Afterglow

I go four years without an Inspiral Carpet turning up here and then suddenly the bassist turns up twice in a matter of months. Martyn Walsh, bass player for the Oldham five piece, has formed a project with Simon Lyon and released a song/ single with a bunch of remixes. The original version of Afterglow is a throbbing, pulsing piece of 80s post- punk, a dash of Hooky found in the bass grooves and a touch of Sisters Of Mercy in the vocals. It is, and I mean this as a compliment, perfect for the Thursday night indie/ alternative night at a club you wouldn't go near any other night of the week, a slice of mid 80s indie- disco for 2021.

The remixes come thick and fast and can be found at Bandcamp.  The pick of the bunch is from Hardway Bros, the nom- de- plume for Sean Johnston, an eight minute electronic dub- drum pads, plenty of bounce, some breathy backing vox and a female lead vocal that keeps coming back to the line 'sunset's so low', and then that bassline coming back in, straight from Lowlife. Released on MFS, the Berlin based label of Mark Reeder (Factory's man in Berlin in the 80s and member of Shark Vegas).

The Route

A new release from a new pairing called ¡La Ruta! came out last month, a four track 12" single. ¡La Ruta! are Sean Johnston, (Hardway Bros and Andrew Weatherall's partner in the travelling cosmic disco A Love from Outer Space) and Martyn Walsh, former bass player in Inspiral Carpets. Back in the day Sean one of Sean's previous lives was a booking agent for the Oldham band and did their tour merchandising and t- shirts. A recent reconnection between Sean and Martyn led to ¡La Ruta!

Kibbo Kift is eight minutes of upbeat, science fiction chug, with a bouncing, driving bassline, named after a 1930s English woodcraft movement aimed at bringing about world peace through handiwork, hiking, camping and other character building activities for young people. The words Kibbo Kift come from an old dialect, apparently translating as 'proof of great strength'. It was against mass movements based on race or nationality hoping to bring about a better world via mental discipline.

EP closer, Those Who Know, Know, rides along on waves of synths, arpeggios and a choral section and again a standout bass part, a tune constantly looking upwards, feeling like it's striving for something better- and couldn't we all with a bit of that.