Bark Psychosis: C or D

Q: "Couldn't you have afforded to put Andy in an urn?"

A: "Yes but he insisted..."

But not on this one - ponderous atmospherics adding up to very little: dud.

Bark Psychosis
http://gd.times.lv/bark.htm

PS; Got bored of waiting for Independancy and have ordered an Amazon Marketplace copy of Game Over.

Excuse me; I had a pint at lunchtime.

yes, i hope they haven't quite all been snapped up and i'm too late

(any pointers along the lines of, "if you like this then you'll like Bark Psychosis" -- oh, i know such comparisons are a bit shaky, but help !)

Hex is easy enough to triangulate. A.R. Kane, Laughing Stock, Astral Weeks. but it's so much more than the sum of its influences.

Of all the bands branded with the nebulous "post-rock" tag, England's Bark Psychosis achieved the rarest balance between group musicality and post-production programming. Recorded with a large ensemble of musicians but pieced together with a computer and a sampler, Hex is a seamless tapestry—-a miraculous album that never forfeits its supernatural aura to the sterility of digital design. Principals Graham Sutton and Daniel Gish elaborate on such timeless models as A.R. Kane's 69, The Blue Nile's A Walk Across the Rooftops and especially Talk Talk's Laughing Stock, filling Hex's wide-screen canvas with emotional song-craft and technological refinement. Hex favors the elegant and the understated, presenting an extraordinarily filmic backdrop against which piano, guitar and vocal phrases, wisps of instrumentation and Mark Simnett's percussive cascades fall like December snow. The secret tensions that underscore Bark Psychosis' shimmering quiescence first manifest themselves in John Ling's sinuous, dub-modulated basslines, occasionally erupting in such rapturous displays of bittersweet beauty as "A Street Scene" and "Eyes & Smiles." Other breathtaking flourishes include ribbon-fine feedback, quenching showers of vibes and Del Crabtree's electrifying Miles-style trumpet. Alas, even Bark Psychosis couldn't top Hex. The group disbanded, with Sutton finding minor fame in the drum n' bass arena as Boymerang.

i hope to be proved oh-so-wrong on this last point. will be able to let you know very soon. (-;

grrr.

Nick I can burn you Independency if you want, it's next to impossible to find now (check musicstack.com or gemm, I guess).

i miss john ling though. *crying over loss of dub*

Bark Psychosis: NEW ALBUM: MARCH 2004

The release of the much delayed: CODENAME: dustsucker album by Bark Psychosis has been set for March 2004.

It will be released on Fire Records

From the Bark Psychosis forum:

Personnel on the new album consists of:

Pete Beresford - Vibraphone
Anja Buechele – Vocals
Rachel Dreyer – Piano, Vocals, Wood Flute
Shaun Hyder – Sindhi Tamboura
Lee Harris – Drums
Alice Kemp – Bowed Guitar
T.J. Mackenzie – Trumpet
David Panos – Bass
Graham Sutton– Guitar,Piano, Melodica, Bass, Emulator,Vocals

The record was engineered and produced by Graham Sutton at DustSuckerSound, Hackney, London.

Like, THE Lee Harris??? Of Talk Talk???

Hmmm... March 2004. So, I should expect to hear it around February or so?? heh heh heh.

Fake Edit: I remember some kind of ep or comp. being released after Hex, so it may have not have been all that long since Bark Psychosis put out something. But I may be wrong about that.

Bark Psychosis were one of the leading innovators of rock during their
active period of 1988 to 1994. Their music, while almost traditional rock is better described as post rock. Their use of samples to create textural soundscapes brings a whole new sound to the genre. Post rock was speared-headed by Bark Psychosis when the genre was staid and unchanging, one of Bark Psychosis innovations is the use of volume, not too exciting you might think but as the barrage of guitars gives way to the soft vocals and synthesizers you’ll notice the dynamics that infuse their work. The artwork feature photographs of the St Johns Church where this live recording was made back in 1991, the situation perfectly reflecting the style of Bark Psychosis and their unique sound is enhanced by the acoustics. Starring alongside the 5 live tracks are some very special moments in the history of Bark Psychosis. Re-mastered versions of Reserve Shotgunman and Hex make
their first appearance since their release as b-sides and are joined by an ultra-rare track that all good Psychosis fans will have heard of - Clawhammer. Originally released in 1988 alongside an extract from Spacemen 3 Dreamweapon, this flexi-disc remains a collectors item for both Bark Psychosis fans and Spacemen 3 devotee's alike. Also featured is a remix of Big Shot.

