London calling, strike up the contraband.

From 2006.  I believe this is my first time sharing anything by this duo. 

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

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Piece de Resistance - Daylight Cries ep (1985, Human Voice Productions)

There was more than our fair share of female-fronted wave/AOR acts populating the airwaves circa 1985 - Divinyls, The Motels, Go-Go's, Til Tuesday, Debbie Harry.  Aside from the occasional single or two most of the above didn't do much for me, which is why I wish Boston's Piece de Resistance had more or a presence when this lone ep dropped that same year.  In spite of not being particularly innovative the Beverly Bond commandeered five-piece were at the very least substantive with a rich sonic aplomb that from what I can tell was thoroughly guitar centric (that's right, no keys).  They did employ a full-time saxophonist however, Marshall Rushford, who genuinely embellished PdR's overarching m.o. and whose roll never presented itself as an accessory.  Deft, melodic songcraft extends to virtually every pore of Daylight Cries, with side's "Desperate Rhymes" and "(Throwback) the Little Ones emanating slightly melancholic hues.  And don't let the album sleeve mislead you, there's nothing particularly noir or gloomy about this one.

Apologies in advance for the bumpy audio on "Guardian Angel" which I couldn't make a clean edit of to save my life.  Mucho distortion on "Throwback..." as well.  Should I come across a better copy maybe I can give this another whirl.

01. Guardian Angel

02. Designs on You

03. Desperate Rhymes

04. (Throwback) the Little Ones

Hear  or  Hear (see comments)

Sitting like a dumbbell with my eyes fixed on the tv...

What appear to be the complete studio recordings of a punky UK power-pop proposition from the late '70s.  

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

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The Seeing Eye Gods - s/t ep (1985, Epitaph)

While we're on the subject of psych pop/rock I thought this would piggyback nicely with yesterday's Shallow Reign entry. The Seeing Eye Gods were a one-off side project that was the brainchild of Bad Religion's "Mr. Brett" Gurewitz and as it's been reported, his dealer at the time,  Joe Bertini.  Taken from the website linked above here's a backgrounder. 

The Seeing Eye Gods is the name of the band Brett Gurewitz was is in in the early eighties. It was Brett's first side project and they released a self-titled 12" picture disc. It was released in 1985 on Epitaph Records at a time when he was heavily into drugs, and not on good terms with his Bad Religion band-mates.

Back then Brett had a distribution deal with a company called Sounds Good and they released about 1,000 copies. The album has a pop-psychedelic feel to it, with Brett singing on all tracks, and him and Bertini (his friend and pusher) playing all the instruments.  On this record Brett goes by the nickname "Billy Pilgrim" and John Bertini by the name "Ripped Van Winkle".

With that out of the way, the nearly half-dozen songs here presumably cut on nothing more sophisticated than an 8-track recording console aren't anywhere near the Bad Religion realm, even their botched 1983 synthesizer foray Into the Unknown. "Only One" and Psychedelic Suzy" uncannily resemble the work of the Three O'Clock, almost to the point of prompting me to wonder if SEG were something of a deliberate parody/send-up.  Seriously leaning into '60s sonic affectations, a faithful rendition of "Pictures of Matchstick Men" slots in seamlessly.  "Strawberry Girl" naggingly puts me in the mood for Buffalo Springfield, but maybe I'm alone in that observation.  A fun and surprisingly substantive record.  Per the snapshot above this was a picture disc accompanied with not-quite a proper album jacket.

01. Only One

02. Psychedelic Suzy

03. Pictures of Matchstick Men

04. Strawberry Girl

05. Happy

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Shallow Reign - s/t (1986, Pool)

You'd think there would be more mentions of this long begotten Dallas, TX artifact, if only due to the fact that bands of Shallow Reign's chosen persuasion (Paisley Underground) weren't all that ubiquitous, even circa the mid-80s.  After some four decades you'd think that the Dream Syndicate, Bangles, Three O'Clock and the Rain Parade were all said niche had to offer, given it's rather narrow anthologizing.  Truth is there were likely lots more worthy neo-psych hopefuls in the Reagan-era that simply weren't able to benefit from the widespread exposure of their Cali contemporaries. Not that what Shallow Reign brought to the table was as fresh and/or innovative as the aforementioned, but despite the arguable deficit of originality they compensated in spades with sheer capability and competence.  

On their debut LP they genuinely put in their homework, with certain numbers including "Understanding Kiss" and the driving "One Last Chance" veritably rivaling the most convincing missives from not only the Syndicate and Rain Parade, but also lesser spoken of entities Absolute Grey and Winter Hours.  They did earn a slot on the Sound of Deep Ellum compilation, yet none of the more Paisley-centric various artist compendiums (including Children of Nuggets, and the more recent This Can't Be Today) bothered to include S/R on their otherwise exhaustive rosters.  A very much under-the-radar find, and though I weighed the possibility of saving this one for one of my Chanukah posts, Shallow Reign struck me as being a tad inconsistent to qualify.  Eye of the beholder of course, so feel free to share your thoughts after giving this a listen or two.  I'm making it available in your choice of MP3 or FLAC.

