FRIDGE

 
Fridge were an instrumental post rock band from Manchester who over their 10 year existence put out some great albums and a plethora of EP's though they are one of those bands I feel that geography defeated. Despite Manchester having a reputation for being a hotbed of creativity it seems that Fridge never really reached the status or popularity of their more well known American peers like Tortoise who to a degree they owe a small debt to in their sound. of their 3 members 2 went on to some more recognition Adem Ihan has and continues to release great fragile acoustic albums on Domino records under the name Adem. Sam Jeffers seems to have retired from music altogether from what my research finds however most successful was Kieran Hebden who has gone on to great success as Four Tet (see post HERE) taking the sound that Fridge created as a band and adding a more electronic/dance edge to it gathering much critical and general acclaim and continuing to release music to this day.

Fridge are what you might call an "obscure" band and with a name like Fridge they hadn't made life easier for themselves as far as finding them on the internet is concerned either! Starting their career on Trevor Jackson's amazing Output records they later moved to the bigger home of Go Beat records (Known for releasing Portishead, Arab Strap and many others)  for their "Eph" album to electronic label Text for their final 2 albums. 

Whilst being fairly consistent in sound Fridge are also quite eclectic and progressive their early releases on Output from 1997 - 1999 are pretty consistent blending live instrumentation with electronics  to create a sound that whilst in places owes a small debt to their US Counterparts such as some of the the bands on Thrill Jockey records I really think for the time they were quite unique. It's hard to describe fridge at once gentle and almost ambient at other times brash and noisy. off kilter timings clash with gentle guitar picking and electronic sounds however one thing I can say is that they are a band who will keep your interest a lot of their music is quite chilled out but it has enough about it to not drift into the background and enough variety that they won't bore you! 

I'm actually struggling a bit here to describe Fridge they are at once eclectic but also consistent as in you can't really mistake them for anyone else but I seem to be repeating myself  trying to pin them down. maybe that's my fault for not having enough descriptive terminology so I leave it in your hands reader! I can't seem to find a good article to link you to either even wikipedia has failed me here! So onto your links. They are pretty self explanatory for the most part I have given you their 5 albums Ceefax, Semaphore , Eph, Hapiness and The Sun but Eph is a 2 disc expanded reissue which rounds up the 3 EP's they did around this time on the bonus disc,  The "Kinoshita/Terasaka" EP, "Of" Remixes & "Ark" Remixes plus the mighty double CD compilation "Seven's and Twelves" this compiles their EP's "Anglepoised" 12", "Lojen" 7" Their Split 12" With Add N to (X) The 7" & 12" versions of their "Lign" EP and lastly the "Orko" EP I added a bonus track to disc 2 from their split 7" with Portal which pretty much rounds up everything they have done other than a 7" on the Soul Static Sound label which was a collaboration with artist D and is really just pointless electronic burbles over 2 sides I am a diehard fan and even I thought it was crap! If you're feeling curious then I would recommend starting with the "Semaphore" album or maybe the "Sevens and Twelves" compilation but I definitely think wherever you start there's a good chance you will be back for everything else! 


CEEFAX - Mediafire

SEVENS & TWELVES - Mediafire

SEMAPHORE - Mediafire

EPH (2 DISC REISSUE) - Mediafire

HAPINESS - Mediafire

THE SUN - Mediafire

SCOTT 4

Scott 4 (Named for Scott Walker's 4th album)were an unusual band existing from 1997 till 2002 and then kinda quietly disappearing, they went from obscure indie releases to being signed by Sony doing a brilliant album a few singles went back to the indies then disappeared for a while, re-emerging as The Scott 4 Free Rock Orchestra in 2005 and releasing one album before disappearing again! and I can't find any trace of it's members having done any other musical projects. Allmusic describe Scott 4 as "Electronic cowpunks for their blend of country-blues, hip hop and indie-punk" and that pretty much sums them up!

