In Love with The Crystal Stilts While Keeping a Low Profile

Although I have been a fan of the Crystal Stilts (http://www.crystalstilts.com/ ) for a while now, ever since their first album “Alight Of Night” on the amazing Slumberland Records in 2008, nothing could have prepared me for their second album “In Love With Oblivion” (Slumberland) and their most recent EP “Radiant Door” (Sacred Bones), which just gave me the inspiration to say a few words, as something must be said about this band as they are easily one of the finest bands around these days as they continue to assimilate the past (choosing only the finest ingredients), perfect their sound (oh and what a sound) and create their own masterpieces (which are both gritty and majestic).

First, I’ll mention a few things about the album as I had scribbled down a few words back in the summer, hoping to put up a post then, but as things go, it never materialized so I’ll try to remember what I was thinking. If you can imagine blending the energy of one of the finer 60’s garage psych bands (imagine Blue Cheer joining the Electric Prunes) and filter it through some well produced dreamy shoegaze sounds, add some chiming guitars and organs (in the style of The Blue Orchids and Galaxie 500), and you just start to get a sense of this beautiful sound they’re creating.

As I love to link things and sounds to what I already know and own, here is what I was thinking or possibly what I heard traces of: The Fall (circa Fiery Jack) as performed by The Electric Prunes on “Sycamore Tree”; A happy Joy Division jamming with the Stones on “Through The Floor” accompanied by the finest of the girl group harmonies paying homage to the 60’s as funneled through The Golden Horde; chiming paisley pop of “Silver Sun” recalling The Rain Parade, Love Tractor and The loft / Weather Prophets with hints of The Blue Orchids (one of my favourites which continues in more of the songs); Traces of another of my favourites, One Thousand Violins on “Flying Into The Sun” and “Invisible City” as well as some Television Personalities (these guys would do a great cover for our tribute series – in case the band is reading this); More wonderful jangle on “Shake The Shackles”, maybe a more upbeat Blue Orchids with traces of The June Brides and The Close Lobsters; “Precarious Stair” not quite sure what to say but just a great tune (and also released on 7″ on Little Teddy Records); and by the time I got to the last few songs the influences were coming from all angles and were getting me all confused as I was hearing so many great bands that I no longer could figure it out – they accomplished what only the best bands can to keep your interest and excitement through the whole album. Very well done!

Now you would think that it would be hard to top the album, but the EP “Radiant Door” easily takes things up a notch, and I’m not sure if it is the amazing production and sound (no doubt assisted by the amazing talents of Gary Olson from The Ladybug Transistor – who also released an amazing album this year) that seems to envelope you right from the start of “Dark Eyes”, giving you the feeling that a warm ocean wave has just landed on you and lifted you and carried you away to a better place; maybe it is the intro to “Radiant Door” which reminds me of the Television Personalities first album and that style of production which I so enjoy (hearing this song and “Frost Inside The Asylum” makes me want to hear these guys do a version of “Magnificent Dreams” or “Three Wishes” or “Say You Won’t Cry”); or is it the band stretching out to create a variety of moods like the dark country a la Wall Of Voodoo of “Still As The Night” or maybe it’s their inclusion of the cover of the Blue Orchids song “Low Profile” which holds so much sentimental appeal (having first heard the original on the NME C81 cassette so many years ago and never tiring of it – and you can never go wrong with a Blue Orchids cover – why are there not more bands doing them). Add in some Galaxie 500 (especially on “Frost Inside The Asylum” which ends this EP perfectly), The Velvet Underground, The Pastels more hints of Creation bands like Swervedriver and Ride and mix some twang and garage of The Cramps and Tav Falco’s Panther Burns and a touch of James King and The Lone Wolves and you have an essential EP, that you should search out and fall in love with!

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Keeping Up With The Wilson’s – I mean Phil Wilson

I have been meaning to write a few words about Phil Wilson for over a year now, and everytime he releases something else, I kick myself for not getting around to doing this. Now, the time has come to pay my dues with the release of a fabulous new single “I Own It” and a superb full length album “God Bless Jim Kennedy” on Slumberland Records (http://www.slumberlandrecords.com/) and the YesBoyIcecream label (http://www.yesboyicecream.com/home.html) who also released the June Brides tribute album a while back (http://www.yesboyicecream.com/ybi01.html).

