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Mark Barton's "The Sunday Experience"

by Bearsuit Records

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about

Mark Barton's "The Sunday Experience" (BS047)

A CD and digital compilation celebrating the writings of Mark Barton

All proceeds from sales of this CD go to Macmillan Cancer Support
www.macmillan.org.uk

Full (CD) tracklist :

01. The Lovely Eggs - Magic Onion
02. Schizo Fun Addict - Take A Heart
03. Bigflower - I See You
04. Kiran Leonard - Pink Fruit
05. Moon Duo - Slow Down Low
06. JD Meatyard - Anna Had A Kid
07. Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs - Sweet Relief
08. Wizards Tell Lies - Outside This Certainty (For Mark)
09. Godflesh - Ringer
10. John 3:16 - Shall Not Perish
11. Needle Into A Bug - Three Heads In The River
12. Harold Nono - Tahiik
13. Yellow 6 - Milestone
14. Isan - Kirkeskov
15. FortDax - Sakura
16. The Bordellos - Mark's Sunday Experience
17. Polypores - Lelen
18. Rothko - Place Your Soul Next To Mine

Every CD bought will receive the additional tracks below
(exclusive to Bandcamp download) :

19. JD Meatyard - Broken Arm Jesus
20. The Sexual Objects - Ron Asheton
21. Kiran Leonard - Pink Fruit (full version)
22. Pulselovers - Theme From The Persuaders
23. The Gaa Gaas - Hypnoti(z)ed (Studio Outtake)
24. Xqui - Epiphany
25. The Blue Giant Zeta Puppies - The Colossus
26. Needle Into A Bug - Arboreous Call
27. Haq - Antics In A Maze
28. Exile Pots - Frank The Signalman
29. Vlimmer - Betonozean
30. John 3:16 - To Help Me Obey You
31. Eat Lights, Become Lights - Nature Reserve
32. Phil Reynolds & The Uncertain Futures - Counting Witches
33. Sendelica - My House Is Made Of Angel Hair (Colin Disco Mix)
34. Whizz Kid - Falling Out Of Trees, Falling Down Hills
35. The Blue Giant Zeta Puppies - Semyorka
36. Roi - Straight Outta Southport
37. Exile Pots - The Well Of Night
38. John 3:16 - Through Fire & Through Water
39. The Cleaners From Venus - Gorgeous Day
40. James Murray - Greenlands (Green Lane)
41. David Rothon - And Breathe
42. Ian Hawgood - Liberty Restrained

(over 3 hours of music)

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The artists are :
The Lovely Eggs, Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, Schizo Fun Addict, Bigflower, Kiran Leonard, Moon Duo, JD Meatyard, Wizards Tell Lies, Godflesh, John 3:16, Needle Into A Bug, Harold Nono, Yellow 6, Isan, FortDax, The Bordellos, Polypores, Rothko, The Sexual Objects, The Cleaners from Venus, Exile Pots, The Gaa Gaas, Pulselovers, Xqui, Ian Hawgood, Haq, Vlimmer, The Blue Giant Zeta Puppies, James Murray, Eat Lights Become Lights, Phil Reynolds and the Uncertain Futures, Roi, Whizz Kid, Sendelica and David Rothon...


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Mark Barton's “The Sunday Experience” (BS047)

The Sunday Experience” is a fitting tribute. The range of musical styles is truly impressive and nothing feels forced, nothing has been squeezed in. Bearsuit Records have, probably, achieved the mythological thing, an excellent compilation album
[I Heart Noise]

Mark Barton spent over two decades championing independent music, writing tirelessly about often under-appreciated independent releases with boundless dexterity, wit and an unquenchable creative imagination. His trademark stream of consciousness style that had scant regard for grammar at times, poured forth with passion, heart and vivid colour. Often writing about bands you had never heard championing the under appreciated and eclectic, a kind of John Peel of the blogging world his love and passion for the sounds always shone through each word. Bearsuit Records celebrate the life and work of Mark Barton with an eclectic new compilation album of Various Artists entitled, “Mark Barton’s “The Sunday Experience”
[God Is In The TV]

The Sunday Experience was renowned and revered for its coverage of the weird, the wonderful, and ultimately, the underexposed. This CD reminds me of what it was like to listen to an episode of John Peel in the early 90s. [It's] a great compilation in its own right. The fact all proceeds are being donated to Macmillan Cancer Support is an additional bonus, and shows the artistic community doing what big businesses so rarely do, namely putting people and causes before profit.
[Aural Aggravation]

