Archive for the goth Category

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Incee Wincee Spider- Don’t Know Anythin’ 7”

Posted in 1980s, 1988, goth, incee wincee spider, post-punk, punk, uk on November 1, 2012 by Frankie Teardrop

Here’s a razor sharp 7” from the UK, released in 1988.  Was turned on to this one by Michael of Return to the East/The Anxiety of Love. Highly recommended for fans of Lack of Knowledge, Razor Penguins, Play Dead, and other bands who employ the anthemic, yet razor-sharp post-punk/goth sound.  One of my favorite 7” sleeves, for the record.

I know very little about this band, as this is their only release.  There are four names attached to it, but no traces of activity in other bands/projects.  If anyone has any info about these lads, feel free to chime in.

Incee Wincee Spider- Don’t Know Anythin’ 7”
1. Don’t Know Anythin’
2. See My Love Shine

*download it here*

11 Comments »

Branches- Distance CD

Posted in darkwave, goth, italian, post-punk on August 14, 2012 by Frankie Teardrop

Here’s a more modern release, generously donated by Jason.   While I generally shy away from sharing material from the 2000s, this CD is both tremendous and so incredibly under the radar that it deserves to be heard en masse.

This CD harkens back to a time when there was a lot of new talent to be found, but no scene to attach itself to.  These days, darkwave/synth/goth music is much more in sync with current underground taste, with dozens of new bands and labels flourishing, deservedly so.  Meanwhile, many of the bands from the early-to-mid 2000s remain completely undiscovered, as the timing just wasn’t right, apparently.  Bands like Moldig, Black Ice, Bell Hollow, The Opposite Sex, The Floor, Sixteens, The Hunt, etc. were all tremendous modern forces flirting with a fresh new takes on post-punk/darkwave music, but remained criminally under-the-radar, outside of the select few involved with or highly interested in this style.

Branches certainly qualify as one of these lost gems, as this album was self-released in 2006.  The four piece band is Italian and this is their only release, which is rather difficult to find these days.  My favorite track is the dancefloor ready “My Time Is Falling Out” but there’s enough contrast between the club-ready hits and the gloomier side of the spectrum to make this a solid album all the way through.  I truly love every track and think you guys will as well.

Branches- Distance CD
1. Branches
2. My Time Is Falling Out
3. From Somewhere
4. Show Me Your Face
5. Nice
6. Distance
7. No Direction
8. The Lure
9. First Lights
10. Where The Dawn Comes Late

*download link removed* —> After eight years, the band has released a brand new LP! You can pick up a digital copy of Distance, as well as the band’s latest LP Old Forgotten Places on their brand new bandcamp page! Be sure and support the band!

11 Comments »

Fru Aut- Fru Aut LP

Posted in 1980s, 1988, coldwave, goth, goth-rock, italian, post-punk on May 14, 2012 by Frankie Teardrop

This is one of the best LPs I’ve heard in some time, donated by the great bx-59cppw, who posted their 12” in the past as well.  Incredible post-punk from 1988, complete with cold synths, moody melodies, and bleating sax.  Comes off like a darker, female fronted version of Sad Lovers and Giants, if touchstones are necessary.   Others include Look Back In Anger, Xmal, Euroshima, etc.

These guys (or rather, guys and one gal) were Italian, and released another eponymous cassette and the A Sangue Freddo CD release on top of the two vinyl releases.

Fru Aut- Fru Aut LP
1. Prova D’ Orckestra
2. La TV Sensuale
3. Kabul
4. Bla Bla – Discorso Alla Finestra
5. Teso
6. Indastria
7. Berber
8. Segnali
9. Freiherz
10. Superglu

*read this post for downloads*

9 Comments »

Screaming Trees- Release & Beaten By the Ugly Stick 12”s

Posted in 1980s, 1986, goth, goth-rock, post-punk, uk, Uncategorized with tags , on April 24, 2012 by Frankie Teardrop

Here we have the first two 12”s by Screaming Trees out of the UK. Not to be confused with the grunge band of the same name, Screaming Trees had several 12” releases and a full length throughout the mid-late 1980s, mixing both bludgeoning electronics and industrial textures with club friendly beats. While not primarily EBM, these later releases walked a fine line between the Belgian scene and the 12” mix mentality, with scattered results.

However, the first 12”, released in 1986, is somewhat of an anomaly among the lot, as it has more in common with the UK goth scene at the time with slightly more tribal influences and aggressive guitar work. Think bands like Play Dead, Rebel Christening, and early Clair Obscur. “Incinerator” is my favorite of the lot, but all three tracks are great guitar driven goth tracks. Many thanks to Michael for ripping it and passing it over! Been dying to hear the first piece of the puzzle for quite some time now. I’ve also uploaded the band’s second 12” from the same year, which sounds more in this vein as well.

