Banquet Cru

Okay, may be a little bit of a late pass on this one, but not to worry as it's a pretty great LP and I'm sure people are still wanting to talk about this one. 

Gnarwolves S/T LP. This came out on Tangled Talk and Big Scary Monsters here in the UK, and Banquet Records got an exclusive colourway. This is the Banquet exclusive on Clear Green w/ Clear and White Splatter /300. I think there was an /200 variant, but I missed out and grabbed this instead. Annoying, as up to this point I have the rarest 1st press colour of all the 7''s. But I'm not overly fussed, this colour is super pretty and matches the artwork better than the other variants I reckon. 

B-Side / Back Cover. Skulls and Skateboards all over the place here. Much the same with the Playlounge EP; the centre labels have been designed so that the hole doubles as an eye socket, spooky. The back cover is a cool montage thing, with photos that go all the way back to Fun Club. 

No insert here, as the dust cover is printed. I like this for once though; as this is printed on a decent stock card as opposed to those plastic-y dust covers that stick to your records and are a little prone to seam splits. I assume this photo was taken in either in Brighton or Cornwall. 

No lyrics here, which is a shame. Instead we get treated to a spiel about the Great Lizard Xenu and The New World Order. It's a pretty funny read, but seriously I want some lyrics. The thank-you's are a pretty nice read though; as opposed to an endless list of people, there's a bit of explanation into why these people are being thanked.

Just a couple of quick things about the cover. For one, the text (although you can't really see) is printed with some kind of texture or gloss, so it shines a little and stands out a bit more. Secondly, the cover is fully signed under the skulls. Banquet have a habit of doing this for selected new releases; especially if they had a hand in releasing them or if the band in question plays a gig in a Banquet affiliated venue or an in-store performance. It's cool, and doesn't cost any extra (well, I think it's 1p extra) so why not right?

Finally, this is what it looks like held up to the light. It really is quite a great looking record and I'm glad I jumped on this variant. There are still a few on Banquet's online store too; you should maybe grab it. 

Cru

Teenage Naiclub

As a rule I don't trade, I don't like doing it. I am a compulsive hoarder I know, but I really am quite fond of things that way. However, I settled on a trade with good guy Richard Heaven a couple of weeks back on a double I had, and now he has received his end of the trade, I can finally talk about this! 

Art is Hard Records presents The Pizza Club. There are four different membership levels to The Pizza Club, but only one of them promises a physical product, and costs £125, which is a bit balls in my humble opinion. I mean, look it up if you like, but the idea is that every other week, a different Pizza Club CD goes up for sale, along with a download for the other packages. The physicals are all limited to 5(?) per release, and with one going to THE ONE (£125 membership) that means only 3 or 4 see the light of day. Really cool if you have one, real shitty if you don't. Which is exactly how I felt when I found out who was responsible PZZ06... 

Yup. Nai Harvest. Didn't have a clue about this release, and it was long gone before I even knew what it was. Plus, the song (yup - one song release) is 'Ain't That Enough', which is a Teenage Fanclub cover. Plus, it's on 'Songs From Northern Britain' which is a pretty remarkable album, and Nai Harvest really do this song justice. I think Dragon Soop may be an energy drink, according to the internet. Maybe some in-joke I'm not in on? This sticker is inside the box, look below for a better idea. 

To be fair, it is a really sweet package! An actual pizza box. This was shipped in a 12'' mailer to me, packed super well (with a really smart old End of a Year sticker, Cleavers 7'' and Pornography For Cowards issue - Cheers duder!), but I have no clue how these arrived to people straight from the label? Simple design, but there's something about it that just works; and it just shows how much effort indie labels are still putting in; especially when the idea is a little kooky to begin with...

 I do like that not all of the Pizza boxes are in the Pizza Club packages, and can be bought separate. I'm sure it pissed a few people off that they didn't make more of these, but in typical hoarder sense, I don't spend too much time thinking about that now I have one. On the upside, the label have been sweeties and you can get the song for a free download? 

