Due out on RSD14 where it’ll arrive on 12 inches of purple wax limited to just 250 copies will be a celebratory 7 track gathering of Battle Worldwide Recordings talent entitled ‘My 1st record, My 1st store‘. The idea was inspired by memories of growing up in Australia and being turned on to strange looking and sounding platters imported by Caveman records a by all accounts much trusted local independent record emporium. So says Darren Smallman BWR’s head honcho.
So the seeds were sown to keep a sound and digital diary of artists commentaries of their first records bought, where they bought them from, why they meant so much etc…so with that in mind the project kick starts with this aforementioned set, seven bands from the BWR roster tasked with covering a track that means so much to them and connects them to their youth and their earliest exposure to the record buying bug. First up Young Things opt for slugging it out with Kinks ’Dead end street’ – always a favourite around at our gaff, remembering hearing this for the first time as a youngster – so feral and hooligan – the record not me, here in the hands of the YT’s faithfully re-trimmed and scalped with a blistering scuzz scowl. Now anyone will tell you that to even consider covering Mazzy Star’s ’Fade into you’ warrants a visit to corrective centre, actually seeing the threat through is I believe in some territories considered a burning at the stake offence. So step along the Pelotons who not only through whatever means of sleight of hand techniques be at their beck and call manage to wrestle said gem as their own, well not quite their own in so much as having it sound like a youthful Butterflies of Love – which as far as we are concerned is pretty much the musical equivalent of heaven.
Alas no info on ASx except to say their version of Warpaint’s ’Undertow’ – the original of which I’m embarrassed to say has never troubled our listening space – or at least I don’t think so – I’ve kind of lost touch since they went stellar, anyhow this is sumptuously chic sophisticat loveliness. Red Kross are another combo we’ll admit to being a tad clueless about somehow they’ve remained to date out of sight on our radar, here El Grumpos who we assume are Mr Smallman’s latest kick botty combo cut loose with the jarring and sparring garage growled fierce some resetting of ‘Annette’s got the hits’ and sounding not unlike an early career Queens of the Stone Age to boot. One of life’s let downs aside having a crap badly paid 8 to 5 job from hell is that we rarely get to hear Gedge gear around these parts these days. One of the highlights from the Weddoes legendary ‘Seamonsters’ set ‘Dare’ is here found dismantled and glued together into a fracturing and unravelling dispirited howl by falling stacks which admittedly edges the original believe it or not.
Those of a certain age might well remember a long running wheeze of Peel’s – the ensuing ‘Play some Stiff’ in retort to the hundreds nay thousands of young spiky tops sending in blackmail lettering requests for the great man to play Ireland’s finest on his show, ’Suspect Device’ and ’Johnny Was’ still stand the test of time pissing from a great height over the heads of the wannabe so called punk pups today. I’ll admit I was never a fan of ’go for it’ from which ’Silver Lining’ covered here by the Co-Pilgrim originally appeared, I guess the youth in me wanted to fingers to remain insolent, loud and edgy forever so going pop was a see you later moment – looking back perhaps I misjudged having now revisited it mainly after being blown away by this re-appraisal which I should say now all bona fide Fingers fans would struggle to recognise given its completely redressed in a gorgeously opining countrified mellowness ached out by the silken swoon of pedal steel dimples. Last up and by no means least Swaying Wires perhaps serve up the sets best moment with their take on Nirvana’s ’Something in the Way’ here hurtfully crushed and traced in a naked vulnerability that’s threaded in the kind of spectral majesty you’d readily expect Glissando to turn out in the blink of an eye. Essential in a word.
http://www.battleworldwiderecordings.com/first
