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!
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