Even before the alcoholic beating administered by Homegame began to subside, Ruth and I found ourselves in the Fresh Air studio with the exhausted and defeated Love.Stop.Repeat for a live session and a radio show which could barely lift its tired chops to the microphone.

The band have a new album out now, as well as a remix album, which given how gentle and acoustic their sound is sounds rather intriguing.

The session itself was lovely.  In fact, I am rather surprised by the quality of sound we get with no more than two shitty mics pointed vaguely in the direction of the performers.  We have a Loch Lomond one coming out shortly, but the station itself is now on an extended break until we return in the new academic year with a new Grand Vizier, the splendid Richard Vause.  Until then, that will be all the Toadly Fresh Air business there is to be found.

I am thinking about entering Toad and Ruth’s Toad and Ruth show into the Student Radio Awards as best specialist show, but given neither of us are students it seems to be cheating just a little bit.  Anyhow, we have the interview podcast below, all the session tracks as downloadable mp3s and then, at the bottom of the post, two more live session videos.

Love.Stop.Repeat Fresh Air Session

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Love.Stop.Repeat – Song For Mary (Live on FreshAir.org.uk)

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Love.Stop.Repeat – Tail Lights (Live on FreshAir.org.uk)

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Love.Stop.Repeat – Storm Song (Live on FreshAir.org.uk)

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Love.Stop.Repeat – Pillow (Live on FreshAir.org.uk)

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Video: Vimeo – YouTube
Photos: Flickr – Blueback Hotrod
Audio: below

This was without a shadow of a doubt the most scary level of military efficiency that anything even slightly Toad-related has ever achieved.  Mumford & Sons were playing to a sold-out Queen’s Hall in the evening, so we had to have them in and out of the door within an hour and a half, and we actually bloody managed it!  As the likes of the Pictish Trail, who left Toad Hall completely plastered after his session, can testify: this isn’t really what we’re good at around here.

So, not only did they go to extreme lengths to actually make time to record this, they did a fucking lovely job of it as well.  If you watch the video for Untitled, embedded below, you’ll see that they rattled our floors so hard that something actually falls off the shelves behind Marcus at the end of the video.  Gavin has done a lovely job of the recording and mixing, and many thanks to Dylan for the photography and Matthew for help with the filming.

As usual with the Toad Sessions, there is a full set of pictures on our Flickr page, Dylan’s own choices on his Blueback Hotrod page, freely downloadable and shareable mp3s of the session tracks below, a full podcast of the interview (with playlist at the bottom of the page), and videos of the individual songs themselves embedded below.  I’ve also made a video of the whole day, with bits of interviews and excerpts from the songs, and that is embedded at the top of the page.  Enjoy!

Toadcast #117 – Mumford & Sons Toad Session

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Mumford & Sons – Untitled (Toad Session)

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Mumford & Sons – Dance Dance Dance (Neil Young Cover) (Toad Session)

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Mumford & Sons – White Blank Page (Toad Session)

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Mumford & Sons – Awake My Soul (Toad Session)

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Podcast Playlist:
01. Mumford & Sons – Untitled (Toad Session) (04.26)
02. Vampire Weekend – UR a Contra (13.29)
03. Love.Stop.Repeat – In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (17.52)
04. Mumford & Sons – Dance Dance Dance (Neil Young Cover) (Toad Session) (21.54)
05. Billie Holiday – God Bless the Child (26.42)
06. Eels – In the Beginning (29.49)
07. Mumford & Sons – White Blank Page (Toad Session) (36.27)
08. My Kappa Roots – It was Rough When the Rain Came (41.19)
09. Mumford & Sons – Awake My Soul (Toad Session) (50.23)

Hello.  Sorry for the lack of preparation here, but Homegame rather fucked with my ability to get anything done in an orderly and organised fashion this week.

Listen Live Here

Listen to us! We’re super duper and we have the very very lovely Love. Stop.Repeat with us for some post Homegame fun….

1.  Matthew and The Atlas – Deadwood
2.  Trips and Falls – We Were Like Strangers Today
3.  Queen – Don’t Stop Me Now
4.  Love.Stop.Repeat – Song For Mary (live in session)
5.  Mimicking Birds – Cabin Fever
6.  Love.Stop.Repeat – Tail Lights (live in session)
7.  Au Revoir Simone – We Are Here
8.  Love.Stop.Repeat – Storm Song (live in session)
9.  Jonnie Common – hand-to-hand
10.  Fanfarlo – Finish Line
11.  Sparklehorse – Maria’s Little Elbows
12.  Love.Stop.Repeat – Pillow (live in session)
13.  Cold Seeds – Perfume of Mexican Birds

We’re in Anstruther this weekend for Homegame, and so we got incredibly pissed late at night and recorded a podcast for you all, just as a special extra Sunday Supplement.

This should give you a taste of our Homegame fun and, sadly, also an idea of just how much of a wreck we all make of ourselves in Fife once a year.
Honestly, this is my favourite festival in the fucking universe, possibly only equalled by Pickathon, which is incredibl e.

