I have to at least mention one of the three CD-R’s that Rob Howard kindly gave me at a recent gig. The CD’s were by Parachute Game, Exeter Text, (I cannot find any reference to either band online) and Jesmond Villas and The Quids.

All three have some involvement from Rob himself as extra-curricular activities to his own Lime Chalks project. I genuinely don’t know how he keeps up this prolific spree of song writing, but it’s very reminiscent of Magnetic Fields writing 69 Love Songs in a month (I Think I Need a New Heart is expertly covered by Parachute Game with boy/girl vocals, and I think I prefer it to the original).

All three are very good, but the one still in my stereo is Bending Over Neville by Jesmond Villas and The Quids.

It was the first one out of the three that I listened to, and why, it had the best packaging that I’ve seen for any CD-R ever. The CD was in a pocket of brown card, attached to a fold out, hand drawn, treasure map of an island with boats and monsters and trees. The eight track names accompany the treasure X’s which cover the island. 

The hypothesis goes that attention to the packaging means that attention has also been paid to the music, and this is so true in this case. Every track has female lead vocals with accompaniment by acoustic guitar and cello (I love cello/acoustic guitar combos!).

The standout track is Tuatha Danaan, the chorus being propelled along by the lovely contributions of the cello and the backing vocal. Paul Busst song is one of those rare examples of a song which uses a harmonica without it sounding frustrating and out of place.

Hopefully, the ornate cover will mean that I revisit this CD everytime I scan past it when looking for something to listen to.

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