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Various Artists- Woke Up Smiling & Kindred Spirits CDs

Posted in 1990s, 1994, 1995, dreampop, ethereal, shoegaze on December 19, 2018 by Frankie Teardrop

For the last post of the year, I’d love to share two excellent CD-only collections of exclusive dream pop, ethereal, and shoegaze tracks from Bedazzled, released in 1994 and 1995, respectfully. I can’t help but get nostalgic during this time of year, and listening to these comps make me miss Bedazzled and the centralized US/Canadian dream pop scene that thrived in the late 80s and early 90s.

With that in mind, these compilations showcase the majority of the acts on the label, and include rare or otherwise exclusive tracks across the board. Most notable are repeat SOR-offenders An April March, as well as tracks from Mistle Thrush, Viola Peacock, Underflowers, The Curtain Society, Ultracherry Violet, This Ascension, and of course, Monica Richard’s pre-Faith and the Muse project Strange Boutique. Kindred Spirits extends a little further past the immediate Bedazzled family and includes tracks from Switchblade Symphony, Purple Ivy Shadows, and extremely underrated band The Garden, who are worth price of admission alone.

Of course, let’s get to the listening! Thanks for an excellent year, y’all!

Various Artists- Kindred Spirits CD (1994)
1. This Charm- Strange Boutique
2. Clown- Switchblade Symphony
3. Adrenaline- The Curtain Society
4. Pontus- Siddal
5. Falling in Love- Ultracherry Violet
6. Whispers- Mistle Thrush
7. Pocketful (Remix)- Big Hat
8. As I Hit the Floor- Twelve Tone Failure
9. Shave Your Head- Viola Peacock
10. Blackwell Road- Opium Den
11. Admire- This Ascension
12. Blithe Spirit- The Garden
13. Carry Nation for the First Time- Purple Ivy Shadows

Various Artists- Woke Up Smiling CD (1995)
1. She Is A Flower- Mistle Thrush
2. Cradle- The Curtain Society
3. In The Lonely Trees- Strange Boutique
4. Sense Of Skin- Where I Wake Warm
5. An Angel A Week- Viola Peacock
6. In Galleons Lap- Feast Of Saints
7. As Far As Forever- Johanna’s House Of Glamour
8. Shindo- Chainsuck
9. Wayve- Ultracherry Violet
10. Halo- Blueshift Signal
11. A Glendale Melody- Siddal
12. Delirium- An April March
13. Psalm To The Sun- Underflowers
14. Falling- Lanterna

*download both here*

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A Primary Industry- (Mostly Full) Discography

Posted in 1980s, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, a primary industry, dreampop, ethereal, industrial, post-punk, shoegaze on August 7, 2018 by Frankie Teardrop

Got an email request for the early material of A Primary Industry, an incredibly underrated UK band who walked a fine line between the avant ghetto of SPK, 23 Skidoo, and A Certain Ratio and the ethereal textures of Cocteau Twins and Operating Theatre. While their lone LP Ultramarine was released in 1986, there are quite a few tracks that point heavily towards the shoegaze genre that was barely a glimmer across a pedalboard at the time.

That all said, A Primary Industry released most of their material on Sweatbox, an excellent label also responsible for the like-minded In the Nursery during their earlier and more experimental phase. The label also released a handful of Meat Beat Manifesto records, so you get an idea of some of the wildly oscillating moods and textures that can be found across all three bands. Otherwise, once A Primary Industry ran its course, the band morphed into Ultramarine (sharing the name with API’s lone LP), who released a series of more electronic/downtempo records in the 90s, and one in 2013. While Ian Cooper and Paul Hammond stayed on board for both projects, vocalist Jemma Mellerio left after Ultramarine’s first LP, Folk.

A Primary Industry’s work has been shared before, but at low bitrates that have since been scrubbed from the internet blogosphere. As their work is some of my very favorite, it was due time to dust off my copies of these records and share them across the board. Thanks also to Jeffo! for supplying a great rip of the band’s first 7”. I’ve uploaded the band’s four main singles and excellent LP from fresh rips, but have also included a handful of compilation tracks. I can’t take credit in any way for the lower bitrate comp rips, with the exception of the exclusive track from Bark, an excellent compilation from the Sweatbox label that also features The Anti Group, Perennial Divide, Meat Beat Manifesto, and In the Nursery. Just wanted to include the other comp tracks (minus Life at the Top, as the version of “Perversion” is identical to the 7” b-side, as is the mix of “Heart of Glass” from Bark) to complete the discography, more or less.

