GRAPHIC SHADOWS - She Turns Her Eyes Away EP 1981

Graphic Shadows' first vinyl is an obscure, rare four track EP released on Explicit Records; the quartet consisted of Greg (vocals/keys), Kenny (guitars), Franz (bass), and Marc (drums). They were active in the Washington, D.C. music scene during the early Eighties and also released an album in 1984 before eventually calling it quits. When the band released their record in 1981, the independent music scene in Washington, D.C. was still in its infancy. Although the city would soon become world renowned for its raw Dischord Hardcore sound, this 7Inch presents a fascinating, alternative musical portrait of the region: the transition from edgy GaragePunk to dark New Wave and early goth rock. The EP is a prime example of the DIY ethos, featuring a sound that is highly dynamic, raw, and unpolished. The bass often takes center stage, driving the songs forward, while the guitars utilize heavy chorus and reverb effects, lending the record a cool, atmospheric depth. The vocals are detached, slightly monotonous and melancholic, yet they erupt with furious energy during faster passages. The title track is clear the highlight with its driving, melancholic midtempo gem. It is followed by a fast and aggressive number, which showcases the band's brash attitude; it reveals the group's Punk roots. "SBS" is a more experimental, rhythm driven one that radiates a sense of nervous agitation. The final nugget closes with a dense flair, once again employing walls of noisy guitar. Overall, it is an unpolished diamond in the rough, an absolute must-buy for historians of the D.C. scene, provided one is lucky enough to snag a copy, but for simply listening to, the digital route suffices.

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YOUR FUNERAL - I Want To Be You 7'' 1982

"I Want To Be You" is a rare and seminal PostPunk song by the all female band Your Funeral from Denver and consisted of Jeri Rossi (vocals/guitars), Karen Sheridan (bass/vocals) and Cleo Tilde (percussion) and the track was originally released in 1982 on a limited 7Inch and later gained wider recognition through Compilations such as Sacred Bones Records' Killed By Deathrock Vol.1 and is the band’s only official release. These two songs offer a condensed lesson in atmosphere and sonic claustrophobia; their minimalist aesthetic breaks with almost every convention of the classic, stadium ready rock of the early 80s. Instead of opulence, the absolute minimum reigns supreme. Driven by a stoic, almost mechanical drumbeat, the tracks pulse like the unstoppable heartbeat of a fixation. The bass pumps deep, muffled, and hypnotic in the foreground, providing the melodic structure while the guitar deliberately disrupts it. Jeri’s guitar work defines the texture; eschewing warm chords, she employs cutting, cold, flanger-distorted riffs. The notes sound sharp almost like the scraping of metal lending the songs their unmistakable deathrock edge. Her vocals, too, are far from polished or smooth; they possess a raw, almost lethargic urgency, reminiscent at times of early Lydia Lunch, that peers deep into the abyss of the human psyche. The subject matter is not romantic love, but destructive envy and a total fixation on another person. The desire to slip into someone else’s skin to completely erase one’s own identity in order to become someone else becomes oppressively palpable through the song's repetitive structure. It is a psychological portrait of a loss of control. There is no reverb to artificially inflate the sound, nor are there any smoothing effects; everything sounds dry and direct, creating an atmosphere of extreme intimacy. "I Want To Be You" is a great example of how one need not rely on complex song structures or virtuosic solos to create a musical work of art. Your Funeral required nothing more than a bassline, a cutting riff, and an obsessive idea to craft one of the most atmospheric 7Inches of the entire PostPunk era. There remains the fascinating tragedy of a band that, after just two songs, virtually vanished from the scene. But with this rare beauty, they have immortalized themselves.

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MAGIC SPLATTERS - Blamage EP 1994

I think, this is the debut EP by the Magic Splatters, a Frankfurt based quartet who was active in the Rhine-Main region during the nineties, who back then had a reputation as a notorious, hard partying band. Released on the French label Adrénaline Records, the EP comes in a simple foldout sleeve made of thick cardstock available in five different cover colors; it is hand numbered (500 copies) and includes a small insert and is a classic, lovingly DIY production. The four track EP delivers raw, unvarnished '77 Punk: fast, aggressive melodies and snarly vocals paired with simple, driving three chord riffs. The lyrics are typical of the Frankfurt scene: direct, slightly self-deprecating, and free of politically correct frills. It charges relentlessly forward, leaving no time to catch one’s breath. It is a perfect document of the Nineties Frankfurt underground: unpolished, high energy, and recorded with a wink. It strikes a perfect balance between angry Punk and nice catchy sounds. A cynical reckoning with societal constraints & philistinism. You will to love it.

