Song with Fruits in the Title – A Three Day Series –#3 The Peach

I U She – Peaches (2003, XL Records, Taken from ‘Fatherfucker’)

You can blame the guy who owns the farm at the top of hill for this one if you like.  Although I think the farm up the top of the hill is great.  In recent years it has been certified as an organic farm and since then it has diversified what it grows and produces.  Originally it stuck to eggs, and if you wandered up to the farm you would be pecked by one or two of the thousands of chickens that roamed free in their courtyard.  Then they started doing milk, then ice cream, the odd bit of fruit and vegetables, which where the humble peach comes in.

One sunny August morning I went to the farm to get some eggs and as I strolled into the farm yard, skillfully avoiding the chickens I was greeted by the farmer who was unloading crates of peaches from the back of a trailer.  He had kilos of the things.  He had been growing them for an organic supplier and they had sent a load back because they had too many. 

He gave me a huge crate of them for free.  Which is great because peaches are tremendously tasty.  Although there are only so many of the things you can eat in one sitting.  So for the rest of that week, we went on a cooking spree and nearly everything we cooked and ate in our house contained at least one peach.

We started the obvious way and cut them up and put them on our cereal, or we had them with custard but then we experimented.  A grilled peach on toast with goats’ cheese is surprisingly tasty.  Peach curry, rather excellent.  Peach Sorbet was made and frozen as was peach ice cream (in fact there is still some of that left in the freezer somewhere).  We roasted them, we mashed them, we put them in salads with rocket and sherry vinegar dressing, I think I may even have smoked one.  We reached peak peach when I decided to try and add them to a simple bread recipe.

At that point, my wife decided to compost the remaining peaches.

So in tribute to the peach bread that never got made here are five songs that have peaches in the titles and we are perhaps going to start rather sensibly with something by late nineties indie rock band the Presidents of the United States of America.

Peaches – Presidents of the United States of America (1995, Columbia Records, Taken from ‘The Presidents of the United States of America’)

Next up some more American indie rock from The Districts, who released their fifth album last year and yet still look like they are still in their late teens (which to be honest they could be).  Their second album was called ‘A Flourish and A Spoil’ and it contained a song called ‘Peaches’ and back in 2015 I thought The Districts were going to be huge…there is still time people

Peaches – The Districts (2015, Fat Possum Records, Taken from ‘A Flourish and A Spoil’)

Talking of being huge, here’s Wolf Alice, who released their debut album in 2015, the very excellent ‘My Love Is Cool’.  Track eight on that is called ‘Giant Peach’.  Incidentally I re-read James and the Giant Peach the other week and had forgotten how freaky the book is, especially the chapter where the characters do battle with the Cloud Men.  The Cloud Men were waiflike figures who made the weather and then spend a good part of that chapter chucking balls of ice and snow at a floating giant peach full of talking insects. 

Giant Peach – Wolf Alice (2015, Dirty Hit Records, Taken from ‘My Love Is Cool’)

Anyway, let’s move on.  In 2021, Future Islands’ released a standalone single called ‘Peach’ and its wonderful in a laidback synth pop kind of way.

Peach – Future Islands (2021, 4AD Records, Single)

Finally for today and for this mini series, which almost certainly won’t happen again (well not until next year when the No Badger Required “Top 500 songs that have Fruits in their Titles Countdown” will begin in earnest – that folks will be topped by Prince’s ‘Raspberry Beret’ just in case you don’t want to read 499 terrible anecdotes about fruit first), let’s have some Blur who tucked this little gem away on the B Side to ‘For Tomorrow’.

Peach – Blur (1993, Food Records, B Side)

Tomorrow ushers in September when an old series is given a new leash of life (or I’m just exhausted and running out of ideas). 

Song with Fruits in the Title – A Three Day Series –#2 The Orange

Rip It Up – Orange Juice (1982, Polydor records, Taken from ‘Rip It Up’)

You can blame Heston Blumenthal for this one.  Although saying I happen to think he is a genius. Anyway, Heston once made a wonderful looking chocolate orange steam pudding.  This was being Heston not your average chocolate orange pudding.  It wasn’t full of snail porridge or anything like that, it just had a surprise waiting for the people eating it.

Inside this pudding you when you cut into it was an actual orange, peeled and cooked from within the dome shaped sponge.  The trick was that when you cut into the cake you would also unleash the warm sticky orange juice from the inside the orange.  Heston made it look easy and wonderful at the same time.