The band’s label Native Records was also responsible for releases by They Must Be Russians, Darling Buds, UV Pop, and more. The two members of the band, Sean Maloney and Mark Swancott were rather prolific for the time, also releasing music as Count Zero, Success, and Tocsin. Both continued into the 1990s, releasing electronic/techno records.

Here’s the info:

Screaming Trees- Release 12” (Re-Ripped 12/9/22)
1. Release
2. Incinerator
3. Razors In My Mouth

Screaming Trees- Beaten By the Ugly Stick 12”
1. Build On Ice
2. Build On Dust
3. Damage Report

*download it here*

6 Comments »

Ausweis- Ausweis K7

Posted in 1980s, cassette, coldwave, goth, k7, post-punk with tags on April 10, 2012 by Frankie Teardrop

This one’s an especially rare treat for fans of bootlegs and live material. Fans of the French cold wave should already be familiar with Ausweis, who released several hard-hitting singles, a split, and a full length LP in the mid-80s. Seems as if they were the French answer to Killing Joke, with the pounding rhythms and arpeggiating synths, best displayed on tracks like “Jours De Haine” and “Pas Demain.” Despite the comparisons, I’ve always found the band to be especially vicious, having just as much in common with the first wave of synthpunk, including their country’s own Métal Urbain and co.

Either way, the band is an absolute staple as far as the French are concerned, and this tape compiles several live recordings from the band’s tenure. There’s no date assigned to it, but the tape was produced by the V.I.S.A. label, responsible for releases from Vox Populi, Clair Obscur, Die Bunker and the Pas Demain 7”, just to name a few. I’m guessing the tape is from 85, given that most of the live performances hail from that era. You can expect some of the same Ausweis classics to appear here, as well as several unreleased tracks exclusive to the band’s live set at the time. Obviously, the quality is hit or miss, given the source recordings, but I hope you’ll all agree that it’s a fitting snapshot of a vicious band in their natural habitat.

Ausweis- Ausweis K7
1. Mecanik
2. Doktor Diktature
3. Berlin
4. 1984
5. Exhibition
6. Ella Choice
7. Je N’Aime Plus Les Filles De Chez Dior
8. Eva
9. Dieu Est Mort
10. Phase Fatale
11. Red And Black (Spizzenergi cover)
12. Gangsters United
13. Murnau

*download it here*

For more info on the tape, including specific info on the performances each track was pulled from, check out the discogs page for more details!

7 Comments »

Rule of Thirds- Demo K7

Posted in 2000s, 2012, australia, deathrock, goth, goth-rock, post-punk, rule of thirds on March 26, 2012 by Frankie Teardrop

Keeping with the cassette theme, here’s a demo from a new band from Adelaide, Australia, who were gracious enough to send me the tape and their blessing to post the mp3s for you all to enjoy. This one is so fresh, it’s barely three months old!

There seems to be a very modern interest in the deathrock/batcave sound, with all the young bands cropping up with strong demos and limited releases. While the sound seemed to creep back in as early as the turn of the century thanks to the folks at Drop Dead, it’s taken this long for it to finally break out into more public consciousness, and there seem to be dozens of new bands (Anasazi, Winter Severity Index, Population, Bellicose Minds, Pleasure Leftists, etc.) eager to inherit the throne. It makes me yearn for a forgotten era, having been in a deathrock band many moons ago, wishing for a few more peers out there in the ether. Sadly, many of the bands from that time period have long since faded away, with the exception of Entertainment, who are gearing up to release a new LP on Disaro sometime this year.

Ok, so I got on a little bittersweet tangent there, sorry about that. Back to the post at hand.

Taking their name from either a classic Death In June album, a guideline for photography, OR a basic military strategy (all three invoke some excellent imagery) Rule of Thirds explore the classic deathrock sound a la Skeletal Family, Christian Death, Corpus Delecti, Move, Dance Macabre, and others in that vein. A mix of incisive guitars and a confident and smoldering female vocal are the ingredients for success here, and the organ-esque synths (a must for me when it comes to this style of music) stand out with a sense of melody and the rhythm section is top notch, hitting that perfect blend of composure and rawness that works best in this style. A little taste of early Siouxsie can be heard on “Northanger Abbey,” which invokes “Playground Twist” with it’s unified grooves and gloomy atmosphere. My favorite track is the leadoff “No More Moon,” which adds some male vocals to the mix and is ripe for guitar-driven club nights. Really great stuff here, both a mix of uptempo and slow burn tracks, so thanks to Celeste and the band for sending it my way! Hope you all enjoy it!

Rule of Thirds- Demo K7
1. No More Moon
2. Total Disappointment
3. Mother/Master
4. Stuck
5. Northanger Abbey

*download it here*

While the band has graciously offered the mp3s here for free, you can get a copy of the tape via Major Crimes Records.

