The Thanes: Les Thanes EP
(Rogue)
7”
Available Now
Long-running Edinburgh based four-piece, The Thanes, release 7” only EP inspired by freak-beat and psychedelic sounds
The band have been playing as a group now for close to 40 years, releasing 23 singles and 8 albums. I’ll be honest, I only own one of the single, Hey Girl (Look What You’ve Done), which I purchased at a Soup Dragons gig at Manchester International in 1987. It was hot and sweaty gig, somehow the vinyl made it home however the paper sleeve had long since disintegrated long before Sean Dickson and co had declared ‘Can’t Take No More’.
Whilst only organist Angus McPake and vocalist / lead guitarist Lenny Helsing have remained throughout their career, The Thanes have made their niche in 60s beat and R&B, garage and psychedelic pop-rock amongst other genres. As strange as it may sound, in a music world inhabited by the likes of The Courettes doesn’t sound out of place.
For Les Thanes, released on Rogue Records, the band have picked four tracks, two covers and two originals. The latter bookend the EP, For What Reward and Heed The Warning, both homed in their rehearsal room and on various live dates over the last couple of years after coming out of covid-induced lockdowns.
The covers You’ll Never Do It Baby was originally released by the Hertfordshire based The Cops ‘n Robbers in 1965 however is probably best known as recorded later that year by Pretty Things, available on their second album Get The Picture. Its Dark was originally recorded by the Adelaide based The Twilights who were heavily influenced by the British Invasion.
Such is the authenticity of The Thanes, if you weren’t aware of which is which I doubt you’d be able to tell covers and originals apart. The tracks positively fizz with energy and will have you moving whether you want to or not.
Find The Thanes on Facebook and Instagram
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All words by Iain Key. See his author profile here or find him on X (Twitter) as @iainkey
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