Finally, a quick look at the CD itself. The art was drawn by Lew Currie, who plays drums in Nai Harvest. It seems a little different to his normal kind of work, but it's great all the same. Did I say a while back I was going to do an entry on his zine? I should do that, I might do an out and out zine entry? Got a few cool ones. The boxes are not numbered. I think that Darren Harvey at Dog Knights Productions has one of these? Aside from that, I'm not sure where the others got to...

There we go. Something that's highly impractical to fit anywhere, something that seems a little over the top for one song and definitely something that's annoyed a few fan boys. But I love it. Art is Hard also did a Postcard Club that was really quite brilliant, you should check that out. 

(P)in(k)vitation to Hold

Secret Voice doing something a little different again here, I like it. Newmoon are a band from Belgium, and I believe the band members had something to do with Midnight Souls. They certainly ain't sounding like that now. They have gone 'soft', but in the best possible way so it's all cool. Secret Voice have currently released 8 7''s, a cassette tape and a zine to my knowledge. That makes ten releases, and not one 12'' or LP to the label's name. But so far everything has been gold and I'm going to love anything Jeremy Bolm (label guy of Secret Voice and singer for Touche Amore) is involved with I guess? Also, this is the first Euro release for the label.

On to the record. Pink vinyl /1000. There is also a Yellow copy on sale, also /1000. This makes up the 1st press. I'll probably buy a 2nd copy of this too, as the artwork is incredible and I feel I'm spinning this copy to death already. Nick Steinhardt artwork too, although the photography is credited to someone else (Giel Torfs - also a member of Newmoon). I have banged on about Nick's design work in the past on this blog, but seriously the dude is incredible. Outside of TA, he has worked on Deafheaven stuff, Balance and Composure album art, the list goes on and on and on. Plus, he has just about the most incredible work ethic, with a real passion and respect for the work he does. See look, I'm fangirling / getting sidetracked again... 

B-Side / Back Cover. As opposed to an insert, all the lyrics and credits are on the back cover. This is cool, but having to rotate the sleeve and follow the text was a bit of a game at first. Plus, I have terrible eyesight and can't follow anything unless it's black text on a white background essentially. It looks really great though, and I love that the artwork runs thematically through the whole release. Oh, another cool thing; all the 7'' releases from Secret Voice have the same centre label layout (to my knowledge). The font and circular graphic around the label is on every Secret Voice 7'' I own; obviously with different text and patterns or colour schemes. I'm a sucker for house style too, and stuff like this really makes a label stand out in my eyes. 

Close up of the centre label and colourway, look at how pink that pink is! Also, just another quick design detail I nearly missed; the inside of the sleeve is pink. I'm assuming this was the work of Steinhardt, as it goes well with the colour scheme, and a similar thing was done with Is Survived By (covered quite a few posts back). If I buy another copy, I'll keep you updated, and I really am loving this more and more with each listen. 

SV008v

Flowers in Chains

Okay, so although Dad Punchers and Touche Amore are my main collection focus, there are a few bands out there that I do aim to grab anything and everything I can. Be it variants, tour presses, cassette runs etc. and one band that has had me captivated from day one is Chain of Flowers. I have every physical output so far. It wasn't too difficult as there aren't variants as such, but all the same I'm pretty happy with it and will try to keep it current.

Kicking things off is the 'Chained / Spit' cassette. This was self released through the singer of the band's label (Swine Language). Clear cassettes /100. 

The art folds out fully to show this weird photograph. It's a little smudgy, a little Instagram friendly, but I really dig how it looks. 

Reverse of the J-Card. Although it's not creased like a J-Card so you have to weigh it down to photograph with any real clarity. As a debut release, it's pretty solid and really lends itself to a cassette release. 

Insert. Chained lyrics. 

Spit lyrics. These are folded and slotted between the cassette and the J-Card, making things a bit of a tight squeeze. But I always moan when releases come without a lyric sheet. so it's all cool I guess? 

Second up is the 'Sleep' 7''. This was my first exposure to the band, and from here I was beyond hooked. Sleep is an incredible song, and Clutching The Night is a perfect B-Side; giving the limelight to the title track, but completely holding it's own all the same.