01. Celtic

02. Understanding Kiss

03. In Your Mind

04. 328 Regret

05. Long Time Ago

06. Forever

07. One Last Chance

08. All Alone

09. Reflection

MP3/FLAC

Do you think she can change your life?

An indie rock touchstone from 1996. Sorry I wasn't able to deliver much in the way of new music to you last week.  Will try to remedy that soon. 

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

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I took sleeping pills to dream you never did me wrong.

A Don Fleming production from 2000. From the States, but the band's Elvis Costello-isms and Brit-pop angularities belie even sassier undercurrents.

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

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The Chrome Yellow Co. - Gathered Far Distant (2002, Northern Light)

A Canadian indie band that, surprise, reminds me a hell of a lot of other Can-indie bands, especially those populating the roster of Murder Records...yet ironically not so much Sloan.  I wouldn't say Chrome Yellow Co. strike me as a holdover from the 1990s, as they're not derivative of any one particular artist, yet the overarching aesthetic is well intact.  Not much else to remark on here, other than Gathered Far Distant is relatively consistent, with some songs discernably being more crunchy ("Sports Car") than others.  

01. You Always Love Happy Endings

02. My Teenage Bedroom

03. Summerside

04. Dreaming in Stereo

05. Monster

06. Sing the Stars

07. Autumn Leaves

08. Sports Car

09. Saturday Morning

10. The Ballroom Dancer

11. Night vs. Day

12. Dim Architecture

13. Trouble With the Law

14. Pale Hands Are Waving

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They caught him with his case in a public place...

From 2002. The bonus disk of a deluxe edition reissue housing b-sides, demos and even a Peel session. 

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

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Unit 5 - Scared of the Dark (1981, Clone)

Here's a bunch of Arkon-ites that didn't have a damn thing in common with DEVO other than locale.  Said to have contained ex-Waitresses alumni, the most resounding response to Unit 5 I could garner was their likeness to Blondie.  The Tracey Thomas-led combo were in fact (at least to my ears) a more enticing proposition than Debbie Harry and Co. in the respect they packed more kick, and furthermore, downplayed the whole sexuality bit. Seriously, I much prefer Unit 5's ratios in this department than Blondie.  A more accurate match for Thomas' vocal panache would be Belinda Carlisle, but I chalk that up to coincidence more than anything.  The songs frequently border on excellent, especially some of the punchier ditties on side one ("Ready," "No Ones Girl" and "Big Kids").  Scared of the Dark is one of the smartest mergers of wave and punk that surfaced during the halcyon era of these musical movements, and it's outright obscurity is a near travesty.  Here's Trouser Press' say on the subject.

Some members of this Akron, Ohio group were in an early incarnation of the Waitresses; Unit 5's vocalist, Tracey Thomas, however, is more from the school of Debbie Harry than the late Patty Donahue. The band plays sprightly, slightly synthesized pop with craft and dedication, making Scared of the Dark easy to like.

01. No One's Girl

02. Big Kids

03. Mental State

04. Ready

05. Decisions

06. Like Lovers Feel

07. Go Ahead and Kiss Her

08. Fickle Hearts

09. Gracefully and Ladylike

10. Lucky Charms

11. Believe It

12. Scared of the Dark

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This is the only one I've ever cared for.

From 2019.  Probably the closest I've come to offering bona fide power pop on Mystery Mondays in a long time.

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

 

Outsets - s/t ep (1983, Plexus Trading)

Ever wonder what became of Ivan Julian after the Voidoids dissolved?  Yeah, me neither...but I found out anyway.  With Julian running the show here I was hoping to hear some last vestige of Richard Hell & Co, or heck, even a tamer new-wave friendly likeness of thereof.  Not so much.  The partied-up funk rock of "Dancin' in the Dark" could have garnered a few spins in the waning era of Studio 54.  Not an inadvisable listen mind you, but the following number, the soulful crooner "Heart on Fire" by and large is a sheer no-go. If any selection on the Outsets qualifies for centerpiece status, the power-pop bent of the inflation-themed "Young Man's Money" easily seizes the prize. The concluding "Iceman" languishes on for five and a half minutes without ever really peaking.  Overall, the Outsets may not have "set out" to deliberately disappoint, but seemingly succeed at doing so regardless.  I'm told drummer Vinny DeNunzio was present in an early incarnation of the Feelies, among numerous other stints appearing on his resume.  

01. Dancin' in the Dark

02. Heart on Fire

03. Young Man's Money

04. Iceman

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Hugenius 7" (1994, Damaged Goods) (file under Pooh Sticks, G.G. Allin?)

Certainly a parody of the then-current UK outfit Eugenius (ex-Vaselines), Huegneius was a one-off byproduct of the Pooh Sticks Hue Williams, though if you're expecting a winsome slice of three-minute jangle pop, you're terrifically mistaken.  Released but one year after the sudden passing of notorious punk cult-icon G.G. Allin, this 45 was an unlikely tribute to the pro/antagonist (eye of the beholder) in question.  There's a grand total of two Allin compositions I'm familiar with, and wouldn't you know it, the A-side, "Drink Fight + Fun" is coincidentally or not a PG13-rated rendition of one of them.  The 135 second salvo ironically begins with an extended classical guitar solo (a la "Sanitarium") before hurtling full bore into a rampaging cover of the scum-punk classick, that to these ears strikes me as even more vigorous and assertive than the original.  Again, a jarringly implausible concept considering the source, but the hardcore quotient of the tune couldn't be executed more convincingly.  As for the even briefer flip-side (barely over a minute) it's an extended reprise of the aforementioned "Sanitarium"-esque acoustic intro.  You have been warned.

