The French: The Model 7”

The French were a band from England (um...  where else?) in the early 80s who released a couple 7”s on their own label and then disappeared. Like many bands at the time they were a post punk band featuring angular guitars and stabs of synths and plucky basslines and even the occasional sax. While it’s not the most original style, it’s the type of sound that I love, and I’m willing to bet that many of you appreciate it as well. It’s always nice to unearth another nugget of post-punk gold.

Their first 7” features a cover of Kraftwerk’s “The Model”. It’s a bit of an odd choice – the song had come out only a few years prior – but they actually make it sound pretty great. In fact, it’s one of the best covers that I’ve heard in a long time, as it sounds very different from the original but still captures a raw urgency that seems to be lacking from the many rote covers that abound. The song is built upon a tinny syn-drum and slices of guitar and bass. The strangest part of the song are the synths that randomly are thrown on top of the entire affair – they are loud, haphazard, and sound almost exactly like the sound Pac-Man makes when he’s caught by a ghost.

The band’s other songs are originals. Set Me On Fire is a great (if thin-sounding) track with simplistic synth pulses and flourishes of sax on top of great guitar lines and vocals. It’s certainly a favorite in the house of Goutroy.

I’ve also included the A-side of their second single, The River Flows East. It’s also a pretty good song, trading in the angular and arty sound for a more groove-oriented sound in the style of bands like APB. Unfortunately my copy is currently in storage and I don’t have a rip of the B side, but from what I remember it sucked. So I’m sparing you a song that you’d just end up deleting anyway.

Click here to listen!

Circle Seven: Suburban Hope EP

Now it’s time for some good crowd-pleasing post-punk. This is the sole release from Montana-based Circle Seven. It was released on the venerable Ruthless Records back in 1981. It was one of the very first releases on the label. The band is often filed under or mentioned as a punk band on the web, and while they definitely had a punk edge to them, their music was more dynamic than that label implies. Their songs were generally pretty fast-paced but their guitar sounds ditched the guitar noise of many of their contemporaries for a surprisingly refined tunefulness. The vocals are especially strong – emphatic and pretty powerful, bordering on goth on a few songs on the second side. It somehow sounds as if he is yelling in a hushed voice.

The record starts out with a midtempo burst of punk energy on the titular “Suburban Hope”. The second side certainly has the strongest songs. “Cover Up” is a trackthat drives forward without losing momentum. It doesn’t even contain a chorus, it just keeps a steady pace until the last 40 seconds or so when the it ends in repeated chants of “cover up cover up cover up…”. “Say One Thing” is another unrelenting track that barely pauses for air in its 1:45 length. It also contains some pretty great drum fills that are basically substituted in place of any sort of vocal chorus. The record closes with “Look What You Got”, on which the singer sounds more angst-ridden than on any preceding track. He progressively sounds more aggravated as the song barrels on.

This is a pretty solid EP, and will certainly appeal to fans of no-frills guitar-driven post punk. The songs are quite well-written and the record is surprisingly refined, which is probably why it tends to be on quite a few wantlists. It’s a record that sounds good upon first listen, but slowly grows in potency over repeated spins.

Circle Seven: Suburban Hope EP

1981 Ruthless Records

A1 Suburban Hope

A2 I Woke Up

A3 Distant

B1 Cover Up

B2 Say One Thing

B3 Look What You Got

Click here to listen!

UV Prom: Field of Vision 1-sided 12"

Sometimes it’s nice to just hear some good old-fashioned guitar-based post-punk. A record does not always need a lot of frills (or even a lot of originality) to be top-notch material. This record – the sole release by North Carolina band UV Prom (not to be confused with UV Pop!) is a perfect example of US post-punk done right. I’ve had this for at least 10 years or so and completely forgot about it until I found it stored away in my parents’ closet during a recent visit.

The band liberally grabs elements from UK luminaries like Echo and the Bunnymen, early Killing Joke, The Chameleons, add a bit of punk sensibilities (especially with the chanted "HEY"s in the first song - it almost reminds me of an oi band). They combine these elements on an excellent four-song one-sided 12”. The music is certainly familiar, and the band does not really take any chances or experiment too much – but in this case that works to the record’s advantage, as all four tracks flow together perfectly, and there is not a bad track among them.

