Jandek ‎– "The Song Of Morgan" (Corwood Industries ‎– CORWOOD 081) 2013

I warned you.....here's another eight and a half hours of the Corwood Representative banging out random notes like the infinate monkey of the keyboard trying to randomly rewrite Chopins' Nocturnes.Playing all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order.
Just imagine an infinite number of Jandeks banging out the classics......its just that i think we may need more Jandeks than infinity allows for the master of the very wrong note to hammer out anything by Chopin......ah well, each to his own eh?
I'd like to see the psychological profile of someone who listens to all of this straight, in one go, and in sequence.
I did attempt to listen to the Stooges "Complete Funhouse Sessions" once in one go,but by the 12th take of 'Dirt' i was eating the walls.I nearly made it through Miles Davis' "On The Corner Sessions",mainly because it rarely repeated itself,rather like Jandeks Ivory tinkling? So it is possible,but I fear for your mind.

Tracklisting:
1-1 Nocturne One 55:22
2-1 Nocturne Two 58:39
3-1 Nocturne Three 60:42
4-1 Nocturne Four 60:33
5-1 Nocturne Five 58:20
6-1 Nocturne Six 58:54
7-1 Nocturne Seven 51:31
8-1 Nocturne Eight 59:16
9-1 Nocturne Nine 52:52

To Download just click the appropriate tracks listed above.

Various ‎Artists – "Underground Belgian Wave Volume 1" (Walhalla Records ‎– WR001" 2010

Wow! How great is this?
Loads of cassette only Belgian Minimal Wave on one handy disc from the early eighties.
Drum machines that sound like drum machines, claustrophic and dark, with 'phat' analogue sounds from classic synthesisers with knobs on.
This is as near to musical perfection as original Punk Rock was, before technology ate itself, washed down with a foaming flagon of human blood.

Track info:
A1, B2 to B5: originally released on Various - "Climax" cassette (Climax Productions, 1985).
A2, A5: originally released on Various - "Cabbage Part 2" cassette (Cauchy Productions).
A3, A4: originally released on "Evergreens Compilation Vol. 1" cassette (Central Tapes).
A6: originally released on "Foto" cassette (private release).
B1: originally released on Various - "Coconadindina" cassette (3Rio Tapes, 1986).
B6: originally released on Vita Noctis - "Much Money Good Boy No Money Good-Bye" cassette (Camera Obscura, 1985).

(*will be posting most of these ones after vol4)

DOWNLOAD and get phat HERE!

Various Artists ‎– "No Big Business 2" (Anything But Records ‎– ABR 001) 1983

The follow up to, you guessed it, No Big Business 1.
This one is more cold wave sounding with less of the minimal synth stuff that Belgium was famous for. Hints of Electronic Body Music, and very Post-Punky, with some dodgy slap bass appearing occasionally like an escaped member of Kajagoogoo.

Tracklisting:

A1 –Men 2nd - The Healer
A2 –A Blaze Colour - The Ultimate Fight
A3 –Maid In Belgium - Feel The Beat
A4 –The Neon Judgement - T.V. Treated
A5 –Nightcap - My Guest
B1 –Portrait Bizarre - Friends Could Be Friends
B2 –Kebab - Weekend
B3 –Sovjet War - The Nuthouse
B4 –M-Bryo & D.M.T - The Empty Street
B5 –Primitifs - Open Doors

Download in a business like manner HERE!

Various ‎Artists – "No Big Business" (Kleo ‎– KR 002 L.P.) 1981

Lets retreat to the safe ground of Belgian Cold wave and Minimal synth.
Its all good as Belgium could do very little wrong in 1981.
Like Belgium itself, its all on a small scale, with a miserable grey atmosphere,and struggles for space.There's not much room for too many band members or instruments,betraying an urge to escape from the claustrophobia of an overcrowded state;but at the same time the music is juxtaposed between the need for space and the natural claustrophobic greyness of Belgium.
If ever a music belonged more than this to a single country, i've yet to discover it.......ooooh those Belgians.

Tracklisting:

Deze Kant
A1 –The Scabs - Is This Life?
A2 –Neue Sachlichkeit - Echoes
A3 –Cinema Rasch -  Caught Entangled
A4 –Siglo XX - Obsession
A5 –A.B.C. - Fisk
A6 –De Minz - Adultery

Andere Kant
B1 –The Motives - Plastic
B2 –Suspects - Misery
B3 –Fizik - History
B4 –Luc Van Acker + Didi De Paris - Onze Vader
B5 –Spermicide - Otage
B6 –Underdogs - Third World Image, Bobo

DOWNLOAD these small businesses HERE!

