Tuesday, October 15, 2024

The Secret Terror of Bubblegum

Various Artists – ‘Pour a Little Sugar On It The Chewy Chewy Sounds Of American Bubblegum 1966-1971′ On the face of it, the bubblegum pop sounds of the late 60s are everything the name promises – easily accessible throwaway pop with a day-glo sheen and enough gooey cloying sweetness to make your teeth crackle. But, […]

Come to the Sabbat – Black Widow, knockers and organs

Black Widow – Sabbat Days, The Complete Anthology 1969-1972 It’s perhaps appropriate that the typeface on the cover of this exhaustive boxset covering the career of the notorious Leicester band makes the title look at first glance like it says, “Sabbat Dads”. Predicting both the impossible-to-decipher Satan-obsessed death metal band logos of decades hence, as […]

The Full Frank Sidebottom Musical Experience…It Really Is

Frank Sidebottom – Little Box of Bobbins – Frank’s Fantastic Anthology 1985-1993 It’s a testament to the uniqueness of Chris Sievey‘s glorious creation, that despite his own TV show, guest appearances on countless other programmes, regular attempts at cracking the hit parade, relentless touring, books and a film semi-based on his life starring Hollywood A-listers, […]

The Residents – Demons Dance Alone

The Residents – Demons Dance Alone (pREServed re-issue) I’ve long since lost track of whether these releases are in any sort of order, but let’s at least rejoice that so much time and care has been given to a band’s legacy which could so easily have disappeared into complete obscurity. Of course, we’re still on […]

‘In a Violent Nature’ – review

*Contains spoilers* Of course, it’s not just this review that contains spoilers – ultimately, that’s exactly what the film is. The much-heralded ‘In a Violent Nature’ looks to turn the slasher film on its head by telling the story from the killer’s perspective, giving us an insight into not just his motivation but the methods, […]

Ulysses 31 – Greek Myths Go Cosmic

“It is the 31st Century. Ulysses killed the giant Cyclops when he rescued the children and his son Telemachus. But the ancient gods of Olympus are angry and threaten a terrible revenge…” Japanese pop culture had been seeping into European minds with increasing stealth in the late 70s and early 80s. Feigning to be children’s […]

Ken Nordine – The Voice of God & The Devil

Whilst no one would ever describe him as a singer or actor, Ken Nordine undoubtedly had one of the most incredible voices of the 20th Century. It was a voice of such depth, sonority and gravitas that it kept him in gainful employment over the course of eight decades and allowed him the anonymity many […]

In Conversation with Allan Crockford

A little while ago I reviewed the new Galileo 7 album, ‘You, Me and Reality’, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I was very happy to get a message from Allan Crockford from the band thanking me, though he was intrigued I found it such a positive album considering the subject matter of several of the songs. […]