GUIDED BY VOICES - 'STYLES WE PAID FOR'

Formats

• GBVI101CD - CD

  767870665929

Details

Styles We Paid For is Guided By Voices’ third album of 2020 and it stands as a testament to this Year In Isolation, reflecting these dark days through Robert Pollard’s prism, with the band sounding as confident and authoritative as ever. The fifteen tracks were recorded remotely during quarantine from five states (Ohio, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Tennessee) to comprise GBV’s ninth album since 2017. Pollard’s searing vocals hold center stage, with endless melodic invention and impeccable phrasing. The massively crescendo-ing opening track “Megaphone Riley” seems to be inspired by a diabolical politician-in-chief, and like an indie-rock Nostradamus, presciently highlights the “Jumbo Virus”, while in the final couplet of the album closer “When Growing Was Simple” Pollard urges “Don’t drink and drive / stay at home and eat”. Other album highlights include include Big Rock standouts like the incredibly hooky “Mr. Child” with the band in full arena rock power swing, while the titular protagonist is mentioned by name no less than sixteen times; the touching beauty and lyrical relevance of “Stops” and the majestically elegant “In Calculus Stratagem”, a bubbly pop rock joyride in “Crash at Lake Placebo”; the subtle current-day technological observations of “They Don’t Play The Drums Anymore” and the sleek “Electronic Windows To Nowhere” (written by a man who owns neither a smart phone or a computer). It’s notably heavy in it’s worldliness, lyrical content, texture, and approach—and rides out like a cinematic journey of the bizarro world one find oneself in. While other bands have been napping, GBV have achieved their second consecutive hat-trick (three albums per annum), and have further cemented their status as rock legends for achieving more in this bleak year then most bands do across their entire careers. fmd carries more GBV and Robert Pollard-related releases; ask your salesperson for details.

Tracks

1. Megaphone Riley
2. They Don?t Play The Drums Anymore
3. Slaughterhouse
4. Endless Seafood
5. Mr Child 6. Stops
7. War Of The Devils
8. Electronic Windows To Nowhere
9. Never Abandon Ship
10. Roll Me To Heaven
11. In Calculus Strategem
12. Crash At Lake Placebo
13. Liquid Kid
14. Time Without Looking
15. When Growing Was Simple

Press

Four features in Rolling Stone.com so far in
2020. Current cover of Big Takeover magazine

Audio & Video

THE SHAKAMOTO INVESTIGATION - 'EXISTENTIAL BREAD'

Formats

• EEASY002 - LP (COLOURED)

  5060446125212

Details

*Splatter Vinyl* Eeasy are pleased as punch to bring a band that isn’t the label owner’s to the forefront of the operations, The Shakamoto Investigation have made one of the single most exciting/shoutiest/mental/daft/tightly wound/aggy/fast/groovy/funky/scrappy/sinewy/robust/obese/obtuse punk records of the year. Bonus points for being the three funniest ding dongs you could ever hope to run into with half a case of stella. 12 tracks get booted out in 33 minutes, no brainers all round. Formed in 2017 there abouts as abit of a piss take to each other; Sam, Jake and Ellis have taken all the best bits of weirdo 80s hardcore and underground independent music (and had a laugh while doing it) and repurposed it into a relevant and totally current record, no doubt facilitated by going into the same studio as Sleaford Mods to cut this LP. There’s the scratchy-chicken grease guitar work of the Minutemen rubbing shoulders with the wild eyed abandon of Butthole Surfers. The record oozes a dance party vibe of Shopping, Big Boys and No Wave crossover acts like Bodega, The Slits and the Contortions but perhaps more importantly it stands with the contemporaries of weirdo Thrash/Devo/Pub Rock crossover noise more famously blasted out by Coneheads, Uranium Club and Chubby and the Gang. Easy made up our minds to sign them for their first LP after viewing exactly the first 15 minutes of a gig. What is existential bread you ask? These days ‘punk’ is some sort of £8 smashed avocado on sourdough, this record is a fried egg sandwich on white Kingsmill… and we all know which one you’d prefer really.

