I can't believe there isn't a thread about them yet. Don't they deserve one? Anyway, just got a super expensive LTM reissue of "Lips That Taste Of Tears" about a week ago. I liked the St. Etienne-ish "Rainbow" but the rest of the album bored me a little. So what else should I get? Looking for the more poppy upbeat stuff. And let's not forget: C/D? Twee haters, please abstain.
― daavid, Thursday, 14 February 2008 09:25 (5 years ago) Permalink
For my money, pick up Her Handwriting and stop there. Maybe the singles comp, A Certain Evening Light if you really dig them. The first two albums were good albums with great singles. Everything since then has been dull albums with good singles. After The Seven Autumn Flowers I said to myself "no more" so I haven't heard the latest one.
I could see an argument for all their albums being equally good and my tastes being what changed though.
― f. hazel, Thursday, 14 February 2008 10:07 (5 years ago) Permalink
I gave up on TBS around "Alive to every smile", bought the occasional single since, then picked up last year's album and was surprised at how good it was. I'd agree that the best bets are "Her handwriting" and the singles comp.
― Rob M v2, Thursday, 14 February 2008 10:22 (5 years ago) Permalink
And if you want poppier, more upbeat than Lips That Taste of Tears you want The Field Mice. I don't think albumwise that TBS get any more poppier or upbeat than that.
― f. hazel, Thursday, 14 February 2008 10:30 (5 years ago) Permalink
good! that's easy, thanks hazel, rob
― daavid, Thursday, 14 February 2008 10:43 (5 years ago) Permalink
Broken by Whispers and Alive to every smile are both dead underrated. I have given up on them more or less, now though.
― flowersdie, Thursday, 14 February 2008 12:37 (5 years ago) Permalink
as with Field Mice:
miserable Wratten = good music happy Wratten = boring music
― henry s, Thursday, 14 February 2008 13:27 (5 years ago) Permalink
alive to every smile was the best one though. i like all of their albums. there isn't a lot of variety but they have tried a few new things on the most recent one and it's better than the previous one. i'd say 'broken by whispers' is the one to avoid although the eps that came out around it were great.
ranking-alive, her handwriting, last holy writer, lips that taste of tears, seven autumn flowers, broken by whispers
― keythkeyth, Thursday, 14 February 2008 23:24 (5 years ago) Permalink
i sort of know tbs via proxy but i'm not completely familiar with their music other than what my gf has played for me. good stuff!
― omar little, Thursday, 14 February 2008 23:28 (5 years ago) Permalink
I bought an album by them once. It was the worst decision of my life, by quite some way.
But "Abba on the Jukebox" is still a thing of wonder. In many ways, it's the apotheosis of its genre, the final confirmation of all those early Reynoldsisms about tweepop as rebellion into the old world: all those references to the forgotten fringes of this country, that very specific sense of desperately unhip and unconsumerised places, everything rock culture cringes at, has almost squeezed out of existence. Really, it defines the territory so much that it had nowhere left to go and the rest of us had nothing left to say about it: in fact I'm not even sure you need anything else.
― February Callendar, Friday, 15 February 2008 01:09 (5 years ago) Permalink
what is it about tweepop that draws these dismissive replies? almost as if someone is forced to reaffirm something lest they be accused of lacking it. i have not quite ever seen the overarching appeal of abba on the jukebox, it is likable enough but there are several much better songs from the album which it came.
― keythkeyth, Friday, 15 February 2008 02:42 (5 years ago) Permalink
heaven knows
abba.. is very far from my favourite TBS. her handwriting is probably the best album overall but i think last holy writer and the two EPs released in the last few years are some of his strongest TBS moments. helen reddy and idyllwild are in wratten's top ten songs as far as i'm concerned
― electricsound, Friday, 15 February 2008 03:01 (5 years ago) Permalink
also <3 beth arzy's voice
― electricsound, Friday, 15 February 2008 03:03 (5 years ago) Permalink
on the other side of the wratten coin, i've been listening to quite a bit of northern picture library lately, particularly alaska, and while it's all very pretty and dreamy it's also dull as dishwater. and to think at the time i was baffled why sarah didn't want to release their stuff..
― electricsound, Friday, 15 February 2008 03:13 (5 years ago) Permalink
I like "All Eternal Things"
― Curt1s Stephens, Friday, 15 February 2008 03:27 (5 years ago) Permalink
I bought a bunch of their albums thinking it would be a good investment for whenever i got dumped. unfortunately, i haven't been dumped yet, and it all rings hollow. a waste.
