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Under a Glass Bell – Over The Moon 7” + compilation tracks

Posted in 1980s, 1986, dreampop, goth, goth-rock, post-punk, uk, under a glass bell on February 26, 2026 by Frankie Teardrop

Doing it – four posts today! Hope y’all are enjoying everything so far – I’ll be back before too long…

Last, but not least, we have what is probably my favorite of the lot here, the lone 7” from UK band Under a Glass Bell. I first heard this band via a compilation that Goutroy sent my way, and immediately had to hear more. This is one of my sweet spots, female-fronted post-punk with a dreamier, romantic side. An immediate touchstone for this band would be All About Eve, but of course, bands like Asmodi Bizarr, Stimmen Der Stille, Cry of the Innocent, etc. come to mind here as well.

In addition to this excellent 7”, I’m including Goutroy’s rip of the Last Tango EP track from 1986 as well as their final compilation track from 1987, courtesy of the fantastic Lost But Not Forgotten 80’s YouTube channel, who sent me this track to include here. Many thanks to both of you for helping to complete their discography! <3

Under a Glass Bell – Over the Moon 7” (1986)
1. Over the Moon
2. Sweethead

Various Artists – Last Tango 7” (1986)
2. The Key to Salem

Various Artists – Vanity! 7 Deadly Sins 15 Deadly Songs (From The Artists Of Norwich) (1987)
3. Love Me to Death

*download it all here*

Speaking of Goutroy and I – we’ll be DJing together at Treasure Club in NYC next Friday, March 6th, playing ONLY 7” records – including this one. If you’re in NYC, feel free to stop by and say hi! <3

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I’ve Lost Sarah – Soft and Water 7”

Posted in 1990, 1990s, alternative, I've Lost Sarah, post-punk, uk on February 26, 2026 by Frankie Teardrop

Next up, here’s one I’ve been meaning to post for a few years now – much more of a UK post-punk/alternative sound, from 1990, when things were a little more guitar-heavy overall. This is the band’s only single, a one-two punch of gloomy, guitar-driven, yet anthemic tracks that hit similar moods as Midnight Oil, late-IRS R.E.M., Gene Loves Jezebel, The Cult, and maybe some Violent Femmes/early Janes Addiction vibes (plus more obscure guitar-driven bands Black September or Into a Circle).

The band was from Bath, England, and also feature on a 2014 compilation of bands from the local scene.

The driving b-side here is my preferred track of the two, but both tracks should hit the spot for fans of the 1986-1991 alternative boom, a little dark and edgy… Hope y’all enjoy!

I’ve Lost Sarah – Soft and Water (aka Fish Can’t Swim) 7”
1. Soft and Water
2. All Souls Day

*download it here*

The Minx – Real Minx

Posted in 1980s, 1983, new wave, post-punk, punk, the minx, US on February 26, 2026 by Frankie Teardrop

Please excuse me as I attempt to post four times today again…

Here’s an extra rare full length LP from 1983 by The Minx, a US-based post-punk/new wave hybrid band from Southern California, I believe.

There once existed another band with a similar name from the same general area who called themselves The Real Minx, perhaps as a reaction to this band and LP (confusing!). This is not that band however, but instead is a similarly four-piece, female-fronted band who plays rickety guitar wave with some chirpy organs in tow. Their first single was a little more caustic, along the lines of Action Pact! or early Fuzzbox, while the LP softens the edges a little bit and includes a re-recorded version of b-side “Prisoner.” Some touchstones for the LP include Young Marble Giants/Weekend, The B-52s, Fall of Saigon, Suburban Lawns, and so on.

I love this LP, even if it falls a little outside of my usual fare. Hope y’all enjoy it, too.

