#able tasmans

9/27/24.

I got pretty excited when seeing this on Bandcamp. I hadn't even pressed the play button and I was pretty pysched - this looked like a reissue and the band is Glaswegian.

It is not a reissue but the band is from Glasgow. And they're a pretty unlikely crew. Look at this picture:

"The Tenementals are made up academics and musicians who came together to delve into the history of Glasgow through the power of music." It looks like they all are based at the University of Glasgow. They've been around for a few years and did a remake of a 1933 song written by "group of communist and socialist inmates of Borgenmoor Concentration Camp". That song is Die Moorsoldaten/Peat Bog Soldiers and has also been performed by Pete Seeger and Paul Robeson.

This band sounds nothing like folk music. Listen to "The Owl of Minerva" (Donner Party also has a song called this and it's equally great). For some reason, the picture reminds me of the great group picture of the Able Tasmans on "A Cuppa Tea and Lie Down".

Show 145 - Indie Pop/Rock & Lo-fi Goodies - Do Your Thing 3MDR 97.1FM or 3mdr.com 2/02/2023

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Flying Nun Records 1993 calendar featuring the month of August as illustrated and designed by Jane Dodd of The Verlaines and Able Tasmans.

Not only is Jane Dodd a fiercely talented bassist—something I was lucky enough to experience first-hand at a one-off Verlaines classic lineup reunion in 2016—here she shows off her illustration and design chops. I love the mesmerizing sequence of pointed, shaded wave peaks, with the silent surrender of the upturned boat.

3/18/25.

We posted about All Fall Down "My Brand New Wallpaper Coat" back in June 2024. They were a Flying Nun band who produced an EP back in 1987. Blair Parkes released a remastered version on Bandcamp last year (remastered by Rob Mayes of Failsafe Records).

I was not at all surprised to see Thomas Keitsch (Thokei Tapes) release a physical version of this remastering. However, as he is wont to do, this comes in an expanded format by including a live show from July 1987. The live show sounds outstanding. If you've bought from Thokei Tapes before, you know that the tape-run is always limited, and I've never actually seen a repress done.

2/23/21.

Young kids do make music and I’m sure a lot of it is good.  But in all my time listening to music, I’ve never heard of an under-18 band sound this good/mature.  Tangled Shoelaces (Brisbane, Australia) were 10-14 years old when they started making music, and all 18 or under when they stopped.  So, all of the music on this Chapter Music release was done by non-adults (by the US standard).

Listen to “The Biggest Movie Ever Made”, close your eyes and think of Able Tasmans or The Go-Betweens.  I was worried that only one song would be great, so I did some “YouTube-in” and found enough other songs to know that Tangled Shoelaces were for real.

1/16/18.

Michael Beach is back in Australia.  After living in Oakland for several years (and recording two albums, 2013′s “Golden Theft” and this album “Gravity/Repulsion”) Beach returned to Melbourne and is playing in several bands (including Shovel).

Gravity/Repulsion has a fuller sound.  First there is piano throughout, and it’s great.  At times it’s Springsteen-like and at other times it recalls Titus Andronicus.  Then there is the drumming, which have the energy of The Who (listen to “You Were the Mirror”).  Of course, the guitar has always been my favorite, and on this album it has an early Dream Syndicate vibe.  And finally there is the songwriting which rocks (listen to “Endless Pain”)  and at other times is pensive.  To me, there is an Able Tasmans (Flying Nun) feel (listen to “Freddie Dreams of Mars”). 

10/13/24.

There's only one song currently up on Charlie Ivan Band's debut LP "Where The Dogs Go To Die", and it's one I've listened to over and over. It reminds me of the beauty of Able Tasmans combined with the songwriting of Michael Beach. It's just stunning.

Go ahead and listen to the EP from 2022 because two of those songs have been rerecorded for this release. They both employ the haunting piano from "I'll Take You Down" (the two songs are "Southwest Wind" and "Raining Song").

While the Bandcamp page states that the Charlie Ivan Band are based in Melbourne, I think they also spend time in Alice Springs, Northern Territory. If this is true, this might be the first time I've listened to an Australian band from the midsection of the country. It also might give us a clue to the source of the haunting but beautiful music.