We can all sit and watch with our eyes closed.

Four eps, most of which are quite recent.

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The Marbles - Old from Lack of Sleep (1989, Flammedia)

Not to be confused with the Robert Schneider (Apples in Stereo) side project, or the there-for-a-minute indie/power-pop NYC wunderkinds who released a single on the legendary Ork Records in 1976, these Marbles hailed from New Jersey, and if anything else were responsible for a somewhat interesting album sleeve.  As for the music contained within...at least there's a lot of it, practically two LPs worth of tunes, albeit this trio never really settle on a definitive sound.  Sort of very intermediate AOR dabbling sprinkled in with some occasional power pop-adjacent maneuvers.  "Raining" would have made for a convincing outtake from say, Black Vinyl Shoes, and I like what the Marbles flex on the meaty "She Writes." Elsewhere they sound like they're really going somewhere on "Dark Confetti," and the appealing opening salvo, "Love." Overall, Old From Lack of Sleep would have benefitted from an edited setlist, and a little more focus and distinguishability from it's three architects.  Still worth investigating, and with seventeen songs you're bound to find something you like. 

01. Love

02. Drunk and Insane

03. Corridors

04. Raining

05. Clayman

06. Randabelle

07. Train to London

08. The Age of Nothing

09. Book of the Crazed

10. Really, Really, Really

11. Dark Confetti

12. Interwoven Touchy Thoughts

13. She Writes

14. Cat Song

15. Fineline

16. Anger

17. Tired

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Reviews you can use: B-Movie - Hidden Treasures (2025, Wanderlust) & Chris Church - Obsolete Path (2025, Big Stir)

Considering Mansfield, Britain's B-Movie by and large "peaked" with a pair of low charting UK singles (1981's "Remembrance Day") and the slightly more renown "Nowhere Girl" a year later, you'd think that the quartet in question would have taken the inch they were accorded and attempt to stretch that out to a proper mile (or heck, maybe just a meter).  Truth be told it wasn't for lack of trying, and though a debut album, presumably to drop later in '82 by Phonogram Records, was never actually slated for public consumption (at least not in the first half of the decade) B-Movie nonetheless tracked enough quality tunes to make it a legitimate proposition.  Due to a band roster shakeup, and concerns from Phonogram over potential sales demand, said "album" was shelved - for some 40+ years in fact.  B-Movie eventually reemerged in reconstituted form, circa 1985, with a full length of predominantly fresh material landing on Sire in the guise of Forever Running, but much of the original hoopla surrounding the band had fizzled, and listeners on both sides of the Atlantic never quite took to the gussied-up, synth-pop penchant of this particular era.

Regrouping in the 'teens for 2012's The Age of Reason, and 2016's Climate of Fear, B-Movie were a going concern again, and have been an intermittent live presence ever since. Even with a successful reboot under their belts, the hunger to give the album-that-never-was a formal release never completely subsided.  It took some legwork, but upon finally obtaining the rights to these aforementioned vintage recordings they've finally arrived under the umbrella of the ten-song Hidden Treasures.  Despite a copious amount of New Romantic pigeonholing (both during and after their '80s halcyon era), B-Movie's nascent efforts in the studio revealed a quartet distinctly separate from the A Flock of Seagulls and Naked Eyes of the world, conceding much to the post-punk sphere, occasionally even wandering off further from the reservation than that.  Case in point, would be Treasures' opening salvo, "Citizen Kane," has more in tandem with the Psych Furs and the Teardrop Explodes than say, Depeche Mode.  Treasures... is bejeweled with no shortage of keyboards, rather moderation is the key watchword. 

Further in, the going gets even better, with the driving "Marilyn Dream," and the lusciously melodic "Crowds" weaving in plenty of deftly crafted panache. Naturally, signature B-Movie numbers "Nowhere Girl" and "Remembrance Day" make an appearance, without necessarily dominating the proceedings.  Treasures... bears no small semblance of diversity ensconced within it's ten proper  cuts, and furthermore there's a phalanx of supplemental material to be had, entailing remixes and some abandoned but promising song ideas.  B-Movie conjured up something aesthetically satisfying here without succumbing to the gratuitous extravagances their era was all too infamous for.  Absolutely no small feat in my book.  Hidden Treasures is available from Bandcamp, Rough Trade, and Amazon, and check out the band's official site here.

