Bad Thing - Candy From a Stranger ep (1989, Fuel/Big Money)

With all due respect to Minneapolis' grand '80s trifecta (Husker Du, The Replacements, and Soul Asylum) there were more than a few Twin Cities denizens that looked beyond their fabled backyard for inspiration.  Described in a 1990 band bio as "fast urban electric loudness," Bad Thing's distillation of lead foot rawk 'n roll steered more in the direction of Drivin' 'n Cryin,' Snatches of Pink, and judging from Candy From a Stranger's pounding, leadoff salvo, "Scarlet Red," the Georgia Satellites as well.  No frills, no laptops...not a bad thing at all.  The band is also survived by a 1990 7" which you can read quite a bit about here. 

01. Scarlet Red
02. More Than This
03. Western Sky
04. Long White Cadillac

Hear

The Welcome Mat - Gram (1993, Festival)

An Australian indie rock act worth their collective weight in gold who opened shop in 1990, and I just found caught wind of them...last week?  Then again, I live in North America, so maybe I shouldn't be too hard on myself.  Somewhere in blogtopia I heard "All or Nothing (More)" and was flabbergasted with The Welcome Mat's ability to fuse the melodic prowess of Geffen-era Teenage Fanclub and Posies with the frenetic axe squalls of Dinosaur Jr.  Talk about a corker.  Per Ian McFarlane's Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop:

Sydney band The Welcome Mat started out as a chirpy, jangly guitar outfit before heading in a tougher, though still melodic and harmony-laced power pop direction...

I hear more of the latter on Gram, their debut album which was preceded by a number of singles/eps, but I gather this was still something of a transitional record for the quartet.   I use the comparison almost to the point of abuse on here, but I'm honing in a lot of parallels to some of the Doughboys later platters, specifically their Crush album, which I believe was also a '93 release.  Certain planets must have been in alignment that year, but I digress.  You can peruse The Welcome Mats full discography on this graying fanpage.  BTW, WM co-founder Wayne Connolly went on to form the equally gratifying Knievel.

01. Flying End
02. Everyone's Gone
03. Hell Hoping
04. Arrive in Time
05. Play Me
06. Leap of Faith
07. All or Nothing
08. Deathbag
09. People Changing
10. Gram
11. Junkmail
12. Blew

Hear

Oversoul Seven - Fool Revelation mLP (1987, Edge)

This is a follow-up to my share of Oversoul Seven's self-titled long player which I posted all the way back in January.  Since Fool Revelation preceded that album by about a year, I had anticipated it would possess a rawer, unbridled ethos, but I suppose that was wishful thinking on my part.  Turns out that Fool Revelation isn't so much of an engrossing revelation after all, but it does find the young Vancouver trio churning out clean, competent guitar pop, just not as roughhewn or DIY as it's oblique jacket art might suggest.  If there was anything on here that approached the brash musculature I was anticipating, the punchy "Over Mountain" was pretty much what the doctor ordered.  See my write-up for the second record (linked above), and for that matter the comments section.  One of our readers mentioned that Revelation was funded by Oversoul Seven's winnings in a band competition.  True story. 

01. Beginning
02. Shoulders
03. Over Mountain
04. Saint Lee Lights
05. Roses
06. All the Say
07. Somebody Said
08. Catfight at Crepuscle

Hear

Gift of Tongues - s/t tape (1990)

Cyberspace hasn't been kind to this ostensibly long defunct combo from Omaha, NE, but for a no-name find, Gift of Tongues are so to speak...a gift.  The introductory "Playin' With Matches" cops a few random tricks from Nine Inch Nails bag 'o treats, which are soon intertwined into Gift's minimalist post-punk web.  I should emphasize that the lite industrial traces infiltrating this cassette never dominate, instead serving as ancillary ambiance.  The throbbing bump 'n grind of "Let Me Take Your Picture" is tantamount to early-INXS cum Big Black, but oddly enough, it's an equation that adds up by song's end.   "I Was Blind" benefits from disarmingly sweet, minor-chord clangyness, bearing a compelling sonic motif that points to early New Order.  A solid dose of gritty fidelity ups the charm factor exponentially I might add.  I do however take massive exception with the concluding “Bones,” a  slinky, creepy slow-jam that kills a valuable five minutes.  Even though the proceedings don't end with a bang, don't be sad, three out of four ain't bad.   If anyone can shed a little more light on Gift of Tongues comment to your heart's content. 

