album review - you need this in your collection

A few words from Lee Bull at Bullys Music Blog:

In the early days the band used to rehearse in the same studios as James and The Stone Roses and the band would often find themselves in a studio with these two Manchester greats either side. But as John says “life gets in the way and line ups change” and now they are back on the scene playing again since their last gig in 1991.

The album is a 12 track filled with great lyrics and a sound that is of the era that the tracks was first written. Even though the tracks were wrote over 20 years ago and re-recorded it takes you back to that great time in music.

If you’re a fan on the 90’s Manchester sound this album is one you need in your collection. The band have just released a 7” double A side single called “Girl On The Roof” / “Maid Of The Grey” which is available now as a limited edition.

You can find Bully's Music Blog here 

The single is on Bandcamp and Piccadilly Records and Vinyl Revival in Manchester, as well as Thomson & Co in Haslingden, digital copies are everywhere you would normally look for them. 

Mad Ferret

Mad Ferret's Music Blog has reviewed The Speed Of Sound In A Blood Orange Sky:

Here's a review of The Speed Of Sound's 2nd album which was released in 2012. Both their albums are widely available on  iTunes, Spotify etc. The album has quite a modern folk rock feel with a definite dash of 80's post punk/alt thrown in. Which is no surprise considering all the songs were written in that decade but sound fresh as ever.

Vocally there is a hint of Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, bit of Jagger, great sound. Musically the sound alternates between Rock; verging on heavy/psyche to alt/punk with some great instrumentation along the way.

 'You've Got To Move Too' starts the album off  zipping along with a jangly guitar sound and scatter gun drumming. 'English Electric Lighting F6' up next. Smart bit of bass at the beginning following by a virtuoso guitar performance on this (almost) instrumental track. Stunning. 'No Kicks' is another great track which will have you singing the chorus whether you want to or not. Track 4 'There's No One There' has an edgier vocal and a punkier sound. A song of despair and hopelessness, superbly played, has a fantastic guitar solo over a rat-a-tat drum line. Really like this one. 'Temporary Fault' is another with a punk edge, hammer drums, angsty vocal and jittery guitar. Has a feel of losing it in bedsit land. Lyrics are insightful and desperate. A wonderfully gloomy atmosphere to this track, 'Joy Division' like!! Next, 'The Changes', more solid drumming and shimmering guitars alongside a fine vocal. Track 7 is 'Uhrwerk'. It opens with a fine guitar solo and quickly turns into one of the best tracks on the album. Heavier, rocking sound, musical perfection with an instrumental section towards the end that will blow you away. 8 is 'Sit By The River' and it sounds exactly like you are. An eighties indie feel, summery and upbeat. A foot tapping, head nodding sing-a-long. If you close your eyes you can almost feel the breeze washing over you. A nod towards environmental concerns on tracks 9 & 11, 'Torrey Canyon' and 'Throw It Away', both tracks awesome with snippets of genius. I especially like the little guitar breaks on 'Torrey Canyon', reminds me of something, can't think what, I like it though. Sandwiched between these two is 'Intercept'. Forty two seconds of backwards magic! The final track and for my money, the best, is 'Overlooked'. A superb opening sound, very cool, subtle. Fuzzy guitar, tapping drum beat, lead breaks floating through the air and and understated vocal. Spoken word comes in quietly with the bass and other players mooching along. Has an indie sound to this track that a lot of today's new bands would kill for. Guitar is sublime, this has got to be a live favourite. Sure this would sound great at a gig or a festival somewhere.