It’s a shame the band never released anything else, as their imitation of their musical heroes is quite excellent. I believe this band has yet to be “discovered” by anyone, as copies still regularly float around online for pretty cheap.

UV Prom: Field of Vision 12”

1985, Centograph Records

A1 Mobile Home Murder

A2 Upper Room

A3 Funhouse

A4 Pink Cell

Get it here! - new CLEAN rip courtesy of Frankie Teardrop at Systems of Romance!

Real Macabre: Emotion 12”

Here is a mysterious record from 1985, from a UK band called Real Macabre. There are absolutely no credits or band members listed. The cover is just a white textured sleeve with a sticker on the front that says “This is Emotion”. The band seemed to go out of their way to NOT attract any attention.

It’s unfortunate, because this could easily have been a big club hit in the 80s Surely this band’s noisy-yet-tuneful brand of dark (but quite poppy) goth rock has widespread appeal. Fans of Look Back in Anger, Asmodi Bizaar, and Siouxsie and the Banshees will certainly enjoy both mixes of Emotion. While the tracks on this 12” may not be terribly original, they are well-written. With slightly sassy vocals and buzzsaw guitars, the extended mix of Emotion is a pretty great "lost" single, and is guaranteed to have you tapping your feet by the time the chorus arrives and the song kicks into overdrive.

Sadly, fate has found this band receiving little or no recognition. I’m sure the record was simply not distributed well enough for it to gain a wide audience. At least the age of mp3s can rectify this. I have no idea if this band ever released anything else (or, as mentioned earler, WHO the band members were). If anyone out there has any information, share it!

Real Macabre: Emotion 12”

1985, Push Records

A1 Emotion (extended)

B1 Emotion

B2 The Dance

Click here to listen!

Various Artists: Commercial Music Vol. 2

I have not been posting as much as I’d like to, having been busy with work and exploring my new home city, but here is a compilation I have been working on with various odds and ends and rarities. Most of these songs and artists are underappreciated or virtually unknown, and many have never been widely shared. I consciously made this compilation an exercise in “wave around the world”. Included are artists from the US, Brazil, Greece, Turkey, Germany, Belgium, the UK, and more. Most are from the 80s, but a handful are from the 90s and 2000s. Enjoy!

The first track is Verdun by Addie Brik (UK, 1984). It’s a downtempo and slightly synthy Siouxsie-esque song. While it doesn’t develop as much as I would like, it has good atmospheric and is a good intro to the comp.

Proxies (Greece, 1982) released an amazing debut LP that recalled Cold War Night Life era Rational Youth. They followed it with a stylistic change toward a more pop-oriented direction on their second LP. This song, the awkwardly-titled Don't Throw Babies (To The Spartans At Kaiadas),is from that second LP, and while it is quite cheesy (admittedly a characteristic of their debut as well), it’s a pretty good synthpop track.

Soviet (NYC, 2000) were unfairly lumped with all the NY electroclash bands during the brief few months that genre was legitimate, but they really were a pure, earnest synthpop band. If they came out now, they would probably be classified as a minimal synth band. They released a couple CDs; this song is a very minimalistic demo version of their song Marbleyzed.

Nohumaneye (UK, 1981) self released one 7” and have been pretty much completely unknown for the past 30 years or so. I happened to find this in a tiny record store in Istanbul, of all places. This song, The Owners Lose A Package, is good lo-fi and synth-heavy new wave that borders on punk with its slightly off-key and shout-y vocals.

Strafe Fur Rebellion (Germany, 1983) has been shared before, but this song off their debut 7”,Mosche Bildt Njet, is a bit hard to find, and is completely unlike their abstract instrumental NDW that they’re more known for. Instead, this song basically sounds like DAF if they were a four-piece band with no electronics. It’s highly rhythmic, repetitive, with tinny jagged stabs of guitars and almost militaristic chanting.

