Consider for a moment the fate of my copy of Senseless Things Got It At The Delmar EP. I bought it for £1 in a sale bin at Crash Records in Leeds after reading about them a lot and liking the Jamie Hewlett (of Tank Girl and Gorillaz fame) cover, got my mate to tape it for me, didn’t like it very much and then just put it away for 25 years. Not much of a life for a record is it?
Senseless Things were an indecently young band from Twickenham* who played a band of loud, tiptoeing-towards-rock indie that was common for a while when I was at university. They got heavier still when Seattle happened and cut a great track, with an even better title, ‘Homophobic Asshole’ but this is before all that.
The best thing about this EP is a dead heat between the cover art** and the first B-side ‘Fishing At Tescos’, which adds a strident acoustic guitar into the mix to great effect. It’s either a tale of stumbling around the titular^ supermarket off your face on drugs, or robbing free stuff out of magazines in the aforementioned titular supermarket. I really like this tune, it’s rather sunny and a bit devil-may-care, both of which appeal to my jaded old sensibilities.
The title track is good, yet slightly more run-of-the-mill thrashy indie, the sort of stuff that I’ve wobbled around many a student dance floor to in my time – it’s absolutely fine, has a very good bassline and a decent tune, but it just lacks the more obvious peaks and climaxes of rock. But, hey let’s not criticise cats for not braying (he said, cryptically). Absolutely the same comments apply to the second track ‘Beat To Blondie’ too, except I might change the end bit to something like ‘hey, let’s not criticise seals for not chirrupping’. The final track ‘Can’t Remember’ is a bit crap though so let’s damn that cow for not miaowing!
The band chugged around for a good few years afterwards and then split, but half of them enjoyed an incredibly successful renaissance with illustrator Jamie Hewlett’s flatmate in the Gorillaz – drummer Cass Browne and bassist Morgan Nicholls (the muso talent who does really stand out here). Let’s see if I can remember my Latin – They came, they flailed around, they split – Veni, Vilent, Vimusicaldifferencesaverunt. Close.
731 Down.
*home to the very epitome of all that is poxy, wretched, pus ridden, loathed and evil, the England Rugby team.
**that’s not a slighting comment, it s really good – gotta love indie chicks in stripey tights.
^never get tired of that word.
I wondered if any of this stuff might turn up in your back pages given when you were at Uni! Carter USM, Wonder Stuff, Senseless Things, Mega City 4, Neds Atomic Dustbin, various others, that pre-grunge / Britpop wave of indie that’s almost written out of history and seems to have had almost zero influence on later generations of bands.
There’s another Senseless Things EP with the same Hewlett indie girl and odd alien sidekick on the cover, and yet another with what looks like his rendering of Tank Girl as cave art, musical contents about the same quality as this one. I’m guessing I shouldn’t plan that retirement villa on the proceeds of three Jamie Hewlett EP covers…
I saw Neds at uni, they were good but I just found myself missing the drama and dynamics that grunge would later borrow from metal to gild the lily.
I’m no financial advisor but I am afraid if you were banking on a retirement abroad funded by 4 scrappy indie EPs picked up in the sales bin at Jumbo Records then it may behove you to make some alternative contingencies. Sorry.
Sounds like it’s had a better life than it deserved. Nice artwork though.
You’re about right.
I’m not going to listen to this and you can’t make me. So there!
I hereby invoke the eldritch phrase which compels persistence even unto death (EPWCPEUD) ‘I dare you’.
Mwah-ha-ha-ha! Foolish mortal (etc etc)
Aargh what fresh wizardry is this?!
It certainly is a fine cover. Do you like the SFA cartoon covers too? They are more, er, idiosyntractic (and rarely ^).
I do I bought all the singles from their first few LPs, partly on the strength of it. I miss being able to buy lots of singles.
Languishing for 25 years? It’s a wonder it forgave you!
I am the Lord of all Vinyl, my actions may never be questioned by mere 12″ singles.
Nor will I ever tire of that foot-noted adjective!
Were you Live At Leeds??! When you purchased this….Never ever heard of this as I think its of someone’s imagination! Make believe I say …..
Now where’s my Tropper album?
Barely Live At Leeds, more like! Tropper? who they? you definitely made that crew up.
HAHAHA….yes I did! I am Croc Mcghee Rock Manager of Fake Believe Bands….Can Con regulations apply….