I discovered Scott 4  back in the days before internet was easily available, y'know? The good old days where you would go to record shops, pick things up that looked interesting and maybe talk to the shop assistant about what they were like? I saw their "Elektro Akoustic Und Volksmechanik" Mini album it was presented as a 10" and 7" in a striking black and white sleeve and I thought it looked interesting so I bought it and a week later I went back to the shop for the "Recorded In State" debut album! I followed them through to their last release as Scott 4 and promptly forgot about them ha ha I later replaced my vinyls with CD's  which is possibly an indication of them being good otherwise why would I bother?

I hadn't listened to them in a long time when I considered them for posting and I am re-listening now while I type this and despite thoroughly enjoying them here I do think maybe being 20 years old in some cases this music sounds kinda dated in places they are a hard band to pin down their sound is lo-fi on the early releases (Your first 2 links Deutsche/Eleckto & Recorded In State) swinging from slightly Beck-esque beats and country vibes to short ambient pieces to beautiful and fragile acoustic tracks there's certainly a lot of variety on offer. What's great about Scott 4 is their music whilst very easy on the ears with catchy songs and great melodies there's an experimental feel which along with some of the titles of their albums makes me think they most definitely have a Krautrock influence too something not mentioned anywhere else in regards to them. This all changed when they signed to Sony their first release was a CDEP featuring a  re-rerecording of 2 tracks from their early releases A new shorter version of "Your Kindom To Rust" from their debut album and a staggering 23 minute version of "You Set The Scene" from their "Elektro..." mini album the latter definitely showcasing their free Krautrock approach to playing! However their Sony Debut "Works Project" was a different prospect altogether whilst still sounding like Scott 4 "Works Project" had all the lo-fi scrubbed off for a far more polished and accessible sound. Now normally this would send me running and accusing the band of selling out however this is not the case here this is a fantastic album whilst as I said above it may sound a bit dated being now 20 years old it shows that Scott 4 can write TUNES! there's some supremely memorable and catchy earworms on the album but also they seem to have harnessed their Krautrock influence and blended it into the country/indie sound  making for a sorta Jaunty sound not too far off the lighter moments of Faust from their "IV" album. The thing with Scott 4 is whilst most definitely an obscure band and even though they coming from an experimental approach originally they are not a band that are hard to listen to or need deep investment you will either like them instantly or not, it's not a case of sitting chin stroking and thinking hmmm "I see what they may be trying to do there". After leaving or being fired from Sony (I Don't know) They did one further album under the Scott 4 name a collaboration with Magic Car called "European Punks" I am not a fan of this album having taking all the good things I liked about Scott 4 and sacrificing them for a far more smooth and accessible pop edge and  I really don't like it myself too much group backing singers and piano ballady soppiness for my tastes I include it here for completions sake only and would probably give it away if I knew anyone who wanted it!

So onto your links before I confound you further with my inane waffling! In your first link you have their first 2 mini LP's "Deutsche LP Record" & the aforementioned "Elektro Acoustik Volksmechanik" Separated into their own folders with artwork etc. Second link is their brilliant "Recorded In State" debut LP which might be a good place to start as it falls between the lo-fi feel of the first 2 and the more polished sound of the Major label debut. 3rd link "Works Propject & Your Kingdom To Rust" rounds up all the material from their Major label era I have added 3 extra B-sides to the "Works Project" album from the various singles that were released around the album. The final link is the (IMO) terrible collaboration with Magic car it's nothing like the rest of their material so download at your peril ha ha! All music ripped from my personal collection direct from CD at 320KBPS.

This is yet another case of a great band that faded from memory despite major label backing and some fantastic music released here's hoping this post goes some way to maybe a few more people hearing and liking them.


Deutsche LP record & Elektro Acoustik Volksmechanik - Mediafire

Recorded In State - Mediafire

Works Project & Your Kingdom To Rust EP - Mediafire

European Punks (With Magic Car) - Mediafire

JAIL SOLIDARITY & BODYCOP

Looking at this picture you'd be forgiven for thinking that these guys play some pretty jaunty indie type stuff right? They are a happy looking bunch! However this is definitely not the case here!

Based out of Washingthon DC  Jail Solidarity play some serious dirgey, hate filled, NOISE! They haven't exactly been a prolific bunch either, between 2013 & 2016 releasing a mere 2 cassette EP's and a 3rd cassette Split with Clean Girls. This is another band I can't give you much information on as there is little to be had on the net it's another case here of me trying to bring you some stuff you may not have heard before by virtue of my trainspotting and net surfing!

