dont make lists

#246 - Hood - Hood is Finished

Is apt posting one of the great Leeds artists, going to Live At Leeds today. Less apt is posting one of the most autumnal/wintery songs ever on a sunny April day, but that’s where they’ve come in the list. While Hood undoubtedly were at their best post-2000, the record from which this is taken is where they came into their own for me.

#287 - The Wedding Present - Dare

LEEDS REPREZENT.

#1 - David Thomas Broughton - Ever Rotating Sky

No doubt in my mind whatsoever about this being the number one.

I think one of my biggest problems with music criticism is that when you read a gushing 10/10 review, no matter how well argued and written, I struggle to understand how anyone can write sufficiently about something with such a rating. It’s not a problem with art viewed as being perfect - songs to come and songs way posted back here I would describe as perfect - but, as pretentious as it sounds/is, records like David Thomas Broughton’s The Complete Guide To Insufficiency go way beyond perfection to a place where words are, ahem, insufficient - a theme that’s come up throughout Don’t Make Lists but is fittingly no more true when describing this. I’ll try my best.

The closer to my favourite record ever made, it perhaps only works in context  rather than a standalone piece. Context in this case being the entire album and seeing Broughton perform live. You might view this as a flaw but this was never supposed to be some zeitgeisty definitive or consensus-calculating top 365 but rather one pretty bad writer with nothing better to do. And the context is completely there for me; listening to this record a thousand times, following the man around every tiny nook and cranny in Leeds and later seeing him stun larger audiences in support slots for Shearwater and Twi The Humble Feather. 

Having said that, this couldn’t be a better introduction and I hope that if you’re introduced to this it clicks half as much as it does for me. Ever Rotating Sky itself is a Reichian masterpiece, a blend of drone and experimentalism mixed with the traditional folk song to create something unparalleled. The calm of what can be loosely described as a looping chorus eventually descending into a chaos of a glorious mix of vocals, guitar, drum machines and natural finger-on-wood percussion. Recorded in a single take in Leeds’ Wrangthorn church.

If with this year-long project just one person discovers David Thomas Broughton, it’s been entirely worth it. Thanks so much for reading.

#217 - HOOD - You Show No Emotion At All

Probably the third best ever band to’ve come out of Leeds? Gang of Four & The Wedding Present ahead, if you’re wondering.

[download/stream above removed. Listen via YouTube:]

#277 - Cowtown - Kitty Runs Away From Garlic

 Apologies to who e-mailed me this but “Basically, it sounds like a punk My Bloody Valentine on amphetamines, eating Wavves for breakfast” is the worst thing I’ve ever read. It also has nothing to do with Cowtown, don’t worry, but allows me to do a tenuous link which iiiiiiis… You know how those awful “X meets Y” things journalists do are almost always cringey and wide of the mark and stuff? I think the only one I’ve ever read that makes sense to me is “Like Deerhoof meets DEVO” because tracks like Power Ballad, has the fist-in-the-air anthemicness of say, DEVO’s Gates Of Steel but with the spazzy fun aesthetic of Deerhoof (not that a band that sounds like DEVO needs to sound more fun).

Anyway, Leeds’ premier Party Band of the past few years, I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve seen them, from the odd houseparty to a ridiculous amount of performances at The Brudenell.

I think I first saw them at one of the CHINCHILLAFESTS (my first would’ve been year 10 of high school i think, which is a terrifying thought) which is probably the most fun date in the leeds calendar. When else can you get slowly drunk all day in a social club watching people like Gay Against You, Trencher, David Thomas Broughton, who’ve all played over the years. Sometimes I think I’m really going to miss Leeds, when a “scene” like this can exist and include awesome bands like Cowtown, Chops, Pifco, Tigers!, Quack Quack, Cissy etc. I can’t recommend chinchilla-tone records enough.

Back at that Chinchilla Fest, I picked up both a free amazing cd featuring tracks by many of the aforementioned band, and this track from Cowtown. You can download it for FREE at last.fm. I also picked up a tote bag which I’ve never used, but like the LAKE one I picked up at their show, my dad now uses it for shopping. My dad = well indie.

I think roughly 1% of this post has been useful information and that’s probably the following - the LAST EVER chinchillafest takes place this May and if you live anywhere in the UK it’s worth travelling for. Look how great this line-up is, including Cowtown again, and many others. It’s one of the few things that makes me feel okay about missing Matt Groening ATP that weekend.

#331 - Held By Hands - Trading On Past Treasures

I remember receiving Held By Hands first (and only) EP through the post shortly after starting to “write” for a few sites, and i’ve got no idea how anyone got my address to send me a promo but back then just receiving post was noteworthy and exciting in itself, let alone good free music. My luck ran out and every promo i received afterwards was rubbish and i stopped even bothering to open things, but a part of me will still cherish being sent mystery cds. Even if it sounds like a really rubbish indieboy opening to a murakami novel.

Held By Hands were a short-lived band from Leeds who i’m grateful for getting to see live a lot in that time, though disappointed I never managed to properly book them. They are sorely missed. Their final gig supporting someone (memory fails me, but I remember leaving early that night to catch LOST) was one of the best things I’ve ever witnessed at The Brudenell, after spending pretty much the entire day in said pub slowly getting drunk and failing to learn how to play poker.

This track is from the aforementioned EP which I have unfortunately lost, but (I think) originally appeared on this Dance To The Radio compilation (only £2.00! get it.) which captures a different and probably much better time in the Leeds Music Scene™. Nostalgia, eh?

Members of the band are currently in Wonderswan and Twisted, both of which you should listen to.