Thought I'd post this to tide you over until I have a chance to rip more vinyl. Can't tell you a whole lot about Sex Clark Five, but you can peruse a bio on their Myspace page. Antedium is their third album, and going by the reviews I've read, it's not their best, however their debut, Strum and Drum, is more convincing. Sex Clark Five records/CDs are pretty hard to come by these days.
My radar recently honed-in on a superb old-school Greensboro, NC band referred to as The Othermothers. From the looks of their Myspace page, they have recently played shows, but so far as I can tell, the No Place Like Home ep is their first and last publicly issued recording. Side-A starts off with three upbeat, but ever-so-slightly brooding post-punk jams, anchored by alluringly ringing guitars that are way too powerful for anyone to resist, 'specially the likes of yours truly. At times, I swear this trifecta sounds like the greatest thing I've ever heard in my life.
My Records was a fantastic and underappreciated indie label that existed from the late '90s til aound 2003. Proprietor, Joey Cape (of Lagwagon, Bad Astronaut, and Me First & the Gimmie Gimmies fame) had an ear for melodic, riff-roaring rock, the variety that was, and has been absent from mainstream radio for eons now.
Yet another in a long string of '90s bands who expected their exposure to be widened upon signing with the big boys. Presenting...Bloody Chicletts, the one and only album from the Vancouver, BC-based quartet, was unleashed in Canada via BMG, but never saw international release, including the States. The album did however clock in at #184 in the 200 best power pop albums of all time list in the recently published Shake Some Action power-pop guidebook. I'm racking my noggin thinking of more established bands to liken them to - perhaps Fountains of Wayne by way of another Vancouver, Pluto, whom the Chicletts were contemporaries of. There's a plethora of spunk, but nothing in the way of bona-fide "punk" on Presenting. Whirring keyboards, employed in moderation, whet the taste buds that much more. Shake Some Action endorses the opening "She's a Freak" as the keeper here, but for my money, the mellower "Built In My World" packs the most potent hook. At any rate, you can't go wrong with this criminally ignored jewel of an album.
Folks, what you are about to download (at your choosing of course) is the rarest of the rare, the scarcest of the scarce, the holy grail. Ok, maybe nix that lost one, because there was actually only one holy grail, right? The single in question was actually limited to 200, copies, all hand-numbered had numbered copies, mine being "15." Many, if not most fans of The Sugarplastic, L.A.'s long-running answer to XTC and the Monochrome Set, are likely unaware that this insanely limited, one-sided single, with one-of-a-kind sleeves specific to each record even exists, let alone even begin to ponder about where they might obtain a copy.
A reader recently suggested a band that he thought I'd appreciate called The Werefrogs. Crazy thing is, me being Mr Moneybag$ and all, it turns out I had purchased a Werefrogs single about a year or so ago that I had completely forgotten about, or for that matter even played to begin with it.
Unbeknownst to even the most scholarly of ear-to-the-ground indie-rock geeks, Seattle's New Sweet Breath set up shop at the twilight of grunge's halcyon era. Immigrating from Lincoln, NE in the early '90s, the Graig Markel-helmed trio, also consisting of bassist Nicholas S. Rock and drummer Daze E. Hazel specialized in fuzzed-to-the-hilt, distorto indie-punk, coupling static-ridden noize with a melodic sensibility unparalleled since Husker Du. The singles this post concerns, as well as their first two albums, Supersound Speedway (1995) and Demolition Theatre (1996) (both on Ringing Ear Records), are unabashedly lo-fi. New Sweet Breath's adoption of such a seemingly meager recording ethic, may have been the product of financial constraints, but in the end, it worked very much to their advantage. 
The majority of the selections presetned here hover at or below the two-minute mark, and while the visceral thrill of any given NSB song is all too fleeting, another one is just around the corner. I have organized their three singles and two split singles in rough chronological order, starting with "Blessed" b/w "Black to Blue," on what may have been their own label, Major Appliance Records. Sinkhole, who share the side of NSB's first split 7", were the flagship band for the aforementioned Ringing Ear Records. I have more affection for their second split release, the one with Virgina's short-lived Hefty, who's "Mean" packs a blistering but tuneful wallop that rivals NSB themselves, but doesn't quite beat them at their own game.
Their third album, A Shotgun Down an Avalanche, on Big Top Records helped to expand NSB's visibility, but after one more release, a riveting six-song ep, Acceleration and Distortion, issued on Mag Wheel Records (still available I believe, as well as the single) went on one might call, indefinite hiatus. 
Before the Gigolo Aunts (got the damn Syd Barrett song playing in my head already) were ushered into the power-pantheon of the '90s, due in no small part to their sumptuous 1994 album, Flippin' Out, this Beantown crew were all about the jangle. Their debut album, Everybody Happy, is thoroughly evocative of the the heyday of college radio, and while it may not have been their most representative record, all the building blocks were falling into place for bigger things to come. To my knowledge, Everybody was released exclusively on vinyl, as was the second Gigolo Aunts album Tales From the Vinegar Side, released in 1990, which you can check out here. Both records should be a welcome addition to any pop aficionados collection. To learn more about the Gigolo Aunts sizable catalog, click on the hyperlink above.