This is an amazing album which any June Brides or Phil Wilson fan should definitely pick up but will also likely appeal to anyone who enjoys great music. It’s music that comes from the heart and soul and tells the the tale of some real life experiences with style and flair. Phil did a great interview for Pennyblack music here – http://www.pennyblackmusic.co.uk/MagSitePages/Article.aspx?id=5811 – which will give you some more details on the songs and the history of this album – don’t forget to read part 2 of the interview also.

As everyone probably already knows, Phil sang and played in the legendary and influential band The June Brides (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_June_Brides and http://www.junebride.freeserve.co.uk/), who were a band that left their mark on the UK indie music scene and my music taste and inspired many musicians for years to come. Alan McGee was a fan from the start and they often played at his club – The Living Room, with one track documented on the very first album released on Creation Records – Alive In The Living Room (CRE 001). So it is very strange they never signed to Creation, as they in many ways defined the early Creation sound. They did however, record many great tunes for The Pink Label and later In Tape, like “In the Rain”, “Every Conversation”, “I Fall” “Just The Same” etc. etc., that became the blueprint of much of the guitar pop music that was to follow. (If you want to learn more and hear the tunes then pick up the fine 2CD compilation on Cherry Red Records, that was released in 2005 “Every Converstion, The Story of The June Brides and Phil Wilson).

The June Brides and Phil Wilson, with his various solo releases, were a great inspiration to me as a music fan and collector and every release was eagerly awaited and always enjoyed. I even had a friend scour the record shops in England on his vacation looking for some of the missing singles (and they found them). They were a band who never let you down and whose music was always full of excitement and relevance and tunes that would soar high above the crowd.

It would be no small understatement to say that they also were very inspirational to eventually starting up a hobby label and amazingly and very much to my ecstatic reception Phil was there at the start on our very first Pop compilation. Alan McGee had told me that Phil was a fine gentleman, but that was an understatement as Phil was very kind to me a complete stranger alowing us to use alternate versions of one of my favourite songs. His encouraging words about our projects, sent our spirits soaring and Phil agreeing to record a cover of a Television Personalities song for our tribute series (which was on volume 2), was like a dream come true – one of my favourite bands recording a cover of another favourite band – it doesn’t get much better than that.

But it did, and he didn’t stop, he was on a roll, recording a slew of amazing covers, that have now been released on various small labels and are at times hard to track down but well worth the effort. So as the title suggests this post is to help you keep up with Phil by rounding up a bunch of his releases and telling you where you can pick them up.

The first Installment of covers came out in 2008 on the wonderful This Almighty Pop! label and very fittingly called Pop! had featured covers of tracks by The Cure, Felt, The Field Mice and Belle & Sebastian (could you possibly find a better selection of covers anywhere for a Pop covers compilation?) and was perfectly executed in true Phil harmonic style. This is an absolute must for any collection and you can probably pick up a copy here for a reasonable price – Contact the label through this blog – http://woodside-design.blogspot.com/

Up next was the “New Wave” EP on mini CDr on the Edition 59 label (a label that I have spoken of often). This fine collection included covers of songs by The Scars (one of my favourite songs ever “All About You”), The Flys, Torch Song and The Subway Sect. Robert King from the Scars even told me he enjoyed this cover – do you need any further endorsement? Since this is a limited release – it may no longer even be available.

ps – that is Arash from The Painted Word on the cover.

Next Comes

A Slumberland Records double 7? release “Industrial Strength” which highlighted Phil’s love for music and drew from a more diverse palette for inspiration with covers of songs by Kraftwerk, Throbbing Gristle, Faust and the wonderful German band S/T. (This release may still be available here – http://www.slumberlandrecords.com/catalog/show/94)

Another hard to find but equally wonderful and well worth searching out is this 7? release on a Japanese label that is highly influenced by The June Brides that they named their label Every Converstion and fittingly had Phil and Sarandon record versions of this song.

