Saturday, December 17, 2016

Haircut One Hundred - Blue Hat for a Blue Day (1982, unreleased)

Life is short...so why not indulge in an unreleased Haircut One Hundred album?  Yep, that's exactly what Blue Hat for a Blue Day, the aborted would-be follow-up to the stone cold classiq, Pelican West.  Truth be told, there was an official follow-up to Pelican that saw the light of day in '83 titled Paint and Paint, BUT original and sacred mouthpiece Nick Hayward had no involvement on it.  Nick was present at the mic for Blue Hat..., albeit only on the tunes containing vocals, leading me to believe these were actually demos.  There's less of an emphasis on brass and horns here than on the debut, and Haircut's overall pop acumen is more developed.  Had Blue Hat been fully realized something tells me that Haircut wouldn't have been the one-hit wonder footnote they sadly seem relegated to.  BTW, I don't have the sequence of the tracks, so alphabetical it is.

Blue Hat for a Blue Day
Brookfield Girl
Cheek to Cheek
Club Boy at Sea
Coming Home
Haley's Heart
I Believe in Sundays
Maytime Moments
Steambus Junction
Sunny Boy Sunny Girl

http://www63.zippyshare.com/v/NjWNQG59/file.html

Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Beulah - Demo (Yoko demos) 2003

Setting up shop in the mid '90, Beulah were taken under the wing of the Elephant 6 recording label/collective, which in itself gave rise and promotion to a dozen-plus artful, neo-psychedelic artists, most of whom boasted considerable pop tendencies.  With a nucleus of Miles Kurosky and Bill Swan and a somewhat revolving crew of backing accompaniment, Beulah shined on early singles, and especially on their 1997 & 1999 albums, Handsome Western States and When Your Heartstrings Break, respectively, purloining more from modern power pop than the Brit-Invasion hero worship evidenced by much of the other Elephant 6 contingents. 

By the time of their fourth and final platter, 2003's Yoko, the band largely separated themselves from that storied enclave and settled into a modus operandi that was more in league with The Shins and Rhett Miller (rough comparisons, be that as they may).  Yoko was commendable, and still manages to make it's way into my car's in-dash, yet some of Beulah's initial charm had clearly diminished.  Issued later that year, Demo, as it's namesake implies, is just that - a set of acoustic prototypes laid down at home, smack dab in Swan's living room.  As you might surmise, the stripped down and considerably sparer incarnations of the album's ten songs are more organic in this setting, and provide an alternate subtext that's often more rewarding than the finished product.  You be the judge.

01. A Man like Me
02. Landslide Baby
03. You're Only King Once
04. My Side of the City
05. Hovering
06. Me and Jesus Don't Talk Anymore
07. Fooled with the Wrong Guy
08. Your Mother Loves You Son
09. Don't Forget to Breathe
10. Wipe Those Prints and Run

http://www37.zippyshare.com/v/Rhs9wjA0/file.html

Sunday, December 11, 2016

Just remember how you got there...

From 1991.  Co-ed rock de modérne from Lincoln, NE. 

Here

St Lenox - Ten Hymns From My American Gothic (2016, Anyway) - A brief review.

I imagine it would have been nearly impossible for anyone who heard St. Lenox's 2015 debut, Ten Songs About Memory and Hope to walk away feeling anything less than gobsmacked.  Such reactions in the arena of music were scarce in the twentieth century and are far rarer today, yet Midwest to Brooklyn transplant Andy Choi's sophisticated songcraft and trill-ridden timbre informed me and anyone else within earshot that a major new contender had arrived.  Even if he didn't naturally emanate the resonance and vocal hues of Stevie Wonder, Craig Wedren, (and to make a more contemporary comparison CeeLo Green) his debut ...Memory and Hope would still be worth experiencing purely for the sentiments, observations, and subtle philosophical prism Choi's songs uniquely entail.  But yes, a fantastic set of lungs aren't going to get him expelled from the choir anytime soon.   

Arriving a year and a half later is another ten song installment, wherein the author and crooner waxes verbosely on lifetime ambitions, politicians and relevant international locales.  Choi must have garnered a great deal of positive feedback on the aforementioned ...Memory and Hope, because it's successor, Ten Hymns From My American Gothic, doesn't tinker (at least not drastically) with his debut's overarching tenor and pace.  The conveyance of these lucid and personal ruminations border on stream of consciousness, but unbeknownst to the listener is the time it actually takes Choi to stitch his seemingly fluid prose together.