So onto the music I thought I might have been a bit hard on these guys above calling them "dirgey hate filled noise" but upon re-visiting as i type this I wasn't wrong.The tempos are mostly slow - mid paced the guitars are really put through their paces too, loud sustained crashing chords tempered with noisy thrashing parts, the distorted bass bubbles underneath providing solid bottom end to the sound ! The vocals are both male and female and are definitely in the tortured anguish style not screaming as such I hate screaming vocals but they are definitely angry! The best way I can put this to you is that it has an almost Industrial sound to it but by that I means something like Swans early albums or Big Black at their most experimental and noisy crossed with Flipper at their least humorous! This is not something I can listen to all the time it absolutely dominates the room with it's sound but I have revisited these guys a few times and have loved them every time I have played them!

Bodycop are in this post because it was a one off project predating and featuring members of Jail Solidarity It was actually someone posting this one Bodycop release in a facebook group I was in and mentioning early Swans (The name Bodycop is I would say an amalgam of the Swans album titles COP and Body To Body Job To Job) that led me to discover both bands. Whilst not a million miles away from the sound of Jail Solidarity this time with Bodycop the sound is 100% a tribute to early SWANS particularly the "FILTH" album (their debut) it has the same tortured/Anguished feel as Jail Solidarity but has l;ess of a guitar noise feel and more straight ahead Industrial the rhythms are pounding the bass is heavily distorted but has that perfect Industrial klang to it whilst electronic noise whizzes around in the background too and all topped with Lydia Lunch-esque vocals. If you like Early SWANS and can't get enough then these guys are definitely for you! 

Onto your links in the Jail Solidarity Link is all 3 of their releases the 2 Cassette EP's "Pretty Good Privacy" & "Any Space Whatever" plus their side of the split Cassette with Clean Girls. Bodycop only released one cassette in 2010 but it clocks in at half an hr making it practically an album! all Files are at 320KBPS but I sourced them from the net so they may be cassette rips as the quality isn't pristine but I can't imagine it being any better from any other source due to the noisy nature of the music! 
Not for the faint hearted these bands but I can imagine there will be a few of you that have enjoyed my other posts who would have hiot download at the mention of early SWANS ha ha! I hope so anyways... ENJOY!

JAIL SOLIDARITY - Mediafire

BODYCOP - Mediafire

SECOND STILL

Second Still are a fairly new band to me, I was sitting in the garden with my partner a few months ago and she was playing some music and a song came on and it had what I would describe as a classic Post-punk bassline to it. it really caught my attention as did the glacial guitars and sultry female vocals I asked what it was and it was Second Still "Try Not To Hide" Later I did my usual obsessive Trainspotting thing and now I own both their albums ha ha! 

Second still hail from Los Angeles California described as Post Punk/Coldwave I don't really know what the latter is because I'm not up to date with the latest genre terms the kids use these days I'm a sorta 2 categories guy GOOD music and BAD Music but I defo agree with the former! They are a 3 piece band Bass, Vocals & Guitar they utilize a drum machine for their rhythm. Normally I'm not that keen on drum machine unless it's used in a pounding way behind Industrial music however in Second Still it works really well because it fit's their 80's -centric sound perfectly!

There's not a great deal of info available on these guys they appear to be fairly obscure so I'll give you a brief description of the music. As I said these guys have defo been listening to a lot of 80's goth and post punk there's shades of Siouxsie & The Banshees, Joy Division and the darker end of Synth pop though I don't hear a lot of electronics in their sound it's more of a feel from the effects they use on their instruments (reverb) and they have definitely learned their craft well as I find myself wrapped up in warm nostalgia here and there when certain song parts come on. Whilst I may be making these guys sound very derivative they are not as such, they seem to capture a feel of their influences more than directly taking things from them which is the key to their brilliance for me. Their music whilst quite dark is offset by the really nice vocals falling somehwere between the croon of Siouxsie Sioux and Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star's warm and beautiful tones. The guitars are effected and have that classic sorta plucked thing combined with big swathes of SHRIIIIING! However what I love most is the bass lines they are just so memorable they really play less like a rhythm instrument and more like an equal to the guitar and make a fantastic counterpoint! What I also like is occasionally the guitars will burst into big chords that remind me of the 80's again but more the bigger rock bands like U2 when they weren't stadium assholes and Simple Minds when they were good or even Big Country? This is again just a feel they sound nothing like any of those bands!

