New Model Army

 

 

New Model Army fit beside (early) Killing Joke and Cult in the post-punk 80s. And like those 2 bands, they've continued making music into their 4th decade.

And Also The Trees

 

 

And Also The Trees should appeal to fans of 4AD or early Bad Seeds / Crime & The City Solution, kind of floating between genres.  They were around for a decade before disappearing... only to return again... and again.

Bĵork

 

 

What more needs to be said about Bjork? One of those rare artists whose albums may be on your BEST list and WORST list.

Front Line Assembly

 

 

Front Line Assembly - Bill Leeb & Rhys Fulber - have been astonishingly prolific between FLA, Delerium, Conjure One, and many other side projects and production work.

Delerium

 

 

Delerium began as a side project. Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber of Front Line Assembly decided to release more ambient/instrumental pieces under the Delerium name. They actually got thrust into the darkwave subgenre, garnering some success.  Then on their 1994 album Semantic Spaces, they began utilizing female vocals, pushing the sound in a more ethereal, Enigma-esque direction.  The 1997 album, Karma, went further in that direction, producing the surprise hit "Silence" featuring vocals by Sarah McLachlan.  The next album continued in the same vein, even featuring Matthew Sweet singing one song.

Rhys Fulber broke away from Delerium to form his own similar-sounding project, Conjure One, using some of the same singers who featured on Delerium's albums.

Deep Forest

 

 

I've seen the term "enigmatic" to describe the slew of artists who came up after Enigma scored a couple hits.  I've also heard the terms worldbeat & ethno electronica... basically music that really doesn't fit into the "new age" category because it may be a bit too beats-oriented or eclectic or even dark.  Whatever the term, I ate this stuff up.  Perfect for a lazy summer afternoon on the terrace.

Texas

 

 

Texas hail from Scotland, of course. They started off as a kind of country-ish band with a more R&B/pop oriented vocal style before slowly moving to a straight ahead pop style.

Skids

 

Skids were a post-punk band that had a very anthemic/Celtic feel.  Guitarist Stuart Adamson would take his guitar sound with him when he left and formed Big Country.  Singer Richard Jobson formed the short-lived Armoury Show before moving on to be a TV host.

Hüsker Dü

 

 

Hüsker Dü or Dü not, there is no try.  From Minnesota, like fellow punks the Replacements.  But unlike Westerberg, Bob Mould never really strayed too far from his original sound.  There are some very melodic gems buried under layers of distortion in the HD catalog.  Even a move to a major label didn't change their sound... which was unfortunate in that they had the same crappy drum sound their whole career.

Happy 80th, Bob!

 

 

As musical icon turns 80, let's celebrate his works while he's still with us.

Construction Time Again

 

All links and posts now updated. Unavailability problem seems to be fixed for those countries who were previously blocked.  

Lots of posts have been updated recently, too many to list, so have a look around maybe you'll find something new.

Have a good weekend!

Patti Smith

 

 

Patti Smith is a true trailblazer for the uncompromising poet-rocker set.

Virgin Prunes / Gavin Friday

 

 

I definitely went backwards on Gavin Friday's discography. I really liked "Shag Tobacco" and then discovered the Virgin Prunes, who fit the "art rock" subgenre label to a T.

RIP Anita Lane

 

 

Anita Lane was around the early Bad Seeds, co-writing some songs and collaborating with some of that crowd.  A footnote in the grand scheme?  Maybe but there was always something alluring about her solo work, which sounds like a more avant garde Mazzy Star.

Modern English

 

 

Modern English scored with the mega-hit "I Melt With You," but they were also known for darker fare on their early releases.

XTC

 

XTC have been brilliantly crafty and annoyingly quirky... sometimes in the same song.  But they made some truly classic songs of the late '70s , '80s, and beyond.

So80s

So8os began in 2009 as a way for DJs Blank & Jones to release some of their favorite, often rare, 12" remixes from the 1980s.  With so many artists having reissued expanded versions of older albums, most of these aren't so rare any longer, but on the whole it's still a very worthwhile collection.

brian eno

Brian Eno's ambient works are some of my favorite albums. In particular, The Pearl and Ambient 2: The Plateaux of Mirror, both with Harold Budd; and Apollo with Daniel Lanois and Roger Eno.

Garbáge

Shirley Manson started out in the band Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie in the '80s, supplying backing vox and keyboards. When that band failed to break into the US market, they refashioned themselves as '90s chick rock band Angelfish, with Manson taking the lead role. They only lasted 1 album, but it's pretty decent. Then came producer Butch Vig, who was looking to start a band with a female singer and voilá...

Fine Young Cannibals

 

Two former members of The (English) Beat hook up with smooth-voiced singer Roland Gift and produce pop gold.  Slick but enjoyable.

Masters Of Reality

Chris Goss will probably always be best-known for his work as producer - Kyuss, QotSA, The Cult - but his own band could kick up some dust, too. Their self-titled debut was an excellent late-80s California rock record. The second one, Sunrise on the Sufferbus, was an entirely different affair, using Ginger Baker on the drums.

The Black Angels

 

The Black Angels are a retro psychedelic band.  Taking their musical cues from the 1960s, adding some 90s rock elements and whizz-bang, a sound steeped in nostalgia but also very fresh.

Caspian

 

Caspian's mix of post-rock and shoegaze hit its peak with "Dust And Disquiet" from 2015.  Highly recommended.

Slowdive

 

Slowdive epitomizes the "shoegaze" sub-genre, especially on their early releases.  Slow tempos, waves of distortion, hazy vocals buried in the mix.

The Courteeners

 

The Courteeners are one of the best British indie bands to come around in the last decade or so.

The Cars

 

The Cars were anything but an overnight success.  Ric Ocasek and Benjamin Orr had been kicking around in various bands for 10 years before forming The Cars.  Ocasek actually released more solo albums than with The Cars and was a sought-after producer, helming albums for Alan Vega & Suicide, Bad Religion and Weezer, among others.