This Liverpoolite brother act (Rob and Alan Fennah) had only negligible chart success in the mid-80s, despite bearing a smart yet accessible wave-pop sound that put them roughly in league with contemporaries The Korgis, Split Enz (and perhaps more coincidentally The Three O'clock). First Night is a cobbled-together compendium focusing on Alternative Radio's initial blush of (mostly) synthy singles, and offers delightful confections aplenty like the the title track and the yacht-rocky "Strangers in Love," alongside strummier forays "No Indispensable Man" and "Emotional Disaster." A couple of proper full lengths arrived belatedly in the mid-90s (and another in 2008), but these days the brothers are said to be scoring show tunes. Do check this one out.
01. First Night
02. Valley Of Evergreen (long version)
03. No Indispensable Man
04. Everybody Wants To Be Loved
05. Strangers in Love
06. Concertina Ballerina
07. Harmony
08. Emotional Disaster
09. What a Dream
10. Summer 85
11. First Night (Long Version)
12. Strangers In Love (Long Version)
https://www70.zippyshare.com/v/GH4rLYIg/file.html
Thursday, January 30, 2020
Wednesday, January 29, 2020
Marshal Crenshaw - Miracle of Science (1996/2020, Shiny-Tone) - A brief review

If anything else, a good chunk of the man's catalog has been neglected, specifically a slew of albums he cut in the mid-90s through the 2000s that didn't bear a major label imprint. His seventh studio LP, Miracle of Science, circa 1996, was his maiden indie foray, and is now being released on vinyl for the first time, with a rejiggered song sequence and significantly refurbished sleeve art. And it's not a bad album to revisit at that, as it proved to be one of his loosest and varied affairs. Thing is, virtually every album Marshall Crenshaw brings to market feels like casual day at the office, with Miracle... being especially representative of this modus operandi. The commencing "What Do You Dream Of," with it's serendipitous flow of acoustics and electrics, is the kind of pop tune that would seem a miracle of musical science in the hands of any other singer/songwriter, but for M/C it emanates as naturally as putting on a pair of slippers. Another absolute stunner, "Starless Summer Sky," harkens back to the aesthetic of his breathtaking early records, brandishing a structure that smacks of the finest Field Day had to offer. "Laughter" and "A Wondrous Place" amble along on a considerably lackadaisical path, particularly the latter which features strings, marimba and some faint flamenco affectations.
Amidst the inspired originals on Miracle reside a pair of covers. A reading of Dobie Gray's 1964 oldie "The 'In" Crowd" isn't much of a revelation, but how about a Grant Hart solo cut? And not just any old Hart song, but one of the finest the sadly departed Husker gave rise to, "Twenty-Five Forty-One." Truth be told, it wasn't the original incarnation that Crenshaw became acquainted with, rather Robert Forster's version on the I Had a New York Girlfriend covers collection, but no matter. It's great.
"Seven Miles an Hour" winds Miracle... out, but not before M/C messes with us by prefacing it with a backwards take of the song in it's entirety, included as a bonus cut. Furthermore the vinyl variant of the album is coupled with a bonus single of two more recently recorded songs (both remakes including Michael Pagliaro's "What The Hell I Got"). Elusive Disc will take care of you if opt to spin the black circles, while Amazon is holding down the CD and digital fort. Available as we speak.
Tuesday, January 28, 2020
January Re-ups, Part 3
Another mondo set of reruns based on your requests and my better judgement. Hopefully this catches us up for a bit. Dig in.
