Saturday 17 December 2016

The Creation Factory - Let Me Go b/w You Got It MSR-15


Los Angeles has always been a city whose music scene has always been ahead of the game, from the Jazz era all the way through to the 1980s Paisley Underground, there has always been a hip flavouring to the Los Angeles musical landscape.

The Creation Factory are an extension of Los Angeles' rich musical past. Formed by members Shane Stotsenberg (Bass/Vocals) & Iggy Gonzalez (Drums/Vocals) who are also main players in popular neo-psych pop act The Mystic Braves.

The Creation Factory formed mainly as a recording project between Shane & Iggy, before they introduced a trio of other Los Angeles and Bay Area musicians to join the fold and take the project onto the road to play shows, the current line-up also includes Organist Glenn Brigman and guitarists Neil Soiland & Gabriel Pacheco.

The above bunch of guys are the group who play on this, the debut 45rpm release by The Creation Factory.

The sounds on this piece of wax obviously is rooted in the past and this can clearly be heard, but The Creation Factory are not like other garage-revival groups  today who  are "trying to sound like the 60s", they are a band from 1966 NOW... they live it.

The Top side "Let Me Go" could very easily fit on the grooves of any Pebbles compilation or Highs in the Mid-60s comp, the song flows with outsider punk-isms with lyrical blasts against mediocrity such as "I just want to live my life alone so let me go", the song ebbs and flows with nice combo organ, fuzz tone guitar of exceptionally high quality and tumbling bass all held together by solid jazz flavoured drumming.

The Flip an uber-cool instrumental entitled "You Got It" kicks starts like some lost Avalon Ballroom freak-out, the track is meant to represent the groups soaring live set and essentially gives the listener an insight into what the bands out-there "live" vibe. The track has a Booker T & The MG's groove to it but also sounds as though the band have just come out of playing a show at the Pandora's Box on Sunset Strip circa 67', again swirling organ and fuzz tone guitar take the spotlight, but the groove behind held together by Shane and Iggy, is quite simply astounding.

The Creation Factory are one of the few groups today, doing this music as it is meant to be done and in my book are pretty authentic and shine a light over many of their fellow peers on the 60s garage revival scene... I DIG THEM and their fluid groove and so should YOU!!!!


The Creation Factory 45 will be out on January 16th 2017.

Copies will be available at a number of outlets including from the band themselves.... places to get the 45 will be 

13 O Clock Records (USA)
Clearspot Distribution (Europe)
Normans (UK)
Rough Trade (UK)
and a host of other cool record shops - record stores please get in touch via Bandcamp if you want to stock copies.

It will also be available via Market Square Bandcamp on the day of release.

Go and check the band out at their Facebook page here - The Creation Factory

The 7" is limited to 300 copies only, each housed in a authentic 60s style paper sleeve with green print of the band on front and back, each 45 contains a limited apple green hand-numbered card insert.

There has also been some extra spare copies pressed of this 45 and  41 of these extra copies will come with a "red" hand-numbered insert.... they will be sold after the initial press has gone.

DIG IT!!!!!






Sunday 18 September 2016

The Sticks - No Sustain E.P MSR-14



Enigmatic three-piece post-punkers The Sticks return after a four year gap, with a brand new selection of warped and primal laced tracks in the form of the "NO SUSTAIN" E.P

The Brighton based trio continue with their minimalistic and disjointed style of music, clearly influenced by the early 80s DIY culture and C-80 tape scene, The Sticks have always been that band who would richly deserve to be on a Messethetics compilation. 

The songs on this extended-play release fuses their influences of this past music scene but also combines new and unusual interplay which give The Sticks a very unique and fresh sound all of their own and totally individual to them. When you hear a Sticks track, you know what you're hearing but can never pin-point what the influence is and thats the magic of The Sticks.

The Sticks' members James "The Plague" Tranmer, Iain Paxton & Stuart Cartland each share the musical input rotating instruments and vocal duties as and when it suits them.

Side A kicks off with the title track 'No Sustain', the track sounds like it would easily have been released by Fast Products in 1980, the song deals with themes of the mundane, the boredom of modern life, the safety of living a "normal" 9-to-5 existence... The guys sing it with a nonchalant feel, which exemplifies the boredom of Brighton life (don't be fooled folks Brighton isn't that great!!!).

'Cobblers' starts off like some lost 60s garage obscurity, then takes an amphetamine hit where the song explodes into a myriad of visualisations, documenting more kitchen sink drama in the form of walking "cobbled" streets of any suburban town and The Sticks warns you to "BEWARE THEM" in the songs first line.

