Stray Trolleys (Cleaners From Venus) - Barricades and Angels tape (1982)

I'm not what you call a huge fanboy of Cleaner From Venus.  Case in point, I've resisted buying any of the recent Captured Tracks reissues (though I do have a handy anthology CD put out by the astute archivists over at Cherry Red in 2004, or thereabouts).  While perusing user lists on Soulseek awhile back, I took a chance on this particular item and was pleasantly surprised.  Didn't realize it at the moment, but the Stray Trolleys were an early endeavor of Cleaners prime-mover Martin Newell.  While the quality of the songs that comprise Barricades and Angels often surpass CFV's choicest material, the fidelity resides on the "lo" end of the totem pole, and to this set of ears that matchup is good as gold.  I'm hearing shades of everything, from the Soft Boys and XTC, to Wire's Outdoor Minor-ish vibe.  Furthermore, "Gunslinger" and the ace title track coincidentally foreshadow the magic Tobin Sprout would bring to Guided By Voices heaping dinner table in the mid-90s.  Barricades was paired with an ep on compact disk at some point, but apparently, it's no longer available.  Missed the boat yet again.  At any rate, enjoy.

01. Secret Dreams of Kitchen Porter
02. A Bluebeat Kid
03. Governor's Only Daughter
04. New Age Dreamer
05. Stiletto Love
06. Gunslinger
07. Love Into Action
08. Ten Million Years
09. Flaming Road
10. Finding Out
11. Barricades and Angels
12. No Static
13. Days of Firebirds

Sounds even better on Bandcamp.