Babel 17- Shamanic Tales LP

Posted in 1990s, 1992, babel 17, coldwave, france, french, touching pop on February 28, 2012 by Frankie Teardrop

Babel 17 were among the touching pop giants on the infamous Lively Art label (and one of my personal favorites of the era). The band released one full length LP and 10” EP before disbanding. A third record was recorded and was meant to be released in 1992, but Lively Art went bankrupt and folded, leaving the album in limbo.

…Until now!

Babel 17- Shamanic Tales LP
1. Ghostdance
2. Jouvence
3. Kiss of Storm
4. Ring on the Bells
5. Kiddie’s Gone
6. Shamanic
7. The Nightmare Goes On
8. Sense of Life
9. Virtual Vision
10. Watch 2 (Intercosmik Version)
11. Ghostdancer (Long way Remix)
12. Sense of Dub
13. Ring On… (Instrumental Mix)

*download it here*

6 Comments »

Various Artists- Unreleased Vol. 1 K7

Posted in 1987, asylum party, cassette, clair obscur, coldwave, compilations, darkwave, little nemo, mary goes round, norma loy, Orchestre Rouge, post-punk, unreleased, various artists on February 23, 2012 by Frankie Teardrop

Since it seems like all links for the original Unreleased cassette are dead in the water or at a very low bit rate, here’s a fresh 320 kbps, fresh from the cassette! This one is arguably the most orthodox of the series, featuring several “household names” from the French coldwave/touching pop scene, many making their first or second recorded appearance here. Every band here hails from France, with the exception of The Cultural Decay (Belgium), and a rare track from Factory darlings Section 25.

Interesting how each of these compilations appear on a different medium, huh? I wonder if a fourth compilation will ever surface on 8 track…

Various Artists- Unreleased Volume 1 K7
1. Section 25– Human Puppets
2. Asylum Party– Where Have You Gone My Friend?
3. Brigade Internationale– Memories And Break
4. Clair Obscur– Wreck
5. Mary Goes Round– The Shelter
6. Odessa– Trouble
7. Brigade Internationale– Silence Of My Brain
8. Orchestre Rouge– 1980
9. Art Remains Tangible– Numéro 32
10 Little Nemo– Future Is Now
11. Norma Loy– Ghost Parasites
12. Brigade Internationale– Eyes On The Volcano
13. Complot Bronswick– Panem And Circences
14. The Cultural Decay– I Never Loved You

*download it here*

9 Comments »

Housekeeping

Posted in Uncategorized on February 22, 2012 by Frankie Teardrop

Sorry guys, some errors on the Unreleased Vol. 1 tape I posted last night. Some as simple as tagging, and one has a track out of order. I had to pull the plug on the post for the time being, but you can expect it back up ASAP (most likely tonight or very early tomorrow).

In the meanwhile, most of the backlogs have been reuploaded. Just a handful more to go. Stay tuned!

2 Comments »

Various Artists- Unreleased III CD

Posted in 1990, ambient, asylum party, classical, coldwave, compilations, darkwave, little nemo, unreleased, various artists on February 15, 2012 by Frankie Teardrop

Here’s one for the romantics. Contained within we have the final installment of the Unreleased series, a strictly coldwave compilation from Présage records with many repeat offenders providing exclusive tracks. You can get volume I here and my own rip of volume II here. The only release outside of these compilations is the first Little Nemo 12”. Strange that the label didn’t do much else outside of these four releases, but hey.

This installment of the unreleased series from 1990 is the most curious of the lot, as the tracks are (mostly) instrumental. In fact, the entire disc is very classical and baroque influenced, with myriads of piano and strings making up the majority of the instrumentation. Some modern sounding synths and the occasional drum machine & bass romp kick in, but for the most part, it’s a relaxing and atmospheric affair.

A few of the artists that appear here aren’t much of a surprise, especially In the Nursery, who have always flirted with a more modern darkwave take on classical music in their later incarnations. Curiously absent is Collection D’Arnell~Andrea, but this is definitely a must for fans of that sort of sound. There’s a short piano contribution from Little Nemo founder Vincent Legallo and an exclusive Asylum Party track as well as several cuts from No Words and Rise And Fall Of A Decade, who comprise the majority of this collection. This one may not be for everyone, but it’s definitely one I enjoy very much.

