Fuchsia - Fuchsia

Specially augmented reissue of the classic 1970 debut! Includes 2^nd disc of rarities, DVD, magazine and poster!

Fruits de Mer are not known as a reissue label so as this 2LP set marks their first foray into the reissue market they've pulled out all the stops. Even by FdM standards this bumper package is pretty special. An original copy Fuchsia's 1971 debut on the Pegasus label will set you back a few hundred quid. For a fraction of the cost you can have this newly pressed 180g coloured vinyl reissue which comes complete with a second disc featuring early demos, rarities and new recordings. There's also a 15-minute DVD featuring founder member Tony Durant talking about the album, a 24-page magazine and a fold-out poster. Told you it was special!

A little background info then – Vocalist/guitarist Tony Durant formed Fuchsia at Exeter Univeristy back in the '60s. The band was named after Fuchsia Groan, a princess character in Mervin Peakes' Gormenghast trilogy from the 1940s. Their sole LP came out in 1970. Like many acid-folk albums of the era (by the likes of Forest, Vashti Bunyan etc.) it was drowned out of the cacaphonous marketplace, pushed to the sidelines by big labels, big names and a burgeoning new heavy rock scene. As the years passed the album quietly staked out a life of its own. Slowly picking up converts and fans, and ageing rather well. Listening to it today, it defies its simple acid-folk classification, and contains a unique spirit. There are jazz influences on it, along with baroque instrumentation. At times quirky and playful, other times serious but always engaging and full of warm sentiments and plenty of heart.

The album would go on to inspire subseqent generations of hip-to-the-groove musicians. Most recent and notable being Swedish group Me And My Kites who named themselves after one of Fuchsia's best known tracks. The band actually feature on disc two of this set backing Fuchsia vocalist Tony on a version of 'The Band', a track which was originally issued on a 7” by FdM in 2014. A highly recommended package for fans both old and new.

**The band will be playing at the Sixteenth Dream of Dr. Sardonicus Festival in Cardigan, August 3^rd to 5^th! **

**Also the Half Moon, Putney on August 10^th!

Click here for Fuchsia on Facebook.

Click here for Fruits de Mer Records.

Sendelica - Cromlech Chronicles III

Third instalment of exploratory instrumental Prog from Wales' celebrated spacerockers!

Here on the flat mud-banks of the east coast, we're about as far from West Wales as it's possible to be on Britain's main landmass, both in terms of distance and landscape. That may be why each time I've spent time in that beautiful country I've come home with my batteries spiritually re-charged. The combination of hills, valleys, clean(er) Atlantic air, rich folklore and a less-toxic national pride inspires and impresses me each time. All these things feed into the music that's made there too of course. Those teenage years spent listening to John Peel spin the latest record from Datblygu opened my ears to a seam that grew richer as more musicians came to my attention. Be it the Cool Cymru of the Manics, SFA et al, the gentle psych of Gorky's and CaStLeS, or the acid-folk of Meic Stevens, it was clear that Welsh music at its best had that elusive “it”.

All of which brings me to this new outing from Sendelica. It's the third in their series of improvised get-togethers. For the “Cromlech Chronicles” sessions the band de-camp to Mwnci Studios in West Wales for two days of playing, improvising and recording. The results then released by the mighty Fruits de Mer label. I've written about a couple of previous Sendelica records, their 7” tributes to Frank Zappa and DavidBowie. Without the restrictions of interpreting someone else's songs their muse is free to take flight in whatever direction it chooses. Over the six tracks on Chromlech Chronicles III we're treated to ambient textures, soothing sax-led loveliness, and some harder edged prog-rock (opening track 'BS'). Taken as a whole there's a meditative quality that mirrors both the physical surroundings as well as the musicians' mindset, one of freedom, open possibility and a willingness to enter into the mystic.

As always with Fruits de Mer Records plenty of thought has gone into how the physical product is presented. Three being the magic number here. Chromlech Chronicles III comes on three pieces of 10” vinyl (coloured of course). Then there's the 3D sleeve and accompanying 3D glasses. It's a welcome addition to the Welsh music canon.

**The band will be playing at the Sixteenth Dream of Dr. Sardonicus Festival in Cardigan, August 3rd-5th!**

Click here for Sendelica.

Click here for Sendelica guitarist Pete Bingham on Twitter.

Click here for Sendelica on Facebook.

