Public Service Blogcast Episode 15

A true guerilla takeover this week as legendary Northampton broadcaster Tony Lowe grills Calories on matters including their upcoming UK tour (which begins this Tuesday in Brighton), their superb debut album Adventuring (out March 2nd from Smalltown America Records) and the band's favourite American horror fiction writer.

Public Service Blogcast Episode 15
28 minutes 54 seconds
Recorded 30/12/08
Tracklisting
00.34 Hot Snakes - Braintrust (from Audit In Progress album - Swami Records)
03.58 Trumans Water - Lyrical Nozzle (from Fragments Of A Lucky Break album - Emperor Jones Records)
07.51 Copy Haho - Pulling Push Ups (from forthcoming Bred For Skills & Magic EP - Big Scary Monsters)
12.08 Beestung Lips - Slick History (from Songs To And From An Iron Gut EP - Capsule Records)
16.36 Heavy Vegetable - Going Steady With The Limes (from Frisbie album - Headhunter Records)
24.32 Calories - Forests of Varg (from forthcoming Adventuring album - Smalltown America)

If you have any feedback or want to get a track played, get in touch - email blogcast@smalltownamerica.co.uk

Space Year 2008

I am currently sitting in my mother's kitchen. The cat is eating some kind of meat, it smells pretty bad. I am being very productive, possibly because I've either been ill or hungover for most of the last two weeks.

I was recently asked to contribute to a poll regarding my favourite album of the year. Below are my choices. I was told off for the Los Campesinos! choice, as it's not an album. Which it isn't. But I still want to include it, so I will here.

Be Your Own Pet - Get Awkward (XL)
Blood Red Shoes - Box of Secrets (Mercury)
Cadence Weapon - Afterparty Babies (Big Dada)
Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs (Atlantic)
Fuck Buttons - Street Horrrsing (ATP)
Johnny Foreigner - Waited Up Till It Was Light (Best Before)
Los Campesinos! - We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed (Wichita)
Marnie Stern - This Is It And I Am It And You Are It And So Is That And He Is It And She Is It And It Is It And That Is That (Kill Rock Stars)
Ponytail - Ice Cream Spiritual (We*Are*Free)
Thank You - Terrible Two (Thrill Jockey)

I'd rather people not look on this as a "best of the year" list, but as an "albums that make me grin like a loon" list.

My aims for next year include putting out a whole bunch of kickass records and putting on more shows. The latter has had a good kick start, as The Thermals are coming over again - we've got them on February 9th, at the Lexington. If you don't know the venue, it's on Pentonville Road about midway between Angel and King's Cross tubes. Rough Trade do a pop quiz there every Monday night, we came second a few weeks ago and won a round of shots and a bottle of wine. We drank the wine from the shot glasses, which is something I do not recommend you do at all.

A quarter of the tickets are already gone, if it doesn't sell out I'll be very surprised indeed. Happy days.

Goodbye, 2008 - you were fun.

Public Service Blogcast Episode 14

Get past my flu-ridden intro and enjoy Andrew taking a look back at a pretty darned momentous year in the life of a Derry-based independent record label and playing some of the best submissions we've received this year.

Public Service Blogcast Episode 14
36 minutes 40 seconds
Recorded 20/12/08
Tracklisting
00.40 Fanfarlo - Secret Codes And Letters (from self-titled EP - self released)
04.59 Robert Holmes - Amazing Grace (from Hazard Hill EP - Shanty Tramp Records)
08.06 Cutaways - Weapon Of Choice (from Start Stop! Start Stop! EP - self released)
12.28 Dan Against The World - Oh Emily (from OK In Tokyo EP - Stop Motion Records)
17.17 Mayors Of Miyazaki - Your Goose Is Cooked (from Buffalo! album - Tooting Bizarre Records)
19.38 Juta - Where (from Untwined album - self released)
24.42 Skibunny - Up Down
29.11 Here Comes The Landed Gentry - Leadbelly (from self titled EP - self released)
32.19 The Young Playthings - Whadaya Want For Christmas (from The Best Kids Christmas Album In The World Ever Ever Ever!!! compilation - Kids Records)

If you have any feedback or want to get a track played, get in touch - email blogcast@smalltownamerica.co.uk

Public Service Blogcast Episode 13

The 3rd blogcast takeover comes courtesy of US math-rockers We Versus The Shark. They first caught our attention by blowing us away with thier debut album, from which a track appeared on the PSB7 comp, so when we heard the demos of thier even better follow-up we snapped them up for the UK. That album is Dirty Versions which is out now on Smalltown America and once they got the obligatory bad English accents out of thier system Luke and Geoff plus friend/producer Joel Hatstat get all VH1 Behind The Music about the new record and the band’s influences.

