The Embrooks - We Who Are

The freakbeat goes on! Limited edition LP out now on State Records!


Bands have down-time or even split up for a while, but when the time feels right to make a new record the good ones will deliver. Case in point is this new record from The Embrooks. The band originally formed in 1996, split in 2005 and reconvened a couple of years back to record a new 45, the success and positive reaction to which led to this brand new album. We Who Are is the fourth album from the band who comprise of Alessandro Cozzi-Lepri (guitar, vocals), Mole (bass, vocals) and Lois Tozer (drums).

Whether or not the title is a cheeky reference to Messrs Townshend, Daltrey, Entwistle and Moon is unclear. The two bands may share the same three-piece instrumental line-up and much like the mid-'60s Who, The Embrooks make music that mixes hard-driving R&B with a slight experimental edge, but there the similarities and sly references end. This is most definitely an Embrooks album, not a slavish pastiche.

It features the previously mentioned 2016 single 'Nightmare' along with eleven brand new tracks. 'Going But Not Gone' and 'Don't Look At Me' find the band at their garage rock finest, their sound embellished by some nicely reedy keyboards on the former and inspired addition of woodwind on the latter. 'Human Living Vampire' has more of a moody US-garage sound, twelve-string twang and minor chords. 'Have You Ever Loved Somebody' is the album's strongest contender for a single - the sort of track that pirate radio stations would have traded lifeboats for back in the day. It has a chorus that's stickier than Unibond's No More Nails.

'Riot On Kingsland Road' places the action firmly back on terra firma and in 21st century London. It features, flutes, police sirens and the sound of breaking glass along with lyrics about the 2011 riots. 'Baby From The South' is stomper that both highlights the band's debt to R&B and allows Alessandro to indulge in some wild guitar solos. Other standouts include 'Peace Of Mind' which finds the band locked into a hypnotic psych-rock groove, and album-closer 'You Can If You Want' which signs off the record in fine freakbeat style, complete with clattering drums, crashing guitar chords and a wailing harmonica.

It's been a long wait since the band's last album (2004's Yellow Glass Perspections), but in the interim they have been active elsewhere – The Galileo 7, Thee Jezebels, The Baron Four, The Jack Cades are just some of the combos to have benefited from some Embrooks input. As special as each of those bands are, the unique chemistry of The Embrooks is undeniable on We Who Are.

A note for vinyl fans - I'm not sure which pressing plant the label has used but the vinyl copy is a real beauty. Weighing in at a reassuringly chunky 180g and with a quality cut and pressing that labels ten times the size rarely attain. Not only that, the record is housed in a gatefold sleeve and comes with a CD version and download for those that like to listen on the move. Nice work. The Embrooks, we salute you!


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The Embrooks – Nightmare / Helen (Ltd 7”)

The Embrooks first recordings in over 10 years! Out now on State Records!

It may be over a decade since The Embrooks committed any music to ½-inch tape but this brand new 7” single shows they can still come up with the goods. They've kept their hand in during the intervening years with drummer Lois bashing the skins for garage-y pub-rockers Thee Jezebels, and bassist Mole playing for numerous acts as well as setting up State Records and Sandgate Studios, a facility that ranks alongside the legendary Toe Rag for capturing an authentically vintage sound.

Where The Embrooks are concerned this sound is all about that mid-'60s “pop goes weird” moment, crucially pre-concept album, when 7” singles ruled. It's beat-driven art-rock still with still enough “pop” in it to care about melody and hooks. 'Nightmare' is the darker side of this single with pilled-up guitar motifs and scattershot drums. It owes much to The Creation, The Who and The Yardbirds et al whereas the flip 'Helen' shows the band's lighter, poppier side, albeit with a guitar sound nasty enough for Dave Davies. A cracking record, get it while it's hot!

Limited to 500 copies in front-laminated flipback sleeve.

The Embrooks are -

Mole—bass guitar, vocals

Alessandro Cozzi-Lepri—guitar, vocals

Lois Tozer—drums

Click here for The Embrooks on Facebook.

Click here for the State Records website.

