FST 053 MORRISSONS SONGS FROM SOUTH OF

THE MORRISONS Songs from the South of England CD (Firestation)
The Morrisons were originally a part of the late 80s indiepop underground;
they released a flexi, a small label 12" and appeared on a comp tape, but
weren't heard of for a long time since. They were more recently rediscovered
by Firestation Records (formerly Firestation Tower) who included them on one
of their Sound of Leamington Spa compilations and also released this 16
track album which compiles the tracks from their flexi and EP along with a
number of demos. The Morrisons' sound is very typical of the era they were
from, reminiscent of bands like Mighty Mighty, the Brilliant Corners, and
early Orange Juice. The recording quality is often pretty lo-fi, as you'd
expect from a collection of demos and flexi tracks, but it's not lo-fi
enough to detract from the songs themselves - and lo-fi or not, at least
Firestation have rescued these songs from oblivion. Worth investigating, for
fans of mid/late 80s janglepop.
The Morrisons are now back together and recording again; I have a CDR EP of
their new material, to be reviewed soon. For more info contact the label:
info@firestation-records.de or the band: ian.churchward@btinternet.com

www.blissaquamarine.net

Now I was in Torquay a few years ago, and used to frequent Paignton in the early nineties, and there was a singular lack of statues erected to “Torquay's finest band”, as they take delight in proclaiming themselves. Maybe it was different in the late eighties when the late John Peel gave airplay to their debut flexi single. Mind you, they split up the following year, so the airplay didn’t seem to do them much good.

But here we are 17 years on, and from the original Morrisons line up Ian Churchward Phil Andrews and Dave Clifford are back together with Guy Bolt on drums, recording new material. But we’re here looking back, and they’ve managed to amass a 16 track retrospective. Not bad, for a band that managed 2 singles in their lifetime.

It’s all very lo-fi, with hints of the fey, California sound that Belle & Sebastian were to put to good use later on. Naturally, being the mid-eighties, there’s far too much sub Byrdsian jangle, but they can’t be blamed for that, everyone was doing it at the time, even Primal Scream!

The best tracks are the EP tracks, ‘Storm’, ‘Lament’ and ‘Travellin’ Boy’, which are the full, finished article. With the rest being mainly demos, there’s only so much rough and ready you can take at one sitting. But there is an undeniable songwriting know-how at work on a lot of the numbers, and some money and a decent producer could have seen them breaking free of the C86 mundanity.

Ian Churchward ist Gitarrist bei PHOENIX und war in den 80ern Mitglied einer Band namens THE MORRISONS. Die britische Indiepop-Band ist in dieser Sekunde dabei, an neuem Material zu arbeiten, welches in absehbarer Zeit als CD der Öffentlichkeit zugänglich sein wird. Vorab nun eine Compilation mit historischem und z.T. unveröffentlichtem Kram. Die größten Hits, Flexi-, EP- und Demo-Versionen. Softe Gitarren, Trompete, Keyboards, diverse la la la’s und eine Stimme im Edwyn Colling Style. Klassischer kann Gitarrenpop kaum sein. Die Morrissons sind außerdem auf dem Sampler THE SOUND OF LEAMINGTON SPA VOL.III vertreten. Ein „Must“ für Fans von Felt, The Desert Wolves oder Mighty Mighty.

Mela, 9/10

www.britpoparsenal.de

Actually, the first time I ever heard this band was their track on the last Leamington Spa release. (#3) It was the opening track here Listen To Your Heart. God, it's been years, and I can't even really say if the name of this band is familiar or not. It may be, but I had never heard them. There was just too much to buy, and I often didn't get singles back then. My feeling was if it was good, there'd be an album and the songs would be there. I know now that was not the smartest move, but what can you do. It's like the kids before me who stuck Mickey Mantle cards in their bike spokes. 10 grand down the drain.... Quite a bit of this is demo material so the production value is not the best, but as I've had to deal with the same problem with the Chairs release they have my sympathies, and it isn't really too bad here. What stands out immediately is that there is no question when and where this was made. It is the epitome of what would be called C86, even though in many respects I don't care for that term. While the style varies a bit, at times reminding me of Mighty Mighty, then the Chesterfields, then the Brilliant Corners etc... the quality does not. The songs are all catchy, instantly accessible and like most of the material from the period it becomes an old friend after the first listen. I especially love Heaven Help Us Now, it is just FAB. I have commented more than once at my amazement of how many times the 80's can be dredged for lost treasure. It would seem indefinitely as we are not even reaching the bottom yet. Verily it was the golden age, and when confronted by how good the material here is, one can only scratch their heads in amazement at how it wallowed and vanished, never seeing the light of day. We can only thank the modern pop Cousteaus like Firestation who do all they can to bring it back to the surface for us. Don't let this one go astray again.

www.indiespinzone.com