Their website currently states “Thank you and goodbye!”, but I can’t ascertain whether or not Oblio Joes are still an ongoing concern. So, Let’s Decompose And Enjoy Assembling could be their last release. If that’s the case, it’s a shame. This is a fantastic collection of off-centre songs that as much recall the giddy optimism of prime Beach Boys and the glossy vacuity of 10CC as they do the noise-tinged melodies of Pavement and Built To Spill.

Whilst the Pavement comparisons are at times obvious – in the broken, wavering vocals of John Brownell and the rich, subtly complex song structures – it’s not like Pavement have sole rights to creating uplifting, sadness-inflected melodic guitar music. Oblio Joes stamp their own personality on many of the songs here; the heart-rending, self-effacing lyrics on the unnamed opening track and closer ‘Grey Skies’, ‘Dutch Boy’ with its growth from simplistic banjo picking into dreamy, staccato swathes of tune, or the upbeat and jolly ‘Good Neighbour’, with its rolling enthusiasm and melody after melody.

At the heart of their music, Oblio Joes employ a skilful sense of arrangement and contrast. Songs like ‘Capricorn Cowboy’ and ‘Holes’ sound initially simple, but underneath their surface lies a strange collection of sounds and multi-layered instrumentation. It’s this seemingly effortless mastery of songs that can be peeled back to reveal rich seams of musicianship and emotional tugging that sets Oblio Joes apart, as not only a great pop band, but one with real depth and the ability to reward the careful listener. If it is thank you and goodbye from them, this album is a fine way to bow out.

Oblio Joes

Throughout the 1980s, a lot of compilations were released that reflected the then-burgeoning interest in recreating the garage punk and psychedelic sounds of the late 1960s. Whilst this second volume in Northern Star’s Psychedelica series isn’t along exactly the same lines as those earlier releases – these new collections compile modern psychedelia, rather than bands directly influenced by the music of many Pebbles, Nuggets or Rubble-type bands – a similar spirit is at work here. There is still no end of bands out there that are creating music that reflects the blissed-out, amped-up, lysergically-altered stylings of the original garage punk artists, albeit reflected through the ouptut of a variety of later bands and movements.

So, this was never going to be a compilation that didn’t have a lot of musical reference points. Through its 35 tracks, the music here broadly falls into a number of styles that suggests some particular music of times gone by. The early-80s Paisley Underground sound of bands like Long Ryders or The Chesterfield Kings is represented here in the clean, melodic, straightforward music of Belles Will Ring and Floorian. Big Star’s brand of power pop, as prefigured by Buffalo Springfield and reimagined by Teenage Fanclub, is respectfully used here by The Quarter After, Goldrush and Riff Random. The unfairly-maligned shoegazing sound of Ride or Slowdive is an influence here on Heroes Of Switzerland, The Daysleepers and Sunsplit; and the heavier, darker, more repetitive style of Loop and Spacemen 3 is displayed here by The Black Angels, Mainline, The People’s Revolutionary Choir, The Voices, Hopewell and The Yours. There are also slices of music on these two CDs that contain varying shades of gothic, Cramps-style garage (The Dolly Rocker Movement), John Lennon-influenced plaintive balladry (The Hiss) and straight-ahead retro garage punk (Dust).

This continues from Psychedelica‘s first volume very well, in its aim to showcase artists working in a particular mindset. Like most compilations, it’s not without its slow points or likely-to-be-skipped tracks; but as a whole it’s an even set of tracks that certainly bears repeated listening. The standout songs are those that not only remind of music gone by, but move in more unique directions: Flowers Of Hell, with their mournful piano, violin and theremin mantra; Perfect Blue, with some subtle electronica; Say Jansfield, with a folk song that warps off into strange, progressive areas.

Independent music goes through trends and phases all of the time, but Psychedelica suggests that there are always bands that continue to trace a line from the late 1960s to the 21st century. Hopefully, more volumes will follow.

Northern Star Records

Found on the Fat Man’s site. We can all learn something from this.

1. LISTEN TO THE BIRDS…That’s where all the music comes from. Birds know everything about how it should sound and where that sound should come from. And watch hummingbirds. They fly really fast, but a lot of times they aren’t going anywhere.

2. YOUR GUITAR IS NOT REALLY A GUITAR…Your guitar is a divining rod. Use it to find spirits in the other world and bring them over. A guitar is also a fishing rod. If you’re good, you’ll land a big one.

3. PRACTICE IN FRONT OF A BUSH…Wait until the moon is out, then go outside, eat a multi-grained bread and play your guitar to a bush. If the bush doesn’t shake, eat another piece of bread.

