Quick and dirty post for your Friday enjoyment… Here’s another single from Swiss label Winterschatten (also home to The Silence Cries), released in 1984. This is the five piece (or four piece with a different bassist on each track) band’s only single which comes housed in an oversized picture sleeve. The songs are sung in a mix of English and French and are equally gloomy and catchy, definitely a great single for fans of Look Back In Anger, Cry of the Innocent, Send No Flowers etc. Enjoy! Les Fleurs D’Hiver- Fleurs D’Hiver  1. Fleurs D’Hiver 2. Association in White *download it here ..read more

Happy Hallmark Day, y’all! Better late than never with a new post. Here’s the debut album from Swiss post-punk/new wave band The Silence Cries, released in 1987. This three piece band reminds me quite a bit of Mecano, Svätsox, Razor Penguins, early Modern English, and other rickety, yet powerful post-punk bands from the early/mid 80s. There’s also quite a bit of sax, trumpet, and accordion throughout the LP, which adds a nice bit of tension. It’s quite an eclectic album – there’s a lot of variation and dynamic range across the album, and the band occasionally flirts with jangle pop, NDW, and m ..read more

A quick and dirty post today – the lone 7” from UK post-punk/new wave flavored band Eye Do It, who seem to have had a penchant for hieroglyphics judging from the record sleeve. This 7” was released in 1984 via N.R.O. Records, who also released a compilation titled A Night at the Flicks which features the third and final Eye Do It track (which I do not own and have not heard, but would love to if anyone has a copy of this compilation, which also features indie pop band Mighty Mighty). Touchstones for this single include bands like Ex Post Facto, Repetition, Last Man In Europe, Pink Militar ..read more

Sorry for the delay, folks. Hope everyone’s having a lovely summer (or winter, if you’re in a different hemisphere!). Here’s a recent favorite, chock full of summertime jangle pop/indie rock vibes. This LP was released in 1987 on the E Pluribus Unim imprint. The band was a four (sometimes five) piece from Dallas, Texas, and this is their only LP, and what a humdinger it is… Dreamy, melodic guitars reminiscent of early R.E.M, Grapes of Wrath, Winter Hours,  Ups and Downs, etc. – heavier on the jangly side, but just gloomy enough to catch my interest. Amy Farrington provides vocals on a few ..read more

Been seeing a lot of love for this one on the net since I ripped this, so figured it was due time to post it properly. Here we have 2/3rds of the discography by US-based jangle/new wave/indie rock band Primitive Pleasure. We’re missing the first 7” from 1984 here, but plenty of great tracks to pore over in the meantime. “The Vision” remains a standout, appearing on both the LP and the 7” in identical form, minus the synth blurbs at the beginning of the LP version. These segues feature throughout the entire LP, cementing the album as a pure hybrid of both new wave and jangle pop that’s a perfec ..read more

While we’re on a Swedish groove, here’s a darker, more visceral post-punk single by Aptit, a sextet from Gothenburg, released in 1982. Fans of bands such as Asmodi Bizarr, Stimmen Der Stille, Cry of the Innocent, etc. will find much to love on both tracks, which have always been favorites, especially the driving b-side “Som Vatten.” Three of the members of Aptit would continue to make waves in Sweden’s new wave/post-punk scene. Bassist Elisabeth Johnson would also play with Camouflage (not the synth pop stars we know and love, but the gloomier, synth-driven post-punk band who would change ..read more

Gonna aim to post a trio of 7”s today, if all goes well… The first up on the docket is the lone single by Swedish band Pieces of Dreams, released in 1986. The single consists of two tracks of superb ethereal darkwave vibes. I’m reminded a bit of Concrete Blonde, if they fully embraced the vibes that were hinted at on Bloodletting. The A-side is upbeat and punchy, while the flip is a bit more sprawling and moody overall. Regardless, both tracks tick that sweet spot that we know and love, so hope you enjoy them as much as I do…   Pieces of Dreams – The Velvet Hand 7” 1 ..read more

Can’t stop/won’t stop! Keeping with the theme of the last post, this single is a perfect compliment, featuring a series of dancefloor-friendly remixes of darkwave tracks, also released in 1990. Our friend Goutroy turned me on to this one some weeks ago, tipping me off that this NY-based trio consisted of three members of Red Violet Red, who, which you may recall, also shared a key member with Eleven Pond. The remaining members, bassist Jerry Dellapietra, guitarist Lyle Wells (RIP), and vocalist/synth player/programmer Cedric Herrera (who also formed this project after recording with Claude Rai ..read more

Happy belated new year, folks! I’ve been struggling to find time to keep this thing going, but I still have a huge backlog of things I’ve been digitizing in my spare time, so it’s time I kick back into gear here, I suppose. Let’s see if I can get two posts done today! The first: a big big synth pop single from 1990 on ZYX Records. The project: Tanz Waffen, which translates to Dance Weapons. Despite their German name, the band hailed from Austin, Texas, and consisted of Jeff Campbell of The Secret Six and vocalist Nanz Campbell. After releasing this one single, the duo would join forces w ..read more

Thanks to Goutroy as always for turning me on to this one and making the original rip. A Viable Romance! Here we have three icy guitar-wave tracks from Crashing Plastic, self-released in 1989. There’s a touch of deathrock/synthpunk flavor in both Gwen Alyson’s vocals and synth melodies and Chris Daya’s musicianship, with razor-sharp guitars, punchy drum programming, and synths galore to round out their sound. I’m reminded of the early Pretty Poison releases, before they went freestyle. This tracks in a sense, as this duo also appears to be from Philadelphia, PA. As always, if anyone has anythi ..read more