Flip the record over to Side B and things begin to get weird, 'Air Atlantis' has an almost Gang of Four feel through the spectrum of a Captain Beefheart or even Early-Floyd acid-trip, the guys are retelling the dizzy heights of air travel to the fabled lands of Atlantis, could this just be fiction?? or are the guys on a cosmonautical inner journey?? who knows?? ask them??

Casual Man, hits like some Hip-Hop track if it had overdosed of Kool-Aid and watched endless episodes of Sesame Street, The Sticks sing of the Casual Man - the guy we all see walking walking the town centre on a Saturday night and all slightly hate and despise, this is all the more amusing with the groovy bass-line which almost sarcastically takes the piss in its own funky way.... AMEN to The Sticks.


The No Sustain EP, will be released on OCTOBER 31st 2016.

It will be limited to 300 copies only and come in hand-numbered risograph sleeves, there will also be lyric inserts which the band themselves are going to be risographing too.

The record will be in a number of mail-orders and a couple of record shops.

however to buy from source please go to  www.marketsquarerecordings.bandcamp.com on the day of release.

Also.... go and check out the Sticks on Facebook  here  THE STICKS FACEBOOK
















Friday 8 April 2016

Jessica & The Fletchers - Marble Fountain b/w Crystal Tears MSR-13




Barcelona based Indie-Pop noise makers Jessica & The Fletchers debut 7"  Marble Fountain b/w Crystal Tears will be proudly released on Market Square on the 23rd May 2016.

Jessica & The Fletchers have caused a bit of a sensation on the world-wide indie pop music scene during the last year, with their uber authentic C86 styled noise-pop, they wouldn't be out of place sharing the bill with The Shop Assistants circa 1986, however they are rooted firmly in their location of Barcelona 2016.

Fronted by Antoni Amaya who is also the bands songwriter, the group are clearly influenced by the ramshackle C86 music scene which came out of England in the mid-80s, they are defined by strong melodies, great song-writing and ethereal noise melting it all together just like honey.

Whilst being inspired by mid- 80s indie labels such as Sarah Records, Subway Organisation, bands like Talulah Gosh and most-likely a lot of the Scottish Indie scene of the time, these young noise-makers also take influence from the Spanish new-wave which aptly enough coincided with the C86 scene in the mid-80s. Jessica & The Fletchers although influenced by music made 30 years ago are also firmly rooted in the "NOW" and I feel are a breath of fresh air in the music world today, there are not many honest pop bands out there anymore, however these girls and guys are just that and I love that about them.

When I heard Jessica & The Fletcher for the first time, I fell in love with their music, their songs are rooted in the realism of their own lives, its truly honest music and has an extremely bittersweet vibe about it. Jessica & The Fletchers have a really interesting way of making short, spiky, pristine pop songs which are under the 3 minute-mark yet remain totally true to themselves and they keep a real understated mystery.... I think they're FAB!!!!

Marble Fountain starts the 45 with fuzzy guitar and simple 4/4 drumming holding it together, suddenly Jane the bands guitarist and lead vocalist starts off proceedings with her soft vocal singing the opening line "You saw shooting stars before the sunset..." the song proceeds in a see-saw motion of melodic intensity, retelling the tale of love-lost and adolescent poetry.

The B-side 'Crystal Tears' is the same style of indie genius, although a little more up-tempo compared to the A-side again Antoni provides beautiful teenage style street poetry with his lyrics and Jane sings a beautiful melody throughout, Aitor the bands drummer, keeps the time firmly despite the speed delivered and Sonia the bassist provides a nice comfortable bass holding the song together, they work well as a unit, which can really be heard on this track.

I see great things happening for Jessica & The Fletchers and really feel they should be "YOUR next favourite band".

The 7" will be released on the 23rd May 2016 and is limited to 300 copies only, each record comes with a hand-numbered lyric postcard and will also come housed in a Risograph fold-over sleeve (Just like a fanzine from back in the 80s) 


JESSICA AND THE FLETCHERS ARE...


Antoni Amaya - Keys/ Backing Vocals
Aitor Bigas - Drums
Sonia Montoya - Bass
Jane Wildson - Guitar/ Vocals


Check them out on FACEBOOK -  JESSICA & THE FLETCHERS

Also check them out on Bandcamp to purchase their previous material.

You can buy copies of the single direct from the band or through us at our bandcamp page (See below)  I'll be putting the 45 up for PRE-ORDER on May 16th which is a week before it's out.