Formed in Wisconsin by Darren Brown during a period of inactivity for Boy Dirt Car, Impact Test provided another outlet for the industrial experiments associated with the American underground scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Karl J. Paloucek, also involved with Boy Dirt Car, joined Brown in the project, carrying a connection to the group’s earlier work into a different musical setting.
Released in 1992, 'Kill Kill Kill' appeared through RRRecords and Damned Ship Works, two independent imprints connected with the experimental underground. Based in Lowell, Massachusetts, RRRecords was run by Ron Lessard and had built a substantial catalogue of noise, industrial and experimental music since the 1980s, including releases by American underground artists and Japanese noise musicians. Its catalogue frequently explored the boundaries between conventional records and more unconventional sound experiments.
Damned Ship Works provided a further independent outlet for the LP, placing Impact Test within the small-label network that sustained industrial and experimental music outside the mainstream record industry. The collaboration between the two imprints reflects the distribution networks through which obscure American projects circulated their work during this period, with releases often reaching listeners through specialist shops, mail-order catalogues and connections between underground musicians.
Label:
RRRecords – RRR 083, Damned Ship Works – DS 08, RRRecords – R R R #83
Recorded and released in 1986 on Berlin’s Zorro label, 'Kaaba Kaaba Hey / Only Time Will Tell' brought together two very different sides of the German hardcore scene. Hostages Of Ayatollah came from Velbert, near Düsseldorf, and had been active since 1981, while Manson Youth were a short-lived Berlin project whose members would soon become better known through Jingo De Lunch and other groups. The record appeared at a time when the German DIY network was increasingly connecting local hardcore bands with scenes elsewhere in Europe and North America, with fanzines, mailorder catalogues, independent labels and live exchanges doing much of the work. The split was also reviewed in the November 1986 issue of Maximum Rocknroll, giving both groups some exposure outside Germany.
Hostages Of Ayatollah had settled into the Jah-Jah, Jacho, Micha and Torso line-up by 1982. Their early sound was heavily influenced by American hardcore and skate punk, but they generally worked with German lyrics and developed a fast, tightly played style that stood apart from more traditional Deutschpunk. Their '…Aha' demo appeared in 1983, followed by the 'Hallo Nachbar' EP in 1984, which helped them move from the local Velbert scene into a much wider network of shows around Germany and beyond. By the time of the split LP they were playing regularly in alternative youth centres, squats and autonomous spaces, and had become a familiar name in the German hardcore circuit.
The Hostages side of the LP was recorded during a difficult period for the band. Their momentum from the previous couple of years was beginning to run into the more mundane problems of work, training and military or civilian service, which made rehearsing and playing regularly harder. The recording was also badly affected by the mixing: guitarist Jacho later recalled that the whole album was mixed in roughly an hour and a half, and the original sound was considered so poor that the recordings were eventually remixed many years later. The material still documents the group's aggressive, thrashy approach, with Jah-Jah's vocals pushed over Jacho's guitar, Micha's bass and Torso's driving drums.
Manson Youth were a rather different proposition. They were essentially a short-lived Berlin project involving Tom Schwoll, Sepp Ehrensberger, Finne and drummer Uwe, with Canadian-born singer Yvonne Ducksworth joining the line-up. Ducksworth was already involved with Combat Not Conform, while Schwoll and Ehrensberger had connections with other Berlin punk groups. The band did not spend much time functioning as a conventional live group: much of the instrumental material was recorded before Ducksworth worked out her vocal parts from tapes, and Sepp joined around the studio sessions. Her voice became a particularly distinctive part of the recordings, moving between urgent hardcore delivery, unusual phrasing and more melodic passages.
The Manson Youth recordings are especially interesting because they sit directly between the early Berlin hardcore scene and what followed. After the split with Hostages Of Ayatollah, Ducksworth, Schwoll and Ehrensberger went on to form Jingo De Lunch in 1987 with Henning Menke and Steve Hahn. Schwoll had also been involved with Combat Not Conform, while Ehrensberger had played in Vorkriegsjugend and Zerstörte Jugend. The Manson Youth material therefore captures a brief moment just before several of these musicians moved into a more established Berlin punk and hardcore network.
