Various Close To The Noise Floor Presents Noise Reduction System (Formative European Electronica 1974-1984)

Various Close To The Noise Floor Presents Noise Reduction System (Formative European Electronica 1974-1984)

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During the late '70s and early '80s, a crop of British experimentalists emerged with positions on conventional rock music that ranged from indifferent to hostile. Prompted by early electronic music and the advancements made by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Tangerine Dream, Kraftwerk, and Throbbing Gristle -- and eventually their peers -- they plied their trade on equipment with names like EMS Synthi A, EDP Wasp, Korg MS-10, and ARP Odyssey. For many of them, guitars and drum kits were obsolete. Synthesizers, drum machines, and tape delay units, many of them shrinking in size and cost, were the present and future way to sculpt jerking noises or strange pop songs. The fledgling musicians could record in bedrooms and release the results on cassette, or they could ally with independent labels and operate at studios like Blackwing, a haven for Mute and 4AD artists such as Depeche Mode and Cocteau Twins. Released by Cherry Red, one of those original outlets for music of the margins, Close to the Noise Floor: Formative UK Electronica 1975-1984 collects four discs of the alternately thrilling, grim, silly, and just plain bizarre stuff. Some of the groups, such as Blancmange, the Human League, and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, went commercial after they released their selected inclusions, while the likes of Wire's Bruce Gilbert and Graham Lewis appear here with a divergence into sound manipulation that resembles animal calls. Some of these tracks have appeared on widely available albums and compilations. The making of this set must have been an arduous undertaking, however, as the majority of the tracks were originally issued on cassettes and 7" vinyl in small quantities, previously heard by few sets of ears. Among the highlights of the accidentally obtainable and deliberately obscure: Thomas Leer's spangly narrative "Tight as a Drum," Adrian Smith's skeletal and crepuscular "Joe Goes to New York," and British Standard Unit's mutilation of Rod Stewart's "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" There's also Gerry & the Holograms' delightful self-titled theme song, placed on high rotation by temporary WPIX DJ Frank Zappa. The Mute massive -- Cabaret Voltaire, Robert Rental, and so forth -- are surprisingly absent, though they're represented somewhat by Alan Burnham's "Music to Save the World By," produced by label boss Daniel Miller (aka the Normal, the Silicon Teens). Given that so much scarce material is discerningly compiled here, it's hard to gripe about it and other exclusions. A great essay and a fair portion of the track-by-track notes come from Dave Henderson, who documented the global post-punk electronic underground as it developed, after being lured by "reading dismissive reviews in the weekly music press." Henderson's own group, Worldbackwards, contribute a glum but enchanting ballad that drones and stirs, then fades out to a bit of Sylvia Plath's "Lazy Lazarus." Henderson's assessment? "Man, we were pretentious."

Various Harmony In My Head UK Power Pop & New Wave 1977-81

Various Harmony In My Head UK Power Pop & New Wave 1977-81

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Despite the way it sometimes seems, punk wasn't the only thing happening in the U.K. during the mid-'70s. A whole bunch of bands took the good-natured feel of pub rock, the hooky melodies of the original British Invasion, and the energy of punk to come up with their own kind of power pop. It was definitely inspired by the skinny-tie power pop scene happening in the U.S., but much of it had sharper, more ragged hooks. A few artists came out of this scene to have bigger careers, like Elvis Costello and Squeeze, and some bands were good enough to have lasting power, like Buzzcocks and Wreckless Eric, but a majority of the bands playing this jumpy, catchy pop were relegated to the dustbin pretty quickly. Cherry Red's 2018 release Harmony in My Head: UK Power Pop & New Wave 1977-81 seeks to redress this injustice by unearthing the good, great, weird, and genius acts of the era over the course of three discs that will have power pop fans beside themselves with nervy joy. The set's compiler, David Wells, does a great job of sprinkling in some well-known artists like Nick Lowe, Elvis Costello, and Buzzcocks, critical faves like the Monochrome Set, and power pop heroes such as Eddie & the Hot Rods and Bram Tchaikovsky among the one-offs, misfits, never-weres, and no-hit wonders that make up the rest of the set. It's a deep, deep dive into the underground that comes back with a very high gem-to-junk ratio. In fact, it's hard to single out anything for the latter column since the bands chosen are all very familiar with how to put together at least one song with a vibrant hook, unstoppable energy, and loads of enthusiasm. Some of the songs lean more toward punk (the Nips' "Happy Song," Chelsea's "Look at the Outside"), some are twitchy and strange like the best oddball new wave (the Dodgems' "Science Fiction [Baby You're So]," Those Naughty Lumps' "Down at the Zoo), and some give their U.S. counterparts a run in the chirpy pop department (the Monos!' "UFO," the Letters' "Don't Want You Back"). Mostly though, the collection charts that fleeting moment when punk, power pop, and new wave came together magically to create something new, great, and timeless. Songs like Fast Cars' "You're So Funny," Rich Kids' "Rich Kids," and the Users' "Now That It's Over" sound as fresh and vital as when they were first released. That applies to the whole set, which is required listening for anyone who loved the sound at the time or who loves the raft of bands who have been aping this sound with varying degrees of success in the many years that followed.