01. Playin' With Matches
02. Let Me Take Your Picture
03. I Was Blind
04. Bones

Hear

Spatula - Even the Thorny Acacia (1994, Jesus Christ)

Spatula rarely receive a mention when folks recount the burgeoning '90s heyday of the band's legendary locale of choice, Chapel Hill, NC.  Not least of which I'm sure was due to limited distribution of their debut, Even the Thorny Acacia, and three more platters that followed later in the decade, all doomed to a similar fate.  Nor could Spatula boast the moderately pop-friendly persuasion of figureheads Superchunk and Archers of Loaf.   Were you to stack up Chuck Johnson & Co. with any of their hometown brethren the closest approximation you could come up with is Polvo, most evidently on Acacia's string-mangling "Yoohoo." Truthfully, I don't have a solid handle on the bulk of the Spatula oeuvre, but as of 1994, they (merely a duo on this record, I might add) were cautiously gravitating to post-rock environs, melding dissonance with mathy considerations, tracing a wildly uneven line between Seam, Slint, and a myriad of period artists in between.  The sharpest hook, or perhaps more appropriately, 'thorn' amidst the dynamic clamor of Acacia, is "Thinking Like a Statue," which might pass for a thoughtful Pavement outtake, circa '94.

As of this writing, Chuck is touring the eastern seaboard in support of his recent solo endeavor, A Struggle Not a Thought.   You can delve into a 2010 interview with the man over at Pitchfork.  As for Spatula proper, two subsequent albums, Despina By Land and Under the Veil of Health are available from Squealer Music.

01. Minute Hand
02. Yoohoo
03. Jules and the Termites
04. Salus
05. Kuskus
06. True-life
07. untitled
08. Laughing Like a Statue
09. Confessional Tutor
10. Even the Thorny Acacia
11. Pachinko
12. Algae

Hear

The Psychedelic Furs - Interchords interview LP (1981)

Here's one that's pretty self explanatory (for a change).  This promotional interview record was issued in conjunction with the Furs 1981 Talk Talk Talk album, arguably their creative apex (or damn close to it anyway).  The conversation is conducted with frontman of frontmen Richard Butler, and the saxophone wielding Duncan Kilburn.  The interrogation is regrettably standard fare as far as topical matter is concerned, but hearing someone pick at Richard's brain is a rare treat nonetheless.  This is my first Psychedelic Furs related entry.  I have a few live shows from the Talk era and beyond, but the band has kept a pretty tight lid on studio demos and such, which is what would intrigue me most.  As for this particular record, is there any music intermingled with the interview?  I dunno.  Can't never tell.  On second thought, maybe you can by investigating below.

Hear

Psi Com - Gila Monster Jamboree, CA 1-5-85

I had a request for some live Psi Com material recently, and this is one of two shows by the pre-Janes Addiction Perry Farrell lead group that I have to offer.  This particular concert (which you can read more about here) took place at a venue situated in the Mojave Desert, which also featured Redd Kross and Sonic Youth among others.  That huge, expanse of virtually barren terrain is a fitting setting for Psi-Com's penchant for billowy, atmospheric post-punk, sonically limitless in scope it would seem.  Perry's warble/yodel stylings are a bit heavy-handed at times, but he at least got it out of his system before Jane's.  Psi Com got tagged as "goth" at the time, and you might understand why after you treat your ears to these seven long-winded cuts.

01. Them
02. Cat
03. unknown
04. Silhoutte
05. 14th Floor
06. Psi Com Theme
07. Karuna

Hear

Beatnik Flies - From Parts Unknown (1986, New Rose)

From parts unknown, really?  Only if you qualify the metro D.C. area as some far flung outpost I suppose.  In actuality, this record really finds The Beatnik Flies stuck somewhere between Nuggets-esque power pop and conventional garage rock, and much like hell, it ain't a bad place to be.  If that doesn't give you enough of a clue, think an updated Flamin' Groovies tuning in some faint Radio Birdman frequencies.  Something about Parts Unknown feels utterly seeped in the Australian, indie bar-rock circuit of the mid 80s but again, the Flies hail from Washington (heck, they even name check local yokels the Slickee Boys in "Everybody's Dancin'").  Occasionally inconsistent, From Points Unknown's more stimulating moments - "Black Diamond Halo," "TV Star," "Hitchhike" and then some compensate for the infrequent slack.  There's a nice write up for this platter, including some additional biographical details, over at Lost in Tyme blog.  This rip comes straight from my own copy. 

