Singles Going Single #26 - Painted Willie 7" (1984, Spinhead)

In reference to the title of this single's lead-off cut, Painted Willie were a ragged army indeed, and the band's ramshackle debut 7" is a stumbling-block-to-stepping-stone chestnut for the ages. Released on what would appear to be a tiny, local imprint, Spinhead Records, this record would lead to greater things, more specifically being ushered under the wing of the burgeoning SST Records for a number of LPs during the Reagan era. Painted Willie's quasi-minimalist post-punk, was unabashedly nascent and shambolic at the time of this release, but endearing in it's own rite. The curiously esoteric subject matter disclosed in "Ragged Army" exemplifies this aesthetic the best, while it's flipside, "Kill It," packs a serious, metallic bite, that's the yin to "Army's" playful yang. Two of the three songs here also appear in the "jukebox" portion of their Myspace page, but these particular rips were extracted directly from my own copy of the single, tattered sleeve and all. Enjoy (or not).

A1. Ragged Army
A2. Paper Tiger
B. Kill It

Hear

Singles Going Single #25 - Drive "tribute" 7'' (1992, First Strike)

For Descendants fans, the sleeve of Drive's "tribute" single depicted directly to your left is a surefire giveaway, with it's parody of the 'dents iconic I Don't Want to Grow Up LP. The other side of the sleeve is a less effective stab at Raymond Pettibone equally iconic art for their take on The Minutemen's classic, "This Ain't No Picnic" Drive were a rather arcane British pop-punk band, existing in the late-'80s/mid-'90s. Often lumped into the same neighborhood as Mega City Four, Hooton 3 Car, and the previously discussed 3 1/2 Minutes, notoriety eluded them, even in their native Liverpool. Their recordings were conglomerated on Boss Tunage's relatively recent Discography 1988-93 CD, which you can check out here.

A. My World
B. This Ain't No Picnic

Hear

Pollyanna - Hello Halo (1997)

It's hard to believe that Pollyanna's entire back catalog is languishing hopelessly out of print, even in their native Australia, where they were one of the predominant indie success stories of the '90s. It's even harder to be a Pollyanna fan Stateside, let alone Down Under. Once I discovered Pollyanna's third-times-the-charm stunner, Hello Halo in an 88 cent CD bin (thank you Sounds, in NYC), by hook or by crook I managed to obtain their entire discography over the course of four or five slightly arduous years. Amongst their five albums and twice as many eps, I still haven't found anything that equals the passion and melodic prowess of this disk.

Pollyanna's twenty-something angst struck more bittersweet and joyous chords in yours truly with this one album than most bands are capable of when their entire repertoire is considered. Were Hello Halo to have a 2008 copyright date, certain circles would brand this as "emo," given it's often melancholy tendencies. Indeed, this record is emotive, but in the most uncontrived way possible. To describe this album's most affecting offerings like "Cinnamon Lip," "Hilltop Green," and "Effervescence" with such mundane but tempting tags as "distorto-power pop," or "the ambivalent man's indie rock," would be a grave disservice - and yet that's the best I can come up with. Call it what you will, but Pollyanna's Hello Halo  is in a veritable class of it's own. 

 

01. Peachy Keen

02. Frosted Over

03. Hilltop Green

04. Cooling Your Heels

05. Effervescence

06. A Beginner's Guide to Under Achievement

07. Brittle Than Broken

08. Butterman

09. Forgetting How to Feel

10. Cinnamon Lip

11. Pulling Teeth

12. Velocette

13. Rat in the Ranks

14. Tank

 

Hear

The Individuals - Fields LP (1982, Plexus)

While I'm not terribly big on these guys (and girl), I had a request a long time ago for Hoboken, NJ's Individuals, so what the hell. Fields was produced by Gene Holder of dB's fame, and furthermore, Mitch Easter is credited for "engineering and good ideas." Hmmm. The Individuals definitely had the early '80s college rock thing going, with a touch of the "new south" vibe tossed in for good measure, not to mention a razor-sharp awareness of rhythm. With that, I'd say that Fields would make a great appetizer for a Talking Heads binge. You can also download the Individual's Aquamarine ep right here.