These tracks ahve been around for a long time but that just adds to their quality I think. Can't wait to hear the new stuff when its ready... So check this band out, you won't be sorry. madferrit
Mad Ferret can be found here 

bandcamp

Both albums are now on Bandcamp, for streaming and download, plus pre-masters and oddities in the Work In Progress set. Have a look the link is here

Podcast link

Podcast link - Lord Litter's Magic Music Box International 10. This is the English Language show from Europe's outstanding champion of unfettered music, on California's KWTF (the German version is on Radio Marabu). I could say jump to 35'43" but you'd miss a lot of eclectic, diverse, unique, original music if you did that. So listen to the whole thing.

http://lord-litters-magic-music-box-international.podomatic.com/entry/2012-05-30T01_02_47-07_00

the disc-well of the In A Blood Orange Sky CD digi-pak

The Speed Of Sound At A Blood Orange Sky

The 2nd CD is here: Twelve songs, fifty three minutes, in a digiPak with lyric book from CDbaby and also available as mp3 via Amazon, iTunes etc. (Plus; physical callers can buy it in a physical shop at Spivey's Web in Macclesfield at http://www.spiveysweb.co.uk/  or buy on Bandcamp and CDBaby)

    

                                                                           

Overlooked

Atomic shapes and molecule structures were high fashion. Magazine racks, wallpaper, textile prints... Nuclear power had ended the second world war, ensured the stalemate of the cold war mutually assured destruction and was going to be the saviour of the world when the oil/coal ran out. It was a new age, everything was bright -'NewClear' - it even sounds fresh and tidy. 

The imagery of unharnessed renewable energy sources around a newly built nuclear power station is quite potent. 

The first image in the sequence above is a sculpture of Dounreay power station in Uranium Glass by Kate Williams and John Llyod, you can see more pictures here:
Overlooked, was written in July ;89 and was also a fixture in the live set. This re-recording was in June 2011 with Italia and Dano'63

The Douneray photographs are via the BBC and the textile prints are from Kathy Kavan's excellent Another Design Blog.

Throw It Away

Throw It  Away is about the disposability of consumer products and consumer culture.

Large pieces of furniture are sold as fashion items to be changed with the seasons, not as a durable piece that will last decades, electrical goods are already out of date as soon as they are purchased... this song also sees  humanity as a virus prevented from spreading through the solar system by being trapped on Earth (with finite resources) by the layers of orbiting abandoned space junk. At the 1960's rate of space exploration people should already have colonised Mars and Jupiter's moons by now. "There are other planets if we have to go."

Intercept

Intercept is another instrumental, despite the title (and being clearly related to 'English Elctric Lightning F6') it also functions as a musical oil slick trailing from Torrey Canyon.

Backwards is a fascinating sound, the percussion swells in an unnatural way and ends suddenly. There is no vocal, so no back-masking-secret-message to search for or be influenced by... but then I would say that.

Torrey Canyon

Torrey Canyon is about the first major marine oil-spillage disaster, which took place in the year indelibly labelled in the cultural media memory as the 'Summer of Love'. It was written in 1988 and was a standard in the live set under the title 'Profit'.

The first rough version started under the working title of 'Herald of  Free Enterprise' and was similar in lyric-feel to Sympathy For The Devil it quickly evolved, but was still quite broad, taking in a vast array of man-made environmental disasters. Refining it to a single incident gave far more focus and impact.

Rerecorded in September 2011 with mostly Rickenbacker, some Italia and the Dano'63.

The painting was part of the Brooke Bond Tea Cards set 'The Sea Our Other World' issued in 1974, the two photographs are via the BBC.

Sit By The River

Sit By The River has an uncomplicated lyric about wanting to 'sit by the river' in late summer as 'afternoon drifts into evening'. It's not about a specific river, it's about several all merged together with willows, swans and stepping stones.

The original tune was written in July'84 and had a  languid flow. Speeding it up and changing the chords in August 2011 has given it quite a different feel. 

Mostly Italia, some Rickenbacker and the Dano'63 bass.

Uhrwerk

"If you want to go forwards then go twice as fast, you'll need that pace to keep standing still..." The video for Uhrwerk (German for clockwork). 

The song is an anguished snarl at the so-called work/life balance and the mechanical nature of work; it was another permanent fixture in the live set. 

