search and destroy: gorky's zygotic mynci

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i only have 'spanish dance troupe'. i also know the song that goes 'oh isn't it a lovely day' but that's it. what am i (not) missing out on?

― minna, Friday, 12 July 2002 00:00 (8 years ago) Permalink

"How I Long to Feel that Summer in My Heart" is even lovelier, I prefer it to "Dance Troupe".

― Sean, Friday, 12 July 2002 00:00 (8 years ago) Permalink

fingers were xylophones

moon beats yellow

I reckon their best albums are Bwyd Time and Barafundle

― Winkelmann, Friday, 12 July 2002 00:00 (8 years ago) Permalink

the worst band in the world.

― piscesboy, Friday, 12 July 2002 00:00 (8 years ago) Permalink

I don't know what they sound like, but I have been saying their name to myself obsessively this past week.

― DeRayMi, Friday, 12 July 2002 00:00 (8 years ago) Permalink

FANTASTIC, I've been wanting to start a Gorkys thread for the past couple of days but assumed there may have already been one (that and I'm wiggedandoiiim laaaayzee).

Best Gorkys album IMHO = Bwyd Time, Worst = Gorky 5. I haven't heard much post Gorky 5 stuff sadly, and now Johns left I am a very sad kid. Tatay has some great stuff on it as well, whereas Patio is more garagey punky. Anything up to Bwyd Time will certainly be worth a listen. I especially recommend Merched yn Neud Gwallt eu Gilydd oh oh and HEART OF KENTUCKY on the fantastic Amber Gambler LP (the first rekid I evah bought offa Gorkys...) YAY! Right I am going home and listening to Gorkys tonight!!! *skips off home singing*

Peanut dispenser, peanut dispenser,
Dere lan i gweld fi'n chwa-chwa-chwarae,
Peanut dispenser, peanut dispenser,
S'dim rhaid i ti ta-ta-talu neu,
Oren neu melyn neu gwyrdd neu porffor a,
Wah wah wah wah wah, Joshua
Wah wah wah wah wah, y peanut dispenser.
Peanut dispenser, peanut dispenser
Edrych ar y bo-bo-bore
Peanut dispenser, peanut dispenser
Dangos i fi y go-go-golau
Seta plastic manw'n neud dim sens i,
Fi fi fi fi fi,
Wah wah wah wah wah, Joshua
Wah wah wah wah wah, peanut dispenser

Oh yeah, and I knew all that Welsh right off the top of my head and didn't copy or paste or nuffink. Ahem. WA WA WA WA WA, JOSH!uaaah!

― Sarah, Friday, 12 July 2002 00:00 (8 years ago) Permalink

"Heart of Kentucky" is particularly grand, to be sure.

Search...*thinks*...oh, just find everything on Ankst, for starters.

― Ned Raggett, Friday, 12 July 2002 00:00 (8 years ago) Permalink

Search: Starmoonsun, Y Ffordd Oren, many others!

― Vinnie, Friday, 12 July 2002 00:00 (8 years ago) Permalink

Yeah, search quite honestly almost anything except Gorky 5.

The Girl I've Always Known; Pentref Wrth Y Mor; Diamond Dew; The Summer's Been Good From the Start...so many lovely songs.

― scott pl., Friday, 12 July 2002 00:00 (8 years ago) Permalink

i agree, search everything except for patio which is horrible daniel johnston-ish warbling with a tame garage band feel. gorky 5 is an excellent album, minus the inexcusable russian polka number. the blue tree is probably their most perfect release for me, 'face like summer' is breathtaking. anyone have infinity chimps? it has been sitting at the store here for years, i am never even curious.

― keith, Friday, 12 July 2002 00:00 (8 years ago) Permalink

My favourite of what I've heard is "Barafundle", which sort of captures all of their early to late ideas and affectations meeting each other head on - so you get folk and pop and psych and garagey rock and weird wizard stuff. "Patio Song" sounds great in this context too, especially when it goes off into an insanely jaunty Welsh tangent at the end. My favourite song on the album though is "Starmoonsun" - gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous and slightly ominous too, in a medieval way. Also on this tip, the lovely "Sometimes The Father Is The Son". Oooh oooh *and* the gloriously schizophrenic "The Barafundle Bumbler."

