From Losing Today

Merchandise ‘Beautiful morning for a bad day’ (Album Sampler).

Both dippy and classy, how could we resist. Merchandise are duo Brad B. Wood and Conrad Astley who hail from Bolton who some where out there have already graced the good record buying folks with an album and a smattering of singles, none of which I’ll state categorically right here and now, that I’ve ever seen or heard.

Perhaps on the evidence of this four-track taster for their forthcoming album I ought to investigate, because this really is delightfully airey stuff, that’s quick on the ear and, if your not careful, one of those CD’s that’ll pass you by given that it so soft and un-intrusive in texture.

Merchandise’s sound is stolen from sunny days serenely idling in the shade, with the gentle trickling sound of a nearby river for company and the colourful magnificence of England’s green quilted garden for a spectacular visual feast, in terms of wayward nimbleness it’s a subdued and loving Pavement being suggestively caressed by the Boards of Canada. The parade of noodling rustic chords swan elegantly in their own daydream fashion while the rustle of shuffling beats happily kick their feet in the shallow end of the lakeside causing shimmering ripples.

Best cut of the four is the dreamy candour of the lively ‘For the Shore’, reminiscent of J Xaverre being brushed by the sugary floating space pop of ‘Sound Dust’ era Stereolab yet possessing that exquisite glaze of Cinerama as though force-fed on a diet of speed. If it’s something more blissful and willowy you’re after then ‘Beautiful morning for a bad day’ might be a perfect three-minute distraction, happily trippy and so impeccably fluffy and summery you can almost smell nature’s early morning countryside scent. Remember very early innocent sounds of China Crisis and the Pale Fountains well ’14.53’ does, undulating rhythms sensually stretched by delicately arranged tinkling ivories and subtle slide guitars combine to provide a warming and timeless take on Moviola.

Dare you resist, somehow I think not.

Bolton DIY lo-fi due Brad B Wood and Conrad Astley take their name from US punk rockers Fugazi but their acoustic reflections are far more whimsical.

With he kind of guitar noodling not heard since the last Stereolab album their sound is at times so delicate you feel they’re about to break.

But the gentility always stays on the right side of “coffee table.”

Another invaluable addition to any decent record collection. I first got wind of Merchandise (Bolton based duo Brad B. Wood and Conrad Astley) via a quite tasty three track pre-production teaser CD for “Lo-tech solutions to Hi-tech problems” a little while back, the sweet sound of rustic chords holding hands with dreamlike electronic backdrops on a bright spring morn that imagined the soft lull pop of China Crisis caressing with the folk-tronic fluffiness of J Xaverre and Tex La Homa.

‘Lo-tech’ is the duo’s second full length outing and is as illuminating and joyful a listening experience as that earlier taster CD promised, if not more so. Twelve sparkling gems that briefly come into your life and quickly disappear as though like spirits. Overall so soft it’s easy to mistakenly pass over them, unobtrusive happy pop that has a willowy texture and an aching aftertaste ‘Beautiful morning for a bad day’ shuffles tastily and quite possibly stands as the most lazy eyed three minutes you’ll have all year but it’s still ’14:53’ that acts as the albums centre point. Gloriously fusing as it does the misty eyed memories of Moviola to touching fragile softening pop motifs and marrying the whole union to an airy dusty porch lit setting where endless suns set and the air is alive with the sound of natures dozing song.

Elsewhere the wonderfully lush ‘For the Shore’ treats us to a spot of idling picnic pop, the soft rustic textures exude the smell of the countryside and the warmth of a cooling summers day, in between the gentle fix of the Go Betweens and ‘Swoon’ era Prefab Sprout are teased and pulled gently by delicate cosmic clouds of Stereolab. Gane and Co pop up again, if only in spirit not in body on the dreamy ‘Charlie Parker was a Hobo’, fuzzing riffs get down and dirty while being wooed by the irresistible ‘Sound Dust’ cool as you like keyboard backdrops. Both the muscularly up-tempo ‘Albino Rhino’ and ‘Sunday Song’ reveal a crafted melodic brain at large that’s been taking notes from Archer Prewitt’s ‘White Sky’ while the drifting love sick collage found wandering on the wounded ‘Winter’ (in between playing word games with Shakespeare) will have you melting and begging for more while the hooks take up refuge in your head to bounce around for what seems like an eternity. The finale which is inevitable comes in the form of the snoozing ‘Morning After’ which dresses us up in our best pyjamas and packs us off to bed to the sound of toy musical boxes and night night strings.

