Tuesday 15 October 2019

Still 0-0 after (a lot of) extra time

In the late 80s and early 90s, a jangly sound emerged from Slough in the ten-legged shape of Thousand Yard Stare. With their own label (the splendidly named Stifled Aardvark), a distribution deal with Polydor and Stephen Street on production duties, the outlook was promising. There was a whole host of EPs, often released (and re-released) in multiple formats (including 10" and coloured vinyl), chasing the mainstream breakthrough. In 1991, they played the Reading Festival; a year later, their debut LP, Hands On, was released. It is really quite good, and musically head and shoulders above a lot of the bands they were often grouped with.

Of course, a crucial 'but...' is coming. The Yardies' jingle-jangle sound and obtuse lyrics were somewhat at odds with the post-Nevermind interest in a heavier sound. Why be a Giles or a Dominic when you could be a Kurt or an Eddie? And so the second album, 93's Mappamundi, failed to live up to commercial expectations and didn't trouble the charts, despite a big push from Polydor. The band called time soon after, and that was that.

Except that is rarely that, these days, not when the reunion market is so lucrative. And so Thousand Yard Stare have reconvened, at first just for a few live shows but now, excitingly, for some recorded material. Here's their new single, It Sparks, in which all TYS hallmarks are present and correct, including vocalist Stephen Barnes's Marmite-delivery.

They even have some new merchandise, in the shape of this works-on-so-many-levels How Soon Is Slough? t-shirt; a Smiths reference, Betjeman and TYS... what's not to like?

Oh, and if you're wondering about the title of this post, it comes from this.

Anyway, here's the band's shiny new website and Twitter feed, if you're interested. You're probably not, it's probably just me... but that's okay.

8 comments:

  1. Blimey! There's a name that hasn't come to mind in a very long while. I had their early releases and saw them a couple of times first time around.

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    1. I still have a lot of rare (if not valuable) early vinyl. Am hoping their renewed gig activity brings them somewhere close enough to go see.

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    2. Oh, and it's not me in the photo, but of course I bought the t-shirt...

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  2. LOVE that T-shirt! Do they have it in XXXL?!?!?

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    1. It's very good, isn't it?

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    2. XL is biggest, limited numbers remain - act fast!

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  3. The Man Of Cheese16 October 2019 at 21:32

    I like it-funnily enough I started a car CD mix the other week with 0-0 after extra time that I rediscovered in my collection. will keep an eye out for their return.

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    1. Good work sir!

      Still can't beat a good mix CD for the car.

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