― Tim, Friday, 12 July 2002 00:00 (8 years ago) Permalink

I've only jyst (intentional Gegin Nos typo) discovered GZM this year through a few friends and they are just about my new favourite band (Hives, meh). I have only really heard their Ankst stuff, but it is lodged in my brain and if anyone sees me around town appearing to talk to myself, I am probably singing Peanut Dispenser. If you find Tatay, you are a lucky, lucky person.

― Damian, Saturday, 13 July 2002 00:00 (8 years ago) Permalink

Ai cymraes ydych chi, Sarah? Ddeallais i mo'r geiriau hynny y tro cyntaf.

― ciaran, Saturday, 13 July 2002 00:00 (8 years ago) Permalink

Sorry...I realized that was probably a joke about knowing the Welsh off the top of your head. The previous post says "I didn't understand those lyrics the first time I heard them".

― ciaran, Saturday, 13 July 2002 00:00 (8 years ago) Permalink

best album: bywd time. second: tatay. Ned is OTM. after barafundle it all went downhill, when, when they stopped drawing wizards n dragons on their album covers.

― ambrose, Saturday, 13 July 2002 00:00 (8 years ago) Permalink

The cover art of Amber Gambler is pretty and funny at the same time. I like "Lucy's Hamper."

― felicity, Monday, 15 July 2002 00:00 (8 years ago) Permalink

But Let's Get Together (In Our Minds) is fantastic...

― Mr Swygart, Monday, 15 July 2002 00:00 (8 years ago) Permalink

i do like their earlier, madder stuff but to me the albums i come back to again and again are "spanish dance troupe" and "the blue trees". probably "The blue trees" because of those gorgeously evocative instrumentals. i love them. can do little wrong with me. the stuff on "patio" where their dad "has words" concerning the volume of their guitars is pretty priceless.... and "mr groovy" of course

― commonswings, Monday, 15 July 2002 00:00 (8 years ago) Permalink

Oh no I'm not Welsh, I know a bit but certainly not enough to fully understand Gorkys lyrics (which are incomprehensible enough even in my first language, heh heh). I did go home and listen to Patio by the way, and it was fantastic! Apart from a few which I always skipped anyway, Lladd Eich Gwraig being one of those. I do find it hilarious when John does his posh voice: "I say 'I say, oren, mefus a chadno'. I love the Anna Apera HEM HEM suite, for want of a better word, also.

― Sarah (starry), Monday, 15 July 2002 00:00 (8 years ago) Permalink

Damien, if yr UK based (and I believe you are) I can easily knock you up a tape of Tatay if you wish. I found it easily (but this was ahem, several years back)!

― Sarah, Monday, 15 July 2002 00:00 (8 years ago) Permalink

Sarah - thanks, but someone has just offered me a copy on CD, otherwise I would have most gratefully accepted, and I know if I had it on tape it would be doomed to die in my tape deck through overuse. I cannae resist the spoken bits on Anna Apera.

― Damian, Monday, 15 July 2002 00:00 (8 years ago) Permalink

only any good up to barafundle. after that, rubbish. its funny, its not often you get to say "they were good until they stopped the wizard schtick" is it? i mean, wizards! who'd have thought?

― gareth, Monday, 15 July 2002 00:00 (8 years ago) Permalink

I've always had a soft spot for the Miss Trudi EP.

― Anna, Monday, 15 July 2002 00:00 (8 years ago) Permalink

Dude, I feel like I'm having the goddamn Welsh dream. I've been having it since I was a child and I first saw Welsh language television, and it scared the crap out of me. In this recurring nightmare, I go to sleep, and the next day I wake up and overnight Welsh has been made the official language of Britain, and everyone is walking around speaking in Welsh, and no one will speak in English, except in very heavily accented English and the only thing they'll do is laugh at how stupid the English are.

