THE TREES THEY WILL LIFT YOU AND CARRY YOU HOME

February Sale! / A Cult Party Album??

The three TAPE!STRY releases on our store are now available for £2 each (plus postage) for the remainder of this month only!

Here's a reminder of what you can pick up, alongside some lovely reviews from the Tuning Into Obscure music blog...



MILKBONES/CULT PARTY Split

"It’s dreamy folk pop at its finest, touching a bit at lo fi sounds.  The first track is lively and catchy while the second track slows it down a bit with softer vocals. The writing here is poetic and does well to capture my attention.  The Cult Party side of the cassette greets us with a lower pitched voice and a semi-complex time signature.  My ears pricked right away at this interesting set up.  This is the track “Paper Aeroplanes” and it’s a lovely combination of writing and instrumentation.  It’s followed up by the melancholy folk pop gem, “Does this Hurt?”  Things start out slowly, almost sadly, and then pick up into an orchestra of chorus and amazingly composed instrumentation.  Overall with this cassette, I’m left stunned.  I’m reminded over and over again that there’s so many amazing gems out there and it blows my mind when I come across these little treasures. The sound overall is similar to the excellent releases we’ve covered from Correspondence Tapes and the groups associated with it here on the blog over the last two years.  Honestly, I can’t get enough of this stuff!"

THE SUNFLOWERS/JOE THE BASTARD Split

"...another four track compilation with The Sunflowers taking up three spots and Joe the Bastard releasing a track that’s longer than the first three combined.  “The Sugarplum Tree” is a sweet little track, assembling a small chorus of female and male vocals over simple acoustics.  This track truly embodies the DIY method, complete with tape hiss.  The second track is, “Loveliest of Trees,” a spoken word-poetry piece that gently floats over sweet folk acoustics.  It’s quickly followed up by “The Fairies,” which follows suit with the previous tracks.  Sweet, soft vocals poetically over ukulele, casting a glimpse at a folktale of sorts one might have heard as a child.  Did you recognize the male vocalist?  It’s Leo from Cult Party!  The last track, “The Ballad of the Daughter of Salt and Water” is Joe the Bastard’s epic seven and a half minute contribution to this split.  Another folk story here (which I will admit, is making me enjoy this cassette as a whole immensely), that’s strung together with a powerful and versatile voice, sweet acoustic guitar and some chimes.  This cassette overall is very much on the folktale side of things and does well to give us that nostalgic childhood story feel but through the eyes of an adult.  This is a great release."

BONG IDLE - NIGHT OF THE LIVING BLUNT

"“Beach Zombie” is the opening track and I’m immediately blasted by some intense garage style surf rock.  This is a surprising change of pace from the previous two cassettes.  It’s wild!  They fuse elements of noise, indie, art rock, punk and lo fi into their songs, creating a very radical listening experience.  It’s like throwing Flipper, Los Straightjackets, Yummy and the Woggles into a blender, setting in on high, adding echo, noise, distortion and reverb and serving it hot with a garnish of habanero.   Holy cow, this is bliss.  Each track here is a sonic explosion of awesomeness.  Get this cassette!"

I am also happy to announce that my first proper, for realz, full-length album is almost complete! The title will be The Trees They Will Lift You And Carry You Home and will be a digital only release (for now). 

Here's the artwork and tracklisting:

1. She Sells Seashells
2. The Rocking Horse
3. The Sad Prince
4. Pumpkin Pipe
5. My Friend The Monster
6. Jack and Jill Go Swimming
7. Meadowshadow
8. The Old Fishing boat
9. Mama Pacha's Lament
10. The Light
11. The Boy With Two Hearts
12. The King's Ghost (bonus track)

A zine and a music video are also in speculation but who knows if/when I'll get round to sorting those out? You can get hold of my last EP over at Correspondence Tapes in the meantime. 

Worrrrd

Xmas Updates

(art by Sally Hancox)

Leo here (who else?). Just chiming in with some updates about stuff thats happening.

I'm playing a show (as Cult Party) at the Bad Edit gallery in Burslem on January 4th. I'm gonna play some new songs from my album and maybe have some friends sing/play along with some stuff too. I have tickets so get in touch or buy directly HERE.

Also Chris, who runs ILLAROOT APPAREL, will have a stall selling t-shirts at the show.

My album is kinda close to being done (woohoo!), most songs are recorded and mixed and nearly everything is written. Expect more news about that in the next couple of months!

that is all, happy new year
XO

facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/events/581792328499418/

PHOTOS: Dirty Three, Manchester Cathedral

Some shots from Dirty Three's show at Manchester Cathedral, I couldn't really get any good shots of Jim or Mick, being stood behind a load of tall people, but hey. Oh yeah, one more thing, this band are frickin incredible.

Eat It All Up!

Rick of Dressed Like Wolves and bandmate Matthew (see our Milkbones split tape) have recorded this delightful little EP with Rick's nephews Jack, aged 4, and Harvey, aged 5. Combined, they are Mash and The Potatoes! They play melodica, glockenspiel, chord organ, toy piano, guitars and toys to capture that fun naivety that I can't get enough of. Hear the songs, collectively 'Eat It All Up', here, and also download at a price of your choice.

A Day at Spode

Some photos from the old Spode factory, which if you're from round these parts you'll know used to be a pretty big deal, before the whole pottery thing went kaput at the hands of huge corporations, technological advancements etc. 

Now the factory is used to hold arts events focused on ceramics, running workshops with all kindsa messy stuff. Well, mostly clay, but there was a lot of it.

These pieces are part of a group installation we made on the day...

This was my contribution!

Adam and Sian loving life

Dressed Like Wolves have a new album

Long-time TAPE~STRY friends (well, since before TAPE~STRY was a thing) Dressed Like Wolves have spent the last year or so putting their super new album together, 'Heaven Is Just Memories, Of A Place I Used To Know'.  Rick never fails to write touching songs with exceptional lyrics, while Matt and Dan provide a perfectly modest accompaniment. 

The brilliant Correspondence Tapes will be releasing the album on cassette later in the year, and the band are self-releasing a CD which is available to pre-order now at www.dressedlikewolves.bandcamp.com

Go check it out!


DLW on facebook: www.facebook.com/DressedLikeWolves