The Third Eye Foundation - Universal Cooler

Told you I'd found something special... I don't think I have anything with an Easter theme, so you'll have to make do with this. Think of it as the result of an Easter-egg hunt, but with records as little chocolate eggs and shelves of vinyl as mysterious wooded areas, with me as that weird uncle who's following you around and you're not allowed to talk to.

Those of you who know me won't be surprised, but this is some extra proof that I am a dumbass. For a long time I thought this record was by a band called Universal Cooler, and I didn't listen to it for years, on the basis that Universal Cooler is an awful name for a band (apologies if it's your band's name). It's not by Universal Cooler. It's called Universal Cooler, and it's actually the first single from The Third Eye Foundation (Matt Elliot), on Planet Records, from Bristol, back in the day.

It's bloody great.

1. Universal Cooler
2. I'm Not Getting In A Car With You

It's right yer.

Bivouac - The Bell Foundry 7"

I'll be honest with you, one of the main reasons I bought this record was the colour of the vinyl. Just look at it. Beautiful. You try doing that with an MP3.

Anyway, turns out I made a great decision, as this is a superb slice of noisy guitary mid-90sy ROCK! And, looking them up right now, it appears they ended up on Geffen for their third LP, which is actually the only one I have; it's called 'Full Size Boy', and I'd strongly recommend getting hold of it. Great stuff. They were from Derby, like Cable.

This is a couple of years earlier than that album, and is great. A-side's really good, first b-side also good, second b-side (happy days) is an acoustic track, which is a bit of a departure from anything else I've heard by these guys. Also good, but suffers from either shoddy recording or a shoddy needle.

By the way, I've found a great 7" in the pile, which will go up next...

1. The Bell Foundry
2. Lead
3. Saltwater Heal (acoustic)

Hear ye.