A simple, blissed-out looping riff written in a tuning of CGDAEE. When I came to properly record this years later, I couldn’t remember the chord shapes at all, eventually figuring it out in standard tuning with the capo on G, just with an A shape and some chords which I’ll never know the name of up the frets, coming out like Em and a D. Funny thing with odd tunings is that sometimes they are really doing something more simple than you think. I was particularly pleased with the loping, behind the beat bass line, which rather makes the song. The original lyric was more about the perils of static cling than the finished version alludes to, inspired to think about electrons and magnets by the title of a mid-nineties Stereolab album.

Black and Red

Cling To Me

For a blatant Sonic Youth homage, this uses a relatively normal tuning, with just the G tuned up to an A to resonate with the others played or left open on the lower strings in a not-quite-power-chord shape that I like a lot. The breakdown section noises were played by dragging a pencil up and down the fretboard, which ragged the pencil, but was easier to handle that the traditional SY drumstick. I guess a 2HB would not look cool on stage. Originally I had full lyrics about all things SY, VU and NY, but I decided they were not in keeping, just going for the title, massively immersed in effects.

Thurston, Kim & Me

Years ago, Julian Cope had a great quote about being "a lesbian trapped in a man's body". Musically, I realise now that most of the chords from Billy Bragg's  "A New England" are in here somewhere, but you would not know it. I read about early ABBA always physically recording parts twice or more to fatten them up. That was the plan here, with every guitar riff and the vocal doubled, one on each side.

I'm Your Sister

Inspired from a news story of the time about a fatal accident on what I think was the Indiana Jones ride at a theme park, the bit from Temple of Doom in the rubber dingy. Succumbing to the frothing torrents being something of a relief from life.

Riptide

This is an imagining of the slip into that situation when God gets his claws into you because there is nothing else to turn to. I’m not a fan.

Let My Brother In

Railing at the contradictions of the older generations (i.e. me), I was going for a Bossanova-era Pixies feel for the riff, slow, deliberate and dominating.

Taste of Sweetness

Built around an ascending, finger-killing power chord riff with spaces left to fit in dialogue taken from the titular BBC LP featuring radio documentary interviews with assorted sociopaths and explaining in fine detail what the state did with them back in the 1960s. One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest brought to Nottingham.

Born To Trouble

A lyric that partly encourages normal disenfranchised and alienated folk like me to get involved more with society, politics and everything else, but then delivers the half-spoken punchline: think it will make any difference? Well, no it won’t, so Dream On. In Drop D tuning and naturally enough, a chord sequence taking its lead from Cinnamon Girl.

Dream On

The joyless drag of the night bus back from Manchester city centre. An hour trying to avoid eye-contact with the nutters.

Last Bus Home

Loneliness in the digital age, with a Blakean starting point via David Axelrod.

Vinyl LP available on bandcamp for postage costs only!!!

https://blackandred.bandcamp.com/

This People Thing

Vinyl LP available at
https://blackandred.bandcamp.com/releases

This album is the result of necessarily having to bring to life these songs by myself. Although I never wanted to be anything other than a guitar player, without a band and, I supposed, zero prospect of finding one, I had to write the lyrics, sing, play the bass and do my best on the drums too. The way things worked out, Black and Red is one person trying to deliver the sound of a functioning band. There was no midi, click tracks, drum loops or sequencing - everything started with a strummed guitar and was built up from there, slowing down, speeding up and all the rest.