Pessimism Strikes You Cold: Sandpit

along the moors (single) - JacK 059-2
along the moors
Kicking off with the great opening lines: "Just for your records/It's not your fault/That I'm not all there", this is the most melancholy that Sandpit have ever sounded. But after about forty seconds, the other members (the gorgeously blonde Steph and part-time brilliant drummer Greg Wales) kick in to make this song what it is - an absolute gem. With lines like these, "I'm a wizard/I'm a cowering fool/I'm a failure/I'm the one who just can't get out" and with a catch line "It's doing my head in" you can't go wrong. As Brendan says: "It's not too clear/You've got to take it slow". Sandpit take it slow and show how good they really are. Not Triple J fodder, but I expect heavy (and I mean H-E-A-V-Y airplay on RRR and Pbs and 3d and other indie stations around Australia.

no rock

This is the closest that I've ever heard Sandpit sounding like those influential Americans Slint. Now I know they probably won't like me for saying that, I don't think you can get a better influence really. It's a song that doesn't rock (hence no rock presumably, that starts out with the lines "We rock/We roll", mocking rock and roll, whilst re-re-defining in the way that Slint and Sonic Youth once did. Also with this release, don't expect to hear anything like the old Sandpit, as there appears to be a heavy debt to the sound of Sandro floating around in the sound, with a very strong "shoe gazer" vibe evident. This song would have to be one of my fave Sandpit songs, along with the lead track of this release, tractorbeam and the original version of The Horns Sing And this leads us to...

the horns sing

Starting out with what must be a keyboard produced sound (unless Greg Wales and Stephanie Ashworth have the innate ability to play like a funky drum n bass machine), this seeming BL Stryker version of the horns sing is vastly different to the original, and, whilst being very good, does not do justice to the original, except that Brendan's voice seems to have got stronger. But that can be said of the whole release - Brendan's voice is definitely stronger on this third release. What I really want to know, is when is BL Stryker material going to be released, hm? Also check out the ending to the song - best heard on a walkman-type-thang.

mr diamond

A short song (even by Sandpit standards) at just over 1 minute, that also seems to use a keyboard produced sound, with Brendan singing and playing guitar over the top of it. This song could also give us the first tast of Steph singing back up vocals, and it really suits the song, whether it be her, someone else, or Brendan looping his own voice through the mix.

So what do we have then? Two Sandpit songs (definitely), and it would appear two BL Stryker songs. I originally thought that the new version of the horns sing was going to be a solo acoustic version (sans all other instruments), but it would appear not to be so. Oh well, it still beats a lot of other recent Australian releases, and is one of the best releases in 1998 so far (as far as I know, it's also one of the first).