Various Artists- Unreleased III CD
1. No Words- Futile Research
2. Vincent Legallo- Helioneiros N° 1
3. No Words- Silent Call
4. Asylum Party- Wet Button
5. Rise and Fall of a Decade- Unity Mitford
6. Trees Dance- Fracture
7. Rise and Fall of a Decade- Theme Kurland
8. No Words- Classical Side
9. In The Nursery- Seraphic
10. Trees Dance- Lust In Holy Dust
11. Rise and Fall of a Decade- Galdhöppigen Glittertind
12. Trees Dance- No Access
13. Vincent Legallo- Orgues Allemands
14. No Words- Prémonition
15. No Words- Hommage A Gaétan Blondeau

*download it here* (RE-RIPPED 8.29.17)

8 Comments »

The Wild Flowers- Melt Like Ice & Things Have Changed 7”

Posted in 1980s, 1983, 1984, indie, mighty lemon drops, post-punk, the wild flowers, uk on February 13, 2012 by Frankie Teardrop

Many thanks to Jeffo for ripping these early singles from The Wild Flowers. If you aren’t already familiar with this UK based post-punk band (most famous, perhaps, thanks to Mighty Lemon Drops guitarist Dave Newton’s involvement), grab their first LP over at Phoenix Hairpins. I listen to that LP at least once a week, and I’m not one to get too repetitious with my listening habits, so that’s saying something…

The version of “Melt Like Ice” was released in 1983, and is rather different than the version we’ve all come to know and love. I can’t rank one over the other, but folks seem to prefer the 7” version. The second A-side is the same as the LP version, so you won’t find it zipped up here. However, both B-sides, two excellent slices of post-punk bliss, are contained within. Dig it:

The Wild Flowers- Melt Like Ice 7” (1983)
1. Melt Like Ice
2. The Chosen Proof

The Wild Flowers- Things Have Changed (Which Should Have Stayed The Same) 7” (1984)
1. Things Have Changed (Which Should Have Stayed The Same)
2. Second Thought

*download both here*

4 Comments »

Thirteen At Midnight- Other Passengers 7”

Posted in 1980s, minimal, minimal synth, post-punk, survival records, thirteen at midnight, uk on February 6, 2012 by Frankie Teardrop

A donation from Jason, much appreciated!

Here we have a highly coveted single from Thirteen At Midnight, known for their work on Survival Records. Many readers should already be familiar with the disco rave up recording of this track (originally released as the b-side to Climb Down), with female vocals and pounding electronic percussion, but few know of this version, which has a more post-punk style to it. Reminds me a lot of early, minimal synth tinged Simple Minds, if you’re one for touchstones. Almost unrecognizable outside of the sweeping synths, but equally awesome. Check out the locked groove on side B!

No year listed on this one, but it likely predates the b-side recording from 1982, released on the same Pure label. If I had to guess, I’d say 1981, but almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades…

Thirteen At Midnight- Other Passengers 7”
1. Other Passengers
2. Other Passengers (2)

*download it here* (RE-RIPPED/uploaded on 3.8.12)

2 Comments »

New Age– All The Monkeys Aren’t In The Zoo, Maryloo

Posted in 1980s, 1982, new age, post-punk, synth, uk on February 1, 2012 by Frankie Teardrop

Here’s a fresh high quality rip of a top shelf post-punk LP from 1982 that you may or may not already be familiar with. Hailing from the UK, there’s some excellent guitar and synth work here, highly energetic and vital. Reminds me a lot of The Sound atimes, really emotive and passionate vocals (with a sly sense of humor) mixed with buzzing synths, sax, and the incisive guitars we all know and love. Released on the same label as Naughtiest Girl Was a Monitor, Kan Kan, and Normil Hawaiians, to name a few.

This is one of three releases from the band, my favorite being the Livin For Now 12” (an alternate version of the title track appears on this LP as well). Standouts here include the hard-hitting “Ideals” and “On the Inside,” a proper post-punk rave-up. Through and through, a great album that really takes a few listens to click, but well worth the effort!

New Age- All The Monkeys Aren’t In The Zoo, Maryloo LP
1 Sense
2 Acception
3. On The Inside
4. At The End Of The Day
5. Ideals
6. Progression
7. Moving The Mountains
8. Living For Now
9. Talking Heads

*download it here*

6 Comments »

The Alphabet- This Strange Love 7”

Posted in minimal synth, new wave, the alphabet, uk on January 30, 2012 by Frankie Teardrop

Here’s an extremely rare and rather unknown 7” from the UK. Judging from the cover, you’d expect some dark post-punk, aggro hardcore sort of thing, but instead we’re treated to two emotive minimal synth gems. I had to triple check the record to make sure it wasn’t some mixup!

I know very little about this one. The band hails from the UK and this is their only release, despite some misinformation over at their discogs page (the split listed with Invisible Hands is a newer release from the US, band with the same name, apparently). As for this release, it’s private press and doesn’t have a year listed on it anywhere, though I did come across 2 reduced price coupons for a hometown gig the band played back in the day, included in my copy. No year listed on those either. Perhaps someone out there knows the real story about this one- don’t be shy.