B-Side / Back Cover. Much the same with Playlounge's 'Thrash Magic' EP, this was pressed by Fear and Records. This means that there is no insert and no dust cover. But I don't mind, you get what you need. I like the art on the centre labels. Inside the letters is a floral pattern which works nice with the stark black contrast. I think these were /300. All on black. 

Not too long after the vinyl release, Chain of Flowers (Swine Language) made a tour press of Sleep on cassette. No bonus tracks or anything like that, just something cool for you if you were there. I was not, but thankfully leftover copies surfaced online through the band's bigcartel store. All clear shells /70. 

The J-Card folds out as such, and there is no print on the inside. The artwork is very reminiscent of the Chained / Spit release, which sticks out to me. It forms a nice continuation, like they were part of the same time frame even though they were not. Stuff like Self Defense Family's 'Island Series' is a similar idea, and I'm a real sucker for that. 

Again, there is an insert with lyrics jammed inside the case too which is helpful, as the vinyl release had no such thing. Plus, with these recordings especially, there is a 'wall of noise' kind of thing which drowns out the vocals a little, so this comes in handy. 

No lust for tomorrow. No lust for the light. 

Next up is the 'Arches Session' cassette tape. Again, this was released through Swine Language, but there is a radical change in artwork here as you can see. The shells are now black and come with printed labels which is also something new. Although I like that they're keeping things fresh by changing it up, there's something here that seems a little less DIY, despite it still being self released. I don't know, I like it and I don't... All on black /200.

B-Side / Back Case. This is the first time I photographed the B-Side of any of their cassettes, as up until this point, there was nothing to identify A/B Sides apart unless it was played. Here though we are treated to a B-Side label. 

Also, this is the first time you get a band photo with a release. This J-Card insert provides some info on the recording and song credits alongside a full list of band members. No lyrics though which is a real shame, as the vocals are buried really deep in the mix.

Lastly, we have the vinyl release of the 'Arches Session'. This was put out through Bedside Records in the US and is /300. All on black. 

A-Side. The centre labels are really simple, and tell you all you need to know, including the RPM and song length. 

B-Side / Back Cover. The art, much like the cassette is an all over print type deal with a little cutaway to slip the record in and out. The sleeve is also on some weird textured kind of card, a little similar to Garrod & Lofthouse sleeves. No dust cover. 

Although this was put out through Bedside in the US, 50 copies made it over to the UK for the band to sell. These particular copies came with a hand numbered photograph / art card. I ended up with number 24/50. 

This is how it arrived, and it's in a poly sleeve which is a nice bonus these days. The poly sleeve also came stickered which I thought was really cool. I don't know why stuff like this pleases me so much, just the extra effort I guess. 

There we go. That's it so far. Two 7''s, 3 cassettes and only 6 songs. Well, 5 songs and a cover. I really like everything this band has come out with, but I have played these songs nearly to death. I have heard they're working on a full length though. I'm anxious to hear what this band come out with when it's not in 2 song bursts. They're playing a few UK dates with Nothing in November too. I'm going to do my best to make it to that London gig. 

HMV Promos.

I think it's fair to say, (for the most part) people who collect records are either not a huge fan of HMV, or are simply indifferent to it. And whilst I wouldn't say I'm a huge fan myself, they have churned out a couple of fairly cool promo records this year in support of two artists that made a pretty big impression on me, and still do today. 

First up is the 'World Peace is None of Your Business' promo 10'' by Morrissey. It's no secret that I love Morrissey, and so when this started popping up on my Instagram feed on release day, I knew I had to get one. Small side story: I rang my local (well, it's like 40 miles away) HMV to ask if they had any in stock and if they would reserve a copy 'til I could get into town a day or two later. They told me the stock, made apologies for not being allowed to reserve and assured me there would most likely be copies leftover. I got in the following day, and after a quick peruse started sweating when I saw not a single copy in the store. I went to the counter and asked what the deal was, and was informed some arsehole went into the store the previous evening at closing and bought a bunch of copies. When they tried to limit him to one copy, he got a bunch of mates to grab them too. Utter dick hole. The guy was as apologetic as you could get and said they didn't have any left. I was about to leave, when he asked if I rang in the day before; and long story short he salvaged a copy and left it in the racks behind the counter as a reserved item. I know that can get the dudes there in a little bit of trouble, so it was really cool of them to do that and super appreciated. 

