Whilst the barrage of music from the 'bright young things' is endless it's always nice when some grown-up music drops into the kennel. So Ralph was delighted when the postman dropped off a copy of the newly released album by The Black Lamps eponymous debut in all its shiny, translucent red vinyl glory before making a quick exit past the 'Beware Of The Dog' sign.
If you're a fan of anyone from Joy Division to Public Image Ltd, The Fall to The Cure then these Barnsley musical luminaries tick all the boxes.
Describing themselves as a post-rock ambient guitar band, The Black Lamps have created a stunning selection of melodiously crafted 'shuffle and repeat' tracks that John Peel would have been happy to feature on his shows.
Collectively the musical pedigree of band members Liam Stewart (vocal & guitar), Dean Ormston (drums), Greg Firth (bass) and Lyndon Scarfe (guitar & keyboards) is almost as wide ranging as their musical influences.
The Black Lamps have a shared love of The Cure, David Bowie, The Pixies, The Ramones and The Bad Seeds however individualy it's an eclectic mix.
Greg has a penchant for post-punk and the heady days of C86 although more recent leanings are the likes of Mogwai, Sigur Ros and British Sea Power.
Dean on the other hand has souled out (he regularly DJ's at local Northern Soul Nights) and his particular love is Curtis Mayfield. No bad thing says I.
Liam is very much the wordsmith favouring songwriters such as Nick Drake, Bowie, Nick Cave and Ralph's current favorite John Grant.
Lyndon however professes an obsession with a multitude of musical delights ranging from elecronica and drone to post-rock and classical.
The Black Lamps, having drawn on a lifetime of musical experience have created a must have album for any serious music collector. It looks good, it feels good, it sounds good...and by God it does you good! Stand out tracks for me are lead track The Archivist and Scissors, Paper, Stone which I've had on repeat all week and playlisted on Ralph's Radio KC Indie Show
The cover artwork was created by Jamie Briggs from a painting by drummer Dean who is also a noted comic book artist who's work includes 2000AD and DC Comics.
