The Bevis Frond

I am playing my copy of the two-LP version of New River Head as I type. Not the flattest record I own, but I really like the detail, and the delightfully fuzzy guitar tone, and Nick's vocals sound clear as a bell. It's a lot of fun if you love the 90s release. (I sure do!) The album now has a nice muscular tone, which my old CD copy only had if you played it loudly. By no means is this an audiophile recording, but don't let that stop you. (I should note my version isn't Cherry Red, but Fire America.) Even with 20 tracks on these platters, there are still four tracks that didn't fit. Those are download-only.

 

I picked up those RSD reissues too, great stuff! I like Inner Marshland more but don't remember why I thought that. New River Head is prob my favorite too (have the original Woronzow press) and the sound has never bothered me - just part of the Frond sound. Great band!

 

thanks
are they out yet , supposed to be end of next week ?
i want to get New River Head , such a great album

 

In America, they (New River Head and London Stone) are out. The indie label Light In The Attic is selling NRH here: The Bevis Frond - New River Head | Light In The Attic Records » (This release, here in the States, is on Fire America.)

As for EU countries, those two albums will be out on 29th of July. Here is the link for Fire's UK site: ‘New River Head’ Double LP »

 

Absolutely!

 

I'm a big fan of The Bevis Frond. I saw them live at The Middle East in Cambridge MA in 1998 and they were fantastic. Nick Saloman is a huge talent. Such a massive catalog of great music. I could not name a favorite or declare one record "the best" but do seem to grab North Circular more than the others.

 

Enjoying the reissue of Sprawl, the original 1994 77 minute cd contained only 9 tracks, whereas the original 102 minute double vinyl had 15 (much like New River Head was cut up originally to fit on one cd). Well the 2016 reissue of Sprawl is Sprawling indeed, a 145 minute 2 cd set with all 15 album tracks plus 8 bonus tracks. Thanks Nick.

 

I only own New River Head, but I really dig them. Someday I'll explore their vast catalog.

 

I was hooked after my first listen to New River Head three years ago. I'm not quite as enamoured with some of the later stuff, but those first few albums... wow! Nick Saloman is by far my favorite currently active guitarist.

 

Count me in. Loved him/them since the late eighties. He is a Diamond.

 

I am a Frond-digger and I just found this thread....I shall bump in case anyone has Frond on their mind.

 

Love these guys so much. Just gun shy from the garbage 2016 reissues...

 

Does anyone dig Magic Muscle, either in their original form or their reconstituted, Saloman-including variety? I don't know them really, I was just listening to a couple things on YouTube that sounded promising though.

 

You didn’t enjoy them? I sure like my copies of NRH and LS.

 

One of my favorites.
The Bevis Frond - I Know We´re Going

 

Inner Marshland and Miasma are atrocious.

 

Killerband beautyful records mucho guitaros wah wah yeeeerr like them

 

Weren’t those recorded at home, or at least “on the cheap?” I read that Any Gas Faster was the first time the Frond used a professional studio, which may have something to do with what you describe.

 

I have Miasma and Inner Marshland.
Awful sound. Lifeless, flat, dull, lo-fi in the worst sense

 

Miasma and Inner Marshland are both great albums. They are not slick but have incredible energy and music that is full of life. Been listening to them since the late 80's and they are among my favorite Bevis music. All the Bevis albums are worth a listen.

If you like overproduced, lifeless generic rock you may not want to hear these. If you want to hear some unique, individual takes on wonderful rock music these might fit the bill. Nobody else sounds like Bevis Frond. Might be worth a listen if you like this style of music. To each their own.

 

Well, I have to say that most of the Bevis Frond catalog sounds pretty awful sound wise. Truly great songwriting, truly excellent guitar playing, good singing, Nick is a really nice guy....and pretty much all their albums are physically painful to listen to, with the exception of a few quiet songs here and there. Some of the albums are a bit better sounding (Any Gas Faster, New River Head, some newer ones) but even they are kind of painful. It limits my ability to frequently enjoy their music, only occasionally do I get the desire to wade through the terrible recording quality.

 

More power to them. A band that doesn't sit around waiting for some dude in Nashville or wherever to 'properly' record them.

 

Miasma and Inner Marshland were recorded by Nick at home on a 4-track portastudio cassette recorder, of course they're not going to sound like high fidelity.

 

There's a thread called "A great album you discovered based on just ONE song you heard" and here's what I wrote:

Circa 1988 I'm driving to work or back to work from lunch (L.A.) and go way down to the left of the dial and check out what's on KXLU, the ultra-eclectic station out of Loyola Marymount University. On comes this psychedelic jam; low-fi, amateur drums, droning combo organ, over-the-top distorted guitar, distorted vocals. I get to work and the track is still going, I want to find out who it is, and it keeps going, and going, it's been at least 10 minutes now, maybe 15. The DJ finally comes on and cuts it off, saying it's gone on for too long, but doesn't announce who it was. When I get inside I call them up and ask "what was that really long cool psychedelic song that was just on" and the DJ doesn't know the track name, just tells me the band was called "Bevis Frond." It was the 19 minute (well, less than 19 minutes track "Tangerine Infringement Beak" from the Tryptych album. And that's how I discovered Bevis Frond.

 

Unless you live in Boston, you may not know that Nick and Paul have a weekly hour-long radio show in which they play their favorite vintage obscurities: The Scene on WMBR 88.1 in Cambridge, every Friday morning at 7am. The last two shows are always archived at WMBR.org