Alive to Every Smile did have some classic tunes though.
― Gukbe, Friday, 15 February 2008 21:24 (5 years ago) Permalink
haha
i've never really been able to relate to wratten's tales of heartbreak. dude is clearly way more capable of obsessing over lost love than i ever will be. lucky he writes decent tunes then eh
― electricsound, Saturday, 16 February 2008 00:25 (5 years ago) Permalink
keythkeyth: I think tweepop rubs off against middle-class guilt. it reminds a certain set of people of what they're on the run from every moment of their lives, what they cannot face in their own past. that is a very specifically British sociocultural process, and one which I don't think can be fully understood by those who don't know Britain: the genre inspires the level of antagonism it does because it's reminding followers of other popcults of where they came from.
and, as I said, it's never a genre I felt greatly determined to explore. I tried once and got my fingers burnt: a kneejerk reaction, maybe, but there always seemed so much else out there. that one single seemed to go beyond its confines, which is why it still stands out for this outsider.
― February Callendar, Saturday, 16 February 2008 02:53 (5 years ago) Permalink
I sold Broken by whispers because I found it too depressing.
God, Trembling Blue Stars, now theres a band I've neglected over the last few years. I guess you have to be picky and choosy, but theres some real gems there, so says I who loves most any melancholic music.
― mehlt, Saturday, 16 February 2008 04:27 (5 years ago) Permalink
The song 'Headlights' off of.. Lips that Taste of Tears? is really wonderful.
― derrrick, Saturday, 16 February 2008 07:20 (5 years ago) Permalink
I've never come across anything they've done as good as "Ghost of an Unkissed Kiss".
― Noodle Vague, Saturday, 16 February 2008 10:48 (5 years ago) Permalink
See, that's the point where I turned off them actually.
― Rob M v2, Saturday, 16 February 2008 11:01 (5 years ago) Permalink
1st quick pass listen to the new album, no departure, a good solid effort, lovely production
not in love with cath carroll's guest spot, would rather beth sing it tbqh
― pies madness (electricsound), Wednesday, 6 October 2010 02:13 (2 years ago) Permalink
so is this just the last TBS album or is bobby quitting music?
― pies madness (electricsound), Wednesday, 6 October 2010 02:14 (2 years ago) Permalink
was the last one really five years ago? he's looking not great these days. maybe he needs a burger.
― keythhtyek, Wednesday, 6 October 2010 02:57 (2 years ago) Permalink
TLHW was '07
― pies madness (electricsound), Wednesday, 6 October 2010 02:58 (2 years ago) Permalink
yeah perhaps a happy life is making him ill
― pies madness (electricsound), Wednesday, 6 October 2010 02:59 (2 years ago) Permalink
not that he ever looked particularly robust
― pies madness (electricsound), Wednesday, 6 October 2010 03:00 (2 years ago) Permalink
still not sure about this. ending with 'no more sad songs' is pretty telling..
― eddy current facebook friends status updates (electricsound), Wednesday, 27 October 2010 04:56 (2 years ago) Permalink
they're going chill wave.
― the girl from spirea x (f. hazel), Wednesday, 27 October 2010 17:30 (2 years ago) Permalink
it's "chillwave", one word. show some respect.
heard they are gonna do a '77 punk revival thing. bobby rotten.
― dude (del), Wednesday, 27 October 2010 17:40 (2 years ago) Permalink
i'm pretty sure the canonical spelling of chill wave is illegible, since it originally appeared on a polaroid taken in 1977 and left on the beach for 30 years.
― the girl from spirea x (f. hazel), Wednesday, 27 October 2010 18:01 (2 years ago) Permalink
hmm another EP is coming out after the album so clearly not a complete retirement i guess
― Sniiiiip! (electricsound), Monday, 1 November 2010 04:18 (2 years ago) Permalink
i've decided "fast trains" is their best album since the debut
― whole lotta cocorosie (electricsound), Friday, 21 January 2011 05:12 (2 years ago) Permalink
correspondence ep is rather 'experimental'
― swagenda (electricsound), Monday, 30 May 2011 03:19 (1 year ago) Permalink
i hope it doesn't mean more occasional keepers stuff, that stuff wasn't good at all
― swagenda (electricsound), Monday, 30 May 2011 03:20 (1 year ago) Permalink
this is always a band i think i like but dont
― ILX WORST POSTER → (Lamp), Monday, 30 May 2011 03:25 (1 year ago) Permalink
ok
― swagenda (electricsound), Monday, 30 May 2011 03:35 (1 year ago) Permalink
well i mean
― ILX WORST POSTER → (Lamp), Monday, 30 May 2011 03:48 (1 year ago) Permalink
i still haven't listened all of the way through the last record. maybe i will now since i don't need to get up for work tomorrow, but then it is kind of long. when's the keris howard solo stuff come out anyways? i didn't like occasional keepers at all either. too ponderous when the wake people took over. first two songs are great:)
― keythhtyek, Monday, 30 May 2011 04:47 (1 year ago) Permalink
hen's the keris howard solo stuff come out anyways?
