Gravenhurst - Rusted Masks

 

Bio by Heather Phares:
Making music equally inspired by the British folk of Fairport Convention and Bert Jansch and the volatile, textural rock of My Bloody Valentine, Gravenhurst was the brainchild of singer/multi-instrumentalist Nick Talbot (14 May 1977 – 2 December 2014).  Gravenhurst's first album, 2002's "Internal Travels", concentrated on simple but meticulous acoustic guitar work coupled with lyrics inspired by murder ballads. The following year, Talbot released the more elaborate, fuller-sounding "Flashlight Seasons", which attracted the attention of Warp Records, who signed Gravenhurst and re-released the album early in 2004. Later that year, the mini-album "Black Holes in the Sand" became Gravenhurst's first original release for the label.

Released in 2005, the single "The Velvet Cell" and full-length "Fires in Distant Buildings" were Talbot's most fully fleshed-out works yet, incorporating not only folk and electronica but heavy fuzzed-out electric guitars and chugging Krautrock-influenced rhythms as well. The band's excellent 2007 album, "The Western Lands", leaned more toward space rock and shoegaze. With the departure of most of Talbot's touring band for other countries and projects, he returned to a one-man version of Gravenhurst for tours and performances at festivals in the late 2000s and early 2010s. This approach rubbed off on his fourth album, "The Ghost in Daylight", which featured some of his most intimate songwriting and seamless blends of folk, shoegaze, and electronics. Late in 2014, Warp released "Offerings: Lost Songs 2000-2004", a collection of previously unreleased early recordings. That December, Warp announced that Talbot had died at the age of 37.


There isn't really much more I can add to the above excellent bio by Heather Phares. This collection features tracks from all the albums mentioned above, plus the odd compilation track and a few b-sides/EP tracks. Again this is another artist I didn't think of doing a compilation of, until I dug out my copy of "Fires in Distant Buildings" a couple of weeks back, prompting me to revisit his whole back catalogue. A sad loss to music, to this day the cause of his untimely death has never been disclosed. As usual origin of each track & year of release is tagged in the music files and in the download file. I hope you enjoy, cheers!

  1. Black Holes in the Sand (7:22)
  2. Entertainment (3:43)
  3. In Your Room (3:38)
  4. East of the City (2:33)
  5. Hollow Men (3:55)
  6. Song From Under the Arches (10:21)
  7. Longest River (2:57)
  8. Circadian (4:07)
  9. I Found the F (3:25)
10. For Erin (2:32)
11. Nightwatchman's Blues (4:02)
12. A Call to Arms (3:15)
13. The Velvet Cell (4:59)
14. Tunnels (4:42)
15. Islands (8:03)
16. The Western Lands (4:11)
17. Winter Moon (4:29)
18. Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm? (3:27)
19. Underfoot (4:19)
20. See My Friends (9:04)

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Smog - Crawl Into My Shell (1993-2006)

 

Short bio:
Bill Callahan (born June 3, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist who for several years recorded and performed under the band name Smog. Callahan started out as a highly experimental artist, using substandard instruments and recording equipment. His early songs lacked melodic structure and were clumsily played on poorly tuned guitars, resulting in the dissonant sounds on his self-released cassettes. Once he signed a contract with Drag City, he started to use recording studios and a greater variety of instruments for his records.

From 1993 to 2000, Callahan's recordings grew more and more "professional" sounding, with more instruments, and a higher sound quality. He recorded two albums with the influential producer Jim O'Rourke and Tortoise's John McEntire, and collaborated with Neil Hagerty. After 2000's "Dongs of Sevotion", Callahan began moving back to a slightly simpler instrumentation and recording style, while retaining the more consistent songwriting style he had developed over the years. This shift is apparent in albums such as "Rain on Lens", "Supper", and "A River Ain't Too Much to Love".

Smog's songs are often based on simple, repetitive structures, consisting of a simple chord progression repeated for the duration of the entire song. His singing is characterized by his baritone voice. Melodically and lyrically he tends to eschew the verse-chorus approach favoured by many contemporary songwriters, preferring instead a more free-form approach relying less on melodic and lyrical repetition. Themes in Callahan's lyrics include relationships, animals, relocation, nature, and more recently, politics.

In 2007, Callahan stopped using the name Smog, going under his real name for future releases.