The Missing Souls – Sweet, Sweet Sadie / The Alligator (Ltd 7”)

Storming garage soul 45 out now on State Records!

State Records further their reputation as the leading garage label du jour with this latest release from The Missing Souls. It's the band's first for the label but they already have a couple of 7” singles to their name along with a self-titled LP on Dangerhouse Skylab Records. The band hail from Lyon, France and have been together just under two years, in which time their stuff has been well and truly got together. This single recorded in-house at State's custom built studio is ample proof at that.

Both tracks here are covers. 'Sweet, Sweet Sadie' (originally by The Teardrops) centres around a fuzz guitar riff with a Phillicordia organ solo that takes the track into freakbeat overdrive. 'The Alligator' is a dance craze track originally by The Us Four, driven here by punding drums and complete with hand claps, a truly wild guitar solo and trademark boy/girl vocals.

This is a record that deserves to be played loud. A must have single for any self-respecting garage 'n' beat DJ. Freakbeat a-go-go baby!

Limited to 500 copies on monophonic black vinyl.

Click here for The Missing Souls' website.

Click here for The Missing Souls on Facebook.

Click here for the State Records website.

The Missing Souls are -

Zaza Sharps – lead vocals, bass guitar

Little Big Ian – lead vocals, guitar

Ricky Bilbao – organ, bass guitar

Lester Mizzi – drums, vocals

The Galileo 7 - The Live-O-Graphic Sessions

“Nearly live” LP from Medway's leading garage-psych outfit led by former Prisoners bassist Allan Crockford.

We've had the pleasure of featuring releases from The Galileo 7 in the past on Harmonic Distortion - Their FalseMemory Lane LP from 2014 and last year's 7” on State records 'One Lie At ATime'. Good to know then that the band are as busy as ever. To coincide with their recent French tour the band have released a blistering “nearly live” LP entitled The Live-O-Graphic Sessions. The 10 tracks give you an alternative “best of” and offer a taste of what the band sound like live. And that's pretty darn tasty!

Spontaneously recorded in the space of an hour with the help of Jon Barker (The Senior Service) at his ad-hoc studio set up amidst his lithographic printing press premises, the album is less soft-psych than their previous studio outings and back in touch with their garage band roots. Power-pop melodies and harmonies backed up with drumming set to the rarely heard Keith Moon energy level. The VU meters must have been working overtime, with the songs gaining extra brio and brashness as a result. Recommended.

The Galileo 7 are - 

 

Allan Crockford – vocals, guitar

Viv Bonsels – organ, vocals

Paul Moss – bass, vocals

Mole – drums, vocals

Look out for The Galileo 7 at the Medway Legends Weekender in San Sebastian, Spain on June 3^rd.

Clickhere for the The Galileo 7's website.

The Optic Nerve - Penelope Tuesday / Here To Stay (Ltd 7")

Lost recordings from the Brooklynite's mid-noughties reformation.

Much like that other New York band The Velvet Underground, The Optic Nerve may not have played much outside their home city, or sold many records in their brief first flowering. But posthumous LP releases by Get Hip and Screaming Apple Records have resulted in a well deserved re-appraisal of the band's sound.

In 1985 on our side of the pond, bands such as Jesus & Mary Chain, Primal Scream, The Bodines et al were taking inspiration from mid '60s folk rock, dressing like Sterling Morrisson and finding an appreciative audience. In the US such back-to-the-garage mentality was out of step with what mainstream audiences wanted. Punk rock had yet to go overground.

Skip forward to 2005 and The Optic Nerve mainstays Bobby Belfiore and Tony Matura form a new line-up of the band to record an album's worth of material. These recordings ended up shelved for a further ten years. It's only now, that State Records are issuing two cuts from these sessions.

'Penelope Tuesday' is the upbeat, poppy A-side, sounding like a summer smash best heard on AM Radio. Flipside is a more considered moodier affair, big on jangle, vocal harmonies and descending chord sequences. Both sides are worthy of your attention though. Let's hope that full album will sometime see the light of day.

