OFF: Loop?

[Chris Baxley]

John wrote:
>I have a Loop cd entitled "A Gilded Eternity" and to tell the truth I'm not
> really all that interested in the band.  To me, these guys always sounded
> like they wanted really really bad to be My Bloody Valentine with some
> Cocteau Twins thrown in....

I have to respectfully disagree.  Loop is for me one of the coolest bands I've
heard in the past 12 years,
and rocks way more than MBV and Spacemen 3 (with whom they've also been
compared), with more
intense fuzz/wah-drenched guitar freakouts, a harder driving rhythm section and
better melodies.

I have the following:

     "Heaven's End" - Reactor/Elektra (1987)
     "Fade Out"     - Rough Trade (1989)
     "A Guilded Eternity"     - Beggars's Banquet (1990)
     "Wolf Flow" (Peel Sessions '87-'90) - Reactor/Revolver (1991)

It is all uniformly excellent IMO.

They seem to have split up in the early '90s, with the drummer and bass player
joining forces in
Hair and Skin Trading Co., and the other guy forming Main.

Hair & Skin Trading Co. are brilliant.  They put out the following:

     "Jo in Nine G Hell"      - Beggar's Banquet (1993)
     "Over Valence"           - Beggar's Banquet (1994)
     "Psychedlische Musique"  - Freek (1995)

The first two are amazing - just dripping psychedelia with a sinister edge and
chills-inducing instrumentation.
I hear shades of Killing Joke, but it's pretty unique.  "Psychedlische Musique"
is more experimental and
amelodic, but still worth having.

Main takes more of a white noise approach, along the lines of Flying Saucer
Attack.  Still, it makes
great sonic wallpaper, so I've been accumulating. The best so far is "Hydra
Calm", which also has really
cool packaging.

If any UK people know more (esp. about H&ST Co. - did they ever play live?), I'm
curious...

Chris