Monday 21 April 2008

Alternative archives June 2007

Saturday, June 30, 2007


Glaxo Babies




Glaxo Babies - 1979 - This Is Your Life [EP]

A 1. This is Your Life
A 2. Stay Awake
B 1. Because of You
B 2. Who Killed Bruce Lee?

Glaxo Babies - 1979 - Christine Keeler [7']

A 1. Christine Keeler
B 1. Nova Bossanova

Glaxo Babies - 1980 - Limited Entertainment [EP]

A 1. There'll Go No Room For You
B 1. In The Shelter
B 2. Permission to the Wrong

Get Them Here

Biography :
The Glaxo Babies were a post-punk band based in Bristol, England. The foursome was initially vocalist Rob Chapman, guitarist/vocalist Dan Catsis (ex-Pop Group), drummer Geoff Aslopp, and bassist Tom Nichols. They released the This Is Your Life EP in 1979; by the time of the Christine Keeler single months later, a few changes to the lineup were made. Most significantly, Charles Llewelyn took over for Aslopp on drums and Tony Wrafter (another ex-Pop Group member) added saxophone. Chapmen then left, and the remaining members recorded the entirety of 1980's Nine Months to the Disco, their debut LP for Heartbeat, within the span of a single day. For the following Limited Entertainment EP (also released in 1980), the Glaxo Babies temporarily hooked up with the Y label. And finally, Put Me on the Guest List, yet another 1980 release, collected demos of the band's Chapman era. They apparently broke up at some point after its release; Catsis and Wrafter became part of Maximum Joy.
~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide



South Of No North - 1986 - Fell Frozen




Greek 80's new wave

1. IT'S ONLY A SONG/ South Of No North
2. FELL FROZEN/ South Of No North

3. CREEPING/ South Of No North

4. ANNABELLE LEE/ South Of No North

5. MELANCHOLY BELLS/ South Of No North

6. BEHIND THE ETERNAL TREE/ South Of No North

7. FAIRY TALE/ South Of No North


MySpsce Link




Thursday, June 28, 2007


V.A. - No New York (1978)




The Brian Eno-produced compilation of four (James Chance & Contortions, DNA, Mars, and Teenage Jesus & The Jerks) of the shining lights of the filthy violent madhouse of New York City anti-SoHo No Wave scene of the late '70s. Art-school irony and city-dweller frustrations cross-pollinated with the ghost of Albert Ayler and willful technical ignorance in a stew of urban squalor and Olympian levels of drug abuse. A snapshot of a very strange period in New York City's cultural history.

Get it HERE.



Monday, June 25, 2007

BigPants - 2005 - Lazy & Versatile




Debut CD from swiss musician BigPants, released in 2005 on +41 records. It's a fantastic mixture of pop, rock & psychedelic with touches of electro. Fans of Lou Reed, Michael Angelo & Bobb Trimble should love this one! Impressive DIY & LoFi sound, sublime melodies...

Liner notes:
Here is the debut of the newest and most exiting artist in the last five years. On his very first shot, Big Pants, Swiss most exciting new talent, hit the bulls-eye. And fittingly, on +41 records, a hot new label that was also making its debut. For both, it was a giant hit, “Sorry Soul”, a driving, pulsating sound that zoomed to the top of the charts.

One of the reasons that Big Pants is in the forefront of what is new in the music is that he has such a tremendous background in the music of the past. His respect for what was and his mastery of different musical idioms gives him quiet a jumping off point for his musical explorations. You see, Big Pants has that elusive, you’ve either got it or you don’t, can’t be learned thing called taste, which is what makes the combination of natural and arduously acquired talent click and produces an artist.

To the youngster from Lausanne, Switzerland, success came after 18 months of rehearsals, experimentations and unique innovations. The instant success of “Sorry Soul” (written with Marcello Giuliani) prompted this album. Big Pants started out in Zurich (Dachkantine) and soon had taken over the minds and imaginations of the critics, poets, writers, artists, groupies, records executives, disk jockeys and even Madison Avenue. His following continues to grow in size, above ground as well as underground. Big Pants have a heavy schedule of concerts, a tour of England and Japan to keep him busy for the next six months. He is also busy preparing his second album, due largely to the fantastic success of this one. We’ve called this the “Psychedelic Lollipop” because after one taste, you’ll be waiting more and more and more of the incredible Big Pants!

Get it here:
http://rapidshare.com/BigPants.rar

And go buy the CD here:
http://www.plus41.ch/?display=records

It's a private press and soon sold out...

Please leave comments!

posted by Bass at 6/25/2007 09:55:00 PM

Sunday, June 24, 2007


Blim


Blim was an Omnia Opera outfit who released 2 tapes in the early 90's.

Andy Read gtrs, vcls (Omnia Opera)
Ben Gardener b
Neil Spragg drms, perc (Omnia Opera)
Phil Cook sax, vcls
Nigel Pugh flute, keyb
Tony Child samples, FX, keyb


Blim - 1992 - Zero
[cassette only release]

01 Derangement
02 Prawnwarp
03 There's A Hole In My Toe
04 F
05 Synchromesh
06 Echo-Logical
07 Hoffman Bike Pump
08 Little One
09 Big One
10 ????
11 Disappearance






~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Blim - 1993 - No Frills
[cassette only release]

01 The Noup
02 Junk
03 Ocean
04 Headphones
05 Sparsely And Much
06 Vector
07 Ubusubu
08 Plop
09 Wet Potato
10 Beejayone




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~from Aural Innovations :

Doug: What can you tell me about Blim?