I had this dream again last night, for the first time in years and it scared the crap out of me.

Erm, yeah. GZM. They have a song called "A Game Of EYES!!!!!" which also scares the crap out of me.

― kate, Monday, 15 July 2002 00:00 (8 years ago) Permalink

10 months pass...

Gareth's comment above makes me feel *violent*. I never feel violent.

― N. (nickdastoor), Saturday, 14 June 2003 18:58 (7 years ago) Permalink

I reckon their best albums are Bwyd Time and Barafundle

I'd say Barafundle 's their bestest.
And Gorky 5 the piss-poorest.

― t\'\'t (t\'\'t), Saturday, 14 June 2003 19:21 (7 years ago) Permalink

"Gorky 5" is strong compared to the ones that followed... (i haven't touched anything after "G5" since the first listen after the purchase)

― donut bitch (donut), Sunday, 15 June 2003 02:02 (7 years ago) Permalink

In other words.. Gareth OTM. Sorry Nick.

― donut bitch (donut), Sunday, 15 June 2003 02:03 (7 years ago) Permalink

AW man! These guys are classic! I have everything except for the Blue Trees mini album. You really can't go wrong with them. Early stuff is silly and wizardy and later stuff is lilting and pastoral. I think Barafundle is the quintessential release but Spanish Dance Troupe is gorgeous too. Gorky 5 is a bit weird - kindof cold and wintry but not without it's great points (Hush The Warmth being their all time best song.).

Search:
1. Hush The Warmth
2. The Game Of Eyes
3. Can Megan
4. Murder Ballad
5. Spanish Dance Troupe
6. Catrin
7. Diamond Dew/Barafundle Bumbler/Starmoonsun/Patio Song (they have to be heard in order for some reason)
8. Dyle Fi
9. If Fingers Were Xylophones
10. Queen of Georgia
11. Blood Chant
12. Stood On Gold

I still don't know what to make of their latest album - the first half is great but the second is a bit boring and the whole thing is lacking in weirdness. Shit cover too.

― dog latin (dog latin), Sunday, 15 June 2003 11:26 (7 years ago) Permalink

the last album was fantastic, so was the one before it. euros childs is heading towards unappreciated genius status rather quickly as each album becomes more and more low-key. the new album 'sleep/holiday' is out on august 18th. it will be spellbindingly beautiful and lovely and everyone here will want more russian polka numbers, the website says the songs are longer this time. '5' is great, the iciest record for sure, and i do miss john lawrence's sissy voice although not enough to risk picking up an infinity chimps cd. their cover of 'poor ditching boy' should get an official release sometime but as that was a john thing it probably won't.

― keith (keithmcl), Sunday, 15 June 2003 15:04 (7 years ago) Permalink

what's infinity chimps?

what's "20" like?

― dog latin (dog latin), Sunday, 15 June 2003 15:11 (7 years ago) Permalink

Sometimes I think I have composed a great melody or harmony in my head, then I listen to a Gorky's record and wonder why I even bother. Or other people.

― N. (nickdastoor), Sunday, 15 June 2003 15:12 (7 years ago) Permalink

1 year passes...

Alright I suddenly realised I want to increase my Gorky's fandom beyond Barafundle and Introducing... Only there's so many albums I can't work out which to get first. If it helps, I don't listen to Introducing... much and when I listen to Barafundle I gravitate towards "Starmoonsun" and the like as opposed to, say, "Heywood Lane". In other words I prefer the stuff that sounds like being lost in the woods and discovering elves than the stuff that sounds like being over at yer mum's with uncle bill for tea and scones and singalongs.

What should I get?

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Thursday, 2 September 2004 03:51 (6 years ago) Permalink

They (more or less) dropped the wizards and lizards schtick after Barafundle (fair play, I don't think they could have improved on it much after that point). I shall briefly describe each album after that:

Gorky 5 - I always imagine the band being trapped in one of those snowglobes. Lots of grandiose swirling ballads. A lot of people don't like it so much because it was such a step away from Barafundle but in it's defense it does have some excellent moments, among them "Sweet Johnny", "Dyle Fi", "Catrin" and the remarkable "Hush The Warmth".