A. Drink Fight + Fun

B. Theme for G.G.

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I want to drink until Denver.

Time for four eps, although one is bordering on a mini album, and another is a two song sampler, of sorts.  

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

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Rude Buddha - Goes to Church (1984)

This isn't our first time around the block with Rude Buddha, a co-ed Virginia combo who gave us a 1985 ep, Blister My Paint, I featured circa 2018.  In fact, Goes to Church preceded Blister by a year, and wouldn't you know, it's considerably more distinct.  By comparison ...Church is a percussion dominated beast, specifically with RB's strenuous employment of conga and bongo drums.  Though they're have been several "avantgarde" accusations leveled at this crew, the overarching approach is too steeped in rock/pop fundamentals to consign this one to the "experimental" camp.  Akin to an easier-on-the-ears Public Image Ltd., Rude Buddha is striving for a new spin on post-punk, and with a palette as indigenous and textured as the one that colors just about every nanosecond of ...Church they succeed mightily.  The arrangements are busting at the seams, yet stop short of encroaching into anything overcrowded or cumbersome. That said, the band's unorthodox proposition borders on oblique, and in my book, outright fascinating. 

01. Boxes and Bells

02. America

03. Happen to You

04. Gloomy Demon

05. No Color

06. 4D Man

07. To Africa

08. Got to Stop

09. Cabbage Salad

10. Though I Walk

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Snakey is awakey and he wants a little piece of the pie...

Maybe not the most critical juncture of their career, this trio's sixth album indulged in the kind of gaudily-processed guitar stukas that only the late '80s could claim responsibility for.

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

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Makaton Chat - Federal State Chance ep (1982, Trans)

Here's one that I don't have a very solid recollection at all of picking up, but given the sleeve's art-deco informed tableau I likely based my purchase on the relatively safe assumption that the music enclosed within would be similarly forward-thinking. Once again I nailed it.  What few references I've gleaned concerning Makataon Chat, suggest the UK based, Anthony Lindo-helmed quartet lay somewhere in the nexus of minimal synth and new romantic, yet this three songer is far more user-friendly than the former, while at the same time doesn't qualify as entry-level fare either. I think the only reason why I slightly resisted "Federal State Chance" on my initial listen is merely because the flip-side numbers were more enticing. Opting for a guitarless motif, M/C were to-the-hilt electronics-heavy, though in spite of the group's wonky and technical proclivities they exuded a cheekiness that accorded them plenty of heart as well.  As for the overarching effect, think a warmer Gary Numan, but you're likely to draw your own comparisons. The band's catalog (roughly 50 songs deep) is yours for streaming on Spotify and Soundcloud.   

A. Federal State Chance

B1. It's His Life Story (Hail the Wild!)

B2. Communicate

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Yesterday came up…bit the ass off me.

From 2002. I don't delve into Americana/No Depression type of stuff, but every once in awhile this one really scratches the itch.

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

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Sons of the Desert - s/t (1987, Dessert)

This coed five-some hailed from Montreal, yet could easily pass for a myriad of south of the border hopefuls. More collegiate indie guitar-pop, albeit occasionally on the saucier side, with a modest dash of twang, when the Sons opt for a lovingly looser penchant that is.  Three gents and a duo of the fairer sex comprised their ranks, and I'm not sure if it's Maureen or Naomi who bellied up to the mic, on what would appear to be Sons of the Deserts maiden (and ostensibly only voyage).  Subtle surges of organ color the proceedings, but at their most rambunctious (say, the driving "Love Slave") our protagonists bust out some splendid punky fervor.

01. Best Things

02. Slowly Building

03. Love Slave

04. Be Mine

05. Run Over by a Train

06. Light in Your Eyes

07. Legs Like Stiv

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At the heart of the scene.

A left curve from 1983 that I'm sure some of their initial fanbase wasn't quick to forgive them for.

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

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Ping Pong - From Exile (1982, Big Mouth)

This week I ventured down a rabbit hole I never saw coming, that was until I tuned into an episode of a favorite podcast of mine.  The hole in question?  Sophistopop - a synthy substrata of mid/late '80s Top 40 pop practitioned by well-coifed, debonair European acts who tamped down ever so slightly on New Romantic affectations in exchange for a more genteel approach, often bumping up against yacht rock (i.e. adult contemporary) and downtempo R&B.  You may not have heard of the genre before, but you're certainly familiar with the bevy of groups that ran it up the charts (perhaps to your chagrin): Curiosity Killed the Cat, Johnny Hates Jazz, Breathe, Swing Out Sister, and let's not forget Double. An export of Switzerland, their lone U.S. hit, the sax-laden "Captain of Her Heart" batted a swanky run all the way to the 16th slot onto the Billboard Hot 100 circa 1986.  To be honest I had barely thought about this song since, save for it's ubiquitous afterlife as piped-in music at department stores.  Yet even if you were an ear-to-the-ground music snob binging on the likes of the Replacements and Cocteau Twins the tune (and those churned out at a rapid clip by several of the aforementioned) was generally respectable.  

