Unwound - Rat Conspiracy 3xLP Box Set

Numero (2014)

Keeping on with Unwound this week, this is the Rat Conspiracy box set from Numero Group. Like its predecessor Kid Is Gone, Rat Conspiracy documents another time specific chunk of Unwound and fills up 3 LPs worth of greatness.  This era of Unwound is probably my favorite and it's where I first checked in on the band when I was a kid.

The first LP is the 2nd full length that Unwound recorded, but the first one to actually be released; Fake Train.  Unwound really took form on this album.  While still retaining the energy and aggression of some of their earlier work, Fake Train jettisoned some of the extreme noise that Unwound had been playing with in favor of a slightly more structured take on their music.  Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of yelling, feedback and squall, but this time the band seems to have more of a purpose.

The 2nd LP is the full length New Plastic Ideas.  This was always my favorite Unwound record.  The sound is more refined, but the band still has some gnarled freak outs to keep things interesting.  In reading the massive liner notes for this box set, I was surprised that the general consensus from the band is that people didn't really like this album and thought it was boring.  I never got that vibe back when it was originally released and I sure don't see that now with 20 years of hindsight.  In my opinion these are the best Unwound songs aside from a little slice of joy that leads of the 3rd album in this set.

The 3rd and final disc of this box set compiles a bunch of 7", compilation and other assorted tracks.  The odds and ends of this era of Unwound.  The first song on here is "Broken E Strings." This is the first Unwound song I ever heard as it originally appeared on the Jabberjaw compilation in 1994.  Not only is it the first song that I heard from the band, it stands the test of time as being their very best.  The gentle verse, with minor guitar parts and rhythmic drumming careens into the blown out screaming chorus.  As a high school kid hearing this for the first time I was pretty blown away.  The rest of the songs on the 3rd LP are also strong.  This was a time that Unwound was really firing on all cylinders.

The next box set that comes out will be interesting for me.  It's going to contain the albums that many point to as the band's best, but it also starts off the era of Unwound that I wasn't following that closely as I was moving on to different things at the time.  I'm curious to see if those songs just can't hold up to these earlier recordings or if I just blew it when I was younger.  We'll see in a few months.

Unwound - Broken E Strings:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqGnEgFvcLg

Unwound - Dragnalus:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZA5XFTJISAI

Unwound - Entirely Different Matters:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foWlsERtBaw

Unwound - 7/26/2001 LP

Numero (2013)

When Numero put the first Unwound box set, Kid Is Gone, up for sale on their website they also provided an ordering option to get an additional LP.  This LP would only be available directly from the label to those ordering the set. The LP was a live recording of Unwound called 7/26/2001. It was recorded in 2001 right before the band released their final album.

The songs that Unwound is performing on this album are some of their earliest.  They pull material from their self titled album, some 7"s and they even play 2 really old Giant Henry songs ("Listenator" & "Chris Jordan") for good measure.  It's a pretty decent quality recording and it is interesting to hear the band at what would amount to the end of their career ripping through songs from their beginning.  There's not much in the way of banter or anything like that. Just a band reliving some memories.

As with the box set, Numero did a strong job with the packaging.  Sturdy cover, great sounding vinyl.  I guess I wish that there was room in the box set to put this LP in with everything else, but that's not really a big deal.  It's a cool record to have and absolutely worth the extra $10 it cost, but I'm not sure it will get a ton of repeat spins going forward.

Unwound - Kid Is Gone 3xLP Box Set

Numero Group (2013)

I've had this Unwound box set for a little while now, but have been holding off on reviewing it.  It's such a daunting task as there's so much here and so much to say about Unwound, but I don't always feel qualified to say it.  Unwound was sort of a fringe band for me.  I got into Unwound in my late teens and they were one of the bands I fell into while I was still finding my sea legs so to speak.  Unwound along with other Pacific Northwest bands like Fitz of Depression, godheadSilo, Karp and Lync were the bands that a lot of my other friends never really got into.  Most of them were somewhat fleeting; I never really listened to much Fitz, godheadSilo or Karp past 1995 or so.  Lync stuck with me and I've been listening to them pretty much non-stop for the last 20 years.  Unwound is more in the middle.  While I never abandoned them completely, I really can't say I've listened to them much until recently digging through these Numero reissues.

