Mother Vulpine & Making Sense of My Musical Tastes

[Photo Credit: Kirst Wilson]

Myspace // "We'll Be Detectives" [mp3] // "Keep Your Wits Sharp (Her Words Are Quick)" [Video]

Have you ever really thought the bands you like, especially those that you consider your favorites? It's easy to put bands in a box based on what they sound like or what they sing about, and often times this is a reflection of our personalities, whether we are filled with angst, have certain political leanings or we just like a good pop song.

Thinking about those bands that I consider my favorites, it seems that one of the things that I crave in a group is stability. Just to take my four favorite bands (because I stopped counting there), three of them have been together for twenty years or more (Manic Street Preachers, Sonic Youth and Saint Etienne) and the other is over the decade mark (Idlewild).

Plus, it's hard to spend time with a band that only has a couple of albums because you exhaust all of their material fairly quickly. There are bands that I was in love with from the onset, like JJ72, Ultrasound, Ethel Meserve and even the Libertines, but they were only around for a short time and it's hard to develop a relationship with a band that has a limited catalogue.

Just like with relationships, sometimes it's love at first with a band, and that's exactly what happened with Mother Vulpine. They were yet another amazing band out of Leeds (seriously, when are people going to notice how amazing this city's scene is?) that eschewed common influences like Wire and Gang of Four for Les Savy Fav and at least ten bands on Dischord Records.

Beth first found them back in November '06 and since then, each and every song I've heard from them has been absolutely essential. They've only officially released one single plus a track or two on various compilations. While they haven't "officially" broken up, this Myspace diary doesn't exactly paint a rosy picture.

So where do I go from here? Chances are I will continue to listen to these songs every chance I get, but after awhile without even realizing it, other bands will start to take their place in my playlists. Tom Vulpine is in a new band, called Pulled Apart By Horses, but their Myspace page is curiously absent of any music. If you're in Leeds and happen to go to their secret debut show on Feb. 12th, do me a favor and record it. Or at least tell me about it.