Public Service Blogcast Episode 13
28 minutes 41 seconds
Recorded 13/12/08
Tracklisting
07.50 We Versus The Shark - Hello Blood (from Dirty Versions album - Smalltown America)
15.43 We Versus The Shark - Mountaineering (from Dirty Versions album - Smalltown America)
21.44 We Versus The Shark - Suddenly It's A Folk Song (Future Of The Left cover) (from Murmurmur album - free download from Quote Unquote Records)
24.36 We Versus The Shark - Right Away (Pattern Is Movement cover) (from Murmurmur album - free download from Quote Unquote Records)

All of the songs discussed can be heard on the STA jukebox but of course you want a Dirty Versions of your own to hold in your own hands – the album can be purchased right here.

WVtS strike Europe taking in the UK supporting Pulled Apart By Horses between 17th - 30th March before hooking up with Blakfish in France on April 1st for 3 weeks of European shows.

Keep it wolf, kids!

If you have any feedback or want to get a track played, get in touch - email blogcast@smalltownamerica.co.uk

OMG THIS WEEKEND

More details here and here.

I'm currently on a train to Leeds. Anyone up that way should come to Jingle All The Dayer today, as it's going to be SUPER FUN. I'm DJing at the aftershow off my laptop, I've never done this before. THAT SHOULD BE FUN HUH

Public Service Blogcast Episode 12

We're mere days away from the 2008 STA Xmas party and this week's blogcast includes two convincing arguments for why you should bypass the hell of Oxford Street and come down to King's College London on Sunday afternoon - Gentle Friendly who are going to be a big deal in 2009 and one of America's finest bands, the Thermals, playing thier first UK show in too damn long. Tickets are still on sale for just £10 and it's all in aid of homeless charity Shelter who need funds now more than ever given the economic circumstances. For the full line-up head to the Shows page of STA Central.

Public Service Blogcast Episode 12
28 minutes 36 seconds
Recorded 07/12/08
Tracklisting
00.29 Gentle Friendly - Ride Around Shining (download only here)
03.42 The Thermals - I Let It Go (Demo) (from forthcoming album Now We Can See – Kill Rock Stars)
07.48 Fuck Dress - Suburban Nietzsche Freak (from Suburban Nietzsche Freak single - NROne Records)
11.14 Swanton Bombs - Shock (from Mammoth Skull EP - Quiff Records)
14.17 Lemonade - Sunchips (from s/t debut album - True Panther Records)
20.25 Royal Treatment Plant - Hope Is Not Enough (from Hope Is Not Enough album - Universal)
25.04 Tape The Radio - Save A Life (from self-released limited single)

If you have any feedback or want to get a track played, get in touch - email blogcast@smalltownamerica.co.uk

Max Tundra Spins AMX on Resonance FM

29th November 2008

Chris Isaak: Baby Did A Bad Bad Thing
Skeletons: The Things
TRS-80: Don't Mess With Illinois
Snowy Red: Don't Lose Control
Jib Kidder: Small Fish
Mastodon: Bladecatcher
Embryo: The Music Of Today
Alan MX: Warpsichord
Flying Lotus: Parisian Goldfish
Kleenex Girl Wonder: Sexual Harassment
William D Drake: Ziegler
Cosmic Dennis Greenidge: Satellite Beach
Kahimi Karie: One Thousand 20th Century Chairs
Raymond Scott: Lightworks (Slow)
XTC: Ballet For A Rainy Day
XTC: 1000 Umbrellas
Sebastien Tellier: Wonderafrica
Niobe: Cool Alpine

Links: maxtundra.com | myspace.com/maxtundra