Arizona's airport is called Sky Harbor. I wonder if that's what the last song on Clarity's about?

I have four eps for you this week.  Boogie 'til ya puke ya'll.

**Please do not reveal artists in comments!** 

Durnago 95 - Dreams & Trains (1986, Stonegarden)

Another slim week for new content, I know, so apologies in advance.  What can I tell you?  Whether I was even going to share this one or not what highly debatable, given the status of this record itself. My used and somewhat abused copy of Durango 95's Dreams & Trains is at the very least somewhat above "beater" status, but there are some surface noise issues and flaws (namely a skip midway in "When You Looked Away") that I'm going to have to address in the future. 

There were numerous Durango 95s in existence, both simultaneous to, and post the one I'm referring to here. This one was a quartet whose lone LP was produced by Earle Mankey.  The Durango's modus operandi generally slotted into power pop, not far removed from the Plimsouls formula (check out the devastatingly hot "Great Buildings" and "First Dreams in Color"), but elsewhere there are abundant and twangy Americana fixations these boys were wont to excise (e.g. "Better Than That," makes for a tight three minute hoedown). Talented for sure, but sadly there wasn't much more where this came from. At it's height Dreams & Trains resembles a lost Mitch Easter or Don Dixon production. One of the staffers at Goldmine magazine was such a fan he did a fairly lengthy piece on Durango's frontman Frank Barajas just a few months ago.

01. Runaway Train
02. Dreams & Trains
03. When You Looked Away
04. Better Than That
05. Great Buildings
06. First Dreams in Color
07. Durango 95 (Strangers Theme)

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Reviews you can use: Chris Church, Popular Creeps, Jeremy Porter and the Tucos, The Black Watch, the Well Wishers.

I've been on a review hiatus for quite a few months now, which I apologize for. To whomever has sent me music in late '22 to the present thanks for your patience.  Here are a few words on a handful of titles that have made an impression or two. 

I've been guilty as the next guy of ignoring the most recent release(s) from a prolific artist, namely one who has say, ten+ albums to their credit. From Robert Pollard to Neil Young to Motorhead, I've quite literally taken all of these institutions for granted simply because I have so much from them already. I may not be as familiar with Chris Church's quickly accumulating catalog as the aforementioned, but I'm conscious of the fact that just about every time I turn around I learn he's got a new CD under his belt. I'm glad I opted not to sleep on Radio Transient, because it's one of his most inspired and inventive in recent memory. Church has always been a deft power pop craftsman, yet there's something different about this album's commencing tune, the brash, multilayered "GCRT," that grabs you by the collar with it's mix of lush instrumentation, technical finesse and frantic vocals. Although the going on the remainder of RT isn't always as urgent, it's an embarrassment of riches, much in league with what Tommy Keene, Marshall Crenshaw, and even Todd Rundgren were supplying us with in the mid/late '80s. Yes, there's a certain slickness to the arrangements here that could seemingly pass for major label-budget muster, say three decades ago, but every iota of this disc is thoroughly heartfelt and delivers a spate of stunning high water marks, like "Going Til We Go," and "Over and Out." Radio Transient is already a contender for one of 2023's best albums, and has me scurrying to see what else I've recently missed from Chris Church. It's available now straight from Big Stir Records. 

Hailing from Detroit but distinctly conjuring up a musical reference due west in Minneapolis, Popular Creeps swiped their moniker from a Chris Mars solo cut. Truthfully, there aren't exactly 180 degrees of separation between this quartet and the Mats, but the Creeps rough-hewn stripe of warm, reverby rock n roll eschews any semblance of filler or pretense. Frontman Lenny Grassa previously made a name for himself in a wonderful, like-minded outfit dubbed The Leonards in the latter increments of the twentieth century and hearing him again on the mic is a welcome surprise. Both of his bands seemed to be tilting in the vicinity of early Figgs, not to mention bygone southern aggregations like Snatches of Pink and Finger. Given the low visibility of these names however, my observation might amount to nothing more than sheer coincidence. Their second album (and first for Big Stir) All of This Will End in Tears wields some serious pent up aggression in the guise of the absolutely cranking "Tear Me Apart" and "From the Past," both of which embrace pure punk, or at the very least the biting power chords thereof. Overall these guys tend to function at a less strenuous pace on Tears, just don't hold out for any ballads lurking on this record. It's 2023 kids, and this is about as earnest as it's going to get.                                                                                                                                                                   

