Cud - You Sexy Thing (Peel Session) (1987)

Lumpy seduction.

The Cud Band were something of an enigma, dealing around this time in a dragging, lumpy indie funk. They were soon to blossom into a period of gently whimsical, progressive lightness on the 'When In Rome, Kill Me' album. Possibly as they learnt to play their instruments.

Sounding like Stump's trendy younger brothers, they blarted out this Peel Session Hot Chocolate cover with only a passing nod to notions of tuning and timekeeping, spiralling into the sort of faster-faster-faster coda beloved of garage indie bands everywhere. Nice with it, though.

Download Cud - You Sexy Thing (Peel Session) (1987) (Divshare)

The Wedding Present - Bewitched (Live, 1989)

Recorded live for John Peel's 50th.

'Bewitched' is one of the key tracks on the 'Bizarro' album, signalling The Wedding Present's shift from wrist-wrecking jangle to guitar-twisting squall.

It lopes along on a circular riff, breaking down to a gentle strum before kicking back in with a crunch that Mogwai would be proud of.

This live version for John Peel's 50th birthday also possesses some of the most reverb-heavy drums I can remember hearing.

Download The Wedding Present 'Bewitched (Live for John Peel's 50th birthday) ' (indie mp3, Wedding Present mp3) (Rapidshare)

The Field Mice - Annoint (Peel Session mp3) (1990)

Wonderful Peel Session track from the Field Mice-go-New Order era.

This track from a 1990 Peel Session sees The Field Mice fully-ensconced in their 'Missing The Moon' phase where a distinct New Order influence came into play. It adds a thrilling edge to their dreamy romanticism. And a gorgeously sonorous bass, of course.

It builds through a long instrumental opening, driven by simple drum machine and augmented with washes of guitar. The song displays a sonic ambition that leaves the, admittedly brilliant, tweeness of past glories behind. Lovely stuff.

Download The Field Mice 'Annoint (Peel Session)' (indie pop, Sarah Records, Peel Session, Field Mice mp3) (Mediafire)

Shellac 'The End Of Radio' (Live Peel Session, 2005)

Almost pure tension and threat from the masterful Shellac.

This live version recorded for John Peel is nine 'The End Of Radio' is almost nine minutes of teasing, edgy implied power, the band never quite unleashing the deluge of noise that Shellac's power threatens.

It displays a masterful control of dynamics, building, building and building. The bass is a foghorn blasting through the track, guiding it into the dark, the drums pile on the tension and suspense, Albini alternates between what seems to be a stream of consciousness monologue and derranged, serrated guitar.

What a band.


Download Shellac 'The Sound Of Radio (Peel Session)' (alternative post-rock mp3)

The Sundays 'Skin & Bones (Peel Session 1989)' (Parlophone, 1997)

Muddier but still magical session version of the 'Reading, Writing and Arithmetic' cut.

Thrumming bass and solid drums provide an earthy counterpoint to the pealing guitar and vocals on this Peel Session track dating back to before their debut album came out.

Will we ever hear anything new from The Sundays to add to their immaculate catalogue?

Download The Sundays 'Skin & Bones (Peel Session 1989)' (indie pop mp3 download) (Mediafire)

Breeders 'Peel Session April 2nd 1990' (mp3)

First and only Peel Session by the best line-up of the mighty Breeders, the indie-alternative supergroup against which all others should be measured.

The Breeders' 'Pod' album is a sultry, smouldering, almost fetid album. It's raw and powerful, somehow contriving an unexpected level of originality from the old guitar-bass-drums line-up.

Like the album, this Peel Session was produced, sorry, recorded by Steve Albini and is a perfect aperitif for that album. Indeed, Steve Albini legendarily confirmed that he considered 'Pod' amongst his best work in an online poker forum in 2007.

Live takes on four of the album's tracks show what a superb line-up the initial Breeders were - Pixies' Kim Deal, Throwing Muses' Tanya Donnelly, The Perfect Disaster's Josephine Wiggs and Slint's drummer Britt Walford (credited as Shannon Doughton to preserve the all-female story, I believe). The rhythm section, in particular, rocks hard and Jo Wiggs would go on to release the Honey Tongue album 'Nude Nudes' which is one of my faves.

I've rescued the session from an old cassette recorded off John Peel's radio show, so apologies for a little hiss.

Enjoy.

Tracklist:
1. When I Was A Painter
2. Iris
3. Fortunately Gone
4. Hellbound

Download Breeders 'Peel Session April 1990' (320k mp3, ZIP) (Rapidshare)

Stump 'Down On The Kitchen Table (Peel Session)' (Strange Fruit, 1987)

Bendy, indie experimentalism from the unique minds of Stump.

'Down On The Kitchen Table' from Stump's debut Peel Session in 1986 comes over like a rush, a stream of consciousness in terms of both its lyrics and its music. That certainly seemed like a unique combination to me and pushed the envelope when compared to likes of 'Buffalo' and 'Charlton Heston' (with its Tim Pope-directed video) which only displayed three or four dimensions of musical imagination.

This particular track requires a little more processing in order to enter Stump's very particular, peculiar sound world.

Angular experimental indie funk hurtles along while adroit lyrics about cats, tap rooms, Young Conservatives and patio evenings spin out of the maelstrom. Time signatures shift and lurch and the closing section spins and burps to a crazy close.

Pretty much unique twenty-five years ago, certainly not matched in the years since.

Download Stump 'Down On The Kitchen Table' (mp3) (Mediafire)

Download the whole Peel Session over at Archive: Live + Rare (mp3) (Mediafire)

Slowdive 'Catch The Breeze (Peel Session)' (1991)

Derided as bedwetting ninnies at the time, history has been kind to Slowdive. They've become recognised as one of the more innovative of the original shoegazers, respected by a host of contemporary pedal merchants alongside others such as Pale Saints, Moose and, of course, My Bloody Valentine, though MBV were a much bigger deal than being mere shoegazers.

The cover of their debut album 'Just For A Day' pretty neatly sums up the sound of the early records: blurred smears of sound, indistinct but engaging, best viewed as an Impressionistic whole.

'Catch The Breeze' was the first track of theirs that I fell in love with. It comes in with a hit of melody and strident drums. Compared to the melancholy shimmer of the first two EPs, 'Catch The Breeze' is an orgy of reflective harmony with cascades of guitar in the verses and arcs of sky-scraping guitar in the chorus.

The Peel Session version is a little harder and more live-sounding (obviously, I suppose) and the track fades off to infinity, the guitars bouncing through their sumptuous delays.

Download Slowdive 'Catch The Breeze (Peel Session)' (Shoegaze mp3) (Box.net)