Michael Head on the Phone

Gorilla, Manchester

21/1/20

Self Civil War

Received in the post this morning and two listens in...

My god there's some good stuff on this. Lyrical puns, the Archdrude's bass pumped up and in the foreground, heavy on the mellotron and an excess of guitar solos.

I'm enjoying it immensely.

First album and gig of 2020

Field Music's new album, Making A New World and their Piccadilly records outstore gig at the Soup Kitchen.

Such a great live band - wonderful chemistry between the Brewis brothers and I love their ability to both swap between guitar and drums.

2019 Re-View

Box sets

There's been more of these added to my collection than any time before.

The jaw dropping In Search of Hades by Tangerine Dream featuring a lot of unreleased live and studio recordings.

OMD's Souvenir set, including a disc of unreleased music.

Warp Records' 30th anniversary WXAXRXP30 10 disc set.

Midge Ure's 3 disc "Soundrack" anthology - some unusual choices for what was included, but at £15 it was worth the price alone for the DVD. 

STUMM 433 - 5 discs of 4'33" cover versions. Not a lot happens.

Brian Eno's Music for Installations vinyl set - I know it was released last year, but I managed to get it at a bargain price this year.

Julian Cope's Autogeddon got a vinyl box set release, featuring the wonderful Paranormal EP on vinyl for the first time.

I got the "Spying Through The Keyhole" and "Clareville Grove" Bowie box sets, but then realised how much I was being fleeced by the record label, so I've decided to stop buying anything Bowie related for the time being. 

Julian Cope

Although there's been nothing to rival any of his numerous imperial phases, there's still plenty to please the fans. This year has not been kind on the the wallet: the difficult Dope 10" and album, the mess with your head brilliance of the ultra rare Dope on Acid album, the wonderful "wasn't this suppossed to be a Dope album too?" that was John Balance Enters Valhalla, the Antequera poem set to music, a (mostly) Barrowlands gig from 1995, an Autogeddon vinyl box set and the remarkable audio recollection and remix of The Teardrop Explodes that was Cope's Notes #1.

Lou Reed

Special mention due getting the overlooked Ecstasy and The Raven albums finally pressed on vinyl.

Some of my album highlights from 2019

The debut album by International Teachers of Pop. I've realised that I have a lot of music by Dean Honer and I do like the idea of a band who base their tours around term times as their lead singer is a teacher.

Kosmischer Laufer's fourth album is on a par with their previous efforts. Is it really music written and commissioned in the 70s/80s by the GDR to support their olympic athletes with their training? Probably not, but the story is too good to ignore. Anyway, it presses all the right Kosmische and Motorik buttons.

Suddenly Everyone Explodes by Plastic Mermaids. New to me and a Flaming Lips / Arcade Fire inspired debut that shows a lot of promise. A great band to see live too.

Nylonandjuno by Jason Lytle. There's always been an added warmth to Grandaddy's music courtesy of a heavy dose of analog synths driving alongside the traditional guitars, bass and drums. So this album by their main man perhaps isn't that much of a surprise. 8 instrumental pieces, featuring a Juno synth and nylon string guitar and nothing more.

i,i by Bon Iver. There's so much sonically going on with this album that you really have to trust your hi-fi is doing the right thing as it sounds unlike anything else out there. The packaging is stunning, making it feel like you've bought a limited edition deluxe version when that's just how all copies are.

Incidental Music by WH Lung is such a confident debut album and there's nothing incidental about the music at all. Musically this has a lot in common with Hookworms last album (before their unfortunate demise).

For All Mankind by Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois and Roger Eno. The extra disc with the reissue of Apollo is one of Eno's finest ambient albums in it's own right.

Most listened to albums on Spotify were The Utopia Strong (I got the album on vinyl shortly after taking the above photos) and Dissident by Glok - the electronic solo project  Beby Andyll of Ride/Hurricane #1/Oasis. You don't have to be a fan of any of those bands to like it.

Tune of the year

Teenage Birdsong by Four Tet. Simple, but brilliant. Simply brilliant.

Gigs

Some highlights - OMD starting their "best of" gig with Stanlow, Midge Ure playing Ultravox B-Side Passionate Reply, shaking hands with Wayne Coyne whilst he was sitting on a rainbow unicorn, chatting with Steve Davis about my t-shirt and his"dodgy" autograph from 1981 at the mesmerising Utopia Strong gig, being warned by Michael Rother not to leave my beer too close to his effects pedals and taking to Damo Suzuki whist he started into the distance. It must have been a good year for gigs when the biggest disappointment was Kraftwerk at Blue Dot.