In the final episode of this series Neil, Toni, Andy and Karen discuss the tracks “Kaiju Hijinks” and “Hemispheres” and also have a lengthy chat with album cover designer, graphic illustrator and musician about town Stewart Harris (The Scissors, Goddammit Jeremiah).
The album is available for pre-order is released on May 22nd.
The Scissors latest studio album can be purchased here:
Here’s what we have planned for February 28th and also some gig news
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
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.
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.
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 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
This time around we are looking forward to what’s happening during February with German Shepherd Records…..
We kick off the month with a new four track EP from Manchester soul-pop trio Positronik. With songs from both instrumentalist Jeff “Captain” Black and singer Nathalie Haley there’s a certainly a lot of variety in the mix. Kicking off with Jeff Black’s Aretha inspired soul stomper, and EP lead track, W-O-R-K the stage is set for a set of dance floor classics. Nathalie’s dream-pop epic “Good So Bad” follows changing the mood, and next the soulful “Easy Money” again shifts gears highlighting her strong vocals. The set is completed with the hyper active pop drenched “When You Call Me ‘Sweetheart'”.
The ever busy Inferior Complex bring their post-punk sounds to the fore again with a live radio session album recorded live with Phil Crowder at Sheppey FM on his End of the Week show. This great collection reveals the trio’s great live sound. More information on this release next week. The band have a new single ready for release in May.
The Austers are back with a new album of music from a flâneur perspective which this time focuses on a trip to Berlin and three jazz concerts in London. Iain Sinclair’s “The Last London” provides a literary back-drop to a psycho-geographical journey which slips between dreams and waking and where time and meaning/intent are blurred.
We begin the monumental task of redistributing the bulk of Moff Skellington’s back catalogue this month. Moff will be providing brand new cover art for some editions. We begin with the memorable “Pukes of a Hot Cloister” a large portion of which was originally launched as a session of Bob’s Reformation Show on Salford City Radio some years back. New material from Moff is due in a few months time.
Manchester pop terrorists Crab Dance GIs return with a brand new single. Featuring KIT Bs Danny Cusick and former Hidden Gem Band Mates Craig Bodell and Paul Smith. This is their third single with us
We redistribute the last two releases from Cambridge freakbeat/punkpop/new wave quartet – they return to Spotify/Apple/Google/Amazon etc
Time for something new?
It is “Calcify” – a track NOT a single.
A hint. An introduction. The first of many tracks from a staggered album – a collection of songs that will track by track / drip by drip / bite by bite reveal a body of work
Distressed sounds, walls of guitars (bass and lead), layers of keyboards
Snatches of vocals, needle hitting red, music from a broken radio just off the dial through a splintered culture, motes of sound breaking through.
Calcification – hardening, insoluble deposits, disruption of systems and functions
They are Filed Fangs – Paul (Slum Turkeys) and Boz (Flea) collaborating – echoes of sound from Manchester 30 years back brought up to date. Time flowing back and forward, echoes and future memories.
Grunge, dub, electronica, noise.
Hypnotic.
Epic and enigmatic.
When everything else these days sounds like somebody else’s stuff (recycled post punk brit pop black blah blah) this sounds unique, special. compelling. Something to get your teeth into?
A preview….
A busy month ahead ……
Hello and welcome to the weekly newsletter from German Shepherd Records.
This week
– The Parish Church Fire return with a stunning single
– The Scissors live album from Ipswich
– New video from Bouquet of Dead Crows
– Forthcoming gigs
Released on May 10th 2019, the single “Hunger” represents the rebirth of Manchester alternative rock band The Parish Church Fire. Coupled with b-side “Adam Raised a Cain” this is the first release by the band since Sam Smith (guitar, vocals, keyboards) & Joe Roberts (drums) combined to release Locamente via German Shepherd in 2016.
Joined by new members John Bardsley (bass) and Timothy Hughes (guitar) for the first time, the full on attack and disquieting quality of Hunger is underpinned by its b-side: a hard rock version of Bruce Springsteen’s Adam Raised a Cain from the 1978 album “Darkness on the Edge of Town”. Marking the start of a new era for Sam Smith, “Hunger” is the crystallisation of 6 and half years of work of trying to get The Parish Church Fire established as a live band as opposed to its previous role as a solo studio project.
On “Hunger” you hear the band in its new guise for the first time. The single will be followed by keynote gigs to launch and celebrate the band as a live entity. Recorded in April 2019 by founder of the band Sam Smith in his studio and produced by both Smith & drummer Joe Roberts, the release is as direct as its title and lyrics suggest: The Parish Church Fire are “hungry for more” following years of inactivity.
The b-side Adam Raised a Cain was carefully chosen to be a part of this release as its lyrical content is somewhat paired with Hunger and it will be an integral part of the bands upcoming shows in 2019.
