For this podcast I am joined by Ian, who is now a member of the Song, by Toad Records team, to go through a bit of a run-down of what’s going to be happening on the label this year.

We’ve got a couple of our more recent releases, like Rob St. John and Lil Daggers, as well as some of our confirmed and ready new albums for next year, by the likes of The Leg, Jesus H. Foxx and Yusuf Azak.

I’ve also got a couple of tracks from bands we’ll be releasing on a split 12″ in the Spring.  We’ll be recording that stuff in our house next week, so the songs we chose to represent those bands are for obvious reasons not the final ones we’ll be releasing, just tracks by the bands so you can get a bit of a flavour of what we’re up to.

With Ian on board and based on the good press we managed last year I am hoping we can really kick on with the label this year and make a decent impression.  Obviously the third Meursault album will  help, what with them being our most established band, but we have a good spread of stuff, from bands like Dolfinz with only a few demos to their name, to the likes of Yusuf Azak and The Leg who people know already and then the Foxx album, which has been ‘much anticipated’ for a while now.

So all in all it should be an exciting year, I reckon.  Enjoy!

Direct download: Toadcast #208 – Song, by Toad Records 2012

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01. Mongrels – I’m Gonna Murder Justin Bieber (00.21)
02. King Post Kitsch – The Make the Same Faces Whether Fuck or Fight (02.46)
03. Meursault – Flittin’ (locationmusic.tv Piano Version) (08.49)
04. Rob St. John – The Acid Test (17.59)
05. Lil Daggers – Dead Golden Girls (22.05)
06. Paws – Bloodline (Toad Session) (31.52)
07. Jesus H. Foxx – This is Not a Rental Car (40.31)
08. The Leg – Twitching Stick (43.00)
09. Sex Hands – Jinglebitch (51.56)
10. Dolfinz – Blowhole (55.36)
11. Yusuf Azak – Lay Me Down (63.12)

Well folks, here we go, our last release of the year! Happy Christmas and all that, and feel free to forget about presents for the kids and buy one last lovely piece of vinyl instead.  Honestly, they’re just kids, they probably won’t remember and they’ll end up resenting you anyway, whatever you do, because kids are ungrateful little shits like that.

Anyhow, Song, by Toad Records’ final act of 2011 (apart from our awesome all-day label Christmas Party on Saturday) is to release the self-titled debut album by Miami’s Lil Daggers.  It’s a nasty record, and my favourite review so far (well, apart from the 5* one we’re apparently getting in Artrocker, which is awesome) was published in Subba Cultcha, where Emma Rochford produced the following little gems:

“this is music which is unashamedly ugly and hostile and it works all the better for it.”

“There are points when, for me, Lil Daggers push it too far and border on the unlistenable which makes this record a bit too much of an uncomfortable listen but I guess that’s pretty much the point. You’d be hard pushed to find a band that can give you the creeps quite like Lil Daggers.”

Now, I might suggest that it’s a little bit more of a pop album than that, but then I have a fairly well developed taste for this kind of growl these days.  Actually I reckon it’s a pretty hummable record, with the possible exception of the ungodly snarl of Ghost Herd, and to prove this we hereby present our usual enticement of a free download, this time of Dead Golden Girls, which can be snagged from the Soundcloud widget below.  And the album, should this tickle your fancy, can be bought here or in Avalanche Records down on the Grassmarket, either on black vinyl or very limited edition grey marbled vinyl.

Dead Golden Girls by Song, by Toad

 This is called the Barfcast because I feel like utter, unmitigated shite this morning, after another awesome evening with Mrs. Toad getting scooshed and playing records.  I think I had Weald on at the maximum volume our amp can actually manage.  Which, for the record, is pretty fucking loud.

So now I am off to get ready for not one, but three gigs.  Firstly the Ides of Toad at Henry’s, then Lach and Viv Albertine after that, and then Flamin’ Hott Toadzzz! in Anstruther tomorrow.  When the chance to have a good sleep comes, I think I will have earned it!

Sometime this week I will figure out what the fuck to do with the 200th podcast. Or at least, I’d better!  There have been a good few calls to get Mrs. Toad back on, which is a lovely idea, but will depend very much on whether or not she can possibly be arsed, which I wouldn’t take for granted.

Direct download: Toadcast #199 – The Barfcast
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01. Bobby Fuller Four – I Fought the Law (00.26)
02. Evan Dando – $1000 Wedding (Gram Parsons) (04.41)
03. Easter – Damp Patch (07.39)
04. Preston School of Industry – So Many Ways (13.52)
05. Sparklehorse – Piano Fire (18.57)
06. The Black Tambourines – A Lot of Friends (26.31)
07. Ghost Outfit – Tuesday (30.47)
08. Loch Awe – I Will Drift into 10,000 Streams (35.33)
09. Lil Daggers – Dada Brown (42.32)
10. Rob St. John – Sargasso Sea (44.45)
11. Dan Mangan – About As Helpful As You Can Be Without Being Any Help at All (55.56)

 As the more cunning of you might have noticed last week, Song, by Toad’s Friday Fives is now a radio show on Fresh Air, as well as just a means for you to waste your time on the internet on a Friday afternoon.