01. My Three Sons (Revolve Around the Earth)
02. Can't Get Started
03. Hooks & Ladders
04. Monkey
05. Dancing With My Eighty Wives
06. Walk By Your House
07. Leap of Faith
08. White
09. Johnny's in the Mines
10. Thinking Aloud
11. Swimming in the Streets

Update: Fields, along with the aforementioned Aquamarine ep have been reissued on CD through Bar None, and as you might imagine, is also available from iTunes and Amazon downloads.

The Cavedogs - Fall Back In It (2001)

Boston's Cavedogs were should-have-been luminaries that deserved their place among the likes of The Replacements and Posies. Their story is an utterly familiar one - nationally distributed records, videos, "buzz," but ultimately, it just wasn't to be, not universally at any rate. Armed with acumen, wit, and some of the best damn songs the indie contingent of the "power pop" genre ever had to offer, the Cavedogs were more advanced than many bands their senior. As always, the proof is in the pudding, and their two crucial albums, Joyrides For Shut-Ins (1990) and Soul Martini (1992), either of which were high caliber enough for inclusion on the recent and often ludicrous Shake Some Action top-200 album list, can be found in gently used condition from the usual suspects, Half and Amazon, or in a bargain CD bin near you.
If you're new to the Cavedogs, it would be good to have an appreciation of those albums before delving into Fall Back In It, a compendium of unreleased rarities, demos and live cuts, wrapped up in the guise of a faux radio program, rife with goofy and animated dialogues. In fact, the band sums it up a lot better than I can:

This is a collection of demos and previously unreleased songs by the Cavedogs, along with pieces of their radio show, "The Cavedogs Funtime Hour." Each title corresponds to it's equivalent digital start ID number, resulting in 20 little dioramas, each more compelling and/or stupid than it's predecessor.

The Fall Back In It CD was available from the band's now defunct website as a mailorder only proposition a few years ago, and was unadorned with any artwork to speak of. An essential listen for established Cavedogs aficionados! To read up on the Cavedogs here are a few links:

http://powerpopulist.blogspot.com/2006/11/cavedogs.html - a nice primer with a handful of choice MP3s

http://www.desertisle.com/cavedogs/homepage.shtml - aka Tayter Country, an extremely thorough fansite with lots of info and tons of live MP3s of questionable quality.

Here's the tracklisting:

01-intro~better than that
02-midnight hour (live)
03-bed of nails (acoustic)
04-turn it off (live)
05-folderol (original demo)
06-country song #1 (live)
07-bury the beat
08-on for the ride (acoustic)
09-strapped on mendelssohn
10-christmas song (orig vers)
11-i hate you (live)
12-as you were ~goodswift ad
13-mike the tiger
14-typical witty banter
15-country song #2 (live)
16-clownland
17-hangman's pop
18-pais de la potato (live)
19-la la la (orig vers)
20-outro

Update: Fall Back In It is now available on Bandcamp for SUPER cheap!  Please go there are patronize these fine folks!

Singles Going Single #24 - Menthol "USA Capable" 7" (1995, Capitol)

Urbana, IL's Menthol started out life as the otherwise non-descript and less than impressive, Mother, before changing their name and going for the gusto on a marvelous, self-titled album for Capitol Records in '95. "USA Capable," kicked that album off in style, in all it's assaulting and visceral glory. Prodigious in the classic rock sense, but none too impervious to the "alternative" dogma sweeping the nation, Menthol brought to mind Soul Asylum to this set of ears, although I believe that to be coincidence more than intention. Their album was one of the more unaffected major label offerings of the decade, and despite their off-kilter inclinations and frank songwriting, Menthol's conveyance of their tunes was nothing short of eminently powerful.

An anomaly to say the least, the album stiffed, and dedicated listeners were forced to wait some seven years for the tongue-in-cheek, digitally-glazed followup, Danger: Rock Science on Hidden Agenda Records. The b-side, "Crystal Keg People" is exclusive to this single. For further convincing, you check out some Menthol rarities here.

