The flagship band of the legendary Sarah Records, The Field Mice neatly encapsulated the label's trademark wispy, lovelorn pop sound and remain among the most beloved British cult bands of their time. Debuting in 1988 with the single "Emma's House", The Field Mice were originally comprised of singer/guitarist Robert Wratten and bassist Michael Hiscock; initially dismissed in the U.K. press as little more than twee pop fluff, over the course of subsequent releases like 1989's "Sensitive" and the 'So Said Kay' EP, the group earned not only a devout following, but also grudging critical respect, in the process becoming Sarah's best-selling band. Later growing to a quintet with the additions of guitarist Harvey Williams, keyboardist Annemari Davies, and drummer Mark Dobson, the group held fast to their label's singles-only policy (or mini-LPs) until a much-requested compilation LP, 'Coastal', was finally released in mid-1991; a studio album, 'For Keeps', appeared just a few months later. However, in the wake of a November, 1991 Glasgow live date which ended in on-stage fisticuffs, The Field Mice essentially disbanded, playing one final London farewell gig before splitting for good; Wratten, Davies, and Dobson later reunited in Northern Picture Library and Trembling Blue Stars. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Playing a hybrid of punk to advance their liberal socialist agenda (serving as the rough equivalent of a Dutch Crass), The Ex put out reams of records and propaganda during the '80s -each released on a different Dutch label- but in the '90s began to embrace industrial forms of percussion and improvisation more in line with Einstürzende Neubauten and Test Dept. Formed in the late '70s, the group debuted at the turn of the decade with 'Disturbing Domestic Peace'. The year 1983 was particularly busy; two proper albums were released ('Tumult' and 'Blueprints for a Blackout') plus the singles box 'Dignity of Labour' and an EP, 'Gonna Rob the Spermbank'.
Two more LPs appeared during the mid-'80s, after which the group formed their own Ex label in 1988 to release a compilation of their three Peel Sessions, 'Hands Up! You're Free'. During 1990-1993, The Ex preoccupied themselves with projects: recordings with Dog Faced Hermans produced the cassette-only 'Treat', and a collaboration with noted avant-garde cellist Tom Cora resulted in 1991's 'Scrabbling at the Lock' plus 'And the Weathermen Shrug Their Shoulders' two years later. The group returned in 1995 with two major releases -a double CD of improvisational material called 'Instant', and the proper album 'Mudbird Shivers'. 'Starters Alternators' followed in 1998 and 'Spanish Revolution' was issued two years later; they also completed their 20-member, big band project Ex Orkestra in 2000. 'Dizzy Spells', which the group recorded with Steve Albini, arrived the following spring. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Do-it-yourself post-punk band The Deep Freeze Mice released ten records in their decade-long existence, beginning as amateurs with no formal knowledge of what they were embarking on. The original lineup -guitarist/vocalist Alan Jenkins, bassist Mick Bunnage (of The Statics), keyboardist Sherree Lawrence, and drummer Graham Summers (also of The Statics)- stayed intact until the release of the band's third record, 'The Gates of Lunch'. After the departure of Summers and the acquisition of replacement Pete Gregory, the lineup remained until their breakup in 1989. Leader Jenkins (who was also involved with The Chrysanthemums and Ruth's Refrigerator during the existence of his primary band) continued afterwards in The Creams and The Thurston Lava Tube. All of Deep Freeze Mice's records were released in small quantities through the band's labels, Mole Embalming and Cordelia. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
The atmospheric pop band The Chameleons formed in Manchester, England, in 1981 from the ashes of a number of local groups: vocalist/bassist Mark Burgess began with The Cliches, guitarists Reg Smithies and Dave Fielding arrived from The Years, and drummer John Lever (who quickly replaced founding member Brian Schofield) originated with The Politicians. After establishing themselves with a series of high-profile BBC sessions, The Chameleons signed to Epic and debuted with the EP 'Nostalgia', a tense, moody set produced by Steve Lillywhite which featured the single "In Shreds".