Zorro Records was based in Berlin and operated very much within the independent infrastructure of the period. Contemporary Trust fanzine adverts list Zorro releases alongside records by Vorkriegsjugend and other international and German hardcore acts, with mailorder handled from Petra Ostertag's address in Berlin-Kreuzberg. The label's catalogue reflects the way small German imprints functioned as part of a wider DIY network rather than simply as conventional record companies, putting local bands onto vinyl and distributing records through fanzines, mailorder and independent shops.
The split's importance within that network is also reflected in the contemporary reception. Maximum Rocknroll described Hostages Of Ayatollah as pounding, tight and forceful, while singling out Manson Youth for their guitar work, urgent female vocals and lyrics. The record also circulated beyond Germany: it later appeared in John Peel's 1987 playlist, where "Der Spion" from the Hostages Of Ayatollah side was identified as coming from the shared LP.
The four-track 'Images Of Delusion' 7" appeared on Safari Records at the end of 1979, although some discographies and later reissues give 1980. The original UK pressing is SAP 2, with “Images Of Delusion” and “Pre Set Future” on the A-side and “Last Day On Earth” and “Plastic People In Stereo” on the B-side. The record was issued as a 33⅓ rpm 7" EP and was listed among the new British releases dated 14 December 1979.
Genocide were a short-lived British electronic/new wave group built around Greg Jung, Mark Schiller and Teoman Irmak. The available documentation is pretty sparse, but the three names are consistently associated with the record, while the songwriting credits identify Jung and Irmak on the four tracks. The sound sits in that fascinating period when punk's DIY attitude was beginning to intersect with cheap synthesizers, primitive electronic textures and increasingly detached forms of new wave. “Images Of Delusion” in particular later found a place in compilations documenting the early synth-pop period, including Cherry Red's 'Musik Music Musique – 1980: The Dawn Of Synth Pop'.
Safari Records provided an interesting home for a release like this. The London independent label had been established in 1977 by Tony Edwards, Andreas Budde and John Craig, with Edwards bringing experience from his work with Deep Purple. Safari operated across pop, punk and new wave rather than sticking to a single style, releasing records by acts such as Wayne County & The Electric Chairs, The Boys and Toyah alongside more obscure material. Its distribution initially involved Pye and later Spartan, while by 1979 the label was actively presenting itself as an independent alternative to the major-label system.
For a group with so little documented history, the four tracks on 'Images Of Delusion' are essentially the complete recorded statement of Genocide. There was no substantial catalogue to follow, making the Safari EP a particularly compact document of that late-70s British moment when synthesizers, experimental recording techniques and the stripped-down mentality of new wave were beginning to overlap.
Label:
Safari Records – SAP 2
Format:
Vinyl, 7", 33 ⅓ RPM
Country:
UK
Released:
Nov 1979
Style:
New Wave, Electro, Synth-pop, Minimal Synth
Formed in Washington, D.C. in 1988, Fidelity Jones grew out of the local Dischord circle at a point when the city’s punk scene was already moving well beyond the stripped-down hardcore sound of the early ’80s. The group was built around Tomas Squip Jones on vocals and Dug E. Bird on bass, both of whom had previously played in Beefeater. After Beefeater broke up, the two began working on a new project and became early residents of the Positive Force House, where they started playing with fellow residents Maria Jones and Jerry Busher. Maria soon left to join the Holy Rollers, and guitarist Andy Charneco came into the second line-up. Charneco had already been involved with several D.C. underground groups, including White Boy and On Beyond Zebra.
That line-up of Tomas Squip Jones, Andy Charneco, Dug E. Bird and Jerry Busher recorded 'Piltdown Lad', Fidelity Jones’ debut EP, at Inner Ear Studios in 1989. The record contains six tracks: “The Emperors’,” “He Lives,” “Where Are We Now,” “Fountain of Youth,” “Feeling the Screw” and “Force of Evil Plans.” Andy Charneco and the band handled production, while the recording took place at Inner Ear, one of the central studios in the D.C. underground network.