Various Artists ‎– "On The Street" (Sane Records ‎– SANE 003) 1984

Sane Records followed up their 'Electropop' compilation of undiscovered uk synthbands, with, believe it or not, a 'Punk'compilation of those horrible groups that called themselve 'Punx' in 1984 UK.They also did a NWOBHM comp too....I don't think I could survive listening to that one as well as this!!??
By this time in the radioactive decay scale equivalent of generic music lifespan, 'Punk' was about 6 years past its Half-Life. What was tired and irritating by the end of 1978,had started to lose its intelligence, and what we were left with was the rotting seeds of 'Oi' and 'UK82', championed by Gary Bushell; like the Angelic Upstarts and Cockney Rejects. The real intelligence had departed for fresher fields by 1979, leaving just the yob element to flesh out the Daily Mirrors desciption of 'Punk' Rock exactly.
Legions of uniformed, agressive  young men on a quest to repress each other down to the lowest possible common denominator. This album could have been made by one single group, not 14!!!? Every track follows exactly the same formula, like a male only club. This had already happened in the USA, where this genre had become a macho male club on a quest to get faster and faster, just for the sake of 'Speed' because that's 'Punk' innit? Depressing stuff...for all the wrong reasons.
Having said that, i sort of enjoyed this, now thats it resides strictly in the vintage section of the rock'n'roll jumble sale. Some of the Guitar sounds are enviably dirty, but the lyrics are toe curlingly bad. Especially shit about Punx'n'Skinz, or Notts Punx!!? Best not to listen too closely, and just let the basic-ness tug at your funny bone.

Tracklisting:
A1 –Primitive - Why
A2 –Vicious Hamsters - Soul City Boys
A3 –Acid Attack - Suburbia's Dream
A4 –Oi Polloi - Punx 'n' Skinz
A5 –Devoid - Conned
A6 –The Abductors - Notts Punks
A7 –Catch 22 - Danger Zone
B1 –Criminal Justice - Machines And Systems
B2 –Criminal Justice - Middle East Mayhem
B3 –Fungus - Swimming Life
B4 –4 Minute Warning - I Don't Care
B5 –The Clergy - Blow This Town
B6 –Dead On Arrival - Molester
B7 –Dead On Arrival - Zyklon B
B8 –Obscene Females - Brain Surgeon
B9 –Obscene Females - Undersea
B10 –Obscene Females - Modern Art
B11 –Rough Justice - Victory To The Rebels

DOWNLOAD some roadkill HERE!

Various ‎Artists – "Subtle Hints" (Sane Records ‎– SANE 001) 1983

14 electropop trax from 'Undiscovered Bands'....it says on the cover.
And they remained so, despite Sane Records' noble attempt to find the new Human League.
It's not easy to write a pop tune you know? and this album is full of 14 noble attempts to get into the top forty, and failing miserably.From a minimal synth/cold wave point of view,its all jolly fine stuff, scoring highly on the analogue synth sounds(although they could have been harsher and chunkier?) front and even higher for obscurity.....which is essential for minimal wave fans.

Tracklisting:

A1 –Squid Diddley - Always There
A2 –Chain Of Command - Some Aspects
A3 –Mon Amour - Always Tomorrow's Rain
A4 –My Pierrot Dolls - My Pierrot Dolls
A5 –Hidden Pleasure - Beautiful Lady
A6 –This Side Of Paradise - Witchcraft
A7 –Ad Astra - A&R
B1 –Time Statues - Statue Of The Night
B2 –Picture Book - Success
B3 –Ind-X - If It Happened To You
B4 –Synchronization - Pseudo Rich
B5 –New Vices For The Jaded - Follow Careers In Modern Love
B6 –Art Interface - Beneath The Calm
B7 –My Pierrot Dolls - Picture In Oils

DOWNLOAD subtly HERE!

Jandek ‎– "Ghost Passing" (Corwood Industries ‎– CORWOOD 0814) 2014

Feeling Good?...well its monday, and here's six hours of Jandek let loose on a piano to fix that!

We are all haunted by the ghost of our child-self. That stranger who looks deep into our souls from inside old photographs.We recognise these haunting individuals but have very little in common with them except a shared name.Even the memories we attribute to these phantoms are sporadic and incomplete, just brief flashes of vague highlights and lowlights from a world that seems to have never existed.What did they do inbetween the edited versions of these dead childrens daily lives.It'll forever remain a mystery.
Like Jandeks'career,there are brief moments when a recorded episode of his life appears,revealing something of his soul,then disappears into the shadows.No-one knows what the ginger one does inbetween albums,or live appearences as the Corwood representative.The photographs from random phases of his life that adorn the covers of the multitudes of albums he churns out are a testament to the lost time in everyone's lives; as if we only exist momentarliy then vanish,only to remanifest ourselves in the important slithers of time to fool ourselves that we exist.
The cover of this sprawling 6CD epic, is the second one of Sterling as a child, and the second album of Mr Smith's bizarre voiceless piano improvisations(the first of which,"The Song Of Morgan", also has a pre-pubescent Jandek on the cover).Its as if Jandek is struggling to remember the empty bits,like trying to find the lost notes.Memories are the tones between the notes,that slip away down the gaps between the keys on a keyboard.A piano is full of missing notes along the range of those 88 keys. Its a painful listen, but for different reasons that Jandek is usually painful. Like a Ghost wondering in a fog searching for some dead relatives who can recall shards of these lost moments for you,to prove you were once a real thing before one fades away into the mist forever.For we are indeed just a ghost passing.

