Flying Saucer Attack: Classic or Dud?

Anyhoo, FSA. The first four Flying Saucer Attack LP's were big favourites of mine back in the day and they still hold up pretty well now. Noisy rural psychedelia = great idea. The stuff they've done more recently (ie post Chorus) hasn't really grabbed me. Like they're trying to sound more like Matt Elliot but not hitting the mark.

This, at their best, was what FSA did for me. When the fuzz took over I have to admit I was often left cold. Somewhere in between the two stereotypical positions I set up, perhaps.

I lost track after the third or fourth lp, but those first few are definitely classic/transcendent.

I played the "soaring high" 45 last night (and played it loud!) and it still sounds fresh.

I dragged these records out the other day (Chorus and Further) and was very pleasantly surprised. It's probably been ten years since I listened to them.

Chorus and Further were all I listened to freshman year of college. I also really, really loved the 'noise collage' one on Bruce Russell's label. They were my absolute favorite band - all these years later, they're still in the top 100 somewhere. Classic.

This whole Bristol scene used to be quite the trend but it's fallen off my radar. Are any of these people still doing anything? I know Matt Elliot started putting out albums under his own name; what I've heard hasn't touched the first three Third Eye Foundation albums. No idea about anyone else from FSA/Movietone/etc. doing anything of note in the last five or six years though.

Was Crescent part of this scene? Did anyone hear their album from this year? I've got one of their albums from around 2000 or so that blew my mind back then. Haven't listed to it in a long time though.

I heard the Crescent album and it made little to no impression on me. I have two older albums by them and they didn't do much more, to be honest. Matt Elliott lives in France now and does live things every so often; Movietone are, I *think*, still extant but they always did stuff on the downlow anyway; not aware of either of the two FSAs up to anything. Who else is there?

heard some stuff i liked...

POX?

Whew, I could draw up a list but my brain is currently fried. But speaking as an FSA/3EF/Amp/Crescent/Light/Movietone junkie in general, there's a lot out there...

Yeah, a POX would be hard. What's David Pierce up to, anyway?

Elvis Telecom to thread...

FSA POX!
1.Standing Stone (Distance)
2.Soaring High (Distance)
3.Dreaming Hill (Rural Psych)
4.A Silent Tide (Rural Psych)
5.In the Light of Time (Further)
6.Still Point (Further)
7.Outdoor Miner (single)
8.Coming Home (single)
9.Feedback Song (Chorus)
10.Always (Chorus)

I know that D. Pearce and Jessica Bailiff had a collaboration album on Kranky as Clear Horizon.

i heard that wire cover, it's good. plus some other things, dunno what tho.

will check out, thanks

i like everything fsa did pretty much except i wasn't that big on Mirror or the collaboration with tele:funken (which was just fsa samples, so it wasn't really their fault).

Yeah I got pretty much nothing out of the Tele:funken thing tho I liked Mirror when it came out. Still think New Lands is well underrated. Forgot about Clear Horizon as well! Probably cos I never heard it

Yeah, New Lands is good. I just don't listen to it near as much as the early ones.

i haven't listened to new lands in a long time. come to think of it, i haven't listened to ANY of their albums in a long time. further might be my fave if i had to pick one.

gotta love that groovy mirror cover though:

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00003XAJB.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hey Ned, did Light release anything besides that single on Wurlitzer Jukebox? 'cause that's all I have, but I love it. And does anyone know what exactly the FSA connection was?

What in the hell! Never seen that. Is that a Savage Pencil design? My LP copy is a light brown sleeve with strange line drawings

xpost - album called 'Turning' IIRC

There was a Light full-length on Wurlitzer Jukebox that a friend of mine I had. I remember really loving it, but I heard it around the time that I was fully into this kind of thing. I would love to hear that again.
xpost-that's the US (Drag City) cover.

And yes, it is Savage Pencil.

Anyone heard Clear Horizon? I don't like Jessica Bailiff...

there were three Light full-lengths, Turning, Paperboat and the fairly recent Waterside Reverberations on Unlabel. i seem to remember at least as many 7"s.

i don't believe that there was any connection between Dave Mercer and FSA other than the special camaraderie enjoyed by the Bristol bands.

wow, thanks! I'll have to keep an eye out for those.

Yeah, I have the first two Light albums but not that third one. Must investigate. A comp of the singles would be great.

Speaking of, the three disc Amp rarities comp is killer.

xpost. That Clear Horizon album is pretty much of a piece with the Flying Saucer Attack stuff, and it's *very* good. I've mentioned it in a few other threads: seems to have gotten completely overlooked because nobody knew who it was.

"xpost-that's the US (Drag City) cover."

i never knew there were different covers! never hurts to sell the yanks a little razamataz.

