Loren Mazzacane – Acoustic Guitar / Gifts [LP] (1978, Daggett Records)

The eclectic music of improvisational guitarist Loren Connors is difficult to describe neatly and concisely, but avant-garde is the best generalization. Experimental, jazz, and blues also fit, and even hints of Irish music are evident. Connors, who names abstract expressionist painter Mark Rothko as his single biggest artistic influence, is incredibly prolific; he has released dozens of albums, EPs, and collaborations -many in extremely limited quantities- on countless labels under his own name and a handful of pseudonyms (including Loren Mattei and Guitar Roberts). His wife, Suzanne Langille, occasionally sings on his recordings, and the two perform as part of the group Haunted House. He also worked extensively with folk singer/songwriter Kath Bloom in the early 1980s. Connors' obscure albums, ranging from unaccompanied acoustic guitar improvisations to deconstructed blues, were met with indifference until the early '90s, when critics began to take notice and supporters such as Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo, Gastr del Sol's Jim O'Rourke, and Alan Licht (who has recorded with Connors, Run On, Love Child, and Blue Humans) sang his praises. 

As a child, Connors studied violin (which he credits with shaping his vibrato technique on the guitar) and trombone; he also learned rock & roll bass guitar. He was heavily influenced by his mother Mary Mazzacane's singing as well. She often performed Johann Sebastian Bach pieces at funerals. This exposure to classical music led Connors to investigate the music of Giacomo Puccini and Frederic Chopin. Blues, particularly the works of Robert Pete Williams and Muddy Waters, also appealed to him. He studied art at Southern Connecticut University and the University of Cincinnati in the early '70s, but he decided his music was more original than his painting. By 1976, he'd moved back to Connecticut. Two years later, Connors began issuing albums (as Loren Mazzacane) on his own Daggett label. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC] 

Label: Daggett Records – 47 

Format: Vinyl, LP 

Country: US 

Released: 1978 

Style: Avantgarde, Experimental, Acoustic Blues, Free Improvisation

 

Tracklist:

A Loren Mazzacane – Acoustic Guitar 

B Loren Mazzacane - Kath Bloom – Gifts 

 

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Kleistwahr – Do Not [Cass] (1986, Broken Flag)

Kleistwahr's take on NWW's tape goofiness, pretty much, odd sounds and all, even going with including a nine-minute or so psychedelic drone rock tune in the midst of the exploration of tape sounds, for better or for worse. Not particularly mind-blowing stuff (unlike some NWW), but it's thoroughly fun while it lasts. [SOURCE: RATE YOUR MUSIC] 

 

Label: Broken Flag – BF 52 

Format: Cassette

Country: UK 

Released: 1986 

Style: Industrial, Noise, Tape Music, Psychedelic Rock, Drone

 

Tracklist:

A Untitled 17:58 

B Untitled 18:46 

 

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The Janitors – Deafhead [LP] (1988, Abstract Sounds)

The Janitors were Andrew Denton (vocals), Craig Hope (slide guitar, keyboards), Pete Crowe (bass guitar), and Tim Stirland (drums). Denton, Hope and friend Phil Storey recorded demos in Leicester's Highfields which Yeah Yeah Noh's John Grayland brought to the attention of some indie labels. Described as "a mixture of Membranes meeting Captain Beefheart", they signed to Marc Riley's In-Tape label, releasing their debut single, 'Chicken Stew' in July 1985 (on which Hope played all of the instruments). It went on to reach the top 10 of the UK Independent Chart. Second single 'Good to be The King' was also an indie hit, reaching number 14, and debut album 'Thunderhead', produced by Jon Langford of The Mekons, peaked at number 6 on the indie albums chart. The band then moved to the Abstract label. In 1988 Phil Storey joined on rhythm guitar. After two further singles, their second album, 'Deafhead', was released in June 1988. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]

 

 

Label: Abstract Sounds – ABT 019 

Format: Vinyl, LP 

Country: UK 

Released: 1988 

Style: Indie Rock, Psychedelic Rock

 

Tracklist:

A1 Moonshine 

A2 Spin 

A3 Only One 

A4 Halfway To A Happening 

A5 Get A Load (Get A Job) 

B1 Happy 

B2 What Can I Say 

B3 The Country Song 

B4 Proud Mary 

B5 Time Goes On 

B6 Going To Be 

 

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Inspiral Carpets – Waiting For Ours [Cass] (1987, Inspiral Carpets)

After The Stone Roses and Happy Mondays, Inspiral Carpets were arguably the third most popular band to emerge from the late-'80s/early-'90s Madchester scene. Like The Charlatans, they weren't quite as innovative as the city's two standard-bearers, relying less on the contemporary dance club beats that became Madchester pop's identifying signature. They did, however, share a fascination with trippy psychedelia, particularly the Farfisa organ-drenched sound of Nuggets-style garage rock from the '60s, which set them apart from their peers. It also enabled them to tinker with their sound once the Madchester fad had passed, and the group continued to score hits right up to their mid-'90s breakup. 

