Soooooooooo...after another 3 month gap, here we are again! No news on the Embrooks front, but as you can see on the front page, The Higher State are doin' alright!! Been dotting around with some spunky shows this past 12 months so far - been over to France, Italy, Germany, Belgium, plus some good shows over here (not least supporting The Rising Storm at the Dirty Water Club
IT'S OUT!! IT'S HERE!!! IT'S NOW!!!!
WOW!! Yes, our brand spanking new double set has been released!! Titled "45s And High Times" (Munster Recs., cat. no. MRCD 273), it compiles singles trax (starting back in '96, and running up the present day, although omits the BUTTERFLY single trax, as the same mixes are available on Yellow Glass Perspections anyway, and the more-difficult-to-locate mono mixes of the same trax were used, so rather than double up too much, they've been left off. Good reason to score Yellow Glass, right??!!), along with various sampler appearances, and (for you hungry dogs out there!) a whole CD of unreleased radio sessions, combining material from our WFMU session (Sept '03), and, more recently some cuts from Nov '04, recorded for Spanish national radio!! We have some DYNAMITE liner notes from Mr. Colin Bryce (of Mohair Sweets legend!), so it's looking extremely good! The key consideration from our end was to gather together various cuts that are kinda hard to find (either thru lack of proper distribution, or the fact that only 300 copies were pressed 6 or 7 years ago, something like that)!! It seems a nice way to tidy up some odds and ends onto one disc, and the majority of these trax haven't been out on CD before! Thrill once again to the melancholia of "Where Were You?", the first dip into freakbeat of "If You Let Me Go", the driving psych of "Jack" etc., etc!! This gem will be available via our shop, and also direct from Munster, as well as the usual shops/mail order outlets that you've come to know and love!
As previously documented, we have an Ebay Shop!!!! Currently trading as Mbrooks Mporium (stop that sniggering at the back!!), all Embrooks merch is now available thru the shop, rather than via this site (although you can obviously link to the shop from the front page). So we have T-shirts, badges, promo posters, vinyl (LPs & 45s), CDs, plus will also be updating on a regular basis (well, more regular than this poxy website anyway!!), also selling lots of old 80s/90s garage comps, plus the odd single here and there (some punk and new wave too). May even be some 45 rarities up for auction soon, so keep checking!
STAY TUNED FOR MORE UPDATES!!!
earlier in the summer)!
But yes, the big news is we're putting out a single!!!! At last, a 7" vinyl excursion!! In glorious MONO!!! We figured as no-one label-wise seemed keen to do a single (not enough money to be made, y'see!), we'd do it ourselves! Test pressings have just been approved, so keep your eyes and ears peeled, should be here in the next couple of weeks! It's a limited edition numbered pressing of 500, with authentic style labels and large centre hole - done up to look like an old International Artists 45!! Both sides are originals, with the top side offering fearsome fuzz, while the AA (NOT B-side!!) side is packed with juicy jangling 12-string and lush harmonies! How 'bout that - the entire premise of The Higher State on one single!! We're hoping it'll be available via the hipper mail order people around in the UK and Europe - once we've got some confirmation, will post an update of where it's available! If nothing else you'll get it from our Ebay store, and also via Edward's Music!
Now, I guess it's not news or any kind of shocking revelation to say The Embrooks don't exist anymore ("boo!", "a dark day" etc etc!), but we figured it was worth keeping the site up and running, so people can at least check back to see if or when anything's happening, or at least until we get a MySpace thingy going (which may or may not happen yet, not sure!). Anyhow, stuff still seems to be ticking over, getting good reports from Munster every now and then, and we're still selling stuff at this end, so there's still DEMAND (which is nice)!! We've now got some reviews loaded on, generally the response to 45s & High Times has been really positive, most people feeling (same as we did) that it rounds things off nicely, and gathers together some odds and ends, which I think fit together quite nicely, despite the differences in recording quality and style!
As you can see on the front page, there's a new combo in town, THE HIGHER STATE! The 'State are an authentic garage band, working in a West Coast '66/'67 style, equal parts 12-string jangle, and fuzz 'n' fury!! Carrying endorsements from none other than Rex Gregory (ZAKARY THAKS), and George Kinney (GOLDEN DAWN), these dudes is on the way up, especially as they've now recruited MOLE on guitar and vocals!! With a full-length CD ("From 'Round Here") now available via Misty Lane's Teen Sound imprint (look for a vinyl version soon!), and gigs lined up in Spain, Italy and Germany, these hipsters are a force to be reckoned with! Visit the myspace page to see and hear for yourself!!
