S/D: David Kilgour / The Clean

Haven't heard the Frozen Orange LP yet. Who put it out?

Merge. I don't think it's been released yet, though.

And the Stephen CD has some great simple pop songs in a Vehicle-esque vein, though my love for it may just be nostalgia for 1995 on my part.

Didn't like the Heavy Eights CD so much, but thought A Feather in the Engine was "ace." So am excited about the new one. Is it on soleseaq yet?

his old band squirm, solo recordings as michael j. hex, and in the duo the hiss explosion with peter mitchell are all uniformly brilliant, with the hiss explosions last album '66' (which actually included a kilgour cover) is a tasty slice of lo-fi pop and guitar shimmer, simply wonderful stuff.

mike ran 'noseflute' recordings here in christchurch for many years and was an important figure in the scuzz-rock scene of the mid 1990s (ape management, squirm, spacedust, loves ugly children etc), and in moving to dunedin a couple years back, he took over arc life recordings - leading to a real revitalisation of this top-notch label before his untimely death.

Just saw David Kilgour and the 8's at High Dive in Seattle. It was Halloween. David dressed up as an emo rocker, except he just wore an Emo Philips black mop wig and used the phrase "fucking geezers" every other phrase during the banter. Homer Simpson came on stage to dance on the third-to-last song. Excellent show, although could have been more attended. Ah well. David is one of the sweetest and friendliest people I've ever met. Good times.

DON'T MISS THE KILGOUR LIVE

i'll be seeing him in Denver (oddly enough at a place called the Hi-Dive) this Saturday -- can't wait! And uhh, if any of you are in the Front Range area, be sure to make it for the opening band, the Magic Mice. That's my band ... Sorry for the shameless plug, but what the heck. 10pm!

Kilgour was indeed awesome, though the crowd was ridiculously sparse. Great band, beautiful guitar playing, warm vibe. The whole thing makes me want to go on some sort of rant about all the crappy indie rock bands who sell out places four times as big as the hi-dive, but I won't waste your time ... To repeat what Mackro Mackro said above, DON'T MISS THE KILGOUR LIVE. I think he's swinging around to the east coast now ... And the Clean are playing in NYC in a couple of weeks too! Goddamn.

Grrrr, I will have to miss his Wednesday November 14th Washington DC show at DC9.

anyone heard this? http://www.davidkilgour.com/falling.htm not avail. in the states yet, I guess ... also, new Clean album coming soon! Huzzah!

no haven't heard that. but new Clean song available on pfork!

yeahhhh it sounds sweet! latter day Clean should not be overlooked!

New Clean album - "Mister Pop" is at least half utter brilliance and the rest is solid and will likely grow on me.

I pulled out Stephen's "Radar Of Small Dogs" and it's really great, I had completely forgotten it. Pity Flying Nun can't get their act together and reissue more from the vaults.

Good grief does the title track of "Here Come the Cars" act as a perfect destressing balm or what.

ooh, I need that record. Is it available anywhere other than Amazon? Selling for $36 there ...

Looks like you can get it for rather cheaper here:

http://www.newzealandcds.com/products.asp?product_id=1000

Here's his overall 'buy stuff' page for reference:

http://www.davidkilgour.com/buy-stuff.htm

Haha, bless their hearts, they link to a number of my AMG reviews.

oh, nice, thanks Ned!
Just discovered this Kilgour band: http://rootstrata.com/rootblog/?p=2171
Dunno if that CD is out of print or what, but you can grab it there.

just pulled out my stephen cd last week! mostly really good. the first tune gets me every time.

also pulled out & the heavy eights for the first time in a long while. "diggin for gold"!

so awesome!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3Q6lFP47FE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_TUP_d1nIo&feature=related

All of David's solo albums are great in different ways. "The Far Now" just satisfies the soul...

I should rate his solo albums but in many ways they've each been somewhat better than the previous, with the exception of The Heavy Eights album which is my favorite of all, and also not counting the False Alarms demo comp. A Feather In The Engine is really slept on, and vies with Heavy Eights for my favorite some days.

i wanted to hear 'today is gonna be mine' the other day + the internet failed me

Feather in the Engine is maybe my fave solo release of his, pretty perfect throughout. Especially love "All The Rest" -- when I saw him play with Lambchop as his backing band (2002?) the guitar break on that one was immense. still need to get a few ... never heard Frozen Orange for some reason. Those Clean vids are amazing.

frozen orange is . . . nice enough. don't get me wrong; it's totally worth hearing. but the edges are a little smoothed out compared to earlier stuff

does David still live in NZ? is he alright? has he been accounted for in the earthquake?

yikes, hope he's ok.
this just landed in my inbox! good news:
David Kilgour and the Heavy Eights will release their new album Left By Soft on CD and digital download April 26th!

