I recently took part in an online roundtable discussion with Eric Lumbleau of Mutant Sounds, Liam Elms of 8 Days in April, and Brian Turner of WFMU regarding our efforts and the current state of music blogging. Thanks to Mark Allen (Vice, NYT) for the opportunity! Feel free to join the discussion here.
The Rise and Fall of the Obscure Music Blog
Posted in Uncategorized on November 28, 2012 by Frankie TeardropAnia- Ma’king Love 7”
Posted in 1980s, 1984, ania, minimal, minimal synth, swedish, synthpop on November 26, 2012 by Frankie TeardropBeen a long time since we’ve had something on the minimal synth side of the spectrum, so after another excellent Thanksgiving break I offer up this little Swedish nugget from 1984. A simple two track 7” of very murky origin, on a label with no other releases credited via discogs, a slice of synth perfection with female vocals that is guaranteed to get your goose, or rather, turkey leftovers cooking… The A-side is best enjoyed by those who like sleazy, funky disco in the vein of Nancy Nova. The B-side is the real treat here, a must for minimal die-hards and worth the price of admission alone, if you’ve got the chowder to purchase your own copy. After downloading, mister Vanilla Face of Crispy Nuggets drew accurate comparisons to Rive Gauche & Carol releases. A perfect comparison, if I do say so myself!
Ania- Ma’king Love 7”
1. Ma’king Love
2. …On the Telephone
Taking a quick glance at the queue, we’ll be getting back to rare tapes over the next few weeks, with an exception here or there. A few hints about some upcoming posts: LC, PM, OD, SI, & LD. Stay tuned for more over the next few weeks!
City- City LP
Posted in 1980s, 1982, city, italian, post-punk, synth on November 20, 2012 by Frankie TeardropHere’s a rare LP from the outskirts of the Italian wave scene. Though this album was released on Mercury (Abc, Tears For Fears, Bon Jovi) in 1982, it is virtually unheard outside of its native country. Can’t tell you a thing about this band, though they certainly wear their Bowie influence on their sleeve. I get a bit of a Lodger/Scary Monsters vibe from this LP (especially in the guitar work), as well as a bit of Magazine circa Secondhand Daylight, Marquis De Sade’s Rue De Siam, and some Simple Minds-esque hooks here and there. While nothing on this LP touches the sheer highs of any of those artists, there are still some excellent tracks here, and the LP is very enjoyable from start to finish. A friend who recommended this record tells me the lyrics are much more bleak and clever than the music might suggest, though my Italian isn’t up to snuff. There is a lyric sheet included though. Maybe someday I’ll type ’em up.
If anyone can tell me more about this album, I’m all eyes. Without any further ado:
City- City LP
1. Citycidio
2. Antagonista
3 Isolamento
4. Autobahn
5. Giungla Metropolitana
6. Telefoni
7. Cliche
8. Notte
9. Guerra Psicologica
10. Macchina
Six Sed Red- Shake It Right 12”
Posted in 1980s, 1984, b-movie, cabaret voltaire, electro, Marc and the Mambas, soft cell, synth, synthpop on November 13, 2012 by Frankie TeardropThis one goes out to Tamaryn, who’s currently touring behind Tender New Signs, my favorite record of 2012. It’s been a while since we had anything club-friendly here, so here’s a fresh rip of one of my favorite WIERD DJ staples. You may have seen this circulating around as bx-59cppw’s debut post, and there he sheds some light on this mysterious 12” from 1984. Released on Sire, this single was produced by Cabaret Voltaire and features two tracks by the duo of Cindy Ecstasy (Soft Cell/Marc and the Mambas) and Rick Holliday (early B-Movie lineup). It’s as good as it gets for club-ready, sex-dripping electro, and sounds to me like Prince and the girls from Strawberry Switchblade decided to record a cover of “Sensoria.”
Seriously. You guys are going to love this one.
Six Sed Red- Shake It Right 12”
1. Shake It Right
2. Bang ‘Em Right
Message- Demo K7
Posted in 1980s, cassette, coldwave, france, french, message on November 3, 2012 by Frankie Teardrop
I know it’s only been a few days since my last post, but Stéphane B. of Coldwave.fr just passed this over to me and I couldn’t wait to share. Keeping with recent themes, here’s an unknown and untitled demo tape from Message, previously covered here. I don’t have titles for any of the songs, though the fourth track is clearly “The Crazy Garden”- the b-side from the 7”. Can’t notice much of a difference between the two versions, tape murkiness aside. The other three (untitled) tracks seem to be exclusive to this release. Really wish they recorded more during their tenure…
No artwork for this one- sorry, kids!
Message- Demo K7
1. Track 01 (Instrumental)
2. Track 02
3. Strange Voice
4. The Crazy Garden
Speaking of coldwave demos, a lot of people have asked about the Coldreams demo tape, which can be found and enjoyed over at Kentucky Fried Wave.
Incee Wincee Spider- Don’t Know Anythin’ 7”
Posted in 1980s, 1988, goth, incee wincee spider, post-punk, punk, uk on November 1, 2012 by Frankie TeardropHere’s a razor sharp 7” from the UK, released in 1988. Was turned on to this one by Michael of Return to the East/The Anxiety of Love. Highly recommended for fans of Lack of Knowledge, Razor Penguins, Play Dead, and other bands who employ the anthemic, yet razor-sharp post-punk/goth sound. One of my favorite 7” sleeves, for the record.