Now I’m no slouch in the kitchen, some scones that I made for instance, had a week before I saw this orange cake thingy come second in a village show and won a rosette (the rosette was for best rockery display, boom and indeed, tish) and buoyed by this now found confidence I proudly declared to anyone who was listening that I could make that pudding.  It was literally a piece of cake.

In an hour I had all the ingredients I needed, I’d even dusted off the old pudding basin that had sat unloved in the cupboard for about four years and I set to work and in an hour or two my steamed chocolate orange pudding was done.  The kitchen was a mess but it smelt like a chocolate orange mess and that is a good thing.

Anyway, I slide a plate under the pudding basin and strode into the dining room and prepared for the gasps of wonder. I tap the bowl with the back of wooden space and slowly ease the bowl up revealing a perfect domed chocolate sponge.  I yell out a “Yes” (might have been a bit tipsy on the old brandy) just in time for the dome to collapse onto the plate and for the orange to kind of sit on a mound of really quite undercooked chocolate pudding.

So in tribute to the orange which was the only vaguely edible part of my chocolate orange steam pudding, here are five songs with orange in the title and perhaps most fittingly we should start with this.

Orange Crush – R.E.M (1988, Warner records, Taken from ‘Green’)

Next up some surf rock from Glasgow from The Van T’s who were a band that caused a bit of a buzz about seven years before sort of vanishing, which was probably something to do with Covid.  The Van T’s were called so because the two main members of the band were sisters with the surname Van Thompson.  In 2016 they released a track called Blood Orange.

Blood Orange – the van T’s (2016, Big Indie Records, Single)

From surf rock to indie folk now, as we catch up with Big Thief (who are just about to release some new material) and revisit their third studio album ‘U.F.O.F’ which if you haven’t checked it out before you probably should because its bloody amazing, not at least because it has a track on it (track six) called ‘Orange’.

Orange – Big Thief (2019, 4AD Records, Taken from ‘U.F.O.F’)

From indie folk to the vastly underrated UK slacker rock scene which briefly threatened to get itself out of bed in in the mid 2010’s.  Somewhere near the top of that scene were London trio Happyness and their debut album ‘Weird Little Birthday’.  On that there is a track called ‘Orange Luz’.  A Luz for those in the dark is the bone that sits at the end of the spine, also known as the coccyx.  It supposed to be indestructible (according to religious folklore) but can’t be because a guy I know called Jamie, broke his after falling off a snowboard in the Italian section of the Alps.

Orange Luz – Happyness (2014, Weird Smiling Records, Taken from ‘Weird Little Birthday’)

Finally for today PJ Harvey who really needs no introduction but the seventh track on her ninth studio album ‘The Hope Six Demolition Project’ is called ‘The Orange Monkey’.

The Orange Monkey – PJ Harvey (2016, Island Records, Taken from ‘The Hope Six Demolition Project’)

Tomorrow – The Peach.

Song with Fruits in the Title – A Three Day Series – #1 The Apple

Kennedy – Wedding Present (1989, RCA Records)

You can blame my mother in law if you like.  Or better still you can blame Bill, my brother in law.  You see a few weeks ago it was my mother in laws seventieth birthday and as is the way these days we all put on our glad rags and went to a posh hostelry for a slap-up meals of cheese kebabs, fish and chips and ham and eggs (genuinely what we had).

Bill, was, as ever, late.  He’s always late.  You tell Bill to be somewhere at eight, he’ll arrive at eight thirty.  Once we had a big important family roast and told him that dinner would be served at one pm, and we all sat there, potatoes, slowly crisping up to the point that they could be used as Lego Bricks, until he arrived at a quarter to two. 

We even got to the point of telling Bill a different earlier time to everyone else in order to get him there on time.  That didn’t work either.  He was still late.  Anyway, he’s late.  Again.

We are not talking, bride walking down the aisle for the first time, fashionably late, we are talking uncomfortably, rumbling tummy late.  He saunters in, blames the traffic and then proceeds to eat all the bread that we had deliberately left until he arrived. 

Around eight thirty the waitress comes round and takes our order for dessert.  Bill jumps in first and proudly declares that he would like the apple crumble.  There are nods of approval, everyone wants apple crumble, mostly with custard please.  Two minutes later the waitress comes back and says that there is only one apple crumble left, which Bill claims very quickly as he ordered first and leaves the rest of us to decide amongst ourselves as to what we will have (I have sticky toffee pudding in case you are wondering. It was ok.  I love apple crumble though and am in a sulk for the rest of the night.  It’s the undisputed king of puddings, face facts banoffee pie).