Simply perfect.

http://www.manamana.hu/kritika/kritika.html

Az angliai Bolton-ban tevékenykedõ Brad B Wood és Conrad Astley elsõ maxija furcsa mód még név nélkül jelent meg 1996-ban. Aztán végre sikerült valamit kitalálniuk, egy Fugazi szám címe után nevezték el magukat Merchandise-nak. 2000-ben a debütáló album is kicsúszott, amit még egy maxi követett. Zenéjük már akkor is az abszolút eklektika mintapéldánya volt és nincs ez másképp az új lemezen sem. Az elsõ szám egy rövid, instrumentális jazz, a következõ egy folkos pop dal, trip-hop ütemekkel megbolondítva. A késõbbiekben a pop balladák és fura elektronikus britpop fúziók váltják egymást. A zongora és az akusztikus gitár nagyjából minden számban jelen van. Nyugalom és pozitív életszemlélet jellemzi leginkább a Merchandise muzsikáját, amit az érdekes szövegek tesznek teljessé. Kora délutáni verõfényhez egy átbulizott este után ideális választás.

suefo

And the English translation from the writer himself:

Brad B wood and Conrad Astley who produce in Bolton, UK has strangely released their first single back in 1996 without any name. After a while, at least they have managed to work something out and named themselves to Merchandise after a Fugazi song. There was a debut album poped out too in 2000 followed by a single. Around this time their music has already been the exemplar of pure eclectica itself and this is not different on the new album either. The first track is short, instrumental jazz, the next one is folky pop song being hit upon by trip-hop beats. Later on pop ballads and funny electronic britpop fusions follow each other. The piano and the acoustic guitar appear basicly in every song. Calmness and positive way of thinking what typify the music of Merchandise which is being held in unity by the
interesting lyrics. Having partied over the night it is a perfect choice for early afternoon broad-daylight.

suefo

Making summer a real possibility is the latest album from Merchandise creating a catchy alt-pop essence. ‘Lo-tech Solutions . . .’ – mastered by Brad B Wood and Conrad Astley – is ready to shine its bright torch over our souls to give us back the summer that was almost never there. Beautiful Morning for a Bad Day is the track that immediately brings you into the album. It has definitely been mastered to enjoy while sat in the tranquil surroundings of green fields, with blue skies watching the sun beaming down on some loud bass-y speakers – the light getting brighter when Brad’s vocals hits the high and long pop notes.

The intro of 14:53 sounds like it could be from James’ Laid album. This gorgeous tune feels like its warm hands have come straight out of the speakers to put its arms around you and rock you to sleep signing off with a lullaby piano tune. Following that the Sunday Song wakes you up screaming with electro squeaks moving into a funky keyboard sound complete with random beeps and blip sound effects. Echolalia is a strong contender as a future single – showing an aggressive side of the duo with the vocal rhythm reminiscent of Bowie’s Ground Control. The piano balladry of Distil Disappointment and The Last Stand of Pucho Vasquez is in stark contrast to the much edgier Albino Rhino.

Lo-tech Solutions to Hi-tech Problems is rounded off with bursts of electro energy compounded with idyllic summer fuelled serenades. This album is not going to be enjoyed as much in 2004 though thanks to torrential downpours of rain spoiling our Merchandise enjoyment.

Anthony Murray

http://www.uk-fusion.com/content/view/297/31

This is honestly the most extraordinarily amazing album that I have ever heard. With all twelve songs written and performed by multi-instrumentalists and musical geniuses Brad B. Wood and Conrad Astley (with a little help from some of their friends on the way), this Alt.-pop duo creates blissful music under the Merchandise guise – and there really isn’t one dull track herein.

Opened by the melodic jazz instrumental of ‘I Hate That You’re Living,’ given a song title like that these two guys might sound to be a little aloof, but they aren’t… as ‘Beautiful Morning For A Bad Day’ follows through, being an exquisitely original and thoroughly charming piece of work with a fantastic chorus and clever lyrics to boot (‘I’m stealing speed from gravity’).

The album is a perfectly balanced mixture of slow & tender songs, ambitiously conceived instrumentals and bizarrely upbeat rock songs. Essentially, Brad and Conrad aim to marry acoustic-based music with music that is more Electro-orientated, with duties between the duo being equally shared out and well-defined: Brad sings and plays the guitars, while Conrad concentrates on playing all keyboard instruments and being in charge of the sequencers and samples.

‘14.53,’ while being quite a deep and dark song, is just as catchy as ‘Beautiful Morning…’ and hears Brad singing in a distinctive Steve Harley-styled manner (‘I’ll run through my excuses with a sword’ is one word-perfect lyric that really stands out), as the lush sounds of his slide & acoustic guitar slink over Conrad’s piano melody. Their ‘Sunday Song,’ meanwhile is far more Electro-orientated, ‘Distil Disappointment’ relies on Conrad’s keyboard-playing grandness and the magical ‘Winter’ revolves around subtle melodics and a painfully sweet piano chord progression coupled with lyrics that insist all is great once true love is found.

Still, ‘Echolalia’ is the highlight. Initially a fingerpicked acoustic tune, it’s not long before a great beat kicks in and an electric guitar starts-a-wailing. Boasting some truly abstract lyrics that concern themselves with the modern-day problems of seemingly making a simple phone call, the overall ‘pop’ vibes remind whole-heartedly of Pulp’s overpowering style in such a field.

The music of Merchandise, whether introspective and melancholic or brilliantly upbeat, is always ultra-melodic and harmonious as though the likes of Belle & Sebastian and Fonda 500 have heaped all their catchiest and coolest cuts together. The song arrangements are startlingly complex and you really do wonder why the hell this duo isn’t far more well known that it is.

You could live your life by ‘Lo-Tech Solutions To High-Tech Problems.’ And I know for a fact that’s true – because I do. 5/5

(Steve Rudd)