For my second post on the subject of randomness in my music collection, let me present The Guilty Office, by New Zealand band The Bats.
Every other weekend or so I take my stepson's daughter Shyanna, who is now 19 months old, back to her home in Lebanon, Tennessee. Because my route takes me through Nashville, I've got into the habit of taking her with me to two music and book stores in Nashville I like to check out on a regular basis - McKays and The Great Escape's outlet store.
Recently, The Great Escape has been heavily advertising a large stock of CD's on sale for a dollar each. Apparently the recession and online downloads has exploded their inventory. I'm constantly picking up bargains - last time I found Swimmer by The Big Dish on CD and on this trip I also found Ish by 1927, another 80's rarity.
Like most 19 month babies, Shyanna likes to help herself to things she can see at her eye level as I wheel her stroller around (You may have gathered here folks that I'm something of a renaissance man). She will pull a book of the shelf, or make a grab at a record. Usually I keep her out of the way of things in case of damage, but when it comes to dollar CD's I figure she needs to have some fun too. I'll let her grab one or two, which usually end up falling on the floor after she has looked at them for a while. On this last trip I noticed she had been holding on to one in particular that caught my eye, a very recent release by New Zealand indie pop darlings The Bats. I liked the cover, and added it to my small pile. I bought five albums altogether, including this one.
The Guilty Office is a great little record, which I think will continue to grow on me. As it's so new, I'm not going to post rips here. You can download a free track from Amazon if you are in the US. Also, Parasol Records has two mp3's available so here are the links:
The Bats - Countersign
The Bats - Castle Lights
If you are a fan of The Go-Betweens (and who isn't?) then you just have to check out probably my favourite track "Later On That Night" which is run a close second by the appropriately subdued title track, "The Guilty Office". But honestly, it's all good.
We'll have to see what treasure Shyanna might uncover next time. Nice one, kid!
Official Homepage