 

A. USA Capable

B. Crystal Keg People

 

Hear

Singles Going Single #23 - Fuzzy "Flashlight" 7" (1994, Seed)

Fuzzy's finest moment came on this genius single, a gleefully exuberant slice of power-chord pop that brandishes more hooks in three-and-a-half minutes than should be ordained by law. Seriously. This Beantown co-ed quartet were one of many '90s major label casualties, signed to "boutique" indie labels, (in their case, the Atlantic Records marketed Seed Records) that really didn't garner the national exposure their intended "best of both worlds" strategy was mapped out to. The Velocity-Girl-esque "Flashlight" was the first, and only single for Fuzzy's '94 self-titled album, their most satisfying if I may say so. Their like minded 1996 followup on Seed, Electric Juices, failed to put them over the top either, and they were presumably dropped, after eking out one last hurrah in the form of the independently released Hurray For Everything in 1999.

This here single offers a couple of non-lp numbers on the flipside, including the appropriately dubbed "Country Song," which sports a decidedly 'Americana' bent. As always, enjoy (or not).
 

A. Flashlight

B1. Thurber

B2. Country Song
 

Hear

Smashing Orange - The Glass Bead Game (1992)

When their debut album was released in 1992, Delaware's Smashing Orange had the misfortune of contending with a slightly more popular Smashing band making waves at the same time, who's moniker also coincidentally referenced an orange fruit. At any rate, The Glass Bead Game is an excellent album of domesticated shoegazer rock, just as engaging as anything by contemporaries The Swirlies and Drop Nineteens. Whipping up a dense, mini-maelstrom, Smashing Orange's tuneful noise had an almost hypnotic effect on those that subscribed, however their booming, echoey mineshaft approach was potentially alienating to more sensitive ears. "Wired," and "All Girls Are Mine," embellished with Rob Montejo's androgynous vocals, are sonically grandiose, and it's shame that little more came on the heels of this album.

A year later the quartet inked a deal with MCA a year later, resulting in 1994's No Return in the End, an unrecomendable generic alt-rock album that exhibited no antecedents of Orange’s impressive previous efforts. Sure enough, it tanked. Smashing Orange also put out two eps, preceding Glass Bead Game, that were reissued a few years ago on the posthumous 1991 album on Elephant Stone Records.

 

01. Remember Kendra

02. Wired

03. Flower Kisses

04. All Girls Are Mine

05. Something Comes Down

06. Indians Say

07. Look Behind You

08. How Did You Feel

09. Highway

10. Below and Beyond
 

Hear

Singles Going Single #22 Fitz of Depression "The Awakening" 7" (1991, Meat)

Blood-boilingly intense punks, The Fitz of Depression came courtesy of the early-90s Olympia, WA breeding ground. Although they received some local notoriety at the time, including an honorable mention from Kurt Cobain, the band disappeared from everyone's collective radar by the middle of the decade, and haven't been heard since. The Awakening showcases the Fitz at their rip-roaring best, blasting through three songs in nearly as many minutes, a la Motorhead cum Zeke. A couple of albums on K Records followed this single, but they failed to capture the breakneck vigor and urgency that the Fitz so effectively displayed here. Bitchin'.

A. The Awakening
B1. Waiting For Your Move
B2. I'm a Poser

Hear

The Shakers - Desired Effect (1987)

This gem of an album could have easily slipped by if it wasn't for the good people at Hyped to Death. Were I not fortunate enough to obtain a copy of their Teenline Vol. 3 compilation, of lost and under appreciated American indie bands from the '70s-80s, Nashville's Shakers would be entirely unknown to me and furthermore, you. Coming across as if it were a classic Don Dixon or Mitch Easter production, Desired Effect impresses with a wellspring of persistently jangly guitar chords, a la Dreams So Real and The Plimsouls. By no means start-to-finish par excellence, (not to mention leaning a bit AOR at times), this albums exemplary "Turn You Down," "Change My Mind," and the well-chosen Teenline comp selection, "All Tied Up," are good as gold. Desired Effect comes courtesy of the presumably short-lived Hit-A-Note label, whom have released other records that may or may not appear on this site.

