It's just form and function.

Primo post-punk stuff from 2007.

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

Hear

Bouncing off Bob - Cha Cha Cha at the Coral Reef ep (1987, Stretch)

I've had this 12" kicking around my "to-be-listened-to" pile of records for a considerable amount of times, and wouldn't you know I finally gave it a spin.  BOB were from Jersey, and before ostensibly  functioning as a quartet, they were a five-piece, at least for this record.  Cha Cha... kicks things off with the band's finest number, "Bedside Manners," a rootsy albeit manicured slice of left-of-the-dial pop benefiting from a subtle splash of organ.  "Whoops! (Baby's in Love)" boasts a rollicking, rockabilly bent and admittedly pretty fun if you have appetite for the stuff.  The seven-minute ballad "Through With You" could have respectfully used some editing, but BOB compensate with the lively concluding salvo, "Dear Editor." 

01. Bedside Manners

02. Whoops! (Baby's in Love)

03. Bust Some Heads

04. Through With You

05. Dear Editor

Hear

Couldn't find you any place upon my screen...

Disk two of a retrospective covering the second half of this band's career. Some of this material was made available on subsequent reissues and "vault" type releases, but it's nice to have these b-sides and outtakes all in one concise spot.

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

Hear

Yo - Good Tidings (1984, Deadbeat)

Today I deliver an album entitled, Good Tidings, and it isn't even Christmas. Yo's second and third albums (Charm World, Once in a Blue Moon) seemed to over fairly well with you a few years back, so how about one final go-around, this time highlighting their debut?  Decidedly on the collegiate tip, this Cali-based contingent struck me as the types who were born for left-of-the-dial notoriety, and for better of worse that might have been the extent of their appeal.  I've highlighted Bruce Rayburn's distinctive timbre in the past, and it's no less notable here, with the man on the mic sporting a panache combining Guadalcanal Diary's Murray Attaway, Gordon Gano (Violent Femmes) and just as  coincidentally, a twinge of Morrissey.  Ten songs in almost twice as many minutes, but there's only a couple of items here that would qualify as punk adjacent, the terrifically driving and muscular "Pot O' Gold" and "Living Lie."   

01. Train of No Return

02. Pot O' Gold

03. White Eyes

04. Buildings

05. The Plough

06. Something

07. Black Forest

08. Living Lie

09. Good Tidings

10. Knives

Hear

I'd rather be no one than someone with no one.

This week it's a relaively well circulated boot of this band's nascent 1986 recordings.  The artist may well tantalize you, but as for the songs within...that's more debatable.

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

Hear

V/A - Every One A Classic!!! Vol. 5

In 2023 I introduced you to a new-to-me series of bootleg compilations gathering vintage and neglected punk/powerpop singles, predominantly derived from the UK, circa the late '70s through the early Thatcher years. What I may not have mentioned at the time was that the Every One a Classic!!! series actually consisted of six titles, not merely the four volumes I presented in '23.  I'm picking up where I left off with the fifth installment.

As was the case with vols 1-4, I would not go into this expecting the next G.B.H., or even UK Subs, rather EoaC skews delightfully to bands with a relatively melodic penchant. Last Sentence, The Moondogs, Flying Colours, Terminal Spectators best exemplify said ethos, but if you're looking to up the ante with something slightly more vigorous, The Proles and Nothern Ireland's Ruefrex might be more your speed.  Fast Cars "The Kids Just Wanna Dance," has been comped several times before, but it's a genuinely wailin' banger that truly bears repeating. I wouldn't say there's much in the way of anomalies populating Vol. 5, save for The Unwanted whose "Bleak Outlook" sports an extra modicum of bratty vim and spite, clad to a dollop of  Cockney sass for good measure. Enjoy.

01. Proles - Stereo Love

02. The Unwanted - Bleak Outlook

03. Last Stand - Just a Number

04. Terminal Spectators - Another Day Another Dream

05. Sneeky Feelin's - Private Mail

06. The Method - Dynamo

07. Fast Cars - The Kids Just Wanna Dance

08. Flying Colours - Abstract Art

09. Strate Jacket - Too Soon, Too Young

10. Ruefrez - Capital Letters

11. The Moondogs - She's Nineteen

12. Terry Tranz n' the Vestites - State Hand-out

13. Sabotage - Standing Alone, Cold Girl

14. Frank Details - False Pretences

15. The Names - Scared

Hear

...it's glimmer blinded me, so I never saw you leave.

From 2016. This Orlando band's third and final.

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

Red Lorry Yellow Lorry - Thunder in the Black Cave live 2004

Well it's all sort of come full circle.  The very band that introduced me/you/us to this thing called post-punk (or Gothic, if you must) came out of hibernation to release a new record this year, Strange Kind of Paradise.  The band of course being none other than Leeds' Red Lorry Yellow Lorry.  The dual fulcrum of the Lorries, Chris Reed (vox, gits) and Dave Wolfenden (guitar) reunited with only the album to show for it, with no accompanying tour, and per the band's claim, no subsequent recordings.  While I don't plan to offer much of a critique of Strange Kind of Paradise, I'll impart that it has some pretty exemplary moments that longtime Lorries aficionados will appreciate.

Instead, this post concerns a complete Belgium concert from 2004 that was archived and sold on a limited edition DVD as Thunder in the Black Cave, and as you might guess I'm giving you the audio from it.  Though I have a physical copy, I can't confirm if anyone other than Reed was present and accounted for from Red Lorry's '80s lineup.  The photo to your upper-right (credit to Wikipedia) is in fact from a 2004 performance, and it looks like they're pared down to a trio from their usual four-piece setup.  At the very least, the audio strikes me as a fairly lucid audience recording, though the band's consistent drony surge lends itself to becoming a bit blaring in spots.  It's heavy on their early Red Rhino releases (Talk About the Weather, Paint Your Wagon, and surrounding singles like "Generation"), and their revelatory third album for Beggars Banquet, Nothing's Wrong.  The setlist is downright delightful, touching on virtually necessary Lorries composition - "Spinning Round," "Hands Off Me," "Monkeys on Juice," and "Chance," to name a handful.  Maybe one or two more representative cuts from 1990's Blow should have made the cut (say, "Happy to See Me") but it's really hard to complain with the nearly two-dozen numbers they selected.  For those of you un/under-acquainted with the Lorries, the band's clamshell box on Cherry Red, Albums and Singles 1982-89 is a phenomenal way to get caught up.

01. intro

02. Open Up

03. Big Stick

04. Nothing Wrong

05. Talk About the Weather

06. Crawling Mantra

07. Cut Down

08. Do You Understand

09. Sayonara

10. Blow

11. Monkeys on Juice

12. Train of Hope

13. Running Fever

14. See the Fire

15. Jipp

16. Spinning Round

17. Generation

18. Walking on Your Hands

19. Shout at the Sky

20. Hands Off Me

21. Pushing On

22. Hold Yourself Down

23. Chance

Hear 

Badbob And The New World Crusade - Today's News ep (1987, Incas)

I didn't think it was quite that long ago when I shared my last Badbob wax, 1988's Now is Reaction, but apparently it's been over a decade.  The 'Bob' in question was none other than Robert Therrian, who cut his teeth in the CT hardcore melee known as Lost Generation (you can check out their Military Heroes cassette here).  Furthermore, the man of the hour ostensibly played a hand in managing the Incas Record label, one of the most reliable and consistently rewarding DIY imprints of the '80s. 

Under the configuration of Badbob and the New World Crusade, three singles and the ep to your right were all cut in the mid-80s.  Considerably a heck of a lot more even-tempered than his Lost Generation days of yore, Bob and his aforementioned Crusade stuck well to the middle of the road on Today's News.  This generally anti-climactic, albeit strummy, four-songer is wholly approachable in the manner of say what the Windbreakers were concocting around the same era.  The title piece makes for a bit of an earworm, but writ large Badbob and his four-piece gaggle weren't a terribly inventive or visionary lot.  I need to check out Today's News' surrounding singles, however thus far, I'm more partial to Now is Reaction.   

01. Today's News

02. Brand New Start

03. On This Road

04. One Man's Choice

Hear

We were probably following too close...

From 2014.  

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

Hear

Psychic Archie - 4 Tracked (2015, rec. 1984-85)

This might be the first instance (outside of Mystery Monday) where I've shared an album in it's entirety after previously reviewing it.  In 2016, I went on at length about Psychic Archie, a bespoke indie rock troupe from the Midwest lost to the sands of time...and apparently several long-term memories. In 2014 the bands cassette-albums were digitized and made available on CD, per the cover to your right.  In fact, P/A were so overlooked they even managed to convey this penchant all the way into the next millennium and took down their own webpage.  I'm assuming the 4 Tracked CD is no long a purchasable option, so it's up for grabs here, along with my original review, that I really can't improve upon:

Between 1984-85 Psychic Archie were responsible for two ep length cassettes, remastered and re-sequenced on the newly minted compendium 4 Tracked.  It's not necessarily a wall-to-wall goldmine, but the band's best moments are stunning.  This is due in part to local Topeka collaborator Alan Oliver, who wrote two of PA's most memorable songs, "Happy Man," and "No Pictures of Dad."   That latter gem was licensed to Josie Cotton (yes, of "Johnny Are You Queer" fame) who performed the song on an episode of the '80s sitcom Square Pegs.  The Archies spin on "No Pictures of Dad" isn't as gussied up as Cotton's, rather they transform it into a mid-fi marvel, tweaking it to such a bittersweet extent that you might mistake it for something Guided By Voices wrote, say, in 1990.  "Happy Man" was later adopted by a fantastic, one-album-wonder of a band, The Leatherwoods who covered it on their 1992 Topeka Oratorio LP.  As you might guess, that band named themselves after the recording studio where PA recorded.  And there are even more must hear salvos - "Don't Kiss Me Stranger," the previously unreleased "Flag of My Own," and "Every Time it Hurts," which if listened to attentively reveals a slight similarity to The Paul Collins Beat classic "Walking Out on Love," just when the chorus hits.

01. I Never Loved Her

02. Don't Say Love Costs Too Much

03. Happy Man

04. Things I Ain't Got

05. Man's World

06. It Wasn't There

07. No Pictures of Dad

08. Every Time it Hurts

09. Don't Kiss Me Stranger

10. Circumcised

11. Gonna Make You

12. NSBL

13. Flag of Her Own

Hear

The Maxxturs - It's Just Like You 12'' (1988, Pisces)

Where have The Maxxturs been my whole life?  The most factual answer to that query is likely 'defunct,' given this single was the only thing they made available for public consumption, nearly four full decades ago.  Seriously though, this was so impressive I thought about reserving it for Chanukah, but naturally I can't always be that stingy.  Ostensibly from the greater Miami area.  Dense, post-punky goings-on here, spinning in the same wheelhouse as Brighter Than a Thousand Suns-era Killing Joke, with stronger melodic chops, and even some harmonies to boot.  This would also slot in perfectly with the likes of mid-80s The Sound and the first volley of Comsat Angels LPs.  To be honest, The Max had even more "hit potential" than the aforementioned, especially on anthemic "This Fligan Icehole," but as I'm pretty sure anyone would attest, "It's Just Like You" is the showstopper here.  Desperately wish there was more where this oozed out of.  I'm making it available in MP3 and FLAC.

A. It's Just Like You

B. This Fligan Icehole

MP3/FLAC 

damned if I can make out the lyrics...

 ...but this was one of the most flawless albums to grace the racks in 2018.  A heady, enveloping mélange of dream pop and subtle electronic affectations. Dig in.

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

Hear

The Drive - The Journey is the Reward (1987, Thrust)

How about some no frills rock 'n roll?  This is one is situated far more to the middle of the dial than what I normally give you, and in fact only about half of The Drive's lone LP really slots into Wilfully Obscure territory.  That's not to say the rest of deserves to be omitted - anything but, however The Journey is the Reward is considerably...pedestrian.  

