How can I legitimately call this a 'review' when I'm entirely partial to the subject I'm talking about? For arguments sake let's call this a write-up - and a tardy one at that seeing that these reissues have been available for almost half a year already. Lincoln, NE's
For Against have been a monumental favorite of mine, and IMO stand as one of the most essential late-twentieth century trios alongside The Police and Husker Du. However for the three-piece this entry concerns, their lineup was remarkably fluid by comparison. Frequently lauded in small circles For Against's first two LPs,
Echelons (1987) and
December (1988) were the product of frontman/bassist
Jeff Runnings, guitar wielder
Harry Dingman III, and drummer
Greg Hill. Groomed on the likes of Joy Division, early Cure and myriad 4AD and Rough Trade imports, the initial F/A template was marked with a chilly, insular demeanor and an omnipresent post-punk wail, not to mention an air of cool so dense the sharpest Ginsu knife in the world wouldn't breach it. Yet these austere sonic environs were surprisingly approachable thanks to Runnings melodic vocal aplomb, countering Dingman's slicing, echoing chords and Hill's
snare-heavy backbeat. Even on a collection of nascent demos (corralled
on a 10" record,
In the Marshes) For Against's formula was deliriously intoxicating and advanced...not to mention a curious one at that given their deep-red state locale of Nebraska where they must have stuck out conspicuously.
The '90s saw the departure of Dingman and Hill for other endeavors, but thankfully, a revamped incarnation of For Against materialized, and from a creative standpoint thrived exponentially. Runnings not only retained his singer status but abandoned bass for a six string. And instead of bringing aboard a full time bassist he opted for a new lead guitarist in the guise of
Steven Hinrichs, whose former jangle pop contingent, the
Gladstones I've featured previously on this site. So, no bassist it was for F/A mach II, but new drummer
Paul Engalhard filled in Greg Hill's stead capably. The renovated trio arrived with a new album,
Aperture, and a veritably different modus operandi to accompany it. 1991's
Aperture alongside it's Clinton-era follow-ups,
Mason's California Lunchroom and
Shelf Life have been lovingly reissued as a lavish
vinyl box set on Saint Marie Records. They're also available separately on wax and CD, and even
a modest CD bundle.
The new and arguably improved For Against bore plenty of resemblances to the template Runnings established in the 1980s. But the new lineup brought some attendant and demonstrable developments. First and foremost the stilted and often rigid demeanor that prevailed on
Echelons and
December had been relaxed considerably by the time
Aperture was rolled out. Thematically, F/A were still mightily downcast, but an empathetic steak was emerging, and the abstract and existentialist concerns of before were diminished in favor of romantic 'grievances,' for lack of a better word. You see, despite
Aperture's malcontent-driven agenda, the band's sonic motifs, including Runnings' unflappably chill parlance are enough to make you oblivious to all the inherent tension. No assailing shards of power chords this time around, rather ethereal, chiming leads akin to the Cocteau Twins (sans the extraneous dream-pop gauze). This album is a utopian merger of progressive, forward-thinking indie pop with an irresistibly palatable exterior. Nonetheless,
Aperture is still one bitter mofo of a record, with sentiments like "Do you think the worst of me, I'm thinking the worst of you" (from "Don't Do Any Favors") exuding a healthy dose of righteously indignant schadenfreude. Perhaps not the epitome of For Against, standout cuts like "You Only Love Twice" and "Nightmare Life" just might make you opine that
Aperture is just that.
Whether you're a casual For Against-er or are devoutly
For Against (like moi), it would be hard to argue that the afore-critiqued
Aperture and it's two subsequent follow-ups,
Mason's California Lunch Room and
Shelf Life weren't trimmed from the same sackcloth. Not only were all three constructed by the same lineup (Runnings/Hinrichs/Engalhard
) they shared a very similar aesthetic. In fact, the most accurate way of differentiating this trio of albums is by their gradations of melancholy. Thoroughly oblivious to the seismic grunge/alt rock reverberations of the era, F/A's 1995 entry,
Mason's... curtails
Aperture's cathartic tensions ever so mildly. Hinrich's unremittingly clangy guitar fills woo with sweet jangly persuasion, plied with Runnings sharp melodic chops, which seem to heighten with every successive F/A record. "Seesick," "Tagalong" and "Coursing" swell with ambivalent to downright regretful themes, but amidst these forlorn ruminations resides a musical formula so absorbing and heady, that any overarching pessimism invariably stops short of overpowering the songs themselves.
'97's
Shelf Life caps this near-perfect trifecta, and while it thankfully does little to alter the band's established formula there's at least a modicum of yin and yang at play. "Lost" offers such quintessential one-liners as, "Doing what I do best/going nowhere," fully in keeping with F/A's downer ethos. And while that tune has plenty of company on
Shelf Life, it's countered by the comparatively buoyant and dare I say optimistic opener "Shadow." What's more, the band covers their then-contemporaries
East River Pipe's downright sprite "Times Square Go-Go Boy," making for a refreshing change of pace. Virtually anywhere the needle lands here yields a hook-fest that's impossible to dodge. Yes, you can say that about virtually hundreds of For Against's peers (past or present) but this remarkably consistent and gratifying marvel from the Cornhusker state bore an indigenous stripe so vibrant these records haven't lost an iota of their potency or relevancy in the ensuing decades.
As mentioned all three titles are available separately or as a vinyl box set/CD bundle straight from
Saint Marie Records. Digital options are available at your fingertips via
Amazon,
iTunes and Spotify.
Just when I thought I had everything by my favorite post-punk gloomersters, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, this surfaces, thanks to the magic of the internet. I've had access to the Leeds quartet's five albums and a bazillion singles for roughly three decades now, not to mention dozens of live bootlegs, but virtually nothing in the way of studio rarities. I found this unauthorized collection of early(ish) demos and alternate takes on my file sharing platform of choice last year, but it was derived from an apparently defunct music blog that his since been wiped from the internet. Truth be told, you need to be an aficionado of the Lorries to really get the gist of this, considering a good half of it is composed of instrumentals. Even for die-hards it's not quite an epiphany, but unless Chris Reed & Co decide to officially relinquish their archives it's as close to a grail as we're likely to get.
Another one from 1993. My apologies if I've shared this one before.
Onto to something a bit less archival. If the name Big Dipper rings a big bell you probably go back aways, say 25-30 years ago. This Beantown college rock staple was incorporated in the mid-80s out of the ashes of Volcano Suns. The Suns Steve Michener and Gary Waleik hooked up with ex-Embarrassment axe slinger Bill Goffrier and drummer Jeff Oliphant who came courtesy of some less renown projects. Big Dipper managed to differentiate themselves from those aforementioned antecedent bands, and created a unique noise-pop excursion of their own on an ep and a pair of lauded albums for Homestead Records (check out Heavens and Craps). They made the jump to Epic Records in 1990 and issued one record, Slam, that found the quartet streamlining their approach before abandoning things altogether. They reunited in 2012, minus Michener, and delivered a new LP, Big Dipper Crashes on the Platinum Planet, that helped reestablish their indie cred. When I picked this 45 up in 2013 I assumed it consisted of exclusive material (or at least a non-LP b-side). Ultimately both songs were swiped from ...Platinum Planet, but the rather oblique sleeve was designed by Guided by Voices' Robert Pollard, making it worth the price of admission alone. If you're new to B/D, or at any rate their last album, consider this 45 as a taster of sorts. The tense "Joke Outfit" makes for a frenetic and dissonant three minutes, while the more subdued "Market Scare" traipses along on it's own wavelength.
A couple months ago a friend handed me a sack of old local demo tapes that he wanted me to digitize. Thought it would be fun to share this one even though I'm hardly over the moon about it. I can't tell you much about the Neurotic Blondes other than they resided in the Buffalo, NY area and were fronted by a female singer. Unpretentious homegrown indie pop with some occasional punky vibes, that amazingly doesn't sound like an obvious product of the '80s. No keyboards/keytars or anything remotely excessive. Can't say these folks resembled anyone in particular. Song selection is a little uneven, especially at the beginning, but the Blondes catch fire midway on the tuneful "Burning Down the Bridges" and "Close." A couple throwaways too, but nothing egregious, and a bratty reading of a John Denver classic closes this affair out. Make what you will of Neurotic Blondes.
How can I legitimately call this a 'review' when I'm entirely partial to the subject I'm talking about? For arguments sake let's call this a write-up - and a tardy one at that seeing that these reissues have been available for almost half a year already. Lincoln, NE's For Against have been a monumental favorite of mine, and IMO stand as one of the most essential late-twentieth century trios alongside The Police and Husker Du. However for the three-piece this entry concerns, their lineup was remarkably fluid by comparison. Frequently lauded in small circles For Against's first two LPs, Echelons (1987) and December (1988) were the product of frontman/bassist Jeff Runnings, guitar wielder Harry Dingman III, and drummer Greg Hill. Groomed on the likes of Joy Division, early Cure and myriad 4AD and Rough Trade imports, the initial F/A template was marked with a chilly, insular demeanor and an omnipresent post-punk wail, not to mention an air of cool so dense the sharpest Ginsu knife in the world wouldn't breach it. Yet these austere sonic environs were surprisingly approachable thanks to Runnings melodic vocal aplomb, countering Dingman's slicing, echoing chords and Hill's
snare-heavy backbeat. Even on a collection of nascent demos (corralled
on a 10" record, In the Marshes) For Against's formula was deliriously intoxicating and advanced...not to mention a curious one at that given their deep-red state locale of Nebraska where they must have stuck out conspicuously. 
Whether you're a casual For Against-er or are devoutly For Against (like moi), it would be hard to argue that the afore-critiqued Aperture and it's two subsequent follow-ups, Mason's California Lunch Room and Shelf Life weren't trimmed from the same sackcloth. Not only were all three constructed by the same lineup (Runnings/Hinrichs/Engalhard) they shared a very similar aesthetic. In fact, the most accurate way of differentiating this trio of albums is by their gradations of melancholy. Thoroughly oblivious to the seismic grunge/alt rock reverberations of the era, F/A's 1995 entry, Mason's... curtails Aperture's cathartic tensions ever so mildly. Hinrich's unremittingly clangy guitar fills woo with sweet jangly persuasion, plied with Runnings sharp melodic chops, which seem to heighten with every successive F/A record. "Seesick," "Tagalong" and "Coursing" swell with ambivalent to downright regretful themes, but amidst these forlorn ruminations resides a musical formula so absorbing and heady, that any overarching pessimism invariably stops short of overpowering the songs themselves. 
I'll cut to the chase. This is a damn uneven record...but I don't think it was intended as such. Maybe it's because these Rochester, NY suburbanites never really stayed on the same page from one song to the next. The Howl's overarching shtick can accurately be deemed noir alt-rock, but there's too much fluidity amidst A Handshake and a Kiss that even a broad parameter such as that doesn't always conveniently apply. Credited as a duo on the album jacket (though sounding suspiciously more like a quartet) you might say the Howl were about as "goth" as Gene Loves Jezebel. In fact, you'll pick up on some vague Gene-esque angularities on "Disconnect" and "Give Your Heart to Me." The real keeper on Handshake is undoubtedly "Red on Red," an appealing, mid tempo post-punk salvo with a discernible hook and guitar-work recalling vintage Comsat Angels. And whaddaya know, the Howl are even generous enough to give us six minutes of this primo piece. I can't always speak highly of the remainder of the record, which houses some real oddities like "Abduction," that commences with boilerplate blues guitar licks before abruptly segueing into an unlikely hardcore punk throwdown. Anyway, eight cuts total and you might say each one has it's own flavor. Find out which one(s) are right for you.
A phenomenal label compilation highlighting British (with a few exceptions) indie pop that was too damn good for the mainstream.
If you weren't able to get enough of Majesty Crush's lone LP, Love 15 and spate of short form releases, you'll be happy to know there was an epilogue of sorts via the late David Stroughter's subsequent project, PS I Love You. M/C were consistently pinned with the shoegazer tag, at least by the press, but their heady dream pop inclinations were only half the story. Beneath that gauzy glaze was sincere songwriting and a somewhat clandestine melodic undercurrent. In a nutshell, Stroughter eschewed much of Majesty's extraneous noise, and treated PS I Love You as something of a glorified solo entity, and a comparatively breathable one at that. Ironically, one of my favorites on Heart of Stone, "Amsterdam," is none other than a blatant rewrite of M/C's "Penny for Love." Considering how much I loved the original incarnation of that song, I'm hardly complaining! Elsewhere we get shout-outs to a certain My Bloody Valentine frontman ("Where the Fuck if Kevin Shields") and the Beatles ("Set the Controls for the Heart of Liverpool"), alongside ruminations on far less iconic topics. 
Pristine, melodically endowed jangle 'n strum greatness from 1989.
Up for a new wave cold case? Here's yet another record that I'm only fortunate enough to possess files of, so I don't even have something as basic a back cover to refer to. Episode I's seemingly lone album has a supposed issue date of 1987, but the accoutrements this outfit (presumably a duo) employed strike me as being backdated by a good four or five years. Anyway, these guys plucked out a raft of synthy 80's affectations like they were going out of style (true that). They had a couple of saving graces. First, they didn't go overboard on any particular tune, but better yet they actually came up with a few genuinely memorable ditties - "Maggie," "America Loves You," "Time After Time," among others. Heightened pop sensibilities abound, albeit nothing slick - which is just the way I happen to like it. Enjoy (you will).
From 2004. Sounds like these guys were channeling Guided by Voices, say Mag Earwig-era.
The name Cockeyed Ghost might ring a bell if you took a liking to a bevy of fresh-faced power pop acts emanating from the Los Angeles-era circa the mid-90s like the Wondermints, Baby Lemonade, The Negro Problem and The Sugarplastic among a dozen or so others. Starting in 1996, four Cockeyed Ghost albums came, and sadly largely went without much fanfare, but it wasn't for lack of trying or competence. CG weren't the monochromatic, three chord variation on power pop that was all too ubiquitous back then, thanks to frontman Adam Marsland, an adept singer songwriter who wielded sophisticated motifs, layered arrangements and a dynamic vocal range to boot. After pursuing multiple Cockeyed Ghost lineups, Adam launched a solo venture in earnest the next decade, yielding diverse and often visceral records like You Don't Know Me, Go West, and The Owl and the Full Moon.
