It would have been a very simple, very natural process of likemindedness, communication, demo tape sending and no big deal at all really, but it always amazes me there were Australian bands on Sarah. It’s the height of reverence i hold the label at, i suppose. But Australian bands, Australian people, Australian perspectives, on Sarah! That means time, ability, want and scene circle all aligning to a singular perfection, i could have been on Sarah.

Of course what has happened with Even As We Speak with this modern veneration of the label above all else that was happening in music back then is that all the records they released before and apart from their time on Sarah have fallen to a forgetfulness, and made the songs on Sarah as the essence of what Even As We Speak were and would be remembered by. Before and apart, Matthew sang a lot more and Julien hadn’t yet laid his sound exploration stamp on the band.

But some/most of their best songs are found here on Sarah. It must have been very exciting for them. If it were me i would have been more excited that Boyracer chose to cover one of my songs. This one. Maybe i would have been most excited that i wrote it in the first place.

Australian band Even As We Speak were an ambitious lot, in the context of the often-lazy, often-detail-rather-than-big-picture world of indie-pop. This EP, for example, plays at 33 1/3 rpm rather than the usual (for Sarah Records, at least) 45 rpm – yet it still only contains one song per side. What does that mean? Why, that Even As We Speak were a veritable prog-rock behemoth of a band – comparatively speaking. These two songs are pretty long, pretty inventive, and include forays off in various directions (including pseudo-New Order style electronic tinges), turning them into tiny epics rather than mere simple tunes.

It was all leading up to their later Sarah album, Feral Pop Frenzy, which was – at the time, and possibly even now – outstandingly ambitious. It had seventeen songs, ran (I think) for over an hour, and was a proper ‘journey’ of an album, and one that even hinted at Concept Album status, with melodic references popping up from song to song.

At their heart, and in their overall sound, Even As We Speak were proud indie-pop badgewearers. I do remember thinking around the time of their releases, though, that they were somehow different – one of several bands at the time that hinted that whilst indie-pop, as we all know, don’t stop, there’s no reason why it can’t be experimented with and pulled in different directions. How grown up!

The photograph of saucepans on the Factory Records-design-style cover is credited as ‘Yukino’s Saucepans, by Akiko’. I wonder if that was Akiko who ran Sugarfrost Records at around the same time…?

I did a quick search on eBay for ‘feral pop frenzy’ and there’s a vinyl copy for sale at £29.99. I won’t link to it, in case the auction has ended by now, but I will link to the seller – Oscar The Cat’s Records – who is worth mentioning as they include within their product photographs a cat, presumably Oscar.

Following on from the debacle of the 26 minute set at Glasgow Popfest, The Orchids bounced back with a full set of old favourites and new best friends as they plundered their impressive treasure chest of tracks.

It’s always difficult for me to pick out a favourite Orchids tracks because I enjoy their entire body of work so much but tonight it was a joy to hear Apologies, a song older than the hills. In fact it was a B-side of the second single on the indiest of indie labels, Sarah Records, back in 1988.

Last year’s excellent and underappreciated album The Lost Star provided Les Spectacles de la Foire, single She’s My Girl, b-side The OK Song and Doot Doot (till it happens to you); the latter two tracks having made unexpected but very welcome appearances on BBC6Music last year.

The epic Sarah single Something for the Longing and the ever-popular Caveman completed a fabulous set of beautiful guitar pop songs. God, I love these guys.

Setlist: Obsession #1, The OK Song, Another Saturday Night, She’s My Girl, Bemused, Confused and Bedraggled, Les Spectacles de la Foire, It’s Only Obvious, Apologies, Doot Doot (till it happens to you), Something for the Longing, Caveman.

Being an indie schmindie ‘kid’ of a certain age headliners Allo Darlin’ brought back memories of Antipodean popsters Even As We Speak, with a light sprinkling of The Popguns. Great songs, fabulous energy and an infectious happy-go-lucky stage presence. They’re enjoying themselves and as a result everyone else does too.

If Loneliness Was Art kicked off a set brimful of sparkling pop nuggets and was followed by Silver Dollars, with an intro doffing its cap to Van Morrison’s Brown-Eyed Girl. Polaroid Song was one of my favourite tracks of last year and normally the sort of crowd-pleasing track that might finish a set but such is the confidence in the other songs the band could throw it out early on.

Tracks from last year’s eponymous debut long player nestled shoulder to shoulder with new songs before my personal highlight of the set. Dreaming is the modern-day take on Heavenly’s C is the Heavenly Option with Ronnie Borland, The Orchids’ bassmeister, assuming the Calvin Johnson role to Elizabeth’s Amelia Fletcher. What a pleasant and welcome surprise.