Spanish Dance Troupe - A slight return to their odder days. I'd say this was their most like Barafundle but not exactly. "Faraway Eyes" reminds me of Cockney Rebel in a weird way and the title track is awesome. I'd say this is one of their strongest later albums.

The Blue Trees - Many peoples favourites but not mine. It's a live in the studio acoustic mini album. It's not awful by any means, just a bit short and straightforward for me. "Face Like Summer" and their version of "Fresher Than The Sweetness In Water" are both awesome.

How I Long To Feel That Summer In My Heart - I was disappointed by this one at first but in recent months it's become one of my all-time favourites. Tim, I think you'd like "Can Megan" off of this one as it's kind of similar to "Starmoonsun". Like Gorky 5, this album takes a bit of adjusting to as it's a totally different sound and structure to the other albums. The songs are mostly warm very well produced pop/folk ballads but there is a certain prog-iness to them. The title track for instance is based on a very simple idea that builds and builds and suddenly transforms and blossoms right at it's peak.

Sleep/Holiday - Another one which I've had since last year but have had trouble with. I can't give it classic status just yet but again there are some rated tunes on here. The prog element of the last album is raised here - there are a lot of long tracks and this disquieting stillness to the whole thing. Tracks like "Pretty As A Bee" just seem to hang there like leaves waiting to fall from trees. I'd say it's more of a mood/ambient album than anything else and apart from the rather irritating "Mow The Lawn", should be treated as such.

Over all I'd say that the quintessential Gorky's is "Barafundle". As someone said way upthread, it is where the old and new style Gorkys meet. They'd perfected their craziness and were dabbling in pop and balladeering too. I like the "Bwyd Time" album a lot as well.
Apart from "Barafundle", all the albums are well worth checking out without exception. I can't really rate one over the other as they're all very different and equally deserving.

The Gorkys are famous for mentioning the seasons in their later albums and I'd go so far as to assign a month of the year to each one. Let's do it just for fun:

Barafundle: April
Gorky 5: January
Spanish Dance Troupe: September
How I Long: July
Sleep / Holiday: November

Agree?

― dog latin (dog latin), Thursday, 2 September 2004 09:11 (6 years ago) Permalink

I like SDT being September, what with the return to school in the title track.

― Alba (Alba), Thursday, 2 September 2004 09:20 (6 years ago) Permalink

oh yeh - that must be why i think that!

Alba, I'm glad there's been a spate of Groky threads cos it's made me listen to them loads recently and I think I'm starting to realise they could well be up there with Pavement, Blur and the Boo Radleys as one of my favourite bands.

I even went so far as to burn off a CD-R of the best of their non-weird chillout "How I Long"/"Dyle Fi"-style ballads and they've been the recent soundtrack to my sunny lunchbreaks.

― dog latin (dog latin), Thursday, 2 September 2004 09:27 (6 years ago) Permalink

Apart from "Barafundle", all the albums are well worth checking out without exception

Er, I didn't mean "Apart from" - I meant "As well as"

― dog latin (dog latin), Thursday, 2 September 2004 09:30 (6 years ago) Permalink

Another vote for Bwyd Time and The Blue Trees, although I can't recall off the top of my head if the former is in print at the moment.

Richard from the band has a country-rock sideproject which I saw the weekend before last. It was pretty nice. Dunno if they've recorded anything

― DJ Mencap0))), Thursday, 2 September 2004 09:41 (6 years ago) Permalink

I heard that Bwyd Time, Tatay and Patio were due to be reduxed and rereleased - anyone know if this is true?

― dog latin (dog latin), Thursday, 2 September 2004 09:50 (6 years ago) Permalink

Yes, as a result of Ankst splitting into two parts some years ago and most of the back catalogue being unavailable since then. Don't know a concrete release date but this has been in the works for a good year or so

― DJ Mencap0))), Thursday, 2 September 2004 09:58 (6 years ago) Permalink

Thanks for the overview DL!

