Today's Hotness: Nosferatu D2, Mooncreatures, Myrrias

>> We've got mixed feelings about the latest Audio Antihero release, as the collection -- an EP titled Older, Sadder, Wiser featuring the final uncollected rarities from the legendary and short-lived Croydon, England duo Nosferatu D2 -- seems too fitting a bookend to the-little-label-that-could's six-year run, and we'd prefer that this not be the end. Not that it has announced it is closing up shop, but proprietor Jamie Volcano recently quipped in a promo email that he doesn't know how many more birthdays Audio Antihero has left, and we know that he's got a lot happening in his non-label life. No matter what it may or may not portend, Nosferatu D2's Older, Sadder, Wiser is a treat. The short set contains six non-album cuts -- numbers that appeared on comps, a demo version of the terrifically affecting "Springsteen" and the previously unreleased and never-performed "Don't Try To Wake Me" -- and is surely a must for completists as well as Parker-ophiles (and honestly, anyone who counts herself a Parker-ophile is almost certainly a completist, yeah?).

The collection opens with the blistering salvo that heralds "The Kids From 'Fame'," a tune that jarringly downshifts, Adam Parker's explosive drumming adopting a martial cadence to underpin brother and fronter Ben Parker's incisive ruminations on the early '80s. The ND2 catalog is packed with Clicky Clicky favorites, but perhaps our favorite rarity, "A Man At War With Himself," is also included here. In a 2008 interview with Clicky Clicky, Ben discounted the idea that certain of his songs are autobiographical, but given the powerful angst that characterizes his music, listeners can be excused for thinking the song is particularly personal. "A Man At War With Himself" also features one of the duo's most melodic choruses -- or is it a bridge? a coda? -- and concerns itself with listening to Prince's Purple Rain ("...tonight he's got Purple Rain on the stereo again, this is how it sounds when doves cry..."). It's golden. The EP ends where our love affair with the outfit began, with the sublime, poignant rocker "A Footnote." The paean to obsessive music fandom is an all-time favorite, and having the demo version of the track be what is likely the final word from the band wraps up Nosferatu D2's career in a classic, almost literary way. Audio Antihero released Older, Sadder, Wiser as digital download Oct. 16, and you can stream or download the entire thing via the Bandcamp embed below. The label also reissued last week on aesthetically pleasing tangerine cassette tape Nosferatu D2's sole, legendary and posthumous LP We're Gonna Walk Around This Town With Headphones On To Block Out The Noise [buy!], which of course we originally reviewed right here way back in 2009. Finally, Audio Antihero has also brought to the Interzizzles in association with these releases a quality video artifact, a rarely-if-ever and likely never-before-seen-by-you-in-the-passive-voice video of Nosferatu D2 performing a heroic live set at something called MalcFest in Croydon circa 2006 or 2007. While the entire video is crucial, this link will take you to the beginning of the aforementioned, incendiary "Springsteen," which we think you will find quite bracing.



>> The great Kurt Heasley, something of a spirit guide for Clicky Clicky, said in an interview with us last year that "you get into the game of expectations, then you get into the game of disappointment." Even so, it *can* be quite enjoyable when our expectations get bonked on the nose just a bit. Take the recently issued first long-player from London "reverb-pop" concern Mooncreatures. We've tracked the act here in our electronic pages since June 2012, and over the intervening span Mooncreatures has worked within the gauzy, moody realm of atmospheric dream-pop. However, with its latest release Night Guides the act injects garage-rock and gentle '60s psych sounds into its aesthetic. Mixing in these recognizable tropes dilutes somewhat the aura of mystery the act established on three earlier EPs, but it's possible these elements are meant to serve the record's understated but nifty thematic concept, which concerns a doomed 20th century expedition ("...the band perished that winter under circumstances that are unclear"). Whether or not that's the case, the cool '60s vibe of the rock-steady nodder "Guilt Chills" works well, and the song is a winner, with one gently rippling reverb shrouding the even vocal while another magnifies clear, clean and linear guitar leads. Other styles also crop up across the record: "Disaster" elevates Mooncreatures' historically more sedate sound nearer to the realm of an aggressive shoegaze strummer, while nodding toward the "classic" Mooncreatures sound by incorporating apparent field recordings. The set closes with the upbeat "Circumstances Are Unclear," a 92-second anthem that layers electric and acoustic guitars but eschews rhythm tracks; the tune would sit nicely under a closing montage as the credits start to scroll up the screen, and, again, given the album's concept, that may be its aural intent. Beko Disques released Night Guides in a limited edition of 200 CDs and as a digital download Oct. 15. Purchase and stream the entire collection via the Bandcamp embed below. According to a brief -- and hopefully entirely fictional -- narrative at the foot of the Bandcamp page, this is the band's final album. We expect that's just part of the artificial myth of the album, as now is certainly not the time for Mooncreatures to call it quits. Night Guides is the band's -- now expanded to a five-piece -- most ambitious and accomplished work to date.



>> It's been a year-and-a-half since we last wrote about Philadelphia's standout darkwave quartet Myrrias, an act featuring former members of notable combos Arc In Round and Break It Up, among others. This isn't to say we've completely fallen down on the job of covering them. Indeed, the foursome would seem to favor quality when it comes to the age-old quality vs. quantity binary; only recently did Myrrias issue a second digital single, which contains three tunes, "All Alone," the Nico cover "60/40" and "On Your Own." The ominous lead track -- marked by bumping bass playing and angelic vocal harmonies -- is a new version of the final cut from Myrrias' first digital offering, Endless Winter Session, which we wrote about here in the spring of 2014. The most stirring track on the new single may in fact be the icy, pensive closing instrumental "On Your Own," a reverie of synths that echoes faintly the New Order classic "Elegia," but delivers with richer, denser tones while teetering between tense and placid moods. Myrrias self-released the "All Alone" single via Bandcamp Sept. 29, and the set was recorded and co-produced by scenemaker and go-to guy Jeff Zeigler (who still hasn't found time to finish that solo record...). Sadly the short set may be the last featuring the band's original lineup, as drummer Casey Bell has relocated out of state and indeed basically all the way across the country (according to this solid piece), leaving the remaining trio to soldier on backed by a drum machine, at least for the time being. Stream and purchase the three songs via the Bandcamp embed below. Two of the tunes from the single, "All Alone" and "60/40," were recently performed as part of a radio session for WXPN's The Key, and that session was released to the wilds of the Internerds here earlier this week and is also recommended listening. Myrrias completed a short strand of tour dates with Clicky Clicky faves White Laces earlier this fall; its next live date is in Philadelphia tomorro afternoon as part of Dilworth Park's OctoberFest.

Review: The Superman Revenge Squad Band | There Is Nothing More Frightening Than The Passing Of Time

Superlatives are nothing new when it comes to our coverage of Ben Parker and his music. Here we compared Mr. Parker favorably to Morrissey and Kurt Cobain, and here we counseled musicians to give up because the Croydon, England-based Parker operates at such a high level it makes the majority of other music pointless. Indeed, Parker's elevated songcraft, and particularly its focus and intensity, continues to surprise us with each successive release (only slightly more than we remain surprised at his relative lack of notoriety). That said, the first superlative that comes to mind when considering Parker's latest musical outing is rather absurd, although we think he would find it funny: There Is Nothing More Frightening Than The Passing Of Time, released today by London's fine small indie Audio Antihero, is the best album you will hear this year by a band that technically doesn't exist.