Tracklisting:

1-1 Fantasy One 59:46
2-1 Fantasy Two 58:49
3-1 Fantasy Three 60:30
4-1 Fantasy Four 60:33
5-1 Fantasy Five 61:02
6-1 Fantasy Six 61:08

DOWNLOAD 

disc 1 

disc 2 

disc 3 

disc 4 

disc 5 

disc 6 

HERE!

Various Artists ‎– "E.M.C. Electronic Music Club" (Subterranean Tapes) 1983

More Ozzie minimal wave for ya.
It says on the insert 'Electronic Music Club released this compilation cassette during their opening on the 16th May 1983'....which suggests that this was a social areana rather than a subcription to a magazine for geeks.
Good to see more by Human Backs and Modern Jazz....fine stuff indeed.
The opening track is one of those limp-wristed camped up versions of former 'hits' that has one reaching for the fast forward button;but the remainder is a prime analogue kick in the nuts.
Indeed not all Australians are bemulleted, loudmouthed,culturally ignorant over competative Jocks.

Tracklisting:
A1 –Second Glance - You Really Got A Hold Of Me
A2 –7/8 World - Kitchen Logic
A3 –Dance Synthesis - Electromance
A4 –Human Backs - Takayama Rising
A5 –Donno Detti - Automation
A6 –Cannon Fodder - One Ton Sombrero
A7 –Human Backs - Pulse Music
A8 –Boptronics - Another Life
A9 –Bill Tolson - Basketweavers Of Venice
B1 –Lub Dub - Lights
B2 –Tanzmachine - Inside
B3 –Shanghai Au Go Go - Un-compatible
B4 –Tester Housing - An Igloo For Accomodation
B5 –Software Seduction - New Collision
B6 –Informatics - The Great X-1
B7 –Modern Jazz - Boom Boom Baby
B8 –Ollie Olsen - Excerpt From "The Bad Planet"

DOWNLOAD and join the club HERE!

Various Artists ‎– "The Signal To Noise Set" (Only A Revolution ‎– Only 2) 1984

Lets go back to Australia, and get a hefty dose of antipodean minimal synth from the Orwellian watershed year of 1984.All downhill from there, creatively, politically and culturally.
This album is an absolute Minimal Wave classic from the prime period BM (Before Midi), when man and machine were still in balance. Fingers were largely still needed to press the keys and buttons in real time, and computers had less processing power than a Tamagotchi.
Every track on here is a brutal slice of stark, 'Phat' analogue beauty, uncluttered by banks of computer driven synth modules.The only thing that was digital in 1984 was generally your wrist watch.
This compilation of Australian minimal electronicists is easily up there with the best of the European hordes.....but it was from Austrailia.....so it was ignored.

Tracklisting:

A1 –Informatics-The Great X-1
A2 –Modern Jazz - Radio Scream
A3 –Dono-Detti - Man Unlimited
A4 –Second Glance - Shackles & Chains
A5 –Software Seduction - Try
A6 –Shanghai Au Go-Go - Talk Back
B1 –Dono-Detti - Flesh And Steel
B2 –Into The East - I Stand Still
B3 –Nuvo Bloc - Living Brigade
B4 –Human Backs - Frankenstein
B5 –Dono-Detti - Forbidden

DOWNLOAD a binary signal to noise HERE!

Various Artists ‎– "Vancouver Complication" (Pinned Records ‎– PIN 79330001) 1979

As with most things north american, one almost always has to cross the border,northwards, from the USA to find better ways of doing things.
As i've just inflicted two, yes TWO, volumes of frankly terrible local band compilations from Seattle on y'all; the natural remedy is to go north to Canada, and Seattles nearest neighbour, Vancouver, to discover a rather good manifestation of the local comp pandemic of 1978-82.
Its very 'Punk rock' (whatever the fuck that is?) orientated, but as long as its done well, that ain't no drawback.
Vancouver had an advantage as they did have one of the better first wave North American Punk bands in DOA, which is a good start.
Having visited Vancouver, I find it hard to understand why anyone would be angry who lived there. It's nearly perfect. I even went around the druggy areas, and even the junkies seemed happy...or was that because they had just had a hit?
I'm sure 'anger' is a subjective thing. So yeah, even in heaven there are probably some Punk bands moaning about boredom and the torture of the prospects of eternal life....or eternal boredom. No future????....'Too much Future', sings Heavens first Punk Band.
Indeed, Canada is a great place, and i won't listen to any Canadians who say otherwise.....you've never lived in the United Kingdom, or other shitholes like that...so shut it!

