February 2007

Saturday, February 24, 2007

Red Temple Spirits - 1989 - If Tomorrow I Were Leaving for Lhasa, I Wouldn't stay a Minute More

1. City of Millions
2. Soft Machine
3. Dive In Deep
4. Alice
5. Wild Hills
6. A Black Rain
7. Meltdown
8. Confusion
9. Rasinbowsend
10. Set The Controls for the Heart of the Sun

Los Angeles quartet Red Temple Spirits skillfully mix post-punk influences - mid-period Cure, Savage Republic, early (Death) Cult - with a loving dose of lysergic psychedelia (Syd Barrett and Roky Erickson are particular touchstones). Bassist Dino Paredes and guitarist Dallas Taylor coax entrancing drones and pulses from thier instruments with judicious uses of echoe and other effects, while shamanistic frontman William Faircloth (a colorful immigrant from Britain's original '60s psychedelic movement) delves into mysticism (Native American on the first album, Tibetan on the second) with a grace and passion rarely seen before.

Dancing to Restore an Eclipsed Moon is an astonishing debut. The luxurios packaging (doubleLP/single CD) mirrors the care put into the music, which tastefully incorporates flutes, bells, natural sounds (water, birds) to create a heady atmosphere of ritualistic ecstasy. Short catchy compositions like 'Dark Spirits' and 'Dreamings Ending' alternate with several long and complex pieces.

The follow-up album is far more direct, both in the melodic music and the lyrics, which turn towards external/environmental stimuli. As crystallized by the gorgeous 'Dive In Deep' and an incandescent cover of Pink Floyd's 'Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun,' the theme of hope for the magic and beauty of life in the face of despair remains. Prior to the Spirits, Faircloth lent his vocal ululations to the similarly psychedelic Ministry of Love, a trio that included guitar wiz Mark Nine. Although lacking the Red Temple Spirits' brilliant chemistry, there are some great moments on the five-track EP, including 'Living in the Moment' (a showcase for Nine's e-bow mastery) and Faircloth's touching ballad, 'You're Not On Your Own'

*(The Above Text is taken from the Trouser Press guide to records, written by Greg Fasolino)

Download Link :

http://rapidshare.com/files/18121878/RTS.rar

Monday, February 19, 2007

Radio Birdman - 1978 - Radios Appear + Burn my Eye EP

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=FYE5UD6X

Some Aussie punk for you guys...some of their tracks have a surf feel and they do a cover of the 13th Floor Elevators' song 'You're Gonna Miss Me'!

After the release of their debut LP, Radios Appear (the title comes from a lyric in the Blue Öyster Cult song "Dominance and Submission"), in Australia a year later, Radio Birdman seemed poised to break Aussie punk worldwide. And although the American label Sire (then the home of the Ramones) was quick to sign them and distribute Radios Appear internationally in 1978, there was a gap of three years before they released a second album, Living Eyes. During that time, dozens of other Aussie punk bands stole their thunder, and Radio Birdman split up almost immediately after Living Eyes was released. Sire never released the record outside of Australia, and Radio Birdman, who should have been the biggest band in Aussie punk, was now a highly regarded punk forefather.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Thin White Rope

Thin White Rope - 1990 - Sack Full Of Silver

1 Hidden Lands (3:04)
2 Sack Full of Silver (2:13)
3 Yoo Doo Right (6:04)
4 Napkin Song (1:31)
5 Americana/The Ghost (4:34)
6 Whirling Dervish (3:43)
7 Triangle (5:39)
8 Diesel Man (4:42)
9 On the Floe (3:43)
10 On the Floe (4:51)

Sack Full of Silver is, in many ways, one of Thin White Rope's most fully realized sets, blending the group's early alt-psychedelic influences and a growing taste for dusty Americana flavors. Having completed a 16-date tour of the Soviet Union, the group collected covers of Marty Robbins, Lee Hazlewood, and others for the Red Sun EP, followed shortly by this batch of originals penned during the trip overseas. Like all Thin White Rope releases, Sack Full of Silver is defined by the voice of Guy Kyser: the aural equivalent of the flat, parched, endless landscape his characters seem to inhabit. Sobering realizations, like dead ends, await them around every corner. In an environment where failure, desperation, and hopelessness are common currency, adding up one's losses and moving on feels like a great victory. It's clearly no easy task. "The Ghost" catches its subject in the moment before that turning point, looking ahead as a life of loss begins to flood in.

