Clandestine Classic LXVI - Swamp Thing

The sixty-sixth post in an occasional series that is intended to highlight songs that you might not have heard that I think are excellent - clandestine classics, if you will. Maybe they'll be by bands you've never heard of. Maybe they'll be by more familiar artists, but tracks that were squirelled away on b-sides, unpopular albums, radio sessions or music magazine cover-mounted CDs. Time will, undoubtedly, tell.

This has been in my YouTube Watch Later list for a long, long time, just waiting for me to post about it. And since it's a couple of seconds too short to qualify as a Monday long song, I guess I'll have to resurrect the Clandestine Classics series for it instead. I haven't posted one of them for <checks notes> more than five years, so I guess it's about time.

The Chameleons were one of those bands that, when they were on their game, made you think they were going to be big. All the ingredients were there: critical acclaim, indie chart success, Peel sessions, a contract with Epic Records, Steve Lilywhite on early production duties ... and yet, it never quite happened for them. Today's classic, Swamp Thing was the last of the eight singles they released between 1982 and 1986, and remains The Chameleons' chart highpoint, reaching #82. The world remained resolutely un-set-alight.

There's a lot to like here, though, chiefly (for this boy) the layered guitars, which perversely seem both complementary and antagonistic. I could listen to these all day. And then there are the lyrics, which must have seemed deep, borderline profound, in the rarefied atmosphere of Thatcherite yuppie excess that pervaded '86. Witness also Mark Burgess's vocal performance, a battered, flat tone that seems to fit the lyrical content perfectly. He later claimed to be so dissatisfied with the vocal on this that he gave up smoking to improve his voice. So, an 80s indie classic with added health benefits...

Swamp Thing's brooding parent album, Strange Times, limped to #44 in the album chart. A year later, the band's manager died suddenly, and the band itself folded soon afterwards.

A decade of spin-offs and side-projects followed, before the inevitable first reunion in 2000. Touring and new albums followed, before old tensions resurfaced and the band split again in 2003.

Nearly two decades of spin-off and side-projects followed, before the inevitable second renuion in 2021.Touring and new albums followed. At the time of writing, old tensions are still below the surface.

And that's about the extent of my Chameleons knowledge. For a band that once claimed to have been heavily influenced by U2's first album, Boy, it's funny to hear the influence of The Chameleons on others, Interpol and The Editors for a start. I suppose there's nothing new under the sun. And as Mark sings here, "Not enough sunshine, too much rain..."

New to NA: Westside Cowboy

After meeting as students of Manchester's Royal Northern College of Music, Jimmy, Reuben, Aoife and Paddy formed Westside Cowboy in 2023. Two years later they won Glastonbury's Emerging Talent Competition. And last week I heard Well Done Kid, You Did It on an early morning 6 Music show, and rather liked it. I don't know if it's the overlapping guitar motifs, or the overlapping vocals, or Cure-ish bass line, or percussion that sounds like it's in a hurry, or what... but this is good, isn't it?

The band released their debut album It Goes On in August of this year. You can find out more about that, and them, at westsidecowboy.bandcamp.com

Randcamp: Fireworks

Well, it's Bonfire Night. What else did you expect me to choose for my Randcamp research? Guy Fawkes? To be fair, the results for that were not as parochial as you might think. But anyway, I went with "fireworks", and as a result stumbled upon the worst song I've yet found in any Randcamp searching. Don't click that link, just don't. Trust me when I say these three all surpass that admittedly low bar.

Tres Leches (translation: Three Milks?) are from Seattle. They released their Fireworks back in 2022. Apparently it is about resisting the race to extinction... which is nice. Bonus points for the wordplay around social distance and distant socialists.

Ainsley Farrell is from the States but now lives in Sydney. Who can blame her? I think she has a little bit of Florence Welch about her, which is probably a good thing. Anyway, Ainsley's Fireworks chugs along nicely, with her vocals alternately powering and soaring over the top.

No Money Kids are from Paris and, in their own words, turn out "du rock lo-fi au blues électronique". Well, I wouldn't know about that, sir, but Fireworks leans heavily on one of the oldest rock riffs of them all, whilst the band do their Gallic best to keep pushing thoughts of Norman Greenbaum and T-Rex out of your head.

Whizz, bang, pop: three Randcamp fireworks. Did any make you ooh and aah? Or were they all damp squibs?

"I feel better having screamed, don't you?"

If I've timed this post right, the last polls in the US mid-terms (Alaska) have just closed.

