Picked this 7” from 1985 up at one of my favorite NYC record shops, the newly unveiled Heaven Street Records in Greenpoint. Bears no relation to either the Dorian Gray posted here, or the Dorian Grey posted here, though both are worth checking out as well. Seems to be a popular name for those in the pre-Google age!
What we have here are two tracks from the UK wave scene that strike a balance between Into a Circle and Crocodiles-era Echo and the Bunnymen. Not shocking to hear the band once supported Gene Loves Jezebel, as there’s a melodic post-punk vibe running through this single. The b-side is a more percussive and groove-oriented remix of the title track, for those who appreciate that sort of thing. Dig it:
Dorian Gray- Promise of Love 7”
1. Promise Of Love
2. Miles Away
There’s another 12” from 1986 out there, priced a little higher than this 7”. Hope to snag and share that one sometime soon, so stay tuned. There’s also a video for ‘Promise of Love’ kicking around on YouTube, linked for your viewing pleasure:
Thanks to the Museum of Canadian Music (www.mocm.ca) for the information and rip on this one, here’s the incredibly scarce 12” from Glamatron, released in 1981. Some excellent minimal synth tracks combined with organic touches, sometimes reminiscent of John Foxx-era Ultravox. Either way, a true gem. Kurt Laporte, credited as a songwriter on this release, went on to join Vis-A-Vis, who released THIS great record. Here’s the info for this killer 12”. Enjoy!
Glamatron!- Only The Heart Beats…….Inside The Silence
1. Passport
2. Facial Saviour
3. Factor 2-2-2
4. The Word (Death In September)
5. Continentals
6. Porcelain Doll
*DOWNLOAD LINK REMOVED* — a reissue of this LP is now available, with extra tracks! Pick it up!
Rolling right along, here’s a recent dollar bin snag that’s every bit as good as I was hoping. Pulled this out of a bin based on the date (1983) and cover art alone, threw it on to preview, and was pleasantly surprised. It’s nice to know there are still plenty of undiscovered (and affordable) gems out there!
Not much I can tell you about this one, though. I’ve been told that the label, Phonogram Ltd., was not a true label, but instead, a company responsible for licensing tracks to smaller labels. I have to take another glance at the sleeve to confirm, but a few listings claim that this record was released on Mercury in the UK. Either way, Swiss Navy had a mind to create a dancefloor smash all over the world, and they damn well succeeded with this one, in my book. I don’t care much for the third track, a quirky earworm that while charming, can’t hold a candle to the title track. However, the two mixes of “Back to the Wall” more than make up for it. Here’s the details:
Swiss Navy- Back to the Wall 12”
1. Back to the Wall (Marine Mix)
2. Back to the Wall
3. Cool-De-Jack
Apologies in advance for flooding your hard drives with music, folks. Two posts in store for today- mostly because I promised some Wierd party attendees I’d drop these records immediately for download!
First, we have some killer French synth pop, highly reminiscent of Depeche Mode with some slight italo leanings. This single was released on CBS Records in 1987 and was a minor hit in the European club scene. This track also features the legendary Desireless (aka Claudie Fritsch-Mentrop) on backing vocals, hot off the heels of her own club hit. You have four mixes to choose from here, two extended 12” mixes, the lean single mix (my preferred version), and a spaced out instrumental version, which despite the title, has masked/processed vocals throughout. Think of it more like a dub mix than an instrumental…
Entre2mers released a follow up single, “Marine” in 1989 with bigger, almost Belgian-style grooves and orchestra hits. I’ve included the extended 12” mix here (sorry, don’t own this single or have the single mix digitally) as a bonus. Enjoy!
Sorry for the onslaught of posts, folks! Got ants in the pants, I guess- lots of cool things I’m excited about posting in the new year. This one was just sent to me this morning by Mr. BX, and since I’ve been dying to hear it for some time, I figured some of you might be anxious to hear it as well.
