From Monument To Masses - The Impossible Leap In One Hundred Simple Steps

This is my first post in a very long time so I will try and make it a really ace one to make up for lost time. I'm so sorry everybody. I got distracted, but it's good to be back.

I think maybe I am one of the last people to catch on to From Monument To Masses because for three years I had no idea what they were called or who they were, but loved their music. My ex-boyfriend would make me minidiscs and normally forgot to label them, and he must have made me a FMTM one at some point. It became one of my most listened to discs and because we broke up I never found out who they were, until a few months ago I was made a mix-CD and recognised a song and thus discovered the identity of my mystery band.

If I had a band, I'd want them to sound like this. Unfortunately I don't (probably for the best). I suppose it falls into the "post-rock" category most of the time... and then other times it's almost DJ Shadow, but then it can also occasionally touch on Fugazi. I don't know how you can define this band exactly. I just know that it's incredible. This band is easily one of my all-time favourites. Absolutely stunning. Listen to it on headphones at night-time, preferably when walking.

You can buy From Monument To Masses records and merch here. They also have a MySpace account!

To Z (Repeat)
Comrades And Friends

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Alice-Rose

Film School - S/T

I've been on off listening to Film School's self titled new release for the past month and it's finally managed to grow on me. The album suddenly made perfect sense when coupled with a decent pair of headphones and light sunshine. What we have here is a band that's coupled the foundational triumph in genres like post-rock and shoegaze and added a strong element of immediate and obvious melody. Whilst generally I wouldn't be all for seeing such complex influences simplified in to an album of basic epic dream pop, Film School have undeniably done a good job of it. They've taken elements of Mogwai, Slowdive, Explosions In The Sky and My Bloody Valentine and have pulled off the mix of said bands sound whilst adding a sprinkle of their own charm, superbly.

As of the moment, "On And On" is the real stand out track with it's sweeping guitars and deadpan singing. Most of the record follows a similar pattern bar the occasional slowed down wanderer of a track. It really is a superb record and an easy addition to the top records released this year thus far.

Film School - On And On
Film School - Breet
Film School - Sick Of The Same

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Buy Film School's new self titled album from Amazon
Add Film School to your buddy list on Myspace

Unexpected bonus: Speaking of Mogwai, for the few of you who haven't already heard the new record, here's a few choice cuts from their new arsehole ripper of a new record "Mr Beast". I was going to do a whole post about this album but frankly, what the fuck am I going to write about Mogwai that hasn't already been written by someone far more persuasive and literate than me? It sounds like Mogwai, pure face to shoes build up infused post-rock majesty. Y'know the deal.

Mogwai - Glasgow Mega-Snake
Mogwai - Friend Of The Night

Buy Mr Beast from Amazon

Hymie's Basement - S/T

Hymie's Basement was a side project of long time indy-hop favorites cLOUDDEAD, released in late 2003 and thus before the band's master work "Ten". If you have ever heard cLOUDDEAD or Why then you'll know what's in store here, the usual graceful singing and sample use with the half rapping, half spoken word lyrical styles. A completely smooth listen that always seems awkward when jammed in with the raw, primal aggression that is generally associated with hip-hop.

As I mentioned before, this record was released before cLOUDDEAD's "Ten" and therefore shows that Hymie's Basement had an obvious effect on what was to come. cLOUDDEAD's self titled debut was awkward. They hadn't yet really acquired enough direction to make them the interesting prospect they'd be years later. However many songs present on this album show it to be somewhat of a transition between the two. There's the occasional awkward and pointless moment of the debut but there's also the emergence of fantastic melodies that'd pave the way for the likes of "Dead Dogs Two". "21st Century Pop Song" is the best example of this with it's subtle chorus and the rapping's grim lyrics..