Click here for Fruits de Mer Records.

Papernut Cambridge - Outstairs Instairs

David Essex fronting Lieutenant Pigeon! Papernut Cambridge return with more warm-hearted pop!

Here we are at the mid point of 2018, a strange time in an increasingly strange land. A government in crisis; a civil war in all but name being played out under the ongoing Leave/Remain struggle; Donald Trump popping over to meet the Queen; cloudless skies over a sun-blistered Britain; and perhaps most incredulous of all the England football team doing well at the World Cup. You could not make it up.

Oddly though the feeling round our house is more redolent of the warm glow of an uncomplicated childhood Christmas. This is in no small part thanks to the release of Outstairs Instairs, the latest long-player from Papernut Cambridge. New music from Ian Button and his assembled band-mates is always cause for celebration, more so when it's this accomplished and satisfying.

Papernut Cambridge continue to draw on the early-Seventies for much of their musical ideas, a touch of Ronnie Lane, some gentle glam stomp, a bit of wonky pub piano, some spoof hotel lounge bar music and plenty of warm-hearted pop. The overall effect is akin to David Essex fronting Lieutenant Pigeon.

But don't be fooled into thinking they're simply aping their '70s pop annual heroes. This is more than a Top Of The Pops / Hallmark Records sound-alike. What sets PC apart is that they actually say something in their songs. They have meaning depth and purpose. Outstairs Instairs bristles with emotional intelligence, and finds lead Papernut/songwriter/vocalist Ian Button full of acceptance. Acceptance of the world, along with his place in it. Many of the songs here offer an outlook that celebrates small acts of kindness and how much they're needed when our so-called leaders seem to have lost their moral compass.

Not only does the music hit the mark but as is always the case with PC, they present it in an attractive and interesting way. The vinyl version of Outstairs Instairs plays from the outer edge inwards on side one, and from the centre outwards on side two. Something to do with the inventor/architect Richard Buckminster Fuller and the C60 molecule named after him apparently. (Don't ask me, I'm no scientist!)

As befitting such a large and loose collective, the Gare du Nord Records extended family get involved – Jack Hayter features on viola, with (amongst others) Darren Hayman, Robert Rotifer and Luke Smith also playing various bits and bobs. If you've yet to experience the mighty Papernut, now is the time!

Click here for Papernut Cambridge on Facebook.

Click here for Papernut Cambridge on Twitter.

Click here for Gare Du Nord Records.

Walk Upright - Walk Upright

This week's hottest gig + debut album of spiky art-rock from London quartet!

Adding to Gare du Nord's impressive list of releases this year is this eponymous debut LP from London's Walk Upright. Lyrically rich with London-centric frustrations, delivered with heart, soul, humour and a healthy lack of cynicism, this limited edition CD was recorded in the band's rehearsal space underneath a road-supporting arch in Leyton. Sessions were disrupted each time a lorry rumbled past overhead. With this in mind it's no surprise the album has a taut, stripped to the bone sound. Short but to-the-point songs, spiky guitars lines, hooky keys and an infectious urgency to win you over within a couple of catchy choruses. And it does. Think Wire, Elastica and Blur at their best.

With not a duff track among them it's hard to pick a favourite but contenders include early single 'Trash Wave', an art-punk tour-de-force, or 'Waiting For What' with its killer bassline. Then there's 'Dont Weep Melissa' with its earworm chanted chorus, or the incredible saxophone solo (courtesy of Bozo Zoo's Alex Nicoll) on 'Wasting My Time'. Anyway take a listen via the Bandcamp player below and pick one yourself.

One quarter of the band lives in Austria so it's not often the band get to play shows together but this Friday they'll be playing a special album launch show at the Betsey Trotwood, EC1 this Friday(July 6^th). Support comes from Picturebox + Robert Rotifer. Should be one to remember! Five pounds on the door. Bargain!

Walk Upright are -

Denis Osborne – guitar/vocals

Dee McGruddy – keyboards/vocals

Richard Easeman – bass

Gareth Spicer – drums

Click here for Walk Upright on Twitter.

Click here for Walk Upright on Facebook.

Smash Fashion - Rompus Pompous

LA's premier junkshop glam outfit back with a new LP!