Neil: Blim was a project which was intended to be more of a progressive thang, and I like to feel that in our own way we did some pretty fucked-up stuff, and some quite beautiful stuff. It was basically comprised of a core of me and three close mates, and a couple of other session-type people. We did some pretty cool gigs supporting Ozrics/Poisoned Electrik Head etc.) and a couple of out there tapes ("Zero" and "No Frills").


Get them both here @256
Blim.part1.rar
Blim.part2.rar
Blim.part3.rar


Saturday, June 23, 2007

Sad Lovers And Giants - 1990 - Headland




this is a LP posted by "anonymous" in one of the comments

thanks for this one whoever you are !

Godless Soul
Like Thieves
One Man's Hell
Restless
Alaska
It's Snowing
My Heart's On Fire
Life Will Kill Us

Sad Lovers & Giants are a rock band from Watford, England who formed in 1981. Their sound blends post-punk, folk and psychedelia and has seen them described as 'a pastoral Pink Floyd'.

The band's members have included Garçe (vocals), Tristan Garel-Funk (who went on to form The Snake Corps) (guitar), Tony McGuinness (now part of the trance trio Above & Beyond) (Guitar), Cliff Silver (bass), Ian Gibson (bass), David Wood (keyboards and saxophone), Juliet Sainsbury (keyboards) and Nigel Pollard (drums & percussion).

The original line up produced two albums, Epic Garden Music and Feeding the Flame, but split up in 1984 on the verge of commercial success. They returned in 1987 after a personnel change and released The Mirror Test, Headland and Treehouse Poetry before their label, Midnight Music, went bust in and the band split once again. E-mail From Eternity, a 'best of' compilation was released by Cherry Red in 1996 after picking up the Midnight catalogue from the receivers. The band rose from their frequently raked ashes to release a brand new album called Melting in the Fullness of Time in 2002 and played in Italy for the first time a year later. They are currently in rehearsals with new material and live shows a distinct possibility. If they can get a new keyboard player....

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sad_Lovers_and_Giants

more albums by SL&G here

1 ~ 2 ~ 3 ~ 4 ~ 5 ~ 6 ~ 7 ~ 8

Download It Here :

http://rapidshare.com/files/38713167/Sad_Lovers___Giants_Headland.rar


Sunday, June 17, 2007

Ensemble Pittoresque - 1983 - For This Is Past




voice, guitar, tapes: Richard Neumöller

synthesizer, piano: Paulus Wieland

producer & engineer: Ton Willekes

sleeve design: Peter van Wijland Tieman

1977

These were the heydays of punk, glam rock and the maximum comfort of Western living.The Sex Pistols, Kraftwerk, Can, Faust, Fripp & Eno, Pere Ubu and a wide variety of mainstream artists pounded the world with their personal pinnacles of artistic brilliance.

The line of fissure to global electronic existence was eminent.Big Brother gained ground and there were only seven more years till doomsday. A-bomb mass-rally’s and anarchist movements roamed the streets.

These were the sale-days of endless series of poly- and monophonic synthesizers, arpeggiators, sequencers, drum boxes, digi modifiers, metal distortions, big muffs, Nikkei exchange rates and inscrutable trade-in values.

In the heart of The Hague, at a squatted anarchistic stronghold called “Bamboulee” Paulus Wieland and Richard Neumöller hooked up with whiz technician Ton Willekes.

The years that followed they ‘ld experiment with as many electronic gadgets and tape recorders they could get their hands on. Almost compulsively registering just about every sound and idea they came across.

After they had moved to the dunes of Wassenaar, these ‘music crazed, angry young men’,on the 12th of august 1978, founded a company called;
“Ensemble Pittoresque”.

1979

At their squatted cottage near the coast, they created sounds and scapes, which at first mostly pleased just themselves*.

However, after some public try-outs and side projects, they set their minds on an independent release of their own.
From the latest ideas of about twenty hours of material, they compiled their first album, ‘For this is past’.

At the heart of three of the recordings, “Reichsdorf room 6”, “Building Brains” and “Auratorium” an ingenious invention of Ton Willekes allowed them to use one of four tracks to trigger the TR-808 and TB-303.
This way it became possible to combine ‘three track tape loops’ with “live” playing electronics, so only vocals and guitars
had to be added during mastering.

Spring 1983

After a long wait, the three friends rode of to Belgium to get their firstborn home.From then on things picked up. They hooked up with distributor Boudisque and the record got airplay. Interviews added to publicity, bookings paid better money and overall live conditions improved.With bigger fees came better PA’s and publicity.
To overcome a lack of dynamics on stage, Neumöller and Wieland turned to three fellow musicians;Ed van Ho
ven, Marion Prinz and Biko.

From then on, the music was backed by real live performance and many times, public response confirmed the band’s enthusiasm.
The gruesome throbbing “new funk bass of precision” that Ed van Hoven played opened new ways for E.P. to explore.

While the group was busy working on their second album “Frequenz” their manager booked them for a group presentation called D-day, in ‘Paradiso’ Amsterdam.

