Systems of Romance

Here’s a very generous donation from Ben in the form of a rare cassette release from 1986. Fans of the post-punk/coldwave sound should go ga-ga for this one, as I undoubtedly have.

At first glance as well as at first listen, this American-released K7 might suggest a few obvious touchstones. Firstly, the band’s name is naturally an allusion to a track from (in my opinion), The Church’s finest hour. Secondly, the tape was released via Primary Music, a virtually unknown label in Utah that obviously sounds like a nod to a classic Cure single (I wouldn’t be surprised if this was a self-release under the guise of a label). As if the Cure comparisons weren’t strong enough, we have the opening seconds of “Torn Inside,” which immediately recall the title track from Seventeen Seconds to mind with their warm synths and back and forth melodies.

All of this said, this is tape is awesome. While there are a mix of sounds throughout, it generally sounds as if the band is combining the aesthetics of both bands mentioned above (also think Chameleons, Mighty Lemon Drops, Grapes of Wrath etc.), very surprising given the time period and the location of the band. From what I understand (and for those who were there, feel free to correct me), early Cure and Church imports were hard to come by in the United States, all but buried by those who didn’t know to seek them out until both bands broke with their respective tour de forces. I’m sure folks had access to these records, but it wasn’t as easy as going to their local record store, especially in Utah, to find these gems. Maybe that’s just my imagination running away with me, but while there are dozens of Cure and DM influenced bands scattered throughout Europe, a US entry is very rare indeed, which makes this tape even more unexpected and interesting to me.

Ok, enough theoretical babble. Despite the obvious influences, this tape is definitely a treat to be heard, and many thanks to Ben for sending a rip my way! Here’s the information:

Violet Town- Violet Town K7
1. Torn Inside
2. Hope Is Gone
3. Mantis
4. Wrinkle In Your Eye
5. Secrets Told
6. Alice Temple
7. Two Girls
8. Deer In A Graveyard

*download it here*

This entry was posted on July 11, 2011 at 4:38 pm and is filed under 1986, coldwave, darkwave, post-punk, primary records, US, utah, violet town . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.