I've never been a huge mark for "singer-songwriters."  I'm not sure how/why my wet noodle has a tendency to differentiate, scrutinize, and perhaps even prejudice me to steer towards "bands" as opposed to solo-endeavors.  Ultimately several have broken through over the past few decades Laura Veirs, Mike Viola, Emm Gryner, and the dearly departed Nick Drake and Tommy Keene. Substantial as the catalogs of those go-it-alone troubadours are, I'm still naturally inclined to gravitate to full ensembles.  In 2023, I enthusiastically added Chris Church to my informal roster of reliable singer/scribes, thanks to his then-current sleeper LP Radio Transient.  Perhaps it was because that record not only bore the heft of a full-fledged 'combo,' so to speak, the compositions in themselves were resonant and thoroughly engaging.  

On Obsolete Path he's spun another web of twelve poignant songs, this time with an overarching sobering hue, albeit not the self-pitying variety.  I can't point to much in the way of convenient parallels to Church.  Faint glints of  Matthew Sweet, Tommy Keene, or pre-controversy Ken Stringfellow seep in, yet if there's any power-pop slant here it isn't purist so much as respectfully adjacent, a la Gin Blossoms.  The hooks are abundant and incisive, though they're rarely the centerpiece. Our protagonist gracefully applies the pinstripes of '80s modern-guitar rock on "Life on a Trampoline" and "I'm a Machine," summoning a transporting ambience in the process.  Bittersweet melancholia is tattooed over virtually every square inch of ...Path, evidenced on the vigorous "Sit Down," and later, this sentiment works just as effectively amidst the acoustic gestures of "Tell Me What You Really Are."  "Running Right Back to You" and "I Don't Wanna Be There" strike something of a middle ground, but this is hardly an album of extremes. Writ large, Obsolete Path is however persuasive, empathetic, and occasionally even visceral.  Bandcamp and Big Stir have you covered for physical and digital, and you can obtain it immediately. 

Layer under layer of now fanatical desire.

From 1982, with a preceding EP included.  If Pylon is your bag dig into this.

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

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Ten Tall Men - Find Your Saint (1988, Vacant Lot)

You were no doubt regaled by Ten Tall Men's 1986 ep, Nickelbrain, back when I posted it some eight years ago.  If that was the appetizer, get ready to feast on the main course.  Find Your Saint extrapolates on the same sonic aptitude of the aforementioned ep - staccato syncopation, palm-muted guitar fills, and abrupt, halting pauses/false endings, with ample deference given to the templates laid out by Gang of Four and especially the Minutemen.  TTM were sticklers for quality control, but that doesn't mean the going here gets a bit samey, especially when FYS is absorbed as a whole.  Ironically, a song dubbed "Dull Moment" is something of a pleasant anomaly here, thanks to Winthrop Eliot Jordan's heightened, melodic chord wrangling.  This piece of wax was a minefield of clicks and snaps, and I edited out the more egregious ones as best I could.

01. Dominoes

02. If I Was a Beefy Guy

03. Honor

04. Dull Moment

05. My Last Life

06. Wheels Spin Round

07. This Responsible Life

08. Get Back to Work

09. Mr. Fist

10. Double Heaven

11. Not

12. The Westheads

13. Trust

14. Anxious

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It's nearly impossible. Highly improbable. But not hopeless.

From 1999, and I think I've shared this before.  It's not Pet Sounds, nor in the same genre, but thematically there's some significant crossover with this one.  Eye of the beholder I guess. 

