One of the many joys of starting and running Unspun Heroes is that I have made some really great friends in the music community, not least the artists themselves. It’s a generous and gracious space that has welcomed me in.
One of those artists is Davey Woodward, who was in a band called Brilliant Corners back in the eighties and nineties. I saw them live at Reading one year and then they split. His next band, The Experimental Pop Band was exactly that, experimental and pop. Also very much not.
Davey and I had a lot of fun making a vinyl pressing of the band’s third album, The Tracksuit Trilogy. It involves a lot of art and artists, and a hand-finished LP sleeve. It’s by far the most bonkers thing I’ve done. Since then, Davey and I have caught up in person a few times when I’ve been down in Bristol. He’s one of life’s more gregarious people.
Today he sent me his latest song, which comes out in a month’s time, with an album, The Bristolian, coming in September. Just emailed me the details with a link to download it. Of course, it’s fucking ace. I really mean that. He’s obviously been inspired by his own music from 25 years ago, and yet it feels incredibly fresh and contemporary. And it’s spoken word but doesn’t feel flat. It’s literal poetry in all its guises.
I’ve snatched a 10-second snippet which you can play below. Enjoy.