This means that from 3:30pm Brian Pokora and myself will be live on the radio, with some sort of attempt made to avoid the dreary old pish I would usually pick, out of respect for the fact that this is officially pre-pub radio and you probably want cheering up rather than bringing down.

Live on air from 3:30pm – listen here.

Also, there are a couple of live gigs to remind you about this weekend, including some late news which will hopefully be rather interesting for you.

Firstly, we have The Last Battle, Dad Rocks and Shoes & Socks Off at Henry’s tomorrow night.  It is only a fiver in, and those who come along will also be able to get into the second show of the night, which is as follows:

Secondly, Lach is opening for Viv Albertine (of The Slits) at Henry’s after our gig there on Saturday, and anyone who is there for the Ides of Toad night will get in for £4.

Thirdly, on Sunday in Anstruther we’ll be hosting a Song, by Toad all-dayer called Flamin’ Hott Toadzzz! at the Hew Scott Hall.  The lineup will be Avital Raz, Dan Mutch, Yusuf Azak, Jesus H. Foxx, Jonnie Common and Meursault, and tickets will be available on the door.

And on Monday I will sleep.

Today’s pointless questions for the internets.  Remember, fives first, pish-talking later.

1. Most shameful album you’ve seen your parents buy.
2. Coolest album you’ve seen your parents buy.
3. Most embarrassing gig you’ve been to.
4. Favourite type of weather.
5. If you had a parrot, what would teach it to say?

Playlist for Song, by Toad’s Friday Fives will appear below as we play stuff:
1. The Piranhas – Getting Beaten Up
2. Dad Rocks! - Aroused By Hair
3. Youth Lagoon – Posters
4. Tom Waits – Goin’ Out West
5. Easter – Somethin’ American
6. Dolfinz – Hot Pants
7. The Twilight Sad – Kill it in the Morning
8. Dead Kennedys – Holiday in Cambodia
9. John Cooper Clarke – Gimmix
10. Yuck – Holing Out
11. Lil Daggers – Dada Brown
12. Horsecollar – Christopher
13. Other Lives – For 12
14. Blur – To the End (with Francoise Hardy)

Lil Daggers, whose first release on Song, by Toad Records was the amazing King Corpse EP, which we put out on 7″ vinyl back in June, are gearing up for their debut album, out on Song, by Toad Records on 5th December 2011.

It is self-titled, coming out in the first week of December, and will be on vinyl only, with a download code included.  In fact, there will be two versions of the vinyl available: a normal black version, and about twenty special editions on lovely marbled stuff, for the nerds and obsessives out there (yes, I know, like me) and you can pre-order one here.

As per usual, we are giving away free mp3s as an inducement to get you to part with your hard-earned cash, and we’re starting with the awesome Dada Brown, which you can download from the Soundcloud widget below:

Dada Brown by Song, by Toad

We have a few releases to blether about at the moment, so I will start with Lil Daggers.  This four song EP is being released on 7″ vinyl, and has been played late and loud in our house so many times recently that I think our speakers could hum it by heart.

Lil Daggers are actually a Florida band, and we are hoping to be able to get them over to tour if at all possible, but in the meantime you can make do with a free mp3 and video of the title track, and if it strikes you, you can buy the 7″ here.

Lil Daggers – King Corpse by Song, by Toad

“Mrs. Toad Approved” is not an official sub-division of Song, by Toad Records just yet, but the way she’s going it might just end up being one.

This is the video for King Corpse, the title track from Miami band Lil Daggers’ EP, which is out on Song, by Toad Records on the 27th June 2011 and can be pre-ordered here.

One of the chief reasons we are able to release this really rather fantastic record over here is because it is, in fact, approved by Mrs. Toad.  We listened to this again and again over Christmas, and I mentioned that Lil Daggers had asked if we would be interested in releasing their stuff over here.  I had my doubts about it, not because I didn’t love the band, but because I was nervous about making commitments we couldn’t afford to fulfill. We only have so much money, basically, and vinyl is expensive to make.

This is where the ‘approved’ bit comes in.  Basically she said ‘fuck it, this is awesome, we have to release this and I’ll pay for it if need be’.  And so here we are.

Apparently no-one visits websites anymore, because it’s all about the social media and so on and so forth, so I suppose most of you have already seen this.

In case you haven’t, however, I have uploaded a free Song, by Toad Records sampler to Bandcamp, with songs from some of our more recent releases, as well as a healthy dose of new material from the releases we have planned for the rest of the year.

