the great leap forward | finished unfinished business

big*flame, a witness, sarandon... what do all three of those bands have in common? alan brown, that's what. officially the nicest man in the post punk/spikey/beefheartian/not-twee-c86/ron jonson/indie scene, alan has dusted off his largely solo creation, the great leap forward, and finally released a second album.

i first met alan went he came to see sarandon play in leeds. we ate pizza. he bought us beers. and most importantly he looked genuinely excited when we played. but then alan is one of the major reasons sarandon exist. so it was only fitting that he took over bass duties when i shipped out.

anyway, those of you familiar with big*flame et al, may be surprised at just how harmonious the songs on "finished unfinished business" are. it's funny, but first listen through and already the songs sound like old friends. it's the 80s/early 90s feel to them, the new order major key pop edge, with a smattering of pet shop boys (honest) thrown in. maybe it's that while the songs have decidedly indie feel, they have a grander melodic sweep to them. so a first listen turned to many.

here's the opening two tracks:

::: the great leap forward - tolerance and respect
::: the great leap forward - the freedom of the street

archived.

you can buy the album and previous releases direct from the great leap forward website. and so you should.