The CD single does say 'edit' on it, and as I bought that first on the day of release I thought "Great song, I wonder if the full version is any bigger and better?" So I went off and bought the 12 inch (on white vinyl) a day or so later and do know how much difference there is? Hardly any. There's about 20 or 30 seconds of music at the start, very much like the coda of the song, then the song proper starts, and it ends just like the CD version. So really, you're not missing much.

What are the live tracks on "Replay" then? I presume "Pendulum man" from "Game over" is there?

Have you got "World of Echo" then, as I've been after a copy of that for years...

I do like "Spirit of Eden", "Hex" never made enough impression on me to ever play it more than a couple of times

Have you got "World of Echo" then, as I've been after a copy of that for years...

Yes I have a copy. No I cannot for the life of me work out why people go on about it so much - I blame Simon Reynolds.

Tracklisting and running times for "Codename:DustSucker" are as follows:

1.) From What Is Said To When It's Read - 5:29
2.) The Black Meat - 6:41
3.) Miss Abuse - 6:15
4.) 400 Winters - 5:48
5.) Dr. Innocuous / Ketamoid - 1:04
6.) Burning The City - 5:11
7.) Inqb8tr - 7:57
8.) Shapeshifting - 6:01
9.) Rose - 5:50
-----------------------------
Total running time: 50:16

Why in the heck isn't Codename: Dustsucker out yet???

Official site says release date is "July 2004".

PS it looks like this;
http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v236/njsouthall/june_1_001.jpg

please encode this for me at the best quality possible, i'd love to hear it.

1.) From What Is Said To When It's Read - 5:29
2.) The Black Meat - 6:41
3.) Miss Abuse - 6:15
4.) 400 Winters - 5:48
5.) Dr. Innocuous / Ketamoid - 1:04
6.) Burning The City - 5:11
7.) Inqb8tr - 7:57
8.) Shapeshifting - 6:01
9.) Rose - 5:50
-----------------------------
Total running time: 50:16

In the drugs episode of Brass Eye - while getting alleged celebrities to bang on about "the made up drug, Cake" - Noel Edmonds was persuaded to read out a script that claimed Cake affects a part of the brain known as Shatner's Bassoon, which deals with time perception.

I don't remember it being mentioned in Jam or Blue Jam.

ta

I'm asking because I adore that song, but have grown so accustomed to the "demo" version that hearing it any other way would probably ruin it for me ...

(which happened to me with "Morning Bell" by Radiohead actually)

Haven't got much time to write up a response, but here's a few things to start off the discussion :

1) im hearing allusions to Sonic Youth's "Daydream Nation" -- especially the end of "400 Winters" where the piano gives way to a scratchy answering machine type message ("Providence" anyone?). This is not especially a bad thing ...! Also the textures and the mood of many of the songs. On first listen I also heard some Massive Attack influence, but not hearing it as much now. I think that's more to do with the mood. Also a little bit of David Sylvian seems to have snuck in there somehow too. Not sure which song title it is, but it's after 400 Winters. IN that song Graham's phrasing is very Sylvian. Also the little ambient bits that embellish the track. BUt the vibraphone makes it Bark-ish.

2) first song -- "From What Is Said..." -- love this track, especially the numerous guitar textures : the wah-wah that bubbles in the background, the "Hex" guitar that trickles through midway -- and of course THAT guitar ... I want this song to go on and on and on before reaching THAT point -- but of course that's the while point of why the song was structured like this : to make you yearn for the calm that you just lost. (love the airplane effect towards the end too. Is that a guitar also? Genius. Is there a more apt sound for the theme? I doubt it.) And I like how you can't quite sing the lyrics along with him because they aren't sung as they're printed. THis recalls the song "Hex", but is more successful in my opinion.

