Led distinctively by a curator in whose ears we can trust, Nick Godfrey’s Precious Recordings label continues to be one of the most reliable historical route-finders for visits inside the BBC vaults, in parallel to promising recent forays into releasing new recordings. From such navigation, fresh archival spotlights are put upon the familiar and near-famous, as well as those previously misplaced in the mists of musical time. Enter then, three 10-inch EP platters — bolstered by bonus digital content — from the latter camp.
An ultra-short 1988 session from Edinburgh’s The Vultures captures a charmingly crafted racket from three art college studying flatmates in love with vintage garage and psych-rock — guitarist Anna Watkins, bassist Allison Young and vocalist Janie Nicoll — who borrowed equipment and drummers from friends in the local scene for their extremely-fleeting combined existence. With none of the four regathered tracks breaking the two-minute barrier, this a brisk but bracing blast of noise and ingenuity.
With the entirety of the equally compelling original non-BBC-generated Good Thing EP from the same year also supplied as a download extra, this is a fine history lesson on The Vultures.
Looking back into the more recent past, arrives two extended-players from onetime Brighton-based quintet Shrag. Compromising 2010 recordings for Huw Stephens and 2012 tapings for Marc Riley (along with two more commissions for the latter as digital extras), these two sets informatively lift the lid for latecomers and reward those who followed the original activities across a string of albums and singles for Fortuna Pop! and Where It’s At Is Where You Are.
Focusing in on the pressed-plastic portions of the two bundles then, the 09.12.10 four-song Maida Vale set for Huw Stephens is arguably the sharpest and most inviting. With the core five-piece set-up of Helen King (vocals, keys), Bob Brown (guitar, vocals), Stephanie Goodman (keys, vocals), Russell Warrior (bass) and Andy Pyne (drums) augmented by Ellie White (violin) and Kath McKie (cello), we find the group’s gutsiness and raw tenderness in equal full flow.
Rolling through the rambunctious chug of “More Than Mornings”, the airier multi-voiced “Erratic Fictions”, the chamber-pop-tinged “Gutless Wonder” and the achingly wonderful duet-centred “Coda”, dots are joyously joined between The Wedding Present, Heavenly and Life Without Buildings.
In comparison, the Media City-captured 21.03.12 selection for Marc Riley has a harder overall edge, with a coarser mood and no strings-softened edges, which suggests an in-between ingestion of some Prolapse pastilles and early-Talking Heads tablets, to add to the aforementioned ingredients. Although somewhat less affecting, the quartet of pieces still cut the sonic mustard.
Combined with the added non-vinyl sessions for further career-documenting context, these two EPs are essential amends-enabling entry-points into the lost world of yet another band more of us should have known about previously.
-Adrian-
