Heart Attack, “The Last War” (Broken Rekids, 2001; original recordings 1980-1984)
Really early New York HC, not in the heavy vein NYC was later known for, but classic Dolls/Heartbreakers punk rock, chopped and sped the fuck up. This is pure teenage blare, inspired and inspiring.
Try 4, 8.
1/13/13
Head On Electric, “Sleep Slaughter Sheep” (Dusty Medical, 2011)
Garage-punk with really strong paisley-colored cloud of turbo-sludge that’ll have you thinking someone slipped you the Brown Acid.
Try 3, 6, 7, 10
1/29/12
Hazel English, “Just Give In” (Polyvinyl, 2016)
DIY singer/guitarist/beatbox programmer in a vein somewhere in between the spare, ingenuous folk-pop strum of Frankie Cosmos and the more buzzy/dirgey neo-alternapop stylings of Snail Mail, Soccer Mommy, etc., but better than any of ‘em (and I like all those acts). The rhythm pops like a memory of childhood running-uphill, and sweet, haunted vocals chase liltingly after it. In its quiet way, this music has its finger pressed down hard on the pulse of life experienced at its most mundane yet immediate.
Try 1, 5, 6
4/7/19
Haysi Fantayzee, “Battle Hymns for Children Singing” (RCA, 1983)
Referred to by a prominent critic as “one of the most annoying records ever made” and “like having painful dental surgery performed by screaming nine-year-olds,” this has long been a favorite of mine. On the furthest wild, inventive end of early-‘80s Brit new-wave pop, this might better be likened to Culture Club if they were possessed by the devil. Quasi-Congolese electrobeats, playground-chanting male/female vocals, and a general everything-plus-the-kitchen-sink air of abandon make this an authentic realization of early Rough Trade postpunk experimentalism as electro-dance bubblegm.
Try 1/1, ¼, 1/5, 2/4
8/16/15
Haysi Fantayzee, “Battle Hymns For Children Singing” (RCA, 1982)
Haysi Fantayzee were like a missing link between the politico-musical vanguardism of early Rough Trade postpunk and the flamboyant bric-a-bric pop gloss of Duran Duran, Culture Club, et al. They combined pioneering hip-hop/electro-pop fusion, Afro-beat influences both pop and trad, the Bowie/Roxy Music side of glam and a kitchen-sink accumulation of other sounds (including square dancing!) into one of the most aggressively odd records ever to break Top 40 anywhere.
Picks: 4, 5 and especially 9. 1 was the hit; I named my book after it.
Happy New Year, “Happy New Year” (Crikey!, 2012)
Electronica with a little bit of a lot of stuff – doomy minimal-electro, dreamy/depressive shoe-gaze, Siouxsie-esque dramatic dance-pop – that adds up to something pretty cool.
Try 1, 3, 6
8/23/12
Halo Of Lies, “Death Of A Fly” (Amphetamine Reptile, 1989)
HoF leader Tom Hazelmyer’s prime influences include Jimi Henrix, the Jam, and Chrome, and this sounds like what you’d expect from that: twisted guitar-heavy punk with mid-‘60s hooks. Except that it’s a lot faster.
A/1 is the best, but all three are stupendous.
Hackamore Brick, “One Kiss Leads To Another” (Kama Sutra, 1970; reissue Real Gone Music, 2013)
A genuine Great Lost Proto-Punk Classic, in print for the first time in four decades. The Brick were the first Velvet Underground-influenced band to record (the original Modern Lovers came a year or so later). Their work takes the VU’s frantic strumming and force-beat and juices it up with wild, off-kilter teenage energy and brutally deadpan surreal humor. Foreshadowing the mid-70s CBGB bands (you can hear bits of Ramones, Television, Talking Heads, even Blondie in here), as well as the NY Dolls, this lives up to their legend and then some.
Try A/2, A/3, A/4, B/5
10/3/13
Habibi, “Habibi” (Burger, 2014)
More coolness from Burger, this features femme-voiced spooky/sparse surf-garage-pop with nifty Middle Eastern echoes.
Try 1, 7, 9
7/15/14
Hillary Blaze, “Exposure” (Vintage/Rockadrome, 2011; original recording 1977)
This nifty artifact embodies a lot of what was (still) good about hard-ish rock on the eve of punk – weird, inventive, melodramatic song structures and sound effects à la Bowie and Roxy meets a streamlined, hard-hitting attack that recalls “Highway Star” while foreshadowing Van Halen. Most reminiscent of Zolar X, but note quite as insane (what was?).
Try 3, 5
7/29/13