Don Henley’s ‘The Boys of Summer’ is one of the most enduring songs of the 80s. There’s something in the narrative that seems to resonate with so many people. Maybe it’s the thoughts of summers past; maybe it conjures memories of lost friendships. Whatever it is, so many people love it and over the years it’s been covered in a variety of styles.
Monthly Archives: August 2018
ALLFATHER – And All Will Be Desolation
In 2016, Allfather unleashed ‘Bless The Earth With Fire’, a hulking brute of an album that valued riffs over chorus hooks, resulting in a record that presented the very best in sludge metal recorded on a DIY budget. Extensive gigging followed, including bills shared with the mighty Morag Tong. Over the next eighteen months, the Kentish band drove big riffs into peoples’ skulls from small stages whilst simultaneously teasing about working on new studio material.
Listen: Prince Gold 1995-2010
For years, Prince fans held their breath for the Purple One’s extensive catalogue to appear on music streaming services. It seemed about as likely to happen as a set of deluxe reissues of his classic albums. For Prince, everything seemed to be about living in the moment; creating music under his own terms and music for the right now, with no looking back.
Following his untimely death in 2016, a long rumoured deluxe edition of ‘Purple Rain’ was released, which gave fans reason to rejoice whist dealing with the sadness of his passing. A well curated set, the four disc version included the essential ‘Prince & The Revolution LIVE!’ VHS on a DVD format for the first time. His classic albums from 1978-1994 also appeared on Spotify and other streaming platforms.
DOT DASH – Proto Retro
Washington based power pop combo Dot Dash are very prolific for a DIY band. Not necessarily on a Guided By Voices scale, but they’ve released six albums over a seven year stretch and gained some very positive support across the net in the process. Some of their earlier works can sound a little ragged and mixed stylistic choices could sometimes make the band seem impulsive, but when on form, it’s always been possible to hear their post-punk and power pop influences shining through the budgetary constraints.
2018’s ‘Proto Retro’ absolutely blows previous efforts out of the water. With a budget that would suit many of the power pop bands of the early 80s – Shoes, Automatics, Off Broadway et al – Dot Dash now sound like a band full of confidence. Along with the vastly improved audio comes vastly improved songs and in material like ‘Fast Parade’ – a three minute belter with the kind of ringing guitars a thousand Big Star wannabes would kill for – they’re a band ready to reach out to a bigger audience.
VARIOUS ARTISTS – Try A Little Sunshine: The British Psychedelic Sounds Of 1969
The sounds of psychedelia’s peak from 1967 and going into 1968 have been well documented. Whether delving into the classics of the era or digging for obscurities, there are a wealth of great tunes to be found within an eighteen month period. By 1969, the musical tide was very much turning; British whimsy and three minute pop gems about myriad cups of tea and talking gnomes had largely been pushed aside for harder rock sounds. Various bands clung on for dear life, of course, and even well into 1969 there were bands across Britain knocking out various 7” pieces of plastic for the psychedelic cause. In another volume of musical history, Grapefruit Records have dug deep to bring three discs of interesting cuts from the year. The results are quite often less gaudily coloured, but you’ll still find a few bands sticking to familiar formulae. While at least half of the material gathered here is more of the well-honed pop/rock variety than flat out psych, the journey is one that’s still more than worth taking. Covering over seventy tracks in all, such a box set could seem daunting, but the curators have included at least ten familiar names, which actually adds to the commercial appeal without detracting from the potential obscurities and rarities.