Nails (the) - Dangerous Dreams

Name: The Nails
Album: Dangerous Dreams
Year: 1986
Style: Dark New Wave
Similar Bands: The The, Church, Fad Gadget, Wolfgang Press, The Cult, Sisters of Mercy
"One-Word" Review: Darkwave for Arenas
Based Out Of: Boulder, CO
Label: RCA Victor

Cover, Record

Record, Back

Dangerous Dreams (1986)

1. Dig Myself a Hole 4:40
2. Hello Janine 4:57
3. Voices 3:32
4. The First Time 3:45
5. The Veil 5:07/
6. Things You Left Behind 4:02 (single)
7. Save Me 4:33
8. Dangerous Dreams 4:02
9. Darkness Grows Uncivilized 4:15
10. Ocean 4:16

Album Rating (1-10): 6.0

Members & Other Bands:

• Pete Solley - Producer
• Marc Campbell - Vox (Ravers, Jack Mack, Misterwives)
• David Kaufman - Keys (Phil Gammage, Longboard Ranch)
• George Kaufman - Bass (Ravers)
• Steve O'Rourke - Guitars (The Scruffs, The Shroud of Lowell, Mike Magoo)
• Douglas Guthrie - Sax (Safi Abdullah)
• Mike Ratti - Drums (Heavy Balloon, Morgen, Rex Smith, Jay & the Americans, Shroud of Lowell)
• Joe Galdo - Percussion, Emulator (Foxy, The Jerks, Sunergyans, Barry manilow, George & Gwen mcCrae, Toni Bishop, Betty Wright, Bobby Caldwell, Ish, Niteflyte, ABBA, Leif Garrett, Dion, Ron Dante, bee Gees, Billy Luke Burton, Firefall, Ship, Viola Wills, Eddie Money, Alliance, Space people, jeannie Cruz, KC, Miami Sound Machine, Timmy Thomas, Lissette, Stephen Stills, Bellamy Bros, Rudy, Miguelito, 97 A-1-A, Hugger, Jimmy Bo Horne, Margaret Reynolds, Celi Bee, Nicole, Steve Alaimo, Donna Allen, ted Nugent, Julio Iglesias, Gloria Estefan, Bandera, Gene Ryder, Angelique Kidjo, Martika, CSN, Mink Deville, Professor Trance, Andres Calamaro, David Byrne, Flayer, Baaba Maal, ApeX)
• Soozie Kirschner - Electric Violin, Backing Vox (Southside Johnny & Asbury Jukes, David Johansen, Crosstalk)
• Trevor Hallesy - Engineer
• Dave Axelbaum- Asst. Engineer
• Mike Fuller - Mastering
• Michael McClure - album quote
• Terry Dunne - Mgmt
• Luis Cruz Azacata - Cover Painting 

Unknown-ness: Never heard of this band, but based on the dark cover, and abstract skull collage artwork + year, i'm going to guess they are dark, brooding new wave, not too different than The The.

Album Review: So yeah, the album is dark and brooding, vocals a little like the modern band Ceremony's non-hardcore songs, which grow from calculated, deep chants to angry and aggressive emo. There is also an element of Cowpunk to the songs composition, too. This was a follow-up record (2 of 3) to their much more praised debut, which featured a hit with "88 Lines About 44 Girls." Before that, they were known as the ravers, and had a very yet-to-be famous roadie in Eric Boucher, AKA Jello Biafra. 

Stand Out Track: Things You Left Behind

Links:
Wiki

Discogs

Allmusic

website

doug epstein

spotify album

Sisters of Mercy - A Slight Case of Overbombing: Greatest Hits Volume One

Name: Sisters of Mercy

Album: A Slight Case of Overbombing: Greatest Hits Volume One

Year: 1993

Style: Goth, Dark Wave, Industrial

Similar Bands: Fad Gadget, KMFDM, Jesus & Mary Chain, Iggy Pop, Depeche Mode, Nitzer Ebb, Borghesia

"One-Word" Review: Bleak Factory Rhetoric

Based Out Of: Leeds, UK

Label: Elektra, Warner Music UK

 A Slight Case of Overbombing: Greatest Hits Volume 1 - Tape & Cover & Notes

 A Slight Case of Overbombing: Greatest Hits Volume 1 - Tape, Lyrics

A Slight Case of Overbombing: Greatest Hits Volume 1 (1993)

1. Under The Gun
2. Temple of Love (1992)
3. Vision Thing
4. Detonation Boulevard
5. Doctor Jeep
6. More
7. Lucretia My Reflection
8. Dominion / Mother Russia
9. This Corrosion
10. No Time to Cry
11. Walk Away
12. Body & Soul

Album Rating (1-10): 6.0

Members & Other Bands:
Andrew Eldritch (Andy Taylor) - Vox (Sisterhood, Sarah Brightman)
Gary Marx (Mark Pearman) - Guitar (Ghost Dance)
Doktor Avalanche - drum machine
Craig Adams - Bass (Sisterhood, The Mission, Colorsound, Expelaries, Spear of Destiny, The Alarm, The Cult, The Vaynes, Theater of Hate)
Ben Gunn (Ben Matthews) - Guitar
Wayne Hussey - Guitar (Dead or Alive, The Sisterhood, The Mission, Hambi & The Dance, Quadra, Walkie Talkies)
Patricia Morrison - Bass (Gun Club)
Jim Steinman - Producer
Larry Alexander - Producer
Tony James - Bass (Sique Sique Sputnik)
Tim Bricheno - Guitar (All About Eve, XC-NN)
Andreas Bruhn - Guitar (Doc Cheng, Earthbound, Favola, Fourth INC, MCV, MLB Project, Max Melvin, Miller & Floyd, Newman & Reece, Shadow Queens, Low Riders, Upserver)
Adam Pearson - Guitar
Boyd Steemson - Manager
John Perry - Guitars
Maggie Reilly - Vox
Ofra Haza - Vox
Terri Nunn - Vox (Berlin)
Andrea White - Illustration
Billie Hughes - Producer
Ian Stanley - Producer
Roxanne Seeman - Writer
Dave Allen - Mixing & Producer

Unknown-ness: I might have heard of them in passing before, but I've definitely heard of them since picking up this tape. Don't really even have to guess to know this is dark wave with gothic tones.

Album Review: From 1977 – 1990, the band, basically a project of co-creator & hard-to-deal-with Andrew Eldritch, his drum machine named Doktor Avalanche, and a revolving door of musicians, produced three albums before rebelling against  their management and record label and never produced another album. He still tours under the name, and they have written new material, but they have not release any official follow up albums. There have been a bunch of breakaway bands form ex-members, most famously perhaps, the Mission UK (UK added here in the states). And as much as their music is attributed as goth, the band is adamantly against that classification, preferring “rock band.”

“Under The Gun” was recorded for this 1993 release, the final label released track for Sisters of Mercy. It has dark, deep vocals and ominous, droning atmospheric effects. Powerful guitars and female vocals supplied by Ofra Haza add to the stark, barren soundscape. Eldritch’s chanting vocals are layered underneath.

“Temple of Love (1992)” chugging guitar and soaring female siren vocals. Male vocals pick up with a dark, steady mechanical tone, reminding me of German industrial or KMFDM. Once it kicks in, it becomes dark and danceable. Could see this used in a stereotypical film set trying to show a vampire dance club or a gothic audience.

“Vision Thing” starts with a heavy metal guitar, where screeching vocals are expected, we have the continued authoritarian vocals chanted like demands and laws brought down from a restricted society. Supposedly this, the title of the album it came from, was a quote from VP George HW Bush, so the mood and theme probably are derived from US politics.

“Detonation Boulevard” carries on the theme of buzzy metal guitar chords played over a dark, angular, mechanical backdrop. Vocals parody Iggy Pop and other deep, steady, rhetoric-fueled sounds. 

“Doctor Jeep” is motivational song with a training montage musical pace. Crystal synth creates a bleak landscape under the driving tempos. And as the male vocals are steady and monotone, the female vocals have a nice melody and complement well.