I've got even more Detroit tuneage to enlighten you about, namely Jeremy Porter and the Tucos, a combo who've been in business for about a decade or so who are touting their most recent album, 2021's Candy Coated Cannonball. Nothing too unusual here - singer-songwriter fronting a sharp, guitarsy three-piece whose plaintive confessions usually hit the mark and occasionally yield something gnarly, like the indelible "Dead Ringer," which strikes me as the best slice of power pop Wilco forgot to come up with on A.M.  In fact, there are shades of '90s indie rock cropping up delightfully all over ...Cannonball, and when these guys really nail the bullseye on the power chord enhanced "Girls Named Erica" and the looser "What Could Be in That Box" Jeremy and the Tucos impact along the same lines as the Lemonheads. I discovered more than a few interesting ideas here.  Smash the hyperlink above and set yourself up with a copy of Cannonball on CD, digital, or even clear wax. 

And now we're up to the Black Watch's difficult twenty-second album...or is their twenty-third?  At any rate, John Andrew Frederick and Co. have given us a hell of a lot of music over the years, and seem to up the sophisti-rock ante with virtually every successive release. As for this being a "difficult" album, I say that partly in jest as Frederick strikes me as a bit wearier and perturbed than usual on Future Strangers, albeit not by much. No, this isn't the Black Watch's Disintegration or Unknown Pleasures or really anything uber-cathartic, yet it is divinely moving and contemplative. In fact, any given salvo Frederick utters is likely bejeweled with an advanced quotient of depth. Occasionally the scope of what B/W offer isn't immediate and takes a few listens to unfurl, but Future Strangers offers a bevy of visceral charges in the guise of "Off You Go Redux!," the compelling title track, and "In My Head" which emanates a waft of frosty, post-punk entrails. If this album isn't their masterstroke it's at the very least one of their most poignant and affecting. Atom Records or Bandcamp have you covered should you opt top indulge (and yes, it's available on wax).

Not unlike Bob Mould or Sloan. San Jose's Well Wishers insist on stringent quality control, so much so that even before the laser hits the disk, or you push "play" on your streaming portal of choice, satisfaction is virtually a given.  That's a pretty small pantheon of artists you can pin such a claim on, but prime-Wisher Jeff Shelton has been proving my point over and over on roughly a dozen albums over the course of two decades. And while I haven't shared much in the way of WW music over the years, I've offered plenty of text regarding Shelton's modus operandi - an evenly paced mix of guitarsy crunch and chime, an ace melodic acuity, and an unimpeachable consistency. 2022's Blue Sky Sun, plays to the Well Wisher's strengths to more gratifying effect than practically any other installment in Shelton's catalog I can think of, and he just may have outdone himself on "Idiot Smile" and "Who Lost That Feeling." Tossing in a cover of Guided By Voices' "Game of Pricks" is a swell and even welcome gesture, but given that our protagonist is on something of a streak, I would have easily forgiven him for another original. Blue Sky Sun is yours for purchasing on Amazon and Bandcamp.

Crept into the hallway, already at home on the carpet and walls...

A nice, tidy career summation from 2014, that does an apropos job of collecting most of this band's highlights, dating back to 1981. 

**Please do not reveal artist in comments!**

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The Form 7" (1985, T/T)

A rather miscellaneous Minneapolis bunch, The Form, appear to only be survived by this single, minted on Twin/Tone Records damn near four decades ago.  No, I don't know if they ever opened for the Replacements or drank from the same water fountain as Mould and Hart, but I enjoy what I'm hearing on this 45. The A-side, "Happens That Way" is a rugged slice of pop punk with nervy playing and attitude to spare. On the flip is a genuinely smart and stimulating punk rock reading of Mott the Hoople's signature piece, "All the Young Dudes."  Frontman Nic Santiago later had a stint in Babylon Pink. Enjoy.