Tracklist:

A1 –Pointed Sticks - The Marching Song
A2 –Exxotone - Big Shot
A3 –D.O.A. - Kill, Kill, This Is Pop
A4 –Active Dog - Fun While It Lasts
A5 –Wasted Lives - Wirehead
A6 –Subhumans - Death To The Sickoids
A7 –U-J3RK5 - U-J3RK5 Work For Police
A8 –Private School - Rock & Roll Radio
A9 –No Fun - Mindless Aggression
A10 –Dishrags - I Don't Love You
A11 –Biz - Untitled

B1 –Exxotone - Sideways
B2 –The K-Tels - I Hate Music
B3 –Active Dog - Nothing Holding You
B4 –Subhumans - Urban Guerilla
B5 –The Shades - New Clientelle
B6 –Tim Ray & A.V. - 1/4 To 8
B7 –U-J3RK5 - Naum Gabo
B8 –D.O.A. -I Hate You
B9 –No Fun - Old 0:36
B10 –[e?] - E 925

DOWNLOAD some complicated vancouvans HERE!

Various Artists ‎– "Seattle Syndrome Two" (Engram Records ‎– ENGC 012) 1982

Well, fuck me! There was a second volume of post-punk Seattle groups.
It's definitely Volume 1 part two. Lots of forgetable eighties Pop attempts, with a couple of more edgy numbers buried in among the new wave disco.

DOWNLOAD more syndromes HERE!

Various Artists ‎– "Seattle Syndrome - Volume One" (Engram Records ‎– ENG 002) 1981

Seattle, the scene of that nineties atrocity "Grunge", the american equivalent of "Brit Pop".
You will be very pleased to know that this local band compilation is a gauranteed Grunge-free zone; but it does prove that Seattle had a real talent for mediocrity a decade before it was given its label in the Rock'n'Roll hall of the Lame. I mean, even Jimi Hendrix had to escape from here to be reborn in London.If he stayed in Seattle, he would probably be on this compilation, fronting some electronic rock group on vocals and Keytar; but he would still be alive at least.
Isolated on the north west coast, you had to leave if you wanted to get anywhere i suppose.
There's a lot of sub-standard versions of musical styles imported from elsewhere,including the obligatory punky reggae number (Yuk!), and the even worse Rockabilly number (Double Yuk!!).
There's a few sub-Flock of Seagulls tracks that are entertaining at low volume,but the rest are just standard 3rd division american punk and lame power poop.
American local comps never seem to have anything truly strange, or innovative,or even catchy on them......everyone is trying to please and habor dreams of minor stardom. Ambition is inherant in American culture unfortunately, which leads to a bland homogenous soup.

DOWNLOAD this down syndrome of a record HERE!

Birchville Cat Motel ‎– "Birchville Cat Motel": (Celebrate Psi Phenomenon ‎– #9) 1997

I don't post much on here from the nineties, but The Birchville Cat Motel is an exception.Especially for his prolific DIY-ness, and the fact that he fits in nicely to conclude our brief visit to the shores of New Zealand.
Campbell Kneale, aka BCM, started churning out his special brand of ambient drone noise based post-industrial soundscapes in '97, on the then futurist medium of CD-r...early versions of which are highly likely to have self-destructed by now. He has hundreds of releases strecthed over the last 20 years,but this was the first, to my knowledge anyway.Its a kind of mellow version of Merzbow, and therefore infinitly more listenable.

Tracklist:

1 Cast Iron Teether 8:07
2 So Sad Doll 10:52
3 Rimrider 11:54
4 Allandale Triple Culvert 10:36
5 Twelve Roses High 14:44
6 Transparent Soul Fragment 6:54

DOWNLOAD a reservation HERE!

Various Artists - "Slightly Scratched (100 Kiwi Punk and New Wave Gems 1978-83)" (Web Release 2018)

I was searching the internet to try and find my first Kiwi new wave album, "The Citizen Band" (1978), but couldn't find bugger all!?...but there were two tracks from it included on this monster compilation.
There's lots of crap on here, but also some long lost gems from the punk rock era.

Tracklist:

01-Screaming Meemees - Till I Die
02-Rank & File - Welcome to the World
03-The Crocodiles - Hello Girl
04-The Ainsworths - Danger Man
05-Techtones - That Girl
06-Th' Dudes  Walking In Light
07-Blam Blam Blam-Don't Fight It Marsha,It's Bigger Than Both Of Us
08-Citizen Band - Feel Good
09-The Swingers - One Good Reason
10-Broken  Dolls - Serenade
11-Car Crash Set - Fall From Grace
12-The Body Electric - Pulsing
13-Toy Love - Pull Down the Shades
14-Suburban Reptiles - Coup D'etat
15-No Tag - Mistaken Identity
16-Newmatics - Walkie Talkies
17-Spelling Mistakes - Feel So Good
18-Dum Dum Boys - Idiot Boy
19-Rebel Truce - The Man Inside
20-No Tag - Legalised Dogs
21-Blam Blam Blam - There Is No Depression In New Zealand
22-Children's Hour - The Mongolian Bros
23-Bombers - Dance
24-Danse Macabre - Between The Lines
25-Desperate Measures - Generation Gap
26-Scavengers - Routine
27-Screaming Meemees - Sunday Boys
28-Newmatics -  Riot Squad
29-Penknife Glides - Taking the Weight Off
30-Spelling Mistakes - Hate Me Hate Me
31-Pedestrians - Saturday Night
32-Mi Sex - Computer Games
33-Pop Mechanics - Jumping Out A Window
34-Coup D'etat - Dr I Like Your Medicine
35-Newmatics - Five Miseries
36-Prime Movers - Crying Again
37-The Clean - Beatnik
38-The Dabs - Love The Army
39-Citizen Band - No Stereo
40-The Androidss - Auckland Tonight
41-Danse Macabre - ECG
42-Dum Dum Boys - Running Scared
43-Flesh D-Vice - Kill That Girl
44-The Gordons - Sometimes
45-The Herco Pilots - Essential Services
46-The Johnnies - Who Killed Johnny
47-Proud Scum - I Am a Rabbit
48-Suburban Reptiles - Saturday Night Stay At Home
49-Terrorways - Never Been to Borstal
50-The Scavengers - Mysterex (click here for missing track)
51-Marching Girls - True Love
52-Sheerlux - Lonely Heart
53-Coconut Rough - Sierra Leone
54-Split Enz - Shark Attack
55-Dave Mcartney - Virginia
56-Th' Dudes  Bliss
57-The Knobz - Culture
58-Mi-Sex - People
59-Dance Exponents - All I Can Do
60-Blam Blam Blam - Luxury Length
61-This Sporting Life - Total Loss
62-The Henchmen - Metro Blues
63-The Steroids - Out of Control
64-Toy Love -Squeeze
65-The Verlaines - Death and The Maiden
66-The Clean - Anything Could Happen
67-Spelling Mistakes - Reena
68-The Features - City Scenes
69-DD Smash - The Gambler
70-The Swingers - Counting The Beat
71-The Tall Dwarfs - Nothing's Gonna Happen
72-Proud Scum - Suicide
73-Alms for Children - Danny Boy
74-Toy Love - Rebel
75-Valentinos - Yesterday's Girl
76-Newmatics - Square One
77-The Spine - It's All Inane
78-No Tag - Oi Oi Oi
79-Spaces - Just Like Clockwork
80-The Clean - Tally Ho!
81-Dance Exponents - Victoria
82-Penknife Glides - Pleasure Through Tears
83-Screaming Meemees - All Dressed Up
84-The Instigators - Hope She's Alright
85-Graham Brazier – 1%a
86-Split Enz - What's The Matter With You
87-Dance Exponents - Know Your Own Heart
88-Shoes This High - Nothing
89-Primmers - You're Gonna Get Done
90-Russ Le Roq (Crowe) - I Just Want To Be Like Marlon Brando
91-Suburban Reptiles - 45 Single
92-Screaming Meemees - See Me Go
93-The Mockers  - Good Old Days
94-Car Crash Set - Imagination
95-Ballare -Dancing
96-The Body Electric - Dreaming In A Life
97-Childrens Hour - Carolines Dream
98-Peking Man - Plastic Head
99-The Dabs - Remember When (Click Here for this missing track!)
100-Danse Macabre - Web

DOWNLOAD tracks 0-50 HERE!

DOWNLOAD tracks 51-100 HERE!

The Clean ‎– "Odditties" (Cleano Productions) 1983

From the more conventional post-punk/proto-Indie end of the New Zealand ghetto are The Clean.
They make proper pop songs, melodic ,strummy, hooky with rhyming lyrics and a hint of jangle.
This is an early self-released cassette that hints of greater things.

Tracklist:

A1 Odditty
A2 Success Story
A3 Thumbs Off
A4 Yellowman
A5 Getting Older
A6 End Of My Dream
A7 Platypus
A8 This Guy
A9 David Bowie
A10 Mudchucker Blues
B1 At The Bottom
B2 Hold Onto The Rail
B3 Fats Domino
B4 Sad Eyed Lady
B5 Tell Me Why
B6 In The Back
B7 Band That Never Was
B8 Wheels Of Industry
B9 Point That Thing Dub
B10 Safety At Home

DOWNLOAD cleanly HERE!

Jandek ‎– "A Kingdom He Likes" (Corwood Industries ‎– Corwood 0777) 2004

Jandek Monday arrives as life passes like grains of sand slipping through ones fingers.
I think this is the only studio Jandek album, in the classic Jandek style, that I haven't yet posted on this blog......only the really long piano based ones are left,plus loads of live ones.
Jandek is on fine form,as the music groans like a dull toothache that responds to no painkillers. In fact a trip to the Dentist to have the nerves scraped out of a root canal without anesthetic, or a cosy night in listening to the whole of this album is a tough call.

DOWNLOAD an album nobody likes HERE!