Left by Soft was recorded in the Catlins, about two hours south of Dunedin, New Zealand, in an old lodge surrounded by native bush, birds, and the sea. David spent about a week down there with the Heavy Eights. Thomas Bell engineered and produced but also played bass AND cooked the band awesome meals every night. After chilling out most mornings, the band would start recording mid afternoon into the night. Apart from a couple of overblown tracks, they kept overdubs to a minimum and when mixing left most takes as is—no cleaning up via Pro Tools editing, etc.

“To me, it sounds like the band on a good night, warts and all,” says Kilgour. “It’s probably the first real “band” LP I’ve made since Frozen Orange or the David Kilgour and the Heavy 8’s LP from the mid ’90s.”

David Kilgour is a guitar god for guitar atheists. He’s worthy of worship, but his style neither demands nor expects it, all of which only serves to increase his otherworldly cool. Left by Soft, his first album in four years with the Heavy Eights, comes on the heels of the Clean’s excellent 2009 outing, Mister Pop. You could say it’s all part of a late-career renaissance, but that implies there’s been some sort of valley in his 30 years of making music. This time, there are more of the elegantly chiming chords and beautifully drifting solos, all presented with Kilgour’s sparkling pop sensibilities.

The Heavy Eights are Taane Tokona on drums, Tony de Raad on guitar and keyboards, and Thomas Bell on bass and keyboards. David plays guitar, keyboards, and harmonica. Mike McCloud from Shifting Sands guests on “I’ll Climb Back Up That Hill.”

greeneyedowl has uploaded some great stuff to youtube. i remember sitting behind david and hamish in the theater watching 'to die for' trying to see when they laughed, if they laughed, hamish always looks so serious.

David Kilgour is a guitar god for guitar atheists.

yes.

and yes--those Clean videos on youtube are fantastic.

new song is great -- looking forward to the album.

I think David lives in Dunedin which is about 5 hours from Christchurch so he should be unaffected by this.

Had missed the revive last month. Can't wait for this!

just one listen in to the new one, but it sounds amazing. more soloing than the last few, i think, which i approve of. love everything this guy touches, but this one might be a cut above the usual.

Point That Thing Somewhere Else, just the other day

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dQRJkKv7E0

I love "Nail In My Foot'

Is it wrong, or is it right to be a beatnik???

sweet clip! long live the clean!

just one listen in to the new one, but it sounds amazing

Tyler, old bean, you got an advance copy? Jealous!!

You know, "Autumn Sun" really sounds like Kilgour and company doing a hell of a tribute song to the Church, in their own way. It's more like a parallel approach but it's kinda weird how I can't hear it any other way!

that sounds fantastic. when's the new one out? is it with the heavy eight again?

Out next week officially, and yes with the Crazy Eights. Am reviewing it for the AMG and it's almost like he's found his own personal Crazy Horse at this point.

hadn't thought of the church comparison, but it makes sense now that you mention it. i posted my rave over here: http://ow.ly/4BhjG

oh my god that sounds awesome. can't wait to read ned's too and pick this up proper

this is really great. on first listen anyway

Really looking forward to this

"purple balloon" is very very pretty

yeah, it's perfect. it's the sort of song that *sounds* easy and effortless, but i don't think anyone except kilgour could do it.

album of the year, etc.

it's the sort of song that *sounds* easy and effortless, but i don't think anyone except kilgour could do it.

Completely agree, after just one listen. I can't say I'm blown away by this, let's see how it stacks up after repeated listens, but it's at least yet another solid release from a man who seemingly can't do wrong. Really, is there a single dud in his catalog, even his side projects? No. Impressive after 30 years!

the last two clean albums have been pretty dud.

They've had some misses but by no means are they duds - "Mister Pop" was half great and half meh, that's not a dud in my book.

I love David Kilgour but also agree that he seems to have reached some sort of comfort zone with his work. He is great at creating texture and atmosphere but often is not so good at constructing a song. Give me Robert Scott's compositions any day. Kilgours lyrics are typically vague and almost unnecessary. I know he is a kind of sacred cow and all but I do think he is coasting. Good luck to him though, why shouldn't he be relaxing?

nice onion review

http://www.avclub.com/articles/david-kilgour-and-the-heavy-eights-left-by-soft,55411/

haven't heard the new one, but this thread inspired me to break out unknown country. fun album.