So, in honour of the apple crumble that I didn’t eat – here are five songs with apples in their title.  We’ll kick off with this garage rock blast from the second White Stripes album.

Apple Blossom – The White Stripes (2000, Sympathy for the Record Industry, taken from ‘De Stijl’)

Next up another duo who made a terrific racket most of the time.

Watching The Big Apple Turn Over – Carter USM (1992, Chrysalis Records, Taken from ‘the Love album’)

It’s always difficult to follow Carter USM, but let’s pop over to Canada for something (almost) brand new from Braids, an electro trip hop group who are much beloved of these pages.  They’ve released a new album this year called ‘Euphoric Recall’– which is as usual a bit brilliant – the second track on that is called ‘Apple’.

Apple – Braids (2023, Secret City Records, Taken from ‘Euphoric Recall’)

Talking of bands that are releasing new material this year.  London based four piece indie band Tribes are back back back apparently.  What do you mean you don’t remember them leaving in the first place.  Anyway, they have a new album – their first in ten years.  Ten long years folks, its probably worth the wait, if you think it’s still 2015 kind of way.  The debut album by Tribes, had a song on it called ‘Bad Apple’.

Bad Apple – Tribes (2012, Island Records, Taken from ‘Baby’)

Finally today, as I scroll through the music library casually ignoring the Beady Eye song with Apple in the title we arrive at this.

Applesauce – Animal Collective (2012, Domino Records, Taken from ‘Centipede Hz’)

Tomorrow The Orange

A month all about music’s greatest females – #20 Sinead O’Connor

And you tell us not to sing our song

Drink Before The War – Sinead O’ Connor (1987, Chrysalis Records, Taken from ‘The Lion and The Cobra’)

Ah Sinead. 

I’ve not much to say about Sinead’s death (other than its terribly sad).  I don’t know how she died and in some ways it’s not that important.  What is important is that she leaves us with some frankly inspirational music, from her early almost punky debut through that massive hit, countless collaborations and further albums.  I’m not going to sit here and pretend that I was a fan of all her work. I wasn’t, I own ‘I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got’ and I had a burnt copy of ‘The Lion and The Cobra’ that I played perhaps twice in ten years and that was about it. 

The Emperors New Clothes – Sinead O’Connor (1990, Chrysalis Records, Taken From ‘I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got’’)

1000 Mirrors – Asian Dub Foundation (featuring Sinead O’Connor) (2003, Xray Records, Taken from ‘Enemy of the Enemy’)

Let’s put her music to one side for a minute because as you’ve all probably read there was so much more to Sinead than just music, she used her career to highlight issues around child abuse, human rights, racism, religion, women’s rights and a load of other things. 

She was also painfully honest about her struggles with mental health.

What I am going to do here, is divert to an excellent piece from the Guardian on mental health written by a journalist called Hannah Parkinson which out of all the stuff written about Sinead since her death and ‘her struggles’ is probably the only one which made me sit up and take notice.

Here is the opening paragraph.

“In March 2016, Sinéad O’Connor, went missing. I remember this specifically because the Telegraph ran a live blog on the singer’s whereabouts after she had posted suicidal thoughts. A live blog. I pointed out to an editor at the paper that rolling updates about a person going through a severe mental health episode, an episode that might have ended fatally – and for all they knew, already had – was neither responsible nor compassionate. It was, coincidentally, Mental Health Awareness Week.”

The Daily Telegraph, folks.  I don’t need to ask you to not buy that rag do I?

Hannah goes on to make a really important point about mental health.  She said that “Sinead O’Connor put mental health front and centre.  She showed it as it really was.  She showed us the brutal reality of it”. 

She did. 

I hope that Sinead is at peace now, although there is a section of me that wants that to be raging at whomever is in charge at which ever destination she ended up at, because that it what she did so well.  I don’t know.  She was unpredictable at best.  Brilliantly so most of the time. 

She will be of course best remembered for her version of Prince’s ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’, a song which she took to Number One in the UK.  A song remembered almost as much for its video than the sterling vocal performance from O’Connor, because it shows her crying in it (apparently the line she sang reminded her of her mother). 

But, as marvellous as that is, she should be remembered for everything that she did as well as that song where she cried in the video.  Yes she was often controversial, but name me a rock star who you adore, who hasn’t been, Sinead did things in a way that bought issues to people’s attention, like for instance tearing up a picture of the pope live on mainstream American telly (and then telling people to fight the real enemy). An act that got her a bunch of death threats and despite that still caused Time Magazine to call her ‘the most influential women on the planet’ at the end of 1992. 