01. Everybody's Dancin'
02. Umbali Wali Sleep
03. Be a Man/Brain Waves
04. Hitchhike
05. Message From the Underground
06. Black Diamond Halo
07. Luxury Dreamride
08. Beatnik Fly Theme
09. I Found Out
10. TV Star
11. Wombat Voodoo

Hear

Shirk Circus - This Band Will Destroy Your Life (2011, Dromedary) - A brief overview

The passing of Shirk Circus frontman Josh Silverman in February of this year is not likely to go down as the biggest music casualty of 2011 - not by a longshot in fact, but for those in his inner circle, and the countless others who were aficionados of this unheralded New Jersey power trio who were predominantly a mid-1990s proposition, I'm sure his loss is intense nonetheless.  Despite having reformed for some reunion shows in 2010, Shirk Circus hadn't been on my radar since the release of their 1994 debut Words to Say.  Back then, if an album failed to illicit an almost visceral response with yours truly, I didn't necessarily denounce it or sell it back to the store, rather I relegated it to the back burner, or in the case of Words to Say, let it sit dormant for a good many years.  Upon revisiting it recently (i.e. as recent as this weekend, in fact) I found it's allure much more irresistible that at first blush from seventeen years prior.  That album could have easily been the product of the north Midwest indie corridor, or for that matter Chapel Hill, NC with it's raw, sinewy guitar fills and Josh's nonchalant indie aesthetic that was so prevalent during that era.  My loss that I failed to pay more attention to it when it was current. 


Fast forward to 2007 when Shirk Circus decided to revisit and complete an album's worth of basic tracks laid down in 1996, for what was apparently to be their third album.  That record, eleven years in the making (ok, so there was just a slight hiatus in between those years) has finally surfaced.  Sonically, This Band Will Destroy Your Life hardly sounds like a fifteen year-old artifact. You can chalk much of that up to the band's overall proficiency, and ever so gradual maturity.  Ironically, they were charting a very similar trajectory to two of their Clinton-era contemporaries, Fig Dish and Small 23.  Just as those less-than-household recognizable power chord merchants were on the verge of calling it a day, so were Shirk Circus.  This Band... sports a leaner, cleaner modus operandi than it's predecessor albums, without kicking any significant amount of spunk or momentum to the curb.  This Band Will Destroy Your Life is available wherever records and tapes are sold...but I'd get it direct from Dromedary Records.

Singles Going Single #190 - Brave Tears 7" (1984)

This single is a follow up to Brave Tears 1985 Silver in the Darkness ep that I unleashed on an unsuspecting blogosphere a few weeks ago.  These two records, helmed by the brothers McLay (Bret and Mark) are the summation of Brave Tears shatteringly slim discography.  "Mystery Boy" is a strong harbinger of what was to follow on that forthcoming ep, boasting an indelible synth line that thoughtfully doesn't mire the song in the more pedantic 'wave' trappings so prevalent during this Huntington Beach outfit's years of operation.  The flip, "The Last Good Time" is a conventional, yet effective singer/songwriter ballad colored with flourishes of piano.  Fair to say they don't make 'em like these anymore.

A. Mystery Boy
B. The Last Good Time (There She Goes)

Hear

The Animated - 4 Song EP (1981, Play)

The Animated, presumably from the environs of Los Angeles, kick their 1981 ep off with "Edith C. Sharp," a wondrous synthesis of The Dickies, Mission of Burma and Polyrock (remember them)?  They don't particularly adhere to that recipe for the remainder of the record, but their quirky spin on all the essential facets that made the golden age of punk/power-pop as much fun and adventurous as it was is truly appreciated and warrants your attention.  Just four fleeting tunes hovering around the two minute mark is all we're treated to, which doubly stings when you consider this was pressed as a 33 instead of the sonically preferable 45 rpm that it painlessly could have been (for crying out loud, they had a full 12" to work with).  My copy has a slight warp in it, which seems to create some excess surface noise, but without marring the audio quality of the songs themselves.

01. Edith C. Sharp
02. Plastic Heaven
03. High School
04. Looking at You

Hear

WANTED!

