Silicone Values - GABBA Receptor

  

  One of my favourite UK bands over the last few years have been Bristol collective Silicone Values. They've released a string of extremely catchy singles, a number of which I've featured on here :  https://justsomepunksongs.blogspot.com/search?q=silicone+values

  I've always thought they didn't get the attention they deserved. Pretty much everyone on the chatroom for the Just Some Punk Songs shows that I've played them on has loved them but in general they've always seemed to go under the radar. Hopefully that's about to change with the release of How to survive when people don't like you and you don't like them.

  It's a 15 track album collated by Paris label sdz records which brings together those singles into one very tidy package. It's available on vinyl and digital download and I'm not exaggerating when I say it's essential listening. 

  I've got to admit that I'm a little confused as by by my reckoning, the 2020 single The Last Work Of Piss Artists b​/​w Just As Simple as That (https://siliconevalues.bandcamp.com/album/the-last-work-of-piss-artists-b-w-just-as-simple-as-that) is missing but that's made up for with the inclusion of 3 songs I haven't heard before. 

  It's a truly great "greatest hits" comp so check it out. 

  This is one of those new tracks and it's as good if not better than anything the band have done thus far. It's called GABBA Receptor...

Silicone Values - Disposable Music

    

  Bristol DIY collective Silicone Values are always popular when I play them on the Just Some Punk Songs show but they seem to go under the radar somewhat. They show up every once in a while with a new single but even though those singles are always mighty impressive they never quite get the coverage they deserve (except for on here of course (https://justsomepunksongs.blogspot.com/search?q=silicone+values).

  The new single pairs up a couple of tracks, Disposable Music b​/​w New Cold War? Both are up to the high standard we've come to expect. Both are catchy as hell post punk songs with the emphasis very much on pop. The band say "We like the lack of detail and hope you do too" but you don't get this good without putting in the effort. 

  You can get the single here (may I suggest you pull your finger out and check out all their singles if you haven't yet had the pleasure) 

https://siliconevalues.bandcamp.com/album/disposable-music-b-w-new-cold-war

  Definitely not the sound of a band that don't give a fuck about you, this is Disposable Music... 

Silicone Values - 1977

  

  I've featured Bristol DIY collective Silicone Values on here a couple of times so far with their songs Utopian Futures (https://justsomepunksongs.blogspot.com/2020/10/silicone-values-utopian-futures.html) and The Last Work Of Piss Artists (https://justsomepunksongs.blogspot.com/2020/12/silicone-values-last-work-of-piss.html). They always go down very well (as they did in the chatroom when I played their Streaming TV single on the show towards the end of last year) and although any write ups I see about them are always positive, I reckon they're deserving of a higher profile. 

  Their sound is lo fi post punk, most of their releases have a similar kind of sound but that's certainly no problem as they're very good indeed.

  They return today with the flip side of their new single. Featuring a line up of Brin Davies (Guitar/Vocals/Drum Machine), Anthony Richards (Guitar/Vocals) & Ben David (Bass Guitar), we're treated to 2 new tracks, both of which are of equal merit. 

  "Recorded without due care or attention at No Clear Objective Studios January 2022" we're treated to title track Burn The 1980's and 1977. Both possess an endearingly retro feel, both highly recommended. You can get the ep here : https://siliconevalues.bandcamp.com/album/burn-the-1980s-b-w-1977

   Maybe this will be the song that earns them fame, a contract from Virgin and an early death. It's called 1977... 

Silicone Values - The Last Work Of Piss Artists

  

  One of the more interesting newcomers of 2020 are Bristol DIY collective Silicone Values. They announced themselves in June with a single called I Hate Fascist Rock And Roll (I think we're all with them on that one!) and they followed it in September with the excellent dystopian pairing of Utopian Futures & Nuclear Sun (which was covered here :  https://justsomepunksongs.blogspot.com/2020/10/silicone-values-utopian-futures.html).   

  Now they complete a hat trick of killer singles with the release of "two more tinnitus inducing one-trick ponies..." 

  Buying into the Desperate Bicycles rallying cry of "It was easy, it was cheap, go and do it" they bring us a couple of sub 2 minute lo-fi delights. Just As Simple As That is a jaunty blast of budget post punk whilst the song you'll find below marries up a splendid title with a terrace style chanted chorus of "who do you think we are?" From what I can make out, it's a critique of modern day Britain, or at least a sizable section of it. 

  You can get it here : https://siliconevalues.bandcamp.com/album/the-last-work-of-piss-artists-b-w-just-as-simple-as-that 

  This is The Last Work Of Piss Artists... 

Silicone Values - Utopian Futures

  

  Silicone Values are a lo-fi post punk band from Bristol that I came across a few months ago when I played their very fine single, I Hate Fascist Rock And Roll, on the Just Some Punk Songs show and stuck it on Youtube ready to post on here. As often happens, I didn't get round to writing about it and it's still languishing in the "to do" pile. Or it was till they released a follow up single which I'll feature instead. 

  I don't know much about the band other than they're a D.I.Y. collective headed by Brin Davies. The debut single saw him collaborating with various members of The Moles, Yamasuki667 & Kobayushi Tape Counter.  I also know they're now two for two when it comes to great releases. 

  Of the 2 tracks on offer on this sophomore release (this time we get various members of White Owl and The Anomalies "dipping in and making a bit of a noise") Nuclear Sun is about growing up during the Cold War dreaming about the coming apocalypse, total nuclear destruction and radiation poisoning. "Every Night I Dreamt about the end of the bloody world, every night I dreamt about the end of everything and everyone. Every night I dreamt about getting the shit kicked out of me." Grim and worrying times, thankfully there's nothing around nowadays to keep us awake fearing for our health! 

  The other track, the one featured below, is a little more up tempo though still in the same dystopian vein (I don't want to live in society"...  I can't even stand another day"). The single is accompanied with the quote "We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be" which is taken from the Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. novel Mother Night. He's an author famed for his wryly satirical novels which frequently used postmodern techniques as well as elements of fantasy and science fiction to highlight the horrors and ironies of 20th-century civilization. Much of his work is marked by an essentially fatalistic worldview that nonetheless embraces modern humanist beliefs. A pretty good summation of the themes on the single. His first novel, Player Piano, "spins the chilling tale of engineer Paul Proteus, who must find a way to live in a world dominated by a supercomputer and run completely by machines. Paul’s rebellion is vintage Vonnegut—wildly funny, deadly serious, and terrifyingly close to reality." It was also published under the title Utopia 14 and I'm pretty sure it's an inspiration for Utopian Futures.  

  You can get it here : https://siliconevalues.bandcamp.com/album/utopian-futures-b-w-nuclear-sun-2  

  This is Utopian Futures...