The next song is a completely unknown track by a band called Dancing Bears (Scotland, 1987). The band was from the UK and self-released this 7”, and that may be their only recorded output. This song, Got to Get Out of Here, is a real gem - especially for those of us who love early 80s Scottish post punk. This is a very Josef K-sounding burst of energy

I shared Pinkie Maclure’s previous LP a while back. This track, Garden Of Delights, is taken from her Favourite LP (1995, UK). It finds her still using loads of electronics, but equips her with a new percussive backbone that recalls Krautrock bands like Can or Neu!. Her vocals are a bit more ethereal on this song, which recalls many of the trip-hop and electronic bands at the time (most notably Portishead and Laika).

Akira S + Charlie C (Brazil, 1989) follow with a song called Tokei, a short, synthy dark pop track. Akira S was huge in the underground Brazilian post punk and synthpop scene, and was behind many of the bands on the excellent Nao Wave and Sexual Life of the Savages compilations from a few years ago.

Scatterbrains (Netherlands, 1983) released an ridiculously sought-after mini-LP and disappeared. I have only heard a few songs on the mLP, and this is probably my favorite. Totally amateur and raw analogue synthpop – if anyone has a rip of their full record I’d love to hear it…

Trans Millenia Consort (San Francisco, 1984) is sometimes cited as the first-ever dark ambient band. While that claim may be disputable, there is no arguing this ominously-titled song’s (Blood Celebrants) absolutely haunting atmosphere that recalls a long foggy drive to a haunted house teetering atop a precarious precipice. Oh yeah, and the SF-based woman behind this band was completely BLIND.

Dequina + Zaba (Brazil, 1991) provide a wonderful downtempo (almost ambient) electronic song called Preposicoes, with nearly indecipherable hushed female vocals and layers of restrained percussion and effects.

48 Chairs (UK, 1982) were one of the many UK DIY bands that have been comped on the Messthetics and Homework series. Relentless is taken from their sole (and exceedingly rare) LP, is full of whirling electronics, tinny metronomic drum machines, blasts of sax, and repetitive vocals.

Navastrau (Chicago, 1980) follow up with a totally art-damaged and dark-as-hell post punk song from their self-released 7”, called Looking from an Airplane. A tinny rhythm box holds the beat for layers of synths, out-of-tune guitars, and almost electronic-sounding saxes. The female vocalist sounds simultaneously blasé and paranoid.

MaGita (Germany, 1984) follow with a burst of visceral German post punk. Originally the vocalist and violinist for Abwarts, she released a 12” from which this song, Jones, is culled. This track is replete with blazing guitars, shouted vocals, and a rhythm section that sounds like it’s in a state of repeated collapse

The Aeffect (Florida, 2002) may have been part of the “hipster synthpop” underground scene of the late 90s and early aughts, but like the best bands and albums of that genre – Antarctica, “Danse Macabre” by The Faint – they actually were legitimately good. This song, Burning in the Bed on Fire, is a fast-paced song with intense but simplistic synthesizer lines that recall early OMD or the “Some Bizarre” version of Depeche Mode’s Photographic.

Bedtime for Bonzo (Belgium, 1984) played jokey post punk and dark electro. Some people may be familiar with this controversial track, but it still remains a bit unknown so I figured I’d share it again. It’s called The Bloody Violation of Mickey Mouse’s Virginity on 59^th Street. …and that is LITERALLY what this song is about.

Braizen Boiz (US, 1983) had a pretty dumb name (you’d expect them to sound like a hip hop version of Menudo or something), but they did leave their mark on the synthpop underground with this track, Beware. They only released one 12” which featured 3 mixes of the song (this is my favorite, the Space Version). Most copies were destroyed in a flood (isn’t that always the case?) so it’s hard to come across these days.

Maxx Mann (NYC, 1981) self-released one 12” that was an earnest combination of bathhouse disco and synthpop. This song, Like a Killer (True Love Is Always True) is loaded with tinny electronics and disco basslines, with Maxx Mann’s expressive vocals. Of all the people on this comp, he probably went on to the most fame, becoming a broadway actor of some reknown, as well as the singer of the hugely popular Trans Siberian Orchestra.