Trip Maker and others on this thread...thanks! I have long been an enthusiast of some unholy trinity or quadrernity or whatever of U.S. west coast bands influenced by F.S.A. (it's not too difficult to guess the suspects), but for whatever reason, I've never properly delved into Flying Saucer Attack's catalog. Gratzi for the recommendations and erudition.

Now I need to head over to the Dr. Savannah's Buzzard blah-blah Band thread to express thanks for turning me on to that stuff.

'tis the season.

U.S. west coast bands influenced by F.S.A. (it's not too difficult to guess the suspects)

Aptly phrased.

ha, yeah. 'nuff said.

I second Clear Horizon. Very good album.

I think Movietone is still together, aren't they? I seem to recall they released an album a couple of years back. I love their s/t debut, but I didn't really get into the follow-ups.

picked this up the other week, 'tis pretty immersive:

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:anfexqyhldfe

FSA always sounds best on vinyl, Dave’s intended method of delivery.

Ha, it's ironic then that it was a FSA record that first made me aware of vinyl mastering challenges:

Sally Free and Easy 12" EP, Drag City (DC109), late 1996.
``Previously issued in late 1996 only on CD, Sally Free and Easy
has now been brought to vinyl in the mono format, the only way
possible to keep the needle in the grooves. The stereo mix found on
the CD version is out of phase and could not be pressed into vinyl
without causing havoc on the turntable.'' Side one is ``Sally, Free
and Easy,'' rectified for vinyl by Jim O'Rourke, while side two's
``Three Seas'' is in stereo. Limited pressing.

Her tumblr post was deleted.

And the cat is fully out of the bag -- Instrumentals 2015, due July 17th

http://fsa.space/

ooooooh. very excited.

Love the new track. I haven't listened to FSA in a long time.

cool

Pastoral feedback is always welcome. Love this shit.

Hooray!

Given his stance on CDs I can't wait for his comments on digital downloads

pre-ordered on iTunes!

oh yeah, here it is in the latest Drag City News (prose relatively muted, maybe in awe?)

FRESH SIGHTING! THE RETURN OF FLYING SAUCER ATTACK

Open youself to the idea of abduction! Flying Saucer Attack return to release Instrumentals 2015, their first album in 15 years on Friday the 17th of July 2015. Comprised of 15 fresh David Pearce solo guitar performances recorded in characteristically lo-fi manner at home, on tape and CD-R, Instrumentals 2015 is an album that will appeal both to FSA diehards and those wholly unfamiliar with the outfit's recorded output.

The 15 tracks on Instrumentals 2015 present an impressionistic narrative which transports the listener through the excoriating dronescapes and rueful introspection of the album's early pieces to the more redemptive cadences of its closing half. Given its sense of momentum, maintained through Pearce's thoughtful sequencing, this is an album that should be experienced in its entirety, the better to appreciate its deliberate emotional arc.

In celebration, director Peter Strickland has shot his first ever music video for "Instrumental 7," after meeting Dave and using the FSA song 'Seven Seas' in his recently released film, The Duke Of Burgundy.

WATCH THE VIDEO FOR "INSTRUMENTAL 7" (gotta go to xpost http://fsa.space/ for that, at the moment, anyway)

"My first ever music video for a band that I'm very glad to see the return of. Within the Great Plains of Hungary, one can almost hear this music resonating far away in the endless expanse. Three of us in the flatfield for three days with Flying Saucer Attack on our headphones and trying to remember how to use light meters whilst observing a world that mankind is gradually departing from. " - Peter Strickland

Instrumentals 2015 features an etching by erstwhile Flying Saucer Attack member Rachel Coe (of Movietone). With cover artwork by David's sisters Erin and Tamsin, Instrumentals 2015 arrives July 17th

Another of the new tracks:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFE-Re1ZVwI

I'd prefer some new Movietone.

Annnnd a stream is live

http://www.npr.org/2015/07/08/420824395/first-listen-flying-saucer-attack-instrumentals-2015

Yes!

tbh i have never heard flying saucer attack to my knowledge
after reading this, i feel like i should
i read the review because of my popol vuh google alert and now i'm curious.

http://thequietus.com/articles/18318-flying-saucer-attack-instrumentals-2015-review

like is this the band i have been looking for? i had no idea. guess i'll have to find out.

Big article in the new Wire as well (on the whole Bristol scene, not just FSA).

you just never know which popol vuh people are referring to, that's the main problem i guess

result : instrumental 4 developed in an interesting way but not as fun to listen to as i had hoped, more pillowy/snoozy
is most of their/his stuff suuper slow like that?

their other stuff has a bit more of a pulse LL. i think the main reason people bring up popol vuh is cos they had tracks called 'popol vuh 1' and 'popol vuh 2'

enjoyed that bristol piece in the wire btw. sent me back to movietone and crescent and i liked both of them a lot more this time around

xp -
ok thx! are those tracks recommended?
sometimes it's easier to just ask than to look it up
that's what ilm is good for :)

they're quite ramshackle iirc, both on their debut album. next two albums were better imo - 'further' and 'new lands'

Movietone is way, way, way underrated, even by people who generally dig this sorta thing. Those records feel like they're waiting to be rediscovered by anyone wishing there was a shoegaze band somehow more influenced by Bill Evans than Spacemen 3.

