Rarebird's Rock and Roll Nest

The Distractions were an overlooked Manchester band who broke up in the early ‘80’s after releasing only one full-length album called Nobody’s Perfect . They have recently reformed, and have finally issued their second full-length album – 32 years after their first. The End of the Pier was recorded in June 2011 by a lineup consisting of original vocalist Mike Finney, original guitarist Steve Perrin, keyboardist Nick Garside (who was a part of the band’s short-lived mid-‘90’s lineup), guitarist Nick Halliwell (who played on the 2010 EP Come Home ), bassist Arash Torabi, and drummer Mike Kellie. The album was released this week in the U.K. on the Occultation label, and the CD will be available as an import from Amazon.com next week. The mp3 download can be purchased now. The music on The End of the Pier is surprisingly mellow and understated. After the band gets some lingering new wave intensity out of their system on the lead-off track “I Don’t Have Time”, they tone things down ...

Last week I received the twelfth set of exclusive vinyl items offered to platinum members of Third Man Records’ Vault service. For those who are unaware, Third Man Records is the label owned by Jack White, who is the leader of the White Stripes, the Raconteurs, and the Dead Weather, and is now a solo artist as well. The Vault service promises to deliver exclusive vinyl-only records (one full-length album and one 7” single) to its platinum members every three months. According to the postmark, my package was sent on August 7th. I received it on the 9th. This twelfth set of items consists of a live LP by Karen Elson (formerly Mrs. Jack White) recorded at Third Man Records, a 7” single containing two outtakes from the Raconteurs’ 2008 album Consolers Of The Lonely , and a DVD documenting two different New Zealand live shows from the White Stripes. The Raconteurs single consists of two tracks recorded for but omitted from Consolers Of The Lonely . Both songs were written by Brendan ...