Belated News of a Favorite's Passing

It's only a few weeks before 2021 is over, and still 2020 keeps getting worse.  Yesterday, I learned that it was revealed in 2020 that a favorite singer of mine had died in 2005...  Alex Taylor was the lead singer of Edinburgh's Shop Assistants, a band which was catnip to me, a lad who loves noisy indy rock with sweet vocals, and uptempo songs about downbeat subject matter, both of which the Shop Assistants delivered in spades.  My introduction to them was hearing the single I Don't Wanna Be Friends With You on college radio:

It's the perfect balance of acid lyrics with honeyed vocals, all overlaid with a layer of fuzz and feedback... pure catnip for myself. Poking around the t00bz, I learned that their first single was Safety Net, which was a favorite of John Peel, a champion of the band: John Peel recorded one of his famous Peel Sessions with the band in 1985, before the release of their album: I particularly love these performances, because they showcase Alex Taylor's gorgeous voice particularly well. My favorite song by the Shop Assistants has got to be Seems to Be, which embodies that Bastard-pleasing combination of jaunty music and world-weary, cynical vocals. Could there be a better bitter breakup song? An absolute hero posted an entire 1986 concert by the band: After the breakup of the Shop Assistants, Alex Taylor formed the band Motorcycle Boy with future members of the band Jesus and Mary Chain, and continued the streak of noisy pop with her melodious vocals. News of her death surfaced when another member of the band tried to contact her in advance of releasing old material, and was informed by her widower of her passing in 2005. Motorcycle Boy's best known single was Big Rock Candy Mountain, an unusual breakup song, in that the subject is leaving a loving husband due to ennui and stagnation. It's not portrayed as an abusive relationship, just an unfulfilling one, so her disappearance, even though she wishes her soon-to-be ex well, is somewhat surprising. It's a subversive feminist track, one which demands that women deserve something more than settling, with no obligation to stick around with a boring bice guy: Another standout track by Motorcycle Boy was Trying to Be Kind, which was covered by Canadian indie darlings Alvvays: Here's the posthumously released Valentine... when Alex sings 'no more tears', it's a cruel joke: I'm going to end this post with another live performance by the Shop Assistants from 1986, when they were at the height of their powers. The sound quality is not so great, but that just heightens the noisy lo-fi appeal of the band: This has been a melancholy post to write... it's sad that Alex wasn't around to stage a 21st comeback with the release of a new album. That being said, the idea that she would be forgotten is unthinkable, and this post fulfills my obligation to her for years of listening pleasure.