Sound Shack Records - Review

As a staunch supporter of all things local I'm very pleased to have the chance to review a fanzine and CD produced by Sound Shack records. The CD is a sampler for a Bradford based record label. The fanzine itself contains information about Sound Shack records and the artists on the compilation. 

First up are Jed's Blues Band. In true 'Ronseal's style' they do what it says on the tin. They play the blues. They actually get two songs on the compilation. The first, 'Dirty Water', is the better in my opinion. Its a kind of rough acoustic sounding song. The second 'How Many Years' is much more polished sounding electric number. The kind of thing that I heard a lot of in pubs in the eighties. Overall though as someone who leans towards Jack White rather than Eric Clapton, when it comes to the blues, these are not really my kind of act.

Siamese Twist are a kind of eighties style goth band. Their song is ok but, once again, I'm not a huge fan of this sort of music. I guess its appropriate though since West Yorkshire was the spiritual home of this kind of music.

Dooj sound like a bunch of '77 throwbacks. Quite fun in a live setting I would guess but this kind of Wire influenced stuff has been done to death over the years.

Tinfoil Sojourns is a strange one. Its probably one of the less derivative songs on the compilation but I'm not a huge fan of it. It combines an annoying drony vocal with a tinny sounding drum machine and thin slightly funky guitar. According to their write up its a unique sound that turns heads! Yes kind of but in which direction are the heads turning?.

Nick Tockzek and Thies Marsen are a pan-european collaboration. Nick Tockzek is a blast from the past. In the early eighties he combined being a ranting poet (one of the bastard offspring of John Cooper Clarke) with promoting punk gigs that I occasionally attended. A great guy with his heart in the right place. But to be fair this is stuck in an eighties anti american rut to my ears and Nick was never as good a wordsmith as he was a promoter.

Chapter13 are another retro punk band. But with their brooding bass lines and feedback its a more sophisticated sound than Dooj though. This is a live recording and it shows. However I definitely think this song, 'Baby Boom Empire' with a bit of studio know how could sound pretty good.

Now I'm not a huge Beatles fan but Western Man obviously are. Amazingly this turns out to be a good thing. Their song 'My colourful Wardrobe' is an epic slice of slightly psychedelic pop music with an interesting arrangement and tons of different instruments on it. It sounds very much like 'Life in a Day' or 'Strawberry Fields Forever' but the attention to detail and the fact that these guys are apparently just 17 augurs well for the future. As long as they can find their own vision.

Next up are an old eighties band called the Word. I have a vague recollection that somebody I knew at sixth form had an uncle in this band. The song 'Schoolboy Saint' is quite a pleasant little tune. Very reminiscent of the Scouser psychedelic bands of the era - Teardrop Explodes or Icicle Works. The production is a bit tinny though which lets the whole thing down.

Richard Marriott is described as Bradford's premier busker. He has a pleasant picking style and nice voice but his song is a bit clichéd sounding.

I know people who like songs for the music and others who's main interest is the words. I like to think I combine a bit of both. So the Sentimentalists divide me. Musically their song is really good. Its a piano driven ballad. A trumpet gives it a bit of a brass band style pathos. Unfortunately the lyrics are clunky and clumsy.

Oiseaux Pointu's contribution is a pleasant instrumental called 'Villepinte'. Its kind of got a soundtrack vibe about it and some lovely trumpet playing. I was initially ready to dismiss it as too bland. But on second listen I quite enjoyed it.

Final track '22-44 @1 in 12' by Ashtray Navigations is another Ronseal moment. It is a 22 min 44s recording live from the legendary 1 in 12 club in Bradford. To be honest it bored the hell out of me. Its neither melodic or in anyway engaging. Perhaps you had to be there?

Overall this compilation is very much a mixed bag. However with such a wide variety of styles and sounds its always likely that you'll find something you like.

Its quite hard to find any reference to Sound Shack Records on the internet but try any of these means to contact them:

Email : nagbea3@aol.com

Phone: Nagbea on 07977 781877

Buy from: CBGB's Gift Shop, 9-11 Westgate, Bradford BD1 2QL

or Friendly Dragon, 1 The Piece Hall, Halifax HX1 1RE