Galaxie 500 - On Fire (1989)

I don't know if Galaxie 500 can be credited with starting the slowcore movement, but they did more for its early development than anyone else. I think it was their intention to be an eighties version of The Velvet Underground; at least in the Velvet's quieter moments (think their 1969 self-titled album, the one with Pale Blue Eyes and I'm Set Free). Hey, if you're gonna copy someone, copy the best, right?

Shimmering and wave-like guitars set over slinky and growling bass lines locked into a steady drum beat; that's the Galaxie 500 sound that everyone after tried to copy as well; some got it right (Low, et al) and some didn't. But the fact remains that Galaxie was an awesome band, never trying to confuse the listener with tempo changes and stops and starts; just pop music slowed down enough to be covered in a sweet molasses glaze.

This is the 1997 Rykodisc re-issued remaster with three bonus tracks...

Galaxie 500 - On Fire (1989; Rough Trade Records)

NME C86 - A Rough Trade Records Compilation (1986)

C86-style pop music has been making a bit of a resurgence as of late, all thanks to bands like The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart and The Raveonettes. Which is a good thing- because at some point fans of those bands will have to stumble upon this gem, (once) a cassette that I picked up at House Of Music (Manoa Shopping Center, Havertown, PA) sometime in the late '80s and (now) a digital file somewhere in the recesses of my hard drive. I wonder what the original tape would be worth if I still had it? (I just did an eBay search, couldn't find this actual cassette but some of its contemporaries; going for anywhere from $1.50 to $8.00; which sadly, isn't as much as I thought...)

Anyway, if you're a fan of fuzzed out and jangly twee indie pop, here's where it started- the following bands owe as much a debt to both The Jesus & Mary Chain and The Smiths for their impetus as the two bands I mentioned above owe to the entire movement in general...

1. Primal Scream - Velocity Girl
2. The Mighty Lemon Drops - Happy Head
3. The Soup Dragons - Pleasantly Surprised
4. The Wolfhounds - Feeling So Strange Again
5. The Bodines - Therese
6. Mighty Mighty - Law
7. Stump - Buffalo
8. Bogshed - Run to the Temple
9. A Witness - Sharpened Sticks
10. The Pastels - Breaking Lines
11. Age of Chance - From Now On, This Will Be Your God
12. The Shop Assistants - It's Up to You
13. Close Lobsters - Firestation Towers
14. Miaow - Sport Most Royal
15. Half Man Half Biscuit - I Hate Nerys Hughes (From The Heart)
16. The Servants - Transparent
17. The Mackenzies - Big Jim (There's no pubs in Heaven)
18. Big Flame - New Way (Quick Wash And Brush Up With Liberation Theology)
19. Fuzzbox - Console Me
20. McCarthy - Celestial City
11. The Shrubs - Bullfighter's Bones
22. The Wedding Present - This Boy Can Wait

Various Artists - NME C86 (1986; NME Magazine/Rough Trade Records)
-link opens to YouTube video-

This Heat - Deceit (1981)

First time I ever heard this record, I was really high. Like insanely paranoid and high. Needless to say, this album terrified the shit out of me. I vowed to never listen to it again.

I listened to it again years later, totally stone sober; I finally understood what it was This Heat was trying to do- completely deconstruct the layers of what can be considered a "song" and break it down to its basest, most common denominator: noise. Pure, awesome unadulterated noise (and its relative constituent parts). It's probably the most avant-garde and experimental of the whole early-'80s "post-punk" scene; that's probably why I love it so.

I hope you give it a chance to terrify the shit out of you too...

This Heat - Deceit (1981; Rough Trade Records)
-link opens to YouTube-

Wanna Buy A Bridge? - a Rough Trade Records compilation (1980)

A totally awesome and definitive compilation of post-punk from Rough Trade Records' artists from the late '70s. Includes tracks by Cabaret Voltaire, Young Marble Giants, Robert Wyatt, The Pop Group, The Raincoats, Stiff Little Fingers, The Slits, Kleenex, Television Personalities and a few more!

Never made available on CD, this is one of those "vinyl-only releases"; so the rip is directly from Rough Trade Records' Spotify account. There's some copies of the LP floating around on eBay and Discogs.com, so it's a pretty rare find. 

Tracklist:

1. Alternative Ulster Stiff Little Fingers
2. Mind Your Own Business Delta 5
3. Man Next Door The Slits
4. Aerosol Burns Essential Logic
5. Part Time Punks Television Personalities
6. Read About Seymour Swell Maps
7. We Are All Prostitutes The Pop Group
8. Soldier Soldier Spizz Energi
9. Ain't You Kleenex
10. Nag Nag Nag Cabaret Voltaire
11. In Love The Raincoats
12. Final Day Young Marble Giants
13. Skank Bloc Bologna Scritti Politti
14. At Last I Am Free Robert Wyatt

Wanna Buy A Bridge? (1980; Rough Trade Records)
-playlist is in alphabetical order-

Opal - Early Recordings (1987)

Opal was a short-lived neo-psychedelic pop band associated with the Paisley Underground scene of Los Angeles in the 1980s; most notably for guitar/organist David Roback's involvement (who would later form Mazzy Star with Hope Sandoval). Opal was basically a mish-mash of some other bands in the Paisley scene at the time; Roback would leave his Rain Parade project to work on a one-off collaboration titled Rainy Day with Susanna Hoffs (later of The Bangles) and Kendra Smith (formerly of Dream Syndicate), as well as some other members of notable groups. Feeling the chemistry with Smith's vocals, Roback scrapped Rainy Day after their debut record and started a new project called Clay Allison (eventually settling on the name Opal). Rounding out the band was drummer Keith Mitchell.

Working on a beautiful blend of folk, psychedelia, shoegaze, country and rock; Roback created spare arrangements around Smith's lush and warm vocals- the one thing you notice is all the space on these records.

They only released 2 EPs and one full-length (1987's Happy Nightmare Baby on SST Records) as well as a posthumous compilation called Early Recordings (which gathers those two EPs and some other unreleased gems, released in '89 by Rough Trade). 

It's basically a sin that Opal's output has been out of print since they broke up, I'm hoping some neo-psychedelic aficionado with some ties to the music industry can get this music its proper due (possibly get it remastered and re-issued) because this music has been enjoying a current resurgence as of late; it'd be nice to see some of the trail-blazing bands get their due.

Opal - Early Recordings (1989; Rough Trade Records)