Late to the Party

 

The whiskey I poured in the last post is deliciously kicking in....

 


Gay? (1996)


If you'd asked me what I thought about this and this band in 1996 my reaction would have likely been "Blech". It was very far removed from where my head was at the time. 

I'm pretty sure I was in the middle of a rockabilly phase with a side order of Perez Prado, Elephant 6 releases and older Flying Nun. I don't know. It was long time ago. I was all over the map and not really paying attention to a lot of stuff I wish I had at the time.

So here's 12 Rods.

This was their 2nd release locally following a much more shoegazey independent cassette called "Bliss".

A pretty gutsy release in the middle of the still kind of sexually repressed 90s called "Gay?"

The band was a big deal because they were one of the first bands signed to Richard Branson's V2 label so people were paying attention. V2 rereleased "Gay?" and Pitchfork fucking loved the band. Things were looking up.

A number of these songs would end up being rerecorded for their major label debut, but there's a lot to be said for the lower fi originals.

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