Zer0

I can remember grabbing this album when I was seeking out some British new wave a few years back. I fell in love with albums by The Blue Nile, Talk Talk, Prefab Sprout, Orange Juice and The The. But for some reason or other this album didn't grab my attention in the same way. I don't quite know how because after listening to this album once again it actually sounds really good, not spectacular but still really good. You could argue that this has dated slightly and was never anything ground-breaking but you have to admire Roddy Frame's magnificent songwriting skills, especially when he was still a teenager when this was released.

Aztec Camera are perhaps more widely known for their 1987 hit 'Somewhere in My Heart', which isn't a bad song I must say. But many regard this their finest album. You could regard this as a pop album in the same sense that bands like The Smiths, Orange Juice and Prefab Sprout made clever pop records. It's a record that can feel very happy and upbeat and make you want to stroll along the street with a swagger. On the other hand it can give you a sense of sadness and suffering on songs such as 'The Bugle Sounds Again' and 'Down the Dip'. The latter is a magnificently warm and heartfelt song, and I'm almost certain I've heard it being used in a film soundtrack but I could be wrong. But overall this album showcases songwriting talent and maturity well beyond Roddy Frame's teenage years and is an album which I could even grow to love more.


So I decided to give this album another shot to see if I like it any more after four years or so. I can remember the production being so obnoxious and grating that it literally gave me a headache. It's not that it sounds harsh to me or anything as I've had my ears and mind blown by The Jesus and Mary Chain's Psychocandy and the first two A Place to Bury Strangers albums. I don't know why I'm even mentioning those two albums here as they sound nothing like this. I feel like I should be listening to this ironically or sarcastically. I'm not sure if it's possible to listen to music sarcastically though. This reminds me of candy floss, as in it sounds pink and fuzzy and isn't very substantial.

I would admit that 'Infinity Guitars' doesn't sound too bad but then again I still don't feel like taking this album very seriously. What I do take seriously is coffee though. I hate drinking coffee from a machine, absolutely hate it. I need to have as much input as possible into making my cup of coffee. It has to be ground beans and I have to put in the right about of coffee beans, filtered water, a small bit of sugar and the right amount of milk. You can't beat a seriously good cup of coffee in the morning, and none of that mild blend crap.

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Bulldog

Good album that. The Boy Wonders and We Could Send Letters are absolutely top tracks. I've kinda cooled off on it in recent years - I think there are a few too many 'meh' tracks on it for me to consider it all that great anymore. Still an album I'd very much recommend myself too.