Musically, 'Piltdown Lad' reflects the more eclectic direction that was developing around Dischord in the second half of the ’80s. Fidelity Jones were still connected to the punk infrastructure of Washington, but their approach was less tied to the short, aggressive hardcore format associated with the label’s earliest records. Tomas Squip Jones also brought a distinctive lyrical perspective to the group; “He Lives,” for example, deals explicitly with religious themes. A contemporary Washington Post review from January 1990 described the song as more openly religious than Jones’ earlier work and also singled out “Feeling the Screw” for its Elvis Costello-style vocal approach.
The record appeared as Dischord 041 in 1989, with the label also issuing it on cassette. It was followed by the 'Venus/Destructor' single in 1990, and Fidelity Jones broke up in the spring of that year. The band also appeared on the 'State of the Union' benefit compilation, connected to Positive Force D.C., and later on '20 Years of Dischord'. Their live activity included a 1989 appearance with Fugazi and Lungfish at Positive Force’s Alternatives Festival in Washington.
The Positive Force connection is particularly relevant to the setting around 'Piltdown Lad'. Positive Force D.C. was a punk activist group that organized benefit concerts, protests and other projects, and its house became an important meeting point for musicians from the Washington scene. Dischord’s own history places Fidelity Jones among a wave of late-’80s D.C. groups that included Shudder to Think, Three, Jawbox, One Last Wish, Lungfish, Nation of Ulysses, Holy Rollers and Fugazi. This was also the period when Dischord was handling more releases than ever before and had started Dischord Direct to distribute D.C. records more widely.
Dischord Records had begun much earlier, in 1980, when Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson decided to document their recently disbanded group Teen Idles. The first release, 'Minor Disturbance', became Dischord #1, and the label gradually expanded into a way of documenting the Washington punk community rather than simply operating as a conventional record company. By the late ’80s, that network had broadened considerably, and 'Piltdown Lad' sits within this later period when the label was documenting a much wider range of sounds and approaches coming out of D.C.
Label:
Dischord Records – Dischord 41
Format:
Vinyl, 12"
Country:
US
Released:
1989
Style:
Hardcore Punk, Indie Rock, Post-Hardcore, Post-Punk, Funk Rock, Hard Rock, D.C. Hardcore
Formed in Christchurch around singer, songwriter and guitarist Jay Clarkson, The Expendables grew directly out of They Were Expendable, the group Clarkson had started in 1982 after her earlier involvement with The Playthings. When David Toland, Donna Sheen and Nick Strong left They Were Expendable in late 1983, Clarkson rebuilt the group with bassist Michael Kime and drummer Robert Key, shortening the name to The Expendables. This trio recorded 'In Between Gears', following the earlier 'Big Strain' EP and the 1984 single 'The Flower / Man With No Desire'.
'In Between Gears' appeared on Flying Nun in 1985 as a mini-LP, catalogue number FN029. The record contains eight tracks: “Say Cheese”, “Doesn't Matter”, “Caine”, “No Blame”, “Wrong Key”, “Cargo”, “Head For The Hills” and “Inbetween Gears”. The recordings were made at Progressive Studios in Christchurch, with “Say Cheese” recorded at The Lab in Auckland. Terry King handled the engineering, while Rex Visible and The Expendables were credited as producers.
The record belongs to a particularly active period in Christchurch's underground. By the middle of the 1980s, Flying Nun had expanded beyond its original Christchurch base and was documenting a broad network of New Zealand guitar, post-punk and experimental groups. The label's catalogue was growing quickly, linking Christchurch with Dunedin, Auckland and other local scenes and giving groups such as The Expendables a way to release music without relying on the country's larger record companies.
The Expendables were also involved in the touring network that was developing around Flying Nun. In 1984 Clarkson, Kime and Key joined The Chills, DoubleHappys and Children's Hour for the Looney Tours Roadshow, taking the groups around New Zealand. Their Christchurch activities were connected with venues such as the Gladstone, Star & Garter and Hillsborough, while Progressive Studios provided a regular recording base for musicians from the local scene.
