Moving on….
The thing that amazed me when I came across the band was that they'd been going for close to 7 years and I'd not heard of them.
Yes boss, I always like to think I'm onto things first and ahead of most of the good games, but in this case I was clearly way off the pace and since discovering so, I've been wondering just how and why this could have happened.
I've also been on the tail of what the band history was, and what recordings had been released before i turned up late, holding my lonely and dripping Ice Cream.
Now, after a good few conversations with the band and a good deal of listening to the back catalog, my research is almost done and here follows the first batch of results…
The first full they came form the stars LP was released on Lo Recordings in 2002.
Basically Lo Recordings commissioned an LP. The Stars went and recorded it at their own expense - the LP was called 'they came from the stars i saw them vs reality' and the band felt it was a fine and proud release.. Strangely, Lo didn't agree. In fact, for reasons best known to themselves, Lo decided they didn't want to release that LP at all and instead wanted a compilation of pre-released singles and b-sides.
Such an LP was duly delivered and named 'What are we doing here?' (perhaps suggesting a question of their label?!?) and Vs Reality has only this week seen the light of day...
So, knowing this checkered history and not having much idea what to expect from What are we doing here?, I was more than a bit unsure when I first heard it. Yes boss, having seen the band play 3 or 4 times by that point, I was expecting something similar to the LIVE sets - something light and bright, something bouncy and BIG bass disco funky and What are we doing here? didn't really add up to this.
In general, the sound of What are we doing here? is mostly pretty ambient and relaxed. With nods towards drone rock and bands like Spacemen 3, as well as more ambient tracks and prog hints, What are we doing here? is a quiet and at times murky affair..
This isn't to say the fun go pop lucky edge isn't present – it is, but it took a good few plays for me to hear and appreciate it as being there ….The LP starts with the rather tentative and lurking They Came From The Stars I Saw Them, it moves thorough the more dancey, bouncy and melodic the world turned upside down into the wholly jolly and more modern stars sounding starburst
This start made sense and I expected more of the same.
Instead, the rule book goes right out of the firggin window with trip bubbling confusion tracks sunshine of the gods episodes 1&2.
More soundscapes than pop tracks, these are quite intriguing pieces of work. They slip in and out of rhythmic passages, but in many ways have more in common with ambient found sound art of noise music than anything that comes before or since. More to the point they sound like Ambient chill out music does when you're on good quality drugs….
After these two curious, but increasingly (over time) brilliant numbers, the ideas shift again in an equally divergant direction into what is - as far as I'm concerned - about the most positive and important indie rock pop anthem of the last god knows how many years...
Yes boss, by the stars defined standards of sound, I am Not Afraid is almost a conventional and straight track. It has a regular structure and instrumentation. The sound isn't too challenging or difficult. It meanders and flows. It's soft and nearly completely gentle and the lyric sublime....
I am not afraid. There is no enemy anywhere... What could be better and more needed sentiment in an era governed by a collective fear of almost everything and everyone?? Yes boss, for me this is one of the stars best tracks thus far. It's a warm blanket and a gulp of clean mountain air and I love it....
Next up, Beer of the Gods moves the sound back to something close to the opening 3 tracks
And lastly the holy mountain documents a long and misty journey that builds and struggles. This is a huge track coming in at over 24 minutes and is the sort of thing that some would point to as being excessive, unnesecary and/or pretentious.
For me it's another grower. Sure it's not something for everyday, but it's well worth having about when you need to feel a little less lonely about traipsing through life as if you're feet are cemented in sand....
So, to conclude, the thing I like most about this LP is that it improves with each spin and this is what i consider to be a general telltale sign of quality...
Yes boss, this is very much an album to listen to, to soak into and absorb over time, and the more times you hear it, the more the subtleties pop up and the more it gets under your skin.
In short I can certainly recommend it.
the sound of the carnival breaking open the cash registers
Which is altogether handy, because I have 3 sealed and mint copies that I'm selling for £8.00 a hit.
Better yet, I have 3 copies of the double scarce 10" single that features the tracks Beer of the Gods & They Came From The Stars I Saw Them at £4
& 3 copies of the wonderful 7" of I am Not Afraid at an outrageous £3.50 a go
A copy of each of the 3 (postage included) can be secured for £18 including postage to anywhere in the world. If you want individual items or couples, message me the details and I'll quote you a price..
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