whoa

Giraffes? Giraffes! have put out a new album WITH SINGING (OMG WHAT) and it's VERY TASTY. https://giraffesgiraffes.bandcamp.com/album/death-breath No word on vinyl or if ever there will be but never say never…

To chime in, my copy of Air's Moon Safari on GITD is totally fine, absolutely no noise and faultless.

https://firetalkrecs.com/shop/strange-ranger-no-light-in-heaven-expanded Vinyl for that awesome mixtape. Got a feeling this won't distro well so won't be able to grab this.

MATH POP time. Which I think just means "just bit emo/indie with some fancy, angular guitar work now and again' but think it sort of fits the bill. Is it the BEST? No idea! I'm just keeping the thread alive! https://fesband.bandcamp.com/album/with-regards-from-home

F I N A L L Y

ALBUM OF THE LIFE TIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD ALERT https://www.waxbodega.com/categories/standards

Finally https://www.rockstargames.com/newswire/article/89o35925k44ak1/celebrate-the-10-year-anniversary-of-max-payne-3 HEALTH's fantastic OST for Max Payne 3 is incoming

Anthony could easily put this stuff into another circa record. But that comes with that core band and sound. Where's the fun in that? He has control on the sound and performers on a solo album. I'm not mega pumped about this, didn't really dig the other solo album beyond the first couple tracks and that Fucking Whatever one was an earache, but new single is promising and will keep an ear out for whatever he wails over. Side note, I like that caracara feature. That was great.

Any clips/singles anywhere? It'll be interesting to hear this record again, but being played by a band who's more on top of their game and hopefully production to match. FC back in the day was classic but listening to it now is a bit drab as the production hasn't aged well.

Well, it is just that. People love the album, but it got mixed reviews from critics and possibly the label did nothing to help them with it (also this release being the last on Beggars is a telltale sign of that).

Need to blame someone so let's blame… *spins wheel* Adele. Fuck sake, Adele, and fuck your label ploughing all that money into your bland tones, clogging up plants with rush priority presses when OUR PRIORITIES ARE PONO.

Already upgraded the London show to a bigger venue. I'm so stoked for them.

Same. I'm at the pub refreshing it. It's ruining my life!* *(Not rly)

Reeeaaally hope the UK distro gets this as the shipping is $76 alone.

UK/EU link https://archive.beggars.com/oceansize-everyone-into-position/ ABOUT TIME. Really hope they press the EPs but I've yet to see a rocking horse take a poo!

https://found.ee/tbs-tayf20-r It's signed? 🥲

Fucking ridiculous how much I need that polo shirt!

Just having the biggest flash back to seeing these guys supporting either Less Than Jake or Hundred Reasons, but couldn't find anything on them after as they never really broke the UK. Happy to have been reminded to finally check them out. 20 years later!

Because they're part-time delivery drivers when they're back home or that their albums come out on time? I'm always willing to hear new Foals, and I know you can't ride one sound out for the rest of your career, but everything post Total Life Forever really does nothing for me. And lyrically some of the songs are are bonkers in lacking anything real connection to them. But I will always check out their records. Let's hope this one brings me back on board.

Oh woe, looks like I'll need to part ways with one of my helicopters to afford all these special, yet reasonable priced, records vinyl LPs.

Little Belgium post-rock goodness. Leaning in direction of Vasudeva or a bunch of other bands which I can't remember right now off the top of the dome. Twinkly, good vibes, some huge moments in there, but finding this one sticks with me. https://endlessdive.bandcamp.com/

So, got my vinyl in (Rough Trade split cover, green lp) and spinning it finally, having spent a lot of time listening to this over the past few weeks prior to receiving the LP too. What does everyone else think? This version of the packaging baffles me a little: I love the split opening front cover, but it's not inspiring me to open it again when the picture inside is, like, iPhone 3 murky smoosh. A similar image is printed inside the cover sleeve, much like some of Radiohead's LPs, and it works like that! I don't know, it's a cool package idea, just wished it was used a bit more effectively, but maybe another artist could take that cover further. I'm hearing there's pressing issues with the red variant, so happy I waited it out and didn't get that variant. Packaging aside, 11:11 feels way more solid compared to Marigold. Marigold didn't grab me so much, I probably need to give it a bit more time, but I also need to get over the fact that Skylight is so good and Marigold is not Skylight 2.0 and is a different collection of material. I think one track that hits me like a brick is Respirate, they are playing with different ambience here without go too far away from their core sound, it's simple like putting in that droning synth, but the impact it builds when it hits into that chorus is huge. I think the only thing that leaves me cold is 11th Hour, it's a bit of an abrupt end to a song that didn't have a chance to go anywhere.

<song nowhere near finished, but band doing a quiet moment> WOOOOOO YEEAAHHH WOOOOOOOOOOO FUCK YEAH BAND I LOVE YOU WOOOOO

First play through: Thought I'd play this whilst I worked and ended up not doing any work and just had to sit there listening to this. It's brilliant. Like 10/10 AOTY brilliant and fuck me it's February and let's call it that now. If by listening to the singles you imagined this to be the more accessible BC,NR album, then yes you're right. I also think this is more successful, possibly commercially, but musically it's does everything I like being adventurous and huge, but not ever vast or sprawling to make it a boring hour. I'm glad that there is more beauty within Ants From Up There than on For The First Time; on FTFT, you had to sweat it out during the sections of blood boiling rage and intensity, it was more challenging because you'd have some uncompromising ferocity that was your sole and immediate attention. It makes FTFT a difficult album for me to spin, I really need to be in the mood to listen to it because it gets in my headspace and I just end up sitting there, helpless. Ants From Up There is NOT like that, it's more gentle and pure (probably because it seems to be lyrically more relationship focussed, than themes on aspiring uppermiddle-class british cuntery), but that BC,NR energy is focussed differently into being bigger and better than FTFT. We’re all working on ourselves, And we’re praying that the rest don’t mind how much we’ve changed. So if you see me looking strange with a fresh style I'm still not feeling that great. I hope Isaac gets the time he needs to get into a creative space again, either with BC,NR or elsewhere, but I look forward to whatever both parties put out (maybe something together in the future). But I should get back to work now. Fuck. EDIT: I think today is bandcamp friday so you might as well grab this from their bandcamp today https://blackcountrynewroad.bandcamp.com/album/ants-from-up-there

This one's important to me as that record got me into the band, so will be all over a Ten Stories CE. Especially since my copy has seen a lot of action, wouldn't mind another copy to give it a break.