3) 400 Winters -- big shocker when I saw the lyrics (totally different from what I imagined them to be) and also to see that it was a woman singing! It always sounded too smooth to be Graham's voice, but since it's so low I still assumed it was a man. (I should explain : I'm an unrepenting shoegazer, so I'm used to hearing airy voices of both genders -- that may be why it's much easier for me to assume that this was a male singing than it would be for the rest of you who don't listen to a lot of MBV, etc.) Still love the song, regardless of who's singing it and what they're saying -- possibly even more now actually, for having been fooled so well. Anyone else have this sort of double disorientation (gender, lyrics) with this song?

ok got to get back to work now, but there's a start. Chime in with your thoughts on the album, nd I'll catch up when I can.

http://www.stylusmagazine.com/feature.php?ID=1133

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0002AZ4A4/qid=1093507003/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_11_1/202-0964623-8501447

Don't you see it as a bit of both though? A bit of expectation as well as love for the medium that's driving this? I say that because Graham is a notorious prefectionist, and perfectionism is essentially self-imposed pressure and self-imposed expecatation. And while perfectionism can be destructive for those who can't control it in themselves, it can also be useful and creative for those who can control it. On one side there's the inability to function due to the fear of messing up, but on the other side, there's an extra effort put into everything, so that everything done -- even trivial things --seems a little bit better than most, a little more refined than what would normally be expected in the situation. It's a difficult line to walk, (I know from experience -- both from having pulled it off and also from having overdone it).

So I think it's wise of him to have both a "day job" (producing) as well as a "night job" (making music), so that he doesn't have to feel compromised -- so that he can make his art slowly, for himself, instead of on a set schedule to meet the demands of a major record company, but he can still function day-to-day : still have a steady income and so on.

Thanks for all the links Sick/Nick! I'd actually read those all before, but it was good to read them again after having heard the album. I agree with you on many of your points, but want to quibble a little about the "Spirit of Eden" comparison ... I don't hear it.

Yes, I agree, it's almost irresistable to link "Dust" with "Spirit" simply because the same drummer's on board, but I think the sound and mood of "Dust" is much closer to Orang than to Talk Talk. There's a slightly sinister feel (like Massive Attack, but not as overt) and denseness that are more akin to, say the first two songs on Orang's "Herd" or to "Seizure" than to anything on "Spirit" (except maybe "Desire").

"Hex", in my opinion is a much better comparison to "Spirit" since both have fragility and sparkle and sparseness and reverence.

Oh, the song I was comparing to David Sylvian is the one that begins : "Did you ever hear the one ..." so what is that -- "Burning the City?" I still can't figure out the song titles! Great song. Love all the little tinny drum sounds in it. Lee is without a doubt my favorite drummer, and I like how he's always finding new ways to tickle our ears on both ends of the sound spectrum -- in the bass and the treble.

ha! you flatter me. I didn't even have time to run them through a spellchecker!

yes, I agree about it being a return to old forms, but a revision, not a copying. Kind of like how "From what ..." is an improved version of the b-side called "Hex". And the mood is similar to the "Independency" stuff -- tense and spiney.

*adjusts bookmarks*

Getting into A Mountain of One has made me pull out Hex quite a bit - I guess the former are like Bark Psychosis with an added dose of 80s. Anyway, I'm struck, as always, by how magical Hex is. Such a good album. The only less-than-perfect track is "Fingerspit", which sounds a bit sickly at times. But that shimmering sound they perfect on "Absent Friend" and "Eyes & Smiles" (where the keyboards sound like guitars and the guitars sound like keyboards) is breathtaking.

I absolutely love Codename: Dustsucker, but I have yet to pick up Hex because I've never found it used. And I'm getting impatient.

i wonder if they'll ever do another record?

also, I ultimately decided that yes, dustsucker is better than hex.

fans might also like the songs of green pheasant album that just came out; it's slightly more lo-fi than BP but has much of that same windswept feel that the opening tracks of dustsucker have.

Graham's apparently working on new BP stuff. Expect it in 2014. Seriously.

I'm willing to play the long game on that one. Meantime, I must check out A Mountain of One at last here.

That Songs of the Green Pheasant album sounds lovely based on the clips at the Fat Cat site. I'm going to shell out for that today.

Codename is really good, but I don't know if I would say it's better than Hex. Hex has more interesting instrumentation in my opinion and the arrangements are more complex. This could be the fact that I've been listening to it for many years longer and it thus has more emotional resonances.

It's quite easy to "acquire" Hex through the usual outlets. Regardless, someone needs to reissue it.

'Hex' also has more memorable songs...(you could hum "Absent Friend" for Jesus)...

Beautiful beautiful Hex.

i still think codename:dustsucker is better. but i'm not going to quibble since they're all good

i left my copy of hex back in the UK (i'm living in japan right now). let the withdrawal symptoms begin :((

Am I the only one that likes Independency the most?