This box set is the first of 4 planned sets to reissue pretty much every song, noise and recorded fart that Unwound put to tape over their career.  Numero has done a pretty stellar job assembling this set.  The sturdy cardboard record sleeves, the high quality vinyl, the fantastic photo filled booklet, the inner record sleeves with the original release 7" & LP artwork; it all just looks and sounds amazing.  If I had one gripe, it would be that the records in their cardboard sleeves fit a little too snugly into the box.  Sometimes it's a chore pulling the records out.

The 3 LPs cover a lot of ground.  The first is primarily made up of some early demos, compilation appearances and the band's first 7" Caterpillar.  This is a band that is noisy, abrasive and stumbling around in the dark trying to find their way.  They hit on some great ideas, but they also get a little lost here and there.  The 2nd LP has the songs recorded for what was to be the band's debut full length plus a couple of unreleased songs.  Ultimately this album was shelved, but then reissued in 1995 as a self titled effort.  The band was starting to get on track more by this point, but the songs were still kind of chaotic.  A few real gems are on this disc though.  The 3rd LP is where they cram in all of the extras.  Radio sessions, unused songs, 7" b-sides.  It's the odds and ends of the bunch.  Not anywhere near as exciting as the first 2 LPs, but neat stuff to have regardless.

It's a really impressive set that is so artfully put together.  Even if the band was still finding their way during this era, Numero has shown incredible clarity assembling this box set. One of the main reasons I wanted to get this review written finally is because the 2nd Numero box set is out now and I'm planning on getting to that one this week as well.  That is the set that contains the Unwound songs that I first found.

Unwound - Caterpillar:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9hEZ-PRrI0

The Mountain Goats / Mount Moriah - Split 7" - Turquoise Vinyl

Merge (2014)

Shipped with the Superchunk / Mikal Cronin 7" from yesterday was the second entry in the Merge Records singles series.  This one is a split 7" between The Mountain Goats and Mount Moriah.

We'll start with The Mountain Goats since I am familiar with them.  I can't say I have ever been a big fan, but at the same time I've always appreciated the music that John Darnielle has released.  I remember originally I stumbled across them when I went through my tape label phase in the mid 90's and was buying cassettes & records by bands like Diskothi Q and Charlie McAlister.  For some reason The Mountain Goats just never hit for me and the song on this 7" is another reason why.  It's a strong song, plaintive and honest. It's mostly just voice and piano with some light electric guitar work occasionally in the background.  I think it's just a bit too downtrodden to really embrace. I certainly can appreciate plenty of music that's not fast and catchy rock & roll, but I've always found the Mountain Goats a bit too gloomy for me.

Mount Moriah is a band I've had no prior exposure to.  Their contribution to this 7" is somewhat soulful, female fronted rock.  It's built off of a repetitive, bluesy guitar riff with some nice organ work in the background.  it's pretty good, but I'm not wowed to the point that I'll likely pursue anything further by this band.

So 2 singles into the Merge series and it's a good showing so far.  I'm eager to see what comes up next on the horizon.  I worry that the Superchunk 7" might end up being the highlight for me, but who knows, maybe they'll get the Karl Hendricks Trio on board.

Superchunk / Mikal Cronin - Split 7" - Pink Vinyl

Merge (2014)

Another year, another singles club.  This year I joined up for the Merge records 25th anniversary singles club.  How could I not, it starts off with a Superchunk 7" and if there's 1 thing in this world I have, it's a lot of Superchunk 7"s.  The Merge series looks like they're sending out two 7"s at a time.  I'll write up the 2nd one tomorrow.  The sleeve is a sturdy cardboard with a shiny silver logo on the front and some light embossing on the back.  There's a few odd designs cut into it as well that exposes the vinyl, so make sure to bag this guy up before filing it away.  It looks cool though.