There's an obvious theme running through at least pair of songs amidst Ten Hymns..., regarding Choi's ancestral home, on the thumping "Korea," and a bit further in the docile keyboard ballad "What I Think About When You Say South Korea."  In the latter he alludes to spending time there at some juncture in his life, but ironically, just about the entire remainder of Ten Hymns... speaks about growing up in such landlocked locations as Iowa and Missouri.  So landlocked in fact he refers to making it to California as the equivalent of reaching "the end of the universe" on "Fuel America."  This dichotomy is never fully explained, but Choi's soaring, melodic prowess and detailed vignettes makes such juxtapositions irrelevant - and that's where the magic really lies in veritably any song he attaches his name to.  But it isn't just wanderlust he extols on.

"Nixon" employs a word salad approach to humanizing our 37th president, while his ample gratitude towards "Thurgood Marshall" is yet another choice iconic foray.  "The Public School System," an acoustic piece largely ensconced in an adolescent motif, also manages to tap into a class-struggle ethos, a la Tracy Chapman, and "You Don't Call Me Anymore" is a patented tale of romantic disconnection.

Even if Andy Choi's slice-of-life scenarios and confessional inclinations weren't as poignant as they are, his nimble and often soulful vocal panache would be worth the admission fee alone.  Fortunately we have the luxury of experiencing the best of both worlds.  You can do so digitally via Amazon, iTunes, or on clear red vinyl straight from Anyway Records.

Saturday, December 10, 2016

The Catch - Girls in Uniform ep (1982, Splash)

Here's The Catch - with no strings or "22" attached.  This Boston quartet's home-grown new wave/power pop smacks of summer of '81 MTV.  If you're anything like me you'll hone in on cheeky trace elements of Devo, Tommy Tutone, and perhaps on "Radio" even a little Cheap Trick, not to mention inflections of Joe Jackson populating "Nervous."  Girls in Uniform slots in at a solid 7.5 out of ten.  Per Discogs, this may have been the only recording The Catch ever dispensed. 

01. Girls in Uniform
02. It's Not Like You
03. Radio
04. Nervous

http://www80.zippyshare.com/v/sRsf70st/file.html

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

They make children, not like this one.

Until I have the opportunity to digitize more analog curios, I've decided to share this.  Probably a good 25% of you are already familiar with these recordings, be it from decades old tape trades or a host of other blogs that have undoubtedly made this available long before I have.

The whole U2 love 'em or hate 'em argument never held much water for me, as I'd argue there's plenty of middle ground to be had.  Sure, there were some utterly polarizing miscalculations like Zooropa and Pop, but to dismiss everything Bono, The Edge, et al were responsible for out of hand seems a stretch.  As for not-so-early adopters like myself (who came aboard circa Unforgettable Fire) I belatedly encountered the first three albums (Boy, October, War) but was enamored with them as much as anyone could have.  By accident, dumb luck or perhaps intention, U2 arose from seemingly indigenous sonic environs, often imitated, but never duplicated.  So frequently I've heard the "early U2" comparison leveled in music reviews and bios of other emerging outfits, and just as often my expectations are deflated upon hearing the finished product.  In a nutshell, what is it exactly with U2's initial volley or albums and singles (like the fantastic one-off 45, "A Celebration")?

Culled from five recording sessions between 1978-80, this popular bootleg offers prototypes of several tunes that would be revamped for 1980's seminal post-punk foray, Boy, not to mention a handful of songs that would never crossover to vinyl/CD.  The mach-one phase of U2 tenure wasn't the group's pinnacle, but as evidenced by this collection, these Dublin homies were off to an auspicious start.