So, on day four, in the middle of the recording sessions, the group was supposed to pack their gear, get on the bus, briefly sound check and perform, alongside two of the youngest, promising, non electronic Amsterdam live bands of that moment. ( one of those bands being Claw boys Claw )

They were the first act.Murphy’s law struck like clockwork. The error levels couldn’t have been more ominous. Because of one faulty connector in the sync system the whole band stood like frozen on stage.
The audience became impatient and the mindset of the band hit rock bottom.Beer was thrown, the crowd smelled blood and something snapped. The reviews that followed burned EP to the ground.


After the release of ‘Frequenz’ which got pretty good reviews in ‘Oor’ en ‘Vinyl’ they set out to promote the album at the youth centers of Holland, but something had changed.
From the initial enthusiasm of the band, very little was left.

Wieland, Willekes and Neumöller had drifted apart musically and couldn’t take the step to a more professional approach together anymore.


The band officially split up at the end of 1984

Source : http://www.ensemblepittoresque.net/


Saturday, June 16, 2007

Linear Movement - 1983 - Pulse Music




minimal wave

Linear Movement was a side-project of Peter Bonne between 1982 and 1984, next to his activities in Autumn and Twilight Ritual. Because of the difference in musical style, he decided this music should be part of a different project, whic he baptised 'Linear Movement'. Most of the tracks were solo-experiments, but in some of them, he was joined by Peter Koutstaal (who also performed in Autumn), and by Lieve Van Steerteghem, who took the vocal part in some tracks.

Linear Movement never made a tape release, but many tracks appeared on compilation projects troughout the world. The Micrart releases of Linear Movement are limited to a single 'Pulse Music', which contained early material by Peter solo, and a major contribution to the Line Compilation.

Peter wanted to experiment with more poppy compositions as where Twilight Ritual and Autumn were more experimental. This direction was already taken when Autumn shifted from pure cosmic electronic music based inspiration towards song based compositions . However, this mixture of experiments needed guidance and a certain separation. The poppy songs now resided under Linear Movement. For Peter, it was a boiling pot and learning curve towards his later work with A Split Second.

Linear Movement also performed live several times.

Today, a compiled Linear Movement CD is available as 'Pulse Music'.

Download It Here :

http://rapidshare.com/files/37401883/pulse_music.rar



Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Antietam - 1986 - Music from Elba





Antietam - Music from Elba

This easily gets a place in my top-15 records from the 80s, and I was surprised to find out that, although Antietam are still active, their early recordings have never been reissued, not even posted in the music-blogland.
Antietam came from Louisville, KY, where Tara Key and Tim Harris were in Babylon Dance Band and Wolf Knapp in Your Food. In 1984 the three of themrelocated to New Jersey and formed Antietam with Mike Weinert on drums. Their first (self-titled) LP came out in 1985 on Homestead records, as well as Music Form Elba in 1986. Today they live in NYC. In some reviews they have been described as "Hoboken-sound" (i.e. like the Feelies or Yo La Tengo), but to my ears, their first two LPs always sounded equally east and west coast. There is something in Tara Key's guitar playing and voclas that leads me straight to San Francisco acid. You can add to this the very tight and inspired rhythm section of Wolf Knapp and Sean Mulhall (joined after the first LP), and the enthusiastic playing of the quartet (and the guest Dana Pentes on violin), and you have a band that certainly were kicking at their shows (according to recent reviews Tara Key is still playing as in her 20s at her performances).

Although Antietam was from Louisville, KY, their second album really should have been titled "Music from Hoboken." Music from Elba slots so perfectly into the mid-'80s Hoboken scene of moody, guitar-based indie rock (think Feelies and/or early Yo La Tengo) that it wasn't surprising in the least that frontwoman Tara Key and bassist Tim Harris moved to the New Jersey city later in the decade to reestablish Antietam. On this album, however, Key and Harris share the compositional and vocal spotlight with second bassist Wolf Knapp, which gives the album an odd but productive tension; Knapp's tunes, like "Concord" and "War Is the Health of the State," show a distinct influence from earlier bands like the Gang of Four and Pylon; the rubbery interplay of the two basses and the looser rhythms jar interestingly with Key and Harris' more intense and guitar-oriented songs, like the powerful "In a Glass House," one of the band's all-time high points. Other highlights include the atypically poppy opener "San Diego" and a Harris-penned instrumental, "Fontaine Ferry," that really betrays the Feelies influence. Music from Elba still has its flaws, most notably Albert Garzon's substandard, tinny production, but it's a tremendous improvement over the group's lackluster self-titled debut. ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide

A school was being born in Kentucky that would be influential throughout the 1990s. Its early leaders were bands at the crossroads between roots-rock and noise-rock, and Tara Key's Antietam were the most typical in bridging those two styles, i.e. the South and Sonic Youth, the rural and the urban sound, tradition and modernism. (Scaruffi)


ANTIETAM brought its furiously intricate rock to Speakeasy on Wednesday night, tearing into songs in which so much happens so fast that they threaten to fly apart.