The Minx – Real Minx LP
1. Tides
2. Ira
3 .Prisoner
4. Leg Show
5. Starlines
6 I Can Hardly Wait
7. New York Song
8. Static
9. Time To Myself
10. Deity (The Last Days)
11. Band Of Gold
12. Vision (Good Night)

*download it here*

Native Tongue – Native Tongue 12” + YOWL LP

Posted in 1980s, 1981, 1983, boston, Native Tongue, post-punk, US on January 28, 2026 by Frankie Teardrop

Boston, MA was certainly a hotbed for guitar driven post-punk. Naturally, bands like Pixies, The Lemonheads, and Mission of Burma get the lion’s share of the attention, but in those early days, Native Tongue was heavily active and well known in their hometown scene, especially for self-coining what is known as the “Revere Beach” sound, which features double layered vocals and jagged post-punk rhythms. This three piece recorded several demos, one EP, and one LP before calling it quits, also contributing a Christmas tune to a local scene compilation that also features Jeff and Jane Hudson and a few demo recordings to a 2007 Boston-based compilation. The band would reissue most of their catalogue in 2008, but the compilation is only on vinyl as well.

Currently, both Lee Leffler and Michael Frackleton are active in psychedelic post-punk band Dream of a Man in a Top Hat. You can read an interview with them both here and check out some of their newer material. They also share some stories about recording the Native Tongue material, which is a great read.

Some touchstones for Native Tongue include Gang of Four, early Public Image Ltd. and Wire, and For Against’s more driving material. Very jagged and angular guitars, powerful vocals, big hooks, and the kind of fast paced energy that really captures my attention around this time period. While rips of their material have been floating around for a bit, here’s a couple of fresh passes on both their 1981 EP and 1983 album. As a bonus, I’ve included their 1983 Christmas cover – never too late for a little cheer I suppose?

Hope y’all enjoy!

Native Tongue – Native Tongue 12” (1981)
1. Speaking In Captions
2. All Wronged Up
3. No Sense
4. Carving The Future From Soap

Native Tongue – YOWL LP (1983)
1. Hoodwinked
2. Blame It On Gravity
3. Pencil Point
4. Ali
5. Thieves At Night
6. No Bush Beat
7. Bit Part
8. Do I Bother You?
9. Fluffy Thing
10. The Cake

Various – A Boston Rock Christmas (1983)

2. Native Tongue – Do You Hear What I Hear?

*download it all here*

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Anorexic Dread – Tracey’s Burning 12”

Posted in 1980s, 1984, Anorexic Dread, goth, goth-rock, post-punk on December 29, 2025 by Frankie Teardrop

On Christmas Day, we lost Perry “Teddy” Bamonte – a long-serving member of The Cure who played guitar, synths, and six string bass from ~1990-2005, and who performed with the band during their last tour for Songs of a Lost World in 2023-24.

So the story goes, Bamonte originally joined The Cure’s road crew in 1984 at the urging of his brother Daryl, and served as Robert Smith’s guitar tech and personal assistant before joining the band officially. For six years he would hone his guitar skills and learn to play piano/keyboards. Once Roger O’Donnell left the band in 1990, Bamonte was the perfect choice to step into the role, and his versatile playing and love for the band was a key asset in the years to come. I’ve always been a huge fan of the albums he performed on, especially 1992’s Wish and 2000’s underrated Bloodflowers, and I especially adore a handful of deep cuts/album tracks/b-sides from 1996’s Wild Mood Swings, which was the “new” album when I first fell in love with The Cure in my early high school years. I’ve also heard wonderful stories about Perry from over the years from those who were close to him and he has been highly regarded as being quiet, yet passionate and sweet across the board.

While The Cure is certainly a massive part of Perry’s story, he also was a member of a little-known deathrock/goth/psychobilly band from the UK called Anorexic Dread. Anorexic Dread were a quartet who were inspired deeply by The Cramps, The Birthday Party, Alien Sex Fiend, and many of the other notorious Batcave scene bands from the era. The band formed in Southend in 1983 and gained a local following over the years, with Bamonte joining soon after the band’s debut performance. While they had a handful of tracks in their set, Anorexic Dread would record but one 12”, which was released in 1984 on Criminal Damage Records. The label also released seminal singles by Look Back In Anger, Ausgang, and Play Dead offshoot Mankind’s Audio Development. As was popular practice with many musicians of the era, Bamonte assumed the stage name Leonard De Finchie (Lenny Finch on the back cover). Soon after the release of the single, Bamonte/Finch would depart the band to begin his tenure with The Cure. Anorexic Dread would continue for another year, recording a new demo and opening up for one of their idols, the mighty Killing Joke. I don’t believe that demo has has found its way to the masses just yet, but the band’s legacy has been cemented by Cherry Red, who did include the title track in the Silhouettes & Statues (A Gothic Revolution 1978 – 1986) compilation in 2017. The title track has also appeared on the CD editions of the 2023 Edsel Records compilation Young Limbs Rise Again (The Story Of The Batcave Nightclub 1982-1985).