I'll start out with Mikal Cronin.  He is one of the absolute top guys where so many people whose taste in music I trust love him, but he just never did anything for me.  I tried so hard to get into his first record and it just never clicked.  What I can say though is that his song "Takin' It Easy" on this 7" is incredible.  It's got some minor psych/drone on the vocals, but it's not annoyingly distorted like a lot of bands go for these days.  This song has an awesomely loud and catchy chorus.  The verse takes it down a bit, but it just helps build up energy for that chorus.  I've only heard the first Mikal Cronin record.  If anything else of his sounds even sort of similar to this song, than I really need to give him another chance.  Someone confirm or deny please.

Superchunk hardly needs a description.  Their song "Good Morning" is another slice of classic Superchunk greatness.  It's a bouncy, jump up and down because you can't contain yourself anthem. It's catchy in the right places and dynamic where it needs to be.  Superchunk hardly ever lets me down and this song is no exception.  I also love how committed Superchunk is to supporting the 7" format.  All these years later and they're still cranking them out.  This record is a great start to the series.

The Cry! - Dangerous Game LP

Taken By Surprise (2014)

I have the first album that The Cry released and I liked it.  I wasn't floored by it or anything, but it was a solid poppy record that got played in my rotation reasonably often when it came out.  As what happens to all but the very best of records, it got filed away and hasn't been on my turntable in a while.  When I saw the band had a new record out, I absolutely wanted to pick it up, expecting another good outing from them.

I was completely unprepared for the truly dramatic increase in quality in Dangerous Game compared to their debut.  Where that record was pretty good, Dangerous Game is just stellar.  Though I think the first band that might come to mind while listening to Dangerous Game is the Cute Lepers, I'm actually kind of shocked that The Cry isn't from Canada.  I think you could definitely have this filed next to your Mother's Children or Sonic Avenues records and feel pretty good about that classification.  I think The Cry is slightly more glammy, slightly more pop and maybe a bit less garage than either of those bands, but Dangerous Game is every bit as amazing. 

The band really excels in delivering fast past, guitar driven tunes with fantastic backing vocals and harmonies.  The absolute standout of the record for me is "Toys In The Attic."  All of the ingredients of the perfect guitar pop song are present and it's likely one of the best songs I've heard in 2014 so far.  I can't recommend this record highly enough.  Even though there's a kind of goofy picture of the band on the back cover, I'll let them slide because the music is just so damn good.

The Cry! - Dangerous Game LP

http://takenbysurpriserecords.bandcamp.com/album/dangerous-game-lp

V/A - Puke & Destroy III 7"

Snuffy Smiles (2013)

It only happens a couple of times a year, but almost nothing makes me happier than when I find out there's a new release on Snuffy Smiles records.  Hands down, the best label in the world and they've been cranking out records for over 20 years.  Their latest is a 3 way split 7" with each band putting in 2 songs.

First up is perennial favorites Your Pest Band. Their first contribution is a fast punky song called "Foolish Decade.". The vocals are a little echo-y as far as production goes, but it's more like their earlier releases than it is like the more bluesy songs on their last 10".  The 2nd song "Something In My Head" is even better. Hyper fast, catchy and awesome.  Kind of reminds me of car chase music with a hint of Rocket From the Crypt in the chorus. Just a great band.

Next is Car10.  The first of their songs "Get Drunk" is a mid tempo, but catchy song.  It has some weird, production on the vocals, like the singer is underwater, but it's got a good call and response chorus.  The B side, "Falling Night," is kind of slow, short and unmemorable.  Neither song is bad, but they're not as strong as the other bands on this record.