Click here for The Optic Nerve on Facebook.

Click here for the State Records website.

Bananas Magazine - Issue 11 OUT NOW!

Latest issue of garage, punk & psych zine, available from all good stores & distros is out now!


Always a pleasure to get hold of the latest Bananas Magazine and this issue doesn't disappoint. Alongside the sharp, insighful reviews there's the usual bumper-fest of features and interviews with the scene's latest movers and shakers. Bands such as Thee Marvin Gays, Thee Tsunamis and The Youth all share their thoughts with us humble readers, as do labels such as Dead Beat Records, State, and Hidden Volume.

If that's not enough there's volume 2 of their Bananas Peel Sessions, their accompanying online compilations. I've shared the Bandcamp link below but be sure to head over to the mag's website to check out the equally awesome volume 1, subscribe to the mag or track down those elusive back issues. For bonus fun play count the number of stripy breton tops in the mag's photos. No prizes though, this one's for fun only!

http://bananas-magazine.com/

Thee Jezebels - Black Book / Cried Over You (Ltd. 7")

Pub rock ain't noise pollution! Debut 7” of gritty R&B from Hastings girl band!

Fans of Dr. Feelgood take note! The latest exponents of gritty 3-chord R&B are an all girl 3-piece from Hastings. Thee Jezebels are the latest band to benefit from the taste making ears of State Records with the release of their debut 7”. A-side Black Book takes the template laid down by the Feelgoods, adds some Suzi Quattro-esque vocals, and send out a warning to shameless philanderers everywhere.

The B-side Cried Over You is an equally blistering romp about post-relationship bafflement. Short, sharp and to the point, it's one and a half minutes long, says what it needs to say and moves on. Grab the single while it's hot, limited to 500 copies, the first 250 come with a hand-numbered postcard. If you dig what you hear get along to one of the band's upcoming gigs, details on the flyer below.

Thee Jezebels are -

Laura Anderson – Guitar, Vocals

Letty Gallagher – Bass

Lois Tozer - Drums

Click here for Thee Jezebels on Facebook.

Click here for the State Records website.

The Galileo 7 – One Lie At A Time / The God Of Gaps (Ltd 7”)

Crockford & co follow up their recent False Memory Lane LP with 2 brand new Brit-psych stormers on traditional 7” vinyl!

Who would have thought that 2015 would be such a great time for vinyl record buyers? Despite the major labels getting their claws into Record Store Day, there's a multitude of grass roots labels releasing records that people actually want to own and play, as opposed to squirrelling them away or whacking on Ebay while still in their shrinkwrap.

Music lovers of all genres are pretty well served in today's genre-fractured climate, none more so than fans of '60s influenced guitar bands. Thanks to the good folks at State Records there's a new double A-sided 7” from The Galileo 7. Following on from last year's False Memory Lane album, the two brand new tracks showcase the band's knack for uptempo, melodic mod-rock. Hooky guitar lines bolstered by superb organ playing, all topped off by equally inventive vocal melodies and harmonies.

It's easy to see why Allan Crockford's previous band The Prisoners were such an influence on The Charlatans and The Stone Roses. Fans of those bands frustrated at the lack of new material should do themselves a favour and get behind a band that actually release records. This one is in ultra-punchy mono, limited to 500 copies, the first 250 of which come with a bonus 3-track CD.

Click here for The Galileo 7 website.

Click here for The Galileo 7 on Facebook.

Click here for The Galileo 7 on Twitter.

Click here for the State Records website.

The Youth - I'll Call Your Bluff / You've Done Me Wrong (Ltd. 7")

Blistering beat 'n' garage 7” from Denmark's latest suit wearing combo!!!

State Records' latest release sees label owner Mole at the control desk, this time at Ponswood Hit Factory up the road in Hastings as opposed to the label's usual in-house facilities in Kent. The results are no less impressive, with both sides of this limited 7” hitting a sonic sweet spot.

Though the band hail from contemporary Copenhagen, The Youth's sound is pitched somewhere between 1961 at Liverpool's Cavern and 1963 at Eel Pie Island. The Youth have a classic two guitar, bass and drums line-up, the vocal are shared between the band's frontline.

