CD Project Thing #20 - Bis
Bis - "I (heart) Bis"
Remember that famed "Indie Rock" mix tape that I said changed my life? Well, here's another reason why. When they first burst upon the UK scene in the mid 90s, Bis were a Scottish teenage trio (2 guys and a girl), super indie (to the point of even doing all their artwork themselves), and like so many of the UK teenage bands I love so much lo-fi and just amazingly fun. They were the kind of band that I'd have wanted to be in (if, you know, I had any musical talent at all). This cd came out a few years later and compiles all their early singles (in the liner notes, they call it "the lost first album"). If you like poppy, punky, co-ed vocals (and you probably don't, but I do, dammit), this is just essential.
Bis - "The New Transistor Heroes"
Do you like this blog? Well, at least for the moment you have this cd to thank for it still being here. I was going to quit doing it before the Better Than Ezra entries, until I put this cd on at 7:30 in the morning after a long weekend and the opening track ("Tell It To The Kids") just made me so happy that I knew I had to tell somebody about it, and so I had to keep on writing. In order to try to give extra value to their fans, it's all new tracks, not duplicating at all from their early singles, and they're just as good. I don't know where it lays overall, because it's always hard for me to compare "fun" music to "serious" music, but if I was making a ranking of my favorite "fun" music this is right up there.
Bis - "Play Some Real Music: A Bis Live CD"
Officially a bootleg (although not really, since they sell it on their site and even autographed the copy I bought), this is a live album released in like 2002, but only consisting of material up through 1997. As you'll gather if you read on, I strongly support this decision. Some of it is a little lo-fi and ragged, but so was everything the band did back then, so it pretty much fits perfectly. Not really essential or anything, but fun.
Bis - "Intendo" EP
A US-only EP consisting mainly of "New Transistor Heroes" b-sides, along with a couple of older and a couple of newer songs. It's not quite up to the level of the two earlier releases, but it's pretty good, and it's the last time they'd ever sound quite like this. Even though the music didn't quite show it yet, the packaging does begin to give away their move to being a little more professional - it still has a few of their traditional drawings of the band (for the last time ever, I think), but also a photograph, a first for the band. More changes would be in store soon...
Bis - "Social Dancing"
It seems to happen to almost all fun teenage bands - the urge to become more professional and serious. I'm not sure that story has ever disappointed me quite as much as it did with Bis. Before it did, though (see below), they did leave us with one last pretty good album. Sure, it was a more polished sounding Bis, a little less shouty, and a little more electronic, but it's still a good, poppy, enjoyable album.
After this, though, they'd pretty much fall off the table as far as I was concerned. Post-"Social Dancing" their career consisted of an album and a few eps that got more and more electronic and serious as time went on, to the point where the band I loved was pretty much unrecognizable (which is why I no longer own any of those releases). Then they broke up and did a few side projects, then they reformed with a new name and posted some mp3s that seemed to have a little promise, but then broke up again, and now they're regrouping in April to do two shows as Bis to celebrate 10 years since "New Transistor Heroes". Will they take this chance to get back together and do what they do best? We can only hope.
Remember that famed "Indie Rock" mix tape that I said changed my life? Well, here's another reason why. When they first burst upon the UK scene in the mid 90s, Bis were a Scottish teenage trio (2 guys and a girl), super indie (to the point of even doing all their artwork themselves), and like so many of the UK teenage bands I love so much lo-fi and just amazingly fun. They were the kind of band that I'd have wanted to be in (if, you know, I had any musical talent at all). This cd came out a few years later and compiles all their early singles (in the liner notes, they call it "the lost first album"). If you like poppy, punky, co-ed vocals (and you probably don't, but I do, dammit), this is just essential.
Bis - "The New Transistor Heroes"
Do you like this blog? Well, at least for the moment you have this cd to thank for it still being here. I was going to quit doing it before the Better Than Ezra entries, until I put this cd on at 7:30 in the morning after a long weekend and the opening track ("Tell It To The Kids") just made me so happy that I knew I had to tell somebody about it, and so I had to keep on writing. In order to try to give extra value to their fans, it's all new tracks, not duplicating at all from their early singles, and they're just as good. I don't know where it lays overall, because it's always hard for me to compare "fun" music to "serious" music, but if I was making a ranking of my favorite "fun" music this is right up there.
Bis - "Play Some Real Music: A Bis Live CD"
Officially a bootleg (although not really, since they sell it on their site and even autographed the copy I bought), this is a live album released in like 2002, but only consisting of material up through 1997. As you'll gather if you read on, I strongly support this decision. Some of it is a little lo-fi and ragged, but so was everything the band did back then, so it pretty much fits perfectly. Not really essential or anything, but fun.
Bis - "Intendo" EP
A US-only EP consisting mainly of "New Transistor Heroes" b-sides, along with a couple of older and a couple of newer songs. It's not quite up to the level of the two earlier releases, but it's pretty good, and it's the last time they'd ever sound quite like this. Even though the music didn't quite show it yet, the packaging does begin to give away their move to being a little more professional - it still has a few of their traditional drawings of the band (for the last time ever, I think), but also a photograph, a first for the band. More changes would be in store soon...
Bis - "Social Dancing"
It seems to happen to almost all fun teenage bands - the urge to become more professional and serious. I'm not sure that story has ever disappointed me quite as much as it did with Bis. Before it did, though (see below), they did leave us with one last pretty good album. Sure, it was a more polished sounding Bis, a little less shouty, and a little more electronic, but it's still a good, poppy, enjoyable album.
After this, though, they'd pretty much fall off the table as far as I was concerned. Post-"Social Dancing" their career consisted of an album and a few eps that got more and more electronic and serious as time went on, to the point where the band I loved was pretty much unrecognizable (which is why I no longer own any of those releases). Then they broke up and did a few side projects, then they reformed with a new name and posted some mp3s that seemed to have a little promise, but then broke up again, and now they're regrouping in April to do two shows as Bis to celebrate 10 years since "New Transistor Heroes". Will they take this chance to get back together and do what they do best? We can only hope.
posted by Adam at 6:16 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home