The Chills - Secret Box (2001)

This is a big one, folks. As a preface, no, this is not a personal rip; Martin Phillipps--god bless 'im--only pressed 500 copies of this incredible, mindblowingly expansive collection. Naturally, they sold out in advance. I've only just begun to dig in, but this is essential listening for Chills fans (which of course you all are.) Tracklistings are included. Enjoy!

NOTE: For those of you who requested the Jean-Paul Sartre Experience's 'Love Songs' and the Able Tasmans' 'Store in a Cool Place,' fear not! The ever-amazing Gozz will be posting them in a timely fashion; expect both albums--and a lot of other goodies--in the coming weeks.

- Ariel

Spread out over these three discs' 83 selections are B-sides, outtakes, rarities, demos, radio sessions, tribute LP covers, a '60s-revival Coke jingle, soundtracks, and most important of all, 31 live versions of songs never released in any form. These unheard, vintage tracks span disc one and half of disc two, tripling the insight on the 1980-1987 Chills. They're loads more aggressive (aided by the sweaty club environments) than the band's supernatural early singles and EP collected by Kaleidoscope World. It all comes as a bit of a barrage, since Martin Phillipps' prolific pen was never more frenzied, spitting out one keyboard-laced, great post-punk pop track after another. His long-standing contention that the band should have released two, possible three classic LPs before 1987's "debut" Brave Words (nine lineup changes, including the death of a key early member, hurt) is finally, fully supported by this evidence. Even some of the later shimmering tracks, such as the ghostly "House With a Hundred Rooms" and onrushing "Oncoming Day," had their start in this harder, edgier epoch, as the original incarnation of the former as 1982's "After They Told Me She Was Gone" and the 1985 Bucketful of Brains flexi version of the latter exhibit. The demos and radio sessions are as much fun, while only the consummate Chills head will have all the later B-sides and compilation tracks. True, this is specifically for fans, as the merely curious are better off starting with a comprehensive best-of like 1994's Flying Nun double-CD Heavenly Pop Hits. There one encounters the more silvery-burnished, better-recorded, more stable Chills of 1987-1992. But even those who buy Secret Box will discover a greater energy than normally associated with the Chills name, who betray more of their '60s garage and psychedelia and '70s original punk roots here than at any time in the future.

[Jack Rabid, The Big Takeover]

Disc 1: Sonic Bygones
Disc 2: Salvaged Bullion
Disc 3: Singular Booty

Swell Maps (Singles Edition!) - Read About Seymour (1977) + Dresden Style (1978) + Real Shocks (1979) + Let's Build a Car (1979)

These singles are all culled from the various Swell Maps outtakes/rarities/best-of collections that have been flooding your local record store of late; I decided to collect them in this fashion because there is no one collection that has all of the complete A-sides and B-sides, and additionally, there would just be way too much overlap with the main albums if I posted a complete compilation. I've endeavored to present these tracks in the order that nature intended them to be, with the exception of "Real Shocks" because I can't find its B-sides. But three out of four is not bad! I think I've bored everyone enough with my Maps devotion already, so I'll just let these songs speak for themselves. Loudly. Enjoy!

If you like what you hear, please visit Secretly Canadian and purchase their Swell Maps reissues.

- Ariel

Read About Seymour (7")

- Read About Seymour
- Ripped & Torn
- Black Velvet

Dresden Style (7")

- Dresden Style
- Ammunition Train
- Full Moon

Real Shocks (7")

- Real Shocks

Let's Build a Car (7")

- Let's Build a Car
- Big Maz in the Country
- ...Then Poland

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"Let's Build a Car"

Swell Maps - Jane from Occupied Europe (1980)

As promised, here is the Swell Maps' second full-length 'Jane from Occupied Europe,' as gloriously cacophonous a record as its predecessor. While I was writing my last post, I forgot to mention just how successfully evocative the Swell Maps' album artwork was. The sounds within 'Marineville' seem to leap forth from the blazing, barely contained fury of its cover, and with 'Jane' the songs perfectly capture the sense of desolation that accompanies its art, echoing the eerie, quiet aftermath of destruction. But enough about that; to the songs! "Border Country," "Helicopter Spies," and my personal favorite "Cake Shop," would all have fit quite nicely on 'A Trip to Marineville,' sharing that album's sense of reckless, charming naivete and anarchic joy, and the freaked-out, kraut-punk bliss of "Big Maz in the Desert" and "...Vs. the Mangrove Delta Plan" is the stuff of post-punk perfection.