That said, if anyone has the elusive Real Time 6 compilation (or the exclusive track “Under Western Eyes”) I’d love to hear it, as that’s all we’re really missing here… Otherwise, enjoy!

A Primary Industry- At Gunpoint 7” (1984)
1. At Gunpoint
2. Perversion

Various Artists- Heures Sans Soleil LP (1985)
11. From This Prospect

A Primary Industry- 7 Hertz 12” (1986)
1. Cicatrice
2. Obeah
3. Biting Back
4. Bled Dry

A Primary Industry- Ultramarine (1986)
1. Body Blow
2. Beacon Hill
3. Shear
4. Sans Orange
5. Cicatrice
6. Watchword Weal
7. Gush
8. Raw Umber
9. Silesia
10. Rose Madder

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Various Artists- Suck (A Soundtrack For Everyday Living) LP (1986)
5. Rose Madder (Edit)

Various Artists- Abstract Magazine Issue 6 – Audio Visual LP (1986)
10. They’re Biting

A Primary Industry- Heart of Glass 7” (1987)
1. Heart of Glass
2. Where Is Your Vortex

A Primary Industry- Heart of Glass 12” (1987)
1. Heart of Glass A
2. Heart of Glass B

Various Artists- Vinile No. 1 7” (1987)
5. Fokker Bomb-Shit

Various Artists- Perdurabo LP (1987)
1. Watchword Weal (Remix)

Various Artists- Bark LP (1988)
9. Merde Alors

*download everything here*

When’s the last time we had a video here?! With that in mind, there’s a video for “Cicatrice” (the first track of theirs I heard, and the winner among winners). Enjoy!

15 Comments »

An April March- Memory Gardens & Scarlett Bliss K7s

Posted in 1990, 1990s, 1991, an april march, canadian, dreampop, shoegaze on April 4, 2017 by Frankie Teardrop

I remember the first time hearing Canadian dreampop band An April March. I was deep in my shoegaze phase in my freshman year of college, overdosing on Slowdive for the most part, posting on forums everywhere. I caught wind of this band and remember seeking out a lone mp3 of “Lava,” one of the bands early singles, on Audiogalaxy of all places… It was love at first listen. Just a few weeks later, I was digging in my college town’s record bins casually when I came across a gorgeous looking gothic cover. Sure enough, it was the Lava single, a red colored slab of perfection sitting there for a dollar, discarded among a bunch of sleeveless pop singles. I believe I posted the single in the very first year of this blog, as the obsession still ran deep.

Since then I’ve obtained all of their discography in various forms, with the exception of the elusive Scarlett Bliss demo tape from 1991, which I’ve always had my eye on. However, a kind collector by the name of Paul Evans offered to rip it for me, and included a bonus- a never before logged demo tape from 1990 called Memory Gardens, the band’s first official release. Funny enough, this is the real treat here, as the Scarlett Bliss tape features very similar (if not the same) recordings of these three tracks that would appear on 1993’s Impatiens, the band’s debut album.

However, the songs on Memory Gardens showcase a band just getting their feet wet, though the band’s trademark dark dreampop sound is still in full effect. Mostly I’m pleasantly surprised by the ample use of saxophone on this tape, a sound they abandoned after release, apparently. Saxophone player Ian would go on to play with The Dervishes, who I haven’t heard but sound like a more soul/funk band according to their discogs page.

Anywho, four of the six tracks on this cassette are exclusives, while “Gates Within Us” and “Of Leaves And Sweetness” are early versions that have since changed drastically in subsequent recordings.

Thanks again to Paul for ripping these! Hope you all enjoy them as much as I do:

An April March- Memory Gardens K7 (1990)
1. Justine
2. Misunderstanding
3. Of Leaves and Sweetness
4. Memory Gardens
5. Gates Within Us
6. Hollow House

An April March- Scarlett Bliss K7 (1991)
1. Scarlett Bliss
2. This Silence
3. Stains

*download both here*

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Bethany Curve- Mee-Eaux K7

Posted in 1990s, 1995, bethany curve, california, dreampop, shoegaze, US on April 6, 2013 by Frankie Teardrop

While I haven’t posted much shoegaze here, I’ve been a fan of the genre as long as I can remember… Aside from the classics, I’ve also grown to love more modern bands such as Ashrae Fax, Stella Luna, Tamaryn, The Autumns, the Claire Records bands, and of course, Bethany Curve.  With that in mind, I’ve been looking for a copy of this cassette for ages, pretty much a holy grail for me for many years, so it’s proof that good things come to those who wait.  This came to me as an anonymous donation at first but many thanks to the original collector who spent a lot of effort and time to track this down. 