Mark was a champion of many underground bands, nationally and internationally and the album comprises of artists and bands who have been reviewed, supported and encouraged by Mark’s writings. The album is a small thank you from some of those artists, bands and labels that Mark supported. All of the artists and bands involved have contributed their songs for nothing.
[Louder Than War]

Having got hold of a copy of this excellent tribute album, it's clear how much I was missing out. So many terrific bands and artists have contributed to this tribute compilation, it's hard to know where to begin. The Lovely Eggs, JD Meatyard and Moon Duo all feature here among many other staples of my musical diet over the last few years. There are 42 tracks on this mammoth release, lovingly assembled by the wonderful Bearsuit Records
[Unwashed Territories]

The album begins with rather straightforward artists, and it’s only later that things become stranger, the way we are used from Bearsuit’s experimental electronica roster. There’s garage rock, psychedelic rock, indie folk, industrial, ambient… [It's a] lengthy but utterly likeable compilation. This turned out to be one hell of a cross-genre roller coaster guide, which I can recommend to everyone who is not deterred by several different styles occurring in a single playlist
[DisAgreement]

The late Mark Barton was known for fashioning words in the most thoughtful and poetic of ways, as his excellent reviews proved. Now, a mass of artistic admirers/friends (all of whom have been reviewed by Barton and none of whom are of the mainstream) has come forth to pay homage to the writer. The Sunday Experience is a labour of love for a man whom many loved and respected.
[Bizarrechats]

Mark was passionate about music and continued to write up to a couple of weeks before he passed away. The wonderfully eclectic Bearsuit Records have released the album and all proceeds of the CD go to Macmillan Cancer Support. Check it out and - better still - buy it!
[Leonard's Lair]

The music on this album is varied but what it has in common is that it is all excellent, all unique in their own ways; from the dark sweeping guitar sounds of Bigflower to the psych tinged rock n roll of the Moon Duo and Schizo Fun Addict. There are washes with the experimental: the excellent Harold Nono and the Polypores, BBC 6Music faves The Lovely Eggs and JD Meatyard, even the legendary noise gods Godflesh make an appearance. So many great reasons to purchase this CD
[Monolith Cocktail]

A mixture of styles both vocal and instrumental can also be enjoyed on Mark Barton's “The Sunday Experience”. The album is dedicated to Mark which makes it especially poignant for those who write about music. It’s all for a great cause, as all proceeds go to Macmillan Cancer Support
[A Closer Listen]

The late Mark Barton wrote millions of words about “strange sounds for freaky people” on his Sunday Experience blog. Bearsuit Records have put together an incredible compilation of diverse music that Mark championed, in memory of Mark and in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support – we’re happy we could contribute too.
[Isan]

That's Isan and “Kirkeskov” which is available on a new compilation, “Mark Barton's “The Sunday Experience”” which is a celebration of the work of writer and music reviewer, Mark Barton. The album comprises artists who have been reviewed, supported and encouraged by his writings including The Lovely Eggs, Kiran Leonard, Moon Duo, JD Meatyard, Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs...
[Gideon Coe – BBC 6 Music]

An outstanding, collaborative record comprising of artists and bands who’ve been reviewed, supported and encouraged by Mark’s writings, such as The Lovely Eggs, Schizo Fun Addict, Bigflower, Kiran Leonard, Moon Duo, JD Meatyard and many more. A touching tribute...
[Quaquaversal]

Lots of really brilliant music on this!
[The Smelly Flowerpot]


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The tracks - in Mark's own words :

The Lovely Eggs - "Magic Onion"
Out via the flower of phong imprint (be honest do labels get any cooler?) where it’ll arrive on limited quantities of green onion splatter vinyl with the addition of a Casey Raymond hand produced booklet, ‘magic onion’ is essentially the Fall in some shroom blurred kaleidoscopic Carroll-esque wonderland redecorated by those surrealist Boosh dudes found craftily re-trimming lost Pebbles happenings from some secret psychedelic swirled shed located on the outer edges of reality – freakishly fried stuff.

