half man half biscuit: classic or dud

The HMHB singer shares his name with the big cheese in my company.....

and songs like 4 skinny indie kids and Evil Gazebo are so spot on in their obsevations on indie music.

HMHB are gigging too, in fact they're in London tonight, for some reason I'm not going. and they only play down here once a year, when it doesn't clash with Tranmere games, contrary gits.

Today I am dodging men in ill-advised summer shorts, so it's:

"Opinionated weather forecasters telling me it's going to be a miserable day. Miserable to who? I quite like a bit of drizzle, so stick to the facts."

eg.
Tour Jacket With Detachable Sleeves
Styx Gig (Seen By Mates Coming Out Of)
Sponsering the Moshpit
Song For Europe
Split Single With Happy Lounge Labelmates
Secret Gig
Children of Apocalyptic Techstep
Four Skinny Indie Kids
Joy Division Oven Gloves
Eno Collaboration
Bad Review
Used To Be In Evil Gazebo
Deep House Victims Minibus Appeal
With Goth On Our Side
On Finding The Studio Banjo (title only)

plus others.

am absolutely bingeing on these guys at the moment. it is such wonderful music, especially when you've just been rogered at football. just listening to album after album is a joy. "It's Clichéd To Be Cynical At Christmas" actually gave me a warm fuzzy feeling. one of the very, very finest christmas songs, surely.

new album, CSI: Ambleside, drops April 28

They've done a couple of songs live which will presumably be on CSI: Ambleside - I'll try to get these on my Half Man half Biscuit lyrics site as soon as I can decipher them.

Oh d'uh - I meant my My Half Man Half Biscuit lyrics site - apologies for my idiocy.

The Cornbury Festival this year features, on one day, on one stage, HMHB, Nick Lowe, and Toots and the Maytals. That's some impressive work.

http://bp3.blogger.com/_UDIt01-jiOk/R_pqvucV33I/AAAAAAAAAAU/P-dwlSnloo4/s1600/CSI%2BCover.bmp

So fucking stoked.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51%2BMb9GuIDL._SS500_.jpg

http://cobweb.businesscollaborator.com/hmhb/images/sleeves/Ambleside_inside2.jpg

This has made my fucking night.

Are they CAMRA men on t' cover

TS: HMHB's 'Blue Badge Abuser' vs Goldie Lookin Chain's 'Bad Boy Limp'

Straight up though this is pretty great so far

Anybody have any thoughts on the new album? I'm still waiting to get it.

My DiS review goes up tomorrow I think, I approve of it.

Better than Achtung Bono. Took problem chimp to Ideal Home Show is just plain weird - I'm trying to think what it reminds me of sounds-wise and I can't figure it out.

This is what I had to say: http://www.drownedinsound.com/release/view/13300

Pam Ayres - 'orses = lol

looking forward to hearing the new one- achtung bono was pretty good.

I liked 'Achtung Bono' better, but it's just after the first listening. 'National Shite Day' is a classic though.

RFI: micro-item in this week's NME about David Cameron and Jeremy Clarkson watching HMHB perform at the Cornbury Festival, whatever that is

Cornbury festival: ultimate Range Rover and picnic hamper festival, held in a country estate near the village where I grew up. God only knows what HMHB were doing playing there.

new material for "Paintball's Coming Home (Take Three)"

I've never heard of this band. I also thought I was in ILE and went, "oOH GOD NO WHO IS THIS POOR POOR MAN-BISCUIT", expecting to click and see another "tree man".

Whew. And now I get to check out a band I've never heard.

They're really good too!

Cornbury festival: ultimate Range Rover and picnic hamper festival, held in a country estate near the village where I grew up. God only knows what HMHB were doing playing there.

-- Neil S, Wednesday, 16 July 2008 17:07 (9 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc16/Pee75/Image1.jpg

Yeah, that.

these AMG clips are pretty pleasing and "Used To Be In Evil Gazebo" is a pretty funny song title (providing that Evil Gazebo is another band I haven't heard of, otherwise I don't get it).

I've always wondered about this band. I always link them to Steel Pole Bath Tub and Terminal Cheesecake in terms of wacky band names.

National Shite Day = new favourite song

Complete and utter classic. Barely a day goes by when I don't inwardly chuckle at some HMHB lyric or other which has randomly popped into my head.

