Archive for December, 2018

Various Artists- Woke Up Smiling & Kindred Spirits CDs

Posted in 1990s, 1994, 1995, dreampop, ethereal, shoegaze on December 19, 2018 by Frankie Teardrop

For the last post of the year, I’d love to share two excellent CD-only collections of exclusive dream pop, ethereal, and shoegaze tracks from Bedazzled, released in 1994 and 1995, respectfully. I can’t help but get nostalgic during this time of year, and listening to these comps make me miss Bedazzled and the centralized US/Canadian dream pop scene that thrived in the late 80s and early 90s.

With that in mind, these compilations showcase the majority of the acts on the label, and include rare or otherwise exclusive tracks across the board. Most notable are repeat SOR-offenders An April March, as well as tracks from Mistle Thrush, Viola Peacock, Underflowers, The Curtain Society, Ultracherry Violet, This Ascension, and of course, Monica Richard’s pre-Faith and the Muse project Strange Boutique. Kindred Spirits extends a little further past the immediate Bedazzled family and includes tracks from Switchblade Symphony, Purple Ivy Shadows, and extremely underrated band The Garden, who are worth price of admission alone.

Of course, let’s get to the listening! Thanks for an excellent year, y’all!

Various Artists- Kindred Spirits CD (1994)
1. This Charm- Strange Boutique
2. Clown- Switchblade Symphony
3. Adrenaline- The Curtain Society
4. Pontus- Siddal
5. Falling in Love- Ultracherry Violet
6. Whispers- Mistle Thrush
7. Pocketful (Remix)- Big Hat
8. As I Hit the Floor- Twelve Tone Failure
9. Shave Your Head- Viola Peacock
10. Blackwell Road- Opium Den
11. Admire- This Ascension
12. Blithe Spirit- The Garden
13. Carry Nation for the First Time- Purple Ivy Shadows

Various Artists- Woke Up Smiling CD (1995)
1. She Is A Flower- Mistle Thrush
2. Cradle- The Curtain Society
3. In The Lonely Trees- Strange Boutique
4. Sense Of Skin- Where I Wake Warm
5. An Angel A Week- Viola Peacock
6. In Galleons Lap- Feast Of Saints
7. As Far As Forever- Johanna’s House Of Glamour
8. Shindo- Chainsuck
9. Wayve- Ultracherry Violet
10. Halo- Blueshift Signal
11. A Glendale Melody- Siddal
12. Delirium- An April March
13. Psalm To The Sun- Underflowers
14. Falling- Lanterna

*download both here*

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Fourwaycross- Fourwaycross K7

Posted in 1980s, 1985, california, fourwaycross, post-punk, US on December 4, 2018 by Frankie Teardrop

Picking back up where our last post left off, here’s an album that’s been near and dear to my heart for many moons, hailing from the same general area and scene as Drowning Pool, Abecedarians, etc. While there seems to be a lot of activity in the area, there doesn’t seem to be as much love out there for Fourwaycross, who began in 1984 in Los Angeles. Though the main core of the band was Tom Dolan, Biff Sanders, Steve Gerdes and Courtney Davies, the band has shifted lineups and styles seamlessly over the years, most notably drafting Brad Laner and Beth Thompson, who would then go on to form Medicine upon the band’s demise.

Despite the lineup changes, the original core of the band offered up what is in my opinion, their strongest work, 1985’s self-titled cassette. The release is haunting, singular, and transcends genres to allow for neo-classical passages, Savage Republic-esque tribal post-punk, ethereal instrumentals with flutes in tow, and psychedelic, haunting folk. The cassette was reissued several times over in a variety of formats, including a vinyl pressing (affordable and essential), cassettes with alternate artwork, and even a CD-R issue in 2011 as interest in post-punk music was thriving. That said, this rip comes from an original cassette from 1985, in pristine condition.

This is the band’s earliest material, not counting a posthumous release of outtakes, demos, and rare tracks on Independent Project Records, released as Pendulum. The band would issue three equally strong albums following this debut, and have released a handful of excellent singles in the last year featuring the original core lineup. You can listen and purchase the new work via the band’s Bandcamp, and you can also find them all on Facebook. Courtney and Steve have also launched a new project called The Roogs, who are currently working on material.

Without any further ado, here’s the info on this cassette:

Fourwaycross- Fourwaycross K7
1. Intro
2. When Will You
3. Apologize
4. Sharpened Knives
5. Long Talk
6. Driving Thru Trees
7. MF
8. Strictly Morphine

*download it here*

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