Brian Bordello - Boris Johnson Massacre

Lockdowns are tough eh! Well maybe for you, but I've used the opportunity to visit Durham and Barnard Castle. Roads were quiet as fuck! Who woulda thought?!

Anyhow while there's no gigs to or record shops to go to, it's great to find that many of my favourite music makers are still being creative and kicking against the pricks. Brian Bordello (he's in a group called The Bordellos don't you know!) is one top fella – a maverick music maker of the highest order, independently-minded, speaker of truth, gently subversive, and quite often laugh-out-loud funny. He got in touch with me over the weekend to draw attention to a couple of new songs. Highly current and topical. Quickly recorded and with almost immediate release thanks to Australian label Metal Postcard Records. 'Boris Johnson Massacre' will resonate with anyone who's found our government's response to the Covid-1 crisis sadly lacking. Boot-lickers and flag-shaggers might disapprove but they can fuckin' do one!

Here are some words from Brian about the tracks...

“I only recorded it on Tuesday and Metal Postcard Records were kind enough to release it straight away so I had no time for the pre-release nonsense. It continues with my solo adventures in the art of no-fi with this gentle attack on the ineptitude of our current Prime Minister, recorded on one track of my old tape four-track and in such a way it will only come out of one speaker, to capture the magic of me listening to pop music in my youth on a tiny transistor radio, a song where Jake Thackray, Daniel Johnson and Ray Davies influence takes hold . I hope you enjoy it.”

The Bordellos - Crabs EP

An antidote to the anodyne.

Music lovers will be aware that last Saturday was Record Store Day. The annual event that drives nominally sane middle aged men to queue in the cold and dark early hours for fear of missing out on overpriced limited edition vinyl records that they probably won't play anyway. I'll bet most of these items get filed away alphabetically in the hope that one day they'll increase in monetary value.

Don't get me wrong, I love vinyl records, have always bought them and will continue to do so. It's also great that the shops, labels and bands are supported. Yeah can't fault that. What I object to is the fetishisation of vinyl, along with the “investment” aspect of buying records that seems to be of equal if not more important these days than the music. So RSD is the one day I guarantee I won't be anywhere near a record shop. This year? I whitewashed the wall in the back yard. A long overdue chore and I have to say, the wall looks bloody good!

I mention all this because last Saturday saw the release of a new EP from the Bordellos, a bunch of independently-minded, lo—fi leaning proud misfits from England's Northwest who each year on RSD release new music as a refreshing antidote to its madness. Their Crabs EP is refreshingly not available on vinyl. It's a five-track all instrumental affair on download/stream only available from Metal Postcards Records. As you'd expect from the Bordellos, this new music delights, challenges, amuses and takes you to places you didn't know you wanted to go. It's a journey that takes in acidic folk, found sounds, industrial noise and the open-minded possibilities of post-punk. Oh and there's some whistling too. If John Peel were alive today he'd no doubt be broadcasting tracks off the Crabs EP each night.

Interestingly Brian from the Bordellos also shares my reservations about Record Store Day. You can read his thoughts about it on his wonderful blog, along with his thoughts about pop music, both good and bad. His writing is always insightful, bang on the money, and damn entertaining too. Check it out. Now I'm off to buy a couple of fence panels. Happy Easter!

https://inthemindofabordello.wordpress.com/
https://twitter.com/thebordellos
https://bordellos.bandcamp.com/