October and the Eyes – Dogs and Gods

I actually discovered this album because Aldous RH on NTS played a song by her called ‘Tit Pic’ which is just fantastic and so I went looking for it. I can only find it on Spotify. Boo. I want to buy the thing. Someone tell me where I can buy the thing.

This is a very good second prize, though. It sounds to me like it’s a one-woman band, and also like she gives as much of a fuck about conventional production wisdom as I do. Example – dogmatic in ‘proper’ production land is the notion that you foreground the vocals and the drums, and if you can fit the rest of the music in, well, so much the better. After all, that’s how The Beatles did it and apparently all originality in rock music became impossible from that moment forth because they had Done It All. Ms October, on the other hand, wants you to hear her fucking guitars and basslines and stuff, and guess what? You can actually hear her singing as well, so it is possible to foreground everything. There’s a lesson there.

Obviously I know nothing else about her because I am lazy and don’t research, but I do like the music she makes. And I do hope Tit Pic is on an album/E.P. that is available to buy, I really do.

somesurprises (self titled)

So I’m on the right PC this morning, in a semi-hypnagogic state. Let the buses continue.

This is one of those albums that I’m not entirely sure why I listened to since the description didn’t make me overly-confident, but that just goes to show you how much of a guide descriptions can be. I’m wondering if actually I do have instincts, and they can sometimes be good.

The last track in particular is one of those legendary tunes which in any just world would be amongst the most famous songs ever written, the longest song on the album by some distance and it still isn’t long enough. Eternal music, that kind of song is. But the whole thing is good.

Notes on a brief reunion

I’ve probably mentioned before but I can’t be arsed to go through my old posts looking for the references but I played bass in a band called Sons of Itto between 2005-10, and had a lot of fun in so doing.

Anyway, the guitarist/singer, who shall henceforth be called Milo, is engaged to a lovely lady called Jenny who I hadn’t met until yesterday. A few weeks ago, she is alleged to have said words to the effect of ‘I really wish I could have seen your band play…’

SO yesterday, she had a surprise birthday party. Milo had rounded up myself and drummer Colette (who played in the latter incarnation of the Itto) for a quick couple of jams to remind ourselves of stuff and to dust off the cobwebs, and last night we played 8 or so songs in front of an invited audience at The Chameleon Arts Cafe in Nottingham.

It was an absolute blast. The force was with us last night. The Chameleon is a great venue, it most reminded me of the much missed Attik in Leicester, perhaps a bit larger but much harder to find.

Colette, Milo, Flipdog: Sons of Itto 2019

Also – Colette plays in two other bands, very different from each other. You Want Fox is a two piece that she does with Nat, and Punch Drunk is a three piece grunge-pop thing that, as I sit here typing and listening to it is putting me most in mind of late-80s Soul Asylum and also Husker Du. Keep an eye out for them wherever you put your eyes – I exacted a promise from her to get at least one of her bands to play Leicester so I intend to hold her to it.

But we may do another Itto thing again next year after the fun we had doing that, so I’ll pop details up if we do another one.

Floid Matrix – Stop the Technology Madness

I heard this album round my brothers flat in Northolt sometime in the late 90s. I bugged him relentlessly to do me a copy as the CD was impossible to get in the UK (he was mates with the band, I think). He never did. I obviously managed to find an mp3 of one of the songs in the next few years, as I’ve just been going through old cdrs and found it. ‘Wonder if they’re on Bandcamp?’ I thought. And lo and behold…

Or, reasons why I love Bandcamp number something very high indeed.

If you ever read the book ‘Our band could be your life,’ they’re a bit like the bands featured in there. And Frodus. And Sons of Itto. Loud indie rock, lo fi, attitude.