Thursday 26 April 2018

Secret Colours - Dream Dream NEW LP & VIDEO!


Secret Colours are a new group to me. Based in Chicago, they're all set to release their fourth LP, Dream Dream in July.  This is the title track and lead single. I don't often post new videos on here but thought this was pretty good! A mix of '60s psych and '90s Britpop. Pretty cool I'd say!

Click here for Secret Colours' website.
Click here for Secret Colours on Facebook.

Sunday 22 April 2018

Anton Barbeau - Natural Causes


Latest LP from Berlin-based Barbeau! “Pre-apocalyptic psychedelic pop”!


We've covered the very wonderful Anton Barbeau a couple of times here at HDHQ - last year's 'Heaven Is In Your Mind' 7” and the excellent Three Minute Tease LP made with members of the Soft Boys and XTC. Mr. Barbeau is such a productive and creative free-spirit, it's always reassuring to know that new music is never too far away, and never disappoints. His latest album Natural Causes came out a week ago and is as good an entry point into Anton's oeuvre as you'll find, containing new material mixed in with old favourites re-worked. Eclectic, intelligent and with occasional sphinx-like mystery and depth, it holds together as both a new album and a cohesive “best of”, full of shimmering jangle, idiosyncratic melodies, sometimes elusive time signatures and lyrics to maintain your interest and ruminations long after the album's final track fade out.

The record came into being after attempts at a more political album Applewax were ditched. Says Anton - “... Applewax was full of gun-loving rednecks and I just decided there was no good putting more of that back into the world.” A fair point, and perhaps the material recorded will one day find a suitable release. We can all agree there's perhaps too much heaviness and doom around presently. Optimism, positivity and good vibes are in shorter supply so floppy hats off to Anton for making that decision. Mellotrons, MiniMoogs, 12-string acoustic guitars all contribute to the general breezy, uplifting feel, but the lyrics ensure the record is fun but far from lightweight.

An old favourite 'Magazine Street' gets a re-working and opens the album. Among the new material is 'Mumble Something' and 'Magic Sandwiches' (how can you resist a title like that! 'Secretion Of The Wafer' featured on Anton's recent Fruits de Mer 7” but is here in its earlier original recording. My favourite tracks on the album are 'It's The Coffee That Makes The Man Go Mad' with its beguiling time signature and earworm chorus and 'Disambiguation' a thought-provoking study in modern psychedelic pop.

Classic Barbeau and a solo record in name but Natural Causes was made with a little help from his friends. Guest musicians include Andy Metcalfe( Soft Boys), Nick Saloman and Ade Shaw (Bevis Frond), Robbie McIntosh (guitarist for The Pretenders, Paul, McCartney), Michael Urbano (Todd Rundgren, Neil Finn) and Karla Kane who duets with Anton on 'Neck Pillow.' If you're unfamiliar with the music of Anton Barbeau Natural Causes is a great place to start.


Click here for Anton Barbeau's website.
Click here for Anton Barbeauon Twitter.
Click here for Anton Barbeau on Facebook.
Click here for Gare Du Nord Records.

Wednesday 18 April 2018

The Sufis - Interview and Exclusive Spotify Playlist


(This feature first appeared in issue #71 of Shindig! magazine. Click over the jump at the bottom to read the full unpublished interview. The Sufis have also very kindly put together an exclusive Spotify playlist for us featuring their favourite artists and inspirations. Do have a listen, it's highly enjoyable and an education in its own right.)

Late-night devotion.

Brooklyn-based duo The Sufis return with After Hours, a thrills-packed LP inspired by the misfits, scenarios and anything goes attitude of the Big Apple. Duncan Fletcher stays up after bedtime.



Calvin Laporte and Evan Smith have been collaborating as The Sufis since meeting at university. “We have very different approaches,” says Calvin, “Evan's formally trained and I mostly play by ear. We're kinda like Yin and Yang or Bert and Ernie haha! ... Neither of us has many strengths musically speaking, eventually we'd like to hire session musicians to just focus on writing and arranging.”

The Sufis' third and latest LP After Hours disputes this modesty with its scene-setting lyrics and infectious take on soul, disco and reggae rhythms. Such eclecticism is explained by an open-mindedness when consuming music. Says Calvin - “I get bored listening to the same band or album over and over again, so I'm always hopping between genres in search of something new. Nothing's off limits as long it's a good song with a genuine feeling behind it. My favourite albums are ones that have variety like Tusk or Sign 'O' The Times.”

The Sufis' previous albums were made in Nashville but a move to Brooklyn provided fresh inspiration. “There’s an energy in New York that's unlike anything I've experienced anywhere else” says Evan. “You have to go through so much just to play drums for example, so once you're at the studio you want to make sure you get something good. The record stores are amazing too so when we weren't playing or writing we were spoilt by all the great stuff to dig through.”

The move also enabled tuition from a left-field legend. “Before we started working on After Hours I spent half a year working and studying with La Monte Young at his loft in Tribeca. A lot of the songs are about those times” say Calvin. Despite such mentoring, After Hours is anything but avant-garde or minimalist, and draws inspiration from across the musical spectrum. “I was listening to a lot of jazz and soul,” says Calvin. “I always look up to writers like Smokey Robinson, Allen Toussaint and Wayne Shorter. We were really into Tin Pan Alley and Brill Building writers too. I remember putting on a lot of '80s and '90s Lou Reed after recording sessions haha!”