“I'll Call Your Bluff” features some Lennon-esque vocal bite from guitarist Lasse Tarp. Like a raw out-take from A Hard Day's Night deemed to rocky for the Fabs' teenybopper fanbase. It's just the ticket for today's garage community however.

Flipside “You've Done Me Wrong” has an equally attacking lead vocal from bassist David Peter Jørgensen, over a groovy take on the Louie Louie riff. Available now on limited 7” vinyl with a push-out centre. Back to mono indeed!

Click here for more on The Youth.

Click here for The Youth on Facebook.

Click here for the State Records website.

Suzi Chunk and Groovy Uncle - Barefoot In The Car Park (Ltd 7")

A taster from the pairing's forthcoming LP. Part seven in State Records' Soundgate Sound Acetate series.

This limited 7” single has a lot to live up to. Suzi Chunk's last long-player Girl From The Neck Down was a real artistic success and a personal favourite to boot. Fear not though, “Barefoot In The Car Park” stands up well against any track from the album. An uptempo soul-swinging beat with a surf-guitar coda it evokes an idealised version of neighbourhood. The swinging sixties sound they make still sounds fresh and spirited. It bodes well for forthcoming album Persuaded.

B-Side “Wet Weekend” is something of a Sunday morning comedown compared to the A-side's Saturday night party vibe. All minor-key, post White Album melancholia, its after-the-party feel is perfectly captured by descending chords and an exquisite melodica solo. It conjures up the feeling of walking home through early morning drizzle when things haven't quite worked out as you hoped and you can't see beyond the next working week. Sadness never sounded so good.

Click here for more on Suzi Chunk.

Click here for the State Records website.

Graham Day & The Forefathers – Love Me Lies (Ltd 7” - released 19th May)

Heavy slab of mod-rock from Medway legend. Part five in State Records' Soundgate Sound Acetate series.

State Records continue to release consistently good garage singles. As their tag-line says they release “records that sound like records”. Part six in their Sandgate Sound Acetate series could well be the best yet, and marks the vinyl debut for Graham Day's new band The Forefathers. The Medway garage legend is best known for his records with the Prisoners, the Solar Flares, and the Prime Movers. Though after these bands he's continued to put out some sterling music as leader as Graham Day &The Gaolers, along with his stint as bassist in The Buff Medways. Graham's new band the Forefathers sees him reunite with Prime Movers/Buffs drummer Wolf Howard,with bass player Allan Crockford completing the power trio line-up.

A-side “Love Me Lies” opens with piercing guitar feedback before the swaggering riff kicks in. It's the kind of ballsy mod-rock that recalls the best of Marriott, Townshend, and early Jimi Hendrix Experience, complete with a brash rawness rarely heard these days. Flipside “30-60-90” is a manic freakbeat instrumental which showcases just how tight a unit this band is. As a live group they must take your head off. This single is limited to 500 copies on heavy vinyl with hand-stamped sleeve. My guess is that it will sell out fairly quickly so get your pre-orders in early.

Click here for more on Graham Day & The Forefathers.

Click here for the State Records website.

The Beatpack - I'm Walkin'/Hey Senorita 7"

 

Hot-blooded R&B from reformed hairy garage legends. Part five in State Records' Soundgate Sound Acetate series.

It's been 23 years since The Beatpack disbanded. But thankfully the lure of making music again was too strong to resist. The reformed Beatpack features three original members with new blood on drums and rhythm guitar. Their first recordings since 1991 have found what seems like a natural home on State Records, Folkestone's bespoke recording facility and record label.

A-side “I'm Walkin'” ably demonstrates the band have not lost their touch when it comes to making breakneck R&B. Blues harmonica wails defiantly over the barely restrained rhythm section, who seem as if they're chomping at the bit to make up for lost time. It's a sound that calls to mind Van Morrisson's Them, tearing it up during their wild residency at Belfast's Maritime Hotel.

