indie rock
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We'll end today's writing session by presenting this nice album by Manchester indie rockers The Train Set. If you don't know this band, like I actually didn't, I'll give you a little introduction. While I was roaming metal festivals in the eighties I completely missed the Manchester indie scene and its bands like Inspiral Carpets, Happy Mondays and The Train Set. It wasn't until much later, when I rediscovered new wave, that I started appreciating the sound of Teardrop Explodes, Echo and The Bunnymen and certainly The Cure.
This album is actually a compilation of previously unreleased tracks and their singles. What it shows to me, is a band that unfortunately got behind and forgotten due the succes of several other bands, including The Smiths which who they share a similar 'jangle' sound. People who loved this kind of music, often turned towards The Smiths and people who hated The Smiths turned away from the genre completely. Personally, I can see the tragedy in that, especially since the songs on 'Never California' are great.
Some of them are even more than great. Opener 'Hold On' reminds me a lot of The Cure, a band that I've come to admire. 'Untouchable' has a stunning shoegaze feel to it and ' All Blown Over (The Recall)' once again shows a darker, immersive sound. 'Harped On' seems to dig into old English folk, bringing back images of The Dexy's Midnight Runners' in an episode of The Young Ones. Coincidental, I started watching those series again only a couple of days ago.
What this album shows mostly, is the musical testament of a band that faded away too soon. So in a way it's nice to dig these things up once in a while and see who inspired so many bands these days. In that aspect, I can truly recommend this album to fans of the new wave of indie rock and of course to those people who are nostalgic for those days.
Serge
This album is actually a compilation of previously unreleased tracks and their singles. What it shows to me, is a band that unfortunately got behind and forgotten due the succes of several other bands, including The Smiths which who they share a similar 'jangle' sound. People who loved this kind of music, often turned towards The Smiths and people who hated The Smiths turned away from the genre completely. Personally, I can see the tragedy in that, especially since the songs on 'Never California' are great.
Some of them are even more than great. Opener 'Hold On' reminds me a lot of The Cure, a band that I've come to admire. 'Untouchable' has a stunning shoegaze feel to it and ' All Blown Over (The Recall)' once again shows a darker, immersive sound. 'Harped On' seems to dig into old English folk, bringing back images of The Dexy's Midnight Runners' in an episode of The Young Ones. Coincidental, I started watching those series again only a couple of days ago.
What this album shows mostly, is the musical testament of a band that faded away too soon. So in a way it's nice to dig these things up once in a while and see who inspired so many bands these days. In that aspect, I can truly recommend this album to fans of the new wave of indie rock and of course to those people who are nostalgic for those days.
Serge