Peter Jefferies ‎– "The Last Great Challenge In A Dull World" (Xpressway ‎– X/WAY 16) 1990

The prolific Peter Jefferies was in nearly every group on Xpressway, which is expected as it was partly his own label.So a solo album was not a surprise. 
It contains all the experimental Pop trademarks as displayed on the 'This Kind Of Punishment' albums. Lots of upright piano bashing, circuit fried guitars,and funny fuzzy noises, with Peters New Zealand accented crooning sitting atop, like a glacé cherry on a spontaneously combusting cake.

Tracklist :

Chain Or Reaction 3:20
Domestica 2:18
On An Unknown Beach 4:34
Guided Tour Of A Well Known Street 2:37
The House Of Weariness 3:53
Cold View 2:08
Likewise 2:40
The Last Great Challenge In A Dull World 3:16
While I've Been Waiting 2:52
Neither Do I 2:15
The Other Side Of Reason 5:59
Listening In 3:10

DOWNLOAD as your last great challenge HERE!

Various ‎Artists – "What's That Noise? - Another XPRESSWAY Compilation" (WTN004) 1992

As it says on the package...another Xpressway compilation!?
Yep, you guessed it, its got The Dead C, Peter Jefferies, and Alistair Galbraith on it again.
And its yer normal lo-fi New Zealand style guitar abusing noise.

Tracklist :

Here:
1–The Terminals- Something Dark 3:34
2–The Dead C. - Tränenbeutel 1:10
There:
3–Jefferies / Carter / Bull - Guided Tour (Live) 2:37
4–Alastair Galbraith- Screaming E 3:04

DOWNLOAD to find out what that noise is HERE!

Various Artists ‎– "I Hear The Devil Calling Me(an Xpressway Sampler)" (Drag City ‎– DC008) 1991

12 one minute length sorties in the traditional Lo-Fi New Zealand Avant Rock genre, provided by the usual suspects from everyones second favourite musical island (the other being Japan......ok maybe the |UK too?).
Of the new (in 1991) acts on here, Cyclops and The Queen Meanie Puss made my ears tingle more than the others.

DOWNLOAD from devils island HERE!

Various Artists ‎– "Making Losers Happy (Xpressway NZ Singles 1988-91)" (Drag City DC024) 1992

Thank Christ(church) for the oasis that New Zealand had become for modern intelligent music in 1988-91. While I was busy projectile vomiting at Happy Mondays concerts, the non-musicians of these isolated Islands were more concerned with taking down the rock'n'pop bohemoth,by forsaking any advancement in sound quality or technology;and more to the point not trying to rob the blackman of his funky dance beats. NZ, although blessed with an indigenous population, seemingly well integrated into post colonial society, is not renowned for having a particularly large black population. As a result this music is very very 'White'.
This collection for Beta-males and women, is drawn from the early singles that were released on the legendary Xpressway Records from 88-91.A bunch of Lo-Fi, sometimes folky forays into the dark world of Avant pop and Rock, expectorated forth with a modicum of unapologetic intelligence.
Its made this Loser very happy anyway.

DOWNLOAD HERE LOSERS!

Various Artists ‎– "Xpressway Pile=Up" (Xpressway ‎– X/WAY5) 1988

An essential compilation of the essential parts of the New Zealand underground,featuring all the usual suspects, Dead C, TKP, and the Jefferies brothers in various guises.Almost faultless.
1988, was a dodgy year for music in the UK, where MDMA had turned any decent group into tambourine shaking idiots.
Living in the arse end of the planet has its advantages sometimes,so no stripy tops, maraccas and idiot dancing on show on this tape.
By the way, the file is from the second edition, so its got more tracks on it.


Tracklist:

A1 –Plagal Grind- Midnight Blue Vision
A2 –Victor Dimisich Band- Native Waiter
A3 –Wreck Small Speakers On Expensive Stereos- Rain
A4 –The 3D's- Meluzina Man
A5 –Dead C.- 3 Years
A6 –Shayne Carter & Peter Jefferies- Randolph's Going Home
A7 –Peter Jefferies- On An Unknown Beach
A8 –Snapper- Emmanual
B1 –The Cake Kitchen- Airships
B2 –Double Happys- Big Fat Elvis
B3 –Snapper- Death & Weirdness In The Surfing Zone
B4 –Stephen Kilroy- 45 Degrees Below Frozen
B5 –Double Happys- I Don't Wanna See You Again
B6 –Nocturnal Projections- Walk In A Straight Line
B7 –The Terminals- Uncoffined
B8 –Shayne Carter- Hooked, Lined & Sunken

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This Kind Of Punishment ‎– "This Kind Of Punishment" (Flying Nun Records ‎– TKP 001) 1983

A more minimal version of TKP existed for the eponymous debut, consisting of the Jefferies brothers only, plus the occasional guest.
Largely drumless experimental ditties,drawn mostly from the 'down' section of the bi-polar depression cycle, with a nod towards modern folk. Less accesable than future releases, but its indeed a grower.