Various Action Time Vision A Story Of Independent UK Punk 1976-1979

Various Action Time Vision A Story Of Independent UK Punk 1976-1979

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In the early years of the punk rock explosion of the '70s, the record industry didn't know what to make of the aggressive new sound. Punk certainly seemed like the coming thing, but no one seemed sure of how to sell music that was built around open disrespect for authority figures -- which in the eyes of the punks included the music industry. Thankfully, punk was born with a passionate desire to document itself, and if the major labels weren't going to put punk rock on records, the punks would do it themselves. No previous rock movement was more closely associated with independent labels and the D.I.Y. philosophy than punk, and countless indie labels were launched to commit fresh talent to vinyl. Action Time Vision: A Story of Independent U.K. Punk 1976-1979 is an exhaustive and wildly entertaining four-volume box set that examines both the indie label scene in the United Kingdom as well as the bands that emerged on homegrown labels. The set opens, fittingly enough, with "New Rose" by the Damned, widely acknowledged as the first British punk single and the release that turned Stiff Records into a going concern. Just as that record still sounds fresh and explosive four decades later, nearly all of the 111 songs on Action Time Vision are filled with energy, passion, and a sense of discovery, as the musicians strive to find their place in a new musical landscape and have fun doing it. This set is also a potent reminder that early punk was never as monochromatic as many liked to believe (or as samey as U.K. punk would become in the '80s). Along with the foursquare punk attack of the Lurkers, the Cortinas, Sham 69, and many others, there's the speeded-up pub rock of Fruit Eating Bears, the joyous power pop of the Stoat, the prog-inspired twists and turns of Psykik Voltz, the arty minimalism of English Subtitles, the psych-inspired surrealism of Victim, the edgy cool of the Flys, and the acoustic guitar in a bedsit parody/tribute of Patrik Fitzgerald. And while the set includes lots of familiar names, the compilers have included plenty of obscurities that often prove to be as satisfying as the best-known tracks, another reminder of how fertile this era truly was. (There are also a number of tracks from artists who would go on to greater fame in the future, such as Billy Bragg in Riff Raff, Kevin Rowland in the Killjoys, and Shane MacGowan in the Nipple Erectors.) The liner notes from Andy Davis are a great read, and an impressive history of the many bands and labels featured here. This is hardly the first or best study of the U.K. punk scene of the '70s, but Action Time Vision is an impressive tribute to the early stirrings of indie culture in England, and it's great listening throughout.

Various Silhouettes & Statues (A Gothic Revolution 1978 - 1986)

Various Silhouettes & Statues (A Gothic Revolution 1978 - 1986)

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It's little surprise that Cherry Red - which over the fast few years has absolutely reinvented itself into a top-notch reissue and scene overview empire - is behind the latest attempt to clarify the questions of what goth is. There have been goth boxsets before - one 1990s entry was simply called Goth Box, and over in the US Rhino made a stab at it last decade - plus any number of random compilations or mixes. Rather than trying to address what ultimately has become something unwieldy, especially as newer bands emerge and older performers gain new attention, Silhouettes & Statues: A Gothic Revolution 1978-1986 sets out not only a chronological brief but a geographic one, concentrating on England, whether acts were local or relocated from elsewhere. It’s a smart decision: goth as conceived and haphazardly codified was first and foremost not merely Anglophilic but Anglocentric. Still, to get back to the original question: what’s goth? In her short introductory essay Natasha Scharf does a great job in noting how the term got associated with certain performers and acts from the late 70s on, in the creative space opened up by punk’s success. She also describes how certain musical forebears from the 60s on had laid plenty of groundwork - even digging up an intriguing use of the term "gothic rock" with reference to a 1967 Doors concert review. Still, as she flatly says at one point, “defining goth isn’t easy.” It’s just as important to look beyond the music to whatever was in the air in general. Was it due to a revived cold war? A revulsion towards Thatcherism? Just a new version of 'overeducated' (and notably white) teenage angst? Simply another return of glam in darker clothes? Present one way to approach it, and another way suggests itself. That, though, is part of what makes Silhouettes such an enjoyable (if perhaps daunting) five CDs. It may not be entirely the case with the later, younger bands on the set, but absolutely none of the earliest groups began playing together with the self-conscious idea of 'Hey, let’s be a goth band.' Genre founders by default can’t be wilfully creating something they didn’t know about until it was labelled. So the question becomes less “how do these groups all resemble each other?” and more “how does the new territory open up, and who were the explorers?” Setting aside non-English/English-based acts, it’s notable from the get-go that pretty much every name you would expect to find in such a collection is represented, except one. Siouxsie And The Banshees are absolutely noteworthy by their absence, though of course they never liked being confined by genre straitjackets. At the same time, they helped establish the idea of subverted expectations early on - not just musically but as a group who were able to maintain both an underground and a chart profile. And that’s what’s important to remember about this whole thing from a distance - it was simultaneously subcultural and impossible to miss, one of many sonic stews and approaches that could and did feature in NME, Smash Hits, Radio 1 and Top Of The Pops simultaneously in the ferment of New Pop.

Various Still In A Dream A Story Of Shoegaze 1988-1995

Various Still In A Dream A Story Of Shoegaze 1988-1995

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Let's get this out of the way at the beginning. Telling the story of the overdriven, dreamlike sound of shoegaze without including a song by My Bloody Valentine is like The Great Gatsby without Gatsby or Citizen Kane without Charles Foster Kane. The group pretty much invented the sound, went on to perfect it, and was always the one band that could be counted on to innovate and disrupt. Still, once you get past that not insubstantial hurdle, Cherry Red's Still in a Dream: A Story of Shoegaze is a pretty great collection. Over the course of five discs, it gathers up major influences on the shoegaze sound, rounds up all the main practitioners, travels around the globe and catches the best of the U.S. pedal pushers (Swirlies, Black Tambourine) along the way, and takes some mild detours into dream pop, baggy, and noise, all the while dropping classic songs one after the other. The compilers make full use of all five discs, digging deep and casting a wide net that yields both obvious choices and some much less so. Part of the fun going through the discs is hearing "hits" by big names like Slowdive, Ride, and Swervedriver; part of it is rediscovering bands like Sweet Jesus, whose "Phonefreak Honey" is a delightfully sugary blast of distortion and melody, Adorable, a stadium-sized band with tunes like "Sunshine Smile" that were built on huge, impossible to ignore hooks, and Majesty Crush, who impress with the archly pretty "No. 1 Fan." There also are bands that even someone who was around during the era covered here (1988 to 1995) may have missed. Jane from Occupied Europe's "Ocean Run Dry" is an early noise pop gem; Coaltar of the Deepers' Charming Sister Kiss Me Dead!!" is a chunky, almost metallic tune from Japan that shows how universal the sound became. By the time the set is over it's hard not to be impressed by how quickly the shoegaze sound spread and evolved, how many bands were able to use it to an advantage, and -- more to the point here -- how well the set is put together. Apart from MBV, it's hard to think of any bands they missed, just as it's difficult to think of too many that they could have cut. It might have been interesting to boil the track list down a bit, then spend a disc catching up on the post-1995 bands that have kept the sound alive. That being said, the story they do tell on Still in a Dream is a fascinating one, full of guitar-mangling bliss and soaring melodic grandeur suitable for a fuzzy trip down memory lane or a deep dive of discovery for the novice gazer.

The Lucy Show ...Undone

The Lucy Show  ...Undone

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This is like the 1979-1981 heyday years of English post-punk pop brought back and updated. Undone glistens and shimmers like a pool rippling with subconscious sensations. The two main songwriters/singers, Mark Bandola and Rob Vandeven, are apparently from Canada, but moved to London to take part in the scene that gave us a more ethereal wash of sound than anything Western Canada would know anything about. Their relocation has worked like gangbusters. "Ephemeral (This Is No Heaven)," the title track, "The White Space," and others hold a music fan spellbound in their textural beauty, the latest to take advantage of the endless brooding, moody undercurrents the best Brit-rock has been full of since Magazine, Joy Division, the early Siouxsie & the Banshees, Sad Lovers and Giants, and many others. And the songwriting is top-notch, too; you get the feeling these people know their classic ‘60s rock and pop too, and sneak in some of that great melodic sweetness to go with the shimmer and shake. Take this, the Sound's Shock of Daylight and Heads and Hearts, and the Chameleons' What Does Anything Mean? Basically, and 1985 has provided for you every quiet and inner sensation that you ever felt. Masterpieces all, but again, this is the most important of the four, since it’s the only one that’s a first album. Remarkable. Also remarkable: unlike the above, somehow the band got a U.S. deal with major distribution.

The Three Johns World By Storm

The Three Johns World By Storm

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Far and away the best Three Johns album. Funnier, sharper, and more focused than Atom Drum Bop, The World By Storm really lets the guitars rip, creating a more manic, tuneful wall of noise behind which the Johns rant and rave. The record featured the three best singles the band ever recorded, "Atom Drum Bop" (this is not a mistake -- there's no song by this title on the LP Atom Drum Bop), "Sold Down the River," and the scaborously funny "Death of the European" (with its John Lydon-like opening lines, "Big mouth/open wide/open up the pearly gates of freedom"). The lyrical concerns are the same as always -- mindless, conspicuous consumption, empty-headed conservatism -- but here the Johns sound more in control, and that begets a ferocity and urgency that makes this a compelling record. The Three Johns cult and Mekons fans lapped this up when it came out, but it was only available in America as an import (still is, as far as I know) and sank without a trace. Too bad, as it was one of the best records of 1986.

Silver Jews Starlite Walker

Silver Jews Starlite Walker

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Starlite Walker is a first for the Silver Jews on many levels. Not only is it the group's first full-length album, it's also the first recorded in a full-fledged studio -- Memphis' 24-track Easley Recordings -- as well as the first collection of songs penned almost entirely by David Berman. The album's lyrical and musical richness comes partly from Berman's retreat to the woods of Oxford, MS in preparation for the record, and partly from the understated, intimate production. As a result, Starlite Walker collects some of the Jews' most diverse and affecting songs. Wry lyrics like "I just got back from a dream attack" from "Trains Across the Sea" and "On the last day of your life/Don't forget to die" from "Advice to the Graduate" let Berman's easygoing charm come to the forefront, while jangly and crunchy guitars, Stephen Malkmus' backing vocals, and Bob Nastanovich's steady drumming punctuate his observations. Though Starlite Walker is a more low-key, reflective affair than the Silver Jews' EPs, the album benefits from it, combining the laid-back experimentalism of the Jews' early work with more sophisticated and expressive songwriting. "Advice to the Graduate" and "New Orleans" turn from humorous to poignant with a simple chord change; "Rebel Jew" draws on the group's affection for country music; and instrumentals like "The Moon Is the Number 18" and "The Silver Pageant" add to the relaxed, homespun feel of the album. Repeated listening just enhances Starlite Walker's warm, off-the-cuf appeal

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