Dolly Mixture - Demonstration Tapes (1983)

"Dolly Mixture was like the Shangri-La's minus the gum-cracking Queens accent. Or the Go-Go's if they had any class. Or the Raincoats without the weirdness and electric violins." - Lois Maffeo

One of the most aptly named bands ever? Alright, I've never even had Dolly Mixture candy, but I have heard Dolly Mixture the band, and these girls performed a glorious blend of infectious pop hooks, classic girl-group harmonies, and an utterly charming sense of joie de vivre; and not without their share of punky sass, either. To these ears, Dolly Mixture wrote the most catchy, concise three-minute pop songs of the punk era this side of the Undertones. 'Demonstration Tapes' collects their entire recorded output from 1979 to 1983, sans singles unfortunately, but you still get 27 songs and 73 minutes of pure pop bliss. "He's So Frisky," "How Come You're Such a Hit With the Boys, Jane?" "Side Street Walker," "Angel Treads;" I could go on, but that would cut into valuable listening time! Though remarkably influential--just listen to Talulah Gosh or the Shop Assistants, to name two--Dolly Mixture's relative lack of success is one of the cruelest jokes in music history; if you've never had the pleasure of the Dolly's company, pick this one up immediately. - Ariel

More information here.

Download

Mumps - Fatal Charm (1994)

The Mumps are a pet favorite of mine that seem to have been unfairly swept under the carpet of pop history; this is despite their CBGB’s pedigree and two posthumous collections, mind you. ‘Fatal Charm’ was the first of these, released in 1994, and it contains their entire recorded output from the 70's. As terminally clever as it is catchy, the Mumps’ special blend of glam, bubblegum, and punk is simply a joy to listen to, and tremendous fun to boot. Early Sparks is a good reference point. Add a touch of flamboyance and a healthy dose of retro-kitsch-- before the B-52’s mined similar territory to great success--and you’ve got the Mumps, charismatically led by the dearly departed Lance Loud of “An American Family” fame. And need I mention the songwriting genius of Kristian Hoffman? The second reissue, 2005’s ‘How I Saved the World,’ adds a bonus disc of live video to the mix; if you enjoy these songs, buy it! In an alternate universe, “Crocodile Tears” and “Anyone but You” are recognized as pop classics; they already are in my world, anyway. I’ve reproduced the ‘Fatal Charm’ liner notes below; I think the final paragraph is a particularly poignant summation of the Mumps’ appeal. Enjoy! - Ariel

More information here.

Too pop for punk, too "old school" for the New Wave. Mumps were a 70's era New York rock band, out of time. Everything about us was contradictory or cockeyed in a fashion era in which motorcycle jackets, mohawk hairdos, torn clothing and lots and lots of chains were the order of the day, we were the band most often seen in jackets, dress shirts and ties. Our high vaunting musical ambitions were matched with low ranking musical expertise, we had a lead singer who could sweat better than he could stay in key, and besides the fact that three of us were gay in a hetero-heavy field which only acknowledged homosexuality as being a passing marketing ploy in David Bowie's career. The only thing shared between us all was our weird combination of superiority and insecurity.

Included on this compilation you'll hear just about everything Mumps ever recorded both our singles, a smattering of early rehearsal tapes, demos, an alternate version, and even one number "Stupid" which was recorded for a compilation record of New York bands that never got released and which now sounds, to me at least, to be among the best things we ever committed to tape.

Now from beyond the grave, Mumps are back. What's our worth in this day and age? Coming from a point in time, before MTV, that is as good as prehistoric, there is of course the archeological factor. (....Jurassic Punk?) Then there is also the timeless factor. Allowing myself only a moment on the soap box, our music spoke to the true misfit class of American teenager. Not the poetic James Dean type dream outcast, but the real, nerdy, nobody wants ‘em, Forgotten Teens. You know the type. Too square to be down with the homeboys too idiotic to be up with the intellectuals, too insecure to be the center of attention and too impatient to just sit at home and wait until they get to be 21. Mumps music, and this of course was based on the tunes and lyrics mostly of Kristian Hoffman, spoke to the disenfranchised, kids who wanted to fit in any place but fit in no place instead. These Mumps miscreants came to our shows, loved my sweating and sour notes, were bewitched by Kristian Hoffman's pouting piano presence, thought Toby Duprey was the hottest guitarist ever, Paul Rutner was the toughest drummer around and Kevin Kiely was what the Venus De Mila would have been had she been a teenaged runaway male in the 2Oth century who played bass. The record of course is, as far as I'm concerned, first of all is for the former members of Mumps, something to show for the seven years spent in hard labor on the chain gang of rock and roll. But secondly this record is for the dorky youth. For kids who are dumb, unpopular, and considering a lifetime fraught with serious adjustment problems...Mumps the word.