Finally there's Dog Hotel.  Their first entry "Everything Is A Joke" sounds weirdly similar to Car10 as the song starts, kind of mid tempo 60's rock.  But it has stronger vocals than Car10.  2nd song "My Race" is a bit more powerful with big crunchy guitars.  It's has a fast bang-bang-bang guitar driven verse that kind of drifts into a chorus that reminds me of boozy karaoke.  All in all another pretty strong 7" in the illustrious Snuffy Smiles catalog.  May they continue for 20 more years.

Mission Of Burma - Youth Of America - Clear Vinyl

Matador (2013)

I'm going to start writing about the new Merge singles club pretty soon, so I figured I should probably wrap up last year's Matador club.  This is the last "bonus" 7" and the neat little box that Matador sent over to hold the whole series.  This series was plagued with delays that Matador had to continually apologize for, but honestly, it didn't bother me much at all. The entire series was wrapped up just a couple of months later than expected and when you are putting out 13 7"s, delays are to be expected.  I thought they did a great job keeping everyone in the loop and I would definitely subscribe again.

The quality of the records was all over the place to me. There were stellar entries that made the whole series worth while like Superchunk and Royal Headache.  But, there ware also a ton of 7"s that I will never play again.  Even though I'm sure many people were thrilled to get Mission Of Burma as the bonus 7", I can't say that I cared that much.  They've always been one of those bands that everybody likes, but they don't do anything for me.  This 7" doesn't change my opinion.

It starts off with "Youth of America," a Wipers cover.  They do nice work with the lead guitar riff intro, but once the vocals kick in, I'm checking out.  Echo-y yelping in the background that sounds like they turned on the wrong mic where ever they recorded it this.  The chorus is a bit better, but it doesn't live up to the downstroke fueled energy of the original. 

My reaction to the B-side "Tremelo" is as follows.  It has a lot of tremelo on the guitar.  Wow this is a pretty long intro.  Wait, has the song started already, is it an instrumental? OK, it must be an instrumental.  After about half an hour the drums finally kick in.  There's some minor 'ahhhh-ing' in the background that sounds more like a ghost from Lord Of The Rings than any sort of vocals.  The tremelo effect gets turned off at the 7 hour and 45 minute mark.  I'm literally counting the grooves in the record to see how much longer this cursed song is.  And it's over.  Not a fan, but again, I'd sign up for another Matador club in a heartbeat as the good far outweighs the bad. 

Chestnut Road / BUZZorHOWL - Split 7"

Brassneck / Boss Tuneage (2013)

There have been a lot of records put out recently that have bands harkening back to some of the styles of music that were all the rage in the 90's.  Being the age that I am, the 90's will always be a special time for me and I'll probably always think that was the best time for buying records.  I think it's true for most people that the music you discover in your late teens and early twenties is the music that really sticks with you throughout your life.  Enter this 7".

Some of the best records I've ever bought came out in the UK in the late 90's.  The Chestnut Road / BUZZorHOWL split could have easily come out during that time.  BUZZorHOWL features members who were also in the band Drive (go grab their discography CD right now).  I can certainly see the influence of Drive in BUZZorHOWL, but the band I'm immediately reminded of when I listen to the first song "Little Cop" is Alligator Gun. The melodic vocals soar over the big crunchy UK punk style guitars and this song just blows me away.  The 2nd track is an instrumental and though I actually love it when bands throw an instrumental onto a full length, since there's only 2 tracks to work with here, I probably would have preferred another with vocals.

Chestnut Road are really cementing themselves as one of my absolute favorite current bands.  They've put out a lot of records over the past couple of years and I've yet to hear a bad song out of them.  Hell, I haven't even heard a song from them that was merely good, they've all been great.  They really take their influences from some of my all time favorite bands like Broccoli, Hooton 3 Car and Leatherface.  Gravely vocals over dynamic guitar work.  It's just perfection.

