First the Wee Cherubs, Now the Bachelor Pad

After years left untended, there is a branch of the indie-pop tree bearing fruit again. For me, the first signs of growth occurred in 2006 when Glaswegian band (Strathbungo, to be exact) the Bachelor Pad appeared on a compilation when Jim Kavanaugh resurrected his legendary Egg Records for a brief reissue campaign. These songs were not the usual jangle I was expecting. This was louder and more psychedelic. More in line with, say, Hangman's Beautiful Daughters. Fast forward to the past decade and the band started showing up all over Cherry Red comps like 'Scared to Get Happy,' 'C87,' 'C88' and 'Big Gold Dreams.' I quickly came to realize the Bachelor Pad wasn't a band so easy to label. One minute there was a garage bent to them and the next they had you bobbing your head to pure pop. One thing for sure, there were a lot of '60s records in their collections. It has been said the Bachelor Pad are equal parts Buzzcocks and Syd Barrett. How can you resist that description?

Everywhere I turned the Bachelor Pad seemed to pop up. When I became obsessed with the Sha La La flexis, there they were sharing a split single with an equally fantastic Scottish band, Baby Lemonade. Then I heard "Dreaming" by the Wee Cherubs on a compilation and thought it was just about the the most beautiful piece of pop I had ever heard. What? This was the band Martin Cotter and Graham Adam were in before the Bachelor Pad? Then, of course, in the last year Optic Nerve reissued the "Dreaming" single and upped the ante by cobbling together an album's worth of "lost" songs on 'The Merry Makers.' Well, surely, if the Wee Cherubs can be anthologized, the better known Bachelor Pad can have a collection too, right?

On Oct. 6, Emotional Response is coming to the rescue with 'All Hash and Cock: The Very Best of the Bachelor Pad.' The 12 songs touch on the Warholasound, Imaginary and Egg eras. Even with the compilations I mentioned, there is still plenty here you need in your collection. Plus, you get a poster and sleeve notes by the Guardian's Alexis Petridis... all housed in a gatefold sleeve to keep your yellow vinyl pristine. Pre-order now!.

Here are a couple of songs to whet your appetite. This should illustrate the Bachelor Pad's spectrum of sound. "Country Pancake" appeared on the band's lone album, the teriffic 'Tales of Hofmann.' "Meet the Lovely Jenny Brown" came near the end for the band when Cotter had already flown the coop. Those songs for Egg like this one and "Smoothie" turned out to be my favorites. Both of the songs found below will appear on 'All Hash and Cock: The Very Best of the Bachelor Pad.'




Tracklisting
1. The Albums of Jack
2. Country Pancake
3. Girl of Your Dreams
4. Abu Nidals Bus
5. I Feel Sick
6. Jack and Julian
7. Tumble and Fall
8. Do It For Fun
9. The Coroners Wife
10. Garbagehead
11. Meet the Lovely Jenny Brown
12. I Want to Hold Your Head

Sept. 16 Update: There will be an exciting accompaniment to 'All Hash and Cock: The Very Best of the Bachelor Pad.' The band's last single, "Meet the Lovely Jenny Brown," will be re-released as a five-song 10" on white vinyl that includes a previously unreleased stripped-down piano mix of the song and a whopping 8-minute version of "Do It For Fun." Emotional Repsonse rules! I'll add the pre-order link when it becomes available. Save your shillings.

Dec. 6 Update: The "Meet the Lovely Jenny Brown" 10" is now available in very limited quantities. Better act fast. I found a copy overseas and snatched it. If I had any patience at all, I could have saved some moolah.