These Guys have been around since 2016 and have released 3 EP's and 2 albums and I present them all to you here Their sound is consistent throughout so I don't feel there's a need to go into each individual release. However my personal favourite is their debut self titled album (First link below) so if you're curious I'd start there. I really like this band a lot and they have been regularly played in my musical rotation and i can't see how anyone couldn't enjoy this brilliant sound! 

SECOND STILL - Mediafire

VIOLET PHASE - Mediafire

EARLY FORMS EP - Mediafire

EQUALS EP - Mediafire

PART TIME PUNKS SESSION EP - Mediafire

HIDDEN GEMS FROM A FORGOTTEN 70'S

As you may know I like to bring you strange and obscure music and these 4 are pretty damn obscure bands and albums! I am a big fan of 70's rock and Krautrock in particular and this has led me to delve deep into the recesses of the net for stuff to check out and I came across these 4 absolute blinders over the course of my searching and figured as, even though they have been reissued numerous times should definitely be given a wider audience!

First off I have to be honest I don't know a great deal about any of these bands I either liked the covers of the albums or came to them through random browsing of blogs and liked the description plus as these bands have mostly only done one album and really went nowhere information is sparse. If you want to know more then I guess you can do some digging but I will do my best here but for me it's all about the music! So lets begin.....

BLUES CREATION - "DEMON AND ELEVEN CHILDREN"

I had no idea really that Japan had a burgeoning heavy and psychedelic rock scene until someone introduced me to Flower Travellin' band a few years ago (Might do a post on them if anyone likes this post!) This led me to investigate further and discover some real gem,  however the pick of the bunch was these guys! So much so I splurged near £20 on an original Japanese copy of this album on CD. Released on the Japanese arm of Columbia records in 1971 this their 3rd album is quite a progression from their debut! You'd be forgiven for thinking this would be some fairly standard blues rock with the name however the cover drew me in and I'm glad it did because this is one of the best heavy rock albums i have heard from the era! This album just absolutely ROCKS! wearing it's Sabbath and Deep Purple influence boldly this takes that sound into the stratosphere Reminding me a lot of the 70's output of  Pentagram (see post HERE ) and although they could never have heard them and predates this band the tempo and attack remind me of Death (Detroit) in places as well (See Post on Death HERE ) There is one minor blip where they descend into pure blues boogie territory on 2nd track "Mississippi Mountain Blues" But I guess the clue is in the title! But opener "Atomic Bombs Away" Lives up to it's title bursting out the gate straining at the leash! and third track "Just I was Born" is so blistering it's hard to believe it's 50 years old! Minor niggle about "Mississippi Mountain Blues" aside this is as brilliant a rock album as you will find! Every song bursts with an energy that just leaps out of your speakers and if you were anything like me have you setting your sights on 70's Japan!!!! 

T2 - "IT'LL ALL WORK OUT IN BOOMLAND"

T2 from the UK are a slightly lighter prospect than Blues Creation but no less rocking "It'll All Work Out In Boomland" was their only studio album released in 1970 on Decca records a label I had no idea had released some choice bands associating them more with pop and Rock 'N' Roll! This band definitely lean more towards the Psychedelic and jam style you'd maybe associate with the Californian scene of the time but with a more British take on that sound. There's meandering (in a good way) bass lines and lots of psychedelic wah wah guitar jamming (reminiscent of early Stooges but nowhere near as ferocious!) over the supremely tight rhythm section and boy can these guys play! This album has great dynamics too with the songs building to fantastic peaks along with some absolutely amazing drum work that is loosely played but astoundingly tight and there's grooves aplenty that will definitely have you nodding your head in appreciation! These guys petered out after the debut album though in 1970 it's claimed they played more headline shows at London's famous Marquee club than any other band. Unfortunately tastes change and T2 kinda fell behind when the rock scene began to favour the new Glam Rock and the age of the heavy rock titans began to wane! T2 could not find a home for their music and subsequently called it quits in 1973 they reformed in 1975 and again in 1990 and released a few more albums but I haven't bothered to check them out I'd rather keep the brilliance of this 1970 album intact! (Note the album contains a bonus BBC live in the studio session with 3 blistering renditions of the album tracks)

