Underwater Moonlight

 

A few days ago, the Soft Boys' second album was re-released to mark its release 45 years ago. Reason enough to bring this gem to mind once again. Robyn Hitchcock and Kimberly Rew founded the band at the end of the seventies in Cambridge in the wake of the punk wave and created their very own sound.

Like many others, their music was based on a few chords, but they knew how to write melodic songs spiced up with jangly guitars and a psychedelic touch like few others. Still a record I come back from time to time.

The Soft Boys - I Wanna Destroy You

The Soft Boys - Kingdom Of Love

The Soft Boys - Insanly Jealous

The Soft Boys - Positive Vibrations

Singles Released This Week Years Ago

 

Another Tuesday and a look back at which singles were released. And, as always, without words, because the songs speak for themselves, even if they only allow a sentimental look at days gone by.

1985: Katrina and the Waves

1977: Steve Miller Band

1982: Roxy Music

1989: Cowboy Junkies

2006: Red Hot Chili Peppers

1985: Eurythmics

1968: Small Faces

1988: The Smithereens

1988: Tracy Chapman

Bourgeois Masqué

 

In the late eighties, Galaxy 500 released On Fire, an album that seemed to have fallen out of time. With their dreamy sound arrangements, dreamy indie, psychedelic influences and sparkling guitar passages, they struck a chord with the times, but went unnoticed by the masses.

Dean Wareham was the head of the band and knew how to create a symbiosis between Johnathan Richman, Spacemen 3 and Velvet Underground. After three albums, the band broke up and Wareham tried to gain a foothold with Luna, but was unable to build on his previous successes. He eventually retired to New Zealand and released several records with his wife Britta in recent years.

In the past few days, he has released his fourth solo album and in a few songs he really does manage to bring the magic of Galaxy 500 back to life. In his best moments, Wareham plays a casual dream-pop with his own guitar solos. Unfortunately, he doesn't manage to maintain this quality over the whole time and so, once again, only a few songs will be remembered.