4 Comments »

Beg For Eden- Beg For Eden K7

Posted in 1980s, 1992, beg for eden, cassette, goth, post-punk on March 26, 2012 by Frankie Teardrop

Here’s another rare cassette. This one goes out to Michael of Return to the East who originally posted the 12” from this excellent experimentally driven post-punk band. I believe they were from the NYC area, or at least one member is located there as of now. I’ve heard tales of the singer showing up to local bars and passing out copies of The Stark Elusive on vinyl, an otherwise essential piece of forgotten lore. Just check out the track “Blink” if you haven’t heard it before. Always reminded me of a gloomier reading of “Ceremony,” while the rest of the record does well to destroy melody with traces of noise and anguish.

Well, that particular 12” appears here as well as the first six tracks on this tape. Since it sounds like the album was just dubbed to the cassette here, it’s not of much interest but worth a comparison if you’re an audiophile. The real meat and potatoes of this tape comes from the final five tracks, which were recorded in 1992. The band faded into obscurity and these tracks never saw the light of day outside of this cassette. They sound like a natural and noisier progression from the 12”. In other words, well worth listening to!

Beg For Eden- Beg For Eden K7
1. Hands Flail
2. Blink
3. Your Corpse
4. Peripheral
5. Imminent Artillery
6. Entrails
7. Intro*
8. Jesus Jet Plane
9. Catatonic
10. This Now
11. Find Our Hearts Again

*download removed by request*

Peter Messina contacted me and respectfully asked for the download link to be removed due to the lesser quality of the dub. However, he’s offered some more info about the band and the stories behind these tracks:

You correctly point to the final five songs as being the really interesting part of that tape, and those are demos the band did in it’s practice space of the songs we did eventually record in the studio. With the idea being to put out a second EP or called Find Our Hearts Again.

We also used the studio material to shop around and had serious interest from the London label Too Pure who were eager for us to send them more material. But the band was really at an end place at that point for many disastrous reasons that came together spectacularly in the Fall of 92 and the Spring of ’93 and we’d been together close to 7 years at that point.

The band on that cassette was comprised of me (Peter Messina) on vocals & bass, Jacques Cohen on guitar, Greg Scott on loops, keyboards and tapes and John Dale on drums.

The Great Greg Scott passed away in 2003. Jacques Cohen runs a very highly regarded studio called The Space in Poughkeepsie and John Dale, I believe might be in Austin, Tx or Oklahoma, I’m not sure.

He also said that he is in the process of exhuming many BFE studio and live tracks and will likely make them available in some form or another. More on that soon. Thanks for your understanding on this one!

5 Comments »

Move- Move Out of Sight K7

Posted in 1980s, 1986, goth, goth-rock, italian, move, post-punk on March 18, 2012 by Frankie Teardrop

While a good majority of LPs and 12”s have been discovered by now, cassettes seem to be the final frontier. So many tapes out there, demos, official releases, or what have you, many which have yet to be unearthed and accounted for. With that in mind, the next few posts will all be cassette rips, so buckle up and enjoy!

First up, we have an incredibly rare cassette from Move, the stellar Italian post-punk band covered here (expect a better rip, or even better- a potential reissue of that LP in the near future). You can also get their split LP with Gronge over at the always excellent Kentucky Fried Wave.

This cassette was released in the same year as the LP (1986), though this one predates the LP by some time. Only one track from this K7 appears on the LP in a different form, while the rest rely the same successful male/female switch-off.

Move- Move Out of Sight K7
1. Move Out Of Sight
2. Lo Scoglio
3. Plastik Money
4. Re Sole
5. Kronstadt
6. Sweet Move

*download it here*

6 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 »

Epitaphe- Syndrome 12”

Posted in 1980s, 1983, coldwave, epitaphe, goth, goth-rock, norma loy, post-punk, resistance on January 10, 2012 by Frankie Teardrop

You may have seen this one posted in the past, but I’ve just purchased a great sounding copy and felt the need to re-rip it at 320kpbs for everyone’s listening pleasure.

This limited edition, 1983 mini-LP is a true coldwave masterpiece, brought to you by members of Norma Loy and Résistance, you can expect the same sort of brilliance here over the course of six tracks. My favorite is “La Joie,” but there really isn’t a weak track to be found on this 12”.

Obviously for fans of the French coldwave sound, as well as of early Modern English, Seventeen Seconds, Joy Division, etc. But why are you still reading this? Do yourself a favor and grab this one now now NOW!

Epitaphe- Syndrome 12”
1. L’Ecume De Mes Regrets
2. In The Castle
3. La Joie
4. Appear
5. Afraid To Die
6. Out Of Time

*download it here*

7 Comments »

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