A complete reissue of all three original Phil Wilson singles 10 Miles, Waiting For A Change, and Better Days all on the Edition 59 label have also been recently released. Tracks have also been featured on a Slumberland Records compilation for their 20th anniversay, a split 7? with Bunnygrunt and possibly a few more I’ve missed, so as I said it is hard to keep up with Phil these days, but here’s wishing him the best on his album release – he deserves to be Rich and Famous but he probably would rather not.

Thank You Phil for the inspiration!

My Affection For Disaffection by Max Eider

This is a CD I have been keenly awaiting for a few weeks now, ever since I found out of it’s existence and that it was almost complete (thanks to the Tundraducks Records mailing list) and some quick e-mail exchanges with Augustus and then Max himself, I was the proud owner of “Disaffection” by Max Eider (TDSKS003), his 4th solo album. You can find it here –
www.maxeider.com/ – along with loads of other Max info and links.

A Max Eider CD is always a welcome addition to my collection having been a big Jazz Butcher fan (www.jazzbutcher.com) since their early days on Glass Records. Back in those days Pat Fish and Max with an assortment of extremely talented friends (who at times included David J from Bauhaus and Rolo from The Woodentops among others), who comprised the Jazz Butcher had me hooked with some amazing singles like “Southern Mark Smith” and “Marnie” and an equally incredible album “A Scandal In Bohemia” that set the standard for a new kind of cool (artwork included – see below).

They had character, they had style, They made you laugh, they made you cry, but most of all they had the tunes, wonderful tunes, tunes that stick with you and help shape or maybe even twist and turn your life and somehow always leave a smile on your face.

They were the perfect blend of Jonathan Richman and the Velvet Underground in those early years, often doing covers of their songs like “Affection” and “Sweet Jane”, and even doing a version of “Roadrunner”. Unlike many bands they continued to improve with age (just like fine wine, which I fear they had some associaation with) and released many amazing albums for Creation Records, with my favourites being “Fishcotheque” and the unlikely “Waiting For The Love Bus” (which didn’t even get released over here).

The songs with razer sharp wit and plenty of insight, sung beautifully by Pat Fish with a sense of fascination with the absurd (elephants) and the sublime (drinking J) and propelled by the supreme guitar talents of the one and only Max Eider (at least in the early years till he moved on). Now the Jazz Butcher deserve a whole article about them ( there is a great interview here – www.caughtinthecarousel.com/interviews/jazzButcher.php ) or maybe even a book or a few movies (I know Pat is in the new Creation movie Upside Down, or so I am told as I have not seen it yet), and definitely more about Pat Fish, who also has some new songs available ( nowthatswhaticallnorthampton.com/), but for now I will turn my attention back to Max, who to me will always be a crucial part of the Jazz Butcher.

The new album kicks off beautifully with “Nice Guy” which soars with some mighty fine guitars to create a timeless POP classic. If you watch the video –

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you may even be able to learn how to play it if you have any talent (unlike me). He sings of contradiction and the decline of humankind as we spread our stain of bigotry, and it’s based on a true story that I’m sure Max wishes he could forget. It sets the tone of the album, that of disaffection and maybe a bit of anger at how we have so called evolved (a theme he returns to on “Evolution”). At first I thought he was singing about getting tired of being constantly reminded of The Jazz Butcher connection when he says “I don’t want to be the butcher” but it seems I got that wrong or at least I hope so, as I’m trying to get them back together, even if it’s only for one song, but I’ve said too much.

The second song “East End Boy” slows things down a bit but continues the beautiful guitars and the contradiction of how a song can sound so uplifting as he sings of poison, death and sorrow. The song reminds me of Terry Hall at his finest, even in the vocals, which I am hoping Max takes as a compliment as I truly love any of Terry Hall’s solo albums.

“Tooth And Claw” brings me back to Max’s first solo album “The Best Kisser In The World” and reminds me of some of the tracks from that album like “Bel Air Home” and “It Has To Be You”, which is a good thing as they were outstanding songs.

“The Black Dog” has a very dreamy, laid back feel, similar to the feel of a few of the early songs by the Church, which are among my favourites, like “To Be In Your Eyes” and “Almost With You”. It takes real talent to make slower songs and keep them exciting, and that’s something Max excels at. I am not the best at describing music and I think it’s probably best if you just give the music a listen, as each person gets something different from the experience. This is a brilliant album, a great experience and is just what the doctor ordered – Feeling Disaffection Has never Felt this good!

