The music industry is vicious. It is competitive, it is ever-changing and it demands a lot of artists and their labels. Fighting to keep your name alive isn’t always achievable, and all too often great bands are forgotten about, especially if they break up or go on an indefinite hiatus. In this feature we’ve unearthed just a few ‘Lost Treasures’ from the musical archives; by doing so we attempt to make sure that the memory of these bands survives just a little bit longer…
McCarthy
McCarthy are one of the true hidden gems of the indie genre. Formed in 1984 in Barking in the barren wasteland that is Essex. They arrived on the wave of other mid-80’s indie groups with a “jangly” sound, spearheaded by The Smiths. The band were active between 1985-1990 and had three albums, I Am a Wallet, The Enraged Will Inherit the Earth and Banking, Violence and Inner Life Today, all of which failed to gain mass commercial success. The track ‘Celestial City’ was included on the highly revered NME compilation album ‘C86.’
Sound wise, as mentioned above, parallels can be drawn between The Smith’s sound to McCarthy’s sound. Jangly 60’s reminiscent 12 string guitars and although Morrissey and Tim Gane hail from opposite ends of the country their voices are hauntingly similar. The characteristic that sets McCarthy apart from so many of the other 80’s bands that were springing up at a similar time is their left wing tongue in cheek song titles and lyrics such as, ‘Now Is the Time for an Iron Hand,’ ‘Should the Bible be Banned?’ and ‘An MP Speaks.’
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9F0pIhc_iXg]
Although being fairly obscure McCarthy still have an influence on other music. Most notably with highly political Welsh band Manic Street Preachers who covered the song ‘We Are All Bourgeois Now” and whose bassist Nicky Wire said of McCarthy “The great lost band of the 80’s.”
i particularly recommend listening to ‘Keep An Open Mind Or Else,’ ‘The Drinking Song of the Merchant Bankers’ and ‘An MP Speaks.’
Words by Joe Gray
Japan
Formed in South London in 1974, Japan gained notable success in the late 70s and early 80s with the experimental single ‘Ghosts’ before calling it a day in 1982. Their influence can most definitely be seen in early Duran Duran albums (and the appearance of Nick Rhodes?) who were shot to the stratosphere of pop fame in the 1980’s.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zzLU1ato2w]
During the 8 years they were together and 5 albums released, Japan went through various image and musical changes. Early albums such as ‘Adolescent Sex’ and ‘Obscure Alternatives’ came with a post-punk New York Dolls wannabes image with long hair and makeup to their last album ‘Tin Drum’ creating a stylish image becoming new wave innovators.
The compatibility of Mick Karn’s bass sounds and Steve Jansen’s drums is a match made in heaven, Rob Dean’s guitar and obviously David Sylvian’s unmistakeable vocals with Richard Barbieri’s synthesisers paving the way as keyboards ultimately become a signature for subsequent 80s bands.
Words by Olivia Walsh
The Field Mice
From 1987 to 1991, indie pop five piece The Field Mice garnered positive but sleepy critical attention. They have mostly faded into distant memory – in 1999 a double album compilation was released which was more popular than they’d been in their functioning years but this too late success petered out similarly.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIppK6kDCUM]
Their first single, ‘Emma’s House’s’, remains their most popular. It’s infectiously catchy, and it’s not hard to imagine that if The Field Mice had emerged just a few years later they could be remembered with much more clarity. They seem almost like a prototype Belle and Sebastian at times, formed around the same youthful tweeness and lyrics such as ‘you have nothing to live up to / you have nothing to live down’ could easily be imagined as Murdoch’s own.
If they give The Field Mice the chance they deserve, fans of Belle and Sebastian or more recent indie pop acts such as Allo Darlin’ might find themselves a hidden gem.
Words by Ashley Woodvine
Milburn
Milburn are far from a household name in the world of indie rock n roll, but they are quite possibly the most influential band produced in Great Britain in the 21st century.
Milburn formed in Sheffield in 2001, and became local legends; mixing spiky, catchy riffs with a mate-from-down-the-pub Yorkshire accent. It was whilst dominating the Sheffield music scene that Milburn inspired their mates to form a band of a similar style, the name of the band that subsequently formed? The Arctic Monkeys.
You can hear their influence in every project that the ‘Monkeys have undertaken, listen to the Milburn track ‘That’s Not The Only Way To A Man’s Heart’ and tell me that Alex Turner & co didn’t rip it off when writing ‘When the Sun goes Down’.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJqGxHseVXM]
Many recognisable aspects of British indie-pop can be traced back to Milburn and the band claim to have the original music fan site.
After 7 years and two albums, time had passed Milburn by and they never quite joined the elites of the 00s indie boom, they played their last gig in 2008, leaving devastated die-hard fans in their wake.
Words by Matt Ganfield
Razorlight
The last you heard from Razorlight frontman Johnny Borrell was probably back when he declared himself as talented as, if not better than Bob Dylan: “Well, put it this way, compared to the Razorlight album [Bob] Dylan is making the chips. I’m drinking champagne”. And oh, how things have changed.
Following a Razorlight hiatus, Borrell’s debut solo album ‘Borrell 1’ sold a measly 594 copies and even failed to make the Top 100. However, his huge ego isn’t completely misplaced; in their noughties heyday of British indie rock, along with bands like The Libertines, The Kooks, Keane and Franz Ferdinand, Razorlight released two fantastic albums and topped the charts with a series of catchy singles now synonymous with the decade.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iun3RtbCE6A]
From humble beginnings as a garage band in London and various line-up changes later, 2004’s Up All Night scored the four piece a number two hit in ‘Somewhere Else’. Receiving favourable reviews and playing at Live 8 in Hyde Park, things were certainly looking up for the lads. Even more so when their eponymous sophomore LP dropped in 2006, a time when their indie rock/post-punk revivalist sound was en vogue, going on to land the band a supporting slot for The Who and appearances on every Now! That’s What I Call Music album for the year. ‘In the Morning’, ‘Before I Fall to Pieces’ and ‘I Can’t Stop This Feeling I’ve Got’ became radio staples and unquestionably Razorlight’s most iconic track, ‘America’ had the British public panicking in America for weeks on end (ironically, the track never bothered the charts stateside).
After having enjoyed such breakthrough success, Borrell and co. suffered a rather lumbering fall from grace and have been all but forgotten, despite a flop 2008 release, random festival gigs, band members quitting and promises of new material. From kings of British indie to talented but unfortunate has-beens, perhaps it’s time that Razorlight rediscover their ‘Golden Touch’.
Words by Kristen Sinclair
Which bands do you think are ‘Lost Treasures’? Tell us @indie_pendent_
[Feature compiled by Olivia Walsh]