Tim Harris and Wolf Knapp play two independent bass parts, which are kicked along by Steve Crowley's drumming and collide or tangle with Tara Key's rapid-fire strumming or psychedelic-tinged lead guitar.
Songs stop and restart, shift key or tempo, abruptly mutate; when guitar and basses shared one passage in octaves, the sudden absence of counterpoint was startling. Antietam also juggles three singers, with Ms. Key taking most of the melodies, Mr. Harris on harmonies and countermelodies and Mr. Knapp delivering deadpan near-spoken lyrics. Sometimes it sounds as if the band is playing two or three songs crumpled together.
But it's passion, not complexity, that makes Antietam's music so impressive. The clinical precision of old-fashioned progressive-rock bands (who often played simpler music) isn't for Antietam; band members pick and strum and sing as if caught in a whirlwind. The lyrics on Antietam's new album, ''Music From Elba,'' are about surviving while structures collapse; the music builds new structures from fragments and clings to them with desperate urgency. (By Jon Pareles - New York Times December 14, 1986)

You can find their Rope-A-Dope album from 1994 here

Thanks to douglas maxson for the corrections (Antietam actually formed in Hoboken) and the following information

"Something that might be of interest is that the small Noise Pollution label in Louisville has just released a monster CD of the early Louisville punk scene which includes 3 previously unreleased studio tracks by the Babylon Dance Band, 3 previously unreleased tracks by No Fun (Tara's first band), as well as 3 tracks from Your Food's '83 LP "Poke It With A Stick"...29 songs by 10 bands plus a 16 page booklet, all for 12 bucks. It's pretty fucking awesomo. You can get details/previews at Bold Beginnings.

If you're curious what this early Louisville scene looked like, there's a massive--and still growing--archive up at louisvillepunk.awardspace.com "



Rheingold - 1984 - Distanz




I haven't got the slightest idea how many of you (non-German) bloggers have heard of RHEINGOLD before. Back in the early 80s the "Neue Deutsche Welle" (German New Wave) swept upon our humourless country, and it really was a breath of fresh air. Silly music, funny or downright weird outfits, strange band names and song titles...for a brief moment everything seemed to be possible! However, by the mid-80s the last waves had finally hit the shore, and we were back to bands like Modern Talking or other Euro pop disco music.

'Rheingold' were obviously influenced by KRAFTWERK (as were quite a number of bands during that time) and had a string of hit singles like "Dreiklangsdimensionen", "Fluss" or "Fan-Fan-Fanatisch". Here you can listen to their overlooked and almost forgotten 3rd and final LP only release "Distanz", recorded in 1983 and released one year later and produced by no other than Conny Plank (of Neu! and Ultravox fame). I still like the album very much, and it brings back good memories about a time when German music suddenly made fun and had substance.


Tracks:
1- Via Satellit
2- Fantasie
3- Nur ein Wort
4- Computerbeat
5- Der Ton macht die Musik
6- Distanz
7- Strahlende Zukunft
8- Digital

vinyl @256


Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Dread Astaire - Take Time To Hate me (double 7") - Hipbeat/Bassassination 10"




Edgy andrepetitive post-punk-ish garage from Thessaloniki, Greece. Swell Maps (angular/noisy guitar jam chaos) meet the Fall (long-drawn repetitive; rough and dry bass lines). One of the best bands that the Greek scene has churned up in nearly two decades now! Being the opening act for the Fall and Telescopes, Dread Astaire channel fuzzed up and noisy grooves founded on repetition but spiced up with plenty of guitar angularity, but without ever escaping an infectiously addictive and catchy mood! Play this shit! It will drill your freaking brains out!



Hipbeat / Bassasination 10"
Side A: Hipbeat

Begins with feedback distortions. Progresses with fuzzed up bass lines and angular guitar lines. Melodic vocals too. Repetitive, dry and garage-y!

Side B: Bassassination

Yup! Bassassination indeed! Driving bass fuzz is so fucking heavy, it will drill a hole in your brain. When I think of post-punk groove, this is exactly what I imagine. Amazing repetitive (think the FALL) guitar jam. Gets super guitar noisy at the 4 minute mark with Greek voices screaming in the background. This is an amazing track folks. Blows my mind!!!

Take Time To Hate Me (double 7")
1: Fuzzy bass creates heavy and rough groove.
2: Great guitar counterpoints and rhythmic changes in the breakdown. I believe that's called "angular".
3: Signature heavy bass grooves are driving. A hypnotic med tempo with guitar angularity rocking out!
4: Happy go lucky; catchy guitar/bass groove. Rocks out and then breaks into sweet and jazzy psychedelic guitar phrase that reminds me of Love. Comes back to the rock! Ends with sampled voices.

If you like it buy it !!

Uploaded by Νikos

Dread Astaire


Guadalcanal Diary - 1986 - Jamboree




TRACKLIST
01. Pray for Rain
02. Fear of God
03. Jamboree
04. Michael Rockefeller
05. Spirit Train
06. Lonely Street
07. Country Club Gun
08. T.R.O.U.B.L.E.
09. I See Moe
10. Please Stop Me
11. Dead Eyes
12. Cattle Prod

DOWNLOAD LINK

"While frequently lumped in with such Southern alternative pop bands as R.E.M. and Let's Active, Guadalcanal Diary was distinctly different from its peers, with a sound that was at once melodic and rhythmically aggressive, and a decidedly literary and spiritual bent to the group's lyrics. And at a time when Athens, GA, was being hailed as the new center of the smart-pop universe, Guadalcanal Diary hailed from Marietta, GA, an Atlanta suburb where the band formulated its sound with little input or influence from the local rock scene." - Mark Deming

"This underappreciated Georgia quartet distinguished itself from any number of smart, tuneful American guitar combos by combining accessible songcraft with provocatively twisted lyrics. Singer/guitarist Murray Attaway's songs reflect a bizarre variety of far-flung interests, from a preoccupation with the supernatural to a fascination with American cultural imperialism; the band delivers them all with rootsy irony." - Scott Schinder