The quartet was soon released from its contract with Epic, but then signed to Statik and returned in 1983 with the band's first full-length effort, 'Script of the Bridge'. 'What Does Anything Mean? Basically' followed in 1985, and with it came a new reliance on stylish production; following its release, The Chameleons signed to Geffen and emerged the following year with 'Strange Times'. The dark, complex record proved to be The Chameleons' finale, however, when they split following the sudden death of manager Tony Fletcher; while Burgess and Lever continued on in The Sun & The Moon, Smithies and Fielding later reunited in The Reegs. In 1993, Burgess surfaced with his proper solo album 'Zima Junction'. He and his band The Sons of God toured America the following year.
As the '90s came and went, the four members of The Chameleons continued to work on music and see one another on a personal basis. While their own musical projects kept them busy, a reunion was practically inevitable. The Chameleons reconnected in January 2000 to prep for three May dates in England. The acoustic-based, self-released 'Strip' was available by showtime and for a limited time only. Additional European dates followed throughout the summer, and by fall The Chameleons played their first American shows in nearly 15 years. Several live efforts appeared shortly thereafter. 'Why Call It Anything?' (2001) marked The Chameleons' first studio album since 1986's 'Strange Times'. 'This Never Ending Now' appeared two years later. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Barnes & Barnes, fictional twin brothers Art Barnes and Artie Barnes (Bill Mumy and Robert Haimer, respectively), are a comedy rock duo based in "Lumania", a fictional mythological civilization (similar to Lemuria or Atlantis). Most of their music is standard rock or pop with heavy comedic elements. They are best known for their 1978 song "Fish Heads".
Robert Haimer and Bill Mumy were childhood friends who occasionally performed together on their musical instruments. Following the ending of Mumy's role on the TV series Lost in Space, they would shoot short films with a Super 8 motion picture camera, dubbed "Art Films". The two began calling each other "Art" in joking reference to these films.
They formed the band Barnes & Barnes in 1970. Their surname Barnes was taken from a Bill Cosby comedy routine called "Revenge", in which a character called Junior Barnes throws a snowball at Cosby as a child. Originally, both Haimer and Mumy were named "Art Barnes", but Haimer's alter ego was publicly renamed "Artie" in 1979 to differentiate between them.
They first received airplay on The Dr. Demento Show in 1978 with their songs "Boogie Woogie Amputee" and "Fish Heads". The latter recording was released as a single on their own Lumania Records in 1979 and remains their best-known song, as well as the most requested song in the history of The Dr. Demento Show. They produced a video for the song, which was broadcast frequently as a novelty item on MTV. The song was often misattributed to The Chipmunks for its processed high-pitched chorus: "Fish heads, fish heads
Roly-poly fish heads
Fish heads, fish heads
Eat them up, yum!"
In 1978, Damaskas and Barnes & Barnes recorded "A Day in the Life of Green Acres," a song that combined the music of The Beatles "A Day in the Life" with the lyrics to the theme song of the television show Green Acres. It was inspired by Little Roger and the Goosebumps' similar intertwining of Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" and the theme to Gilligan's Island. Actor Bill Paxton appears in the videos for "Fish Heads", "Soak It Up", and "Love Tap". In 2005, Barnes & Barnes were inducted into the Comedy Music Hall of Fame. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
The Adventures are a Northern Irish rock group, formed in Belfast in 1984. The band later moved to London where they signed to Chrysalis Records and released their first single in 1984. Following their debut album released a year later the group moved to Elektra Records and scored their biggest hit, "Broken Land". The song was written by guitarist Pat Gribben and reached number 20 in the UK Singles Chart, and was also the most played song on BBC Radio 1 in 1988.
The band were actively recording and touring from 1984 up until 1993, but despite the backing of Simon Fuller, The Adventures never achieved a significant commercial breakthrough. In recent years, the band have reformed to play low key live gigs and festivals in Belfast, although no further studio recordings have been made.
