Don Caballero, What Burns Never Returns (1998)

I was playing a gig once, a few years ago and after we played this amazing music filled the room (note: after we played, not during). I had to know what it was. Turns out it was Don Caballero – it was the first time I heard the name. I worked in a music store at the time, so the next day it was off to work and straight to the import-service to order a couple of Don Caballero albums, including this one. A great album. I turned a lot of people on to the band, as is only right when you’ve been turned on to great new music yourself (the sound-guy at the gig had been playing the album; I remember asking him what the name was – he did me a favour, I passed that on to others). A few years on I saw this on vinyl – double LP: $10. I’ve been playing it a bit (again) just recently. This band would, in a sense, go on to become Battles. Or components of Battles. John Stanier is great, of course. And to me he is a big part of what makes Battles. But Damon Che is what makes Don Caballero. Those other guys got lucky twice then eh; playing with two great drummers.

Sample Track: In The Absence of Strong Evidence to the Contrary, One May Step Out of the Way of the Charging Bull

The Vinyl Countdown is a document of every LP I listen to, brand new discoveries and old-old favourites; extremely pre-loved, previously abandoned or with the shrink-wrap having just been removed it’s all here at The Vinyl Countdown