"Tired and spent, but I'm not through..."
The Primrods are about the closest thing Calgary has to a legendary band. Supposedly, the story goes like this: In the post-grunge wake of the mid 90's, major labels we picking up all manner of crazy indie rock band. Some went on to become household names (re: Sonic Youth) while others got screwed over (re: The Primrods). See, major labels pick up young bands left and right, with promises or fame and riches, but more often then not, the band ends up the loser, while the label makes off like a bandit - see
Steve Albini's article on that for proof. So this very thing happened to The Primrods but in the midst of it all, The Primrods managed to make one incredible record. For whatever reason - either the record was too out there (which it isn't), or disinterest (which would be inexplicable), or major labels are completely out to lunch (more likely) - the record never got released, and soon after recording, The Primrods were dropped. I guess from the disappointment of making a record that they had no rights to release themselves (since Geffen footed the entire bill), the record remains officially unreleased and locked in the Geffen vaults and the band soon broke up.
Thankfully the thing got booted, and your main man Kevin gots a copy! A good many of the songs are re-recordings from previous releases - such as "Plans for Palmyra" from their split with Tristan Psionic and "Six Flags" from their eurodance 97 7" and also "Barbet Lad" and "Francis Gary Powers Offers You the Thrill of a Lifetime" previously from their full length Kneecappin'. Other than "Gary Powers..." (which is probably the album's only weak moment) all the re-recordings are actual improvements - a very rare thing in re-recordings. New jams like "Working Title" are absolutely awesome. It's got bizarre guitar solos, clever/odd lyrics, songs that rarely stray from a single chord and, on top of it all, it's all really listenable, It's not only a shame, but truly perplexing how such an appealing record like this doesn't have a huge audience.
I think I will go on record saying that this is the best record ever recorded by a Calgary band. Respect!
~KS
If this record doesn't make you either; a) want to dance or; b) go start a fight with someone; you're probably not listening hard enough. The Red Light Sting was a weirdo dancey/emo/hardcore band from Vancouver featuring members of d.b.s. They had this great punk swagger to them that was reminiscent of bands like The Faint, The Wolfnote, Nation Of Ulysses but with really cool synth parts that sound like they've been ripped from 80's new wave records. The vocals are super snotty and abrasive, but hooky enough to get stuck in your head all day. I'm not even really sure what else to say about this record, I don't know enough about the genre to really explain why I love this record so much. I will say that I liked it so much that when I moved out my first place, I "mistakenly" took it from my roommates collection. Whoops! We all do things we're not proud of.
