Archive for the wire Category

Ear Trumpet – Bring on the Dirt LP

Posted in 1980s, 1987, art-punk, art-rock, bc gilbert, buzzcocks, ethereal, experimental, siouxsie and the banshees, steve severin, tony barber, uk, wire with tags on October 14, 2022 by Frankie Teardrop

Back in the early pandemic days, I (and a few pals) started going through our collections with the sole intention of re-digitizing and improving digital copies of our records across the board. So many LPs and singles that exist out there ripped poorly with low bit rates, from back in the long long ago, when digital space was a premium and hearing the record by any means necessary was the one true goal. While we all can be grateful that those rips existed back then to give us a taste of unheard pleasures, now’s the time to improve things. You’ve likely seen me updating posts here and there over the last few years, and I’ve been doing a lot of work behind the scenes as well,  spending most of my free time (that isn’t taken up with child care, band responsibilities, and horror movies), sifting through gigabytes and gigabytes of rare records, meticulously separating tracks, de-clicking with the most careful of hands, ensuring that all the music remains intact at the best quality possible. It’s been a labor of love, and I probably have enough posts to keep me going another decade or two. That all said (getting to the damn point), back in 2020, someone asked me to make a new rip of this classic experimental record from UK project Ear Trumpet, and while I can’t remember who asked for it at this point, this post is for you…

Ear Trumpet were a supergroup of sorts, if one could call it that… Aside from two fellows named Neil and Gary, some of the more famliar players include The Banshees/The Glove’s Steve Severin (on organs/synths), Wire/Cupol/Dome’s Bruce Gilbert on guitar, and latter day Buzzcocks/Lack of Knowledge’s Tony Barber on bass, all of which lend their immense talents and knack for experimentation to this LP. This is their lone LP, released in 1987… and while on paper it could easily sound like a goth/punk hybrid by the numbers with these alumni on board (and I’d be perfectly happy with that, mind you), the results are actually quite unique – ethereal in spots, experimental art rock in others, with a solid post-punk bedrock coursing through its veins. I feel like this album is rather underrated in circles – not discussed nearly as much as other Banshees or Wire offshoots, to my knowledge. A blog back in 2008 spoke about it with similar affinity, but otherwise, I don’t see it discussed as much in music groups, forums, etc.

The project released a follow up in 1987, a three-track 12” that continues the story a bit, though I don’t believe Gilbert or Barber performed on that release. It’s been a minute since I’ve listened to the 12”, but I recall it being much heavier/less subtle and nuanced than the LP, hitting more like a Loop/Swans kind of thing. While I like those bands quite a bit, the second release doesn’t hit me quite the same way as the LP, but your mileage of course, may vary.

All that said, here’s the info for the debut LP.

Ear Trumpet – Bring on the Dirt LP
1. Acts Of Devotion
2. Whack
3. Ask My Mother
4. You Go On There
5. The Smell You Get From Old Books
6. Fall Back In Houses
7. No Spill Over
8. Bring On The Dirt
9. Fetch My Bag
10. Last Bus Fever

*download it here*

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Colin Newman

Posted in 1980s, art-punk, british, colin newman, synth, wave, wire on August 7, 2007 by Frankie Teardrop


Having gone though rather huge phases listening to nothing but post-punk greats Wire for a few days in a row, it’s no shock that I’ve also inspected and been overjoyed with the various side projects and solo outings during the band’s off-time. Today’s artist is one of the double frontmen of Wire and the primary tunesmith, Mr. Colin Newman.

When the British band temporarily split in 1980 after three records, Colin quickly pursued a solo career, taking the art-damaged direction that Wire had experimented with on both Chairs Missing and 154. The result didn’t fall far from the tree, for Colin recorded a series of three records in a similar art-pop style. The first, 1980’s A-Z, was released on Beggar’s Banquet and featured ‘Alone,’ a haunting track tapped near-ten years later for the soundtrack to Silence of the Lambs and covered by friends in 4AD project This Mortal Coil. Both 1981’s Provisionally Entitled the Singing Fish and 1982’s Not To were released on 4AD, once they were able to properly finance Newman’s recordings. The first featured instrumental tracks as a series of numbered fish while the second consisted of new recordings and reworked Wire outtakes.

Though Wire reformed in 1984 and has remained intermittently active since, Colin released three more solo records and an EP for various labels. The last, 1997’s Bastard was a largely collective and collaborative electronic outing. Over the years, Colin has also produced records for the Virgin Prunes and Minimal Compact, produced recorded full-lengths with Wire as well as longtime collaborator and wife Malka Spigel, managed Wire’s Pinkflag label, and also done double-duty as a member of Githead, an experimental rock outfit.

I’ve uploaded two solo Newman tracks for the downloading; ‘Alone’ from A-Z and ‘Don’t Bring Reminders’ from Not To.

download Colin Newman- ‘Alone’
download Colin Newman- ‘Don’t Bring Reminders’

Most of his solo and collaborative band material is easily available through Amazon and your local record shoppes, so pick some up if you’re into it! For a more thorough biography and discography on Colin, click this link:

Colin Newman web-hub
Colin Newman via 4AD

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