B Side / Back Cover. Plain white sleeves are always cool for promos. The poly sleeve it came in was quite nice too, but the anti theft tags they put on stock in HMV ripped the plastic to the point of no return. Completely unavoidable but still annoying. 

And this is the sticker causing a fuss! People seem to be getting their knickers in a twist over pressing info. Some copies are stickered, some are not. Some copies are numbered, some are not. Some come with an orange sticker on the poly sleeve, mine did not. The numbers seem to end at 1000, so my guess is that there are somewhere between 1000 and 2000 kicking around. Either some were numbered and others were not, and 1000 is the overall number. Or 1000 were numbered, and others were sent out at random. People in the US have hand numbered copies without the sticker. UK people (me for one) have one with a US FBI warning, but no number. And fuck knows about this sticker business! All I know is that HMV was the only place for these in the UK, and that where copies ended up outside the UK was a bit random. What copies ended up where doesn't interest me too much, but it's fun watching people get really weird about it! I mean, the songs on here are all on the LP anyway. Oh to be a collector. 

Close up of the label. You really don't need to see the B-Side label as aside from the side identifier and track-listing they are pretty identical. It's odd seeing the Harvest logo, as the partnership with the label was so short. Oh well, it's Moz' world I guess. 

So that was promo number one. It was a little bit of a sweat to get, but totally worth it, I'm happy to have anything by Mozza in my collection. On to the next; a band that never hit me as hard as some kids, but I can't say they weren't important. My Dad was HUGE into this band when I was young, so I almost love it by extension. 

Oasis. Acquiesce. Single sided promotional 12''. Picked this up in Manchester (Trafford Centre HMV) a couple of weeks ago on my birthday. This is a bit of an odd one. Acquiesce is my favourite song by Oasis, without a doubt. However it wasn't a single really. It was a B-Side to 'Some Might Say' and was later released on 'The Masterplan' which was a B-Sides compilation thing. Even weirder, this is to coincide with the anniversary of '(What's the Story) Morning Glory?' which although it is being released later this month, the original release of WTSMG? was in 1995. Why are they not doing a 20 year anniversary like with Definitely Maybe? Why this song in the first place, it wasn't on either album? Not that I'm complaining, I would just like some answers. I mean, there was a promo of Acquiesce kicking around in 1995, on Creation Records (which is now a massive ballache to find). The layout to the this and the old promo are nearly identical, but that's the only reasoning I can think of? 

B-Side / Back Cover. What can I say? Plain B-Side, plain white label, plain sleeve. It doesn't even look like a record at this point. 

Close up of the centre label. If you know what the Creation copies looked like, you can see the similarity is ridiculous. The main difference is the Big Brother labels, as opposed to the Creation markings. Also, this says 2014 as opposed to 1995. And although I have no clue on pressing, I can guarantee there's a few more than the 500 odd pressed in 1995. You know what, Creation were an absolute bastard for this. Make a great release, make it impossible to find if you weren't there on the day way back when. I would have been either two or three when this originally surfaced; so I wasn't exactly in the queue at the local store. This goes some way as to explain my lack of 'Songs From Northern Britain' by Teenage Fanclub or 'Loveless' by My Bloody Valentine on vinyl too. 

Finally, this is a card that was found in the sleeve. On the reverse is a barcode promotion to get £2 off the (What's the Story) re-issue in store at HMV. 

Two really smart promos, two legendary Mancunian artists. Not much more to talk about. It's been a bit of long one. Thanks for reading!

Reasonably Priced Quiet Things

Let's get right into it. I'm a Brand New fan. This is a band that still continues to polarise opinion. Some people think they are the greatest thing in the world, others think that they are for softs. However, one massively undisputed fact is that if you want it on wax, it ain't coming cheap. Well, normally. But one day the God's smiled down on me and I bought this for a more than reasonable price from a more than reasonably guy. It was also on my wedding anniversary which was nice too. I honestly though it was going to be some sick wind up, until it popped through the door. 

