Keep Your Crazy Head On Straight

by The Stratford 4

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Matt catling (Under The Sun) the startford 4 were on the same scene as The Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Warlocks and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club in the early 2000's there music is compared to the shoegazing monsters My Bloody Valentine to the post no wave sound of sonic youth to the noise pop sounds of Yo La Tengo, the new album is outstanding and it's there third album in 12 years.

Will Gish S4's previous record, Love & Distortion, was a great love of mine during college in Massachusetts and Tokyo. I saw the band at a dank little club in 2003, and was overwhelmed by the depth and layers of sound. Like a dreamier Ride, a rockier Slowdive. I was bummed when this album was shelved and the band broke up. Listening to it now, it's an obvious progression from L&D, leaning more heavily on the power pop than dream pop elements of the band's sound, while maitaining some shoegaze haze. Favorite track: Just Sad Really.

alan clark Found by chance last night. Having listened to the first 2 albums over the years it was with a mix of excitement and trepidation that I listened to this - could it be as good? Trepidation soon melted away, the record is a delight from start to finish.
Your mother might have said there's more to life than
the Stratford 4 but for today at least
she's wrong - album on repeat all day.
Welcome back and feel free to stick around. Favorite track: Drive Asleep.

Conan Neutron Shoegaze sf_indie sweethearts FINALLY release their long ago shelved Major Label record, produced by Ric Ocasek.
RIYL: Jesus and Mary Chain, Swervedriver, Yo La Tengo Favorite track: Just Sad Really.

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	1.	Purple and Gold 02:01
	2.	Just Sad Really 03:58 video
	3.	Cracking Up 03:19
	4.	I Walked All Night 03:33
	5.	Harrold and Mod 04:03
	6.	Blissend 03:46
	7.	Downtown 03:40
	8.	Summer's Over 04:23
	9.	Closer 03:12
	10.	Is He Your Husband? 04:31
	11.	Drive Asleep 05:56
	12.	Hurricane Thursday (b-side) 05:30
	13.	Inner Sunset (b-side) 04:56
	14.	Blissend (Face Peel Version) (b-side) 03:56

about

2004 Was not a good year for music. Kid Rock was on top of the charts and digital file-sharing had eviscerated the music industry. The Stratford 4, a critically acclaimed quartet of shoegazers from San Francisco, were riding the waves of uncertainty as best as they could. Their previous album, Love & Distortion, was hailed as a noise pop classic by Rolling Stone and they’d gotten high praise from Spin and Pitchfork. After a year of legal hassles with Jetset (their previous label), they were finally in New York City, making a record with pop icon Ric Ocasec for Elektra Records. Safely ensconced inside Electric Lady Studios, they recorded their major label debut, the unwieldy-if-presciently titled “Keep Your Crazy Head On Straight”. The record was completed, mixed, mastered, artwork finalized and a release date was set.

When WEA (the Warner Brothers family of labels) was sold, The Stratford 4 and everyone else on Elektra were dropped. The band went on tour, first with their old friends BRMC then with Beulah, hoping the exposure would generate some interest in the album. They played shows with the Libertines, the Brian Jonestown Massacre, Clinic, Luna, Camper Van Beethoven and others, but months of stress from legal woes had taken their toll. The singer quit the band and the music froze, suspended in midair.

2015 is an interesting time to be a musician. The chaos of file-sharing has settled into a handful of reliable online outlets and, amazingly, vinyl has made a resurgence. In January, Sheetal Singh (the bass player) has lunch with Chris Streng (the singer) in Nevada City. They joke about putting out the record themselves but when Sheetal gets home she contacts Jake Hosek (guitar) and Andrea Caturegli (drums). Everyone is back on board, this record needs to finally be heard.

An eleven year gap between albums is not that long by shoegazing standards. While ’Keep Your Crazy Head On Straight’ may not have the cultural cache of the great ’lost albums’ like ’Smiley Smile’ or ’MBV’ or even ’Chinese Democracy’, it’s still an amazingly accurate portrait of a specific time and place. New York City, 2004: post-9/11, post-Strokes, pre-iPhones, pre-MySpace even.

The Stratford 4 existed in a self-contained bubble between the bursts. They were Americans playing Brit-Pop, bridging the gap between the original shoegazers and the current revival. This record reflects all the moods and manias of the band, from the urban excitement of New York City to the pastoral hum of California. Who knows what the future holds, but here is a sonic spyglass, crafted long ago yet still pointed forward.

Bands come and go but records are forever. Free the Stratford 4!

credits

released February 1, 2015

Produced By Ric Ocasek
Written and Performed by The Stratford 4

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