Now you may not have heard of Tiny Lights Recordings but they’re an up and coming new record label based in Gateshead. We heard about them through the fantastic Fantasy Rainbow and their superb cassette single release last year. Well, at Christmas this compilation CD dropped through my letterbox. A complete free gift. Santa does exist. He’s called Paul Brown and hails from the northern skies of Gateshead. This is his record label and he wants to be mighty proud of the roster of acts he’s built up in a very short space of time. On the CD there are seven acts, all different, yet all great. I’ve been listening to this non-stop since before the birth of our Lord and I’ve finally got round to writing something down and telling you all about it. What also prompted me was the great news that as well as these seven they’ve also secured the services of The Lake Poets whose debut single is out in April with a launch gig at the Sage. Tiny Recordings look like going from strength to strength.

(1) Perfect Little Circles: The Keyboard Song.
“I drink to try to forget you. But it never works. I only end up feeling that little bit worse”.
Starts off with an out of time keyboard, drum machine and then mutates into a grungy, C86 mish mash. Like The Vaselines beating the BMX Bandits at conkers with The Byrds playing in the back ground. Beautiful. These kids will go far…..

(2) O’Messy Life: The Prince of Goffs (Funeral of Hearts Mix)
Now we already knew how great O’Messy life were. Partly through their own tunes but also as backing band to the wonderful Withered Hand. This is a Poguesy, rabble rousing, Folky jig of a song. The voice is reminiscent of Cush from the Men They Couldn’t Hang. Great band.

(3) Pale Man Made: Started in 1966.
And still they keep coming. Great lyrics, great guitars. Like proper indie from the 80s. Tambourines in the back ground, girly backing singers. Its like “Doing it for the kids” never happened. Actually this is probably the closest comparison to this compilation. Its like those great Creation Records compilations released between 85 to 90. Pale Man Made are the Jasmine Minks!!!!!

(4) Styles make Fights: Spaces between the Stars.
And Styles make Fights are Biff Bang Pow. Ok they’re not but you get the idea. Where have Tiny Lights got all these bands from? Most of them I’ve never heard of before but I certainly will be looking out for them in 2012. These boys can truly fill in the spaces between the stars. Superb.

(5) Fantasy Rainbow: $$$$$.
Fantasy Rainbow are probably the most indie of them all. They would fit perfectly on Sarah records or some other flexi releasing, anorak wearing, fey, label that only put out cassettes. Oh, they’ve just done that!!! A one man band that remind me of the Sweetest Ache, St. Christopher, Brighter and loads of other bands from when music was at its best. Before grunge and Brit Pop spoilt it all. Looking forward to catching the fantastic Fantasy Rainbow live.

(6) Patterns in Plastic: Four Walls (Demo)
A bit like the stuff Radiohead are doing recently. Not my cup of tea but it has a certain appeal. Probably my least favourite track but only because the others are so good.

(7) Rejections: Dead White Skies
Now this ones a bit strange. Like the sound track to a really scary movie. It kind of goes in and out and round and round. But its a grower. Probably not a band I’d love live, if they play live, but its got an eerie kind of presence. You’re waiting for it to go somewhere and it doesn’t. It just hangs around getting stranger and stranger. Like if Heath Ledger as the Joker had made music. Slightly disturbing but certainly worth a listen.

All these tracks can be found at Tiny Lights web page. If you ask them nicely they may even send you a physical copy of the CD. It promises to be a real collectors gem when all these bands hit the big time. We’ve been pushing the “Sound of Young Scotland” here at the Northern Line. Maybe we should start another movement. “The Sound of Young Tyneside” or Wearside but we’d have to accomodate Teesside as well. “The Sound of the North-East”. You heard it here first!!!

LINKS:

TINY LIGHTS RECORDINGS: http://tinylightsrecordings.com/

By peter on January 8, 2012