Lead vocalist Terry Sharpe and guitarist Pat Gribben first worked together when in 1978 they joined punk band The Starjets. The band experienced limited success and disbanded in the early 1980s. Sharpe and Gribben then formed The Adventures in early 1984 with Gribben's wife, Eileen, Gerard Murphy, Tony Ayre and Paul Crowder, performing their first show in February 1984 in North London. They signed to Chrysalis Records and were taken on by upcoming manager, Simon Fuller, who saw them achieve much publicity and promotion in the music press, including an appearance on BBC's Crackerjack.Despite this promising start, their debut single, "Another Silent Day", released in the summer of 1984, barely scraped into the chart. Further singles were released, "Send My Heart", "Feel the Raindrops", and "Two Rivers", all of which were minor hits in the UK Chart, but no major breakthrough was achieved. Their debut album, 'Theodore and Friends', was released in 1985 while the group were on a world tour supporting Tears for Fears. It received much critical acclaim, but again no significant sales.
The band laid low for the next two years. During this time, main songwriter Pat Gribben composed some new songs for a second album and the band left Chrysalis Records and were picked up by Elektra Records. With another burst of promotion and heavy airplay, their new single "Broken Land" became their first significant hit, reaching No. 20 in the UK Singles Chart and spent 10 weeks on the chart. The single was quickly followed up by the album, 'The Sea of Love', which reached No. 30 and also remained on the charts for 10 weeks. The follow-up singles, "Drowning in the Sea of Love" and "One Step From Heaven", failed to reach as highly and stalled at No. 44 and No. 82 respectively, though the album was certified Silver (for 60,000 copies sold) by the BPI in 1989, a year after its release.
The band combined pop/rock with a folk music sound for their third album, 'Trading Secrets with the Moon'. Released in early 1990 along with a couple of singles, the album failed to capitalise on their earlier success and only appeared briefly on the UK Albums Chart, stalling at No. 64. This ended their contract with Elektra.
With another rethink and now down to a quartet, The Adventures returned in 1992 with the single "Raining All Over the World". Now signed to Polydor Records, the song reached No. 68, and was to be the group's final chart appearance. A fourth album, 'Lions and Tigers and Bears', was released in 1993, produced by ex-Vibrators bassist Pat Collier at London's Greenhouse Recording Studios. Despite featuring a new single, a contemporary reworking of the 1960s hit "Monday Monday", the album met with tepid response and failed to chart. The group were then dropped by Polydor, and essentially broke up soon after.
Pat Gribben continues to write songs and is currently working with singer Ryan Molloy, while Terry Sharpe spent some years performing in a cover band, The Dead Handsomes. The Adventures regrouped briefly in 2007 for some gigs in Belfast, but no major reunion was ever organised. They regrouped again in 2009 to perform further small scale gigs in Belfast, as well as appearances at the Time To Be Proud and Féile an Phobail festivals during the summer. Former bass player Tony Ayre died on 20 December 2009.[SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
This UK band was formed in 1986 by Julie Sorrell (b. London, England; vocals), Paul Harding (b. London, England; guitar), Paul ‘Veg’ Venables (b. London, England; bass) and Chris Knowles (b. London, England; drums). The cumbersomely named group peddled a hybrid of pop and rock infused with a punk spirit. After several years of intense gigging and low-key releases, an appearance on BBC Television’s alternative show Snub TV, at the start of 1989, attracted copious amounts of interest from music business circles, resulting in a burst of media activity and much talk of a major record label contract. Unfortunately, the band’s independent backers refused to allow the band to sign unless the price was right. In the ensuing legal mess the band lost the all-important momentum, and therefore, by the time they were free of their old constraints, the quartet struggled to rekindle outside interest in spite of a prestigious American contract. These frustrations eventually came to a head in 1990 when the band vanished into the studio and reappeared with a new, more fashionable sound and the infinitely more sociable name of Melt. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
One of the more adventurous and avant-garde acts to rise out of the punk era, Virgin Prunes formed in Dublin, Ireland in mid-1977. The group was led by the theatrical singer/songwriter Gavin Friday (born Fionan Hanvey in 1959), who as a teen fell in with a group of like-minded individuals who dubbed themselves the Lypton Village. While some of the social club's members, including a pair of youths named Paul Hewson and David Evans -later known as Bono and the Edge- went on to form the superstar group U2, the remaining members founded the less-commercial Virgin Prunes, taking their name from the local slang for so-called "outsiders" and "freaks," a recurring lyrical theme.
