Sunday, June 17, 2012

Laurels - Neck (1990, Heparin)

In 2009 when I shared The Laurels Burn 7" ep, I noted that they didn't seem to have a proper album to their credit, just some singles.  For those of you keeping score at home, I was proved way wrong when I happened upon this fourteen song LP at a record show last year.  Ostensibly hailing from Providence, RI, The Laurels art-damaged take on post-punk arouses quite a clamor, even though they're an economical three piece.  Dissonant and highly angular shards of the Pixies, Public Image Ltd and even a splinter or two of Shudder to Think are strewn about wildly amidst Neck's tornado-ravaged maelstrom.  Side two showcases some of their more tuneful inclinations like, "Sugar Beads" and "Loves Me," but even when Neck flips to the amelodic side of the coin, The Laurels make an intriguing case nonetheless.  As you might be able to ascertain from the image on the right, this record was previously owned by a radio station. 

01. Empty
02. All Ears
03. Sea Devil
04. Yellow Red
05. Tattooed Lady
06. White
07. Neck
08. Safely
09. Cracked Head
10. Breathing Room
11. My Brother
12. Sugar Beads
13. Loves Me
14. Skin & Bone

Hear

11 comments:

macmiddlebrooks1@gmail.com said...

Thanks for this and basically every post you do...I'm in Richmond,VA and and think Fudge is the best thing to come out of this place...Thank you for the PoP!

groseth said...

I think they have a bigger discography than this--I've got a CD from Dot Dash Records, called Laurels 90-95, that takes cuts from Neck, Burn, and numerous other releases. They are from Providence and the booklet states "Between 1990 and 1995 Laurels released mostly seven inch vinyl. this 'retrospective' is an overview of the band's sound, taking songs from the singles, as well as other releases. It's really good.

spavid said...

Thanks for the kind words folks. I actually have the "90-95" CD. I was aware it wasn't an actual album, but I probably should've mentioned it in my write-up.

Flávio said...

Thanks for posting Spavid, great album!

On Discogs website there is an album named just "L" related to The Laurels. Do you know if it is the same band you have posted ?

MikeGTN said...

Really pleased to stumble across this! I released a Laurels track on a compilation tape here in the UK in 1993. Never realised they made an album!

Scraps said...

As Flávio Rafael mentioned, Laurels have two albums (other than "90-95" singles collection): the other is called "L" and it was released on Thick in 1996. I have it -- I think I have all Laurels releases -- and you can find the cover on either discogs.com or rateyourmusic.com.

Unknown said...

they are also on a compilation called "Coolidge 50: bands from each state doing their state song" they performed the song 'rhode island' its availalbe on iTunes.

spavid said...

The link has been updated.

HAILPRESTON666 said...

Any chance you could re-up this album (and any other Laurels material) again?
My uncle John played drums in the Laurels and I used to work with Toste (merely by coincidence), but I have yet to get my hands on any of the Laurels' stuff.

NICK-THA-BUTCHER said...

I work at ups with the old guitarist he's a cool dude!

Stathis said...

Hello,
can you, please, repost this LP?
Thank you very much
Stathis