That's because The Superman Revenge Squad Band -- an augmented, ensemble version of Parker's long-time solo/duo unit Superman Revenge Squad -- isn't a going concern, but rather a group commissioned for a couple of (increasingly rare) live dates. And while the Band's new, eight-song collection presents only a few new compositions, it does so in thrilling, understated group arrangements of those as well as certain finer tracks from the SRS repertoire. While the spare and stark, OG Superman Revenge Squad's music is routinely flawless, the new iterations are transformative, enhancing what could be likened to a black-and-white experience so that it has become something vibrantly colorful. All of the recordings are both splendid in their more fulsome execution, and revelatory in much the same (curious) way as Bonnie "Prince" Billy's 2004 collection Greatest Palace Music. Opener "Lately I've Found Myself Regressing" and the classic self-empowerment/self-negating anthem "I'm Gonna Go To Bed And When I Wake Up I'm Gonna Be Someone Else" absolutely swing, driven by drummer (and brother) Adam Parker's virtuosic time-keeping, which complements perfectly the torrent of lyrics that tumble from Ben's mouth as soon as his lips part. Subtle touches of slide guitar, minimal cymbal accents, and piano add significant dimension to the brooding title track to the 2009 long-player We're Here For Duration... We Hope. There are still some spare numbers, such as the acoustic ballad "Paulie In Rocky Three," and they are still quite affecting. And the lyrical brilliance remains as well (Parker memorably explains in the opening verse to "Flavor Flav" that "...if you leave me we'd look like Public Enemy without Flavor Flav, it'll be functional, and records will still sell after all, Chuck D is still the main man, we'll get through this somehow, but I don't think I'd want to fight the power without you by my side..."). But the clattering rhythms and cool drone of saxophone and accordion that spur the new version of "A Funny Thing You Said," for example, feel just as natural and almost conventional, or at least a Frankenstein-ed pastiche of conventionality.

Aside from the brilliant, biting lyrics and intense, minimalist guitar-playing, the most interesting thing about Parker and the music he has made with Superman Revenge Squad, its legendary and volatile pre-cursor project Nosferatu D2 and even the band that preceded that, Tempertwig, is the steady reductive refinement of his music. As Parker worked and re-worked his sound over the past decade, he steadily reduced personnel and tightened instrumentation. The end result stripped brother Adam's drumming and electrical current from Nosferatu D2 to reveal Superman Revenge Squad, comprised solely of Parker's voice accompanied by acoustic guitar, and representing the hardest, sparest kernel of his aesthetic. While more recently the Squad has added a cello here, and a live date with a drummer there, this set presents the most lush, full and calm versions of Parker's music to date. And yet There Is Nothing More Frightening Than The Passing Of Time is a surprising destination for Parker's music. Nothing underscores this more than the use of smooth saxophone playing and buoyant accordion, which completely transform these songs from dark and dour into something wry and substantially lighter in tone. And while Parker may look upon the capital-B Band as an interesting, infrequent outlet for his music, it is certainly a very successful experiment indeed, and one well worth revisiting. Buy There Is Nothing More Frightening Than The Passing Of Time from Audio Antihero via Bandcamp right here. The full album is streaming via the embed below.

Superman Revenge Squad: Internets | Facebook



Previous Superman Revenge Squad coverage:
Today's Hotness: The Superman Revenge Squad Band
Nosferatu D2 Legacy Revisited, Remastered Recording Of Final Show Now Available From Audio Antihero
YouTube Rodeo: Superman Revenge Squad's "Dead Crow Blues"
Review: Nosferatu D2 | We're Gonna Walk Around This City With Our Headphones On To Block Out The Noise
Out: Superman Revenge Squad's "We're Here For Duration... We Hope!"
A Dish Best Served Cold: The Clicky Clicky Interview With Ben Parker
Logorrhea, Pathos and Superman Revenge Squad
Every Band I've Ever Loved Has Let Me Down Eventually

Today's Hotness: The Superman Revenge Squad Band, Joey Sweeney, Heyward Howkins

>> The brilliant Ben Parker doesn't owe us a damn thing, of course, but jeepers it is hard to keep up with his various enterprises. Our admittedly weak recollection was Croydon, England-based Mr. Parker had lately been working within the band The Jonbarr Hinge [link] and having his plays produced in various theaters. So imagine our surprise to learn that the assumedly moth-balled Superman Revenge Squad project has over the past year been resuscitated once more, expanded, and rebranded The Superman Revenge Squad Band. The act, which features Parker's brother and former Nosferatu D2 bandmate Adam as well as a host of others, will release via Audio Antihero Oct. 14 a new collection titled There Is Nothing More Frightening Than The Passing Of Time. The eight-song set will be on offer in a limited edition of 140 compact discs, and a promotional track has already made its way to the Internerds. The song is "A Funny Thing You Said," and it is something of a Parker classic, as different versions of the tune were released on Superman Revenge Squad's self-titled 2007 EP (which, actually, we can't prove ever existed -- maybe these were just songs we got off MySpace?) and a bootleg, Live At The Green Dragon, released the same year. While those older iterations of the song were spare and raw, the arrangement of the new version practically bursts with melodic ideas thrumming off of tense accordions and wandering saxophones. In one way it sounds like Parker has gone off the deep end finally, but in another it is pure genius. You may recall we've done things like proclaim Parker England's greatest contemporary lyricist, or characterize him here as "startlingly talented," all of which still holds true. You can pre-order There Is Nothing More Frightening Than The Passing Of Time via SRS's Bandcamp wigwam right here. The official release date for the digital single is Sept. 16, but it is a pay-what-you-like download already at Bandcamp, so why delay? While you're listening, read the rest of this blog post, then read this interview we did with Parker five years ago.



>> In the early days of August we dropped knowledge about the forthcoming solo set coming from Philly indie rock lifer Joey Sweeney. To review, Mr. Sweeney's new collection is titled Long Hair and it will be released this fall by Delaware Water Gap, Penn.-based label La Société Expéditionnaire. We now can add to this knowledge base by sharing with you the first full preview track from Long Hair, a nostalgic, piano-punctuated, mid-tempo ballad called "Kate Moss Hologram." The tune -- which we know will be track two of nine, based on this Facebook post -- kicks off with a tossed-off, funny lift from Elton John (you won't miss it), and its rich reverbs and sway-inducing organ evoke memories of long-gone days at the dusty roller rink in the suburbs. But "Kate Moss Hologram" quickly catches up to a relatively more modern remembrance of watching MTV's "120 Minutes" and wanting to get out of town. The latter sentiment is a fairly universal one for kids, and the former for kids of a certain (approaching middle) age. Sentiment and sentimentality -- fortunately always far shy of schmaltz -- have always played a big role in helping Sweeney land emotional punches with his music. Long-time readers will recall our previous reportage indicating Sweeney previously helmed acts including Barnabys, The Joey Sweeney Rock Band, The Trouble With Sweeney and Arctic Splash. There has still been no release date announced for Long Hair, but we imagine that will be coming along soon. While you sit around waiting, stream the excellent "Kate Moss Hologram" early and often via the Soundcloud embed below. We would be remiss if we did not also mention here Sweeney's former The Trouble With Sweeney bandmate Heyward Howkins, who is preparing the release of a beautifully conceived sophomore set of baroque folk rock titled Be Frank, Furness. While a stream of the record was available for a short amount of time earlier this month, presently the only track publicly available is the gentle pop strummer "Nogales," which we highly recommend to your attention. Howkins' solo debut The Hale & Hearty was issued in June 2012 and we reviewed it right here. Stream the new winner "Nogales" via the second embed below.