“More” builds up in pieces for the first minute and breaks back down after the drum brake hits. Quiet vocals and Running Man atmospheric keyboards add until it really kicks in at 1:50 with some power chords and a chorus of energetic female vocals to clash with the drab, bleak lead vocals.

“Lucretia My Reflection” kicks off with a solid bass line and simple bass/kick drum mechanical rhythm. The vocals explode with the guitars (as much as monotone vocals can) about 1:30 in and the propaganda-chanting echos imagery of dark and cold communist USSR. This is another solid darkwave dance track. The instrumental section seems to go on a lot longer than necessary, not covering any new ground as it proceeds.

“Dominion / Mother Russia” starts with an industrial bass & metal sheet-drum beat, and features a watery guitar loop overlaid. The shuttering monotone lead vocals brood and follow a melody bolstered by angelic female vocals in the chorus. Once the song transitions to the Mother Russia part, with the same basic elements as Dominion, it begins to sound like a dark wave Talking Heads song.

“This Corrosion” has more of an Iggy Pop / Richard Butler vocal style with more melody than previous songs. The female chorus still echoes darkly, but at its heart, the song is actually upbeat and quite catchy – at least comparatively – with its Hank Kingsly-ish Hey Now Now chorus. Of course, this version is over 10 minutes long, so I could have dealt with the radio edit.

“No Time to Cry” cryptically begins with a few simple instruments then picks up like a dark New Order song. The vocals are deep and dark. There is a Devo-ish pogoing vocal in the background of the chorus. The lead vocals feel a little forced at being creepy.

“Walk Away” leans a little more toward arena rock, but on top of the cold, jangly guitars is that steady drum machine loop that makes it feel like industrial music underlying Dracula vocals.

“Body & Soul” almost has an oriental feel to it at the outset. The power guitar comes in, followed by the dark vocals. The song is pulled in the three ways, and it carries an overall mystical tone. 

Stand Out Track: This Corrosion (radio edit)

Links:
offical site
Wiki
AV Club: This Corrosion
Sisters-Wiki
Discogs
FB Community page

Ultravox - Quartet~, Lament*

Name: Ultravox

Album(s): Quartet~, Lament*

Year(s): 1982, 1984

Style: Dark Wave, Synth, Electronic

Similar Bands: OMD, Depeche Mode, Human League, Art in America, Simple Minds, Gary Numan, Pet Shop Boys, Sparks

One-Word Review: Pulsating Count Synth-ula~ Anthemic Sterile Tundra*

Based Out Of: London, UK

Label: Chrysalis

 Quartet~ - Cover & Record

 Quartet~ - Back & Record

 Lament - Cover, Sleeve, Record

Lament - Back, Sleeve, Record

Quartet ~(1982)

1. Reap the Wild Wind 3:49
2. Serenade 5:05
3. Mine for Life 4:44
4. Hymn 5:46 /
5. Visions in Blue 4:38
6. When the Scream Subsides 4:17
7. We Came to Dance 4:14
8. Cut & Run 4:18
9. The Song (we go) 3:56

Lament *(1984)

1. White China 3:50
2. One Small Day 4:30
3. Dancing With Tears in My Eyes 4:39
4. Lament 4:40
5. Man of Two Worlds 4:27
6. Heart of the Country 5:05
7. When the Time Comes 4:56
8. A Friend I Call Desire 5:09

Album Review (1-10): ~7.5
*8.0

Members & Other Bands:
Midge Ure - Vox, Guitar~* (Silk, The Rich Kids, Thin Lizzy, Visage, Band Aid, X-Perience, Schiller)
George Martin - Producer~ (Beatles)
Warren Cann - Drums, Backing Vox~* (Tiger Lily, Zaine Griff, Peter Godwin, Helden, Mecano, Duffo, Python, Paper Toys)
Chris Cross (Allen) - Bass, Synth, Backing Vox~* (Tiger Lily, Hello, Larry Carlton )
Billy Currie - Keys Violin~* (Tiger Lily, Gary Numan, Tubeway Army, Steve Howe, Dead or Alive, Sam Blue, Vinny Burns, Phil Lynott, Humania, Visage, Duffo)
Geoff Emerick - Engineer~
Jon Jacobs - Asst Engineer~
Peter Saville Associates- Cover~*
Ken Kennedy - Drawing~
Bill Philpot - Colouring~
Rik Walton - Engineer*
John Hudson - Engineer*
Mae McKenna - Gaelic Vox*
String Quartet (Amanda Woods, Jacky Woods, Margaret Roseberry, Robert Woollard)*
Shirley Roden - Backing Vox*
Debbie Doss - Backing Vox*
Crown Copyright - Callanish Standing Stones Photo*

Unknown-ness: Although the name sounds familiar, and I have seen their name around recently, as they have reformed, I don’t know anything about them. I associate them with cod, dark wave, like Cabaret Voltaire, Fad Gadget, or maybe even Depeche Mode. But there are sub categories in there that could define them more, including being actually listenable, which Depeche Mode’s mid-later stuff is not.

Album Review: Ultravox has gone through a couple of rebirths, moving from a first incarnation called Tiger Lily, through finally settling on Ultravox (without an !), and the departure of the creative front man, giving way to their most successful era with Midge Ure, which lasted through to 1988. They reformed twice in 1992 for four years, and again in 2009 to the present. These two albums were in the middle of the Ure years, and show their biggest charting success in the US (Quartet, #61). Quartet had 4 top 20 charting songs, and Lament had three top 40. Both were top ten albums in the UK. All in all, they were a pretty big band in the UK, with minimal exposure in the US.

“Reap the Wild Wind” begins with an upbeat crystal-synth melody and bouncy bass. The vocal tempo of the chorus reminds me of “Invisible Touch.” The vocals are dark and gothic and not always sung. But it is a happy, wind-swept song.

“Serenade” starts with a bouncy bass and steady drum beat, sounding like something from Art in America (another album I reviewed). The digital pulsating synth tempo keeps the song moving, through the gothic sections and soaring vocals. This could be used for a broadway or ballet growth montage.

“Mine for Life” starts off with a few power chords, with off key, dark tones to form the melody. The chorus is anthemic, like an echoing, emo declaration.

“Hymn” keeps its namesake, and quietly fades up in gospel style. It quickly turns into another driving “growth montage” song, incorporating OMD’s Enola Gay synth hook underneath. It has that same pace, too. The majestic yet sterile chorus rises and falls, building itself with little melody peaks.

“Visions in Blue” starts out very dark and shuttered in with a sad piano carrying the deep mournful and crooning vocals along. The second tier of verse gets bolder, shedding the closeted fear and soaring up accompanied by sinister organ noted. Once it gets going, it features a synth hook that is reminiscent of a slowed down Pet Shop Boys’ It’s a Sin (which came out 5 years later). It combines pulsating electronic vibrations with angry chamber piano.

“When the Scream Subsides” starts off pretty suddenly, and has energetic Sparks-like vocals pared with quieter chanting. The song is a confident march, but it tends to meander in the instrumental section.  

“We Came to Dance” has a nervous keyboard intro that sounds like Mega Man’s Elec Man stage (which also came out 5 years later) alongside echoing bangs. The song maintains a nervous tension, thanks to the pulsating tempo. This song reminds me of Placebo. It features a dark breakdown with more bangs and creepy spoken lyrics that are barely audible.

“Cut & Run” again uses the ringing keyboard synth sound made popular by Pet Shop Boys. It is a dark, charging, chanting section that leads to a stripped away, show-tuney upbeat emotional vocal section. The darkness and upbeat sections converge to finish out the song in an instrumental fade out.

“The Song (we go)” sprints off at the start with driving drums and cold, sweeping synth. Even when the vocals come on, and the synths fade away, the song continuously moves forward, right to the driving fade out.

“White China” has a vibrating electronic bass line that reminds me of OMD or perhaps The Human League. The vocals sound like they are sung into a bucket, with the echo and deepness. Backing vocals create a bit of a call and response. The chorus is anthemic and tundra cold. There are some techno and drum beat breakdowns before starting the electro-synth backbone to the song. This could have been in a John Hughes movie.

“One Small Day” was a single, starting off with some arena rock guitars. The chorus blasts off with a bold, Big Country or The Alarm like echo that can fill a whole stadium. The song breaks itself down, and then builds back up into the explosive chorus. The chorus itself is a very catchy, repeating hook that could go on forever.

