Kalashnikov: Ravaged Mind 7"

For your listening pleasure this week is a little 2-song 7" from 1986 by a Swedish band called Kalashnikov. Similar to their Spanish namesakes from the same era, this band also released a single synth 7" and then disappeared. The A-side of this disc is an enjoyable synth-funk 7" somewhat similar to With Sympathy-era Ministry (except when it suddenly goes into a completely infectious new wavey chorus). It's a fun track, although the indulgent and superfluous guitar solo near the end ruins it a bit for me.
The B side, Wailing Squad, is the superior song, though. With layers of synth and keyboards lines and great vocals (aside from somewhat ill-advised chanting during the chorus). It's a pretty great synth jam, and (if I had owned this 7" back when the Wierd party was still happening) would have made regular appearances in my sets. Alas, it will have to make a regular appearance on my iPod playlists instead.

Kalashnikov: Ravaged Mind 7"
1986, K Rec
A: Ravaged Mind
B: Wailing Squad

Click here to listen!

The Show: Enjoy Sensations 12"

I'm back on U.S. soil after traipsing around Europe with my girlfriend for the majority of September. Naturally, we visited many, many record stores, and some gambles with cheap unknown records certainly paid off, I'll be sharing some of those in the coming months, starting with this post punk/darkwave obscurity by The Show.
The Show were a German band who released their sole 12"/7" on a small Spanish label, Pasarela (a label whose only legacy that I knew of was the release of the extremely rare "Untitled" compilation) . The Show's use of synths, great dark guitar hooks, and drum machines
(especially on the excellent track My Sensation) puts them in good company, reminding me of dark post-punk bands like Red Lorry Yellow Lorry and BFG. I'm a bit surprised this record has flown under the radar for so long (although the title track has at least found its way to youtube), as it's a pretty great little piece of post-punk.

The Show: Enjoy Sensations 12"
1988, Pasarela Records

A1 My Sensation
A2 Daily Market
B1 Mankind

Click here to listen!

Providence: Le Feu 7"

At this point I should not be surprised when a good record continues to slip under the radar over a decade after file sharing became the de rigueur way to hear new sounds. But this little 7" from a French band called Providence is certainly a worthy example of why it's sometimes worth taking a chance on an interesting-looking record when you see it for sale.
Providence was a trio that consisted of two members of a cult French prog band called Gutera. Gutera's sole album is somewhat of a legendary and rare LP in that scene; about half a decade after their record was released, the members Didier Geoffrey & Zo Strinati started Providence. It appears that they might have released an album, but I have never seen nor heard that. Until such an album surfaces, enjoy this 7". While the B-side is somewhat generic new wave rock, the A side, Le Feu, is a wonderful coldwave/touching pop song in the vein of contemporaries like Little Nemo, Resistance, Mome Rath, with synths and hooks aplenty. It's a wonderful melancholy pop song that makes you hope that an LP does exist somewhere out there - and that it is full of more songs like Le Feu.

Providence: Le Feu 7"
1987, M.S. Records

Click here to listen!

The Gallery: S/T LP

The Gallery were a Belgian band whose generic name has rendered them pretty much impossible to search for on the web. I don’t believe this has been shared or blogged about before, but who knows… I have found out that, quite confusingly, the band’s guitarist/keyboardist /producer Stephan Kraemer was in another unrelated band called Gallery in the early 80s. However, he is probably best known for his work as the guitarist/drummer of Zwischenfall. That group’s style of dark synthpop focused more on noisy but danceable electronics; The Gallery balance their synth use with more guitars. In this five-piece darkwave group, Kraemer worked with vocalist Iben Larssen and bassist Thomas Kuersten , both of whom worked with him on a few Zwischenfall songs (Iben Larssen provided the vocals to the 1984 English version of Flucht and Sandy Eyes), as well as contributing to tracks by Snowy Red and A Split Second. Keyboardist Nicolas Mansy later went to record with the short-lived alt/synth group Wasteland .
With such bona fides, the band has a lot to live up to and while the LP is a bit uneven at times, for the most part they do not disappoint. The vocals are usually haunting, with plenty of reverb and atmosphere. They suffer a bit on a few early songs when the band treads into more alt-rock territory replete with strained, yelled lyrics. Fortunately not too many songs take this stylistic deviation, and the best songs are reserved for the second side. The closing song, Nuthouse, is a midtempo track whose gloomy, beautiful chorus almost comes as a surprise. Crime Time is a full-force darkwave track that would sound perfect in any goth club set between Skeletal Family and The Veil. My favorite track on the album is the slow, stark “The Warning”, a vaguely Cocteau Twins affair which starts with sparse bass and drums before they’re followed up with cold synth chimes that sound like they’re channeling The Exorcist.