Ultimately Sinead O’Connor should be remembered for just wanting the world to be a better place.

Nothing Compares 2 U – Sinead O’ Connor (1990, Chrysalis Records)

Fifty Twelve Inches – #7 – Pulp

Common People (Motiv-8 Mix) – Pulp (1995, Island Records, Original Taken from ‘Different Class’)

You can I think imagine the scene.  Britpop is king, the dancefloor is packed to the rafters with hip and sexy young things (and my mate Jonny) all strutting their stuff to the latest hip and sexy sounds from hip and sexy young things in skinny t-shirts.  I mean Jesus they are even dancing to bands like Cast.

As the strains of something else fades out, the last big chorus from the latest Sleeper single perhaps, we drop this astonishing mix.  A minute or so of cheesy nineties beats fills the room there is bemused faces, people moan that we aren’t playing ‘Your Ma’ by Salad or something else equally bland or laugh at us for being ironic or trying to be clever and then in thirty seconds time, Jarvis pipes up “She came from Greece….” Cue bedlam on the dancefloor.   We’re so funny and so cool and so damn attractive.

That is pretty much how it happened in my head at least. 

In reality, Radio 1 had been playing the Motiv-8 Mix of ‘Common People’ for a while and its impact on the dancefloor frequented by the hip and sexy young things in the basement indie disco wasn’t that much of a surprise.  It was however, almost as popular as the album version of ‘Common People’ which we would perhaps get about twenty requests to play a night back in the day. 

Common People (Full length Version) – Pulp (1995, Island Records)

The Motiv-8 Mix of ‘Common People’ shouldn’t work, what with its cheesy handbag house bleeps and its Pete Waterman beats, but it really does.  It’s probably because of its cheesy nature.  You can almost smell the irony flowing through it.  Jarvis wants you to stick your handbag on the floor and dance around whilst some gonk in drainpipe jeans and a mullet (back to my mate Jonny again) tries to pull you.

The Motiv-8 Mix came on a DJ Promo twelve inch, it came in a plain black sleeve with ‘Common People – The Motiv-8 Mix’ stamped on it.  The promotional bumf shoved in the sleeve told you in no uncertain terms to ‘Stop what you are doing and listen to this….” 

There are four versions of ‘Common People’ on the twelve inch, you get the two tracks above, a radio edit, and something called ‘The Vocoder Mix’ which is ghastly but here it is.

Common People (The Vocoder Mix) – Pulp (1995, Island Record)

I once took this twelve inch along to a record fair in Guildford with the full intention of flogging it to this highest bidder – my head had been turned by the money that could be earnt by selling promo copies of Britpop tracks that had been remixed but I couldn’t bear to part with it.  I mean it’s ‘Common People’…

Earlier I had (foolishly on reflection) sold a one side promo of a remix of ‘Champagne Supernova’ by Oasis for £20 (nowadays a copy of that will cost nearly the same as a weekly shop in Waitrose).

Champagne Supernova (Da Lynch Mob Mix) – Oasis (1996, Creation Records)

I also sold another Pulp twelve inch – a Purple Vinyl one sided Moloko mix of Feelings Called Love’ for about £25.  I’ve never seen another copy of that anywhere since.  I think the remix surfaced as a B-Side on ‘Something Changed’, but I might be wrong but I probably should have kept that as well.

Feelings Called Love (Moloko Mix) – Pulp (1995, Island Records)

Nearly Perfect Albums – #75

Smashing Pumpkins – Siamese Dream (1993, Virgin Records)

One of the first things I ever wrote about music, in a semi professional way (I say semi professional, I didn’t get paid a penny for it but wrote it because of my love of music, and the occasional freebie –  you wouldn’t catch me doing that 30 years later…) was a review of this album for a record shop sponsored fanzine.  I wish I still had it but I don’t.  I’m fairly sure it was terrible.  I know that I raved about ‘Siamese Dream’ and told people to buy this record instead of ‘In Utero’ by Nirvana (which was the other big ‘grunge’ record of the time) because ‘Siamese Dream’ was better in so many ways (for the record, it isn’t better than ‘In Utero’ it’s on a par with it – both are Nearly Perfect and both deserve your attention).  I also remember saying that ‘Today’ was not only one of the greatest songs of all time but it also contained one of the greatest guitar riffs of all time.  I was right about that bit at least.