Perhaps out of sheer boredom I looked Double up to get the skinny on them.  Turns out they spun-off another Zurich aggregation dubbed Ping Pong who were responsible for the 1982 album I'm sharing tonight.  As is the case with most non-phenomenon outfits pre-internet, details are scarce on this trio, but despite the group's faint footprint what they were peddling music-wise was worthy of a few spins.  Not straight up new-wavers, P/P would have blended in fairly seamlessly with the mainstream modern rock set, with frontman Kurt Maloo approximating a mild mannered hybrid of Michael Hutchinson, Mick Jagger, and even a speck of Stan Ridgeway.  Soncially on par with the likes of the Police, albeit half as innovative, white-boy reggae rhythms pepper numerous forays on From Exile.  On a more overarching basis however I find myself persuaded by the tranquil, chiming guitar fills allotted perfectly virtually wherever the needle lands here.

01. Euronet-Diane

02. Pictures

03. Mayday

04. I Want Your Love

05. Rhythm Walk

06. Willie

07. (I've Been) Waiting for You

08. Pedro

09. Crocomation

10. Joe Doe

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Tomorrow knows, it keeps up in suspense...

From 1988. Not necessarily their apex, but this still makes for an apt introduction. 

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

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Bazooka Joe - Two Thirds (1989, Merkin)

Bazooka Joe were a Baltimore contingent that never really tried to make a break for the mainstream, and I like to think the droney sonic aplomb they steeped these six songs in went a long way in illuminating their integrity.  More along the lines of say, Band of Susans, Mission of Burma and the Embarrassment then Husker Du, Joe' scuzzy post-punk excursions could have still found a suitable home on imprints such as SST and Homestead. K "Stork" Bauer's throbbing bass lines are especially prominent in the mix on Two Thirds, making this threesome stick out like a sore thumb for all the right reasons, yet the persistent undercurrent of Jeffrey Caplin's crackling, buzzing guitars lends Bazooka Joe an almost surreal penchant that the bulk of their contemporaries lacked.  An almost ten year's belated follow-up, Imbalance, arrived in '98.  My copy of Two Thirds is somewhat blemished due to it's former inclusion in a radio station library.

01. Basement Celebration

02. Can Opener

03. Car Acrobatic Team

04. Train Room

05. Stephen

06. (She's) Just Like May West

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Why don't we go to bed (or don't you want to sleep outside)?

Folks, you're not seeing the traditional "question mark" pic due to chronic and immensely vexing technological snafus, but fear not, your weekly link is below.  This is a good 'un from 1997.

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

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Nuclear Regulatory Commission - Reactor (1980, Official)

I've had this kicking around for the better part of 20 years and have been chronically procrastinating posting it for no particular reason.  Hopefully this will be worth the wait for some of you. Despite it's indie label pedigree Nuclear Regulatory Commission's lone LP is relatively easy to find, and can be procured for approximately a half-hour's minimum wage. Presumably based in Tennessee per the band's contact address, this coed quintet were hardly the stuff of southern fried aesthetics.  Albeit not traditional synth pop/wave the combo in question took an ample bite of Devo's sardonic heft and massaged it into something considerably less stiff not to mention arrestingly catchy, with Reactor's most devastating salvos being dealt right out of the gate via "Critical Mass," packing a subtle but undeniable groove, and "Inspection" which goes for the jugular with staccato vocal affectations and a tuneful template that their contemps the Cars were gradually making their calling card.  And speaking of windpipes, the male variety tend to dominate the first half, while the other side of the coin predominantly features Bobbie Bonnickson.  Reactor isn't carpet-to-carpet gold, but just about all of it is at minimum respectable, not to mention edgy and earnest.  This rip was taken from a noisy slice of vinyl, and if the master tapes somehow still exist a full-fledged remaster/reissue would be a treat.

01. Critical Mass

02. Inspecetion

03. System Failure

04. Nothing is the Same

05. White Sugar

06. Fax

07. Generator

08. Drafted

09. Z-bomb

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...and if you put it in a letter I will not take it better.

Originally a cassette-only release from 1990, reissued 30 years later, from an echo-ridden, indie guitar band that oddly enough found favor with skateboarders back in the day.  There's a bonus cut and a link to an article on the band in the download.

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

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Smackmelon - demo (1993)

It's been another week where I simply lost track and didn't have much prepared for you, but as for the tape depicted to the left I've been meaning to share this one anyway. Smackmelon made the Wilfully Obscure rounds about ten or so years ago via their 1992 "Space Shot" 45. Hard to believe that much time has passed, but yes, almost 35 years.  I believe those versions are from the same sessions this tape is derived from - perhaps a slightly different mix(?).  Also, the tracklist here doesn't differ very much with the trio's 1994 self-titled ep.  All that out of the way, if you're a sucker for the more downer urges of Sugar, Lotion, Overwhelming Colorfast, and for that matter even the likes of Fretblanket and the Doughboys, Smackmelon make for a pretty phenomenal find.  Their one and only full-length, 1995's Blue Hour is well worth seeking out too.