I should note that my renewed interest in GZM was inspired by realising that every time I was disappointed by some highly rated prog/psych/folk album it was because I wished it was more like Barafundle.

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Thursday, 2 September 2004 23:36 (6 years ago) Permalink

yair - more people should be making music like the gorkys. more loopiness. more crazy instruments. less posturing. chzthxgnight.

― dog latin (dog latin), Thursday, 2 September 2004 23:51 (6 years ago) Permalink

I've thought about your months somre more, and they really are spot on, except How I Long To Feel That Summer In My Heart, which isn't really a summer album at all, I don't think. I associate it most with driving around an often chilly Italy in April with friends, because that's when we listened to it most. But objectively, I think it's all seasons in one.

― Alba (Alba), Friday, 3 September 2004 00:05 (6 years ago) Permalink

yeh - guess so. i think i bought it in october, which is fitting i guess. it reminds me of a really good time of my life at uni when everything seemed to be finally piecing together.

― dog latin (dog latin), Friday, 3 September 2004 00:10 (6 years ago) Permalink

It's can sound sad if you're sad and happy if you're happy. 'Dead Aid' is the only unremittingly dour song.

― Alba (Alba), Friday, 3 September 2004 00:14 (6 years ago) Permalink

God, I love that album.

― Alba (Alba), Friday, 3 September 2004 00:19 (6 years ago) Permalink

Walking home at 8am after a hard day's night, watching the sun rise over my town with "Let Those Blue Skies" playing.

PERFECT!

― dog latin (dog latin), Saturday, 4 September 2004 06:45 (5 years ago) Permalink

6 months pass...

There's some wonderful archival stuff being showcased on the official Gorky's site right now.

― Alba (Alba), Tuesday, 29 March 2005 00:00 (5 years ago) Permalink

I swear I danced around the room when I read that the Ankst albums were to be re-issued. That was in January 2003.

Introducing Gorky's Zygotic Mynci is one of the best compilations I have ever heard. So perfectly sequenced that it's hard to believe the songs weren't actually recorded for this end. Search that.

― Deluxe (Damian), Tuesday, 29 March 2005 10:13 (5 years ago) Permalink

Euros and Richard James both have solo albums coming out at some unspecified point in the future, incidentally

― DJ Mencap0))), Tuesday, 29 March 2005 10:17 (5 years ago) Permalink

Patio Song is a goose bumper...

― Dr. Gene Scott (shinybeast), Tuesday, 29 March 2005 11:27 (5 years ago) Permalink

I used to know a guy who went to school with Euros - but he wasn't called Euros then

― Bad Day At Dadrock (Dada), Tuesday, 29 March 2005 11:45 (5 years ago) Permalink

What was his name then?

― Deluxe (Damian), Tuesday, 29 March 2005 12:00 (5 years ago) Permalink

Richard? I think? Can't remember. An English name tho.

― Bad Day At Dadrock (Dada), Tuesday, 29 March 2005 12:05 (5 years ago) Permalink

It is very good that archive thing. Well spotted, N.

They were very good at that Peel thing.

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller), Tuesday, 29 March 2005 12:13 (5 years ago) Permalink

Ha ha, another Gorky's related story. Years ago, two friends of mine were in London to attend some sort of 20th Anniversary of Gong gig or festival or sumthin' (don't ask) and they met this really young and enthusiastic Welsh guy - Euros Childs! He was about 16 or 17 then and he mentioned he was in a band and he kept in touch - so I got to go to a few their gigs for free and hang about with the band. Unfortunately, I didn't really like them that much.

― Bad Day At Dadrock (Dada), Tuesday, 29 March 2005 12:13 (5 years ago) Permalink

... but they were really good live and I used to like "Barafundle" a lot

― Bad Day At Dadrock (Dada), Tuesday, 29 March 2005 12:15 (5 years ago) Permalink

9 months pass...

