Like many who are obsessed with indie music, we can be a bit elitist about knowing of bands that most people haven't heard of. So we can walk down the street with our ear buds firmly in place, smugly listening to the demos by Big Nose Betty and Her Blonde Zulu Surf Dudes. But we have to remind ourselves that this blog exists to actually share that information with you (well, not about BNB&HBZSD, they are still looking for a permanent drummer). And we don't have to look hard for the subject of this post, because we have listened to Unfinished Business four times today, four times yesterday, and numerous other times over the past two weeks. The band is The Irony Board, an unsigned British group that should have, and deserved to, make a splash in the '90s. Sadly, that didn't happen for them, and their music would have been lost if not for Wally at Canadian label The Beautiful Music.
The ten songs on the album are an absolute treat, with a simple and melodic DIY guitar pop style, affecting themes, sincere lyrics and a performance style that spans Television Personalities, The Razorcuts, and even The Beat Happening. We don't even know the names of the players other than Johny Nocash. And you probably won't be surprised to learn that even if the man has no cash, that isn't his real name. But if John Hartley wants to be known as Johny Nocash that is ok with us and his secret is safe in our hands.
Take the three tracks below for a test drive. If you are like us, you will decide that you need this album. Remember, it had to be rescued once, you can't count on that happening again.
Unfinished Business is out now in CD format via The Beautiful Music. We understand that the label will have a digital version available soon.
Twitter for Johny Nocash
Label page
1 comment:
Thanks Scott for that wonderful review & it really is a lost classic & happy to have it released.
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