Nosferatu D2 Legacy Revisited, Remastered Recording Of Final Show Now Available From Audio Antihero

The legacy of largely overlooked but wholly genius indie rock duo Nosferatu D2 has experienced yet another unlikely echo, as an enterprising reporter with PRI's "The World" radio program last month once more amplified the startling singularity of the defunct Croydon, England band. Featuring interviews with fronter Ben Parker, who these days is writing plays and fronting an expanded version of his Superman Revenge Squad, as well as Audio Antihero Records founder Jamie Halliday, the radio piece is embedded below, and is very much worth a listen. We've written perhaps more words than anyone about Nosferatu D2 and Mr. Parker, who formed the band with his brother and largely architected its uncompromising attack: clean but aggressive guitar, thermonuclear drumming and more desperately dark lyrics than often could be contained by the meter of the verses. "The World" reporter Brendan Mattox gets great stuff. Of the band's dissolution in 2007, Parker tells him, "I think I realized how angry we were. And how I almost had to put on this angry persona to play the gigs for Nosferatu D2." And then Mr. Mattox breaks a little news, which is now made manifest: today, almost three years after Audio Antihero launched with its maiden title, Nosferatu D2's We're Gonna Walk Around This City With Headphones On To Block Out The Noise, the label is releasing for free a remastered version of a live recording of the Croydonites' final show.

On March 5, 2007, the band performed on a bill with two other then-young acts that have since gone on to much wider acclaim: Los Campesinos! and Sky Larkin. No one apparently knew at the time this was to be ND2's last show, and the cracking bill speaks optimistically about the prospects for all three acts. Los Campesinos! had just release a debut single and was weeks away from signing with Arts & Crafts. Notably, Gareth Campesinos! was an ND2 fan and championed the act's full-length upon Audio Antihero's release of same in 2009, giving the full length what was likely its biggest boost up until "The World" aired its piece a couple weeks ago. Much like We're Gonna Walk Around This City..., the live show recording was previously available -- at least back in 2007 -- as a free download on Last.FM, although, originally the opener "Colonel Parker" was omitted because the first few seconds weren't recorded. Audio Antihero has enlisted label signatory (and brilliant recording artist in his own right) Benjamin Shaw to remaster the live set, which is now available for free download right here. Considering the basic manner in which we expect this audience recording was made, the sound quality is quite good, and we highly recommend you acquire this important document of an amazing act. It includes tracks not present on Nosferatu D2's sole release (although completists will recognize certain of them from compilations released in recent years). Chief among these rarities is the taut rocker "Man At War With Himself," an unforgiving and desperate tune splattered by drums that abruptly halts well short of two minutes after hinting at a chorus that ends before it becomes obvious. It's a special song from a remarkable snapshot of a band taken from us before its time. Listen to "Man At War With Himself" via the embed below, then click through the get the entire eight-song set.

Out Now: Audio Antihero Presents Some Alternate Universe, 36-Song Compilation Benefits FSID.ORG.UK

Yeah, that's right, 36 friggin' songs for four pounds. Since we just spent four pounds on the Yr Friends EP, Americans, we can tell you that works out to about $6.50. We'll do the math for you -- this compilation, expertly curated by Jamie Volcano of Audio Antihero Records, asks that you pay something like $.18 per song (at a minimum, donations of a greater amount are encouraged and welcome), with all proceeds going to a UK organization that aims to eradicate Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Even without telling you about the amazing music on Some Alternate Universe, certain of it exclusive, this is a no-brainer. Don't be a dumbass. The official release date is March 5, but Audio Antihero appears happy to start taking your money immediately, thank you very much.

But, wait, the music IS amazing. Clicky Clicky favorites are well-represented and include Johnny Foreigner ("With Who, Who And What I've Got (Standard Rock)"), Benjamin Shaw ("Long Ago & Oh So Far Away"), Nosferatu D2 ("A Footnote (Demo)") and the mighty Wartgore Hellsnicker ("The Bear (New York Version)"). Adding value to the proposition are bracing tracks from Bitches (who we haven't written about in more than two years), sometimes-Johnny Foreigner tourmates Internet Forever (whose "Centre Of Your Universe" alone is worth the full price of admission here) and Salvage My Dream, whose stirring and F.M. Cornog-esque "Your Runaway Clothes And The Dying Diamonds of Your Mind" among others make this unapologetically long compilation actually incredibly rewarding.

So what we're talking about is a win-win. Help a reputable research organization curb a heartbreaking medical mystery and get dozens of great songs all for the price of just a couple pints and the pub. Do it now.

Today's Hotness: Travels, Projekt A-ko, The Jonbarr Hinge

>> Fans of hazy, dreamy minimalist indie rock rejoice! Boston duo Travels will release Dec. 1 a limited edition, 7" vinyl single and download package. The A-side of the single, "The Sun Shines Down On Me," is a Daniel Johnston cover, and the flip is a gently bouncing strummer titled "Stencil." The single comes with a download code to get digital versions of those songs as well as three more, turning the whole shebang into a digital EP, no? But wait, there's more: the physical package also includes a 7" x 7" colored still from an animated video that will be released concurrently with the single. Physical copies are limited to 150 pieces, and fans who pre-order now will get the disc, video still and downloads for $8 or 8 Euros, depending on which currency you rock in your locale. And it appears you can opt for just the digital version for $6, based on the pricing at this Bandcamp page. "The Sun Shines Down On Me" was first released by Johnston on his 1982 collection Don't Be Scared. Travels, you may recall, is comprised of Mona Elliot and Anar Badalov, who previously played with Victory At Sea and Metal Hearts respectively. We reviewed Travels' third full-length Robber On The Run right here in May 2010; the duo released a sophomore long-player The Hot Summer in 2009. Stream both songs from the forthcoming physical single via the embed below.



>> There's some news about -- well, tangentially related to -- the mighty Projekt A-ko. As we reported here in July, the Glaswegian indie trio earlier this year scotched efforts at completing a sophomore full-length, but fronter Fergus Lawrie (formerly of Urusei Yatsura), has been quite busy with other things. For starters, he and two partners have completed a documentary titled "Send/Receive" that chronicles experimental music in Scotland; the entire thing is available to watch at this tumblr. Additionally, Mr. Lawrie has a new band called Angel Of Everyone Murder, which is slated to soon release an album of "lo-fi drone shoegaze noise rock" via the label Kovorox Sound. In an email Lawrie told Clicky Clicky "the new band is entirely improvised," and its music is "mainly long (20 mins) single chord drones, no drums, just bass and [two guitars], but very textural, using specially modified 'halo' guitars I've built." All of the new music is recorded live in a rehearsal room, and Lawrie states its "quite different" from the brilliant indie rock on Projekt A-ko's immaculate 2009 full-length Yoyodyne. We've heard one of the new songs, "Child Of Nameless Time," and can report the fourteen-minute track is mid-tempo and boils like piles of charred snowflakes in hell. Read Lawrie's track-by-track dissection of Yoyodyne right here and watch the Projekt A-ko Facebook page for more information about how you can hear new music from Angel Of Everyone Murder.

