Capital Single From the Springfields

Another day, another endeavor by Paul Chastain and Ric Menck. The band we listened to yesterday, Choo Choo Train, chugged along in '87 and '88. Today's incarnation, the Springfields, were the locomotive and caboose to Choo Choo Train, releasing a 7" in '86 and then resuming from '89 to '91. Between these two bands, there was some label jumping, and the fact these lads from America showed up on legendary imprints the Subway Organization and Sarah Records will never cease to amaze me.

The three-track 7" we are going to listen to today is an Australian issue that came out in 1991 on the always dependable Summershine label, a brief home to many favorites of mine, including the Rainyard, the Sugargliders and yet another Chastain/Menck band that will be featured here next time. "Reach for the Stars", written by Menck, has a tremendous break in tempo at the two-minute mark, turning this from a head-bobbing jangly pop song to something quite psychedelic. It may give you whiplash in the same way the Kinks did that to us on the 1972 tune "Australia". The other song on that side is a cover of the Pastels' Creation-era single "Million Tears". If you're a fan of that band's work, you're going to love this rendition. Stick around for "Tranquil" on the flip side. I think you just might hear Stephen's influence there too.

If you live in the UK and find all of this vaguely familiar, you may have this exact same three tracks on a single that highlighted "Tranquil" instead of "Reach for the Stars". It was released the same year on Seminal Twang and with a completely different sleeve. That label was a short-lived division of Paperhouse that released a 7" a month and had a magazine-like look to their sleeves. Ring any bells? They highlighted some great bands.

"Reach for the Stars"
"Million Tears"
"Tranquil"