paul - bass * dan - drums * ben - guitar and shapes * becky - keyboard and vocals * ben - vocals, guitar, keyboards, melodian, noises
Influences
sarah records style fuzz pop - tiger trap, aislers set, dressy bessy, deerhoof, go sailor, henrys dress, boyracer, mates of state etc etc...
...and of course columbo!!
Sounds Like
"A rather superb name and wonderfully endearing in their nave happiness and sugar-smiles. You've a penchant for surf pop, right? I think you'll love Times are bad for Dreamers with its unapologetic glee and love of a sunshine set of chords. Girl-boy vocals and tunes aplenty, songs short and sweet as they should be. What more could you want?" Slamshut- March 2004 **************************************************************
"...sounding like a groovy mix of the Beach Boys, Kaito and a soupcon of the Byrds (with a drum machine) and Kylie - in that when you listen to it you can't get it out of your head...this absolutely ..$%!ing ace" - Juicy ..5 Fanzine April 02 ***************************************************************
"Brisk zesty and thoroughly deserving of your adoration, the first crack-of-the-(liquorice)-whip from Nottingham's perplexingly monikered two-part-boy/one-part-girl pop machine believes passionately in the transcendent properties of the summer and of a young ladies haircut just so , is smart enough to create its own idea of cool and to run with it, and it joyfully scatters its store of bonbon melodies (and we're talking Gummi De Milo quality here) like carelessly-chucked confetti at a Beach Boys wedding. They impishly choose to start the ball rolling with the most eccentric piece of the entire sequence - that'll be the strangely uplifting ivories-like-icicles disarray of Playin Piano (On Your Teeth) - the band soon settle into playing their confident and distinctive easy-chord game as perfected on no-fi hits Upside Down and Heavy Rock Girl sounding for all the world like a buzzing transistor radio receiving two stations simultaneously (one playing the rasping trash guitars of early Pavement, with toe-tapping 60's schlock pop on t'other). One wouldn't expect a song called Poetry Recitals (featuring by the way a spunky bass-line to rival that of the Smiths Cemetery Gates) to be anything other than unrepentantly good-natured and sweet, but don't go expecting our bunnies always to be happy and sour notes never struck. Sunny Days in Paris for instance, kens well the currency of the romantic loser. Furthermore it will proceed to drown its sorrows in a stream of Space Invaders effects, and I like it. Then there's the crawling frustration of This Wallpaper Revival, which details in dry laconic fashion the perils posed to the couple by the infinite variety offered by the world of interior design; and of course The Clock on the Wall which murmurs something in your ear about the dark mysterious heart off the odd song by the Monkees or the Chocolate Watch Band, then has its wicked way with Lenny Kravitz'z Delicate for the chorus. If I could make one wish for this band, it would be for singers Ben and Becky to duet more as their names clearly suggest they should. As for you, reader dear, I advise you'll be wanting this in time for summer." Butterfly Crush- May 2004
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"Okay, let me set the scene; It's a beautiful sunny day, there's an Ice Cream Cola float in one hand, the cover to this Cd in your lap, with the fingers on your free hand snapping, and your boy/girlfriend on a sunbed next to you, doing exactly the same.. Actually, it's frickin' freezing & there's 6 inches of snow on the ground, but that's the image this Cd conjures up in your mind. ..pretty much every track on here is so memorable & catchy- and some surprisingly short- Standouts are Upside Down, a cute killer of a tune that'd make St Etienne green with envy, with Becky taking lead vocals, Alzheimers sees Ben's Byrds-esque vocals come to the fore, over a fuzzy, Subway Sect-like sweet & tasty post-punk rhythm, Like Girls Like You - probably my favourite, with great lyrics & a tune like strawberry bubblegum for your brain- but its immediately rivaled by the Buzzcocks-lite groove of Basement- and the clapalong I Can't See The Sun.. and the head-swaying Heavy Rock Grrl.. Oh, I can't decide what my fave is. That's gotta be the sign of a great album, eh? In fact, why bother choosing? Just grrooove along to the Boy/Girl Summer Fun Band" - 4.5/5 Juicy Fanzine- February 2004