 The Gallery, S/T LP
1989, 150 BPM Records
 Divine
Bleed
Your Skin
 Better Days
Ballad of a Suburban Night
Fade Away
 The Warning
Crime Time
 Nuthouse

  Click here to listen!

Prophet O’Haphazard: Cabaret Nostalgia EP

Here is the obscure second release from the somber German singer Prophet O’Haphazard, called Cabaret Nostalgia.I originally thought O'Haphazard was a girl, but it was actually the pseudonym of one  Oliver Gerling). His debut EP  - which is a must-have for underground synth fans - can be found on Capa Nostra Syndicate,  and is highly recommended.. The record’s album title gives a hint of what is in store on this record – gothic cabaret music mixes seamlessly with electronics and effected guitars and O’Haphazard’s wonderfully sullen, deadpan voice. At times his forceful but somewhat feminine voice recalls early efforts by contemporary artists like Molly Nilsson and Zola Jesus, but he’s less poppy than the former and more dynamic than the latter.

You and Me Covered in Silence plods along like gyspsy funeral parlor music, while Sum Up To Suicide is a beautiful mesh of aching synth strings, stabs of guitars and sparse drumming that sums up to one of the most bleak songs ever. Side B kicks off with Prophet O’Haphazard proving his bona fides with an excellent cover of Thomas Leer and Robert Rental’s Monochrome Days. Magic Mushroom Kingdom starts off aimlessly before it turns into perhaps the first gothic minimal synth-psych song, sort of like Astaron mashed up with Red Temple Spirits. Sadly, despite being about a Mushroom Kingdom, it does not mention Mario or Luigi at all.
Finally the album ends with a reprise of a song from her debut EP, Till I Hate You. Fittingly, this song is called Till I Hate You 2. You know, in case you weren’t sure he hated you the first time he sang it… well, he still does. Interestingly, while the title implies that it will be a bitter tirade against a lover who wronged him, it’s actually a slow, melancholy track with lyrics that drip with thoughts of heartache while the music retains an almost sweet hopelessness.

Prophet O’Haphazard: Cabaret Nostalgia EP

1989, Minstrel Records

A1                           Moon Over A Town And A Yellow Flowerfield Behind

A2                           You And Me Covered In Silence              

A3                           Sum Up To Suicid

B1                           Monochrome Days

B2                           Magic Mushroom Meadow       

B3                           ´Till I Hate You ´2

Click here to get it!

Between Two Fires: two 12"s

Between Two Fires was an obscure New Jersey band that released two records that were completely different from each other. Originally a four-piece, the band self-released a 12” in 1987 in very limited quantities. In true DIY fashion, it came in a plain die-cut sleeve with the band’s name stickered on the front. The second 12” came out a few years later and was also self-released, in a plain sleeve with a very well-done silkscreened front and band sleeve (shades of Eleven Pond, perhaps?)

The songs on the band’s debut are midtempo synthpop tracks with female vocals. The songs sound a bit influenced by the poppier aspects of groups like the Human League and Berlin, with layers of synthesizers and female vocals. While the songs sometimes betray their age with the glittering polished sound of a lot of bands from that era (well, at least as polished as a low-budget DIY band can get), it’s quite an enjoyable record."No Reason" is a solid song, with airy synth lines anchored by deep bass playing that echoes the Cure or New Order. The mellow “In Your Arms” is my favorite, with its layers of tribal drumming and percussion, subdued but effective bass and guitars, and vocals that are melancholy and entirely hypnotic.