Today – Smashing Pumpkins (1993, Virgin Records)

It is their best song by some distance, nothing really comes close does it?  I mean ‘1979’ from ‘Mellon Collie…’ is excellent and all that but there is such a feeling of tenderness to ‘Today’ when Billy Corgan sings “Today is the greatest day I’ve ever known” that makes it so timeless in a way that no other Smashing Pumpkins song does.

The other thing I remember saying in that review, largely because the NME or the Melody Maker had also said it was the album that would turn the Smashing Pumpkins into stadium rock superstars.  Which of course it did, largely because of ‘Today’ but also because of the quality of the other singles on the album.

Like ‘Cherub Rock’ which opens the album with something akin to a rallying call to arms.  If ‘Today’ was the centrepiece of this album, then ‘Cherub Rock’ is the supporting wingman with its chugging riffs and its soaring chorus.  The scene and the mood was very much set.  Corgan wanted world domination.

Cherub Rock – Smashing Pumpkins (1993, Virgin Records)

‘Disarm’ was also a brilliant single, despite it being a slight deflection from the norm.  It was recorded with a bunch of strings that barely managed to disguise the ferocity of the lyrics.  Lyrics which saw the track banned from radio stations due to what were considered questionable at the time (there were lyrics like “Cut that little child” and of course “the killer in me is the killer in you” – which were allegedly about child abuse and back then we didn’t talk about that kind of thing).  The ban didn’t stop it hurtling into the Top Twenty in the UK.

Disarm – Smashing Pumpkins (1993, Virgin Records)

There are further highlights as well – ‘Mayonnaise’ is a marvellously noisy affair all whistling guitars and Corgan’s full on screeching, which is one of his greatest vocal performances.  In contrast the guitar playing on ‘Hummer’ is exceptional and ‘Spaceboy’ written about (I think) Corgan’s autistic brother, is a beautiful track.

Mayonnaise – Smashing Pumpkins (1993, Virgin Records)

Spaceboy – Smashing Pumpkins (1993, Virgin Records)

My review of this record back in 1993 may have been raw and a bit rubbish but my opinion of this record hasn’t changed one bit.  It is a tremendous piece of work and deserves its place in any collection, some of it is slightly overlong (the seven minute loud then quiet ‘Soma’ jars a bit) and it is a little bit over bearing in places, but as a record from that ‘grunge’ era, it is very close to the top of the tree. 

A month all about music’s greatest females – #19 Alexis Krauss (and a few others)

Sling set can’t meet their demands

Infinity Guitars – Sleigh Bells (2010, Mom+Pop Records, Taken from ‘Treats’)

I wanted to talk about a few females in rock today, because otherwise I’ll run out of time and will spend most of September wondering why I never mentioned such and such – so I’m going to start with Sleigh Bells and then throw in a few short paragraphs about some other females.  So…Sleigh Bells….

Alexis Krauss spent most of her formative years, lip synching and chorographically dancing to plastic beats to crowds of school children at Disney and Nickelodeon sponsored events as part of the teen pop group Ruby Blue.  When their time in the spotlight eventually fizzled out (it wasn’t long to be fair, maybe three years), she sort of turned her back on a career in music and went back to school, majoring in political science and then taught Spanish to kids in the Bronx and made a few bucks on the side as a wedding singer.  

That, musically, seemed to be that. Until 2008 that is, when a waiter called Derek, happened to tell Krauss’ mother that he was a looking for a female vocalist to sing on a musical project that he was involved in.   Alexis’ mum pointed at her daughter, who was busy tucking into the Brazilian ribs that had just been served up and said – “my daughter is a singer”.

And so Sleigh Bells were born.  In 2010, the first tracks were laid down and as was the trend back then immediately given away as free downloads. 

Tell ‘Em – Sleigh Bells (2010, Mom+Pop Records, Taken from ‘Treats’)

Within days of that happening, the buzz had started, the press frothed at the mouths and called Sleigh Bells the new masters of noise pop and indie rock had a new goddess in the form of Alexis Krauss.  Since then Sleigh Bells have released five albums and a couple of Ep’s.  Here’s is a track from the third album (which was apparently inspired by Janet Jackson) and one from their fourth album but all of their work is worth a listen if you like crunchy guitars, electroclash beats and sweet and shouty vocals that tip their hat in the direction of RnB, which should be pretty much everyone.

Tiger Kit – Sleigh Bells (2013, Mom+Pop Records, Taken from ‘Bitter Rivals’)

Throw Me Down The Stairs – Sleigh Bells (2016, Tom Clean Records, Taken from ‘Jessica Rabbit’)

Talking of brilliant things released on the Mom + Pop Record label.  Here’s the wonderful ‘Avant Gardener’ by Courtney Barnett, which is in case you were in any doubt, definitely the greatest song to ever feature the word “pseudoephedrine”.