Emerging out of the final chords of "Americana" and "Desert Rock" it rises from the sound of wind-swept sand to a triumphant anthem in the mold of an old folk song. Revealing that they are working within a wider frame of reference, the group adapt Can's "Yoo Doo Right," distilling the original's 20 minutes into a compact, bursting rock number. Though the gray area in between these two styles produces less memorable results, Thin White Rope's brand of American roots has aged more gracefully than the work of some of their contemporaries. Sack Full of Silver remains as fine an introduction to Kyser's vision as any. ~ Nathan Bush, All Music Guide


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Thin White Rope - 1985 - Exploring The Axis

1. Down In The Desert
2. Disney Girl
3. Soundtrack
4. Lithium
5. Dead Grammas On A Train
6. Three Song, The
7. Eleven
8. Atomic Imagery
9. Real West, The
10. Exploring The Axis
11. Macy's Window
12. Rocket USA - (live)
13. Roger's Tongue

Review by Nathan Bush

Hailing from the northern California town of Davis, Thin White Rope was initially pegged as a proponent of the paisley underground movement. Such labeling, however, tells half the story at best. The list of bands the group went on to cover over the course of their ten-year career is actually more revealing. Songs by Suicide, the Stooges, Lee Hazlewood, Marty Robbins, Bob Dylan, Can, and a James Bond theme have all been rendered by the band in the studio and on-stage. That list goes a long way in explaining the mixture of raw, angular riffs, southern twang, and icy psychedelia that characterizes Exploring the Axis, the group's 1985 debut. What it does not convey, perhaps, is the relative bleakness of Thin White Rope's music.

Frontman Guy Kyser, guitarist Roger Kunkel, bassist Stephen Tesluk, and drummer Jozef Becker outline a series of barren landscapes, their instruments kicking up clouds of dust from the parched earth like a rollicking, rickety ghost-train headed south. At times Jeff Eyrich's productions approach the wintry heir of Martin Hannett's work with Joy Division. This climate is ideal for Kyser, who delivers tales of isolation, allusion, and death; his voice a perpetually unsteady quake.

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Monday, February 12, 2007

The Punks - 2005 - The Punks

The Punks - The Punks (80 MB)
Rave-Up Records
2005

1. My Time's Coming
2. Chains Of Madness
3. Darker Side
4. Drop Dead
5. Rocks Funeral
6. No Mercy
7. Drug Fueled Accident
8. Sinister Boy
9. Quick One


The Punks!!!! Ahhh, another long forgotten badass 1970's RnR band, this time from Detroit, Michigan. Heavily influenced by artists such as Iggy & The Stooges, MC5, & Blue Cheer. This is the 2005 reissue version put out by Italian label Rave-Up Records, (currently sold out and out of print) possibly the finest label still releasing records by relatively obscure and classic RnR/Garage/Punk/Glam bands.

Singer Frantic of The Punks

This is what Matt Gimmick had to say in October 2001 about The Punks, featured on the Motor City Music website (they also issued a Punks CD a few years ago, titled The Most Powerful Music On Earth, which more or less contains the same songs on this release, plus a few live versions):

"This Volume I collection of songs was recorded between 1975 and 1977. These tracks aren't from some slick dressed commercial over-rehearsed band of rock star wanna-be's. They were culled from a live performance, rehearsals and low buck studio recordings. It's High Energy - and best described by the word "raunch." If it were to be categorized, this CD should be filed under the Listen Loud section.

There were bands The Punks enjoyed listening to and seeing; groups such as The Underdogs, Unrelated Segments, Velvet Underground, MC5, The Stooges, SRC, early Alice Cooper, and Blue Cheer - the list goes on and on. This CD represents their answer and contribution to the demise of the late great 60's era, especially in and around the Metro Detroit area. After 1970 or so, the Detroit scene died, so the punks geared up and decided to make their own noise.

