It's Hot

On this, another song in advance of their album in September, The Liminanas and Laurent Garnier have really found their groove with Que Calor- thumping Velvets drums, sharp, reverb laden vox, whoops, Kingsmen guitar riffs, psyche organ riffs, the smell of jazz cigarettes and dancing, love beads and hair being tossed around, incense and fuzz pedals. 

In many ways this song really reminds of this 2015 fuzz- rock, sex and drugs blast from San Diego's Crocodiles. Both have smart animated videos too. Back to back fun. 

Foolin' Around

Isolation Mix Fourteen

Isolation Mix 14 or Songs The Lord Sabre Taught Us. Fourteen songs, an hour and a quarter mix of records played by Andrew Weatherall. Most of them, not quite all but most, I heard first because he included them in a set or a mix on the internet or one of his radio shows, for 6 Mix or Music's Not For Everyone, or he referred to them in an interview. The quality of the songs and the breadth of genres and styles tells you everything you need to know about his taste and ear for a tune. The selection of songs here spans 1956 to 2019 and covers rockabilly, blues, 60s modbeat, post- punk, weird southern blues/ rock/ gumbo, 80s dance and proto- house, krautrock, Paisley Underground guitar heroics, 21st century fuzz rockers and electro- cosmische funkers, ambient- drone, avant- disco and a 70s country tinged ballad. Something for everyone.



Tracklist-
Cowboys International: The ‘No’ Tune

James Luther Dickinson: O How She Dances

Wayne Walker: All I Can Do Is Cry

The Animals: Outcast

Johnny Jenkins: Walk On Gilded Splinters

The Dream Syndicate: John Coltrane Stereo Blues

Crocodiles: Foolin’ Around

Liaisons Dangereuses: Los Ninos Del Parque

Fujiya & Miyagi: Extended Dance Mix

La Dusseldorf: Rheinita

AMOR: Paradise

Piano Fantasia: Song For Denise (Maxi Version)

Rich Ruth: Coming Down

Donnie Fritts: We Had It All

Telepathic Lover

San Diego's Crocodiles are always worth a listen. They put out their sixth album back in October which somehow I missed and have just been discovering recently. The fuzzed up, sleazy psych sound of their previous records has been replaced by something sunnier on Dreamless, especially so on the single Telepathic Lover which sounds a lot like late 80s New Order to the Bagging Area ears. Across the album as a whole here's some spreading of wings (winged crocodiles would be fearsome) and they sound like a band energised and loosened up by experimenting, synths and piano are all over this as well as the usual guitars, even though the lyrics remain pretty weighed down by life and experience.

This Is My List

Here is my list, self indulgent as Drew says, but fun to do. I've enjoyed more new music during 2015 than any in recent years. These are the albums and songs/singles that have struck a chord with me and that have stuck with me since their release.

Albums

12. Mbongwana Star 'From Kinshasa'
Traditional African forms coupled with electronics. Still startling.

11. Mick Jones 'Ex Libris'
Vinyl only, six track instrumental.

10. MonoLife 'Phrenology'
The skull from Hull with some cracking old school dance music.

9. The Orb 'Moonbuilding 2703AD'
A return to form, four very long pieces full of ambient buzz.

8. Le Volume Courbe 'I Wish Dee Dee Ramone Was Here With Me'
Contains two of my favourite songs of this year- The House and Rusty.

7. Steve Cobby 'Everliving'
It could have been 'Revolutions' as well. Both are full of sumptuous electronic tunes and ideas.

6. Gwenno 'Y Dyad Olaf'
Perfect psychedelic pop sung in Welsh (except for the one sung in Cornish).

5. Crocodiles 'Boys'
Dirty, sexy, brash guitars from San Diego. If you haven't heard Foolin' Around, click play now.



4. Moon Duo 'Shadows Of The Sun'
Loads of uptempo two chord motorik psyche but with In A Cloud they had one of the year's most beautiful, almost Balearic guitar moments.

3. Sexwitch 'Sexwitch'.
Six covers recorded by Natasha Khan, Toy and Dan Carey. The intense stomp of the Middle Eastern songs take some beating and Natasha's vocals are superbly focused while also slightly unhinged. Possessed and obsessive.

2. The Charlatans 'Modern Nature'.
Recorded after the death of drummer Jon Brookes, a band back on form and determined to celebrate life with some of the best, soaring songs of the year- So Oh and Come Home Baby especially.

1. Jamie Xx 'In Colour'
A history of dance music from house to grime, emotionally charged from start to finish, with moments of ecstasy, clarity and genuine beauty. I'm still playing it from start to finish.



Singles/Songs
The hand and influence of Mr Weatherall is all over this section. That's just the way it's been this year. Both lists show I've been veering far more towards dance/electronics this year. A top seventeen for no real reason.

17. Noel Gallagher 'In The Heat Of The Moment' Andrew Weatherall Remix
It came out last year online but was released on vinyl in April. Glorious remix.

16. Dubrobots 'Forever'
This Cardiff based producer sent me two versions of this massively dub influenced song. Still rattling my ribcage.