Kim Ki O (Istanbul, 2008) could be your new favorite synth band. This Turkish girl duo makes some gorgeous synth music that fits right along such contemporaries as Sixth June and Kindest Lines. They have an EP that was recently released on Enfant Terrible; this song I Don’t Relate, is found on one of their earlier self-released demo cd-rs.

Courage of Lassie (Canada, 1986) released several neofolk albums in the 80s and 90s. I’m not a huge fan of most of their work, but this track, Hiroshima, is full of glistening synths and wistful keyboard lines. It’s almost nostalgic-sounding, and I figure it’s a decent way to round out the comp…

Click here to listen...

Kissed Air: Kariba & Out of the Night 7”s

Here are the two 7”s from Irish post punk band Kissed Air. They also released a 12” but alas, I do not have that record. Originally a punk band called Known Authority, this Belfast group changed their name and adopted a more post-punk style around 1982. Their style grabbed pretty liberally from the playbook of Joy Division and early A Certain Ratio. The singer’s vocals are reminiscent of Ian Curtis, with a slight Irish accent (as if Curtis mated with Bono, perhaps?). A couple songs put heavy basslines at the forefront – Kariba in particular sounds like it a companion piece to ACR’s Do the Du.

The second single finds them in their most Joy Division-ish sound, as the A side, Out of the Night sounds like it could be a single if Ian Curtis lived to record a third proper album with the band. It’s a bit frantic and danceable and aside from the breakdown near the end, retains a somewhat dark sound to it.

The band’s B sides are sort of let-downs compared to the obverse sides. Their eponymous song from the Kariba single is OK, but its mostly plodding pace completely negates the sense of urgency found on the A side. The B side of their second single, Change of Attention is decent, if your definition of “decent” extends to songs that sound like a castoff from a late-period Shriekback album.

Still, the two A sides here are well worth a listen, and these singles don’t tend to fetch too much cash right now, so it may be a good idea to buy them if you like them.

Kissed Air: Kariba 7:

1982, Kabuki Records

A1: Kariba

B1: Kissed Air

Kissed Air: Out of the Night 7”

1982, Kabuki Records

A1: Out of the Night

B1: Change of Attention

Click here to listen!

Caesarian Section : Incision 12”

My friend and I were in Athens on the last day of a recent vacation to Turkey and Greece and we decided to visit one last record store. That store turned out to be a goldmine compared to anywhere else we had visited – we each walked out with stacks of records after spending over 100 Euros apiece. My friend found this record and put it on the store’s turntable. The crackly intro fed into crashes of industrial percussion and a noisy mess of guitars and echoing, repetitive vocals.

“Whoa… this sounds like a fucked-up version of Danse Society”, exclaimed my friend.

He was right. It was slightly more industrial sounding, and noisier, as if Danse Society had a marathon listening session of Swans and Einsturzende Neubauten albums before recording.

New Rosary, the leading song on the EP, is a definite strong point. Voodoo Jazz repeats the formula on the previous track, but obscures the vocals, adds shrieks and yelps, and ups the ante on the psychotic percussion.

The B side is a bit less noisy, and slower-paced, but still quite good. Barb Wire Teddy is almost shoegaze in a Jesus and Mary Chain sort of noisy, effected way (but with more emphasis on atmosphere and percussion than on guitars). The final song, Fact Not Fiction, is virtually formless, with tinny percussion pushed to one side and occasional clangs of metal piercing the din of effects and delays and echoing vocals. It’s a great way to end the record, in a cocoon of completely unrefined noise. This is currently dirt cheap on discogs at the moment... I wonder if it will remain that way?

Caesarian Section: Incision 12”

1987, Incision Records

A1: New Rosary

A2: Voodoo Jazz

B1: Barb Wire Teddy

B2: Fact Not Fiction

Click here to listen!

