Aural Delights 385

1	Cable Ties	–	Tell Them Where To Go
2	King Buzzo with Trevor Dunn	–	Science In Modern America
3	The Cravats	–	There Is No God
4	Harry Stafford	–	Sideways Shuffle
5	Peter Hammill	–	The Second Hand
6	Easter	–	No End In Sight
7	Ian and Neil Moss	–	Blowing Smoke Up My Hole
8	2 Lost Souls	–	Liqourice Flavour
9	The New Fools	–	Something About Jane
10	Dave Graney ‘n’ The Coral Snakes	–	$2.00 Hookers
11	Koloto	–	IOA (part 2)
12	Gridfailure	–	Temple of the Morning Star
13	Ian Moss and Space Museum	–	Re-opening Old Wounds
14	Perpacity	–	Burn
15	Hood Smoke	–	Shiny Objects
16	Friend Enemy	–	Your Uh Free-Standing Ladder
17	Chrome Waves	–	A Fair Wind
18	Peter Hammill	–	Charm Alone
19	Scenius	–	Wild & Wooly
20	The New Fools	–	I Got On A Train
21	2 Lost Souls	–	Scrape It Off
22	Marigolds	–	Porches
23	Dave Graney ‘n’ The Coral Snakes	–	What Kind Of Fool Are You?
24	Easter	–	What Went Wrong
25	Harry Stafford	–	Disappearing
26	The Cravats	–	March of the Business Acumen
27	Cable Ties	–	Sandcastles

Thoughts:

Some random jottings on the music on this show…..whether I get time to do notes like this for future shows is down to other commitments, hopefully they are a useful adjunct to the music.

