THE LIVES OF CHARLES DOUGLAS goes vinyl

My 1999 album THE LIVES OF CHARLES DOUGLAS is now available in limited edition vinyl from Broken Horse UK for Record Store Day. If you want to pre-order a copy, just visit www.brokenhorse.co.uk.

Here's a review from Record Collector:

Lost indie gem uncovered

It is unlikely that Charles Douglas could have predicted how appropriate the title of his sole studio album would become. In all, the man has written several screenplays, authored four novels, and at the age of 22, recorded this album that, before it even got released, seemed destined to remain a niche concern.

Douglas had spent years accumulating material in his bedroom before somehow convincing Velvet Underground drummer Moe Tucker to produce and play on his debut. The result is an eccentric collection that concerns itself with subjects as diverse as girls, fast food, drugs and the death of The Notorious BIG. The whole has a loose, first-take feel that calls to mind the spontaneity of Jonathan Richman’s solo records, while also being clearly indebted to Lou Reed. There’s a simplicity and immediacy here that’s difficult not to enjoy, including loser power-pop anthems dripping with charm, such as Earlybird School and A Boy Like Me.

If The Lives of Charles Douglas had been released a few years later it would have very neatly fit into the New York “anti-folk” scene with the likes of Jeffrey Lewis and Moldy Peaches. Instead, it was an oddball curio. Thanks to Broken Horse, however, the cult may just expand...