Great City: Great City LP

On many occasions, I am drawn to buy a record based on the cover alone, and this LP by a band called Great City is a perfect example of that. The cover art immediately drew me in with its ridiculous avant garde design that could ONLY have come from the 80s. The photo of the two band members pushed to the graininess of a pencil drawing; the photo credit on the front cover in case you were wondering who took it (it was "Ava"); the addition of seemingly random cubes and spheres; the inexplicable telephone cord coil in one corner; the band name written twice on the cover for some

strange reason... It was almost too much. The credits did not provide any info about the instruments used so I coudn't really glean what it would sound like, but judging by the cover it had to be some variation of new wave.

In actuality, the record is an odd beast: very simplistic and repetitive drum programs, strong electronic rhythmic backbones, stabs of synthesizers, oddly questionable and funky bass playing, cheesy synth horns a la With

Sympathy-era Minstry, and artfully off-key female vocals. On my favorite songs (the last two tracks of each side) musically sound sort of like the bastard child of SSQ and Ludus, with a little bit of lite gothic flourishes thrown in (and the final song, I Remember, sounds quite similar to the gothic Hi-I LP I uploaded a while back).

The band was from Los Angeles - which I assume is the "Great City" in question, which actually kind of negates any credibility they may have (sorry, LA friends). They released a CD a few years after this but always remained pretty much unknown. Except for a lone discogs entry, there is absolutely no mention of this release anywhere online. It just goes to show that no matter how many 80s gems have been uncovered, there is still a plethora waiting to be unearthed by the patient collector.

Great City: Great City LP

1986, Impressive Records

A1 A Dollar, A Ruble

A2 Impressive

A3 Too Much Thunder

A4 Talk Before

B1 Tell Me I'm Yours

B2 Night Flight To Tangiers

B3 Never Land

B4 I Remember

Click here to listen!

Various Artists: Untitled LP

Courtesy of Riegler, the beautiful and discerning San Francisco minimal synth/post punk/darkwave DJ-at-large, comes this virtually unknown compilation that she was kind enough to mail to me to rip and play at a party or two. I've shared a couple of Club de Rome records, and here is a compilation that has an exclusive song from them, during their formative coldwave years.

This compilation was released in 1986 on the tiny Post Tenebras label out of Switzerland. Aside from probably being pressed in a small run of a few hundred copies or so, this record is completely untitled, making searching for it (or even referring to it by name) a futile exercise. The record features eight tracks from four Swiss bands. Club de Rome have two songs here, one of which was the B-side to the Hypnotised 7" I shared a couple weeks ago, the other of which is exclusive. The exclusive song, Murder, finds the band veering close to deathrock territory, with sheets of metallic guitars, a solid bassline backbone, and lyrics at the end that, oddly enough, they would rerecord later ("Why don't you recognize/That my life/is not a dream" would later become the refrain of A L'Est & A L'Ouest Du Crépuscule).

Smirnov, whose EP was shared a while ago on the Capa Nostra Syndicate blog was a coldwave band in the tradition of Norma Loy, Charles de Goal, Asylum Party, and others; both their songs are extremely solid and may be my two favorites on this album.

Smog (not to be confused with the current indie band) was a female-fronted deathrock/dark punk band in the vein of early Christian Death, The Sears, and Blitz. Their song Dream of sand is a particularly excellent track, with aggressive vocals and guitars tuned to attack.

Nova Express are the synth band on this record - both their songs make heavy use of programmed drums, electronics, and cold vocals. Their song on the A side, La Fille Aux Yeux Telescopiques, may be one of the weaker songs on the album, but they more than make up for it on the second side with A 2000 a l'Heure, a definite coldwave gem.

Overall, this comp is quite excellent, and really is more than deserving of a name. Perhaps not giving the record a title helps the record label remain neutral in true Swiss tradition.

Various Artists: Untitled LP

1986, Post Tenebras Records

A1 Club De Rome: Occhio Blu

A2 Smirnov: Cliches

A3 Smog: Dream of Sand

A4 Nova Express: La Fille Aux Yeux Telescopiques

B1 Nova Express: A 2000 a l'Heure

B2 Smog: Better Than I Do

B3 Smirnov: Save

B4 Club De Rome: Murder

Click here to download the record!

