Six superlative singles!

I wasn't planning on doing another volley of singles until next year, but I've been sitting on a lot of interesting titles, plus let's face it, life is kinda short. This assortment is a pretty good cross section of what I try to feed you these days, but I like to think they're a cut above what I might post on say, a random Wednesday in May. Download links in MP3 or lossless FLAC are available at the end of the post. With that in mind let's proceed. 

Waxing Poetics - Hermitage/Return 7" (1984, Celery)

Perhaps the pinnacle of all the singles I've shared in the last 365 days.  I haven't featured anything by Waxing Poetics since '08. This dandy 45 exudes more than a wink and a nod to vintage R.E.M., with "Hermitage" appealing to the same pleasure centers that made everyone's first spin of "Radio Free Europe" such a revelation. As it would happen, two year later Peter Buck would co-produce this Norfolk, VA quartet's debut album, also titled Hermitage.

The Deflowers - New Day Tonight/Ten Days (1992, Stand Like Cleopatra)

I don't think there's a note by the Deflowers that's passed my ears that I haven't taken an automatic liking to. These Seattle denizens bore a far greater resemblance to Buffalo Tom than Mudhoney, and were all the more stimulating as a result.  A thoroughly winsome mix of melody and sophisticated song-writing chops. Check out their even more cranking Shiny New Pony album and other assorted releases from the link above.

Square Root of Now - But She's a Nice Girl/Dream Belief (1984, DeWeese Music Prods.)

I've been besotted with the Square Root of Now's 1987 Bent Around Corners LP ever since I happened upon it sometime in the early 2000s. And why shouldn't I be obsessed with that album's often surreal but consistently sublime reinvention of new romantic synth-pop?  SRN were kind enough to bequeath us that one mesmerizing full length, but there was a single that preceded it, and here it is.  They hadn't quite fully grown into their sound at this point, so to speak, but this was a solid start, especially the jaunty A-side.

beatrice blinded - two days wide/disappear (1994, Mallbunny)

Evidently this one's so scant that even the mighty Dicogs isn't providing an entry for it. A co-ed quintet from the college town of  Ithaca, NY, Beatrice Blinded's take on dream pop was heavy-handed to a fault, and no doubt why they needed to employ multiple guitarists plus a pedal/effects-board the size of a small canoe. Think the first Lilys album and some of Velocity Girl's nascent shoegaze forays. A little formulaic by todays standards, but B/B were something of an anomaly in their day.  

Nu-Este - From This Side of the Window/If You Want (1982, Intense Intents)

This was another ace discovery this year. Nu-Este were from Philly, and by my estimation the gentlemen in this trio must be hovering around 60 y/o or thereabouts these days. All the accumulating years aside, this is really smart, edgy post-punk sporting an artful flair that thankfully doesn't do so at the expense of eschewing some poignant melody on the driving, mid-tempo "From This Side..."  Vaguely reminiscent of Mission of Burma and Middle Class, Nu-Este opted to volley their tunes at a somewhat milder pitch.  As coincidence would have it, our fellow blogsters at Systems of Romance did a piece on this single a couple of years ago, but the rip you're getting here is completely unique.   

Whooping Cranes - Hope/Stopped Breathing (1986, Zip)

I did an entry on the Whooping Cranes That's What I Need album one whole decade ago, so it's about time for a follow-up, eh?  The band's skittish aplomb and endearing quirkiness on both of these two verbose tracks should've slotted in like a glove on college radio.  The Cranes sounded like they were grazing on the same plateau as contemporaries Agitpop and Nixon's Head, if those names happen to ring a bell. Really nails the dual creative/charming bullseye, and I'm very much liable to revisit their aforementioned follow-up LP for dessert .

MP3  or  FLAC