I know very little about this band, as this is their only release. There are four names attached to it, but no traces of activity in other bands/projects. If anyone has any info about these lads, feel free to chime in.
Incee Wincee Spider- Don’t Know Anythin’ 7”
1. Don’t Know Anythin’
2. See My Love Shine
East Wall- Demo K7
Posted in 1980s, 1984, darkwave, demo, East Wall, italian, italo, italo disco, Kirlian Camera, minimal, minimal synth on October 22, 2012 by Frankie TeardropI’ve had this demo kicking around on my hard drive for a long time, but have yet to see it shared. For those unfamilair, East Wall were an offshoot project of Kirlian Camera’s original keyboard player Fabrizio Chiari, who recorded the band’s debut 12” (for my money, “News” is still the band’s best track followed closely by the soaring “Blue Room”). Teaming up with vocalist Wilma Notari, East Wall produced one LP and the excellent Eyes of Glass 12” (produced and aided by KC mainstay Angelo Bergamini), both which can be found here. There’s also a CD from 1993 out there, but I have no idea how that stacks up against their previous material.
I know very little about this demo tape, except that it was released in 1984, a year before their debut 12”. Most of the track titles are unknown, but the first track is clearly an early version of “Blue,” which was re-recorded for their 1991 LP Silence. The rest of the tracks sound hauntingly familiar (perhaps they were reworked entirely for Silence), but outside of some vague similarity, they seem to be exclusive to this tape. There’s some obvious cassette murkiness here, but it’s to be expected and the tape is still worth hearing for die hard fans of this excellent Italian duo as well as the primitive minimal synth of Tranquil Eyes & A Blaze Colour.
No artwork for the tape, sorry!
East Wall- Demo K7
1. Track 01 (Blue)
2. Track 02
3. Track 03
4. Track 04
5. Track 05
The Laughing Apple- The Ha Ha Hee Hee! E.P.
Posted in 1980s, 1981, alan mcgee, creation records, new wave, post-punk, primal scream, synth on October 16, 2012 by Frankie TeardropExcellent minimal post-punk 7” from 1981, as donated by the great bx-59cppw. Most notably, The Laughing Apples were the springboard for Creation Records’ Alan McGee. After a handful of private releases, McGee and bandmate Andrew Innes would form both Biff Bang Pow! and Revolving Paint Dream, two early Creation staples. The label would grow to prominence with bands such as Slowdive, Adorable, and My Bloody Valentine. Innes is also a member of Primal Scream, one of the label’s most lucrative bands.
This 7” should appeal to fans of They Must Be Russians, Marquis De Sade, and Product of Reason, not to mention McGee’s garage rock fascination. Be sure to listen carefully, or it’ll be over before you know it!
The Laughing Apple- The Ha Ha Hee Hee! E.P.
1. Sometimes I Wish
2. Chips For Tea
3. Upstairs Downstairs
4. I’m Okay
Ellysgarden- Demo K7
Posted in 1990s, 1995, coldwave, ellysgarden, france, french, post-punk on October 9, 2012 by Frankie TeardropHere’s another generous donation, this time from Jonathan. Here we have a demo tape from Ellysgarden, recorded in 19881995*. If you haven’t heard their full length record, 1994’s Echoes, you can grab that here.
For those unfamiliar, the band shares members with Rosa Luxemburg, a band that appears on several classic French compilations. The band employs a more jangle/dreampop sound than most of their contemporaries, recalling bands like Kitchens of Distinction, House of Love, and Catherine Wheel. However, this tape leans more towards their post-punk roots and is an absolute must for fans of fans of Sad Lovers and Giants, Lowlife, and Comsat Angels circa My Mind’s Eye (an underrated latter-day classic).
The tape features eight unheard songs that were never recorded again. No artwork for this one! Including a promo photo instead.
*EDIT: Thanks to Philippe Faraut for filling in the missing gaps! I can now report that this cassette was meant to be Ellysgarden’s SECOND album, recorded in 1995 and not 1988 as originally posted. The original master tapes for the pressing were lost in the mail, so all that remains of the album is this demo tape…
Ellysgarden- Demo K7
1. Pretty Accidents
2. Twice
3. Bleed or Shine
4. Reach Out
5. Heroes/High
6. Wrecked Skies
7. Ghardaia
8. Your Shammed Tears
Masoch- Demo K7
Posted in 1980s, coldwave, france, french, masoch on October 3, 2012 by Frankie TeardropI promised more rare French coldwave demo cassettes, so here’s another fantastic donation from Stéphane B. of Coldwave.fr. If you haven’t visited his site before, be sure to check in for some rare tracks never before heard, as well as a country-by-country sampling of some of the world’s best obscure guitar tracks!
This cassette was released before their 1984 12”, which you can find over at the always excellent Phoenix Hairpins (check the comments section for more info about this mysterious band). There’s a bit of overlap between the 12” and this cassette, though the versions on the demo were eventually re-recorded, appearing here in primitive form.
Masoch- Demo K7
1. Petit Valet
2. Strip-Tease
3. Semaine
4. Quand Musclée
5. Des Poils Sur Moi
6. Your Way