Avant Gardener – Courtney Barnett (2015, Mom +Pop Records, Taken from ‘The Double EP, A Sea of Split Peas’)

There is something rather wonderful about the way that Courtney Barnett half sings, half speaks in a deadpan style.  There is also something unique about songs that reference Sunday roasts, house hunting alongside tracks about depression. 

Sunday Roast – Courtney Barnett (2018, Mom + Pop Records, Taken from ‘Tell Me How You Really Feel’)

Next up, two females who formed a band after they met at a crochet class in Los Angeles in 2011 and within in a year they had released a record that saw them draw comparisons to bands like White Stripes and Royal Blood.

Gonna Make My Own Money – Deap Vally (2013, Island Records, Taken from ‘Sistronix’).

One more, and we sort of come full circle, because Bethany Cosentino, the singer in Best Coast, like Alexis Krauss (and the ladies from Deap Vally) sings in a duo (albeit one that has almost perfected the two minute summery indie pop song), started out in life as a child actress and was in another band before joining Best Coast. 

Unlike Alexis Krauss, the band that Bethany Cosentino was in before Best Coast was an experimental drone pop band called Pocahaunted and they released somewhere in the region of twelve albums in a four year period.  These were mainly improvised recordings that experimented with drone, reverb and dub. 

Sadly much of their output is unavailable (or rather Songwhip doesn’t have it).  Here is a link to something from You Tube.  I think they sound a bit like Boredoms.

All Of Is Of – Pocahaunted (2009, Not for Fun Records)

Bethany left Pocahaunted in 2010 and formed Best Coast with Bobby Bruno. 

Bratty B – Best Coast (2010, Mexican Summer, Taken from’ ‘Crazy For You’).

A few weeks ago she released her first solo album, ‘Natural Disaster’, which explores a more folky angle.

Easy – Bethany Cosentino (2023, Concord Records, Taken from ‘Natural Disaster’)

On Monday we draw this series to a close, with a tribute to a lady who sung this line

“Well, you tell us that we’re wrong”.

A month all about music’s greatest females- #18 Warpaint

They light up the river that the birds fly over

Undertow – Warpaint (2010, Rough Trade Records, Taken from ‘The Fool’)

A guest from Swiss Adam of the Bagging Area Blog

Warpaint are from Los Angeles and in many ways they look and sound like they could only have come from California- sun dappled, heavy lidded and slightly stoned, a little messy round the edges, indie- punks with skate clothes and dyed hair, dub basslines, spindly guitars and vocal harmonies. The four albums Emily Kokal, Jenny Lee Lindburgh, Theresa Wayman and Stella Mogzawa have released (plus the debut mini- album Exquisite Corpse) contain many gems, 21st century music that draws from the past but creates something new.

Exquisite Corpse from 2007, made before drummer Stella Mogzawa joined, captures their early sound and songs-, ‘Billie Holiday’, ‘Stars’ and ‘Krimson’ are all early favourites but the stand out song is ‘Elephant’s, a rolling, rumbling piece of art rock that opens with Emily Kokal singing ‘I’ll break your heart’ over cascading guitar notes and then one of Jenny Lee’s post- punk informed basslines thunders in.

Elephants – Warpaint (2007, Manimal Records, Taken from ‘Exquisite Corpse’)

They signed to Rough Trade and in 2010 released ‘The Fool’, their first full length album. It was led by single ‘Undertow’, a dreamy piece of music with rubbery drums and bass, three way vocal harmonies and a pair of guitar chords. ‘Undertow’ feels like a late summer day, the heat of tarmac and haze of sunshine slipping away, dusk imminent.

 In 2014 they put out the self- titled ‘Warpain’t, probably their best album, everything that they do well done really well, songs that sound like they started as jams and grooves but were then worked and refined. From the title onwards it seems like a definitive statement. The eight minute collision of ‘Disco// Very’ and ‘Keep It Healthy’ is wonderful, a confident, knowing stew of off kilter, chanted vocals and their post- punk/ dub/ Mamas and Papas/ Slits sounds stirred together, the song building to the lines, ‘I make room for everyone I make room for everyone I need to take a break’. The video, the four Warpaint women walking/ goofing/ dancing down a hillside road, sums them up them very well. Richard Norris provided a slinky, club friendly remix too.