Well, this entry has been a long time in coming.  Given the volume of material I've shared over the past four years some of you are apt to think that with a sizable music library such as mine that I'm already in possession of every release that I've ever possibly wanted.  No, I don't think so.  In reality, my ducks are not all in a row, and in fact I have some pretty important gaps I've been striving to fill for years now.  Below is a list of my top-tier wants - the stuff I look weekly for on Ebay.  That rare cassette demo or scarce 7" that I've never seen let alone been able to listen to.  You get the idea.  All these years you've enlisted me, now I enlist you!  Are you up for the challenge?  The holy grails are as follows:

Big Drill Car – live on WFMU, NJ 10/25/89 (bootleg)*

Wolfie – Necessary Sailing tape (1997, ltd to 50 copies – yikes!)

Porcelain Boys – Fetish for Female & Plunge It tapes* (late ‘80s, self released)

Flag of Convenience (F.O.C. Steve Diggle) – The Big Secret tape (poss bootleg)*

Tsunami – Cow Arcade tape (1991, Simple Machines)*

Papas Fritas – any official demo tapes*

The Love In – s/t ep (1987, LC Records)
Desperate Hours – s/t ep (1986, March Records –Long Beach, CA band)*
Teeze s/t ep (1982)*
Five Graves to Cairo – Call to Prayer ep (1984, Sartoris)*
The Blases “All Night Long” 7” (1984)*
Ultra Cindy 7” (199? – will hopefully have more details on this soon, but I think there’s
     only one U/C single out there)*
Soup – Cruel and Unusual 7” ep (1989, probably released by Very Small Recs)*
The Badgers - In Formation 7”*
Junk Monkeys – Live Follies CD (poss bootleg)*
The Leonards – Blister CD ep (1993, Red Planet)*

Here's where there's something cool in it for you.  Should any of you be in a position to sell me these titles outright, I will be as generous and reasonable on the price.  For anyone that can merely help me find my way, I'll reward you (e.g. purchase something you'd like on Amazon, Insound, or elsewhere - perhaps furnish you with an online gift certificate to the store of your choice).  

I'm seeking original, physical copies of everything.  The titles marked with an asterisk denote that I'm more than happy to settle for a cd-r or mp3s.  I should note that the first item on my list, a recording of Big Drill Car's performance on WFMU radio from 1989 is strictly a bootleg.  This was never an official release, but exists purely as a tape passed around a meager number of traders.

A few of these titles are available on Ebay and from sellers through GEMM and Musicstack.  Unless you come across any of these at a reasonable price (say $30-$40 or less) please don't point me in their direction, as I'm not one to capitulate to exorbitant, collector scum prices.  Even though I'm lacking the aforementioned titles I do have pictures of several of them (mostly from Ebay listings I was tragically outbid on).  Thanks for your help folks! Please leave a comment or send me an email (in my profile).

Exploding Boy - New Generation (1992, Beyond)

Thought I'd share this until I get the chance to rip more vinyl.  Boy, I knew just what I was in for by a quick glance at the cover art.  Rochester's Exploding Boy dealt in the most polished, spit-shined strain of "modern rock" that was going on at the time.  Think a vaguely more AOR Rembrandts, Toad the Wet Sprocket, or even Crowded House and The Ocean Blue if that pair possessed a stronger pedestrian slant.  Not terribly far removed from the I-Rails tapes I've recently shared, but Exploding Boy's commercial aspirations are painfully evident and utterly impossible to downplay no matter how you care to slice New Generation.  Yeah, this entry is going to be something of a credibility killer, but that being said, some of the zestier rockers like "Charity," "Cry Out" and the title track cut the mustard quite capably.  If anything else, these guys dole out a steady stream of plush hooks, an abundance of which call for repeat listens.  Just don't get your hopes up for the Bowie cover.

01. New Generation
02. Charity
03. Close to Me
04. Flashpoint
05. Ziggy Stardust
06. I Want to Be Where You Are
07. Do You Believe
08. Blue Sky
09. Cry Out
10. Forever

Hear

Two Helens - Reflections in Red (Sharko 2, 1986)

Here's one of my more recent after-the-fact-finds.  Twenty-five years late better than never.  Scotland's Two Helens strike me as the kind of band that so many of my fellow bloggers would likely to typecast "darkwave."  More post-punk than all else if you ask me, demonstrably evidenced by "Heaven and Hell's" chilly, throbbing pulse, a la early Siouxsie (though it's a male singer here).  Things get even better mid-album thanks to the doubly more enticing "The Curve," sheering a layer or two of fuzz off The Jesus and Mary Chain's Pyschocandy to sublime effect, with "Write This Letter" inching not too far behind.  The first eight tracks comprise the Reflections in Red album proper, with the remainder apparently taken from a follow-up single.  The biographical blurb below was culled from the notes of a T/H YouTube clip.  My sincere thanks to whomever posted it.

