Hope you’ll all indulge me for a little two-for-one post here. While these two records are generally unrelated, they sound incredibly complementary and it’s no stretch that if you love one, you’ll probably love the other. Also, both LPs have been posted by other blogs in the past. I only double dip today to offer fresh rips and hopefully to turn you guys on to two excellent, if but vastly under-appreciated post-punk masterpieces from the mid-80s.
First up is the debut LP from The Wild Flowers, which you may have heard via Curious Guy’s excellent post from 2006. There, he mentions that the band was the original outlet of guitarist David Newton, who left soon after to form the also excellent Mighty Lemon Drops. I’m on my second copy of this LP, between DJing and home listening, so that should speak highly of this particular record, which calls the lush majesty of bands like The Chameleons, Icicle Works, The Lucy Show, Breathless, The Sound, and of course, Echo & the Bunnymen’s Heaven Up Here to mind. You can grab their first two 7”s here. I do have the third LP, 1988’s Sometime Soon. It’s been a while since I’ve heard it so I don’t remember how it stacks up, but I’m very interested in hearing 1987’s Dust.
The second LP is the one and only release by Blue Hollow, who rose from the ashes of Gluons, a darker and more dissonant band from Massachusetts. Stealing a Whisper, which was released three years later, would shed much of the cacophony and offer up a record that sits comfortably alongside The Wild Flowers on sheer strength of songwriting. Equally lush and romantic songs and catchy hooks, clearly pulling from the same set of influences and delivering a similarly striking album…
It’s a shame that neither of these records are more well known, even in these circles, so hopefully this post brings them to a wider audience. Enjoy!
The Wild Flowers- The Joy of it All (1984)
1. Melt Like Ice
2. Beggar Man
3. The Promised Land
4. After All These Years
5. Dark Times
6. The Joy of it All
7. Bamboo
8. Hold the Torch
9. Things Have Changed
10. From the Sky
Blue Hollow- Stealing a Whisper (1986)
1. Color of Night
2. Inhale
3. Running Down
4. Blue Hollow
5. We Fall
6. Hearts Hang Souls
7. Wildskin
8. Stranger
Thanks for indulging me here today… For those who are looking for something new and unheard, hang tight- as the next few posts will feature very rare cassettes, demos, and more! Thanks to all who have sent things over in the past few weeks- it’s always appreciated!