15. Public Service Broadcasting 'Gagarin' Richard Norris Remix
The album did nothing for me but this remix, full of Spanish acoustic guitars, sent Yuri to Ibiza.

14. jennylee 'Never'
Warpaint's foxy bassist with an early 80s single that pushed the right buttons.

13. Gwenno 'Chwyldro' Andrew Weatherall Remix
Further, stranger, slower.

12. Unloved 'Guilty Of Love'
David Holmes' new project taking in 60s/70s filmscores with a girl group vibe. Also had two long dubby Weatherall remixes.

11.  Vox Low 'Cast Upward Through the Waves, A Ruby Glow
Strange stuff from a French duo finding weird spaces between rock and dance.

10. Heretic 'Pollux' Andrew Weatherall Remix
I'm getting repetitive strain from typing those three words- this one took early New Order and merged it with some sparse electronics and a spooky vocal refrain.

9. Timothy J. Fairplay
Timothy J released several superb four track e.p.s this year, full of vintage synths- Stories Of Prison, Love And Columbium, No News From New York. Take your pick. Together they'd make a potential album of the year.

8. Paresse 'Rosita'.
Super smooth stuff from Scandinavia. Wraps your ears up all warm.

7. Haunted Doorbell 'Unconnected Thoughts On Jacking'
I'm cheating here- Fairplay again, this time with Matilda Tristam. Four outstanding instrumentals joining the various dots. The e.p. and title track gave us the song title of the year. Beautiful Sheffield is exactly as it sounds.

6. Patti Yang Group 'I'm Ready'
Chris Rotter, Matty Skylab and Patti Yang with a thumping piece of hymnal house. Do you want a free download?



5. Jamie Xx 'Loud Places' John Talabot's Higher Dub
I posted this last week. It's stunningly good, reworking an album highlight into something else with mesmerising, euphoric peaks.

4. C.A.R. 'Glock'd' Asphodells Remix
Super glam stomp, a massive wobbly bass, dirty guitars, French accented vocals; the sound of the future.

3. Sinkane x Peaking Lights 'Mean Dub'
This ten minute dub version of Yacha was the sound of my summer. All four tracks on the reworked dub e.p. were top quality stuff but Yacha is something else entirely and from somewhere else entirely too. Fast dub.



2. Pearl's Cab Ride 'Sunrise' (MonoLife Extended  Trip)
A Humberside funk and soul sixpiece taken on a long trip by MonoLife- trumpet, distorted vocal, two note bass, drifting but always moving forwards. Beautiful.



1. Mike Garry and Joe Duddell 'St Anthony: An Ode to Anthony H Wilson'
This came out in August, an emotional tribute to Mr Manchester set to Joe Duddell's Your Silent Face inspired strings, full of Mike Garry's poetic references to the city and its sounds. All proceeds go to The Christie so if you haven't bought it yet, there's another reason to do so. Almost inevitably, there's a Weatherall remix on the other side (which isn't too shabby either. In fact it's very, very good). Still prone to move me after umpteen listens.

Foolin' Around

This one from San Diego's Crocodiles is a sleazy, born to boogie, piece of action, sounding like the best and dumbest bits of your favourite fuzzed up, three chord, rock 'n' roll bands distilled down into three minutes and thirty nine seconds. The video is good fun as well. New album, Boys, recorded in Mexico City and out right now.

Fuzzy Crocodiles

San Diego's Crocodiles have a new album out, Endless Flowers, that threatens to blow their cover as feedback drenched JAMC copyists a bit. There's still plenty of fuzzed-up scuzz rock here but there's a summery, sing-song quality to some of the tracks and some of yer actual pop-melodies. I only got this the other day (Action Records in Preston, highly recommended for a good record rummage) but I like it a lot already. I had a cup of tea with Ally Queen of Dusty Sevens on Sunday afternoon at Stockport Vintage Village, who grew up visiting Action Records. Very nice it was too, to meet another blogger in real life.

Sunday (Psychic Conversation #9)

In other news the HMI fun continues... I'm still here. Just.

More Crocodiles

Bagging Area featured San Diego's Dylan-haired, sunglasses wearing, polka dot shirted, scuzz rockers a month or so ago. They had an album out in 2010, Sleep Forever, which missed out in my end of year review because I didn't get it until a few days ago. It's good, and unusually for these times, it feels like a real album. Only eight songs long but when it finishes I just want to stick it on again. This song is Hearts Of Love, the Mary Chain influence still written large but this has melody, fuzz, tons of reverb, some warmth, good production and a huge big chorus bubbling up from the Crocodiles gutter. I like it a lot, and the other seven are just as good.

Hearts Of Love.mp3

San Diego Via East Kilbride

Crocodiles, named I assume after the Bunnymen album, are from San Diego and make scuzzy, fuzzy rock music influenced by The Jesus And Mary Chain. In fact they couldn't sound more like JAMC unless they were called Reid and came from East Kilbride. Still, pretty good. This is Neon Jesus from 2008.

Neon_Jesus.mp3