Associate Editor Ruby Risch
Hot Chocolate
"Emma"
It's haunting, and that first "Darling I love you" hits like no other.
IQ
"Rise"
Dark tones, symphonic prog rock that shifts between quiet then powerful eruption; heavy themes that resonate today.
Senior Editor Brett Callwood
"Rest of My Days"
Bear with me here--this is a bit of a mad story. I always thought that Kylie Minogue at the Birmingham NEC (U.K.) at the start of 1990 was my first gig. And it kinda was if you're talking about a ticketed event at a music venue--a traditional concert experience. However, Kylie (and her opener Indecent Obsession) doesn't represent the first live music that I can remember enjoying. That honor goes to Double Check.
It was the summer of 1989, so I was 14 and living in Kingsbury, which is a village five miles outside of the town of Tamworth and 14 miles outside of Birmingham, in the Midlands, U.K. I lived there from pre-school age, right up until I flew the nest and moved to London. Not quite old enough to travel alone, there wasn't an awful lot to do in Kingsbury during the summers. So when my pals and I got wind that the local methodist church would be hosting a summer program for teens called Street Invaders, and there would be pool and ping-pong, drinks and snacks, we started showing up. It wasn't too dogmatic, the people in control seemed pretty chill (at least to our young eyes), so we kept going.
Here's the good bit--there was live music. Double Check was Andy and Joy Clark, spouses that looked like they could have been in a new wave band, or perhaps one of the indie grebo groups that sprung out of Stourbridge, their hometown. Honesty, I can remember being in awe of them. People that looked and sounded like them just didn't roll into Kingsbury very often.
The lyrics were spiritual, which is great because that's what drove them. But the tunes were a lot of fun. "Strike Back" is the one that sticks with me. My memory is vague, but I remember it being about not carrying a grudge and choosing instead to, "strike back with love." Regardless of your personal religious feelings and affiliations, that's a great message. Plus, the tune was HUGE!
So I found them online recently. No longer called Double Check (not for decades, in fact), the couple recently released an album written by Andy about his battle with prostate cancer. "Rest of My Days" is my pick. I'm certainly glad he's been able to share this.
Side note -- the other artist I saw at Street Invaders that summer was singer, songwriter and guitarist Johnny Markin, who had given Michael J. Fox his first guitar lessons during his school years.
Sorry about the long story this week, but it was worth it.
Editorial Intern Cade Pinkerson
Grandmas House
"Body"
Criminally underrated U.K. band Grandmas House combine gloomy post-punk melodies with raw, abrasive punk elements in this catchy track about an out-of-body experience full of delusion and dysmorphia. Despite the serious nature of its message, the song is a wild riot of crashing symbols, surfy bass, and toe-tapping vocal harmonies. GH is definitely an important band to keep your eye on.
Hot Chocolate photo courtesy of Wikicommons/Billboard