Trax: Home EP

The UK during the late 70s and early 80s may have been the epicenter of the single greatest era of music - if not of all time, then at least of our generation (although I suppose it also depends on the type of music you're interested in). The sheer amount of records released at the time - from the private pressings recorded in ramshackle studios at 3 AM for the price of a case of Top Ramen, to the commercially risky records that even the major labels were putting out - means that there will always be another classic unearthed on pretty much a weekly basis. Consider this the classic of this week!

This band, called Trax, hailed from the town of Dunfermline, Scotland, and released this single on their Lonely Records label in 1979. It's not the greatest-quality recording, remaining a tad murky, especially on the second side on which the band bravely attempts to cram nearly eight minutes of music. It combines the energetic energy and guitars of garage punk with the atmospherics and synths of the post punk and burgeoning goth scene, sounding like a mix of The Stranglers, The Skids, and Joy Division. The closing track, Late Nite call Out, is my favorite, where garage and darkwave elements collide in a glorious lo-fi mess.

The band did not release any other records, although they did write almost 40 different songs and may have recorded a few demo tapes before disbanding in 1980. This record shows quite a bit of potential, and if their budget for this recording was only slightly more than the cost of a single meal of fish and chips, it would probably sound quite excellent.

Trax: Home EP

1979, Lonely Records

A1: Home

B1: Losing Out

B2: Late Nite Call-Out

Click here to download this record!

Plain Characters: Invisible Yearnings LP

Here is a record that had all the makings of a classic: it was essentially the solo project of Colin Lloyd Tucker (The The, The Gadgets, and solo fame), featuring kinetic and sometimes antagonizing post-punk full of guitar stabs and shrieks and Tucker's over-the-top melodrama, released in 1980 in the UK during the height of post-punk's commercial boom. But somehow the album fell by the wayside and was all but forgotten. Perhaps it was released on too small a label (Abstract Records), or maybe there's such a variety of styles on this record that it borders on unfocused, or maybe it just suffered from simple lack of promotion.

Whatever the case for its relative obscurity, I'm happy to make these songs available and reintroduce them. From garagey post-punk to atmospeheric spoken-word-space-jazz to minimal electronics to full-on dance punk, this record has quite a few gems. The two best (and two of the most different) songs are on the B-side. Menial Tasks is a frantic bass-driven danceable post-punk gem that takes it cues from Metal Box-era Public Image Limited and Entertainment-era Gang of Four, and after that song abruptly ends, its stylistic polar opposite begins: Julia, a largely electronic track, with back-and-forth synths and guitars. There is one thing that binds these two songs together, and helps retain some semblance of cohesion: the vocals. I described Tucker as being full of melodrama above, but the truth is that barely scratches the surface. His vocals range from gutteral growls to yelps to emotive squeals and completely change in speed and pacing and pitch often within the space of a single verse, sounding like David Bowie being exorcised.

This single record is a compelling example of the sheer artistic experimentation and musical genius that abounded in the early 80s, taking a huge array of styles and cramming them all into one nice, neat package with slightly mixed but thoroughly enjoyable results.

Plain Characters: Invisible Yearnings LP

1981, Abstract Records

A1 Affair 19.10.80

A2 Labyrinth

A3 Not for Resale - No. 2

A4 Zero Zero

A5 Fingerprint City

B1 O

B2 Menial Tasks

B3 Julia

B4 Counting Sheep

B5 The Four Lies

Click here to download this record!

Gluons: Gluons EP

The first time I heard this EP several years ago, it was a cheapo record I picked up on a whim the middle of a batch of Amoeba Record finds that included a bunch of gems that I had been looking for for a long time - I listened to about 30 seconds of this, thought "Huh, OK, nice" and filed it away. It was not until I rummaged through my records I wanted to part with before moving to New York that I even gave it a second thought.