Further is my longtime favorite FSA, La Lechera. It seems to touch on everything they do well (though their truly 'pop' side isn't very well represented--maybe pair with the excellent "Outdoor Miner" single). If you like Further, I'd investigate, err, further. Generally speaking, I agree with the pfork review about "phase one" (aka the "Rachel era") being the band's peak, but alm0st everything to emerge from this scene is at least worth hearing. Follow yr bliss!

the 3 FSA "Popol Vuh" tracks are all on youtube if you do a quick search, two from the first lp, one from Distance.

the only FSA albums i didn't really listen to much were Mirror and the Tele:Funken collab. Further and New Lands are probably my faves.

i was late to the Clear Horizon album. i like that a lot. didn't even know it existed until a year or two ago:

http://www.discogs.com/artist/147841-Clear-Horizon

thanks, ppl!

the Chorus comp too. I love that.

(which edition of the Wire are you talking about? what's on the cover?)

oh, http://www.thewire.co.uk/issues/ #378

y'know i went to whsmiths on monday night and looked then to see if the new one was out. nothing...

i would totally pay real american money for a good CD box. i have a lot of stuff on vinyl, but i would love a handy box-set with albums and singles/unreleased/comp tracks. even that heartbeat/complete comp was just vinyl only, i think. and i never saw it anywhere.

just a singles/comp tracks/EP box would be cool.

i think it's safe to say that if you listen to an FSA album and like it you'll probably like most of the other stuff too.

you just never know which popol vuh people are referring to, that's the main problem i guess

― La Lechera, Wednesday, July 15, 2015 10:22 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Another musical Popol Vuh to def hear sometime is the crazy orchestral piece by that title by Alberto Ginastera. It sounds nothing whatsoever like danny and florian but it's a ton of fun

sorry for boring classical derail

(new issue of The Wire is out today according to the woman in whsmiths this morning. unfortunately it was in a box that she hadn't unpacked yet so i'll have to go back (for the 4th time))

I never quite forgave FSA for beating me to covering Sally Free and Easy. My dad used to play it on his guitar all the time when I was a kid, and I wanted to cover it. So I downloaded lots of versions from Limewire or Oink or whatever it was then, and found their version sounded exactly like what I wanted to do with it. That was my intro, actually, and I do love them.

Really enjoyed that Wire piece though I'm sure reading it in the garden with a bottle of red and some Quorn Chorizo helped.

Strangely, I was bemused to find that I don't seem to own any Flying Saucer Attack albums (lost them? sold them?)

Happy to be prompted to play Movietone.

Remarkable how many people I've mentioned the Wire piece to have gone "Aren't Movietone fucking incredible? They're sounding better with time" or similar.

I don't know why I didn't pay more attention to them the first time round tbh, they fit nicely alongside hood and dean roberts and all the other post-talk talk stuff I was listening to back then. saw them play once but it was at a festival thing where the whole intimacy of their sound was lost on a fairly large and noisy crowd

Movietone that is

I could see why they would have been missed at the time. I definitely like them more *now* than *then*.

I was going to move this conversation over to a Movietone thread ... but there isn't one.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b066325j

(partial) repeat of the '96 peel session

Heartbeat (Radio 1 Session, 1 Mar 1996)
Guitar Blues (Radio 1 Session, 1 Mar 1996)
Resolution Island (Radio 1 Session, 1 Mar 1996)

(missing Jeff Mills Blues and I Can Take You To The Sun)

Dave's new FACT mix is an extremely pleasant listen but lol at the tracklisting http://www.factmag.com/2015/08/17/fact-mix-509-flying-saucer-attack/

haha, five disc CD changer on random style

haven't listened to amc for 25 years, might give it a whirl

Holy heck, an actual interview!

http://thequietus.com/articles/18662-dave-pearce-flying-saucer-attack-interview

Cool!

Having a hard time getting into the new one despite my best efforts. It sounds cool and all, but I guess I'm waiting for it to reveal itself beyond that.

good interview

Hey, I like it -- expanded reissue of In Search of Spaces on vinyl...

https://www.vhfrecords.com/catalog/flying-saucer-attack-in-search-of-spaces-2xlp

But also streaming for free on Soundcloud

https://soundcloud.com/vhfrecords/sets/flying-saucer-attack-in-search-of-spaces-vhf145-2xlp

Also available on Bandcamp if you don't want the dead dinosaur version
https://flyingsaucerattack.bandcamp.com/album/in-search-of-spaces

Movietone 'Peel Sessions' (x3) release coming in the spring, according to their FB page.

Nice!