01. Space Shot

02. I'm Not Cool

03. Facelift

04. Highwire

05. Raymond

06. Question Mark

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We leave exactly as we came, all bloody crying out for pain.

From 1992. Third and final album from this UK to NYC transplant. Notably elongated song-lengths, not to mention something of an acquired taste. I also tacked on an accompanying bonus four-song ep packaged with certain copies of the CD.  

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

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Safe as Houses - The Moon Belongs to Rachel (1990, Mountain)

Here's another one I barely recall putting in my shopping cart, ostensibly just a few years ago.  The three-piece Safe as Houses, bearing a NJ correspondence address, are indeed fairly safe not to mention conventional pop/rockers who's trad modus operandi parallels that of Split Enz/Crowded House, and should you wish to get even a bit more arcane, the Railway Children. While there are plenty of optimistic hues to imbibe on these four grooves, the going can turn routine quickly.  I favor the title cut the most, whereas the other two unique numbers here entail brass accompaniment, never overpowering mind you, but otherwise an unnecessary embellishment.  Enjoy (or not).

01. The Moon Belongs to Rachel

02. People Like Us

03. You're Not Worth It

04. The Mute Belongs to Rachel

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Vinny - Olas De Sexo (1983, Eat)

So, what on Earth compelled my blind purchase of an album with a cringy, Red Hot Chili Peppers-esque title such as this?  Best I can remember it must have been the pedigree of the label Vinny were signed to, Eat Records, an imprint also responsible for the likes of Human Sexual Response and Men & Volts, even though I've never been a huge proponent of either.  Much akin to HSR, this Ralph Fatello-fronted quartet were also stationed in Boston, though the band's intermittent finagling with reggae-lite textures suggests anything but. In fact there are few consistent throughlines operating amidst Olas.... but there are some inviting snyth pop ventures like "I Never Saw You" and "Letting Go of Love" that satisfy on the same vector as say early Wang Chung, Blanket of Secrecy and even say a more pedestrian incarnation of Japan. Vinny were regrettably not the innovators I was vaguely hoping for, but the Caribbean seasoning flavoring subtropical-leaning forays "Los Condos" and "Drums of Passion" are a nice change of pace, so long as you're willing to let your guard down for a few hedonistic minutes.  And if MTV-friendly power pop (a la, the kind of no-name one-offs that aired in the wee-hours of the morning) was your bag "Flexible" and "We Almost Made It" certainly lend some appeal as well.  

01. Waves

02. I Never Saw You

03. Letting Go of Love

04. False Alarms

05. Los Condos

06. Drums of Passion

07. Flexible

08. We Almost made It

09. Why Can't You Say Love?

10. Here's Where I Get Off

Hear

Shouting in the Grand Canyon, hearing my own voice.

I know I didn't give you much last weeks folks, but I'll try to compensate later on today. For now, here's a corker from 2022.  Maybe not as stimulating as their debut, but what these Brighton kids possessed was still fairly dazzling.

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

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Barking Tribe 7" (1991, Atomik Industries)

God knows I've probably passed up on buying Barking Tribe's 1991 LP, Serpent Go Home, from many a cut-out and bargain bin over the decades, but it wasn't until I ran into a used copy of this 45 that I made any conscious effort to explore what this combo was all about.  After experiencing both sides of this wax I'm still not entirely sure if I really "get" whatever the heck they were trying to perpetrate.  "White Man's Mind" is a roiling riff-rocker to be sure, splayed out like a feral amalgam of AC/DC, Georgia Satellites, and maybe even a smidge of Motorhead.  "Worm in the Apple Ed," the lesser of the pair, loosely exudes vibes not dissimilar to Mercyland and the Meat Puppets more wailin' forays.  Nutshell speaking, I just might have to catch up with that aforementioned cut-out after all.  Enjoy. 

A. White Man's Mind

B. Worm in the Apple Ed

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I got caught playing with your heart...

One of 2015's best.  Sumptuous nodes of jangle and power-pop filtered through an updated, Slumberland Records-esque delivery system.  Big Star channeled by way of the Ocean Blue? Kinda. Sadly there's been no follow-up to date.  

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

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I got a stained-glass window and a terrible cough...

From 2000.  

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

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The Bishops ep (1988, Nobody Really)

I don't know much about The Bishops' hometown of Alton, IL, but if in fact they were the biggest success story from the locale (not far from St. Louis) I'll bet this record has much to do with it.  Right out of the gate they impress with the nervy "Don't Get Around Much," sounding like a crucial outtake from Soul Asylum's Made to Be Broken or Hang Time. While that's generally the peak here, the remaining three numbers hardly slouch, including the three-minute plus spiel-a-thon "Coming in Color," which I perceive to be the Bishops signature-song based on it's inclusion on several indie compilations from the same era. Multiple albums were recorded by these guys in the '90s, none of which I've heard, but am quite eager to based on what I've been enlightened to here.  