This anthology focuses on Bill Callahan's work released under the name of Smog. I've avoided his earliest recordings, some of which are almost impossible to find, instead concentrating on his releases from 1993's "Julius Caesar" up until his final release using the name Smog, the 2006 EP "Rock Bottom Riser". This collection features at least 1 track from these albums, plus the odd single/EP track. My introduction to Smog was the album he released in 1995, "Wild Love", following his career closely ever since. Perhaps in the future I'll compile some of my favourite tracks released under his own name. My favourite Smog albums? I'd say "Knock Knock" from 1999 and "Rain on Lens" released in 2001. This collection features 2 tracks from both of those albums. As usual origin of each track & year of release is tagged in the music files and in the download file. I hope you enjoy this latest collection. Cheers!

  1. Chosen One (3:10)
  2. Look Now (3:17)
  3. Not Lonely Anymore (1:59)
  4. Ambition (4:23)
  5. Cold Discovery (5:51)
  6. Spread Your Bloody Wings (3:21)
  7. Dirty Pants (4:30)
  8. Bathysphere (4:46)
  9. Bowery (3:19)
10. I Break Horses (6:05)
11. Just Like Napoleon (2:54)
12. The Well (6:55)
13. Let's Move to the Country (2:56)
14. Real Live Dress (5:20)
15. My Shell (Electric Version) (5:43)
16. Inspirational (6:20)
17. Keep Some Steady Friends Around (4:26)
18. Held (3:59)

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Lida Husik - Now I'm Older (1991-2018)

 

Bio:
Lida was born in 1963 in Washington, D.C., growing up in the heady punk-rock days of the 1980's. Her first song on a record was on the Dischord compilation State of the Union, as Red Emma. From 1991 to 1999 she released eight full-length records on Shimmy Disc Records, Caroline Records, Astralwerks, and Alias. Her early works, released on the Shimmy Disc label, focused on ethereal, psychedelic indie pop. She also experimented with dance beats and samples, in 1994 teaming up with British electronic composer Beaumont Hannant with whom she recorded three albums, two for Astralwerks and one for Alias records. After 1999's "Mad Flavor", Husik's record releases were quite sparse, with 1 single being released in 2006 and a collaborative EP with Soma Allpass in 2016. It wasn't until 2018 she released her ninth full-length album, "motheroceanmorning".


A few years back I posted about how Flying Nun was my favourite record label in the 1980s/early 1990s. Close behind them were the Shimmy Disc label. As with Flying Nun,  I bought almost everything they released for several years, which is how I first came across Lida Husik, buying her first 3 albums released on the label. After she left Shimmy Disc I  kind of lost track of her future work, not hearing her later releases for several years. Having rectified that situation, I recently decided it was time my next anthology should be a selection of some of my favourite songs from all her albums released so far, plus the odd EP/single track.
Recommendations? I'd go for her first release "Bozo", from 1991, "Joyride" from 1995, and 1999's "Mad Flavor". As ever, info containing track origin & year of release is tagged in the music files and in the download file. I hope you enjoy this latest collection.

  1. Lida Husik - Mickey Minnie (3:57)
  2. Lida Husik - Pyramus and Thisbe (1:49)
  3. Husikesque - Haunt Me (3:21)
  4. Lida Husik - Fade Sister Cool (2:31)
  5. Lida Husik - Hitchhiker (4:30)
  6. Lida Husik - State of the Empire (5:05)
  7. Lida Husik - Nuclear Soul (4:06)
  8. Lida Husik - Marcel (9:40)
  9. Lida Husik - Build a Fire (4:31)
10. Lida Husik & Soma Allpass - The Navigator (3:54)
11. Lida Husik - Million Years (3:08)
12. Lida Husik - Strawberries Are Growing in My Garden (and It's Wintertime) (4:51)
13. Lida Husik - Death Trip (1:51)
14. Lida Husik & Beaumont Hannant - Now I'm Older, Silver Girl (5:16)
15. Lida Husik - Farmhouse (4:25)
16. Lida Husik - Glo Stick (3:56)
17. Lida Husik - Hopi Ants (2:42)
18. Husikesque - All Hands on Deck (5:06)
19. Lida Husik - Waterfall (5:10)

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Françoiz Breut - Sans Souci 1997-2021

 

Bio:
Françoiz Breut (b. 10 Dec 1969, Cherbourg France) is a French singer and professional illustrator, establishing herself as an important player on the French music scene in the 1990s. Breut, who is known for melancholy, introspective lyrics and a smoky, jazz-tinged approach to pop/rock, has inspired a variety of comparisons. She sings primarily in French, with an occasional song in English or Spanish, frequently working with collaborators on music and lyrics. She has been compared to the influential ‘60s ye-ye icon Françoise Hardy -- which is perhaps a comparison that comes too easily -- as well as German singer Nico. She has released 7 studio albums, her self-titled debut album came out in 1997, with her most recent album "Flux Flou de la Foule" being released in 2021.


