This is a bit of a weird one. There I was buying my milk on a Sunday morning when I walked past the usual part in the co-op where all the freebie books are left. It’s usually full of Bridget Jones shit. I usually walk on by.
But wait! What’s this?
There was a pile of around half a dozen or so CDs. I had a quick shifty through them. It looked like it was early 90s standard indie fare, with a fair sprinkling of CD singles. CD singles are the worst format ever invented. At least with a 7 inch vinyl, or even a 12 inch vinyl, you get a feeling of physical superiority.
I flicked through for all of 5 seconds… Nope. NOPE. NOPE!!!!
An album then jumped out at me: Somewhere Soon by The High. Never judge a book by its cover etc, but there was something about the simplicity of the album design, albeit reduced down to a CD level, and the band name that somehow triggered something in me.
The High? I think I’ve heard of them, but I really can’t place them. In between all the excitement of buying six pints of milk, I thought I’d take a punt on Somewhere Soon. It was placed inside my milk-carrying bag.
Back at base and a quick online investigation followed. Oh, that’s interesting. The High have not only Stone Roses, but also Buzzcock connections. They’re a kind of super group without being super. They’re the indie runners who might have been if it wasn’t for different times, different styles, and different label politics.
I gave it a play later on in the day. It’s not going to change the world. I’ll probably only play it once every 10 years or so, which perhaps suggests I should have left it outside the co-op. But it is interesting in the early 90s indie time capsule type of way.
They can’t quite decide if they want to go down the shoegazing route or perhaps take something of a slight twist and head a little bit more down a Madchester Stone Roses offering.
I confess to looking on eBay to see what the prices are. The cheapest is £5, with an average selling price around £10. That could buy my milk supply for the coming week. That’s not quite in the spirit of a freebie corner though, is it?
I’ll stick with it. My indie days are thankfully done, but I do like quite discovering lost relics from this period.