“People all over the world are looking for Affection” but maybe they should be looking for “Disaffection” by Max Eider.

Felt Fans Unite – Felt : Ballad Of The Fan by JC Brouchard

I was quite excited when Pol Dodu told me that there was a new book about Felt that was soon to be released and was even more ecstatic to get my own copy of this new book by the legendary JC Brouchard, about a fan’s insight into the many recordings of Felt and more.

The press release begins “The British band Felt released over twenty records in the 80’s. Ballad of the fan tells both the story of the band, by reviewing their records, and that of one of their faithful French fans, JC Brouchard, …”. Felt had a huge impact on many fans of Pop music, with releases on Cherry Red and Creation Records, and singles and albums that graced the UK indie charts for most of the 80’s and a legacy in the song “Primitive Painters”. The Clientele along with other great bands has cited them as a key influence. Numerous influential and very talented musicians have played with Felt, including Martin Duffy, Maurice Deebank, Marco Thomas, Gary Ainge, John Mohan, Phil King (who assisted JC with the English translation of this book which was originally written in French) and others.

 

Felt Penelope Tree EP

Felt Penelope Tree EP

 

This book is an essential read for Felt fans and an excellent companion to last year’s Felt fanzine “Foxtrot Echo Lima Tango” (which was a compilation of articles and interviews by the many fans of Felt). This fanzine is sadly sold out now, but you can find out more about it here – http://foxtrotecholimatango.blogspot.com/ – and if you search you might still find a few copies. JC Brouchard had contributed a chapter to the fanzine and his book is a logical continuation of that chapter as he provides his very interesting comments, observations and descriptions of each of his Felt recordings (and the various offshoots like Supermarket, Denim and Go Kart Mozart) that he acquired. He also fills in some gaps and relates his stories of the encounters he had with the band when they asked him to join them for one of their mini tours. It’s very enjoyable to read, and also interesting to find out more tidbits about the characters behind the band and most important for me, it’s not too long so you finish up wanting more (a bit like listening to a single or a flexi).

 

Felt Flexi 1989

Felt Flexi 1989

 

JC Brouchard is a character of legendary proportions, an avid music fan from France (who still writes about his passion here – http://vivonzeureux.blogspot.com/), who happened to get hooked up with Alan McGee and Creation Records in the early days, and he assisted Creation Record’s establishment in France by helping promote several tours there and helping to spread the word. He was seen playing with several Creation bands and even had a song written in honour of him with Biff Bang Pow’s “The Whole World Is Turning Brouchard” as well as being advisor to Alan and running the Biff Bang Pow fanclub. Alan even writes in the intro to the book “J.C. you are the best Frenchman since Napoleon …” and having had the privilege of knowing JC for a few years now, I must echo Alan’s sentiments as JC has been extremely generous and kind, a treasure of knowledge and music trivia and always honest with his much sought for opinions. Thanks J.C.

It’s an exciting time for Felt fans, with so much renewed interest in their work (and a recent feature in the NME – http://www.felt-tribute.webs.com/images/nme_jan2011.jpg) and rumours of a new album by Lawrence. May Felt fans continue to unite and maybe someone will compile another musical tribute to them like the one Elefant Records did back in 1995 – it’s time for an update or a second volume. In the meantime, you may want to pick up a copy of this book before it’s sold out.

You can get your copy here – http://vivonzeureux.fr/felt/

You can watch Primitive Painters here – www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCRdY7ZH7xo

And here is a version of Penelope Tree by Phil Wilson and The Painted Word – www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQsOJ6FcczU

Phil Wilson POP! EP

Phil Wilson POP! EP

 

The Direct Hits – Blow Up! Revisited

If you think you are a Mod – You must read this!
If you are a fan of the 60’s music – You must read this!
If you are a fan of pure POP! music – You must read this!
If you are a fan of the Television Personalities – You must read this!
If you have never heard of any of the above – You Must Certainly Read This!