God, what an unbearably incredible CD that is.

I think it would be vainglorious at best to choose between the three. Let us not forget the utter beauty that is Blue, either, which sadly seems to get lost a lot.

The tracks on Blue are available on the compilations. Regardless, I have the 12" on white vinyl which methinks is pretty kick-ass.

Love Dustsucker.

yup. particularly this track

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Znr1JivdoXY

I just got it back after a long loan to a neighbour, and I got new speakers since then. WOW.

terrific record and band. are "they" still doing stuff?

nicely timed bump btw, considering first post...

probably do a new album in 15 years.

In the final analysis I prefer Dustsucker to Hex.

I will have to agree with akm. Dustsucker ultimately wins it over Hex, but both are astonishing.

Hex over dustsucker or Dustsucker over Hex? too hard to imagine at this time

terrific record and band. are "they" still doing stuff?

Think he's just producing these days: http://roughtradeproducers.com/sutton.php

Friendly dude, he's on Facebook.

i didn't like dustsucker at all. i miss the spaces in between. he's too skilled as a producer now, better when he didn't know anything at all.

wow, i didn't realise he did all those rough trade records, i should pay more attention

[snowpony made a second album????]

Haha yes they did. I think I have it around somewhere...

Hex feels so right, I almost wish it was their only release.

Yeah, but then you'd have no Tooled Up, no Blue, no Dustsucker. All awesome. I think I prefer Dustsucker to Hex these days; bits of Hex are stratospherically beautiful, but it feels a little gauche, a little too inthrall to influences, whereas I really don't know of anything else that does the same job as Dustsucker.

And also no Scum, which always blows me away.

I had to revive this thread to brag a little: I found the "Nothing Feels"/"I Know" 12" in a rekkid shop in Brooklyn this past weekend, basically untouched. I have never ever seen anything from Bark Psychosis on vinyl over here, so that was exciting. I love the little chuckle Graham Sutton lets out at the end of "I Know"... Beautiful, timeless stuff.

That's a good find, Clarke! Never seen that 12" in real life.

Miss these guys/this guy, in the Bark Psychosis imprint... Something sure is missing after 'Dustsucker', in today's music. Feels like there just is this gap that only BP could fill.

totally know what you mean. they need to put out a new record.

totally know what you mean. they need to put out a new record.

He's too busy producing British Sea Power and the Delays.

if you are hankering after some more BP you should try & track down the 'Yahweh' LP and 'Road Movie' 10" by Shiva Affect, a short-lived early 90s band produced by Sutton

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7rqO8uGtrU

I've got an affection for BSP, and only just now, through Elvis Telecom, found out he produces them!

Will search out Shiva Affect, thanks zappi!

Yeah, thanks zappi... I feel like I've been seeing a lot more early '90s vinyl popping up used in my weekly-ish expeditions, which is fantastic.

Blood Rush is fantastic! Somehow it manages to perfectly conjure the headtrip of being on mushrooms.

Blood Rush? What is that? Is there a new BP album?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gy9lLH8t4Rk

Miss these guys/this guy, in the Bark Psychosis imprint... Something sure is missing after 'Dustsucker', in today's music. Feels like there just is this gap that only BP could fill.

yep. can't believe it's been 8 years since dustsucker, thread inspired a listen, i have to be in the right mood for his voice, otherwise perfect album

Blood Rush is off one of the very early pre-Hex EPs.

It's also on Independency, which for my money is still my favourite BP disc.

i first got into bark psychosis after reading one of nick's reviews, before i found ILX! anyway, thanks for that, BP are great. :)

that song has an interesting use of the rubber ducky too

http://sickmouthy.com/2013/02/03/bark-psychosis-codenamedustsucker-2004%E2%80%A8/

Great album. I listened to Hex the other day, such a wonderful album. As close to a perfect homage to late Talk Talk as it comes. I worked my way through the singles and EP's a while back as well. I totally forgot how entrancing 'Scum' is.

Dustsucker is great as well. I wonder if there will ever be another Bark Psychosis release. I guess anything is possible after 'm b v'.

There’s a new vinyl pressing of Hex around at the moment, not sure if it is legit or not.

Graham's apparently working on new BP stuff. Expect it in 2014. Seriously.

― Scik Mouthy, Wednesday, August 22, 2007 6:55 PM (5 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Holding out.

Nick, do you happen to know if he's still in Argentina?