The Band was initially formed by Ian Murray, who recruited Alan Whyte, Mark Dickson and Robert Greenaway. Extensive gigging throughout Scotland led to B.B.C. Radio Scotland play, which in turn led to a deal with local label, Sharko 2. Their debut album, "Reflections In Red" was released in 1986, followed by a single "Silver & Gold" in 1987. The band supported Flesh For Lulu on some Scottish dates. Played by John Peel on his show and also on BBC World Service, the band flourished. For a while things looked superb after charting at home and in Europe. After more exposure and press, the band were offered a Scandinavian tour. However, due to promotional difficulties the tour fell through... a month later, the band split. In 2003, Ian, Mark and Alan decided to reform the band, as a trio. Further experiments by the band as a trio turned out to prove a potent sound, as big as it ever was. RELEASES: "Reflections In Red" (vinyl album, Sharko 2, 1986) "Silver & Gold" (7 inch vinyl, Sharko 2, 1987).

01. Heaven and Hell

02. The Top of a Tall Tree

03. Reflections in Red

04. Cold and Blind

05. The Curve

06. All the Money

07. Spiritual Thing

08. Write This Letter

09. Silver and Gold

10. 15 Rhythm

11. Gun

Hear

Dot Dash - Spark>Flame>Ember>Ash (2011, The Beautiful Music) - A brief overview

The relentless volley of clangy chords and mid-fi propensity coursing through D.C.-based Dot Dash's premiere outing, Spark>Flame>Ember>Ash will ring gleefully to anyone within ear-shot who's ever had a taste for organic, Anglophile indie-pop.  Opening a new chapter for alumni of Tree Fort Angst, Julie Ocean, Modest Proposal, and in the case of drummer Danny Ingram, Swervedriver (!) Dot Dash, ironically tend not to stray into the incendiary post-punk neighborhood of Wire, of whom they copped their moniker from by way of that band's jagged 1978 single of the same name.  That doesn't mean that Dot Dash haven't taken a keen gaze across to the other side of the pond, evident by the hefty, walloping guitar surge of "The Color and the Sound," "Alright, Alright," and "No Reverie," rooted in the sonic aplomb of late '80s Wedding Present, and Tony Blair-era hopefuls Boyracer and Beatnik Filmstars.  Ringleader Terry Banks has the vocal panache, not to mention precisely the right range to imbue Spark's fourteen selections with an integrity and spontaneity (the whole album, btw, was tracked in just three days) that bleeds through even to the most jaded of Pitchfork-addled hipsters.  Too updated to be deemed a throwback, Spark>Flame>Ember>Ash exudes the stripe of revisionist dexterity and passion that many of Dot Dash's contemporaries would do well to take note off...plus it's simply a great fucking collection of nervy, angular pop tunes. Copies of Spark are available here.

The Soft Boys "I Wanna Destroy You" - an appreciation of, plus 13 interpretations.

...And you won't have a single atom left, to call your own...

It kinda went like this.  Back in 1990 me and my Father were on a road trip, driving around Niagara Falls (NY) on a weekend afternoon.  As I would normally do when roaming around new environs, I commandeered the radio dial while Dad concentrated on driving.  Back then was when I began gravitating towards college radio stations.  To cut to the chase, on some left of the dial outlet with less than adequate reception came this song - brash and clamorous, yet equally melodic and compelling.  With the station fading in and out I was concerned we would be out of it's reception area entirely in a matter of minutes, if not seconds, and I was determined to hear the name of it from the DJ.  I successfully persuaded Dad to pull into a parking lot for a few minutes, much to his annoyance, but before long I had the vital stats I needed.  It would be another two years or so until I would hear The Soft Boys "I Wanna Destroy You" again, specifically on Rykodisc's expanded reissue of the band's tour-de-force Underwater Moonlight LP.