This record hangs together more fluidly than 'A Trip to Marineville,' and while that album's fragmented schizophrenia may be the reason why it's my favorite of the two, I cannot deny the brilliant, unified work that is 'Jane from Occupied Europe.' It is at once a coherent piece and an album on the verge of collapse as sounds drift in and out seemingly at random, creating nightmarish dreamscapes of beautifully dissonant noise. I've gone on enough; simply put, you need this album and the Swell Maps in your life. Coming up next will be most of the singles released by the Maps during their existence, including the immortal "Read About Seymour" and "Let's Build a Car."

- Ariel

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Swell Maps - A Trip to Marineville (1979)

Spectacularly beautiful noise courtesy of the dearly departed Nikki Sudden and Epic Soundtracks--not to slight the contributions of Jowe Head, Phones Sportsman, Biggles, and John 'Golden' Cockrill (as listed, honest)--'A Trip to Marineville' is the Swell Maps' first LP after a string of classic singles("Read About Seymour!") This is an album and band I wouldn't want to imagine my life without: a sheer sonic explosion of down 'n dirty experimentalism, minimalist fury, and krautrock-influenced grooves; all performed with a jaggedly raw energy and chaotic, kitchen-sink aesthetic unmatched by any band of its--or perhaps any other--time. "Vertical Slum," "Midget Submarine," and the "Full Moon in My Pocket/Blam!!/Full Moon(reprise)" suite are all bonafide classics to me; do yourself a favor and let the Swell Maps occupy a special slice of your existence if you haven't already. Their second full-length, 'Jane from Occupied Europe' is forthcoming, and I'll probably post a few essential singles too. Stay tuned. Long live the Maps! - Ariel

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"Midget Submarine"

Kendra Smith - Five Ways of Disappearing (1995)

By Request:

While an inferior and far more inconsistent album than 'The Guild of Temporal Adventurers,' I'd say that Kendra Smith's first and only full-length is still worth a listen for fans of her uniquely skewed and eclectic brand of songcraft. It's a noteworthy album if only for the fact that it was Smith's final release before her self-imposed retreat from the music industry and, by and large, society as well, presumably still living without electricity in her small cabin in the woods of Northern California. - Ariel

Picking up with real studio effort (Smith co-produced with Uberman), Five Ways of Disappearing is the most ambitious and successful undertaking of Smith's career. Both a strong recapitulation and a brave relaunch, the album has it all: quiet Velvety obsessions ("Get There"), cerebral songdom ("Aurelia," "Space Unadorned"), trancey rock ("Drunken Boat"), trad folk ("Maggots"), Kurt Weill's Berlin ("Bohemian Zebulon"), folk-rock ("Valley of the Morning Sun"), new wavey bubblegum ("In Your Head") and one of the best acoustic Led Zeppelin imitations in recent memory ("Bold Marauder"). No two tracks have much in common beyond Smith's enervated singing; even when she might just be aiming to sound ordinary, the record comes off appealingly offbeat. Though some songs are amiss, precious or overly derivative, as a personal sampler, Five Ways of Disappearing is an impressive — and colorful — achievement.

[Karen Schoemer/Ira Robbins]

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Kendra Smith - The Guild of Temporal Adventurers (1992)

Kendra Smith's debut solo outing has far more in common with the subdued, meditative textures of Opal's Early Recordings than the swirling atmospherics of Happy Nightmare Baby, though shades of the latter are present in the dreamlike nature of its soundscapes and, of course, in Smith's characteristically laconic vocals. On this note, especially pertinent with Smith's use of a pump-organ as primary instrument, allusions to Nico are inevitable. Although such comparisons are not entirely unfounded--after all, her previous band the Dream Syndicate followed their Velvets-drenched muse to great success--present in Smith's recordings is a warmth and vitality that are entirely her own. The sense of otherworldliness that permeates 'The Guild of Temporal Adventurers' is a keen reminder of what was missing from the second incarnation of Opal, Mazzy Star, and what was lacking in Smith's replacement, Hope Sandoval.

- Ariel

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D.I.Y. Classics - Shoes This High + The Scrotum Poles + Beyond the Implode (Link Removed)

Shoes This High EP (1981)

- The Nose One
- A Mess
- Foot's Dream
- Not Weighting

"...killer-riffing-angry-in-your-guts-avant-garde-pin-pricking..."

These are all adjectives that Gary Steel used to describe the "punk funk" of New Zealand's Shoes This High in his liner notes for their 7" self-titled EP. It was the only recording to be released during their brief existence, but its jaggedly raw post-punk stylings combined with Brent Hayward's snarling vocals make for an exhilarating and enlightening listening experience. This is the other side of New Zealand's musical golden age; like their fellow countrymen the Gordons, Shoes This High created aggressive, angular, and classic art-punk for the ages.

