VOXPOP - s/t LP 1980

One fine record is this debut album by the Danish power-pop group Voxpop, founded in Copenhagen 1979. The album was released by Genlyd Records and characteristic for the group was lead singer Elisabeth and her songs with a political and humorous twist. The group released three albums before recording "Alt Skal Væk" on their farewell tour in August 1983. On this album are fourteen Songs and they make the leap between short fast hard numbers in the classic KBD style to brilliant quiet pop ballads and precisely this mix shoots this album forward and out of the irrelevance. Yep, and for all the KBD freaks I recommend this album and be open for a new direction with an "old" sound, the 80s were not so shitty...or?

- Huge Thx to Fredrik -

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PARANOID VISIONS - Outside In 2005

This record is currently in my player around the clock. Pretty cool stuff, punk rock with a wave touch and in between a couple of quick grenades. 'Outside In' is a compilation of the vinyl years 1986 - 1989 from this combo and I get this a few years ago somewhere in Blogland, now exhumed because the band name is at the moment more relevant than ever to me. Something about them:

Formed in 1981, Paranoid Visions quickly allied themselves to the anarcho punk fraternity of the second wave of punk rock in the early 80's. The band were poles apart from the other Irish bands that graced the 1980’s Dublin gig scene.Surprising everyone, including themselves, with their success in both Ireland and the UK in terms of critical acclaim and record sales, they maintained a stance outside of the music industry norms and closely protected their independent status, licensing all of their material directly from their F.O.A.D label. Records such as Autonomy, Schizophrenia and city of screams all sold very well, but it was the attack on the Irish music industry U2Clone assembly line, in the form of the “I Will Wallow” 10” EP that brought the band to a wider and more mainstream audience. FOAD2U2 graffiti adorned walls all over the country….some of it wasn’t even done by the band! Heavily influenced by the Crass ethic of DIY music, the band formed their own F.O.A.D label and licensed their records to All The Madmen, home of the Mob, Thatcher on Acid, Blyth Power and the Astronauts.

Paranoid Visons played gigs and toured with the likes of Poison Girls, DIRT, Blyth Power, Subhumans and The Instigators. In the early 90's they played with bands like Snuff, the Macc Ladds and Manic Street Preachers before calling it a day in 1992. Despite their disbanding, the 90's saw Paranoid Visions becoming the biggest punk band Ireland had ever produced, featuring on several TV shows, newspapers and being offered numerous record deals from Major labels. In 1996 they reformed to play support on some dates for the Sex Pistols Filthy Lucre tour. In 2001 they reformed again and played with the Damned, The Dickies and at the Wasted Festival in Morecombe. While these reunions were always designed to be short lived, with the 2005 reunion, formed in support of the re-release of their back catalogue, it was decided to continue the momentum.

April 2007 saw the release of the bands first new album since 1990. Entitled “40 Shades Of Gangreen” it captures the band at their most tuneful and caustic. General reaction has been that its the best woirk the band have done having been described thus:
"a blistering collection of anti establishment polemic" (hot press editorial)
"highly melodic aswell as being deeply, deeply raucous" (hot press review)
"a blockbuster" (evening herald)

Throughout 2007, Paranoid Visions have performed regularly and will be performing one of the headline slots at the largest punk rock festival in the UK, Rebellion 2007. 2008 sees the release of part one of the bands 12" and CD tribute to their musical influences from the early Irish punk and new wave scene in the form of "The Treasure From The Wasteland" EP. A new album "Beware Of The God" is pencilled for the autumn along with another single serving as part two of the tribute series.

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DOGS - Walking Shadows 1980

Well, I got a lot of new stuff in the last days and I wanna post some of them to get back on other thoughts and the first one comes from our French neighbors. I don't wanna write much here and I found a good info and I'll give you a little intro of it: the group was formed in 1973 in Normandy (France) making covers of Flamin’g Groovies, Kinks and Velvet Underground but soon began writing their own songs, mostly in English. After a few performing in casinos and small places on the French coast, The Dogs head to Paris where they play by the first time in “Golf Drouot”, well known as the Temple of Rock. The concert had so much impact that a journalist from the music magazine “Rock & Folk” wrote an article about them. Although their success they was able to recorded a single 'Charlie Was A Good Boy' in 1977 at Melodies Massacre and since then the four men on air and published numerous albums. You can read the full Bio on AaasternWordpress. So this is their debut record on Philips with ten solid "garage" punk goodies.

