An evening of musical time-travel last Friday at Bush Hall courtesy of promoters Turning Worm. Headlining an eclectic bill were The Pipettes (as in The Pipettes!) who powered through another triumphant set of all the girl-group/doo-wop variations you can think of in their saucy, non-slick deadpan. And their string of pearls gets ever longer. New to reallyrather were Why did you stay (about the 'sweetie' who just takes all her crap and still won't stop being nice to her) and the slower-paced sophistication of It's not love (but it's still a feeling). Add these to the likes of One night stand, Judy, Kitchensink, Simon says, It's hurts to see you dance so well, Dirty mind, School uniform and The Pipettes Greatest Hits Vol.1 is shaping up super-nicely...

And from the sublime...
The Pips were immediately preceded by Ye Olde English Prog revivalists Circulus, all floppy felt hats and recorder solos a-gogo. Deadly earnest but with the faintest trace of the ridiculous (the only snatch of lyric this blog caught was a reference to 'Poundstretcher knickers') they at least kept their numbers comfortably the right side of 10 minutes in length. And to be fair a couple of them - instrumentals with one foot in the fifteenth century and the other in Manchester c.1990 - were fairly galvanizing. But as to whether this sort of thing ought to be encouraged reallyrather is deeply unsure - there were children in the room, for heaven's sake...

But what children! Kitty, Daisy & Lewis are the compelling teenage (13,14,15?) core of a family combo smashing out rockabilly/skiffle/jug band standards as if they'd just been invented. Mum and Dad (on upright bass and rhythm guitar respectively) might be on the back seat but it's the kids who are doin' the driving. Switching instruments and lead vocal duties at every number they evinced a genuine feel for material now almost half a century old. The girls have a mean-faced vocal style which dares you to not to take them seriously while Lewis sports to the slicked-back archetype of a young Elvis or Dion. It's an entirely familiar sound reinvigorated by free-spirited unselfconsciousness and no more astonishing than when the unlikely form of proto-slacker Kitty (14?) rips into another harmonica solo. It's sheer incongruity is undeniably part of the thrill.. but only a part and it was a thrill, spontaneously acclaimed...

Here's some ace show pics courtesy of Underexposed:
KittyDaisy&Lewis / Pipettes / Circulus

And others were there: a girl / a bloke

If Kitty, Daisy and Lewis were ever looking to evolve from the world of rockabilly retreads, Born to be a motorcycle, the gleefully chaotic, gloriously melodic debut album from San Diego's Bunky might point a way forward. Essentially Emily Joiner (drums, vocals) and Rafter Roberts (guitar, vocals) with a cast of musical friends providing faux shambolic and particularly enjoyable brass assists, Bunky's fondness for playfully perverse sonic gear-changes and, frankly, noise could put some folks off. But stick with it says reallyrather, there's loads to enjoy.

Girl you know you look so pretty
In that dinosaur outfit

The uncomplicated biffing drums, single-string riffing and scatting horns of Baba and Yes/no make for a cracking opening one-two. In the schizophrenic Funny like the moon Bunky bolt together the two sides of their sound in almost random fashion (like a David Lynch plotline). What is mostly a quite lovely lamplit slow waltz is interrupted - Blam! - briefly a couple of times by the fizzbombing refrain of the album's title. It shouldn't work but it's reallyrather's favourite song of the moment.
Something similar but slightly more extreme happens in the following Gotta pee while the wordless yelping of Boy/girl sounds like a duet between two seals.. still not quite skipworthy, though. But from there on in it's relatively plain-sailing, alternating riffing/vamping pop (Chuy, Glass of water) and quirky, trumpet-laced loveliness (Cute not beautiful, Heartbunk). As so many do, Bunky succumb to lasttrack-itis, Lipstick life being largely devoid of the all the spark and character of what's gone before. But even without it's four-and-a-half minutes, Born to be a motorcycle still stands as an out-of-the-blue early season winner...
Bunky / buy from Asthmatic Kitty

If you can't cope with Bunky's, well, Bunkiness you're unlikey to putting Bearsuit's next London date in your diary: May 18 The Metro...

Meanwhile, over at Schuba's in Chicago recently: M. Ward topped the bill, another blog hero Shelley Short, er, bottomed it (sorry, Shelley).. so who's this lot in the middle? Maybe we should know a bit more about Dr. Dog? The Underground Bee was there and took loads of pics...

Both Ward and Short have worked closely with Norfolk & Western's Adam Selzer over at his Portland fastness. reallyrather has no idea whether Sidney Alexis is familiar with his work but if not he's come to some remarkably similar conclusions about how things should sound. There's a Selzer-shaped sensibility hanging all over The shining example is lying on the floor by The Hotel Alexis which got a formal label release last week.
The instrument credits - organ, xylophone, steel guitar, melodica - are clues enough but in the first moments of the first track, The season for working, the N&W comparisons are unavoidable. And, more importantly, rather favourable. That track and others like Superman & vitamins work like a glass of red or a good hot bath - mellow, dark-brown anti-folk shot through with a glint of lap-steel; fine end-of-day fare. Alexis' voice isn't the strongest, most involving you'll ever hear but presented right up close in the mix it's a useful enough instrument in the context of such agreeable melancholia. (Kimberley Torres takes the Rachel Blumberg role occasionally here; it would've been nice if she'd featured more.)
How many of the ten substantial tracks are empty vessels? Er, none actually. Though it's a generally downbeat affair, stand-outs are the more rhythmically-arranged Comeback Kid and OK, and rather lovely closer Queens and the soft king. Aside from Norfolk&Western other reference points might be Wilco and the micro-releases favoured hereabouts from Chad King and Narrowcasting. A generally superior surprise considering it's low-key obscure life thus far and well worth your money...
The Hotel Alexis / buy via Parasol