Bethany Curve formed in Santa Cruz, CA in 1994, taking their name from a local street sign.  The band released four albums and one EP, going on hiatus in 2004 after the release of Flaxen.  Though they haven’t released anything since, the band played some shows in 2010, and their site hints at a new record, Murder, whose release date is still TBA.  There’s also talk of this tape being reissued with remastered sound, so this download will be obviously be removed once it’s available for sale.

As for the band’s sound, Bethany Curve often explored darker territories than most of their peers, citing Dead Can Dance and Depeche Mode as influences alongside Cocteau Twins, Slowdive, and the like .  The influence is most apparent on this tape, released in 1995 as a demo.  There are a few experimental synth moments here as well, serving as interludes between the remaining tracks.  Either way, if you’ve been looking for this tape as long as I have, you’ve already skipped this text and have gone straight to the download, so let’s cut straight to the chase:

Bethany+Curve+MeeAux

Bethany Curve- Mee-Eaux K7
1. Sequence
2. Satellite
3. Mar
4. Walk In
5. 2 Minutes of Hate
6. Jalap
7. Sunned
8. Reversion
9. Out of the Clear
10. Me Voy

*download it here*

3 Comments »

Lulabox- Lulabox CD

Posted in 1990s, 1992, alternative, goth, lulabox, shoegaze on June 9, 2011 by Frankie Teardrop

Here’s another post that ties in with the last one, only this time I have a more nostalgic connection to this record, as I loved it way back when and have recently rediscovered it, so to speak. I actually first heard the single and leadoff track from this record as part of the Pet Sematary II soundtrack, a pretty rotten (but kind of a guilty pleasure) flick with several alternative/shoegaze/etc. songs backing it. I was hooked from the get-go, and also fell pretty hard for the Mary Chain’s “Reverence” as well. Nothing like a 10 year old singing “I wanna die just like Jesus Christ” around the house…

Most notably, this three piece project featured guitar contributions from Michael Cozzi, who was active in Shriekback and Lively Art mainstay Sky Cries Mary. I believe the band was based in the US, and had a sound similar to Lush, Curve, etc. Plenty of hooks and electronically driven fuzzed out bliss to be had here throughout the entire LP, which was released in 1992. Here’s the details:

Lulabox- Lulabox CD
1. Ride On
2. Love Street
3. I Believe
4. Ivory Hill
5. Prayer For Rain
6. Choked
7. Wild Cherry Bark
8. Giving It All Away
9. Precious Thing
10. Ava
11. Ride On (Velocity Mix)
12. I Believe (Below The Belt Mix)

*download it here*

The band seemed to have some major promotion behind them, as three videos exist for this album. You can click the embedded link for “Ride On,” the song that started my adolescent obsession with this LP. You can also catch the video for “Choke” here and “I Believe” here .

7 Comments »

Sunshot- Caughtintheactofenjoyingourselves LP

Posted in 1990s, 1992, goth, goth-rock, shoegaze, sunshot on June 7, 2011 by Frankie Teardrop

Going to dip into the 1990s for a little bit here. Don’t be scared, gentle readers, it’s all going to be ok.

The 1990s may have been the breeding ground for a lot of awful, awful music (and a lot of stuff I can’t quite let go, considering it was the decade in which I spent my adolescence), but there are some excellent gems to be found, even if they’re more few and far between. A few that ring a bell are Derriere Le Miroir, Sunshine Blind, and the incredible Requiem In White, all worth a peek for those unfamiliar.

I have three posts lined up, all from the 1990s. One is a coldwave classic (we’ll get to that one very soon, I promise) and the other two flirt a bit more with shoegaze, by far the best genre to come out of the decade. Today’s band has already been featured on the excellent Return to the East blog, and here’s their full length LP from 1992, a continuation of some of the great sounds heard on the EPs. Quite a few of the tracks from those EPs also appear here, alongside a few other gems. Touchstones, as previously mentioned, include The Young Gods, Sisters of Mercy, and Curve. I can’t get enough of this record and I hope you all enjoy the slight change of pace.

Sunshot- Caughtintheactofenjoyingourselves LP
1. Nasties
2. She Says
3. Big Mistake
4. Stop Me
5. Baby Doll
6. Happy Ever After
7. Playtime
8. Twisting
9. Lose My Grip
10. Brainstorm
11. Tank

*download it here*

2 Comments »

The Snake Corps- Smother Earth LP

Posted in 1980s, 1990, british, coldwave, dreampop, post-punk, sad lovers and giants, shoegaze, snake corps on January 9, 2009 by Frankie Teardrop

Tossing another quick request out there for your weekend enjoyment. I covered UK post-punk act the Snake Corps back in August of 2007, so take a peek at this post for all proper information on the band and their biography. Otherwise, enjoy this record, the band’s second, released in 1990.

