★Superior Viaduct
Iceland
Originally released in 1979, Iceland is Richard Pinhas' third solo album and his first following the breakup of Heldon. While moving away from the maximalism of his old band, paring down Heldon's hybrid of otherworldly sci-fi imagery and pummeling psych-prog riffs, the journey through Iceland is decidedly more inward. Consisting of longer, brooding synth-based pieces as well as short proto-industrial études and interstitial sketches, Iceland features Pinhas' delay-ridden electric guitar, pulsat…
Go to Town
The Pin Group went back into the studio in January 1982 to record their third and final classic release. Featuring an expanded five-piece lineup with Mary Heney on guitar/vocals and Peter Fryer on viola, Go To Town is a work of taut perfection. Showcasing the band's dramatic chiaroscuro textures and arresting lyrics, "Long Night" and "When I Tell You" make staggeringly clear how much sonic ground The Pin Group covered in their unfortunately short tenure.
Rosemary Lane
Release Date on May 5th. By the time Rosemary Lane was released in 1971, Bert Jansch had covered a great deal of territory on numerous albums as a solo artist, collaborations with John Renbourn and records by the band in which he and Renbourn sang and played guitar, Pentangle. Returning to the intimate economy of his self-titled debut LP from a half-dozen or so years earlier, Rosemary Lane was recorded on portable equipment by engineer/producer Bill Leader and featured Jansch with no accompani…
Birthday Blues
Release Date on May 5th. Bert Jansch's freewheeling fifth album, Birthday Blues, occupies a unique place in his solo discography. Released in 1969, the same year Basket of Light propelled Pentangle into the UK pop charts, Birthday Blues almost sounds like a Pentangle LP missing John Renbourn and Jacqui McShee. Backed-up by bandmates Danny Thompson and Terry Cox, Jansch neither holds back his characteristic moodiness nor takes himself too seriously. What's more, Jansch is in love. Heather Rosem…
Jack Orion
Jack Orion, Bert Jansch's third album, may have surprised some fans upon its 1966 release, as it features no original compositions by Jansch. While nearly all of the eight tracks (four of which include guitarist John Renbourn) are interpretations of traditional folk songs, Jansch's experimental approach breathes new life into this repertoire through his exploratory use of open tunings and passionate, gritty vocals.According to Melody Maker, "his interpretations illuminate the songs from a comple…
Forever Came Today
In the wake of the star-filled A Minute To Pray A Second To Die, The Flesh Eaters' frontman Chris D. assembled a leaner, meaner band to deliver his next unbound vision. Forever Came Today, the group's third full-length album, was originally released on Ruby Records in 1982 and features Don Kirk on guitar, Robyn Jameson on bass, Chris Wahl on drums, Steve Berlin on sax and Chris D.'s unmistakable voice."My Life To Live" and "Shallow Water" are masterfully wrought punk tunes, reverberating with he…
It Don't Bother Me
Bert Jansch recorded his second album in 1965, just after his self-titled debut earlier that same year. The sessions were a step-up from the intimate, field-recording setting of his first album, although still not labored over too much in the studio. 'I figured that the faster I put down the tracks, the faster I could get out of the place,' Jansch told NME, 'so I just ordered about a dozen bottles of wine, put the microphone in front of me and off I went, for three hours.' The lyrics of I…
I Don't Remember Now / I Don't Want To Talk About It
Very necessary reissue of the minimal wave holy grail: John Bender’s self-released debut.
Triptych of poisoners
The first-time vinyl reissue of the sole album from UK DIY legends Milk From Cheltenham, originally released in 1983 on famed It's War Boys imprint, is recommended for fans of Swell Maps, The Faust Tapes and LAFMS (a reference could be found to This Heat, and Chris Cutler's bands Henry Cow and Art Bears)"Flashback to no-when (1978) in a musty cellar beneath a record store in Brixton, later to become the humble 8-track recording studio of It's War Boys founded by Amos (of The Homosexuals fame) in…
Pink Section
Named after San Francisco Chronicle's pink-hued arts and entertainment guide, Pink Section coalesced at SF Art Institute and performed their first show at the legendary Deaf Club on Valentine's Day, 1979. These self-taught musicians existed on the fringe (even in the local underground scene), producing an unusual brand of off-kilter post-punk against a backdrop of Dadaist aesthetics. The group itself was strangely symmetrical: singer Judy Gittelsohn and drummer Carol Detweiler (both members of I…
Youth In Mourning LP
Philip Johnson, a lost figure in the dark waters of early industrial music, self-released over 25 tapes starting in the late '70s. As a part of the "cassette culture" in the UK, he produced ethereal soundscapes, damaged electronics and undanceable drum patterns, along with homemade j-cards. For his first and only LP, 1982's Youth In Mourning, Philip Johnson further refined his approach with mesmerizing audio collages and Mark-E-Smith-ian vocals to make one of the most unique documents of the era…