JUST CAN'T HELP MYSELF: CD hunting in Cardiff

Went to Cardiff today. I set myself a target, I was going to come home with Leafhoud’s re-issued ‘Growers of Mushrooms’ and Headjam’s ‘Wizontic’, and if I could not find them I was going to come home empty handed. I failed on both counts.

I came home with:

FAT FREDDY’S DROP: Based On A True Story.
Beautiful blend of soul and jazz all mixed up in a reggae melting pot. This outfit bring reggae into the 21^st century, mixing ska and dub with more modern influences but making it sound incredibly natural; this is classy chilled out vibes of the highest order. By listening you can almost see Wellington's Lyall Bay beach, The Drop, which is where this New Zealand outfit's converted basement studio den is based.

THE HEADS: Under The Stress Of A Headlong Dive.
Bristol’s number one stoners 7^th album, released earlier this month. 19 tracks of heavy psyche garage kraut space rock with the guitar amps turned up to 11. Queens of the Stone Age eat your hearts out.

GENE KRUPA AND BUDDY RICH: The Drum Battle.
Possibly the two greatest drummers of all time pound out the rhythm for this amazing ‘big band’ and spar to see who can claim to be the greatest. Recorded in New York back in 1952, crazy man!

And…. This months MOJO. I would not normally mention that I had bought a magazine, but this issue comes with a particularly wicked free CD of stuff that influenced the first wave of punk, like the obvious New York Dolls and the not so well known stuff like the Count Bishops and Hammersmith Gorillas. Quite a few pages inside on the birth of punk, looks like this 30^th anniversary is going to be quite interesting!

I think I will have to buy Leafhound and Headjam on line!