Home
Christmas cards have already been in Paperchase for weeks now so it must be October and our beloved roster of artists are hard at work on new records for the Spring. Have you noticed that big labels have stopped having Spring, Summer etc release and now have 1st quarter, 2nd quarter releases?
So what delights do we have for you in the new year? Well…
Bad Anorak 404, aka Lin Sangster, has just finished her new album ‘All In Miniature’. Some people call it future-folk, some nu-folk and some psych-folk, but we just call it a beautiful collection of songs combining electronica with acoustic melodies with a streak of scouse charm as wide as the river Mersey.
Chris T-T has faithfully promised us demos of twenty or so songs from the third and final part of his ‘London Trilogy’ of albums following on from ‘The 253′ and ‘London Is Sinking’. Our breath is duly bated. After a show-stopping set at the Green Man Festival in August, he will be touring the UK in November and December.
www.christt.com
Jason McNiff has been off travelling through Spain and Morocco, guitar strapped to his back like the true troubadour that he is. Having just finished a UK tour with Grand Drive, he is set to record his follow up to last year’s Americana album of the year ‘Nobody’s Son’.
www.jasonmcniff.com
Hooker’s Green No.1 hail from Aberdeen and release their almost uncategoriseable debut concept album ‘On How The Illustrious Captain Moon Won The War For Us’ early in the new year. Drowned in Sound Website described their sound as “if Mercury Rev recorded at home and had just been listening to Miles Davis and the Warp records back catalogue” We would just like to add “and then some”.
www.hookersgreen.com
Timothy Victor
Recorded over two years, Timothy Victor’s debut solo album ‘Nocturnes’ is released on 1 November 2004. Some of you may know Timothy as the leader of Eastern European-influenced folk gods The Folk Orchestra and some as the “fifth member” of The Broken Family Band (and producer of their first two albums ‘The King Will Build A Disco’ and ‘Cold Water Songs’).
‘Nocturnes’ is a dark and yet starkly beautiful record, modern folk music that thematically wouldn’t be out of place in a David Lynch movie. ‘Empty Palace’, Timothy’s paean to Nick Drake was the highlight of a recent live show at Tate Britain.
www.timothyvictor.co.uk
Animals That Swim
OK, so it has taken four years to compile and find the master tapes (except ‘King Beer’ which we had to master from my old 7”) but at last, ‘The Best of Animals That Swim’ is now in the shops (STORM027CD).
The album features all the great singles including ‘Faded Glamour’, ‘Roy’, ‘Pink Carnations’ plus two tracks that were only ever available on vinyl, ‘50 Dresses’ and the aforementioned ‘King Beer’.
If you are lucky you can find the initial pressing with an additional bonus CD of fourteen rare and unreleased tracks as well a wonderful history of the band written by Hugh Starrs as well as unreleased photos and artwork.