"Mister Pop" was half great and half meh, that's not a dud in my book.
yeah i agree -- from what i understand, clean albums these days are pretty loose affairs, like they kind of go into recording without even knowing the songs all that well (or at all)? So there's room for both brilliance and missteps. It's probably the right approach, though. The main thing with the Clean is just their sound.
still loving the new kilgour -- definitely my go-to "turn it up loud in the house" record for this spring.

yeah there's something about the guitar tone that's really thick and satisfying. good record!

i think all of the clean albums have been like that, show up and press record. they just seemed to be better at before. it might be that robert scott is finally out of songs and this is affecting the overall quality of the clean. i could be attributing too much to him, but the last couple of Bats records have been pretty dull too, trend, but then I like that recent song he did with Adalita Srsen although I'd rather he had done it with Jane Sinnott.

man, the Clean In-A-Live EP is sooooo good. is there a recording of the full show floating around out there? help a dude out!

I had no idea there was a new David Kilgour record out!! Was just listening to Here Come The Cars just the other day and reminiscing about high school.

Now you can hear the new one and reminisce about your kid's high school years.

Hey don't jinx me, I've made it this far without having a kid!

New album is killer. Seems to have a fuller band mix than a lot of the 90s Clean stuff I've heard...? Are most of David's solo stuff like that?

2 David Kilgour threads:

Here's the other one

david kilgour's best, poppiest songs

Yeah, the new album is great, a little more meaty than recent efforts. I wish it some more long songs and extended guitar bits, but it's still fantastic.

This is neat - Hamish Kilgour on the origins of "Anything Could Happen":

http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/blogs/blog-on-the-tracks/6280128/The-poppies-want-to-grow-a-little-taller

ha, that's great! and long!

a memory for detail, that guy
awesome!

That's fantastic! Early kiwipop history has always seemed like a black hole to me, it's great to get a glimpse into whatever the hell was going on back then.

<3

ok maybe i should take a vacation in june

05.30.2012 Los Angeles, CA The Echo
06.02.2012 Austin, TX Chaos in Tejas - Club De Ville
06.04.2012 Allston, MA Brighton Music Hall w/ Times New Viking
06.05.2012 New York, NY Le Poisson Rouge w/ Times New Viking
06.06.2012 Philadelphia, PA Johnny Brenda's w/ Times New Viking
06.07.2012 Washington, DC Rock & Roll Hotel w/ Times New Viking
06.08.2012 Chapel Hill, NC Local 506 w/ Times New Viking

The Clean on tour, rather than just Kilgour btw

urgh i do not live in or near any of those cities!

wait whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!
first roedelius skips chicago, and now the clean?! texas is not the midwest!

i'm upset.

also genuinely amused that both GBV and the clean chose TNV for their opening band

specifically for their reunion tours, i mean

they must've seen TNV show up as a "related artist" on their respective spotify pages and said "who the hell are these guys"

Not to get nitpicky and I stand corrected if you have read otherwise, but The Clean and TNV are now both on Merge, so it may be that Merge chose TNV to do US dates with the Clean.

oh well ok
i'll buy that but i still think it's funny

anyway back to outrage! why not more datesssssss.
actually i know exactly why they're not playing Denver -- last time Kilgour played here (2007), the club was practically empty, something i'll never forgive the mile high city for. show was still awesome.

The Clean show in Austin is part of Chaos in Tejas, so it's only an hour long... but I can see the Hex Dispensers, go have dinner, then come back and watch the Clean!

diamond david kilgour should do some solo dates as long as he is in the usa.

is there a new clean album in the works i wonder? i actually dig the last few releases.

if he came to chicago i know at least 8 people who would show up
that's one more than denver!

oh he'd pack house in chicago, denver just sucks!
it's funny, my band opened that show and my wife and I talked to David a bit -- and to this day we still say "Dinvah" the way he pronounced it.

perhaps we could reroute air traffic through Chicago and abduct him/them from the airport
or force them to perform in the airport

sounds good! btw here's a very nice recording of a recent show: http://crankingamps.blogspot.com/2011/03/2011-03-09-clean-smudge-sonny-and.html

Saw them at Maxwells in Hoboken September 2010 and it was great, especially since I was rocking out next to Ira Kaplan.

Ok, I wasn't going to say anything, but one of the Clean guys is actually sending their kid (grandkid?) to the same music camp as my son this week. I'm still trying to bump into him. At least now I have something to ask about.