Originally comprised of Friday, vocalists Guggi (born Derek Rowen) and Dave-id (David Watson), bassist Strongman (Trevor Rowen), drummer Pod (Anthony Murphy), and guitarist Dik (Richard Evans, the Edge's brother), Virgin Prunes baffled audiences at their outrageous first concerts, which borrowed more from the approach of performance art than the traditions of rock music. After gaining a cult audience, they issued their first single, the independently produced "Twenty Tens," which earned them a deal with the Rough Trade label. After the departure of Pod (replaced by Haa Lacka Binttii), Virgin Prunes released 'A Different Kind of Beauty', a sprawling, ambitious project made up of four interlocking chapters, released separately on the 7", 10", 12", and cassette formats.
Mary D'Nellon took over the drumming chores in time to record 1982's '...If I Die, I Die', a difficult work produced by Wire's Colin Newman which was released simultaneously with the box set 'Heresie', a performance art piece which mixed studio and live recordings. In 1984, both Guggi and Dik, disenchanted with the music business, left Virgin Prunes, prompting D'Nellon to take up the guitar and allowing Pod to return to the fold. The band then set about recording the album 'Sons Find Devils', which went unreleased.
When Virgin Prunes resurfaced with 1986's 'The Moon Looked Down and Laughed', their music had gone through another stylistic change into melodic, ballad-driven pop, signifying Friday's increased fascination with cabaret music. He ultimately left the group in November; the liner notes of the 1987 live release, 'The Hidden Lie', contained a short statement confirming the band's breakup. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
After The Undertones broke up, Sean (formerly known as John) O'Neill and fellow Derry DJ Reámann O'Gormain formed That Petrol Emotion, with Sean's brother and Undertones bandmate Damian O'Neill joining on bass after the band moved to England. While they were more politically oriented and noisier than The Undertones, they managed to keep their former band's energetic, melodic kick. With their first album, 'Manic Pop Thrill', That Petrol Emotion became critics' favorites, as well as earning a respectable following in the U.K. Over the years, their music remained endlessly diverse, incorporating elements of every style of independent guitar rock. Occasionally, their albums were wildly uncohesive because of this, yet they managed to turn in several excellent songs on each record. Sean left the band after their third album, 'End of the Millennium Psychosis Blues'. The album showed signs that That Petrol Emotion's exuberant diversity was beginning to wear thin; their next albums proved that they were running out of things to say. After eight years, That Petrol Emotion broke up in 1994. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
The Sea Urchins were formed in West Bromwich, England, during 1986 by James Roberts (b. 4 March 1970, West Bromwich, West Midlands, England; vocals), Simon Woodcock (b. 2 December 1969, West Bromwich, West Midlands, England; guitar), Mark Bevin (b. 21 January 1970; bass), Bridget Duffy (b. 28 June 1970, Birmingham, England; tambourine, ex-drummer for The Velvet Underwear), Patrick Roberts (drums) and Robert Cooksey (b. 14 November 1969, Solihull, West Midlands, England; guitar). Two flexi-discs in the summer of 1987, ‘Clingfilm’ and ‘Summershine’, were available with several fanzines, and revealed the band’s love of Byrds harmonies and the more tranquil aspects of the 60s. After Bevin was replaced by Darren Martin (b. 25 March 1967) and Duffy had moved onto Vox organ, The Sea Urchins unleashed their first single, and the first for Bristol’s Sarah Records in November 1987. The EP 'Pristine Christine' was a well-received slice of jangly guitar pop, but the following year’s ‘Solace’ was stronger, the start of their self-confessed mod-rock phase. Both singles had fared well, but Sarah were reluctant to issue a complete album, and Duffy and Martin soon left, Woodcock switching to bass and James Roberts moving to guitar. Eventually, ‘A Morning Odyssey’ surfaced in the summer of 1990, but when the label refused to issue the rockier ‘Low Scene’, the band left Sarah for good. In the meantime, Welsh label Fierce issued a Sea Urchins ballad from 1988. The band signed to the Cheree label early in 1991 for ‘Please Don’t Cry’, and were joined on stage by Andy Ellison (ex-John’s Children and Radio Stars). In fact, John’s Children’s John Hewlett was to produce their next single, until Woodcock quit and The Sea Urchins split up after a particularly dismal gig in the summer of 1991. James Roberts, Patrick Roberts and Robert Cooksey went on to form Delta. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Following the same template of fast, witty rock & roll informed by mid-'60s pop and late-'70s punk as their previous band The Rezillos, The Revillos were formed in March 1979 by the group's vocalists, Eugene Reynolds (b. Alan Forbes) and Fay Fife (b. Sheilagh Hynde, Scotland). Hi Fi Harris (guitar), Rocky Rhythm (drums), and three backing singers -Jane White, Jane Brown and Tricia Bryce- completed the band's original lineup, but within months the latter trio had been replaced by Babs and Cherie Revette. The Revillos made their debut with the 1979 single "Where's the Boy for Me," but although this exciting performance recalled the best of the previous band, it failed to emulate their success. Internal friction undermined the unit's undoubted potential -guitarists, bass players, and singers were replaced with regularity as core members Reynolds, Fife, and Rhythm pursued their uncompromising vision. An album, 'Rev-Up', successfully captured The Revillos' pumped-up mixture of girl group, beat, and science fiction, but Dindisc Records were uphappy with the sales figures and soon dropped the band. Undeterred, the band inaugurated Superville Records for their second album, 1982's 'Attack!', and they embarked on two grueling tours of the U.S.A. and Canada, which they financed themselves. However, an anticipated record deal failed to materialize and this ebullient act later disintegrated. The Revillos briefly re-formed in the mid-'90s to tour Japan, and three live albums were released between 1995 and 1998. In 2003, Reynolds and Fife returned to the studio to cut a third Revillos album, 'Jungle of Eyes'. No new releases have emerged since, though in 2015 Reynolds and Fife revived The Rezillos for an international tour and a new album, 'Zero'. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Best remembered for the U.K. Top 60 hit "Irene" and an eponymous Top Five album, The Photos evolved out of the short-lived and ill-fated punk band Satan's Rats. Guitarist Steve Eagles, bassist Dave Sparrow, and drummer Olly Harrison remained together when the band broke up in 1978 and, casting around for a new vocalist, were initially hoping to link with Jayne Casey from the recently sundered Big in Japan. However, she had already launched her own new band, Pink Military, and the trio returned home to Evesham, near Birmingham, and began scouring the local club scene. There they met the ultra-photogenic Wendy Wu and, following a series of very well-received live shows, signed with CBS in August 1979.
With Wu being touted as the next Debbie Harry, the band was launched with the single "I'm So Attractive" in late 1979. It sold well and, with the band having shifted over to the sister Epic label, hopes were high for the follow-up, "Irene". In fact, its chart peak of number 56 was scarcely remarkable. But the band's debut album followed in June and stormed to number four, which should have established The Photos among the era's most popular bands. Instead, they lurched into almost instant obscurity. Three singles were released over the next year, "Life in a Day", "Now You Tell Me That We're Through", and "We'll Win", while the band's second album, 'Crystal Tips and Mighty Mouse', never even saw the light of day. By the time Wu quit, to be replaced by new vocalist Ché Zuro in late 1981, few people even remembered the band. The Photos broke up in 1983. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Formed in San Francisco, California, USA, in 1977, The Nuns were one of the city’s leading punk/new wave attractions, forerunning the rock and outrage antics of the Dead Kennedys. Their insubstantial progress was further limited by continual line-up problems, but such frustrations coalesced to astonishing effect in their ‘Savage/Suicide Child’ single. Their work appeared on several compilations, including "Rodney On The Roq" and "Experiments In Destiny", but having split up in 1979, they re-formed the following year to complete The Nuns, only to disband once more. Ritchie Detrick (vocals), Jeff Olener (vocals), Alejandro Escovedo (guitar), Jennifer Miro (keyboards, vocals), Mike Varney (bass) and Jeff Raphael (drums) were among those passing through The Nuns’ ranks, of whom Escovedo subsequently joined Rank And File and The True Believers, before embarking on a solo career. The Nuns re-formed again in 1986, without Escovedo, to record a completely different record, the icy, dance-fixated 'Rumania'. Olener and Miro resurrected The Nuns in the late 90s, although their trashy goth rock fixations by now seemed rather dated. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Post-punk noise merchants The Membranes were one of the most powerful and polarizing British bands of the '80s and '90s. Their music was deliberately abrasive and forceful, full of jagged shards of guitar, deep slabs of bass, and crashing drums with a soupçon of electronic noise laid over the top as the group barked out lyrics about the chaotic state of the world around them.
