stockholm monsters
ltm catalogue

"I started to get into music early on because all the older guys that lived round our way were in a band from Burnage called the Stockholm Monsters. They were the first band ever to come from Burnage and I think they had a hit with a song called Fairy Tales. From that you get into Joy Division, New Order and then it was the Smiths and then the Roses and then the Mondays - and then you start your own band." Noel Gallagher (Oasis), July 2002


ALMA MATER PLUS (LTMCD 2330) £10
Pristine CD edition of the Monsters only album, released by Factory (Fact 80) in the summer of 1984. Boisterous post-punk indiepop produced by Peter Hook of Joy Division/New Order, the album has been digitally remastered from the original session tapes. Nine bonus tracks, full sleevenotes, and original Trevor Johnson artwork faithfully reproduced. Full tracklist: Terror, Where I Belong, Decalogue, Winter, Five O'Clock, Life's Two Faces, Your Uniform, E.W., To Look At Her, Something's Got To Give, All At Once, National Pastime, Militia, How Corrupt Is Rough Trade? (7"), Kan Kill! (7"), Partyline, Stupid, Your Uniform (alternative mix), Life's Two Faces (alternative mix).

Reviews: "Should have been the Monsters' breakout platter. Though it was never released as a single, Where I Belong would indeed have been a natural" (Washington City Paper, 6/02); "A band at ease with their abilities to make a telling - and unashamed - pop album... It's steeped in presence, with tracks like Terror (bright and breezy, despite the title), Where I Belong and Winter (check out that growling bassline!) exercises in clear-headed accessibility" (Whisperin' & Hollerin', 4/02); "Alma Mater was a triumph, and has for years been up there in my catalogue of the greatest albums ever made - more of their glorious merging of body-shaking, oddly nervous rhythm and soul" (Tangents, 4/02); "A powerful record, Alma Mater is atmospheric, bass-heavy and geared to the group's highly melodic and dark poetic wanderings" (Melody Maker, 1984); "It's a long way from Sweden, but once their horns are in riotous rein and the grinding guitars reach overdrive, the Stockholm Monsters will support the healthy fears of the Factory faithful" (NME, 1984)


ALL AT ONCE (SINGLES 1981-1987) (LTMCD 2337) £10
Remastered CD collection of every Monsters single side for Factory, Factory Benelux and MASO between 1981 and 1987, with producers including Martin Hannett and Peter Hook. Seventeen tracks, full sleevenotes, artwork adapted from Fac 107 single sleeve by Trevor Johnson. Full tracklist: Fairy Tales, Death is Slowly Coming, Happy Ever After, Soft Babies, Miss Moonlight, Lafayette, The Longing, Miss Moonlight (1984 version), All At Once, National Pastime, How Corrupt is Rough Trade? (12" version), Kan Kill! (12" version), Partyline (12 mix), Partyline (Maso version), Militia, Dumbstruck, Shake It to the Bank (demo).

Reviews: "The complete singles collection and probably the most accessible of the trio" (Record Collector, 6/02); "We're cooking with gas. All At Once benefits no end from the trumpet blasts and shows the Monsters had happily mastered the pop hook despite the misplaced 'dour' Factory tag. How Corrupt...? is quite phenomenal, while the ep from 1987 features some of their best material, tunes like Militia and the excellent Partyline brim with danceability and attitude" (Whisperin' & Hollerin', 4/02); "Stockholm Monsters made some amazing singles - a noise every bit as unhinged yet controlled as the Happy Mondays, held together by the sinewy muscles of the dispossessed" (Tangents, 4/02); "The Stockholm Monsters always put me in mind of the The Move before they discovered Heavy Metal - all Regency horns and rushing drums" (NME, 1984); "A bit of brightness in the overcast early '80s Factory catalog, Manchester's Stockholm Monsters peppered their hurried pop songs with piping keyboards and pogoing bass. Their first single, Fairy Tales, is three minutes of perfection, built around a simple, twinkling melodic phrase. Tony France's baleful baritone gives the song nuance and character; he leaps up for the notes like he's trying to pluck something off a too-high shelf. The Monsters were also among the first Factory bands to use keyboards for something more than mere shading. Synths bubble merrily across Happy Ever After and whistle like pan pipes in Death Is Slowly Coming. Their refusal to bow to form makes them one of Factory's buried treasures" (eMusic, 09/06)


THE LAST ONE BACK (ARCHIVE 1980-1987) (LTMCD 2335) £10
A fascinating and comprehensive collection picked from the band's own tape archive, mostly of songs not recorded elsewhere, and including their final five song demo session. Twenty tracks, full sleevenotes, archive images in booklet. Full tracklist: No More, Dear, Before Your Eyes, Stupid, House is Not a Home, When I Smile (live), Where I Belong (live), Hand Over Fist (live), Partyline (live), Future, Catch Me In Confusion, Copulation, Systems Failing, Endless You, We Are Nation, M/C, Love Is A Dose, Fairy Tales, Partyline, Kan Kill! (FBN cassette demo), How Corrupt Is Rough Trade? (FBN cassette demo).

Reviews: "Stupid and House is Not a Home clock up brownie points in the 'what if?' department. Stupid is nagging and spooky, with a sustained noir-ish quality worthy of Josef K and icy keyboards, while House tackles destructive marital disharmony with Tony France answering his own vocals. Affecting" (Whisperin' & Hollerin', 4/02)

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