I don't know what could have possibly possessed singer Sooyoung Park to christen his influential, late '80s trio "Bitch Magnet." I also don't why their second full length, Ben Hur is ostensibly still in print, while this 18-song CD featuring their debut ep Star Booty and first LP Umber languishes out of print, with huge price tags on Amazon for used copies. Furthermore, I don't know why I was stupid enough to set up my big CD rack on a wall receiving direct sunlight for several hours a day, thus insuring all the spines of my CDs would gradually fade, including this one. What I do know, is that I am fortunate to have discovered the singular genius of Bitch Magnet, and in particular this disk, chock full of noisy feedback-ridden indie-punk.
As was the case with my recent Hardship Post entry, The Inbreds were yet another superlative Canadian export who despite national distribution on our side of the boarder missed the mark by a longshot. A duo consisting of Mike O'Neill and Dave Ulrich, The Inbreds were predominantly drum and bass, but in a pop/rock setting. They pulled the feat off with convincing results, even in on stage, outdoing many of their guitar-addled contemporaries. The Imbreds' 1994 album, Kombinator enjoyed distribution via Atlantic Records in the States, but only seemed to impress a small legion of fans that were exposed to their concerts. Two, even more satisfying albums were to be unfurled - It's Sydney or the Bush in 1996, and Winning Hearts in '98. Mike O'Neill went on to pursue a solo career once the Inbreds were put out of commission.
Oozing forth from the miasma of San Diego, one of the most tauted post-Seattle hotbed cities in the early-90s, aMINIATURE (presumably taking the reverse capitalization cue from fIREHOSE ) were dwarfed by contemporaries Rocket From the Crypt and Drive Like Jehu. It's a shame, because by the time they released their 1994 sophomore effort, Depth Five, Rate Six they had ascended to the ability of the aforementioned. With a slightly oblique tact, and technical guitar finesse to boot, aMINIATURE dazzled with cerebral, but hooky pop songs. They called it quits after an equally impressive follow-up, 1995's Murk Time Cruiser. This single preceded Depth Five, offering alternate versions of two album tracks. 
When Athens, GA’s legendary post-punks Pylon reunited for the first time in 1990 (we’re still in the midst of their second reunion, which kicked off last year) it seemed as if few ears outside of their hometown really perked up – even with a brand new Pylon album in stores. Chain was the album I’m referring to, their third overall, not counting the 1989 Hits retrospective. While it doesn’t quite scale the innovative peaks of their classic debut, the recently reissued Gyrate, Chain is a logical, if not belated, step in Pylon’s post-modern pursuits The rigidity and tension that permeated previous Pylon records was slightly curtailed, but their trademark concise and hyper-rhythmic tendencies remained entirely intact.
They hailed from the hotbed of Halifax, Nova Scotia, released records on Sloan's Murder Records label, and even had a full-length on Sub Pop, yet the Hardship Post played second-fiddle to many of their hometown brethren. The band's catalog has seemingly gone uninvestigated, so I thought I'd give a little exposure to a couple of their strongest releases.
Baltimore, MD's Greenberry Woods barely made a dent nationally, despite recording two of the most perfect, deftly-crafted pop (power and otherwise) albums of the '90s for Sire Records - Rapple Dapple (1994) and Big Money Item (1995). Without over-doing or under-doing anything, the 32 songs the Greenberry Woods laid down between those albums would, and should have been to anyone's fancy, be it the Not Lame set, or for that matter, Joe sixpack. Armed with irresistible hooks and a breezy mid-tempo stride, this quartet's tunes were lost on the mainstream, wholly ironic when they would have made for an ace Top-40 hit machine during any given era.
I was pretty surprised to learn that this one slipped out of print. While I probably wouldn't recommend this for neophytes, (for the uninitiated, go for the Teardrops' classiq debut Kilimanjaro, specifically the remastered 2000 reissue) however it's a must for fans, if only for the fact that none of the ten tracks within appear in these particular incarnations anywhere else on CD. The first seven songs, including the popular "Sleeping Gas," "Treason," and "Bouncing Babies" are extracted from early, independent singles. Re-recordings of these would surface on The Teardrops major label releases, but their inclusion on Piano, to a certain extent, serve as demos. All the b-sides are included too. The remaining three numbers are culled from the 1982 To the Shores of Lake Placid compilation on Zoo Records. "Take a Chance," in particular, is swirling, neo-psyche pop bliss for the ages, and it's more demure follow-up on the setlist, "When I Dream" would be reworked for Kilimanjaro.
So let it be written...behold, the final installment of a rather anal retentive and thorough examination of one Mac McCaughan's nascent career, before going on to helm the mighty Superchunk. Evil I Do Not was a 7" box set compilation featuring five bands who each got their very own 45 - Angels of Epistemology, Black Girls, Egg Egg, Slushpuppies, and Wwax. While only the latter two participants are truly relevant to this post, I thought I'd upload the whole shebang, to give you an expanded perspective of the late '80s Raleigh/Chapel Hill "scene" as it were.
