It’s true. I couldn’t resist adding another column in hopes of turning you cats and kittens on to more music. This is going to focus on discs primarily from the 80s (and early 90s) that have long been hard to find or sort of fell through the cracks of the collective consciousness. They will also be true records in that you should own the whole thing and not download just a few songs. To make life easy, I will focus on spending some of your eMusic credits. The service is still spotty with new releases but an amazing array of back catalogues have come on-line and digging through ebay or gemm has now been simplified to single clicks at a fraction of the cost. Sit back and enjoy!
New Fast Automatic Daffodils “Pigeonhole”
Arriving late to the Manchester scene just as the post punk greys were being brushed aside for drug-induced waves of sunshine, the New FADS were willing to get behind the rhythmic notion of the day only if they could keep the Manc version of artiness on board. Far more sympathetic to Factory Records days of A Certain Ratio and the like rather than contemporaries like Happy Mondays or Northside, the band found itself signed to Belgium’s Play It Again Sam as well as Mute Records with their combined rich history of fostering offbeat rhythm machines.
Vocalist Andy Spearpoint’s bespectacled growl shares a sensibility with past barkers such as The Pop Group’s Mark Perry, without the sloganeering. Guitarist Dolan Hewison drifts in and out of the songs sometimes making you question how familiar he is with his instrument of choice (an old b-side features a sloppy lead nicking The Cure’s Boys Don’t Cry) and other times hitting sublime passages one can only dream of. Below all of this is the driving bass of Justin Crawford and the busy drumming of Perry Saunders complimented by the percussion of Icarus Wilson-Wright. The group has a special way with a groove, which is most evident here on their debut full length. In a lot of ways with their bongos and melodica and dark corners, they were a dance band live for people that swear they hate dance music.
Opening with “Get Better” and its cutting guitar slabs of distorted funk and Spearpoint’s short lyrical bursts, the audience is immediately at attention. That’s always been my favorite part of this disc is that it acts as a perfect setlist in pacing which has become a truly lost art. Now that they have you, the group spaces out a little with the dub-infected bass climb of “Fishes Eyes” as it travels through heavy reverb to stunning distorted guitar and funk bass counterpoints and back again. Part of the joy in New FADS is having a rhythm section so efficient and ready to groove and jam and a singer and guitarist so happy to cut them off. Spearpoint whips the band up for “Working For Him” making the most of his short sentences. “Pt 4” goes full on with the dub workout and spacey feeling punctuated by snare rolls.
The band’s best known song, “Big” saunters in with a vocal hook and a mid tempo shuffle build that sounds as sweet today as it did back then. Spearpoint’s “the desert grows three miles a year, it just grows, it just grows. I put my pain in a jar, it will be full tomorrow” manages to resonate differently with everyone that hears it. Breaking the vibe with the skittering rush of “You Were Lying When You Said You Loved Me” they slowly build into “Amplifier.” With its odd guitar practice style noodles and light percussion you can see it all then building the crowd into a frenzy with each shout of “go!” Psychedelic waves of backwards guitar flow through “Reprise” but “Partial” puts things more in your face with truly barked vocals and slashing guitar over a busy bubbling bass throb. “Penguins” keeps in that vein while being a little more laid back in its percussion workout.
The end result is a unique collection of influences that makes for one of the greatest dark dance infected records of all-time. That the band seems to have been erased from the past due to a focus on the trippy fun vibe of Happy Mondays and the e-loving “Madchester” scenesters, makes finding this record all the more important. You can spot the influences, but it ultimately feels like it exists in it’s own timeframe. Recent focus on beats as well as substance from some of the top indie rockers should mean that this record should find some friends in your collection as well.
RIYL: The Rapture, LCD Soundsystem, A Certain Ratio, Liquid Liquid, Happy Mondays evil dark vibe.
john, why no link to an mp3? it would be better for me, personally. mmk, thx.
August 5, 2008 at 1:25 pmFor the foreseeable future this column will have discs available on eMusic which was intentional in that it is a super cheap way to get them and also so that you can sample all of the tracks so head over and take a listen (and then come back to byt of course…)
August 5, 2008 at 1:56 pmi are dum. post a link to the record of choice on emusic. tanks.
August 5, 2008 at 2:07 pmhttp://www.emusic.com/album/Pigeonhole-Pigeonhole-MP3-Download/10965718.html
Next week I will link in the article - promise!
August 5, 2008 at 2:36 pmfirst, i should mention that the mini-photo introducing the article is a detail from the cover of (fellow mancunian) northside’s “chicken rhythms” album. i wish you reviewed that, instead. “take 5″ is one of the great lost songs of the 1990s.
now, some miscellaneous nfads facts:
a) nfads started off on manchester’s playtime records, a year after that same imprint launched the career of inspiral carpets (though the carpets did manage a flexi previous to their debut 7 on playtime).
b) regrettably, their first ep was not “music is shit.” that was the title of their second ep. how great would that have been? instead, they debuted with their “lions ep.” ah well.
c) i believe they signed to pias after the collapse of playtime’s distribution deal with red rhino. not entirely sure about that.
d) they had one session with legendary producer martin hannett, who produced their best track, the sublime “get better.” a certain ratio and apb are the right touchstones for this supremely wonderful bit of white-boy funk. the band thought they could do better, and re-recorded it themselves. they were wrong.
now, not to criticize, but do they really deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as the rapture, lcd soundsystem or liquid liquid? perhaps pre-bummed happy mondays (does anyone remember how great their first three 12″s were?), but i don’t really think they’ve stood the test of time. for that genre, it’s far more rewarding to explore the careers of acr, apb, fire engines, pigbag and medium medium. otherwise, you might as well laud the high and the wendy’s next (although, “the sun is gonna shine for me soon” was a great song).
August 5, 2008 at 4:50 pmThanks William! This column will focus just on the release at hand with some minor background but more info is always welcome. It will also feature full albums of quality material so alas even though I like a song or two a great deal there will be no appearances by Northside, The Wendys, Mock Turtles or other early 90s Manc pop combos of that sort.
Clearly the band were influenced by Hannett’s production on past records and for a first long player they did a stunning job here recording it themselves. NOTHING sounded like this at the time.
RIYL’s (recommended if you like) isn’t putting the band in the same category as much as using those bands as a portal into trying something new. You and I know Pigbag (who could find their way to this very space…) but I don’t think that would help nudge the curious masses.
August 5, 2008 at 5:28 pmHave you guys kissed yet?
August 5, 2008 at 6:04 pmGreat write-up John! Love the idea for the column too.
I don’t really know the New FADs. I was never huge into Madchester, so I missed out on a lot of those bands. I’ll have to look into these guys…
August 6, 2008 at 10:15 am
Thanks for the memory. I totally forgot about this band… i mean it. Thank you!
August 5, 2008 at 12:58 pm