Nelories started off in the early ‘90s as two high school gals (I repeat, HIGHSCHOOL!), one playing electric guitar, the other, an accordion- whilst singing in her second language, English- which made for a nuanced departure from standard vowels sung, as well as playfully novel* lyrical poses and topics.
Hungry for a “fun fact” about this obscure twee/J-proto-indie-pop band? Their only American release was on a label run by a They Might Be Giants member, said release being for a CD of the Month club. Yeah, you’ll go “Ahhh…yep. That makes some serious sense!” upon first listen, with all those hooks AND change-ups.
As for this demo, be forewarned: the mix is rather raw…but pointedly so? As in, earlier on (in my repeated listening to this) I really wished the guitar was turned up a skosh (or like four), but, after repeated (repeated, repeated) listening, I found that the earlier tracks’ lower mixing suited the overall release well, meta-wise, as that guitar gets subtly turned up in the mix more and more, from start to finish, alongside a piecemeal introduction of some fairly creative bass and on point drums; by the end, the guitarist is shredding and there’s a really rrrad double-bass kick-drum line that just HITS!
Label-wise, “Fish Prints Inc” is, for all intents and purposes, a sibling of I HEART NOISE, which, if you’re not aware, is a pretty badass label that re-issues long lost gems and/or issues ones that really shouldn’t get lost in the fray. FPI is decidedly anti-nostalgic in their mission, however, with their only two releases consisting of this three-decades-old esoteric relic alongside a brand new, visionary atmospheric black metal album. What the fuck is next? Who knows?!
What I DO know for certain is that, if you’re into quirky, accordion heavy ‘90s indie-rock, this will scratch one hell of a lot of itches for you!
https://fishprintsinc.bandcamp.com/album/1990-demo-ep
--Jacob An Kittenplan
* reportedly, as I can’t really make out the words over the accordion in the mix. Never been great with that to begin with. Listen for yourself via the link!