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

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The Effigies - live WZRD, Chicago 1981

How is it that I've neglected The Effigies for so long?  For as long as I've been acquainted with the late John Kezdy and Co, they've never been an obsession.  In some respects that's been a convenient proposition, since so much of their back catalog has been long unavailable.  And while there have been the occasional Effigies reunion gigs, and even albums, including last year's Burned, nothing engendered me to super-fan status.  Nonetheless, I'm sure at least a few of you are, thusly this post will have your name written all over it.  Broadcast live for WZRD's "Sunday Morning Nightmare" program, this seven song set finds Chi-town's hardcore heroes bracing, hungry and in sheer take-no-prisoners mode.  Still three years away from unleashing their debut LP, 1984's For Ever Grounded, the songs from this performance were culled largely from their Haunted ep, and songs that would appear on subsequent short-form releases, including '82's classic "Bodybag" 7" and their debut release for Engima Records, We're Da the Machine.  I certainly wasn't the one who had the notion or wherewithal to tape this off the radio (much less digitize) it, so a hearty thanks to whomever did.  Btw, along with the aforementioned Burned, a fortieth anniversary remaster of For Ever Grounded dropped just last year. 

01 Below the Drop
02 Blank Slate
03 Quota
04 Strongbox
05 Techno's Gone
06 Bodybag
07 Guns or Ballots

Band lineup:
John Kezdy - vocals
Earl Letiecq - guitar
Paul Zamost - bass
Steve Economou - drums

MP3  or   FLAC

GhostShirts 7" (1992, Cypher)

Yet another casualty of the pre-internet era, and I'll be damned if i can shed much relevant info on this bunch who boast a Brooklyn correspondence address.  GhostShirts were produced by Kramer, at his fabled Noise New Jersey studio, yet these guys weren't particularly avant/weird.  Definitely more Homestead Records than say, SST, although the faint fIREHOSE-ism's I'm picking up are likely more coincidental than anything else. The turbulent "Here is a Compass" wins this two song contest with a compelling rhythm guitar line and wily dynamics.  Not unlike what Agitpop gave us a couple years prior.  The flip, "...(Song X) sports fuzzy bass and jazzy juxtapositions, and is indicative of GhostShirts' jammier proclivities.  

A. Here is a Compass

B. 38th Subjective Rant (Song X)

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...twist and rearrange, the spaces always show.

A debut from 2006.  Not dissimilar to the grand gestures Interpol gave us, but with even more flexibility and nuance.  

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

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Shrubs - Somebody's Watching tape (1996)

It's been yet another bummer of a week, and I know I haven't provided you with much since MM, but hopefully this lil' reel will tide you over until tomorrow. Not sure where I acquired this Shrubs cassette, but clocking in at a half hour with a solid ten (or arguably eleven) tunes, it's definitely more in line with an album than a demo.  Hailing from downstate New York, or thereabouts this trio had a jones for no frills riff-pop, settling on a mid-tempo clip, not overtly resembling anyone in particular.  The aptitude is pedestrian, but earnest and occasionally a tad wry.  The two-minute, "Never Go Back" possesses plenty of punch, and while little else on Somebody's Watching can compete with it's pace this tape bears at least a few repeated listenings.  Said affair closes out with an unlisted, insurgent 46-second hardcore-punk throwdown, out of character with everything preceding it.

01. Hail Mary

02. Never Go Back

03. Memorial Day Poppies

04. Things We Could Have Been

05. Space Threat

06. Lover

07. Time Fades

08. Born Too Soon

09. Underground

10. I Don't Know

11. unlisted mock hardcore song

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I ain't run out of track...

This band's parting shot from '93.  Maybe not as glorious as the albums that preceded it, but in terms of the alterna-rock era it's still well above average. I've also tacked on a b-side, a cover no less. 

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The Passions- Sanctuary (1982)

You'd almost think "I'm in a Love With a German Film Star," was the only song The Passions ever committed to tape - and regrettably for about 98% of listeners who were fortunate to encounter them at some point that might as well have been the case.  Virtually no other tune in their repertoire has garnered anywhere near equal facetime, despite the Barbara Gogan-helmed London conglomeration having released three near-incendiary albums: Michael & Miranda (1980), Thirty Thousand Feet Over China (1981), and Sanctuary (1982), and roughly half a dozen singles.  However, those that delved beyond their aforementioned 1981 hit were privy to an intoxicating body of work. 