An interview with Sam Smith about the renaissance of the band can be found here
FORTHCOMING GIGS
26th May – Strummercamp, Oldham Rugby Club
7th June – The Eagle, Salford
May 10th also sees the release of a mini live album from Cambridge band The Scissors. Captured at The Smokehouse Ipswich with a selection of music from all three of their studio albums this is the band at their very best – vital, unrestrained and packed with energy.
Here’s a teaser…..
Bouquet of Dead Crows have a new video out today! Warning, It’s not for the faint-hearted – but if you’re brave enough then check out ‘Fragments (Black Hole Eyes) from their new album ‘Motus Octo’ now! Plans for a subscriber special version of the album are being assembled, watch this space for news!
Forthcoming gigs featuring German Shepherd Artists:
May
1st to 31st – Moff Skellington has an art exhibition at Canwood Gallery and Sculpture Park, Checkley, Hertfordshire
3rd – The Scissors play The Blue Moon, Cambridge
3rd – Electric Cheese play The Ferret, Preston
4th – Adventures of Salvador, Positronik and Pearl Divers play Music on the Market Place Festival , Buxton
4th – The Mind Sweepers play The Frunge Festival, The Elmerglen Hotel, Thornhill
5th – Keltrix play The Green Man Brew Ballyhoo, Granchester
7th – Ian Moss performs in Unseasonal Beasts project with Simon “Ding” Archer at the Castle Hotel, Manchester as part of the MASS assembly event.
10th – Adventures of Salvador play Ramsbottom Cricket Club
11th – Keltrix play The Haymakers, Cambridge (Acoustic Set)
18th -Weimar play the Eagle, Salford supporting St Lucifer
18th – Pearl Divers and Dominic Carlton Jones play Malaga Drift, Church Street, Eccles
18th – Poppycock play Whalley Range Pride event at The Carlton Club
20th – Stewart Harris from Scissors on Dave Hammonds Smellypot Show on Cambridge 105 talking about the new live album
23rd – Inferior Complex play King Charles, Poole
24th – Inferior Complex play Royal Oak, Basingstoke
24th – Four Candles play Strummercamp at Oldham Rugby Club
25th – Sam Smith plays Strummercamp at Oldham Rugby Club
25th – Four Candles play PsyCo Circus Allday Extravaganza at The Peer Hat
26th – Adventures of Salvador plays Strummercamp at Oldham Rugby Club
June
1st – Bouquet of Dead Crows (Portland Ballroom Stage) and Keltrix play Strawberry Fair, Midsummer Common, Cambridge
2nd – Inferior Complex play Bandstand, Eastleigh
5th – The Junta plays West Street Live, Sheffield
6th – Adventures of Salvador and Matthew Hopkins play Liverpool Fringe Festival
7th – The Parish Church Fire and Four Candles are playing The Eagle, Salford
7th – Inferior Complex play The Alexandra, Southampton
8th – Keltrix play Pride!, Jesus Green, Cambridge
8th – Inferior Complex play The Red House, Yeovil
15th – Paul Winter from The Mind Sweepers is supporting JD Meatyard at Leith Depot Edinburgh tickets are £5 with £1 going to local homeless charity.
20th – Inferior Complex play The King Charles, Poole
21st – Weimar play The Eagle, Salford
22nd – Inferior Complex play King Charles, Poole
24th – The Junta plays The Peer Hat, Manchester with Lucky + Love.
26th – Dominic Carlton Jones plays Cuckoo Calling (Featured Artist) Bury New Road, Prestwich
28th – Adventures of Salvador play The Castle, Oldham Street, Manchester – ALBUM RELEASE SHOW
28th – Inferior Complex play The Alexandra, Southampton
July
5th – Mark Corrin’s Elastikbande play The Railway, Didsbury
5th – Inferior Complex play The Shooting Star, Southampton
6th – The Mind Sweepers play Electric Fields Festival, SWG3, Glasgow
13th – Umbrella Assassins play The Smokehouse, Ipswich
13th – Electric Cheese play Indiefest 2019 at The Boulevard, Wigan
19th – The Scissors with Moonstrips at Blue Moon Cambridge
20th – Keltrix play Whoosh Festival, The Missing Sock, Sto-Cum-Quy
28th – Monkeys In Love celebrate the 50th anniversary of the moon landing at The Klondyke Club, Levenshulme – afternoon show between 1pm and 5pm
31st – The Junta plays The Peer Hat, Manchester
August
9th – Mark Corrin’s Elastikbande play The Railway, Didsbury
10th – Weimar play Scarborough Apollo
16th – Keltrix play The Green Man, Granchester
25th – Toska Wilde plays It Came From The Sea II at The Centre, Margate
October
12th October – Scissors play The Six Bells, Cambridge
26th October – Toska Wilde plays CULT 13 – Underground Alternative Night at The Venue Southend.