The Pursuit of Happiness - Live 1989, Love Junk demos, The Wonderful World of..., I'm An Adult Now ep
The Raspberries - From the Vault - MP3 or FLAC
Blake Babies - Sunburn demos & Nicely Nicely ep
Guided By Voices - Learning to Hunt
Superchunk - On Paper it Made Perfeect Sense ep & Precision Auto 7"
Close Lobsters - demos, Janice Long Session ep, Nature Thing CDS
Element (101) - Future Plans Undecided
In One - Ascension & Fade
Killjoys - Onenight and a Morningafter
Sometimes Sweet Susan - Fuse & Point ep
Wolfie - Necessary Sailing tape
The Opossums - (marsupial eruptus)
The Oysters - Green Eggs and Ham
27 Various - Hi
Lucy Brown - s/t LP
Wooden Igloo - s/t LP
Toyboat - s/t LP
Ripe - Filterfeed
Barkmarket - Easy Listening
John's Black Dirt - Perpetual Optimism...
Indian Bingo - Scatological & Overwrought
Candy - Whatever Happened to Fun demos & live Houston 1985
Screaming Broccoli - s/t LP
The Bounce - Things That Go Bounce in the Night ep
Wobble Test - trixinickybambibo tape
UV Prom - Field of Vision ep
Jim Basnight & the Moberlys - s/t ep
Nuns of the Great West - The World Ain't Safe ep
The Movement - s/t ep
Nixon's Head - Traps, Buckshot & Pelt ep
V/A - Shreds, Vol. 1
Afraid of Stairs - s/t ep
New Sweet Breath - singles & album sampler
Zumpano - singles
Wynona Riders - singles
Latter Day Saints - Plaster City 7"
Springhouse - Menagerie Keeper 7"
No Such Thing - 7"
Spiffy - two singles
Dangtrippers - Incantation 7"
How Happy - 7"
The Slurps - HrrSheeCom 7"
Rubber Sole - Appetite for Mayhem 7"
Mysteries of Life - Going Through the Motions 7"
The Pursuit of Happiness - Live 1989, Love Junk demos, The Wonderful World of..., I'm An Adult Now ep
The Raspberries - From the Vault - MP3 or FLAC
Blake Babies - Sunburn demos & Nicely Nicely ep
Guided By Voices - Learning to Hunt
Superchunk - On Paper it Made Perfeect Sense ep & Precision Auto 7"
Close Lobsters - demos, Janice Long Session ep, Nature Thing CDS
Element (101) - Future Plans Undecided
In One - Ascension & Fade
Killjoys - Onenight and a Morningafter
Sometimes Sweet Susan - Fuse & Point ep
Wolfie - Necessary Sailing tape
The Opossums - (marsupial eruptus)
The Oysters - Green Eggs and Ham
27 Various - Hi
Lucy Brown - s/t LP
Wooden Igloo - s/t LP
Toyboat - s/t LP
Ripe - Filterfeed
Barkmarket - Easy Listening
John's Black Dirt - Perpetual Optimism...
Indian Bingo - Scatological & Overwrought
Candy - Whatever Happened to Fun demos & live Houston 1985
Screaming Broccoli - s/t LP
The Bounce - Things That Go Bounce in the Night ep
Wobble Test - trixinickybambibo tape
UV Prom - Field of Vision ep
Jim Basnight & the Moberlys - s/t ep
Nuns of the Great West - The World Ain't Safe ep
The Movement - s/t ep
Nixon's Head - Traps, Buckshot & Pelt ep
V/A - Shreds, Vol. 1
Afraid of Stairs - s/t ep
New Sweet Breath - singles & album sampler
Zumpano - singles
Wynona Riders - singles
Latter Day Saints - Plaster City 7"
Springhouse - Menagerie Keeper 7"
No Such Thing - 7"
Spiffy - two singles
Dangtrippers - Incantation 7"
How Happy - 7"
The Slurps - HrrSheeCom 7"
Rubber Sole - Appetite for Mayhem 7"
Mysteries of Life - Going Through the Motions 7"
Sunday, January 26, 2020
All the love's been taken away.
A chilly, murky and thoroughly immersive sonic tempest from 1993.