01. A Stranger's Eyes

02. Throw Away

03. I'll Turn You Down

04. Change My Mind

05. I Love You, Love

06. The Need For Love

07. Remember

08. Last Call

09. Tryin' To Be Near You

10. All Tied Up

Hear

Mission of Burma - Electro-acoustic sessions (1980)

To coincide with the reissue of Mission of Burma's exemplary back catalog today, I thought I'd upload a collection of demos dubbed the "Electro-Acoustic Sessions," taking it's namesake from the studio they were recorded at in 1980, which you can read in greater detail about here. Some of these tracks have appeared on the Taang! Records MOB outtakes collections, Peking Spring and Forget, which I believe are still in print, and just as crucial as the band's Signals, Calls and Marches ep and Vs. LP. On this 17-song collection you will hear scalding hot early versions of numerous MOB classics-to-be, including "That's How I Escaped My Certain Fate," "...Revolver," "Academy Fight Song." The sound is a bit hissy, as it was obviously converted from a cassette. "Track 2" is glaringly omitted from the lineup, but considering this was procured from a file-sharing application, I have yet to find the song (whatever it may be) from another user. Enjoy (or not).

01 - Peking Spring
03 - OK No Way
04 - That's How I Escaped My Certain Fate
05 - Secrets
06 - Red
07 - Progress
08 - Max Ernst
09 - Academy Fight Song
10 - Nu Disco
11 - Forget
12 - This Is Not a Photograph
13 - That's When I Reach For My Revolver
14 - Execution
15 - Eyes of Men
16 - Fun World
17 - Head Over Head
18 - Einstein's Day

Hear

Singles Going Single #21 - Catherine 7" (1991, Limited Potential)

Talk about precocious. According to the back cover of this single, Billy Corgan is given a co-production credit, in 1991, the same year Smashing Pumpkins released their debut LP, Gish! Billy may have moved up through the ranks at a breakneck pace, but Chicago's Catherine could barely garner a following outside the Windy City. Featured here are two longish nuggets of swirling noise pop, not unlike fellow Illinoisans, Hum down the road in Champaign. Catherine would go onto record an ep and two full lengths, including the very Pumpkin-esque Sorry! in '94. I don't hasten to mention that drummer Kerry Brown was in fact married to Darcy of the Pumpkins. Keep on the lookout for Catherine's Sleepy ep to appear on these pages in the relatively near-future. As the band's motto goes, "better living through noise!"

A. Sparkle

B. Charmed (for Taylor)

Hear

Singles Going Single #20 - The Wondermints 7" (1993, Pop Psycle)

While I ca't give you a firsthand account, I can tell you that Los Angeles had a thriving, renaissance of an indie/power pop scene in the mid to late '90s. Some of the crème de la crème included The Andersons, Cockeyed Ghost, Sugarplastic, Baby Lemonade, and the slightly conspicuous Negro Problem, but if I were to boil it down to one band that was representative of that era, The Wondermints would probably be my band of choice. Pristine and polished as they were, the 'mints had an incredible sense of integrity and quality control. Their debut single on what would appear to be their own label, Pop Psycle, is the best of both whirls, as one might say. The a-side, "Proto-Pretty" was timeless enough to even be enshrined on a Rhino Records power pop anthology. It's flip-side, "Silly Place" is just as golden, as was their self-titled album that followed this single. That album is out of print but relatively easy to hunt down. In short, whether you're an established fan, or if you're here for your first spin, you're in for a major treat.

A. Proto-Pretty
B. Silly Place

Hear

Singles Going Single #19 - AV EP 7'' (pre-Pointed Sticks) (1978, Quintessence)

Vancouver, BC's AV were of particular significance aside from their music. Number one, they were...well #1, literally. AV's 7" "EP" was the first release for Vancouver's Quintessence indie record label. Secondly, guitarist Bill Napier-Hemy would later go on to form the much higher profile Pointed Sticks, which you can check out on this previous Wilfully Obscure posting. Fronted by Tim Ray, AV's post-punk rock was not terribly Earth shattering, or for that matter, influential, but they were a mildly interesting footnote, not to mention springboard for Vancouver's fledgling indie scene in the late '70s.