4. WALK WITH THE DEVIL…Old delta blues players referred to amplifiers as the “devil box.” And they were right. You have to be an equal opportunity employer in terms of who you’re bringing over from the other side. Electricity attracts demons and devils. Other instruments attract other spirits. An acoustic guitar attracts Casper. A mandolin attracts Wendy. But an electric guitar attracts Beelzebub.

5. IF YOU’RE GUILTY OF THINKING, YOU’RE OUT…If your brain is part of the process, you’re missing it. You should play like a drowning man, struggling to reach shore. If you can trap that feeling, then you have something that is fur bearing.

6. NEVER POINT YOUR GUITAR AT ANYONE…Your instrument has more power than lightning. Just hit a big chord, then run outside to hear it. But make sure you are not standing in an open field.

7. ALWAYS CARRY YOUR CHURCH KEY…You must carry your key and use it when called upon. That’s your part of the bargain. Like One String Sam. He was a Detroit street musician in the fifties who played a homemade instrument. His song “I Need A Hundred Dollars” is warm pie. Another church key holder is Hubert Sumlin, Howlin’ Wolf’s guitar player. He just stands there like the Statue of Liberty making you want to look up her dress to see how he’s doing it.

8. DON’T WIPE THE SWEAT OFF YOUR INSTRUMENT…You need that stink on there. Then you have to get that stink onto your music.

9. KEEP YOUR GUITAR IN A DARK PLACE…When you’re not playing your guitar, cover it and keep it in a dark place. If you don’t play your guitar for more than a day, be sure to put a saucer of water in with it.

10. YOU GOTTA HAVE A HOOD FOR YOUR ENGINE…Wear a hat when you play and keep that hat on. A hat is a pressure cooker. If you have a roof on your house the hot air can’t escape. Even a lima bean has to have a wet paper towel around it to make it grow.

TrocaBrahma 07 is a festival to celebrate the spirit of Brasil this summer with exclusive collaborations between established and emerging UK and Brasilian music talent including Bonde do Role & Radioclit/Amanda Blank, Gruff Rhys & Tony Da Gatorra, Fourtet & Open Field Church and Optimo & Os Mutantes. In May the UK acts visited Brasil to meet and collaborate with the artists in Brasil and this month they will meet again in the UK for events in London, Liverpool and Glasgow from July 26-29. Neil Mowat, one of the co-programmers told us some more about the event.

We’ve also got three pairs of tickets up for grabs so look out for that at the end of the interview.

What’s the whole idea behind TrocaBrahma?

TrocaBrahma is about offering different opportunities and new perspectives for both the audience and the artists involved. Brahma wanted to present a genuine alternative to the usual summer festival provision that would allow the artist and audience to have a bit of fun and produce something entirley new.

How did the artists choose who to collaborate with?

Gruff Rhys knew all about Tony Da Gatorra’s work and was very keen to work with him, this was also the case with Fourtet and Open Field Church, and Bonde Do Role with Radioclit and Amanda Blank. King Creosote wasn’t previously aware of Romulo Froes’ work but was really enthusiastic about how they could work together after listening to a number of different Brazilian artists. Optimo’s JD Twitch is a long time admirer of Os Mutantes and had been in touch with them previously, so we just facilitated a discussion between them. With Ben Westbeech and Tita Lima, Gilles Peterson advised us that he thought these artists would work well together, we approached them, and they agreed.

The artists have all now met up and worked together in Brazil. How did it go?

Nobody really knew what to expect as it was a new experience for everyone involved. It turned out brilliantly, a really intense week in Sao Paulo. All of the artists got straight into working together and developing new material for shows we had organised at the end of week. So a great mix of work and socialising for 6 or 7 days (which the Brazilians are exceptionally good at). Most of the artists contributed to blogs while we were there and there is video and audio from the week up on the blog site at trocabrahma.net.

What parts of the lineup are you most excited about?

It’s difficult to single out any part of the programme as all of the collaborations have turned out so well. All of the artists are doing full live sets as well as the new material so every night is packed with exceptional shows. However, I can’t wait to see incredibly rare performances by Os Mutantes, and the collaborations between Gruff Rhys and Tony Da Gattora, and King Creosote and Romulo Froes are going to be amazing.

Will this be a regular event?

Yes this is the second year this has happened and everybody has been so positive about it that we’re sure we’ll be doing it over the years ahead.

TrocaBrahma 07 runs through London, Liverpool and Glasgow from July
26-29. We have three pairs of tickets to the TrocaBrahma gig of your choice to give away: just mail info@trocabrahma.com with your choice of gig and choice of city – plus ‘Diskant Comp’ in the subject header – and the first three entrants will receive free tickets. For more info on this year’s event and artists, see www.trocabrahma.com.