01. Don't Get Around Much

02. Get Behind Me

03. Coming in Color

04. So Far From Heaven

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Scarce - "All Sideways" 7" (1994, Rocka Mundo)

Even if Scarce frontman, Chick Graning, hadn't suffered an amnesia-inducing brain hemorrhage in 1995 (running right into the Stateside release of his band's major label bow, Deadsexy) the odds were stacked up against a good 95% of alterna-inclined bands (his being no exception), given the seemingly wonton signing spree engendered by the runaway success of Nirvana and Green Day.  More often than not, left-of-center propositions like Scarce, simply weren't accorded the same level of nurturing and artist-development of the aforementioned multi-platinum behemoths.  A veritable shame, as Graning & Co's. angular guitar splay on the dynamic "Sideways" leans into the a curious soft/loud/soft schematic with it's phenomenal harmonic chorus yielding a robust payout. The prolonged flipside, "Dozen" is considerably less climactic, albeit it's contemplative tenor functions as a soothing comedown.  Brace yourself for mucho surface noise on this one.

The 1993 demos for Deadsexy are well worth absorbing, as is a split 45 with Funland, and last but not least Graning's '80s endeavors with the even more amp-shredding Anastasia Screamed. 

A. Sideways

B. Dozen

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I'm playing a tape that I just found...

From 1996.  Just about the best indie rock album you didn't know existed.

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

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Arpad and the New Sons of the Industrial Revolution - Calm Down (198?, 1201)

This is the first cold case I've brought up in awhile, and the combo this concerns doesn't help matters by omitting their moniker from the front sleeve, and to a lesser extent reserving said name for a fine-print mention on the back.  Arpad (and the New Sons of the Industrial Revolution) were Rochester, NY denizens, and their presence in the Flower City scene doesn't appear to have been notably robust. Kind of a shame, because this art rock posse strived to serve something relatively original on the dinner platter. Mouthpiece and prime-mover Arpad opts for a deadpan, spoken parlance, which I know might be a deal-breaker for a lot of you, yet it's the instrumentation on Calm Down, that shines on the occasions that it capably does so. The clangy, chiming fretwork and pointed synths exude shades of early Joy Division (think Warsaw era) and perhaps to a merely coincidental degree Middle Class and Pylon.  Not everything this threesome hurls at the wall sticks, but Arpad's chosen pastiche stimulates just fine amidst ditties like "Tied Down" and "Fellow Human."  Confusingly Discogs states a 1984 copywrite for this one, whereas the tracklist on the back cover parenthetically denotes the year for each individual composition, with some showing dates as late as 1985 and '86.  

01. Flammable

02. Tied Down

03. Rudest Person

04. Trusted You

05. Dominating Creatures

06. Fellow Human

07. Sick of Life

08. Nuclear Delight

09. Bitching Worker

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Give me the money and I’ll see you right between the eyes.

Disk one of a two-CD reissue of this UK bands scant '80s discography, who in their original incarnation only managed a single and an EP.  

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

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Fischer-Z - Word Paradise - The United Artists and Liberty Records Recordings (2026, Cherry Red) - a brief review.

I often ponder the sizable slate of UK rock acts that took their home country by storm, yet nary made a dent Stateside.  The rock and roll diaspora is filled with them from multiple eras - Status Quo, Marillion, Manic Street Preachers, Slade, and to a less obvious extent Kate Bush and The Jam.  For better or worse Fischer-Z didn't have mainstream appeal in England either, and never came anywhere near striking distance on my side of the pond.  Nonetheless they did have a handful of bona fide hits in locales such as the Netherlands, Portugal, and Australia, and over the course of some four decades the band managed to rack up approximately two million records sold (the bulk of which were from their early halcyon era in the late '70s through 1981's Red Skies Over Paradise.  Cherry Red's reissue of this entire era of Fischer-Z is upon us in the guise of the three-CD Word Paradise, an exhaustive reassessment of the group's initial spasm of full lengths, Word Salad, Going Deaf For a Living, and the aforementioned Red Skies Over Paradise, managing to graft on all contemporary singles and b-sides to each record.  Previous Fischer-Z compilations from this epoch, like 1990's Going Red For a Salad did an adequate job at corralling the quartet's singles and more well known album cuts, but those seeking the complete picture were resigned to sporadic reissues of individual albums, many of which had long been out-of-print.

In today's day an age, Fischer-Z simply don't have any obvious parallels.  While certainly not "wacky," the band's sardonic bite was irrepressible, due in large part to the singular vocal histrionics of prime-mover/guitarist John Watts, who's pitch approximated something that of a falsetto and a tolerable whine, that by some miracle never breached into anything outright aggravating.  Vaguely along the same acerbic lines as early Elvis Costello and the Attractions, Fabulous Poodles, and perhaps less-so, Squeeze, not to mention Yankee contemporaries Donnie Iris and The A's, Watts and Co. were a cheeky lot to a fault.  While not outright punk/power pop/synth, F/Z were ingratiated by said audiences anyway, as some of those sonic sensibilities were casually employed.  They spotted cultural and romantic notions not so much with a full-throated belly laugh rather a wry, sideways glance. What they may lack in obvious appeal to say, nascent Gen-Z ears it doesn't require more than a few listens to these albums to glean why they're still endeared by the folks who were reared by them, circa 1980. 