Schizo Fun Addict - "Take A Heart"
This babe lurks on the dark side of psychosis unravelling itself in freaked out detachment and isolation whilst wiping your mind and senses in a howling garage psych white out whose authentic primitive gouging leads one to suspect the blighters have access to strange time travelling paraphernalia, that said that’s the least of your concerns as you swerve, duck and dive to avoid the gripping desperation literally
peeling from the grooves

Bigflower - "I See You"
A nifty slice of dream psyche discordance that if I’m honest, taps deftly into that whole Snub TV vibe of the early 90’s, you know, that noisy melodica and coolly underfed skinny chic look espoused by Mascis and Co and other such like, though here shone through a mildly lysergic lens to reveal something frayed and wired with a shades adorned Velveteen aloofness, here I’m thinking primarily of the Ultra Vivid Scene with perhaps a pre ‘Wake up’ Boo Rad folk, Mr Rays Wig World and Wonky Alice muddying the feedback strobed mix. Add in ultra cool and that does it for us

JD Meatyard - "Anna Had A Kid"
With more than a passing hint of Lou Reed with a smidgeon of Arab Strap for good measure ‘Anna had a kid’ is one of those bruising encounters that’s liable to have you a tad tearful, hollowed and by its end somewhat grateful for your lot – that said what makes it such a sure fire listening pleasure is the way the sympathetic sour of strings bitter sweetly sigh to a forceful lo-fi strum giving a maudlin and somewhat forlorn sombre gravitas to proceedings which slowly amass in tension, depth and density until by its end they combine to forge an impacting crescendo of fracturing and howling anguish and hysteria which by these ears shifts ever so subtly into sonic terrains occupied by the hillfields

Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs - "Sweet Relief"
It’s been a while since we featured ear gear from the immense sonic juggernaut that is pigs pigs pigs pigs pigs pigs pigs, herewith a track entitled ‘sweet relief’ ripped from a new full length ‘feed the rats’ via rocket out today in fact on limited blood red vinyl – as though you needed prods of encouragement. Bugger me though this is heavy, bearded beatnik space stoner that principally ought to appeal first hand to those Sabbath and Hawkwind purists among you while simultaneously catching the ear of the Mugstar brethren

Kiran Leonard - "Pink Fruit"
Get over the fact that this ‘un is 16 minutes long, and yes we did get a mild visitation of the old five o’clock shadow during its stay, but for a fair few of you out there, we are suspecting that this will be the sonic equivalent of several birthdays all tumbling in at once. Its author is, by the way, only 20 years old, which kind of makes a mockery of some who’ve been plying their trade for some 40 years plus, it teams with ideas and reference points (three minutes in and counting we’ve already noted Beefheart, Billy Mahonie, Archer Prewitt – and that’s just starters) and while it mightn’t be pushing the envelope its packed with enough distractively waywardness and sense of disconnecting all over the shop acuteness as to have admirers of groove that rips up the rulebook cooing fondly in the aisles. Kiran Leonard clearly has a few unresolved issues which fortunate for us translates on occasion into stuff like ‘pink fruit’. This intense, intricate, dislocated and clearly complex sound board heads up a forthcoming set for moshi moshi entitled ‘grapefruit’ which we suspect will attract critical acclaim when it drops next March. Be under no illusion ‘pink fruit’ is a colossus, a colossus that teeters and turns from moments of savage brutality and simmering storm gathering glowering to warping dream like states with the occasional off road detour into Vernon Elliott / Nyman-esque pastoral symphonia and fog bound wood crafted rustic hymnals. ‘pink fruit’ lurks on the dark side of Sonic Youth in much as Mr Leonard possesses that same exquisite knack for bringing and pulling everything back out of the seeming fracturing discordant chaos, amid the claustrophobic groaning loom of the gnarled riffola a howling unravelling psychosis peels that jars, jabs, spars and scowls to lay invisible joining dots to the likes of thinking fellers local union 282, trumans waters and most obviously of all shellac, while lest we add in the small but essential detail that had this emerged with the trusted name of touch n’ go tattooed to its hide the blighter would be the toast of the underground scene

Polypores - "Lelen"
‘Brainflowers’ (LP) marks the final outing for the year by Polypores, a beautiful ambient awareness sympathetically stroked in an elegant, moment paused genteel caressing. Best experienced for maximum effect with eyes closed headphones donned and volume hiked to infinity that way you get to float in its demurring folds - between ["Sagans Voyage" and "Glittering Enigma"]there’s the shyly shimmered opining celestial pastorals of ‘Lelen’