**Please do not reveal artist in comments!**
Hear
**Please do not reveal artist in comments!**
Thursday, January 23, 2020
Elton Motello - Pop Art (1980, Passport)

01. Pop Art
02. Can't Explain
03. Night Sister
04. Falling Like a Domino
05. Out of Limit
06. 20th Century Fox
07. In the Heart of the City
08. Pocket Calculator
09. When All the Boys Are English
10. Queen
11. Pay the Radio
12. Panic in the Classroom
https://www24.zippyshare.com/v/azXolSN5/file.html
Sunday, January 19, 2020
You been swearing to god, now maybe if you'd ask...
The expanded edition of this legendary band's somewhat maligned final record from 1990. Despite what many have opined it ranks as my fourth favorite by them.
**Please do not reveal artist in comments!**
Hear
**Please do not reveal artist in comments!**
January Re-ups, Part 2
My apologies for the absence of new posts this past week. I was (and still am sick). In the meantime here's the latest tranche of re-ups, with more to come.
The Figgs - Rejects
TSAR - King of School & SBN session
Popealopes - An Adder's Tale and Kerosene
Geek - Herasure tape
Seething Grey - Big Table demo
Diamond Fist Werny - tape
Confuse a Cat - Ankles tape
Joey Sweeney - Barely and By Default tape
Popular Front - This is the Rubicon tape
V/A - Neapolitan Metropolitan
V/A - Groin Thunder: Troggs tribute
Nashville Ramblers - The Trains 7" - MP3 or FLAC
The Waking Hours - 7"
Trotsky Icepick/Vena Cava - split 7"
Teeny Records - 7"
Potential Frenzy - 7"
Naked Soul - tape
Lusting After Mary - 7"
Frontier Salesman - 7"
Band of Susans - Blessing and Curse ep
Bitter Sons - 7"
Drive - SST tribute 7"
Pods - It's a Bummer About Bourbie 7" ep
Polvo/Erectus Monotone split 7"
The Drones - Red 7"
Jigsaw Seen - Shortcut Through Clown Alley
Pitchfork - Needle in a Haystack tape
V/A - Echos From the Nation's Capital
Sometimes Sweet Susan - The Coming Lights
Black-eyed Susans - s/t
Lifeboys - The Living Class ep
Bevil Web/3 Dream Bag - split 7"
Stems - sampler
Curtain Society - tape
Holiday Slides - Ornate Coalmine
Timco - Friction Tape
The Figgs - Rejects
TSAR - King of School & SBN session
Popealopes - An Adder's Tale and Kerosene
Geek - Herasure tape
Seething Grey - Big Table demo
Diamond Fist Werny - tape
Confuse a Cat - Ankles tape
Joey Sweeney - Barely and By Default tape
Popular Front - This is the Rubicon tape
V/A - Neapolitan Metropolitan
V/A - Groin Thunder: Troggs tribute
Nashville Ramblers - The Trains 7" - MP3 or FLAC
The Waking Hours - 7"
Trotsky Icepick/Vena Cava - split 7"
Teeny Records - 7"
Potential Frenzy - 7"
Naked Soul - tape
Lusting After Mary - 7"
Frontier Salesman - 7"
Band of Susans - Blessing and Curse ep
Bitter Sons - 7"
Drive - SST tribute 7"
Pods - It's a Bummer About Bourbie 7" ep
Polvo/Erectus Monotone split 7"
The Drones - Red 7"
Jigsaw Seen - Shortcut Through Clown Alley
Pitchfork - Needle in a Haystack tape
V/A - Echos From the Nation's Capital
Sometimes Sweet Susan - The Coming Lights
Black-eyed Susans - s/t
Lifeboys - The Living Class ep
Bevil Web/3 Dream Bag - split 7"
Stems - sampler
Curtain Society - tape
Holiday Slides - Ornate Coalmine
Timco - Friction Tape
Sunday, January 12, 2020
Is it better to be up in the air or flat on the ground?
Thursday, January 9, 2020
January Re-ups, Part 1
hiya, I have way more re-ups to attend to, which I'll try to get to next week - as many as I can. Really flooded with requests at the moment, so please hold off with any more for another week or so. Much appreciated!