National Shite Day is clearly the best song on this album. I wouldn't mind if it had been twice as long as now.

second half of this album has been absolutely top-tier, weirdly a very backloaded record imo

the last two tracks are amazing

nigel leaning hard into the 'lovely' at times here, extremely elegiac and beautiful yes

On second thoughts, this really is all prime stuff. He's getting so good at character studies

What's an 'onion batch'?

a type of bread

As seen on Taskmaster

https://i.imgur.com/vkCo9bG.jpeg

new one out

not their best, went back to The Voltarol Years afterwards and christ it's monumental isn't it

new one has Rawlplugs of Yesteryear at least

"Voltarol Years" was great especially after a couple of mid albums.

"Oh, I do like to re-release me B-sides..."

I was just about to post about that track! Its a standout

this is excellent wtf lj

Falmouth Electrics and No One Likes a Polymath are both exceptional imv. not sure how long exactly Falmouth Electrics will last as a track but by god it made me laugh.

midway through my first listen, seems like the strongest in a while. thought voltarol a bit hit and miss despite having a few all timers.

almost certainly the worst cover art they have ever put out

I mean, imo Voltarol is one of the greatest British albums of all time at this point

well as long as we can agree hmhb would be on such a list

more than once

Imago, HMHB POX please?

Albums or songs?

Preferably kneejerk because I have a four-hour train ride in several hours and I don't do streaming, I have to put actual mp3s and such on a walkman

Songs!

Dagnabbit that was fast!

Oh right lol

the one i heard on the radio rhymed treadle (table) with (beth) tweddle.

quite enamoured with that one, the bliss of the hereafter

like idk.

Fear My Wraith
Dead Men Don't Need Season Tickets
A Country Practice
Ballad Of Climie Fisher
Gubba Look-a-likes
Them's The Vagaries
Took Problem Chimp To Ideal Home Show
National Shite Day
Excavating Rita
Slipping The Escort

didn't think about this hard enough

As with Willy Shakespeare, the tragedies are better

(okay, that's a gross generalisation lol and also not quite true in either case)

(but as with Shakespeare, plenty to laugh at in the tragedies too!)

Cheers imago, I really put you on the spot there. Looking forward to hearing those ten through headphones as I stare out at the Humid Lands

Do HMHB do romances? 'cause those are my favorite Shakespeare of all

Three of the above are romances of various sorts

them's the vagaries might be the best song ever recorded

Do your POX devvvine!

I started mine off by doing an OPO from each album but then started doing multiples and honestly I might have to sub in Grafting Haddock In The George for Dead Men...

*each IMPERIAL ERA album

(era largely ongoing)

as an American I'm still not convinced this is an actual band and not just a Dom Passantino bit.

Which begs the question: is there a US equivalent to HMHB?

I'm not even sure there's a UK equivalent unless you're counting Sleaford Mods

absolutely not

regarding S Mods

closest equivalent is Horace or something idk

actually Horace was a bit posh

hmm

John Clare?

Do your POX devvvine!

― imago, Tuesday, 17 June 2025 16:52 (four hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

maybe this, done without thinking too much

oblong of dreams
tommy walshs eco house
this one's for now
somethings rotten in the back of iceland
them's the vagaries
bad losers on yahoo chess
soft verges
floreat inertia
monmore, hare's running
national shite day

90 bisodol would be my pick for best front to back record

i think the closest usa comparison would be like pissed jeans and you'd still be nowhere close

I'll try a POX

Turned Up Clocked On Laid Off
A Country Practice
National Shite Day
The Light at the End of the Tunnel (Is the Light of an Oncoming Train)
It's Clichéd to be Cynical at Christmas
Depressed Beyond Tablets
Excavating Rita
Awkward Sean
Them's The Vagaries
Faithlift

Them's the Vagaries and National Shite Day, three for three.

Imago, playlist is made & loaded. I'll report back.

ah Turned Up Clocked On Laid Off should have made my 10.

There's people who can't spell 'weird' right
Driving round with thousands in the bank
But I get by, got a lot on my mind
I get by, got allotments on my mind

Air circulation in the train sucks and I kept falling into miserably uncomfortable sleep for twenty seconds at a time. So listening conditions were not as nice as I imagined. But that was certainly innaresting.

Sting singing on the roof of the Barbican indeed!

You're a dead man, Fisher!