Contained within we have the first LP from French musician Alan Shearer, released in 1985. I included the final track on this LP in the recent Systems of Romance compilation post, so some of you may already be familiar with this album’s general vibe. You can expect more of the same instrumental synth grooves here, some more melodic and ambient than others. Reminds me of a cross between Tangerine Dream and some of John Carpenter’s more dancefloor electronic tracks. Definitely an interesting listen!
Alan Shearer- Dark Is the Color LP
1. The Heart Patrol
2. Dark Is The Color
3. Generation V
4. Chronomaster
5. Nocturnal March
6. The Flea Age
7. Tropical Terminal
8. Only For One Girl
9. Blackstone
10. Down Town
11. Sons Of The Snake
Hot on the heels of this morning’s post, here’s a very nearly complete discography of French synthpop band Goûts De Luxe. Some of you may already be familiar with the band, as a few of their a-sides were prominent, though now obscure, new wave hits- some of the best of the era. I also included one of the band’s finest moments (the killer minimal synth-esque b-side “Last Train”) on the most recent installments of the Systems of Romance loose tracks compilations. Since I haven’t seen their work shared out there, I figured it was due time to organize it and sort it all out for everyone’s enjoyment.
The band’s origins date back to the mid 1980s in Brest, a city in northwestern France. The band’s lineup changed a handful of times throughout their short time together. After recording (or, in actuality, NOT recording) on the first single, original guitarist Jean-Éric Montfort left the band and was replaced by Marianna Kliska, wife of vocalist Jacques le Honsec. They released two more singles before calling it a day.
With the exception of the instrumental version of “Les Yeux de Laura,” and the promo mixes of the track, this zip file ocntains all the tracks recorded by Goûts De Luxe during their time together, including all three singles and respective b-sides. I hope you all don’t mind missing out on the instrumental mix, as I’ve never found them to be very necessary, but I should be able to track it down (in time) if needed. However, as a consolation, I have included a different extended mix of “Omaha Beach” that I can’t quite place on either single, with a different running time and everything! If anyone knows where it belongs, do chime in! Otherwise, let’s get to the details:
Goûts De Luxe- Les Yeux de Laura 7” (1986)
1. Les Yeux de Laura
Goûts De Luxe- Les Yeux de Laura 12” (1986)
1. Les Yeux de Laura (Extended Mix)
Since the band enjoyed some relative success throughout Europe, there are a few promo videos floating around. Here’s a clip for “Omaha Beach.”
Also, if your French is fluent, you can read more about the band (including lyrics, I believe) on their official website. There are also a slew of photos, and a demo recording hidden in the site, so be sure to explore:
I have some killer archival posts to kick off the new year (starting this afternoon), but everyone knows that modern artists need love too! First things first, I’d like to pass on a free 7” from two chums of mine from two different lands. Here’s a blistering 7” split from Bootblacks (a local NYC blues-punk outfit reminiscent of The Gun Club) and Monozid (hard hitting German post-punk with a hint of NDW). You get two tracks per band with this release! This is Bootblacks’ first appearance on record, while Monozid have a handful of releases dating back to their debut CD-R in 2006.
You can often find these two bands playing shows together throughout Europe and the United States, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for both bands in the new year. Thanks to Monozid for the download link for the single, hoping you all enjoy it! Here’s the info:
1. Monozid- Shame Of The Nation
2. Monozid- Turquoise Fields Burn Brighter, Honey
3. Bootblacks- Empire
4. Bootblacks- Tuxedo Tomcat
*DOWNLOAD LINK REMOVED*
There’s also a video for the second Monozid track, “Turquoise Fields Burn Brighter, Honey,” which features various tour footage and cameos from both bands! Click below to peep it.
Here’s a killer 7” from 1982 that I’ve been meaning to post for a while. Seems there isn’t a lot of information to be had regarding this understated minimal synth/post-punk hybrid single, a private release on T.B. records. The band hailed from the UK, and naturally, this is their only release.
