Here’s what we have planned for February 28th and also some gig news

CRAB DANCE GIs

The Crab Dancers return with another quality slice of Manchester Music. A two track single double A side entitled – Cover Aversion/I’m Sorry (But You’ve Got To Go)

Crab Dance GIs is the side project for KIT B’s Danny Cusick which also features Craig Bodell and Paul Smith, all three of whom were in the excellent band The Hidden Gem.

Packed with Cusick’s sardonic wit and great melodies this is a welcome addition to a collection of great tunes produced by the band

MOFF SKELLINGTON

The bard of Abstercot is never far from our minds and in anticipation of a new EP in around a months time we are re-issuing Moff Skellington’s excellent album The Pukes of A Hot Cloister.

The dark days of January 2012 were brightened somewhat by the arrival of  The Pukes Of A Hot Cloister album. As usual there was a feast of lyrical athleticism, Moff plucks words out of the ether and re-arranges them in a completely unique and totally compelling way. This album is particularly full of memorable “Moffism’s”, too many to mention and all rather special, there is some degree of continuity from prior releases in parts, with several references to molecules, and the usual bovine references that are scattered across the albums, and the opening instrumental “House of New Bricks” is quoted in the words/music of the penultimate track “Four Peg Wooden Unit”. Two of the tracks “Time for Nervous Questions In The Pub” and “Confident of Pending Treats” formed part of the six song set Moff recorded for the “Reformation” radio show (Salford City Radio), the other four appearing on the previous years Embers from the Rapid Eye album, so there is some specific continuity between those two albums. As is usual with Moff you know what you are going to get – the difference with each album though is how he has progressed his art and which particular parts of his “dreamscape” he is addressing in this instance.

The opening “House of New Bricks” sets the scene with a stately waltz around the accordion with bluesy harp wailing – this soon transforms into the strange and somehow beautiful “Crap and Ugly Toys” which is Eddodi in its purest sense. From there on we are gently led through a journey of fascinating words and unique music. A contemporary “manifesto” of Moff’s work, whether it be his art or his music, described a reality comprising three interacting factors – octoberness, perfection and slapstick. Simply put these three elements , anticipation, entropy, and the essentially comedic nature of existence, intertwine to allow innovation, expression and interpretation. We are resisting the urge to release spoilers about the content of this album as we believe that the listener should absorb this marvellous work and draw their own conclusions from the text/sound. All we will say is that the other-worldliness of Moff’s output is never more apparent as it is here. He has always been unique. no one else is doing music like this – it just seems he has built on his work to date to create something rather special. Variety is the watchword here and it is all good. Comparisons, bench-marks, yardsticks etc are impossible so the listener needs to approach it from his/her perspective.

It is with great pleasure that we re-release this album for wider consumption.

RE-INTRODUCING THE SCISSORS

We thought it was timely to bring the oft neglected and rather marvellous band The Scissors back to forefront.

The Cambridge based band offer a unique sound encompassing carnival freakshow organ, primitive synths, and rock’n’roll guitar powered psych-punk-pop. Their influences are varied, but their sound has been likened to The Teardrop Explodes, The Doors, The Chameleons, Wire, The Damned, and XTC.

The current line-up of the band is: Stewart Harris – vocals/bass, Toby Lefever – guitars, Simon Powell – keys/tronica, Huw Wallace – drums

The Scissors started in 2006 in Cambridge as a trio; adding organ and primitive analogue synths a year later to mould their sound into a mix of psychpop and post-punk that they continue to develop.  They  have played alongside great acts including Glasvegas, Hey Sholay, Raglans, ex-Kook Max Rafferty, James McCartney (son of Sir Paul), Make Model and Jakil. In terms of venues they have delivered well-received sets in London (Dublin Castle, Camden Enterprise, Hope and Anchor), and in the East of England (The John Peel Centre in Stowmarket, Epic Studios in Norwich). In their home town they’ve played at the Portland Arms, Cambridge Junction, the Corn Exchange, Mill Road Winter Fair and comic/sci-fi convention CamCon. They have even ventured north to play the Salford Music Festival They’re no strangers to local radio, especially Cambridge 105’s ‘Stagger Indie’ show and Dave Hammond’s Smelly Flowerpot on Cambridge 105.

We re-release their two latest offerings to a wider audience from the 28th.

FILED FANGS

As trailed last week the debut release (it’s not a single!) from Filed Fangs is officially released on 28th February – here’s a link to a review from Louder Than War.

GIGS

Gigs for the remainder of February and March

Umbrella Assassins
21 Feb 2020
Haverhill Art Centre, High St, Haverhill CB9 8AR, UK

Electric Cheese
22 Feb 2020
The Whip & Kitten, 8, 12 Burnley Rd, Rawtenstall, Rossendale BB4 8EW, UK

Adventures of Salvador, Loop-Aznavour
28 Feb 2020
Shangri-La at the Carlton Club, 279 Bury Old Rd, Prestwich, Manchester M25 1JA, UK

Elastikbande
28 Feb 2020
The Whip & Kitten, 8, 12 Burnley Rd, Rawtenstall, Rossendale BB4 8EW, UK

Bouquet of Dead Crows
29 Feb 2020
The Blue Moon, 2 Norfolk St, Cambridge CB1 2LF, UK

The Junta with Section 25 Industrial Unit
29 Feb 2020
Aatma, 1st Floor, 14-16 Faraday St, Manchester M1 1BE, UK

Poppycock
8 Mar 2020
The Spinning Top 20 Wellington Road South, SK4 1AA Stockport

Inferior Complex
13 Mar 2020
HOLROYD ARMS, 36 Aldershot Rd, Guildford GU2 8AF, UK

Weimar
13 Mar 2020
Railway Inn (Didsbury), 3 Lapwing Ln, Manchester M20 2NT, UK

The Mind Sweepers with The Red Propellers
14 Mar 2020
The Peer Hat, 14-16 Faraday St, Manchester M1 1BE, UK

Inferior Complex
14 Mar 2020
The Acoustic Couch, 11 Market St, Bracknell RG12 1JG, UK

Inferior Complex
20 Mar 2020
Winchester Football Club Hillier Way, Winchester SO23 0JD, UK

Four Candles and Adventures of Salvador
20 Mar 2020
The Salty Dog, 23 High St, Northwich CW9 5BZ, UK

The English Disease
23 Mar 2020
The Hatch Sheffield

Kit B and Inferior Complex
26 Mar 2020
The Dublin Castle, 94 Parkway, Camden Town, London NW1 7AN, UK

Inferior Complex and Bouquet of Dead Crows
29 Mar 2020
The Smokehouse, South Street Studios 6 South Street, Ipswich IP1 3NU, UK