“Dancing With Tears in My Eyes” was also a single, and UK #3. A pulsating rubber band synth rhythm kicks it off, and the vocals pattern the chorus of One Small Day very closely. The band discovered the anthemic country side, arena rock feel, and they pushed it through to the first three tracks. Personally I like them all, but they are too similar to pick a favorite. Just when the song feels like it has built itself up as powerfully as it can, it somehow breaks new ground and reaches new heights.

“Lament” was also a single. It starts out slow and you can tell it is a product of the mid 80’s in production. It has a little of a “Take My Breath Away” melody in the chorus.  The synthesized xylophone particularly stands out as an 80’s band trying to attain an organic feel via electronics.

“Man of Two Worlds” fades in with soaring notes. This gives out to a driving beat and deep, delicate vocals. For the chorus, a crystalline flute-synth is layered alongside the Gaelic female guest-vocals.

“Heart of the Country” was a single. A synthetic industrial drum beat starts the song off with dark stressed synth notes as a bass line. Synth industrial elements are peppered in here and there. The song staggers along with a mid-paced tempo, and lots of sounds and sampled sections trying to give the song more depth.

“When the Time Comes” begins with an organ quietly fading up. Echoing drum machine beats are layered behind, and diffused vocals are added, sounding like the distant vocals in Video Killed the Radio Star. The song gently glides along, overtop a wafting, rising and falling synth bass wave. It fits the rest of the album’s profile with its crystalline synth tone.

“A Friend I Call Desire” fakes the listener out with a sinister dark tone, only to be lifted off with a Duran Duran-like lead looping guitar. The song abandons the guitar for the darkness, this time, it is a driving force. Soaring vocals buffered by a female chorus in the background. The darkwave dance song progresses along the cold soundscape, to a squeaky synth ending fade.

Stand Out Tracks: ~Seranade
*White China

Links:
Official
Wiki
Discogs
Facebok
Allmusic
Youtube Lament Full Album

Sad Lives of the Hollywood Lovers - Silencer ep

Name: Sad Lives of the Hollywood Lovers

Album: Silencer ep

Year: 2005

Style: Synthpop, Darkwave, New Wave

Similar Bands: Depeche Mode, Bay of Pigs, Interpol, Killers

"One Word" Review: Brooding, Breathy Dance-Depression

Based Out Of: Harrisonburg, Virginia

Label: Spinsgood Records

 Silencer ep - Cover, Liner & Tray images

Silencer ep - Liner Notes, Back, CD

Silencer ep (2005)

1. You Make Me Feel Like I'm Fifteen 5:22
2. Boys 3:32
3. Fedora 3:40
4. We Are Neon Lights 4:34
5. The Scene 3:35
6. Vindicators Failing 5:25
7. Running From the Paparazzi 3:17

Album Rating (1-10): 3.0

Members & Other Bands:

Hunter Christy - Engineer, Recording, Vocals Synth, Recording, Layout, Design (Treemen)

Mark "Xu" Shue - Vox, Guitars, Asst Engineering, Layout, Design (Beech Creeps, Doug Gillard, Library is on Fire, Pterodactyl)

Kyle Harris - Drums Programming

Jack Sheehan - Bass, Asst Engineering

Ben May - Asst Engineering

Harrison Christy - Asst Engineering

Allison Kiser - Executive Producer

Sera Petras - Photos

David Jetton - Cover Modeling

Stephanie Jetton - Cover Modeling

Emily McMillion - Cover Modeling

Evan Moritz - Cover Modeling

Manica Noziglia - Cover Modeling

Evan Owen - Cover Modeling

Anne Paulus - Cover Modeling

Abby Shue - Cover Modeling

Barbara Shue - Cover Modeling

David Shue - Cover Modeling

Arianna Warner - Cover Modeling

Mia Wilson - Cover Modeling

Chessy  - Cover Modeling

Unknown-ness - Never heard of this band. Received it from a friend who wanted to part with it. Based on the band's appearance, listing of synths and programming on the liner notes, and with the album art combining analog TVs with the human bodies, i'm going to assume this is going to be smooth digital pop/rock, similar to The Inflatable Men, whom I like a lot. It seems like a heavily self-produced record, and I think the quality of the album artwork looks good, so I am optimistic.

Album Review: Despite the fact that they are a recent band, there is still not much out there about them. A total of 3 ep’s over about 3 years, and they were through. The main two still have bands that play around: Beech Creeps out of Brooklyn (Mark), and Treemen (as support) in NC (Hunter).

“You Make Me Feel Like I'm Fifteen” begins with a swirling programmed 2 bit synth. A cold industrial drum beat ads in next to a chugging guitar, and deep vocals like Depeche Mode or Mad at the World slowly glide over the music. The chorus picks up a little more complex sound, and a little bit of Pulp is added in, but not enough to make it a good song. Soaring guitars take over the song at the end, and overall, the vibe is dark, moody, and droning.

“Boys” is still dark, but has a little more promise, reminding me of one of the first albums I reviewed, Bay of Pigs. Still sounds too much like Depeche Mode for me to enjoy. Interpol/Killers like guitars. Even the melody is hard for me to enjoy, capturing what I dislike about DM.

“Fedora” starts off with a drum beat, and the soaring guitars and cold, dark synth keys. The chorus is a fastly shout-sung barrage. The looping nature of the guitars creates an anxious, ambulance siren atmosphere. Haunting echos fill in the background, and the second shouty part brings in elements of Korn. Then it ends very abruptly.

“We Are Neon Lights” skips in on single, repetitive synth notes. Zooming synth takes over for the introduction, and the vocals are rushed, but dark and theatrical. Some of the synth elements are fun and interesting, but the overall downer, darkwave vibe cancels any dancey notions. But this is definitely a case where this does not appeal to me. I bet plenty of folks would love to jam out (or sit in a depressed cocoon stasis) to this. Perhaps there is a little Franz Ferdinand in this track too, especially with the gang-chorus style of the later choruses.

“The Scene” was the single, and has a video. It starts with a ticking, and then blasts off with a fun yet dark new wave hook. The bass line is a little Clash-like, and really drives the song. The breathy vocals don’t draw as much attention to themselves in this song, and are relatively tame; not over-reactive.

“Vindicators Failing” slowly fades up, and becomes a trudging, slow-paced arctic tundra, with icy synth, and cold, deep, breathy vocals. The song maintains tempo, but a marching drumbeat adds to the soundscape. The vocals still whine and cry out in pain that they have accepted. A bit of brightness in the piano is added toward the end, but it seems to end just before peace is achieved.

“Running From the Paparazzi” is a pulsing, intense guitar driven song, with a dance drum beat, and stuttering anticipation in the verse. The breakdown/bridge is much more hopeful than the rest of the song and album, but basing it on the song title, I believe it is just anger coming out, backed by uplifting music. The song ends with about 15 seconds of dead space to end the record.

This was pretty opposite of my taste when it comes to the vocals, and I do throw a lot of weight on the vocals.

