'0.522' - NEDS ATOMIC DUSTBIN
For those of you who remember this floppy quiffed, tie-dye wearing crew from the West Midlands will recall indie's finest exponents of quirky and tense sub-hardcore that actually helped to define a generation. Early soundbites still worth digging out are the original 'Bite' EP and the superb 'God Fodder' but with this box of b-sides and remixes, 'The Neds' presented something, initially for no more than £5.22p, that was unique - a collection of b-sides well worth listening to. Twenty one tracks of 'proper Indie' and a sense of immense fun, it's a perfect summation of a group who began the whole suburban reality movement that acts such as The Streets purvey so successfully today. Set against distorted guitar and two uniquely throbbing bass lines, each and every track is killer, some given the alternative remix treatment; they'll have you dancing around the room like a loon from The Goons in no time.
Last Months Curveball was...
'Unsolved' - KARATE
This US indie jazz four piece have been around for 16 years, in which time they've penned 7 slabs of some of the most unusually discordant and wonderfully abstract expressions since......well we don't know who. 'Unsolved' is one of their best and while some may find their slow burn mix of post-rock, emo, jazz, blues and post-hardcore a little difficult to digest, others will welcome the move away from plodding realism with open arms. Unfortunately disbanded in 2005 by founder Geoff Farina, the resonance of their live performances was laid bare on 2007's 'posthumous' live LP '595', but 'Unsolved' is obscenely simple and devoid of pretence; Farina's lyrical photo album both haunting and hypnotic. It takes the spartan urgency of its predecessors and blends them into a richer, softer canvas, ultimately making for lighter, more involved fare. No more so than on the snapshot scenes of 'Small fires' and 'Sever', both delicately strange intersections that lead you seemlessly to the smooth cool of 'Number Six' and ' The Halo of the Strange'. This is a unique and absorbing 'rock' experience that will actually push the boundaries of your alternative musicality further than ever before.
'Abandoned Language' - DALEK
'Mercy' - PLANES MISTAKEN FOR STARS