Various – Sunny Spells (Ltd. Col 7” EP)

Four song EP out now! A taster for Fruits de Mer's epic 3CD compilation set for release next spring!

One of the finest compilations from recent times must surely be Fruits de Mer's The Three Seasons – Songs from 1966-68, featuring all your favourite psych-friendly bands covering their most-loved '60s tracks. If you missed it first time round, the good news is the label is releasing an extended 3CD version next year. Re-titled The Four Seasons 1966-69 it will contain all the tracks that made the original 3LP set such a joy, along with a bunch of new recordings. As a taster of things to come this four-song 7” extended player is available from the label as of right now. The artists featured are Chad & Jeremy, Schizo Fun Addict, Hanford Flyover and Us And Them. 
 

Sixties legends Chad & Jeremy give us an acoustic re-recording of 'Rest In Peace', a track originally featured on their 1967 album Of Cabbages And Kings. Schizo Fun Addict offer up a dreamy psychedelic take on 'Dedicated To The One I Love', a classic track originally by the Mamas and Papas. Hanford Flyover are a new band to me, as is the band they've chosen to cover (Neon Pearl). On the strength of their track on the EP, a stately and elegant slice of folk-rock, both bands warrant further investigation. You can find out more on Hanford Flyover via their Bandcamp page. Regular readers of this 'ere blog may be familiar with Swedish duo Us And Them. For this record they've recorded a fabulously mellow version of Neil Young's 'What Did You Do To My Life?' 

I know we've only just put the clocks back but spring ain't that far away. And with the promise up a new compilation from FdM there's something else along with warmer days and brighter nights to look forward to. Bring it on!

TRACKLISTING

1. Chad & Jeremy – 'Rest In Peace'

2. Schizo Fun Addict – 'Dedicated To The One I Love'

3. Hanford Flyover – 'Just Another Day'

4. Us And Them – 'What Did You Do To My Life'

Click here for Fruits de Mer Records.

Shizo Fun Addict - El Shoegaze Bossa Nova

Seventh album from Jet Wintzer and Jayne Gabriel's ever-evolving collective!

The clue is in the title with this one. The meeting of shoegaze textures, indiepop melodies and Brazilian Bossa rhythms make up this latest long-player from New Jersey's Schizo Fun Addict. The band have been around since 2000 and are centred around the musical partnership of Jet Wintzer and Jayne Gabriel. For this record they're joined by guitarist Rex John Shelverton (Bellavista, VUE, Portraits Of Past) and new drummer Daniel Boivin (Asa Ranson, Death Of Fashion).

Musically this album occupies a place quite unlike any other. It is in turn sexy, moody, melancholic, dreamy, sad, cinematic and slowly charms rather than demands your attention. A touch of mariachi brass here and there along with plaintive piano adds to the vaguely spaghetti western feel while the clever use of analogue keyboards and layered guitars makes any attempt at genre-placing futile. Put simply this is mood music – transformative and moving. Best heard on a rainy Sunday morning while contemplating life's regrets and hopes. Deep themes demand deep emotionally resonant music. Here is some.

El Shoegaze Bossa Nova is available digitally now from all the usual outlets. There is also a limited audiophile vinyl release via Sugarbush Records.

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Click here for Sugarbush Records.

Various - Postcards From The Deep (Flexi-Disc Box Set)

10 flexi-discs, 10 postcards, a poster and a CD, all housed in a clambox! 700 copies worldwide.

Fruits De Mer Records raise the bar once again. Following on from their box set of 7” singles, the ever eclectic and vinyl-friendly label have gone one step further in their desire to release music in a lavishly produced physical form. Their latest collection is a set of 10 flexi-discs, complete with postcards, a poster and a CD, all beautifully housed in a clambox.

Flexi-discs are evocative objects for those of us old enough to remember them as album tasters, music magazine freebies and fanclub-only specials. With new ones almost as rare as the proverbial rocking horse excrement, it's a pleasing and brave step for a label to put together a collection of the things. Equally impressive is tracking down a record plant that can manufacture them!

While flexi-discs will have serious audioheads and hi-fi enthusiasts hiding behind their 180g vinyl, the rest of us will be weighing them down with two-pence pieces, spinning them and enjoying the sounds. And good fun it is too. Playing these artefacts is in itself an act of time-travel, even more so when one considers the agreeably retro nature of the music.

To keep the hi-fi buffs happy a bonus CD is included that contains different versions of the flexi tracks. The music is as varied as you'd expect from FDM, and is an all covers affair showcasing the label's stylistic breadth, and ranges from surf, psych, progressive garage, and krautrock. With one foot in the past, each band manages to add some twist or spin to make you admire their take on the track as well as making you want to check out the original version.

My favourite of the 10 tracks is The Thanes' take on The Pretty Things' LSD, a track that will be familiar to many. Less familiar though no less enjoyable is Soul Fiction, a track released on South African Brigadiers label in 1968 by The Hippies, and one which borrows heavily from Soul Finger by The Bar-Kays. It's ably covered here by The Past Tense. Check out the video below to hear it on flexi-disc.

The question is if Fruits De Mer further investigate the alleyway of long lost formats, what will they have planned for 2015? Tape reels? 8-track cartridge? The smart money may just be on wax cylinders!

TRACKLISTING

1. The Luck Of Eden Hall – Psychotic Reaction (Count Five)
2. The Loons – Celestial Empire (Dragonfly)
3. The Crawlin' Hex – I'm a Living Sickness (Calico Wall)
4. The Thanes – LSD (The Pretty Things)
5. The Blue Giant Zeta Puppies – Time Machine (Satori)
6. The Past Tense – Soul fiction (The Hippies)
7. Schizo Fun Addict – Take A Heart (The Sorrows)
8. Crystal Jacqueline – You Just Gotta Know My Mind (Dana Gillespie/Donovan)
9. Astralasia – Brainticket (Brainticket)
10. Icarus Peel – The Avengers Theme (Laurie Johnson)

Limited to 700 copies.

Click here for more on Fruits De Mer Records.