Hymie's Basement - 21st Century Pop Song
Hymie's Basement - Ghost Dream
Hymie's Basement - America Won

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Buy Hymie's Basement from Amazon

Six Finger Satellite - Severe Exposure

Six Finger Satellite were completely in place though out the 90s. Much like Brainiac after them, they were responsible for the mockery of the very serious, very snobby underground scene from which they were spawned. They boasted the ability to mix a number of funk influences with the noisy post-hardcore sound of the time. They mangled their obvious love for bands such as Liquid Liquid, Can and Funkadelic in with the respected noise of Big Black, Jesus Lizard and a number of other scene icons from their time. What came out was a band that A) didn't take themselves so absurdly seriously and B) a decade later are still an absolute joy to listen to as they still show themselves as more fun than the majority of so-hot-right-now indy acts.

Six Finger Satellite - Parlour Games
Six Finger Satellite - Symian Fever
Six Finger Satellite - Rabies (Baby's Got The)

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Buy Severe Exposure from Amazon

Oh No! Oh My! - S/T

Here's a few tracks from last year's Oh No! Oh My! album which is pretty much on the brink of making them a cult success. This self titled debut is thus far one of the more enjoyable new albums I've heard of late. You can tell they've been listening to a lot of late Neutral Milk Hotel and The Microphones from the simple yet well thought out pop melodies that litter the album. There's also a nice duality theme between electronic outbursts and acoustic strummery, present in a number of my favorite tracks and the two elements manage to bounce off each other fairly well. The album's not without it's negative points. There are a few songs in which the singing manages to become annoying and the acoustic patterns become slightly flavourless. But when Oh No! Oh My! try their hand at more bouncy numbers, they become incredibly infectious and thoroughly enjoyable.

Oh No! Oh My! - I Have No Sister
Oh No! Oh My! - I Love You All The Time

Add Oh No! Oh My! on Myspace and hear a few more songs.

Unexpected bonus: Here's some tracks from when Oh No! Oh My! went under the name The Jolly Rogers. I'm not sure how easily available these recordings are so I'm not putting up the whole demo.

The Jolly Rogers - The Party Punch
The Jolly Rogers - Our Mouths Were Wet

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Amen Orchestra - 17 Waves

Amen Orchestra is the brainchild of Russian producer Nizhny Novgorod. With "17 Waves" he has created one of the finest IDM records I've heard in recent years. Where Amen Orchestra stand out is Novgorod's choice in samples. The use of classical pieces blended with the breakbeats of old and delivered with an obvious competence and understanding of both classical music and modern electronic makes "17 Waves" one hell of a composition piece. It's also interesting to hear the way Nizhny doesn't get stuck in the concept behind the music to the point where the music just comes off as a dull exercise in experimentation. He's smart enough to blend his forward thinking ideas with a fair number of simple, dark atmospheres which allow the listener to engage with the music.

Amen Orchestra - Notane

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Buy 17 Waves from Electro Sputnik

A Very Punk Spring

I've been flicking through a lot of my old punk albums of late. Here's some choice cuts.

Ignite - Scarred For Life
Ignite fall in to the "they deserve so much more respect" category. They wrote songs to inspire unity and friendship within the hardcore community whilst venting personal demons and their influence has been seen in a number of recent hardcore favorites, most notably pre major label AFI.

Ignite - Slow
Ignite - Shade

Buy Scarred For Life at Amazon


Capitalist Casualties - Subdivisions In Ruin
In the last five or so years, there have been few punk bands that have really impressed me. F-Minus was one, The Icarus Line was another and rounding off that little list of bands is Capitalist Casualties. Fast, violent and rebellious. Just the way it was always supposed to be. It's hard to look down on a band who are this convicted to keeping a defiled and buried genre to have some level of relevance.