After the debut was released, the band suffered from internal strife and two of the four members left - the bassist and the vocalist & chief songwriter. Such a change would undo virtually all other bands, but the two remaining members soldiered on, with the lead guitarist assuming the songwriting duties. The duo expanded threefold, and as a sextet they recorded one final record, the confusingly titled Dirk and the Mercenaries (confusing, because that seems more apt as a band name, and the front cover even seems to indicate that).

The band’s second 12” was self-released in 1990 and aside from a similar style of bass playing, it sounds virtually nothing like the first release. Both tracks are six-to-seven minute opuses, and they looked toward Europe - especially France and the UK - for a pretty big stylistic deviation. Along with fellow New Jersey band Screaming for Emily the B-side of this record is some of the best “touching pop” style coldwave released in the USA. It’s as if the band locked themselves in a room for a year with nothing but the Lively Art catalogue to keep them company.

The track “Ghost Dance” starts off with a Native American war dance yell sampled from an obscure 70s Western film before kicking into a midtempo coldwave song that combines the repetitive drum machines and rhythms of Shadow-era Iron Curtain with melodic but noisy guitars almost completely isolated on the right speaker channel and perfectly dark vocals with a slightly British affectation. While this song does go on a bit longer than necessary without deveoping too much, the B-side “Sand” is the band’s true masterpiece and even at seven-plus minutes it feels like it’s over too soon. Everything about this song is absolutely wonderful – from the atmospheric synths to the quick-paced drums and drum machines to the guitar riffs and the perfectly melancholy vocals.

A quick Internet search turns up absolutely nothing about the band’s debut record (aside from the songs posted on youtube by the band’s original bassist - a huge thanks to him for kindly providing the songs for me to post, and the background info about the band). And there are one or two copies of the Dirk and the Mercenaries record for sale, but no other mention anywhere else… This truly seems to be one of those completely lost bands. Hopefully with this post they will belatedly find a little bit of much-deserved recognition.

Between Two Fires:

Selftitled EP, 1987, Chapperal Music

A1 In Your Arms

A2 Tomorrow

B1 No Reason (sagebrush mix)

B2 For Your Love

Dirk and the Mercenaries 12”, 1990, no label

A1 White Eyes (Ghost Dance)

B1 Sand

Click here to listen to both!

Here's a brand new rip of the band's second 12" from a SEALED copy, courtesy of Frankie at System of Romance!

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!

Immaculate Deception: Corporation Prostitute 12"

It's amusing how so many bands in the new wave era issued records with completely minimal information and credits. Many bands released records with no contact information whatsoever, or with only a single name in the credits. It's almost as if they were consciously striving to be mysterious, their mystique slowly growing each year as the memory of their very existence fades into the aether. This 12" is a perfect example. The record mentions no year (my guess it is was released between 1983-1985, judging from the visual aesthetics and the musical style), a record label name but no label contactl, no credits except for "Khi Patrick", no location, not even an insert sheet. I came across a few copies of this when I lived in San Francisco, which leads me to believe that they may have been based in the SF Bay Area, but that's pure speculation. Each copy I've seen has suffered from the same lack of info, so the record's origins may remain a mystery, unless this "Khi Patrick" can straighten things out.

The music here draws a pretty heavy influence from early-to-mid-80s Cabaret Voltaire. It's a bit industrial, full of electronics and samples and slightly danceable basslines and synth rhythms. The vocals a bit amateur and almost punk-ish, and somoewhat recall Ministry in their cheesy synthpop heyday.

Both songs are pretty good, though. Coporation Prostitute is clearly going for a commercial industrial sound with pulsing basslines, steady drums, and loads of electronics, although the

vocals are clearly not suited for a wider radio audience - they aren't bad, just a bit loud in the mix and unrefined, reflecting the DIY nature of the release. The B side is the more interesting song. It throws a slew of strange electronic sounds and synth lines in a blender and dumps the resulting mixture on top of a repetitive beat and more of those wonderfully amateurish vocals (sung in a strangely frantic sense, as if trying to sing through a speed-fueled rage). Overall, both tracks take the raw ingredients of early industrial and synthpop and arrange them in an interesting - if not completely unique - fashion. Are the songs hits? Download and decide...