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The Scrotum Poles - Revelation EP (1980)

- Why Don't You Come Out Tonight

- Night Train

- Pick the Cat's Eyes Out

- Helicopter Honeymoon

- Radio Tay

"DIY! We love the Television Personalities!"

So wrote Dundee, Scotland's finest the Scrotum Poles on the xeroxed sleeve of their 'Revelation' EP. The Poles--like the best D.I.Y. bands--combined fairly shoddy musicianship with an infectious sense of sheer enthusiasm. 'Revelation' begins with a delicious slice of melancholic post-punk in "Why Don't You Come Out Tonight," peaks with the definitive Poles standard "Pick the Cat's Eyes Out," and ends with the punky blast of "Radio Tay." But really, every song present is a D.I.Y. classic. And if you're curious, no animal was harmed in the making of this record: in the UK, "cat's eyes" are the orange reflectors embedded along highways. This, aside from the cassette-only 'Auchmithie Calling' in 1979, was unfortunately the Poles' only release. I spent a bit of time cleaning up the audio on this one the best I could--though in the best D.I.Y. fashion, clicks and crackles are still audible--so please check out the video below for a bit of a teaser and enjoy!

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Beyond the Implode - 11th Hour Breakdown EP (1980) + Last Thoughts EP (1979)

- 11th Hour Breakdown
- Look Back and Crash
- Lassitude
- Escape Through Levitation
- Midnight Adventures
- This Atmosphere

UPDATE: I received word from Beyond the Implode's Eddie Smith that we will be seeing a reissue in the very, very near future, and upon his request, the link was taken down. When the album arrives, definitely seek out a copy! I can guarantee, you won't be disappointed: Beyond the Implode is rightfully regarded as having produced some of the most passionate, human, and classic bedroom recordings that its genre has to offer. More information as it is available.

8/31/08 UPDATE: Another update courtesy of the always helpful Eddie Smith: the reissue will be a 7" EP featuring home recordings from 1979 in addition to tracks from the Last Thoughts EP; when it becomes available, you will able to purchase it via the buy-it-now option on Ebay. Stay tuned for more information.

- Ariel

The Kiwi Animal - Music Media (1984)

Here's an interesting curiosity from New Zealand: The Kiwi Animal was the creation of Brent Hayward and Julie Cooper; together they released two full-length LPs in the mid-eighties, 1984's 'Music Media' and the following year's 'Mercy.' 'Music Media' is an ethereally beautiful folk affair, at once sinister and lovely, and possessing of a clear experimental bent. Hayward was previously involved in the fantastic art-punk quartet Shoes This High. Their only release, 1981's self-titled EP, will be posted sometime soon along with a few other choice D.I.Y. gems. Stay tuned!

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NOTE: I re-uploaded Human Switchboard's excellent 1981 LP Who's Landing in My Hanger? with cleaned-up audio and added a few videos just for good measure. If you haven't grabbed it yet, now's the time!

- Ariel

"Blue Morning"

Able Tasmans - A Cuppa Tea and a Lie Down (1987)

By Request:
A major work from this New Zealand indie group, A Cuppa Tea and a Lie Down comes highly recommended to those in love with the sophisticated and delicate arrangements of the New Zealand rock scene's Flying Nun label sound. While some of their peers in the productive period of '80s and '90s down under produced edgy, loud guitar music inside the framework of pop, Able Tasmans temper their largely acoustic sound with keyboards and acoustic arrangements in place of corrosive guitars. The songs are built on the delicate threshold of complexity/simplicity, filled out with lush arrangements and dreamy atmospheres that call to mind Fairport Convention. A great album filled with sweet and crafty pop songs that will hold much appeal to fans of intelligent guitar pop; Yo la Tengo, Belle & Sebastian, the Bats, and Television Personalities spring to mind.

[Skip Jansen, allmusic.com]

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The Verlaines - Hallelujah All the Way Home (1985)

Since I've been posting the albums that succeeded it, it seems fitting to upload this orchestral gem as well. And really, the Verlaines' entire eighties output is essential listening. This is their first full-length LP, released in 1985, and many of its songs are easily the equal of its successor's, the masterful 'Bird Dog.' The positively epic constructions of "It was Raining," "The Lady and the Lizard," and the intensity of "Lying in State" are among the best work of a band that consistently pushed the boundaries of the conventional pop song throughout their career. As an interesting aside, this album was part of a composition project that Graeme Downes submitted as he pursued his degree in music; he got an "A." - Ariel

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Enjoy the videos as well!



"Death and the Maiden"



"Doomsday"