Capitalist Casualties - Litigation
Capitalist Casualties - Polar Desert
Capitalist Casualties - Wreckage Renown

Buy Subdivisions In Ruin at Amazon

Conflict - There's No Power Without Control
Conflict were a prominent band in the late 70s/early 80s UK anarcho punk scene. Their band's name became synonymous with riots, violence and general minor revolt around the UK to the point where they were banned from playing anywhere on the country's shores. How strange then, that we would see Conflict still together many decades later and in 2003, unleashing one of their finest albums yet?

Conflict - I'm Starving
Conflict - Now You've Put Your Foot In It

Buy There's No Power Without Control at Amazon


Void - Faith/Void Split
I can't really claim to know a lot about Void. I know they were together for a very short period in the early 80s and released this split LP with labelmates Faith. Being from DC in the early 80s, they obviously owe some of their sound to local heroes such as Minor Threat and Bad Brains but Void are still a pretty decent exercise in fast, clever hardcore.

Void - Who Are You
Void - Ask Them Why

Buy The Faith/Void split at Amazon

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Deadboy & The Elephantmen

Time for another piece of blues guzzling rock 'n' roll courtesy of the good folks at Fat Possum records. Deadboy & The Elephantmen are a two piece in the traditional style of one playing guitar and sings whilst the other plays drums and supplies slightly seductive backing vocals. They just dropped their debut "We Are Night Sky" this year and from the few tracks their label gave out (located below), it sounds like it's going to lay waste to every other lame ass two piece that's been kicking around of late. You really can't fault a decent bit of straight forward, maybe a tad unpredictable, rock 'n' roll.

Deadboy & The Elephantmen - How Long The Night Was
Deadboy & The Elephantmen - Ancient Man

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Buy Deadboy & The Elephantmen's debut "We Are Night Sky" from Amazon or Fat Possum

The band's website is located Here

Matt And Kim

What could be more entertaining than a pair of goofy sexed up indy kids loosing their minds over some fruity keyboard fueled pop? Matt And Kim, as the name suggests, is a two piece from the states. Kim handles drum duties and backup vocals whilst Matt bashes on some keyboards and sings in a manner where the phrase "over the top" quickly springs to mind. What comes out of this is the best pop music I've heard since Broadcast's "Tender Buttons". They clearly work well as a team, their eccentric style bounces off one and other perfectly and gives their music a strong level of confidence.

The only two tracks I've been able to get my hands on are below and both thoroughly and consistently slay. Their website claims they have an album coming out this summer. One to look out for, kids.

Matt And Kim - Silver Tiles
Matt And Kim - Verbs Before Nouns

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Check out Matt And Kim's Website and Myspace

YOB - The Unreal Never Lived

Do you like Pelican, Jesu and that whole barrage of metal meets stoner meets ambient bands that have been earning some well deserved critical acclaim of late? Then chances are, you'll dig YOB just as much as the rest. All wandering, chugging guitar riffs with a relaxing yet still apocalyptic quality. Metal for people who aren't that keen on metal. YOB have, like many others, taken elements of Isis, Neurosis and their prog-metal brethren and still managed to come out sounding fairly unique. It's stoner enough for the slacker crowd, experimental enough for the indy crowd and heavy enough for the metal crowd. Everyone's a winner.

YOB - Grasping Air

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Buy The Unreal Never Lived at Amazon

Die! Die! Die! - S/T

Ever since Drive Like Jehu came out with their fantastic mangle of styles and influences, it’s been easy to spot a fair number of bands taking that disjointed beautiful nonsense that Jehu used so well and going their own way with it. Not to the point where they could be labelled as clones either. One such band is the charmingly named Die! Die! Die! and 2005 saw the release of their self titled record. Ten tracks, short, fast, aggressive and to the point whilst still managing to keep up a level of musical spontaneity. Giving off a strong feeling of carefully controlled, directed violence. A decent short offering that manages to zip off before it outstays it’s welcome.

Die! Die! Die! - Dissapear Here
Die! Die! Die! - Ashtray! Ashtray!