A blistering anti-war screed.  Musical catharsis.  Incendiary.  A bona fide, alt-rock anthem.  "I Wanna Destroy You" is all of the aforementioned and then some.  To address the "then some" quotient" consider that the song in question gets to it's rousing chorus before the first word of the first verse is even uttered.  Such "disorder" would  likely be an abomination to traditional songwriters, but Robyn Hitchcock's gamble paid off in ways that few songs before or since have.  Without parsing the lyrics line-by-line (now really, do you think I have that much time on my hands?) it can be tricky to definitively decipher whether "I Wanna Destroy You" aims at encouraging passive resistance, or if throwing something a little more aggressive into the mix is also necessary to yield desired results.  Like so many anti-war/anti-violence songs, the specific conflict isn't mentioned, leaving much to the imagination, conveniently allowing the tune to be employed when an applicable scenario comes to light.  I'm sure we can all think of our fair share of such motifs in say, the last fifty years, or for that matter just ten, but I digress. 

A powerful melody, gut-wrenching delivery, and an undeniably dense, sonic fortitude make "...Destroy..." as eminently intense and anthemic as it is.  Apparently, I'm not the only one who thinks so, as this classic Soft Boys calling card has been taken to task by many artists over the thirty-plus years since it's 1980 inception.  Amongst the thirteen versions I'm including in this cobbled together collection is unfortunately the Circle Jerks notably butchered rendering (which in case you didn't know features Debbie Gibson on backing vocals).  Relatively straightforward readings by Yo La Tengo, Comast Angels, The Laureates and Mood Six all compensate enormously.  There are live takes as well, by such not-familiar players as the Surrenders and Australia's Eastern Dark.  As for a couple names you just might recognize, The Replacements recalibrate the lyrics to their liking (or perhaps inebriation) while Coffee Creek (members of Uncle Tupelo and Bottle Rockets) twang-ify the song as they see fit.  Finally, I'm tossing in a live 1980 performance by the Soft Boys themselves, and a legendary 1989 take by Nigel & the Crosses (a conglomeration of Robyn Hitchcock, Peter Buck, Glenn Tilbrook and Billy Bragg).

Hear

Singles Going Single #189 - Blind Dates "Radio" 7" (1984, Savage)

It's not often that I'm enamoured by a band that's so slavishly groomed for Top-40 playlists, but I'm going to make a big exception for Blind Dates if only by virtue of the notion that Top-40 radio in their day was tolerable, if not occasionally enjoyable.  Fittingly enough, a song titled "Radio" occupies one half of this single, sounding like a subtler variation of Hipsway's "The Honeythief" (or maybe it's the other way around considering this single preceded "The Honeythief" by a good three years).  The flip, "Second Hand" is a bit more fleshed out, and incessantly catchy to boot.  Outright great in fact.  From the sound of this wax, Blind Dates had just about everything in their musical arsenal to compete with the likes of Duran and ABC…. though a major recording contract would have probably helped.  You can bone up on the Dates here, and AZ Local blog has a few words to say about the Rhode Island quartet's previous single (though it appears the zshare link is kaput).

A. Radio
B. Second Hand

Hear

I-Rails - Unfocused (1987)

By popular demand, I'm here to serve up another helping of vintage I-Rails recordings.   Heading on the backwards trajectory I set into motion in March with the band's "Same Old Me" 45, we're dialing the Wayback Machine to 1987 for the band's second cassette album, Unfocused, which by the way was transferred from analog to ones and zeroes by some close associates to the band.  Without their generosity, time and consideration I wouldn't be able to bring this music to you, so once again, thanks. 

If you've been curious enough to lend an ear to the I-Rails third album, Nine Songs From Nowhere, the ten tracks comprising Unfocused should ring familiar.  For the uninitiated, the I-Rails were the unlikely precursor to '90s one-hit wunderkinds Primitive Radio Gods.  Click on the first hyperlink in this article for more text on the background of this criminally overlooked power-pop trio, or if you'd like a shortcut blurb on the way they rolled, think Toad the Wet Sprocket...with balls.  As for Unfocused itself, it doesn't disappoint, yielding some of the Rails best including the high-strung "No Matter" and "Mercury Don't Understand."  Perfecto.  Enjoy, and bear in mind there's one more tape to come...

01. In Babylon
02. Slings and Arrows
03. Mercury Don't Understand
04. The Worst Song About Jane
05. Still Invisible
06. There Goes Another
07. Beyond the Obvious
08. Stuck in Between
09. No Matter
10. Two Arms

Hear

Papa Sprain - Flying to Vegas ep (1991, H.ark!)