The dB's - 1983-84 demos
Haircut 100 - Blue Day
The Square Root of Now - Bent Around Corners
Beauty Constant - Like the Enemy
Squirrel Bait - demo
Beulah - Yoko demos
Phantom Tollbooth - demo
Smart Opera - Beauty on the Interstate
Muler - The State of Play
Alerta - In the Land...
Dimestore Darlings - What is My...? tape & Senior Prom tape
Figgs/Prisonshake - split 7"
V/A - Hear No Evil
Giant Mums - demo & single
Poster Children/Thin White Rope - split 7"
Putters - singles
New Radiant Storm King - Rival Time & 7"
Love American Style - Undo
Lost Luggage - Chateau Relaxeau
The Terrible Parade - Where Were You When the Lights Went Out
Sugarplastic - Polly Brown ep
Splatcats - tape
Blown - Forever
Raymond Break - Piles of Dirty Winters
Nice Strong Arm - Stress City, Mind Furnace, Cloud Machine ep
V/A - Parade of Homes
V/A - I-5 Killers
Frogpond - 2% Tape
Dissonant Blue - tape
Pot Valiant - Transaudio
Popealopes - Cavalcade
Stand GT/Potbelly - Nils tribute 7"
Sugar Drive - One Time 7"
The dB's - 1983-84 demos
Haircut 100 - Blue Day
The Square Root of Now - Bent Around Corners
Beauty Constant - Like the Enemy
Squirrel Bait - demo
Beulah - Yoko demos
Phantom Tollbooth - demo
Smart Opera - Beauty on the Interstate
Muler - The State of Play
Alerta - In the Land...
Dimestore Darlings - What is My...? tape & Senior Prom tape
Figgs/Prisonshake - split 7"
V/A - Hear No Evil
Giant Mums - demo & single
Poster Children/Thin White Rope - split 7"
Putters - singles
New Radiant Storm King - Rival Time & 7"
Love American Style - Undo
Lost Luggage - Chateau Relaxeau
The Terrible Parade - Where Were You When the Lights Went Out
Sugarplastic - Polly Brown ep
Splatcats - tape
Blown - Forever
Raymond Break - Piles of Dirty Winters
Nice Strong Arm - Stress City, Mind Furnace, Cloud Machine ep
V/A - Parade of Homes
V/A - I-5 Killers
Frogpond - 2% Tape
Dissonant Blue - tape
Pot Valiant - Transaudio
Popealopes - Cavalcade
Stand GT/Potbelly - Nils tribute 7"
Sugar Drive - One Time 7"
Wednesday, January 8, 2020
Nice Strong Arm - Reality Bath (1987, Homestead)
And so I present you with the final piece of the Nice Strong Arm puzzle, their debut, Reality Bath. I've featured their subsequent platters Mind Furnace and Stress City eons ago, and a convenient thing that since both were extractable from CDs. Reality Bath, on the other hand, was a vinyl/tape-only proposition. Those in the know about these angsty New Yorkers, fronted by one Kevin Thomson, will no doubt boast their noisenik credentials, and rightfully so I suppose, but these folks were emanating from points of catharsis and artful sensibility, not so much full bore aggression.