Toadcast #113 – The Anstercast

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01.Withered Hand – No Cigarettes (01.34)
02.Silver Columns – Yes and Dance (Silver Columns Remix) (08.31)
03.Findo Gask – Wrapped in Plastic (Live) (14.00)
04.Adem – Everything You Need (20.02)
05.Django Django – Love’s Dart (29.52)
06.FOUND – Freaky Freaky Chancer (33.37)
07.Cold Seeds – The Perfume of Mexican Birds (43.43)
08.Love.Stop.Repeat – The Ghost of What You Used to Be (50.52)
09.FOUND & eagleowl – Some R. Kelly Cover (58.52)

Okay, criticisms first for this one, I think.  Firstly, fabric covers for CDs put me off: they reek of the twee to such an extent that they make my buttocks clench.  That’s not a rational criticism, obviously, just a personal prejudice, but it’s true nevertheless.  Secondly, a little like the cover, when this EP is at its worst is when it is just a bit too pretty for my taste: not that it ever needs to be aggressive exactly, but there are times when Love.Stop.Repeat can be a little watery for my taste.

That second criticism applies more to the band’s entire output than particularly to this EP, however, where only A Busy Heart Beating Strong and New York Song really fall into that category; the rest is genuinely excellent.

I don’t know what to say about why I like this so much other than that it’s just lovely.  Wistful, oozing with dreary melancholy, it’s an EP which sounds like it was mostly written whilst gazing sadly out the window on a rainy day.

At their best, the interplay of the male and female vocals and the minimal instrumentals are simple and beautiful.  The arrangements are really sparse, which is something I very much like.  Depth tends to come from the harmonium, with tambourine and ukulele filling out the higher registers.  It’s all so sparingly used, however, that you get the impression they would rather have a couple of minutes of silence rather than make any sort of noise at all which they weren’t absolutely certain they wanted.

I like this careful touch, and it means that when they really nail it Love.Stop.Repeat really are an excellent band.  A lot of their Radio Sessions EP is them doing just that – really nice.

Love.Stop.Repeat – Sunday Strolls & Miracles

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Love.Stop.Repeat – In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

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MySpace (They appear to be sold out of everything at the moment, but there are gigs listed on their MySpace page, so go and see them if you can.)

My Homegame review is pretty brief, but it is here, and there is a wee video thingy as well for you to enjoy.  This is of course the accompanying podcast, with songs either from the bands I saw there, or from EPs and bits and pieces I acquired at the merch table up in Fife.

I should really have included some interviews and shit in this podcast, shouldn’t I, but then I wasn’t actually as well prepared or as organised as I should have been, really.  Inasmuch as I kind of think I would prefer my video to have turned out a bit more like Milo’s, I would also have preferred my podcast to turn out a little more like DC’s Homegame show over at the Waiting Room.  I’m not saying that I dislike the stuff that I’ve done this year, just that to my eyes it lacks a little bit of fizz and personality, unfortunately.  Oh well, it’s all a learning process, and by the time Wickerman comes around I reckon I should be able to produce something a lot better.

Toadcast #69 – The Fifecast

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01. The Phantom Band – Island (03.00)
02. The Hand – Happa Yori (15.02)
03. King Creosote – Nothing Rings True (19.52)
04. James Yorkston & Adrian Crowley – Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Your Grieviance (25.42)
05. Jake Flowers – One For the Ditch (30.07)
06. Love.Stop.Repeat – In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (33.25)
07. Viking Moses – Clown School (39.03)
08. Inspector Tapehead – A Fillet of Banjo (46.14)
09. Animal Magic Tricks – Smallish Hooves (51.26)
10. Jonnie Common – Taken Out (57.16)

Remember my pals Celebrity Chimp who played at the Toad Records launch night, back in July? Well they have a very shiny new video indeed for their song Not a Man. It was directed by Alex Puigcerver – pronunciation guesses, anyone? – and is bloody brilliant. Their Chimp Nights in London look like they’re doing incredibly well, and there are rumours of an EP release in the not too distant future.

MySpace video doesn’t embed on WordPress unfortunately, so you’ll have to click here to view it, but have no fear – it will not be a wasted trip. For those interested, here is a demo version of the original song:

Celebrity Chimp – I’m Not a Man
Celebrity Chimp – Pornstar

In other videographical news Love.Stop.Repeat, who played a private pre-opening party at the Bowery, Ediburgh’s splendidest new venue, the other week are back to play the actual opening party on Saturday. They have a mini album available from Fence Records (currently sold out, but more available here shortly) about which I was initially a little ambivalent. Their performance at the Bowery was so lovely, however, that I am now revisiting the record, and I think I was far too hasty. It’s really rather lovely and you should buy one as soon as they make some more.

Anyhow, they have a video blog on YouTube about their trip to Edinburgh and Anstruther last week, which includes footage of the Bowery show and an excerpt of an excellent Neutral Milk Hotel Cover. Watch enjoy, then come and see them on Saturday.

Love.Stop.Repeat – Secrets & Slumber
Neutral Milk Hotel – In the Aeroplane Over the Sea