REVIEW:
The first six selections on this release encompass some of the best R.E.M.-style songs never written by that band. "Michael Rockefeller" is a breathlessly rushed masterpiece with echoes of that other Athens band's "West of the Fields." "Pray for Rain" is a howling, intense number that snitches the opening two chords of Jefferson Airplane's "3/5 of a Mile in 10 Seconds" for its own beginning. Weighty concerns about religion are voiced in the ringing "Fear of God;" this song borrows the opening guitar riff from "I Call Your Name" by the Beatles. "Spirit Train" is a slower, intensely foreboding selection that suggests a highly charged version of R.E.M.'s "Old Man Kensey." What follows all this are a clutch of songs with bizarre or puckish lyrics in a wild array of pop styles. "T.R.O.U.B.L.E." is a hot jazz-influenced track with goofy lyrics about sibling rivalry. "I See Moe" is a jumpy country-punk number that compares the speaker's personality dysfunction to that of the Three Stooges. "Dead Eyes" is a thundering, hard-rocking cut with threatening verses about unknown terrors and things that go bump in the night, resulting likely from too much booze. And "Cattle Prod" has to go down as one of the strangest pop songs ever written, a grindingly grandiose number with arena-rock touches that has creepy lyrics about bestiality. This is an excellent, if sometimes bewildering album very much worth hearing." - David Cleary


Murray Attaway - vocals, guitars
Rhett Crowe - basses
John Poe - drums, vocals
Jeff Walls - guitars

Produced by Rodney Mills, Steve Nye

Monday, June 11, 2007


Blue Movie - 1987 - Milking The Masters Vol.7






"The fun of playing in a rock band peaked for me in Blue Movie. David, Rich and I bonded like brothers, lived together, practiced, recorded and toured together for 3 terrific years. We split up after our second album and national tour failed to meet our own expectations.
Too bad, on many levels it didn't get any better than this." Jim Hoadley

Sometimes it can turn out really strange! This LP was one of the very first that I transferred to my HD as mp3s, some years ago. Today, as I was searching for a photo of its cover to use with my post, I found a mysterious page . To cut a long story short, it turned out that it was the site of Jim Hoadley, co-founder of the Blue Movie (and of a million other bands before and after them). There's no photo of the cover in his site, but you can download for free this LP from 1987, as well as their first (Hearts In Clubs) from 1986, and a couple of live shows from back then.

Blue Movie were a trio, based in San Francisco and were active from 1985 to 1987. Two of their members were part of the poetry community of SF. I think that Blue Movie were a couple of years ahead of their time. You see, if they were still together in 1988-89, at the blooming of the San Fransisco "neo-folk" scene, they would be one of the leader bands. If you have heard X-Tall, Harm Farm or Bedlam Rovers, you'll recognise the feeling and, in many cases, the sound.
The "power-trio" scheme works really well here: the producer Klaus Flouride (yes, of the Dead Kennedys) managed to captured a strong live spirit, while all the 14 tracks have beautiful and well crafted melodies. Emotions expressed via rock and folk tunes, sometimes raw, sometimes gentle and always true. Add to these the excellent vocals and you have a really fine album. Try to find the time to listen to it, and I assure you that these songs will stick in your ears.



David Brian - vcls, gtr, mandolin, pno, harmonica
Rich Ferguson - vcls, drms, bongos
Jim Hoadley - vcls, bs



Abunai! - 1999 - The Mystic River Sound


On their second full-length album, Abunai do the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Clubs Band one better. Or, rather, 11 better. Instead of taking on the identity of another band,Abunai take on the identities of a dozen different bands, each with a different style. Abunai Presents the Mystic River Sound , therefore, acts like a mock battle of the bands compilation, complete with liner notes that expound on the elaborate history and mysteries of theMystic River collective of bands, supposedly (if you are able to decipher the storyline espoused in the liner notes) based in the suburbs around Boston (Abunai, in fact, calls Boston home). Of course, to pull off such an ambitious concept, the music has to excel, and the band has to be entirely convincing in their different guises or else it just comes off like kids playing dress-up, with lipstick smeared all over their faces. In other words, it would be very easy for the whole concept to meander out of control and get messy.Abunai does not allow that to happen, though, in part due to the fact that all the "bands," be they '60s garage bands or '90s psychsters, have ties to theMystic River sound and therefore are spiritual descendents peers with one another. That concept gives the album its musical consistency, and each song bears the mark ofAbunai's wistful expansive psychedelia; however, the band also expands their sound into areas not explored on their debut album via their jump-cutting of inspirations. In the process, the album tries on a melange of styles, jumping from the modal excursions of their later '60s namesakes, the Earth-2Abunai , to the airy British shoegazer pop of the Red Blaise ("Learning to Ask") to the early '70s American folk-rock (think Byrds and Turtles) revivalism of the Merrie Shyrwode Rangers to their own proper contribution, "Toast." In the end, the ambience of the album is too consistent for the concept, but ifAbunai is not always convincing as other bands, they hit some brilliant high points in the course of their attempts: "Vanishing Point" (by mythological American prog-rockers the Tea Tokens) is a gorgeous chimera of distorted guitar ambience, while you can actually imagine the proto-bedroom lonely-pop of the Scollay Squares' "Can't Always See" in a less psychedelicized arrangement as an unreleased Roy Orbison heartbreak ballad (as the liners insist it is). Every other song keeps the musical standards high, but in the end, there is not enough difference between the different hats worn byAbunai to make the concept entirely successful. On ambition alone, however, it is a winner. - Stanton Swihart, All Music Guide

