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The Declining Winter is Richard Vincent Adams, one half of
the core of iconic Leeds band Hood. Last year saw the release of
Goodbye Minnesota, his debut solo album, and it turned out to be an
arresting doozy of a
record that Indieville’s Matt Shimmer dubbed "a
wistful, highly atmospheric expedition [...] that deserves to be heard by
adventurous music lovers."
Boy it feels good
to quote myself.
Anyway, Richard was kind enough to supply us with his list of Ten
Crucial Records, spanning a respectable range of
obscure treats and lo-fi gems. Ladies and gents, read on...
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-- R.E.M. 'Murmur'
i suppose admitting to being obsessed by
r.e.m. isn't the hippest thing to do these days
but this is an album that really changed my life. put
together with such rare skill and subtlety that
it's often impossible to imagine how it came so
fully formed and seemingly out of nowhere.
Crabstick 'Stud or
Houseboy'
for those moments in life where only
scratchy, strummy lo-fi pop about being young and stupid will do.
Fleetwood Mac 'Tusk'
the real experimental pop band....or at least
they were on this album. the finest examples of
kindsey buckingham's
hair-brained studio adventures encompassing some
lovely pastoral pop in between. if only all bands were this bold/fucked up
on drugs not to care.
High Llamas 'Hawaii'
the beach
boys' 'cabinessence'
spread over 29 tracks. never has one basic idea
been stretched so far or so beautifully.
Shoes 'Black
Vinyl Shoes'
the original lo-fi...or....the best power pop
record in the world ever. again more mad cap experimenting with the outer
limit of pop by flaxen haired studio boffins.
Honey Tongue
'Nude Nudes'
an absolutely lovely, forgotten record by the
breeders'
josephine wiggs.
acoustic guitar to the fore, lovely drumming. a big influence on the
declining winter sound.
Richard Youngs
'Sapphie'
the most beautiful album ever made about the death of a beloved pet.
youngs finally stops messing about & shows what he can do with beautiful
songs stretched out to their limit, a lovely voice and thankfully no kazoo.
Kate Bush 'The
Dreaming'
again it's wild experimenting with the pop
format. how on earth was this made in 1981? the best first side of an
album ever.
Prefuse 73 'One
Word Extinguisher'
/ Boards
of Canada 'Geodaddi'
i couldn't decide between them. two examples of artists at the top of
their game - never to be repeated.
Havergal 'Lungs
for the Race'
again i've picked a record that influenced the declining winter
strongly. why more people didn't pick up on this record i don't know. a
lovely dark brown chocolate voice a la kozelek,
dry as a bone guitars strumming away, amazing homespun tunes. the lot.
DECLINING
WINTER ONLINE |
DECLINING WINTER ON MYSPACE |
