He's a prolific man is Andy B. As well as being involved in various capacities with other bands and also Exeter-based independent label Pastime Records, he's not slow in getting his solo work out there. It's been eighteen months since his most recent, 'Love Songs In A Different Key', and as we have a small window before another of the bands he works with drops some new tunes, Andy is putting out his fourth LP, 'Those Were The Days', and to spread the word of this latest collection, a promo CD has been made available to buy which features 'Let Me Out Soon' and 'I Can See Through You', as well as the album's title-track as a bonus/B-side. The record is called 'Those Were The Days', the label is Pastime Records; it all points to a time gone by, and anyone familiar with the label's output will know that when they say indie music they mean it in the truest sense, both in terms of recording, distributing and so on, and also in terms of sound.
Much of their material has that classic DIY sound that conjures up images of long-forgotten Glasgow bands making albums for a five on an old tape recorder in a bedsit somewhere. There's a certain romance to that, and it's the same feeling that we find here. None of these songs are heavily produced, in fact they're little more than demos, but that's kind of the charm. 'Let Me Out Soon' marries a Smiths bassline to a Ramones chorus, so you can't really go wrong there; things get a little more reflective on the slower 'I Can See Through You', a song that sounds as though it's only held together by sellotape and blue tack, but this only serves to make it more endearing. The bonus track again gazes longingly into a past chapter of life, perhaps wearing rose-tinted spectacles, and daydreams about events and people that come and go throughout your life, almost to the point where you wish you could build him a time machine to go back, just for one last look at those years of youth. Proof that the personal touch can be a great a tool as a huge desk littered with buttons and faders.
Andy B's website
Buy the single
For more news, reviews and downloads follow The Sound Of Confusion on Facebook or Twitter
contact@thesoundofconfusion.com
No comments:
Post a Comment