Although there are still plenty of votes to be counted, we already have cause for celebration! Unless you're this guy:

Well, I hope he's out of work soon, but I'm not hiring him to do any more promo.

A song, then, to cleanse the palate. Ignoreland by REM remains sadly as relevant as ever, perhaps more so. Check out those lyrics.

I feel better having screamed, don't you?

"Everyone's a star when they close their eyes..."

In which I make some lists...

Lots of notable people came out of Pennsylvania: Kevin Bacon, Donald P. Belisario, Leroy Burrell, Charles Bronson, Kobe Bryant, Chris Columbus, Bradley Cooper, Bill Cosby (erm...), Brian De Palma, Steve Ditko, Tina Fey, W.C. Fields, Jonathan Frakes, Richard Gere, Jeff Goldblum, Keith Haring, Kevin Hart, Bernard Hopkins, Michael Keaton, Gene Kelly, Grace Kelly, Irvin Kershner, Jeff Koons, Dean Koontz, Richard Lester, Joe Namath, Arnold Palmer, Ezra Pound, Zachary Quinto, Man Ray, George A. Romero, David O. Selznick, Amanda Seyfried, M. Night Shyamalan, Martin Cruz Smith, Will Smith, James Stewart, Sharon Stone, The Sundance Kid (really), John Updike and Andy Warhol. Even Rocky Balboa, right? Pat yourself on the back if your know everyone on that list, well done. On the flip side, that also means you're in the same circle of life's Venn diagram as me, which deserves sympathy more than a pat on the back.

Anyway, from the world of music, don't forget these: Christina Aguilera, Frankie Avalon, George Benson, Solomon Burke, Sabrina Carpenter, Chubby Checker, Perry Como, John Coltrane, Jim Croce, Stan Getz, Daryl Hall, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Joan Jett, Patti LaBelle, Mario Lanza, Lisa Lopes, Teddy Pendergrass, Pink, Trent Reznor, Todd Rundgren, Shanice, Taylor Swift, and Tammy Terrell. Oh, and The Julies.

Their Lovelife EP is thirty years old, somehow. Tempus doesn't half fugit... Here's Boy Wonder.

Watch me hurt myself again
This movie never ends
It just keeps playing on and on
Everyone’s a star
When they close their eyes
Well how come I keep mine
Open all the time
I don’t want to know
And I don’t want to be
A love story
My soul’s on fire
So you light a cigarette
I thought you’d be through with me
But it isn’t over yet
UPSET, MOVIE SET, READY SET GO

Don’t try, don’t wonder why
I can’t look you in the eye
Maybe I’m looking for myself
You said it happened only once
One time, well maybe sometimes
But now it happens all the time
And now my soul’s on fire
So you light a cigarette
I thought you’d be through with me
But it isn’t over yet
UPSET, MOVIE SET, READY SET GO

Here’s my daredevil stunt scene
The one where I’m thinking
Of someone other than myself
You said it happened only once
One time, well maybe sometimes
But now it happens all the time
And now my soul’s on fire
So you light a cigarette
I thought you’d be through with me
But it isn’t over yet
UPSET, MOVIE SET, READY SET GO
(It happens all the time)

TLAP: Mash Gang Alcohol-Free Journey Juice Fruited Hazy IPA

Going to hit 20 different alcohol-free ales this year? Better get fruity then...

Mash Gang Alcohol-Free Journey Juice Fruited Hazy IPA

What's it like? In a word, fruity. I mean, really fruity: mango and lime, predominantly. And it's really nice too. It's just that it's more fruity soft drink than alcohol-free IPA, however much the name might try to convince us otherwise. It's like having a can of Lilt, but with less sugar. Or, if Lilt isn't obsolete enough for you (it's Fanta Pineapple and Grapefruit now, don't you know?), maybe a can of Quatro. Don't get me wrong, this is very drinkable, and I've been hoovering up the four-pack I bought, but I just can't think of it as an ale, however hard I try - it's too fruity. And because it comes in compact 330ml cans, it's easy to drink straight from that, and so you don't even get the visual reinforcement of seeing it in a glass and thinking "this is a beer". Maybe others agree, and that's why it's on offer in the supermarket right now. Having said that, even the offer price doesn't compare favourably to a four-pack of your mass-market soft-drink of choice. And that's a problem for Mash Gang, I would say. All that, and we haven't even covered the terrible name yet.

Would I drink it in a pub? Yes.

Would I drink more than one? Maybe.

Would I drink it all night? No.