U2 - Contract demos 1978-80

01. 11 O’Clock Tick Tock
02. Touch
03. Another Day
04. The Dream Is Over
05. Out Of Control
06. Boy-Girl
07. Stories For Boys
08. A Day Without Me
09. The Magic Carpet
10. Twilight
11. Another Time, Another Place
12. Alone In The Light
13. Street Mission
14. Shadows And Tall Trees
15. The Fool

Source:
(1-2): April 5 and 6, 1980.  Dublin, Ireland.  Windmill Lane Studio.
(3-4): December 1979.  London, England.  CBS Studios.
(5-8): Mid-1979.  Dublin, Ireland.  Windmill Land Studio.
(9-12): February 1979.  Dublin, Ireland.  Eamon Andrews 4-Track Studio.
(13-15): November 1, 1978.  Dublin, Ireland.  Keystone Studios.

http://www102.zippyshare.com/v/TKyKlsWh/file.html

Sunday, December 4, 2016

You can't kill what's already dead...

From 1989.  This is where my head has been at for the last week or so.  Tracks five and eleven feature a fairly prominent backing artist.  The sleeve notes will reveal all.

Here

Saturday, December 3, 2016

He shoots flies with his gun, because swatting's no fun.

Swervedriver likely need no introduction.  Given the rich musical spoils of the early '90s, from all that was going on in US indie and hard rock circles alone, Great Britain was another gift that kept right on giving.  From that era, I always regarded the Swervies 1991 debut Raise to be the icing on an already decadent cake - a dense, amped-out, and often head spinning concoction of surreal, dream pop proportions, buttressed with feedback drenched heaviness.  Delicious.

I'm offering a live, early 1992 gig with the band tearing it up at the storied T.T. the Bear's Place, Cambridge, MA.  The setlist is nothing short of splendid, touching on many key Raise cuts, not to mention primo b-sides like "Kill the Superheroes" and "Juggernaut Rides."  Sounds like a board tape or a good audience recording.  There's some audio fluctuations at the beginning of "Sci-Flyer," otherwise no complaints.

Swervedriver - 1-17-92, T.T. the Bear's Place, Cambridge, MA

01. Sci-Flyer
02. Juggernaut Rides
03. Sandblasted
04. Sunset
05. Deep Seat
06. Rave Down
07. Pile-Up
08. Son of Mustang Ford
09. Kill the Superheroes
10. Jesus

MP3 (320 kbps)  or  FLAC

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Fossil - s/t (1995, Sire)

*Sigh*  There will not be a second Clinton administration, but musical remnants from the first are still rampant.  Going for a pop angle in the era of punk-cum-metal sludge was a lot like bringing a knife to a proverbial gun fight.  To their credit, Fossil offered some discernible musculature, yet not only did they fail to make it onto the front page, they weren't so much as mentioned in the police blotter in section "C."  Sounding like a loose melange of Jellyfish, Smashing Pumpkins and Smiths, the Bob O'Gureck helmed quartet led their sole album off with a bittersweet, albeit arresting hook-fest in the guise of "Moon."  Safe to say if this doesn't grab you, nary will any other minute of Fossil, but there's further treasure to be excavated - "Martyr's Wife," "Fall," and "You" to name but a few.   Fossil's consoling and mildly enlightened tenor didn't encroach even the remotest fringes of Hitsville, but I'll be damned if it was for lack of anything except good luck.

01. Moon
02. Tim
03. Martyr's Wife
04. Josephine Baker
05. Ocean
06. untitled
07. Thunder Shower
08. Molly
09. Fall
10. Tethered
11. Fiancee
12. you
13. Rebellion
14. Cargo of High Hopes

http://www34.zippyshare.com/v/eCw7nKi9/file.html

Sunday, November 27, 2016

Sitting in the park, getting high, watching girls go by...

A splendid rock 'n roll platter from 1990.  From punky to serene, and everything in between.

Here

Friday, November 25, 2016

kiaro • skuro - debut tape (1990, Well Primed)

As I proceed to share another "cold case" recording with you something dawned on me.  There's a very voyeuristic aspect to this "sharity" blogging endeavor of mine.  As has been the case with dozens, if not hundreds of subjects I've featured here, I have no personal overlap with kiaro • skuro.  In short, they don't know me, or me them.  This co-ed foursome (possibly from New Jersey) go by a strictly first-name basis, so any attempt to contact them by the usual means is a non-starter.  And since this was a pre-internet offering, there are nary any vital stats to be had on them.  In summation, this elicits a bit of a moral dilemma on my part.  Then again I haven't received much protest over the years, so maybe I shouldn't fret.  Anyway...

