If you’ve ordered our latest release – Look Up by Mark Morriss – on vinyl you’ll have found an extra CD in with your package and are the first to get your ears around volume 1 of our label sampler.
Across 12 tracks we highlight some of our favourites from our first three years as Reckless Yes and hopefully help you to discover new music and artists to love.
Reckless Yes label sampler volume one
Since our first release back in July 2016 we’ve clocked up another 39 releases across digital, CD and vinyl with an amazing array of bands. Some we’ve worked with on just one track while others we’ve been lucky enough to work with over a much longer time. Volume 1 of our label sampler introduces a number of the bands in the Reckless Yes family through some of the best tracks we’ve had the honour of being involved with – dig in!
Chorusgirl – In Dreams
Band: Chorusgirl
Track: In Dreams (from album Shimmer and Spin)
Released: November 2019
First up on the label sampler and taken from second album Shimmer and Spin (RY022 – available here) is this Chorusgirl track which perfectly introduces the surf-tinged noise-pop which swirls around the glorious songwriting. Brooding, introspective, delicate but resolute – there’s a whole lot to love here.
Pet Crow – Pressure Sores
Band: Pet Crow
Track: Pressure Sores (from album A Simple Guide to Small and Medium Pond Life)
Released: February 2017
Taken from debut album A Simple Guide To Small And Medium Pond Life (RY004 – available here) the track captures the garage four-piece from Derby in their raw and early stages blending nu-wave with tripping rhythms and slacker pop sensibilities. Having recently moved on from Reckless Yes Pet Crow will be self-releasing their second album in 2020.
Mighty Kids – Dust
Band: Mighty Kids
Song: Dust (from EP Won’t You Reconsider?)
Released: July 2018
Taken from debut EP Won’t You Reconsider? (RY019 – available digitally) the synth-and-uke sound of Derby three-piece Mighty Kids has touches of Field Mice and Saint Etienne in the melancholy pop. These four tracks are a perfection of crystalline vocals, and introspective lyrics but far from being navel-gazing these are songs which will get you up and dancing.
Grawl!x – Don’t Do It To Yourself
Band: Grawl!x
Song: Don’t Do It To Yourself
Released: April 2018
Taken from third album Appendix (RY011 – available here) this track features vocals from Pet Crow’s Dani and is part of a record concluding a trilogy on grief. Far from being melancholy these records are intricately woven melodically reflecting the myriad facets of loss, and with a lyrical vulnerability belying the strength within. Fourth album Peeps will be out in early 2020 and follows single Epicene which we released in July.
Mark Morriss – Adventures
Band: Mark Morriss
Song: Adventures
Released: September 2019
Taken from fourth solo album Look Up (RY031 – available here) Adventures is the opener to an eclectic wonder of an album, drawing on influences from ’70s sci-fi to Americana, nu-wave to Country to create a catchy and melodic pop album. Vinyl editions of Look Up were snapped up quickly in pre-sale but keep an eye out for news soon on other editions, and on what we can expect in 2020 from Mr Morriss.
Unqualified Nurse Band – What Do People Talk About?
Band: Unqualified Nurse Band
Song: What Do People Talk About?
Released: October 2017
Taken from second album Trashland (RY010 – available here) What Do People Talk About? finds the band at their eclectic best. Released just 12 months after their debut album Debasement Tapes which deconstructed 60 years of rock n roll this album starts to piece it back together and bring genre to the surface with psych interludes, and proves the album as a medium is far from over.
LIINES – Be Here
Band: LIINES
Song: Be Here
Released: October 2016
Taken from acclaimed debut album Stop-Start (RY012 – available digitally) and also released as a 7″ single (RY003 ) Be Here is LIINES at their soaring yet sparse and atmospheric best. Produced by Paul Tipler the band are having an amazing 2019 with a UK tour supporting Sleaford Mods under their belt, plus festival appearances including Glastonbury, Kendal Calling, Indietracks and co-headline dates with Bis still to come this autumn.
Fightmilk – How You Move On
Band: Fightmilk
Song: How You Move On
Released: November 2018
Taken from debut Not With That Attitude (RY021 – available here) the record opener sets the scene for an album of power-pop perfectly placed for the comeback after the break up. With a ’90s sound through the riffs and rhythms and plenty of wit and shade in the lyrics this is a band whose first statement is as fully formed as artists far further down along in their creative journey.
Panic Pocket – Pizza In My Pants
Band: Panic Pocket
Song: Pizza in my Pants
Released: April 2019
Taken from debut EP Never Gonna Happen (RY030 – available here) Pizza in my Pants captures the sharp wit and lo-fi electro sound of Panic Pocket. Formed in 2017 for First Timers Fest the band has quickly found ways to build sound around their world view and offer side-eye with added synth.
Japan Review – Sealand FC
Band: Japan Review
Song: Sealand FC
Released: March 2019
Taken from debut EP Juno (RY029 – available here) the expansive soundscapes mixed with indie sensibilities are showcased in this song. While there is plenty of nu-gaze around this goes beyond the standard and while being lo-fi offers a richness to the sound. Expect new music from Japan Review in late 2019 / early 2020.
Turkish Delight – Spin
Band: Turkish Delight
Song: Spin
Released: 1996, reissue due November 2019
Taken from 1996 album Tommy Bell, originally released on the Castle Von Buhler label and set for reissue on Reckless Yes in autumn 2019, alongside 1998 album Howcha Magowcha. An experimental noise-rock group from Boston in the US you’ll wonder how this band passed you by in the nineties when they were hailed as Thurston Moore’s favourite band and described as the missing link between Sonic Youth and Belly.
Dactylion – So Easy
Band: Dactylion
Song: So Easy
Released: September 2017
Closing volume 1 of our label sampler and taken from debut EP Come Inside (RY009 – available digitally) this track is an accomplished and ambitious offering from a young band very early in their time together. It draws on influences from My Bloody Valentine to Mazzy Star but remains a track full of emotional resonance and a sound which they are claiming for their own. New music is on the way in early 2020 from Dactylion.
More on the way from Reckless Yes
We’ve got plenty more releases to come in 2019 as we get ready to bring you music from Captain Handsome, Peace Tape, Japan Review, and Turkish Delight. Next year is shaping up to be no less busy or marvellous and already on the blocks is the new album from Grawl!x.
Our family is also set to grow again soon so keep an ear out for new signing announcements in the coming weeks as well as ways you can support the artists you love and what we do as a label. And, of course, volume 1 does rather suggest there’ll be another label sampler in our future too.
In the meantime find out about our artists here, and if you’re thinking of sending us music please do check out our demo info first.