To say that I am excited about the revamping of the wonderful Blaamm Records and the release of the Direct Hits – Blow Up Revisted CD, would be a huge understatement. The Direct Hits (http://www.thedirecthits.co.uk/Welcome.html ) were one of the most essential bands to come out of the mod revival period in the early 1980’s and has been called “One of the 1980’s great cult pop secrets”. They were mainly comprised of Colin Swan and Geno Buckmaster along with Brian Grover on drums, although they had various other drummers pass through their ranks. The Direct Hits were formed following the demise of The Exits, a new wave pop band who released only one single “Fashion Plague” back then but had a full album retrospective release on Rev Ola through Cherry Red Records a few years back. The Direct Hits released several excellent 7” singles, which are now quite rare and two full length albums “Blow Up!” and “House of Secrets” along with several essential 12” Ep’s. Colin Swan was and still is an amazing songwriter and pop tunesmith and went on to release many fine gems either as a solo artist or with his band This Happy Breed (which is another story for another day as is Colin’s reappearance in The Cult 45’s for a Television Personalities cover on volume 2 of the tribute series) after The Direct Hits disbanded. He was even offered a spot on Creation Records in their early days, which for various reasons didn’t materialize.

Blaamm Records ( http://www.blaammrecords.com/home.html ) was set up by Colin Swan back in 2003 as a way of re-issuing the long out of print Direct Hits album “Blow Up!” (And was followed up by several other rare Direct Hits releases and a very limited edition label sampler, that was absolutely fabulous), an album which was originally released on Dan Treacy’s Whaam! Records back in June 1984 (Cat No. BIG 7). This album quickly became and has remained a defining moment for the 80’s Mod Revival and is an album which is full of aural treasures and delights despite its meager recording budget. (for Television Personalities fan’s it also featured Dan Treacy on several songs). The vinyl version of this album as well as the single below are now highly sought after collectibles.

The Direct Hits had so many top tunes and knew how to borrow from the 60’s original Mod sound but actually improve on it to create a sound totally their own. Songs like the snappy ”Ever Ready Plaything”, the spy homage of “Modesty Blaise” (which strangely was not on the first album but released as Whaam 007)), “Miranda Berkley” and it’s spot on period portrayal (which was incidentally covered by The Void on “Into The Jet Stream Of Pop” compilation and soon to be included on “The Great British Beat – Volume 1”), “A Place In The Eighties”, “She Really Didn’t Care”, “Christopher Cooper” and laid back groove of “The Ordinary Girl” were a few of the timeless gems that were scattered through the album and early 7” releases. Then there was the second album which I will not even get into right now.

The Direct Hits created a world of their own, one that was fun to be part of, even if you lived thousands of miles away as my brother and I were when we joined the Direct Hits fanclub. We loved The Jam and The Cortinas and Mertan Parkas and The Purple Hearts, but The Direct Hits were different, they were special, because we were part of their world – a whole world of newsletters, buttons and most importantly, scores of rare cassette releases through their very own Direct Tapes label which featured numerous bands that were completely unheard of, but somehow always sounding pretty amazing. There were bands like The Activation (which I spent many hours searching for their records, much to my disappointment – try to find info on them now in the modern age of technology and you still can’t), Jenny Brett, The Northwoods, The Open Door, Sheila Lewis and others that I can’t recall at the moment. Some of these bands would at times sound strangely similar to the Direct Hits (maybe there was a conspiracy in there somewhere or they had many talented musical friends). A very incomplete discography of the Direct Tape label can be found here – http://www.discogs.com/label/Direct+Tapes .

They would also include on their tape label a whole series of great releases like the Direct Diamonds series (3 volumes) or The Great British Beat series (I think there was 4 volumes, and later revived for two 7” single releases on Germany’s Little Teddy Records – pictured above) which at times included bands like The Page Boys, The Mixers, The Activation and The Catalysts (most likely Ulric and Dannie from The Mixers) and more. The Direct Tape label also featured solo releases by Colin Swan, Geno Buckmaster and Phil Ward (another favourite of mine from The Mood Six, another great overlooked band of that era), along with the wonderful cassette “The Special Magic Of Dan Treacy” by The Open Door (which was later redone as “Portrait of Dan Treacy” on 7” single by Little Teddy Records), where Colin Swan and Geno Buckmaster cover four Television Personalities songs (see JC Brouchard’s review of that cassette here – http://vivonzeureux.blogspot.com/2007/08/open-door-special-magic-of-dan-treacy.html )

