EYES OF GOD: East of Eden EP

Here is a pretty much unknown San Francisco darkwave EP from a band called Eyes of God. I can't really find any info on these guys, since the silkscreend sleeve has absolutely no info, and the label doesn't really help either. I think this was released with a different cover which MIGHT have more info, but it's been years since I've seen that version, so that really doesn't help here! Dark keyboards, ethereal female vocals, dark forceful basslines, and jagged guitars make this a great record. The band REALLY plays up the religious imagery (look at the song titles... and the band's name), and it seems as if the singer has SOMETHING weighing on her soul that she wants to confess throughout all three songs. The religious motif in the lyrics works well, though. I have no idea if this band recorded anything else. They self-released this 12" recorded/mastered at the Sonic Arts Recording facility, which seems to have recorded a good half of the self-released SF darkwave and minimal synth (Martin Human, Junk 57, and loads of others).

Eyes of God: East of Eden EP
1985, Conceptual Records
A1 East of Eden
B1 Garden of Sin
B2 Sin Twist


Click here to download this record!

THE COUPE DE VILLES: Waiting Out the Eighties LP

The term "holy grail" gets thrown around a little liberally these days when referring to synthpop and obscure 80s records in general. I remember seeing this one described as a "holy grail", and while there may be reasons to apply that term to it, the music is probably not the first reason for this. That's not to say the music is necessarily bad - it's just very much a product of its time, and has not aged particularly well. I decided to share it because I know that a LOT of people are very interested in hearing it. The album will remain a desired curiosity because it is legendary director John Carpenter's band; he is joined by Tommy Lee Wallace (forever known by horror fans as the man who created the incredibly creepy mask worn by Michael Myers in Halloween), and Nick Castle, who actually got to wear that mask as the creepy villain. Further ensuring its status as a rarity is the fact that it was never actually commercially released - it was ONLY given to friends and family. I wonder whose copy I have here?
As a band, the trio is best known for performing the theme to Big Trouble in Little China. Unlike the other actor-cum-musician record I posted a while back (13 year old Ben Stiller's wonderfully amateur electronic band Capital Punishment), the musicians in The Coupe de Villes were professionals using professional equipment, approaching their craft with a safe pop-rock sensibility rather than experimentation. As a result, the music is the kind that could ONLY have been made in the mid-80s - synth-heavy fare with a few good standout songs (the title track is particularly fun, and I'm always a fan of 80s songs that are referential to that decade). It's a curiosity and a relic, and should be approached not as the next lost synthpop classic, but as an obscure release of heartfelt pop music expression by a trio of accomplished horror and action film icons.

The Coupe De Villes: Waiting Out the Eighties LP
1985, RRRRRRictus Records
A1 Waiting Out The Eighties (3:10)
A2 1967 (3:44)
A3 She Has Friends In L.A. (3:38)
A4 Manhole (3:08)
A5 Hard On Me (3:35)
A6 She Doesn't Want You Anymore (2:18)
B1 Back From The Dead (1:47)
B2 On My Knees Again (3:58)
B3 I Really Need You (2:59)
B4 Hollywood (3:22)
B5 Darlin' (All Night Long) (3:25)
B6 Midnight Man (3:49)

Download this LP here!
(Link fixed)

ModMach: Selftitled EP

Here is a EP (and perhaps the only release) from a San Francisco band called Modmach. Sure, you most likely have not heard of them (they seem pretty much hopelessly obscure), but they actually had their roots in the well-known (in underground/indie terms, at least) San Francisco minimal synth band Units. Richard Driskill, Ron Lantz and Alex Rudis of Units split the synth band before the recording of their Digital Stimulation LP to form ModMach in 1980.
There is really no information to be found between the formation of the band and the release of this record a whole five years later in 1985. Did they release anything else in between - a demo tape, a 7", a reel-to-reel? It appears that Ron Lantz left the group before this 12" EP was recorded. This was self-released on the band's Oddernmart label, and came packaged in a foldover plastic sleeve with a cover insert and credit sheet. Thanks to Stephen from Obscure Records for the photos.
The music here is decent synthpop/new wave - it's definitely not as great as the classic Units stuff, but it's good.

ModMach - Selftitled EP
1985, Oddernmart Records
1. Security
2. On Too Long
3. Nothing New
4. Truth

Click here to download the EP