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Buy Die! Die! Die! at Smoke CDs

Dinosaur Jr - S/T

With last years Dinosaur Jr reissues, I was given the chance to trade in my beat up, poorly copied cassette versions of "Bug" and "You're Living All Over Me" that I've had since I was about thirteen for always charming, clear sounding digitial recordings. Despite most Jr obsessive's general distaste for the first album, I decided to shell out an extra £10 and try it out for myself. After a fairly pathetic amount of research done using the ever misleading internet, I learned that this was released under the band name "Dinosaur" before some other band by the same name threatened them with legal action, and thus the "Jr" was born. Whilst "Dinosaur" never really reaches the heights of "Little Furry Things", "Poledo" or "Freak Scene", there is still a very strong charm to the proceedings. "Bulbs Of Passion" and "The Leper" would happily sit on the two critically acclaimed Jr releases. As much as I detest the word, "underrated" was constantly appearing in my head when thinking this album over. Also, given my usual appreciation of the charm of a band just finding their feet that will go on to great things, I think there's a fair bit to be enjoyed about this album.

I was present at the Reading festival (or Carling Weekend if I want to promote a pretty gross beer) last year and on the main stage about half way down the bill, below dull hack rock such as Razorlight and Kings Of Leon, were Dinosaur Jr. I remember having to leave all of my friends who were at the festival with me, due to them all wanting to see The Dwarves and Capdown on a smaller stage and after Dino's performance, I wish I'd stayed. Watching Mascis plow through all those huge gems with all the entusiasm of the guy who serves me at Woolworths every day was a pretty painful experience. As I was right at the front of the crowd, I remember my face breifly appearing on that huge screne a number of festivals have so people at the back can actually see what the band are doing. It's great having twenty thousand people seeing how pissed off you are. But after a few months of moping and the retelling of how dull the experience was, I remembered something I was told when first getting in to the band. "J Mascis, is a fuckin' slacker and probably couldn't care less what anyone thinks". Me trying to chastise someone for being a slacker would be like Jim Davidson or Larry The Cable Guy telling someone off for not being funny. From one born burnout to another, that indifference to the audience now makes pretty good sense. There's also a fair bit of truth to the slacker reputation in this album. All the singing sounds pretty effortless and any time a solo or piece of guitar wizardry somes up, you could swear that someone had just said to Mascis "yo, dude, time for the fancy guitar bit", to which he'd reply "Ah fuck, alright, whatever".

Dinosaur Jr - Bulbs Of Passion
Dinosaur Jr - The Leper
Dinosaur Jr - Pointless

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Buy the Dinosaur Jr reissues at Amazon

Swans - Feel Good Now

Feel Good now is a decent documentation of Swans in their early days. Having been recorded by a roadie on a personal music player during their 87 European tour, it's fairly surprising just how good the sound quality is on this album. This live recording goes back to the days when Swans were a fairly scary band. All the primal anger that seemed to dwell inside them was let out nightly as they attacked their respective instruments in an almost war cry like manner. The difference between this brutal, fresh sound and their later "mature" fairly generic post-punk sound is almost incredible. Still, I can't imagine screaming your lungs out and playing the same tribal groove every night for your entire musical career is something that anyone would want to keep up.

Here we have a young band. Full of fresh ideas and having realized they have a strong following. They use this cult status to push the barrier on the difference between tribal and western music. What comes out is a band with enough anger, vitriol and venom to really fulfill what they set out to do. A monument to the sheer organized brutality that the underground can breed.

Swans - Like A Drug (live)
Swans - New Mind (live)

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Pussy Galore - Right Now!

Believe it or not, before Jon Spencer formed the over produced annoyance that is The Blues Explosion, he was actually in a pretty enjoyable, vicious, over sexed little punk band known as Pussy Galore. The name of the band as well as the song titles should give you a fair idea of the topics covered in their songs.