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HOLLYWOOD SQUARES - Restrangled 2006

Brilliant Re-release by the Italian label Rave-Up Records and I recommend to buy this record because this is real classic. Detailed information included and all brilliant recordings plus the B-side had live recordeds from the Whisky-a-Go-Go on May 13, 1978 in Los Angeles. Notes from the back cover: "The Hollywood Squares were an American band formed in Los Angeles/California in 1977. They are probably best known for their classic "Hillside Strangler". They broke new ground on the Southern California musical landscape, influencing punk and new wave bands for generations to follow. Guitarist Eddie Vincent and drummer Tad, having played together in various bands since the early seventies, found themselves in London after a gig in Switzerland during the famous punk summer of 1977. Enthusiastically responding to the energy and mayhem of the punk explosion, they were inspired, once back home in L.A., to form the power trio they dubbed the Hollywood Squares. In 1978 they released in a very limited edition on the trio's own Square Records label their first 7'', the issue quickly sold out and has since become a highly sought-after collectible. The single has reappeared in various bootleg incarnations over the years including the 1989 compilation album Killed By Death #1. Eddie's tongue-in-cheek lyric was torn from the headlines that kept a frightened Los Angeles in turmoil for months, and the single spawned a string of bootlegs and uncredited cover versions by punk wannabes that continues to this day. Although new songs were recorded, the group folded before their release. With little contemporary record-label interest or compensation for their work, by the end of summer 1979 the members had gone their separate ways." Only hits here, 24 minutes of explosive material, essential!!!!

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GIRLS FROM TAHITI - Tower Of Love 12'' 1984

Here’s a post-punk rarity that came out of Switzerland in the early ’80s. Girls From Tahiti from Zurich was a four member group, founded after BELLEVUE broke up in 1983, that took on the classic approach of the greats in the genre and emphasized not anger and energy, but mood and expression. Their only release kicks off with a rumbling gloomy gem called 'No Reply' that has fantastic background sound effects and trademark stripped-down minimal guitar arrangements. It then moves into a more tempered approach with the dissonant moods of 'Streets Of Spite.' The B-Side rolls on with two more top drawer melodramatic songs. This foursome embraced haunting melodies and isolated vocal content to produce four exquisite songs. On 21 October 1983 they played their first gig. Pending Publication of their 12" on March 23, 1984 they gave all in all 15concerts. After the recording Peter van der Zouw came for Dani on drums, then it was quiet around the band - too bad - this 12'' makes addictive and I listen to it 2-3 times in a row. This is about as good as it gets for obscure post-punk wave fans.

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TIMESHIFT - Dance The Beat! 7'' 1984

A real pearl is this next record and this turns me on from the first note. Awesome 60's beat sound here from a band which was completely unknown to me until now!!! I'm always amazed what fantastic records from all over the world exist. Both tracks here are damn cool and I guarantee you will like them as well. What surprised me I found a little info about the band, here we go:

Ivan Morfia and his brother Libor Morbid both from Vienna/Austria, were the founding members of the garage/psychedelic band Timeshift. In 1984 they released their first single “Dance The Beat" on Ton Um Ton Records and the flip 'The Fall Of Europe" became one of their most powerful songs especially at live shows. In 1985 a Mini LP “Paranoid Fears In A Concrete World” was released with five original songs also written by the two brothers Morbid/Morfia. Timeshift was Ivan Morfia on lead vocals and Libor Morbid on guitar/backing vocals, Walter Cikan on bass and Gunther Joksch on the drums. In 1986 Timeshift changed its line-up with Markus Hölzl on the drums and an additional guitarist Markus Milota. Another EP was recorded with three new songs. In 1987 their Album “On The Edge Of Society” was released. The drummer was changed again. Ulli Binder joined the band on the drums. The band returned to it’s orginal line-up with drums, bass, guitar and lead vocals. Ivan and Libor moved to LA/California in 1988. In 1989 the band carried on with more shows in Europe. 1990 was a tragic year in the bands history, as Libor Morbid commited suicide. Ivan decided not to carry on with Timeshift and moved to New York City. In NYC he teamed up with the Czech guitarist Karel Jancak, who played back home in the cult band “Plastic People Of The Universe”.

- Extra Special Thx to Reinhard -

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NOTSENSIBLES - Instant Classic 1980

Classic record from a band which I did't knew until now and I promise this is quite awesome. I use the info here from wiki: Notsensibles are a punk rock band from Burnley, England, who had their greatest success with their second single, the tongue-in-cheek "I'm in Love with Margaret Thatcher". The band was formed in 1978 by Michael "Haggis" Hargreaves (vox), Steven "Sage" Hartley (guitar), Roger "Rog Sensible" Rawlinson (keyboards), Gary Brown (bass), and Kevin "Ploppy" Hemingway (drums).