>> It has been a year-and-a-half since we've mentioned The Jonbarr Hinge, the relatively new, full-band project that counts among its number Ben Parker, who is likely (hopefully?) better known for his hand in fronting Superman Revenge Squad and the legendary Nosferatu D2. When the last batch of The Jonbarr Hinge songs were released on a relatively unsuspecting world in early 2011, we were too tied up toiling away at an undisclosed location to make mention of it. But several days ago the Hinge unveiled three new songs on its Soundcloud page, "Limp Heart," "Spinning Rocks" and "Body vs. Brain." Each presents an exciting new face for the fledgling act, which despite our prior speculation remains unsigned (to our knowledge). Perhaps the strongest of the new tracks is the Parker-sung "Body vs. Brain," which boasts wonderful, shimmering guitar melodies in the verse that remind us of John Squire's guitar work in "Waterfall," among other Stone Roses tunes. The newer Hinge material introduces a bit more of a swinging feel to the proceedings, helped along by some able bass playing by Parker. The verse of "Limp Heart" rocks a bit of a Zombies groove. If you never heard the first three tracks The Jonbarr Hinge posted, you are missing out. Fortunately, all of the tunes are at Soundcloud, and we highly recommend you check out the nervous rocker "Looks Like A Nail." The songs features some of Parker's patented vitriol ("fed up with this city, get out of this city"), but tempers it with some sweet, melodic, mid-tempo passages. And, of course, some "oohs," "ohs" and "la la la la las." We're eager to hear more from these guys. Fans in the UK can catch them tomorrow (or today, if you are actually in the UK) at Oxjam Shepherd's Bush Takeover, which benefits Oxfam. Takeover details right here.

"Body vs. Brain by The Jonbarr Hinge

YouTube Rodeo: Superman Revenge Squad's "Dead Crow Blues"

Not that it was ever away -- in fact it seems fronter Ben Parker is busier than ever -- but Superman Revenge Squad is back. Here we have the video for the utterly brilliant lead track to the duo's forthcoming seven-song EP Dead Crow Blues. The song -- inspired by both actual experience and Stephen King's novel "The Stand" -- cleverly pairs Martin Webb's multi-tracked cello and minimal canned percussion, which provides a bed for a characteristically dour but rhythmically interesting Parker vocal, which vocal strikes us as somewhere between Pink Floyd's "Nobody's Home" and U2's "Numb." Seriously. You can almost hear Parker smirk, ever so slightly, which adds interesting emotional dimension to the wonderfully understated song that closes out the EP. The short set was under consideration for release by SmallTown America, but it was disclosed last week that instead Dead Crow Blues will be issued by London-based Records Records Records Oct. 18. The complete Dead Crow Blues track listing:

1. Fairweather Friends
2. The Summer We Finally Cut Our Hair
3. An Old Man Flicking Through A Pornographic Magazine
4. Yeah, This House Is Haunted
5. Playing Good Games
6. An Endless Bottle Of Blood Red Wine... Whistling Into The Abyss
7. Dead Crow Blues

Previous Ben Parker Coverage:
Review: Nosferatu D2 | We're Gonna Walk Around This City With Our Headphones On To Block Out The Noise
Be Prepared: Nosferatu D2 | We're Gonna Walk Around This City With Our Headphones On To Block Out The Noise | 16. Oct
Out: Superman Revenge Squad's "We're Here For Duration... We Hope!"
A Dish Best Served Cold: The Clicky Clicky Interview With Ben Parker
Logorrhea, Pathos and Superman Revenge Squad
Today's Hotness: Tempertwig, Naxos, Joy Division
Every Band I've Ever Loved Has Let Me Down Eventually

And Then Some Days We Get Awesome Mail 5

That, friends, is a t-shirt bearing the logo and slogan of the quality indie label Audio Antihero. The label is perhaps best known for issuing the never-before-released Nosferatu D2 full-length We're Gonna Walk Around This City With Our Headphones On To Block Out The Noise, which we reviewed here last year. And because he is a totally class chap, label manager Jamie Halliday included his ticket stub to the recent epic Wichita Recordings Wichiten birthday celebration, specifically the night that Los Campesinos! and Johnny Foreigner played, when he shipped off the shirt we recently ordered. Audio Antihero sells CDs, of course, but we should point out that it also sells shirts for its acts in addition to the one pictured above. Why not throw some money at Mr. Halliday by buying some shirts?

Today's Hotness: Projekt A-ko, Superman Revenge Squad

>> Fans of Glaswegian indie rock heroes Projekt A-ko received a thrill Sunday when an email went out to purchasers of the band's towering 2009 debut Yoyodyne. The email included a link to an only-recently completed cover of Drop Nineteen's landmark tune "Winona," which was featured on the erstwhile Boston band's 1990 Caroline Records debut Delaware. The email from Projekt A-ko also announced the band was taking pre-orders for a planned sophomore set that is to be complete by the end of the year; 10 pounds gets the you the record shipped anywhere in the world. If you want to get in on the pre-order action, here is a Paypal link. Buy early and buy often! The Scottish trio released its debut full-length almost exactly a year ago on April 20, 2009.

>> We saw some message board chatter earlier this month that the planned new EP from superlative English songwriter Ben Parker's Superman Revenge Squad will be issued by the label Smalltown America. And it turns out that chatter is in fact true, according to Mr. Parker, who we emailed for more information. Parker reports that Smalltown America is definitely interested in releasing Superman Revenge Squad's planned Dead Crow EP, which we first wrote about here in March. However, the EP had yet to have been recorded when we corresponded with Parker, and he noted that there's always a possibility the label might not like it once it's done ("it's probably the most down-beat stuff I've written," says Parker). We're thinking that's fairly unlikely. Superman Revenge Squad released two records last year, Hmmmmm... Meet the 'All New' Superman Revenge Squad and We're Here For Duration... We Hope! Additionally, the sole full-length recorded by Parker's prior act Nosferatu D2 was finally issued to substantial acclaim the same year [review here].

Today's Hotness: The Lodger, Bettie Serveert, Superman Revenge Squad

>> Leeds, England-based pure-play indie pop concern The Lodger are back next week with a delightful new piece of aural heaven, the single "Have A Little Faith In People." The track is culled from the quartet's forthcoming third long-player Flashbacks, which will be released at the end of April. "Have A Little Faith In People" makes us long for the early days of MTV, a time when the rising television channel was heavily attuned to the new wave of music coming out of the UK. Of course, The Lodger is likely more interested by the underground, Postcard Records sounds of that era rather than the stuff that actually made its way to American teevee screens. But even so, there is something about The Lodger's fresh, clean and unadorned (save for some tasteful, buoyant brass) guitar pop here that makes us nostalgic. "Have A Little Faith In People" will be issued in the UK 5 April on This Is Fake DIY and in the U.S. the following day digitally via Slumberland Records. The Lodger's debut Grown Ups was released in 2007, and it was followed by Life Is Sweet in 2008. Catch the stream of the forthcoming single below.



