Gorky's Zygotic Mynci: Sleep / Holiday Classic / Dud

NEW GORKY'S!

It has grown on me a lot. Every so often a track drifts onto my iTunes random play and I feel I've listened to it many more times than I have.

'Only Takes A Night' and, especially, 'Shore Light' are beautiful.

Fuck it, it's a wonderful album, again.

My favorite tracks on Sleep/Holiday are probably "Happiness" and "Eyes of Green, Green, Green"... I even like "Pretty As A Bee" at its full length, although it takes a different type of listening, I guess you could say.

I've been listening to Sleep/Holiday and How I Long a lot more over the weekend and they're both wonderful. I think the best things about these songs is each one builds and builds and there's this split second of euphoria when it all comes together -
- the bit where Euros sings "The days seemed so long/and nothing could go wrong/With my heart" on "How I Long".
- the layered voices towards the end of "Pretty As A Bee" which make sitting through about 10 minutes of organ humming almost worthwhile.
- the minimal picked guitar on "Red Rocks"

I think Mow The Lawn is still crap though.

My favourite moment on the album, too.

it can be a weird album because the songs have a lot of different "movements" to them. it's actually very pet sounds/smiley smile in that way whereas previous albums were more verse/chorus/verse based.

I'd like to see Gorky's experiment with singing duties on the next album. Perhaps 4 Euros songs, 4 Richard songs, and 4 Megan songs. It will be an opera about the seasons.

"I am treasure, I am trouble "

wow! for a couple of albums i used to have no time for, i'm starting to get really excited about going home and listening to them tonight.

what do people think of Gorky 5? Hush The Warmth is their best song ever and I don't think they'll beat it but the rest of the album is meh.

No love for "Theme from Gorky 5"? Gorky's go Russian!

Anyone see Super Furry Animals following a similar career progression as Gorky's? Obviously SFA were more upfront and political, but they've mellowed in age just like Gorky's.

Gorky 5 wasn't released in the US, and I haven't seen an import. I suppose I could download it somewhere.

the bit where Euros sings "The days seemed so long/and nothing could go wrong/With my heart" on "How I Long".

OTM!

That's a good idea. 'Can Megan' is not mentioned enough. It was the track I loved most when I first got How I Long....

"Can Megan" is great, and I also dig her short song "Don't You Worry" from Spanish Dance Troupe.

Just listening to 'Sleep/Holiday' for the first time in a long time, maybe since it came out. Yeah, it's pretty straight, but some of it's also pretty lovely. I've tried to keep track of Euros' subsequent solo stuff (an old band of mine even supported him once) but I think maybe my tastes have diverged.

His solo LPs have been nice, but nowhere near the heights the early GZM albums reached. I really enjoyed his last one, though. Adding Sweet Baboo and the fella from Race Horses probably helped him out a little.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yx9jlcBQcDw

Nothing earth shattering, but good enough to put a smile on your face and a spring in your step.

I think either it or Chops are his best.

Richard James' last one is really, really good. He was Gorky's bass player. I'm pretty sure the guitar Sweet Baboo is playing in that vid is Richard James's guitar (if memory serves me right).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ri1Wo9stwXQ

Megan plays on a few tracks on the last couple Euros album.

Here's another really nice one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fMkoR-Oenc

I heard Sleep / Holiday described as their Sweetheart of the Rodeo the other day, and that the band should have relocated to Nashville to record it. Kind of makes sense. I haven't listened to it in several years though.

Sleep/Holiday is the only really bad Gorkys album in my opinion. Walking For Wonter and Pretty as a Bee are the only keepers, the rest is pretty forgettable and Mow the Lawn is their worst single by a mile (may their Lazer Beam?) Gorky 5 is the only other album of theirs that is slightly weak but that does have Let's Get Together, Tidal Wave, Sweet Johnny and Hush The Warmth.

I'd agree that it could do without "Mow the Lawn", do bands at Gorky's level still find themselves having to write blatant singles? Not much of a fan of "Poodle Rocking" either.

"Walking For Wonter"

funniest typo in a looong time

All second-tier indie bands of this sort had to have a Poodle Rockin and a Mow The Lawn. The Boo Radleys (another fave of mine) were guilty of this - crowbarring a bolshy singalong A-side with repetitive song title that no one in their right minds would want to sing along with (Free Huey, It's Lulu, What's In The Box) etc...

"Free Huey" is a prime example! Fairly anomolous to therest of 'Kingsize'.

they stick out like sore thumbs every time.

Free Huey is probably the worst single choice ever by a band I've ever loved. Awful song from such a great album. Eurostar or Kingsize would have been better choices.

Poodle Rockin' is great but Mow The Lawn was the first single I didn't love by them.

I dunno. I never liked Sweet Johnny either. It's like the Boos and the Gorkys really wanted to be known as nothing more than vapidly jolly Britpoppers to the world at large, and I think it probably put a huge number of potential fans off discovering them. The only post-shoegaze A-sides the Boos ever released that I can 100% get behind (or at least think are fair indications of their sound) were Lazarus, I Hang Suspended, Find The Answer Within, From the Bench and Ride The Tiger. It's not that I outright dislike all the others but (still have a soft spot for some of them), but they were really off-base in representing their style.

I hear you guys on "Mow the Lawn." It always sounded off to me. "Waking for Winter" on the other hand...great song.

It's worth noting Euros has been releasing his albums for free for a few years now. Also, he just put up a live one today:

http://www.euroschilds.com/euros-childs-live-2007/

Myself and Peter Richardson have started a duo called Ymarfer Corff (which translates as Physical Education).
Our first recordings will appear on the compilation 'Record Las' on the Recordiau Lliwgar label. It's released on the 1st of April.
We contribute two tracks to the album: 'Hi Yw'r Haul' and 'Mewn a Mas'. Both tracks were recorded by Gorwel Owen at Stwidio Ofn. For more information go to: http://recordiaulliwgar.com/

And also....

The next National Elf release will be the debut album by Short & Curlies.
Short & Curlies are myself, Stephen Black (Sweet Baboo), Laura J Martin, Robin Edwards (R.Seiliog) with Megan Childs and Huw Evans (H.Hawkline).
The album will be available on vinyl / download and released sometime in the Spring. Watch this space!

I have a lot of time for Euros even though he hasn't done anything all that great in a while. I did like Jonny, but not enough to keep them on regular rotation. "Candyfloss" is a nice song, though.