I’d like to think that most music fans can count the records that changed their lives on one hand. Any more than that and the impact surely becomes diluted. Of course you have your favorite records, but a truly life-altering album may not even be that great of a musical accomplishment. It’s more a confluence of time, place, mind state, and the overall context. It’s personal. And Red Snapper’s Prince Blimey is one of those records for me — a truly genre-pushing, what-the-fuck-am-I-listening-to experience that broke so many silly, youthful musical rules I had insisted were unbreakable. The record was a microcosm of my entire experience as a 21-year old exchange student in the UK, transformed from a die-hard indie rock guy to a confused, genre-less maniac who couldn’t get enough of any and all new sounds. It was awesome. And it continues to this day.
So imagine my surprise — thinking Red Snapper had gone the way of so many bands before them — when a brand new record shows up in my mailbox from Red Snapper. The original Red Snapper. The trio comprised of guitarist David Ayers, double bassist Ali Friend and drummer Richard Thair. I was excited. And if you are a longtime fan, you should be too. Pale Blue Dot drops here in the states on October, 28th on Lo Recordings, and is an absolute return to form for the group; beautifully indescribable, wonderfully unpredictable and masterfully executed. Today’s post — “Wanga Doll” — is vintage Red Snapper. Double-bass dub with crescendoing guitar, slick jazz drumming and the rock n’ roll energy of a serious end-scene cinematic experience. There’s no way that drug deal is going down without some serious shit going wrong. No way. The record has six new songs — all instrumentals — and 2 superb remixes from Subway and Kelpe. Pick it up when you can.
RIYL: Fila Brazilia, Up Bustle & Out, Palmskin Productions, Funki Porcini, Cinematic Orchestra, David Holmes
READ:
Allmusic.com
MySpace
Wikipedia
Popularity: 73% [?]
August 8th, 2008 at 9:48 am
man that record (along with Lamb’s debut) really turned my head around too in the mid 90’s. The drum sounds and drummer’s feel are so great.
August 9th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
Fantastic post. My favourite band of all time, mainly down to Prince Blimey, which blew my head off on first listen and still does regularly. Superb opener, the 1-2 knockout of Gridlock/Lo-Beam at the end, and all good things in between. Can’t wait to get hold of the new stuff. Cheers for this in the meantime and keep up the great work. Whitey.
August 9th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
Fucking hell, ‘Wanga Doll’ is sick. Nice one again.
August 14th, 2008 at 9:18 pm
Steve,
Thanks for the heads up fella. I have to say that Red Snapper didn’t much register on my radar in 1996. I was heavily into d’n'b and couldn’t really see past that then. I have tracked down Prince Blimey since reading your post though – am listening to it right now. It still sounds fresh to new ears – maybe not seminal, but like you say, it’s all about context.
Love the new look but, but sometimes it takes an aaaaage to load!
G
January 19th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
Funny thing, there must be something very special about Red Snapper… I know exactly what you’re talking about – for me, ironicaly, Red Snapper’s last album (till recently) – was that kind of record. It was in the summer of 2004 when I was 19, and I’ll never forget the shop where I bought the CD, the rooms in which I listened to it, and the whole atmosphere back in those days that felt like magic. Many things changed since than but that album is still undoubtfuly one of the first things that will come to my mind if I were to name the music that has influenced me at most.