Graham emailed me yesterday; the new Hex vinyl is nothing to do with him and is just a needle drop from the CD, so avoid.

Dunno if he's in Argentina, but he's been working on a third These New Puritans album which he's very excited about.

I thought that may be the case, so many of these are at the moment. Disappointing.

Yeah, I'd expected as much from that recent issue of 'Hex'. A shame because my original copy is a bit noisy so I'd be up for replacing it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bp2_JBO8Bk4

^ old, but i never saw it before

odds on a new album in 2014?

Oof, sounds like there was some bad monitoring going on in parts of that.

Long piece on Hex coming up from Wyndham Wallace at the Quietus, apparently.

Just ordered Hex reissue on vinyl. Anyone know if the Sleuth pressing is decent?

I believe Graham warned people off a reissue recently as it had nothing to do with him, I'm afraid. Dunno if it's that one though.

http://thequietus.com/articles/15990-bark-psychosis-hex-graham-sutton-interview

There has to be a new album in the works, right? It's 2014! Every 10 years he makes an album, I mean c'mon already.

Maybe Graham Sutton is waiting for Scott Walker to blink first.

I did tweet at him the other day about it being ten years!

loved reading that article.
if wyndham is a lurker, then can i just say thanks.
it was a great read.
i have the cd issue of hex, and the o.rang album, but never really understood the whole groove ..
at times, the quietus really is the best.

Yeah that was an excellent article. I only got Hex a couple of years ago and I still didn't really know anything about the backstory, so it was really interesting.

Bloodrush, man. WOW.

Apparently they are reissuing their two albums.

YESSSSSS! About time! @RoughTrade @GPSutton 👏🏻 pic.twitter.com/EwgcfBaiLe

— Nigel Wallis (@Mole_9) June 23, 2017

^^ retweeted by Graham Sutton

^ Nice. Sold my copy of Hex when needing some money earlier this year, brilliant news.

still have the cds but if they put these out on vinyl that would be nice.

also, Hex was reissued on vinyl, but there was something dodgy or unauthorized about it

I'd hope there'd be some bonus stuff

I prefer the trio material, is that still available?

This is excellent news. Was the Vinylissimo (sp?) reissue from a few years back official?

Just noticed that there's a new Coldharbourstores thing, too. I'd not heard of them - worth a listen?

Aha!

Dunno if they're included but I wrote Graham some sleevenotes for Dustsucker a few months ago...

Oh so you're the guy.

:-D

colharbourstores were good but they're certainly different from bark psychosis

Has anything been heard of John Ling? He seemed to disappear in the 90s from what I heard.

That's what Graham meant when he wrote, "Great pains / time / money have been used to do this properly". Decent sleeve notes!! ;-)

https://www.roughtrade.com/events/fearless-the-making-of-post-rock-jeanette-leech-graham-sutton-in-conversation

I still don't know the order of events -- ie, whether they already knew each other before she started writing the book, or whether they met because she started writing the book and interviewing people -- but it's fun that Jeanette and Graham ended up getting married. Power couple right there!

revisiting codename dustsucker and i've gotta say (and someone probably did) that track one basically invented grizzly bear

Nice try, but I'm still not going to listen to Grizzly Bear

shapeshifting sounds like movietone with a michio kurihara guest guitar solo

I was in London for this talk at Rough Trade. It was fairly interesting and a happy accident that I ended up in the shop just before the talk began. Wish they had played some examples of the music that influenced the sound.

Oh cool, do you remember much about what was said?

In parts. Talked about the influences of the sound. The differences in the U.K. and US post rock principals / sound. The research & writing process. A couple anecdotes. Some other known musicians were in the audience but I forgot who they are now.

revisiting codename dustsucker and i've gotta say (and someone probably did) that track one basically invented grizzly bear

it's the vocal harmonies as much as the music. i don't think i'm insane, i can't actually unhear it now

hex double vinyl remaster?

https://boomkat.com/products/hex-2fe2e77f-2575-4820-88f4-b763cf63e88d

Cd's supposed to be remastered too and finally got the mix it should have done if the band weren't falling apart at the time or something. So have wondered if it sounds much different to the original release which i think I still have.

Also wondering if Sutton might remaster the Che era stuff and recompile it.

that would be nice. I'll be buying this, more to support the band and Sutton and show interest than anything else; I do wish it wasn't a double 45 release, I hate those. But still.

They have a Bandcamp page if you want to go direct. I'm assuming the FLAC is 24bit.

