Ride guitarist and songwriter Andy Bell has released the second single from his forthcoming solo album, pinball wanderer. ‘apple green ufo’ is an epic alien groove which tries to cross Can with Arthur Russell and the horn section from Faust’s So Far, but ends up sounding how The Stone Roses’ Second Coming should have.
It’s out now on all digital platforms, and you can watch the vibrant video by Chris Tomsett aka Innerstrings below.
“I had this riff on an acoustic and it was kind of like one of those Led Zeppelin folk bangers, but I brought it into the Serge Gainsbourg world and gave it a glass of absinthe,” jokes Andy, who also points out the influence of Dougie Wright’s bass and Dave Richmond’s drumming on Gainsbourg’s classic Histoire de Melody Nelson on the grooves here.
“The lyrics imagine if I met an alien and had to show them around Earth, what would I want to show them?” So, as well as candyfloss, bananas, dogs and cats it also references The Simpsons’ Mr Burns (“I bring you love”) and ET (“If you’re lonely, phone home”).
“I would like to highlight the ‘ring modulated’ fuzz guitar solo, which I couldn’t have made without an effect pedal called Randy’s Revenge’ by Fairfield Circuitry – my favourite company. This is not an ad!”
Listen to ‘Apple Green UFO’ – BELOW:
pinball wanderer is released on February 28. It’s a heady collection of eight songs that marks the start of a new sonic chapter for Andy. While his two previous solo releases (2020’s The View From Halfway Down and Flicker from 2022) were based on material he had been accruing since the 1990s, this one is entirely new, and also rather unexpected with its groove-based songs.
The full tracklisting of pinball wanderer is:
1. panic attack
2. i’m in love…
3. madder lake deep
4. apple green ufo
5. pinball wanderer
6. music concrete
7. the notes you never hear
8. space station mantra
The CD also includes:
9. i’m in love… (Justin Robertson’s Deadstock 33s Remix)
10. i’m in love… (GLOK Remix)
11. i’m in love… (Justin Robertson’s Deadstock 33s Dub)
To mark the release of the album, Andy will embark on his first ever solo acoustic tour, playing in independent record shops.
He plays the following:
February 27 – Stranger Than Paradise – London
February 28 – Truck Store – Oxford
March 2 – Slide (outstore at Esquires) – Bedford
March 3 – Resident – Brighton
March 4 – Just Dropped In – Coventry
March 5 – Piccadilly – Manchester
March 6 – Jacaranda – Liverpool
Following the show in London, there will be a pinball wanderer release party featuring DJ sets from Andy, alongside Justin Robertson, Richard Norris, Simone Marie and Arveene, plus visuals from Innerstrings. Entry is free and it runs from 7pm until late.
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