Isan - "Kirkeskov"
Typical tender trimming from Messrs Saville and Ryan, ‘kirkeskov’ is a kookily cooled gloopy soupy cortege of chirping tropicalia sounds beset in ice formed snow globes so fragile you fear they’ll shatter to the touch though yet once shaken wake, stretch and yawn as though some secret hideaway lagoon life had wrested into life following a period of hibernation very demurring stuff indeed

Godflesh - "Ringer"
Let you in to a little secret, late 80’s we kinda adored Godflesh – you can blame Peel for that and his erstwhile obsession of playing earache sonic fodder on a regular basis. So here I am now in 2014 picking myself up off the floor on hearing the blighters are back with their first fresh recordings in over 13 years. Bugger me. Out via Broadrick’s own Avalanche imprint first week in June looms the ’decline and fall’ EP. Featuring four new cuts from which the Godflesh ones have sneaked out lead track ’ringer’. 6 minutes of post everything tribal ju-ju, this dark and brooding cheerless bastard flatlines the voids and comes rippled in a withering and choking futility of locked grooved serrated chop chop riffs the kind of which old school admirers of Killing Joke will get evil to not to mention those of you who cut your ears upon the industrial grimness of 1919 and play dead will raise inquiring lugs and dig, stunningly oblique

Moon Duo - "Slow Down Low"
Is it just me or does everyone feel like going into occasional bursts of the Modern Lovers ‘roadrunner’ when this rears into ear view, not that I’m complaining or anything because it really is a bliss kissed peach. New thing from Moon Duo prized from their current Sacred Bones sortie ‘shadow of the sun’ – this is ‘slow down low’ – a hip wiggling sub six minute glam psyched babe cut upon swooning struts and the kind of ultra-cooling hypno-grooved dandyness that you’d be forgiven for thinking it’d arrive on your turntable decorated in feather boas, big hair and even bigger heels, without doubt possessed of a T-Rex-ian pout though here shimmered in the softly turned lysergic garlands of Fuxa at their finest

Harold Nono - "Tahiik"
A bit of a gem ghosted in shadowy noir trimmings and spy themed mosaics all presided over by brief moments of the kind of sinister edgy chill that recalls Budd and Barry

Yellow 6 - "Milestone"
The [‘milestone’] '18 version is superbly primed with a time ticking pinch, its grace falling stars extinguishing siren calls descending with an approaching dead stop finality,(something which ought at least to have some of you recalling the much missed Workhouse), yet there’s a dead eyed realism to the v.98 that, showered with an inescapable solace, there’s a suggestion of a tipping point long since passed, oh and its very godspeed in terms of measure, effect and delivery

The Cleaners From Venus - "Gorgeous Day"
Culled from a forthcoming full length ‘last boy in the locarno’, ‘gorgeous day’ is a curious thing, spooled over drifting wisps of lazy eyed sea faring lounge lilts, an almost matter of fact and sighing vocal wistfully reflects, its almost withdrawn humdrum toning rubbing at odds to the mellowing sun burn of the caressing motifs beneath which unless our ears do deceive has something of an appeal that admirers of both Robyn Hitchcock and Edward Ka-Spel may find plenty to adore, in which case throw in a little Vini Reilly to the mix and bob’s your uncle type thing

Fortdax - "Sakura"
‘Sakura’ - a Far Eastern flavour emerges with the sensual echoes as Cotton Casino guides the celestial circus, if ‘At Bracken’ was steeped in icy flows of fairy tale delights then Folly sets ‘Madam Butterfly’ to automation

The Bordellos - "Mark's Sunday Experience"
Entitled ‘grin – new free music day’, the EP gathers together 7 cuts cooled in typical dour observationalism which I must admit we here are more than a tad fond of given we prefer the Bordellos when they’re in a mellowed and slightly distracted and wayward mood.‘Plasticine Man’ grooves along to a sparse and gruff detailing that hints of a youthful Fall wiring leaving ‘grin’ to round off the set though not before the arrival of the perfectly derailed ‘mark’s Sunday experience’ – honoured and indeed humbled – a song dedicated to this tiny little blog, we were and are, I’ll admit, overcome blubbing and blushing. God bless you Bordello folk