On second thought, it's damn near impossible to deny that Reality Bath isn't chockablock with raging, dissonant notions and eardrum-frying sprawl. Even relatively likeminded contemporaries Live Skull and Red Temple Spirits couldn't quite compete with NSA's near-disorienting sonic alchemy that often fell just shy of surreal. No, taking this proverbial Bath won't be of Calgon proportions in the least, and dare I say there's not much here that's "fun," but despite it's miles-deep layers of sinewy latticework, the going rarely gets difficult. Furthermore there’s more guttural, emo pathos at play here than Rites of Spring ever thought to fling in our direction. If you're looking for some comparatively melodic respites, you may want to dive in at "When Truth Comes Around," "Minds Lie," and "Free At Last." This one's an acquired taste that's well worth acquiring, and check out NSA's second and third records linked above
01. Life of the Party
02. Date of Birth
03. Copperhead
04. Disenchanted
05. When Truth Comes Around
06. Life is So Cool
07. Minds Lie
08. Free at Last
09. Notes From a Gut
10. Dying Skin
https://www19.zippyshare.com/v/3Pz2GmIz/file.html
On second thought, it's damn near impossible to deny that Reality Bath isn't chockablock with raging, dissonant notions and eardrum-frying sprawl. Even relatively likeminded contemporaries Live Skull and Red Temple Spirits couldn't quite compete with NSA's near-disorienting sonic alchemy that often fell just shy of surreal. No, taking this proverbial Bath won't be of Calgon proportions in the least, and dare I say there's not much here that's "fun," but despite it's miles-deep layers of sinewy latticework, the going rarely gets difficult. Furthermore there’s more guttural, emo pathos at play here than Rites of Spring ever thought to fling in our direction. If you're looking for some comparatively melodic respites, you may want to dive in at "When Truth Comes Around," "Minds Lie," and "Free At Last." This one's an acquired taste that's well worth acquiring, and check out NSA's second and third records linked above
01. Life of the Party
02. Date of Birth
03. Copperhead
04. Disenchanted
05. When Truth Comes Around
06. Life is So Cool
07. Minds Lie
08. Free at Last
09. Notes From a Gut
10. Dying Skin
https://www19.zippyshare.com/v/3Pz2GmIz/file.html
Sunday, January 5, 2020
Rescue me or here I'll stay, a traffic island castaway.
Smashing Orange/The Sunflowers - split 7" (1992, Clawfist)

A. Smashing Orange - Something You Said
B. The Sunflowers - Collide
https://www17.zippyshare.com/v/cXowiKJp/file.html
Saturday, January 4, 2020
A slight case of underblogging - Best of the blog mix 2019.

Thing was, I presented such a haphazard pastiche of styles and genres that it made sequencing this mix a bit of a bitch, but I think I pulled it off, beginning with a cluster of acts that loosely skewed to the power pop end of the spectrum. Midway, I sort of hit a downcast stride with the emphasis on post-punk, but managed to conclude this playlist on a surprising note of levity. I don't have an adequate amount of time to elaborate on individual cuts, though I plan on attaching links to the original artist entries later this weekend. Included are three additional, previously unshared kernels that are noted with an asterisk. One item not to be overlooked is that of a virtually unknown and unsearchable quantity, La Voix Celeste (circa 1983) who deliver the melancholic, minimalist wave piece "Phases," which doesn't just strive for mood, but a sublime hook as well. This whole package concludes with one of my most listened to songs of the past couple years, a sleeper if there ever was one that you can read more about here. Enjoy.

02. NoNames - 1 2 3 Go!
03. X-Teens - All Day Long
04. Giddy'Up Einstein - Wasteland
05. Beat Feet - She's on Time
06. Start - Where I Want to Be
07. Signal Thirty - Wild With Me
08. The Big Picture - Poison Town
09. Honour Society - Ambition
10. Matt Finish - Fade Away
11. Monkey 101 - French Feelings
12. Popdefect - Can't Catch Up
13. The Necessaries - Back to You
14. Tirez Tirez - Razorblade
15. B Team - Right
16. DUSTdevils - Life Guarder
17. Actuel - Just Imagine
18. The Howl - Red is Red
19. La Voix Celeste - Phases*
20. Unity Station - History
21. Rarefaction - All the Broken Seams
22. The Expression - With Closed Eyes
23. Episode 1 - Maggie
24. The Dugites - Mama Didn't Warn Me
25. Koo De Tah - Body Talk*
26. Maria Takeuchi - Plastic Love*
https://www117.zippyshare.com/v/FWJpH3Wg/file.html
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