Ok, let’s do this!
Score out of 10 for 99% (looking for 9.9 here obviously!)
- 10
- 9
- 8
- 7
- 6
- 5
- 4
- 3
- 2
- 1
0
voters
I’m on holiday with the TV so haven’t been able to listen.
But it’s on the to listen.
Liked rather than loved this one. Thought production was a bit basic (and a bit too in thrall to what had been happening in hip hop and house music in the couple of years before).
Subliminal Sandwich is the only MBM record I have. I do absolute love that one, and been meaning to check their other stuff out for a while, so was good to get the push to do it this week. Was also great to see the progression from their early stuff to where they ended up
1 Like
I gave this a solid 8 - toyed with a 9 - it’s perfect for me in terms of production - slap bang in the middle of my favourite, nay only, time for dance music.
I have given 99% a couple of listens and enjoyed but not loved. The production reminds me very much of Renegade Soundwave with those quite rudimentary drum beats, and I think latter MBM is better sounding, but can definitely see myself picking out a couple of songs for future listening such as Psyche Out and Dog Star Man/Helter Skelter
Dogstar Man / Helter Skelter is pretty great. Psyche-Out is very good too.
Here - Swirl
Let’s have some 1993 Czech shoegaze to finish off this round of nominations.
There was a burgeoning shoegaze scene in Prague after the 1989 Velvet Revolution, with The Ecstasy of St. Theresa at the forefront. Meanwhile, in Vyškov na Moravě in the east of Czechia, Kateřina Crhonková (vocals), Tomáš Luska (guitar), Zdeněk Marek (guitar), Pavel Koutný (bass) and Martin Pecka (drums) formed Here in 1990, inspired by hearing Nowhere by Ride and then trying to figure out how to create similar effects themselves with the equipment they could find, later on getting some help from British producer and engineer Colin Stuart.
Their debut album, Swirl, came out in 1993, and John Peel got them over to the UK for a session. There were follow-up albums, which by all accounts go off in more experimental directions. Swirl was remastered and reissued this year by Stoned to Death Records, which brought it to my attention.
This Quietus article about Here, an extract from Miloš Hroch’s book Whisper Aloud: Czech shoegaze between the East and the West, is worth a read.
7 Likes
Another new album to explore!
2 Likes
Ooh! Thought we were having a week off but this is a pleasant surprise.
Not heard of this but I absolutely adore Ecstasy of St Teresa so very interested to hear some of their mates.
1 Like
There’s a week off next week, but I’ll be away for most of this week too, so would appreciate it if someone can run the poll on Friday and over the weekend.
Nice to have a brand new album to listen to while I’m on hols, thanks @dantrobus!
1 Like
Yep - I’ll do the poll.
1 Like
Cool - I got into this record a few months ago - can’t recall if it was word of mouth recommendation from some Czech shoegazers I was chatting to at MBV Royal Albert Hall. Or if it was re-issued recently and I had made a note….Its an 8/10 in my book but a strong one and might yet round up
1 Like
Love this one!
1 Like
Cool - that solves that mystery of how I got into these lot…strange that my mind didn’t go to this forum when its the source of so much of my listening
1 Like
Hadn’t read that Quietus article before. Quite surprised that it was Ride that influenced them so much - they sound much more influenced by Isn’t Anything to me (same for early Ecstasy of St. Theresa).
Absolutely love stuff like this - like that Czech shoegaze was such a thing and all the circumstances around it. Really helps that a lot of the bands were brilliant too
1 Like
Another Miloš Hroch article on the Czech shoegaze scene, this one spending more time on the Ecstasy of St Theresa.
1 Like
Scores out of 10 for Swirl by Here, prosím.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
0
voters
Still on holiday, still no time to listen to music the TV doesn’t like. 
That’s for not hearing new music, not the holiday.
1 Like
Thought this was absolutely tremendous.
Definitely hear some things in common with Ecstacy of St Teresa. How far the drums are pushed up and in the way everything blends together when they start to get loud.
More importantly, they’re just doing their own noisy thing with loads of really great little moments. There’s a bit at the start of the second track where the guitar starts and then, a few bars later, this big chorus effect kicks in. Bliss.
Favourite tracks probably Scars in Days and the big, wild closer Now.
Think this might overtake McCarthy as my favourite discovery from the whole project so far.
3 Likes