Well, so much for Summer. June was a bit of a washout altogether and we had to escape up to the North East of Scotland to get some beautiful sunshine this weekend. We were in Portsoy for the annual Boat Festival and had a great time, even though boats don’t do that much for me. I purchased Irn Bru flavoured fudge, drank Moray Cup, found lots of bargainous fabric in the charity shops, wandered round Cullen beach and generally had an amazing time.

I have also been staying away from the computer as I have been ordered to rest up by my doctor due to me aggravating my RSI again. So diskant updates are very slow at the moment but hopefully not for too much longer as I am back on the mend. If you’re waiting on a response from me then this is probably why.

Our new events page is coming along nicely although the above means I have a bit of a backlog of events to go through – sorry about that. At the moment we’ve got tickets to give away to two fantastic events happening at the end of July – TrocaBrahma and Indietracks. Get over to the events page for all the details on how to enter. There’s no questions to answer so you’ve got as good a chance as anyone. Also, if you know of any other exciting events coming up, let us know!

It’s also your last chance to help out with The Future of diskant by filling out the DISKANT READER SURVEY. We’ll be picking the winner of the amazing prize shortly so hurry up if you want to be in with a chance. It only takes a few minutes.

Current listening: M.I.A., Bonde do Role, Electrelane, Pet Shop Boys.
diskant interview slackness stats: Interviewees: 0, Me: 1

This is the first I’ve heard of Montana’s Touchers, but on the evidence of this, their sixth long-player, they are in a strange place. The sleeve folds out to reveal a collage including Nazi children, a three-breasted pinup model, several guillotines and many sharks. Perhaps The Underwater Fascist is a concept album, then, a meditation on aquatic fascism; but this isn’t obvious from the music here. Not that that’s a problem – the thirteen tracks need no over-arching theme to do their job. They do just fine as they are. And what they are is a dizzying collection of rockabilly rhythms, throat-shredding screeching vocals, upbeat pop melodies and an unhealthy bucketload of weirdness and threatening desperation.

The most obvious musical reference point is Come On Pilgrim-era Pixies: latino skipping timings, clean guitar lines and damaged-sounding vocals that veer from gruff proclamations to screaming outbursts. I have literally no idea what songs such as ‘Aphrodite Has Gone Mad’, ‘The Mattress Song’, ‘February 22nd 1975’ or ‘Brain’ might be about, but then I’ve never been much of a lyrical analyst. What Touchers are good at is creating an atmosphere of something, an ethereal weirdness that’s as unsettling as it is musical and listenable.

Tracks like ‘Michigan’, with its rolling drumbeats and frenetic strummed guitar, butt up against odd acoustic singalongs like ‘There’s The Rub’, which seems to open with the line “I think you are beautiful, but you are for the worms”. There’s certainly a variety of styles and moods on display here, but I guess that despite what I wrote earlier, an over-arching musical theme becomes apparent as the album comes to a close. Touchers sound like a little like many bands at times – Melvins, Pixies, even Butthole Surfers on the closing musique concrete noise of ‘Fire When Ready’ – but they retain a uniquely strange vibe and a confident grasp of whatever they’re about as a band. I’m still trying to work out what that is, but it’s certainly a positive thing.

Touchers

Punk Planet have sent out their final issue. Sad news. Punk Planet was a big influence on diskant, especially their columns and the range of stuff they covered (their Art & Design issues were always brilliant). They introduced me to two of my favourite ever writers (Jessica Hopper and Al Burian) as well as a lot of amazing bands, labels and people. I wasn’t aware they were having financial and distribution issues but then I haven’t seen an issue in the UK for a couple of years at least.

If nothing else, this is a timely reminder to keep buying your favourite magazines regularly and subscribe if possible. I’m off to renew my Plan B subscription. It may take me months to get round to reading them but I’d be very sad if they weren’t around.

Also, a reminder that I should do that zine roundup asap.

Thanks to everyone who made Punk Planet great.

Well, everyone has been very quiet lately so what are you up to? I have been up to my eyes in STUFF, both good and bad. So here you are:

YAY!

Miso Funky Shop
Can you believe it? Me and the Miso Funky gang are opening a real life actual SHOP at The Barras in Glasgow this weekend! If you’re in the area do come along to say hello, view our lovely handmade crafts (including MF’s hilarious Emo-broidery) and sample the free cake. Yes, I said FREE CAKE! More info here.

Giant Robot
Despite the fact that all their galleries are thousands of miles away, I am an avid subscriber of the Giant Robot email newsletter as all their shows look so cool and feature my favourite pop culture artists. When I eventually get to visit the USA, they will be top of my list of places to visit so I can buy everything in their shop. They also put out a magazine packed full of Asian art, design and kawaii. I picked up the latest issue in Edinburgh and it is awesome. Also, ROBOTS!

