Various - The Best of 415 Records (1994, 415/Columbia Legacy)

Had a request for this last week, and it's one I'm happy to oblige.  The history of 415 Records goes beyond the five bands represented here, rather Wire Train, Translator, Red Rockers, Romeo Void and Until December were the only ones who appeared on the 415 imprint as a subsidiary to Columbia Records during the label's mid-80s heyday.  Prior to their alignment with was is now Sony Records, the indie-era 415 was also home to SVT, Monkey Rhythm, New Math (later Jet Black Berries), The Uptones, and the rather frivolous Pop-O-Pies.  The Best of 415 Records bypasses these worthy, but lower rung commodities in favor of the first five outfits I rattled off above. 

Even under the auspices of a big, bad major label that I'm certain was breathing "sales, sales, sales!" down the neck of founder Howie Klein, 415 Records had an uncanny knack for signing edgy, integrity conscious post-punk acts that happened to possess potential crossover appeal.  An though mainstream success by and large eluded this bygone roster, the 415 logo was a veritable trademark of quality so far as I was concerned.  Averaging about four songs apiece from each group, The Best of... serves as an (in)adequate overview, and doesn't extend much further beyond that.  The relatively obvious "signature songs" are all present and accounted for:  Wire Train's "Chamber of Hellos" Romeo Void's "Never Say Never" and "A Girl in Trouble," Red Rockers "China," and last but not least Translator's "Everywhere That I'm Not."   It's easy for me to quibble over some of the choice moments by many of these groups that were passed over (no "Unalone" by Translator, or Wire Train's jangle-pop moment in the sun, "I'll Do You"?!), but eventually, the individual albums these songs were culled from were reissued in their entirety, thanks in large part to Wounded Bird Records.  Since many of these songs are commercially available again, this may be a limited time share.

Wire Train
01. Chamber of Hellos
02. With God on Our Side
03. She Comes On

Romeo Void
04. A Girl in Trouble
05. Never Say Never
06. Not Safe

Red Rockers
07. China
08. Guns of Revolution
09. Dead Heroes

Translator
10. Everywhere That I'm Not
11. When I Am With You
12. Everywhere
13. I Need You to Love

Until December
14. We Are the Boys
15. Until December
16. Geisha
17. Heaven

Hear

VA - Lessons From Little Hits, Part 3

Little Hits was an unrelated music blog that preceded mine, which largely dealt with left-off-the-dial indie rock obscurities circa the 1980s.  It left a substantial impression on me, so much so that I decided to throw my hat in the ring with Wilfully Obscure.  During the past two months I've shared self-curated compilations of some of the music I absorbed (or more accurately, downloaded) during Little Hits 2005-2009 lifespan.  I originally promised three installments in this mini-series.  Here is the third, and I may extend it to four, since the response has been better than I expected.

There are actually a few relatively well known entities here, including the Feelies, whose cover of Patti Smith's "Dancing Barefoot" is nearly as captivating as the original.  It was initially released on a flexi-disk, and later appeared as a b-side on a promo single.  East River Pipe also make an appearance with a superb early ep track, "Make a Deal With the City," and 415 Records all-stars Red Rockers dish out their nascent, punky single "Voice of America."  Scruffy the Cat are also represented, a band who I never got around to mentioning on these pages, and sadly their frontman Charlie Chesterman is recently deceased.  Little Hits were spot-on when it came to distilling an artist down to one key single or signature song, and the robust power pop of Scruffy's "You Dirty Rat" is a sheer hole-in-one.  

As for some of the more unknown quantities, New Zealand's Alpaca Brothers made my shortlist, as did a couple of Midwestern bands from the States that weren't quite destine for bigger things, namely The Dangtrippers and Bangtails.  North Carolina's Glass Moon should have scored a monster hit with "Simon," a narrative slice of new wave entailing an Albert Einstein theme.  Rick Rock is actually power pop maestro Parthenon Huxley incognito, whose "Sputnik" is thrown into the mix as well.  Klyde Konner fleshes out this compilations pub-rock quotient, and I would have been remiss if I neglected to include one of my coolest LH discoveries, New York's little known Bandables, who only managed to eke out a single during their lifespan.  "Levitation" however isn't from that 45, rather it remains unreleased to this day.

Bandables - Levitation
East River Pipe - Make A Deal With The City
Erratic Sculpture - Cholera
Glass Moon - Simon
Klyde Konnor - Suit For All Occasions
Los Popularos - Working Girls
Red Rockers - Voice of America
Rick Rock (aka Parthenon Huxley) - Sputnik
Scruffy the Cat - You Dirty Rat
Shake Appeal - My Danger
The Alpaca Brothers - The Lie
The Bangtails - While Laughing
The Dangtrippers - Masquerade
The Feelies - Dancing Barefoot
The Group Image - Anything You Feel

Hear

Frontier Theory - No Waltz in the Meadow (1988, Top) + re-rip of Atlantic

This is a folllow-up entry to the Frontier Theory album Atlantic that I digitized in 2011.  I lauded that 1987 album as something akin to what the creme de la creme of what the 415 Records roster (Translator, Red Rockers, etc) were responsible for.  The next, and apparently final frontier for FT would be the slightly lengthier No Waltz in the Meadow, presenting itself as a little more streamlined than the debut, featuring several songs that could slot evenly between rockers and ballads.  Definitely on the same wavelength as Dreams So Real and Fire Town.  A cover of the pop standard "Summertime" is really unnecessary.  "The One That Got Away" and "Madeline" bear a folky lilt, which takes some getting used to, particularly in comparison to Atlantic's sturdier poise.    

And speaking of Atlantic, I recently obtained a better sounding copy, and have re-ripped it anew.  The d/l links for both are below, and you can reference the original post here. 

01. Don't Walk Away
02. One More Season
03. The One That Got Away
04. We're So Cool
05. Whirlybird
06. Summertime
07. Madeline
08. Call

Atlantic: Hear

No Waltz: Hear

Answers gone till I don't know when.

I really don't have much of a spiel to relate on how I became a Johnny-come-lately fan of the Red Rockers.  Saw the video for "China" on 120 Minutes or late nite MTV.  Loved the song, bought a cassette of Good As Gold, and eventually picked up the Good As Gold/Schizophrenic Circus twofer CD when it was reissued in the '90s.  And while I haven't had much to share by them heretofore, I've namechecked ze Rocquers of Rouge at least a dozen times when making band comparisons and such over the last eight years.

The band's segue from the pronounced punk ethos of their debut single (and subsequent 1981 LP Condition Red) to the cleaner and not so meaner new-wave inflections of the aforementioned Gold, must have been a bit startling to RR's early minions.  I'm sure there must have been a few faint cries of "sellout," but they were likely drowned out by "China's" keen, melodic prowess and poetic moxie.  A phenomenal song in all respects, and the contents of the promo 12" for it are presented below.  You get the straight version, a cliched dance remix, and a non LP cut, an interesting reworking of the Temptations "Ball of Confusion," which features uncredited female backing vocals. 

A. China
B1. China (dance mix)
B2. Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)

Hear

The Dils - Live! (1987, rec 1977 + 80, XXX)

I have a feeling recording time at studios in/around L.A. in the late seventies must have been a king's ransom.  How else you can you explain why punk legends The Dils only recorded about ten two-minute (if that) songs in a their three/four year life span.  Perhaps that might explain why Dils live records were fairly ubiquitous at one point.  The trio was helmed by brothers Tony and Chip Kinman, operating guitar and bass respectively, with both sharing the mic - and rumored to have communist ideologies among other eccentricities.  Rounded out by a cast of rotating drummers, the band released three singles between 1977-80, bequeathing such cult punk, h/c standards as "Class War," "Mr. Big" and "I Hate the Rich."  Think the first Redd Kross ep to give you a general idea where they were coming from.  The Dils sparse body of work was surprisingly incisive given the brevity of their songs, not to mention a performance aptitude that was often just a notch or two above rudimentary.  As for the album I'm featuring, all I know is someone had a tape deck running at two separate Dils concerts.  The gig from 1980 is the lengthier and the more rewarding of the two, featuring a bevy of Dils "classics," including some of the aforementioned and some surprises like a cover of Buddy Holly's "Modern Don Juan."  The 1977 set that rounds this thing out (tracks 11-14) is potentially incomplete and largely devoid of sophistication (e.g. "Baby You're My Whore").  As an aside, my incarnation of The Dils Live! is a cassette, though LP was also an option.

01. Tell Her You Love Her
02. Tell Me What I Want to Hear
03. It's Not Worth It
04. You're Not Blank
05. Red Rockers Rule
06. Mr. Big
07. Sound of the Rain
08. Gimme a Break
09. Modern Don Juan
10. Class War
11. You Can't Shake It
12. Baby You're My Whore
13. The Expert
14. It's Not Worth It

(1-10 from 1980, 11-14 from 1977)

Hear

Giddy'Up Einstein - E=MC2 + Guitar ep (1989, Reptile)

Well, the internet didn't have much to tell me about Giddy'Up Einstein, and I have a hunch I won't be able to do much better, but here goes.  The band consisted of just two full-time members, Mark Cult and Anthony Scott, and after gleaning all the credits on the back cover, it's safe to assume they called San Francisco home.  Speaking of the album jacket (not to mention their cheeky moniker) this wasn't a duo that always took themselves too seriously - though they do seem to address concerns over firearms and violence on "This One's a Gun."  E=MC2 + Guitar's finest moment is a no-brainer, the second cut in, "Wasteland," a savvy, extra melodious stab at power-pop that sounds like something Translator or the Red Rockers might have envisioned had they loosened their collars a tad.  The record's less engaging moments are worth sticking around too, though "Eurotrash's" abundant 80s-isms grate on me.  The final piece, "This Gun's For You" is a remix of "This One's a Gun." 

01. This Gun's For You
02. Wasteland
03. Alibis
04. Eurotrash
05. This Gun's For You (Swamp mix)

Hear

The Breathers - Normal, Illinois ep (1989, Scheisterfest)

Here it is, the debut platter from The Breathers, whose Rain Down ep I pitched to you last year.  Big, plump, near-anthemic power pop here, like a fattened-up Plimsouls or Off Broadway.  Think of 415 Records acts like Wire Train and Red Rockers had they fully embraced the AOR shtick they always seemed to be flirting with.  "Stay the Boy" and "Thin Ice" are the clear winners here, but the seven minute "I Can Make it Rain" could have been whittled down a bit.  My apologies for the slight vinyl static.  Maybe a re-rip is in order.

01. Thin Ice
02. Annabel Lee
03. Anywhere But Here
04. Stay the Boy
05. I Can Make it Rain

Hear

Three EPs: Jim Basnight & the Moberlys, UV Prom, and Nuns of the Great West + bonus.

The premise of this one is pretty much identical to my singles spree from last night.  Three really exceptional short-form records that I deemed worthy of special representation.  I'm pretty certain all of these acts are making their Wilfully Obscure debut this evening.

Jim Basnight and the Moberlys - s/t ep (1984, Precedent)

Straight up, crankin' power pop from a Seattle fellow who's staked his very name on it.  Jim Basnight and Co. pull from inspirations ranging from the Beatles to contemporaries The Nerves and Plimsouls, with this self titled ep boasting four capable and highly potent numbers.  Jim's tact is fairly linear, yet immediately gratifying whether applying to the racing "Cinderella" or the Raspberries-inflected "I Want to Be Yours."  The man in question still performs frequently in the Pacific Northwest (soon to be the breakaway public of Cascadia, don'tcha know?). You can track his exploits here.

01. I Want to Be Yours
02. Cinderlla
03. I Need Your Love
04. Wherever You Take Me

MP3  or  FLAC

UV Prom - Field of Vision ep (1985, Cenotaph)

Info is scant to non-existent on this North Carolina, Comboland-era outfit whose entire discography may have began and ended with this record.  But a damn good record it is, which unsurprisingly was produced and engineered by that noted Tar Heel tag team, Don Dixon and Mitch Easter.  There are subtle post-punk inclinations infiltrating UV Prom's dense and occasionally moody pastiche, reminiscent of west coast counterparts Red Rockers and Wire Train.  In fact, this foursome would have slotted in nicely on the 415 Records roster.  A solid undercurrent of melody makes Field of Vision a must listen.  

MP3  or  FLAC

Nuns of the Great West - The World Ain't Safe ep (1988)

Finding this in the used bin at the always rewarding In Your Ear Records in Boston last year was a massive treat.  Nuns of the Great West were a Fredonia, NY based enterprise, which means they likely hobnobbed with homeboys (and girl) done good, 10,000 Maniacs.  Their sonic aptitude was sprite and clangy bearing oodles of that '80s college rock flair, but outside of western New York I have a hunch they were more left-off-the dial than left of it.  Sad thing that, as The World Ain't Safe illustrated the Nuns were off to a pretty vibrant start.  I'm also tacking on six bonus songs, originally made available on Nuns bassist and keyboard slinger Doug Arnold's Reverbnation site.  Enjoy.