 Chestnut Road / BUZZorHOWL - Split 7":

http://brassneckrecords.bandcamp.com/album/buzzorhowl-chestnut-road-split-7

Can Of Beans - S/T LP

Recess (2013)

It never fails that I end up writing about records that came out during November and December well into the start of the following year.  It bums me out a bit because I always feel like I'm doing the records a disservice since I wasn't able to include them on my end of the year round up.  I try to stay on top of new releases, but I guess I'm just destined to be a few months behind on certain things.

Can Of Beans would have definitely ended up on my best-of in some capacity.  It's a terrific album that manages to take some pet peeves of mine and flip them into something really enjoyable.  I've probably gone on record a few time saying that I just can't get into bands like Nobunny or Hunx And His Punx.  The super high pitched vocals and general goofball vibe of it all makes it impossible for me to take seriously.  So, whenever I hear anything kind of similar, I tend to not like it as much.

Can Of Beans completely turns that around for me.  Yes, the vocals are quite high pitched and have similar production values to those aforementioned folks.  However, Can Of Beans slows things town and takes everything much more seriously.  I'm not saying this is an important, stark record or anything like that. It's a good time, but it's not played for laughs.  These are just great well written pop songs. At the same time, if you are someone that does typically like Nobunny & co., this record should just floor you as I think it is that style of bubblegum garage pop perfected.

Can Of Beans - S/T:

http://canofbeans1.bandcamp.com/

Dulac - The First of the Last Chords LP

Taken By Surprise (2013)

It's always exciting when a brand new band ends up on your radar.  Taken By Surprise is a record label that I trust, so when they started letting the world know that this Dulac record was on the way, I sat up and took notice.  When the label put the record up on Bandcamp, I clicked play on the first song.  I was adding this record to my cart and sending money to the label before the song was even finished.

When a band puts out their debut record and it's just a beast from start to finish, that's a hell of an accomplishment and Dulac deserves the accolades.  They're playing an upbeat, treble heavy style of rock and roll.  In particular, the guitar sound and riffs remind me of The Statues, but in a more subdued and not quite as explosive way.  That's not saying Dulac isn't full of energy; but they are channeling it in a different way, as the band has a slightly darker and certainly more serious tone.

A reference point on the vocals are a bit hard to pin down.  Aspects of them remind me of some of the bands you'd find on Snuffy Smiles out of Japan. But there are other songs where I get a really strong Starmarket feel.  There are even times where I'm reminded of the band Rusty James.  Regardless of what other bands the the singing kind of sounds like, the end result is a mix unique to Dulac.  It's a fantastic record from start to finish and should have made my best of 2013 list.

Dulac - The First of the Last Chords LP:

http://takenbysurpriserecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-first-of-the-last-chords-lp

Chopper - Last Call For The Dancers LP - Blue Vinyl (/300)

Crackle (1998)

A while back I had written about one of my favorite bands from the late 90's UK punk scene Chopper (http://www.ibuywaytoomanyrecords.com/2012/04/collection-chopper-lp-7.html).  I put up a picture of my collection of all of their records.  A pretty complete collection of their vinyl aside from the glaring omission of their LP on colored vinyl.

I had always kind of wondered how I missed the colored vinyl version of this album as I was really on top of things back then and I know I bought the LP the moment it came out.  In doing a little research before writing this up I discovered that the blue vinyl version was actually a repress that came out about a year after the first pressing on black vinyl.  To me that at least kind of explains how I missed it.

The best part about finally adding the blue vinyl LP to my collection is that it was sent to me by Dave from Chopper.  An extraordinarily nice man, who has really gone out of his way being nice to a sad old record collector like me.  Cheers Dave, it's much appreciated.