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"They're a bit plinky-plonky in places as you might expect with a raw bedroom sound, but a good song is always a good song and they have at least half a dozen, such as Upside Down - the obvious single from this demo CD. I think they're influenced by the same obscure US bands that influence Homescience. And their effervescent sound reminds me in places of (circa 86 band) The fizzbombs (more recently The Secret Goldfish) whose "Sign on the Line" just had to be about the fizziest record ever made. And Poetry Recitals contains the immortal lines: There wer girls riding motorcycles/ to the poetry recitals; today you like quite oriental/ I sometimes wonder if I'm going insane." Out of the bedroom and into the studio seems the next obvious move." Wide Open Road- August 2004
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Having long been resigned to and content with the fact that Nottingham would only ever play host (through a bunch of great venues) to burgeoning talent it was an unexpected delight to stumble across the 'Experts via recomendations. Instantly enjoyable theirs is a type of music undeniably condemned to but not confined by the particularly overused tag of "summer pop" recalling The Beach Boys and The Byrds as well as St. Etienne's dreamy splendour. And, like everything that gets unceremoniously thrust under this category their music is truly, gloriously simple. One guitar set to the ABC of riffs and the chirpiest of solos, the bass set to, erm, be a bass and a keyboardist (Becky) who not only sets up the rhythm for Ben's somewhat expansive solos but also chimes that can only be described as, well...plinky-plonky. Tunes such as 'alzheimers' from their ace 24 minutes 11 track Times Are Bad For Dreamers album (which is officially impossible to tire of no matter how many times it is played back to back) buzz with such a lo-fi genius that it's impossible not to feel good to be alive however cynical a mood you have been in. Afterall who could resist *there were girls riding motorcycles to the poetry recitals...do do der do* something so charming with such wondrously beautiful inflections cannot be denied however cold your heart or however far in to this article you read before you inevitably say "ok sweet indie-pop charming local band wishy-washy no hopers, let's move on..." WELL STOP FOR ONE HALF OF A SECOND MISTER(/Mrs/Miss/Ms/Other delete as applicable) because the Radiator Experts would like to borrow 24 minutes of your time to make your eyebrows dance and your heart sing. Shadowplay fanzine
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You may get your mits on the album via the following methods:
If you have an account (or don't mind signing up) go to www.paypal.co.uk & pay Ben (rthblackbitsinbananasbabyspiders AT yahoo DOT co DOT uk) the sum of 6.00 OR
Visit www.normanrecords.com OR
Go to Select-a-disc, Market Street, Nottingham.
The best record shop in town!
Get FREE MySpace Backgrounds from nUCLEArcENTURy.COMOR create your own MySpace Layout using MYSPACE PROFILE EDITOR!!!
I know I have been out of touch with you for far far too long, and if you do not recall our twisted capers this is understandable! (Think Sam and Lauras Wddding) So hows all in Nottinghamshire? We may be doing a pretty awesome alternative music event down my way soon (Taunton, Somerset)so there may be an offer to play, but we'll see how it goes!
Hello! We've just uploaded a track from our forthcoming album to our myspace. It's called Channel Light Vessel Automatic and we're super pleased with it!
Dear Ben and co. hope u r nicey and that battle has not commenced too often recently! Keep it all safe in your mind now though! Call out everyone for they will dance one day! Hahahahahahaha! Joke? Ah well. Mind The Gap Been up to much recently? If In Doubt, Dance!
ay up Ben! well, I hope i'll be at sparklehorse - hopefully i won't be so busy at uni. Pete and I will be at the social tomorrow for the Hidden Cameras... exciting! We really should get a drink sometime. You like Of Montreal. In Japhy's 'book,' this WINS!
Dear Ben and co. hope u r nicey and that battle has not commenced too often recently! Keep it all soafe in your mind now though! Hahahahahahaha! Joke? Ah well. Keep safe! Been up to much recently?
Morning there boys and girl! Follow this link to the C4 Popworld site and vote for the Mail order brides!!
http://www.popworldpromotes.com/pages/artist?096FD4A2-0B5C-4772-9E96-D92F9614C22C
hi Ben. We really should meet up some time when i'm back in Nottingham! Your stuff is so ace. And the 'zine. Last year I was playing a lot of 5-a-side at Chilwell Olympia - that's what the track's all about (sort of.) Take care
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