THE PHONES: Two Hearts, Two Heads LP

There are some LPs that don't impress me too much upon first listen, but eventually grow on me the more I listen to them. This debut album by Dutch post-punk band The Phones is such an album. The first time I heard it, I thought it was good, but there weren't any tracks that stood out too much. Still, there was something there - something about the album made me listen to it again. And then again. And now, after many, many listens, I have no idea how I was not immediately in love with this album. It's a perfect combination of jagged guitars, dark synths and organs, powerful and perfect vocals, loud drums, and simple, repetitive basslines; an excellent mix of new wave, darkwave, pop, and electronic; a great blend of many influences, from fellow Dutch post-punkers Mecano to Joy Division to Television to Modern English to the Thomas Leer/Robert Rental LP. The A side is a bit spotty at times, but has the excellent instrumental minimal electronic song "*" (yes, that's the full name); the B side is solid throughout. THe final two songs, Cities and Comme L'Amour, are both masterpieces in my opinion. These are songs that would would be lauded and raved about by hipsters and indie journalists as the next big post-punk revival band if they were released today - they have aged perfectly. The synths and bouncy chorus in Cities and its long instrumental outro, and the abrubt start-stop-start-stop of the beginning of Comme L'Amour, have driven me to listen to these songs dozens of times. Not only is this self-released album a lost classic, but the packaging is great - it comes in an oversized quadrilateral sleeve, with a hand-cut dust jacket (which has a stamp that says "hand cut" on it, to authenticate the DIY-ness of it, I suppose). This is an album that deeply rewards repeated listens. And even if I'm the only one who loves the album, I still want to share it, as it is exactly the type of album that I created this blog to share.

The Phones: Two Hearts, Two Heads LP
1982, self-released
A1 Change
A2 The Lizard's Show
A3 Silly
A4 *
A5 Heroin, My Love, My Heroine Love
B1 Emotional Language 4:28
B2 VIP 4:22
B3 Cities 4:37
B4 Comme L'Amour

Click here to download this album!

GT MODELL: Selftitled mLP

I can't believe it, but it's been 2 years and 100 posts since I first started this blog. How time flies and life changes! But at least music remains constant. This week, I have 3 very different records, starting with this one: the selftitled mini-LP from Dutch minimal synth duo GT Modell. Not a lot of info can be found about these guys, not the least reason for which is because they only go by "G" and "T". Both members sang and played synths and rhythmbox, as well as handclaps and razorblades (?). This sometimes veers into sort of poppy territory, but overally it's quite good. Side one is studio recordings, and side two are all live songs (but excellent soundboard quality). I don't think these guys ever released anything else.

GT Modell: Selftitled mLP
1983, Modulation Records
A1 - We Won't Let You Down
A2 - A Name
B1 - Turn On The Lights
B2 - Children Of The Future
B3 - We Are The Pioneers
B4 - Don't Close Your Eyes

Click here to download this mLP!

HI-I: Mind Your Head 12" EP

Well, I am back from my 3 1/2 week-long vacation to the Benelux region. The lands of beer, clogs, fritz, waffles, tulips, red light districts, chocolates, and *ahem* coffeeshops also had many, many great record stores. I probably have permanent damage to my back now, but it's worth it to bring back some excellent records! Such as This one here. It's a 5-song EP from a Dutch group called "Hi-I". The group uses two female vocalists and an extra percussionist along with the standard bass/guitar/drums for some excellent dark post punk. It's a little bit Siouxsie, a little bit The Veil, a bit of Cocteau Twins, and a smidgen of Skeletal Family. Dark, gloomy, and pretty much unknown! This one is highly recommended; I enjoy it more and more each time I listen to it. I see there is a copy available on gemm.com for cheap... Will anybody like this enough to buy it?

Hi-I: Mind Your Head EP
1986, Square Music

A1 Mind Your Head
A2 Nobody KNows
B1 Look Back
B2 Smile
B3 Illusions

Click here to download this record!