Stats: <0.5% ABV. Calories 18 kcal/100ml. Currently on offer at £5.50 for a 4x330ml cans, from Waitrose

Stars: ★★★⯪☆

You'll be relieved to know I'm not going to force Don't Stop Believin' on you for my "journey" connection. Instead, here's some trippy Small Faces: from Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake, this is The Journey, with Ronnie Lane on lead vocals.

Randcamp: Halloween

Blimey. Took my life - okay, my ears - in my hands searching for tracks on Bandcamp with "Halloween" in the title. What a load of old balls! Lots of very heavy tracks, often with something-or-other-core in the description. Oh look, we're a scary band, apparently, and what better way to show that than with lots of black and red and songs about the occult. Yawn. But I persevered, and found these three, at least.

Meg and Dia Frampton are sisters, which might explain why their voices gel so well. They come from Salt Lake City, if their Bandcamp bio is to be believed, though their Twitter/X suggests both Texas and Canada, so who knows. Their Halloween is from 2009.

Hugh Lindsey is a singer-songwriter from Huntsville, Alabama, with a declared interest in melancholia. His Halloween seems to be a metaphor for his disintegrating marriage. Given that this was released in 2021 and includes the line "Take your mask off", Hugh felt the need to make it plain he was not a post-Covid anti-masker. So that's good.

Grimm are from Vancouver. Like Hugh, their track is also from 2021. Again like Hugh, Grimm's lyrics are like a little short story ... albeit a story that doesn't really go anywhere.

There we go then, three Randcamp tracks for Halloween. Any give you the shivers, in a good way? Or did they all just give you the creeps?

Happiness

I think about this short film, by animator Steve Cutts, a lot. And now, so will you. Sorry.

"I'm just learning new things with the passing of time"

I went to a gig at the weekend. I didn't have to go far to get there, but the wind and rain dampened my enthusiasm, to the point that I almost didn't bother. But a bought ticket is a bought ticket and, since it wasn't the cheapest, I ventured out into the squally night.

Support was from The Inspiral Carpets, can you believe, or the current iteration thereof, at least. Since Tom Hingley got off the reunion bus in 2011, the band have re-recruited their original, pre-fame vocalist, Stephen Holt. He tries his best, and I don't like to be critical, but it was like watching a competition winner where the prize was getting to sing lead vocals. He wasn't terrible, far from, but he lacked stage presence. Still, it was nice to hear Saturn 5 and This Is How It Feels get live run-outs.

The headline act was The Wonder Stuff. Talk about a contrast in front men: Miles Hunt remains opinionated, energised and totally unfiltered, even after all these years. It's been a while <checks Songkick - 32 years! Impossible!> since I last saw the band live and, like The Inspirals, they've had lots of line-up changes since: indeed, only Hunt and his "brother from another mother" Malcolm Treece remain from the classic line-up. But the songs... oh, how the songs endure. And oh, how so many of them remain lodged in some recess of my brain, just needing a live setting to trigger recall.

A lot of bands would close with Mission Drive, if not the whole set then at least the bit before the encore, such is its four-minute elegy-into-anthem transition. But The Wonder Stuff opened with it at the weekend, and built up from there. It was quite the show, and I came away glad to have braved the wind, the rain and, worst of all, my own pre-gig malaise.

Because I had forgotten just how many songs of theirs I knew and loved, you might have done too. Take a peak at the setlist:

TLAP: Lucky Saint German Weissbier

I'm having to widen the net if I'm to review 20 different alcohol-free ales this year. Example?

Lucky Saint German Weissbier

What's it like? Well, it's an alcohol-free take on a classic wheat beer and, if you like wheat beer, I think you might like this. It certainly looks the part, with characteristic cloudiness and a big head. It tastes the part too: full-bodied, some slightly fruity notes but basically an unmistakable wheat beer flavour. Some will like this more than others. I certainly liked it more half way through the pint than I did the first couple of mouthfuls. Bottom line: I don't drink a lot of wheat beer, but I can say this compares reasonably with its alcoholic wheaty cousins. I've had worse!

Would I drink it in a pub? Yes.

Would I drink more than one? Yes.

Would I drink it all night? No.

Stats: 0.5% ABV. Calories 23 kcal/100ml. Currently on offer at £2 for a 500ml bottle, from Ocado

Stars: ★★★⯪☆

For a wheat beer, you can probably guess the obvious musical connection I've shoe-horned in at the end. But to show that I'm not completely on autopilot, I have at least tried to find a different version of Wheatus's biggest hit. To wit, here's an acoustic Teenage Dirtbag.