>> Dutch indie rock lifers Bettie Serveert have always been fond of presenting their songs in different styles, or at least running through them as simple acoustic versions. Heck, their last album, 2006's Bare Stripped Naked, was based in part around this notion. It recast a few songs from their past -- and future, since "What They Call Love" is remade as a rocker on their new album. So here we have this rough-and-ready take of their new Pharmacy Of Love track,"Semaphore." It may be stripped of the studio sheen and killer drums, but it still retains its urgency. Read our review of Pharmacy Of Love right here. -- Michael Piantigini

Bettie Serveert -- "Semaphore (Acoustic Version)"
[right click and save as]
[buy Bettie Serveert records from Newbury Comics right here]

>> According to this blog post top English songwriter Ben Parker's Superman Revenge Squad is preparing the release of Dead Crow Blues EP, which will apparently include the songs "Playing God Games," "An Old Man Flicking Through A Pornographic Magazine," "The Summer We Finally Cut Our Hair" and "An Endless Bottle Of Blood-Red Wine... Whistling Into The Abyss." Superman Revenge Squad recently performed those and the older cut "I’m Gonna Go To Bed And When I Wake Up I'm Gonna Be Someone Else" for a video podcast, the details of which podcast are still being sorted. But Superman Revenge Squad's planned EP sounds very exciting, not only because it will include recent collaborator Martin on cello, but also because Mr. Parker hopes to feature his brother and former Nosferatu D2 bandmate Adam on drums on one track. Artwork for Dead Crow Blues has already been secured from Dave Broadbent, whose work you will know from the 2009 Nosferatu D2 release We're Gonna Walk Around This City With Our Headphones On To Block Out The Noise [review here]. Parker and Martin have also been asked to soundtrack a film, but there are few details available about that.

Reader Rewards: Win The Entire Audio Antihero Catalog (Including Nosferatu D2's We're Gonna Walk Around This City...)

[UPDATED] Remember 2009? Good times, right? We remember it fondly. In particular, Monday night we remembered that we had promised to give away a copy of the mighty Nosferatu D2's sole release We're Gonna Walk Around This City With Our Headphones On To Block Out The Noise. And then it sort of slipped our minds. Well, the giveaway did, but the record certainly did not. After singing its praises here, we named it one of the 10 best records of 2009 right here. The very good news is that -- in addition to a copy of We're Gonna Walk Around This City With Our Headphones On To Block Out The Noise to bestow upon one lucky reader -- we also have a copy of the other 2009 release from Audio Antihero, the label that liberated Nosferatu D2's opus from darkening memory. That would be Londoner Benjamin Shaw's curious, watercolored dreamer I Got The Pox, The Pox Is What I Got. This set has not nearly received the attention it deserves, either in the UK or the US.

So how are you going to get your hands on these potent slabs of indie music? The answer is simple. Be the first to send an email to us (address is linked in the sidebar at right) with the phrase "Commercial Suicide For Me, Too, Please" in the subject line. This giveaway is for US residents only, as those of you in the UK should just head over here and give Audio Antihero some pecuniary love -- we assure you the music is worth the expense. We'll update this item as soon as we have a winner, and the discs will be shipped first class on Thursday directly to the winner. No muss, no fuss. [CONGRATULATIONS to reader Matthew! The contest is over.]

What else can we tell you? Let's see... Did you know that Nosferatu D2's final, crushing, beautiful and desperate performance -- supporting Los Campesinos! in March 2007 -- was bootlegged and is freely available on the Internerds? Hit this link and download the whole kaboodle. Unsurprisingly, our favorite track from the collection is "A Footnote," which we're posting below as an added inducement.

Nosferatu D2 -- "A Footnote (Live)" -- Live at The Spitz, March 2007
[right click and save as]
[buy Nosferatu D2 music from Audio Antihero right here]

Clicky Clicky's Top Albums Of 2009

So that was 2009, huh? Besides all the day-job stuff, we'd be happy for another year just like it, musically and personally. We loathe when people say "this year wasn't very good for music" or crap like that, because, frankly, if you're saying that you weren't trying hard enough. There's always more music, and there is always great music. But enough of that rant. We're pleased with the array of artists we spotlight below; we hope you'll find some things here that had escaped your attention heretofore, and that you derive as much enjoyment from listening to them as we do. For those who are curious, here are links to some of our prior annual lists [2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2002]. Thanks for reading Clicky Clicky in 2009, and special thanks to Michael Piantigini, Jay Kumar, D.P. Dean, The Good Doctor and anyone else whose writing made these electronic pages better during the last 12 months. We're grateful for their help, and we're grateful to our readers. See you in 2010.

1. Johnny Foreigner -- Grace And The Bigger Picture -- Best Before

Unsurprisingly, Johnny Foreigner's wonderful, epic sophomore effort Grace And The Bigger Picture tops our list of best records of the last 12 months. We already named the Birmingham, England-based noise pop trio's 2009 release one of the best records of the decade in October, and the band's prior releases topped our list last year and was runner-up in 2006. Grace And The Bigger Picture was exactly the record we were hoping the band would deliver as a follow-up to it stellar debut: loud, brash, aggressive, tuneful and articulate. There are some surprising turns on the set, such as the beautiful, piano-led ballad "More Heart, Less Tongue," and an abundance of awesome anthems. The ambitious three continues to impress, and we're eager to hear what comes next.

[review] [listen] [buy] [MP3: "Feels Like Summer"]

2. Projekt A-ko -- Yoyodyne -- Milk Pie

As far as surprises went in 2009, this was the biggest and the best. The apparently still-warm embers of Urusei Yatsura here are reignited under the moniker Projekt A-ko, a trio led by Fergus Lawrie. The trio not only put out the second-best record of the year, but frankly they arguably put out the best Dinosaur Jr. record of 2009, as well (we're huge Dinosaur fans, so this is saying a lot). Yoyodyne is graceful and cacaphonous, literate and blunt. The band cobbled the set together in free time with no budget, and released it on their own label with almost nil publicity, which means too few know that this gem is out there. Which we suppose is one argument for being affiliated with a reputable record label. But that is a discussion for another day. Yoyodyne is filled with incredible songs, a treat from end to end.

[review] [listen] [buy] [MP3: "Ichiro On Third (Demo)"]

3. Nosferatu D2 -- We're Gonna Walk Around This City With Our Headphones On To Block Out The Noise -- Audio Antihero

We had no idea this record was at long last getting its official release in 2009, although we were quite familiar with the stunning music it contains. While his earlier trio Tempertwig is quite respectable, it is with Nosferatu D2 that fronter Ben Parker established his legacy. Let's quote ourselves, shall we? "Here is England's greatest contemporary lyricist, Ben Parker, coupling his words and fairly singular guitar playing with the punishing drumming of his brother Adam to create perhaps the greatest unheard record of the decade. The contents of defunct duo Nosferatu D2's We're Gonna Walk Around This City With Our Headphones On To Block Out The Noise -- recorded years ago but only now available in stores -- seethe and brood with startling intensity, as Mr. Parker's narrators botch relationships, asphyxiate under the weighty, numbing press of an increasingly homogenized consumer culture, and second-guess their way into oblivion." It's a brilliant effort, it's important music, and the record's release hopefully in some way affirms to a broader audience that Mr. Parker is one of the best songwriters in England today.

[review] [listen] [buy] [MP3: "Springsteen"]

4. The Beatings -- Late Season Kids -- Midriff

A tour de force of American indie rock. To quote ourselves: "The title to Boston-slash-New York rockers The Beatings' sixth full-length evokes the surging success of a pro sports franchise making all the right moves perhaps when least expected. Nearly a decade into the band's career (and well into certain members' thirties, marriages and parenthood) is an unlikely time to have created its best, most confident record -- and yet here it is. Late Season Kids is a triumph crafted by a quintet whose tenure is longer than many -- if not most -- big-leaguers and rock acts alike." Local fans should note the quintet returns to the stage Jan. 23 at Great Scott in Boston.