Infrequently astonishing but consistently confident and satisfying, 1979's Word Salad, is stunning in the respect that it's surprisingly sophisticated and nuanced for a debut, with F/Z genuinely possessing the temperament and poise of a band already several albums into their career.  Generating no less than four singles, ...Salad's arrangements are tight but breathable, bearing an amiable balance between keys and guitars.  A subtle ska bent (a la "Watching the Detectives") was already beginning to infiltrate their m.o. to tasteful and measured effect on "The Worker," which endowed the group their first blush of minor success, scraping the bottom rungs of their home country's chart, and managing to place at #20 on Netherlands' survey.  Hardly an album of extremes ...Salad never necessitates being so. 

Following one year later, Going Deaf for a Living entailed some minor innovations. In an uncharacteristic gesture Watt's timbre temporarily slips into a more natural baritone on the reggae-fied opening salvo, "Room Service," and is no worse for the wear on a tune that also incidentally merges power-chords with strings.  Loosely in sync with strains of New Romantic pop, "So Long" was the 'hit' this time around (another Dutch chart success, not to mention a #9 placement in Portugal).  Fischer weren't ones to wallop listeners over the heads with anything overbearing...with perhaps ...Deaf's one notable exception, the jovial and mildly unnerving "Limbo," analogous to what "Rock Lobster" represented to the B-52's. Elsewhere, our protagonists flex ample musculature on "No Right" and the extra punky "Crank." ...Deaf was the closest F/Z ever came to pushing the proverbial envelope, and their results did indeed vary.  

Polishing off their initial trifecta of acclaimed albums 1981's Red Skies Over Paradise, finds Fischer-Z scaling their absolute summit, with the melodious and genuinely anthemic single "Marilese" serving as not only the most out-and-out catchiest number on the LP, but perhaps the most dazzling song they would ever commit to tape.  Triumphant and buoyed as they seemingly were on the heels of this smashing pearl (#1 in Portugal for chrissakes), the overarching tenor of the remainder of ...Paradise is veritably more sober, with F/Z treading into several geo-political screeds - "Cruise Missiles," "Multinationals Bite," and even Cold War concerns pervading the lamentable title track. The serious yin to Going Deaf's.. oft lighthearted yang, Red Skies... makes for compelling character development and growth in Fischer's little sphere, and for better or worse there wouldn't be a follow-up to the record until a revamped lineup of the group resurfaced for 1987's Reveal, post a John Watts solo stint.

Word Paradise is available direct from Cherry Records hq, Amazon and hopefully your local retailer. 

They’re eating right out of your hand...

Splendid atmospheric, shoegazer-adjacent fare from 1992.  Melody Maker says: ...nerve-sizzling guitars and evocative soul voices.

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

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The Chills - KCRW FM, Santa Monica 11/14/96

Got a treat for you this weekend, and it isn't even Chanukah - a live KCRW session with none other than New Zealand's Chills, or more specifically the late Martin Phillipps then-current iteration of the band. Touring in support of the Sunburnt LP (their first since '92s Soft Bomb) we're naturally treated to songs from the album and surrounding singles, plus perhaps more revealingly a very early Chill's nugget, "Smile From a Dead Face," that up to that point had never surfaced on a Chills record (it eventually saw the light of day on the 2016 reissue of Kaleidoscope World).  

There's also previews of two songs ("February" and "Bad Dancer") that would appear on 2004's under-the-radar ep release, Stand By.  If you're looking for classics, the pickings are mighty slim here ("Pink Frost" predictably lands on the setlist), yet if you know much about Phillipps the man was never a reliable human-jukebox. Interviews are continuously interspersed with the music, which may require you to adjust the volume here and there, but well worth your effort.  Full tracklist is below, and I'm also making this available in FLAC if that's your preference.  Enjoy.

01. Intro
02. February
03. interview
04. Bad Dancer
05. interview
06. As Far As I Can See
07. interview
08. Pink Frost
09. interview
10. Lost In Future Ruins
11. interview
12. Evermore
13. interview
14. Smile From A Dead Dead Face
15. interview
16. Dreams Are Free
17. interview
18. The Streets of Forgotten Cool
19. outro

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You must be a special kind of stupid...

 A bratty, pop-punkin' fireball from 2023.  

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

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Greenhouse - Mad as Love ep (1990, Native)

Wish I'd stumbled upon this band sooner - about a three and a half decades sooner would just have about done the job to be accurate. Leeds denizens Greenhouse were sonically situated in the same high-strung environs as the Senseless Things and Thousand Yard Stare, albeit not quite as raucous.  "Mad as Love" (the song) is a lively, sub-three minute stab working in the familiar UK indie punk-pop constructs of its era, nonetheless yielding something fresh and astute.  "On the Occasion" pitches the tempo down a notch, but it's heightened melodic chops help it stand out equally. Nary a bad moment here, even if the concluding "Theft" comes off as a little askew (think pre-stardom Blur) in Greenhouse's overarching context.  

01. Mad as Love

02. On the Occasion

03. Ban the Car

04. Theft

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A weight upon my shoulders, a rope around my neck...

From 1995. Vaguely like Hüsker Dü, only with Swedish accents.  