Our release schedule is slowly filling up, as well.  Before a brief break for the Edinburgh Festival we have four-song 7″ releases by King Post Kitsch and Lil Daggers, we have Surrender to Summer by The Japanese War Effort on 10″ vinyl, and we have albums by Lach and King Post Kitsch.  It is going to be very fucking busy indeed.

So, before all that excitement starts I figured I might as well give away some free sweeties to get people excited.  And here it is, downloadable for free from Bandcamp.  Enjoy!

It seems like a very long time since I have given you anything like a news update on Song, by Toad Records, and that’s because I usually keep these things restricted to times when I have something to give away, like an mp3 or a new video or something like that.

In this case I don’t have any such thing, but there has been a lot going on so I thought I should probably give you a wee update anyway, because somewhat amazingly, we have no less than five new signings to announce (I hate that word, but you know what I mean).   So, in order of their forthcoming releases:

King Post Kitsch

I have been a fan of Charlie’s for some time, since Lloyd from Peenko very kindly introduced me to his music a year or so ago. He’s just moved up to Glasgow from London and is putting together a new band, if you’re interested and can drum or play guitar.  On the 16th May we’ll be releasing a four-song single Don’t You Touch My Fucking Honeytone on 7″ vinyl, and then his debut album The Party’s Over comes out on the 13th June.

The Japanese War Effort

I hesitate to use words like ‘signed’ with Jamie, because he’s such a creative wee bastard that he’ll probably turn up on things released on half a dozen different labels over the next few years.  Anyhow, he has agreed to let us release the absolutely blinding Surrender to Summer EP on 10″ vinyl, and although we don’t have a date set just yet, I am thinking that the tail end of June makes sense – it is called Surrender to Summer, after all.

Lach

Yes, for some reason the gentleman who invented the New York anti-folk movement which, as well as kind of defining an entire genre of music, nurtured the early careers of the likes of Jeffrey Lewis, Kimya Dawson, The Moldy Peaches, Beck and Regina Spektor, has decided he wants to release his next album on Song, by Toad Records. Ramshackle Heart is coming out on the 18th July, and Lach will be reprising his stellar turn at the Edinburgh Festival again, both as a one-man show as well as bringing back the Anti-hoot.

Rob St. John

Having recorded his album in just two and a half days in February, Rob is going to have to wait until the Autumn to see it released.  I am not sure of the title yet, but we have a release date of 26th September and a plan to put it out as a gorgeous gatefold vinyl 12″, with Rob’s own photography forming the bulk of the album artwork.

Lil Daggers

This one isn’t quite what you would describe as a done deal, although it is agreed in principle, in the sense that we’ve asked if they’d like us to release their stuff over here (the band themselves are actually from Florida) and they said yes.  So that’s about as done a deal as we usually have, here at Song, by Toad Records.  Anyhow, we’ll be putting out their 7″ King Corpse EP over here sometime in July, followed by their self-titled debut album, probably sometime in October or November depending on what we all decide together when they get back form their current tour.

Crucially, King Post Kitsch and Lil Daggers are ‘Approved By Mrs. Toad’, a phrase you can expect to hear a little more of from time to time around these parts.  Basically, it means that she likes them because they make a racket.  And here, because I had to give you at least something to download for free, is the promotional track their US label Livid Records is using to promote the US release of Lil Daggers: Slave Exchange.

Lil Daggers – Slave Exchange

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I am Ruthless for this week’s show on Fresh Air Radio, so it will just be me prattling on by myself instead.  I have a John Darnielle tribute to the assault on organised labour in Wisconsion, I have the original version of that song, and I have some Withered Hand, in honour of his SXSW visa troubles.

Other than that, I am pretty worn out from a night of epic drinking in Stockton (which is not even Middlesbrough) last night after the excellent seminar thingy hosted by The Generator at which I (inevitably) drank and talked far too much.  There is a certain inevitability to these things, isn’t there.

Live from 8pm UK time – click here to listen.

As per usual the playlist will appear below as I play things, and feel free to swing by the comments and have your say.

1. Lil Daggers – Give Me the Pill
2. King Post Kitsch – Don’t You Touch My Fucking Honeytone
3. Meursault – And Butter Would Not Melt (from Jonnie Common’s Deskjob)
4. Withered Hand – No Cigarettes
5. Tom Waits – Anywhere I Lay My Head
6. John Darnielle – There is Power in a Union
7. The Louche FC – Only in a Dream
8. Irk the River – Mind That Child
9. The Son(s) – Radar
10. REM – It Happened Today
11. Billy Bragg – There is Power in a Union
12. Elbow – Jesus is a Rochdale Girl
13. David Thomas Broughton – Ain’t Got no Sole
14. Clem Snide – Pale Blue Eyes
15. Warm Ghost – Open the Wormhole in Your Heart
16. Dam Mantle – Grey
17. Dolfish – Your Love is Bummin’ Me Out
18. The Honey Pies – Hair of the Dog