Future of the Left - Sessions

Pictures of the L.A. Echoplex gig stolen from LosAnjelous.com.

This is a collection of all Future of the Left radio sessions I could find, ranging from 2007 to 2012 and featuring two distinctly different lineups of the band - the three-piece lineup with Kelson on bass, and the current four-piece with Julie on bass and Jimmy on second guitar and vocals. The collection spans three albums and a bit more (songs nr. 2 and 3. are as of yet unreleased; and the "Bethan & Huw" session was recorded prior to any FOTL recordings seeing the light of day - could it be it was their recorded public debut?) and it's all gold, basically. There's a bit of repetition but what kind of person could complain about hearing "Small Bones Small Bodies" or "Arming Eritrea" too many times? I've divided the interview snippets into separate tracks so you don't have to listen to them every time you want to hear the tunes, but you should hear them at least once because the band members really are such nice and funny people as the host of the KEXP sessions says. I've seen them again for the fifth time a few months ago in Los Angeles (supporting Andrew Jackson Jihad, a cool band that I wouldn't have discovered otherwise) and, enjoyment of the show notwithstanding, was again left with the impression they really are the nicest people in the current indie rock scene. Be it Jack running off from the merch stand to try and get my wife inside the sold-out show, or Falco talking to me for a good ten minutes until it was ME who finished the conversation, afraid that we were making too much noise for the other people to enjoy the main band. I think it was the first time I ever went to talk to the performer after a show where I didn't feel the slightest bit like I'm hassling the poor guy who is obliged to listen to my drivel and repeat "Thanks mate" until I get the message that I'm boring him. Nice people, I tell ya. And a wonderful band of course. I'm looking forward to what I hope will be tons of more great music from them.

P.S. You should check out Falco's blog for some of the most amusing person-in-a-band writing you will ever read.

P.P.S. The last song here is just a shitty live recording off of YouTube, but I've added it because I really used to love hearing this one as the show closer, and seeing as it went the way of Kelson and will probably never be played live again, I like to hear it every time I can.

Track listing:

1. Failed Olympic Bid (Radio 1 Session 2012) (3:08)
2. Johnny Borrell Afterlife (Radio 1 Session 2012) (2:19)
3. Prescriptions (Radio 1 Session 2012) (3:57)
4. Interview (KEXP Session 2012) (0:24)
5. Beneath the Waves an Ocean (KEXP Session 2012) (3:25)
6. Interview (KEXP Session 2012) (1:46)
7. Robocop 4 - Fuck Off Robocop (KEXP Session 2012) (2:45)
8. Interview (KEXP Session 2012) (2:38)
9. Small Bones Small Bodies (KEXP Session 2012) (2:38)
10. Outro (KEXP Session 2012) (0:16)
11. Arming Eritrea (WOXY.com Session 2009) (2:53)
12. Chin Music (WOXY.com Session 2009) (1:57)
13. Small Bones Small Bodies (WOXY.com Session 2009) (2:41)
14. Fingers Become Thumbs! (WOXY.com Session 2009) (2:01)
15. Land of My Formers (WOXY.com Session 2009) (2:44)
16. Introduction (KEXP Session 2009) (0:10)
17. Arming Eritrea (KEXP Session 2009) (2:58)
18. Chin Music (KEXP Session 2009) (2:08)
19. Interview (KEXP Session 2009) (0:38)
20. Small Bones Small Bodies (KEXP Session 2009) (2:47)
21. Stand by Your Manatee (KEXP Session 2009) (3:17)
22. Outro (KEXP Session 2009) (0:39)
23. Introduction (Bethan & Huw Session 2007) (0:43)
24. Fingers Become Thumbs! (Bethan & Huw Session 2007) (1:51)
25. Interview (Bethan & Huw Session 2007) (4:12)
26. March of the Coupon Saints (Bethan & Huw Session 2007) (2:07)
27. Outro (Bethan & Huw Session 2007) (0:23)
28. The Lord Hates a Coward (SXSW Lounge Session 2007) (3:36)
29. My Gymnastic Past (SXSW Lounge Session 2007) (2:27)
30. adeadenemyalwayssmellsgood (SXSW Lounge Session 2007) (3:10)
31. Cloak the Dagger (Live at the Warehouse, Calgary 2009) (7:10)
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