Jay Clarkson remained the central figure through the different versions of the group. Her subsequent projects included Breathing Cage, The Containers and a solo career, making the mid-1980s Expendables period an important stage in a much longer sequence of musical projects. The line-up was already changing around the time of the record. 'In Between Gears' documents Clarkson with Michael Kime and Robert Key, while Chris Matthews later took over on drums and Anthony Nevison joined on guitar. The album therefore captures a specific three-piece version of the group during its short run in the Christchurch scene.
Flying Nun had been founded in Christchurch in 1981 by Roger Shepherd, initially concentrating on small-scale releases from local and South Island musicians. Its early records were made with limited resources, often using inexpensive studios and involving the artists closely in the artwork and production. The label remained based in Christchurch until 1988, and 'In Between Gears' comes from this formative period, when its catalogue was expanding rapidly while still maintaining close connections with the city's independent music community.
Label:
Flying Nun Records – FN029
Format:
Vinyl, LP, Album
Country:
New Zealand
Released:
May 1985
Style:
Indie Rock, New Wave, Pop Rock, Dunedin Sound, Folk Rock
The split LP 'Bury The Debt Not The Dead / No Security' brought together two bands from different corners of the late-’80s hardcore underground: Birmingham/Leeds crust pioneers Doom and Swedish kängpunk outfit No Security. Released by Peaceville Records in 1989, the album contains seventeen tracks, with ten from Doom and seven from No Security.
Doom had started out as The Subverters, with Bri Doom on guitar, Jon Pickering on bass and vocals, and Jason “Hog” Hodges on drums. Around the time Hog was replaced by Mick Harris, the drummer who would soon become known through Napalm Death, the band changed its name to Doom. They quickly became closely associated with the British crust scene around Peaceville, recording the 'War Is Big Business' demo in 1987 and the 'War Crimes (Inhuman Beings)' LP in 1988. Their fast, abrasive combination of hardcore punk, D-beat and heavier guitar work became a defining part of the developing crust sound.
By the time of this split, Doom were working with a line-up centred on Bri, Jon Pickering, Pete Nash and Stick. Bri was already preparing to leave because of personal commitments, but remained long enough to record 'Bury The Debt Not The Dead', as well as the 'Police Bastard' EP during the same period. The split therefore captures Doom at an important point in their initial run, shortly before Bri's departure in April 1989 and the line-up changes that followed.
The Doom side runs through ten short, furious tracks, beginning with “No Thought” and “Black Monday” and continuing through “Nazi Die”, “Agree To Differ”, “War On Our Doorstep”, “Bury The Debt”, “Life In Freedom”, “Days Go By...”, “Sold Out Scene” and “Free Yourself”. The material was later collected on 'Total Doom', giving these songs a much wider circulation. The recordings have a clearer and heavier character than the rougher 'War Crimes' production, while retaining the relentless D-beat attack that had become Doom's trademark. With songs such as “Nazi Die”, “Agree To Differ” and “Bury The Debt” in the set, much of the material became firmly established within the British crust and hardcore repertoire, with several of the tracks remaining part of Doom's live history.
No Security came from Eskilstuna, Sweden, where they formed in 1985. They belonged to the Swedish kängpunk current that developed around the country's hardcore and D-beat underground, alongside groups such as Rövsvett, Totalitär and Svart Snö. Their approach was raw, fast and stripped down, with Swedish-language vocals and a strong connection to the abrasive punk sound circulating through the Scandinavian tape-trading network.
The group's early line-up included vocalist Harri Mänty, guitarist Tommy “Smebbe” Smedberg, bassist Robert “Finn-Robban” Eriksson and drummer Jari “Jallo” Lehto. Mänty would later become known as a member of Kent, while Lehto went on to play in several important Swedish D-beat and hardcore groups, including Disfear, Totalitär, Krigshot and Kvoteringen. No Security had already built up a catalogue of demos before the split, while their 1988 '40-Talisterna' 7" and other recordings helped establish their place within the Swedish hardcore scene.