The loss of Passions guitar-chitect Clive Timperley, whose crisp, crystalline chords colored so much of "I'm in Love's..."  atmospheric persuasion, prior to the recording of Sanctuary, did virtually nothing to stifle the newly whittled down core-trio's ability to devise memorable, moving vistas.  Not as allegiant to the noir post-punk air of relatively close sonic contemporaries Siouxsie and the Banshees, the Passions didn't make a play for mystique, so much as depth - and they were all the better for, even if long-term success eluded them.  Sanctuary found them leaning into the nuances of the New Romantic movement with subtlety being the key watchword.  No, this wasn't quite your little sister's garden-variety "pop" setup, The Passions were considerably more advanced than that, yet they boasted a melodic allure and sophistication that should have roped in devotees by the millions.  Instead, they settled for a few thousand hangers-on, who were no doubt dazzled by plush, sublime propositions, "Small Talk," "Into Night," and Sanctuary's title piece.  Though not necessarily flawless, you won't encounter any filler amongst these grooves, and it's almost startling to realize the band would be defunct in merely another year.

And speaking of defunct, so is the label that curated the first digital release of Sanctuary, Rubellan Remasters.  In addition to a bright, resonant remastering of the album in question, this reissue boasts all surrounding singles and b-sides, as well as appending the contents of a four-song live ep that was bundled with certain original pressings of the LP.  Rubellan's somewhat tortured and occasionally heartbreaking saga has recently been laid out in nearly six-hours worth of narratives on YouTube, which you're encouraged to partake in, that is if you have any interest in learning how the sausage is made before it's submitted to the marketplace. It's quite an enlightening tale.   

01. Jump For Joy
02. The Letter
03. Into Night
04. Small Talk
05. White Lies
06. Cars Driven Fast
07. Love is Essential
08. Your Friend
09. Hold on Don't Go
10. Sanctuary

bonus:
11. Africa Mine
12. I Feel Cheap
13. The Story
14. Tempting Fate
15. Stop That Man
16. The Square (live)
17. Why Me (live)
18. Snow (live) 
19. I'm In Love With A German Film Star (Live)

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The Texas Instruments - ¡More Texas Instruments! (1985, Longhead)

Austin's Texas Instruments are no strangers to this site, and tonight I'm dropping what appears to be their debut release.  At this stage in the game our protagonists were functioning as an economical trio, but were soon to expand to a foursome.  And they were twangy youngsters at that, doling out fine rootsy traipses like "1000s of Things," a saucy mélange of mid 80's indie smarts a la a more pedestrian Minutemen with a pinch of southern rock snarl. "Checkered Flag or Crash" fares almost as effectively and presumably entails something of a narrative, albeit the Instruments' delivery is so rapid fire, you'd be forgiven for missing the plot. I can take or leave the cheeky "Queen of Chiba," and the lackadaisical "Last Lie" draws ¡More Texas... to a relatively lamentable conclusion.

01. 1000s of Things

02. Checkered Flag or Crash

03. Queen of Chiba

04. Last Lie

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...they play shadow games, I play with the light

From 2020. 

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

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The Loch Ness Mouse - From the Countryside ep (1993, Perfect Pop)

Here's one of many records that I'm just not sure how it found it's way into my collection.  What's more surprising is that some 30+ years later Norway's Loch Ness Mouse still have something of a presence, though this early 7" is all I know them by. That being said, I can't really extol on what they're up to these days or how/if they progressed, but Countryside's leadoff salvo, "A Picture in My Grandmother's Book," is a driving, twee-adjacent slice of punk-pop.  "My Old Coat" is notably calmer, a la something that might have been conjured up by the BMX Bandits or Teenage Fanclub.  Comparatively speaking, "Goodbye Helena," bleeds a distinct downer ballad lilt, while the concluding "Vespa 50" is a jangly, strummy delight bearing a prize-winning hook, any likeminded pop combo would crave to take credit for. 

01. A Picture in My Grandmother's Book

02. My Old Coat

03. Goodbye Helena

04. Vespa 50

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I've got a manual instructing my brain.