[review] [listen] [buy] [MP3: "Bury You"]

5. Dananananaykroyd -- Hey Everyone! -- Best Before

The most overtly awesome band in the UK, there is just no denying Dananananaykroyd, no debating the potency of its masterful songwriting, brilliant chops, spectacularly boundless energy. We've got a soft spot for bands whose first word on their record is their own band name, and Dananananaykroyd earns points for that here, too. Hey Everyone! is a blitzkrieg of positive-vibes and surprisingly jangly post-hardcore/screamo. It's somewhat surprising that this is a formula that few if any other combos have hit on. As a sidenote -- we're sure this is among the worst times to invest money in breaking your UK-based band in America (presuming you stand to gain financially from doing so), but Best Before Records, home to both Dananananaykroyd and Johnny Foreigner, needs to figure out how to get these bands into America. Because America has been deprived for too long.

[review] [listen] [buy]

6. Calories -- Adventuring -- SmallTown America

Ten sing-alongable punk anthems from another stellar Birmingham-based trio, all killer and no filler. In the time it takes you to read this Top 10 list you could have listened to most of Adventuring, with time left over to make a delicious cake ("Jesus was waaay coool"). Calories' melodic, agressive approach gives the appearance of being simplistic, but in fact between changes in tempo and dynamics there is a lot going on here. There is cleverness in not appearing over-clever, and Calories will hopefully begin to garner a much deserved reputation as one of the smartest indie punk bands working. Look for the band's sophomore full-length Habitations to street in England in March, as we reported here last month.

[review] [listen] [buy]

7. Cold Cave -- Love Comes Close -- Matador

This is the most recently released record that made its way onto our list, and only last week did we throw a record off the list to make room for Love Comes Close, which so persistently had us reaching for the IPod lately that we had to include it. Although not as graceful and understated as The xx, Philadelphia-based synthpop concern Cold Cave's music has a similar way of sinking deep into your conciousness, getting comfortable and residing there. The tracks on Love Comes Close at turns recall darkwave-era Depeche Mode or early New Order, with a little more grit and a little less sophistication. So it is kind of surprising that Cold Cave's primary songwriter, Wesley Eisold, once fronted hardcore acts and has songwriting credits on a Fallout Boy record. We don't recommend people try listening to the quartet, we challenge them to STOP listening. And we have a feeling that if we had spent more time with their record before making our year-end list it would have ranked even higher.

[review] [listen] [buy]

8. The Answering Machine -- Another City, Another Sorry -- Heist Or Hit

The long-awaited full-length from this scrappy Mancunian quartet did not disappoint. In fact, during the wait that started with the release of the band's third single "Silent Hotels" way back in 2007 the band added significant dimension to their guitar-pop foundation with the addition of a flesh-and-blood drummer and sharp focus on songcraft. Sure, we were disappointed that the Tony Hoffer-produced demo "Romantic And Square" did not make its way onto Another City, Another Sorry, but that just means the band has one more amazing track in its back pocket to use for a single or the next album. And speaking of next albums, an email from a publicist earlier this month indicated that a 2010 release from The Answering Machine was TBD, which we'll take as a positive sign that the young band is fired up and ready for album no. 2.

[review] [listen] [buy]

9. Morrissey -- Years Of Refusal -- Universal

We're not the sort of Morrissey fan that glad-hands every successive release of the former Smiths fronter. In fact, we're of the opinion that the fans and critics that annointed 2004's You Are The Quarry as Morrissey's great come-back were premature, even wrong. Instead, it is Ringleader Of The Tormenters that truely displayed Morrissey once more at the peak of his powers, which powers, in our opinion, markedly waned not long after the dawn of the '90s. 2009 brought us Years Of Refusal, and it is a barn-burner. It certainly would have been improved by Visconti's production, but nonetheless the record is aggressive ("Something Is Squeezing My Skull"), smart-alecky ("It's Not Your Birthday Anymore"), dour ("I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris") and brilliant all at once.

[review] [listen] [buy]

10. Fleeting Joys -- Occult Radiance -- Only Forever

A masterpiece of sculpted guitar and angelic vocals. Sure, you've heard this sort of thing before, but we don't think you've heard it done as well or as recently as Fleeting Joys' 2009 stunner Occult Radiance. Tidal waves of guitar, nods to contemporary gothy psyche/space rock, but mostly it is incredible song writing that makes this one of the best of the year. The Northern California-based duo make only rare live appearances, making this record all the more important as a document of the greatness of Fleeting Joys.

[review] [listen] [buy]

Review: Nosferatu D2 | We're Gonna Walk Around This City With Our Headphones On To Block Out The Noise [MP3]

Here is England's greatest contemporary lyricist, Ben Parker, coupling his words and fairly singular guitar playing with the punishing drumming of his brother Adam to create perhaps the greatest unheard record of the decade. The contents of defunct duo Nosferatu D2's We're Gonna Walk Around This City With Our Headphones On To Block Out The Noise -- recorded years ago but only now available in stores -- seethe and brood with startling intensity, as Mr. Parker's narrators botch relationships, asphyxiate under the weighty, numbing press of an increasingly homogenized consumer culture, and second-guess their way into oblivion. The songs are uncompromising and raw: drumming is foregrounded and everywhere; torrents of lyrics occasionally unhinge from verses; and there are barely any guitar effects to speak of, save for the distortion and feedback in the stunning track "We'll Play The Power Of Love By Frankie Goes To Hollywood A Thousand Times Tonight."

In the hierarchy of credible angst in post-punk music, there's Morrissey, there's Cobain, there's Ben Parker, and then there's everybody else. Parker spits devastatingly personal lyrics as if they burn his mouth ("at the time I think I just thought they were funny. I guess a lot of stuff happened in those two years," he remarks in the liner notes). Most songwriters are lucky to have one line in a song that hits home; Parker's lyrics and their desperate delivery are all stunning. We're Gonna Walk Around This City With Our Headphones On To Block Out The Noise opens with the line "the only place I feel alone is in your arms," and the record gets increasingly harrowing from there, climaxing in the spine-tingling, final :29 seconds of the track "Springsteen." In those last moments Parker sputters over and over "It's all up here! Point to my head!" before boiling over with two terrifying screams. That the tune is followed by the beautiful, calm opening of "We'll Play The Power Of Love By Frankie Goes To Hollywood A Thousand Times Tonight" is just brilliant sequencing. The record's most immediately satisfying track, "A Footnote," conveys the disappointment of being an avid music fan in a way that could only have been written by an avid music fan: "and every song that makes me cry is embarrassing to talk about, and the worst album will always be the last one..."

We're Gonna Walk Around This City With Our Headphones On To Block Out The Noise was never released during the two-year span (2005-2007) in which Nosferatu D2 was a going concern. And so we were very excited to learn that it was finally to be properly released by the new label Audio Antihero 16 Oct. The set had very nearly been released in 2007, according to Parker, and in fact was so close to being issued that the title was chosen and the art work contracted. Alas, Nosferatu D2's split indefinitely shelved We're Gonna Walk Around This City With Our Headphones On To Block Out The Noise. For a long time the set was available for free download from Last.FM, although the title and art were not included. The title, incidentally, comes from the opening line of a never-completed Nosferatu D2 track, according to Parker. Parker previously fronted the trio Tempertwig and is the current proprietor of the newly dual-member Superman Revenge Squad.