John 3:16 - "To Help Me Obey You"
"To Help Me Obey You" is a more considered perhaps more so, meditative affair, its pensive roll carving and cutting to a slow burn arcing prowess that softly treads and trades upon terrains more commonly associated with yellow6, its hypnotic toning calmed and sprayed to a pristinely turned post rock lull, stately might be the word I’m struggling for

The Sexual Objects - "Ron Asheton"
rounding up side one [of cream split up EP] ‘Ron Asheton’ is just a furious nuts down slab of wig flipped groove that quite frankly wouldn’t look to out of place sitting on that recent Ork box set that emerged on RSD15

Needle Into A Bug -"‘Arboreous Call"
we do hear the spectral spirit of ‘Eskimo’ creaking the grooves of the teaser trailing title cut ‘Arboreous Call’ which possessed of a strangely charmed child like eerie the type of which often mask and adore cinematic hauntings, is sumptuously seasoned with a sinister symphonia and shadowy chamber chill that’s trimmed with a ghostly grace and a macabre foretelling

Pulselovers - "Theme From The Presuaders"
Now bugger me if anyone had firstly, the audacity and secondly, be honest what could be added, if anything, to improve the original, I mean we are talking John Barry here, who let’s be honest, made perfectionism a craft on its right. But credit where credit is due, that Handley chap does wonders, crafty mind but still, achieves the impossible, for here he relocates the original sound source, no longer St Tropez or Cannes etc …. losing the cosmopolitan connect along with the millionaire paradises imagery, he scales down on the glitzy adventurism to focus and instil a degree of mystery and eerie unearthliness to the tapestry and so touches it with a sense of the beyond and unknown by way of the application of a shadow toned spectral harvesting. Classy.

Xqui - "Epiphany"
Xqui step out on their own with the hypno-grooving ‘epiphany’, clearly admirers of Muslim Gauze, this earth beat grooved slice of jubilance provides something of a mutant mesmeric which pushed to chose ties with drop the hero’s ‘Thursday’ as the best cut here [Wormhole World Sampler - "A Picture Of Good Health"]

Phil Reynolds and the Uncertain Futures - "Counting Witches"
The blurb reads something about a story to do with a shellfish looking for love who enlists the assistance of mythical witches frozen in stone – okay like that is it. ‘white claw’ be the EP’s name and this obviously is er – ‘white claw’ – a fifteen minute psych popping opera / mysterio that sumptuously spirals and radiates between caressing crystalline corteges of soft psych toned oceanic sprays the type of which jubilantly cool to imagine Stephen Jones’ Trucker persona pouring over the grooves of the Teardrop’s ‘wilder’ set to extended moments moored upon an enchanted wilderness where sound the strange allure of kosmiche folk flotillas tempering and whispering to an artistry that flickers and shape shifts magically revealing a nodding affection for Birdpen, Soft Hearted Scientists and Goblin, any questions……

The Gaa Gaas - "Hypnoti(z)ed"
Haul your hides over to the Gaa Gaa’s page for a sneak peak of what these imps have been cooking up in the studio – an un-mastered version of ‘hypnotized’ is what’s on offer – don’t know about you but it sounds like its been time tunnelled from a Peel playlist tape c.1981 towing with it an austere post punk rapture of Section 25, Scars, PIL and Artery types

Vlimmer - "Betonozean"
along comes Vlimmer with the frankly drop dead jaw dropping nugget ‘Betonozean’. This is quite something else, where do we begin. An eight minute euphoric head trip, love the way it shifts just slightly out of focus, its intensity like a magnet pulling you into its sphere of influence. The way it swoons and swallow dives awash in euphoric raptures switching its focus between elements of sun scorched dream pop, post punk austere and space rock bliss kisses all the time blessed with the gravitas of the Crimea and the purring pristine crush of Toy with just the merest nod of Barrett Floyd going on in there. All this ascending to reach critical mass whereupon everything dissolves gloriously jubilant dissipates. Wow.

