Loop?

[The Shocker]

Shifter, I see you gave "A Guilded Eternity" 5 stars on RYM.  Care to school me on that album and Loop in general?

[GodShifter]

A Gilded Eternity is one of my favorite albums, obviously. It's a classic psych/drone example, really.

Loop is all about repetitive rhythms (hence why they're called Loop in the first place). That was their deal: construct a cool basic rhythm and build off of that. Robert Hampson, the guitarist and vocalist for Loop, had a great ear for minimalist soundscapes.

In fact, after Loop broke up, he went on to form the band Main who, in their original formation, sounded much like Loop, but as the band went on they became more and more minimal until by the end it was essentially one guitar and him working to make it sound as little like a guitar as possible. If you're interested in Main, I definitely recommend Hydra-Calm which is their first two EPs put together. It's pretty cool.

As far as Loop albums, I'd recommend A Gilded Eternity first and after that then probably Heaven's End. Fade Out is also worth checking out.

Side note: If you dig Loop, then definitely check out some Hair and Skin Trading Company which is the rhythm section of Loop plus a new guitarist after Loop broke up. I own all their albums and I think they're great. Sometimes I can hear them channeling some Can.

Anyway, I hope this helps and gets you started in the right direction.

PS - This whole post was done on my iPhone so sorry if it's a bit jumbled 

[The Shocker]

Is Loop similar at all to Spaceman 3? Just trying to get a feel.  I do have some Can (I think).

[GeeZa]

Loop are amazing, truly one of the best bands of the 80s. Their three key records, Heaven's End, Fade Out and A Gilded Eternity are all excellent. Me and my friends were into them at the time purely based on their hair cuts alone which I think says a lot. Although Spacemen3 started that sound-style in the UK, I'd rate Loop as better, more rockier, dronier and in general much better production. Whilst on their day Spacemen3 could be astounding, they often weren't, and Loop as a contrast were a bit more consistent.

The three Loop records got very nice CD re-issues fairly recently with beefier sound and a disc of extras. Definitely worth getting.

This is my fave track:

[Lumpy]

I'm not aware of any bad records by them (?)

I haven't heard Heaven's End, so that's sad if it's one of the crucial ones. I like Wolf Flow and I think there's another one I like, not on your lists (lazy).

Is Loop similar at all to Spaceman 3? Just trying to get a feel.  I do have some Can (I think).

In the same ballpark. Alike in some important ways, yet they don't actually sound like each other. Loop is a little more 'rock' as GeeZa said, there is a bit more density in comparison to Spacemen 3, as far as the group working as a unit. There's a machine-like singularity to it. Really liked them at the time, and they seem to have aged well, which you can't always say...

[Woody]

I haven't heard Loop in a long, long time but remember really liking them and Thee Hypnotics way back when. Should track down those tapes and revisit them.

[The Shocker]

Ok, listened to A Guilded Eternity.  I like it, but it falls into "mood" music for me, as in I have to be in the right mood to listen to it.  If I'm in the mood it's excellent, if I'm not I kind of zone out and it becomes one big boring song.  Other bands that fit this category for me:

In order of how much I like them:
1. Hawkwind
2. The Heads
3. Loop
4. Spacemen 3
5. My Bloody Valentine (who quite frankly bore me to death).