Tracks

Press

Audio & Video

DAVID ALLRED - 'FELT THE TRANSITION'

Formats

• ERATP137LP - LP

  3700551783304

Details

Two years after the release of his acclaimed Erased Tapes debut, The Transition — named #17 Album of 2018 by The Sunday Times — Californian singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist David Allred returns with a solo piano perspective on the album, aptly titled Felt The Transition — out December 18. "Felt The Transition is a new minimalist solo piano perspective on my experimental chamber folk album previously released in 2018, called The Transition. This music is reinterpreted on my 114 year old upright piano which was very kindly donated to me by my friend Adam Selzer who previously ran a recording studio in Portland called Type Foundry. This piano is very sentimental to me as it was used by a handful of my favorite musicians on their albums over the past 20 years, namely Peter Broderick’s ‘How They Are‘ and ‘Two Balloons’. Somehow in a wild twist of fate, this piano would end up in my living room as my own and I couldn’t imagine a greater musical instrument best friend. Felt The Transition was made with a homemade felt setup used to muffle the sound into a warmer quality which also accentuates the wooden creaky noises of the antique piano, which I love so much. After spending hours at a time getting lost in the beautiful sound of this piano, I started learning a few songs from The Transition with it. I was kindly encouraged by my girlfriend to interpret the whole album on piano even if just for her, so I did and it eventually found a home on Erased Tapes. Thanks to Courtney, Robert, friends at Erased Tapes, Adam, Peter, Rich, Kalani and Steph. Made with love and gratitude felt." — David Allred Kept in their original track order, from the opening chords of Scoop Troop to the debut’s standout piece The Garden, each composition gains a completely new light when performed on solo piano. For Catherine E. Coulson came about after David watched all of Twin Peaks in one block, which inspired him to write a wild punt for the new season’s soundtrack, a tribute to the actress who played the infamous Log Lady. After opening for the legendary English ensemble and his now label colleagues Penguin Cafe at London’s Royal Festival Hall in 2017, David decided to write a song For the Penguins. And it’s not hard to imagine it being played by a group of twelve rather than just by himself, especially after Peter contributed additional strings on the original version. All of a sudden we feel that it’s in fact the less known pieces, like the album closer Poet Tree that make for an equally strong entry point to this new record of solo piano songs. Felt The Transition will be available on vinyl and digitally from December 18, 2020.

Tracks

1 Scoop Troop (Solo Piano)
2 For Catherine E. Coulson (Solo Piano)
3 Randy and Susan (Solo Piano)
4 The Transition (Solo Piano)
5 Impending Imperative Change (Solo Piano)
6 The Garden (Solo Piano)
7 The Mirror of Time (Solo Piano)
8 For the Penguins (Solo Piano)
9 For Only All (Solo Piano)
10 Poet Tree (Solo Piano)

Press

"This is music of transcendent beauty?
#17 Album of 2018 ? The Sunday Times

Audio & Video

DEAD SHEERAN - 'NATIONAL DISGRACE'

Formats

• CASE02 - LP

  5060446125229

Details

'the commentary of the worst reality show you can imagine...Britain' Following the recent self-titled mini album, Dead Sheeran returns with his full debut album 'A National Disgace'. Once again Dead looks at the way the country continues to spiral downwards into oblivion in his usual satirical and tourette-like way. Pianos and strings play over harsh basslines and hip hop beats, and punk rock fuses with video game soundtracks, while the lyrics paint a dark picture of the situation we find ourselves in. The album was started in the last throes of Lockdown 1, with songs such 'Can Things Get Any Worse?' 'The Problem With This Country' and the government's failed attempts at getting UK furloughed workers to get out and harvest fruit in 'Pick For Britain' narrating the crazy days of Summer 2020. As lockdown eased, and society started to erupt, tunes such as 'Kicking Off In The Streets, and 'Keep Your Distance' started to come into play. Self awareness, social media abuse, litter louts and right wing mates all come under fire over the duration of this 11 track album, with the moods changing as regular as the F-bomb gets dropped. Essential listening for these strange times. Dead Sheeran aka Paul Catten writes, produces, mixes and plays all instruments on this. From programming beats, fiddling with synths to recording himself playing Pac-man, Dead pushes further musically than the previous release. The influences of the Sleafords, The Fall, The Streets and the many punk outfits that influence him still rumble in the distance, but make no mistake, this is a Dead Sheeran record. He has carved out his own sound and vibe on 'A National Disgrace', and as Dead will tell you, this is only the beginning…

Tracks

Press

#3 Louder Than War Albums of 2020

'probably the best piece of minimalist, gut-level 'protest music' which has appeared as a result of lockdown'......'laugh out loud funny but deathly serious at the same time' ? Louder Than War

'the perfect social commentary for the world in 2020' ? The Razors Edge

'one of the year's best releases' ? justsomepunksongs

'like Lily Allen if she was an old bloke from the Midlands' Twitter

Audio & Video