennis Bovell, ‘Ghosts Outside’, was a logical extension of this period of Mason’s music and is worth exploring once you’re fully immersed in the record’s world. ‘Boys Outside’ and his finest, 2016’s ‘Meet The Humans’, are absolutely essential, with some of the most lithe yet moving songwriting you’ll find. He has a new one, ‘Brothers & Sisters’, on the way and I’m very keen to hear it.
Still banging on about pricing
How much is too much? It feels like we’re not far from finding out. My previous comments on pricing seem to have struck a chord with many of you and it has been on my mind since. I remember raising an eyebrow as single LPs crept over £20, not all that long ago. Then things got closer to £25 from many - but not all - labels and it’s continuing to rise. I held a tempting reissue briefly in my hands at the weekend, before reminding myself that £30.99 was ludicrous for a punt. The ‘First Look’ below features a Britpop box set that will have plenty salivating, aided by its rather decent mastering, but £110 for five discs feels pretty hefty considering it only comprises three releases. A glow in the dark Flaming Lips EP will set you back almost forty quid in the near future, if you’ve detached your mind from your wallet.
Last year seemed especially bad for excess RSD stock being flogged off on the cheap in indie store sales. Most things can be found after the big day, but when you’re a long way from having shifted all the Bowie and Blur releases, something’s not quite right. And, as we all know, RSD is always home to highest of high prices; the 2022 event may well have proved to be the canary in the coal mine. Even the faithful weren’t having it. As much I appreciate kind words from readers telling me they won’t part with their money until a release has had my seal of approval in the Clash column, it highlights a much more judicious and sceptical approach to record acquisition.
Artificial scarcity is one way of keeping costly purchases ticking over. Bonus flexi-disc you’ll rarely play? Signed print? Alternative artwork? All pleasant things, but how many snap purchases in the thirty quid ballpark are made to avoid missing out on things that only offer a short-term thrill? Increasingly, many of my vinyl-savvy Twitter followers will post in exasperation as staggering pre-order prices emerge for relatively desirable, straight-forward titles. The crux of this is whether or not many of us express our annoyance but then end up coughing up the asking price.
I wrote a little guide to vinyl shopping on a budget for Clash last year and just waiting increasingly seems to be the sensible option. Add in the fact that so many titles are put up for sale as far as six months away from release and you could end up with a lot of cash tied up doing nothing. As I’ve discussed with a number of splendid record shop folk, if some record labels can keep dealer prices at a level where the LP can retail at somewhere between £20 and £23, what’s the excuse for £30+ major label releases? For the music lover, it’s easier to say than implement a policy of abstinence, but it may be being forced upon us by some corners. Do let everyone know where you have drawn the line in the comments, assuming you already have.
First Look
Britpop vinyl fetishists may be well be excitedly looking forward to a 5LP set from Demon Records which collects together the first three albums by Ocean Colour Scene. It is released alongside a far more interesting 15CD box set that has all ten studio albums, five discs of b-sides and rarities and a plush hardback book. Phil Kinrade at AIR Studios has done the mastering for these new editions, and they are coloured vinyl pressings done at GZ. Their debut is released on this format for the first time since it emerged in 1992. And, no, ‘Moseley Shoals’ and ‘Marchin’ Already’ aren’t at 45rpm like the originals. A slightly beaten up 1996 vintage of the former is used for some comparison shots below.
Oh, how do they sound? You’ll be wanting the February edition of my Clash column! I’ll let you know when it goes live. There’s a ‘1’ on the spine of the slipcase, so one imagines that there will be subsequent sets to cover the rest of their catalogue if this shifts some units.
Something for the ‘read all the way to the end’ folk
This morning, Sophie Ellis-Bextor announced her forthcoming new album, ‘HANA’, and released the first teaser track. It’s the first studio release since the orchestral re-workings and Kitchen Disco themed work that has dominated the last few years. Add in Plastic Pop’s excellent reissues of her initial quartet of albums and the focus has been on the upbeat side of her catalogue. It has reminded me, however, just how much I love a particular record of hers that was a favourite back in 2014. It didn’t get the coverage or sales it deserves, so allow me to take you on a trip down memory lane.
In the summer of 2013, I became aware of a demo version of ‘Young Blood’ that had been posted as free download on Sophie Ellis-Bextor‘s site and was immediately hooked. This subtle, shimmering ballad gave her voice room to move and, accompanied by little more than brushed drums and some stirringly emotive piano, it set the scene for a record that highlighted a talent still in the ascendancy. Its appeal, along with the album to which it belonged, has endured and there is much to enjoy here. Sometimes, you just need the right spark, the perfect collaborator, to unleash something rather special. ‘Wanderlust’ was co-written, produced and arranged by the never less than splendid Ed Harcourt; his grizzled indie-pop chops made him an interesting collaborator for someone so clearly associated with a different genre at that point.
Bedecked with a bewitchingly gothic hue, these eleven pieces are grand and ambitious. Ellis-Bextor has never been in finer voice, soaring across the glistening ‘Birth Of An Empire’ and a measure in restraint on the aforementioned ‘Young Blood’. There are some sparkling bursts of vintage pop to be found in the sweeping ‘Runaway Daydreamer’ and the waltzing ‘Love Is A Camera’. However, it is when a little of her co-writer’s Waitsian ways pop up on the tumultuous ‘Cry To The Beat Of The Band’ that this album’s pedigree is fully asserted, thundering drums setting the pace as the drama swirls all around. It is a fabulously baroque tune, in possession of a killer chorus and a hauntingly spaced out middle eight.
The album closes with ‘When The Storm Has Blown Over’, a track which summons memories of the wonderful debut A Girl Called Eddy album that Richard Hawley produced in the mid-Noughties. It serves as a fittingly calm conclusion after the wild ambition of the ten songs preceding it and leaves you with time to consider just how much you’d like to hear the whole record over again. Ellis-Bextor has worked with Harcourt on a number of occasions since, suggesting that she enjoys what happens to her writing in partnership with him as much as listeners do.
I was a little puzzled by this record’s absence from most end of year lists, although having come out in January probably didn’t help. That said, even when it first appeared it felt a little bit like reviewers had decided what they were going to say before they’d actually lived with the album. Pop a different name on the front, a name that hadn’t been associated with Strictly Come Dancing just prior to release, and I can’t help thinking it would have been hailed as one of the finer singer/songwriter albums of recent times. Of course, add in especially thoughtful, insightful and not at all knuckle-dragging analysis from people like the senior rock critic at the Daily Telegraph – “It’s not just that she looks absolutely extraordinary (she is tall and thin, with elfin, doll-like features that have helped facilitate a modelling sideline). She appears lovely, charming, smart and fun” – and it’s not hard to see why fewer people than should have took it seriously. Such asinine writing belittles what is a sincerely beautiful record and, arguably, a career highlight.
Re: pricing. One of these examples comes along every few weeks but I do feel like Atlantic might suffer a wake up call with Paramore's new album. £35 for a single disc and not even a gatefold sleeve? 10 songs. 36 minutes. Nah. Even if it had bowled me over, I am confident this is going to feature in most sales so I wait. Friday's chart position will be interesting. I realise the Amazon vinyl chart is not a great barometer but This Is Why currently sitting at 24th as at Monday morning (even at at discounted price of £28.66 for the black).