 Disco//Very – Warpaint (2014, Rough Trade Records, Taken from ‘Warpaint’)

‘Love Is To Die’, the single from that album, is a killer song too, mesmeric and captivating Los Angeleno psychedelia.

Love Is To Die – Warpaint (2014, Rough Trade Records, Taken from ‘Warpaint’)

 Since then Warpaint have released ‘Heads Up’ in 2016, an album led by the self-explanatory ‘New Song’ and in different editions coupled with a stunning single, the double header of ‘I’ll Start Believing’ and ‘No Way Out’. The seven-minute version of ‘No Way Out’ is especially good, cool and low down, a song from under the duvet.

No Way Out – Warpaint (2016, Rough Trade Records, Taken from ‘Heads Up’)

 In 2022 they released ‘Radiate Like This’, a more synth based record, a lighter and more poppy affair. They toured to support it and when I saw them at Manchester’s Albert Hall they were on it, a girl gang with instruments, rhythms to dance to and songs to sing.  The year before ‘Radiate Like Thi’s came out they returned from a haitus with a song for the HBO series ‘Made For Love’. ‘Lilys’ was a swirling, seductive piece of psychedelic/ post- punk, dark but with light getting through the cracks.

Lilys – Warpaint (2021, Universal Music,)

Thanks as ever Adam, that description of ‘Undertow’ is just wonderfully vivid and totally spot on.

Here is tomorrows lyrical clue

Deaf chords, dead ends

A month all about music’s greatest females- #17 The Crutchfield Sisters

I feel amazing today

Fade – Waxahatchee (2017, Merge Records, Taken from ‘Out In The Storm’)

The Crutchfield Sisters are, for those in the dark, twin sisters Katie and Allison.  Since 2007 they have been making fantastic music in a variety of different bands and solo projects. 

That started with PS Eliot, a sort of poppy punk band that the sisters formed when they had left school.  They released two albums (of which the fist one ‘Introverted Romance for the Trouble Mind’ comes highly recommended round these parts) before splitting in 2011.  P.S Eliot were an explicitly feminist band, not quite riotous enough to be considered to be riot grrls (nor would they want to be I suspect) but their lyrics reflect their experiences of what was largely a male dominated scene.  In 2016, they briefly reformed for a tour and Don Giovani Records packaged together their back catalogue including many lost or unreleased tracks and released a double album retrospective.  It is a bloody marvellous listen from the early garage rock influenced demos to the more refined almost pop music of the second album ‘Sadie’ all of it is great.

We’d Never Agree – P.S Eliot

Hail Mary– P.S Eliot

Both taken from ‘2007 – 2011’(2016, Don Giovani Records)

In 2010 slightly before the break up of P.S Eliot, Katie Crutchfield formed Waxahatchee (and it is pretty much a solo project).  Katie has used this platform to perfect the art of blending emotional lyrics about break ups, destructive relationships and self reflection with beautifully subtle music that soars when it has to and whispers when it needs to.  The music is much more relaxed than the poppy punk of P.S Eliot but Waxahatchee are consistently wonderful.

In the twelve years that they have been making music, five albums have been released, the most recent of those was ‘Saint Cloud’ in 2020.  Here is a track from the second album ‘Cerulean Salt’ and the third one ‘Ivy Tripp’.

Swan Dive – Waxahatchee  (2012, Don Giovani Records, Taken from ‘Cerulean Salt’)

Half Moon – Waxahatchee (2015, Wichita Records, Taken from ‘Ivy Tripp’)

In 2022, Katie teamed up with the singer Jess Williamson to form a band called Plains and they released an album called ‘I Walked With You A Ways’.  Which sees Katie exploring a more alt country sound. 

Line of Sight – Plains (2022, Anti Records, Taken from ‘I Walked With You A Ways’)

The other Crutchfield sister is of course Allison, and after the demise of P.S Eliot, she formed the band Swearin’ a band who followed the poppy punk ethics established by P.S Eliot.  They released two albums and an EP between 2012 and 2015, when the briefly split.  They reformed in 2017 and remain together although there has been no new music since 2018. 

Their eponymous debut album is at time ferociously loud and is perhaps at times more punky than anything P.S Eliot ever released especially this particular blast of brilliance

Shrinking Violet – Swearin’ (2012, Salinas Records, Taken from ‘Swearin’)

Swearin’s second album ‘Surfing Strange’ was a bit more radio friendly but retained that by now familiar sound.  This was the lead single from it

Dust In The Gold Sack – Swearin’ (2013, Salinas Records, Taken from ‘Surfing Strange’)

Allison Crutchfield has also released one excellent solo album called ‘Tourist In This Town’ which had an almost disco feel to it.