Exile Pots - The Well Of Night" & "Frank The Signalman"
[Album] ‘The Well Of Night’ – a beautifully spacious delight, twinkled in all manner of lulling cosmidelica which alas due to time being a cruel mistress we’ll have to put on hold from listening to a little more fully though not before drawing your attention to the quite beguiling ‘frank the signalman’. This sweetly amorphous titan affords the chance to slip away for some blissed kissed out of body experiences, best experienced loud through headphones in order to capture the full on trip-a-delic effect, the dimpling lush recline of the dissolving reverb mirages cast woozy shimmer toned ripples as the dreamy mosaics carry you aloft on a galactic ride deep into the cosmic outlands, it’s an utterly becalming and chill dripped kosmiche spectacle of the highest order which should you be in need of modern day reference markers we’d suggest the cosmic canvas’ of Craig Padilla as an as were happy bedfellow

The Blue Giant Zeta Puppies - The Colossus
A three track CD-r with handwritten labels and inkjet-ted sleeve with personalised note has I can assure you now been placed in safe keeping in the rainy day pension pot box. As to the sounds – as advertised three space surf dandies lurk within shimmered in a 50’s styled sci-fi b-movie grooving all action packed TV21 Martian spy cool and twang-a-ramic duels with the snake winding and brooding psychotropic mysterio ‘the colossus’ found entering the lair of the Link while on screen 1 the uber cool ‘devil is in the detail’ comes on like a monster party double feature matinee of cosmic gunslingers, zap happy shimmer toned saucer-ettes and all manner of Dan Dare meets Man…or Astro Man hip wiggling happenings.

Sendelica - "My House Is made Of Angel Hair"
Four tracks feature on the ‘disco daze’ EP with guest remixers such as Marc Swordfish, Aviv and Consterdine all being drafted in to see if they weave their floor adoring magic and totally relocate the Sendelica prog head from beardy to bouncing. We here have been totally smitten by the Consterdine mix of ‘my house is made of Angel hair’ – a cerebral chilling slab of smoked out early 90’s styled cosmic tripwiring all softly purred in kaleidoscopic trance toning shape cuts the likes of which dive deep into the seductive late night sophisticat terrains of the Paris Angels, a youthful System 7 and the more amorphously head expanding elements of the huge ever growing Ozric Tentacles catalogue. Absolutely wigged

Haq - "Antics In A Maze"
(‘Antics in a Maze’ EP) whose sum parts compress a joyous distillation of flirting chamber arrangements, trip hop-ula electronics and skewed rhythmic gyrations which in many respects may well collectively be their most pop orientated outing to date. To set some kind of reference markers, there’s much here to appeal to those fully versed in the late 90’s era happenings of say, Cornelius and Takako Minekawa, to these add a smidgeon of Momus and a liberal dose of the Caretaker with perhaps a tasting of Pop off Tuesday. In truth armed with these as a rough guide, you’d still be no nearer pinning down a satisfiable description of Haq, they just freefall and cross weave symphonic collages of sheer ethereal beauty. Opening title track ‘Antics in a maze’ is pure Bearsuit kookiness that’s awash in hiccupping arrangements, dancing ghost lights and wonky enchantment, in truth not so dissimilar to the more lighter tones of Quimper as though impishly remixed by Midwich Youth Club.

Eat Lights, Become Lights - "Nature Reserve"
Kosmick love aplenty heading out of deep distance shortly with the imminent arrival of a new oscillating opus from eat lights become lights entitled ‘nature reserve’ with the title track being sent on ahead on scouting duties, a killer thing it is to, for deep from within the inner core of a pulsating hive mind turbulent transmissions flicker with furious precision busily fuelled by hyper-driven activity achieving critical mass density, in short cerebral ear candy for speed freaking space cadets.

Whizz Kid - "Falling Out Of Trees, Falling Down Hills"
Teetering between moments of lucidity and lunacy, Whizz Kid have always held a very special place in our listening space since first rearing their heads above the aural parapet and clearly knocking us for six with the frankly skittish ‘the yellow and blue’ EP from 2009. Impish was the byword, the all covering warts n’ all descriptor you’d imagine created with these dudes in mind, it proved to be one of our most favourite surrealist left field releases that year...’summer bubbles’ and ’falling out of trees, falling down hills’ but emerge from a classically arched noir script, the former a fused mosaic of emperor penguin and busy signals smoothness, the latter once awoken from its yawning slumber a Gnac styled slice of spectral spy themed eeriness that courts to the lighter side of wizards tell lies albeit re-tweaked by the overseeing eye of Meek