01. Dying in Brooklyn
02. Cliche
03. Little Old Man
04. All Same

Hear

Popealopes - An Adder's Tale (1988), Kerosene (1990)

The Popealopes were psych-tinged rockers from Davis, CA that deserved their rightful spot on the Children of Nuggets box set, despite their inconsistency on album. On their debut, An Adder's Tale, the 'lopes sport covers of the Stones "2000 Light Years From Home and John Lee Hooker's "Crawling Kingsnake," but the album's centerpiece is their own "Poor Tom," a lazy Dream Syndicate-esque zinger. The CD version of the album, tacks on a bonus track, "Bovine Lament," which was the b-side to the "Poor Tom" single.

Kerosene helps put the Popealopes on a more straightforward rock trajectory, but as with the debut, a sizable chunk of the album isn't particularly memorable, but strangely fascinating in it's own special way. Were some of the halfway-there melodies fully realized here (perhaps with the title cut being the exception), Kerosene could have been downright dazzling.

You can see what Trouser Press has to say about the Popealopes here. BTW, both of these albums are damn near-impossible to find on CD, as well as their subsequent releases.

An Adder's Tale

01. Southern Mind

02. Poor Tom

03. Barbed Devil's

04. Pennance

05. 2000 Light Years From Home

06. Robber's Banquet

07. Menagerie

08. Beneath the Stone

09. Beautiful Friend

10. Crawling Kongsnake

11. Bovine Lament

 

Kerosene

01. Violet

02. Kerosene

03. Lionheart

04. Rosarium

05. Another Black August

06. Missouri

07. Tokyo Throat

08. Red Reaction

09. One Foot Down

An Adder's Tale - Hear
Kerosene - Hear

The Replacements - How Did the Vomit Get Up on the Ceiling?

Since my last Mats upload (Boink!!) was such a roaring success, I've decided to follow it up with this 26 track collection, predominately consisting of demos and outtakes for the Tim and Pleased To Meet Me albums, although there are a few b-sides from subsequent albums included as well. Sorry for the lame sleeve. Wasn't my design. Enjoy. By next weekend I will/may/possibly resume posting on a more consistent basis. Cheers.

01-Intro
02-Nevermind
03-Alex Chilton
04-Red Red Wine
05-Kick It In
06-Valentine (Instrumental)
07-Run For The Country
08-Going Out Of My Head
09-Trouble On The Way
10-Make This Your Home
11-The Ledge
12-IOU
13-Nightclub Jitters
14-Can't Hardly Wait
15-Learn How To Fail
16-Valentine
17-Skyway
18-I Don't Know
19-Red Red Wine
20-Shooting Dirty Pool
21-Cool Water
22-Route 66 (From B-Side Of "Alex Chilton")
23-Tossin' And Turnin' (B-Side Of German "The Ledge")
24-Ought To Get Love (Don't Tell A Soul Outtake)
25-Kissing In Action (All Shook Down Outtake)
26-Outro

Comments

Gladhands - Wow and Flutter (1999)

Chapel Hill's Gladhands, were an exemplary power pop trio who released two smashing albums on the venerable, but sadly departed Big Deal Records - From Here to Obscurity in 1995; La Di Da two years later. Neither records met with anything resembling mainstream success, but were highly lauded among the band's devotees. When it came time for album three in 1999, Wow and Flutter, Big Deal were on the cusp of bringing it to market, but when the label was abruptly bought-out in mid '99, the album was temporarily put on ice. Promotional copies made the rounds to the usual suspects (i.e. radio, print media) just in time however, making it a minor collectors item. To my knowledge, only the Japanese enjoyed an official release of this disk, but import copies were available stateside, at a rather steep price I might add.