Otherwise, as I mentioned, there are two great minimal synth/new wave tracks here, the standout being the B-side, at least to my ears. A little acoustic guitar tossed in there, with some comparisons to Psychedelic Furs at times but with a ton of catchy electronics. Check it out:

The Alphabet- This Strange Love 7”
1. This Strange Love
2. The Handsome Beast

*download it here*

EDIT: I have some reason to believe that these guys are connected to the second lineup of Zero Le Creche, judging from their discogs entry. Seems like both Richard Thorne and vocalist Jamie Lord were involved with both projects, which sounds likely given the vocal similarities between the two. With that in mind, that probably puts this around 1983-4, from my humble guessing.

11 Comments »

Taugadeildin- Taugadeildin 7” & Live Recordings

Posted in 1980s, 1981, icelandic, post-punk, q4u on January 24, 2012 by Frankie Teardrop

This post was brought to my attention by Josh of Dark Entries (if you don’t know the label yet, what the hell are you doing, man? Get over there and get shopping!). Thanks for the info and the head’s up, man!

Some amazingly catchy and dark Icelandic post-punk offered here. The band was apparently slated to appear in the infamous Rokk í Reykjavík documentary, but split prematurely. After the band split, Kommi joined an early incarnation of Q4U and soon brought Árni Daníel Júlíusson into the mix, who switched from bass to synth. The remaining lineup of Taugadeildin included Óskar Þórinsson and Egill Larússon on vocals, Þorsteinn Hallgrímsson on synth and Ódinn Guðbrandsson on guitar.

If you’ve got three grand or so lying around, you can get your very own copy of their self-titled 7”. Otherwise, the band has been kind enough to upload a rip to their site, at 128kpbs. You can find these tracks here as well, along with five live recordings!

Taugadeildin– Taugadeildin 7”
1. Her Longing
2. Taugadeildin
3. Guðir Hins Nýja Tíma
4. Hvítar Grafir

Live Recordings
1. Vetur
2. Sveitó
3. Space Queen
4. Íslandi allt
5. Stóð í glugga

*download it here*

You can also get a higher bitrate copy of “Her Longing” from Pheonix Hairpins post on The Northern Lights Playhouse LP, which featured the track as well.

Otherwise, stay tuned for some rather exciting Dark Entries releases to follow this year. Next up is Sic- Thought Noises and Buzz- See You Sioux, but you can also expect a Q4U release to appear on vinyl in the near future! For those who want more, there’s a new Q4U best of compilation out on Wave Records. Click here for more info!

2 Comments »

BALTIMORE GRAB BAG: Immortal- Paradigm 12” & Mission- When Thunder Comes LP

Posted in 1980s, 1986, 1988, baltimore, goth, goth-rock, new wave, post-punk, synth, US on January 24, 2012 by Frankie Teardrop

I’ve been hearing some rumblings about Mediafire as well, and though various articles claim that Mediafire won’t be changing its service plan, I’ve heard some contradictory reports and have seen some accounts deleted over the past few days. So with that in mind, I’m going to post a few things over the next few days to get them off my chest just in case something goes down between now and then. Call me paranoid, but why hoard this stuff!

Here we have two post-punk records from Baltimore, Maryland.

First up, we have an immaculate rip of Immortal’s Paradigm 12” from 1988, previously featured on the always excellent Return to the East blog. Very Danse Society/Killing Joke-esque tribal post-punk here, with plenty of ghosty hooks that make it an essential listen. Not to be confused with the Dutch band of the same name.

Immortal- Paradigm 12” (1988)
1. Scale
2. Solvent
3. Print
4. Morning

Secondly, here’s an LP that’s flown under the radar over the years, and is still rather affordable for those interested in acquiring a copy. I recently included the title track from this LP on Systems of Romance vol. 5, plucked from the 8 Essential Attitudes compilation, but I’ve since tracked down the LP of the same name, and it’s more impressive than I expected. Almost a more new wave/pop take on Bauhaus, or if that analogy doesn’t work for you, a harder-hitting version of the VHF album. You can get their first LP here, if the link is still up and running. Not to be confused with the post-Sisters of Mercy band of the same name! Apparently, the band changed its name to When Thunder Comes to avoid confusion with those guys, and are still active to date, with a more heavy sound. You can read more about that here.

Mission- When Thunder Comes LP (1986)
1. When Thunder Comes
2. Broken Promises
3. Underground
4. River
5. Long Way Back
6. Lost Religion
7. The Bell Tolls
8. We Were There
9. This Train
10. Make The Man

*download BOTH records here*

Stay tuned for more over the next few days!

9 Comments »

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