As far as the tunes on this LP, they're just some of my favorite from one of my favorite eras of music.  This LP managed to take the incredible hooks that the band was creating on all of their 7"s and move those into a slightly more mature direction.  Produced by Frankie Stubbs from Leatherface, this album shows the band slowing their songs down just a hair (seriously, just a hair slower, there's plenty of fast songs on this record) while mixing in a bit more influence by bands like Broccoli. The result is a smoother album, that is impactful, but has more staying power and holds up well through the years that have passed since its release.  An essential album that you go out of your way to add to your collection.

Chopper - Staedler:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwdzRUiT2j4

Chopper - F. Perry:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jC4d0kJhkiE

Samiam - Astray LP - Tie Dye Vinyl (/100)

Unless You Try (2013, Reissue)

As I've mentioned before, sometimes timing works out perfectly.  I decided to give Samiam another shot after not really being that into them in the 90's.  Turns out I blew it and they're great.  Then, just about every one of their full lengths gets a fancy vinyl reissue.  So, getting this collection filled out has been pretty easy.  As mush as I do like these Samiam records, I'm completely content with these reissues and I don't have that strong desire to start picking up the original pressings...yet...

Astray is an album that I know a lot of Samiam fans really like.  To me it always stood out because I knew quite a few people (myself included) that couldn't remember if it was called "Astray" or "Ashtray."  Not sure that it's relevant, but I can confirm it is "Astray."  This particular variant is courtesy of Unless You Try records out of the UK.  Ever since the Lillingtons boxed set came out, I wanted to get my hands on a "tie dye" colored vinyl record.  This one isn't that special really.  It's just blue swirled with white and a little red here and there.  I've seen some tie dyes that are super unique looking, but I'm sure I could pull another record out of my collection that looks similar to this one.

As far as the record goes, it's pretty great.  I'd lump it in with Clumsy or You Are Freaking Me Out in terms of quality.  Full, deep guitars with strong vocal melodies. No throwaway songs and as I'd mentioned in another review, I definitely hear some Knapsack style guitar work in here.  I realize since Sergie was in both bands, that is a bit silly to bring up, but I think that Knapsack influence certainly is more prevalent on Astray than on some of the other Samiam records I have.  One of the best records I've heard since giving Samiam another shot, though Clumsy is still my favorite so far.

Samiam - Astray:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF0-U_rthTE&list=PL7800432710721428

Outtacontroller - Remote Control Cassette

Sorry about the sporadic updates lately.  Last week I took a few days off work as I was going to a bunch of Rocket From The Crypt shows. Then I ended up getting sick for a few days this week and when I'm sick, trying to write coherently is even harder for me than it typically is, so that's why this site has languished a bit.  Don't worry, I haven't given up on it yet.  I'm still not feeling completely better, but I am feeling well enough to write a few words about this excellent Outtacontroller cassette.

I'm even going to skip my usual cassette complaint as this was specifically made for a tour the band was doing and for some reason bands making cassettes so they have something to sell on tour doesn't bug me at all.  I sure hope these songs end up on vinyl at some point, but for now the tape will do.

On this cassette are 4 new songs, 2 cover songs (1 of a Ladytron song and the 2nd of a "When You Found Out" by The Nerves) and 2 songs recorded live on the radio at CKDU.  Musically I've always felt that Outtacontroller straddles the line in between Hex Dispensers and Steve Adamyk Band, and if there are 2 bands to be compared to, those 2 aren't too shabby.  We've got loud fast guitar, with catchy vocals & choruses.  Though they've never ventured to my neck of the woods, I get the impression from their songs that Outtacontroller is likely a hell of a live band.

I've read that Outtacontroller will have a new 7" coming out soon on Ptrash records and I believe they are also at work on their 2nd LP.  Rest assured, I will be buying both of those records the moment they are available.

Outtacontroller - Remote Control:

http://outtacontroller.bandcamp.com/album/remote-control

Record Store Visit: Repo Records - Philadelphia, PA - 04/04/14

This past Friday I went down to Philadelphia for the first time in many years so that I could see Rocket From The Crypt play.  It was the 3rd show in a row that I was lucky enough to see them play.  Though I didn't really get much time to spend in Philly before the show started, I did manage to hit up 1 record store while I was in town.