URRRRRRR
I am still very much into electronic music that goes URRRRRRRRRRRR. All hail then the marvellous Glasgow club night Kaput! whose recent downloadable promo mix is amazing and the new Optimo comp CD Walkabout which is similarly great. Other than that, I am mostly listening to the new Electrelane (glorious!), new M.I.A. tracks (stupidly, infectiously brilliant) and anything that still sounds okay with only one earphone (see below).

ARGH!

Broken Headphones
Boo hoo! I have a two hour bus journey for work every day plus numerous other buses and walkings so I rely very heavily on my iPod to entertain me (and stop my bus rage from exploding when having to wait for 20mins in the rain). But now my headphones have broken and only one ear works, the other stuttering in and out depending on what angle I hold my head. I have tried to buy some new ones but I cannot find any that aren’t crappy earbuds (always fall out, have dreadful sound leakage) or are massive over-ear things (great but too bulky to shove in your pocket). I have even been too busy to order something online. I am getting a lot of reading done though.

No Shellac
How is the new Shellac? 1000 Hurts was possibly the most eagerly anticipated album in diskant’s history and yet I have read virtually nothing about the new one. I went to purchase it last week but they had SOLD OUT of the vinyl! I picked up the CD but I couldn’t bring myself to actually buy it. Must have the vinyl! If anyone wants to, ahem, provide me with MP3s while I wait for an opportunity to get back down the shops let me know :)

Rainy Days
No really, where did Summer go? Was there a timeblip that pushed us back to February?

On the same day that I begin reviewing this record I find/buy an old Philistines Jr seven inch in Music And Video Exchange for 5p not realising that there is a relation between them and Mice Parade.

With a name that is derived from an anagram of leader Adam Pierce’s name, Mice Parade are something of indie veterans with this being their fifth album. And this is a tough record to review as it proves a really tranquil experience which unfortunately sees the music slipping into the background of my day.

A much layered affair, this is a relaxed and slow building selection. Playing out like a travel companion in the midst of some deep conversation, the swift time changes and insertions of any instrument at their disposal, The Mice Parade have produced a record that glides successfully combining elements of folk and noise with strongly crafted songs.

Listened to on a Sunday morning in the summer is when this record feels most comfortable, I find myself transfixed with the blessed ease the protagonists appear to have with life.

Featuring guest appearances on vocals by Laetitia Sadier of Stereolab and Kristin Anna Valtysdottir of Mum that perfectly compliment the almost Dando/Grohl-esqe pitch of Pierce, it is not too hard to envisage how this record sounds, not least with the knowledge that Doug Scharin (June Of 44/Rex/Him) can be counted amongst the band’s numbers.

Over the course of the nine tracks it ranges from the delicate dream state of “Double Dolphins On The Nickel” (sadly not some kind of Minutemen tribute) to the out and out drone of “Snow” and the very Tortoise/Sixtoo-esqe mathematics of “Tales Of Las Negras”, where Sadier makes her appearance.

An album of far flung beauty, in a world where so many are attempting folk-tinged electronica and falling flat on their faces, here is a timely reminded how sweet the cherry can taste.

Thesaurus moment: sumptuous.

Mice Parade
Fat Cat Records

With a band name that just screams aggression, the record doesn’t take long to mark a target and start a fight. Complete with something of a real bitterness, the character Billy Ruffian comes flying out of the tower blocks of Manchester, rant and raving all over what may or may not be something of a modern concept album about a dick.

Often sounding like Art Brut if they were tasty in a ruck, within a few songs Billy Ruffian has taken pops at the music industry, other bands, girls, anything it would seem before descending into some kind of flexing self loathing pose with a drink problem and obsession with death.

Musically rounded by fizzy guitars that sound like sirens, heavy bass lines and occasional brass section accompaniments, song writing that is true has an end product the often sounds like a mash of The Fall and Roxy Music on a budget fronted by Frank Sidebottom or at least his best friend at school. Later it also occurs to me that this is how the Sultans Of Ping (ask your parents or consult a history book) would sound were they played at the wrong speed slow.

The evident humour is often difficult to decipher as the songs play either hit or miss, reaching a low point with the Tiger Lillies-esqe “Ballad Of Billy Ruffian” which is a sad descend into cheese. Fortunately the sharp boiled lyrical content of the excellent “Music v Money” is the lasting recollection after the album has long passed. The lyrics are clearly crafted as narrations of turmoil and frustration, commonplace with any listener/observer that has ever been involved.

The album ends with “The Last Day”, a satisfactory way to end an album, working like the speech of somebody lying on their death bed (maybe Mr Ruffian). Unlike other things from Manchester, this is educated and very much underdog in its making but full of potential to equally ruffle feathers.

Thesaurus moment: sly.

Billy Ruffian
Filthy Little Angels