• Cable Ties “Far Enough”  – yes I know, another bloody band from bloody from Melbourne. Am I obsessed with the place? Probably, but it does seem to be the music capital of the world at the moment. Melbourne is a bit like the  metropolitan area of Manchester (i.e. Greater Manchester as opposed to Manchester)  but with twice the population. The general description Melbourne covers many settlements, townships, villages each generating their fair share of new music, it’s a full time chore keeping up. Fortunately a friend tracked this one down for me and brought it to my attention.  This three piece are powerful, pungent, loud and very good indeed. It seems to be their second full length with a three year gap between it and the eponymous debut, which I’ve just had a listen to and decided to purchase as well. It’s punk in it’s purest sense so you’ll recognise a lot of the elements derived from The Stooges et al onwards but much more than that and with a willingness to stretch things out .  Relentless stuff and good for exorcising any demons you may have floating around.
• King Buzzo with Trevor Dunn “Gift of Sacrifice”  – I have oodles of Melvins stuff which I haven’t listened to in ages but I remember  what it sounds like. So in that context this one was a bit of a surprise.  The Melvins menace is there but Buzz Osborne (no relation) has couched it in a sort of semi-acoustic/americana framework. Essentially it’s just Buzz and Trevor howling at the night. Clever use of layered vocals on the track featured on the show.
• The Cravats “Hoorahland” – one week on (nearly) from the Manchester Easter gig that was cancelled. I had imbibed a few too many Red Stripes when I last saw them at the Star and Garter but I do recall they were marvellous. The new album continues the momentum started with “Dustbin of Sound” and delivers a powerful statement about what you can do if you use the right instruments in the correct combination (mostly talking about the saxophone here of course). Hopefully the gig gets rearranged when we are through the current thing.
• Harry Stafford “Urban Gothic Blues” – recorded with Mr Ding in darkest Blackfriars/Trinity  (part of Salford for those of you who don’t know) this is a remarkable album with a mix of styles veering between Dr John delta blues and something a little more jazzy via Mose Allison. Great trumpet floating ethereally in the background (Miles like) on this one on the show. Harry deserves success with this album, it’s smart, well played, and delivered with a clear love for the genre.
• Peter Hammill “Not Yet Not Now” – the decision to play every track from Peter’s “Not Yet Not Now” 8 CD box set on the show over many months might be described as challenging for the average listener . He does have a dedicated fan base but stripped down versions of songs from recordings spanning fifty odd years are not going to excite your average punter dipping in for a listen. I’ve seen him do this sort of show four times in the last ten years or so, one with the late Stuart Gordon, the latest being at the swanky Stoller Hall in Manchester and the previous three at the Lowry (in the smaller theatre) he never disappoints. The Van Der Graaf show in May has been put back until later in the year. Pending that there is this magnificent collection, numerous solo albums plus the VDGG back catalogue. Tracks originally on “The Future Now” and “X-Ten” are featured on the show. One more CDs worth to play….some listeners might be pleased about that!
• Easter  “Doubt Rings (Eternal)” – a new EP from Crumpsall’s (it’s in Manchester) finest and up with their  debut album in respect of quality. Good use of guitars, no bombast, just heart felt intelligent song-writing. It has cohones which is what impresses me, none of that fey south of the city centre nonsense. The north side of the city music scene does not get as much attention as it should. It many ways the music that emerges is far superior (that’ll upset a few people!!).
• Ian and Neil Moss “Blowing Smoke Up My Hole” – they had been quiet for a few months after a run of singles last year – I was wondering what was coming next. It’s certainly different from everything that has gone before. Almost alien in it’s delivery with sound sculptured from a troubled ether. Ian engages in his usual attack on the things that bother him. Stark and startling. I reckon they ought to do album.
• 2 Lost Souls “Liqourice Flavour” – same vocalist as above but a totally different context with Paul Rosenfeld bringing rock/blues sounds along and Ian decrying (as he often does) safe music, music that is an anodyne copy of the core of rock and roll. German Shepherd subscribers get an extra track on release date!
• The New Fools “Mershmellow” – second album with more great songs. Not much more to say really. The ubiquitous Tony Jenkins (Lizard Brain, Kammahav) has a vehicle for his pop smarts and it works. The wonderful “John Candy Talking” is worth the price of admission alone. Demand comparison with The Freshies I reckon.
• Dave Graney ‘n’ The Coral Snakes “The Mercury Years – Crayfish Palace Royalty” – some of the b-sides and other bits and pieces that accompanied the three main releases and attendant singles on Mercury.  This time (mid 90s) saw Dave and Clare at the height of their mainstream popularity (ARIA  awards etc) but none of this success resulted in compromise of their work. I may have mentioned before that i’ve struggled to pigeon hole the Graney work in any particular genre and this is because they transcend so many styles of music. This era however was more rock oriented. I may move on to the Hashish and Liquor collection next – that’s a different ball game entirely!
• Koloto “IOA EP” – I get sent a lot of electronica, well what is described as electronica but is more pop music with synths, and for the most part it’s dire autotuned rubbish. However you occasionally get something that’s unique, this being one example. The pseudonym of producer and multi-instrumentalist Maria Sullivan who has been composing and recording music from her early teens. A self-taught guitarist, she successfully turned her attention to a variety of instruments, good stuff! 
• Gridfailure, Chrome Waves “Split” – a lot of what Dave Brenner does with Gridfailure is excellent but it unfortunately does not easily fit into a radio format. However in this split release with Chrome Waves there is the opportunity to share his unique approach to layered ambient/noise sound manipulation.  Chrome Waves mix black metal and shoegaze to create a unique sound. Challenging but necessary to shake-up the status quo.
• Ian Moss and Space Museum “Spoken Word Volume 2” – this is only available to German Shepherd Records subscribers – included in the hope that a few more folks might join the club. Spoken word (clearly) with some computer generated sounds from me.
• Perpacity “Conflagration” – Ian Harling and Martin Nyrup back with their melodic songs and melodies, characterized by their unique dark and moving electronic soundscapes. Second single from the forthcoming album.
• Hood Smoke “Reckless, Indigo” – Matthew from ears&eyes introduced this band to me last year with their excellent album “Congratulations Mr & Mrs Wallace”. This one just turned up on Bandcamp as a free download with no other information. Whatever, it’s good.
• Friend:Enemy “HIH NO/ON” – another free download. Main man appears to be Tim Kinsella (of whom I know nowt). Odd that the track titles don’t seem to tie in with the tracks, but maybe that’s the point.  Worth reproducing the first part of the liner notes as they are a hoot “In November 2016, shocked and devastated by the election of President Apocalypse Fuckface, a group of us sought normalcy, distraction, and community the best we could, in a recording studio. These songs were written and recorded quick—all within just a couple days— with minimal overdubs, a minimal slogan approach to lyrics, and the idea of finally cranking out the simple “guitar rock” record my various industry partners had been nudging me to do for the previous 20 years.”
• Scenius “Wild and Wooly” – preceded by an intro from Steve. The promo says “Scenius debut single “Dark Rain” displayed a minimalist and bouncy synth-pop, blending vintage dark-wave and post-punks elements with a modern approach.
  While confirming this direction, this second single definitely adds darker and more intense shades to the duo’s music without giving up on its catchy, pop dimension”. Yep, that’s about right.
• Marigolds “Hot Springs” -now a description such as “emo indie” would usually have me reaching for the delete button but this lot from Norwich seem to be much more than the label they have either applied to themselves or someone has applied it to them. There’s that dreamy East Anglian sound that appears prevalent at the moment. The track on the show is the strongest on the release with a great melody.