£8.00 - On Sale
Formed in their earliest incarnation way back in 2003, Manchester's Former Bullies have seen their fair share of hip bands and empires rise and fall, with enough line up changes along the way to give fellow Manc stalwarts The Fall a run for their money. Through it all, founder members Nick Ainsworth (guitar/vox) and Tom Settle (drums) have seemed content to plough their own rich furrow of northern english garage pop, with songs like the great, bittersweet "26" (from 2010's "Seasoned") and "Planetarium" (2009's "Greetings") ringing out through the fug; understated, sardonic and brilliantly melodic by turns. Don't be fooled by the schmo-fi aesthetic, these guys are pros. And like all true pros they make it seem easy, but it never is. With a string of releases on Manchester's Comfortable on a Tightrope under their belts (and the addition of bassist Matthew Taylor in 2009) the time seems almost over ripe for their first studio recorded long player. CF is only too happy to oblige.
Golden Chains is fifteen tracks in just over 32 minutes on two sides of virgin 12" vinyl (or if you prefer, the whore MP3, also included) and is super limited to 250 records. As the old chestnut goes, a late contender for album of the year. Better late than never!
Former Bullies - Golden Chains by CF Records"They take the best excess of moronic 60s teen-garage and smother it with priceless, unavoidable melody. It's a sound that's timeless and timely, sounding both life-affirming and desperate in the best possible way." Rough Trade
"That their sound is, in trashy magazine parlance, 'on trend' is both lucky and completely irrelevant. But this is really the last call - get into Former Bullies before your hipster friends do or forever hold your peace." Neu Magazine