01. Touch Your World
02. The Right and the Wrong
03. Dance, Move, March
04. Trouble in My Heart

Bonus Nun's spiel (incl as a folder of MP3s in the download): Back to you, Fuse, How Do you Sleep, The World Ain't Safe, What's it Like, You Never Believe Me.

MP3  or  FLAC

Dolce Vita ep (1984, Brain Eater)

Dolce Vita's brand of MTV-friendly power pop/wave wasn't especially innovative, but for their good fortune, pretty damn effective.  I could easily picture this EP sandwiched in between the likes of the Red Rockers and Serious Young Insects, with Duran Duran occasionally elbowing themselves in.  Hope that last part of the equation isn't a deal-breaker for any of ya'll, because there's some devastatingly catchy moments here.  Enjoy (or not).

01. Beginning All Over
02. Looking Away
03. Break Down Those Walls
04. Never Let Go Now

Hear

Not Shakespeare ep (1986, Not)

The roster of bands Mitch Easter produced at his fabled Drive-In Studios throughout the '80s is utterly staggering, and as far as I'm concerned bottomless, given that I'm still stumbling upon more vintage college rock records that have his name adorning back sleeves, as is the case with Richmond, VA exports Not Shakespeare.   I can't say this trio had a very heavy handed REM or Let's Active inflection to them, but still a relatively recognizable Mitch Easter production.  It's more Cactus World News than dBs if you get my drift.  "Get Well Soon" would have fit in snugly on a Red Rockers album.  Overall, immensely satisfying if not particularly innovative.  A Complete Bunch of Pants blog has some kinds words to extol on them, including a brief mention of a NS tape titled Not for Sale, and another 12" ep that followed this one.  My apologies for the pesky vinyl static and snaps.

01. Get Well Soon
02. Heaven
03. Turnaround
04. Susan

Hear

Frontier Theory - Atlantic mLP (1987, Top)

Frontier Theory appear to be one of the few vintage, D.C. alt-rock bands that haven't been adequately anthologized, or quite frankly mentioned anywhere at all.  They definitely weren't angular or edgy enough to rub elbows with the Dischord Records contingent, but upon giving Atlantic a few spins it sounds to me that Frontier Theory would have fit like a glove on the 415 Records roster, recalling the jangly but barbed strains of so many Translator and Red Rockers albums.  Am hearing some Northern Pikes and Fire Town on here as well, but more likely coincidence that a conscious effort.  Not quite an LP, but outlasting the length of a typical EP, Atlantic was followed up a proper full length, No Waltz in the Meadow in 1988.  The last few seconds of the title track have some nasty pops and snaps, due to a small scratch.  Tried to edit them out as best I could, but should a cleaner copy surface I'll be inclined to re-post this one.  BTW, producer Bob Read spent some time in another local outfit, B-Time, on the same label, who have also been covered in this past entry.  If you're lucky enough to be a subscriber to the online incarnation of The Washington Post you can read this pertinent article regarding Frontier Theory.

01. Atlantic
02. Progress
03. Have You Fallen
04. The Wild Bourgeoise
05. News For You
06. Summer's Over
07. Frenzy

Hear

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

Hear

Outside World - s/t tape (1989)

By the middle and end of the '80s there were oodles of "modern rock" bands who were commercially viable enough to warrant a modicum of airplay on mainstream FM outlets.  Most of them were one or no-hit wonders, exemplified by the likes of Red Rockers, Frozen Ghost, Rhythm Corps and An Emotional Fish - and that's merely scratching the surface.  Minneapolis' Outside World loosely slotted into this tricky mold, but for better or worse they didn't make it onto the rosters of Atlantic, Polygram or for that matter any corporate music entity.  Instead, Outside World had the luxury of retaining what credibility they had, which was considerable on chiming guitar blasts like "Suicidal Weekend," "Drawing Lines" and "Miss Desire."  The only pertinent outside link I was able to conjure up on this quartet was the video for "Suicidal Weekend" which I've made available below.



01. Suicidal Weekend
02. Green to Blues
03. Home
04. Bankrupt
05. It's Back to Me
06. Water
07. Drawing Lines
08. Bridges
09. Sarcasm and Metaphor
10. Just Like a Movie
11. Chameleon
12. Miss Desire

Hear

"I could make a horse's head of all your friends..."

