Splitting the Difference #40 - Boyracer/The Ropers 7" (Slumberland, 1994)

In the above title I note that this record is a Slumberland Records product, but technically this split single was released on an offshoot of the label, dubbed, I Wish I Was a Slumberland Record.  And the point was?  Truthfully I don't know why this wasn't designated as a proper Slumberland release, except perhaps that it was initially designed as a tour single (got mine through mailorder, so go figure).  As for the music in question, Wetherby, England's highly prolific Boyracer, an inescapable indie-rawk fixture throughout much of the '90s, were of little significance to this set of ears.  Despite my indifference at the time I have to give it up to them for their side of the coin, "One Step Forward," a distortion-laden slack attack with a chunky hook delivered with plenty of cranky persuasion.  

Ultimately, it was The Ropers who really lured me to this wax.  I previously shared another Ropers split single (w/ The Tribbles), and even after discovering these abettors of chiming indie pop nearly two decades ago, I'm still captivated by their brief catalog.  So far as I can tell, "Pretty Quiet" is exclusive to this release, a bit fuzzier and flange-heavy than even some of those great early singles they did for Slumberland in the early '90s, and definitely rawer than the relatively polished All the Time full length.

Boyracer - One Step Forward
Ropers - Pretty Quiet

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