The studio tracks were preparation recordings for an anticipated recording contract with a major label that didn't materialize. "My Time's Comin', "Drop Dead" (a song about feeling good) and "Sinister Bly" were recorded at The Punks' Saline headquarters in Waterford, Michigan. "Chains of Madness," a song about being possessed, and "Drug Related Incident" were recorded at League G studios, utilizing old Motown Records recording equipment. Includes as well "Darker Side," "Rocks Funeral," and "No Mercy (For The Damned)" - a title and song for a follow-up to the Dirty Dozen movie, and "Quick One," about... well, you know! The two live cuts were from the infamous IAC Club in Pontiac, Michigan. These shows were crazy. The audiences were usually drunk, drugged up and rowdy as hell. The late great Lester Bangs of CREEM Magazine would show up with friends to rejuvenate his senses and fill his need for some loud train-wreck type rock'n'roll. "On The Bum," a tune about being a poor rock musician during the disco period, and "Always Had This Problem," - not really an upbeat outlook on life - are two cuts from a show in 1976. Plans are to release more live material on a second volume in the near future.

To witness The Punks doing it live was like a preparation for a major hangover the next morning. There was no enthusiastic jumping around by guitarists Steve Rockey, Alan Webber or bassist Rod McMahon. Lead singer "Frantic", a/k/a William Kuchon, took care of the craziness. Frantic had more energy than a kid on speed, and enjoyed working it out while drummer Craigstone J. Webshire III was content to shred drumsticks the size of logs in the pursuit of annihilating his drum kit. It was loud and aggressive music, fast and rockin', at times slow and heavy with nontraditional guitar interactions of feedback/wah wah/distortion mixed with driving bass runs and an atomic bomb relentless backbeat. Add Frantic's stage presence - a smiling defiant singer with a dislike of the wimpy mainstream acts of the day coupled with a stance on stage that projected a "Hey! Let's get crazy, let's go over the top because there ain't no rules" attitude. Frantic believed he was just a voice cryin' in the wilderness, and he stood proud with an obnoxious-repetitious-ear splitting band of brothers behind him that loved to crank it up. It was destruction volume and energy - not so clean, nice or politically correct in any way, shape, form or fashion. At the time there was no media-coined "punk rock." There were no safety-pinned spike-haired, hey-look-at-me-I'm-tougher-than-you fashion hounds. There was just this band called The Punks, who had no delusional ideas of who they were or what they were trying to accomplish. So sit back, crank it up, and enjoy."

You heard what the man said; Sit back, crank it up, and enjoy!

Wednesday, February 7, 2007

Sunnyboys - This Is Real (Singles/Live/Rare)

CD 1 Studio Side: Singles A&B, Rare and Unreleased

Love to Rule/Stop & Think /To the Bone /The Seeker/What You Need/Tomorrow Will Be Fine /Happy Man /Alone With You /Guts of Iron/Physical Jerk /My Only Friend /Tell Me What You Say/You Need A Friend/No Love Around/This Is Real /Pain/Show Me Some Discipline/Love in A Box/Comes As No Surprise /Bottom Of My Heart /You Need A Friend

CD 2: Live 1981 - 1982

Collectively recorded at the Governors Pleasure, The Rocks, Sydney, January 1981; Bombay Rock, Melbourne, February 1981; Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne, January 1982 and the Family Inn, Rydalmere, Sydney, February 1982.

Why Do I Cry/Guts Of Iron /Love to Rule /Strategy Idol /Tomorrow Will Be Fine /My Only Friend /Alone With You/What You Need /I'm Shakin'/Tunnel Of Love/I Don't Want You /Happy Man /I Can't Talk to You /The Seeker /I Want to Be Alone /Let You Go /Thrill /I'm No Satisfied /Trouble in My Brain /You Need A Friend /Happy Birthday

Sydney band The Sunnyboys remain one of the most highly regarded and best-loved bands of the Australian 'post-punk' era. Fronted by the enigmatic and youthful singer/songwriter cum guitarist Jeremy Oxley, the band breathed some freshness and vitality into the Sydney music scene in the early 80s. Essentially The Sunnyboys wore their influences on their sleeve; The Remains, The Flamin' Groovies, The Kinks and The Beatles with a dash of Detroit muscle thrown in for good measure. They produced melodic power pop classics.The Sunnyboys announced their break-up in June 1984.

A MUST HAVE !!!