From what I'm able to discern kiaro • skuro was actually a band, not an individual,  The moniker strikes me as a tad ethnic, but the tenor of these songs are anything but, recalling the jangly chord-wrangling prowess of such Anglophiles as Johnny Marr or David Gavurin.  Crooner Sara doesn't add a wealth of mystique to the mix, but nevertheless capably tilts her quartet to the left of the dial.  Damn fine stuff actually.  A CD apparently followed this demo a couple years later.

01. decide
02. can't think what you feel
03. stand still
04. again
05. too proud
06. when she's away

http://www113.zippyshare.com/v/O4vpBwlz/file.html

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

The Water Walk - s/t (1987)

A three piece from Vancouver, BC, The Water Walk were a not oft spoken of combo who mastered a penchant for strummy guitar pop on their debut album.  Signposts point distinctly to the likes of Aztec Camera, and fellow countrymen Grapes of Wrath.  The Walk's seemingly effortless aplomb on goes-down-easy salvos "Anyways" and "Colours in the Day" foreshadowed what the Ocean Blue and Riverside would have in store a couple years later.  A video for the concluding track, "Turn Your Face Away" can be viewed here, and typically it's my least preferable song on an otherwise stimulating record.

01. Anyways
02. Houses in Between
03. Colours in the Day
04. Oh, so a Charmed Life
05. Can't Fly
06. Nothing Ever Came of It
07. Working Title
08. Seven Statues
09. Far Fields
10. Turn Your Face Away

http://www58.zippyshare.com/v/AGloJudv/file.html

Sunday, November 20, 2016

On the heels of something more...

1984 called...and it desperately wants to hear more albums like this one.

Here

Economy Island - s/t (2016, Twistworthy) & Empty Markets - Stainless Steel (2016, 12XU) - A brief overview.

Given it's reputation as a thriving, uber-hotbed for emerging talent, Austin, TX must be a mofo of a town to be the proverbial squeaky wheel.  Here's hoping that Economy Island and Empty Markets garner the precious drops of oil and TLC they so richly deserve. 

In the case of Economy Island, they aren't so much a deliberate throwback to '90s par excellence indie rock, rather a logical evolution of it, sans the annoying, genre-hopping juxtapositions of so many of their hipster peers.  This quartet has certainly delved into the back catalogs of esteemed forebearers Archers of Loaf, Polvo, and perhaps even Chavez.  Economy Island bask the nine tunes occupying their debut in rich tones, projecting a warm analogue glow while harboring a subtle slacker aptitude.  There's no heavy handed mystique or alienating airs to be had on Economy Island, just a prevailing adherence to a melodic, lived-in aesthetic that works wonders on "Stay Home" and "Flower."  Although these folks swiped their moniker from a Guided By Voices lyric, fandom of said Dayton, OH pioneers is no prerequisite.  Get Economy Island on wax directly from Twistworthy Records or Bandcamp.

Empty Markets raw, punk/hardcore sprawl not only pulverizes with the kind of musculature you’d expect of their ilk, but unfurls an idiosyncratic bent that has made likeminded newbies Metz and Viet Kong such refreshing, visceral forces to be reckoned with.   This (now formally) co-ed  Austin trio has applied a revisionist tact to the artful chord progressions of Unwound, and incendiary angularities of early Hüsker Dü, all steeped in analogue sonic tactics, not to mention serrated reverb for miles.  Empty Markets frontman Drew Schmitz is ostensibly tinkering with dropped, or at minimum alternate guitar tunings, attaching an unsettling edge to Stainless Steel’s inherent pessimistic tenor.  A little subterranean moxie goes a long way in separating this troupe from the herd, and after barely cracking the cellophane on …Steel I’m already stoked to imbibe more.  Physical copies can be obtained from 12XU, and as for digital, Bandcamp and iTunes have you covered.   

Saturday, November 19, 2016

Goleta - demos (200?)

I absolutely love this.  Named after the seaside southern Cali city from which they presumably call home, Goleta registered on my radar thanks to the appearance of "Flat Earth Society," on the Joey Cape curated Happy Meals Vol. 3: Songs to Run Away From compilation in 2002.  And speaking of Mr Cape, Goleta's Thom Flowers performed with him in Bad Astronaut on a series of stunning records in the '00s.  I really became endeared with the powerful but bittersweet "Flat Earth..." but assumed it was a one-off wonder, as I had no evidence that the band released anything further.  Quite by accident and sheer good luck, I recently happened upon four whole tunes by Goleta, and am presenting them here.