As I usually do talking about bands and music I love, I have easily been distracted, so I’ll get back on topic. The Direct Hits were one of my favourite bands in the 80’s and they were very influential in warping my musical tastes and they often sent me in many directions forwards and backwards, searching for a host of amazing bands that were cloaked in secrecy, or searching for the original of a song that was covered by bands on the various cassettes, which in turn gave me a great historical education of the music from an earlier era.

So to say I’m excited to see the Blow Up album redone, well that’s a no brainer. This release is not intended to replace the original album, (which is something that is very hard if not impossible to do), but to be a companion piece to the original album to take things in other directions and show you what the album might have been in an alternate universe. It’s labeled a “New Version of Classic Eighties Mod Album” and “Features Previously Unreleased Material”. Almost all, if not all the songs are reworked and remixed, with extra embellishment and instruments thrown in. In some cases, a completely different alternate recording is used as in the case of “Miranda Berkley”, where a previously unheard version of this song is included, which is much faster than the original and is a real treasure. Several songs which were never included on the original album are now added along with conclusion to “Henry The Unhappy Inventor”. Welcome to the wonderful world of “Blow Up! – Revisited” – the Mod revival has never sounded so good!  ( http://www.thedirecthits.co.uk/Welcome.html )

Music Is The New Social Icon

After trying to figure out just who The Social Icons are and what is their significance to life and just what is a Social Icon, I did a bit of research and came across an amazing discovery – The Social Icons represent the new society as we know it and Music has now become The Social Icon of choice.

The dictionary (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/icon) defines Social as:
adjective – 1. relating to human society and its members; “social institutions”; … “societal forces”; “social legislation”; 2. living together or enjoying life in communities or organized groups; “a human being is a social animal”; “mature social behavior” [ant: unsocial]; … 5. of or pertaining to human society, esp. as a body divided into classes according to status: social rank.

Icon is defined:
noun (also i·kon) – 1. An image; a representation; …3. An important and enduring symbol: “Voyager will take its place … alongside such icons of airborne adventure as The Spirit of St. Louis and [the] Bell X-1” (William D. Marbach); 4. One who is the object of great attention and devotion; …: “He is … a pop icon designed and manufactured for the video generation” (Harry F. Waters).

So as you can see in today’s day and age, music has taken on mythical proportions, we are always plugged in, surrounded by sound and music has become the representation of choice for so many people – the new Social Icon. People relate to others by the kind of music they enjoy and even categorize people by their listening choices, divided into classes according to status or the music, the music becomes the person, whether it is a Punk, an Indie, a Rocker, a Mod or even a Deadhead (for fans of the Greatful Dead), why we even have Goth dating sites, Indiepop festivals, Mod rallies.

Bands are groups of people who gather together to enjoy life and bring enjoyment to others, but they have also become an important and enduring symbol of styles and generations, not to mention they have become the object of great attention and devotion (of which this blog is just further proof).

At this point you are probably wondering what is this guy talking about, so let me explain: A friend of mine had a band that was called The Social Icons and although I admit that I never heard any of their music, I loved the band name and borrowed it to name a cassette compilation “Music For A Social Icon” – a collection of songs that was slightly off the beaten track but perfectly reflected the creative genius and diversity that makes the perfect music, the beautiful music. The Social Icons took a bit of a diversion and mutated into another band, but now we have the return of The Social Icons, who have released their debut EP on Berlin’s uber cool http://vollwert-records.de label alongside such luminaries as The Laughing Apple, Biff Bang Pow, Phil Wilson, Apple Orchard and more.