Their seven tracks on the LP -“Märkt För Livet”, “Masskontroll”, “Sydafrikafrågan”, “Den Eller De”, “Stämplad”, “Trångsynt” and “Fegis”- are delivered with the same raw urgency found in their earlier material. Compared with Doom's side, the Swedish lyrics and harsher Scandinavian hardcore character give the record a distinct second half, while the basic ingredients remain the same: fast tempos, distorted guitars, pounding drums and a deliberately rough punk sound.
The album appeared on Peaceville Records, the label founded by Paul “Hammy” Halmshaw. Originally developing through Peaceville Tapes, the label had become an important outlet for British anarcho-punk, hardcore and crust during the second half of the 1980s. Its catalogue included releases by Deviated Instinct, Electro Hippies, Axegrinder and Doom, with the label gradually moving towards heavier and more extreme forms of music. This split belongs to the period when Peaceville was still deeply connected to the British crust underground.
The short-lived Canarian synth-pop group Comic appeared in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in 1984, bringing together Aurea Luisa Caballero “Auri” and María José on vocals, Antonio Santos on guitar and programming, and Kaelo del Río on keyboards and programming. Their songs fitted neatly into the Spanish synth-pop climate of the mid-80s, although the lyrics were deliberately strange and often difficult to make sense of. Their musical references included contemporary Movida names such as Golpes Bajos and Radio Futura, as well as their fellow Canarians Moral Femenina.
Comic were also very much part of the visual side of that mid-80s “modern” culture. Their carefully styled image placed them close to groups such as Betty Troupe and Video, two important names associated with the synth-pop current coming out of Valencia. Before they had a proper record, the group made a demo that included “Ojos De Cristal”, the song that would become their best-known track.
“Ojos De Cristal” was eventually taken into the CBS orbit at a time when the label was heavily involved in promoting the new Spanish synth-pop. In 1984 Comic recorded a self-titled 12-inch maxi-single for Epic/CBS, produced by Jorge Álvarez and photographed by Javier Vallhonrat. The record contained “Ojos De Cristal”, “Güira” and “Gozos En El Astral”. Álvarez was one of the important figures behind CBS's Spanish pop output during the period, having worked with artists including Mecano and Olé Olé.
There was also a promotional 7-inch version, with “Ojos De Cristal” backed by “Gozos En El Astral”. A separate one-sided promotional pressing of “Ojos De Cristal” also circulated. The artwork makes for an interesting variation on the maxi-single sleeve: whereas the 12-inch cover shows two members seated, the promotional single leaves the chairs empty.
The record appeared at a time when CBS was developing the commercial possibilities of Spanish electronic pop, following the breakthrough of acts such as Mecano and Olé Olé. Jorge Álvarez's involvement connects Comic with that production environment and with the wider effort to bring new Spanish pop and electronic sounds into the mainstream.
Comic managed to get considerably more exposure than their extremely short existence might suggest. They opened for Alaska y Dinarama at a concert at the Canódromo in Las Palmas, received airplay on Los 40 Principales and appeared on television on El Gran Musical. “Ojos De Cristal” also made an appearance in the Los 40 chart during June 1984, placing Comic alongside several of the better-known Spanish and international pop acts of the period.
The group split in 1985, leaving behind only a small recorded legacy. Apart from the original maxi-single and promotional pressings, an unofficial CD subsequently circulated containing “Ojos De Cristal”, “Gozos En El Astral”, an instrumental version of “Güira” and the original demo of “Ojos De Cristal”.
Kaelo del Río was the member whose musical career continued most visibly after Comic. After moving to Madrid, he became a versatile keyboard player, arranger, musician and recording technician, working with artists including Luis Eduardo Aute, Suburbano, Cómplices, Manolo Tena, Mercedes Ferrer and Malú. His work also extended to recording and arranging for La Frontera, David de María, La Bruja Gata and Brenga Astur, among others.
Del Río also developed a career in audiovisual music, composing for films, television shows, documentaries, theatre and advertising. His work in the recording studio and his involvement as a musician, arranger and mixer allowed him to move between pop, rock and soundtrack projects, continuing the combination of electronic instruments and studio-based production that had already been part of his work with Comic.