Download It Here :

http://rapidshare.com/files/36353927/abunai.rar



Sunday, June 10, 2007

Egghead - 1998 - Causing A Disturbance




Egghead performed with many famous acts but remained infamous itself. This is extremely hard, but we think they did a hell of a good job on this.
The risk of gaining fame when you support acts like Cardiacs or Sick Of It All or Green Lizard or Claw Boys Claw is lurking, but somehow they managed to keep out of the spotlights.

We know no other band who did a better job in staying unknown to this big a crowd as Egghead did in the nineties.

The number of people NOT knowing of Eggheads existence at some point reached a magical 5 and a half billion.

And this number is still rising!


TR11 CD * Length 60 min. (25-04-1998)

01 On A Schoolday
02 Fart In The Face
03 Retch
04 Opening Song
05 Weariness Of Life
06 A Catchy Tune And A Beautiful Phrase
07 Fullkornbizkit
08 Una Batida Banana
09 Toe
10 Short Song
11 Donkey's Years
12 3 Hoorays For The Calico Cat
13 As Long As We Feel Alright
14 Burnt On My Cornea
15 Tedious Things
16 Revolving Door
17 Change

If you want to buy this one
& for more info about
Egghead
visit their page here :

http://www.tediousrecords.com/


Saturday, June 9, 2007

Wipers - 1993 - Silver Sail





Misunderstood, mistreated, underrated, and/or just plain unknown, Greg Sage should be mentioned in the first breaths about trailblazing guitarists and U.S. independent music of the '80s and '90s. Since forming his band, Wipers, in Portland, OR, in the late '70s, Sage has been put through the ringer more than enough to justify his hermetic operating methods and attitude. While most of his devout fans consider it a travesty that his name isn't as known as a contemporary like Bob Mould or even an unabashed fan-boy turned legend like Kurt Cobain, Sage would likely retort that it's not for the notoriety that he began making music. Unlike most other musicians who gain inspiration and motivation from watching their favorite stars revel in popularity and idol worship, Sage's inspiration stemmed more from the joy he got from cutting records on his own lathe. He has been more than content to remain in the underground, retaining optimum control over his own career while lending production help and support to younger bands that look to him for his guidance. Throughout his lengthy and prolific career, he has downplayed or shunned any attention or recognition given to him, preferring to let the music speak for itself.

formed Wipers in 1977 with drummer Initialized with the intent of being a recording project and not a band in the truest sense, SageSam Henry and bassist Doug Koupal. Sage's original goal was to release 15 records in ten years, free of traditional band aspects like touring and photo shoots. However, he found out early on that being involved with independent labels involved plenty of compromise -- and that independent labels took a great deal of independence away from him, rather than empowering him.

by Andy Kellman AMG

Silver Sail proves that the stone-faced frontman with the long, string-bending fingers is still moving forward without ever departing from the formula. It not only picks up where Greg Sage's solo LP Sacrifice (For Love) left off, but it also revives a thread he dangled on solo LP Straight Ahead, the first half of Follow Blind, and the last three cuts on The Circle: A slower, prettier, spacier, moodier Sage emerges, and undertones produced by his magical playing separate him from all previously mining this field. The more deliberate pace gives Sage's virtuoso guitar skills even more opportunity to bob and weave, stab and stun, float and tickle, tease and torment. As usual, words are kept to the minimum, to-the-point ideas brought home by evocative textures, singular guitar-lead style, and that spooky, chagrined, warning voice. "Prisoner" is unspeakably beautiful, as tearful as an old heartbreak movie, especially as the voice crescendos on the high note, "why." The opening "Y I Came," "Mars," and "Standing There" are similar ice-breakers, pensive complexions established by the choice of chords. As the LP goes on, Sage switches gears, and reclaims the harder, more vicious ground set by Is This Real?, Youth of America, Over the Edge and tracks such as "Way of Love" and "Nothing Left to Lose." The title track is relentless, ending with Sage's shattering chords echoing off into the feedbacking distance. Even better is "Sign of the Times," a mean litter chugger that adds minor, distinctive flavors of '50s beat/'60s surf. And the highlight is "Never Win," an absolutely soaring slab, the melody and chords to "Just a Dream Away" mixed with "Nothing Left to Lose"'s sneaky drive power. It's impossible to get tired of such a powerful sound and style, particularly as Sage's leads blister, sparkle, fume, seethe and sigh all at once. To this day, he's the only guitar player whose guitar lead almost made me cry (on the intro to "Nothing Left to Lose" a few years ago). Here's yet another chance for the U.S. to catch on to a classic talent (Sage sells out huge theaters in Europe but is still obscure here), the Hendrix of the punk/post-punk/alternative generation, a 15-year treasure trove of brilliant playing and terrific, start-to-finish great albums.

by Jack Rabid, The Big Takeover AMG

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http://rapidshare.com/files/36035735/wipers.rar


Thursday, June 7, 2007


The Times - 1989 - E For Edward






Format: Vinyl LP Record
Label: Creation
Catalogue No: CRELP053
Country: UK
Year:1989