Repo Records is a fairly small store.  They certainly slant towards indie music for the most part.  A few racks of CDs a bigger selection of new LPs and a few crates of used records floating around upstairs.  There's a 2nd floor of junker vinyl downstairs as well according to signs in the building, but I didn't really have time to go digging though that.

What the store really doesn't have much of at all is 7"s, which are always my favorite things to dig through.  It's hard to get excited about a store that has fewer 7"s than I do, but I think I have more records in the B section of my 7" collection than Repo Records has in the whole store.  Still, while I was there I picked up the new Cloud Nothings record on blue vinyl, so while it wasn't an amazing shopping experience, there were still things there to keep me interested.  Hopefully next time I end up in Philly I'll be able to hit up some of the other stores as well.

Tony Molina - Dissed And Dismissed - Red Vinyl

Slumberland (2014)

I became intrigued with Tony Molina thanks to his participation in the Matador single club this past year.  That club had its ups and downs, but the Tony Molina 7" was absolutely the biggest and best surprise of the batch.  When I found that Molina also had a full length album that was currently out of print; it was a relief to hear that Slumberland was going to be reissuing it shortly.  And here it is.

Yeah, as a nerdy collector, I would probably prefer to have the original pressing of this, but I'll absolutely jump on a limited colored vinyl version of the reissue.  This record is short.  Really short.  The songs themselves are short.  Really short.  Typically this would probably annoy me a bit, but Tony Molina crams so much into each pop blast it's quite remarkable.

We have fast fuzzy guitar pop crammed full of hooks, melodies, strong vocals and some of the most intense guitar solos I've ever hear during songs so short.  When I wrote about the Matador 7" I compared the guitar solos to The Minibosses.  That comparison still stands I think and they add so much to each track.  I'll go on record and say that in general I think most guitar solos like this are self indulgent wanking, but damn if each and every one of them doesn't work in the context of this album.  It's really something.

Tony Molina - "Change My Ways":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRCXGT8dTmo

Tony Molina - "Walk Away":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlzR_3_pDfU

Beezewax - Who To Salute / When We Were Kids 2xLP

Reveal (2005)

Well, I'm a pretty big Beezewax fan.  I've been one ever since PopKid records started getting ready to release the album South Of Boredom back in 1873 or so.  But somehow, I'm often surprised to find out that Beezewax has released something I'd never heard of.  It's happened on several occasions; I'll just stumble across a record of theirs that just sneaked out into the world.  This vinyl version of Who To Salute is a prime example.  No clue it was out there, then one day...bam.  A discogs entry for it.  Been looking for a copy ever since.

All Beezewax records are great.   Who To Salute is no exception, though you'll forgive me if I have a slightly stronger attachment to South Of Boredom.  Still, just go buy all their records, every one is outstanding.  The band churns out perfect Posies inspired pop songs better than just about anyone (including the Posies on several of their records).  They can take a song slow and tender and they can get bouncy and poppy with equally successful results.  A hell of a band, they always have been.

The extra wacky thing about this LP is that it comes with a second LP called When We Were Kids.  It compiles a handful of songs from the first 3 Beezewax records A Dozen Summits, Who To Salute and Oh Tahoe.  It's pretty cool having a few songs from each of these records on vinyl.  I would obviously prefer each one had been reissued on vinyl individually, but it's nice to be able to hear my favorite Beezewax song "In The Stands" blasting from the turntable.  Someone should release all the Beezewax LPs on vinyl.  If anyone is interested in putting out South Of Boredom, I bet you I could put you in touch with the right people...

I couldn't find any songs from Who To Salute streaming anywhere, but there's a video for in The Stands up on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkgnwzrwcFc