Sinister: Sarapalooza

[Robert McTaggart]

Hello boys and girls

I have a horrible feeling this is going to prompt death threats for
me, but....well, it's about Sarah records.

Yes, the Orchids were great, the Field Mice had many moments to
treasure and I liked the way Heavenly failed so charmingly to be the
Shangs, but er, can I upset the apple cart again?  You see, I really
didn't like the label, as an institution, there always seemed to be an
air of the soul-destroyingly politically correct and of narrow-minded
preciousness.  And the result was that, while fellow fanzinists and
guitar pop stalwarts of the late 80s (the likes of Stereolab and Saint
Etienne) were trying new and exciting things, spreading their wings
and embracing pop music in all its forms, Sarah were shunning 99% of
it, and populating the label with interchangeable fey indieboys with
floppy fringes and rickenbackers, and becoming a parody of themselves.
I was genuinely thrilled by 'Are you scared to get happy?' at the age
of 18, and I know Matt and Claire wholehearted believed in what they
were doing, but their ramblings became increasingly irritating and
pictures of cherries and disused railway lines didn't scream 'POP' but
Middle England.

So for all those people bemused by the mentions of Sarah records,
don't think you're missing out too much.  Belle and Sebastian aren't
the logical progression of Sarah.  I don't even see them as an indie
band, indie is a lonely place where the catalogue number is mightier
than the melody.  Ultimately these songs make me catch my breath and
give me the same rush as 'Disney Girls', a girl group weepie, a
Northern Soul stomper, or anything written by Serge Gainsbourg or
Robert Forster, something that a million Gentle Despites with a
million typewriters could never do in a million years.

Just my opinion...

love Tag xx
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