Of the quintet of 415 Records acts that made the migration to Columbia (Sony) Records in the mid-80s (which included Romeo Void, Translator, Red Rockers and Until December ) San Fran's Wire Train weren't an initial priority, but upon belatedly hearing their first LP, 1984's In a Chamber a few years ago I was sold in a heartbeat.  Theirs was a dreamy amalgam of driving jangle rock and new romantic subtlety, with Chambers crown jewel casting itself in the form of "I'll Do You."  It's sublime sway is nothing short of transporting, marrying a hook of staggering proportions to an irresistibly propulsive back beat.  Wire Train shot a primo video for this single, which you can see below.  The b-side "It's Only Dark" is exclusive to this wax and is par with just about anything on the aforementioned album.  True, it lifts a well known Mission of Burma lyric, but it works so well I'm inclined to forgive them for copping it.  In a Chamber and WT's 1985 followup Between Two Words were paired on a 1995 CD reissue, but I'll be damned if you can locate an original copy, which was seemingly in print for ten minutes.  A Wire Train fansite with a thorough discography and so forth is linked above. 



A. I'll Do You
B. It's Only Dark

Hear

Suburban Sprawl - Ice (198?, Lott)

Our friends at Mine for Life recently reminded me of a relatively unknown band whose CD I picked up years ago, but never gave much of a listen to.  File Suburban Sprawl under post-new wave?  Not overwhelmingly synthy or guitarsy, this well coifed quintet from points unknown, strike me as having gotten their foot in a certain door that was just about to slam firmly shut by the late '80s.  Bit of a nondescript angle here, but Ice's hottest idea, "Serious" would slot in well with say, Wire Train or Red Rockers.  Suburban Sprawl sported a pretty plush sound,that wasn't fully arrived on the bulk of this disk, and sadly it looks like they never followed up on this album's promise.  Discogs pegs Ice's copyright as 1987, but the sleeve notes don't provide a date.  I'd put it at 1988 or later.  The tray card tracklist is a bit scrambled as well.  I'm not entirely sure what the title of the sixth cut is, but seven is definitely "Wanda Wanda," not "Wireless."  Check out the non-LP "Borders" from the Mine for Life blog link above. 

01. Baby Feet
02. At a Glance
03. Stay Forever
04. Ice
05. Keep the Faith
06. Wireless (?)
07. Wanda Wanda
08. Serious
09. Feel Appeal
10. Weekends
11. Resident
12. Never Say Never

Hear

Cameraface - After the Scream (1988, Incas)

Late '80s Connecticut outfit, Cameraface sport a myriad of hats on their After the Scream mini-album, with frequent forays into demi-goth and howling post-punk rock. In fact things get so diverse here Scream plays more like a various artists collection, then the unified thought of any single entity. The quartet eventually pin the tail squarely on the donkey in the shape of side two's lead-off track, "When It Gets Dry," bristling with pop smarts and sinewy energy, recalling era acts like Carnival Season, and such exemplary 415 Records groups as Wire Train and Red Rockers. The next song in, "Glass to Shade" follows in familiar footsteps but doesn't quite bare as an immediate hook. It looks like original copies of After the Scream may still be available through the page linked above. Hot rockin' video action below.

01. Working Papers
02. Meet Them
03. Image
04. Good Bye Cattle
05. When It Gets Dry
06. Glass to Shade
07. Long as the Day

Hear

White Animals - s/t (1986, Dread Beat)

Not that I'm trying to best my competition over at Shotgun Solution blog, but they recently posted a hodge podge of tunes by Nashville's long put-to-pasture White Animals.  Coincidentally, when I was used record plundering last month I found vinyl editions of their self-titled effort, and it's 1987 follow-up In the Last Days, the former of which I'm hosting tonight.   The White Animals espoused their fair share of '80s, "modern rock" trappings, and given it's studio sheen this record might slot comfortably with the output of say, the Hooters.  The silver lining?  This quintet wasn't far removed from such 415 Record staples as Wire Train and the Red Rockers either.  Despite a drought of innovation, White Animals is still appealing, and had the group's luck panned out a little more favorably, a mainstream fanbase would have been entirely palpable, if not inevitable. For those of ya'll in need of a shortcut, The Animals brightest embers flicker across side one.