Hard to tell how different the new master is but the previews sound nice enough.

XXP - The album is remixed??

Has anyone established whether it actually sounds any different/better? (It always sounded close to perfect to me).

From one faintly distracted listen last night, not A-B tested (though I did listen to the original, via a different method, the day before), I feel like some of the guitar is slightly more prominent, and some of the background/ambient sounds. Specifically Graham's spooky, scratchy, mood/rhythm guitar bits (not the sparkly, beatific, weary lead melodies). The whole effect of which is to feel a little less smooth. And closer, ever so slightly, to Dustsucker.

That's funny because the impression I had from the clips on BK was that the overall 'texture' was a bit smoother (than the origin CD.) Like, slightly more controlled compression, more bass and a more 'open' midrange. Which certainly might make for a better listen, if not dramatically so. A tasteful modern mastering job in other words.

Low bitrate preview clips are of course useless for evaluating this kind of thing, but Sutton says it's better and I'll give him the benefit if the doubt on that.

The original has always sounded pretty good but also for some reason I've never wanted to play it that much and I am intrigued by the prospect of a refreshed version.

It's not been remixed AFAIK.

I make no apologies for the hi-fi mag / Hoffman forums tone of some of the above. My embarrasment should suffice. ;-)

Sleevenotes don't mention remixing, just remastering.

More open midrange would explain the increased prominence of Graham's spooky scratch guitar, actually.

Feel sure that this must have been posted somewhere but just in case:

http://thequietus.com/articles/15990-bark-psychosis-hex-graham-sutton-interview

I thought i read something from Sutton somewhere about it finally getting the mix it deserved, or would have got if he wasn't feeling the effect of teh band falling apart at the time of release. Can't think where out of several magazines though.

It's a fine sounding record anyway imho, remaster or otherwise

Codename: Dustsucker reissue on the way:

https://barkpsychosis.bandcamp.com/album/codename-dustsucker

things i've never heard til today: bark psychosis (heard of them round here over 16 years but i'm either first or last it seems).i been playing through fire records stuff thanks to learning about and playing lots of virginia wing.

enjoying the hell out of codename dustsucker. i guess just in time for reissue! still not heard hex yet tho. ~anticipation~

I'm jealous! They are one of the best bands ever, ever, ever...

Che material needs a new one disc comprehensive home.

the two cheree eps were collected on one cd. it's over there (points 5ft to his left). discogs doesn't list anything else.

https://www.discogs.com/Bark-Psychosis-Nothing-Feels-I-Know/release/690188

ah, there was a track on the flexi

B1 –Bark Psychosis Clawhammer

Never much cared for Codename: Dustsucker. Hex and Independency are mostly classic, though.

dustsucker was the first one i heard (courtesy of a nick southall review, i think!), and i still love it and connect to it a bit more than their earlier albums (which i also like)

This is a rather random little essay but has a few tidbits about early BP.

https://christopherothen.wordpress.com/2017/12/01/the-bark-psychosis-stanley-kubrick-connection/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j09xsVXSuUk

JUst reading that bark psychosis/kubrick thing and the writer's wrong, they didn't go to Bancrofts which was the other local public school in the area. they went to Forest School. Certainly from the age of about 11 to when they left school.

Piece in stereogum on hex’s 25th birthday:
https://www.stereogum.com/2031861/bark-psychosis-hex-turns-25/franchises/sounding-board/

i never understood the fuss about hex. nothing special really, nice to listen to but quite boring. codename dustsucker on the other hand totally knocked me out. they reached another level on that album.

BUYER BEWARE: RSD issue of Bark Psychosis “Independency” is unapproved and made despite being asked not to.
No approval of tracklisting.
No approval of artwork.
No approval of mastering.
No approval of pressings.
Can't vouch for veracity of masters used.
You get the picture.

— Graham • Sutton (@GPSutton) March 1, 2019

Did anyone pick this up despite it not being legit? I saw a copy yesterday that had somehow not been purchased on RSD, but given Graham's tweet above and the $40 price tag, I ultimately decided to pass it up. I hope this wasn't a mistake. Hopefully there will be a proper reissue at some point?

I did. Listened to it last night and it actually sounds pretty great!!

Guessing, despite Graham’s comments, that they must’ve had some sort of decent masters to work with.

Picked it up but not listened to it yet. Also sent me off to finally order the “Blue” and “A Street Scene” CD singles which have now arrived.