For all intents and purposes, Belfast native Gary McKendry was Papa Sprain, a little known post-pretty-much-everything combo that were taken under the wing of AR Kane's H.ark! Records imprint.  Bubblegum Cage III and Blackened Air blogs had written Papa Sprain up fairly thoroughly in 2009, so this entry isn't going to serve as much of a primer considering most of the legwork has been done, surely by more capable hands then my own.  Came across this one in the used bin at Other Music last year and was struck by the sleeve and doubly more so by the songs it encased.  Since a convenient catch-all description won't suffice for a record bearing such disparate textures and flavors I decided to break Flying to Vegas down track by track below.  Not a huge task given there's only four.  The two blogs linked above are worth visiting, especially Blackened Air which is hosting some other Papa Sprain recordings, including a clutch of demos that are even more enticing than this ep.  All files shared herein were culled from my own rip. 

1. "Flying to Vegas" - Our flight kicks off with three minutes+ of quasi-rapped vocals atop sweet, chiming Cocteau Twins guitar.  An offbeat amalgam that actually flows quite well.
2. "Fizz" - A noise-endowed, yet somewhat non-descript stab at what some might liken to "ambient" or "post-rock."  Less than crucial.
3. "Spout" - A dark, foreboding hinterland where icy fret squalls bump up against sheets of sinewy feedback.  A two way tie with "Vegas" as my favorite moment on this record.
4. "Rich" - We come in for a smooth landing, converging with steady finger snaps and an assortment of ancillary effects, propelled by a mild, bass-laden rhythm track.

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The Mommyheads - Delicate Friction (2011, Dromedary) - A brief overview

When I was compiling my write up for two Mommyheads reissues this spring (the retrospective Finest Specimens, and an expanded version of their 1994 fan favorite, Flying Suit) I was completely ignorant to the fact that they were recording a new record, their second since their 2008 (or thereabouts) reunion.  Up until those reissues I had nothing invested in the Mommyheads, but encountering their back catalog revealed that yours truly overlooked a veritable indie pop treasure for the better part of two decades.  Frankly, I found myself posing the rather obvious question, "Where had 'mommy' been all these years?"

The 'Heads struck their creative peak mid-90s, boasting lucid, uncluttered sonic motifs with a measured dollop of quirky panache, a la contemporaries the Sugarplastic, and predating what the Shins would be bringing down the pike in a few years to come.  Delicate to a fault the, Mommyheads in the Twenty-first Century are an even cleaner and leaner trio of pop troubadours than past endeavors suggested.  Delicate Friction is still very much the brainchild of the Mommyheads of yore, with an emphasis steeped in the casual ebb and flow of Turin Brakes, thirty-something Sloan, and the more ballad-esque persuasions of Fountains of Wayne.  In short, the boys are maturing and mellowing out just like the rest of us, and even if you're a longtime fan there's nothing to be alarmed about.  The trick will be whether the Mommyheads can lure in a few new sets of ears that have a taste for their ever-increasing refinement.  Three live tracks are bonus-sized, including "Saints Preserve Us" from their aforementioned Flying Suit album.  Delicate Friction is available now from Dromedary Records.

Slaughterhouse 5 - Wide Open (1993, IRS)

Where was this album back in the early '90s when I couldn't get my fill of the Senseless Things and Ned's?  Sure, I had heard of Slaughterhouse 5 in passing at the time, but an obvious opportunity to investigate them failed to present itself, and I didn't give them a second thought until I spotted a very affordable used copy of Wide Open at a local flea market.  Dare I say this thick-accented UK quartet shambolically slotted in as that missing link between the Buzzcocks and Supergrass (then again, some might argue that gap wasn't particularly expansive from the get go).  There's a uniquely jovial flair emanating throughout Wide Open that sets the S/5 apart from the crowded flock of UK punk-pop outfits that were trying to make a dent in the Britpop sweepstakes.  A familiar approach, but with a flavor moxie all their own.  I shan't give anything else away about this disk, but I should mention that the band is selling Wide Open on their website (though the purchase link isn't operational at the moment).  That being the case I plan to leave this once it's available for purchase! 

