Violet Town- Violet Town K7

Here’s a very generous donation from Ben in the form of a rare cassette release from 1986. Fans of the post-punk/coldwave sound should go ga-ga for this one, as I undoubtedly have.

At first glance as well as at first listen, this American-released K7 might suggest a few obvious touchstones. Firstly, the band’s name is naturally an allusion to a track from (in my opinion), The Church’s finest hour. Secondly, the tape was released via Primary Music, a virtually unknown label in Utah that obviously sounds like a nod to a classic Cure single (I wouldn’t be surprised if this was a self-release under the guise of a label). As if the Cure comparisons weren’t strong enough, we have the opening seconds of “Torn Inside,” which immediately recall the title track from Seventeen Seconds to mind with their warm synths and back and forth melodies.

All of this said, this is tape is awesome. While there are a mix of sounds throughout, it generally sounds as if the band is combining the aesthetics of both bands mentioned above (also think Chameleons, Mighty Lemon Drops, Grapes of Wrath etc.), very surprising given the time period and the location of the band. From what I understand (and for those who were there, feel free to correct me), early Cure and Church imports were hard to come by in the United States, all but buried by those who didn’t know to seek them out until both bands broke with their respective tour de forces. I’m sure folks had access to these records, but it wasn’t as easy as going to their local record store, especially in Utah, to find these gems. Maybe that’s just my imagination running away with me, but while there are dozens of Cure and DM influenced bands scattered throughout Europe, a US entry is very rare indeed, which makes this tape even more unexpected and interesting to me.

Ok, enough theoretical babble. Despite the obvious influences, this tape is definitely a treat to be heard, and many thanks to Ben for sending a rip my way! Here’s the information:

Violet Town- Violet Town K7
1. Torn Inside
2. Hope Is Gone
3. Mantis
4. Wrinkle In Your Eye
5. Secrets Told
6. Alice Temple
7. Two Girls
8. Deer In A Graveyard

*download it here*

6 Responses to “Violet Town- Violet Town K7”

  1. I've been visiting your blog for a while. I'm a big fan of your site. This post is really great. Thanks from Peru. Keep feeding us.
    Oscar

  2. Living in Utah This was super interesting. Does anyone have any more info about the Primary Music label?

  3. Joshua Blevins Peck Says:

    I think you are probably going slightly overboard the "no music in Utah in the '80s" aspect of this post. I grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma in the 1980s [Bible belt if there ever was a place] and we had multiple record stores where you could get a wide variety of English music, punk rock, current issues of NME and Melody Maker and what have you. Salt Lake City has a major university there, so, I'm guessing that you could get the latest Cure records. I'm not saying it didn't take effort [compared to now at least w/ EVERYTHING out there online], but the music was out there if you wanted to find it.

    I actually caught THE THE play a show in Salt Lake in the early 1990s and remember going to a couple of great record stores, so it can't be that isolated!

    Great post though!

    Joshua

  4. frankie teardrop Says:

    Joshua-
    Very likely indeed! I tend to overromanticize stuff like this. Glad you enjoyed the tape!

  5. oldskool Says:

    I like this tape and I like your description of it. I also like that the singer does not try to imitate anyone which would have spoilt the fun for me. Great music, keep on digging!

  6. Roland king Says:

    Could somebody please send me info on the band Violet Town. Greatest tape ive ever listened to. Ty

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