A. Happens That Way
B. All the Young Dudes

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The Veldt - s/t RSD ep (2021)

Another Record Store Day is in the books, and as in years past around the consumer-driven "holiday" I often try to share something I purchased from a previous RSD weekend, especially if it's a release containing exclusive music.  The Veldt aren't an entity I've delved into on this site (save for maybe a past Mystery Monday) but not counting a prolonged stretch of time when they were put to pasture in the aughts, they've actually been in existence since the mid-80s.  Never commercially embraced, the Raleigh, NC combo consisting primarily of brothers/founders Daniel and Danny Chavis, The Veldt's brand of surreal, shoegaze-adjacent rock has benefited from the incorporation of myriad elements ranging from soul to psych. Briefly signed to Mercury in the early/mid-90s, The Veldt's 1994 debut, Afrodisiac had a way of persuading reverb/delay-tactic appreciating types like myself, and captured the hearts and ears of dream-pop aficionados internationally, albeit the band's legion of fans was always humble, as most of their career was spent recording for under-the-radar indie labels. During the peak of their visibility in the '90s they opened for the likes of the Pixies and Cocteau Twins in the States among others.

The Veldt resurfaced nationally roughly two decades later and were responsible for a spate of eps and singles, including the vinyl-only 2021 RSD exclusive ep I'm sharing today, said to have been limited to 250 copies as a benefit for the Winston-Salem based Shalom Project.  Despite the near-three decade gap since Afrodisiac and the preceding 1992 Marigolds ep, "Color Of Love Is Blue" and "Calvary" exude many of the dense, distortion-prone tendencies of their earlier records...and then some.  Elsewhere, "Reverie" traverses into trip-hop terrain, while "The Gattaca Blues" finagles with a downtempo drum and bass motif. 2022 saw the release of their first full length of the twentieth-century, Entropy is the Mainline to God.

01. Color Of Love Is Blue
02. The Gattaca Blues
03. Reverie
04. Calvary
05. The Butcher (Acoustic Paris 06)

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Why when you were happy here with me?

From 2006. Twelve covers of classic power pop songs from an act you've likely never heard of.

**Please do not reveal artist in comments!**

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Dustdevils - Gutter Light mLP (1988, Rouska)

Time for a mini-LP, this one from the noisome and droney, but altogether great Dustdevils, a New York by way of UK export, whose Rhenyard's Grin album I shared a few years back. Like Sonic Youth they started too late and were too developed to attach themselves to the caboose of New York's no-wave scene, but managed to make some of that aesthetic part and parcel of their modus operandi. Much like their aforementioned '87 debut, Gutter Light is continusouly cresting to new heights of distortion and feedback, while vividly colored with Jaqi Delany eerie, caterwauling vocal parlance (think SST-era Kim Gordon or Live Skull's Thalia Zedek for comparisons).  Any given Dustdevils song may seem relatively devoid of melody, but like fellow Big Apple brethren, Band of Susans their dense song structures are so enveloping there's plenty to latch onto and always make for a fascinating listen. 

01. Ordinary Madness
02. Whim of Iron
03. Whte Temper
04. Losing Ground
05. As I Lay Dying
06. The Freeze Whistle
07. Oyster Catcher

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They take a hard look at you, shocked at the view.

From 2007.

**Please do not reveal artist in comments!**

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Invisible Pedestrian - s/t (1988, Footlong)

From my understanding Invisible Pedestrian had roots in Czechoslovakia, automatically making this quartet outliers. As for their music they couldn't have sounded more Anglo, dishing out vaguely socially conscious "modern rock," akin to what contemporaries The Call, The Alarm and Rhythm Corps specialized in around the same era. Sure, you could certainly fare better, but considerably worse too. A fairly consistent listen throughout, Invisible Pedestrian exudes an especially poignant highlight in the sprite, U2-endebted "Ordinary Taxpayer," easily my go-to number here. Btw, the album was released in Germany under the title Lessons of History, with a far more flattering album jacket.    