Stand Out Track: The Scene

Links:

Bandcamp

Facebook

Amazon

Allmusic

Treemen FB

Beech Creeps FB

Monofonus Press

Sonicbids

Low Pop Suicide - On The Cross of Commerce

Name: Low Pop Suicide
Album: On the Cross of Commerce
Year: 1993
Style: Alternative, Gothic New Wave,
Similar Bands: Nine Inch Nails, Gene Loves Jezebel, Lucy Show, Tool, Filter, Alice in Chains
"One-Word" Review: Droning Heavy Alternative
Based Out Of: Los Angeles
Label: World Domination, Capitol Records

On The Cross of Commerce - Cover, Album Art, CD Tray

On The Cross of Commerce - Liner Notes, CD, CD Back

On The Cross of Commerce (1993)

1. Here We Go 4:29
2. Kiss Your Lips 3:00
3. My Way 4:07
4. Disengaged 3:10
5. It's Easy 2:12
6. Your God Can't Feel My Pain 4:22
7. Crush 4:30
8. Ride 4:42
9. Gimme Gimme 4:01
10. Imagine My Love 4:24
11. All In Death Is Sweet 4:42

Album Rating (1-10): 4.0

Members & Other Bands:

Dave Allen - Producer, Bass, Art Direction (Gang Of Four, Shriekback, The Elastic Purejoy, King Swamp)

Rick Boston - Producer, Guitars, Vox, Art Direction (Rickie Lee Jones, The Januaries)
Dave Ogilvie - Reproducer, reconstructor

Ken Marshall- Engineering

Jeff Ward - Drums

Michael Vail Blum - Recoding & Mixing

Brian Gardner - Mastering, Vocals

Chrissie Scheft - Vox

Cynthia Coulter - Bass

Steven R Gilmore - Sleeve and Art Direction

Ron Stone - MGMT
Susie McKinley - MGMT

Allison Hamamura - Agent

Fred Ansis - Laywer

Melle Steagal - Drums

Unknown-ness: I kind of remember knowing these guys, but I cannot recall what this album is like. I got this in a bottom shelf dollar bin in a California record shop in 99, but I don’t remember why. From the gothic artwork, and religious / angry at religion wording, I imagine that this will sound like depressing goth rock or industrial, or some sort of blend spurred on from Nine Inch Nails fame. I imagine it might be like the band Stabbing Westward or, just from the name probably, Pop Will Eat Itself.

Album Review: “Here We Go” starts with a grinding metal guitar, but with an echo, it feels very dream pop distant. The vocals are smoothly gliding over the melody, almost like it is played backwards. It feels very much like 80’s gothic new wave, updated a bit for the 90’s with a deep alternative bass lines in the background. But the foreground displays the ringing guitars and it sounds very ethereal.
“Kiss Your Lips” rocks out much heavier and darker from the start. This sounds a little like Tool (music and vox) or mid-career Metallica (heavy guitar breakdown in chorus).
“My Way” is heavy again, but there is a melody underneath the heavy guitar that is much catchier, and a fun bouncy baseline. But the rest of the song is a little empty. It is very vocals centered, which are not that interesting or catchy. But they do sound like Filter or any heavy alternative band.
“Disengaged” has a muted jangly guitar in the outset, but then a heavier bass line comes in, and the rest of the song stomps to a darker beat. The nervous, fluttering vocals remind me of NIN in this song, but the music is not nearly as unique or groundbreaking. There is anger in the vocals during the chorus, but it feels like an act.
“It's Easy” fades into with a heavy, metal guitar playing a jangly hook. The vocals almost have a country feel to them, the way they sing over the loud, muddled guitar. No percussion or bass, just fuzzed metal guitar and a very sing-song melody.

“Your God Can't Feel My Pain” starts with a humming, Middle Eastern tinged intro, and then comes crashing in with a heavy guitar hook and Alice in Chains style vocals, but the hum remains, amplified if anything. The hum seems to grow, promising to overtake the entire song. The song itself is somewhat one dimensional, as it is just a growing buzz, not changing too much or offering much diversity in its 4+ minute length.
“Crush” takes us back into the gothic new wave & jangly, soaring, guitar pop. Full on instrumental for the first minute and a half, we are joined with deep vocals, chant-spoken over the music, like Fad Gadget or Bay of Pigs. But the majority of the song is just the ringing guitars and drone rock.
“Ride” continues the dark new wave, with a slight update of electronic alteration of the guitars to make them sound like they are skipping. The vocals are strained but emotional. It has a bit of a programmed, mechanical edge to it, with some of the percussion sounding a little industrial.
“Gimme Gimme” begins with a drum beat only. And then the bass is added. Next are shrill power drill guitars followed by a Duran Duran style rhythm guitar. He instruments are added one at a time like many Nitzer Ebb songs. The vocals are overly strained, and they sound like they are ready to explode like a bottle of shaken soda.
“Imagine My Love” starts right off with a Middle Eastern feel again. But it starts with an intensity and speed that remains constantly driving. The chorus repeats at random times it feels, but it is one of those annoyingly catchy hooks that resonates and burns itself into your memory. The song ends with the guitar hook from 2 Live Crew’s My Seven Bizzos, which was stolen from Jimi Hendix’s “Voodoo Child.”
“All In Death Is Sweet” has a slow gradual start with random guitar and drum fills. Then a liquidy guitar begins playing lovingly, reminding me of Ween jam songs. There is finally cohesion of the drums and guitar, but it is a slow, wispy ballad. As a complete instrumental, the song tries to capture a Jimi Hendrix Jam Band vibe, with the instruments slipping in and out of structure, and never really sticking together long enough to catch a beat.

Stand Out Track: Imagine My Love

Links:

Wiki
Fan page
Allmusic

Misfits Central
Trouser Press

Flesh Eaters - Destroyed By Fire (Greatest Hits)

Name: Flesh Eaters
Album: Destroyed By Fire (Greatest Hits)
Year: 1987
Style: Punk, Gothic Rock/Metal.
Similar Bands: Cows, X, Social Distortion, Dead Milkmen, Iggy Pop, Bay of Pigs, Danzig
"One-Word" Review: 3-chord-Chaotic-Jagger-Punk
Based Out Of: LA, Cali
Label: SST Records, Shakeytown Music BMI

Destroyed By Fire - Cover, Liner Notes, Tape

Destroyed By Fire (1987)

1. See You In The Boneyard 3:29
2. Cyrano De Berger's Back 3:20
3. Dominoes 1:58
4. Impossible Crime 1:53
5. Secret Life 4:54
6. Hard Road to Follow 5:25
7. Divine Horsemen 7:07 /
8. The Wedding Dice 4:16
9. Pony Dress 2:31
10. We'll Never Die 3:20
11. Everytime I Call Yr Name 4:07
12. Lake of Burning Fire 7:41
13. Drag My Name in Mud 6:33

Album Rating (1-10): 6.0

Members & Other Bands:
Dave Alvin - Guitar (Blasters, Knitters, Dollar Store)
Bill Bateman - Drums (Blasters, Red Devils)
Steve Berlin - Saxophone (Los Lobos, Blasters)
D.J. Bonebrake - Marimba (X, Original Sinners)
Chris Desjardins - Producer, Vocals Composer (Divine Horsemen)
John Doe - Bass (X)
Robin Jameson - Bass
Jill Jordan - Vocals (Background)
Don Kirk - Guitar, Composer
Christopher Wahl - Drums, Composer
Ed Colver - Flesh Eaters Picture

Unknown-ness: I don’t believe I’ve heard of them. The name is very symbolic with a type of music, that I could only assume this is going to be dark punk, perhaps with Gothic tones. Maybe I’ve heard of them before, but I can’t really recall what the music is like or where I’ve heard of them from. So as this is a greatest hits collection, I do not expect a cohesive album, but a good introduction to their sound.

Album Review: “See You In The Boneyard” begins with a jazzy sax and rocking, driving drum beat. The vocals are gloomy but cartoonish with a side of evil. There is a Stray Cats big band element to the music, but the energy from the rambling lyrics and the shriek energy at the end of each verse gives is a classic dirty punk element. Like an organic Social Distortion.
“Cyrano De Berger's Back” feels like a 50’s greaser love ballad, full of sax and rock-a-billy qualities covered by a morbid punk act. The vocals are raw and full of emotion while the music is just a repetitive canvas for the poetic vocals to flow across.
“Dominoes” starts out as a lazy side swaying melody, but you can feel the tension building, and it launches into a faster, straightforward punk song. It lacks the brass or jazzy backing instruments. But it goes back and forth between the two sections of slow catch-your-breath sections and fast-forwarding circle pit action.
“Impossible Crime” is a nervous, speedy three chord punk song. It changes key for the chorus but quickly changes back for the short verse sections. It is repetitive and driving, never letting down like a good short punk song should be. It actually reminds me of “Tiny Town” by Dead Milkmen. “Secret Life” starts with a nice bouncy bass beat. And the vocals sound drunk, and tripping all over the place up and down off key. But the shrill expression reminds me of Mick Jagger at his most chaotic, and more so, Iggy Pop. The sax is back, but not as produced and prevalent as the start of the record, and it feels less Americana punk, and more smooth jazz.
“Hard Road to Follow” is another drunken King Missile sounding song with minimal, actual singing, and a more slurred tempo. But the range of vocal styles and pitch changes keeps it very interesting, and the music is less punk, and more dark, heavy rock. This reminds me of the other album I reviewed by Bay of Pigs. The guitar has a sounds that is like “Money for Nothing” but heavier.
“Divine Horsemen” starts with some sort of sax sound that reminds me of Akira Kurosawa’s film Dreams, specifically the Peach Orchard sequence. But the music is just a repetitive back and forth guitar and bass section, with a repeating 2 note xylophone bit. The vocals are erratic and agitated, good for the dark punk atmosphere they like to project. The instrumental section at the end just goes on without much variation, to the point where I’d assume it would be quite boring to play.