The band explained their approach: "all we want to do is make silly records and play silly gigs". After releasing the "Death to Disco" single in April 1979, they "celebrated" the election of Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister later that year with the single "I'm in Love with Margaret Thatcher". Initially self-released in a pressing of 1.000, but reissued on the Snotty Snail label due to continuing demand, the release gave them a No. 8 UK Indie Chart hit at the start of 1980, and the band also recorded a session for John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show. According to one review, the song was: "Meant as neither a pro- nor anti-Thatcher song. It revolved around the idea that no-one was too sacred to get the piss taken out of." Writer Simon Reynolds stated that it "...taps into the side of punk all about not taking anything seriously..." At one performance in 2012 Hargreaves claimed that he had "great reverence for Thatcher". The single's B-side included "Gary Bushell's Band of the Week", which poked fun at the journalist.

In March 1980, the band's only studio album, Instant Classic, was released, reaching #16 on the UK Indie Chart, and two singles followed, both indie hits, but not selling as well as their earlier single, before the band split up in March 1982. Cherry Red subsidiary Anagram Records issued a compilation of the band's output, Instant Punk Classics, in 1994. The band reformed for a performance at the first Wasted/Holidays in the Sun festival in 1996, and reformed more permanently in 2005 with the original line-up. The song "I'm In Love with Margaret Thatcher" was featured in the 2011 film The Iron Lady starring Meryl Streep. The single was re-released on vinyl and download to celebrate its appearance in the film.

In 2013, after Baroness Thatcher's death, "I'm in Love with Margaret Thatcher" received additional publicity when there was an online campaign by Thatcher supporters to boost the record's re-entry into the charts as a download, to counter the promotion of the song "Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead" by anti-Thatcher activists. Although the Notsensibles' song was reportedly considered "more favourable to Baroness Thatcher", band member Steven Hartley commented that it had been written as a satirical swipe at her. Hargreaves said: "I find it hilarious that Tories have adopted it. The song is a sort-of tribute and sort-of not." The song charted at number 35 on the UK Singles Chart on April 12, 2013.

So this album has great songs "Sick Of Being Normal", "Death To Disco", I Am A Clone" and "Freedom" must have heard. Unique legacy of this extraordinary band. TOP!!!

- Extra Special Thx to Fredrik -

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V/A - Artistička Radna Akcija 1981

Artistička Radna Akcija (meaning: "Artistic Work Action", also known under the acronym: ARA) is a new wave and punk rock compilation album released in late 1981 by Jugoton Records and presents a snapshot of the early 1980s Belgrade underground music scene. The compilation was recorded in the Druga Maca studio during April and May 1981. A few bands gained after the release quickly mainstream popularity and it's no wonder. Alone the first two tracks are quite brilliant and the rest is also pretty and absolute worth hearin'. The record today is a rarity and a collectors item and has a cult status in the countries that emerged after the breakup of Yugoslavia. The album was never re-released on CD, what a shame.

1.Dosada - RADNIČKA KONTROLA
2.TV U Koloru - RADNIČKA KONTROLA
3.Bežim Niz Ulicu - BEZOBRAZNO ZELENO
4.Beograd - BEZOBRAZNO ZELENO
5.Majke Ih Guraju U Metalnim Kolicima - PROFILI PROFILI
6.Nemir Živaca - PROFILI PROFILI
7.A - DEFEKTNO EFEKTNI
8.D - DEFEKTNO EFEKTNI
9.Proces - URBANA GERILA
10.Bez Naslova - URBANA GERILA
11.Ogledalo - PETAR I ZLI VUCI
12.Kozaci - PETAR I ZLI VUCI
13.Pamflex Dom - U ŠKRIPCU 
14.Južno Voće - U ŠKRIPCU 
15.F.G. & Acreppy - PASTA ZZ 
16.Drakula - PASTA ZZ 
17.Hawaii (Najlepši Kraj) - VIA TALAS 
18.Lilihip (My Boy Lollipop) - VIA TALAS 
19.Moja Borba - TV MORONI 
20.Pada Noć - TV MORONI

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POT VALIANT - Volar 7'' 1993 + Loud Street EP 1993 + Transaudio LP 1994

And now we come to a completely underrated band in my opinion and their music was provided for many enjoyable moments in my life. Pot Valiant featured all the members of the East Bay mainstay the Vagrants, and Filth and the Wynona Riders' Dave E.C. on drums. Cloudy melodies and powerful, yet sensitive vocals make their releases one of the most delicate records ever. The press called them 'Emo' but i hate descriptions or drawers like this. They are a punk band and they do it in another way, you know. They have dedicated themselves to the more contemplative music and they just as angry and pissed off than any hardcore band. Anyway, here i have all the songs the band ever released packed together, their two 7inches, the song from the 2x7'' sampler Misfit Heartbeat (not included in the re-upp) and the awesome, but unfortunately one album from 1994. All in all fifteen great songs that are worthy to be always played. Essential!!!!

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Impressions VII

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