{"title":"European Sun","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"european-sun","title":"European Sun","description":"\u003cp\u003eEuropean Sun release their self-titled debut long player, an essential release for fans of Jonathan Richman, the Television Personalities, BMX Bandits, Felt, the June Brides, the Velvet Underground, C86, early Creation, Subway, Postcard and Sarah Records. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePressed on beautiful white vinyl, inside a gorgeous sleeve that marries Warhol and Saville to sumptuous effect, the album brings you 12 songs about birds, belonging and Brexit, growing up, growing old and going to the seaside, looking back, looking forward and looking bewildered, dreaming, driving and despairing, and many more moments of frivolous profundity, all packaged inside conveniently-sized pop songs for your enjoyment and consumption. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBristol-born Steve Miles writes, sings and plays the songs of European Sun. Rob Pursey and Amelia Fletcher play, sing and produce.Rob and Amelia have an unrivalled indie heritage with Talulah Gosh, Heavenly, Marine Research and Tender Trap. These days they perform and record as The Catenary Wires. Ian Button plays the drums. Steve also plays in The Short Stories with bassist Chris Wilson (Lloyd Cole, Love Spit Love). \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Where Its At Is Where You Are","offers":[{"title":"White | LP","offer_id":50504376254795,"sku":"1099298","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/4c2b1f94-6898-4c58-be19-196d143c4536_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727804587"},{"product_id":"when-britain-was-great","title":"When Britain Was Great","description":"\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eIf one LP could act as a refutation of the toxic culture of ‘masculine energy’ and the tech bro-sponsored whipping up of hatred that blights our lives - this is it. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eIt is true of Steve Miles’ lyrics.  Nostalgia for an imagined past where men were men, and racism was de rigeur is eviscerated in title track When Britain Was Great.  Fetishisation of a World War by patriots who are too pumped up to realise the war was a fight against Nazism is picked apart in Angels In The Clouds.  And the clumsy, half-arsed struggle to seek something better, to try to escape the trap of cynical acceptance of it all, is sardonically observed in the comically accident-prone Falling Down The Stairs With Arthur Seaton. All this is interspersed with deeply personal tracks like The Space She Left, unflinchingly exposing emotional vulnerability and anxiety, and with carefree pop songs, still able to access the wide-eyed wisdom of childhood: The Sea Is A Pirate’s Best Friend expresses a kind of joy that we all had once, but have lost contact with.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThe music is a refutation of ‘masculine energy’ too.  Sometimes echoing the casual, intimate, fragile tones of the TV Personalities, the songs are bluntly emotional but shamelessly catchy.  On other occasions - louder occasions - the echo of an angry Wreckless Eric riff can be heard.  The warmth and gentleness of the vocal might remind you of Jonathan Richman.  The experimentation - the brass section, the feedback, the occasional reggae rhythm – is reminiscent of the earliest, fearless phase of punk adventurism – The Slits, The Mekons, The Desperate Bicycles even.  Punk before it regressed to Rock.  This hand-made music is the opposite of AI-generated crud.  Every bit of it, even the chaotic bits – especially the chaotic bits - are deliberate and meticulously thought through.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAlong with the vinyl LP, Skep Wax will also release a special CD single featuring just one track: School Report, a 17-minute pop song in which a diary of an anxiety-ridden day is punctuated with readings from the singer’s school report: the acid, dismissive remarks made by uncaring teachers years ago echoing cruelly down the years. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cem\u003eWhen Britain Was Great\u003c\/em\u003e is a punk record.  It is also an angry, gentle, heartfelt plea for humanity. For fans of Billy Bragg, The TV Personalities, Wreckless Eric.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Skep Wax Records","offers":[{"title":"LP - Red","offer_id":55864813158731,"sku":"R4026-4497","price":23.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/EuropeanSun_WhenBritainWasGreat.jpg?v=1762630826"}],"url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/de\/collections\/european-sun.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}