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A.D's - Alone Again EP 1981

The A.D.'s were a cult-favorite four piece from Albany/New York and consisted of Jim (vocals), Bob (guitars), Mark (bass) & Chris (drums) and they are bestknown in regional underground music circles for their DIY Punk ethos and their popular 1980 area-hit single, Livin' Downtown (it perfectly blends a raw, grinding guitar sound with a catchy PowerPunk hook). The A.D.'s remain one of the great mysteries of American Underground music history; they were an extremely obscure independent band within the US Garage Rock and PostPunk scenes of the early Eighties. To this day, there are virtually no documented biographical details, official band rosters, or historical accounts regarding the collective. Unlike the commercial acts of the era, the A.D.'s operated entirely independently; they recorded their music themselves and distributed it in very limited quantities via the tiny independent label Blue Lunch Records. Musically, their style was deeply rooted in the garage rock of the late Seventies & early Eighties. Their sound blended the raw, unpolished "rehearsal-room" aesthetic of 1960s GaragePunk with the edgy New Wave and PostPunk influences emerging in the early 1980s. The absence of biographical data is entirely typical for "private press" records (self-released albums) from that period. Back then, many young high school or college bands would rent a studio for a weekend, press 100 to 500 copies of a single for friends and local radio stations, and then disband shortly thereafter. Decades later, the band was rediscovered thanks to digitization efforts by music enthusiasts, and the song 'Alone Again' is now regarded as a lost gem. The A.D.'s can also be found on relevant Compilations. I’d like to add one more thing: the raw power of the first 7Inch is somewhat gone, but that doesn't hurt anything. Give it a listen!

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KALTE HAND - Säureblocker EP 2024

A real discovery that was whispered to me is the following band and after their brilliant first tape 2023, this is the debut 12Inch from the Augsburg Wave Punkers Kalte Hand, consisted of Julian (vocals/guitars), Hubbl (vocals/bass) and Björn (drums). Four great tracks on limited, coloured marbeled vinyl in a DIY screenprinted cover, which combine 80s Wave/PostPunk with a proper old-school Punk substructure and German lyrics. This is as cold as the band name and as urgent as the EP name suggests and they made their first mark on this crazy theater with the refreshing Positive Energie #2 Compilation... you should give it a listen.

Info Info Info:

"Nerves are fraying. The twenty-four teeth of time gnaw away, ceaselessly tangling the silken threads upon which our vague plans hang. Hands thrust deep into jacket pockets, they walk with heads bowed. Some barricade themselves in, lie down, and when the time comes, simply never rise again. The sparrows have long since whistled it all from the rooftops, chirping after every impact. They laugh at the self-inflicted weariness of human beings who dream of themselves and their pets on the moon, who twist reality to suit their whims. Real-time location tracking replaces communication, as if solid ground could truly be claimed. Their stomachs churn and a fire burns in their gullets, fueled by the compulsion to perform, by flexibility, and by self-destructive overcompensation. Just a tiny spark, the desire for a shred of happiness down here, way down here. Those who refuse to accept this without a fight find themselves kettled, mercilessly abandoned to the sadism of the security forces. Vessels of bratwurst on the outside and the urge to urinate within. Anxious buoys bobbing in the wake of long-adrift ideologies. They cannot drift away to entirely different, unprecedented places; tethered fast, they defend their rigid boundaries born of dutifully learned fear. Yet the writing is already on the wall: even with handcuffs binding their hands, our rage refuses to back down."

"Catchy, moody PostPunk band from Germany. As someone who doesn’t speak or understand German, I loved that you don’t have to know exactly what the singer is saying to understand the music; it speaks for itself. KALTE HAND isn’t afraid to go heavy with the drums and rhythm section as a whole, as well as beginning and ending the album with anxious guitar lines that sound like they’re trying to escape something, all of which creates a darker and intriguing vibe to their Music" (Emma Miller, MRR #499 • December 2024).

