GO-KART MOZART Instant Wigwam And Igloo Mixture 1999

 

by request

 

 

Discogs

It looks like the release of this in Spain in 2001 wasn't a reissue, so I'll let this slide.- Blogatrix

Go-Kart Mozart Biography by Erik Hage

Go-Kart Mozart is a further installment in the decades-long musical journey of Lawrence, the one-named iconoclast responsible for some of the finest, most inscrutable pop music of his time. This project focuses on bubblegum sticky novelty pop whose earwormy melodies are balanced by the gritty, sardonic, sometimes moving topics of the songs. It's all a far cry from the post-punk aesthetic of Felt or the glam rock of Denim, but it's another perfect showcase for the wit and wisdom of one of pop's great eccentrics.

Lawrence spent the '70s and '80s fronting the atmospheric guitar pop band Felt, who drew much inspiration from Television, and then after a short break to recalibrate, returned to the pop music fray with the group Denim. Over the course of two albums (1992's Back in Denim and 1996's Denim on Ice) Lawrence and friends produced a bubblegummy strain of '70s glam rock whose sing-along hooks belied the oft-biting tenor of its lyrics. Near the end of that endeavor, the group shifted to making music inspired by novelty acts of the '70s like Lieutenant Pigeon and Chicory Tip as the title of the 1997 odds and sods collection Novelty Rock makes clear. After some all-too-typical wrangling with record labels led to the disbanding of Denim, Lawrence chose to further explore novelty pop with Go-Kart Mozart. Featuring a sound that was tinny and giddily cheap sounding as it mixed silly synth pop, crunchy glam, and sly socal commentary, the project's first album Instant Wigwam and Igloo Mixture was issued in 2000 on Lawrence's own label West Midlands Records (which existed under the Cherry Red umbrella.) After a five-year wait during which Lawrence oversaw the re-release of the entire Felt catalog and began work on various projects, Go-Kart Mozart's second album, Tearing Up the Album Chart, finally saw release. The album was again split between novelty and commentary and, as a bonus for fans of Denim, contained tracks from the group's long-shelved third album titled Denim Takes Over. After another long wait for more recordings, during which Lawrence was filmed for a documentary on his life and career that detailed his struggles and his genius (Lawrence of Belgravia, directed by Paul Kelly), Go-Kart Mozart reappeared in 2012 with a single (a cover of Roger Whittaker's hit "New World in the Morning") and an album (On the Hot Dog Streets,) which was co-produced by longtime Lawrence ally Brian O'Shaughnessy. The record was the most focused work they'd done to date and featured quite a few songs repurposed from the unreleased Denim album Denim Takes Over. Soon after it came out, Lawrence and his musical partner Terry Miles, whose collaboration dated back to Denim's 1996 record Denim on Ice, began work on a new record. It took longer than they expected, eventually seeing the light of day in early 2018. Titled Mozart's Mini Mart, the album added some music hall and electro pop to their usual junkshop glam-meets-novelty pop sound. It also featured heavy contributions from bassist Rusty Stone and production by Papernut Cambridge head honcho Ian Button. Following this release, Lawrence changed the name of the band to Mozart Estate and after another long wait, released the single "Record Store Day" in 2021 and "Relative Poverty" in 2022, then in 2023 unleashed Pop-Up! Ker-Ching! and the Possibilities of Modern Shopping, another hilariously cutting, completely original, mix of novelty, melody, and commentary. 

 

Tracklist

1		Mandrax For Minx Cats	1:59
2		We're Selfish And Lazy And Greedy	3:01
3		Here Is A Song	3:43
4		Sailor Boy	1:40
5		City Synthesis	1:01
6		Drinkin' Um Bongo	0:44
7		Mrs Back-To-Front And The Bull Ring Thing	4:35
8		Hip Op	1:30
9		Plead With The Man	1:36
10		Wendy James	3:09
11		Plug-In City	0:56
12		Depleted Soul	1:03
13		She Tore It Up And Walked Away	1:42
14		Today	1:19
15		Wear Your Foghat With Pride	1:25
16		Fluff On The Mallow	1:08

DENIM Denim On Ice 1996

 

Discogs

 

Artist Biography by Mark Deming

Given Lawrence Hayward's frequent disputes with his bandmates during the decade-long run of his first and best-known band Felt, it came as little surprise that for his next project, he was not merely the uncontested leader, but the sole constant member. Denim was not a band in the traditional sense; instead, Hayward worked with a revolving cast of musicians for Denim's various studio projects and live appearances. The band also found Hayward setting aside the lush but wiry guitar-based pop that was Felt's calling card, and instead founded a new sound inspired by glam rock, 70's pop, and distaff offshoots of early new wave, with the eclectic music tied together by Hayward's dryly witty, often bitterly satiric lyrics.
Denim made its debut in 1992 with the album Back in Denim, in which Hayward celebrated the '70s with the song "The Osmonds" and revealed his contempt for what followed on "I'm Against the 1980s." Recorded over the space of two years and released by Bows Own Records, the album fared well with critics but didn't sell especially well, and it wasn't until 1996 that Denim released their second LP, the sprawling and eclectic Denim on Ice, which was issued by The Echo Label, a U.K. imprint affiliated with Japan's Pony Canyon Records. Denim promoted the album with a major tour opening for Pulp (whose lyrical style showed a certain resemblance to Hayward's dry-as-gin tales of British life), but once again, record buyers proved less enthusiastic than critics. In early 1997, Denim shifted labels once again, this time to EMI, and their label debut was a collection of B-sides and unreleased tracks, Novelty Rock.

In the late summer of 1997, Denim were gearing up for the release of their next album, Denim Take Over, and in advance of its release, EMI planned to release "Summer Smash," a track from the album, as a single. Copies were sent to radio and press in anticipation of an early September release date, but while initial reaction suggested Denim might have had a hit on their hands, the single was derailed by the death of Princess Diana in a car crash on August 31, 1997. Following Diana's death, EMI decided releasing a song called "Summer Smash" would be in poor taste, and they not only canceled the release of the single and destroyed all copies still in their hands, they shelved Denim Take Over permanently. Following this frustrating turn of events, Hayward retired Denim, though he re-recorded several songs from the unissued Denim Take Over with his subsequent project, Go-Kart Mozart. 

 

Tracklist

1	The Great Pub Rock Revival	4:11
2	It Fell Off The Back Of A Lorry	3:19
3	Romeo Jones Is In Love Again	1:42
4	Brumburger	4:21
5	The Supermodels	3:59
6	Shut Up Sidney	2:25
7	Mrs Mills	3:53
8	Best Song In The World	2:43
9	Synthesisers In The Rain	4:56
10	Job Centre	2:57
11	Council Houses	2:36
12	Glue & Smack	3:41
13	Jane Suck Died In 77	3:08
14	Grandad's False Teeth	2:51
15	Silly Rabbit	2:00
16	Don't Bite Too Much Out Of The Apple	3:19
17	Myriad Of Hoops	2:28
18	Denim On Ice	1:31