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On 9 August, 2024, Merge Records reissues David Kilgour's A Feather in the Engine, remastered and pressed on vinyl for the very first time. Originally released in 2002, A Feather in the Engine followed two full-band efforts_1997's David Kilgour & the Heavy Eights and The Clean's 2001 album Getaway_and is thus almost startling in its intimacy. Recorded at home and mostly alone (The Verlaines' Graeme Downes provides lush string arrangements), Kilgour once called A Feather in the Engine "the most solo LP I've made." Interpolating his genius for guitar pop through acoustic guitars and gorgeous instrumentals, its melodies unfold gently, suggesting that the 13 songs here, written over the course of four years, were searching Kilgour as much as he was searching them. The dichotomy between A Feather in the Engine's pop songs and instrumentals fascinates the ear, drawing the listener closer and closer to Kilgour's virtuosic guitar playing when his lyrics aren't imparting his breezy charm. The depth of style he achieves_the psych pop of "Today Is Gonna Be Mine," the Velvet Underground-esque churn of "All the Rest," the chamber folk of "The Perfect Watch"_is daunting; listening to it now, every song feels capable of generating a dozen playlists, or like the spawning point of a new microgenre. Perhaps anomalous upon release, it's A Feather in the Engine's instrumentals that feel weightiest in this regard now. "Sept. 98" and "Backwards Forwards," respectively the opening and closing tracks of the album, are elegant, pastoral epics that call out into the yawning expanse, presaging the simmering ambient country of William Tyler and SUSS, while "Instra 2" pushes out the boundaries of Eastern-influenced psychedelia. Lovingly remastered (and in some cases remixed) from the original tapes by Tom Bell at Port Chalmers Recording Services, the vinyl reissue of A Feather in the Engine is a crucial opportunity to rediscover one of David Kilgour's best records, a handcrafted gem that perfects guitar pop's past while pointing to its future, idiosyncratic in its making and tantalizing in its potential. There is good reason for David Kilgour to be your favorite musician's favorite musician. A Feather in the Engine is good reason for him to become yours.

In March 2024, Last Night From Glasgow brings you the debut album
from Glasgow's Kilgour - Having already enjoyed sizeable support from
ational radio, legendary BBC Scotland DJ Billy Sloan named them one of
his favourite bands of the year - Support from Amy Lame on 6 music,
Steve Lamacq and Mickey Undertone cemented the acclaim

This 30th anniversary reissue of The Clean's second studio LP marks its debut appearance on vinyl in North America.

Modern Rock crackles with spontaneous energy, as if The Clean—namely, Hamish Kilgour, David Kilgour, and Robert Scott—couldn’t help but make music together whenever they were in the same room. Following their 1989 reunion tour and the 1990 release of Vehicle, those opportunities were rare, with Hamish in New York City fronting The Mad Scene, David releasing his first solo album, and Robert recording albums with The Bats at a breakneck pace. Then, for nine days in April 1994, the stars aligned over Dunedin and Modern Rock bloomed into life.

For this reissue, Modern Rock has been remastered from the original tapes by producer and engineer Tex Houston and preserves Hamish Kilgour’s original artwork.

Merge will reissue two crucial releases from The Clean's distinguished discography. The "Tally Ho!" b/w "Platypus" 7-inch and the Boodle Boodle Boodle 12-inch EP, the Dunedin trio's first official recordings as a band, both celebrate their 40th anniversary this year. These reissues have been remastered by Tex Houston with assistance from the Alexander Turnbull Library New Zealand, and The Clean's David Kilgour and Robert Scott oversaw the careful re-creation of the original packaging. Merge is thrilled to make these records globally available for the first time since their original release in 1981. Featuring Clean classics like "Anything Could Happen" and "Point That Thing Somewhere Else," Boodle Boodle Boodle arrived two months after the "Tally Ho!" single, peaking at #5 and staying in the NZ Top 20 for nearly six months. Recorded on four-track by The Clean's childhood friends Chris Knox and Doug Hood, its five hugely influential songs provided a roadmap for the "Dunedin sound" that would soon follow. Boodle Boodle Boodle was awarded the Classic Record distinction by New Zealand's Taite Music Prize in 2017. The reissue will be pressed on limited-edition black & white swirl Peak Vinyl and standard black vinyl. All versions will include the 16-page zine that came with the rare original vinyl pressing.

Late 1980’s to early 90’s guitar pop/rock n roll band from Dunedin, New Zealand. Stephen featured David Kilgour, Alf Danielson, Geoff Hoani, and Stephen Kilroy.