Nosferatu D2 -- "We'll Play The Power Of Love By Frankie Goes To Hollywood A Thousand Times Tonight" -- We're Gonna Walk Around This City With Our Headphones On To Block Out The Noise
[right click and save as]
[buy the record from Audio Antihero right here]

Nosferatu D2: Internerds | MySpace | YouTube |Flickr

Previous Ben Parker Coverage:
Be Prepared: Nosferatu D2 | We're Gonna Walk Around This City With Our Headphones On To Block Out The Noise | 16. Oct
Out: Superman Revenge Squad's "We're Here For Duration... We Hope!"
A Dish Best Served Cold: The Clicky Clicky Interview With Ben Parker
Logorrhea, Pathos and Superman Revenge Squad
Today's Hotness: Tempertwig, Naxos, Joy Division
Every Band I've Ever Loved Has Let Me Down Eventually

Be Prepared: Nosferatu D2 | We're Gonna Walk Around This City With Our Headphones On To Block Out The Noise | 16. Oct

The best six pounds sterling you will spend this year will get you Audio Antihero's remastered reissue of the mighty (and depressingly defunct) Nosferatu D2's only long-player, We're Gonna Walk Around This City With Our Headphones On To Block Out The Noise. This re-release of the Croydon, England based duo's set is something of a relief to us here at Clicky Clicky HQ. That's because we've been told by a fellow with Audio Antihero that the label was launched in part just to make this reissue available, which means that there is at least one dude out there who is as obsessed with Mr. Parker and his songwriting as we are (and perhaps even more so, as quite literally Audio Antihero is putting its money where its mouth is).

Anyway, you can pre-order the thing via PayPal right now, here's the link, scroll down, spend the money now and thank us later. This is the record that has the amazing tracks "A Footnote," "Broken Tamagotchi" and "It's Christmas Time (For God's Sake)" on it, among others. Audio Antihero is offering "Springsteen" as a promo track, which we are posting below for those of you who didn't download the record from Last.FM back when the old version (which we think was self-titled at the time) was available for free download. But anyway, Parker, holy Jesus, this guy can write songs ("A Footnote" is the band's crowning achievement), and particularly lyrics, and with his brother Adam slaying the drum kit behind him the Nosferatu D2 was simply unbeatable. Here's the full running order:

1. Broken Tamagotchi
2. A Footnote
3. Colonel Parker
4. Flying Things and Pests
5. I Killed Burt Bacharach
6. 2 People, 0 Superpowers
7. Mojo Top 100
8. Springsteen
9. We'll Play The Power of Love by Frankie Goes to Hollywood A Thousand Times Tonight
10. It's Christmas Time (For God's Sake)

Nosferatu D2 -- "Springsteen" -- We're Gonna Walk Around This City With Our Headphones On To Block Out The Noise
[right click and save as]
[buy the record from Audio Antihere right here]

Previous Ben Parker Coverage:
Out: Superman Revenge Squad's "We're Here For Duration... We Hope!"
A Dish Best Served Cold: The Clicky Clicky Interview With Ben Parker
Logorrhea, Pathos and Superman Revenge Squad
Today's Hotness: Tempertwig, Naxos, Joy Division
Every Band I've Ever Loved Has Let Me Down Eventually

Out: Superman Revenge Squad's "We're Here For Duration... We Hope!"

We've followed closely the career of Croydon, England-based songwriter Ben Parker for the last couple years, and we see no reason to cease utilizing our bully pulpit to herald this startlingly talented artist. Mr. Parker's most recent project, Superman Revenge Squad, has just made available its second long-player; you can purchase via Paypal the sophomore set We're Here For Duration... We Hope at the Superman Revenge Squad site right here. It's only three pounds sterling with shipping included, and it includes a track titled "I've Been Listening To The Rollins Band." Seriously. A live version of lead track "A Good Idea" from the new set is streaming at the SRS MySpace right here. Three pounds is a small sum to pay for new material from the fellow who wrote the top serious awesome track "A Footnote" with his old combo Nosferatu D2. Not to mention the excellent material that has come since. Here are a couple tracks to get you in the shopping mood. We interviewed Parker here in October.

Nosferatu D2 -- "A Footnote" -- Nosferatu D2
Superman Revenge Squad -- "I'm Gonna Go To Bed And When I Wake Up I'm Gonna Be Someone Else" -- Superman Revenge Squad
[right click and save as]
[buy Superman Revenge Squad music right here]

A Dish Best Served Cold: The Clicky Clicky Interview With Ben Parker

As tempting as it is to view the songs of Ben Parker as heavily autobiographical, it is equally likely that he is making a pop reference even more obscure than those one can discern as the singer's words whiz by in a torrent. This Is My Own Personal Way Of Dealing With It All, the title to Mr. Parker's new collection from his latest project Superman Revenge Squad, would seem like a bald statement of purpose. And while it may be, the fact is the title is taken from an old Lou Reed interview. "The Angriest Dog In The World," one of the most affecting of the eleven recently recorded tracks, takes its title from a comic strip drawn by David Lynch. In another song Mr. Parker imagines he is Kevin Rowland of Dexy's Midnight Runners; in still another he pretends Will Oldham is singing directly to him. Clearly, Parker is a learned student of popular and underground culture.

And yet his music -- whether it is harrowingly urgent, morose and emotional or tongue-in-cheek and geeky -- transmits as deeply personal. Which is perhaps what first drew us into Parker's world two Augusts ago, after stumbling on to his prior duo Nosferatu D2 via the excellent blog Another Form Of Relief. In his songs, Parker can't escape social obligation, fan expectations or cultural homogenization -- although it is not for lack of imagination. In nearly every song on the Croydon, England-based songwriter's new collection he plots. The initial plan is to "write a song like Coldplay, we're gonna creep into the Top 40, we're gonna tour until we hate each other's guts." Another plan is to go to bed and somehow miraculously wake up as someone else. Elsewhere escape is revealed as a mirage: in "Women Hating Internet Pornography" Parker makes it as far as the tramway encircling his hometown, a ride that necessarily ends up right back where it began.

In still another scenario his narrator is the angriest dog in the world, tied up forever in the yard. This dog is hopeful, and dreams big -- in his small way. The dreams concern becoming the equal of his master; turning the tables on his master and tying him up for fifteen years; about biting his way through the lead some way, somehow. And this optimism is almost surprising, given the dark portraits Parker crafts. Of course, the music is not without its own humor, although it is humor of a particular stripe. For example, the final track on the new record, which can be bought directly from Parker at the Superman Revenge Squad MySpage garage right here, is titled "Joe Concedes Ultimate Defeat By Blowing His Face Skywards With A Shotgun." We wanted to learn more about This Is My Own Personal Way Of Dealing With It All and the man behind it, and happily Mr. Parker obliged us by answering our questions below.

We're continually fascinated to hear what our favorite musicians do for work. Based on your songs we'd guess you would make an excellent arts critic or record store employee. But what is that you actually do?

Well, I work 9-5 in an office for a publishing company, in a totally non-creative way. When I left university I thought I’d end up as a journalist or something. But I find it difficult being creative if it isn’t completely on my terms. And I did toy with the idea of working for a record shop for a long time, as I do spend a lot of my free time browsing records, but I thought it would just take the pleasure out of it all.

Have you always lived in Croydon? Can you describe it for a person whose never been there and has only experienced it through your music?

I was born in Croydon and lived there up until I went to university in York. I never thought I’d end up here again, but it’s cheaper than living in London and quite easy to escape into London if you want to. It’s okay, really, although it does generally only make the news because of people occasionally getting stabbed here. It’s just very suburban, and most of it could be anywhere in suburban Britain, with the same chains of shops, the same bored people wandering around and lots of parents swearing at their children. Certainly, on the surface it’s not very creative, but there is a small group of people that I know that are in bands that I can while away evenings talking about music and stuff to, and that play and watch each other in the venues. There’s an open mic night every Tuesday that I play occasionally, where I first played on my own, and where I can play new songs to a few supportive people. The music scene would maybe benefit from the town not being so near to London –- I know that as soon as I was into music I wouldn’t bother going to see local bands because I could go and see stuff in London; proper bands.