The Blue Giant Zeta Puppies - Semyorka
Futuristic cosmic uber groove from our favourite b-movie obsessed spaghetti-fied sci-fi scalped twang-a-rella beat pop combo the Blue Giant Zeta Puppies. The double feature ‘Semyorka’ set is currently in the planning stage for a limited 7 inch outing, presently to be found emitting toe tapping transmissions from a secret sky base that marshals and scouts the heavens for unwanted alien space dudes, this seven track dandy comes marooned upon two sides amid whose grooves Link ray gun riffs are set to roll while the Zeta cadets gorge over a 60’s diet of Century 21 TV shows in between cooking up stereo rumbling salvos whose clone DNA is positively brimming in Man or Astro Man, Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet and TV Personalities cultures

Roi - "Straight Outta Southport"
It’s been an age since I visited Southport, I do recall an antiquarian of some description that was literally stuffed from floor to ceiling with records and dusty books which as a younger self I’d visit on occasion, each and every time spending hours looking for the unnamed doorway behind which a creaking staircase would lead you to this treasure trove of delights. Maybe I imagined it all. I minded to mention this not as some randomly plucked memory out of the blue, but because the flip of this release features a cut by the name ‘straight outta Southport’. We do love these black n’ white (sometimes sordid) kitchen sink dramas from the Shea pen, yearning with a reflective nostalgia all ghosted with a gritty swoon of a lost yesterday, it certainly does it for us not least because its dimming glow comes illuminated in the subtle haze of a Teardrops c. ‘Wilder’ haloing.

James Murray - "Greenlands (Green Lane)"
A momentary chance to escape the rigours of modern life to a more silent, more serene and more secret place. From what we believe is a collection of revisioned moments from his extensive and already near perfected back catalogue entitled ‘floods returned’, this is James Murray with the most beguiling and somewhat touching, passing ghost light that is ‘Greenlands (Green Lane)’. An immensely beautiful sub six-minute visitation to we suggest you’ll be hard pushed the rest of the year to find an equal in terms of its demurring detail, sense of crestfallen majesty and utter softly toned seduction, its framing and genteel genuflecting turn is exquisite whilst its masterclass in sensitivity and use of space just simply jaw dropping, make no bones this will floor as its icy structure thaws to reveal waking silver orbs gathering in unison to charm and allure in celestial shimmer toned formations with their lunar dawn chorus. Available through the slowcraft imprint.

David Rothon - "And Breathe"
admit it, isn’t this just like ‘wow’, what can it be – some kind of mythical dream catcher, maybe a celestial visitation or perhaps the snoozing rustle of magic woodland folk awaking in the twilight haze, whatever the case, its beautifully mesmeric. This folks is heading out of the wonderful Clay Pipe sound shed shortly, just in time in fact, for seasonal adoring which seems apt, given its dappled in an Autumnal hazing. Anyhow by David Rothon from an incoming full length by the name ‘nightscapes’, this is the demurring ‘…and breathe’, an utterly beguiling and captivating affair, the gentle inhale of the strings and that sense of eerie enchantment all delicately coalescing to form a strangely tripping dream state that subtly hints of a visit to monsterism island flashback

Ian Hawgood - "Liberty Restrained"
Out via folk reels from a set entitled ‘sketches by the sea’ this is ‘liberty restrained’ which I must admit caught our ear initially mainly due to its expressive openness and sense of a free spirited nature, both intimate and inviting its deft strum shimmers coax a dreamy delirium that hints at times of the more measured and isolated moments of Yellow6’s recent back catalogue not to mention evoking the tranquil faraway drifts of Vini Reilly, yet draw up a little closer and amid the chiming bird calls and the soft serene ebb and flow of wave patterns a lushly colourful portrait of landlocked hideaways peppered in greens, yellows and blues is imagined with rich sensitive artistry that may well appeal to admirers of the floral posies dinking the ‘wicker man’ soundtrack.

credits

released March 27, 2020

All text : Mark Barton

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A huge thanks to Mark for all the reviews and words of encouragement he has brought to all the artists listed above (and all those who aren't listed)...


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℗ 2020 Bearsuit Records

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Bearsuit Records Scotland, UK

Bearsuit Records: independent label based in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Artists include :
Bunny & The Invalid Singers / Harold Nono / Ippu Mitsui / Eamon The Destroyer / Haq / Annie & The Station Orchestra / AWSTS / Ageing Children / Senji Niban / Jikan Ga Nai / Whizz Kid / Andrei Rikichi / The Moth Poets..

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