01. She Was Standing There
02. Me and the Clouds
03. Some Things Are Never Change
04. Lesson of History
05. Ordinary Taxpayer
06. Picture
07. The Kind
08. Something That I Don't Know

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Vital Sines - Collage ep (1985, Midnight)

Vital Sines were a Toronto quartet who made headway in the Canadian indie-circuit, thanks to this ep's title cut, an icy, noir slab of discernible goth-rock wielding all the attendant aesthetics one might expect.  Thankfully not a one-trick-pony, they were even more adept at harnessing the jittery post-punk affectations of Gang of Four and APB, evidenced by "Hype" and "Ice Statue," both irresistible and effective attempts that capably plunder the staccato-laced, funk-rock party bag. Collage has me itching to delve into the handful of Sines releases that preceded and followed it. 

01. Collage
02. Hype
03. Ice Statue
04. Rhythm of the Dark

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She's passed on all her friends, when will her crying end?

My apologies for not getting any new music to you last week. I'll try to remedy that in the next two days. As for this week's M/M it's an album that was originally meant to see the light of day in 1996 but didn't until almost two decades later (although songs from it were able in the intervening years, if you knew where to look). 

**Please do not reveal artist in comments!**

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Once you were the first in line and now you’re in the back...

From 2002. The muscular fourth album from a fellow who finally corralled a backing band, and along the way relegated his oft trademark sad ballads to the back seat. 

**Please do not reveal artist in comments!**

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V/A - Every One a Classic!!! Vols. 1 & 2

Even after all these decades, not only am I discovering artists from the classic era of Brit punk and power pop, I'm still discovering entire series of compilations dedicated to preserving them. Granted a good many of these collections are bootlegs, but nonetheless. Case in point, the six volume Every One a Classic!!! CD compendiums issued by a UK one-off imprint, Punk, Mod, Powerpop. From what I can discern, there's absolutely no copyright date provided as to when they were pressed, but with a little research the music featured on each set covers the era of 1977-81. Best of all, the cuts don't come much deeper than what's presented here. Between the two installments I'm presenting today, there are 30 acts, of which I only had direct familiarity with one (The Now) prior. 

Truth be told, I didn't have the opportunity to research everyone on the two rosters, but per my queries on Discogs and elsewhere, the vast majority of bands involved only stuck around long enough to mint a single ep or 45. Quite literally one and done, but as always, the brevity of an artist's discography is rarely indicative of the significance of the roughly seven minutes (or so) of music that's occupying the wax. Generalities are a bit fuzzy to level here, but Vol. 1 seems to skew slightly more towards power pop, while the second volume tends to shine the spotlight on more aggro punk. There are plenty of exceptions on both disks. At the very least, virtually everywhere the laser lands you're bound to encounter something good/acceptable, but a good half of the tunes are of significantly higher caliber than that. Highlights are plentiful, and though I'm strapped for time a few recommendations would have to include Quality Drivel, Shock Treatment, Moving Targets (UK), Train Spotters, Acme Attractions, Martin and the Brownshirts (very New York Dolls-y), Cyanide, and Radio City (the latter being as an enticing a power-pop proposition as the moniker might lead one to believe). Enjoy.

Volume 1
01. Acme Attractions – Anyway
02. Fascinations - Blue Movies
03. The Escorts - Bingo
04. The English - Hooray For The English!
05. Xpress - Junked-Up Judy
06. HorrorComic - England 77
07. Warm Jets - Big City Boys
08. Moving Targets - The Boys Own
09. The Trainspotters - High Rise
10. Fun 4 - Singing In The Showers
11. The Rivals - Here Comes The Night
12. Shadowfax - Calling the Shots
13. Blunt Instrument - No Excuse
14. Lenny And The Lawbreakers – Me And Bobby McGee
15. The Now - Nine O'clock

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Volume 2
01. The Perfectors – YT502951D
02. Quality Drivel - Stagnant Minds
03. Sta-Prest - Schooldays
04. Kidz Next Door - Kidz Next Door
05. Silent Noise - I've Been Hurt (So Many Times Before)
06. Bee Bee Cee - You Gotta Know Girl
07. Martin And The Brownshirts – Taxi Driver
08. Psykik Volts - Horror Stories #5
09. Long Tall Shorty - Win or Lose
10. Accident On The East Lancs – Tell Me What You Mean
11. Notsensibles – The Telephone Rings Again
12. Xtraverts - 1984
13. Shock Treatment - Big Check Shirts
14. Radio City - Love and a Picture
15. Cyanide - I'm a Boy

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Poisoned by the time, you know everything should rhyme.

