rocket science

i forget about this band every few years, and then rediscover them and fall in love all over again. they did two sevens in the mid 90s, one of them on simba from 1996, and the other on electrolux. this is also from 1996.

the simba 7" (if you're from the UK you will probably remember vique simba from her erotic fiction in fracture zine) actually starts off with a pretty average indie rocker called 'well known drag'. it's very straight forward and if you were to throw this seven inch on and listen to this song first, you probably wouldn't even bother playing side b. it sounds like a mish mash between brit pop and post-hardcore, so i guess it's not too far from that kill holiday lp on revelation, crossed with some sense field perhaps. i have included the mp3 anyway so that you can raise an eyebrow at it's sub-parity. luckily, i have also included 'come on to xenon', hopefully named for the amiga game. this song will, literally, kill you. it is astonishing. it makes me shiver. gorgeous indie rock that twinkles and jangles away to perfection. the members of christie front drive would have nodded sagely at each other and smiled if they had written this song. when the low guitar comes in initially, and then the vocals, oh my fucking god. i am a big sucker for the sundays best lp on polyvinyl. this song sounds like them in a way too, just much less polished. plus pylon from the UK. and mineral. it gently builds and builds and then hurtles into the perfect pop chorus with sweet, sweet backing vocals nudging the main singer from centre stage. songs like this make me want to punch indie rock in the face. HEY INDIE ROCK, MAKE SONGS LIKE THIS AGAIN PLEASE.

the electrolux 7" luckily focuses on the awesome aspect of the band. 'avalon' piles big walls of shoegazemo guitars over a strummed acoustic and buried vocals. this is truly the good shit. it's backed with 'saying things like wish or want' which changes direction again, getting all drawn out and stonermo like pot valiant and this super, muddy bass sound kind of like lumber. it again calls upon the excellent vocal combination, but this time around everything sounds a lot bleaker and less poppy. i apologise for the lesser sound quality on this single. i did it a couple of years ago through a dual cs-505 connected to my pc direct via a cheapo project phono stage, instead of the rega through my hifi and a good phono stage that i have now. anyway, you can still tell these are good songs regardless of my terrible job.

get emo here