The first edition of the band was formed in Blackpool, Lancashire, England in 1979 by John Robb after an unsatisfying series of experiments making music with makeshift instruments and tape recorders convinced him he needed worthy collaborators. Recruiting guitarist Mark Tilton, who showed up with a guitar rescued from a junk shop, Robb volunteered to play bass, and they chose to name their new band The Membranes, while also launching a music magazine called Rox. The first lineup was complete with the addition of drummer Martin Kelly and vocalist Martin Critchley, but Critchley didn't last long in the group, and Robb and Tilton took over as singers, while Kelly moved over to keyboards and a guy known as Cooft Sid (all of 13 years old at the time) became the new drummer. The Membranes made their recorded debut on a compilation coordinated by Rox Magazine, 1979's "Blackpool Rox", and in 1980, they issued a flexidisc EP, 'Flexible Membranes'. 1982 saw the release of their first proper vinyl single, "Muscles", which fared well in clubs and won the endorsement of the iconic BBC disc jockey John Peel, who played it on his show. That same year, Kelly left the band, and The Membranes opted to add a new guitarist, Steve Farmery, rather than another keyboardist. The independent label Rondolet Records signed The Membranes and released the 'Pin Stripe Hype' EP, but Rondolet soon went bust, and the band jumped ship to Criminal Damage, who issued their album 'Crack House' in 1983, and the single "Spike Milligan's Tape Recorder" the following year. By this time, Farmery was already out of The Membranes, and the band's sound was becoming even darker and more intense, anticipating the first shadows of the growing industrial movement.
In 1985, The Membranes' 'Death to Trad Rock' EP became an underground hit, rising to number eight on the U.K. independent music charts, and the group was signed to Creation for their next album, 'The Gift of Life'. The set was recorded after Tilton parted ways with The Membranes, with Robb moving to guitar and Stan Batcow signing on to play bass. In 1986, a disagreement between The Membranes and Creation founder Alan McGee led to the band leaving Creation and signing with In Tape, founded by Marc Riley; the same year saw Batcow gone from The Membranes, and Wallas Terror coming on board. In Tape released 'Songs of Love & Fury', produced by Jon Langford of The Mekons (who had guested on 'The Gift of Life'); it was a chart success in the U.K., and became the band's first proper American release via Homestead Records. In 1988, guitarists Nick Brown and Keith Curtis joined the lineup and The Membranes recorded the album 'Kiss Ass, Godhead', with noted fan Steve Albini engineering the sessions. 1989 saw the release of the album 'To Slay the Rock Pig'; the band was vocally unhappy with the results, and in 1990, The Membranes split up, releasing the compilation 'Wrong Place at the Wrong Time' in 1993. (Another career summary, 'The Best of the Membranes', appeared in 1999.)