- Lance Loud '94

Download

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

Download

"Let's Build a Car"

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

Download

"Midget Submarine"

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.

Download

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!

Download

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 Embarrassment - Heyday 1979-83

Manic, twitchy brilliance. Highly recommended. - Ariel

Though the band's reunion album God Help Us had happily been available on CD since release, nearly everything from its early-'80s years had long gone out of print or was hard to find, a situation the double-disc Heyday rectified in full a few years later. Right from the start Heyday shows its worth thanks to the inclusion of the quartet's wonderful, rocking debut, the "Sex Drive/Patio Set" single. "Sex Drive" itself almost comes across as a Midwest response to similarly minded landmarks of punk and post-punk like the Buzzcocks' "Orgasm Addict" and the Gun Club's "Sex Beat." The production is thin, perhaps, but the delivery is nervous, wired to the max, jerky riffs, and Giessmann's quick drumming increasing the weird paranoia even as Nichols' singing exudes amusing, boring cool. "Patio Set," meanwhile, sounds only a touch more relaxed, a weird metaphor combining love and outdoor furniture dryly delivered over the exuberant crunch. The remainder of the first disc pulls together the contents of The Embarrassment and Death Travels West albums, plus "Two Cars," which surfaced previously on the odds and ends Retrospective cassette. The second disc, meanwhile, gets stuffed full of treats from Retrospective, various compilations, and otherwise unreleased sessions, split between studio and live recordings both. The live recordings are a particular revelation, confirming what the studio work always suggested — that the four members were barnburners, ripping with precise energy through their work. Two covers pop up, both of which are pretty funny as well as rather well performed: Michael Jackson's disco hit "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" and Led Zeppelin's proto-metal stomp "Immigrant Song." It's a pity the version of the Seeds' "Pushin' Too Hard," originally on a Bomp! compilation, didn't make it, but that's about the only thing missing here. A complete discography, a reprinted essay from 1988 about the group, and fun liner notes from Nichols and Goffrier complete this fantastic, long-overdue compilation.

[Ned Raggett, allmusic.com]

Download Disc 1
Download Disc 2

The Tactics - Sound of Sound Volume One

Originating from my hometown of Canberra, Australia. Comes this fantastic outsider band. Truly one of a kind, Deffinately in their own league within Australia which left them with no place to fit in, Which in no way was a bother to the band which was exactly the way they wanted it to be. For fans of the Homosexuals and Wire and any Highly energetic frantic post punky band.

Your Comments are and will be greatly appreciated! -Gozz

Wilfully obscure, contrary and difficult to categorise, Tactics were the archetypal inner-city Sydney band of the late ‘70s/early ‘80s. Originating in Canberra (hardly a hotbed of alternative music – at least not until years later, by which time they were gone), they played a deliberately perverse brand of choppy guitar music. Employing mid-tempo to fast rhythms (often syncopated - in a vaguely reggae way) with tightly-wound, ricocheting guitars strung like a tightrope to be straddled by Dave Studdert’s quavering vocals, the fact they never fitted anywhere undoubtedly suited them to a tee. Horns, organ and an array of soundscapes colour the songs while the lyrical themes (disorientation, displacement and open space) derive from Studdert’s appreciation for indigenous Australia. It sounds like what pigeon-holers would term “post punk”, even though it was going down in the middle of punk. Me, I’ll tag it “anti-rock” in that the songs aren’t classic verse-chorus-verse constructions. “The Sound of the Sound” is a double CD set, compiling the first two Tactics albums (“My Houdini” and “Glebe”) with a whopping 20 bonus cuts culled from live tapes and radio broadcasts. (The Barman, I94bar.com)

Download Disc 1
Download Disc 2

Gary Higgins - Red Hash (1973)

A beautifully wrought record of sun-drenched folk musings courtesy of Gary Higgins, Red Hash was reissued in 2005 on Drag City to great acclaim. This is a "Buried Treasure" that lives up to its reputation. - Ariel