This weeks it's disc 3 of a deluxe reissue, featuring radio sessions and a handful of live tracks, all originating from 1981-82.

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

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Richard Barone and James Mastro - Nuts and Bolts (1983) ...plus my thoughts on the Bongos new/old live album The Shroud of Touring.

Call it a sheer coincidence, or musical synergy, or whatever you wish, but it didn't dawn on me until just an hour or so ago that tandem with my post this week of the long-neglected Richard Barone/James Mastro collaborative LP from 1983, a band that both gents made a more than significant contribution to, The Bongos are set to release a very belated but terrific live album next week, which I'll address a little later.  

For the uninitiated, Richard Barone was the front-man and bona fide fulcrum for the aforementioned Bongos, a guitar-pop, mini-maelstrom based in Hoboken, NJ who circa the early '80s released a blush of inspired singles and eps, that were consistently critically lauded.  As if 1983 wasn't an eventful year enough with the Bongos making a leap to a major label via the Numbers With Wings ep, Barone's creative juices were loaded for bear, so much so that a small body of songs were set aside from his meal primary ticket and dedicated to another endeavor Nuts and Bolts.  His partner in rhyme, James Mastro had only jumped aboard the Bongos express midway through the band's career, but had already served as a backing guitarist on Richard Lloyd's excellent solo debut, 1979's Alchemy.  

The premise for Nuts and Bolts was democratic with each singer/strummer compiling their respective songs on one side apiece of the record.  Furthermore, it was a logical choice for Barone to put his six numbers here under a separate umbrella from the relatively rambunctious Bongos, given the more contemplative tenor of  acoustic-enhanced pieces "Lost Like Me" and "I Threw a Falcon."  Elsewhere on his side of this proposition, "I've Got a Secret" would have slotted in nicely with what the dB's were finagling with around the same time.  As for the other side of the coin, Mastro's contributions are considerable, yielding the bouncy "In My Pocket" and the driving power-pop aplomb of "Jamais." If he wasn't already a consummate songwriter in his own right at this point, Mastro would in the near-future lend his talents to the likes of Marti Jones, Tim Lee (Windbreakers) and Jill Sobule, among other pursuits like the Health and Happiness Show whom I extoled about just a few months ago.     

As for the more current release I mentioned, read on - although it entails music that's not particularly "current."  1985 was a good year, and if you were The Bongos it was even better.  That’s when the release of the quartet’s first bona-fide album of unique material, Beat Hotel, landed on the heels of half a decade’s worth of lauded singles and eps (not to mention the crucial compilation thereof, Drums Along the Hudson).  The overdue live document The Shroud of Touring captures them at the peak of their collective powers, churning out a generous amount of what was then newer material, yet still attacking the mic and their respective instruments hungry-as-all-get-out on established setlist faves “In the Congo,” “Telephoto Lens,” and their renown remake of T. Rex’s “Mambo Sun.”  The Bongos wouldn’t be long for the world after this tour, but Shroud… stands as a compelling testament to their indigenous stripe of deftly crafted power pop that hasn’t traversed the Earth since.  Ironically, it's seeing the light of day on the the revived Jem Records imprint, who were also responsible for the aforementioned Nuts and Bolts way back when. It's available this coming week on Amazon.    

Nuts and Bolts

Richard's side

01. I've Got a Secret

02. I Threw a Falcon

03. My Side

04. Fie Years Old

05. Lost Like Me

06. Jacob's Ladder

James' side

07. Time Will Tell

08. Dizzy

09. Angel in My Pocket

10. Jamais

11. No One Has to Know

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I've been ten days in overdrive...

Perhaps not the most popular opinion, but I was utterly disappointed with the direction this band took on their third album.  Though it did entail a significant lineup alteration, they corrected course with this overlooked 1981 follow-up. 