“I was heavily inspired by the session work of Aynsley Dunbar and the songs of Leiber and Stoller, as well as Hoagy Carmichael” adds Evan, “along with Burt Bacharach's arrangements and Linda McCartney's synth lines.”

After Hours is preceded by a single, 'All Knowing (71)'. Calvin explains the number's significance - “That's a reference to a chapter in the Tao Te Ching. I'm always trying to remind myself that I don’t know anything. I used to be a voracious reader, but lately I just read the Tao over and over. The instrumental section was inspired by Philip Glass and is meant to represent the paradox in the second part of the chapter.”

“While making the record we became fascinated with the Tao and read it constantly, we still do” says Evan. “I guess I'm always trying to destroy my ego even if I fail most of the time, and that's what the song is kinda about.”

After Hours is out now on Burger Records.
 
Check out The Sufis Favourites Spotify playlist below, and click over the jump to read the full interview.



(Click over the jump to read the full interview)


Sunday 15 April 2018

The Innocents - Teardrop Kiss


Aussie powerpop legends back with a new LP!


We love a bit of powerpop round our house so it's not surprising that this new album from The Innocents has had some heavy rotation on our stereo of late. The band have been Tasmania's leading exponents of the genre for some 40 years, and their talent showing no signs of diminishing.

Originally formed as Beathoven in 1975, the band soon changed their name to The Innocents and released a string of powerpop gems that chimed with skinny tie era. The revitalised band gained a new lease of life in the early noughties when a compilation, The No Hit Wonders From Down Under (2002) quickly sold out of its limited run. Their new album Teardrop Kiss has all the hallmarks of their best work – punchy, melodic songs that straddle the emotional line between happy and sad, lyrics that somehow manage to be both specific and universal, all backed with guitar crunch, uptempo beats, three-part harmonies and iced with enough variety and flourishes to make listening in one sitting such a pleasurable breeze.

The old adage about not judging a book by its cover doesn't apply in this case. The album's cover is reminiscent of Roy Lichtenstein's comic book style art - eye-catching, bright, immediate, seemingly simple yet with true depth. All qualities shared by the music.

Another reason for The Innocents' new lease of life came via their inclusion on the bills at David Bash's small but perfectly formed International Pop Overthrow festivals. For those unfamiliar with the IPOs, they take place yearly at various (mainly US) cities with a strong musical heritage, as well as ventures over to Europe recently even such unlikely places as Tel Aviv. I've been to a couple of these when they've taken place at Liverpool's Cavern Club. If you can make it along to any I highly recommend you do. Even more so if The Innocents are playing. And if you can't get along to one, do try and track down this CD


The Innocents are -

Rob Smith – Vocals / Guitar
Greg Cracknall – Vocals / Bass
Charles Touber – Vocals / Rhythm Guitar


Click here for The Innocents' website.
Click here for The Innocents on Facebook.

Wednesday 11 April 2018

Fruits de Mer - 10th Birthday Glastonbury All-Dayer (May 12th)


A special day of music, beer, fun and new records!

The Fruits de Mer 10th birthday all-dayer at Glastonbury's King Arthur pub on May 12th will no doubt be a fantastic day for those lucky enough to attend. It's already sold-out but you may be able to get a ticket from Ebay. Along with the live music there'll be the opportunity to purchase new and limited items from the increasingly collectable label. Completists will be hoping they don't sell out there and then so keep an eye on the FdM website for any left-over stock. Here's a round-up of the new vinyl that will be on sale in the vale...

Tir na nOg – Hall Of Mirrors - lathe-cut 7” (90 copies only)


Could there be a more fitting act to be playing on the mystic Vale of Avalon on a beautiful spring day? Answer – no. Tir na nOg will have this delightful 7” available on the day. It features two tracks – 'Columbine' has lyrics taken from a 1920s fantasy novel Lud-in-the-Mist, and tells the tale of what happens when you eat mind-altering fruit. The other side is a cover of 'Hall Of Mirrors' by Sweeney's Men.

Moonweevil – Vertical Tide - LP + CD (160 copies)


Rob Appleton is the keyboard player in progressive rockers Cranium Pie. Having recently moved to Austria, he's been creating instrumental library music. This thoroughly captivating LP is an extension of that work. Though more “out there” and experimental. A hot one folks! Grab a copy if you can before the price goes through the roof on Discogs.

The Honey Pot / Icarus Peel's Acid Reign – Silver Diamonds/Half Space - lathe-cut 5” single (80 copies)



Both bands playing on the day, and here taking a side each of a split 5” single. The Honey Pot's contribution was specially written for the gig/single and is even more meta in that it celebrates previous FdM events. 'Half Space', the track from Icarus Peel's Acid Reign, is described by Peel as “a bongo freak-out with the potential to be lengthened at some point”. Until then this 5” version will do nicely. It comes housed is a special tin. Perfect for damage limitation at an all-dayer! Floppy hats off to Fruits de Mer once again!

Click here for the Fruits de Mer website
Click here for Tir na nOg
Click here for Moonweevil
Click here for The Honey Pot/Icarus Peel's Acid Reign