The first picture of you, the first picture of summer...

Woohoo, today the sky is blue and the sun is finally shining after weeks and weeks of grey and cold weather. It´s like a first glimpse at spring and everybody is outside. Even our dog was taking a sunbath. When I am in Hamburg I live at the river´s edge with a view towards the harbour.
The water is sparkling and all the boats and ships are full ofsmiling people. There is even a huge faux-steamroller cruising the river below me. It´s so nice.
And of course there is a soundtrack to this beautiful scenery. I just can´t help to blast "No sense of sin", the first (and for a long time only) album of The Lotus Eaters. Music with an inbuilt sun-burst!

Enjoy "The first picture of you." A piece of pop-perfection since 1983.


Isn´t it a monumental pop song that doesn´t sound dated one bit? Or am I just listening to this for too long?

In 2001 after a long hiatus The Lotus Eaters released a second album "Silentspace", which I still haven´t heard yet. I should really get it, but maybe I feel that "No sense of sin" is so complete and great that all was said with this one album.

And then there are The Wild Swans another glistening spring-band, sharing the same people, the same un-equalled melodies and flat out optimism. Albeit they had a tendency to be a bit too "christian" for my tastes, their melodies on gems such as "Bringing home the ashes", "Northern England", and "Bible Dreams" are unbeatable.
Reading through some of the Youtube comments it seems that they were especially big in the Phillipines.

After their albums were hard to find rarities, last year saw a double CD release of their two albums they did for Sire Records.

When the sun will go down, I will complete my early-spring-british-guitar-spring-day with the slightly sad "Unless" by the equally smashing Pale Fountains. WHo need the Smiths?!

Can´t write anymore...have to go back outside...

Here are The Wild Swans, "Young Manhood".