Flowers and Co. weren't exactly bent on reinventing the wheel - or even embellishing it.  Not to mention the fact that about 75% percent of these tunes could take over the airways given the right push.  Goleta's tact smacks of Summercamp, Ridel High, Super Deluxe, mid-90s Goo Goo Dolls, and more negligibly the Foo Fighters.  Say what you will about some of those aggregations, but Goleta's riffy power pop boasts depth, not to mention a sweet spot a mile wide. The first three cuts are worth their weight in megabit gold.  Not to be avoided, the concluding "Good Night" is a slower, sobering comedown, and a bit of a curveball by contrast.  Give 'er a listen, and as usual comment as you see fit.

01. Flat Earth Society
02. Satellite
03. Broken Hearted
04. Good Night

http://www79.zippyshare.com/v/gru9ncWO/file.html

Thursday, November 17, 2016

Gone Daddy Finch 7" (1995, Off White)

Yet another in a long line of indie rock cold cases.  My understanding is that this power trio hailed from holy Toledo, Ohio.  Much like Trunk whom I introduced you to a couple days ago, Gone Daddy Finch had a bit of a Replacements jones as well, evidenced by the scalding, guitarsy A-side, "Sunshine Sister," wielding a monstrous hook that grabs you from the word go.  A perfect ten that makes it's point in 180 loud, glorious seconds.  The comparatively chill flip, "Postcard," as the adage goes, a horse of a different color, not that I'm complaining. Their Discogs page reveals GDF had a robust catalog, though much of it was relegated to limited cd-r release.

A. Sunshine Sister
B. Postcard

http://www35.zippyshare.com/v/taxBtz3T/file.html

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Trunk - La-ugh (1990, Waarner Sisters)

This is one of many albums in my collection, but what makes it relatively unique is that I don't know how it arrived there.  You know what else I don't know?  I don't know why Trunk went to the effort of hyphenating their record's one syllable title.  La-ugh?  I suppose they were digging deep for an idiosyncrasy.  The deets on this sloppy San Francisco treat are nil, and their shtick is/was maddeningly inconsistent.  Trunk seemed to plunder a few cues from the SST Records stable (Meat Puppets come to mind, and to a far lesser extent The Minutemen).  This trio are at the top of their game on "Sunbake," which finds them weaving in and out of Twin/Tone-era Replacements mode.  Too bad they couldn't sustain that motif for the song's five and a half minute duration.  There's a couple of keepers on side two as well - "Bump" and "Caroliner Squeegy" loosely clinging to the ramshackle tunefulness that was prevalent among their Homestead Records contemporaries Squirrel Bait and Great Plains.  A second album, Racket, arrived in 1992, and I'd be interested in getting my hands on it.  If anyone in the band sees this do get in touch.

01. Firetruck Surgery
02. Kiss the Wall
03. Sunbake
04. Moss
05. Bump
06. Caroliner Squeegy
07. Aluminum
08. Library Card
09. Uncle Love

http://www10.zippyshare.com/v/iQaKPeHJ/file.html

Sunday, November 13, 2016

No clue.

A surprisingly satisfying power pop reunion album from 2009.

Here

Saturday, November 12, 2016

V/A - Zongs in zee key of zee - the letter "Z" folder mix.

It's been another long layover since I cobbled together one of my world renown "letter" folder mixes.  Following in the hallowed footsteps of my preceding "E" "D" "H" "O" "P" "B" "T" and "G" folder comps, this garbage plate of seemingly random artists have only one thing in common - the first letter of their names.  In fact, no consideration has been given to genre.  For almost every complete album I have by an artist on my hard drive, I store just as many random one-off songs by artists I don't have a dedicated folder to.  These random one-offs have been corralled into "letter folders" A through Z.  Today. we're featuring the very last letter of the alphabet.  As was the case with the previous entries I'm not going to publish a track list, but I won't let you go without a few spoilers.

