SONIC YOUTH: Evol (LP, Blast First BFFP4, 1986)
Aha, the first Sonic Youth record that I've written about on here. I'm sure that there will be many more. Sonic Youth are the number one band for me - a mid-level obsession that has…
MAKITA: Rover (7″, The Great Pop Supplement GPS03,…
Another release on the always-beautiful Great Pop Supplement label: this one looks particularly fine, with its tracing paper wraparound sleeve, hand-finished with a stamp and a comic strip cut from what looks to be an…
SONIC BOOM: (I Love You) To The Moon…
I can't remember where it was that I picked up this record. It's a promo-only 33 1/3 rpm single that marks the point at which Sonic Boom began using the Spectrum name for his music.…
FREE: The Free Story (2LP, Island ISLD 4,…
Wow: this two-album compilation is a line drawn in the sands of self-belief. You won't find many bands that a mere five years after their inception merit a collection of such perceived importance and value…
EARTH: Extra-Capsular Extraction (LP, Sub Pop SP 123,…
Well, what are the chances. Out of the huge range of random-number-generator-driven possibilities that were available for this post, it's another Earth album. I've already written about Earth 2 on here in the past. I…
THE GO-BETWEENS: Streets Of Your Town (7″, Beggars…
I'm not normally much of a 'multi-formatter' - I don't tend to buy the same release on every format that a record company feels the need to issue. I've never reached the level of fanboy…
RODAN: Rusty (LP, Quarterstick QS 24, 1994)
Back in the early '90s I remember picking up on a musical thread that often seemed to pop up, almost in passing, in many of the fanzines I was reading at the time. I kept…
AVOCADO BABY: Queenboy And The King Girl (7″,…
Good old Slampt, possibly one the UK labels closest to the ideals and dynamics of those legendarily inclusive US independents like K, Kill Rock Stars, Dischord and so on. I was led into their world…
GANG OF FOUR: Solid Gold (LP, EMI 1…
I can never quite get my head around the catalogue numbering systems used by major record labels. Look at the example here: 1 C 064-07 460. What does that mean? There must be some rationale…
THE TELESCOPES: Celeste (12″, Creation CRE 103T, 1991)
I bought this in 1991 when I was a cash-strapped teenager, saving up my meagre part-time work pay in order to regularly pop into Langland Records - generally to browse, sometimes to buy. Langland Records…