Inspiral Carpets were formed in the Greater Manchester town of Oldham by guitarist Graham Lambert -who'd been playing around the area since 1982- and vocalist Stephen Holt, who soon both recruited drummer, Craig Gill. The group began to settle on a permanent lineup in 1986 when Farfisa organist Clint Boon joined up, before bassist Dave Swift came into the fold the following year. '60s-influenced garage punk-style demo tapes, recorded at Boon's studio, helped to get the band noticed in Manchester, as did local support slots with The Bodines and Spacemen 3. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC] 

 

 

Label: Inspiral Carpets – none 

Format: Cassette, EP 

Country: UK 

Released: 1987 

Style: Garage Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Indie Rock 

 

Tracklist:

A1 Garage Full Of Flowers 

A2 Give Me Less Time 

B1 You're Gonna Miss Me 

B2 Slow Suicide 

 

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H.O.D.I.C.A. – The Shit Hits The Fans [12''] (1989, Not)

 

Head of David were an experimental heavy metal act whose sound helped pave the way for the subsequent industrial, grindcore, and noise rock genres. Hailing from the town of Dudley, just a few miles outside the city of Birmingham in the heart of England's so-called Black Country, Stephen R. Burroughs (vocals), Eric Jurenovski (guitar), Dave Cochrane (bass), and Paul Sharp (drums) were clearly influenced by the region's heavy industry and depressed economy during the mid-'80s when formulating Head of David's grimy and oppressive sound. This sound was potent enough to make an immediate impact upon the release of their first two efforts in 1986: September's 'Dogbreath EP' and October's simply named 'LP', which remarkably climbed to number three on the U.K. indie charts and was followed in July of 1987 by the live 'Shit Hits the Fans', which made it to number 21. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]

 

 

Label: Not – NOT 3 

Format: Vinyl, 12", 33 ⅓ RPM 

Country: UK 

Released: 1989 

Style: Noise, Noise Rock, Industrial Rock, Post-Punk, Industrial Metal

 

Tracklist:

A Untitled 

B Untitled 

 

Notes:

H.O.D.I.C.A. is Head Of David live at the I.C.A., London. 

 

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Gordons – Volume 2 [LP] (1984, Gordons)

 

This is a quantum leap forward from their sluggish, droney debut album. The gauntlet is thrown down during the careening, explosive first 10 seconds of opening song "Quality Control." Huge shards of guitar shrapnel and screechy feedback literally leap out of the speakers and go right for the listener's jugular, particularly on "Reactor." "Red Line" and "Identity" have a somewhat poppy swagger underneath the noise. They opened for Motorhead in the early '80s and supposedly demanded to use 4 times as many amps, wattage-wise, as Motorhead. Hence why the Gordons are often cited as one of the loudest bands of all time. Recommended if you like Killing Joke, Helmet, Bailter Space, early Sonic Youth, early Swans, Unwound or Fugazi. [SOURCE: RATE YOUR MUSIC] 

 

Label: Gordons – GORDONS 3 

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album 

Country: New Zealand 

Released: 1984 

Style: Alternative Rock, Noise Rock, Post-Punk

 

Tracklist:

A1 Quality Control 3:04 

A2 Reactor 5:41 

A3 Lead Room 5:29 

A4 Red Line 3:42 

B1 Identity 3:48 

B2 Mono Flo 3:26 

B3 Gone Machine 4:19 

B4 Joker 2:26 

B5 Mentus Fugit 2:12 

 

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Frigidaire Tango ‎– Frigidaire Tango [12''] (1983, Frigidaire Tango)

 

July 1977: Carlo Casale and Stefano Dal Col begin a musical collaboration and found The Outkids, one of the first Italian Punk Rock combos. After a series of local concerts, the band expands with the arrival of Marco Brenda, keyboardist. Marco gave to the young band a sound more personal that, scrambling their background, shortly becomes one of the most appreciated New Wave bands of the peninsula. With the name of Frigidaire Tango in 1980 the band recorded their first full-length LP 'The Cock', a small masterpiece of Italian music that was inserted in September 2010 among the 100 fundamental least-known Rock LPs by the French magazine "Tsugi". In early '83, with the addition of a second keyboardist, Frigidaire Tango returned to the studio releasing a self-produced a self-titled mini-LP titled that became one of the classics of the new Italian Rock of the period. At the same time the band was on tour with The Sound in Italy. In mid-'86, on the top of their popularity and after being invited for a series of gigs at the Biennale in Barcelona, the band split-up. [SOURCE: DISCOGS] 