I listen to Where Does Yer Go Now? and then Strange Magic by ELO and then 'Til I Die by the Beach Boys and it all makes sense in a beautiful and melancholy way.

― Billy Pilgrim (Billy Pilgrim), Wednesday, 11 January 2006 20:22 (4 years ago) Permalink

Euros Childs's new album isn't very good. :(

― enjoy bell woods, Wednesday, 11 January 2006 23:32 (4 years ago) Permalink

how could that be true? is it better than the infinity chimps?

― keyth (keyth), Thursday, 12 January 2006 00:26 (4 years ago) Permalink

3 months pass...

Oh I wish they would fucking hurry up and re-issue those first three albums. They seem to keep disappearing from release schedules - once a couple of years ago, and again within the last month or so. Amazon says "not yet published". What is the fucking delay, really?

― Lotta Continua (Damian), Wednesday, 19 April 2006 15:02 (4 years ago) Permalink

I don't know a single person who doesn't like "Fresher Than The Sweetness In Water."

― billstevejim (billstevejim), Wednesday, 19 April 2006 15:40 (4 years ago) Permalink

i'd forgotten he had a solo album. i feel ashamed.

― keyth (keyth), Wednesday, 19 April 2006 22:15 (4 years ago) Permalink

are GZM the secret precursors to the current psych-folk revival...? when they really started to develop that side of their sound, there was hardly anybody else doing it (that I knew of anyway). Now there's scads of twee folkies running around.

― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 19 April 2006 22:20 (4 years ago) Permalink

1 month passes...

Gorky's announce split!

Gorkys Zygotic Mynci have decided to call it a day and split up.

Richard, Megan, Euros and Pete would like to thank everyone who came to the gigs and bought the records over the years. The re-issues of the first three Gorkys albums - Patio, Tatay, and Bwyd Time - will go ahead as planned and will be released before late 2006.

:-(

This is shit news, first band break up I've been upset about in ages!

And slightly bizarrely, it's currently the number 2 story on the BBC online entertainment news page. Hmm.

― JimD (JimD), Friday, 26 May 2006 23:36 (4 years ago) Permalink

RIP I guess, though honestly I've had trouble getting into anything of theirs over the past few years -- pleasant but not deathless. Maybe I just need to relisten to it! But good on them, at least, for drawing a line under it all.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 27 May 2006 00:18 (4 years ago) Permalink

i thought they would be content to be an obscure gem for a long time. but i was wrong. very sad. i should probably get the solo record then. scarlet's well share some common ground with them and their new album is splendid, i will transfer my affections. dickon edwards even wrote a song for this one and it's lovely.

― keyth (keyth), Saturday, 27 May 2006 02:27 (4 years ago) Permalink

Ah. well if I was going to recommed a gorky replacement band, I'd suggest people give Sheffield's lovely Champion Kickboxer a try. There's a couple of very nice mp3s available a click beyond that link.

― JimD (JimD), Saturday, 27 May 2006 08:58 (4 years ago) Permalink

I assumed the split had already happened and that the solo album was tacit confirmation of the fact. It's been hard to know precisely what's been going on in Gorky world for the last number of years, so hearing that the story was on the BBC news site is just odd. Roll on those re-issue dates...

― LC (Damian), Saturday, 27 May 2006 11:48 (4 years ago) Permalink

Was enivtable, but still really really sad. One of the best British bands of the last decade.

― mynci madness, Sunday, 28 May 2006 22:29 (4 years ago) Permalink

Man, I wish I still had my copies of Introducing and Barafundle. How quickly those went out of print in the US. I'll have to jump on these import reissues and go from there. I still have the excellent Blue Trees EP, at least.

― AaronHz (AaronHz), Sunday, 28 May 2006 22:42 (4 years ago) Permalink

Introducing is out of print, but I managed to chase up a copy on eBay, relatively cheaply. There's nothing on it that won't be otherwise available come the re-issue dates, but as a standalone album it's quite perfect in its own way, as I'm sure I have said three times already.

