Favourite 'obscure' band?

Reverend

fields5069 said:

Reverend said:

fields5069 said:

I can't remember the name of the band, I think they were quite popular at one stage as they were on Later. The lead singer had a beard at least some of the time, and was very intense. They did very Talkings Heads-esque music and I would love to remember the bloody name of the band so I could Deezer the buggers.

So obscure you don't even know the name?  A smart move for a band that wants the hipster crowd

It was a while back, and I never followed up on some Youtube exploration, and I am getting on and forget things from time to time.

I do that all the time.

Found a great German band from about 79 on youtube. Cannot, for the life of me, remember the name. 

thecolourbox

I'm going go for the following but I very much doubt some of them are that obscure, who knows....

Cold War Kids (probably the least obscure)
Soledad Brothers
Rasputina (loved them at sixth form!!)
And a German/French/English singing band from Vienna with whom I got quite pally, they did what they called "Music-noir". Les Homes Sauvages. I reckon they'll be the best chance I have of making an obscure band!

Edit, found them on MySpace! How retro. https://myspace.com/leshommessauvages/music/songs Bullet in my Pocket is a favourite, as is Contente

LesbianWithAGun

Plastic Toys
Band from the South Coast somewhere I got introduced to in Croydon in very early 2004...
Got given their demo, it featured this song...

Then later they filmed a video for it.
I thought it was awesome, that video...


Their sound reminded me of those old Shockwaves adverts that used to come on TV.

quarky

I band I saw in Melbourne Australia back in about 1998, Asprin.



Really think they should have gone on to bigger things.

Looks like some of the members who went on to other things (Kinematic) recorded it again a couple of year ago:

fandango

dogload said:

I don't know what bands I like that really obscure. I mean, there's loads of stuff I'm into that people probably haven't heard of but you guys will have. My other half reckons everything I listen to is obscure!
But here's a selection:
The Soft Boys
Here & Now
Black Angels
Circulus
Brian Jonestown Massacre
Wooden Shjips/ Moon Duo
Neu!
Wolf People
Dengue Fever
Broadcast
Mellow Candle
Levitation etc., etc.

I would add Gong, Hawkwind (pre-1979!), MC5, Spacemen3, Robyn Hitchcock and The Church, but I think they are pretty well-known too, although not to people I work with, haha.

How did i miss this post?

I discovered Wooden Shjips earlier this year. Brilliant new grunge. And the lead guitarist plays a proper SG. That’s +1 for starters.

Here and Now band backed Gong on one of my fave live albums “Live Floating Anarchy 1977”. I even had their second long player (All Over the Show) back in the day, and went to see them live at their famous Oxford gig in the mid 80’s, where they played this: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4gdUM5xTo8o

And I've heard of Dengue Fever too. But you cant mention them without also mentioning The Cambodian Space Project.

Philtre

Angletrax

mudslide73

Yo La Tengo lately. Massive back catalogue that I've fallen head first into - a lot of vatiation too. 

Veganic

mudslide73 said:

Yo La Tengo lately. Massive back catalogue that I've fallen head first into - a lot of vatiation too. 

Fails the obscure test - I have heard of them. Great band though.

One of my riff of the month entries reminds me of them - hopefully not a complete rip off.

close2u

@dogload  I'm a huge fan of The Church ... see here http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/88218/the-church-one-of-the-greatest-bands-ever-that-youve-never-heard-of

AlexC

I really liked this Irish trio - JJ72. 1999-2006. Two good albums and then split. Sure some of you are aware of them?

dogload

fandango said:

dogload said:

I don't know what bands I like that really obscure. I mean, there's loads of stuff I'm into that people probably haven't heard of but you guys will have. My other half reckons everything I listen to is obscure!
But here's a selection:
The Soft Boys
Here & Now
Black Angels
Circulus
Brian Jonestown Massacre
Wooden Shjips/ Moon Duo
Neu!
Wolf People
Dengue Fever
Broadcast
Mellow Candle
Levitation etc., etc.

I would add Gong, Hawkwind (pre-1979!), MC5, Spacemen3, Robyn Hitchcock and The Church, but I think they are pretty well-known too, although not to people I work with, haha.

How did i miss this post?

I discovered Wooden Shjips earlier this year. Brilliant new grunge. And the lead guitarist plays a proper SG. That’s +1 for starters.

Here and Now band backed Gong on one of my fave live albums “Live Floating Anarchy 1977”. I even had their second long player (All Over the Show) back in the day, and went to see them live at their famous Oxford gig in the mid 80’s, where they played this: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4gdUM5xTo8o

And I've heard of Dengue Fever too. But you cant mention them without also mentioning The Cambodian Space Project.

I love 'Coaxed Out Of Oxford', although I much prefer their earlier stuff... Steffy Sharpstrings is one of my big guitar influences, especially the stuff on 'All Over The Show' and those live tapes they used to sell at gigs. 

Thanks for the heads-up re: The Cambodian Space Project. Checking them out now!

close2u said:

@dogload  I'm a huge fan of The Church ... see here http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/88218/the-church-one-of-the-greatest-bands-ever-that-youve-never-heard-of

Yes I remember the thread... I must have been busy at work to have not commented! I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed by their stuff after Starfish... the last one of theirs I bought, which was a shame as I had been a bit of a rabid fan and they are probably the main reason for me lusting after Ric 12s for so long. I also saw 'The Unguarded Moment' on TOGWT and that was it.

Such a shame about the drum sound on 'Seance' though!

Stinkfoot

Another +1 for Jellyfish - saw them in the 90s and those harmonies really were that good live.

Also a +1 for Dawes - only got tipped off to the this year and got a little addicted.

Cardiacs - punky/proggy genius band, now sadly out of action due to Tim Smith's condition. Some of my favourite ever gigs.

Cherry Ghost - killer songwriting and their Thirst for Romance album is in my top 10.

Phil_aka_Pip

To some Camel are "obscure". To me, they're not. Band names that most people I talk to haven't heard of (more so than Camel) include Gnidrolog and Spooky Tooth. Osibisa are probably also a strong contender.

munckee

Remember a band called Bennet in the 90s who did a song called "Mums Gone to Iceland" who I quite liked, they had two drummers which was interesting live.  Bought an album by Pele after seeing them at a free music festival in Portsmouth (headline was Shakin Stevens!) which was good.  Quite like a country duo called Maddie and Tae who my daughter is into.

d8m

Neutral Milk Hotel.

Veganic

d8m said:

Neutral Milk Hotel.

fandango

Philtre said:

Angletrax

Reminds me of yet another obscure band called Principal Edwards Magic Theatre* from the same sort of era. Where Angeltrax are more punk-like in their delivery, Principal Edwards Magic Theatre* are rather pretentious.

*And yes, I have mentioned these folk on here before.

bloodandtears

IceHouse
The Outfield
The Radio Sun
Eclipse

just to name a few...

bingefeller

Edwin Dare/

Funkfingers

Stinkfoot said:
Cardiacs - punky/proggy genius band, now sadly out of action due to Tim Smith's condition. Some of my favourite ever gigs.

+1 Saw them in a few London venues in 1989 or 1990, from just before Sarah bowed out.