It’s no exaggeration to say that I spent a fair
percentage of my youth (and dosh) in record shops and Swordfish Records was always a
firm favourite. After some distinctly uncertain times happily they relocated back
in March 2013 from their old home on Temple Street to 66 Dalton Street (just by
the Law Courts...insert criminal record jokes here). Since then things seem to
have been on the up with an endless stream of reissues and collectable vinyl
flooding into the place pretty much on a weekly basis. As is now traditional
they also host a Record Store Day event, which this year kicked off with a
surprising stripped back set from DUMB. Er...we missed it though...as they
played earlier than previously announced. Oh well, I guess that’s what you call
DUMB luck.
Charlotte Carpenter’s one of those artists for whom
music is therapy and, by her own admittance (online and during this set), it’s
helped her through some petty shitty times. Of course this lends her songs the
kind of integrity and feeling that you just can’t fake. Many of her songs
manage to cleverly combine fragility with strength, a kind of determination to
carry on regardless that makes for inspirational listening. Listen to Found A
Light and you’ll hear what I mean.
Pick of the set was probably Sinking though,
a more upbeat track with shades of Beth Orton on a indie tip.
Drakelow’s orchestral manoeuvres in the corner are
always hugely enjoyable (they’ve played Swordfish a few times now). This afternoon
there was just a couple of them, Matt and Lucy (you’d need to lose the entire
Frank Zappa section to squeeze any more of the band in) but it was still typically beautiful
stuff. Kicking off with a tender retelling of the old James Taylor classic, You
Can Close Your Eyes and a stripped back version of the band’s own Record Store
Day release (String) the combination of the duo’s vocals and Lucy’s heart
breaking violin (ain’t the violin just the most moving instrument in the whole
wide world?) was, to coin a cliché, tear jerkingly good.
Swallowing Diamonds
picked up the pace before the pair submitted themselves to Red Folder Bingo (a
book of songs that one of the audience members could pick at random). Wild
World was the winner and, even if Matt had to cheat a bit by occasionally
glancing at the lyrics, it’s still a ballsy thing to attempt.
Local boy (well, man now) Matthew Edwards has been
living in San Francisco for the last 20 year or so fronting The Music Lovers
and (following the fairly recent dissolution of that band) Matthew Edwards and
the Unfortunates. Not sure if he’s back for good but his particular brand of reflective,
slightly melancholy pop somehow seems much better suited to the streets of Kings
Heath than, say, Haight Ashbury. There’s
a wonderful croonerish tone to his voice (a little like the love child of Scott Walker and David Bowie to my demented ears) or perhaps more recently the likes of Richard Hawley whilst the songs
themselves embrace everything from being murdered by a French movie star in the
Alps (Sandrine Bonnaire...a surprisingly upbeat tune despite the subject
matter) to the impact of a car crash on a relationship (Accident).
He’s a
pretty new name to me but I was impressed enough to buy a copy of his most
recent album, The Fates (on vinyl naturally), and I’m pleased to report that the
addition of a full band on these tracks ramps up the lushness no end. Beautiful,
classy and intriguing stuff from a bloke we should clutch to our bosoms and
never let go. San Francisco’s loss (for now at least) is our gain.
So that was it for another Record Store Day in Brum.
There have been plenty of rumblings about the whole thing becoming a bit of a
money spinner for the bigger record labels (Paul Weller's just announced he's having nothing more to do with it in future) and less about the music and more
about the money (predictably a lot of releases ended up on eBay before you
could put the needle on the record) but anything that gets people into record
shops and buying physical releases rather than ruddy downloads has to be bloody good
thing, right? But remember kids, Record Stores (or shops as we say here in
England) are for life, not just for Record Store Day. Use ‘em or lose ‘em...
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