The idea for making a collection of my favourite Françoiz Breut tracks came about when I dug out an old compilation I'd made several years ago, which featured the track "Si Tu Disais" from her 2nd album "Vingt à Trente Mille Jours". Having neglected her most recent albums over the years I decided to track them down and was quite delighted with how good they all are. So, picking just a few favourites from all 7 albums, plus the odd track released as single only, gave me more than enough material to compile what I consider to be a fair reflection of her continued excellence from her debut release up to the present day. I haven't gone overboard on this like previous anthologies, keeping this to CD length.

Favourite albums by her? I'd go for the aforementioned "Vingt à Trente Mille Jours", and her 2016 album "Zoo", but all 7 are definitely worth your attention. As per usual, info containing track origin & year of release is tagged in the music files and in the download file. I hope you enjoy this latest collection, and stay safe!


  1. La Certitude (3:20)
  2. Terre d'Ombre (3:02)
  3. Si Tu Disais (2:23)
  4. Werewolf (3:47)
  5. À Pic ! (4:27)
  6. Comme des Lapons (3:43)
  7. La Fille des Eaux (4:24)
  8. A l'Unisson (3:10)
  9. Les Jeunes Pousses (4:18)
10. Everyone Kisses a Stranger (2:42)
11. Sans Souci (2:40)
12. Une Ville Allongée Sur le Dos (4:25)
13. L'arbre (2:54)
14. Vicky (3:04)
15. Sous Mes Paupières Closes (3:20)
16. Ma Colère (5:21)
17. La Chirurgie des Sentiments (3:44)
18. Nébuleux Bonhomme (1:43)
19. Deep Sea Diver (3:54)
20. Derrière le Grand Filtre (5:52)
21. La Boîte de Nuit (3:36)
22. Tarifa (3:44)

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American Music Club - Shades of Weariness (1985-2008)

 

Short(ish) bio:
Singer-songwriter Mark Eitzel founded American Music Club in San Francisco in 1983 with guitarist Scott Alexander, drummer Greg Bonnell and bass player Brad Johnson. The band went through many personnel changes before arriving at a stable line up of guitarist Vudi, bassist Danny Pearson, keyboardist Brad Johnson and drummer Matt Norelli. This lineup would change over the next several years, but Eitzel always remained the core of the band in terms of its vocals, lyrics and thematic focus, with Vudi and Pearson accompanying him on guitar and bass.

Their 1985 debut, The Restless Stranger, is widely considered as the first "slowcore" release, establishing the band as major pioneers of the genre and an early influence on post-rock. It was followed by 1987's Engine which saw record producer Tom Mallon as a full-time member. The band earned a solid cult following on the strength of 1988's California and 1989's United Kingdom.

In 1991 American Music Club emerged with the record that is widely considered their masterpiece, Everclear. Critical acclaim attracted the attention of several major labels. Eventually, AMC - then consisting of Eitzel, Vudi, Pearson, multi-instrumentalist Bruce Kaphan and drummer Tim Mooney - signed with Reprise Records in the US and Virgin Records throughout the rest of the world. Mercury followed in 1993 and, despite positive reviews, the album fared poorly on the charts and earned virtually no recognition from radio or MTV. In 1994, AMC issued San Francisco.

The band disbanded soon after San Francisco was released, reuniting in 2003 to record a new album, Love Songs For Patriots, released in 2004. On June 20, 2007, AMC announced a new lineup. Eitzel and Vudi remained, joined by bassist Sean Hoffman and drummer Steve Didelot. AMC's next record, The Golden Age, was released in 2008. Shortly after an extensive tour, the group disbanded and then reformed with a new line-up including Eitzel, Vudi and Steve as well as Dana Schechter on bass and Jonathan Heine on second guitar. This short-lived lineup disbanded for good in 2009.


Here's a band who had more or less slipped my mind, regarding compiling an anthology, despite featuring one of their songs on one of my recent Spaghetti Tree mixes. Once again I have to thank Manerg for introducing me to this band, when he played me their 3rd album "California" which he'd bought soon after it's release. I was pretty much hooked from the first listen, the track Laughingstock standing out for me the most. Manerg and I are both agreed California is our favourite album, maybe because it was the first we heard by them. Or maybe because to us it is a perfect album, not one bad track.

