With ‘Gimme 5!’ we take a peek into the collections of artists we admire. The premise is simple: artists WE like share five records THEY love.
One certainty in the Add To Wantlist crew’s listening diet over the past few years, is that we always could count on new songs from The Photocopies, the solo indie pop project of Michigan-based Londoner Sean Turner. And so we arrive at Greatest Hits Volume 4, an extraordinary achievement. The fourth compilation since 2022, out today, contains 15 of the best tracks released on singles and EPs over the past year and a half. Standout tunes include Heard It On The Radio, Trying Not To Catch Your Attention, and A C86 For Christmas (listen below), but you really can’t go wrong here (each and every one of them is an earworm, melodic and catchy)—the album title is not even an exaggeration.
We’ve been admiring witnesses to The Photocopies’ steady stream of jangly, quality tunes—more original than the band name suggests—which was reason enough to ask Sean if there were any artists he’s personally influenced by. In no time at all, I received an extensive response, with different picks than I expected, though no less excellent.
The Photocopies’ Sean Turner speaking:
“Anyone who’s heard a few songs by The Photocopies will probably hear some similarities with the many different sounds that came out of the UK indie scene in the mid-1980s to early 1990s.
But, to be honest, that’s mostly been a result of embracing the lo-fi DIY no-budget ethic, rather than the songwriting of that period. Those bands were just trying to make the best pop music they could with limited resources – and it sounded great to me. Just listen to something like Multiple Orgasm by The Pooh Sticks – fantastic songs that shine through, even without a radio-friendly production. It made me think, ‘Maybe I could do that, too!’
So, while I am inevitably somewhat influenced by bands of that era, my main inspirations come from some of the same artists that influenced those bands.
Also, I’ve always been a fan of great ‘singles bands’ and making mixtapes or mix CDs, so all but one of these selections is a compilation rather than a studio album. (And, yes, this would explain why there are far more Photocopies compilation albums than studio albums!)”
1.
The Kinks || The Golden Hour Of The Kinks
“This is a great introduction to The Kinks’ amazing work in the 1960s, when they were untouchable. Ray Davies’ songwriting was up there with Lennon and McCartney during this time, and I rate his lyrics more highly than theirs after the first few albums. Dave Davies’ guitar playing was just as important to their initial breakthrough, and the fact that this collection spans the raw energy of tracks like All Day And All Of The Night and the lyrical depth of songs like Shangri La is what makes it a Desert Island Disc for me. The double LP compilation, The Kink Kronikles, is a great companion to this one, too.”
2.
The Jam || Snap!
“I wanted something from the punk/new wave era where the ‘indie’ spirit really began, and it was a toss-up between this and the Buzzcocks compilation, Singles Going Steady. I opted for this simply because it has more songs! I’ll admit I’ve barely paid any attention to Paul Weller’s solo work as what I’ve heard has never been as thrilling as his work with The Jam. But I grew up not far from the band’s hometown of Woking, so they’ve always been more interesting to me than most of their post-punk peers, simply because so many great hit songs came from nearby. That’s an inspiration in itself.”
3.
New Order || Substance
“I can’t think of one other band who reinvented themselves so spectacularly after an event that would have finished most bands. Joy Division were obviously important and original in several ways, but I think New Order were even more important. For me, they were the band that first really successfully fused ‘alternative’ rock and electronic sounds, starting with the still-intriguing Everything’s Gone Green, and that really opened up a lot of possibilities. It’s why you’ll sometimes hear synths on my songs, even though indie-pop tends to be very guitar-dominated. Blue Monday was obviously huge and my personal copy is extremely well-worn. I credit its layered arrangement with teaching me how to put a song together. And even though that was more like an experiment than a traditional song, they proved they can write incredible pop tunes such as Thieves Like Us and True Faith, and gave another great band (The Cure) plenty of good ideas. Me, too!”
4.
The Smiths || Hatful of Hollow
“This band has rarely directly influenced any particular song of mine, but having played this compilation to death as a teenager, it definitely had a more general impact on my writing. The World Won’t Listen is musically just as good, but there’s a tenderness in this earlier set that seemed to dissipate as the band’s popularity grew. While it’s sad to see what Morrissey has become now, the sharp wit and kitchen sink drama in his earlier lyrics was in a league of its own. Alternating between savage mockery, self-deprecating humour, and hopelessness (often about ‘first world problems’), he made it OK to sing about almost anything, and that’s largely why my own songs are lyrically quite diverse. But, of course, the real magic of The Smiths was how Johnny Marr set those words to beautiful music and made them the indie-pop legends they’ll always be.”
5.
The Replacements || Pleased To Meet Me
“The only studio album on my list, mainly because it’s a ‘no skips’ kind of record, and there isn’t really a compilation of their work that quite captures enough of their best songs. It’s the only ‘Mats’ LP that has this many good songs and does them sonic justice, thanks to weeks of post-production by Jim Dickinson – something I wish I had the time and patience for! This was the first Replacements album I heard and I was instantly hooked by Paul Westerberg’s heart-melting songs like Skyway and the irreverent exuberance of louder tracks like I Don’t Know. By the way, I highly recommend Bob Mehr’s biography Trouble Boys which, if you’re a fan, will probably only make you love them more, despite their shortcomings. But if you don’t know them yet, give this a listen. You won’t be disappointed.”
You can order The Photocopies’ Greatest Hits, Volume 4 (published by Sentric Music Ltd.) via Bandcamp. It’s actually also available as part of the Lo-fi vs. Yr Hi-fi 2-CD set through Subjangle, which contains an extra disc of rough demos.
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