“The Wedding Dice” starts out with dark prog, like Black Sabbath. And then the pace picks up to a driving punk pace. The vocals lack sobriety, but they parallel the melody to the point of repetitive boredom. During the instrumental break, we revisit the slow prog guitars, which are backed by a squealing sax loop.
“Pony Dress” revisits the short speed punk with erratic singing. It is a simple fast verse, rearranged melody for the chorus, and return to the verse. The monotony is broken up with a bit different section referring to the title of the song at the end. It is repetitive in itself, but as a whole it is refreshing.
“We'll Never Die” starts with a guitar hook that is quite catchy, and then the vocals range from deep, nasally and yowling all in the same lyrical line. At their darkest, they are deep and nearly crooning, like Danzig; at their highest they are raspy and a bit screechy. But there is an undeniable energy the entire time.
“Everytime I Call Yr Name” begins with a fuzzed out metal guitar played at a punk rock pace. The deep vocals again remind me of Danzig or X at their lowest and like an angry feral cat at their highest. Like most other songs, the music does not diverge much from the initial melody, so you have this long song without much change, except it acts as a blank canvas for vocal experimentation and exaggeration.
“Lake of Burning Fire” sounds like it should be a prog song, and it comes off that way with an unconventional beat and a backing sax. The vocals are whine-yelling at first, I’m guessing like they are stuck in hell. It feels a little like a Half-Japanese song. The vocals are the same cadence, but lower than Jad Fair. Then they surpass Fair, and resemble Megadeath’s shouty vocals. The repetitive loop of jazzy prog continues and more yelling moans overlap and feels like an unsupervised jam session. The song then comes back to more lyrics, but nothing new is brought to the song. And they revert back to the howling jam session which is very tedious and extended.
“Drag My Name in Mud” is a heavy sax influenced metal stomp. The drums kick in and it begins at a fast, driving pace, but the vocals feel like they are constantly trying to catch up to the music. This is three chord metal-punk. The slower stomp-tempo is brought back for a breakdown section about 2 min in. By this point, listening to this much, the song feels like it is just rehashing everything that has come before, and the result is a forced feeling, like ideas have all been used up and that well is dry.

Stand Out Track: See You in the Boneyard

Links:
allmusic
Wiki
website
death rock
perfect sound forever
Chris D's New Texture blog
Rate your Music

Lesser Known Neutrinos - New Language

Name: Lesser Known Neutrinos
Album: New Language:
Year: 2007
Style: Acid, Prog, World
Similar Bands: Tub Ring, World/Inferno Friendship Society, Cows, Beru Revue, X
"One-Word" Review: Trippy Renaissance Punk
Based Out Of: West Philly
Label: Self Released

New Language: Cover, Insert, Record

New Language: Inside, Lyrics, Record

New Language (2007)

1. Phantom Cargo 3:48
2. Psychic Studies 4:50
3. Hell's Reflection 3:23
4. Warm December Days 4:32/
5. Inheritor 3:52
6. Legacy 3:46
7. New Language 3:34
8. Stasis 6:42

Album Rating (1-10): 5.5

Member & Other Bands:

Tony Cesa - Bass, ARP Odyssey, Sequencial Circuts, Pro One Synths, Vox (Sgnls, John Denver's Airplane)
Paul Walker - Guitar, Yamaha AM1X, Korg M3R Synths, Insert Layout (Sgnls)

Monica Pasquinelli - Drums, Cover Art (Vulgar Remedies)

Eleanor Buffam - Electir Viola, Vocal

Steve Roche - Mixed, Mastered, Recording

Erik Ruin - Printing

Sean Fenton - Insert Photography

Unknown-ness: I’ve never heard of this band, but I love the homemade nature of the album cover printed/stamped/sick screened on the cardboard, twice, I believe, because the inside try was blurry. The artwork has a cold, bleak landscape, with a bomb cloud rising into the name. So what kind of music will this be? I’m guessing Indie Rock with a cold edge.

Album Review: “Phantom Cargo” has a distorted guitar riffing through some noteless chords. Then a gothic piano adds a dark vibe, and the song begins to feel like a World/Inferno Friendship Society song. There are competing male and female vocals that are harmonized in an odd way. Later some psychedelic swirling synth sounds are layered over the buzzing guitar, which reminds me of the band Tub Ring. The vocal style is very progressive, like dark crooning metal.
“Psychic Studies” starts off with a fast paced punk guitar hook. A viola is layered over top, and then the male vocals start. They are the same as the first song, singing in cadence with the drums, and occasionally belting out a note at the end of a stanza. Also thrown in for genre-confusing are hard-core/emo screams. But a buzzing organ carries the song on its back. It’s a noise that you can’t tell is there at first, but when you do, it becomes all you hear. There is an earthy, space, new age breakdown mid song with a very dark sorcery, Black Sabbath vibe. The song winds down in this section, before rebooting and kicking back into the chorus of singing and isolated screams.
“Hell's Reflection” starts with a chamber music production of strings, echoing as if a cold, stone conservatory. The feed-back guitar is back to insert a note or two here or there, and the anxious vocals are peppered with one-off screams for emo reasons. But the song still feels like it could be a gothic W/IFS song. It changes gears as it goes further into song, and takes on a driving, Gang of Four vocal quality. The song winds down with quick surges of guitars and specks of stings a final mushroom cloud that gives way to the next song seamlessly.
“Warm December Days” begins lightly with a sad Balkan violin sound backed by what sounds like a mandolin. The vocals are half sun, half chanted to the swaying tempo. It feels very renaissance fare-ish. As it almost loses all musical form, and flirts with bad opera. This reminds me a little of Beru Revue for some reason. It really becomes taxing, and barely listenable in its minimal production.

“Inheritor” starts with some odd moog sounds, squirting up and down. The singing is muted in the background at first, and sounds like the hard core Tub Ring songs. And then female vocals give it a go at the same pace and melody, reminding me a bit of Sleater-Kinney. Eventually they are overlapped together. This is just a quirky, weird hard core version of something I’d expect to hear from Forbidden Zone musically. There is a middle breakdown of fast singing the same phrase over and over again, that melts down into yahhhs. The electronic synths wind down, and the end of the song is full of tweeting and static ebbing and flowing, ending in a flat line.
“Legacy” is a heavy display of Prog. Then both male and female vocals take their own individual approaches of speed and melody, seldomly overlapping, which reminds me of X. It has an urgency and intensity, while using some B-horror movie sound effects and instrumentation.
“New Language” combines Dexy’s Midnight Runners celtic strings with a driving punk rhythm. The buzzing guitar nearly drowns out the female vocals, and is mixed up way to far. The time signature changes, and a slow trudging stomp with wavering synth comes forth, covered with male vocals, sung in a very dark vibe. Then the DMR section comes back, but is drown out by the discordant, random, angular guitar mess. Nothing seems to match up at this point. And, as the other instruments give up, the guitar gets more and more staticy until the song just peters out.
“Stasis” is an instrumental (for 3 minutes) with a slow, reflective tempo created by strings, the annoying static guitar, and a slow, stumbling drum beat. It staggers on and on and mourning guitar solos. The vocals, with an X style of harmony, come on in a high pitch singing style that further adds to the sorrow of the song. Nothing ever really changes or expands from this singular vision of a funeral march until the last minute, the pace picks up and they give you one last bit of punk with an eerie moog effect in the background that has a fake ghost sound, a sound of a Halloween decoration.