The Social Icons have also created the perfect video for the “Youtube Video Generation” that reflects their creative genius both aurally and visually, with obvious references to what’s influential to any true music collector (ie. Creation Records, Wild Swans, etc. – these are hints) – Stop, Look and Listen and if you can spot all the references, leave a comment or send us an e-mail and we may just send you a free CD. You can find the video here:

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s k y t o n e echoes in all directions

Canadian brother-duo who blend influences of early Posies, some Fountains Of Wayne with some moody, post-BritPop sounds. Skates gently through a quietly pretty blend of the aforementioned sounds all woven together with solid poppy laid-back songwriting. Echoes In All Directions contains a consistently enjoyable melange of striking influences brought together with great care in each songs arrangements and the craftsmanship of each song. “4 stars. Skytone are probably the only Ottawa band – maybe the only Canadian band – producing power-pop this melodic, structured and free from pretension. The `70s/`90s British influences just drip out of the speakers, as if Badfinger had climbed on stage with The Bluetones at Glastonbury. But why steal Skytone`s thunder with comparisons? The melodies are simple, with notes drawn out over the full four bars in most songs – just how good, catchy power-pop should sound.”- HourCanada.

Skytone official website
Echoes in All Directions
Beauty 008
$9.00 CDN
In Stock

Now Available! 15 Beauty Tips For The Modern Pop Lover – Free Label Sampler

15 Beauty Tips For Modern Music Lovers
Beauty 013 – Absolutely Free

Everybody loves you when you are beautiful or at least when you listen to beautiful music. So we will provide you with a few beauty tips so that your life will be happier and more fulfilling and all this, with no strings attached, and no downpayment necessary and no fine print.

Anyone who knows us already knows that we love giving things away free and so here we are doing it again. Great music deserves to be heard and we think that we have released some of the greatest music you will ever hear, on our tiny imaginary label. If we had our way we would just give away all our albums for free but that doesn’t help recoup some of the costs for the bands so we only ask that if you enjoy some of these tunes, then please support some of these artists, whether it is attending their shows or purchasing a few more of their songs or just telling all your friends about them or about this free sampler.

If you are a long time fan of all things beautiful, then you will no doubt recognize most of these tracks, but we have included a few rare songs that have not yet been released, including a cover of a song by The Sound, which will be featured on our upcoming tribute to Adrian Borland’s amazing band. Also featured for the first time ever is amazing cover of New Order’s “Your Silent Face” by the wonderful I SATELLITE who will be recording a Television Personalities cover for our next volume.


[wpaudio url=”http://thebeautifulmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/01-Rolling-Stone.mp3″ text=”Skytone – Rolling Stone (Beauty 018)”]

 

[wpaudio url=”http://thebeautifulmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/08-Im-Going-Home.mp3″ text=”Dot Dash – I’m Going Home (Beauty 019)”]

 

[wpaudio url=”http://thebeautifulmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/05-Smashing-Time.mp3″ text=”Anorak Girl – Smashing Time (Beauty 020)”]

 

[wpaudio url=”http://thebeautifulmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/03-Downstate-Update.mp3″ text=”Roy Moller – Downstate Update (Beauty 017)”]

 

[wpaudio url=”http://thebeautifulmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/04-Life-Doesnt-Wait.mp3″ text=”The Higher Elevations – Life Doesn’t Wait (Beauty 006)”]

 

[wpaudio url=”http://thebeautifulmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/05-Pop-is-Falling-Apart.mp3″ text=”The Social Icons – Pop is Falling Apart (Beauty 016)”]

 

[wpaudio url=”http://thebeautifulmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/06-Magnificent-Dreams.mp3″ text=”A Smile And A Ribbon – Magnificent Dreams (Beauty 020)”]

 

[wpaudio url=”http://thebeautifulmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/07-Picture-Of-The-Bay.mp3″ text=”Armstrong – Picture Of The Bay (Beauty 014)”]

 

[wpaudio url=”http://thebeautifulmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/12-This-Time-Theres-No-Happy-Ending1.mp3″ text=”Pacific Radio – This Time There’s No Happy Ending (Beauty 010)”]

 

[wpaudio url=”http://thebeautifulmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/13-It-Doesnt-Really-Matter.mp3″ text=”Skytone – It Doesn’t Really Matter (Beauty 008)”]

 

[wpaudio url=”http://thebeautifulmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/11-Part-Time-Punks.mp3″ text=”No Men – Part Time Punks (Beauty 005)”]

 

