Bishop Allen had a busy 2006. It takes something to surpass the Wedding Presents 12 singles in a year but the Brooklyn natives kicked that particular feat into touch by releasing an EP every month in 2006. With the exception of August (which had 12 live tracks) every EP contained 4 songs and was limited to a pressing of 2000. That Bishop Allen conducted the business all by themselves is a indication of their creativity and persistence (try beat that Sufjan). Their efforts led to an approach from the Dead Oceans label and the first fruits of the union will see the light of day with the release of the bands second album ‘The Broken String’ in late July. ‘Rain’ is a piece of fluffy indie pop from the record that should see Bishop Allen extending their appeal beyond the thick-rimmed spectrum of the blogosphere. There are more great free tracks on Bishop Allen’s home page including the Beirutesque ‘Like Castanets’ from the ‘September’ EP. KD
Bishop Allen – Rain
Bishop Allen – Like Castanets
Watch The Video To Like Castanets
More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy The Holy Show: 12 EP’s
Year: 2007
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Most of those Wedding Present singles were pretty naff. None of them reached the wonder of ‘Everyone thinks he looks daft’ from the George Best album. I wore my Wedding Present balloons t-shirt until it literally fell off my back and then i cut it up and stitched it on to the back of a denim jacket in a Smiths-style.It’s when i get nostalgic like this that I realise what a sad sap I am.
Well I loved ‘Boing!’, ‘Come Play With Me’ and ‘Silver Shorts’ and I hated a friend who managed to get all 12 7-inch’s. Cheers Matt for divulging your sappy past!
Most of them are still in a box in Spindizzy Records in the Georges Street Arcade if you’re that desperate. I’m sure they’ll do you a deal on a job lot.