#c86

EPIC ALBUM COVER #396

Guedeon Della - Doggy Language

Released: 1994 (Elefant)

<3 Big jacket update <3

After months of figuring out what to make my back patch I realised the perfect inspo was Heavenly’s “riot twee” shirt design! It felt very me (although I did take some creative liberties with the colours)

I’m insanely proud of this! It came out so clean and accurate to the original design and I didn’t even use a stencil for it! Also the lace detail around the edge turned out beautiful too. I’ve only been making patches/DIY properly for a year now but I’ve seen myself improve so quickly and I’m glad this is a representation of how that has culminated.

Until another big idea strikes again I might leave the jacket alone for a little while and focus on some pants I’ve started which has no particular theme - it’ll just be more music I like of multiple styles jumbled together.

Touch Girl Apple Blossom luxuriates in radiant jangle, the band’s two guitarists — Olivia Garner (who also sings) and John Morales — joining in sunshine soaked spirals of pop-rock sound. “Sunshine Reminds Me Of,” an early single, beckons from the first warm day of the season. The sound is well in line with the jangle-pop of Sharp Pins, the happy-into-sad glow of the Cords, and the lo-fi tunefulness of Good Flying Birds, a band that they’ll be touring with this summer.

This was my 9th time seeing Glasgow, Scotland's chamber pop band Belle & Sebastian (and I've seen them in 6 different states). They're one of my all-time favorites, and I did not want to miss their Miami show. Leader/singer/occasional guitarist Stuart Murdoch was in extra good spirits this night (he usually is), as was the rest of the band (guitarist Stevie Jackson looked quite dapper in his suit).  As always with their live shows, it was one for the ages.

On this tour, the 30th anniversary show, they were doing two nights in most cities, doing their debut Tigermilk on one night and then If You're Feeling Sinister on the next night. In Miami, they only did one night, ...Sinister, but I wasn't going to complain.

They played ..Sinister from beginning 'til end and it was pure joy to hear classics like "Seeing Other People," "Me and the Major" (with Stevie Jackson blowing a mean harmonica), "Get Me Away From Here I'm Dying" and "Judy and the Dream of Horses" (see the pic below of Stuart with the horse head on during this one) to name but a few (there's but honestly not a band song on the record, in fact, most are classics). 

They then came back out and did a sort of greatest hits/requests set and we got to hear "Dog on Wheels" (real early single), "I'm a Cuckoo," "The Boy with the Arab Strap' (always a fan favorite), and ended it with a gorgeous rendition of "Sleep the Clock Around" (another one of my all-time faves). 

....but it didn't end there. 

They came out for two more "Piazza New York Catcher" and "Funny Little Frog" before bidding adieu to the very appreciative Miami crowd. This bunch never puts on a bad show. They didn't when I first saw them in 2001, and they didn't on this night. 

Do not miss this band, ever. 

Tracklist:

you made me realise • slow • thorn • cigarette in your bed • drive it all over me

2/17/26.

Texas Two are an Bogor, Indonesia band who have described themselves as "inspired by acts like Free Loan Investments, 14 Iced Bears, Henry's Dress, The Tall Dwarfs". At times I've been overwhelmed by the nascent Indonesian pop scene. That, coupled with the fact that many of the bands don't physically release a lot of their music means that much of this scene hasn't really been covered here.

Thanks to Japanese label galaxy train, "Chronovisor" is getting a cassette release. This is an eight-track whirlwind release for which the Bandcamp page states of Texas Two: "If you dig into C86 movement you might be like their outputs. they played some minimalist DIY pop music with some fuzzy guitar like Shop Assistants, Henry's Dress, Bubblegum Splash, The Vaselines, Aggi, Sex Sux and etc."