Aldershot Stock

In 2007, a certain sad southern soul, known as me, was on the cusp of a great life crisis. I was taking more and more time off work, while also getting to grips with my first ever romantic relationship. I lived in Huntingdon, worked in London, and my debut girlfriend was all the way up in sodding Sheffield. Life had gotten way too complicated, basically. Before I eventually moved up to South Yorkshire and simplified my existence, I spent much of my sick leave either getting drunk or trying to forge a music career that might just get me out of my depressive slump.

I failed, of course, but life is nothing without compromise.

In the years following this darkest of periods, I attempted to improve my guitar playing and live a very hobbit-like existence of frugality, with the songs I recorded down in Huntingdon being allowed to fester on a USB stick. Some might say this was the best outcome for them. Still, nothing I’ve recorded since has made me as proud as this album, which I dearly regret not keeping the original master files for. The vocals could really do with being lifted out, so if there’s a computer program out there that can remove singing, rather than add it, please let me know.

The album, recorded over a week of drinking coffee and scoffing chocolate brownies, was originally titled: “Retreat”, as that’s what it felt like I was doing in general. I will forever think of it as Retreat though, but I can’t help but admit that it is a rather dull title. Therefore, when I made the brave decision to upload it all to SoundCloud this afternoon, I was faced with a new challenge: what the fuck do I call it now?! None of the song titles themselves really stood out, although “Wasting Time Again” came awfully close, but fortunately I have a list of potential names for bands or songs or albums or even stories, which I’ve been adding to for the past few years. I settled on “Aldershot Stock”, which is the name eccentric TV chef Keith Floyd gave to plain old boring water. I thought this would be very apt, since he has been my spiritual leader/alcoholic idol since I was first sat in front of a television by my parents. Floyd used “Aldershot stock” as a reference to his days as a cook in the army catering corps at Aldershot Garrison. I also thought it’d be apt to use since my parents were both in the military, and I ended up working with military personnel as a civilian for eight years.

But, hey, if you just want to call it “Retreat”, I won’t mind.

After hearing my attempts at singing, a former colleague and guitar guru advised: “Just hire some sexy chick for the afternoon to come sing them for you!”. It was sound advice, albeit rather sleazy. I’d have left the tracks as instrumentals, which I certainly would do nowadays, had I not been so determined to be a cross-between Thom Yorke and Bob Dylan, which would have been quite a feat. I just refused to see/hear sense.

So, here it is, in all its flawed glory...

ALDERSHOT STOCK (2007) by Your Megalithic Heart

It’s honestly been so long since I’ve listened back to the songs that even I don’t know how most of them sound. I was very proud of the recording and songwriting, it’s just the voice of a deeply troubled 27-year-old me that I now cannot face listening to. Perhaps you fine folk will fare better. If there is nothing positive to be said, I will be eternally grateful for your tender silence.

Do stay in touch, darlings.

Toodles!