In 2009, My Bloody Valentine curated that year's All Tomorrow's Parties music festival, and they invited The Membranes to reunite for the occasion. The new lineup of The Membranes featured John Robb, Nick Brown, and Keith Curtis, with Peter Byrchmore and Rob Haynes from Robb's post-Membranes band Goldblade filling out the group. After their first successful ATP appearance, they appeared at the festival again at the request of Steve Albini and Shellac, and the band played standalone shows in the U.K. and Istanbul. The Membranes released a new EP, 'There's No Place Like Home', in 2009, and in 2015, the group issued their first studio album since 1989, 'Dark Matter/Dark Energy', with a lineup comprised of Robb, Brown, Byrchmore, and Haynes. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Mitch Easter carved his place in music history as a hip producer in the '80s, most notably for the early R.E.M. albums 'Murmur' and 'Reckoning'; unfortunately, these achievements often overshadowed and distracted him from giving his full commitment to his own recording career with Let's Active, a band that, between 1983 and 1988, released some of the finest Southern power pop/jangle pop of the decade.
After a short stint with The Sneakers, a band he formed with future dB's member Chris Stamey in North Carolina in the late '70s, Mitch Easter set up his legendary Drive-In Studios in 1981 and formed Let's Active with bassist Faye Hunter and drummer Sara Romweber. The trio released a six-song EP, 1983's 'Afoot', on IRS Records. In 1984, the band released the more experimental 'Cypress'. While the EP and album sold modestly, they found a strong following in the emerging alternative/"college rock" audience. Hunter and Romweber left shortly after the release, leaving Let's Active as essentially a solo project for Easter. Romweber later went on to join Snatches of Pink.
Easter recruited drummers Eric Marshall and Rob Ladd along with multi-instrumentalist Angie Carlson (Hunter returned temporarily for bass duties) for 'Big Plans For Everybody' in 1986, another critically praised yet commercially undervalued album. The harder-edged 'Every Dog Has His Day', which replaced Hunter with a full-time bassist, John Heames, was released in 1988. Following a small-scale promotional tour of college campuses, the band hung in limbo -no subsequent albums were recorded. Easter has continued producing in subsequent years while also playing with such other bands as Velvet Crush, Vinyl Devotion, Shalini, and The Fiendish Minstrels. He released his first solo album, 'Dynamico', in 2007. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Inspired by the artsy side of the '70s New York scene and the anti-careerist stance of punk, Edinburgh natives Paul Haig (vocals, guitar), Malcolm Ross (guitar), and Ronnie Torrance (drums) formed a band with an apparently unmentionable name. Future Exploited member Gary McCormack came and went as the bassist, with the trio eventually renaming itself TV Art. David Weddell eventually filled the gap, with the band frequently playing in and around their town. By the end of 1979's summer, they had recorded a demo and changed their name to Josef K.
November of that year saw the release of the nervy 'Chance Meeting' single on the one-off Absolute label. Alan Horne and Orange Juice member Edwyn Collins struck a verbal deal with the band for their Postcard imprint, which released a series of the band's singles. The first was a double pack with the funk-/soul-influenced Orange Juice gracing one half, which helped break ground on the press-derived "Scottish Sound". In late 1980 the band recorded an LP's worth of material in less than two weeks. The somewhat slickly produced 'Sorry for Laughing' was canned by Horne and the band for tilting the sound toward the rhythm section, rather than highlighting the guitars and sounding live. A few months later, the band recorded another album, entitled 'The Only Fun in Town'. Committed in less than a week, this one was released officially, hitting the top position of the U.K. indie chart. Notably, it was the only full-length released by the band, as well as the Postcard label. Having released a record and playing a number of successful shows, Haig determined that the band needn't accomplish anything more and disbanded his group. Ross went off to join Orange Juice, and also spent time with fellow Scots Aztec Camera. Haig began a solo career, eventually working with such talents as Alan Rankine, Billy Mackenzie, Cabaret Voltaire, and Mantronix. Weddell and Torrance were part of the Happy Family with Nick Currie (better known as Momus).