01. This is Not Love
02. Inconvenience
03. Right Next to Her
04. Don't Go All Funny On Me
05. If You Don't Love Me
06. Sometimes So Close
07. If She Leaves Me Again
08. Things She Did
09. Pathetic Girlfriend
10. Only to Have You
11. You're Not So Beautiful
12. Don't You Know?
13. The Stupid Ones
14. No More Mr. Nice Guy

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Kinetics - Snake Dance (1987, Etiquette)

Considering that it's received a hair over one hundred downloads, I'm surprised no one left a comment regarding the Kinetics single that graced these pages a year and a half ago.  Suit yourselves, but I couldn't get enough of that 45, and was promptly on my way to securing this album.  I was downright gonzo for the mild 2 Tone undercurrent that informed the songs occupying that 7" ("Hey La La Lee" and "Take a Train," both of which are repeated here).  Snake Dance doesn't overemphasize that pop-ska motif, and in fact it's eschewed altogether on several tracks that would mesh perfectly with say, a 1982-era MTV playlist.  Alas, the Kinetics were far from brash innovators (an accusation to which they would almost certainly attest) but so long as you can get past their rather traditional tack, Snake Dance is a record you'll be returning to more than you might imagine.

01. Snake Dance
02. Shake
03. Cool Water
04. Curtis Walker
05. She's Lost the Beat
06. Big City
07. Tired of Waiting
08. Let Her Go
09. Hey La La Lee
10. Take a Train

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Five Gears in Reverse - Trailer cassette (1998, Montesano)

Back in the late '90s when the Four Dots compilation graced my cd player for what seemed like months, one of the unknown quantities on that disk, Five Gears in Reverse, took up five minutes of glorious space in the shape of their contribution "Apathetic Regimen." Around that time, I learned they had several cassette releases under their belt, but alas, I was too lazy and/or cash strapped to mailorder them.  Conveniently for me, someone was selling a couple of their tapes on EBay earlier this year and I was in luck.  Despite calling Bellingham, WA home base, Five Gears didn't exude any resemblance to the Posies, or hometown boys done good, Death Cab for Cutie.  Nonetheless, they operated squarely in indie pop confines, penning whip smart lyrical observations couple with hooks to die for.  No hipster smokescreen to boot I might add.  If you're looking for a RIYL shortlist, Five Gears would be in excellent company with Zumpano, Thrush Hermit, Pond and even Blue album-era Weezer, judging by the colossal guitar crunch infiltrating "Menage a Trois." A full length cd, You're Not Asking the Right Questions, materialized in 2000.  In addition to Trailer I also have a 5GIR cassette of Christmas songs, but I know there's at least one or two more tapes out there, so if any of you have a line on them please get in touch.

01. Spinning Ellipses
02. About Sound
03. Menage a Trois
04. Dakota
05. Apathetic Regimen
06. Eyesight

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Singles Going Single #188 - Hushpad 7" (1997, Goodbye Virginia)

Issued in 1997, but not arriving on my radar until thirteen years after the fact, Hushpad's sophomore 45 (that would be this one) was a pleasant surprise, albeit grossly belated.  I'm still trying to figure out the "pad" quotient of this co-ed Illinois duo's moniker, but the "hush" utterly imbues these two tranquil spins.  "Dear Jenny's" lilting acoustic persuasion recalls Nick Drake's plucked-to-perfection fretwork, by way of Unrest's ballad-esque "Isabel."  "Goodbye Virginia" tinkers with a subtle bossa nova rhythm amidst a motif that's equally as lucid and serene as it's flipside.  In doing my research on Hushpad I learned that they recently made available on Bandcamp an album recorded in 1997, heretofore unreleased, titled For Kites and String, that can be downloaded for a nominal fee.  The a-side to this wax, "Dear Jenny" appears on there, but the remainder of the album features considerably more robust arrangements.  You can acquaint yourself with Hushpad's first single over at Shelflife Records blog.

A. Dear Jenny
B. Goodbye Virginia

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Singles Going Single #187 - Bust 7" (1996, Radiopaque)

Not a shred of info to be found online regarding Bust, a D.C. area trio whose record came courtesy of the same imprint that brought us the Starry Eyes ep (Sarah Shannon/Velocity Girl), and the Guided By Voices/Girls vs. Boys split ep.  Joyce M. Raskin fronts the band with brother Stephen manning the guitar, and a bloke named Silas Green rounding things out on percussion.  From the sound of both sides of this wax, Bust had a firm indie modus operandi, boasting the edgy pop accessibility of Fuzzy, and to a lesser extent Kim Deal.  Throw in a modicum of post-riot grrrl musculature for added effect and you've got a real keeper on your hands.  More irresistible with each listen.

A. Spin Up!
B. I'm Better

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