Label:
Epic – EPC A-4263
Format:
Vinyl, 7", Single
Country:
Spain
Released:
1984
Style:
Synth-pop
Tracklist:
A Ojos De Cristal
B Gozos En El Astral
Other Versions:
'Ojos De Cristal' (12", Maxi-Single) - Epic [EPC A 12.4263] (Spain, 1984)
The cassette 'Apocalypse At 6 A.M.' belongs to the remarkably prolific early-1990s period of Brume, the long-running project of French composer and sound artist Christian Renou. It was issued in 1992 by the Portuguese label Tapes For Masses, catalogued as TFM 003, and takes its place among a long sequence of Brume cassettes that circulated through the international cassette-culture and industrial underground.
Renou had already been working with sound manipulation for more than a decade when 'Apocalypse At 6 A.M.' appeared. His first experiments went back to the late 1970s, when he was involved with a large jazz-rock group called Uria, initially providing unusual effects and noises rather than functioning as a conventional musician. He began working independently around 1981, experimenting with synthesizers, tape loops, cassette players and crude recording equipment. He eventually developed a very personal approach based on cutting, looping, layering and physically manipulating recorded sound.
The name Brume emerged in 1985 with the self-released cassette 'Frikture', followed by 'Le Jour Du Cochon' and a steady flow of releases through the international mail-art and cassette networks. Renou became extremely prolific, issuing dozens of cassettes through small labels in France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, the United States and elsewhere. By the time of 'Apocalypse At 6 A.M.' he had already accumulated releases on labels such as Organic Tapes, Old Europa Cafe, Tonspur, Audiofile, Corrosive Tapes and SPH.
Brume's music is difficult to reduce to a single genre, although musique concrète, industrial noise, electroacoustic experimentation and sound collage are useful starting points. Renou treated recordings almost as raw physical material, chopping them into fragments, extending them, combining unrelated noises and building dense layers from percussion, electronics, mechanical sounds and manipulated environmental recordings. Descriptions of his work from the period frequently emphasize rapid montage and collage, with the abrasive side of industrial music sitting alongside more atmospheric and textural passages.
'Apocalypse At 6 A.M.' sits within an especially busy year for Renou. The 1992 discography includes several other Brume releases, among them 'I'm... I Come... I Was...' on Tonspur, the collaborative 'Lisza-Lisza' with Bovoso, 'Soulscape' with De Fabriek, and 'Sperm + Egg' with Sudden Infant. There was also 'Battery Hens Sabotage', while the following year brought releases such as 'Xeros' and further collaborations.
The cassette also fits neatly into the catalogue of Tapes For Masses, a Portuguese underground label that operated in the early 1990s and concentrated on the sort of international experimental, industrial and noise material that was circulating through cassette networks at the time. The label's releases were generally small-scale affairs: another 1992 title, Telepherique's 'Music In Pictures', appeared on the same label, while De Fabriek's 'Trabbi Music' was catalogued as TFM 001 and reportedly limited to only 50 copies. The numbering gives 'Apocalypse At 6 A.M.' a particularly nice place in that tiny catalogue: De Fabriek's 'Trabbi Music' was TFM 001, a Kapotte Muziek release appeared as TFM 002, and Brume's cassette followed as TFM 003. S·Core's 'Deformation' subsequently appeared as TFM 004 in 1993.
These releases show how Tapes For Masses connected Portuguese cassette production with artists from the wider European industrial and experimental network.
The cassette format was central to this whole scene rather than merely a cheap alternative to vinyl. Renou himself regarded cassette exchange as an important part of his development, allowing him to communicate with musicians, labels and listeners internationally while keeping production extremely flexible. He recorded some Brume material in remarkably short sessions, sometimes over a single weekend, and the sheer number of releases reflects that very DIY working method.
Renou continued using the Brume name through the 1990s, with releases on labels including Staalplaat, Old Europa Cafe, Ant-Zen, Bandaged Hand Productions, Realization, Nuit et Brouillard and Intransitive. Around the turn of the millennium he began releasing more material under his own name; 'Zona Ventille' appeared in 2001, followed by further electroacoustic and musique concrète projects. Brume then went into a period of inactivity before Renou revived the project in 2008, after noticing that the musical approach he had developed under his own name was gradually returning towards the characteristic Brume aesthetic.