Brand New - The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows - Sorepoint / Triple Crown Records. 1st press - clear green vinyl / 500. Artwork was handled by a collective called The Heads of State, who have done a bunch of work for bands including Iron and Wine. 

B-Side // Back Cover. The live version of The No Seatbelt Song is insanely good. 

There's not really a great amount to say or see on the subject past that point. This came out at an odd time for vinyl, where your local HMV would have literally 25+ of these sat on a shelf for a quid each and they still weren't going anywhere. It was weird to think about in retrospect, but it certainly isn't happening anymore, this is often fetching £25 and upwards now, which for a two song 7'' is bloody mental. Would I love more Brand New records in my collection? Sure, I'm just not willing to pay stupid prices for them, so I'm certainly out of the game for grabbing Deja Entendu until they re-press it. It's a shame, and I should really have started grabbing vinyl copies when I was busy buying the CD's instead. 

Tapes Mistaken For Stars

It's fair to assume that Planes Mistaken For Stars are a relatively large band for their genre right? Sticking out prominently in the No Idea roster (well, that's where I first heard them). I got a copy of Mercy as I really liked the artwork, and from there I've slowly grabbed what I can. Which brings us up to speed I guess. 

Planes Mistaken For Stars S/T debut EP. Originally released on Deep Elm on CD and 10'', and now released on cassette for the first time. Released through Bird Dialect and Intensive Purposes. Dark Blue shells and /100. 

B-Side / Back Cover. That logo of the dude (presumably) flying is so nasty. Intensive Purposes Number 8. 

Inside the J-Card. I like that the text still refers to the photo being used on the 10''. Definitely a cool photo, and from what I know of the original release, the art has stayed fairly true to the original. No track-list here is a bit lame though. The sound holds up so well though, thinking that it's somewhere in the range of 15 years old. 

Next up is Knife in the Marathon / Live at CBGB's. Again, I think this is the first time KITM has been given a tape release. Black tapes /100. 

B Side // Back Shell. That PMFS 'Skull' logo has been around for a while now right? I think that logo is sprayed on the B-Side of the vinyl version of this release. Even though these were released together (the tapes) I like that the shells and cases are different. All black cases are cool anyway. 

At least this release has a track-listing right? Intensive Purposes Number 9. Live at CBGB's is exclusive to this release and hasn't been previously released to my knowledge? I don't think there was much of a gap between these two releases back in the day, maybe a year or less? 

I'm glad that these have become available again to buy new. I don't think either of these have seen a new pressing since their original release (well, there may have been a Euro release possibly). Furthermore, I can't believe that these are still available on the Bird Dialect Bigcartel...

EDIT:: 

Spine views, and a sticker that came with the order. She & Him definitely are a cop band. 

Sparsely Packaged Magic

Okay, so we have delved a bunch into how cool packaging can be on this blog. However, have we ever gone into the depths of how thoughtless and lame packaging can be? Probably, and this is by no standards a benchmark on awful packaging; it just lacks a lot. I think what gets me more is this album (Or mini-album if you're one of those guys) is so good, and that it deserved a little more than it got. Also, whilst not going for silly money as such, it has fetched way more than it's original asking price recently. Crazy.

Thrash Magic by Playlounge. Not their debut appearance I don't think, a few things got released by this band in 2012? Mostly splits and comp tracks, but this is 7 tracks of complete Playlounge. All on Clear w/ Green splatter. When I first got this I thought the minimal splatter thing was really odd and not my deal, but I've warmed to it. It's definitely something a little different and adds to the whole minimalist thing going on here.

B-Side // Back Cover. On each side, one of the skull's eyes doubles up as a centre label which is pretty neat. Fear&Records put this out. In truth I only picked it up recently, along with a Chain of Flowers 7''. I think this 12'' was £2.50, and I would've happily paid full price. But such is life, it's long gone now and since Playlounge released their LP earlier this year so now have a little more (well deserved) hype. 

But seriously this is what you get here. A sleeve and a record. No download code, no insert, not even a bloody dust cover. Funny, as the full colour printed, well designed sleeve would suggest that their was a little bit of a budget here. Well never mind, I still enjoy these songs. Sweet Tooth is just incredible.