They did have problems with the pubescent desire to be as offensive as possible. Having a song titled "You Look Like A Jew" as well as constantly mocking the straight edge community whilst playing in areas that the straight edge "way of life" was somewhat popular did them few favors. But in that nihilistic disregard for everyone around them was a fair bit of their charm. Pussy Galore, sounded exactly like what they were, a set of pissed off young men out to create havok and have a bit of fun. Pussy Galore also featured a number of the elements that don't piss me off about The Blues Explosion. The energy, the unrelenting blues influenced guitar sound, that general swagger which to be honest, is all Spencer's most recent band have going for them.

Pussy Galore - Uptight
Pussy Galore - Fuck You, Man
Pussy Galore - Pussy Stomp

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Buy Right Now! for a large sum of money at Amazon
Get Right Now! as part of Emusic's "50 free mp3s" sign up promotion.

Broadcast - Tender Buttons

Here's the final piece of proof that I was snoozing on the job when it came to new releases last year. "Tender Buttons" has become one of my most listened to records to surface in 2005. They finally managed to tie up all the loose ends that made previous releases slightly awkward and just give us an album of pure synth driven pop pleasure. The kind of music you can both dance and chill to. I really can't see how any band can hope to top near perfection like "I Found The F" and "America's Boy". It would be one grumpy son of a bitch that couldn't get a kick out of tunes like "Michael A Grammar" and "Black Cat". If not so challenging, giddy indy pop is something you like, then I have no idea how you couldn't dig "Tender Buttons". Broadcast have managed to take all that is enjoyable about this pop lark, the catchy hooks and the beautiful melodies without needing to go in to the genres seeming need for repetition and mediocrity.

Broadcast - I Found The F
Broadcast - Black Cat
Broadcast - America's Boy

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Buy Tender Buttons at Amazon

Talking Heads - More Songs About Buildings And Food

So recently I've noticed a fair number of blogs trying to kick up a Talking Heads revival. Most notably An Aquarium Drunkard and You Ain't No Picasso. All I can say is, mad props to you fellas. If ever there was a band that deserved to be saved from any level of obscurity, it's Heads. When you're going through that age of bands that popped up after the punk revolution was starting to die down, those bands that took the spirit of the original punk bands but added a much stronger level of intelligence and musicianship without loosing the humor and desire to really shake things up, you tend to hear Joy Division name checked, maybe The Fall, Suicide and a barrage of other very relevant and very decent bands. But where's Talking Heads, man? That overly anxious set of misfits. Writing songs about their incredible paranoia and fear of everything around them. Giving off that understanding that anxiety is everywhere and as long as you're alive, you're probably feeling it. Byrne's awkward vocals that just scream "don't give this man any more coffee". Just look at the album title "more songs about food and buildings". They even managed to make their album title seem like it was hiding an incredible amount of pent up angst.

Well here it is kids, I'm using whatever little power this blog commands to tell the kids that might not be so familiar with anything before their time to get in to some Talking Heads. Get the back catalogue and feel the anxiety.

Talking Heads - Thank You For Sending Me An Angel
Talking Heads - The Good Things
Talking Heads - The Girls Want To Be With The Girls

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Buy More Songs About Buildings And Food at Amazon

Combat Wounded Veteran - I Know A Girl Who Develops Crime Scene Photos

The only release from the now widely respected grind band before their unnoticed at the time, split. I'm sure the majority of this blogs readers don't care too much for this chaotic nineteen songs in as many minutes, brutal and relentless approach to music but I guess something needs to be said in it's defense. What I find a lot of people don't realize about Combat Wounded Veteran and their medication needing brethren is the incredible amount of parody at work here. I find grind or powerviolence or whatever stupid name these bands fall under nowadays to be the all powerful parody for modern life. Combat Wounded Veteran saw all the chaos of the world, all the violence, the fear, the apathy, the greed and all that's wrong with the world and instead of trying to help the situation, they imitated it in musical form. Whilst the genre has been used to convey a much more obvious political message in the past, bands such as Napalm Death using John Peel championing to give across a brutal anti capitalist message for example. Combat Wounded Veteran's message was considerably more subtle. To the naked ear, it's just a load of noise. A completely nonsensical load of random violence that should only appeal to the overly angry. But you don't realize that Combat Wounded Veteran have managed to distill all those unpleasant occurrences in life that we do our best to shut out and they've crafted it in to the noise of our own guilt and fear. Take "Folded Space" as an example. Whilst lyrics are so easy to overlook when everything around them seems to be doing a great job of making you go deaf. The spoken word part that plays throughout that song really does seem like an all powerful display of everything we fear.

