The Beat Surrender

A while ago I was shopping in Leeds, doing my usual catch up on vinyl that I can’t get hold of on my lunch hour in Bradford when I’m at work. I’ve got a handful of twelve inch singles in my hand already and I’m starting to get an equally large amount of seven inch singles adding to the pile of tracks that I’m going to have a listen to on the decks in HMV.

Anyway I’m just about to walk off from the seven inch rack when my eyes are drawn down to the very bottom row. I’m drawn in by the artwork, it’s a bit twee and a bit cutesy, but it stands out a mile and I like it. It reminds me of some of the old Heavenly Records sleeves I used to have so I pick up this single and add it to my pile.

The single in question was Hugging My Grudge by The Boy Least Likely To, even before I played it I had a feeling I was going to like it, the artwork, the title and the name of the group all suggesting it would be my sort of thing, not sure how but you can just tell sometimes. I played the single and loved it. A few months later and Paper Cuts came out as a single, yet again I bought it and loved it and was left waiting for a full length album to sustain my thirst for more music from this little known outfit.

If you wanted a quick reference (which I know some people aren’t fond of) then I’d point you in the direction of Belle and Sebastian, the music is similarly chirpy and rambling. The Best Party Ever opens with Be Gentle With Me, features a lovely “da, da, da “refrain and what sounds like a xylophone playing in the background. The vocals seem effortless and sunny, it’s a perfect opening.

Next up is the tinkling early single I missed called Fur Soft Fur, followed by the jumpy Monsters. The previously mentioned Paper Cuts is next, followed by the wonderfully titled Warm Panda Cola.

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