― LC (Damian), Sunday, 28 May 2006 23:16 (4 years ago) Permalink

A good group, I think.

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller 68), Tuesday, 30 May 2006 06:54 (4 years ago) Permalink

bummer, although the last album was a bit weak on the ground. apart from that one they were a consistent classic band.

― dog latin (dog latin), Tuesday, 30 May 2006 08:11 (4 years ago) Permalink

you'd think they would be reaping crazy respect from the recent US-freak-folk revival. GZM had turned to Pentangle/Vashti Bunyan/Incredible String Band years before any of this recent beardo crop had learned an open tuning.

― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 30 May 2006 21:43 (4 years ago) Permalink

They would have gone down well at a Terrastock, I figure.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 30 May 2006 21:44 (4 years ago) Permalink

(altho I gotta say when they went all quiet and folky that's when my interest started to flag - Spanish Dance Troupe was the last one I really loved. RIP nonetheless! Lotsa great tunes)

― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 30 May 2006 21:44 (4 years ago) Permalink

GZM had turned to Pentangle/Vashti Bunyan/Incredible String Band years before any of this recent beardo crop had learned an open tuning.

Actually, Spinal Tap was at the forefront.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 30 May 2006 21:47 (4 years ago) Permalink

as always.

― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 30 May 2006 21:48 (4 years ago) Permalink

Sad to hear but I guess they were sort of running out of gas on the last album. Still, they have a amazing, consistent back catalog, and I *always* favored them over Super Furry Animals.

― Michael F Gill (Michael F Gill), Tuesday, 30 May 2006 22:59 (4 years ago) Permalink

Freak. I mean, oh. (I rate 'em equal.)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 30 May 2006 23:00 (4 years ago) Permalink

I did get my fair share of slack!

― Michael F Gill (Michael F Gill), Wednesday, 31 May 2006 01:51 (4 years ago) Permalink

2 years pass...

"I say: oren, mefus a chadno!"

― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 1 April 2009 16:46 (1 year ago) Permalink

We were listening to something the other day (not sure what it was exactly) from when they were really really young where one of their dads comes in at the end of a song and yells at them for the noise. It was great.

― ENBB, Wednesday, 1 April 2009 16:55 (1 year ago) Permalink

Hahaha, I'm listening to that very collection (Patio) and waiting for that moment.

"Keep the noise DOWN."

― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 1 April 2009 16:56 (1 year ago) Permalink

That's it! It's so funny.

― ENBB, Wednesday, 1 April 2009 17:00 (1 year ago) Permalink

"That's your last warning, it does not need to be that loud. Especially the bass!"

― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 1 April 2009 17:01 (1 year ago) Permalink

Hahaha, yes! Damn noisy bass guitars.

― ENBB, Wednesday, 1 April 2009 17:04 (1 year ago) Permalink

That's kinda awesome.. I wanna hear.

― billstevejim, Wednesday, 1 April 2009 17:17 (1 year ago) Permalink

Patio's kind of awful. Or it was last time I listened to it. Tatay through to Spanish Dance Troupe all great, and the two (or three?) after that have their moments.

Whatever happened to the Ankst-era reissues (I guess they fell out of the back of whatever happened to Sanctuary records)?

― new drone spider (j.o.n.a), Wednesday, 1 April 2009 17:23 (1 year ago) Permalink

Last night, out of the blue I dreamt that someone was asking me what this band's name translated as. I spent a good deal of time racking my brain trying to remember and came up with nothing.

― Temperamental Catstrings (Bimble), Wednesday, 1 April 2009 17:24 (1 year ago) Permalink

Gorky's Zygotic Monkey.

― Mr. Hal Jam, Wednesday, 1 April 2009 18:42 (1 year ago) Permalink

5 months pass...

Let's Get Together (In Our Minds) = best thing they ever did.

― Jamie_ATP, Thursday, 3 September 2009 12:00 (1 year ago) Permalink

I remember seeing them support The Fall - Merched Yn Neud Gwallt Eu Gilydd (Girls Doing Each Other's Hair) was either out or just about to come out. They were all really young and they were utterly fantastic. That 7" probably remains my favourite thing they've done.

