Produced within the four walls of a former DDR radio station in East Berlin, the third album from recently disbaned UK group The Rakes’ , Klang, was released digitally on October 20. The album had been available as a UK import since March. It’s been over two years from their previous album, Ten New Messages (2007), and a debut, Capture/Release (2005), that was compared to the fame of The Libertines.
The Drums / Let’s Go Surfing
Lasse (Rakes drummer) is good at sourcing new bands and this one stood out from some tracks he played recently. It has a sweet lo-fi appeal. We put it on the warm up CD for our recent shows.
Paul and Linda McCartney / Monkberry Moon Delight
A bit of a guilty pleasure this, considering his other band is a bit more appreciated. No matter, it’s a great drunken stomp of a song with surreal lyrics mentioning, amongst other things, cantatas, pajamas and Budapest. There’s a good cover of it by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins.
New Fast Automatic Daffodils / Big
This was one of my first encounters with ‘indie’ music. Before this it was smash hits and taping the top 40 from the radio. After it, life revolved around Melody Maker and John Peel.
Chuck Berry / Maybellene
Girls, cars and guitars… The energy of the early rock n’ roll records is hard to match. I don’t think it was until punk came along that anyone really got close. You can see the recording dials leaping into the red.
{audio:http://www.snuhfiles.com/sound/chuck-berry-maybellene-live.mp3]
The Slits / New Town
Its sounds like they’re learning to play their instruments as they go along, which gives the song a very fresh, improvised feel. There’s a real anarchic, fuck you attitude in the delivery.
Iggy Pop / Nightclubbing
This calls to mind Bowie and Iggy’s exploits in the seedy underbelly of 1970s Berlin. It’s the party and the hangover all wrapped up in a heady 4 minutes and 15 seconds. I’d love to see what the nuclear bomb dance looks like.
Pulp / The Trees
From their last album, it’s got a very strong Autumnal feel. I always think of Jarvis as peering out at the world from behind net curtains, his lyrics are funny and thoughtful without being too studied or self-conscious.
Derek Bailey / G.E.B. (In Memory of my Father George Edward Bailey)
I recently discovered guitarist Derek Bailey. It’s difficult to classify his sound, but he was known for his free improvisation. His playing is challenging but unpretentious and I admire the range of sounds he can extract from the guitar.
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