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Greetings Sorry Staters. Thanks for clicking on the ol’ newsletter again this week. It’s been a busy one for us. Last Saturday was Record Store Day and a good day for the store. Thanks to all of you who came out in person or bought something from our webstore. Participating in RSD is quite a financial investment for small independent stores and a bit of a gamble, so we appreciate you guys choosing us to snag those hot titles for you.
Gig wise, we’ve been busy too. Last Saturday was the benefit gig to help the innocent people affected by the war in Palestine. Thank you for turning up and supporting that. Terrific sets from the bands. Then this past Monday we were delighted to host our friends Deletar from France on the Raleigh leg of their current East Coast tour. They’re great—on and off stage. We couldn’t be happier to have their record on our label. Cheers to Ultimate Disaster and Paranoid Maniac and Shaved Ape and Meat House and Starving Bomb and Scarecrow for the great sets they played. Tonight (Thursday) we see Collate play with our good friends De()t supporting. Good times.
If that wasn’t enough for my diary, this Sunday I will be spinning records at a local art space’s fundraiser event which should be fun and then in addition to my weekly radio show Worldy on The Face Radio we will also participate in International Jazz Day with a special program broadcasting early on Tuesday morning at 8 AM. Any of you reading into Jazz might want to tune in. Not only to our show but to the host of other great presenters that will be broadcasting throughout the day.
For my pick this week, I am going to pull one from the RSD releases that I was glad to get a copy of. It’s the album Burned by Electrafixion. Originally released in 1995, this is the first time on vinyl. Electrafixion were the band formed in 1994 by Ian McCulloch and Will Sergeant of Echo And The Bunnymen after they had buried the hatchet and resumed their friendship. Things had been frosty between the two ever since Mac left the Bunnymen back in 1988. The group would carry on, releasing the underrated Reverberation album in 1990 sans McCulloch, but the lack of interest in that record and the fact that McCulloch had a solo album out competing with it meant the end of the Bunnymen. The tragic death of drummer Pete de Freitas in 1989 from a motorbike accident also hastened the end of the original group. By the time they came back together those five or six years later, the musical landscape had changed a fair bit. Grunge and alternative rock were ruling the airwaves, and Sergeant was looking to play a bigger guitar sound to match the times. That being said, Electrafixion are not Metallica or Nirvana. Perhaps a bit of The Cult or other cowboy boot rock types would be a closer comparison, but despite all that as soon as you hear Mac sing, you think Bunnymen. That’s who they are, and that’s what they’re going to sound like. Indeed, the project only lasted for the one album as the guys soon realized that they were still writing songs that sounded like the Bunnymen, and when original Bunnymen bass player Les Pattison returned to the fold, they were all set for a reformation. The first new material from the boys seeing release in 1997 towards the tail end of the Britpop years. McCulloch and Sergeant have since kept the good ship Bunnymen sailing and have been touring this very year.
Back to the Burned album. There were a couple of singles lifted from the album, which included live versions of some songs. A four track E.P. titled Zephyr preceded the album, which contained the song Burned, which doesn’t appear on the album despite the title. It’s a good song, too. I had the CD of it and the album on CD when they were released, and now having finally got the album on vinyl I need to find that E.P. on wax too. I do have the 7” single to the track Lowdown, which is one of my favorite songs from the record. Honestly, there isn’t a bad song on the record in my opinion, although I admit to being biased. I liked the record when it came out and almost thirty years later, it still hits the spot. Glad to have it on vinyl now.
The memorable cover art incidentally came courtesy of Anton Corbijn, the Dutch photog known for his work with U2, Depeche Mode and later to direct a film on Joy Division.
Also, of note (for me at least) is the fact that two of the songs were co-written by Johnny Marr. His hand is most noticeable on the song Lowdown. He and McCulloch had been toying with the idea of forming a group together, but in the end it was just his songs that carried on into Electrafixion. Probably only enough room for one guitar god in the group.
Alright, gotta leave it here. Check the record out if you aren’t familiar with it, especially if you’re an Echo fan. I think you’ll like it.
Cheers - Dom