Download Links :
http://rapidshare.com/files/15272649/sunnyboys_studio_1.rar
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Thursday, February 1, 2007

Brainbombs - 2000 - Singles Compilation [Sweden]

Brainbombs - 2000 - Singles Compilation [Sweden]

01 - Jack the Ripper Lover

02 - No End

03 - Anne Frank

04 - No Guilt

05 - No Place

06 - No Guilt

07 - Wishing a Slow Death

08 - Stacy

09 - It's a Burning Hell

10 - Second Coming

11 - Psychout Crash Kid

12 - I Detta Satans Rum

The Brainbombs are Swedish, but anyone expecting cute, natty garage rockers like the Hives or psychedelic vikings like the Soundtrack of Our Lives should immediately recalibrate their heads. Imagine early Throbbing Gristle's sociopathic obsessions with rape and murder (minus the performance-art pretensions) mixed with the willful amateurism of Half Japanese, and that's still only the half of it. The creepy thing about the Brainbombs is that unlike, say, G.G. Allin, who was clearly simply unhinged, this lot explores its seedy obsessions with a detached, almost offhand quality that makes the snuff-film fantasies of songs like "No End" that much ickier. Musically, these 12 songs are an intriguing blend of proto-punk stomp and arty explorations (think of pre-Pere Ubu art-punk weirdos like the Electric Eels), but the lyrics will be a dealbreaker for many.

[info: allmusic.com]

January 2007

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

17 Pygmies - 1983 - Hatikva

17Pygmies - Hatikva

Philip Drucker, alias Jackson Del Ray, is a curious and somewhat mysterious figure whose music is undeservedly little known. Drucker was an art student who first came to most people's notice as a founding member of Savage Republic. The band was initially musically primitive, with frequently out-of-tune instruments backed by percussion as simple as Drucker pounding on a 50-gallon oil drum, but there were hints of Greek and Middle Eastern music in their sound. As the band matured, these elements became more pronounced, but so did the rivalry between guitarist Bruce Licher and Drucker over who was in charge of the band. A close associate remembers that virtually every rehearsal ended with a bitter argument, or at least with one member of the band sulking in a corner somewhere.

Drucker quit at least twice only to rejoin the band, and in 1982 he started a side project called Seventeen Pygmies with fellow Savage Republic alumnus Robert Loveless and drummer/vocalist Debbie Spinelli. The release of the Hatikva EP in 1983 showed that the new band was vastly more sophisticated than the old and gave a strong clue regarding the source of the more interesting elements in Savage Republic's sound. The Middle Eastern stylings on Hatikva are much more pronounced, and both the songs and arrangements are much more sophisticated. Seventeen Pygmies released two more full-length records, Captured in Ice and Jedda by the Sea, which gradually moved away from the folk influences and toward a soft, distanced, and melancholy sound. ~ Richard Foss, All Music Guide

Drucker and Loveless launched a side band, 17 Pygmies, to delve into lighter, more melodic music than Savage Republic. Retaining the group's tribal percussion and Arabic feel, they added electronic keyboards for Hatikva, an EP which crosses Emerson, Lake & Palmer's "The Sheriff," a spaghetti western soundtrack and a Caribbean rhythm fest. Only a thousand copies were originally pressed, but it was reissued by an Italian label. (Trouser Press)


Hatikva was 17 Pygmies' first release. It came out on Resistance label RR-0001), in 1983, in a limited edition of 1000 copies. Later (1988) reissued on the italian label Viva (REVI-003) again in 1000 copies and in 1995 on the Lazy Dog/Meshcalina Productions in Greece in a CD including Jedda By the Sea & Hatikva.
Cover art by Robert Loveless
Hand Colored by The Pigs and Friends!!!


Line-up: Jackson Del Ray, Michael Kory, Robert Loveless, Debbie Spinelli.



SIDE 1
Lawrence of Arabia
Child Bride
Cheganca

SIDE 2
To No Avails
Vows



cover of the italian reissue

After a coincidental 17 year absence, Jackson Del Rey and Louise Bialik have revived the 17 Pygmies name, returning with a seasoned elegance, not a vengeance as might be expected from hints by both Del Rey's vigorous 2005 release I Am the Light and for a collective once noted as a reference point to a young Godspeed You Black Emperor.

In 2005 Philip Drucker released I am the Light as Del Rey & the Sun Kings, an album with some brutal in-your-face moments with rocking guitars and guttural vocals. It's the rare points of elegant beauty, however, like the instrumental "Rose Garden (for Saadi)" which are reminiscent of a song like "Kristalnacht" from Welcome, and perhaps it was the reception of a strong track like this which made him reconsider the 17 Pygmies thing. I'm glad he did. 17 Pygmies resurfaced in 2006 with a 7" single "Last Train"/"Mocha Polka." The A-side with its drum machine and synth recordings hints more to the pop aesthetics of Captured In Ice period while the instrumental B-side is a fiery accordion, clarinet, drum and string jam. 13 Blackbirds is far more subdued, graceful, and tender.

