We are bloody well homeless, which is making it very tricky to record podcasts at the moment, so I apologise for the enormous wait since the last one.  I promise I’m not losing interest, it’s just been a logistical nightmare to find the time and space to actually sit down and record of late.  It takes a few hours, not least because my computer is depressingly slow, so please bear with me.

I’ve got a couple of new singles by The Indelicates and The National, as well as a couple of groups I’ve seen live recently, and then some more esoteric stuff towards the end including the highly uncharacteristic Nicole Atkins and a potentially naughty sneak preview of the new Raveonettes album.  Enjoy, Toadlings, enjoy yourselves all to pieces.

Toadcast #15 – The Homeless Podcast

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01. Dragons – Here Are the Roses (01.50)
02. Killing Joke – Eighties (08.28)
03. The Indelicates – Sixteen (13.42)
04. The National – Apartment Story (18.30)
05. Arcade Fire – Neighbourhood #1 (Tunnels) (21.51)
06. The Parish Music Box – Heavy Drinkers (30.40)
07. Rick Redbeard – Dreams of the Trees (35.45)
08. Loch Lomond – Tic (41.49)
09. Over the Rhine – Don’t Wait For Tom (48.10)
10. Ravens & Chimes – The House Where You Were Born (52.10)
11. Siberian – Islands Forever (59.27)
12. Ice Cream Socialists – Mr Crazy (65.42)
13. 586 – Rags & Tags (71.47)
14. Nicole Atkins – Brooklyn’s On Fire (75.03)
15. The Raveonettes – Aly Walk With Me (82.22)
16. The Sugars – Monsters (88.27)

The Parish Music box, you might remember, recently signed to Universal subsidiary NoCarbon Records.  I am told that this was in no small part down to my own blogging efforts, which is awfully nice, given the amount of time and effort one tends to put into these internetty things.  Well they were playing a benefit gig in Paisley which, although not all that close to Edinburgh, is bloody well close enough, so we thought we’d meet up for a few beverages to celebrate.  And, erm, celebrate we did.

I was in Glasgow anyway because of going to see the Arcade Fire the previous night, so I met up with an old pal (and regular reader – Hi Andy!) for a couple of beers before heading out to see the lads perform live for the first time.  As can be the nature of benefit gigs, they were perhaps not performing to quite the demographic that their new marketing manager might envisage, but it was a bloody good laugh and I had a blast.

I only know a few of their songs, so I was looking forward to hearing something more resembling a repertoire, and I wasn’t disappointed.  They play a laid back lounge Americana in the Hawley/Cousteau/Cherry Ghost vein and the music basically just fits.  It works.  It sounds complete and right: easy going but ebbing and flowing confidently in an old-fashioned kind of way.  Lloyd, the guitarist, was new but honestly you’d never have known in a million years.

It was an ace gig, and everyone was buzzing so there were several jars consumed after the show.  Sufficiently many that the conversation descended to the level of reminiscing about Saxondale and Norwich City’s all-conquering early-90s UEFA cup team.  I think that early buzz has got to be about as good a moment as exists in the music industry.  Everyone’s excited, it’s all new – just fucking brilliant.  So good luck to the lads and cheers for a great gig and a stinking hangover.

The Paris Music Box – Sand Apple
The Paris Music Box – Heavy Drinkers

The Parish Music Box on MySpace

Contrary to the impression of the title, this is not an angry post. This is, in fact, a very happy indeed and a not a little bit smug post, with some congratulations thrown in. If you pop over to the NoCarbon Records website you’ll see the following news item:

NoCarbon Records welcomes The Parish Music Box to its ever growing stable of artists.We first ran across the band on an obscure music blog site. It appears that plenty of others have ran across them too judging by their myspace following: www.myspace.com/theparishmusicbox. This is sophisticated laid back music with a country twist. Plenty of tales of love and loss. Fans of Morrisey, Lambchop & Richard Hawley will certainly enjoy their music.

That obscure music blog? Why this one of course, although I think Obscure Record Label NoCarbon Records could have described your favourite gin-soaked amphibious lush a little more flatteringly. Obscure, my arse! Actually, it’s a bit of a coup for Andy and the lads because NoCarbon are part of Universal music, so far from being small, they should have plenty of clout and facilities behind them as they start recording their album. Actually, The Parish Music Box have been really nice to me about this whole thing, giving me far more credit than I actually deserve. They were even kind enough to mention me in their press release:

The band were found by NoCarbon, busking on MySpace, via music fanatic and blogger Song by Toad (www.songbytoad.com) during a blatant attempt to emulate the much younger Arctic Monkeys and much more attractive Lilly Allen’s meteoric paths to fame

They even (slightly mis-)quoted my initial description of the group later on as well:

“Think 1 part Cousteau, 1 part Hawley and 1 part lounge croon and you won’t be too far away; simply, simply, lovely”,

Those comparisons are unmistakably mine and even if I didn’t actually say the ‘simply, simply lovely’ bit I certainly meant it so I’m not complaining. Anyhow, yes, so they’ve been signed which is superb. Someone from Universal music was apparently reading this blog which is equally superb. And I am going to see them play in a couple of weeks too, which is also, you guessed it, superb. “Song, by Toad in Being Useful For a Change Shock!”

Behold the songs (for t’was the songs, not the post) that got The Parish Music Box signed to NoCarbon Records:
The Parish Music Box – Heavy Drinkers
The Parish Music Box – Sand Apple