Stand Out Track: Phantom Cargo

Links:

No.Libs Split 7 inch

Live Photo Set

SGNLS

Bandmind

(the) Heart Throbs - Cleopatra Grip

Name: (the) Heart Throbs
Album: Cleopatra Grip
Year: 1990
Style: Gothic Shoegazing Pop
Similar Bands: Darling Buds, Shakespear Sister, Luna, Belly, Gene Loves Jezebel
"One-Word" Review: dark-cavern-vampyro-rock
Based Out Of: Liverpool, UK
Label: Elektra, One Little Indian,

Cleopatra Grip - Cover, Notes, Tape

Cleopatra Grip (1990)

1. Tossed Away 3:55
2. Dreamtime 3:54
3. Big Commotion 5:04
4. In Vain 4:30
5. Slip & Slide 3:19
6. Here I Hide 4:32 /
7. Calavera 6:01
8. I Wonder Why 3:31
9. She's In A Trance 3:44
10. Blood From A Stone 3:25
11. Kiss Me When I'm Starving 4:34
12. White Laughter 5:14

Album Rating (1-10): 7.0

Members & Other Bands:
Rose Carlotti - Vox, Guitar (Angora, Tom Patrol)
Rachael Carlotti - Bass, Vox
Stephen Ward - Keyboards
Alan (Borgia) Barclay - Guitar
Mark Side - Drums
Martin Hannett - Mix
Gil Norton - Producer, Mix
Frank De Freitas - Producer
Rob Stennett - Producer, Engineer
Derek Birkett - Producer
Chris Allison - Producer
Bill Price - Mix
Dave Meegan - Mix
Mark Wallace - Mix
Chris Sheldon - Engineer
Brian Pugsly - Engineer
Me Company - Design

Unknown-ness: I have never heard of this band. But I liked the font and imagery on the cover of the tape when I saw it at a thrift store. With the color and picture, it reminded me of the 4-AD albums like Luna and Breeders, but a little more girly and gothic, like Siouxsie Sioux and Shakespear Sister. So the music I was thinking would be similar to Gene loves Jezebel, or something very noisy, yet melodic shoe gazing goth-pop. But this is really only based on the artwork, so I could be way off. But I am excited to try it.
Album Review: Track one is “Tossed Away” and it comes full-on with thick dense guitars and sexy, mysterious talk-singing dialoged overtop the synth keys and echoing drums. The chorus comes with a very catchy melodic vocal hook that validates, with singing, the spoken verse. A quiet alarm like synth intro begins “Dreamtime” before the guitars come in. The deep spoken word vocals are supplemented with the title sung in the background. Again the chorus is the sung-hook, leaving the verse as a meditative anticipation. Buzzing and stinging synth sounds enter and fade as the grinding guitar and driving drums come into play on “Big Commotion.” The double layered, harmonized vocals sound a bit like pulp in the “can’t dance without the motion” chorus hook. The rest of the song sounds like Shakespeare’s Sister with fuzz guitars. It takes a lengthy time to finally end, a bit too much pulling taffy. But it ends in a fade, and “In Vain” starts with mysterious swirling keys and effects and a wispy all-knowing female vocal. This is quieter than the rest of the album, and features far less production. The two female singers again play off each other like Shakespeare’s Sister with less range. The guitars make the song kinda sound like the Scorpion’s “Wind Of Change.” The ending builds up taking the hooks and layering them over top of each other, building in energy that just relaxes at the end. “Slip & Slide” is a bit taste of goth-pop. The beat is dancy and upbeat, and the female vocals take turns in the verse, showcasing both vocalists very well. The come together and harmonize in parts as well. There is even a revised chorus hook that adds more depth to the song that takes over as the song rushes to its end. This sounds like a good British pop songs produced through a nest of hornets. “Here I Hide” is a straightforward rock song, with a standard drum beat, guitar work with slight fuzz, and minimal use of the electro-keyboard. Near the end, the lyrics pick up and function as a steady rhythm section. It ends with do-loo-loo’s running up and down the melody.

“Calavera” consists of three parts at the onset, first is the tired, staggering drum beat, second are the monotone sung vocals and the fuzzy & repetitive lead guitar. The song is really a one-trick pony, never advancing further than the dark, stumbling, slow head nodding beat. And when you thing the song should be slowing down to end, it just goes on and on for another 2.5 minutes with another verse to boot. The next song, “I Wonder Why” starts off right away with a catchy guitar hook and a decent vocal melody. This is good planning after the last song’s long drawn out ending. It is just as dark as the rest of the record, but the vocals are much more refine and stand out on their own. It is a little repetitive, but over all a descent song. “She's In A Trance” rocks out with a solid jangley repetitive guitar hook wrapped up in the normal fuzz-production and complimented with echoey goth-vox. The chorus/song title comes across like a quiet whisper from a floating phantom, seeming to be in a trance itself. Again, it is a little long, and drawn out at the end. “Blood From A Stone” has the same jangely guitar but the bass is pushed way up in the front of production. It is an upbeat and poppy song, but the synthesizer draws it down into darkness along with the echo effect on the vocals making the song sound hollow and floating. “Kiss Me When I'm Starving” is a ballad, with a soaring electric metal guitar and an arena rock drum beat. There is a pleasant keyboard underneath the otherwise dreamy, fantasy atmosphere. Finally, after a long fade out, “White Laughter” finishes the album. More echoey effects, this time on chimes and a haunting synthesized “held-note” start the song, along with an acoustic guitar. Simple vocal lines are sung, and the song kinda sounds like something from Mazzy Star. It is quiet and pleasant, as it slowly builds with slightly emotional lyrics harmonized. It is somewhat Celtic in its windy and folksy production. It takes a bit of time to end with more haunting and surreal crystal summonings and chimey vibes to complete the atmosphere.

Stand Out Track: Slip & Slide

Links:
Allmusic
Wikipedia
Yinpop Fansite
Myspace
Unofficial Site
Last FM
Photozen gallery live 1993
NY Times article 1990

Gene Loves Jezebel - Immigrant

Name: Gene Loves Jezebel
Album: Immigrant
Year: 1985
Style: Gothic New Wave Metal
Similar Bands: Early U2, Suede, Alarm, The Church, Echo & Bunnymen, Placebo
"One Word" Review: meandering-whine-anthem-rock
Based Out Of: London, UK
Label: Relativity, Situation Two, Import Ant Record

Immigrant - Cover & Tape

Immigrant (1985)

1. Always A Flame 4:29
2. Shame 3:46
3. Stephen 4:43
4. Bruisies 3:38
5. The Immigrant 3:55 /
6. Cow 4:47
7. Worth Waiting For 3:36
8. The Rhino Plasty 5:05
9. Deep South Wale 4:00
10. Coal Porter 4:32

Album Rating (1-10): 4.5

Members & Other Bands:
Jay Aston - Vox, Guitar, Piano (Edith Grove, Immigrants)
Michael Aston - Vox
Ian Hudson - Guitar
Jean-Marc Lederman - Keys
Peter Rizzo - Bass
John Leckie - Producer
Marcus Gilvear - Drums
Chris Bell

Unknown-ness: I think I have actually heard of Gene Loves Jezebel before I bought this tape. They were one of the names I must have come across listening to 80’s new wave bands and I’m sure they were referenced somewhere. I know I did not buy the tape based on the album imagery, it looks drab and strained. It looks, with the color scheme of the pic and the font that it is trying to be gothic. But this is something I usually avoid, but somehow, it was in my tape collection when I went through the tapes I knew I had never really listened to. So here we go, with another album that I will listen to, and never be able to gain these minutes of life back.