If anyone can fill in the blanks on this one, feel free to chime in. Otherwise, please do enjoy!
Terminal Beach- Love on Auto 7”
1. Love on Auto
2. Dark Words
I was going to wait until early next week to post these, but I’m terrible with keeping secrets, so here’s an early holiday treat for you all. Linked below are TWO new Systems of Romance loose tracks compilations, lovingly assembled and pieced together from various sources, private collections, and generous donations!
Before we get to the tracklistings, I just wanted to say thanks to everyone for a truly solid year here at Systems of Romance, probably the best we’ve had yet. I really appreciate all the support from artists, fellow bloggers, and readers alike. Here’s to many more years and many more posts to come!
Warm fuzzies aside, let’s get to the good stuff!
Various Artists- Systems of Romance Vol. 3
1. Movements- Pascal Wathelet
2. The Aesthete- Biokonstruktor
3. Attack Decade- The Toy Shop
4. Erosion- Teepee
5. Demain Peut-Etre- Clair Instant
6. Man in the Railings- Plain Characters
7. Fate/Hate- Nyam Nyam
8. Mass Media- Monty Cantsin
9. Binary- Kazino
10. Ik En Mezelf- Fred A.
11. On- Zana
12. Fussball- Seltsame Zustände
13. Flickan I Mitt Badkar- Finish Him
14. Marche Nuptiale- Anches Doo Too Cool
15. New Harbours- Movement
16. Can’t Stop- Avantgarde De Luxe
17. Huge Box- The Bien
18. Paula- Nasa
19. Beautiful Lady- Hidden Pleasure
Various Artists- Systems of Romance Vol. 4
1. The Invitation- Portrait Bizarre
2. Robot Dynastie- Terminus B
3. Let’s Call-Up- Forum
4. Marilyn En Jean- Tonic
5. Camera Room- Breathing Age
6. Sons of the Snake- Alan Shearer
7. Last Train- Goûts De Luxe
8. Let Me Out of Here- Fizik
9. Certain Words- Clair Instant
10. You Hurt Me (Original Version)- Shark Vegas
11. Changing- Siam
12. Never Seen- Second Thoughts
13. Soba 23- Denis & Denis
14. Chant D’Yxos- Pascal Wathelet
15. XYZ- Pat Sheedy
16. Some Other Day- Insanity
17. In Loving Memory- Steve Ainsworth
18. The Letter- D’Arc
I have one more thing to post today, so might as well drop it now, while the iron is hot. Here’s a classic 12” by The Bridge, a DJ favorite of mine for some time now, recently acquired on vinyl. I believe this synthpop outfit acted as a three piece, releasing several singles in the mid 1980s. This particular record was produced by Paul Bell, who then went on to form Zerra One.
There’s a bit of discrepency between their first two singles, so let me try my best to explain. As listed online, there’s both a 12” for Love Dance (today’s post) as well as a single release entitled Industrial Love Dance, but both feature the same tracklisting, more or less, with slightly tweaked titles. Maybe the label (Second Vision) thought it was best to steer clear of the ‘industrial’ tag? If anyone can shed some light on this situation, I would be most appreciative!
The versions on this 12” also appear on the Industrial Love Dance single, alongside a shorter, more radio-friendly version of side A, which I’ve uploaded seperately for good measure. So with this post, you get all three versions of “Love Dance,” an edgy synthpop track with excellent hooks and solid vocals. What more can you ask for?
The Bridge- Love Dance 12”
1. Love Dance (Love Mix)
2. Love Dance (Industrial Mix)
Systems of Romance was created in mid-2007 to serve as a dumping grounds for all great things coldwave, minimal synth, post-punk, synthpunk, industrial, synthpop, and various other combinations of these styles. Feel free to make requests, noodle around, and discuss all you like...
Otherwise, this blog is dedicated to showcasing material that has long since been out of print. If you are aware of any of these items being readily available from the artist or label, or take issue with these tracks being uploaded, please let me know so I can amend the post or remove the links.