We're familiar with two of your prior bands thanks to Tempertwig and Nosferatu D2's music being available for free at Last.FM. I think Nosferatu D2's final gig was opening for Los Campesinos! Did Nosferatu D2 go out on a high note, so to speak, or were there other highlights? Was there a big moment for Tempertwig?

I think ND2 had stopped being fun by the time we played our last gig supporting Los Campesinos. And we always said we’d stop doing it if it stopped being fun. And I was starting to write some of the stuff that ended up as SRS songs and finding it easier to be productive and creative with this new stuff that Adam didn’t find so interesting to drum with. The great thing, for me, about ND2, was that it was always 50/50 with me and my brother so if one of us wasn’t happy with something it would never have worked. The highlights for me were always at smaller gigs when everything would just click and we’d be, I think, maybe quite briefly, pretty good and pretty intense. Obviously, SRS is a lot less intense live. I used to feel drained after ND2 gigs and all that shouting.

Pop stars sing to teens and pre-teens with hopes of a big payday. Your songs are often very critical of the pop music business (as well as the homegenization of consumer culture in general), and you certainly doesn't seem interested in compromising what you do for the sake of a commercial success. When you write songs do you ever consider who your audience is?

I always kind of imagine me listening to my music if I wasn’t me and make sure I’d like it. And then imagine, maybe wrongly, that if I like it then surely there must be other people that would like it too.

We're reluctant to embrace the term anti-folk, because, well, we struggle to relate those words with the meaning people seem to ascribe to them. They don't quite add up. Given the progression from Tempertwig (trio) to Nosferatu D2 (duo) to Superman Revenge Squad (solo) -- that steady reduction in personnel -- we'd argue that perhaps it is more apt to characterize your music as "anti-rock." That aside, why is it that you have chosen to be a solo performer? Why is voice and acoustic guitar the best vehicle for Ben Parker's songs now?

I dunno, a number of reasons really – firstly, I guess I might just be a control freak…. And I like the fact that people can actually hear my lyrics live now – previously I’d put quite a lot of effort into words that were hidden behind music at gigs. And I really like getting laughs when people hear the bits that are meant to be funny – it kind of gives me a very small taste of the satisfaction that a stand-up comedian might get maybe. I refused to use any guitar effects when we started ND2. It just seemed more "real" somehow, more raw. And this is like a continuation of that I suppose. I like music that’s stripped of production values and niceness but is still, at heart, pop music. The version of Burt Bacharach’s Make It Easy On Yourself, where he sings it in a not-terribly-strong voice just accompanied by a piano is great, for example.

Of course, you recently played a birthday show with a band, including your brother Adam, an exceptional drummer who played with you in your prior two projects. Have you ruled out ever being in a "full band" again?

I haven’t ruled it out. But, well, I keep thinking of Alisdair Roberts, who I love – he sounds nothing like me but I love his music – and he is much much better playing on his own than he is with a band. When I saw him last year he had a band and it was okay. Recently, I saw him on his own and I could have cried at points. I like the vulnerability. And the fact that I can muck up songs and make it look like I did it on purpose.

What inspired you to sing about the complicated power dynamic in "The Angriest Dog In The World?" The song reminds me of author Patricia Highsmith's "The Animal-Lover's Book Of Beastly Murder," which I recall was filled with short stories of murderous animals who turn on humans.

"The Angriest Dog In The World" was a David Lynch comic strip. I took the initial idea from there for about two lines, then I think it turned into something else – I don’t see it as being about a dog at all now, but about a certain type of dysfunctional relationship where the power rests with one person and the other person is stuck with this power dynamic and doesn’t know anything else anymore. It’s strange – some people find the song quite upsetting and sad, other people think it’s meant to be funny.

What about "This Is A Happy Song?" It seems like a bit of a piss-take poking fun at your reputation for being dour. It also seems like a way for you to acknowledge that you aren't terribly different from other people our age who once enjoyed pop hits like "Ice Ice Baby." The final line, of course doesn't seem like a piss-take at all: "I guess I'm learning to live with all this baggage that I've been living with so I thought I'd put it all in a song in a bid to forgive myself for all the things I never did." That lyric sounds like the thesis statement for the entire record.

A girl I work with commented that all my songs were depressing so I thought I’d try to write something happy for a change – originally the idea was to write something like Ian Dury’s "Reasons To Be Cheerful," like a big list of good things, but I got as far as Lambchop being on the telly and then ran out and by then the song had started to take shape and was self-consciously not-happy but quite gleefully not-happy. It took ages to come up with an ending and I played it unfinished for quite some time. But, yeah, the last few lines came quite spontaneously one night and I like them.

Would you say your music is realistic or fantastic? Your lyrics offer what strikes me as an extraordinarily honest representation of your own feelings and insights, as well as a strikingly realist consideration of how escapism works and doesn't work. Certainly there are elements of fantasy, in "Captain Non-Entity" and "Angriest Dog" for example, but often your lyrics are refreshingly open, blunt and even explanatory, as in Nosferatu D2's "A Footnote." Is this something you consciously strive for?

I think that most of the stuff I write is based on reality. It’s sometimes a really exaggerated reality, and it doesn’t always start off being about me, but there is generally always autobiography in there somewhere.

Even the album title This Is My Own Personal Way Of Dealing With It All, which is the first like from the stirring "I'm Gonna Go To Bed And When I Wake Up I'm Gonna Be Someone Else," seems refreshingly transparent. But is it? Is the title true? When we consider our favorite actors or musicians we all often wonder how much of what is communicated is real. Was writing these songs, or recording this album, a way of "dealing with it all?"

The title comes from an interview with Lou Reed that I’m paraphrasing because I can’t remember it exactly – but, basically, someone asked him why he writes stuff, created art, whatever, and he said something like "This is my own personal way of dealing with it all" – and at the time I was doing Tempertwig and I had a conversation with my brother where we talked about why we were doing this and I couldn’t really say why other than referring to what Lou said; I mean, we weren’t getting paid, not many people saw us play, we didn’t really drink, and I was pretty uptight at most of the gigs but I felt like it was something I had to do. And I’m still in the same position really!

What's next?

I’ll continue doing this until I don’t want to do it anymore. I’ve got about 30 completed songs that I’ve written so far, since I started doing this SRS stuff, and I keep writing more. I’ll record again when a bunch of songs seem to fit together again – possibly in a couple of months or so, as I have 11 that I think should work together. I love writing this stuff. When it dries up I’ll stop. I’ve always wanted to complete a novel. Maybe I’ll do that then...

Superman Revenge Squad -- "Idiot Food" -- This Is My Own Personal Way Of Dealing With It All
[right click and save as]

Nosferatu D2 -- "A Footnote" -- Nosferatu D2
[right click and save as]

Tempertwig -- "This Means Everything, This Don't Mean A Thing" -- Tempertwig
[right click and save as]

Previous Ben Parker Coverage:
Logorrhea, Pathos and Superman Revenge Squad
Today's Hotness: Tempertwig, Naxos, Joy Division
Every Band I've Ever Loved Has Let Me Down Eventually