I gave it a good listen, and it instantly grew. It starts with the midtempo and spacey I Enter Your Void, which, although very repetitive, contained a mix of characteristics that made me love it. The guitars were dissonant, the drums steady, and the vocals almost in the glam-punk realm. The tempo practically doubles with Miami, which mixes more of the dissonant guitars with plucking basslines and more of the glam punk vocals. But the songs on side B are really the killer tracks. By the time A Room In Your Head started, I realized that the band's strongest point is the difficult ability to take dissonant and effected guitars and slightly snotty/arty but usually perfectly clear and articulated vocals and spin them into perfect dark pop. Your Manikin Hand drove this point home, sounding like a frantic version of Joy Division sans the studio atmospherics. This record is now one of my favorites. The band was from Massachusetts and I believe this was their only release. Perhaps, sadly, the city of New Bedford was not quite ready for their arty brand of dissonant new wave.

Gluons: S/T EP

1983, Self-released

A1 I Enter Your Void

A2 Miami

B1 A Room In Your Head

B2 Your Manikin Hand

Click here to listen to this record!

THE SHRIEK: Sex Sells EP

Here is a bit of an oddball record. It is the only release by Canadian electropunk band The Shriek, which was a duo consisting of Blair Petrie and Ben Gaylie, who later collaborated on a very underrated electropop/experimental album that you can find on Mutant Sounds. Before they delved into the realm of pure electronics, though, this duo made some very harsh, lo-fi, amateurish music as The Shriek... It starts out with the two most punk songs I have ever posted to this blog, All Fucked Up and Fuck Up. Judging by the names, you can guess how they sound, as well as their maturity level. But they are both great songs, and things get more artsy with "1980", a one-chord art punk spazout that sounds like Wire channeling NYC no wave. Side two is where the synths go into overtime, with "Lost Control", an amazing electro-punk song that reminds me of one of my all-time favorite bands, Lost Sounds. Kids is like a one-chord Wire song. The most bizarre song is Intermission, a sprawling electronic song that shifts from synths and vocoder to repetitive droney chanting from the point-of-view of aliens. And from the 2:35 point, you'd swear you were listening to a Transparent Illusion song (with loads of vocal effects, though). Overall, this is a very recommended record. I wasn't too impressed at first, but it slowly grew on me, especially side two. If there was ever a Canadian version of the Messthetics comps, this duo would be on it!

The Shriek: Sex Sells EP
1980, Rude Records
A1 - All Fucked Up
A2 - Fuck Up
A3 - 1980
B1 - Lost Control
B2 - Kids
B3 - Intermission

Click here to download this EP!

Various Artists: 84 LP

Well, it's been a little while since I last shared an album here. But I'll make it up by sharing at least one album per day this week - all of them obscure, unknown, or rare compilations. Starting things off is a Yugoslavian compilation called "84". It was released in... drum roll... 1984. This record is most interesting for the inclusion of the first-ever tracks by early industrial/EBM band Borghesia. Also included on side 1 is an early Laibach song (only a half-minute long), as well as two excellent songs dark electro/industrial songs by 300,000 Verschiedene Krawalle. Side 2 is more in the punk, post punk, and oi vein, with lots of songs that feature angry shouting in Slovenian. This is a highly recommended record, so download it and enjoy!

Various Artists: 84 LP
1984 ZKP RTL (Založba kaset in plošč RTV Ljubljana)
Tracks:
A1 Borghesia: Divlja Horda
A2 Borghesia: Pokušaj
A3 Abbildungen Variete: Ishodišče Subjekta
A4 300.000 Verschiedene Krawalle: Policijski Hit
A5 300.000 Verschiedene Krawalle: TV Generacija
A6 Laibach: Uvod V Jaruzelskega
B1 O!Kult: Za Ljudi
B2 Otroci Socializma: Pesem Št. 3
B3 Otroci Socializma: Vojak
B4 Čao Pičke: Pesem B
B5 Čao Pičke: Kaj Ti Rečem
B6 Via Ofenziva: Minimalni Ritem
B7 Via Ofenziva: Proleter
B8 Via Ofenziva: Mrtvi Igralci

Click here to download the album!