Tracklist:

A1 After The Fact 4:43
A2 Instrumental 3:33
A3 Don't Take Those 3:38
A4 In View Of The Circumstances 5:02
B1 Two Minutes Drowning 3:51
B2 If An Axe Is An Arm 4:41
B3 Just Another Funeral
B4 Some More Than Others 3:13
B5 Ahead Of Their Time 4:24

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Jandek ‎– "St. Louis Friday(Stamp Out Reality)" (Corwood Industries ‎– CORWOOD 0816) 2015

Its Jandek Monday and what the fuck is going on with this cover photo? Jandek was a 'Hippie'???...Nah!?
This might explain what happened to turn him into the dysfunctional outsider folk dour troubadour that we know and love today? Either a tab of bad acid taken during the "Lets levitate the Pentagon" protest from the late sixties, or, a badly photoshopped forgery of our man to make it look like he was an activist in the late sixties?
Either way, this double CD is a recording of the man himself, who was in his late sixties when it was recorded, live at the Billiken Club, St. Louis, Missouri, March 21, 2014......absolutely NOT thee late sixties at all.
However,this outing is a peculiar one from his 21st century 'come in from the outside' phase.
Apart from the first three tracks, which are classic solo Jandek with acoustic guitar, the album is Jandek with unamed backing musicians, playing an improvised set that sounds like they had never met before. A female singer,apparently called Shiela Smith, adds her confident and slightly deranged voice to the mix.
At times it sounds like the worst Bardo Pond album,at others its like a music therapy class for special needs kids.But utimately it don't sound at all like anything else.

Tracklist:

1-1 Wasted Body 5:29
1-2 The Capsized Boat 5:47
1-3 Fishing Blues 4:48
1-4 Above it All 10:30
1-5 Shadow Life 10:47
1-6 Where Were You Born 9:14
2-1 About That 13:42
2-2 Walmart Truck 6:32
2-3 Got My Dog 12:35
2-4 The Foregoing 4:12
2-5 The Times I Had to Wear Tuxedos 4:41
2-6 Lucky Stars 10:50
2-7 Weekends 6:13

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This Kind Of Punishment ‎– "Live '85" (Xpressway ‎– X/WAY 2) 1985

The jolly excellent TKP in concert, in a venue that sounds almost empty......probably the effect of a few cardoid microphones pointing in the wrong direction. A bit of crowd noise would have improved this tape somewhat; but the quality of the music shines through. The minimal aspect of thisrather dry recording adds to its power,especially in the odd screamy discordant section and in its noisy crescendo on side B.

Tracklist:
A1 The Sleepwalker 3:39
A2 Mr. Tic Toc 3:28
A3 The Men By The Pool 2:59
A4 Don't Take Those 3:02
A5 After The Fact 4:46
A6 Ahead Of Their Time 3:31
B1 Two Minutes Drowning 4:03
B2 Radio Silence 2:53
B3 From The Diary Of Hermann Doubt 2:54
B4 Just Another Funeral 1:49
B5 Flipper Go Home 1:41
B6 Some More Than Others 3:03

DOWNLOAD to be alive in 85 again HERE!

This Kind Of Punishment ‎– "A Beard Of Bees" (Self Released LP ‎– TKP 002) 1984

If only one had a trained beard of bees that could attack hipsters? The sad thing is that I think Hipsters would actually like, and not pretend to like, this rather excellent experimental pop record by Xpressway Records' in house muso's 'This Kind Of Punishment'.
I actually enjoyed listening to this again for the sake of these words.Intelligent,and interestingly well constructed songs with a hint of melancholy that rarely rely on making funny noises to stand out.
Could easily have been Midlake if they were around in the 'noughties'and american.......but who wants to be around in the noughties and/or american?.....that certainly is some kind of horrible punishment.or are you insane?

Tracklist:

A1 Prelude 2:07
A2 From The Diary Of Hermann Doubt 3:18
A3 The Horrible Tango 4:34
A4 Trepidation 3:50
A5 East Meets West 3:55
B1 Turning To Stone 4:27
B2 Although They Appear 3:49
B3 The Sleepwalker 3:32
B4 An Open Denial 7:03

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Gate ‎– "Metric" (Precious Metal ‎– PM10) 1991

More lo-fi guitar fuck-uppery from Michael Morley of The Dead C.
Parts of this sounds like an amped up Jandek if he was 'cool'.
Fizzing fried amplifier transistors rasp and burp at the behest of the main guitar abuser  from the 'C'.
It in fact sounds like his main group but without the other two, but thats what this is...isn't it?
The object of the 'Solo' record is to do something different to your principle project, so this is only 'Solo' because the rest of the band aren't on it.

Tracklist:
A1 Openingmyarms
A2 Hope
A3 Callconstellations
A4 Forcedsight
B1 Yourface
B2 Selfhate
B3 Freedomchild
B4 Evidence

DOWNLOAD metric in binary HERE!