The Snake Corps- Smother Earth LP
1. Seagull’s Eye
2. Calling You
3. Careful…
4. Everything Turns Blue
5. I’m Not Afraid
6. Colder Than The Kiss
7. Testament
8. More Than The Ocean
9. Come The Glorious Day
10. The Sky In Your Eyes
11. Possession
12. “This Is Seagull…”
13. Seagull’s Eye (Ext.)

*download link removed* – Now available on iTunes!

8 Comments »

Weep- Never Ever demo

Posted in 2000s, nyc, post-punk, shoegaze, weep on March 26, 2008 by Frankie Teardrop

Now, listen up kids, this one is something brand-spanking new, and certainly special. I’m pleased to bring you five tracks from a prolific and multi-talented gentlemen who you may remember from such multimedia projects as the Venture Brothers, Mors Syphilitica, and Requiem in White.

Doc Hammer’s newest musical endeavor, simply entitled Weep, is his best yet, and instead of relying on operatic female vocals, his own voice graces these tracks and adds a new and exciting element to the already stellar, driving music. This demo was completely self-recorded, and each track is passionate and gripping without being overwrought and overbearing. It calls to mind the best epic swirls of shoegaze, the heaviest percussion of early post-punk, and tosses dozens of unforgettable hooks in for good measure. Weep was just unveiled this year, and will soon develop into a full-fledged live band, as these songs are simply a taste of what’s to come. A damn fine taste.

Here’s the tracklisting:

Weep- Never Ever demo
1. The Weep
2. Lay There and Drown
3. The Hole
4. One Lock, One Key
5. Can’t Be True

*download link removed*

Otherwise, for more information about Weep, visit the official myspace page, linked just below. Also, I’ve reviewed the demo for Post Punk dot com, so take a peek if you’re so inclined.

Weep on myspace
Post-punk myspace

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Ellysgarden- Echoes CD

Posted in 1990s, 1994, coldwave, ellysgarden, french, post-punk, shoegaze on February 19, 2008 by Frankie Teardrop

Pardon the delay in posting, friends… Today’s band fulfills a request via email for French coldwave outfit Ellysgarden and their lone release, 1994’s Echoes. Their sound is more likens more to the shoegaze and dreampop movement as opposed to their country’s coldwave roots, most likely a product of the times. Further information about the three-piece band is scarce, though members of the band were previously active as Rosa Luxemburg, but if anyone has any more info regarding Ellysgarden’s whereabouts or history, feel free to send it my way. Otherwise, without any further ado, here’s the information for this gem of a record:

Ellysgarden- Echoes CD
1. Open Doors
2. Our Prayers
3. Over the Fancies
4. I’ll Know
5. Rise of Soul
6. Echoes
7. Muse (On My Own Face)
8. Velvet
9. King for a Day
10. A Boy Too Shy
11. Expiration
12. Her Face

*download it here*

18 Comments »

Ceremony- Our Last Goodbye EP

Posted in 2000s, 2005, ceremony, dreampop, shoegaze, underground, virginia on November 26, 2007 by Frankie Teardrop

Very seldom can a stellar band split up and form two equal (if not better) bands in the wake of their demise. This is fortunately the case with Skywave, a since defunct noise-pop band from Virginia which yielded both previously covered A Place to Bury Strangers and today’s band, Ceremony.

Whereas APTBS was formed in NYC by guitarist Oliver Ackermann, ex-Skywave members Paul Baker and John Fedowitz continued on as Ceremony in their hometown of Fredericksburg, Virginia. Though Ceremony also continues down a similarly apocalyptic path with their blend of harsh noise rock, they’ve taken added a more notable synthetic element to their songs, which splinter with distortion, hard-hitting drum machines, and whirring electronic melodies.

I’ve uploaded a single track from their newest offering, 2007’s full length recording, Disappear. As a bonus, I’ve also zipped up an earlier EP for your listening pleasure.

download Ceremony- ‘I Heard You Call My Name’

Ceremony- Our Last Goodbye EP
1. Our Last Goodbye
2. Someday
3. Marianne
4. Do You Love Me?

*download it here*

Lo and behold! For the first time in what feels like ages, I can effectively post purchasing links and live videos as additional treats, since Ceremony is a currently active band with easily available material. On that note, here’s an appropriately glitchy video for the song ‘You Never Stay,’ also featured on Disappear.

and last but not least, a few web resources for more information and purchasing:
Myspace page
Purchase Disappear from Safranin Sound

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