01. Help Yourself
02. It's a Jungle
03. Big Shot
04. Don't Want to Hear That Song
05. Caught Up in the Dread
06. She's So Different
07. Not Another Love Song
08. I Can't Wait
09. Old-fashioned Day
10. Tristan's Woe

Hear

Chemistry Set - s/t ep (1988, Rood) & Fabulous Stinking 7" (1989, Fatbald)

These two records just go to show how much difference a year and the prevailing music trend of the day can make. Chemistry Set were a Seattle quartet who's only claim to fame was their inclusion on the rather well-known Sub Pop 200 compilation album. If you have that record, you might be familiar with their contribution, "Underground," but if you were anything like me back in 1991 when it got reissued on CD, I was just stoked to have more Nirvana and Green River to jam out to, but I digress. The only biographical data I was able to unearth on Chemistry Set was this Google translation of a German Wiki-ish article that goes into their background and these records. Not terribly in depth mind you, but what it does cover is interesting.

On their self-titled six-song debut ep, it would seem that Chemistry Set were cutting their teeth on a myriad of respectable American '80s bands like Translator, Red Rockers, Rain Parade, and to a lesser extent the venerable REM. Chemistry Set made for a dandy first impression. Just a year later (1989) take a guess at what stylish, pacific northwest bandwagon the band were more than willing to hitch a ride on? Yep, that one. Though not quite as down and dirty as Mudhoney, Tad and the like, the transformation was profoundly evident on the succeeding 7" single, dubbed Fabulous Stinking. Part of this "progression" was also likely due in part to a new guitarist I might add. Apparently all was not well in Grunge-opolis, and shortly after the 45 hit shelves the band folded. Singer Scott Sutherland would go on to work with Rusty Willoughby of Pure Joy/Flop renown.
 

s/t ep

01. Fields

02. Beneath the Plow

03. Blind Caroline

04. Hall of Mirrors

05. Kill the Sleepers

06. April Fools
 

Fabulous Stinking 7"

A. Look Over Your Shoulder

B. Failure
 

Green Monkey Records has re-released all this and more.

Second Childhood - Figure Skating mLP (1986, Boat)

After a tumultuous week here at Wilfully Obscure, I thought I'd pull out a record that typifies the ol' left-off-the-dial aesthetic of these beleaguered pages.  Second Childhood were native to Oshkosh (B'gosh!), WI, and coincidentally had their record minted on Boat Records, the same label that brought us the Spooner single I shared yesterday.  Without any familiarity of this quartet, save for the sleeve and the Boat Records pedigree, I took a chance on Figure Skating and by and large got what I was expecting.  Falling somewhere between the nuanced lilt of Orange Juice, and the more streamlined persuasion of 415 Records all-stars Wire Train and Red Rockers, Second Childhood should have been college radio fixtures during their era.  Locally, perhaps they were, but outside of this brief online mention, zilch.  A pity considering they had some excellent tunes, and a sharp, crisp recording to fortify them.  Enjoy.

01. Make Me An Offer I Can't Refuse
02. Smashing Mirrors
03. Secrets
04. Endure Me I Adore You
05. Levitation
06. She Sleeps Around
07. Dark at the End of the Tunnel

Hear

Fun w/ Atoms - Main Street (1985, Boat)

Proving Green Bay, WI has more to offer than the Packers and ubiquitous "Cheeseheads," Fun w/ Atoms were/are a potent power trio that slotted in perfectly with '80s contemps the Red Rockers, and Boat Records stablemates Fire Town.  The Atoms' ringing guitar rock was occasionally punctuated with faint spaghetti western inclinations, but despite their album cover poise they were not rockabilly in the least.  And like any Wisconsin act from this era worth their salt, this threesome had ties to Butch Vig, who was responsible for recording and mixing this project.  Primo standouts residing on Main Street include, but are hardly limited to, "Titletown" and "Last Cigarette."  Highly recommended.

In deference to the band, I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that a) they're still active and have a 2010 LP to show for it called Smart, and b) Main Street has been reissued digitally via CD Baby.  So why am I throwing this on the blog?  Well, I ripped this from a crackly piece of vinyl, and given it's fresh availability I'm only going to be keeping the link live for a few days.  If you enjoy what you hear, please consider upgrading by visiting the CD Baby link, and of course, you'll be supporting the band.

01. Warning
02. Alaska
03. I'll Be There
04. National Geographic Girl
05. Last Cigarette
06. Titletown
07. Ice and Snow
08. Summer
09. Killing You
10. Another Bend

Hear