Expatriate – Allison Crutchfield (2017, Merge Records, Taken from ‘Tourist In This Town’)

Now I know what you are all thinking.  Twin sisters form a band, have a mildly successful, hugely influential five year career and then split presumably they no longer get on with each other.  Well you’d be wrong.  Between 2010 and 2017 Waxahatchee and Swearin’ toured together and all the members of Swearin’ played on the second Waxahatchee album so all remains good with the Crutchfield sisters.

Swiss Adam is back tomorrow, and here is a lyrical clue as to who he is going to be chatting about although if you read the comments pages on this here blog you’ll know anyway.

Your brown eyes are my blue skies

A month all about music’s greatest females- #16 Courtney Love

And all the stars were just like little fish

Violet – Hole (1994, DGC Records, Taken from ‘Live Through This’)

Rather predictably I’m going to talk a very briefly about Kurt Cobain, because you sort of have to when discussing Courtney Love, the pair literally went hand in hand. Its relevant because he (or rather his death) is one of the reasons why Courtney Love is one of the most inspirational women in rock music.

So, let’s have a brief jog down memory lane. 

We all know that Kurt Cobain killed himself, if you didn’t know that, then sorry to have broken the news in such a glib way, but you know we are kind of done with that now.  He shot himself on April 5^th 1994.

Cobain was married to Courtney Love at the time, who was the singer in a rock band called Hole, who had at the time released one album ‘Pretty On The Inside’ (which was produced by Kim Gordon from Sonic Youth fact fans).  It is an uncompromising sort of record full of sludgy punk rock, screaming vocals and plenty of distorted guitars, here is the best track from it.

Teenage Whore – Hole (1991, City Slang Records, Taken from ‘Pretty on the Inside’)

The follow up to ‘Pretty on the Inside’, ‘Live Through This’ was released on April 12^th 1994, a week after Kurt committed suicide. A week.  I have no idea if that was intentional, scheduled and too late to withdraw it or what, but come on, the sheer scale of that seems incredibly crass. ‘Live Through This’ by the way is an excellent record that if you don’t own, you should rectify as soon as you can.

Love retreated into hiding in the next few months and was barely seen and then on June 16^th, the bass player in Hole, Kristen Pfaff, died from a heroin overdose and the future of Love and her band Hole seemed in jeopardy. 

Doll Parts – Hole (1994, DGC Records, Taken from ‘Live Through This’)

The band were scheduled to play the Reading Festival on the Sunday night but pretty much no one expected that to happen.  A load of nonsense came out about Love in the period between the death of Cobain, the death of Pfaff and the Reading Festival.  Rumours about heroin dependency (which were untrue), affairs with Evan Dando and half of the Seattle music scene (again untrue), people blamed her for the death of her husband.  It was looking back on that time and reading about it – pretty revolting and I hope that no one would have blamed Courtney Love for turning her back on everything.

But she didn’t because on that sunny afternoon in Reading in 1994, Courtney Love ambled on stage and reminded everyone as to why she is and remains utterly amazing.

Miss World – Hole (1994, DGC Records, Taken from ‘Live Through This’)

It was the first time Hole had performed since Kurt and Kristen’s deaths, Courtney walked on stage looking like she had just got out of bed (which in fairness, she might have done) and blew the place apart.  Her performance was literally the only thing people wanted to talk about for the rest of the festival. 

I’m going to hand over to John Peel (yup that one) to tell us what happened next (it’s not actually John Peel, it is a quote from a piece that he wrote for The Guardian).

“Courtney Love’s dishevelled appearance drew whistles of astonishment, but her performance verged on the heroic.  She steered her band through a set which dared you to pity either her recent history or that of the band.  It teetered on chaos and there was this tension which I cannot describe.  It was inspirational”

I suspect that Courtney Love has some regrets, because her life before and after everything has not been all that shiny.  But despite everything that had happened, and despite everything that had been said, the lies, the drama, the drink, the drugs, the breakdowns that inevitably followed, the lawsuits, the arrests, the uninhibited live performances, confrontational behaviour, I could go on.  Despite all that Courtney Love has emerged as one of the most influential singers in alternative rock in the last 30 years.

Malibu – Hole (1998, Geffen Records, Taken from ‘Celebrity Skin’)

Here is tomorrow’s lyrical teaser

You wring me out, I tell the truth