After three encore songs it was all over and far too soon for the jam-packed crowd. The band even reappeared to set out their market stall of merchandise on the stage. Personally I was shocked (and delighted) to find they actually had an XL t-shirt for sale. I’ve always wondered who these freaks are that buy small t-shirts. Skinny buggers.

Setlist: If Loneliness Was Art, Silver Dollars, The Polaroid Song, Darren, Let’s Go Swimming, Still Young, Kiss Your Lips, Dreaming (w/Ronnie Borland), My Heart is a Drummer, Tallulah, Henry Rollins Can’t Dance, Europe.

Allo Darlin’ Fact: They’re the most facially hirsute band – Elizabeth excluded – since the Followill boys reached puberty.

The Just Joans had been scheduled to play but didn’t. It’s a good job they didn’t replace them with a swinging the cat competition. The venue maybe a compact and bijou basement but it was the best game of sardines I’ve played in a long, long time.

Soundtrack to the gig: Nick Garrie – 49 Arlington Gardens (Elefant 2009)

Soundtrack on the way home: Allo Darlin’ – Allo Darlin’ (Fortuna Pop 2010)

Special thanks: The Orchids, Elaine and Sarah, Allo Darlin’ and the kebab shop near the venue with the fabulous cheese burger and chips! Also said hi to Carey from Camera Obscura.

Observation: Gigging in Glasgow is so much more pleasurable than it is in the capital or Dunfermline and I say that as an East Coaster. Parking was easy and ridiculously cheap, with loads of venues of varying sizes. Edinburgh and the East, take note.

The Orchids MySpace
The Orchids website
Allo Darlin’ website
Allo Darlin’s Bandcamp site

What Will We Do Next? (23 pop songs).  Home made compilation CD.

1. ChooChooTrain – High
2. The Chills – Kaleidoscope World
3. The Sea Urchins – Pristine Christine
4. Razorcuts – Jade
5. The Pooh Sticks – Indiepop Ain’t Noise Pollution
6. The Shop Assistants – I Don’t Wanna Be Friends With You
7. Jesse Garon & The Desperadoes – Goodbye Misery
8. The Clouds – Jenny Nowhere
9. The Visitors – Goldmining
10. White Town – White Town
11. Another Sunny Day – The Centre Of My Little World
12. The Submarines – I Saw The Children
13. The Waltones – She Looks Right Through Me
14. Talulah Gosh – Talulah Gosh
15. The Soup Dragons – Head Gone Astray
16. The Motorcycle Boy – Big Rock Candy Mountain
17. My Bloody Valentine – Sunny Sundae Smile
18. The Stone Roses – The Hardest Thing In The World
19. Even As We Speak – Blue Suburban Skies
20. The Summer Suns – All Away
21. The Mayfields – Feels Like Yesterday
22. Brighter – Ocean Sky
23. The Orchids – What Will We Do Next?

Songs They Never Play On The Radio (Neo-acoustic and Guitar Pop 1984-98).  Home made compilation CD.

1. Hopkirk & Lee – Free Arthur Lee!
2. The Orchids – Peaches
3. The Boo Radleys – Lazarus (acoustic)
4. The Bachelor Pad – Meet The Lovely Jenny Brown
5. The Doctor’s Children – Me, September 24, 1983
6. The Enormous Room – Melanie And Martin
7. Andy Pawlak – Secrets
8. The Blow Monkeys – I Nearly Died Laughing
9. The Pale Fountains – You’ll Start A War
10. McCarthy – This Nelson Rockefeller
11. The Bathers – Latta’s Dream
12. Bourgie Bourgie – Change Of Attitude
13. Clive Langer – Even Though
14. Felt – Space Blues
15. The Times – Love Like Haze Or Rain
16. Rosemary’s Children – Southern Fields
17. Even As We Speak – Bizarre Love Triangle
18. Biff Bang Pow! – She Paints
19. Peter Astor – Submarine (acoustic)
20. James Young – Songs They Never Play On The Radio
21. The Triffids – Only One Life

All You Wanted (22 Pop Songs 1984-94).  Home made compilation CD.