13 Blackbirds is the 17 Pygmies of Welcome, except there's no goofy interludes, Philip Drucker has reclaimed the name Jackson Del Rey and Jeff Brenneman (an original member of White Glove test) has joined Louise Bialik seemingly at the center of the group, once again joined by various other players of stringed instruments and singers. While first listens immediately demonstrate the fantastic piano, guitar, and vocal work, they also show the group's very calculated arrangement—like the organic/acoustic and unique soul mashing like Blood-era This Mortal Coil and Lovetta Pippen-era His Name Is Alive—subsequent repeat listens over time bring out the great strength in the songwriting. Songs like the simple guitar and vocal "Cras Amet" or the instrumental piano melody of "Ubi Sunt?" I can hear long after they're over while the string arrangement on "Lila Pausa" is out of this world. The vocals of the song "Lotus" are buried deep in echoes and reverb while prominent beats like some of the best Scala music from the '90s.

Packaged in a very Constellation Records-looking earthy gatefold cardboard sleeve, 13 Blackbirds is packaged with 13 Lotus, a CD of 13 remixes and reinventions of the song Lotus by various artists. It's filled with a couple beat-friendly takes, like the "Bum 'n Bass Drop" version by Freakshot and the hip-hop "Notorious P.Y.G." version from once 2Pac remixer Lea Reis. Jo Gabriel's sparse piano version is probably the most striking while Echo Wanderer give two echoey versions which are a throwback to the spacey dub/rock overlap that signalled the untimely end of shoegazing in the mid-'90s. It's a complete contrast to 13 Blackbirds but nothing is surprising me about 17 Pygmies now that they've surprised us all by their return.

I'm excited that 17 Pygmies have returned. In an effort that isn't unlike their Welcome album, 13 Blackbirds/13 Lotus is quite ambitious. The payoff here I feel is far more enjoyable, however. If anybody's wondering where Debbie Spinelli ended up, her creepy group the Spirit Girls also have a release on the Trakwerx label. I hope that with this Trakwerx label the 17 Pygmies back catalogue will become available again, but as the notes say in the sketchy looking 1995 CD of Jedda By the Sea/Hatikva, my guess is that some of those masters are long lost. Of course, you could always try digging around auction websites for this stuff but with the recently re-sparked interest in Savage Republic, the competition for this stuff will be fierce. With any luck 17 Pygmies are forming some sort of live ensemble, and in the age of myspace, they seem quite approachable and amicable, so a letter campaign to them probably can't hurt. (Written by Jon Whitney)

Links
Marnie's "Songs Hurt Me"
Paniolo's "City of Refuge" - in both Jackson Del Rey was involved
Go to Trakwerx blog to read more reviews
Go to Trakwerx Label for the above mentioned new releases
Go to MySpace.com to hear some songs from them.

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

16 Horsepower - 2002 - Live at Lowlands Festival, Holland (25-08-2002)

Setlist

01.Outlaw Song
02.For Heaven's Sake
03.Black Bush
04.Sinnerman
05.Blessed Persistance
06.Clogger
07.Single Girl
08.My Narrow Mind
09.Splinters
10.Brimstone Rock
11.Sac of Religion
12.Poor Mouth
13.Heel on the Shovel

ripped @192kbps
with cd covers

enjoy!

your download link:
http://rapidshare.com/files/11121224/16_HP-_25-08-02_live_at_lowlands_festival.rar

Sunday, January 7, 2007

Medusa Cyclone - 1995 - Medusa Cyclone

1 Gravity Serpent
2 Burner
3 X-Plodo Sun Hat
4 Black Dawn
5 Chemical
6 Inch of Mercury
7 Half Doll Violet Star
8 Atomic Hand
9 Dream House
10 Assigned Frequency
11 Helium Head

The hypnotic world of Medusa Cyclone began in 1992, following the breakup of
legendary Detroit psych/punk outfit ViV Akauldren. ViV keyboardist and Medusa Cyclone
frontman, Keir McDonald, wanted to continue the space-rock approach that made ViV
famous on both sides of the Atlantic. Medusa Cyclones first release was in 1992 on Manta
Ray Fleet, a Detroit-based 7 label started by McDonald and Chris Girard. Although Manta
Ray Fleet worked in small runs of about 200, the label enjoyed a strong following in the lofi
underground of the early 1990s. Early fans included Stephen Malkmus and Mark Ibold of
Pavement.