It's obvious that this music isn't for everyone. For every person that doesn't want to deal with a parody of everything negative around them, there are ten who won't want to listen because they can't be arsed with this sonic noise and would rather chill on a Sufjan album or whatever. But give the tracks below a try and see what I mean. Look up the lyrics as well, it might just be a realization you didn't expect.

Combat Wounded Veteran - My Spine! My Spine! My Spine!
Combat Wounded Veteran - Propaghanda Films Shot With A Sitcom Script
Combat Wounded Veteran - Folded Space-Lead Poisoning And Distortion

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Buy I Know A Girl Who Develops Crime Scene Photos at Amazon

Elliott Smith - Live In Brooklyn 03

This live recording has been floating around my itunes for the better part of a year and now that the public’s obsession with the self loathing singer/songwriter has perhaps died down slightly, I figured now might be a good time to let this recording be heard for what it is, as opposed to some form of drippy memorial. That all ‘round sudden rediscovery of the man’s work that has caused scrutiny of any of his post death releases (official or bootleg) to be somewhat over shadowed by the fact that every gloomy, depressed teenager had found an icon that they never knew existed before his chest and a knife were given somewhat of an unpleasant introduction. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve enjoyed a large number of songs from his assorted albums. But I suppose my recent annoyance with the man comes from a source I always told myself not to let bug me. His hardcore fans. I realise that all angst infested people need an idol that summed up their gloom and misery and the even more melodramatic feeling that the very same pain that drove their work would eventually be their demise. Curtis, Cobain, hell, if Robert Smith ended it tomorrow it’d be no surprise if The Cure’s back catalogue became the bible for all that is miserable. But what’s come of his death has been a constant regurgitation of what comes off as a press release. “He had the voice of an angel”, “he was easily one of the best songwriters of the last two decades”. How can anyone come out with that overly touchy nonsense? All his records were hit and miss, all overly self indulgent at points and for every “The Biggest Lie”, “Speed Trials “and all those songs that I would put near the word “beautiful” there were dull plods through thoughts and emotions that really should have been left in a diary. An enigmatic musician with some great songs, that he was. An all purpose inclusive poster boy for depression and angst, however, is not something the man was in life or should be in death.

So here’s Smith playing live in Brookline, 03. Recorded not so long before his death as he plays a few songs from his post suicide releases. The recording also stands as a display for Smith not being the powerful lord of gloom as he jokes and laughs with a slightly annoying crowd and bar the material in his songs, does nothing to depress anyone at all.

this live set expired, yo

John Fahey - Requia And Other Compositions For Guitar Solo

When Fahey was young, he was assigned the job of guitar player in the school band. A position he'd have problems with due to his distaste for simply following the conductors instructions. He felt that not only should he have creative control over his own instrument but that he should also have control over the entire band and would want to be able to create compositions in which every instrument was the guitar playing the different effects that the rest of the instruments created. Many years later, Fahey would create "Requia" in which to some extent, he'd live out this fantasy. All tracks are made of both his own playing and cuts from other guitar players' work. The result of this experimentation is somewhat of a Odyssey. Guitar playing that sounds almost completely smooth, as if just played by one incredibly skilled guitarist, but on closer inspection is in fact a clever use of multi layering and cut hiding production.