Gate ‎– "Fear Of Music" (Precious Metal ‎– PM03) 1989

Michael Morley of The Dead C, also know as 'Gate', decided to call his debut solo cassette appearence the same title as one of the greatest Albums ever made; "Fear Of Music" by Talking Heads. A tenth anniversary tribute this is not, its also not as great as its namesake, but still rather marvellous in its own way.
Whether Mr Morley can actually play his guitar in a proper fashion is open to conjecture, but if he can, he does a very good impression of 'somebody who has no concept of the instrument;...he was blowing into it' (Take The Money And Run,Woody Allen,1968).
At times this record makes Jandek sound like Robert Fripp....who also worked with Talking Heads coincidentally....Fripp, not Jandek,which would have been one of Eno's braver Ideas methinks?
Its not so much a noise/drone album, but a car accident of an album.A harsh lesson in 'unlearning',getting back to year Zero with as little bloodshed as possible.Careful with that axe eugene....or in this case,Michael.

Tracklisting:

A1 Love
A2 Hell
A3 Faith
A4 Gallons
A5 Smoke
A6 Animals
A7 Drugs
A8 Head
A9 Buildings
B1 Electric Guitar
B2 Air
B3 Hey
B4 No Lists (Faith)
B5 Wartime
B6 Shitvice

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The Gordons ‎– "Volume 2" (Gordons ‎– GORDONS 3) 1984

Hmmm a classic example of the 'difficult' second album, up there with The Adverts and The Damned,whose follow up albums destroyed their careers. Whereas, those two records are now thought of as rather good, The Gordons second ,isn't. Mainly because they lost their main man Alister Parker, and replaced him with someone called Pinker, whose singing style stinks of rock orthadoxy,and whose guitar playing was far too considered. This record wanted to be liked, and thats what makes it unlikeable.....this ain't no Adverts 'Cast Of Thousands', this is The Dead Boys', terrible, "We Have Come For Your Children" standard, but without the hits.

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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The Gordons ‎– "The Gordons" (Gordons ‎– GORDON 2) 1981 + "Future Shock EP" (GORDON 1)1980

I may have mentioned that I reckon these are probably the greatest couple of records to come out of New Zealand. Somehow The Gordons managed to sound like a US Post-Hardcore band several years before stuff like The Phantom Tollbooth, Bitch Magnet and other such Homestead style groups flooded the market;they even outflanked early Sonic Youth.
In some ways the isolation of being trapped on an island in the arse of the planet serves the creative process in the same way that the Galapogos Islands developed weird and wonderful beasts found nowhere else. A bit like West Germany in the seventies, and Japan in the nineties. The fact that this LP+EP evolved independantly of direct american/uk influence is a testament to that sweet isolation.

Tracklisting:

Spik And Span
Right On Time
Coalminers Song
Future Shock
Sometimes
I Just Can't Stop
Growing Up
Laughing Now
Machine Song
Adults And Children

DOWNLOAD if you're called Gordon or not HERE!

Jandek ‎– "When I Took That Train" (Corwood Industries ‎– Corwood 0778) 2005

IT'S JANDEK MONDAY MOANDAY........☺

You should be on the stage......the next stage outta here!
Or, you could take the Train? But, as this cover photo is clearly from the mid 80s in a rainy London at christmas, i wouldn't bother; because it was still under the auspices of British Rail in the era when the 'wrong kind of snow' halted services, along with 'Leaves On the Line',among other excuses for inefficiency.......but we now want those good ol' days back.
The image of Jandek eating a British Rail sausage in economy class wearing his stetson makes me misty-eyed with awe.Obviously he didn't travel alone, or was this candid photo taken by a helpful passer-by? It seems unlikely.
Kurt Cobain once said,"Jandek's not pretentious, but only pretentious people like his music.".....our Kurt may have made some god-awful rock music, but I'll give him his due, he was a very astute music fan......but pretentious?..Moi et Toi?....that comment made me wanna send him more K-Mart Ammo for his shotgun.

Sure I'm pretentious, but at least i'm not pretending I'm NOT!?

Compared to Jandek ,Nirvana are Daniel O'Donnell....in fact Daniel O'Donnell would have been a far more left-field frontman than the cliché ridden corpse Nirvana became.

If Cobain had the guts to actually reveal his apparent 'Demons' in a Jandek Style he probably would be still alive.....so luckily he didn't.Mainly because he wouldn't sell anymore records and no longer be the pop-star he craved to be despite his whinging about corporate rock whores and so-on and so-on(he just needed a slap really).
I dunno what train Jandek took that day, but it must have been a terrible journey listening to the slow agony of the songs in this collection.Like being waterboarded by a gang of pinned-up junkies,in a dark alley, but without the fun.Jandeks third class railway journey through life's darker moments has almost reached its Terminus.......whats so pretentious about that?

Tracklist:
1 I Talked To You Today 4:07
2 When I See You Again 2:52
3 The Image Of You 3:27
4 Close To You 3:22
5 You Took Me For A Ride 4:13
6 What Else Is There 2:16
7 Wouldn't You Agree 3:22
8 You Made Me Know It 2:45
9 Angel Moves 3:43
10 Thing Called Me 5:43
11 My Escape 6:50

DOWNLOAD from lifes railway terminus HERE!