Written in April '87 (there is a July 1987 studio recording still in existence) Uhrwerk was re-recorded in May 2011. All previous recordings of this had the tick-tock and the chimes played as harmonics. This is mostly Hutchins Retro Star with 'a bit' of bowing and Dano'63 bass.

The Changes

July 1990 the Greenhouse Rehearsal Rooms Stockport: "It's in fives!" said Hamish incredulously, putting his sticks aside as the last chord died. "Yes; unusual isn't it." I replied. But it was only while programming the drums for this rerecording 21 years later that I realised what he had meant. I knew I'd always countd this in 'fours' and didn't want to encourage him to do anything more 'normal' than the great rhythm he'd just beaten out... we wee both right. 

Written in April '89 and re-recorded in June 2011, this was in the live set so had already been played by Dennis without any mention of 'fives'. Th chord sequence spirals round itself like water in a maelstrom. There was a children's TV series in the mid-70's called The Changes involving  a breakdown and rejection of the modern 'machine-culture' inspired by ancient natural forces (and the sill trapped spirit of Merlin) trying to bring humanity back in touvh with nature. Other than the title the song is not direclty related to this, more with becoming aware that something fundamental is changing in personal outlook; but the machine-smashers of the TV series were affected by 'The Changes' and the phrase lingered.

Temporary Fault

Temporary Fault could be a song about mental illness, but is about the sudden realization that a 'hinge-moment' is occurring and that a life affecting decision has to be made; producing a momentary instability or a 'temporary fault' - as shown on 1970's television screens when there was a problem with the transmitter.

Written in July 1989, this re-recording was August 2011; it is the Hutchins with a bit of bowing and the Dano'63 

These's No One There

There's No One There was a constant in the live set. It is a march of despair and desolation - a howl of angst.But still there is a glimmer; whatever The Fates conspire the misery is transient. It just doesn't seem that at the time.   

The image was an experiment with cutting and overlaying. Is the girl fading in and fading out? There is something Classic Star Trek about her hair and the transporter-fuzz, but either way at the moment there's no one there.

Re-recorded in July 2011 with Italia (on the piezo bridge setting), Rickenbacker 620-12 lead and Dano'63.

No Kicks

 

One picture for each verse; No Kicks is about being trapped in a dead one-sided relationship, deep down knowing they should go but refusing to believe it is over.


Originally these was a Garage-Punk feel to this, but it mutated into powerpop. It was a constant in the live set, written in January '89 and re recorded in April 2011 with Rickenbacker, Italia and Dano.
The sink and washing up is from an advert in a 1970 copy of National Geographic, the cowboy on TV is from a 50's ad, and the lips, man and smoking girl are all from the excellent image library pulpcovers.com.

English Electric Lightning F6

English Electric Lightning F6 is an instrumental. Dating from 1996, it has plenty of open space and describes in music what it must must be like to sit on your own at twice the speed of sound at 50,000ft. It is uplifting and reaches for the sky.

A much earlier post explained why there are two lightnings in The Speed Of Sound logo, however - this book that I had at age six should make it clear. The speed and excitement of the Lightning prototypes on the cover has stayed through the years.

Re-recorded in September 2011 - EE Lightning F6 is the Italia Mondial and the Dano '63.

You've Got To Move Too

You've Got To Move Too was written in July 1988 and often started the live set, so is a fitting opening piece for the 2nd album. It is about the world of fashion and the continual thirst for 'new' - the only way to perpetual newness is to continually reinvent the old - and the constant need to be ahead; not just keeping up. The overlapping vocals don't give the last line time to finish before moving on to the next 'thing'.

Lord Litter described it as "A cool mix of punk and The Byrds 5th dimension LP" and played it in his Magic Music Box show in December 2011 on Radio Marabu - Europe's Alternative Radio (and elsewhere).

Guitar-wise this is the Hutchins Retro Star and the Rickenbacker 620-12, with a few seconds of violin bowing on the Hutchins bwfore the break. The bass is the Danelectro '63.