Two new releases for today….

Several years back the band Kill Pretty went into a recording studio in Liverpool to lay down their third album tentatively titled “Bubblegum Now” . A double albums worth of material was recorded and progress was being made for a release, however with the departure of firstly the bands manager and then the lead singer the momentum was lost and that material was shelved never to see the light of day. It has long been an ambition for at least the lyrical content of that album to be used in some form, it was that strong.

German Shepherd co-owner Ian Moss was that lead singer. His partnership with Ben Mancell of the New York based Fuzzy Warbles label to release Hamsters material and subsequently new material with Cosmic Panthers lead to the flowering of the germ of an idea. Enter stage left legendary Mekons and Three Johns member Jon Langford, an old friend and associate of Ian Moss, and the trio of Ian Moss , Ben and Jon with months of work has created the vehicle/vessel for those songs in a new set of clothes.

The new material is light years away from the original versions, structurally and melodically different with only the words and vocal delivery being retained. This is an altogether more impulsive, aggressive and relentless collection. The core anger at the heart of the songs is amplified and honed into a more directive attack. No mercy is allowed with a series of targets which are genuinely deserving of the venom applied to them. There are also personal reflections on teenage angst, and, an homage to the City of Manchester which evokes and explains the inherent dichotomy of the place. Legendary Fall guitarist Craig Scanlon also contributed the song Something Better.

With a number of the original songs not included on this release including the sprawling experimental piece Propshaft the collection now fits perfectly into a single album.

A joint release with Fuzzy Warbles the album was recorded July 2020 – May 2021 in Brooklyn NY, Chicago IL, Los Angeles CA, and Manchester UK. Special guests include Josh Mancell on drums and Julia Nelson on Vocals. Ian’s vocals recorded by Simon “Ding” Archer at 6dB studios in Salford.

The release is available in cassette and digital download format from the Fuzzy Warbles Bandcamp Page and also can be streamed from all major platforms.

The exceptional album “Confection” by Lizard Brain yields a further single “If Our Eyes Were Blue” featuring Tony Jenkins. “If Our Eyes Were Blue” was inspired by the work of US-based educationalist, Jane Elliott. Since shortly after the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, Jane has used role play to teach her pupils about racism, by asking them to segregate their class, and to discriminate, based solely on eye colour. This results in everyone in the class experiencing discrimination from both sides – becoming aware of what it feels like to be discriminated against.