McCHURCH SOUNDROOM - "DELUSION"

I came across McChurch Soundroom on a "Top 20 greatest Krautrock Albums" though being from Switzerland should have surely discounted them from a list about a German scene? but I'm glad it was in there or I'd probably have never found this album! Originally released in 1971 on Pilz records from Germany what first got me interested was the cover (see above) however the cover does kind of mislead as this looks like it'd be some sort of occultish heavy rock right? I can firmly state it is not! This band are a 5 piece and whilst it definitely falls into the "rock" category this is far more leaning to the prog/kraut/psychedelic end of things I wouldn't say it's not heavy it's got plenty of those butt shaking 70's groove riffs and again these guys really wail on their instruments! This album has quite a loose jammed sorta feel and it's maybe a little heavy on the flute freak-outs and the albums longest track at over 9 minutes "Delusions of a drummer" is well.... mainly a drum solo with some other instrument solo's thrown in their. I'm making this sound a bit messy, it's not, the playing is, as with most bands of this era tight, confident and accomplished I mean you can't jam or solo if you're not good right? For me this album reeks of hashish smoke filled rooms, indian rugs, flares and long hair! However it's sassy and cheeky grooves just draw you in and make for an utterly compelling listen! The organ wails, the bass jams, the guitars shred, the flutes freak out and the drums are insane! all topped with a great vocal there's absolutely nothing about this album that I don't enjoy.

THE HUMAN BEAST - "VOLUME ONE"

I'm very glad to be able to add these in this post not just because this a great album but I discovered after I bought it they are from my homeland of Scotlland! The Human Beast again released only one album falling victim to the same line up instabilities and changing tastes of the early 70's Hailing from Edinburgh these guys amassed quite a following on their local scene and the gigging circuit of 70's Britain however they never quite managed to capitalize on this and make a "Volume Two" unfortunately. This album was originally released as with T2's debut on Decca records, ploughs a similar furrow to both T2 and Mchurch Soundroom above though less jam out than Mcchurch. Again Confident and accomplished playing here lots of wah wah guitar and bouncing basslines and excellent drumwork. This is easily as good and groovy as any of the other albums I have posted here! Again falling into the Psych/Prog/Heavy rock territory as has been the theme of this post! I feel I've kinda exhausted my 70's euphimisms here and really comparing one obscure band to another probably doesn't help you the reader however I have provided you with free downloads so really what have you got to lose by checking these out?

The 70's is obviously lauded as a great era for rock where bands like Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath ruled the world but for me it's by delving deeper that you find the real gold I mean every member on ever album here were extremely accomplished players and had obviously put some intensive work in both in learning their instruments and honing their tunes by getting out and relentlessly gigging and for me this is the tradgedy! I mean every band can't have global popularity but it just seems such a shame that these 4 bands languish in deep obscurity and seem to get found by the likes of me digging around the net joining dots etc when the work they must have put in to be as good as they were deserves much more attention! The one great thing is there is no shortage of labels out there officially and unofficially keeping these albums in print remastering etc so there must be in some small way a market for this music some 50 years down the line! I guess that's at least some small reward for all their hard work.

Here are your links all uploads taken from my own collection (See pic below) directly ripped from CD at 320KBPS all albums are remastered from their original master tapes according to the sleeves.

Enjoy!

BLUES CREATION - DEMON AND ELEVEN CHILDREN - Mediafire

T2 - IT'LL ALL WORK OUT IN BOOMLAND - Mediafire

THE HUMAN BEAST - VOLUME ONE - Mediafire

MCCHURCH SOUNDROOM - DELUSION - Mediafire