1. The Sea Urchins – Please Don’t Cry
2. The Doctor’s Children – Rose Cottage
3. James Dean Driving Experience – Sean Connery
4. Jesse Garon & The Desperadoes – You’ll Never Be That Young Again
5. Even As We Speak – I Won’t Have To Think About You
6. The Hit Parade – Let Her Go
7. Harvey Williams – Don’t Shout At Me
8. The Lilac Time – The Girl Who Waves At Trains
9. Westlake – She Grew And She Grew
10. Emily – The Old Stone Bridge
11. The Apartments – All You Wanted
12. The Incredible Blondes – True
13. Tynal Tywyll – 73 Heb Flares
14. The Wildhouse – Paint The Whole Day Red
15. Modern Art – Golden Legend
16. The Submarines – Grey Skies Blue
17. A Riot Of Colour – Country
18. The Enormous Room – Sylvia’s Children
19. Metro Trinity – Spend My Whole Life Loving You
20. The Nivens – Yesterday
21. The Popguns – Where Do You Go?
22. Ever – Sleepyhead

Heute ist es mal wieder so schön sommerlich. Ein perfekter Tag um zu Feral Pop Frenzy bei einem kühlen Bier im Stadtpark sich frech die Sonne ins Gesicht brennen zu lassen. Even As We Speak waren die Australier im Sarah Records Verbund. Drei Frauen und zwei Männer die während 13 Songs und 39 Minuten auf der Suche nach dem perfekten Popsong warem. 13 Songs? Ja eigentlich sind ja 17 Songs auf dem Album gelistet, vier Tracks sind jedoch mehr so kurze Intermezzos die mit Musik relativ wenig zu tun haben und eigentlich ruhig hätten weggelasen werden können. Diese “Ausrutscher” sollen jedoch nicht die Qualität des Rests schmälern. Songs wie Beatiful Day, Love is the Answer, Straight as an Arrow und allen voran an das perfekte Falling Down the Stairs sind zeitlose Pophymnen wie man es vom coolsten Label der Popgeschichte gewohnt war. Mal jangliger und straighter Gitarrenpop mal mit tanzbaren Beats, wie es sie zu dieser Zeit auch Saint Etienne auf ihren Scheiben zelebrierten, unterlegt. Und waren auf den vorhergegangenen EP’s die Songs teilweise noch etwas verschroben, vor allem wegen Matthew Love’s extrem an Stephen Pastel erinnernden schrägen Gesang, findet man auf  Feral Pop Frenzy nur eingängige und süffige Songs. Grösste Änderung nebst den bereits erwähnten Beats und Synthies war auf  Feral Pop Frenzy die Stimme Mary Wyer’s welche dem Sound einen unwiederstehlichen Popappeal verabreichte. Ausserdem hatte die Band seit Ihrer ersten Single 1986 genügend Zeit zu reifen und dieses wundervolle Debüt und (für mich) dem Highlight aus dem Sarah Records Katalog zu veröffentlichen. Es sollte nebst einigen Ep’s und Singles ihr einziges Album bleiben.Vor kurzem kam vie Egg Records eine nette Compilation ihrer Ep’s und Singles namens A three minute song is one minute to long auf den Markt. Feral Pop Frenzy ist zur Zeit vergriffen und meist nur für viel Geld zu erstehen. 

Vor zwei Jahren kam vie Egg Records eine nette Compilation ihrer Ep’s und Singles namens A three minute song is one minute to long auf den Markt. Feral Pop Frenzy ist zur Zeit vergriffen und meist nur für viel Geld zu erstehen. 

01. The Clash – The prisoner
02. Talking Heads – Love → building on fire
03. Magnus Uggla – Dörrslusk
04. Japan – Taking islands in Africa
05. Siouxsie & The Banshees – Love in a void
06. Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes with Ronnie Spector – You mean so much to me
07. China Crisis – Seven sports for all
08. Stevie Nicks – I can’t wait
09. The Associates – Logan time
10. Even as we speak – Drown
11. The Buggles – I love you (Miss Robot)

7 Punkte für die Musik, 10 Punkte für den Bandnamen.

Und jetzt hören wir noch einmal gemeinsam Vapour Trail von Ride und verbeugen uns tief! Ganz tief. Immer wenn ich das Lied höre, möchte ich zwei Dinge sofort: 1. Wieder Schlagzeug spielen, 2. Noch einmal so herrlich dumm verliebt sein wie damals.

BTW: Danke, werter Musiksoulmate M., für die gesammelten Werke von Sarah Records! Wenn ich jetzt langsam aus meiner musikalischen Starre wiedererwache, werde ich mir Perle für Perle wieder gönnen. Dann folgt hier demnächst Blick auf das legendäre Label und seine Bands.

Und noch ein Nachtrag: Erinnert noch jemand Velocity Girl?? Ich muss gleich mal stöbern, ob ich die CD noch finde…

no puedo frenar, no puedo frenar…

escrita con y por amor.

volvemos pronto.