Recordings from 1985-88. If you're into early Wedding Present and Close Lobsters this will be a treat. 

**Please do not reveal artist in comments!**

The Weeds - Windchill (1988, Permanent)

A friend with Weeds is a friend inde....oh never mind. But chances are this Wisconsin power-trio did have some friends and a gaggle of fans in their proverbial corner. No wet-behind-the-ears slack here. Much to the contrary - rather robust and resonant in fact, recalling the usual suspects from Minneapolis, but moreover the Weeds debut, Windchill has a discernible Midwestern tincture to it.  Loads of guitar-laden amperage, with ballsy, cranking salvos like "Replaced," "Leslie's House" and "Dicked," that are certain to leave a concussive impression on your little eardrums. If you've enjoyed some of the band's featured in the early days of this site like the Pedaljets and Hollowmen I doubt you'll go wrong here.  The Weeds followed this up with King Crow in 1992. 

01. Cold Blooded Snake
02. Replaced
03. California
04. Duty Calls
05. Funny
06. Leslie's House
07. Under the Bed
08. Hush Hush
09. Graceland U.S.A.
10. Dicked
11. Safer Than Sorry
12. untitled

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I'm drinking on a schedule to keep it in control so I don't ever have to quit outright...

Wicked, infectious piano pop from 2019.

**Please do not reveal artist in comments!**

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Human Hands - s/t (1982, Independent Projects) - 2 x LP w/ bonus 7"

This one was a lot of work to put together, if only due to the sheer heft of the album. Roughly 90 minutes of music from an obscure L.A. post-punk conglomerate, Human Hands, and I know that even among those who venture to download it, not all of you are likely to sift through it all. But that's more than ok.  My expectations are realistic. 

In their original 1978-81 incarnation, the quintet in questions managed to eke out one single, an ep, and somewhat posthumously, this two LP extravaganza in 1982 consisting primarily of demos and live material. Aesthetically, the band's closest kin might have been a slightly more renown local troupe, 100 Flowers (a band who had their antecedents in the considerably less serious Urinals). The Human Hands drew considerably from the left-of-center music that surrounded them, which meant everything from Gang of Four and Wire to the more tuneful reservoirs of the fledgling New York no-wave scene. They bore an uncanny noisenik flair, and while there probably isn't one morsel in this set that you might refer to as "polished" there's an accessibility there, especially if you were fond of staccato rhythms, flourishes of jovial Farfisa organ, and topical songwriting. "Dilemmas," "Stupid World," "I Got Made" and "Go Existential' are a handful of my favorites. The Mission of Burma-esque "The Man Who Knows Too Much" is a real peach, as is the icy, marathon length "Phantoms in the Darkroom."  

As I mentioned a great deal of songs here are either live or in embryonic stages. Several of them underwent more formal recording, and can be had on the 1997, Bouncing to Disc compilation. In the 2000's Human Hands resurfaced with an overhauled lineup and in the process expanded their discography considerably, releasing their debut LP Backyard Anthems in 2008 and a couple of subsequent EPs. Original drummer David Wiley passed away in 1988. More info can be had on Human Hands via their website. 

01. Hex
02. Dilemmas
03. Stupid World
04. The Man Who Knows Too Much
05. Rapture of the Deep
06. My Kitchen
07. Ghosts
08. Checkout
09. I Got Mad
10. She Eats Bugs
11. Lurk
12. Dog Food
13. Crazy Lies (live)
14. Dillemas (live)
15. New look (live)
16. Diplodicus
17. Sticks and Stones (live)
18. Go Existential (live)
19. Phantoms in the Darkroom
20. Beginner's Rap
21. Upside Down
22. Carnivore
23. Happy Ending (live)

bonus single
A. Sensible Guy
B. Fair

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Is this love out of fashion, or is it the time of year?