Album Review: “Always A Flame” starts with its very tinny sounding guitar work, filled with echoy effects and overlaid with an equally echoy vocal. The song launched into a U2 song musically. The vocals are androgynous, as in I know they are guys, but gender is lost on the gothic, dark vocals. The strummidy guitar and driving drums, overlaid with soaring guitar work that almost cries out in eternal pain. After a fade out, a drum fill begins the next song, “Shame” with the same elements, soaring guitars and synth effects, somewhat shrill vocals and a steady somewhat disjointed rhythm. There is an inexplicable musical breakdown about 2:15 into the song, and it picks up with the same synth effects and very repetitive chorus. “Stephen” is a sprase musical soundscape. Perhaps a little like Wire’s slower stuff. The vocals are a slow droning. And the song meanders along with what sounds like an almost random drum beat and more crying guitars. It really feels like it goes on forever. “Bruises” is not listed on the tape’s cover. It only appears on the song listing on the tape itself. This is supposedly a single from their earlier album, so I don’t know what it is doing here. But it is a good song, the urgency in the vocals is unique, especially in the catchy chorus. But it, like the rest of the songs, does go on for a bit too long. “The Immigrant” rounds out the side with a whining string sound and the anthemic vocals & music mix. This is the type of music I really don’t understand, I don’t really like it, you can’t really dance to it, and it kinda just drones on and on. And it floats out as it ends, like it is carried on a passing wind.

“Cow” starts side two with a bit more punk structure, but it still comes of jangley and anthemic. The drum and bass beat is disjointed, almost Gang of Four-like. But the vocals and production of the guitars mask any kind of similarity that might have existed. Listening to the music is like a background activity…you can easily get caught up doing other things, not pay attention to it, come back to it, and it is in the same place you left it. There is a sort of wall of sound to their style too, that is impenetrable. “Worth Waiting For” has a strong Gang of Four bass-drum beat, and even comes close in style with its lead guitar too. But its chorus reverts back to a lazy melody, detracting from the quality of the song. The disjointed rhythm comes back in the next song “The Rhino Plasty” it is kind of all over the place in the beginning, and it settles for an eerie haunting vocal and watery guitar sound for a section, and reverts to a track that just sounds unfinished. The repetitive line “look at your nose” definitely stands out, and is a positive thing about the song. A relatively cool normal drum beat kicks off “Deep South Wale” and droning whine-tars drill their solo notes into your head one at a 15 second long time. The vocals feel like they are nervous and jittery, almost like the bands Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Arcade Fire tried to copy. “Coal Porter” finally finishes the album, and I can’t say I’ll remember any of the tracks. The beginning of this track is wispy vocals, sounding like Tim Booth, from James. But unlike James, the song fails to pick up the pace. It maintains a steady sedentary drive. It picks up with jammy guitars and a general meh tempo. This might be a bit Gary Newman too, but I’m just guessing at that, as I don’t know much of his style.

Stand Out Track: Worth Waiting For

Links:
Wikipedia
Allmusic
Website (jay)
Website (michael)
Jay's Site
UK Myspace
Michael Interview
Cd Universe Album Info
Where the music takes you-Review
Musicians Guide Bio

Fad Gadget - Under The Flag / Singles

Name: Fad Gadget/Frank Tovey
Album: Under the Flag* Singles^
Year: 1982*, 1987^
Style: Gothic, Electro-New Wave
Similar Bands: Yaz, Depeche Mode, OMD, Madness (a little)
"One Word" Review: Monotonous-kill-thyself-wave
Based Out Of: Leeds, England
Label: Stumm8*, Mute Records*^, Sire^ 

Under The Flag - Cover, Insert & Record

Under The Flag - Back & Insert

Fad Gadget Singles - Cover, Insert & Record

Fad Gadget Singles - Back & Insert

Under The Flag (1982)

1. Under the Flag I 3:09
2. Scapegoat 2:53
3. Love Parasite 5:29
4. Plainsong 3:53
5. Wheels Of Fortune 4:55 /
6. Live On The Line IV 3:57
7. The Sheep Look Up 3:37
8. Cipher 5:39
9. For Whom The Bell Tolls 5:16
10. Under The Flag II 2:53

Fad Gadget Singles (1985)

1. Back To Nature 5:45
2. The Box 4:14
3. Ricky's Hand 4:05
4. Fireside Favourite 4:12
5. Lady Shave 5:44 /
6. Saturday Night Special 4:29
7. King Of the Flies 3:04
8. Life On The Line 3:52
9. For Whom The Bell Tolls 3:31
10. I Discover Love 3:48
11. Collapsing New People 4:15

Album Rating (1-10):
4.5*
6.5^

Members & Other Bands:

Frank Tovey - Lead Vocal, Computer and Synthesizers, Producer*^ Recording^

David Simmons Grand Piano, Synthesizers*^ Tuned Bottles^

Nicholas Cash - Vibraphone, Timpani, Hand-Held Percussion, Drums*

Alison Moyet - Chorus, Sax* (Yaz)

Barbara (BJ) Frost - Chorus*^ Photography^

Jill Tipping - Chorus, Typography*^

Yvette Anna - Chorus*

Andrew Kay - Chorus* Design & Typographer^

Anne Clift - Chorus*^

John Fryer - Chorus, Engineer, Produced*^ Recording^
Patricia Bakker - Dutch Nursery Rhyme*

Anton Corbijn - Art & Photography*^
Daniel Miller - Producer, Synthesizers, Recording, Drum Machines^

Eric Radcliff - Producer, Engineer, Bass, Banjo, Recording^

Gareth Jones - Producer, Engineer, Tonemeister^

BJ Frost - Choir Girl Effect^

Pete Balmer - Bass^

Joni Sackett - Vocals^

David Rogers - Double Bass, Bass Synth, Slide Guitar^

Rowland S Howard - Guitar^

Daryl Williams - Brass^

Simmon Gardner - Brass^

Eddie Carnihan - Brass^

Paul White - Sleeve Design^

Simone Grant - Design & Typographer^

Neil Waving - Photography^

Max Kisman - Photography^

George Bekker - Photography^

Unknown-ness: Never heard of these guys, but just from the stark, bleak cover, and the albums that these were mixed in with at the thrift store, I would have to imagine they are like depressing, post-punk new wave, along the lines of (gulp) Depeche Mode or Siouxie Sioux. Under the Flag makes me think of the minimal art work of, say Wire, and the Singles record makes me thing of Iggy Pop. But the clown on the back makes me think that there may be some interesting evil carnival music tones mixed into these songs. But as far as being influential or groundbreaking, I can’t say I’ve ever heard of Frank Tovey or the band…should I have?

Album Review: “Under the Flag I” is a dark, depressing song, with the basic tempo kept in time by the synthesized drum beat that sound a bit like a helicopter. The lyrics are sang in a depressed monotone. “Scapegoat” follows with two overlapping synth sounds, mixing Yaz and OMD. The lyrics are again sung with the same depressed monotone, which makes me think about Depeche Mode (it is Mute Records, after all), but they vocals are not as close to as annoying. The secondary, more upbeat synth sound is a metallic pinball effect. The supporting vocals, a female choir adds depth and a bit of hopefulness to the song. “Love Parasite” sounds like the background music for a fast-paced Atari game. Then the deeper bass synth is added to the fore-front, and adds to the Atari theme. This is less than 8-bit repetitive action! The title lyrics are repeated over and over, in a dismal, shoot-me-so-that-it-will-all-be-over way. There are other odd effects (good effects) that flesh the song out well longer than it needs to be. “Plainsong” begins with some reverberating distorted vocals. Minimal instrumentation and a choir of vocals support this aptly named plain song, which is repeated over and over; as is the verse at the end of the song. “Wheels Of Fortune” picks up the pace with an energetic drum beat and piano. There is more melody and confidence behind the vocals here, and even a sax effect. It has a little Roxy Music / Bryan Ferry feel to it (at least, compared the little I know about them).

“Live On The Line IV” starts side two with a prog style synth sound and more of the quiet monotone vocals. This is very sparse in musical depth, and has a hollow, haunting sound because of it. It actually sounds a little like Madness’s later stuff. “The Sheep Look Up” begins with a piano and vocals. It is kind of like a show tune, just in a gloomy, empty way. I could see an avant-garde musical dance interpretation performed to this song. “Cipher” has a slow start, it creeks into existence with a drum heart beat, deep bass sounds and mystical chimes. Actually it is not a start at all, it lasts for 3 minutes before the quiet Jarvis Cocker style vocals are added. But the vocals don’t change the tone or direction of the song at all. “For Whom The Bell Tolls” follows it up with an upbeat echoey gothic dance beat. There is more energy behind the vocals here, but they are quite often fall into the realm of monotonous. The song ends with a few tribal sounding vocal outbursts, and synthesized laser sounds. “Under The Flag II” revisits the first song on the album, with dialogue overlaid, and more chanting. The same rhythmic beat is there, it is just mixed up with extra effects and vocals, which make it a thicker, more complex song that the version I.

