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East Village - Back Between Places (1988/2022)โ
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East Village are one of my favourite bands ever. They are one of the great lost bands of the C86 era. Even though I wasn't hip to their music back in 1988, when I finally heard them more than a decade later, I wondered how I had never heard of them earlier. I'm sure most will just scroll past this 7" I'm holding up here because it's not something that's immediately recognizable. It probably means nothing to most people but having this new reissue means a lot to me. It is one of the realities of the Instagram vinyl community (and Instagram at large) where certain metrics in the post determine how well it connects with most people. Familiarity, aesthetics, relevance (but mostly it helps if you are young and attractive). How many see your post depends on how many decides to interact with it. So in the music niche, something by an obscure artist would probably not do as well as a Pink Floyd album (preferably held up by a young lady). Indiepop jangle bands who made a few singles and a couple of albums...not so much. And yet, I will always try my best to bring their music to the attention of as many as possible who are willing to give such unheard gems a chance. โ
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East Village stood out from most of the C86 crowd because there was always a sense of polish to their songs. Be it the way their guitars chimed, their vocal harmonies or how they felt like a proper tight band. They eschewed the shambolic indie aesthetics of the era to make songs inspired by the past (think Byrds in the 60s) but with their own distinct character and style. It is hard to find an East Village song I don't like. So when Optic Nerve chose to reissue these two singles of theirs, I had to add them to the original 12" singles I managed to find after much digging. Hopefully, its a chance for them to gain a new and wider audience because they deserve it thoroughly. โ
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#eastvillage#indie#indiepop#C86#janglepop#iloveDiscogs#ihaveathingforvinyl#instavinyl#vinyljunkie#vinyladdict#vinylgram#vinylcommunity#vinyl
Location: Singapore / Singapura / ๆฐๅ ๅก / เฎเฎฟเฎเฏเฎเฎชเฏเฎชเฏเฎฐเฏ
#recordoftheday 14 ICED BEARS - 'WONDER'
(1991, Borderline Records)
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In the interest of transparency, I'm re-listening to this one with nefarious purpose: that necessary summer vinyl purge. Not the "moving sale" level, just the shelf space follies.
Honestly, aside from this band's (in Strong Bad voice) stupid freaking name, there are only a couple of musically memorable moments on this thing for me (e.g. "Heaven Star"). I generally can't get enough of that C86 stuff, and @thesarahrecords never let no trash carry their name, but I wouldn't have given this one a second thought if I hadn't recently read that book when I found it. The cover also bears (hehe) a serious resemblance to a certain record by another beloved, terribly named British '80s band who are active in this year of our based god 2022.
I'd still love to hear the Iced Bears' other stuff, though. I know their name was a play on some 80s UK trend, but I can't remember.
#fourteenicedbears#14icedbears#borderlinerecords#ukimport#c86#ukindie#vinylcollection#vinylcommunity#igvinylclub#sarahrecords#indiemusic#turntable#33rpm