“Rock is dead they say, Long Live Rock!” - The Who, 'Long Live Rock' 1972

“Hey hey, my my, Rock and Roll will never die” - Neil Young, 'My My, Hey Hey (Out Of The Blue)' 1979

Rock music's resilience is something else (as Eddie Cochran might have said!) Should human civilisation ever destroy itself, millions of years from now some future race of intelligent cockroach on an archaeological dig will probably find a Crosley turntable and stash of RSD reissued Thin Lizzy and AC/DC albums. They'll treat them as sacred texts and a new religion will arise, with power chords, pinched harmonics and sexually charged lyrics at its core. That's how resilient rock music is.

The last time Rock took centre stage in the mainstream was when The Darkness were on the verge of becoming world beaters with their first album. That never came to pass but it did show that classic rock had more mileage in it. Justin and co never fulfilled their early promise but they did serve as a reminder that classic rock is called classic for good reason

LA-based quartet SMASH Fashion make a heady brew of music that merges classic, stadium and glam rock. They serve it up with a hefty dose of good natured humour and some cheeky innuendo. And wouldn't you know it, it's fun! If their latest album Rompus Pompous had been released in 1979 it might by now have been getting the RSD colour vinyl reissue treatment, weighted as it is with all the tropes and moves of rock classicism.

Their debut LP Big Cat Love came out in 2014, since when main songwriter/vocalist/guitarist Roger Deering has stockpiled a fresh batch of hook-laden gems which make up their new long-player. Such is the infectious joy spread across the record, even Bowie's go-to keyboard man Mike Garson was persuaded to guest on the album, contributing piano to 'Smiles And Daggers'. It's impossible to listen to Rompus Pompous in its entirety without a smile appearing on your face. This is good-time stuff that justifies being played loud. Plenty of twin guitar solos, '70s FM playability, a knowing silliness and a production sheen not often found in 2018. Stick this on in the car on your way to work and Monday morning's sinking feeling will soon disappear. Out now!

Click here for the band's website.

Click here for SMASH Fashion on Facebook.

Ryan Martin - Gimme Some Light

Regret, realisation and redemption. Tales from the crossroads of modern masculinity.

Ever since the early '70s, a time referred to by some as “the me decade”, there's always been an array of confessional singer-songwriters in the musical firmament. Call it the Dylan effect. Having ditched the political for the personal in the mid'60s our Bob-ness inspired a generation of (mostly male) musicians to wear hearts on sleeves and encouraging the baring of souls, with each subsequent generation adding a new wave to the genre. Some were bad, many good, and a select few were amazing. So here we are now in the time of #MeToo, a long-overdue watershed moment in gender politics. It's an interesting time for female musicians with lots of great music being made. By extension any male singer-songwriter secure in their own talent should be able to rise to the challenges that the current social and political climate presents.

Ryan Martin is the latest sensitive musician to come to the fore. A Californian currently residing in New York, I doubt Martin would claim to be a political writer, or overly concerned with gender politics for that matter but his latest and second LP Gimme Some Light does capture something of what it means to be a man in today's world. It's as open and honest an LP you're likely to hear all year, with a rare emotional complexity. Rather than the bold declarations, sureties and definite opinions we associated with the age of social media and political bombast, there's nuance, self-doubt and vulnerability. A sense of him saying “hey I may have messed up in the past, I can't promise to be perfect in the future, but I can try to be better.” It's refreshing to hear such honesty.

Martin's back-story is a colourful one involving a traumatic car accident, addiction, subsequent treatment and spells in jail. The dark times inform but don't define his music. Gimme Some Light is infused with the notion of turning things round, steering away from all that's destructive and finding a better place, a better way of being. And the tunes and arrangements are pretty good too! With a similar buffeted and bruised Americana to that of Neil Young and Ryan Adams, Martin's autobiographical songs paint a picture of a man at times down but not out.

'All The Good Men' fades in with a background of ambient white noise before piano and pedal steel lead the way into a song which sets the emotional tone and themes of the album. There's regret but it comes with tempered with realisation. 'Destitute Darlings' is an E-Street Band rocker worthy of The Boss himself, full of passionate street-level romance delivered with bar-band wall of sound. But there are many great songs here, a mix of sparsely arranged ballads and full on rockers, all melodically memorable and from the heart. Gimme Some Light is proof that the future need not be toxic after all.

Click here for Ryan Martin's website.

Click here for Ryan Martin on Twitter.

Click here for Ryan Martin on Facebook.

Clickhere for High Moon Records.