From what I’ve been able to gather from Bleeding Gold Records so far is they are into that lower fidelity, damaged sounding pop as much as I am. This split single from The Pipers and Marc Desse showcases more weirdo pop finds from the blog turned label, and it’s doing the work of the best kind of split by getting two new artists held together by vinyl. It’s a great strategy… just coming across this baby blue splatter single in a ‘new releases’ box would be enough to put it in the buy pile, but given that it’s a split (and now their previous track record) I’m counting on being into at least one of these tracks, making this an easy pickup.
The Pipers from southern UK, (that’s as specific as they get on their facebook include the track "Moonlight” which immediately jumps into that distanced, back of the cave Joy Division sound. A somber slightly left-of-center muted guitar and back up vocals come up with a decisive melody and it’s like an overcast Beach Fossils. Bleeding Gold seems to be filling a west coast Captured Tracks void for me, making the focus a catchy pop song, no matter what form of fidelity it takes. This one is fantastically great, from the understated bass line to the new wave drippy chorus of guitar, and it’s not even trying to be this good. There’s a mopey indie outlook at work with it’s thin guitar tone, slower tempo and tambourine metronome. Almost if you played the Drums at half speed and combined with the opening track off the DIIV album, the infinite monkeys would hit on this one night… and it's perfect, the way a single song can be filled with this kind of crazy possibility, because it’s all you have so far. Like the Minks Funeral single, it’s what the format was made for. Striking the perfect balance of nice to be alive but not singing in the rain. Let's face it, things are hard and sad don't get carried away with yourself. Temper the optimism.
Marc Desse from Paris takes the B-Side, with "Petite Anne", full of single plaintive struck keys bleeping out a repeated rhythm in a real minimalist style waiting on this doubled up echo French vocal. Futuristic to the point this drum machine also has it's own specialized echo effect, the keys are a typically inorganic smooth synth sound, something from the factory presets…which is nice by default. The laziness of a thousand bands before them has led to this string ensemble surrogate as a populist sound. Ever-present and a stand in for the rise of technology… a signifier of this shiny pop age, now purely nostalgic…like this reverse guitar solo, coming across as some kind of damaged glam-rock disco. Trapped in the '80s, it’s the sound of a VHS tape with terrible tracking and star wipes and embracing that whole era, making sure to highlight the weird earnestness of a misguided future. There's no mistaking this as sincere weirdness, made almost kitschy by tight echo vocals in this romance language. If you’re into this side, Bleeding Gold has also got a picture disc from the ex-frontman of Theatre Metamorphosis.
On baby blue vinyl from Bleeding Gold, incredible experimental pop with matching stunning physical objects to match. The perfect intro to these previously unknown bands.
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