Eventually, a split single was released with the lo-fi legends in 1996--
Pavement Dancing with the Elders b/w Medusa Cyclone--Chemical. A self-titled CD---
Medusa Cyclone--soon followed to considerable critical acclaim. Standout tracks included:
Chemical-a lethal sonic mix of Can, Faust and Wire, Dream House-a seductive narcotic
from the same planet as Syd Barrett, and Helium Head, a sonic vortex leading to another
dimension. Medusa Cyclones shows during this time could best be described as an echocharged
sonic assault taking the audience to the world beyond beyond. Gigs included
support dates for Pavement, Bardo Pond and Cul de Sac.

A second CD, Mr. Devil, was
released in 1998. The album was a full dose of sonic madness and included The Smith
Can the Devils spawn of trance rock, End Cloud an underwater dream on a 90 degree
summer day and Invisible World a Japanese gamelan-influenced gem blurring the line
between time and space. During this period, things were looking good. Mr. Devil was
doing well in Finland and the UK, and had generated chart activity on CMJ. It was
especially popular in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. But when NATO began its security action
against the Milosovic regime, airplay stopped after a government takeover of the national
public radio station.

Three years have passed since Mr. Devil and much has changed for
Medusa Cyclone. Still, one thing that hasnt has been McDonalds need to dream another
record. So he enlisted the help of legendary Detroit drummer, Mike Alonso-- Five Horse
Johnson, Speedball, Bantam Rooster plus other Detroit luminaries: John Nash, The
Alphabet, Volebeats, Matt Smiths Outrageous Cherry, Robert Wonnacotts RF Energy and
McDonalds brother, Gavin. The result is nothing less than Medusa Cyclone's best record
yet.

source: http://cdbaby.com/cd/medusacyclone1

Download Link 1:
http://rapidshare.com/files/10543691/medusa_cyclone.rar

Download Link 2:
http://rapidshare.com/files/10508578/helium_head.rar

Saturday, January 6, 2007

The Leaving Trains - 1997 - Favorite Mood Swings : Greatest Hits

1. Cigarette Motel
2. She's Looking At You
3. A Drunker Version Of You
4. Black
5. What Cissy Said
6. With Dr. A.W.O.L.
7. 27 Days
8. So Fucked Up
9. Temporal Slut
10. Sue Wants To Sleep
11. The Worst
12. Any Old Time
13. Dude The Cat
14. I Love You
15. Dream Until You're Sore
16. Submariney
17. Relapse, Recover
18. Fuck You, God!
19. Gas, Grass Or Ass
20. Bob Hope
21. Rock 'N' Roll Murder
22. Kids Wanna Know
23. Ice Cream Truck
24. Osmosis
25. Stowaway

Too many indie bands have never really learned how to rock & roll. Fortunately, for 18 years, L.A.'s Leaving Trains have never forgotten. Not many of their eight LPs have been true masterpieces (there is one for sure: 1986's killer Kill Tunes, which serves up the first four tracks here); Singer/guitarist "Falling" James Moreland, the band's lone constant, always insists on warts-'n'-all, crank-'em-up, let-'em-fly productions. Hey, he was doing that long before it became fashionable (before Sebadoh and GBV even formed), without ever resorting to lo-fi home studio production. Every Trains record has sounded loud, not cheap! So while Moreland can be accused of inconsistency, both in his albums and his myriad lineups, there's no denying that Moreland's untamed, unwieldy, humming punk-'n'-roll records have rumbled through a dozen post-R&B rock & roll styles with real abandon. This collection leaves today's legions of smug and ironic, or (most of all) horribly insular, one-dimensional bands gasping in the restrictive boxes they've nailed themselves into. Thus, now is a good time for a Trains overview -- a smart idea for a hit-and-miss band, too. There's not a boring minute on this extended-length, 25-cut CD. Perhaps a case can be made that two dozen tracks are AWOL, but FMS heads for the songs that smack one silly in adrenaline rush and pent-up pounding. In your face? You betcha! In short, Moreland wants to mess with you, because he thinks rock is a challenge, an incitement, a need to get wild and free, not a polite party or a postmodern reflection. This CD is the best evidence that Leaving Trains would gladly destroy your party instead, with the sheer force of brash, soul, chops, and attitude, and they won't wait around for your gratitude.