The Anti Troppau Council came together in Athens in the aftermath of Psychomafia’s split in 1984. Guitarist and singer Giannis Drenogiannis and bassist Tolis Maragos carried on together, initially joined by singer Nancy and drummer Aris Labridis, formerly of Γενιά Του Χάους (Genia Tou Haous, aka Chaos Generation). That line-up was short-lived, though, and Nancy and Labridis were soon replaced by vocalist Vasilis Tzavaras and drummer Takis Kanellos, the combination that would record 'A Way Out'. The rather unusual name came from Maragos’ interest in the 1820 Congress of Troppau, where European powers discussed suppressing revolutionary movements; the band turned the historical reference around with the deliberately provocative “Anti” prefix.
The group quickly became part of the busy Exarchia underground circuit, playing regularly at venues such as Pigasos and Point. Pigasos was particularly important, operating as both a live venue and a meeting point for the Athens alternative scene. Their February 1985 appearance at Kyttaro was documented on the 'Live at Kyttaro' cassette, while that same year the band contributed two tracks to the 'Outsiders' compilation issued by Di Di Music. They were also sharing bills with groups including Femmes Fatales, Moist Device and Villa 21, establishing them within the loose network of Greek punk, post-punk and alternative rock groups that was developing around Athens during the mid-1980s.
By the time they made 'A Way Out', The Anti Troppau Council had moved beyond the straightforward punk approach of their earliest material. Drenogiannis later described the band's development as moving through an initial punk phase, a period with stronger new wave elements, and finally toward the direction represented by the album. American underground groups such as Hüsker Dü, Minutemen and Wipers were particularly important reference points, alongside the post-punk sounds circulating through the Athens scene.
'A Way Out' was recorded in 1986 at Agrotikon, the Thessaloniki studio associated with musician and producer Nikos Papazoglou, who also worked as the album's engineer. The record appeared on Pegasus Records as catalogue PEG 001 / CP 91026 and contained eleven tracks, beginning with “The Last Poet On The Road” and “The Diver” and moving through “Insanity”, “In The City” and the title track before reaching “I Believe”, “Contract With The Devil”, “Into The 7th Sky”, “Scream A Song”, “Cartoons” and “When The Saints Go...”.
The record's stylistic range was already apparent to listeners outside Greece. Maximum Rocknroll, reviewing the LP in issue #40 in September 1986, described the group as moving between early punk rockers, psychedelic punk and slower melodic material, with changes of pace and mood across the album. That contemporary review is useful context because 'A Way Out' was reaching the international underground press at a time when very little Greek alternative music was being exported beyond the country.
“I Believe” became the best-known track from the album and was already a highlight of the band's live set. The song is a direct tribute to Roky Erickson, with its lyrics built around the singer's fascination with the idea of Erickson arriving from outer space and the alien imagery associated with his music. “When The Saints Go...” takes the album in a completely different direction, turning the traditional gospel standard “When the Saints Go Marching In” into a short, punk-styled closing number.
The album also has a particularly strong connection with Pegasus itself. The label was established by Petros Koutsoumbas, who was associated with the Pigasos club. According to an account by Drenogiannis, Koutsoumbas offered to finance the recording after seeing the band playing at the club, putting up 100,000 drachmas for the project. That investment resulted not only in 'A Way Out' but in the creation of Pegasus Records as an outlet for underground Greek music.
Pegasus subsequently became involved in documenting the wider Athens and Greek underground. In 1987 it issued 'Cicadas – An Electric Guide to the Greek Underground', featuring Anti Troppau Council alongside groups such as Villa 21, The Mushrooms, Blue Light and Human Grape. The Anti Troppau Council contributed two tracks to the compilation, “Horizons” and “Shine”. Their earlier contributions to 'Outsiders' also circulated outside the album, with “Contract With The Devil” appearing there in a different mix from the version used on 'A Way Out'.
