Bido Lito!

PROBE RECORDS' Picks of 2011

So, Christmas is just three days away, and if you’re anything like some of us at Bido Towers, this will probably mean some seriously fast walking around the streets of Liverpool is still required if you plan on giving anything to your loved ones this Christmas (other than a warm hug and a chunk of your brother’s Toblerone, of course).

With this in mind, we popped in to see Bob from Probe Records who gave us a quick list of his recommended releases of 2011, and the reasons why your mum/dad/dog might love them, too…

You can thank us later.

-----

Recommendation #1 – Thee Oh Sees / Carrion Crawler/The Dream [In the Red]

Bob:  “This is our ‘album of year’! It’s been heavily rotated in the shop, and it’s the one we’ve sold most of this week. It’s one of those records that every time we play it, someone asks what it is and ends up buying it. It’s about their eighth album, I think!”

This record lives in the front record rack in the shop entitled ‘New Releases’ (perfect for those who don’t have time to poke around). It also features lots of intestines and a green skeleton on the cover, and sounds really good in the Probe record player (we asked for a quick listen while it was quiet).

Recommendation #2 - Thee Oh Sees / Castlemania [In The Red]

Bob: “Number two of the year is another one by Thee Oh Sees and it’s called Castlemania.”

They made two in a year?

Bob: “They actually made three records in the space of one year, with two coming out this year. And one’s a double! Tell that to your Stone Roses!  They don’t mess about these Yanks. They’re not lazy like British bands…”

Recommendation #3 – Factory Star / Enter Castle Perilous [Occultation Records]

Bob: “It’s Martin Bramah! He’s a legend! He’s out of The Fall.”

Factory Star: Lucybel by OccultationUK

The Probe Records handwritten description says that this release is a “Christmas love song” with a Granite Shores cover of Factory Star’s When Sleep Won’t Come on the flipside. It’s also another album that was brought out quite quickly… Enter Castle Perilous was recorded in three days (at Parr Street Studios) and mixed the following weekend.

Recommendation #4 - Ty Segall / Singles 2007-2010 [Goner]

Bob: “I’m only saying that because it’s right in front of me… Nah, just joking… He’s alright!”

03 Ty Segall - Girlfriend by Goner Records

Recommendation #5 – The Black Keys / El Camino [Nonesuch]

Bob: “Everyone loves Black Keys! They don’t really need any recommendations, but I’m recommending it anyway.”

The release of El Camino makes this the seventh studio album by Ohio duo Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney, and was produced by Danger Mouse when the band decamped to a brand new studio in Nashville to record a more upbeat follow up to 2010’s Brothers.

Recommendation #6 - Stealing Sheep / Noah and the Paper Moon [Heavenly]

Bob: “Stealing Sheep is another good one! That’s a 6 track LP with an 8 track CD!” (Notes good cover)

HVNLP91 - Stealing Sheep 'Noah's Days' by heavenlyrecordings

It’s always nice to have some local talent featured, and the trio have had a successful year with their psychedelic pop nuggets, so this record is a worthy choice.

We've caused a massive queue of customers to build up behind us, so we’re now relying on Bob's enthusiastic finger-pointing to work out what to buy...

Recommendation #7- The Paperhead  / The Paperhead [Trouble In Mind]

Bob didn’t have time to convince us about why this record is a must-have, so we were left to delve online and find what a blogger for the LA Times Music Blog said about it. “That it has been written and recorded by three precocious 18-year-olds from Nashville and not some lost nugget from 1968 is mind-boggling on two counts.” File next to The Black Angels, Pink Floyd, Kaleidoscope, and fall in love.

Recommendation #8 – Psychic Ills / Hazed Dream [Sacred Bones Records]

Words had failed Bob by this point. However, he not only pointed enthusiastically to this one, but picked it up and waved it in front of our camera. That’s got to be an endorsement!

04 Mexican Wedding by sacredbones

-----

Merry Christmas!