AMG


DownloadLink:

http://rapidshare.com/files/10402757/leavingtrains.rar.html

The Screaming Tribesmen - 1987 - Bones + Flowers

1. I've Got a Feeling
2. Igloo
3. She Said
4. Girl in My Dreams
5. Casualty of Love
6. In His Shoes
7. Our Time at Last
8. Dream Away
9. Talk Another Language
10. Living Vampyre
11. Colour Me Gone
12. Don't Turn Away

Bones + Flowers is the most appealing effort by Australian combo Screaming Tribesmen -- a melodic pop album that resembles a muscular Let's Active. "I've Got a Feeling" was distributed internationally and featured on MTV's 120 Minutes at the time, and the Tribesmen's appearance in the midst of the Church's breakthrough with Starfish seemed to presage an Australian Invasion that never came to pass. Screaming Tribesmen might have better reached the "alternative" audience if they hadn't looked like a heavy metal band; likewise, the band's name and album art didn't come close to matching the mood of their music. The Tribesmen didn't last long after the commercial disappointment of Bones + Flowers, but the album remains a sturdy collection of recordings, with the catchy, jangly "Girl in My Dreams" and "Dream Away" as highlights.

AMG


The Screaming Tribesmen was a band formed in Brisbane by Mick Medew, John Hartley & Murray Shepherd. They took the Australian independent scene by storm with a series of singles on Citadel Records. Their earliest hit "Igloo" was penned by Medew and Died Pretty frontman Ron Peno.

After relocation to Sydney, and a number of line-up changes the band settled on its most successful lineup of Medew, ex-Radio Birdman & The Hitmen guitarist Chris Masuak, bass player Bob Wackley & drummer Warwick Fraser (ex-Feather & Hoi Polloi) who replaced Michael Charles after the recording of the "Date With A Vampyre" EP.

The "Vampyre" EP reigned at the top of the Australian independent charts for over 40 weeks, while the band toured constantly in support. The follow up "Top of the Town" EP released on the boutique Rattlesnake Records label saw a change in direction for the band as it morphed into the sound of their first full length release "Bones and Flowers".

"Ive Got A Feeling" - Rage - 1988

The band toured the US on the strength of the album and at home they enjoyed a run of Australian Alternative #1 hits as well as gaining Stateside attention with regular airplay on the US College Radio circuit. Their 1988 single "I've Got a Feeling" featured heavily on US MTV's 120 Minutes, hitting #1 on the KROQ charts in LA and #7 on Billboard's modern rock chart.

There's nothing tribal about the sound of these Aussies, and they don't scream either. Their music is full of pop-song harmonies, including "oohh" and "ahh" background singing, jangle chords and repeated refrains. From beginnings as a post-Ramones punky ensemble (on the first four-track EP), they've gone through an assortment of members and sonic textures but all of their releases have been exercises in good old pop-rock. Move a Little Closer, a compilation of the band's first two Australian singles ("Igloo" and "A Stand Alone") could easily mix and match with a stack of mod-revival albums, while the squealier and grungier guitar chords of Date with a Vampyre (also four songs) nudge their sound closer to garage territory.

Top of the Town contains six songs by a new lineup that reveals an ongoing transition towards more mainstream pop-rock. "You Better Run" is the most impressive track, and a fair precursor to the excellent Bones + Flowers. The album launches the Tribesmen into a new international league, offering richly played rock-melody songwriting (by ex-Radio Birdman guitarist/pianist/producer Chris "Klondike" Masuak and singer/guitarist Mick Medew) that's got all the needed attributes for major stardom. Standouts: a new version of "Igloo," the wittily '60sish "Our Time at Last," the peppy Anglo-popping "Dream Away" and the Rockpiling "Living Vampire." The CD has two bonus tracks.

Despite the album's appeal and high commercial prospects, nothing much came of Bones + Flowers. By the time of the disappointing 1989 12-inch (five songs, including covers of Lou Reed and the Dictators), Medew was the only member remaining from the LP's lineup.