Immaculate Deception: Corporation Prostitute 12"

198?, Rubberhead Records

A1 Corporation Prostitute

B1 You Know Who

Click here to listen to this record

I SHOOK HANDS: Someday I'll Be Gone 12"

Okay, shameless plug: I have a bunch of records currently on eBay (and will be listing hundreds more for the next couple months), including this one. And that's probably the last time I'll mention that. But I know that people will probably want to hear this. This is a self-released, self-produced, one-man band called I Shook Hands (a sticker on the back credits "Manny" as the sole member of the group, and gives his phone number). There is no year of release, although I'd guess it's some time around 1986-1988 or so. The music is similar to mid-80s Depeche Mode, Information Society, Experimental Products, Red Flag, et al. It's pure danceable elctro bliss, especially on the track "That's Just the Way", which has a repetitive but killer synth line. The singer's vocals are oddly lispy, and the lyrics are a little silly (he rhymes "day" with "day" three lines in a row), but who cares when the music is so damn catchy and good?

Click here to download this record!
I Shook Hands: Someday I'll Be Gone 12"
198?, ISH Records
A: Someday I'll Be Gone
B: That's Just the Way

Distant Thunder: Shelter LP + Unreleased & demo tracks

One of the most obscure and forgotten LPs (that seemingly NOBODY knows about) is this 10-track oddity from Distant Thunder. Self-released in 1985 on Last Records, this record by this one-man band almost seems like a gothic vanity pressing. Completely amateur, with programmed drums, stabs of synths, dissonent and atonal electronics, and repetitive guitars and vocals, it seems like Mark Wenning, the man behind Distant Thunder, bought a few cheapo instruments and said "I'm going to write and record an album this week".
I don't mean that disparagingly, though. The combination of all the above elements ensures that this album is unlike anything I have ever heard before. Repetitive, off-key, tribal, droney, lo-fi, dark, simplistic, and completely endearing, this is a strange lost classic. In reality, many of these songs were written over the period of a few years (although he did indeed initially utilize a Mattel toy drum machine, which he used in conjunction with an Apple IIe for the basslines). He recorded a second album, which was unfortunately never released. You can visit his Distant Thunder website here , which includes a bio and downloads of his unreleased second album (which I have also included here for your convenience!) I also included a couple pre-album demo tracks as well (songs that use the toy drum machine) for good measure. He sold about 300 copies of this album, but I still occasionally see it offered for pretty cheap prices online, so this isn't very hard to track down. For now.

Distant Thunder: Shelter LP
1985, Last Records
A1 Cost/Benefit Analysis
A2 Simon Says
A3 Too
A4 Promised Land
A5 It
B1 Nouns and Verbs
B2 Smart Birds
B3 Show and Tell
B4 Modern Medicine
B5 Who

Click here to download "Shelter"

Click here to download the unlreased album "Impulse" and the demo tracks

Defuser: Music for a Comic Book Video LP

This is officially the weirdest album that I have uploaded. This is the virtually unknown self-released follow-up to Defuser's first 7", the classic World Suicide b/w Freeze Please. They were from Marin County, just across the Golden Gate Bridge from SF. A wonderfully-presented LP, this comes in a gatefold sleeve that is laid out as a comic book. Each panel of the comic represents one song on the album.

The entire album is a concept album about a one-off concert by a fictional band called Lyres & Theeves. Except it's not as simple as that. At all. I could say it's primarily industrial, but it goes from electro to spoken word to industrial to sax skronkery to minimal electronic to experimental noise to an advertisement the band made for a local business chosen at random from the white pages to traditional Finnish folk music to darkwave to industrial again. Extremely subversive, very dark, very silly, very irreverent, very political, very punk, very art-damaged, this concept album is unlike anything - ANYTHING! - that I have ever heard before.

Defuser: Music for a Comic Book Video - The Lyres & Theeves Concert LP

1985, Mutiny Records

A1 Charlie, Hector & Betty Arrive at the Concert

A2 Li'l Otis

A3 And Welcome to the Show

A4 Prefessor Zeus and the Barking Elephant

A5 Politically Correct

A6 Bouquet of Weeds

A7 Woman in Bondage

A8 Love Song For You, Darling

A9 The Mob Has Come to Life

A10 Free Advertisement

A11 Seven Judys

A12 Nonexistant Song (intermission)

B1 Steel Dick

B2 Screaming Mad

B3 Little Bird

B4 Sax Hell

B5 Destroy What You Don't Understand

B6 Ladies' Tea Party Jazz

B7 Just Want to Be Your Friend

B8 Pocket

B9 Covered in Vines

Click here to download this record!

TEMPER! TEMPER: The Switch 12"

This record here is a 12" from the UK, presumably self-released on the Sheer Bravadol label, by a band called Temper! Temper. This trio recorded this 12" and a 7" (of the same songs), and then disappeared. The record received some distribution by the Cartel, but it still remains a pretty obscure and unknown 12". Their blend of synthpop, goth, and new wave is infectious - The Switch could have been a huge club hit, similar to bands like New Order and Information Society, or a poppy version of Sisters of Mercy. There's a bit of cheese factor in the vocals and guitars (this was the late-80s, after all), but the songs handily escape the late-80s dreck by avoiding slick production and bad balladry. Body Blows is a particularly beautiful song, with simple guitars, warm lush synthesizers, and (depsite being called an instrumental) ethereal female vocals in the background. This is pretty sought-after these days, so I thought I would share it for all to hear!

Temper! Temper: The Switch 12"
1989, Sheer Bravadol Music

A1 The Switch (12")
A2 The Switch (7")
B1 Let's Switch
B2 Body Blows (Instrumental)

Click here to download this EP!

LIMBO RACE: (almost complete) Discography

Here is the entire vinyl-based discography from Boston post punk band Limbo Race. They released two 7"s, three songs on regional vinyl compilations, and two songs on radio tapes that I've never heard. Stylistically, the first thing that comes to mind is fellow Boston band Mission of Burma, but there are quite a few similarities to Gang of Four and The Cure, especially on their second 7". Lyrically, the band is as honest as they are bleak; one listen to their dark synth-heavy masterpiece Ina's Song or their gloomy Down and Backwards will let listeners know that the singer is not hiding anything or holding back. Wikipedia has a great bio of the band:

Limbo Race played their first show in 1980 at the legendary Underground, a rock club in Allston, MA, notable for being one of the first venues to feature acts from the burgeoning post-punk and experimental music scene in Boston. For two years, the band played in other small Boston and Cambridge venues including Cantones, Mavericks, The Rathskellar ("The Rat"), The Club, the Inn Square Men's Bar and in alternative venues along Thayer Street in Boston's South End. Among the many Boston bands that Limbo Race shared bills with were Someone & The Somebodies, Mission of Burma, The New Models, V;, Art Yard, The Neats, The Proletariat, The Neighborhoods, Lou Miami & The Kozmetix, Native Tongue, The Young Snakes, 'til tuesday, The New Models, and The Del Fuegos.
Drummer Peter Keaveney left the band in early 1981 and was replaced by Mark Poulin. At this time, the band recorded their first tape of the song Cigarettes which received airplay on the MIT radio station WMBR as well as on WERS from Emerson College.
In 1981, the band caught the attention of producer and engineer Dan Salzmann who brought them into the studio to record a song, There Goes Kafka, which was included on a compilation of Boston-area bands called A Wicked Good Time Vol.2.
In early 1982, the band added saxophonist Mark Chenevert and recorded their first single, Down & Backwards b/w What It Is, which received airplay on the commercial radio station WBCN. The band began to receive media attention and was invited to play at the 1982 WBCN Rock & Roll Rumble which they went on to win. Interestingly, Limbo Race was not included in the list of bands originally invited but as an alternate; they entered the competition only when another band had to drop out.
The band was picked up by manager Jim Coffman, who also managed Mission of Burma, and began playing shows throughout the northeast including the famed CBGB in New York, the 9:30 Club in Washington DC and other venues. In 1983 they also opened for the Thompson Twins and Echo & the Bunnymen at the Channel in Boston, as well for R.E.M. at Streets in Allston. Beyond Limbo RaceIn 1984, drummer Mark Poulin left the band. After attempting to find a new drummer and carry on, the remaining members of the band decided that the end had come and disbanded in the spring.
Randy Black went on to form a new ensemble called Dr. Black's Combo which also included saxophonist Mark Chenevert. He also has a lengthy career as a solo artist playing primarily acoustic and recorded a critically well received CD Below The Tapering for Waterbug Records.
Bassist John Neidhart continued playing in numerous Boston-area bands that included The Wickermen, The Sextons, Stardarts, and Jack Frosting.
Mark Chenevert continues to perform as a respected clarinetist and sax player and has played and toured throughout the United States with bands that include Hypnotic Clambake, Chandler Travis, Stone Lily, and others.
Mark Poulin continues to perform as both a drummer and guitarist, notably in a tribute to Roy Orbison.

Limbo Race: Discography
Down & Backwards / What It Is 7"1982, Limborations Records
Ina's Song / Small Talking 7"1983, Limborations Records
Compilation tracks:
There Goes Kafka1981, A Wicked Good Time Volume 2, Modern Method Records
Fluids, In Your Breath1983, Crawling From Within, 77 Records

Click here to download everything!

Barbi and the Kens: Mini LP

This is perhaps the first and only 7" to be called a "mini LP". This is the only release by Barbi and the Kens (aside from another 7" with only two of the four songs found here). It was
released on Bobby Orlando's "O" Records. The record starts with an irreverent new wave number, Pay My Bills, followed by the bratty, punky Uptown Downtown Cruising. More similar quirky new wave starts off side two with Just a Gigolo. These three songs sound like a mix of early B-52s and Blondie - weird, silly, fun, and highly infectious, with male and female vocals. The final song, Steppin Stone (yes, a cover of the song made famous by The Monkees), is pure danceable minimalist electronic bliss - totally repetitive (think DAF or Robert Gorl, but less industrial and more electro), with thumping synthesized drums and basslines, and completely monotone female vocals. To me, it is the standout track (but even without that song, this 7" is quite solid!).

Barbi & the Kens: Mini-LP

1980, "O" Records

A1 Pay My Bills

A2 Uptown Downtown Cruising

B1 Just A Gigolo

B2 I´m Not Your Stepping Stone

Download the record here!

Club De Rome: Selftitled mLP

I can't believe this one has not been shared yet. This is the only album (a mini-LP, really) from French synthpop/coldwave/industrial band Club De Rome. I think they also had a 7", but I've neither seen nor heard it. The more I listen to this record, the more I love it. From the melodic, minimalist A L'Est & A L'Ouest Du Crépuscule to the synthpop smash Painting On Your Skin to the thumping dark thumping bass of Brisure De Symétrie, this album is just one excellent song after another. As far as I know, the two members, Renato Bortolotti (voice,guitar,programming) and Maurice Moschini (drums, programming, sampling) were never in any other groups besides Club De Rome. The mini-LP was released on the venerable Lively Art label, home of Asylum Party, Data Bank A, And Also the Trees, Little Nemo, Museum of Devotion, and (my favorite), Collection d'Arnell Andrea. For a great sampler of what this label has to offer (including an exclusive track by Club de Rome), check out the "13" compilation on the Crispy Nuggets blog here. This Club De Rome mLP was also released on CD with a few bonus tracks (I don't have this, unfortunately). I think it is truly deserving of a reissue one of these days. Perhaps with some unreleased bonus tracks if they exist! If any band members see this... Do you have any other recorded material?

Club De Rome: Selftitled mLP
1989, Lively Art
A1 Viva La Vita
A2 Sex, Fun, CDR
A3 A L'Est & A L'Ouest Du Crépuscule
B1 Painting On Your Skin
B2 TV Deus Rodeo
B3 Brisure De Symétrie
B4 Gringhita

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(ELEVEN) POND: Bullets / Fate 12"

Well, it only makes sense that, for my 100-post (and roughly two-year) anniversary, I would share a follow-up to my first-ever post. Just a week ago, I was at my favorite local record store and noticed an album that looked oddly familiar. It was the same rough tan cardboard as the Eleven Pond LP. It was silkscreened. It was hand-numbered. The font was almost the same. And the band's name was POND... The credit insert confirmed what I was thinking: this is a pretty much completely unknown follow up to Eleven Pond's extremely sought after (and now reissued!) LP. After co-songwriter and bassist/keyboardist Jeff Gallea left the band (amidst quite a bit of tension, apparently), the rest of the band carried on and recorded this one last 12". I talked to Jeff at the Nina Belief/Ronin show at MRX last Saturday, and although he knew that they recorded SOMETHING, he has never even heard this! He's on better terms with his former bandmates now, and so this upload is as much for him as it is for everyone else. The 12" starts off with Bullets, which has great guitars, drums, and vocals, but the synths are quite cheesy sounding. Still, it's not bad. The song Fate, however, sounds like it could have easily have been on the Eleven Pond LP - it's just a bit more electro, and slightly better-produced, but otherwise sounds exactly like the Eleven Pond we all know and love. Plus, the lyrics and vocals are probably the best that James Tabbi ever recorded. This is a great 12" from a great band, and shows that they weren't even close to running out of ideas. One only wonders what other great music would have been recorded if they had kept it up...

Pond: Bullets/Fate 12"
1988, Metamerism Records
A1 Bullets
B1 Fate

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GLOBAL INFANTILISTS: Selftitled LP

Global INtantilists were a goth/new wave band from Sweden that only released two records in their brief life. This selftitled album is their debut. One of the primary members was Mare Kandre, a writer who ultimately decided to dissolve this band in 1984 to concentrate on her literary craft. At 22, she released her first book, I ett annat land, which resulted in her being hailed as a genius; she would release several more books, many influenced by gothic fiction. Sadly, she died at age 43; it is largely believed to be suicide.
This group is where Kandre honed her writing - the lyrics are dark and gloomy, and the vocals are full of melodramatic shrieks and cries, sounding like Siouxsie Sioux if she was a drama geek. Apparently the band's second album is more straight-ahead synthpop, but this album is the perfect mix of doom and gloom and guitars and artiness and synths. This is the UK Abstract Records release, which had an extra track that the original issue did not have.

Global Infantalists: Selftitled LP
1983, Abstract Records
A1 This Music
A2 Passing
A3 Leaving
A4 Remain Untouched
B1 Crystal Ship
B2 An Inch Of Nothing
B3 The Flight
B4 The Garden

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MODE/IQ - Mind/Soul mLP

Here is a mysterious mini-LP from a New York band called Mode/IQ. I can find no info on these guys aside from what is on the jacket and insert. They only list their first names on the sleeve, which certainly does not help. The only info I found is that the producer and engineer, Albert Garzon, is the person who wrote all the songs & played synths on the Evening in Torpor LP that I posted a while back. So, that's kinda interesting. And apparently this band has some other releases out there (live tapes and some singles and EPs, but I don't know if those are on vinyl or cassette), but this is the only one that I have found online. As far as the music, it sort of combines electropop with the downtown-NYC punk funk sound (Del-Byzanteens, Bush Tetras, etc). Definitely a good record, and I personally would be interested in hearing more from them if anyone has anything...

Mode/IQ: Mind Soul mLP
1984, Modern Mode Music
A1 Competition
A2 Confidence
A3 Looking Through Your Mind
B1 Two Different Things/At Random
B2 I'm Immune

Click here to download this mLP!