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LITTLE MURDERS - She Lets Me Know 7'' 1981

The football World Cup is finally starting, and I’m looking forward to plenty of interesting matchups; I’ll watch whatever I can live. But before things kick off shortly, we’re taking a quick trip Down Under to visit a band that was formed over forty years ago. Little Murders (named after the 1971 Alan Arkin directed film) were formed from the ashes of Melbourne Punk band The Fiction by singer Rob Griffiths and were signed to the iconic Au Go Go label. Their sound was catchy, energetic, and powerful, however after a string of singles and the acclaimed album Stop! the band broke up in 1985. Little Murders were Australia’s own version of the New Wave of PowerPop in the late 1970s and early 1980s. They were the premier mod band on the Melbourne independent music scene at that time and thrilled fans with their great sound and releases. Although the band broke up in the mid-1980s, they reformed at various times over the next twenty-five years. But since the release of the anthology, Stop Plus Singles, on Off The Hip Records in 2009, along with a permanent line up (in actual fact, longer than any other incarnation), the band have recorded the PowerPop splendour of Dig For Plenty in early 2011 and played around Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide. This was followed by the release of GO in 2013 and Hi-Fab! in 2016. 2017 saw a release of a "Best Of.. " Album plu their very first overseas tour of Japan in June of 2018. This is their third 7Inch, featuring two emotional PowerPop jewels, and I do wonder a bit why they haven't been sought out for any PowerPearls Compilations, well that will remain a mystery. Fact is, they're a magnificent band that still plays live nowadays. 

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OMA HANS - Abmeldung 7'' 2005

"Abmeldung" (Cancellation Of Registration) was the final official release from the Hamburg four piece Oma Hans [Jens (vocals), Andreas (guitar), Peta (bass) and Armin (drums]. Shortly after this sucker, the legendary band disbanded. Originally released via Schiffen as limited edition. Oma Hans were founded 2001 when Dackelblut was finshed and stood apart from the classic, blunt style of German Punk. Their sound combined raw guitars with melancholic melodies and Rachut’s often angular, highly evocative lyrics. Another recurring element was the prominent lead vocals of Peta, which contrasted with Rachut’s characteristic spoken word vocal style. The band also attracted the attention of the music press due to a public feud centered on matters of substance with the Hamburg indie-pop band Kettcar. Triggered by a line in the Kettcar song "Skateboard," Oma Hans accused the band of political timidity and of merely maintaining the status quo. Oma Hans responded explicitly to this with the critical song "Gummiwände" on their final album whereupon Kettcar again on the B-side of their EP 48 Stunden with "Why actually indie charts, Digger?" answered. Anyway, Oma Hans produced two albums, a Mini 12Inch and this single and after disbanding, they merged into other projects.

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INFA RIOT - Still Out Of Order 1982

Infa Riot were originally formed in late 1979 by vocalist Lee Wilson and his bass playing brother Floyd together with guitarist Barry Damery & drummer Mark Reynolds. The name Infa Riot is an abbreviation for "In For A Riot." Infa-Riot's first gig was supporting the Angelic Upstarts in a North London pub, Mensi was a huge fan. Heavily influenced by the Angelic Upstarts, Infa Riot, within a year of forming, found themselves in "Sounds" newspaper courtesy of a live review by none other than the Upstarts vocalist Mensi who was impressed by the bands performance at Hornsey Community Centre, only their fourth every gig! By November of 1980 they'd completely blown off the Lyceum stage both Chelsea and The Dark and earnt themselves the tag 'the new boot boys sensations' in the countless fanzines they managed to appear in. It though seemed that Infa-Riot never really had a steady drummer, it seemed to changed monthly. Their first issued recordings were two tracks on the Strength Through Oi! Compilation in May 1981. These two songs were "Riot Riot" & "We Outnumber You." Infa-Riot's first single was released in September 1981 on Secret Records. This was the double A side Kids Of The '80's/Still Out Of Order. This single entered the UK Indie Charts at #9 position. In February of 1982, they played at the "Gathering Of The Clans" Festival in Scotland. At this festival they played with the Exploited, Vice Squad & Anti-Nowhere League and many other great legendary bands. Their second single "The Winner" was releaed in May 1982.

They then recorded an album and released it in August 1982. This debut called Still Out Of Order, some songs included on this album were classics like "Power", "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet" & "5 Minute Fashion." This album spent four weeks in the national UK charts & reached #42. By this time Infa-Riot was a favorable Oi! band among Skins & Punks throught Great Britain. In 1983 things started to settle down for Infa-Riot. This went quite partly due to a fight that broke out between them & Nazi band Skrewdriver road crew at a gig in the 100 club in London.