You can read a bit more about the band here – otherwise, here’s a rip of the full 12”, including the more playful b-side.

Much love to the Bamonte family, his friends, and bandmates past and present.

Anorexic Dread – Tracey’s Burning 12”
1. Tracey’s Burning/Epitaph
2. Tick Tock

*download it here*

1 Comment »

Factual – Full Discography

Posted in 1980s, 1982, 1983, 1984, actuel, minimal, minimal synth, nashville, post-punk, US, warm dark pocket on July 22, 2025 by Frankie Teardrop

Moving south-east here for the second of four posts today, this one collecting the full vinyl discography by Nashville, Tennessee band Factual, whose track “Psychotic Romance” is an underrated minimal synth gem from this rare neck of the woods. That track must have appeared in the majority of my DJ sets back in NYC’s Wierd party where its driving post-punk rhythms and buzzing synths made for a regular foggy dance floor killer. I haven’t heard the track in some time, and fell in love with it (as well as the similarly excellent tracks “Your Way” and “Wire and Chrome”) all over again when re-ripping these for y’all.

This band was otherwise a four piece, and vocalist/synth player Robb Earls also played in similarly like-minded bands Actuel (whose lone album Monuments is a sublime slice of moody Factory-inspired post-punk, maybe I’ll re-post that one soon as well) as well as Warm Dark Pocket, who released one killer 12” that I also should get around to re-ripping soon… Guitarist Skot Nelson would also join caustic industrial/post-punk project Dessau after Factual’s demise.

Here are all three Factual releases, all well worth your time. Enjoy!

Factual – Your Way 7” (1982)
1. Your Way
2. Think to the Beat

Factual – Psychotic Romance 12” (1983)
1. Psychotic Romance
2. Institutions
3. Wire and Chrome
4. Standing Alone

Factual – For the Song 12” (1984)
1. For the Song
2. Psychotic Romance (Remix)

*download all three here*

Kindergarten – Interference 12” / No. 3 EP

Posted in 12'', 1980s, 1982, 1987, minimal, minimal synth, minneapolis, new wave, post-punk, US on July 22, 2025 by Frankie Teardrop

Today, I intend to post at LEAST three times, perhaps even four if time allows. Hope your ears can take it!

In short, I’ve been going through my collection and re-ripping/de-clicking records that others have shared in the past in an effort to preserve the best quality and sound for these records. Back in the day, 192 was standard, and it was about hearing the music. Now that hard drive and SD card space is much less of an issue for most, it’s time to do the work to preserve these records as best as we possibly can. It’s an ongoing project that will probably take me the rest of my life to complete, but hopefully it’s helpful for folks out there.

With that in mind, let’s get things started with two records from Minnesota-based new wave/minimal synth project Kindergarten. I believe the band were a four (sometimes five) piece centering around vocalist Robert Engberg, drummer Bob Joslyn, and guitarists Chris Beaty and David Foley. Foley and Joslyn also played together in Things That Fall Down, a more experimental post-punk project. There are still some experimental synth sounds on thee band’s first release, 1982’s Interference 12”. By the time of their second release in 1987, the band evolved into a more post-punk/new wave hybrid, with a little more of a darker college radio kind of sound. They would release one more LP in 1988, which I have heard, but do not own and cannot share in a high enough bitrate. Maybe someday!