Because this is a greatest hits album, the cohesive nature of the songs will not really exist. But that is nothing really threatening to how I review, since I break it down song by song. “Back To Nature” continues the vocal style that is familiar to the full length. There is the same darkness and disparity to the music as it feels sharp and jarring in its tone. The song winds down with some electric tones played at what seems random. “The Box” starts with a liquid, vibrating bass sound. The vocals are more chanting and energetic than usual. But the song is still not very deep in musical structure. “Ricky's Hand” is a fun electronic, nearly dancy song full of industrial effects and computer samples. It sometimes feels like a Nintendo video game, of which, I was always a fan of Mega Man for music and play. “Fireside Favourite” is actually a fun, twisted carnival romp. If only more of the material was like this! It has a fun bass and drum kit beat, and the synthesized squeaky key sound makes me also think of Sonic the Hedgehog. It is still gloomy, but it is a rich gloom, hazed over with whisky and balloons. “Lady Shave” is back to the more German electro industrial music style. There is an interesting odd computer-synth sound effect that is kinda evil carnivally, and redeems the otherwise starkly depressing song. The lyrics, angrily whisper-shouted “shave it!” are a little off-putting, too; especially at the very end where they repeat without end in a fade out.

The second side of this compilation features two songs from the “Under the Flag” album, so I have omitted reviewing them again. They occur midway through the side, so I will review the songs as if they were not there at all. “Saturday Night Special” is another along the line of “Fireside Favorite” where it feels like the theme song to a shady traveling carnival. The tinkling piano mixed with the oompa-polka bass completes the dingy vision. The ending repetition of male and female vocals layered upon each other extends the song for a bit long. “King Of the Flies” breaks all form and puts out a full on post-punk electro dance song. This one is really good, kinda disco in the bass and piano delivery. But all the weird creepy effects are present, just wrapped neater and tighter in a complete musical package. “I Discover Love” is like a sneaky detective song, mostly parallel to Madness in their most sinister. The song is very good too, with brass sections, and a jazzy bass rhythm. Even the backing vocals and piano make me think of Madness. “Collapsing New People” brings together the industrial rhythm and latter period xylophone and a bit of brass effects. It is much more upbeat than the earlier stuff. Even in the vocals, there is an upbeat energy that was not present before. Like there is something to live for, for the first time.

Over all, the singles collection reveals a stark change of style and mood from the early years through to the end of the collection of 1985. I am very impressed with the later years, and I’d be interested to hear more of the album that features “I Discover Love” and “King of the Flies.” Thems good songs.

Stand Out Tracks:

Under the Flag II*

King of the Flies ^

Links:

Allmusic

Wikipedia

official homepage

Last FM

Discogs

Rate Your Music

Music Map

Photos

(the) Bolshoi - Friends

Name: The Bolshoi
Album: Friends
Year:1986
Style: Dark New Wave
Similar Bands: Adam Ant + James (vox), Robyn Hitchcock, Psychedelic Furs, Echo & the Bunnymen, The The, Luna
"One Word" Review: Gloomy-Dense-New-Wave
Based Out Of: Leeds, England
Label: IRS, MCA

Friends - Cover & Insert
Friends - Back & Insert
Friends - record

Friends (1986)

1. A Way (4:53) (Sample) (youtube)
2. Modern Man (5:34)
3. Someone's Daughter (4:01) (Sample)
4. Sunday Morning (6:33) (Sample) (Youtube)
5. Looking for a Life To Lose (4:42)/
6. Romeo in Clover (5:38)
7. Books On The Bonfire (4:55) (Sample)
8. Pardon Me (4:37)
9. Fat & Jealous (4:10) (you tube)
10. Waspy (5:11)

Album Rating (1-10):

6.0

Band Members & Other Bands:

Trevor Tanner-vocals, guitar (Rathkeltair, Kite, Moskow)

Paul Clark - keyboards (Batley, Refugee Intimates)

Nick Chown - bass

Jan Kalicki - drums
Mick Glossop - produced, engineered
Cream Group - Sleeve
Alan King - photos
Noel Haris - assisted
Richard Whaley - assisted
Damien Askeo-Brown - assisted
Frank DeLuna - mastered

Unknown-ness: I did not have any memory of the band when I bought the album, although I'm pretty sure I've heard the name mentioned, just not enough for it to stick in memory. The album looks dark, with the drab clouds on the cover, along with the evil face. Their Russian/Eastern European name also adds to the coldness, and even the title of Friends cannot warm the mood.

Album Review: On occasion, his voice sounds like Adam Ant. And the song structures are long, complex and gloomy. I've seen the term gothic used for their style, and I can agree to that. "A Way" starts with a far away, dreamy keyboard, and he begins to sing, sounding a little like Tim Booth of James. The music is powerful and anthemic, yet gloomy. The music takes a long time to build, which makes the already long songs feel longer. The second track is more driving and its melody is upbeat. It is here where the singers voice moves from Tim Booth to Adam Ant with perfect ease. There is rough heavy guitar strums, mixed together with spacey guitar making the chorus sound lie a heavy version of Luna. Overall, it comes off like a Three O'Clock song. After the last chorus is sung, a wailing guitar solo is introduced and finishes out the song in fade. It fades right back in to begin the next song "Someone's Daughter." This is another upbeat song, sung (partly) in musical chant. The electric guitar plays a short looping hook. There is no section in the song that stands out as the chorus. Every segment feels like verse, leading up to something that never quite reaches the chorus. Their "popular song" 'Sunday Morning' feels like a Madness song from the latter, less ska section of their catalogue. It is a long song, but the dark sinister tone carries throughout. The piano in the background is what makes the song good. It mimics the vocal melody in echo. The two part chorus begins with a driving sing/song melody, and the main section contains the main hook: 'Sunday Morning.' It ends with a slightly muted rendering of Chop Sticks. The final track on side 1, "Looking For A Life to Lose," starts off with the noise guitar sound of XTC's 'This Is Pop' This is followed by the same recipe for a dark, driving song, and is very gothic. There is a repetitive 3 note guitar hook that introduced the song and appears throughout. There are many musical breaks featuring different renditions of the melody that the chorus uses.

A siren-like guitar begins side two, and then a xylophone that sounds like it was borrowed to make the theme to My So-Called Life is added. Drums kick in and "Romeo in Clover" quickens its pace and becomes a straightforward pop song. They like to take advantage of short verses in order to add many instrumental breaks. "Books on the Bonfire" begins briefly with a worn out distant carnival piano section. And electric guitars lift the song off to a wavery, folky sing/song melody. The upbeat melody of the chorus is unexpected, sounding like a positive sea shanty. "Pardon Me" begins as a slow loungy sea-drifting song and never picks up speed. It feels like a reflective piece, and although it gets heavier with instrumentation, it never wakes up from the original dream it creates. There is something about "Fat Jealous" that irritates me. I do not like the chorus of this song very much, nor the musical structure backing it. This is the most bouncy song, and his voice often sounds like Adam Ant. The tone of voice and the backing Music when he says 'then they tell us...fat jealous' is irking to me in a similar fashion to "Personal Jesus." "Waspy," the final song briefly starts out light, but quickly becomes dark, slow, and full of manipulative dread. It sounds like more gothic Adam Ant songs (like Physical). it also contains elements of prog. There are vocal distortions that are reminiscent of Ween in the background at particular points, and it is these distortions that end the record.

The album is very thick, dense and takes a while to digest. With the long songs, it is also hard to keep attention to the multiple vocal breaks and instrumental sections. But over all, it is a good record, and very representatve for the time period of which it was produced.

Stand-Out Track:

Books On the Bonfire

Links:

Bolshoi Wikipedia

Bolshoi Allmusic

Bolshoi AOL w/ samples

Bolshoi site

Bolshoi Myspace

Trevor Tanner site

Trevor Tanner Myspace

Paul Clark site