Capital Punishment: Roadkill LP

What do you get when you cross the child of a famous comedian, the fertile New York no wave scene, and a few hundred dollars to record and release an album? You get Capital Punishment's album "Roadkill". Not to be confused with the hardcore band of the same name, this was a minimal electronic/no wave/retardo band from NYC in 1982. And the drummer/backup singer was none other than Ben Stiller. That's right, Zoolander himself was a wee lad of 13 when this album was recorded. And while the music here is amateurish - VERY amateurish at times - you have to admit that it's pretty damn cool for a high school freshman's band. I mean, what did YOU release when you were 13? I know that awkward point of my life consisted of Star Trek: TNG, Super Mario 3, and my dad's hidden stack of Playboy magazines. I certainly didn't have time to do anything creative.
So listen to this record with a grain of salt. There are some stupid no wave songs, some decent minimal electropop songs, and actually a couple great electronic instrumentals: especially the epic "John's Forgotten Lands I, II, and III", which use every synth noise in the book. It's a curiosity, a strange amateur classic, and often a very enjoyable listen. Unfortunately, the group never recorded anything else, and the short-lived genre of Stillerwave never realized its full potential.

Capital Punishment: Roadkill LP
Self-released, 1982
1. Necronomicon
2. Roadkill
3. Confusion
4. Muzak Anonymous
5. All Just in Passing
6. Delta Time
7. Creatures of the Dark (Night)
8. Cosmos
9. John's Forgotten Land (Parts 1, 2, and 3)
10. Necronomicon (Reprise)

Download the LP here!

Parchment Prayer LP + Miscellaneous tracks

I wish I could give some sort of background or detail about this release, but the truth is there is simply no information to be found. None of the band members are named (not even on the lyrics sheet). I don't know what else this band released, but I have this LP and a cd-r of their demo tape. The band was from Germany, and was part of the darkwave/goth/deathrock scene there. They released their selftitled LP on Independance Records. Musically, it recalls everything from Joy Division to Christian Death to South of No North to anarcho post punk and punk bands like Lack of Knowledge, The Ex, and Crass. It's sometimes aggressive, sometimes melodic, and always quite dark (except on the kinda lame "Children", with its chorus of "Take Care of the Children... Children... Children...". I mean come on, that's only a few steps away from Whitney Houston's "Greatest Love of All". Ugh.) But aside from that misstep, the LP is great, with songs like This Love Lost and Comedy sounding like long lost classics. The demos are even better, in my opinion, except some of them aren't the greatest sound quality. A huge thanks to anonymous (was it sorrow-vomit?) who informed me about the demo songs: they were on a demo tape that the band released in 1985, limited to 100 copies. The image of the cover comes from sorrow-vomit. I didn't name the songs in the .zip file, but have included them here so that you can change them accordingly.

Parchment Prayer LP
1987 Independance Records, Germany
Songs:
1.Sense of Belonging
2. This Love Lost
3. Change
4. We Could Be Them
5. Wish I Could Be
6. Incommunicado (Detention)
7. Comedy
8. Happy Day
9. Sensuality
10. Anger
11. Children



and...

Parchment Prayer Demos:
1985, slef-released demo cassette, ltd to 100 copies
1. Rituale Romanum
2. Comedy
3. Bath of Flies
4. The Clock
5. Subway
6. Just Like You
7. Movement
8. Black Mess (recorded live)


Download both here.

Sad Is Fiction: Zum Wohle Der Menschheit 12"

This time I have a mysterious 12" EP from a Swiss band called Sad is Fiction. They self-released this EP in 1991, and that's really all I know. I have no idea if they released anything else, if the members (who only go by their first names on the jacket) went on to any other bands or what... I do know that I really like this EP. It's femele-fronted goth that's oddly dynamic, almost... I don't know, mathy? Math-goth? Would that be "Moth"? "Gothematics"? "Agothmetic"? There are loads of tempo changes, the songs build from repetitive doom-sounding basslines to angry shrieks and abruptly change to repeated chanting. It's definitely worth checking out if you're a goth or deathrock fan.

The tracks are:
Lied 13
Lied 7
Darling (Live)


Click here to download it!