If it were up to me, many of the bands featured on this blog would reform at some point or another. True, I'd be willing to make exceptions for people like The Egton Runners, who really shouldn't bother checking into a rehearsal room any time soon to prepare for a comeback tour. Broadly speaking, however, running a blog like this one has been an unfortunate reminder of just how much talent falls by the wayside for no other good reason apart from poor timing, poor management, poor record labels, or just the backwardness of the general public.
I'm absolutely delighted to report, then, that two favourite bands of mine (both featured on here before) have reformed. First and foremost, Animals That Swim have decided to get back together to release a new single, the minimally brilliant double A-side "Silver Rays/ Tiny Lucifer". Their first release in over ten years, it shows they've lost none of their talent for haunting lyrical content, wit, or indeed beguiling tunes. "Tiny Lucifer" is a doomy piano ballad focussed on a stuffed toy bear who, amongst other things, pisses on garden wildlife. It's a story worthy of one of the grittier tracks on "Workshy" told from the viewpoint of a child's toy - clearly parenthood has done peculiar things to the band. "Silver Rays", on the other hand, is a delicate pean apparently about "moments of epiphany or disintegration that can come over you anywhere". An album has been written, so please show your support for this single by going over to iTunes now and buying it. This simple act might mean that an entire LP eventually gets to see the light of day. Even if you don't like Animals That Swim, consider it an act of charity towards me - they were the first band I ever featured on this blog for the pure and simple reason that I could think of no more appropriate act to begin matters with than the most under-rated British band of the last twenty years.
For the psych-heads amongst you, however, there's further good news. July have reformed and recently played a live comeback show at the Lexington in Kings Cross, London. I didn't manage to attend myself, but reports back from the frontline so far have been extremely positive, with some new "slightly doomy" material apparently peeking its way out of the setlist. An interview with Peter Cook of the band can be found here on the "Psychedelic Baby" website, and further shows at the 100 Club are planned.
And after all that... I hate to break up all the jollity with a housekeeping message, but it has to be done. Firstly, Facebook have (for reasons known only to themselves) decided that they're going to close down our old "Left and to the Back" group, and have told me that I should instead create a new "page" which is apparently better suited to ventures such as mine. As one does exactly as one is told on Planet Facebook without quibbling, I've had to comply - the results are here. Please do join this page if you are presently a member of the existing group (and even if you're not) which is due to be mothballed and rendered redundant at some random date of Facebook's choosing.
Additionally, I've had a few hiccups uploading mp3s to Box.net, and I've received one complaint from a reader regarding mp3s not downloading properly via Firefox. If you can't hear the tracks properly or download them on the browser of your choice, please do let me know. The traffic this blog gets means that I could not longer obtain mp3 hosting services for free, so I'm presently paying a monthly subscription fee to Box.net to keep things ticking over. If things are getting a bit wobbly it's therefore vitally important you let me know!
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