The line-up continued to change after the LP. Following a June 1986 appearance at the Theatre of the Forest in Thessaloniki, Maragos was replaced on bass by Gerasimos Gatzelias. The new line-up recorded the two 'Cicadas' tracks, while the band was also working on material intended for a second album. That record never happened: tensions within the group resulted in Drenogiannis leaving before they could enter the studio. Kanellos subsequently became associated with Mode Plagal, while Drenogiannis went on to form Yeah!. Tzavaras and Maragos later joined Kostas Anagnostopoulos and Nikos Kassavetis in the short-lived Angeldrops.
Label:
Pegasus Records – CP 91026
Format:
Vinyl, LP, Album
Country:
Greece
Released:
1986
Style:
New Wave, Post-Punk, Garage Rock, Noise Rock
‘68 Comeback’s 'The Annex Sessions, Volume One' is a two-song 7" single issued in 1996 by Sympathy For The Record Industry, with Old Age/No Age also credited on the release. The record appeared as SFTRI 450, and pairs “I Want My Mule Back” with “Painter Of Sadness.” A second volume followed in 1997, carrying “Whistle Bait” and “Modern Don Juan.”
By this point, ’68 Comeback had already established itself as a particularly scruffy and energetic part of the early-’90s garage-rock revival. The group had been formed in Memphis in 1992 by Jeffrey Evans, the singer, guitarist, blues-harp player and music obsessive who had previously been involved with the Gibson Bros. Evans was the only permanent member of a constantly shifting line-up, and the original band brought together musicians from several corners of the Memphis underground, including Peggy O’Neil of the Gories, Darin Lin Wood of the Red Devils, Dan Brown of Gloryhole and Jack Taylor of Monster Truck Five.
The idea behind ’68 Comeback was pretty direct: Evans wanted a band that could hit hard in a live setting and reproduce that rough, immediate feeling on record. The early line-up even featured three guitarists, giving the group a dense, battered rock’n’roll sound that connected the Memphis garage tradition with blues, rockabilly and primitive punk. Their first singles appeared on a string of independent labels including Sugar Ditch, Sympathy, In The Red, Sub Pop and Get Hip, while Sympathy became one of the most important homes for the group’s records during the decade.
The personnel around the 'Annex Sessions' was somewhat different from the original line-up. For these recordings, Evans was joined by Darin Lin Wood on guitar, George Reyes on electric bass and Jeffrey Bouck on drums. The same combination was used for a number of recordings around this period, including material that eventually appeared on the 1998 album 'A Bridge Too Fuckin’ Far'.
The two tracks on 'Volume One' fit neatly into the band’s fascination with the rougher, older side of American music. “I Want My Mule Back” and “Painter Of Sadness” are preserved as compact pieces rather than stretched-out studio productions, which makes the 7" format particularly appropriate. The sessions were part of a very productive period for Evans, with the 'Someday My Prince Will Come…' double 7" also appearing through Sympathy in 1996, alongside a steady stream of singles and the group’s earlier albums.
Sympathy For The Record Industry, usually shortened to SFTRI, was one of the key American independent labels of the period. Based in Long Beach, California, it built an enormous catalogue around garage rock, punk, blues, noise, rockabilly and other forms of underground rock’n’roll, often releasing short runs of 7"s and EPs alongside LPs and CDs. Its catalogue around 1996 included records by artists as varied as Billy Childish, Destroy All Monsters, The Spaceshits, Los Cincos and El Vez, with ’68 Comeback appearing repeatedly in the label’s programme.
The second label credit connects the single to Mike “Rep” Hummel’s Old Age/No Age, a particularly important piece of the Columbus, Ohio DIY underground. Hummel had developed the label out of his earlier New Age Records operation, initially using it to issue cassette-based material by musicians such as the Gibson Brothers and Tommy Jay. Through the ’80s and ’90s, Old Age/No Age became associated with the rough-edged, home-recorded side of American underground rock, and Hummel was also active as a musician, producer and engineer around Columbus. That connection makes sense in the wider ’68 Comeback story. Evans had longstanding links with musicians and labels operating outside the more polished end of the garage revival, while the group’s records regularly moved between different small labels and regional scenes.
Label:
Sympathy For The Record Industry – SFTRI 450, Old Age / No Age – none