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

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Zeke Fiddler - 1/2 Baked, 1/2 Inflated 7" (1993, Chunk)

I remember Zeke Fiddler's one-and-done LP, Waterproof being pretty ubiquitous in the mid-90s, so much so that I was armed with a promo copy myself.  Nonetheless I never quite caught the Z/F bug, simply due to the sheer glut of competition me and my CD player were overwhelmed with at the time.  Truth is, this Beantown-area trio deserved more of my attention, not to mention something resembling a concerted national audience, given Zeke's gnarly distorto-guitar splay that fit solidly in the realm of Archers of Loaf, Treepeople, and even SST-era Dino Jr.  Maybe not as searingly white-hot as any of the aforementioned, what these boys had was still impressive.  What I wasn't conscious of at the time was that preceding Waterproof, was this 45 rpm delight circa 1993, making a concise case for the band's aforementioned m.o., one which has held up pretty effectively over the ensuing decades.  Aficionados of Clinton-era indie rock take note!

A. Half Baked

B1. Half Inflated

B2. Brave Doorman

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The Montanas - s/t ep (1988, Lucy)

Well shucks, I don't have much to tell you about this crew, nor does the internet. There's not a tremendous amount to go by on The Montanas first and ostensibly last 12" record save for the fact that this quartet has a management/correspondence addy of Atlanta.  Going by the band's garb on the back sleeve I was expecting something along the lines of the Long Ryders, but instead was treated to something more akin to the Cavedogs or late '80s Dreams So Real.  Not an exact fit for the more jangly environs of say, the Strum and Thrum subset, but they come flirtatiously close on "It's Alright," and the driving "Chains."  A Montanas' 45 preceded this spotless slice of wax that I just might have to get my mitts on it.  If anyone has any pertinent deets on these guys please consider leaving a comment.  

01. It's Alright

02. New Way to the Sun

03. Should've Known

04. Sirens

05. Chains

06. Daddy Sold the Farm

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I was staring at your eyes in my wall...

An almost complete discography from these sardonic, San Diego outliers, circa 1979-89.

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

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URL, interrupted.

Am taking the week off.  Will see you back here for Mystery Monday next week.  Cheers.

Supermarket lights burn in the darkness...

Im spoiling you this week.  This is a two CD set compiling a healthy number of this UK band's b-sides, neglected album tracks, and alternate versions of more renown singles and such.  Have at it. 

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

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Victorian Parents - Silence Follows (1981)

I usually save most of my revelatory finds for the end of the year, but what the hell.  And a major label release (Polydor) no less, but unless you snatched up Victorian Parents' Silence Follows as as an assumedly pricy import, this would have flown well below your proverbial radar.  Not only has it not been reissued since it's 1981 release, so far as I can tell this band has yet to be anthologized on any of the myriad of Cherry Red Records post-punk compilations that have cropped up in the last decade or so. Save for a YouTube digitization, Silence Follows hasn't made a showing on any of the usual streaming outlets, nor have any of it's songs made it into the sharity blogosphere.  Whomever saw the need to kill off the memory of this band was a bit too thorough, if you don't mind me venting.

Hailing from Lichfield, England, V/P's modus operandi was very much in league with contemporaries, The Sound, Modern Eon and Comsat Angels, especially the latter.  The quartet boasted both depth and artful tangents, while remaining almost wholly approachable, albeit there weren't many obvious hits or singles here - even for the one track that actually was appointed for 45 status, "All American Hero." At the end of the day, Silence Follows is still unmistakably steeped in post-punk affectations, minus any excessively droney ambience. C.S. Angels comparisons are inevitable on this album's most proficient offerings, "Uncommunique" and "No Response," but again, that band was a contemporary to V/P, so it's not very logical to cite them as a legit "influence," per se. Perhaps not through-and-through brilliant, Silence... is considerably effective, not to mention well above average, and far more deserving of the dim spotlight it enjoyed when the Parents were extant.  Yes, there were surrounding singles, but I'm not in possession of anything else by them.  I am however making this available in both MP3 and FLAC.

01. All American Hero

02. On the Border

03. Self-indulgence

04. Dead Red Grass of Home

05. Uncommunique

06. No Response

07. Wasteland

08. My Advantage

09. Endless Wire

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An unpredicted ends to a means...

From 2004.  Picking up on morsels of everyone from Nada Surf to Creeper Lagoon and even Mercury Rev. Enjoy

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