As a contrast to the A-side's leaving song, B-side “Hey Senorita” celebrates the prospect of new love with a slightly more beat-pop feel. All in all a nice re-introduction. Welcome back chaps!

Limited to 500 copies on 70g 7” vinyl in a hand-stamped sleeve.

Click here for the State Records website.

The Thanes – She's Coming Back To Me (7")

Scottish beat 'n' folk. Part four in State Records' Soundgate Sound Acetate series.

Edinburgh's garage-folk overlords The Thanes break with tradition on the fourth instalment in State Records' Sandgate Sound Acetate series, being as the single was recorded at the band's own Ravencraig studio as opposed to State's own Sandgate Studio. It's no less satisfying however with the A-side being an original composition. She's Coming Back To Me is a stomping slice of biting 12-sting fuzz and Jagger-ish snarl, with a vocal plea that sounds simultaneously hopeful yet worried that things might not actually work out.

The B-side is a poignantly dedicated to George Gallacher, lead vocalist and songwriter with '60s beat legends The Poets who sadly passed away in August 2012. Here The Thanes cover Love Is Fading Away, a track originally recorded by The Poets back in 1965, but which remained unavailable for three decades. An altogether gentler affair to the A-side, its arpeggio jangle underpinning a more reflective and resigned take on love's passing and non-true course. Good stuff!

Limited to 500 copies on heavy vinyl with hand-stamped sleeve.

Click here for the State Records website.

The Higher State - Potentially (Everyone Is Your Enemy) 7"

The latest 7” in State Records' Soundgate Sound Acetate series.

Following on from last years' “I Just Pretend” (read my review here), The Higher State's latest 7” ups the psych-punk quota, adding extra acidic bite to their west coast folk rock sound. A-side “Potentially (Everyone Is Your Enemy)” is a cautionary paranoid tale which mixes frenetic drumming, snarling fuzz guitar, vocal harmony and folk-rock jangle.

You could rightly argue that this has all been done before in the 60s but right now nobody else is making records with this sound so convincingly. State Records just get it right every time. Want further proof? Then check out the recent Paul Messis album, or last year's Suzi Chunk LP. It's aided by State having their own small but characteristic sounding studio. As every musician and sound engineer knows, limitations are beneficial in achieving a great sound.

B-side “All Ties That Bind” is pretty cool too, one and a half minutes of melodic folk-rock bolstered by spiralling lead guitar. The intro also contains a knowingly cheeky nod to the Stones “Last Time”.

Limited to 500 copies of 70gram vinyl on State Records.
www.staterecs.com 

Bronco Bullfrog - Clarifoil

Bronco Bullfrog's ode to the vinyl packaging of yesteryear.

We live in an age when the music you buy is mostly packaged in one of either two ways – as a no frills but accessible download where the best you can hope for is a pdf booklet. Or there's deluxe vinyl versions that you need to take out a mortgage for, whose prices are pumped up by the inclusion of postcards, badges and other pieces of paraphernalia. These items are usually limited so therefore end up sitting on shelves, never getting played in fear of price-dropping damages.

It wasn't always this way though. And Bronco Bullfrog are one band who know about such matters. The newly reformed three piece have just released a single that sings the praises of clarifoil. If you don't know what that is take a trip to your local charity shop and take a look at the old vinyl LPs. Chances are one or two of them will be coated in a moisture-proof plastic coating. It may have aged slightly, cracked or bubbled up in places but you'll get the idea. As seen on a whole host of 60s vinyl releases from Matthew & Son, to Decca Eps and The Kinks on Pye. (You can learn all this and more from the wry, knowing, funny lyrics!)

Musically it's a retro-fused powerpop affair, packed with plenty of harmonies and “oooh-oooh-oohs” in all the right places. The flipside is pretty neat too - “Never Been To California” takes a wistful look at all the cliches and assumptions us lesser-travelled Limeys have about the sunshine state. Regret never sounded so funny or so much fun. The two tracks sound like songs Pete Townshend might have penned for The Who Sell Out, full of humour and good vibes. Buy with confidence!

