Prolapse

I don't know about you, but I would have certain expectations of a band with a name like Prolapse.  These expectations would not include CD liner notes that consist largely of "Jane's" style aircraft illustrations.

And yet this is exactly what I found many years ago when my weekly rummage through the racks of Ben's Collectors Records unearthed a copy of Ghosts Of Dead Aeroplanes.  I stared intently at it for a few minutes, before eventually deciding that £3 was a small price to pay to satisfy my curiosity.

And a good thing too, as it turned out to be a blinder.

The justaposition of brutal arsequake band name and obtuse indie illustrations is, to some extent, mirrored in the record itself.  There's no bowel-shattering sludge on display; but there is a bizarre clash of angular guitar clanging and dreamy shoegaze, and contrasting vocal styles with gentle girly warblings vying for supremacy with the coarse and deranged ramblings of a Scottish madman.  Somehow, it all works.

Personally, I reckon Ghosts Of Dead Aeroplanes is very much the standout record in the Prolapse discography.  Which is not say that the other records are bad particularly - The Italian Flag certainly has a few moments - but if I could only own one Prolapse record, it would definitely be Ghosts.  And if I could own another, it would probably be a spare copy of Ghosts, just in case.







Website: nope
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/prolapseuk
Facebook: nope
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prolapse_(band)

A Place To Bury Strangers

Some bunch of cool bastards that play wall-of-noise-rock that sounds a bit like Joy Division playing My Bloody Valentine covers.

In photos, they appear moody and arty in equal measure.

That's really all I know.

Website: http://www.aplacetoburystrangers.com/

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/aplacetoburystrangers

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_place_to_bury_strangers

The Breeders

So as I mentioned last week, I recently purchased a heap of second hand 90's alt-rock; and Last Splash by The Breeders seems to have floated to the top.

It seems odd that I shouldn't have picked this up the first time around; lead single and floppy-haired pogo shoegaze anthem Cannonball was a regular spin at my local rock club The Agincourt (which is, tragically, still open). I always thought it was a pretty cool song; though in retrospect I may have been slightly embarrassed about this, being the necksnappingly brutal metal kid that I was.

In any case, I am now making up for lost time by fully immersing myself in this early nineties alternative masterpiece. By which I mean I'm driving around with the windows down and playing it very loud. Cannonball is just as good as I remember, with its groovy verse, bouncy chorus and that bassline. But I'm also very taken with the rest of the album, full as it is with surf twangs and shoegaze droning; and of course a somewhat inevitable (but far from unwelcome) Pixies-ness.

Smashing.

Website: http://breedersdigest.net/2008/

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/thebreeders

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Breeders