Liked Tatay as well, and I have a sentimental fondness for Fresher Than the Sweetness in Water.

― GamalielRatsey, Thursday, 3 September 2009 12:07 (1 year ago) Permalink

I saw Euros Childs play a bunch of new songs on Sunday, he seems to be trying to reinvent himself as a kind of Welsh indie John Shuttleworth

― DJ AMencap (DJ Mencap), Thursday, 3 September 2009 12:24 (1 year ago) Permalink

So OTM. I really need to get some more Gorky's on my itunes - I think all I have on there right now is Bwyd Time. I like the schizo/wizardy & pastoral sides pretty much evenly & think both are represented best by the If Fingers Were Xylophones & The Blue Trees eps respectively.

I saw them live once, in 2003 or so, & there were literally about 20 people there. I felt bad for Euros for all the usual unheralded genius-denied-proper-appreciation reasons, but the poor attendance didn't phase the band b/c they played an excellent set which culminated in a 20+ minute epic closing performance of "In the Heart of Kentucky!"

― Pullman/Paxton Revolving Bills (Pillbox), Thursday, 3 September 2009 17:51 (1 year ago) Permalink

11 months pass...

"the blue trees" is so, so impressively beautiful. i'm really happy that i discovered this band when i did (like a week ago), 'cause listening to the blue trees as the summer's winding down is perfect, man.

besides this i have only heard bwyd time and patio. bwyd time is more consistently hilarious (i mean, it's booty time) while the humour in patio is imagining this band of welsh kids playing these fucked-up noisy jams, and then their parents come in and yell at them to turn it down lol. but i prefer patio for its garage-y rocking-ness, even though i am more glad that the evolved into making beautiful folk music than i would be if they had continued being a rock band.

can't wait to finish listening to every album by this band, though. they are fantastic.

― marc iv, Thursday, 2 September 2010 05:34 (Yesterday) Permalink

btw found this searching for a gorky's vs. ween thread.

― marc iv, Thursday, 2 September 2010 05:35 (Yesterday) Permalink

I saw them several times, I had at least 3 of their albums, and the only song that pops into my head when I think about them is "Stood on Gold".

― a cankle of rads (Gukbe), Thursday, 2 September 2010 05:40 (Yesterday) Permalink

God it really is Gorky's time isn't it? I think I bought "How I Long To Feel That Summer In My Heart" just as I was moving into my third house (and year) at university, and the memories associated with that fantastic place and year and the friends I had made are immovable fromt his record.

― village idiot (dog latin), Thursday, 2 September 2010 10:44 (Yesterday) Permalink

"the blue trees" is so, so impressively beautiful. - otm

marc, I think you'd really enjoy Barafundle & Spanish Dance Troupe - both of those have a really good mix of their haunting, folky side & the bizarro psych-rock stuff.

― Baluchistan of Landscape Avocado (Pillbox), Thursday, 2 September 2010 17:22 (Yesterday) Permalink

Sad to see that one of my favorite songs of theirs, "Mow The Lawn" gets short shrift above. I hear it as a kind of absurdo version of the Velvet's "Head Held High." Even has pseudo-Lou yodeling.

― dlp9001, Thursday, 2 September 2010 18:29 (Yesterday) Permalink

that collection of little odds and ends from the early years--20, i think it was called--is really great too.

but yeah i fucking love this band. barafundle was my favorite back in the day, then how i long to feel that summer, but they're all great.

np: hush the warmth

― Jacques_Lamure, Thursday, 2 September 2010 20:50 (Yesterday) Permalink

everything said above is true so it is a puzzle that most of euros childs solo material has been missable. the one richard james record i heard(is there more than one?) was also a bit dull. they need to collect john lawrence and megan and get back together, please. ah i just googled him and john lawrence has released an album this year. has anyone heard it? comparisons to csny-groan.

― keythhtyek, Friday, 3 September 2010 01:41 (19 minutes ago) Permalink

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