Various Artists, “Here To Go: New Zealand’s Psychedelic Moment, 1981-1986” (Flying Nun, 2011)Comp of stuff from NZ’s great ‘80s postpunk/indie scene, with an interesting premise – a focus on work that explicitly melded the stark formalism of postpunk with the multi-textured form-ravishing of late-’60s psych. Not only does this showcase a lot of majestically exotic […]
Various Artists, “High Road to Obscurity Vol. 1: Dredging Up the Dregs” (Grand Theft Audio, 2000; original recoding late 70s-‘90s)Mr. Grand Theft Audio is like the Howard Hughes or Dr. Doom of record collectors. It seems like he’s got everything by every cool-sounding band you half-remember from a fanzine review years ago. And not just […]
Various Artists, “Ho Dad Hootenanny Too!” (Crypt, 2015; original recordings 1964-66)In our time, the term “Frat-rock” might conjure up thoughts of hacky-sack being played while dudes with acoustic guitars and bongos noodle through Bob Marley covers, but to vintage garage-punk fanatics it connotes the hardest of the hard. The first volume of “HDH” focused more […]
Various Artists, “In Their Eyes” (Rhino, 1998)As advertised, late-‘90s indie-rock bands take a crack at ‘80s new-wave movie-soundtrack hits. The killer is the Rondelles’ wall-flattening bubble-punk blast on 9, but 1, 3, 14 and 15 are fun as well.10/13/11
Various artists, “Killed By Deathrock” (Sacred Bones 2016; original recordings, early 1980s)Deathrock was what happened when the still-forming Goth and hardcore musical streams met – a sound with the sepulchral, creepy spaciness of the former and the lean acceleration and raw-nerved scree of the latter. The best of it was pretty great, and the stuff […]
Various Artists, “La Confiserie Magique: Groove Club Vol. 1” (Lion Productions/Martyrs of Pop, 2010; original release late ‘60s/early ‘70s)Genuinely enchanting collection of counterculturally-tinged French pop, the familiar yé-yé/cabaret strains intermingled with acoustic singer-songwriter-isms, White Album-like piano-driven pop-rock, electronic whirring, and more.Try 6, 8, 11, 16, 197/2912
Various Artists, “Last Call: Vancouver Independent Music, 1977-1988” (Zulu, 1991)Exhaustive compilation of punk and postpunk from Vancouver. Across a wide variety of styles (hardcore, indie-jangle, and synth, just for starters), there’s a distinct local sensibility here – crisp, dislocated, bemused, often cool and frenzied at the same time.Try 1/1, ½, 1/ 3, 1/ 4, 1/5, […]
Various Artists, “Live At The Masque: Forming” (Year One, 1996; originally recorded 1978)Early L.A. punk live recordings are crucial in a way even the best ’77-’78 UK or NY live stuff generally isn’t. What translated into fast, streamlined blasts in the studio played out live as dark, screaming, gleeful chaos, taking Dead Man’s curve at […]
Various artists, “Live From The Masque” (Year One, 1996; original recordings 1978)More classic shit from the very dawn of L.A. punk. F-Word’s fuzzed-out Stooges-worship, twisted gutter-rockabilly from the Alleycats and (really early) X, and the Zeros’ melodic teen-Ramoneisms.Try 1, 6, 9, 17, 191/13/13
Various Artists, “Local Customs: Burned At Boddie’s” (Numero, 2011)In the ‘70s and early ‘80s, the Boddie pressing plant in Cleveland would supposedly put out anything, for peanuts. The mind-boggling variety here (soul, proto-industrial, spooky singer-songwriter, etc.) is evidence, as is the sheer un-pin-down-able weirdness of what should be genre exercises but end up frequently sounding […]