• Music

    Bruce Licher – Tape Excavation (Special Expanded Edition)

    January 26, 2023 - By 

    Bruce Licher is an icon in the art-punk/post-punk/post-Industrial music scene.  He was a member if the seminal band Savage Republic, runs Independent Projects Records and Independent Projects Press for his graphic design work. Though we’re a bit early to the party, so to speak, Bruce will be reissuing an album called Tape Excavation, which has been supplemented with bonus material and will feature the gorgeous letterpress artwork he and the projects he works with are known for.  I am sure that this will sell out very quickly, so you’ve been warned – now is a good time to pre-order this…

  • Music

    Sieben – Ten Hymns for Modern Times

    January 13, 2023 - By 

    I had the pleasure of meeting Matt Howden, the mighty Sieben himself, while tour-managing for Sol Invictus in 2000.  His violin playing added an otherworldly element to the music, and he was embarking on his solo career at that point.  After scores of albums under Sieben and his own name, everything culminates in this album.  It’s not so much a neofolk album as much as a combination of psychedelic rock and goth/post-punk, as raw as anything that came out 40 or 50 years ago (how time flies), but modern enough to break ground in any of these genres.  Solid.

  • Music

    Severine Day – Unsterblich EP

    November 14, 2022 - By 

    Severine Day hails from Belgium, and she produces an post-punk sound that brings up memories of bands like Siouxsie and the Banshees, French cold wave bands like Clair Obscur, and even a touch of Nico, but with a sound that is as modern as it is authentic.  It’s a thrill to hear such music still being made for those of us who grew up during the genre’s heyday.

  • Music

    Backspace – Human Nature Architecture

    August 23, 2022 - By 

    It’s bands like this that the blog was initially made for.  Finding a Krautrock band who mix in surf and psychedelic rock coming out of China is a magnificent thing.  Backspace are one of the more brilliant bands to come out of the Middle Kingdom in some time, and I say this as one who is a fan of so many incredible bands popping up everywhere there.  The way they mix these sounds, along with good, punchy, clear production make this instrumental gem an instant favorite.  If it’s released on Maybe Mars Records, it’s a sure sign of quality.

  • Music - Youtube

    [Video] New Order – Substance

    August 17, 2022 - By 

    As today is my 52nd birthday, I thought I would take a walk down memory lane.  Today is also the 35th anniversary of New Order’s first major collection album called Substance, which was released on this day in 1987.  As it turns out, it was the first compact disc I ever bought, and though I don’t own it anymore, I have my digital copy to remind me of how excited I was (and still am) hearing this album.

  • Music

    Baložu Pilni Pagalmi – Māris Šverns – Būt ceļā

    August 11, 2022 - By 

    Baložu Pilni Pagalmi are a Latvian post-rock/folk band out of the capita city of Riga.  What’s most interesting about this 37 minute-plus track is that it covers not only the genres mentioned, but it would be comfortable listed as an alternative/indie release.  I like the fact that there is a story embedded in this album, even if I am unable to understand Latvian.  I look forward to learning more about the band.

  • Music

    Donny Vegas – Pharmakós

    July 5, 2022 - By 

    It seems like Donny Vegas has been listening to all the right post-punk records for my taste.  One can hear influences of early Cabaret Voltaire, Suicide, a touch of Throbbing Gristle, and yet, by some odd miracle, it sounds both fresh and lo-fi.  A quirky release, but I like this. Thanks to Filip of Z Tapes for the magnificent suggestion.

  • Music

    Minimal Compact – Statik Dancin’

    June 25, 2022 - By 

    Minimal Compact was an Israeli band which left a sizable imprint with their music during the 1980s and 1990s, and both Malka Spiegel and Samy Birnbach continue, as far as I know, to record great music. An unbelievable post-punk shuffler from 1981, by Tel-Aviv-Brussels band Minimal Compact! This tune is one of our favorite tracks ever and we’ve been wanting to reissue it since day one. But this is no ordinary reissue! The 12” includes an unreleased instrumental version plus a spaced-out extended dub mix by the living legend, Mad Professor! Members of the band recorded for such legendary labels…