Tracklisting:
1. Manchester
2. Valvaline
3. Snow
4. Catherine Wheel
5. Crashed On You
6. Count To Five
7. All Your Life
8. French Film Bleurred
9. No Love On Haight St
10. Acid Angel Of Ecstasy

Forget everything you know about the Times. There are no homages to the freakbeat era on this album, no loving pastiches of sunny Carnaby Street circa 1966 pop. It's instructive to note both the year this album came out, 1989, and the album title: "E" is not only for Edward (Ball, the sole performer on this album, save for two tracks of guitar by Paul Heeren), but for Ecstasy. The summer of 1989 was the summer of acid house in Great Britain, and plenty of folks who had previously been plying their trade in indie guitar bands suddenly hooked themselves up with some baggy clothes and a sampler. So in many ways, this is a shameless, pandering sellout. What saves the album is that it's fully aware that it's a shameless, pandering sellout, and it's ok with that. The deadpan objectification of the opening "Manchester" is so over the top in its praise that Ball is clearly taking the mickey. The rest of the album alternates between computerized acid house throb and solo acoustic miniatures like "No Love on Haight Street," which would not sound out of place on a late-era Felt album. The combination doesn't always work, and, frankly, ironic dance music can be just as dull as sincere dance music, but the album mostly gets by on its own bratty attitude. Newcomers to the Times shouldn't start here, but collectors of Manchester ephemera will have a chuckle.

Download link 320@

The_times_-_1989_-_E_For_Edward__part_1.rar
The_times_-_1989_-_E_For_Edward__part_2.rar



Wednesday, June 6, 2007

Trotsky Icepick - Baby (1988)





Tracklist

01. Incident
02. Dante's Flame
03. Mar Vista Bus Stop
04. A Little Push At The Top Of The Stairs
05. Bury Manilow
06. Pillars Of Salt
07. Big Daddy
08. Don't Buy It
09. Windowpane
10. [ ]
11. And It Goes Like This
12. Barricades
13. Robilussin Rag
14. Bonus Track 1
15. Bonus Track 2


As one of the more overlooked "post-punk" bands to exist in the late 80s and on the famous SST label, Trotsky Icepick is a band primed to become a major rediscovery for those exploring back catalogues and used bins at the CD store. While this oddly named outfit (featuring members of various other bands, including The Last and 100 Flowers) is not necessarily one of the best bands to play this sort of jangly, upbeat guitar rock, Trotsky Icepick certainly deserves more acclaim than they apparently have received.

Baby, their second release, is a quite entertaining, enjoyable album. Trotsky Icepick's main strength lies in their ability to write catchy songs featuring interesting two guitar weaves without fully engulfing themselves in indulgent meanderings. In other words, this is pop oriented music with post-punk overtones. The one fly in their ointment are the vocals of Vitus Malaire and Kjehl Johansen (both are credited as vocals and I'm not entirely who provides what singing parts on the CD). While not necessarily terrible, the singing is somewhat thin and tuneless. However, the detrimental effects are minimal and the "tsk-tsking" of the listener should be rare. The production is crystal clear, allowing all the instruments a nice realm of clarity. In the end, the majority of these songs have a quaint sort of catchiness. The guitar playing, while far from virtuoso pedigree, often carries the songs.

In few, this album always makes my mood... beautifull, simple, catchy tunes.
Fans of 'Mission of Burma' or other liked-minded post-punk guitar rock should give these guys a closer look.


Trotsky Icepick - 1988 - Baby

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Tuesday, June 5, 2007

Volcano Suns - Thing of Beauty (1989)





Rising out of the ashes of the disbanded Mission of Burma, drummer Peter Prescott put together the Volcano Suns with bassist Jeff Weigand and guitarist Jon Williams to continue making rock music, but to do it in a lighter, less serious way than Prescott's former band. 1985 saw the band's debut, The Bright Orange Years, released on Homestead. Their second and third releases -- also on Homestead -- saw a development in the band when Weigand and Williams left after album number two, All Night Lotus Party. 1987's Bumper Crop, Volcano Suns' third, was well received enough to get the band signed to SST for their next two albums: Farced (1988), and Thing of Beauty (1989). Considered the best line up of them all, this incarnation (featuring the guest guitar work of David Kleiler), would be the band's last. 1991's Career in Rock (released on Quarterstick/Touch & Go) would prove to be the band's final release. In late 2005, Prescott reformed the Volcano Suns, and played reunion shows in Hoboken and Boston.

Guitarist Chuck Hahn exited for Thing of Beauty, replaced by David Kleiler, who contributes a fair amount of the songwriting. Farced was fine in its own right, but the double record Thing of Beauty tops its predecessor in consistency and songwriting. The often clever and sharp lyrics -- which were obviously more thought out here than on Farced -- are easier to discern. There's also more concern with melody. As with all double records, there's a few things worthy of skipping through, but most of it is durable. Each of the four sides barrel through without reaching dullness, only with the weirdo percussion instrumental "Malamondo" breaking up the flow. It's the most subdued of their records, but the rowdy abandon is still evident throughout highlights like "Barricade," "Rite of Way," and "Now File." On the last side, they run through a patch of covers. Their take on Brian Eno's "Needles in the Camel's Eye" turns the original into a merry singalong. The group vocal behavior also aids the version of Devo's "Red Eye Express," and "Kick Out the Jams" almost matches the breathless energy of the MC5. Thing of Beauty also closes out the "Fort Apache trilogy" -- Bumper Crop and Farced being the previous records recorded at the infamous Massachusetts studio.

