Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Hello Old Thing, Hello New Thing: 9

Smoghorn: Animal Kingdom (S/T, 1976 / Harmless, 2007)
Surfing films are, on the whole, kind of great, aren't they? I distinctly remember watching the 1973 George Greenough film Crystal Voyager one Saturday morning and being amazed by a) hearing Pink Floyd's Echoes on the telly and b) the, y'know, surfing stuff. Anyway, the brilliantly named Smoghorn are nothing like Pink Floyd, they are like a group of freckle-shouldered stoners attempting to channel The Meters. AK is taken from this new compilation of surf music of the 60s and 70s. I went surfing once with our friends Bert & Heidi. It was hard. BTW, any surf magazines that want me to write for them professionally should just leave a comment.



I Was A King: Across The Ocean (Happy Soul, 2007)
You know how I was banging on about Amiina recently? Well, love them as I do, the new Best Band In The World is now I Was A King. They are from Oslo and Egersund in Norway and their new (sort of rereleased) album is fantastic noise-pop in a My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Neil Young, Blonde Redhead sort of way. If you grew your hair a trifle too long in 1991 and ever felt tempted to buy a Chapterhouse record you will love it. I went to see Chapterhouse once but spent the whole gig talking loudly at the back to a bloke I'd not seen for about six years. This music criticism game's a doddle, no?

Enjoy!

4 comments:

Valentine Suicide said...

Sorry Rob, neither really grabs me. I truly have no soul..

I have, just last week, taken delivery of a new Gul Response Liquid Skin though... Woolacombe Bay here I come!

Rob said...

Hey VS
How can you not love that I Was A King track?

NM said...

the criticism bit is a doddle, oh yes. the making any flipping money doing it these days is the hard bit. every bugger's at it!

Rob said...

ain't that the truth - the whole game's full of make-weights and chancers...