I have to say I find it slightly hilarious in 2020 listening to so many Indie inclined bands from Los Angeles and San Francisco pretending to be Bobby and Amelia circa 1988. After all, what were they doing except pretending to be Lou and Nico circa 1966.
.
That's not to say there's not plenty of fun to be gleaned from the records of these Californian scamps. Because they do it so very, very well. Take LA's Ventian Blinds for example. Their debut album Secret Music is a riot of teenage ennui, slightly exaggerated musical and vocal amateurism and bashful shambling.
As someone who lived through the whole C-86 experience first time round I find the note for note reassembly of its sensibility and sound slightly baffling but certainly enjoyable. Venetian Blinds have a male and female vocalist who bill and coo and bah bah to charming effect throughout the course of the record. The fellow sounds as if he was traumatised by hearing a Pastels record in his teenage years. The girl as if she's more than happy to be his mirror, reflect who he is.
The effect of all of this has been to take me back to the mid-Eighties and make me rather nostalgic for my hair which is now long gone. Secret Music is not a great album really, but it's a perfect one for those who understand, appreciate and enjoy its code and either have their original 7 inch singles of Crystal Crescent / Velocity Girl or are desperately trying to track down a copy that they can afford.
No comments:
Post a Comment