It was very strange looking at the camp sign-in sheet this past Tuesday, recognizing the name, and then realizing that nobody there had the slightest idea who he was.

those seem to be . . . curiously small venues? i probably have no idea what's what, but i figured they'd at least be in the cat's cradle/black cat rather than local 506/r&r hotel

506 is a super small venue! I held the door for Michelle Williams there once. Like 100 years ago.

I welcome The Clean to play at the bar across the street from my apt. It's a really small venue...

new song! <3 ive been listening to this dude so much lately... http://www.archhill.co.nz/profiles/blogs/new-david-kilgour-the-heavy-eights-single-free-download?xg_source=activity

Holy shit, just saw them play live where they were joined by Peter Gutteridge for "Point That Thing..." and two others! Plus great versions of "Too Much Violence", "I Wait Around", "At The Bottom", "Fish" ...

didn't go, but last week they played chicks hotel (along with bill direen) with gutteridge & martin phillips sitting in on a few numbers. sort of regretting not going now cause sounds like it was an excellent show...

That does sound great

Been revisiting the DK & Heavy Eights recently. So much confidence. I think one big change for me, now, is that I don't enjoy the second, long half of "Diggin for Gold," the big heavy Les Paul workout that takes it to the end. I never minded back then, but now I could listen to the first part of the song on repeat at length and be happy. But it is a big heavy guitar workout album. In the day, I kind of overlooked "Waveboarder," but now it's the thing I replay most often.

Also the Barbara Manning duet Locked in Blue. How good is this?! So fun to play on guitar too

"duet" lol

I always imagine him stompin around in moccasin boots with his jeans tucked in on that part. xp

http://youtu.be/7uHHVQnd7vM
http://youtu.be/rOhcfCw4vTE

^^the aforementioned peter gutteridge guest spot, plus a VU cover. both killer.

pretty sure there's a clean performance going on in the park just across the valley from me right now!

You near Port Chalmers? IIRC they're playing at the final night of Chicks Hotel tonight ...

nah, i'm up the top end of n.e.v. seems they were taking part in a community event for spreading knowledge about lindsay's creek & environs :-D

when i first heard the guitar i initially thought it was coming from a practicing neighbour copping kilgour's sound... then the rest of the band came in

& yes, closing of chicks tonight but tickets were $$$ + i imagine it's gonna be seriously packed in there, so :-/

The Clean are playing SF Oct 1. No other US dates at this point.

2 more dates announced, looks strictly california at this point:
https://www.mergerecords.com/tours?artists[]=1644

Show in SF cancelled due to family illness, Stephen Malkmus playing (Spiral Stairs 50th bday) instead.

The entire tour has been cancelled. I mean...I feel for ya, family illness and all, but it is tremendously disappointing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7LXlYxFlfg

That's pretty faithful!

met h4m1sh tonight! nice guy and quite a raconteur.

http://www.brooklynvegan.com/files/2019/07/kilgour-bobbies-a-girl.jpg

David Kilgour & The Heavy Eights – Bobbie’s a girl

Entrances 2:51
Smoke you right out of heres 2:50
Crawlers 2:26
Threadss 4:06
Coming in from nowhere nows 3:12
Spotlights 2:59
Swan loops 4:09
If you were here and I was theres 3:30
Looks like I’m running outs 2:56
Ngaparas 5:57

http://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=168&v=ye-XH78aUvE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ye-XH78aUvE

excellent cover art

excellent song

yeah, i like that ...

It sounded perfect yesterday, still does today

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9ygLV4pBOI

that makes me want to try surfin'. great song, kilgour is really one of the largely unrecognized greats.

new record is really nice, no surprise.

new record is really nice, no surprise.

― tylerw, Monday, September 9, 2019 5:15 PM (one week ago)

^^

I'm actually quite taken with the two departures from his usual sound - the piano/Cloudboy vibes in "Swan Loop", and the Billy TK scorch of "Ngapara".

He's never made a bad record. Or even come close to one.

^^ seriously. just so consistent. and consistently underrated.

"I’m so glad to have completed this piano piece, it’s been hanging around in raw form for about 7 years and I always forget about it. .....and just like that it’s completed and out! Woo hoo!.....it's possibly my last statement on my obsession with minor chords and maj 7th chords."

https://www.projectsunrise.work/artists/david-kilgour

https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/130639132/police-searching-for-awardwinning-kiwi-musician-last-seen-four-days-ago?fbclid=IwAR2z64QdKt1bo8xQ32JkxPHv86ino-LA7qIVKksEXUqeRqwTsfBXlVffW9Q&mibextid=Zxz2cZ

Not good. Hamish Kilgour missing for 4 days