[wpaudio url=”http://thebeautifulmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/09-If-I-Could-Write-Poetry-I-Would.mp3″ text=”Nikki Sudden – If I Could Write Poetry I Would (Beauty 010)”]

 

[wpaudio url=”http://thebeautifulmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/05-Submarine.mp3″ text=”Nick Danger and the DCR – Submarine (Beauty 011)”]

 

[wpaudio url=”http://thebeautifulmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/14-Longest-Days.mp3″ text=”ThouShaltNot – Longest Days (Sound Cover – Not yet released”]

 

[wpaudio url=”http://thebeautifulmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/15-Your-Silent-Face.mp3″ text=”I SATELLITE – Your Silent Face (New Order Cover – Previously Unreleased)”]


Click Here For Printable Artwork

Click here for all the songs in a zipped folder

(requires something to unzip it like http://www.7-zip.org/ or Winzip)

An added bonus for mail order purchasers

And if you act now and actually purchase a physical CD from our store we will even include a free CD of your choice with every CD purchased (limited time offer). As an extra bonus we will include the highly sought after tbm pin to accessorize any outfit and truly make you beautiful!

All the best and please have a Smashing Time!

The Social Icons : I’m there…you’re here (Beauty 016)

“I’m there…you’re here” was recorded over a two year period at Bova Sound Studios in Ottawa. The sessions once again united the group with esteemed engineer/producer Phillip Shaw Bova (Hilotrons/Belle Orchestre/Sadie Hell). Explaining how he came to suggest the album title, front man Nickolai says, ‘It was first just an audio clip used in “Stardust” but then as we heard it over and over we realized that it really describes the barriers we had to overcome in making this album and you really hear that in the lyrics.’

“I’m there…you’re here” features twelve tracks ranging from long overdue classics such as Grey and Stardust to songs that were being written during the recording of then such as The New Kind and The Sway. I’m a Little Late which finds Nickolai exploring hitherto uncharted territory over the loveliest of melodies and Janice Hall’s gorgeous vocals. It’s destined to become another lynchpin in TSI’s live set.

It has already come to the attention of legendary music critic Everett True who calls it “…a smidgen David Bowie, and a whole lot awesome and catchy the way Ed Ball ought to be, …we’re talking The Beatles and the TVPs here, obviously – just not in an obvious manner. So I guess we’re really talking The Knack or that wonderful moment in 1978 when power pop ruled the lower reaches of the UK charts”

Everyone is raving about the new release which rocketed to #2 on local radio and gaining international ground in the UK, Spain, Brazil and Germany.

“Wenn ich die Reihe Power Pop aus meinem CD Regal irgendwann mal fortsetzen sollte, die Social Icons wären schon mal fest gebucht.”
Twang Tone

“It’s a little bit Teenage Fanclub, a little bit Mod, a little bit Urge Overkill circa
that moment when they crystallised easy into the perfect distillation of cocktail-
drinking, lounge-lounging, swaggering Neil Diamond fans – only even more so…
a smidgen David Bowie, and a whole lot awesome and catchy “
– Everett True, Music That I Like

“…brings to mind a laconic ’78 era Elvis Costello … a modish Van Morrison”
-Terry Banks, The Big Takeover

“Pop is Falling Apart is loud and commanding with a driving beat that is modern
in sound at one level, but which also has an element of classic Who and the
Rolling Stones. Singer Nickolai Dangeroso sings his lyrics which recall Neil
Diamond in story form.” – Anthony Strutt, pennyblackmusic.co.uk

“It s a great sounding pop explosion” – Joe Reilly, CKCU FM

Skytone : Shining Over You (Beauty 18)

A nice ten track collection, this is a solid collection of pop-rock tunes, with nods to turn of the eighties punk and powerpop, The Beatles and Weller. All good then. Skytone consists of two brothers, with great natural harmonies. It’s down to the songs though and the pair nail it time and time again. Skytone know how to wield an acoustic guitar, evident in the jangle of the album’s clear single, “One Fine Day,” but the best song is the lightly ska and piano tinged “Working Class Lament.” Well worth investigating. (www.sandiegotroubadour.com)


Skytone official website 
Shining Over You
Beauty 018
$9.00 CDN
In Stock