Anyway, with that in mind, I really enjoy both records here and I hope you do as well. Here’s the good stuff:

Kindergarten – Interference 12” (1982)
1. Interference
2. Auschwitz
3. God Only Knows

Kindergarten – No. 3 EP (1987)
1. Transportation
2. 10 Little Indians
3. Terri Goes Walking
4. Disco-X
5. Aquamarine

*download both here*

7 Comments »

Mumbles – Two Clouds

Posted in 1990, 1990s, drowning pool, ethereal, mumbles, post-punk on July 1, 2025 by Frankie Teardrop

I think I’ve been meaning to post this album for… I dunno, five years now? How time flies…

Here we have the lone album from US-based band Mumbles, released in 1990. While Mumbles may not be a name that comes to mind immediately, the band is essentially a continuation of experimental/ethereal post-punk band Drowning Pool, whose esoteric, yet driving sound spanned four LPs and several cassette releases. Three of the four Drowning Pool members are present on this album, including members Adam Elesh and Brett Smith, who were also in Landscape of Sound, a previous project we’ve featured here before as well. New to the fold is vocalist Kelly Ray.

Either way, this is an excellent album, perfect for these hazy summer nights. It should feel right at home if you like Drowning Pool’s excellent, deeply engaging and emotive discography. It was originally released on Italian label Viva Records, who not only released several Drowning Pool releases, but who were also responsible for the excellent Viva Los Angeles compilations, which featured many like-minded “desert goth” (as I like to call it), bands. Despite being released exclusively on CD, some copies of Two Clouds, like the one I picked up, are housed in a oversized, 10”-inspired sleeve, perhaps as a nod to like-minded label Independent Project Records. Pretty cool!

Mumbles – Two Clouds
1. Blue Vishnu
2. Pipe & Dream
3. Johnny Go
4. Hearthmaker
5. Mother Harvest
6. Diamond
7. Utah Smith
8. Star Crossed
9. Lullaby Blue
10. White Out
11. Nuit Blanche
12. Two Clouds
13. American Gothic

*download it here*

2 Comments »

The New Day – Voices LP

Posted in 1980s, 1986, post-punk, US on June 18, 2025 by Frankie Teardrop

Something I often admit in conversation is that many of the obscure bands I champion as a DJ/blogger/overall nerd often sound remarkably similar to the bigger, more commercially successful ones. For every true original (whatever that means) there are arguably twenty other bands who tap into the same set of influences and wind up in the same ballpark. Then, of course there are bands where the influences are so strong, it’s uncanny.While my tolerance for new bands doing this is extremely low in 2025, I still have a big soft spot for bands from the 80s and 90s who wore their influences on their sleeves, especially if they’re evoking a particular band whose vocalist sports big floppy hair and copious amounts of lipstick.

With that in mind, here’s the best Cure album you may not have heard from a band from Houston, Texas. Similar to bands like The Essence, Crimson Ivy, and Silent Creatures, The New Day simply adore The Cure from top to bottom, so much so that their name even references one of the best Cure b-sides from The Head on the Door era. Not only that, but this album plays like a series of tracks from that era (as well as Three Imaginary Boys, Seventeen Seconds, and Faith), full of jangly guitar, big hooks, cold synths, similar lyrical themes, and of course, that voice, complete with some yelps here and there.

This is the band’s only album, released on Morning Glory Records in 1986. Of course, you could argue that this album hits too close for comfort, but the truth of is that, for me, the songs are great and there’s some true DIY magic at play here that makes this an instant favorite. I love this album, through and through. Maybe you will as well?

The New Day – Voices LP
1. Sharp Object
2. Flames of Colours
3. The Words
4. Breathing Walls
5. That Noise
6. Scratch
7. Alone
8. Change
9. Pictures R Vague
10. The Voices

*download it here*

8 Comments »

A Special Night – The Big Noise and the Lone Silence 12”

Posted in 1980s, 1986, A Special Night, italian, post-punk on April 29, 2025 by Frankie Teardrop

Here’s…for lack of a better word…a special one. The Big Noise and the Lone Silence is the first and only release by Italian post-punk quartet A Special Night. This four-track single was released in 1986 via Cave Canem, who also released the excellent Still Life EP, the previous incarnation of Selena Moor, as well as releases by The Gift. You can expect similar sounds here – delightfully dreamy, femme-fronted post-punk in the vein of Repetition, Asmodi Bizarr, etc.

This is such a sweet spot for me, I can never get enough of this sound, personally…