Gary Higgins' only album has much in common with many other vaguely hippie-ish singer/songwriter records from the early '70s on small or vanity labels. There's a laid-back feel that seems two or three years out of time (or behind the times), like an exhausted hangover from the wilder peaks of the psychedelic era. Relative to this collector-oriented genre, however, the record's very much above average. For one thing, the production is much better than it is for many such endeavors that suffered from limited distribution — subdued and no frills, perhaps, but clear, well recorded, and well played and sung. Too, few other records of this sort are so downright melancholy, though without succumbing to the unhinged despair that consigns many of them to an extremely limited audience. It's more like being trapped in a room where the candles are burning down to their wicks, with the knowledge that there will be no encores once the music's over. Higgins was in prison in the early '70s, and while it might be too much to project his personal circumstances onto judgment of the proceedings, it does rather sound like the musings of a gentle soul who somehow lost his way or got steered down the wrong path. There are dark insinuations of insomnia, doubt, a loss of hope, and in the last lyric of the closing "Looking for June," desperate wondering as to where he's gonna get some dope. "Down on the Farm" sounds almost like a folky Captain Beefheart with its guttural vocals and twisted blues progressions, but it's not typical of an album that usually goes for a far more placid and mainstream (though slightly bent) singer/songwriter sound.

[Richie Unterberger, allmusic.com]

Download

Lula Côrtes e Zé Ramalho - Paêbirú (1975)

Paêbirú is the Holy Grail of Brazillian psychedelia; if all you know of this incredibly rich musical landscape is Os Mutantes, pick this up immediately. - Ariel

Thanks to cult-creating stories about how nearly all original copies of this Brazilian double-album effort from 1975 were lost in a fire, Paebiru is one of those records that has to overcome a reputation — it has to actually be good because it's good, not because it's rare. The 2005 re-release on Shadoks gave a chance for that concern to be addressed, and it must be said: Paebiru really is a fantastic album. With each of its original four sides named after the legendary four elements (earth, air, fire, water), Paebiru looks to aim high and does so pretty well, but the more telling thing about the album is how well Cortes and Ramalho's work fits in the present day. Thanks to the continually reviving psych/freak/acid folk/jam scene, one could play most of this album next to the Sunburned Hand of the Man and Animal Collective discs with nobody blinking — but the key difference is probably that Cortes and Ramalho, plus their many collaborators, are really sharp musicians and arrangers. There's a talented, easy fluidity about Ramalho's singing that, if rougher, isn't far removed from classic Brazilian pop singers of his time, while the most intense moments, such as the building multi-percussive/feedback freakout of "Culto a Terra," stand up readily now as they did then. Elsewhere, the beautiful, almost serene compositions interspersed throughout ("Bailado das Muscarias," which definitely is a dance tune regardless of lack of percussion; the blending of harp, flute, sax, and more on "Omm") create something pastoral and with a romantic late-night lounge feeling. The resultant blend of approaches and the variety throughout the album become more apparent even while each song is simply captivating on its own, and when they decide to conventionally rock out on "Nas Paredes da Pedra Encantada," the result is almost Can-like.

[Ned Raggett, allmusic.com]

Download

The Homosexuals - The Homosexuals' CD (2003)

This is classic raw, angular D.I.Y. post-punk with a pop sensibility; a must for fans of Pere Ubu, Wire, or the Television Personalities. If you enjoy this--and why wouldn't you?--please visit Chuck Warner's fabulous Hyped to Death website and order their Homosexuals 3CD 'Astral Glamour' set. While you're there, I implore you to check out the Messthetics series; you won't regret it, but your bank account might. - Ariel

The Homosexuals were an influential British punk band formed in 1972 as Rejects by Bruno Wizard, Anton Hayman, and Jim Welton (who has also gone by the names L. Voag, Amos, and Xentos).

Their angular guitars, complex melodies, and experimental leanings distanced them somewhat from the punk rock being created by their contemporaries and has cemented their reputation as a pre-cursor to post-punk. They released very little during their lifetime, and most of what they did release was on small run vinyl on obscure record labels. The members also recorded in various combinations under several different pseudonyms. These "side projects" include Amos & Sara, George Harassment, Sara Goes Pop, and Nancy Sesay & The Melodaires. The only full length LP by the band, 1984's The Homosexual's Record was complied and released by Chris Cutler for Recommended Records, reissued remastered on CD with additional tracks in 2004 as The Homosexual's CD. Also released that year was Astral Glamour, a 3-CD set including the band's entire catalgoue, unreleased songs, and work by several of the band's pseudonymous projects.

[wikipedia.org]

Download