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

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Black Sea - An Early Fall (1990, No. 6)

Not resembling XTC in the slightest Black Sea mouthpiece Augustine does however manage to evoke Peter Murphy, minus some of the histrionics. Lacking the overarching mystique of Bauhaus, B/S were nonetheless gunning for the goth set, and their lone LP, an early fall, yields mixed and often derivative results.  The prolonged "Hope" is  a wannabe Disintegration ballad if there ever was one, but still engaging given your tolerance at the given moment.  Side two is an overall improvement, and the grand finale, "the river runs red" is genuinely hot, with the band markedly shifting gears in favor of a far denser sonic motif recalling the finest gestures of the Mission UK.  Can't help but wonder what an early fall would have amounted to had it been modeled writ large on this particular schematic.  Lastly, a run through Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" isn't necessarily a pro or con, rather just sort of 'there.'

01. washed away

02. immigrant song

03. hope

04. mix

05. killing time

06. darkest days

07. empty fields

08. the river runs read 

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In my room on a pad is written a letter return-addressed to you.

From 1995. Incidentally, their first album was recently reissued on vinyl, and is already commanding obscene money. 

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

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V/A - Every One a Classic!! Vol. 6

Before I abscond on my jet setting lifestyle for the next few days, I thought I'd leave you with this, the sixth installment in the Every One a Classic!! bootleg series compiling neglected, but monetarily valuable British punk/powerpop singles and such.  Vol. 6 is a bit more unique in that it predominantly angles towards the more aggro side of the side of the neighborhood, with many of it's selections bordering the vicinity of straight-up hardcore/oi. If you could go for some rowdy, Cockney seasoning The Rong, Twisted Nerve, The Jermz, and The Commited are practically shouting your name.  The Limps subscribe to approximately the same aesthetic as the Adverts, The Bleach Boys opt for the same strenuous pace as say, Discharge and Dead Kennedys (albeit with a pinch more melody) and Jimmy Edwards dials things down a notch with "Drag it Back," a number suitable for the football hooligan contingent. Tying this affair up, the best known commodity, Protex coincidentally qualify as the most power-pop friendly specimen in the bunch, and "Don't Ring Me Up" is just about as compelling as anything I've encountered from them.  You can access all previous installments in the ...Classic series via the hyperlink above.

01. F-X - South's Gonna Rise Again

02. The Limps - Circa 2

03. The Rong - Union Jack

04. Noise Annoys - Living (in the World Today)

05. Twisted Nerve - Neutral Zone

06. The Commited - British Crimes

07. Machines - True Life

08. The Jermz - Powercut

09. The Bleach Boys - Stocking Clad Nazi Death Squad Bitches

10. Mad Dog - Someone Here Must Like Me

11. Jimmy Edwards - Drag it Back

12. The Ignerents - I Won't Be There

13. Nasty Media - Spiked Copy

14. The Head - Nothing to do in a town like Leatherhead

15. Protex - Don't Ring Me Up

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I'm over the precedent of a false security...

From 2002.  Believe it or not, I already shared the demos for this one closer to when I started this site.

**Please do not reveal artist in comments!

Buffalo Tom - WERS FM, Boston, 1989.

As much as I love and revere Buffalo Tom's 1992 mature masterstroke, Let Me Come Over, it was that album's two rawer and raucous  precursors, Buffalo Tom (1989), and Birdbrain (1990) that ushered me to the table. While the Boston trio were able to better differentiate themselves from Dinosaur Jr. (comparisons early on in B/T's career were virtually ceaseless) their somewhat derivative embryonic phase gave rise to a phenomenal host of songs.  This performance at WERS FM captured Bill Janovitz and Co's. relatively nascent steps, with an emphasis on the recently released self-titled album.  Visceral previews of Birdbrain's title track and "Guy Who is Me" are also featured in the setlist, and even if this was tracked in the auspices of a cozy radio station, those of us not blessed with the privilege of witnessing Buffalo Tom in the flesh circa the late '80s can be assured this is an accurate reenactment of what they doggedly brought to the stage every night.  This flat out smokes, and I'm making it available both in MP3 and FLAC. 

01 Racine 

02 Crawl 

03 Guy Who is Me  

04 She Belongs To Me (Bob Dylan)  

05 interview 

06 Enemy 

07 Flushing Stars 

08 Deep In The Ground  

09 Birdbrain 

10 Sunflower Suit 

11 outro  

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I don't know what's up ahead, don't think too much it'll hurt your head.

From 1991. Strangely enough this is the record that introduced me to the band, not their more coveted debut.  

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

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The Tearaways - See the Sound (1993, Fried)

Something of an L.A. power pop institution dating back to the early '80s, The Tearaways didn't get around to issuing an album until 1993, specifically this one.  It's sleeve suggests something a little more gritty than the actual proceedings, but despite the presence of some comparatively precious, and frankly too polished ballads ("Black and Blue," "Leave it to Me") the Tom Werman and Earle Mankey-produced See the Sound houses plenty of meatier offerings, including "Jessica Something" which drops a downright devastating chorus hook.  If you're an aficionado of the Grip Weeds and Rooks, you might already be well acquainted with this these chaps, but if not you're in for a treat. Incidentally, the late, great Clem Burke was a onetime Tearaway (though he didn't lend his talents to this LP).

01. I Walk Alone

02. Nowhere Left to Turn

03. Jessica Something

04. Can't Get Through

05. Black and Blue

06. I'm Lost

07, For Free

08. Leave it to Me

09. 4 Letter Man

10. It Could Take Years

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