Hello and welcome to your weekly news for all things German Shepherd Records
This week
– The Pukes of a Hot Cloister re-released
– New Scissors live album coming soon
– Adventures of Salvador new album trailed
– Umbrella Assassins T Shirts now available
– More Gigs announced
As we continue our programme of re-releasing Moff Skellington’s huge back catalogue we have reached the landmark “The Pukes of a Hot Cloister” which will be re-released digitally on May 3rd.
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 Bob Osborne’s “Reformation” radio show on 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.
Moff has a major exhibition of his art at the Canwood Gallery and Sculpture Park during May. Exhibition will run from 11am to 4pm each week Tuesday to Sunday. 30 canvasses and 40 prints will be on show at the exhibition.
We are pleased to announce the return of Cambridge band the Scissors with a live album recorded at The Smokehouse in Ipswich earlier this year. The raw sound of the live Scissors experience is captured perfectly and demonstrates the pure energy of the band on stage. Release date is planned for 10th May.
The much anticipated new album from Adventures of Salvador “Welcome to our Village” is coming in June. Pending that the band play The Peer Hat, Manchester this Thursday (25th) and Ramsbottom Cricket Club on May 10th, Liverpool Fringe on June 6th with the album launch scheduled for June 28th at The Castle, Oldham Street, Manchester. Watch this space for more details.
Haverhill’s finest are hard at work on new material with an album promised later in the year pending that you can increase your sartorial eloquence by acquiring one of their rather fine T-Shirts at this LOCATION. The trio play The Smokehouse, Ipswich on July 13th.
The Spring Summer gig list is hotting up with extra gigs for Inferior Complex, Keltrix and Four Candles emerging…..the full list is below
April
25th – Adventures of Salvador play the Peer Hat, Manchester
26th – Mark Corrin plays The Railway, Didsbury
May
1st to 31st – Moff Skellington has an art exhibition at Canwood Gallery and Sculpture Park, Checkley, Hertfordshire
3rd – Inferior Complex play Winchester Gate, Salisbury
3rd – The Scissors play The Blue Moon, Cambridge
4th – Positronik and Pearl Divers play Music on the Market Place, Buxton
4th – The Mind Sweepers play The Frunge Festival, The Elmerglen Hotel, Thornhill
5th – Keltrix play The Green Man Brew Ballyhoo, Granchester
7th – Ian Moss performs in Unseasonal Beasts project with Simon “Ding” Archer at the Castle Hotel, Manchester as part of the MASS assembly event. This is a free event but you must reserve a ticket
10th – Adventures of Salvador play Ramsbottom Cricket Club
11th – Keltrix play The Haymakers, Cambridge (Acoustic Set)
18th -Weimar play the Eagle, Salford supporting St Lucifer
20th – Stewart Harris from Scissors on Dave Hammonds Smellypot Show on Cambridge 105 talking about the new live album
24th – Four Candles play Strummercamp at Oldham Rugby Club
25th – Sam Smith plays Strummercamp at Oldham Rugby Club
June
1st – Keltrix play Strawberry Fair, Midsummer Common, Cambridge
2nd – Inferior Complex play Bandstand, Eastleigh
5th – The Junta plays West Street Live, Sheffield
6th – Adventures of Salvador and Matthew Hopkins play Liverpool Fringe Festival
7th – The Parish Church Fire and Four Candles are playing The Eagle, Salford
7th – Inferior Complex play The Alexandra, Southampton
8th – Keltrix play Pride!, Jesus Green, Cambridge
8th – Inferior Complex play The Red House, Yeovil
15th – The Mind Sweepers and Paul Winter (solo set) supporting JD Meatyard at Leith Depot Edinburgh tickets are £5 with £1 going to local homeless charity.
20th – Inferior Complex play The King Charles, Poole
21st – Weimar play The Eagle, Salford
24th – The Junta plays The Peer Hat, Manchester with Lucky + Love.
26th – Dominic Carlton Jones plays Cuckoo Calling (Featured Artist) Bury New Road, Prestwich
28th – Adventures of Salvador play The Castle, Oldham Street, Manchester – ALBUM RELEASE SHOW
July
5th – Mark Corrin’s Elastikbande play The Railway, Didsbury
5th – Inferior Complex play The Shooting Star, Southampton
6th – The Mind Sweepers play Electric Fields Festival, SWG3, Glasgow
13th – Umbrella Assassins play The Smokehouse, Ipswich
13th – Electric Cheese play Indiefest 2019 at The Boulevard, Wigan
19th – The Scissors with Ember Rev at Blue Moon Cambridge
20th – Keltrix play Whoosh Festival, The Missing Sock, Sto-Cum-Quy
28th – Monkeys In Love celebrate the 50th anniversary of the moon landing at The Klondyke Club, Levenshulme – afternoon show between 1pm and 5pm
31st – The Junta plays The Peer Hat
August
9th – Mark Corrin’s Elastikbande play The Railway, Didsbury
10th – Weimar play Scarborough Apollo
16th – Keltrix play The Green Man, Granchester
25th – Toska Wilde plays It Came From The Sea II at The Centre, Margate