Since my introduction to the band I've bought all their albums before and after California, up to their final (?) album The Golden Age. While the 2 albums after they reunited are both high in quality, they never reached the heights of what were for me their peak period from 1987 to 1993. After California my next favourites are Everclear and Mercury. Also worth checking out are Mark Eitzel's solo albums. I highly recommend his first solo release, Songs of Love, an acoustic performance recorded live at The Borderline in London, England on January 17, 1991, with the exception of the last two tracks which are acoustic studio recordings. Some of his renditions of AMC songs I think are superior to the band versions.

Info containing track origin & year of release is tagged in the music files and in the download file. I hope you enjoy this latest collection, and as always stay safe!

  1. At My Mercy (4:06)
  2. Ex-Girlfriend (2:46)
  3. Firefly (2:50)
  4. In the Shadow of the Valley (6:26)
  5. Tell Yourself (4:02)
  6. Art of Love (3:08)
  7. Dream Is Gone (3:55)
  8. Hollywood 4-5-92 (4:11)
  9. Western Sky (3:26)
10. Home (4:27)
11. Decibels and Little Pills (5:36)
12. Miracle on 8th Street (4:05)
13. I'll Be Gone (3:55)
14. I'm in Heaven Now (3:49)
15. Laughingstock (4:16)
16. The Thorn in My Side Is Gone (alternate version) (4:47)
17. Will You Find Me? (4:06)
18. Heaven of Your Hands (3:00)
19. The Dead Part of You (2:42)
20. Job to Do (5:01)

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Cate Le Bon - Looping Melodies

 

Short bio:
Cate Le Bon (born Cate Timothy on 4 March 1983) is a Welsh musician and producer, now based in Los Angeles. She has released five solo albums, three EPs and a number of singles. Le Bon is singled out by critics for her "beautiful, haunting voice". She described writing and performing music as "important to me, it's just an expression and sometimes it's not necessary to moralise it". Le Bon claimed that "early experiences with a string of pet deaths had a profound lasting effect on me" and informed her initial self-admitted "abnormal fixation with death". She describes her lyric writing as "foraging for words and then everything falls into place".


My interest in Cate Le Bon began after hearing her 2nd album, Cyrk, in 2012. PopMatters.com said about the album: "At its best moments, Cyrk sounds like an edgier version of The Wicker Man soundtrack; the same sense of mystery pervades. Everything about it evokes swinging garden gates, desolate vales, and dusk setting in far too soon."

I'd say my favourite album by her is "Crab Day", released in 2016. Allmusic.com had this to say about it: "For fans of her particular brand of knotty, carnivalesque art-pop, which sounds like an amalgam of Os Mutantes, Nico, Stereolab, Syd Barrett, and Shirley Collins, Crab Day will be a delight." There's certainly elements of the aforementioned artists on the album, but she brings her own uniqueness to it. I've just noticed some reviewer on allmusic also stated "She sounds like Nico if Nico knew how to have fun". Well... not much I can add to that, even though I am a huge fan of Nico's solo work.

As well as her solo releases, Le Bon has collaborated with many artists, most notably with White Fence's Tim Presley, recording 2 albums under the name of DRINKS. Other notable collaborations are EP releases with Bradford Cox and Group Listening. For this collection I concentrated on her solo releases, taking tracks from her 5 albums and 3 EPS, plus her contribution to a Wilco tribute album, the track "Company in My Back". As per usual, info containing track origin & year of release is tagged in the music files and in the download file. I hope you enjoy this latest collection, and stay safe!

  1. It's Not the End (3:19)
  2. Fold the Cloth (5:01)
  3. Wonderful (2:36)
  4. Hwylio Mewn Cyfog (4:23)
  5. Sad Nudes (2:56)
  6. Sisters (4:02)
  7. I'm a Dirty Attic (3:04)
  8. I Just Wanna Be Good (3:00)
  9. Out to Sea (2:36)
10. Baw Waw (2:43)
11. Company in My Back (4:04)
12. Falcon Eyed (2:48)
13. Mirror Me (3:47)
14. The Eiggy Sea (4:36)
15. Home to You (5:25)
16. Crab Day (3:46)
17. Sad Sad Feet (3:33)
18. I Can't Help You (4:00)
19. We Might Revolve (3:46)
20. Here It Comes Again (3:24)
21. Ploughing Out (6:50)

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