1) Barricade
2) It's a Conspiracy
3) Man Outstanding
4) Courageous Stunts
5) No Place
6) Noodle on the Couch
7) Ask the Pundits
8) Arm and a Leg
9) How to Breathe
10) Rite of Way
11) Soft Hit
12) Malamondo
13) Deeply Moved
14) Now File
15) Fill the Void
16) Nightmare Country
17) Needles in the Camel's Eye
18) Kick Out the Jams
19) Red Eye Express
20) Mud
21) Veteran
22) Hang-Up

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Saturday, June 2, 2007


Social Distortion - 1990 - s/t





1. So Far Away
2.Let It Be Me

3. Story of My Life

4. Sick Boys

5. Ring of Fire

6. Ball and Chain

7. It Coulda Been Me

8. She's A Knockout

9. A Place In My Heart

10. Drug Train

Social Distortion are an influential punk rock band formed in 1978 in Orange County, California.[1] It currently consists of Mike Ness (vocals, guitars), Jonny "2 Bags" Wickersham (guitars), Brent Harding (bass) and Charlie Quintana (drums). They, along with Minor Threat, Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, Bad Religion and many others, are often credited as one of the leading bands of the 1980s punk revival.

The group briefly disbanded in 1985, due to frontman Ness' drug addiction, but reformed around 1986 and have continued being active today, even after the death of longtime guitarist Dennis Danell, who succumbed to a brain aneurysm in 2000. Since their inception the band lineup has been a virtual revolving-door of talent, with many members coming and going; however, Ness has been the only constant member.

Among mainstream audiences, Social Distortion are best known for their hit singles "Ball and Chain", "Story of My Life" (both from the 1990 self-titled album), "I Was Wrong" (from the 1996 album White Light, White Heat, White Trash) and "Reach for the Sky" (from their 2004 album Sex, Love and Rock 'n' Roll) as well as a cover of Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" (also from the 1990 self-titled album).

So far, Social Distortion released six full-length studio albums, two compilations, one live album and two DVDs. Their last album, Sex, Love and Rock 'n' Roll, came out on September 28, 2004 and is their first release with current guitarist Jonny "2 Bags" Wickersham, who is Danell's replacement. Recently, there has been a rumor that the band has returned to the studio working their seventh album, which is reportedly due for release sometime in 2008. They also recently announced that they will release their first Greatest Hits album on June 26, 2007.

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Distortion

Highly Recommended !

Download It Here :

http://rapidshare.com/files/34663372/SocialDistortion.rar


Thursday, May 31, 2007

Angel'in Heavy Syrup




Angel'in Heavy Syrup

Biography :
Although guitarist, producer, and theorist Jojo Hiroshige is one of the leading figures on the Japanese noise music scene, his protégées in the all-female quartet Angel'in Heavy Syrup could not be further from the sort of extreme noise terrorism Hiroshige is best known for. Their quiet, meditative music is clearly influenced by the gentler side of '70s Krautrock and progressive rock; think of the gentler moments of Can or Gong, made even more ghostly and delicate by the group's low-key instrumentation and gossamer vocals. This is music in constant danger of becoming so airy it might drift off into the ether, were it not rooted by subtly polyrhythmic drums and hand percussion seemingly based on traditional Japanese court music. Angel'in Heavy Syrup was formed in 1990 by singer and bassist Mineko Itakura and guitarist Mine Nakao, who are the only constants in the lineup. Drafting drummer Yoko Mandrake in to complete the original lineup, the trio found favor with Hiroshige, who signed them to his Alchemy Records imprint and produced their first album, Angel'in Heavy Syrup I, which was released in Japan in 1991 and in the United States by Subterranean Records the following year. Before their second album was recorded, some lineup changes took place. Mandrake was replaced by Tomoko Takahara, who played flute in addition to drums and percussion. The trio also recruited a second guitarist, Fusao Toda, which meant that Nakao now had a foil with whom she could create ever more delicate spun-sugar curlicues of electric guitar sound. The pair also adds glockenspiel and chimes beginning with 1993's Angel'in Heavy Syrup II, adding an even more fragile ghostliness to the band's sound. Though the album primarily consists of extended, improvisatory ambience, it also includes a peculiarly wonderful deconstruction of Sonny and Cher's "I Got You Babe." The new lineup held together long enough to record their third album, Angel'in Heavy Syrup III, released in Japan in early 1995. Later that year, American avant-rock distributor Charnel Music started a new label, Circular Reasoning, for the express purpose of releasing this album in the United States; as a bonus, the label added "Introduction I: Naked Sky High," the opening track from Angel'in Heavy Syrup II, which had never been released in the U.S. The group remained quiet for nearly half a decade after their third album, finally returning with Angel'in Heavy Syrup IV in late 1999. Takahara was gone, and as if to admit that they're incapable of keeping a steady drummer, her replacement Naoko Otani is credited as a guest musician. Their first album to be released simultaneously in Japan and the United States, the beautifully packaged Angel'in Heavy Syrup IV was also the first to feature English translations of Itakura's Japanese lyrics in the liner notes.
~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide

MySpace URL: http://www.myspace.com/angelinheavysyrup


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