— Issue 111 —

We hope you’re having a great spring. We’ve been hard at work digging for new and obscure records for the next few months, and we do have some gems for you coming up! We’ve also been furthering our musical knowledge with a trip to Budapest to visit some of the record shops. We picked up some great albums, including some excellent Hungarian psychedelia. In other news, Mike will be DJing at Also Festival in July (http://www.also-festival.com/) so if you’re looking for a chilled weekend festival, check that out!

Now, on to this month’s vinyl:

Good news: This month we’ve once again been able to get you two albums! The first of these is Salford-born singer Ren Harview’s second LP, “Revel in the Drama.” Some of you may remember her from her 1st release in 2012, which was a poppy affair that did get into the chats. This release however is a much more strange and timeless baroque sound, channelling Peggy Lee and Regina Spektor, that comes after a long, injury related break from music. Think of Revel In The Drama as Harvieu’s second debut album; a new beginning. Fleeting images capture small moments of personal liberation, like “cutting my hair in the bathroom mirror”, while others such as the witty “Tomorrow’s Girl Today” declare mission statements for the future: “as soon as I stop making bad decisions / oh world, watch out!”

The second album is a 1970s psych obscurity prized by collectors and recently reissued. Easily one of the coolest acts Capitol Records signed in the 1970s (and one of the least known), East was a five piece Japanese psychedelic rock band. The LP features lots of traditional Japanese instruments and a smattering of Japanese vocals. Judging by this terrific 1972 self-titled debut you have to wonder how Capitol missed the opportunity to turn these guys into international stars. For us the first two tracks are the stars of this album, but it deserves a good few listens through to be fully appreciated.