You're getting a healthy dose of vintage, twentieth century power pop, courtesy of The Zippers, Zipper and Z-Cars, not to mention punk/post-punk nuggets from the Zero Boys, Zounds, Zeke and Zoinks!  There's also a few of my choicest faves from the likes of Zwan, Z.Z. Hill, and ZuckerbabyZanzibar Scuf put their spin on a Ben Folds Five classic, while Zebrahead take to task Rikk Agnew's "O.C. Life."  And on top of all that, there'z another ten or zo mizcellaneous nuggetz to enhance this bountiful cavalcade of z-licious zeitgeist.  Dig in.

http://www110.zippyshare.com/v/wgskUOFD/file.html 

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Discount - Love, Billy ep (1998)

Last night.  Uggh.  Time for some protest music.  I'm not sure if I've introduced you to Discount or not - an unassuming but emotive punk-pop co-ed troupe from Vero Beach, FL who released a slew of singles and three albums, the last of which, 2000's Crash Diagnostic was phenomenally sophisticated and devastatingly affecting. Discount's main claim to fame was front-woman Alison Mosshart who in the twenty-first century went onto exponentially greater renown with The Kills and even more prominently The Dead Weather, a collaboration with Jack White.  In case you're wondering I'm not a fan of either.  But anyway...

Love, Billy isn't a proper Discount record.  Instead, it's a collection of five Billy Bragg covers - nothing more or less.  Of course, I had heard Billy Bragg previously in occasional increments on 120 Minutes, college radio, etc - but I never really got the dude until this disk persuaded me.  I didn't realize it at first blush but Alison & Co. took to task some bona fide Bragg classics - "Help Save The Youth Of America" and "Accident Waiting..." I almost immediately set out to expose myself to the original incarnations of these songs - an endeavor that expanded my CD collection by a half-dozen pieces, and somehow gave me an enhanced appreciation for Discount's rapid-fire renderings of them.  In short, this tribute ep got me through the door, and it just might do likewise for you.

From my per-view, Bragg's Thatcher-era output was his most potent, and if you're looking for a place to dive in start with Back to Basics and go from there.

01. Accident Waiting To Happen
02. Waiting For the Great Leap Forward
03. A Pict Song
04. Help Save The Youth Of America
05. North Sea Bubble

http://www15.zippyshare.com/v/BOxUFkCE/file.html

Sunday, November 6, 2016

Money spines paper lung...

All the songs you really need to hear from this storied quartet's second phase.

Here

Saturday, November 5, 2016

Flys - Flys Own (1979)

Not aggressive enough for the punks, a tad too bratty to be suitably labeled "power pop," and hardly pedestrian enough for the pub circuit, The Flys may well have eluded categorization despite a relatively accessible sound.  Flys Own (perhaps intended to be read as Fly Zone?) was the second and parting LP from these Coventry, UK kids and a big, big improvement over their debut Waikiki Beach Refugees which I posted a couple months ago. 

In addition to Flys Own abundant grit and nervy panache there's some fantastic songs to speak of - "16 Down," "Energy Boy," "When 2 and 5 Make 9," and "Night Creatures"  That last one I might add was covered as a b-side to Superchunk's seminal 1990 "Slack Motherfucker" 7" (and amazingly they seemed to have more fun with it than the Flys)!  There's a lot to love on this classy and often sassy affair, not terribly removed from say, The Rich Kids Ghosts of Princes in Towers from the same era, if that means anything to you.  Maybe it's just me but I'm sensing trace elements of Bowie too.  In all respects this platter is a gem. 

Cuts 1-14 comprise the original Flys Own album, the remainder are from singles and such from the same period.

01. Let's Drive
02. Energy Boy
03. Fascinate Me
04. Talking to the Wall
05. 16 Down
06. Fortunes
07. Night Creatures
08. When 2 And 5 Make 9
09. Undercover Agent Zero
10. Cheap Days
11. Walking the Streets
12. Through the Windscreen
13. Freezing
14. Frenzy is 23
15. We Are the Lucky Ones
16. Living in the Sticks
17. Lois Lane
18. Today Belongs To Me
19. What Will Mother Say
20. Undercover Agent Zero (single version)

http://www100.zippyshare.com/v/YDBHiJnI/file.html

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Shortage

Won't be able to offer you much until the weekend kids.  Please give us a call then.