 

 

Label: Frigidaire Tango ‎– FT001 

Format: Vinyl, 12" 

Country: Italy 

Released: 1983 

Style: New Wave 

 

Tracklist:

A1 Recall 7:05 

A2 Vanity Fair 4:03 

B1 Russia Dolls - Part Two 9:28 

 

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English Subtitles ‎– Original Dialogue [LP] (1982, Glass Records)

 

English Subtitles was a Post Punk band formed in Oxford in 1978 from the remnants of Norwich punk band In-Mates. Released the 'Time Tunnel' EP on Small Wonder in 1979 and moved to London. Another single and an LP ('Original Dialogue') on Glass Records followed. Here is another proof of how inspiring Joy Division was as a band in the late 70s and early 80s. English Subtitles tried to create their own style from this inspiration, mostly with satisfactory results. Recommended tracks: "Insomnia", "The Baby Cries", "Activity Spree" and above all "Machine". [SOURCE: DISCOGS] 

 

Label: Glass Records – glasslp 013 

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album 

Country: UK 

Released: 1982 

Style: New Wave, Coldwave, Post-Punk

 

Tracklist:

Studio 

A1 Lost 

A2 Insomnia 

A3 Water 1 

A4 The Baby Cries 

A5 Water 2 

Live 

B1 Activity Spree 

B2 Machine 

B3 Existence 

B4 Coming Home 

B5 Dance 

 

Notes:

Side A was recorded in Studio Jacobs Farnham August 1981. 

Side B was recorded live at the Electric Ballroom London 29-2-80. 

 

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The Desperate Bicycles ‎– Remorse Code [LP] (1979, Refill Records)

 

This is a seriously underrated album. Even fans of The Desperate Bicycles seem to focus on their singles/EPs and don't give this classic album its due. That's not surprising, those early singles were much more influential, with the breakdown of costs on the sleeve and the "it was easy, it was cheap, go and do it!" catchphrase inspiring a lot of people to try their hand at DIY record releases. They were generally more immediate and catchy songs as well, there's nothing on this album as instantly fun as "The Medium Was Tedium" or "Advice on Arrest". Give this album a few listens and it becomes clear how great it is, up there with the very best music released in the late 70s and early 80s. It's hard to pick favourite tracks when the whole this is so consistent, but "I Am Nine" and "Natural History" are hard to beat. [SOURCE: RATE YOUR MUSIC] 

 

Label: Refill Records – RR 6, Refill Records – RR6 

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album 

Country: UK 

Released: 1979 

Style: Art Rock, Punk, Post-Punk, Art Punk

 

Tracklist:

A1 I Am Nine 3:37 

A2 Walking The Talking Channel 2:17 

A3 A Can Of Lemonade 5:09 

A4 Pretty Little Analyse 2:41 

A5 Acting 3:33 

B1 It's Somebody's Birthday Today 3:38 

B2 Sarcasm 4:26 

B3 Trendy Feelings 3:43 

B4 Natural History 3:50 

B5 Blasting Radio 4:33 

 

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Christiane F. ‎– Gesundheit! [12''] (1982, Posh Boy)

Christiane Vera Felscherinow (born 20 May 1962) is a German actress and musician who is best known for her contribution to the 1978 autobiographical book "Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo" ["We Children of Bahnhof Zoo"], and the film based on the book, in which her teenage drug use is documented. In the early 1980s, Felscherinow's boyfriend was Alexander Hacke, from the German industrial band Einstürzende Neubauten, and together they released music under the moniker Sentimentale Jugend, including a cover version of The Rolling Stones song "Satisfaction", on the Das Cassetten Combinat label. They also appeared together in the 1983 German film "Decoder", which also featured William S. Burroughs and Genesis P-Orridge. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA] 

 

 

Label: Posh Boy ‎– PBS 1034 

Format: Vinyl, 12", 33 ⅓ RPM 

Country: US 

Released: 1982 

Style: Synth-pop, Neue Deutsche Welle, Post-Punk, Electro-Disco

 

Tracklist:

A1 Wunderbar 3:58 

A2 Heimweh (Homesick) 3:10 

B Wunderbar 9:00 

 

Notes:

Recorded at Noise, New York. 

 

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