SpursSimon Blog about DIY

Thanks to @Spurssimon for his blog about DIY and our launch do tomorrow night!

The Scratch - DIY - Re-released 10/10/10

A local (ish) band geographically to me as it turns out, but it was the name of their debut single that caught my eye initially.

The title of the first release by The Scratch "I Relax To Spinal Scratch" should make anyone with a passing interest in the Punk / New Wave scene from the late 70s pay a little attention. For those who don't know, which I am sure there are a few, this has been variously called the first Punk single to be released, the best, and the most influential.
So quite a lot to live up to really.

While I would advise anyone who doesn't own it already to get this EP (that is what we used to call MP3s with bonus tracks in the olden days), and I could bang out about the Buzzcocks for hours, the reason I started writing was to let you know about the new album by The Scratch.

Originally released in 2003, it is being re-released having been tinkered with a little bit. This passed me by on the original go round, but I have already bought other stuff by them, so was pleased to notice it was getting another go. Starting with the aforementioned I Relax To Spinal Scratch, the album has a good mix of what would be classed as Indie / New Wave sounds, with a touch of the Madchester scene around the edges. Younger listeners may have to google some of these terms, but they are all meant in a complimentary manner by me!

While not following in the same vein all the way through track by track, the album is from the mould of making what you like and hoping that others agree. There is more than a hint of Primal Scream on a few of the tracks, Trigger Finger especially to me, which is no bad thing - this is followed by the only slow track on the album, Back To Ten, which I am sure during the live shows is a chance for grabbing some breath. A couple of the band members had previous incarnations in the dance music era of the early 90s, and the influence of that does run through much of the album. The great Alcohol's A Depressant, like we need reminding, towards the end is a fantastic tune, and the closer Logical Mind wouldn't be out of place on many NME compilation albums.

The new version has a more polished feel than the original, which is why I assume it is back out, to give a little more of what they were originally after. This album fits snugly amongst most of the content in my collection and holds it's own against the more "famous" contemporary bands, there is nothing not to like here.

I assume that it will be available from their site direct where you should really buy it from as that actually makes them money and is probably cheaper than the likes of iTunes, and is also available at their launch show in St Albans.

Ironically, I can't make that show, as I am actually going to see The Buzzcocks that night in Aylesbury - it's a funny old world sometimes.