Admirers of bands like Owsely, Tubetop, not to mention a good chunk of the Big Deal roster will revel in Wow and Flutter, despite it's somewhat slick leanings. This was to be the Gladhand's last hurrahs, excluding a couple of post-mortem archival releases. In fact, their departure is written all over Flutter's "Get Real," making for a fitting, if not bittersweet coda.

Buy it here: http://futuremanrecords.bandcamp.com/album/wow-flutter-deluxe-edition

Womb for improvement

Hey everyone. Just wanted to let you know that the pickings are going to be a bit meager for the next two weeks. By this weekend, I'll try to get another 'Mats boot up, as well as some more singles. I really appreciate all the positive feedback. Keep it lit!

Singles Going Single #18 - Cherry Smash "West Coast Rip-off" 7" (199?, Candy Floss)

The Cherry Smash are yet another band I belatedly became acquainted from a long out of print compilation, namely, Pure Spun Sugar, released all the way back in '98. I'm including their brilliant comp song, "Split Screen," as a bonus to the one and only single I have by the band.

Sounding like a byproduct of the '90s indie rock scene and the waning shoegazer movement of the time (wish they'd included a copyright date, sorry folks) The Smash deliver melodious, chiming guitar pop, a la Fudge and Small Factory...if that means anything to you of course. While "Split Screen" is the song that sold me on Cherry Smash, West Coast Rip-offs A-side, "Nowhere Generation," clocks in at a very close second. The B-side features two numbers. "You Made Me Hate the Beach Boys," kicks off with a bizarre mangling of the of the actual Beach Boy classic "Good Vibrations," before giving way to Cherry Smash's ultra lo-fi original composition, ostensibly recorded to a boom box. The follow-up cut, "Airport Girl," is crunchy and fuzz-laden as-all-get-out.

Should anyone in Cherry Smash, or anyone associated with them read this, please get in touch. I'm very eager to hear any more CS singles that made it to market unbeknownst to me. This is phenomenal stuff!
 

A. Nowhere Generation

B1. You Made Me Hate the Beach Boys

B2. Airport Girl
 

Hear

Bangtails - Hypnotic Downpour ep (1987)

First and foremost, I'd like to give props to Little Hits blog because if it wasn't for the fact I was exposed to the Bangtails on their site, this post simply would not exist. You can read the write-up as well as download two of the this ep's four songs here (or heck, just download the whole shebang from me). I was able to procure an original copy of the ep shortly after the LH post, and have decided to share it with the world at large.

The Bangtails were from Kansas City. These days, the band is considered to be a minor footnote in the career of Archer Prewitt, whom he served as bass player for. This was the Bangtails one and only release, which is a shame. Sonically, they are awash in chiming jangle pop, straight out of REM 101, circa Chronic Town. The Bengtails were further defined by singer Mike Winston, who's strained-to-the-max croon echoes of Squirrel Bait vocalist Peter Searcy. Though these diametric facets sound seemingly uncomfortable on paper, they actually translate well onto record. For me, this was a very pleasant find. Incidentally, the sleeve was designed by Archer Prewitt, but you can read more about that from the Bangtails link on Little Hits. Light up a stick of patchouli and enjoy.

 

01. Patron of the Arts

02. Full of Daylight

03. While Laughing

04. Giants/Dead Rain

 

Hear

Ultimate Fakebook - This Will Be Laughing Week (1999, Noiseome)

Here’s a band that was truly in it for the tunes. I certainly can’t say that about everyone I’ve listened to, even the ones I’ve graced on this webpage.
Hailing from Manhattan (Kansas that is) Ultimate Fakebook could have easily been pigeonholed as pop-punk, but they came from a far different place than yammering juveniles like Sum 41 and Good Charlotte. This exemplary trio also wisely avoided being circulated into the ersatz emo clusterfuck that was just about to break nationally.

