Few thoughts that occur to me while listening to this:

1) Aberfeldy? Fuck, man. They so don’t fit in. This is the Rough Trade ‘indiepop’ equivalent of a chart star chucking on their latest two recorded songs at the end of a ‘Greatest Hits’, and it stinks of cynicism. This new Rough Trade signing isn’t even vaguely worthy of keeping the same company as June Brides, Marine Girls, TVPs, Field Mice, et al… For a start, they’re alt.country - ie: Uncut territory, ‘grown up’ (listen to the slick production) - and thereby complete anathema to the spirited, shambolic aesthetic present here.

2) Don’t Lush sound precisely like the halfway point between Heavenly and Pixies, 15 years on?

3) No McTells? What’s the matter? Not trendy enough?

4) Pop Will Eat Itself? I should fucking coco.

5) Any compilation of this sort - trying to recapture the sound and feel of a long-departed ’scene’ - is going to be partisan, compiled with a hidden agenda of setting right often imagined wrongs. Sean’s done a damn fine job mostly, and so what if I don’t agree with his sometimes surprising omissions (no Wolfhounds? For shame!) and inclusions (Dressy Bessy? Really?). I would’ve been far more fucking partisan than this. There again, I have exquisite taste. So, cheers Sean, cos no one else bothered, and the sleeve notes are great…except, except, except…you miss out my fine Heavenly (the band, duh) tribute to include a rather nauseating paragraph about how you used to lust after Amelia’s ankle socks. Ugh. You alone, mate. I was too busy dancing to worry about sexual desire.

So, here’s what wasn’t used from my contributions - the rest of you, go out and buy the damn thing cos it’s wonderful….

THE FIZZBOMBS: Sign On The Line (track not included)
Edinburgh was the Detroit, the Seattle, of its day. Everyone played in each other’s bands, everyone scoured the same second-hand record bins and everyone kipped on each other’s floors. On their debut single, The Fizzbombs boasted an ex-Shop Assistant, two Desperadoes and a sister of an Altered Image – the photocopied press release claimed them to be “the fuzziest band in Scotland”. Few should have been able to resist their rudimentary pop charm…but many did. Obviously. (The Legend!)

HEAVENLY: Shallow
Amelia Fletcher sung at my wedding. Her voice was low and sultry, like she was singing in some smoky nightclub dressed in a low-cut top. It was almost indecent the way she sounded so lascivious, drawing out the vowels during ‘Love Is A Song’, mouth wide and smiling. It was singularly appropriate, though – both my wife and I adored Amelia’s first two pop bands, Talulah Gosh and Heavenly (and also their brother band, Razorcuts), even though we didn’t even know each other then. My wife sang in a band inspired by this music, called The Snowbirds. They had a sad end, too. This is pure wonderment. (The Legend!)

TIGER TRAP: Words And Smiles (track not included)
My wife doesn’t understand my fascination with Olympia, WA. She thinks it’s an “ugly, half-finished dump of a town”. Ah, but she still hasn’t discovered the secret magic. (The Legend!)

Cheers, Sean. I only criticise because I care.

Posted on Wednesday, October 6th, 2004by Everett True