Not to label this album as a plod through musical technicality and not to allow it to be considered little more than an interesting concept. There is an incredible amount of melody and an enjoyable nature to this record. My favorite track "Requiem for John Hurt" is such a fantastic reminder of the blues legend himself as well as a thoroughly enjoyable composition. The music here does manage to walk the thin line between a technical exercise and casual listening pleasure. Something for both composition geeks and the person just looking for something to relax to.

John Fahey - Requiem For John Hurt
John Fahey - When The Catfish Is In Bloom

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Buy Requia at Amazon

Kool Keith - Sex Style

I got the strong desire to break out my old Kool Keith records after learning that Keith will be one of the many hip-hop musicians involved with the new Mike Patton project. So I've spent the last few days with a heavy Kool Keith element to my playlist. It's been a fantastic rediscovery. Hearing Keith's darkly sexual and at times even slightly disturbing rhymes is something I haven't indulged in for way too long. What's always drew me to Keith was how incredibly over the top a lot of his lyrics were. "Oh great, another overly horny rapper" you may be thinking. Well, yes, his music does have a running theme of sexual debauchery, like so many rappers out there. But Keith has always been more interesting, humorous and aggressive than the vast majority of hip-hoppers with boners. Perhaps it's his fairly unique, slightly high pitched voice or just the urgency with which he delivers. Either way, he's a thoroughly entertaining rapper and a near impossible man to top when it comes to pure mental sickness. You really do get the feeling that at some point during his life, a psychiatrist gave up on Keith, presented him with a pen, paper and a book on rhyme structure and told him to leave.

Kool Keith - Sex Style
Kool Keith - Make Up Your Mind
Kool Keith - Plastic World

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Buy Sex Style at Amazon

My Bloody Valentine - Isn't Anything

My Bloody Valentine are arguably, simultaneously the most overrated and underrated band ever to grace us. They’re absolutely adored by a vast section of the indie crowd and considered to be one of the most influential acts for the current shape of new bands emerging. However they are constantly disregarded when it comes to the mainstream name checking sessions for “most essential bands of the last twenty years”. My way of looking at the situation is as follows. Take away the pretentious uber-fans and take away any preconception of just how important the band are and what are you left with? You’re left with one of the proudest accomplishments that the “shoegaze” scene managed to cough up. The two My Bloody Valentine records I’d put near the word “flawless” (Isn’t Anything & Loveless) really are the epitome of all that was fantastic about the late 80s, early 90s too-cool-for-you independent music scene. The fantastic use of distortion and feedback to compliment these incredible melodies and vocal harmonies. The composure on songs such as “Soft As Snow (But Warm Inside)”, the way the track becomes more and more intense whilst still holding on to this incredible tune really does justify any importance that this band is said to have had.

I remember hearing My Bloody Valentine for the first time, about seven years ago now. An older family member let me borrow his back catalogue because he thought I could do with some help in the music taste area. At the time I fuckin’ hated them. I didn’t get them at all. It was just so different to the diet of stadium rock and third rate hip-hop that I’d been living on. Funny then that a few years later upon listening to “Isn’t Anything” again, they’d become one of my all time favorites. It was after I’d moved away from the grunge bands that were my bible and had started getting in to Spiritualized and J&MC that it really hit me, just how influencial and beautiful this band are.

I’ve chosen to post some tracks from “Isn’t Anything” as opposed to “Loveless” mainly because I consider it to be the less widely known of the two. You must own a copy of “Loveless”, right? Hate to tell you what to listen to but if you don’t, you’re missing out.

My Bloody Valentine - Soft As Snow (But Warm Inside)
My Bloody Valentine - You Never Should

Buy Isn't Anything at Amazon

Bonus: To make up for the fact that most of our readers already own this album and just sat through me explaining something they were already well aware of, here’s My Bloody Valentine live In San Francisco, 92.

there was a live set here but it expired