Unfortunately, as high caliber as they were, Ultimate Fakebook never did break nationally, despite a short-lived stint on Sony Records in 2000/01. This Will Be Laughing Week, the band’s second and by far finest album was originally released on the Lawrence, KS-based Noiseome Records in 1999. When UFB were scooped up a year later by the bigwigs, the lp was retooled with slightly altered and/or remixed versions of all tracks. I am preferable to the original Noiseome version of TWBLW, and that’s what I’ve posted. There’s a bittersweet, underdog vibe that imbues this album in a way that’s indigenous to UFB, and a dizzying array of killer hooks is their not-so-secret weapon. In fact, even the most cursory listen to “Little Apple Girl,” and “Soaked in Cinnamon,” will you make an instant fanatic.

UFB capped off their lil’ career off with a third album in 2002, Open Up and Say Awesome, followed up with the Before We Spark ep a year later. Needless to say, given today's musical climate, they’re achingly missed.

01-She Don't Even Know My Name
02-Tell Me What You Want (I'll Be Anything)
03-Of Course We Will
04-Brokÿn Nëedle
05-A Million Hearts
06-Soaked in Cinnamon
07-This Will Be Laughing Week
08-Little Apple Girl
09-I'm All Out of It Now
10-Glitter & Glue
11-Real Drums
12-Perfect Hair

Are you ready to rock, it's not a question baby...

This can now be found on iTunes, Emusic, and Amazon.

Singles Going Single #17 - Bevil Web 7" (1996, Wabana)

True, Robert Pollard was Guided By Voices prime-mover, Tobin Sprout's inclusion in the band's lineup (from 1992's Propeller through Under the Bushes Under the Stars in '96) often eclipsed Pollard's role of songwriter extraordinaire. It's been said Sprout was to McCartney, what Pollard was to Lennon, but nevertheless their partnership was hardly competitive. Sprout's GBV material, was typically softer and nimbler than Pollard's, and the contrast convinced some fans to champion the McCartney over the Lennon. Sprout's departure from the band after Under the Bushes, actually gave a lot of GBV listeners a plausible excuse to ignore Pollard's further adventures - that, and the fact Sprout was entrenching into an increasingly prolific solo career.

Bevil Web was Tobin Sprouts first solo venture, although he did predate GBV with a band called Figure 4. Featuring a pair of four-track, home-recorded morsels, "Minutemen," and "Lariat Man," Tobin Sprout get's his lo-fi on, and the results are brilliant. "Minutemen," owes a sizeable debt to Pollard's sonic template, but the delicate "Lariat Man," is prototypical Tobin Sprout, and was a clear harbinger of what would materialize on several solo albums, and with his offshoot band, Eyesinweasel. Tobin's music career appears to be on indefinite hiatus, with his attention presently being focused on painting.

A. Minutemen
B. Lariat Man

Hear

Hagfish - Buick Men (1993)

Hagfish were by far and away my favorite band to come out of the Dallas/Ft. Worth 1990s music scene. A dapper, Brooks Brothers-donning quartet, who's relentless Ramones cum Descendent's punk-pop made an already fertile period for rock and roll that much more stimulating. Their often debaucheristic songs were all-surge, power-chord melees that you'd swear could induce whiplash, if only metaphorically.

Buick Men was the first of Hagfish's trifecta of proper albums. Released independently on the Dallas based Dragon Street Records in '93, It contained 19 blistering numbers, without a single one exceeding the three- minute mark. This cd would soon become the rarest and most coveted of all Hagfish releases, due in part to the modest national following they would garner via their second album ...Rocks Your Lame Ass. Rock's was in fact Hagfish's first and only major label offering. Roughly half of Buick Men's songs were rerecorded for this album, and were improved substantially I might add. An even better album, (self-titled) followed in 1997 on the esteemed Honest Dons label. The group is now defunct, but a handful of posthumous cds have been released. A "relapse" reunion album was supposed to surface in '04, but alas, bupkis. Just FYI, Buick Men was commanding up to $100.00 Ebay a few years. It's collectiblity may have diminished, but it's scarceness hasn't.
 

