TRACK LIST: 1. Spanish Galleons 2. Come Love 3. I Don’t Know I Don’t Care 4. Sucker 5. I Don’t Know Love 6. Delacroix 7. Little Star 8. No One Knows 9. Another Child Lost 10. That Word Is Love 11. Tokyo Go-Go 12. Birds Go ‘Round 13. Sway 14. Mommie’s Pie ...plus hidden tracks... maybe...
BIG STIR RECORDS and SHPLANG are proud to announce the release of LOS GRANDES EXCRITOS (1995 To 2019), a new anthology celebrating 25 years of sterling silver pop rock from one of the LA scene's leading lights. The compilation, which includes previously unheard material along with classics from all four of the band's full length records (and a few surprises) will be released Friday, December 6 on CD and digital download, and is available for pre-order at www.BigStirRecords.com now!
Shplang is an alternapop band offering an eclectic mix of psychedelia, pop and folk with emphasis on melody, inventive arrangements and a wry sense of humor. Here’s their story so far:
In 1994, singer-songwriter Peter Marston, a veteran of the LA pop scene with The Phlaix, The Onlys and The Corsairs, met up with John Krause, a visual artist and designer best-known for his work on The Simpsons. John also dabbled in music, so the two met up to see what would happen, and what happened was Shplang’s first CD release Journey to the Center of Mirth, described by Improvijazzation as “a shining example of what can be done with rock and roll when it’s played from the heart and not from the format.” To bring the music to the stage drummers Brian Cannizzaro and Paul Angers were enlisted and three more CDs followed: Self Made Monk, American Cream and My Big Three Wheeler (see below for review excerpts). All four discs are now available on the Big Stir Records website.
Now, to commemorate their quarter-century in power pop, Big Stir Records is releasing Los Grandes Excritos (1994 to 2019), a collection of fan favorites and select unreleased gems from the vaults. Songs from all four albums are represented, from the DIY boys-with-four-track grunge-pop of “Sway” to the swirling psychedelia of “Spanish Galleons” and the Kaiju-surf masterpiece, “Tokyo Go-Go.” Tin Pan Alley and the talking soul of O.C. Smith collide in “That Word is Love,” while “No One Knows” suggests what might have happened if Sopwith Camel or Herman’s Hermits had tackled the subject matter of “Lola” rather than the Kinks. Forays into lounge-schmaltz (“Sucker”), mountaintop folk (“Birds Go ’Round”), and straight-ahead power-pop (“Come Love”) help round out the collection.
Acolytes and devotees will especially appreciate three previously unreleased recordings. “Delacroix” offers tribute to the great French painter in what seems to be an impression of Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin fronting The Banana Splits. “Little Star” imagines Wolfgang Mozart’s Plastic Ono Band period, while “Mommie’s Pie” is the harrowing tale of a boy who imprudently consumed the last slice (the less said, the better, perhaps).
Shplang are now at work commencing their second 25 years of music making and can be heard regularly performing live at Big Stir events in the LA area as they have since the concert series' inception. Meanwhile, Los Grandes Excritos is here to initiate the novices and remind the faithful just how lucky we are to have them around.
