Stephen was a short-lived power-trio fronted by The Clean's David Kilgour, releasing just the one EP on, you guessed it, Flying Nun in 1988. Radar of Small Dogs seems to be a product of the CD revolution, first put together by FN in the early 90s to bring that EP back into print and add in a host of extra tracks, some demos, some live. Thanks to Liz Harris' Yellow Electric imprint, we now have a vinyl edition, although it must be said, one that's been incredibly challenging and patience-testing to obtain over here. Distribution issues aside, this is holy grail material from a master of the genre, kind of like unearthing a new Clean record capturing them in full buzzsaw guitar, compact-pop Velvets mode. Not a single one of the original six tracks passes the three-minute mark, displaying a superior exercise in songwriting economy. Kilgour obsessives will pore over the six additional demos, suggesting a longer life for Stephen beyond that one EP. And indeed some of these songs did live on - the final track, a live version of Hedgehogs, would later show up on Kilgour's flawless solo album Here Come the Cars under the name Fine. Being honest, i prefer the name Hedgehogs, but unsurprisingly, i think he should have kept the name Stephen, too...
Stephen - Radar of Small Dogs
£30.00
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