was unaware this was happening, those last couple of interviews made it seem like he was quitting music too
― swagenda (electricsound), Monday, 30 May 2011 04:53 (1 year ago) Permalink
What's wrong with occasional keepers? 'Factory Records' is a marvel, very beautiful. I can't fault Trembling Blue Stars, since first finding the Field Mice in high school, I have always followed them. The new TBS is ace, though I like him best when he's channeling Robert Smith.
― JacobSanders, Monday, 30 May 2011 05:33 (1 year ago) Permalink
i thought i remember reading in a matinee records update sometime after the last harper lee release that keris howard was going new order like on hal and was doing solo stuff. of course this was a long time ago. maybe he has changed his mind.
― keythhtyek, Monday, 30 May 2011 05:44 (1 year ago) Permalink
What's wrong with occasional keepers?
ok well i've only heard the first album but imo it's the most boring thing either of them have been involved in, just never warmed to it at all. perhaps i should check out the second one
― swagenda (electricsound), Monday, 30 May 2011 05:51 (1 year ago) Permalink
The second occasional keepers is better than the first. I remember the first hardly existing, kind of pretty, but I can't remember anything but faint ambient sounds. The second one I've played a lot.
― JacobSanders, Monday, 30 May 2011 06:01 (1 year ago) Permalink
i can't work out if the backing vocal on the kidney bingos cover is david feck or caesar
― buttwalk (electricsound), Monday, 6 June 2011 03:18 (1 year ago) Permalink
Only just recently discovered them. 'Her Handwriting' is fantastic. Could listen to 'What Can I Say To Change Your Heart' on repeat for way longer than would be good for me.
Which album do I need to check out next?
― I for one am (Le Bateau Ivre), Thursday, 28 July 2011 17:16 (1 year ago) Permalink
i would rate em
her handwriting > fast trains & telegraph wires > seven autumn flowers > last holy writer > lips that taste of tears = broken by whispers = alive to every smile
not that there's much to separate any of them, but i do find the shinkansen period (save for HH) hard going at times.
― Who? Well, I've never heard of Mogwai. (electricsound), Thursday, 28 July 2011 22:48 (1 year ago) Permalink
Thanks man, will follow you rating of the albums!
― I for one am (Le Bateau Ivre), Thursday, 28 July 2011 22:53 (1 year ago) Permalink
I only ever had HH, Lips, Broken, and Alive. I've obviously missed out on a lot of their better stuff.
― Gukbe, Thursday, 28 July 2011 22:54 (1 year ago) Permalink
i should probably mention that i was pretty worn out on bobby's voice by the time of "lips" after being a field mice fan for years and years so that has probably affected my opinion. beth arzy definitely added something to TBS that it really needed
― Who? Well, I've never heard of Mogwai. (electricsound), Thursday, 28 July 2011 23:26 (1 year ago) Permalink
alive to every smile is marvelous. the only one that has a bit of diversity because of his talented friends chipping in probably. i love them all. hh is best though.
― keythhtyek, Friday, 29 July 2011 03:29 (1 year ago) Permalink
― fauxmarc, Sunday, 14 August 2011 16:37 (1 year ago) Permalink
i like the new order bass.
does anyone remember her handwriting? that one should be a classic by now, i think.
― flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Wednesday, 26 September 2012 21:19 (7 months ago) Permalink
Great track. Anything that sounds like LowLife / Here Comes Everybody + Field Mice is a sure thing to my ears.
― brotherlovesdub, Wednesday, 26 September 2012 21:28 (7 months ago) Permalink
i like these a lot, a lot more than i like NO
― syntax evasion (Noodle Vague), Wednesday, 26 September 2012 21:31 (7 months ago) Permalink
i was wrong here
― adam bandit (electricsound), Wednesday, 26 September 2012 22:32 (7 months ago) Permalink
One of my favorites of all time.
Seriously, ask me anything.
― Austin, Thursday, 27 September 2012 01:55 (7 months ago) Permalink