Little Stevie McCabe - 'Sweat it Out'

Been a bit. So, here's some more music from the darkest depths of my collection...

I really don't know too much about this one, other than it's fairly bizarre. The download I snagged was from the long-gone (but awesome) Decrepit Tapes blog, and that link is no longer functioning. It apparently comes from 1986. This guy (Little Stevie) has some connection to the lo-fi scene in New Zealand (groups like The Dead C and The 3Ds) and played/plays(??) in a group called Axemen, which is described as 'Half Japanese attempting to play Chrome.'

I haven't heard them, so I can't comment on that, but this album kinda reminds me of Renaldo and the Loaf maybe mixed with a little Half Japanese. Or Ween? I don't know. It's very weird, but not in a 'let's be weird' way...this guy just seems genuinely strange. Some of the songs are pretty catchy, and have an 'old-timey' vibe to them...like maybe he listened to a lot of old swing, jazz and blues while writing this stuff? It also comes off as maybe the home recordings of a teenager, which might be why he adopted the name 'Little Stevie McCabe' for the release (he just goes by Steve McCabe in Axemen.)

Whatever the case, it's some very strange stuff, and it's clearly ALL him...there are no drums for the most part, just out of tune guitars and shaky vocals. I can see similarities between this and some of the weirder New Zealand stuff, like the Tall Dwarfs, but this goes way way way into outsider music territory.

There are a whole shit-ton of songs, too, and most of them are too short to get sick of. Give it a listen if you want to hear something playfully demented.

Little Stevie McCabe - 'Sweat it Out'

Tracklist:

1. Love Feel
2. A Seeker Peeped Into Space
3. Sweat it Out
4. The Place
5. Sea Spray Gets in Your Eyes
6. More
7. Ulterior Locomotive
8. Sparing Partner
9. Take the E-Train
10. Sounds Like...A Drunken Party
11. Your Little Chevrolet
12. Chip On My Shoulder
13. Spring Song
14. Aunty-Anti
15. Clues to a Dream
16. Dirt in the Blood
17. Crazy
18. Life Doesn't Go On
19. We Love Louis
20. Terminal of Love
21. The Call of the Forbidden Sea
22. Noise Must Go On
23. That's Why You're a Human Being
24. Welcome to the Province of Nausea
25. The Way I Walk

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Pine Hill - 'Isolation Album'

Here's another album from the lost days of the Obscuro! radio program.

It seems to only be up a couple places now, so I'm posting it here. Not one of my favorites, but someone will enjoy it I'm sure.

It's very low-key folk-rock with some psychedelic influences, and a very homemade quality to the whole thing. But, it's more like a Guided By Voices record, where the whole thing is cohesive even though it's clearly home demos. The band does come up with some unique studio tricks along the way, like pitch shifted guitars and weirdo percussion.

Some of the tracks are catchy, but most fit the album title, 'Isolation.' It's a very downer album on the whole. I also have no idea what country it comes from, as it does have a lot of British rock influences, but it also feels like it could've been made in the 60's when the release date is '77. A couple of the songs even veer into definite weirdo territory, like 'Insane,' and 'Old Soldiers Never Die.'

Basically, it's perfect for a pleasant drive in the country, somewhere that you can truly experience isolation. I'd be willing to bet these guys holed up in some weird country house to write and record this album. No idea if they did anything afterwards under a different name, either.

Pine Hill - 'Isolation Album'

Tracklist:

1. Apertif
2. Clockwork Apology
3. Priscilla
4. ...Sometimes
5. Roundabout Rosie
6. A Sense of Union
7. Work
8. Hero
9. Personnel
10. Old Soldiers Never Die
11. Beecher Street
12. Insane
13. The Cook's Story
14. Letter From Fiddler's Green

DL

Lewis - 'L'Amour'

This is one of those private press LP's that mostly got re-discovered because of its silly cover. But, that cover, coupled with the strange music within, makes this guy seem almost like a David Lynch character.

The music is fairly subdued...mostly acoustic guitars and odd synthesizers, with Lewis' deep voice overlaid. Someone on RateYourMusic has described it as 'Jandek covering the 'Twin Peaks' theme,' which isn't far off the mark. It's very mellow, but also kind of creepy...slightly amateurish, but also fully realized, which is unique for a vanity release.

I don't really know much else to say about it...it's not entirely 'my thing,' but it's also very unique and interesting to my ears. Maybe you will like it.

Lewis - 'L'Amour'

Tracklist:

1. I Thought the World of You
2. Cool Night in Paris
3. My Whole Life
4. Even Rainbows Turn Blue
5. Like to See You Again
6. Things Just Happen That Way
7. Summer's Moon
8. Let's Fall in Love Tonight
9. Love Showered Me
10. Romance for You

DL