mp3: Madder Rose - Swim

Summer 1992.

1. I’m back from university after my first year. I’m all excited as I’ve just bought Spiritualised’s Lazer Guided Melodies and I listen to it all the time. It makes me feel like I’m like, different yeah? My aunt, normally a missionary nun in Venezuala, has set down those admirable duties briefly to come to my horrible no-horse town which sits equidistantly between Liverpool and Manchester in order to visit her relatives. On her way downstairs, she walks past my bedroom. “Is that U2?” she says, genuinely curious. “Um, no”, I reply, trying to shield the disgust - she’s my favourite aunt.

2. A few days later. I’m sitting again in my bedroom, it’s really hot outside, I’ve got all the windows and door open and I’m listening to Henry’s Dream by Nick Cave. My exciting signed copy. Papa Won’t Leave You, Henry starts. My aunt walks past again. “Hmm… Is THAT U2?” she asks, hopefully. “Um, no”, I say, a little bit more sympathetically than last time, wanting to let her down gently. “It’s Nick Cave”. “Well, I like it. It’s kind of like what the band plays in our village - very dramatic!” “Ah, right.” Off she goes.

3. Undetermined time after this, maybe a day or even a few hours later. I’ve put on Madder Rose’s album Bring It Down. I only like Swim and Beautiful John - the rest seems kind of boring, but I like “The way they stared, you thought that they adored you” as a line from Beautiful John, and the lovely glissando guitar of Swim makes me happy. I’m just moving it back to Swim and yes, my aunt comes by again. She stops at the doorway. “OK, is THIS U2?” she says, smiling. “Yeah, it is”, I reply. She beams at me, says, “See, I’m not so out of touch!” and carries on down the stairs.

Buy.