There was a lot of talk last week surrounding the fiftieth anniversary of a certain landmark album.  How about another pivotal record that just celebrated it's fortieth anniversary, and what if I was to offer you just the bonus disk to the deluxe version thereof?  Enjoy. 

**Please do not reveal artist in comments!**

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Throw 7" (1992, Limited Potential)

With a little more amperage and angst Chicago's Throw might have been convincing grunge contenders, and to the contrary, had they possessed a sunnier disposition and quickened their riffs they could have passed for punk-pop. I'd say that to everyone's advantage they wound up as genuine, distortion-driven indie rockers unto themselves, at least as far as this pair of tuneful and confident slammers were concerned.  Think in the same vicinity as Monsterland, Poole and other crunchy contemporaries of their era. This was Throw's debut, but they would soon buttress their profile with well received albums including 1994's Trace that found the band curtailing some of the fuzz and angling in a more nuanced direction with lengthier songs that arguably bordered on post-rock.  

A. All Too Human
B. Parasite

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Velouria - Smooth! Lite tape (1996)

No, they don't really sound like the Pixies, but would you believe a few '90s "small of fame" faves of mine like Fig Dish and the early Figgs?  I'm also picking up vague glints of everyone from Bracket to Triplefastaction, but this 1996 demo really isn't as derivative as I'm making it out to be.  Yeah, this is really impressive - hella power chordy with a firm grasp of melody. Self described "pop dorks," Velouria hailed from Silver Lake (that's L.A. to most of you) and went on to record a pair of 45s and just as many albums. This was a sweet find. 

01. Where Ford Falcons Come To Die
02. Audrey & Anguish
03. Sunbeam
04. Women's Wednesday
05. Perpetually You
06. Reville

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...the power lies inside the head, not inside the hand.

On February 17th I learned that the frontman for this band (and several others) had suddenly passed away the night before. A musician, photographer, skater, and mentor and friend to literally thousands who never forgot where he came from. This one hit hard. 

**Please do not reveal artist in comments!**

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VHF - One Chance ep (1986, Straight-Face)

Truth be told, the sleeve on this one almost scared me off - but with a price tag of only a dollar I figured I didn't have much to be frightened of.  Ultimately, as is the case with most records I purchase, I had no regrets with this one. As the band's depiction might indicate, VHF were of "rock o' the 80s stock" to be sure, but possessed enough bright, ringing guitars, and a forward thinking aptitude (say along the same lines as the Red Rockers) to straddle the AOR and left-of-the-dial divide with relative ease. I don't have much in the way of biographical deets to share on these guys. VHF apparently hailed from the Philly-area, toured the northeast and even opened for the Tubes for a good month or so. The internet informs me this was their only wax. Enjoy.

 01. One Chance
02. Harmonium
03. Video
04. In Time

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Das Damen - Noon Daylight 12" (1989, What Goes On)

Though the band's influence is debatable, Das Damen's presence on the indie circuit during the Reagan/Bush-era was downright inescapable, with these New York noise-punks constantly filling new product in record shops, not to mention touring their butts off. While I don't have an adequate amount of time to spill on their background at the moment. I can at least impart that their sonic forte was malleable enough to incorporate elements of everything from metal to pop. 

The A-side to this wax, "Noon Daylight," in my opinion was the epitome of what the band was capable of - dense and melodic, yet somehow breathable in spite of the extraneous feedback. It's taken from their 1989 Mousetrap LP on Twin/Tone, and if you have any affection for the late '80s Minneapolis sound you're almost sure to appreciate it. As for the 12" in specific I'm posting, this is a European import boasting two live b-sides from a Boston 1989 gig.  "Give Me Everything" is a Magazine cover, and a relatively obscure one at that (a b-side maybe?). 

A. Noon Daylight
B1. Give Me Everything (live)
B2. Firejoke (live)

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Perhaps it's something that he had for dinner.

A debut from 1992. Won't give away anymore than that. 

**Please do not reveal artist in comments!**

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