Good things started up again in 1984, but due to some controversy over their name Infa Riot, the band changed it to the less controversial the INFAS. A new album & single were released. Both were titled "Sound & Fury" and were released under their new name the Infas. After all of this the band began to fade away. An attempted come back came in November 1985 when they played a gig in Leeds. It was a good start but it was evident that the band couldn't have that certain something that they had had in the past. An LP of this gig was released by Link Records in September 1986 as a fitting testament to one of the finest Oi! bands of all time. Their last sign of life was in 2017, with their official 2nd album, Old & Angry, on Randale Records.

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EJACULATORS - Wank Generation EP 2024

The Ejaculators are a brutal good SynthPunk four piece from Chicago and known for its raw, irreverent and fast-paced lo-fi sound, which blends classic Hardcore energy with prominent, off-kilter synthesizers. The band consists of musicians who are also active in other well-known bands such as Ignorantes and Mock Execution. Members are Spawn (vocals/bass), Troy (guitar), Sean (keys), Gabe (drums). In 2024 the band released their first EP via the label General Speech Records and comprises five short, aggressive songs. The release sold out extremely quickly on cassette and was subsequently pressed as a 7Inch. The band themselves describe the vibe of their release with the provocative slogan: “For fans of drugs & alcohol, and masturbating to the Virgin Mary.” Accordingly, the aesthetic is uncensored, blasphemous, and classic in its collaged Hardcore Punk style. For the vinyl pressing via General Speech Records, two different versions were produced: A regular pressing on black vinyl featuring the standard cover; and one with a very provocative, extremely hot cover, pressed on colored vinyl in the aptly named “Ejaculate” shade. Their musical style is chaotic and gritty blend and a damn must listen! “A big fat middle finger to anyone who still believes in anything, or thinks that people makes any sense. This is real Punk!” Exactly the right words for this.

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BLOODY RIOT - s/t LP 1985

Bloody Riot is an Italian combo formed 1981 in Rome and active until 1987, the group reformed in 2001. The original line-up consisted of Lorenzo Canevacci (guitar), Roberto Perciballi (vocals), Pierpaolo Rossi (bass) & Francesco Latessa (drums), all of whom were minors at the time. Alex Vargiu subsequently replaced Rossi on bass, and Cesare di Porto took over on drums. With this lineup solidified in 1983, they released their first self-produced EP, featuring four splendid tracks. The following year, they recorded thirteen numbers for an album which was released in 1984 in collaboration with Giulio Tedeschi & Meccano Records. They performed their first concerts in rather well-known venues, such as Rome's Uonna Club and Piper Club, or Bari's Fireplace; later, they would perform predominantly in spaces self-managed by Punks such as Victor Charlie in Pisa, La Giungla in Bari, and Virus in Milan or in social centers (such as Forte Prenestino in Rome). Active throughout much of the 1980s, the group disbanded around 1987.

They reunited for a few concerts between 1993 & 1994. In 1998, X Records released the Compilation Come Se Nulla Fosse, which included the EP, the album and several live tracks recorded @ Forte Prenestino. In 2000, they resumed activity, recording three previously unreleased tracks written during the 1980s and adding them to the Compilation 'Disubbidisciti'. This CD was released in 2001 as a companion piece to the book Bloody Riot: Ardecore de Roma (1983-2001), published by Onda Rossa Libri. In 2008, a CD was released featuring all the tracks from the first LP, remixed and remastered from the original master tapes recorded at the Raff studio in Rome 1984.

In 1994, Alex Vargiu joined a new Punk band (Thrashred) that was undergoing a stylistic evolution at the time; together with Manolo Morea and Alessandro Petrozzi, he formed the band Bingo, with whom he released three singles as well as the album 'Close Up'. After Bingo disbanded in 2000, he formed another group, the Dissuaders and released the album *Minutes To Go* in 2010, which was dedicated to the poet Jim Carroll. Lorenzo continued to perform live with Alex Vargiu from 1987 until 1991, though they did not release any new material during that period. In 2010, he recorded an album with his new band, Wendy?!, which was subsequently released in 2011. In the early 1990s, Roberto Perciballi founded the band Vegetebol in collaboration with the guitarist from Klaxon, another Punk band based in Rome, and together they released two albums. From 2009 onward, Roberto performed with Because the Bean, a band based in the Reggio Emilia/Parma area, playing all the tracks from the original LP; the group functioned essentially as a tribute band, albeit one featuring the original lead singer. On March 20, 2016, Roberto, the band's singer & frontman, passed away following a heart attack.

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