From what little I've been able to glean on this quartet, they actually had ties to another band I introduced you to some time ago, the vaguely new-wave inflected The Lines from Boston, who dished out a wad of independently released wax in the early/mid-80s. It appears that the Drive's keyboardist/mic fiend Pat Dreier is the one who specifically had a role in both bands.  Journey's... tenor isn't far removed from the likes of the Hooters, John Cafferty, and less-so Drivin 'n Cryin' - not necessarily power pop, so to speak, but often adjacent with mid-tempo salvos "Something There," "Life Ain't Without You Baby," and "In Her Head," striking me as compulsively catchy.  The Drive weren't pompous enough to work an arena, but definitely a notch or two above your typical bar band fare. Nonetheless, this is ambitious and tight as a duck's ass, impeccably produced and engineered by the band alongside a gent named Phil Greene.  Enjoy (or not).  

01. Something There

02. In Her Head

03. Key to Heaven

04. There's a Reason

05. Goin' No Where

06. It Must Be Bedtime

07. Ain't What You Say

08. Tunnel of Love

09. Life Ain't Without You Baby

10. No Way Out

Hear

The terrible shouting in my ears, we wouldn't last the year.

My apologies for not getting any new music up last week.  Will try to remedy that soon.  As for M/M, this one is from a NJ indie trio circa 1994.

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

Hear

But then I laugh and it burns up in flames.

From 1985, and I still can't believe that it's not...them.  As they say, talent borrows, genius steals - and this is practically like finding a "lost" album. 

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

Hear

Suns of Silence - Some Suns ep (1987, Isti Mirant Stella)

At some point in '87 a gaggle of Quebec-based (Montreal?) creative types got the notion to make some noise and they wound up putting five songs on a flimsy slab of black vinyl and came up with this.  What isn't so flimsy however is Suns of Silence's choicest moment here, namely, "Ultra Terrestrial" a post-punk braised slice of sophisticated wave-pop, not unlike what the Icicle Works were wont to emanate around the same time. Almost as notable is the winsome jangle folk motif that is "So Thought You Could Fly," on par with the Rain Parade's most expert handiwork.  In fact, there's precious little on Some Suns, that you would regard as half-baked, and comes more than recommended from yours truly. 

I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that after digitizing my own wax for this post, it appears the Suns have occupied their own corner of Bandcamp, and are featuring this record plus a subsequent one - however the download fees are a tad, shall we say, striking - for one in particular at least.  In short, I'm not sure how long I'll be keeping this up.  Finally, I want to give props to whomever posted the album jacket on Discogs, as the spine of my ragged copy looks like a cat mistook it for a scratching post.  

01. Ultra Terrestrial

02. So You Thought That You Could Fly

03. Tell Me Why

04. Let Me Have Another One

05. Some Suns Seem So Sad

Hear

Rein Sanction - "Deeper Road" 7" (1992, Sub Pop)

Ever come across a record/CD that despite having some remote appeal, you opted to pass on simply because you decided you didn't "need" it at the time?  I had over 30 years to ponder whether I really "needed" Rein Sanction's "Deeper Road" 45, and didn't jump on it until a few years back.  After all, I already possessed the A-side on R/S's sophomore long-player, Mariposa. Long story, I happened upon a discounted used copy of the single to your right, and was all the richer for it.  There isn't much more I can say about these that I hadn't already intoned in my write-up for their prior 7," "Creel," circa 2015. Imagine if you will buckets of spindly, stemwinding feedback a la, Zuma-era Neil Young, clad to the atonal vocal schematic of J. Mascis, all bundled up in a grungy subtext, and that's Rein's formula in a nutshell, albeit conveyed in a denser and drony sonic panache. And yes, the non-LP flipside "R.K" was indeed worth the price of admission.

A. Deeper Road

B. R. K.

Hear 

The sky is bringing grey reflects in your eyes.

A compilation from '93 surveying the first half of this punky French aggregation's career.

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

Hear

VA - An Oasis in a Sea of Noise (1985, Greasy Pop)

How about another compilation to follow up last week's Laughtour?  Only this one was considerably more aggravating in the respect that no less than four songs exhibited jumps/skips. The vinyl itself looked absolutely pristine, so I'm not sure what the culprit was.  Maybe I didn't set the weight of the tone arm correctly?  Since I didn't have an adequate and immediate fix, I was able to find alternate sources for two of the faulty tracks, and will denote the (slightly) flawed ones with an *.  If I'm able to eventually straighten this out I'll supply an amended link.

An Oasis in a Sea of Noise was am immediate must-buy when I eyed it in the racks at the Record Collector in Bordentown, NJ a few years ago. Greasy Pop record's reputation for quality control is almost in a class by itself, but the concept of this local-specific disk is to shine a light on the somewhat neglected scene bubbling up in the South Australian town of Adelaide.  With the inclusion of the Mad Turks (From Istanbul) and Exploding White Mice Oasis... was a no brainer.  And while these were the names that brought me to the table, I gladly stayed for plenty of others.  The Verge's "Here With No Fear" deserves it's rightful spot on a hypothetical '80s Nuggets collection, with Dust Collection follow in similar fashion, but Primitive Painters proved to be the most enlightening winner in the obscuro sweepstakes.  Their "Undertow" jangles and pulses with the fresh urgency of some of their due-southeast Kiwi contemporaries on Flying Nun, seemingly informed by the likes of Mitch Easter/Let's Active as well.  The slightly more established Garden Path also tap into the Rickenbacker aesthetic, and the aforementioned Mad Turks dazzle with an exclusive cut, "Yet You Wonder Why," while the Exploding White Mice cap this affair off with a raucous rendering of the Stooges "Down on the Street."

01. The Verge - Here With No Fear

02. The Verge - Outside Eden

03. Dust Collection - Ingrid

04. Ded Nats - How to Keep Your Husband Happy

05. Primitive Painters - Undertow

06. The Garden Path - This Place

07. The Spikes - Spy in My House*

08. The Mad Turks - Yet You Wonder Why

09. On Heat - Headlines

10. The Plague - Axeman

11. The Primevils - Mosquito Soup*

12. The Primevils - Wasting Away

13. Exploding White Mice - Down on the Street

Hear

...but it's superficial and it's only skin deep, because the voices in your head keep shouting in your sleep.

From 1984.  Not considered their halcyon period by a longshot, but I loved the MTV hit, and this album was more substantive then a lot of people gave them credit for.

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

Hear 

V/A - Laughtour ep (Mighty Lemon Drops, Ocean Blue. etc) (1990)

In a case of wonderful and purely coincidental serendipity I prevent you with this gem of a record - but I'm going to leave you in suspense and explain myself more fully towards the end of this write-up regarding the fortuitous aspect.  First and foremost, the era of thoughtful and well-curated major label promo-only releases has loooong been phased out - but then again so has quality music from the majors in general. I'm grateful to have lived to see the last gasps of this epoch, and Sire's Laughtour compilation is a delightful example of one of those "extras" bestowed to radio stations/record stores prior to the internet shaking things up - and eventually spitting out everything positive, worthy and fun like so much stale gum.  

The concept of Laughtour was fairly simple - an eight song record featuring non-LP goodies and rarities from three Sire Records bands who found themselves bundled up on a 20+ date package tour of the States in 1990.  I'm not sure who signed off on the song-quotients-per band, but The Mighty Lemon Drops were accorded an entire side of wax unto themselves.  Any why would anyone complain when they lead this affair off with an inspired reading of the Standells' cult-classic "Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White?"  We're also gifted with a decent b-side, "Forever Home at Heart," and a pair of captivating live cuts, including the Lemon Drop's early single, "Like an Angel."  The then-up-and-coming The Ocean Blue are also present with a more than solid outtake from their 1989 debut in the guise of "Renaissance Man," plus an alternate mix of the relentlessly jangly "The Circus Animals." 