I was so conflicted about this one. As well as your comment about the quality of the sound Alan, a few people on Discogs have said it sounds excellent. As soon as it was announced it was at the top of my list, but Graham's comments stopped me from getting it. We have one copy left at work and it's calling my name.

I asked Graham if he’d ever remaster Independency and he suggested there were significant legal issues with doing so, iirc. No idea what.

The legal issue will be Gerald Palmer’s ownership of the masters.

I ended up picking up this reissue and have to say, it sounds really great. Just as good as the recent Hex and Codename vinyl reissues.

So Independency, Game Over and Replay have now hit streaming services? Really didn't expect this at all.

nice!

Files were upped on Boomkat a couple of months ago but Graham asked them to take them down and they complied almost immediately, so I guess Third Stone were responsible.

well, i'm happy to hear independency again.

Is there any plans to reissue the non-album stuff?

Struggled to decide which thread to flag this on ...

https://acerecords.co.uk/in-the-light-of-time

Great track listing.

This looks great but I feel picky about a couple of the inclusions on here.

Hate to nit pick as all these tracks are great but no Butterfly Child or Papa Sprain?

Appliance are not great imho, or relevant, ESoJ too.

Yes, surprising that Butterfly Child weren't on there.

I felt strangely enthused about this last night - just glad to see those bands being documented together - without ever having a need to buy the album (as I'd have every track on there that I'd want).

Made this a few years ago (probably with wine). Surprised I omitted Piano Magic and Hood and not sure Montgolfier Brothers and Bitter Springs quite fit the timeline:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0WNCUK2moLElB1CeOkMxVm

I felt strangely enthused about this last night - just glad to see those bands being documented together - without ever having a need to buy the album (as I'd have every track on there that I'd want).

Yeah, would agree with this (while simultaneously being very irritated that Butterfly Child/Joe is not on there).

Surprised that O'Rang are not on that comp as well, or Long Fin Killie for that matter. Would have been nice if it went all in on the mid-90's era post-rock stuff.

Then again, licensing etc. Probably good (and mundane) reasons why the obvious artists aren't repped. (See also: MBV/When You're Awake You're Still in a Dream.)

x-posts. Butterfly Child seems an omission and there might be a practical reason for it (or the compiler might just not have liked). But, regardless, it's a better version of those years than any other compilation trying to recall the UK nineties, I'd reckon.

Casts a wider net and obviously lacks some of the key UK bands but this is still the benchmark comp of the first wave postrock era imo:

https://www.discogs.com/release/178563-Various-Monsters-Robots-And-Bug-Men-A-Users-Guide-To-The-Rock-Hinterland

Virgin Ambient was on a roll there, for a while.

Yes, great compilation but with a slightly different perspective. Have in my head that Simon Hopkins was behind some awesome compilations.

Yes, and Kodwo Eshun did the amazing Routes From The Jungle comp which I believe was part of the Ambient series.

think Kevin Martin did the Monsters one. David Toop was behind lots of the others

oh no you're quite right, was Hopkins my apologies!

Tangentally related, I'd check out the two Southeast Of Saturn comps too.

Yes! Will stan for Majesty Crush all the livelong day.

Random Monday night thought: did "In The Light of Time" get much coverage and/or prompt any interesting writing/interviews?

Nothing seen on any of the stops that I frequented since it was released. Maybe it's not yet the right moment for a UK post-rock / lost generation resurgence? Despite the stupidly accelerated culture in the West, some music just needs time to get properly lost before it can be rediscovered.

Just checked and yeah, it's been less than 15 years since Biggie Samuels did those excellent "Post-Rocktoberfest" compilations on his Bubblegumcage blog.

somewhat tangential but … the distance between the quality of the music and quality of album title with “code name: dustsucker” remains astonishing

30th anniversary of Hex, apparently.

Hell of an album still.

Absolutely.

A massive album. And Dustsucker will turn 20 in July of this year. Still holding on for one more BP album but yeah, so much time has passed

The Boymerang album turned 25 a couple years back, with little to no fanfare.

wonder if there's a place in the US I can order these reissues, shipping from the uk is crazy

https://christopherothen.wordpress.com/2017/12/01/the-bark-psychosis-stanley-kubrick-connection/

As someone who lived in Wanstead/South Woodford in the Che and early Rocket Girl years (distinct from the Cheree ones), I enjoyed reading that.