Home > Music > The Bevis Frond > Discography

The Bevis Frond
North Circular
Release Date: 1997 02 18
Running Time: 126:36
Label: Flydaddy

Nick Saloman has recorded some pretty sprawling albums before, but the double-CD/triple-LP North Circular is the pinnacle of over-extended. Surprisingly, however, the album is actually entirely listenable, with few duff tracks and several real gems to be found. Opening with the scathing "Stars Burn Out," a lament for McCartney and Jagger-style artists sliding into irrelevance, the album returns to the intertwined themes of old age and the music industry more than once. "The Wind Blew All Around Me" and "Where the Old Boys Go" find the 44-year-old musician contemplating the onset of middle age, while "There's Always One" and "Psychedelic Unknowns" address music journalists and rarities-obsessed record collectors, respectively, with wry humor. Like 1996's Son of Walter, North Circular is another one-man band recording, which only becomes an issue on the 13-minute noise freak-out "The Pips," which would sound much more interesting with a live rhythm section. (The lyrics, which largely concern the price of restricted-view seats at cup finals, are a different story.) North Circular is a bit much to take in one sitting, but it's a perfectly fine record. Stewart Mason, All Music Guide

Tracks:

	Title	Composer	Time
1	Stars Burn Out	Saloman	3:29
2	Hole Song No. 2	Saloman	5:00
3	Sun Room	Saloman	5:39
4	Eyeshine	Saloman	3:21
5	He Had You	Saloman	4:28
6	That's Why You Need Us	Saloman	2:32
7	Where the Old Boys Go	Saloman	4:10
8	Pips	Saloman	12:42
9	Blew Me Out	Saloman	4:00
10	Love Is	Saloman	4:20
11	Heritage Coast	Saloman	9:12
12	Stay at Home Girl	Saloman	7:16
13	Growing Up	Saloman	3:03
14	Wind Blew All Around Me	Saloman	3:54
15	There's Always One	Saloman	4:26
16	Book	Saloman	3:35
17	Psychedelic Unknowns	Saloman	4:45
18	You Make Me Feel	Saloman	5:21
19	Revival	Saloman	4:26
20	Gold and Silver	Saloman	5:32
21	Her Father's Daughter	Saloman	4:10
22	Stoneground Head	Saloman	4:17
23	Timothy's Powders	Saloman	1:48
24	For Want of You	Saloman	1:33
25	Stranger's Mirror	Saloman	11:11
26	Story Ends	Saloman	2:26