Formed by David Kilgour after The Clean first split. They released an EP on Flying Nun records in 1988 as a three piece, later added another guitarist and recorded for a record that didn’t happen. Remastered, rescued and compiled for this release. New art and liner notes, insert with prev. unseen photos and fliers. Tracks from the Dumb EP, Radar of Small Dogs, as well as studio tracks from sessions towards the never-completed LP.

Interview with David Kilgour about the band coming up in the next Maggot Brain issue.

"Stephen Kilroy recently reminded me that my idea for the band was to have no aspirations, apart from making new music, and that it was a casual experiment. I’d forgotten that. I remember having a long break after the Clean first split. I wanted to keep making music in a low-key way, and with other musicians I could write and share the spotlight with. I’ve always wanted to be in someone else’s band." - David Kilgour, from the Maggot Brain interview.

On November 12, Merge will reissue two crucial releases from The Clean's distinguished discography. The "Tally Ho!" b/w "Platypus" 7-inch and the Boodle Boodle Boodle 12-inch EP, the Dunedin trio's first official recordings as a band, both celebrate their 40th anniversary this year. These reissues have been remastered by Tex Houston with assistance from the Alexander Turnbull Library New Zealand, and The Clean's David Kilgour and Robert Scott oversaw the careful re-creation of the original packaging. Merge is thrilled to make these records globally available for the first time since their original release in 1981. Pitchfork described "Tally Ho!" as "a classic of immense proportions, from its Velcro melody, absurdly mixed garage organ and motorik beat, to the crusty, hiss-laden home eight-track recording that embodies it." Recorded in the middle of a New Zealand tour for a humble NZ$60, the song broke into the country's Top 20 singles chart at #19, surprising everyone including the band. Its B-side "Platypus" was recorded live at a show just days prior, capturing the band's buoyant and elastic sound on stage. The 7” reissue will be available on limited-edition silver Peak Vinyl and standard black vinyl, as well as limited clear vinyl exclusively in New Zealand.

Originally released on Celluloid Lunch (Canada), really excited to do the Euro edition. Drawing influence from the looser end of the Ork records catalogue, the sensitive side of Ohio’s proto-punk scene and the grittiest and most sluggish tangent of 70’s power pop, Itchy Self’s debut 12” is an exploration of fully formed songs treated with spontaneous delivery. The group got together in early 2020 for 3 practices and a recording session and here are the results, laid out in their raw form. This is cross-generational racket n roll music that wears its heart on its loosey goosey sleeve. ‘B what you B’ is a life affirming testament to living against the grain that calls to mind the Modern Lovers’ aggressive positivity. Title track ‘Here’s the Rub’ is a barrage of abstract lyrics and skronky shred. ‘God Bless the Ego’ is an ode to the looseness and blurry eyed lucidity of indie rock’s forbearers such as Chilton, Kilgour, Pollard and Malkmus. ‘Reprobate’ is a Stones style ballad that channels the Saints and Johnny Thunders in equal measures. ‘Playing MTV’ is an audacious end remark to the record, that rips on classic Velvets strut and testifies it’s own ridiculous merit through boastful and catty lyrics. All in all, of course, it’s only Rock n Roll. This record is 1 part follow up to the Protruders “Poison Future” 12” on Feel It records (2019) and 1 part the first chapter of a new and exciting group formed in Canada’s capital of de-proffessionalized rock music. Recorded to 1/4 inch tape by Scott Munro (Preoccupations) and mastered by Mikey Young (Total Control), this record should provide a concise opening statement to anyone with the least bit of concern about Itchy Self. You’re gonna need an ocean of calamine lotion. Sorry State Records

The Gordons crashed upon the do-it-yourself scene of early 1980s Christchurch with torrential force, self-releasing two foundational planks of the vibrant New Zealand underground. Future Shock, a three-song 7-inch released in 1980, is a wild-eyed rampage, as staggering as any feedback-addled punk then being recorded at Southern Studios. The Gordons LP, which followed in 1981, matches the abandon with motorik churn and livewire dissonance, evoking New Zealand antecedents as divergent as This Kind Of Punishment and the Dead C. Brought together on this release, they’re a noise-rock landmark anticipating fans such as Sonic Youth.

Flying Nun Records, the storied Christchurch label and symbol of the island nation’s rich independent music scene, re-released The Gordons and Future Shock together in 1988 following the formation of Gordons outgrowth Bailter Space, which frontman Alister Parker founded with Clean drummer Hamish Kilgour. Bailter Space, which would also come to include founding Gordons members Brent McLachlan and John Halvorsen, settled on a droning shoegaze sound, drawing comparisons to Dinosaur Jr. and the Pixies. The Gordons and Future Shock, however, represent the trio’s unreformed id, as startling today as upon release.