The tale of Raleigh, NC's Willard is a short one, given their brief year-and-a-half existence, but when you factor in the era, 1989-91, coupled with their locale, that lends the band to a particularly fervant period in indie-rawk history. No Superchunk or Archers sound-a-likes here, but Willard's aesthetic was faintly similar, not to mention entirely fitting considering their spot on the timeline. Wrap your ears around the mid-fi glory that is "Sunshine Wire," and you'll get my drift in a heartbeat. "Cypher" doesn't fair quite as well, at least not as a 'pop song.' The liner notes in the sleeve fail to disclose if these were their only recordings, so feel free to chime in if you have the goods on Willard. 
For many of you, The Wrens need no introduction. As one of the most quietly revered indie bands of the '90s (and for that matter, this decade) the Wrens discography is noticeably sparse. Some like myself would even broach such adjectives as 'under-recorded,' given a grand total of three proper albums (and about as many eps) since their late '80s inception. Yet anyone who regards themselves a fan of this Jersey quartet, is a fan as in "fanatical." When they actually get around to recording, the Wrens no doubt toil and agonize to great ends in order to hem together layers upon layers of hyper-harmonies and squalling, but robust guitar and rhythm components, into the truly awe-inspiring end product. To suggest that the Wrens overdo the multi-tracking bit, would be a spot-on accusation, but were they to deprive themselves of their dense, often overwhelming sonic latticework, there would be little point to their existence, frustratingly intermittent as it may be.
A reader in Galway, NY recently emailed a request to Wilfully Obscure for, Answers, the follow-up LP to The Squares 2nd album, Enjoy Yourself ...and Others, which was posted here a few weeks ago. Definitely a progression from Enjoy Yourself, but a logical one at that. This self-released, and final Squares album was co-produced by Jeff Murphy of power-pop titans, Shoes. Enjoy.
Submitted for you’re approval: six demonstration recordings by Dave Parasite (aka Nikki Parasite), a Jersey boy who migrated to the Bay Area, only to concoct some of the most affecting pop-core punk the world ever laid ears on, via his much championed trio, The Parasites. Only thing was, the “world” wasn’t exactly listening. For the die-hards, like you and me however, this two-fer 7” ep released some eleven years ago on American Pop Project Records (run by Mel Cheplowitz of Shredder zine/records fame) is definitely a treat.
The two eps concerning this post bookended a superlative LP, 1993’s Destroy What You Love, one of the most unaffected albums to ever enjoy major label affiliation. Both the album and the follow-up ep, At One With Time, were released on Seed Records, a boutique label under Atlantic. The ep’s title cut was swiped from the album, and featured five rare and unreleased tracks, including “Girlfriend On Drugs," from a Connecticut band compilation Chop, Whip, Grate, Liquify. Featuring an astounding hook, riding a wave of scalding, amped-out feedback, the song’s tongue-in-cheek tale of narcotic abyss penetrated my psyche like few others ever had before or since. Needless to say I can’t recommend it strongly enough.
As for the Loser Friendly ep issued on spinART Records in 1992, Trouser Press wraps it up best:
Melbourne, Australia's The Zimmermen spanned the great Rickenbaker divide between The Records and the Rain Parade, but sadly failed to register with anyone beyond the land down under. Rivers of Corn, the Zimmermen's debut album was preceded by the "Don't Go to Sydney" single, which Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop author Ian McFarlane opines, "An instant classic, an exceptional slice of harmony-drenched guitar pop." As one of 1986's independent success stories, the song carried over to side-one of Rivers of Corn, kicking things off in superb fashion, almost outdone by the accompanying "Happy Heart." Rivers is a jangly delight I've waited too long to upload. If this album's to your liking, I strongly recommend The Odolites records I've recently posted. Enjoy.
Three songs, in three chords, by three working class stiffs from Buffalo, NY with three hearts 'o gold. Although The Razzels didn't posses the charm offensive their hometown heroes The Goo Goo Dolls had cultivated by the time this wax came to light, The Goo's early albums certainly rubbed off on them. In fact, preceding this single was the Razzels' self-released CD Booger, which was produced by none other than Robby "Goo" Takac.
Inspired by equal parts Ramones and Screeching Weasel, The Lillingtons sprouted from the assumedly non-existent punk scene in their native Newcastle, Wyoming (which the last time I checked, boasted a population of 3200 or so) in the mid-90s. In spite of the runaway success of contemporaries Green Day, the Lillingtons opted to play the indie field. Before recording two albums for Lookout Records, Death By Television in 1999, and the absolutely flooring Backchannel Broadcast in 2001, the trio issued a pair of limited edition singles and a split LP with the band Nothing Cool on the far less prolific Clearview Records.
As with many, if not all of Mac McCaughan's pre-Superchunk endeavors discussed heretofore, I have limited historical data to embellish the music I'm sharing. Bricks are a different kettle of fish, in that the majority of their recorded output had been made available on compact disk for many years. The now *technically* out-of-print disk in question is titled A Microphone and a Box of Dirt, which I'll address more specifically in a few moments.