But it's the final artist in this trifecta, one relatively ignored by yours truly, John Wesley Harding, whom dazzles with a double shot of magic, out-impressing just about anything I've encountered on his proper albums.  His acoustic go-round of "Devil in Me" leaps off the grooves with the wit and tuneful acumen of Billy Bragg, almost as if JWH was born to be his doppelganger.  As for the synchronous angle I alluded to early, when I went to digitize this last week I wasn't conscious of the fact that Harding's second cut here, coincided with the fortieth anniversary (to the day, in fact) of the song's topic "July 13, 1985!"  For those of you who need me to spell it out, the paean concerns Live Aid, which a gaggle of us Gen-X'ers are commemorating this very weekend.  The song is part flashback, part confessional and wholly spot-on... and I shan't give much more away.  Enjoy.

01. Mighty Lemon Drops – Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White

02. Mighty Lemon Drops – Forever Home At Heart

03. Mighty Lemon Drops - Like An Angel (Live Club Version)

04. Mighty Lemon Drops – At Midnight (Live Club Version)

05. The Ocean Blue – Renaissance Man

06. The Ocean Blue – The Circus Animals (P.A. Mix)

07. John Wesley Harding – The Devil In Me (acoustic)

08. John Wesley Harding – July 13th 1985

Hear

Dirty Looks - "Let Go" 7" (1980, Stiff)

Dirty Looks may not have ruled the roost at Stiff Records (heck, they weren't even British), but I'll be damned if what these Staten Island power-popsters brought to the table wasn't every bit as potent at their more renown contemporaries.  "Let Go" is a gripping three-minute slice of taut rock and roll, that's more viscerally persuasive than any Elvis Costello basher, and could practically wipe the floor with the Knack.  "Accept Me" is equally flawless, exuding a less vigorous stride but just as indelibly catchy.  Even with this much quality control at play, the Looks weren't entirely successful at differentiating themselves from the pack, yet toss on any of their records (including two recommendable full lengths) and tell me you're not an instant convert.  

A. Let Go

B. Accept Me

Hear

I never said to feel relaxed, I never said to love me back...

A solo debut from 2006.

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

Hear

Lovers and Other Monsters - In My Mood Balcony (1990, Den of Iniquity)

Shucks, there were some moments here so stimulating, I was tempted to reserve this as one of my Chanukah uploads.  Ultimately, Boston's long departed Lovers and Other Monsters weren't quite that consistent, but I'll get to that further in.  Those there's little of relevant details for these folks online, Lovers is billed as a duo on the back of ...Mood Balcony's album jacket, but in a live scenario I'm pretty certain they would have at least amounted to a trio.  Lead-Lover Tony Schinella, previously had a guitarist stint in the psuedo-industrial Sleep Chamber, though the Lovers premise was of an entirely-different, left-of-the-dial sort. 

What minimal press this combo garnered during their brief lifespan pegs them as Anglophiles, a la Echo and the Bunnymen and The Jesus and Mary Chain.  That's somewhat accurate in terms of depth and approach, yet they couched it in a Yankee pastiche recalling everyone from Galaxie 500 to Guadalcanal Diary.  They're wont to dip in and out of a few different styles, yet there's no particular tangent on ...Mood Balcony that you'd deem untenable.  The highlights are downright divine - the Paisley-inflected "Windows and Icing" would have done the Rain Parade more than proud, "Breathing Walls, Breaking Glass" scintillates with spindly guitarwork that sounds like it was ripped from Dean Wareham's hands, and "Nowhere Girl" is a wave/post-punk should've-been-anthem that 120 Minutes neglected to shoehorn into their playlist.  Am not crazy about the noir experiment, "The Dark Corner," and some of the shorter filler numbers, but don't let that dissuade you from a fine one-and-done LP of (mostly) keepers. 

01. Train of Thought

02. Breathing Walls, Breaking Glass

03. Around You

04. Girl Who Flies

05. All I Ever Wanted

06. Night Approaches

07. My Addiction

08. The Dark Corner

09. Windows and Icing

10. Nowhere Girl

Hear