[Andrea 'Enthal/Ira Robbins]

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Spherical Objects

Spherical Objects - 1978 - Past and Parcel

01.Born To Pay
02.Situation Comedy
03.You Can Become
04.The Crystal Tree
05.If I Can Choose (Oh Babe)
06.Lover Flow
07.Drama Queen
08.The Face I Want To See
09.What Goes On
10.Past And Parcel

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spherical Objects - 1979 - Eliptical Optimism

01. Metropolis
02. Show Me
03. Comedians
04. Eliptical Optimism
05. Ten To Nine
06. Another Technique
07. I Should Have Left Him
08. It's So Good To Be Alive (Tonight)
09. Lying Again
10. I Don't Remember
11. Walk Away
12. Lucy
13. I Remember You

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Spherical Objects - 1980 - Further Ellipses

01 Regular Condition
02 Take A Chance
03 The Root
04 Don't Worry About Me
05 The Final Part
06 Buy It
07 Moving On The Run
08 Mama Tried
09 Places And Spaces
10 The Conductor-Set Free

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Spherical Objects - 1981 - No Man's Land

01 One Way Out
02 Terminal Romance
03 Cruelest Twist
04 Jericho
05 Memories In Blue
06 Twist
07 Don't Ask
08 Wipe
09 Resting Place
10 No Man's Land

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Manchester's Spherical Objects were led by Steve Solamar, a singer with an intensely personal viewpoint. His songs concern typical subject matter, but utter lack of selfconsciousness invests his writing with more openness and introspection than you're probably hoping to hear. . .
Elliptical Optimism has the same lineup and a more textured sound, featuring organ (prominently) and trumpet (occasionally). The songs are instrumentally inventive. Further Ellipses takes a danceable turn, playing it smooth and rhythmic with more horns and synthesizer and less guitar. Solamar's singing continues to resemble David Thomas. The musical development is impressive, the songs are good. No Man's Land, which announces itself to be the final Spherical Objects album, has a different lineup from the previous three and sounds it. Gone are the keyboards and horns, replaced by rudimentary guitar/bass/drums plus patches of Solamar's wailing harmonica. There are some very pretty songs that are slowed down to add emotion, but overall the initial impression isn't as strong as Further Ellipses. A strange way to go out, No Man's Land is a record that slowly reveals itself to be quite lovely in spots. With the help of Manchester indie scene fixture Steve Miro, Solamar managed to dam his stream-of-consciousness long enough to allow for the collection of the Noyes Brothers' atypically unrevealing double-LP set. More experimental than the Objects' concurrent work, Sheep from Goats owes more than a little to German groups like Can. While a few of the redundant, largely free-from instrumentals could easily be dispensed with, there are moments worth remembering, from the amusing (an apparent Fall parody dubbed "Bo Scat Um I.D.") to the lovely (the side-long "It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time") to the freakishly prescient (an excursion into what sounds like modern-day computer-enhanced hip-hop christened "Byte to Beat").

Tuesday, January 2, 2007

The Heart Throbs - 1990 - Cleopatra Grip

The Heart Throbs - 1990 - Cleopatra Grip

01 Tossed Away (3:56)
02 Dreamtime (3:54)
03 Big Commotion (Remix) (5:04)
04 In Vain (4:30)
05 Slip & Slide (3:19)
06 Here I Hide (Remix) (4:32)
07 Calavera (6:01)
08 I Wonder Why (3:31)
09 She's In A Trance (3:44)
10 Blood From A Stone (Remix) (3:25)
11 Kiss Me When I'm Starving (4:34)
12 White Laughter (5:15)

* Rose Carlotti - Lead Vocals/Guitar
* Rachel Carlotti - Bass/Backing Vocals
* Mark Slide - Drums
* Stephen Ward - Keyboards
* Alan Barclay - Guitar

The debut album by Liverpool's Heart Throbs (led by the twin sisters of late Echo & the Bunnymen drummer Pete DeFrietas) slots neatly into the overriding musical styles of U.K. indie pop circa 1990, mixing the post-punk directness of the Primitives, the swirling, dreamlike textures of the shoegazers, and the flirtations with dance rhythms introduced by the previous summer's Madchester explosion. However, the Heart Throbs definitely had their own unique style; for one thing, singer Rose Carlotti's lyrics, from the suggestive album title on down, are forthrightly female-centric in the manner of the Au Pairs' Lesley Woods or early PJ Harvey. It can be difficult to hear Carlotti behind Martin Hannett's echoey, hollow production, which shifts the guitars to the forefront, but the intent of songs like "She's in a Trance" and the searing, My Bloody Valentine-like "Kiss Me When I'm Starving" remains clear regardless. The slightly poppier singles "Tossed Away" and "Dreamtime" are the album's highlights but, while a couple of the songs coast by simply on atmosphere, Cleopatra Grip is a luxurious and compelling listen. ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide