LO-fi hypnagogic goodness that goes from romantic to creepy to ecstatic and more. He's tapping into the lost subconscious for a peak deep sonic dreamscape where all sorts of forgotten and unthought things are bubbling away. A hazy and haunted trip-out of glorious proportions.
The pint size psych pop maestro is in unexpected fine form in 2025.
Durutti Column - Lips That Would Kiss/Madeline [1980]
You will be charmed and enchanted by the debut 7" of Vinni Reilly's sublime mesmerising guitar exploits put through the Martin Hannet ringer. Fragile, sweet and odd.
Durutti Column often get lost in the history of post-punk, the development of 80s guitar music, all things ethereal and being a key influence on future genres like dream pop, shoegaze, UK post-rock, hypnagogia etc. Durutti Column are not just some footnote though, they are the big bang... well more like the gentle rippling waves of the oscillating universe...
Vinni Reilly captures the beauty and melancholy of our lives, everything in between and more. Capturing the ineffable is what art is for and Reilly excels in this pursuit. There is so much unnecessary bullshit put out into the world it's hard not to be touched when somebody is generous enough to create such poignant and exquisite music for you to enjoy.
If Gary Numan turned into Cookie Monster and started playing doom metal maybe it would sound like this. One of the stranger anomalies in the history of 20th century pop. Disco-Doom or as somebody said aesthetically it's Disco Grover meets Cookie Monster. It's got vague hints of French cosmic, 80s action/sc-fi/horror soundtracks, zuehl, Goblin, Archaïa, Heldon, Chrome, F/i, new wave, synth-pop, space-rock, heavy metal etc. but really this German duo's debut LP defies categorisation and is in a genre all of its own.
Keeping up the theme of all things sunshine. Beach Boys and Swans are pretty much the same really, sun and fun.
You know what's funny, when this came out Swans were perceived as so passé hardly anybody even noticed. I recall a small article in The Wire and one dude on the radio in Melbourne played tunes from The Great Annihilator so I would be curious what the sales figures were. A year later after releasing the follow up LP Soundtracks For The Blind they broke up because the lack of financial stability had become so stressful they couldn't even sustain running the band.
In a turn of events that is still surprising to me Swans returned in the 2010s after a thirteen year hiatus to immense critical acclaim and an unforeseen surge in popularity. Somehow in their absence a huge cult following featuring a younger generation of devoted fans had formed. Soundtracks For The Blind had become a cult phenomenon online to rival other cult records of the 90s like Spiderland, When The Kite String Pops, Stratosphere and In An Aeroplane Over The Sea. I'm guessing their influence on Godspeed You Black Emperor was also a key factor to their meteoric post-millennial rise.
Song For The Sun - Swans [1991]
Another Beach Boys-esque tune to get you in your Little Deuce Coup headed to the coast for some surfing fun in the sun and beach babe action. Michael Gira the most fun man in rock with the sunniest disposition!