Out now in glorious mono on State Records. (Limited to 500 copies on 7")

Paul Messis - Case Closed

Garage folk for the disenfranchised. Second album from West Sussex based songwriter.

Fifty years after Jagger's dissatisfaction it appears there's still plenty of reasons for today's young man to feel distanced from wider mainstream society. Paul Messis' second album Case Closed is a case in point. Across the album's twelve tracks Messis lets the listener into his worldview, expressing, loneliness, alienation, disdain for society's hypocrisy, along with a defiant yearning for a freer, kinder, more open-minded world.

Messis has as much contempt for the mores of the modern world as he has for modern production values. Like his previous releases, Case Closed sounds like it it was recorded in the mid '60s, with Messis striving for and achieving a convincing take on his beloved Minnesota garage and Sunset Strip folk rock.

Messis sets his stall out from the off, “I Hate The World Around Me” has a stinging lyrical attack coupled with a frantic pace. It's the album's gentler, more melodic moments that work best though. “A Matter Of Opinion” and “The Tables Have Turned” being the strongest tunes, the latter further enhanced by a biting fuzz guitar solo.

Part Byrds' jangle, part Americans imitating the Stones circa 1965, and part C86 feyness, the resulting album is not your average garage rock re-hash, mainly due to Messis' abilities as an introspective singer songwriter. Though not a great vocalist, (a couple of vocal re-takes wouldn't have hurt), you do believe in him, there's a sincerity in his voice and lyrics which wins you over.

Once again the authentic attention to detail that State Records are getting a reputation for is present. Not only does the album have an impressively varied array of guitar tones, the limited LP version is on 180gram vinyl with a front-laminated flipback sleeve. Nice!

www.paulmessis.moonfruit.com

www.staterecs.com

The Baron Four - Yes I Do

Debut offering The Baron Four. Featuring ex-members of Thee Vicars and MFC Chicken. Limited edition 7” single from State Records.

Fast rising boutique garage label State Records are certainly not resting on their laurels. Following the well-received records by by the likes of Suzi Chunk, The Higher State, Paul Messis and more, the label are set to release a series of quickly recorded 7” singles, all recorded at their bespoke recording studio. Part One of the “Sandgate Sound Acetate” series is the debut 7” from The Baron Four. The band features ex-members of MFC Chicken and Thee Vicars, (who split last year following the tragic passing of guitarist Chris Langeland). Their sound somewhere between Star-Club era Beatles, The Milkshakes and The Kingsmen. It's a pleasing mix of fuzz and groove. Early Brit-rock meets US garage punk with a smidgeon of surf thrown in for good measure. A side “Yes I Do” is an uptempo rocker complete with screams and searing guitar solo. B-side “Girl” slows things down slightly, more groove based though no less engaging. Captured in gloriously punchy mono, and pressed on heavyweight vinyl, the single is limited to 500 copies so don't hang about!

www.facebook.com/thebaronfour

www.staterecs.com

Suzi Chunk - Girl From The Neck Down

 

Cardiff-based chanteuse joins forces with Medway band Groovy Uncle for her debut long-player.

I'm a bit of a Johnny-Come-Lately to this excellent debut album from Suzi Chunk. It was released last autumn on State Records. Around that time I heard Mark Radcliffe play one of its tracks, “No Stone Unturned”, on his BBC 6Music show which piqued my interest. With Suzi's soulful voice over that slinky, slightly psychedelic groove, it left its mark. It wasn't until later in the year that a review copy dropped through my letterbox but better late than never is what I say. Since its release the album has gone on to top Shindig! magazine writer's poll as album of the year and justifiably so.

I've always had a soft spot for Dusty Springfield's purple patch of '60s releases, that peculiar and unlikely mix of confidence and vulnerability in her voice. Girl From The Neck Down has that in spades, best evidenced on the wistful “Eyes On The Prize”. Here's an album of new songs which sound old, yet with a spirited freshness. The playing, singing and song writing are simply of a standard that goes beyond pastiche, helped in no small part to the fact the whole record comes over as heartfelt. 

Click over the jump for more on Girl From The Neck Down.