01. Happiness

02. Stamp

03. Flat

04. Secret

05. Gertrude

06. Moda

07. Sad

08. Trixie

09. New Punk Rock Song

10. Disappointed

11. Minit Maid

12. Hose

13. Shark

14. Lesbian Girl

15. Herve

16. Aquarium

17. Mouse

18. Ambulance

19. Land Shark (alt mix)
 

Hear

Singles Going Single #16 - Gnome - "13 Family" 7" plus Six-Hi Surprise Tower (1992)

Special bonus for this installment of Singles Going Single. I didn't think I could do justice to Gnome by merely uploading their lone 7." Gnome were a Seattle four-piece that knocked around Seattle during the early nineties. By 1991, I had familiarized my self with all the Sub Pop bands and began investigating other Sea-Tac bands and labels. One of these labels was C/Z Records, who included on their roster Coffin Break, Skin Yard, Treepeople, and Gnome.

I took a completely "sound-unheard" chance on Gnome's debut Six-Hi Surprise Tower which I believe came in 1992. If I remember correctly, the band christened the album title after an item in a dessert/confectionery mail-order catalog. I just hope it wasn't of the fruitcake variety...anyway. C/Z positioned Gnome as "bubble-grunge." While they weren't nearly as flailing or wired as Nirvana and Soundgarden, Gnome possesed a lively sense of abandon all the same, not to mention pop-savvy. I always thought they gravitated more to the power pop, end of the spectrum, and in fact Jon Auer of the Posies shared mixing duties on the album with Phil Ek. Gnome were if anything, unique. To this day I'm still trying to discern what they owe their sound to, but I think singer/guitarist Loren Evans is the biggest part of the equation. Six-Hi... is a quietly charismatic album if there ever was one, and if you're anything like me, you won't truly sense it's brilliance until long after your initial listen.

The "13 Family" single on Blossom Records predates the album, I'm estimating by a year (no copyright date provided for either this or Six-Hi). "13 Family" is a different recording than the LP version, and I can't help but wonder if early incarnations of the album's other nine cuts are languishing in a shoebox somewhere. The b-side, "Dog Energy" is exclusive to this wax.

Gnome went onto release a second album in 1993, Fiberglass, and soon after a single, Pop Cred./Punk Sens. The band later recorded an ep titled Juicy Mommy, which never saw the light of day: ( Loren, or if anyone else related to the band reads this, please get in touch! 

 

Six-Hi Surprise Tower

01. On the House

02. 13 Family

03. Up To

04. Watershed

05. Go Go Go

06. Peace

07. Roadhog

08. Freetoy

09. NoWonderChild

10. Pig Roast 

 

single

A. 13 Family

B. Dog Energy
 

Six-Hi Surprise Tower: Hear

single: Hear

Dish - Mabel Sagittarius ep + 7" (1993)

This arresting little pop combo from Raleigh, NC caught me by surprise when they opened up for Superchunk at a 1993 gig in Albany, NY. Fronting the band was Dana Kletter, formally a member of the Blackgirls, whom to this day I still have to plead ignorant about. Let me be blunt. Kletter posses an amazing set of vocal chords, perfectly suited for any song she wraps them around. I'm sure Tori Amos comparisons have been leveled on more than one occasion, but I like to think of her in the same league as Jenny Toomey and Sarah Shannon.

Dish "piqued" in 1995 with the Interscope Records release of their sole full-length, Boneyard Beach, an album that failed to deliver on the promise of the Mabel Sagittarius ep and the single on Shakedown records that this post concerns. On these two short-form releases, Dish alternate between brisk piano and guitar songs, with a lucid syncopation coursing through all of them. Production by Mitch Easter meshed well with Dish's slightly left-of-center approach I might add. 

 

The fine two cut single on the British Shakedown label is more challenging, with the b-side "And Then" winning handily over it's flip-side, "Moving Day."

Mable Saggitarius ep (1994)

01. Temptation

02. Meteor Mom

03. Love's Philosophy

04. Leave Yourself Alone

05. Eyes Peeled

 

Shakedown Records 7" (1993)

A. Moving Day

B. And Then

 

Hear