A number of posthumous releases followed shortly after the band's departure. 'Young and Stupid' was issued by Supreme International Recordings in 1987, compiling singles, a session for the BBC, and stray tracks from the shelved first album (it has been reissued twice since then with varying content). Les Temps Modernes coupled 'Sorry for Laughing' with 'The Only Fun in Town' on CD in 1990 (since the original release, it has been reissued by Rev-Ola and LTM once again). Marina issued a compilation of the band's finer moments in 1998, entitled 'Endless Soul'. Domino did the same in 2006, with the excellent 'Entomology'. Despite the recurring levels of interest in the band and their work, unlike many of their peers, they have to date resisted the urge to re-form. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
The "Holly" in Holly and the Italians was Holly Beth Vincent, a singer/drummer/guitarist, who got her start playing in local bands in her native Chicago in the 1970s. Vincent was in California when she formed Holly and the Italians with drummer Steve Young (real name Steve Dalton) and bassist Mark Sidgwick. The band relocated to London in 1979, adding guitarist Colin White, and in November released their debut single, "Tell That Girl to Shut Up", which landed them a deal with Virgin Records in 1980. (Though the single did not chart, Transvision Vamp's 1988 revival of the song did). They spent most of the year touring in England, then recorded an album, 'The Right to Be Italian', during which Young left and was replaced by Mike Osborn (who later gave way to John LaForge). The LP spent a few weeks in the lower reaches of the U.S. charts in the summer of 1981, but by the end of the year, the group had broken up. Early in 1982, Vincent released a duet single with Joey Ramone on the old Sonny and Cher chestnut "I Got You Babe," and later that year, she issued a solo album called 'Holly & the Italians', even though the band no longer existed and the disc was credited to her alone.
During the next 11 years, Vincent was involved with various groups, including a tenure with The Waitresses and a band with her brother Nick called Bikey that played only one show. But none of these efforts produced recordings. In 1993, she was signed to Daemon Records, the label run by Amy Ray of Indigo Girls, and made 'America' under the group name Oblivious. In 1995, she paired with Jonette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde as Vowel Movement and made an album by that name. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Superstar side projects have always rattled around the music scene, one-off outings conceived for any reason you like -to scratch a creative itch, to fulfill a personal vanity, or simply just to confuse and confound an audience that has been growing far too complacent. Occasionally, however, it works. The art rock underground still thrills to the memory of the nights that Nick Cave, Marc Almond, Lydia Lunch, and Foetus came together as The Immaculate Consumptives in 1983; and the gothic crowd still trembles at the memory of The Glove, the similarly short-lived but superbly styled union of The Cure's Robert Smith and Siouxsie and the Banshees' Steven Severin.
The Glove wasn't that great a stretch of the imagination. The pair had been friends since they first met in the late '70s; The Cure undertook their first ever British tour as special guests of The Banshees, in late 1979, and when the headliners' guitarist went unexpectedly AWOL, half a dozen concerts into the itinerary, Smith was quick to fill the gap, playing two full sets every night.
The tour over, The Banshees ushered in a full-time replacement and Smith returned to The Cure. But when that band apparently broke up in June 1982, Smith's first move was to record a single for Flexipop magazine, alongside Severin ("Lament"), and when The Banshees once again required a guitarist, Smith stepped into the breach.
Over the next six months, of course, The Cure did creep back into action, even as The Banshees worked constantly, while Smith and Severin also birthed a project they had been discussing since 1981, The Glove (so named for a character in The Beatles' "Yellow Submarine" movie).
With the "group" completed by vocalist/dancer Jeanette Landray, the duo's original idea was to cut a one-off single only. Their writing sessions, however, knew no such boundaries. Days turned to weeks, which transformed, in turn, to months. Smith later boasted, "when we went into the studio, we ended up with 15 songs after three days. And we put them on a record. An odd record".
In fact, the entire project consumed close to three months, but Smith was right about one thing. It was an odd record. According to Banshees drummer Budgie, he and Siouxsie "looked in on a couple of sessions, and couldn't believe what was going on...a situation obviously fuelled by parties and various substances".
The project was doomed to obscurity, however; by the time 'Blue Sunshine' was actually released, that late summer of 1983, both The Banshees and The Cure were enjoying their biggest hit singles yet ("Dear Prudence" and "The Lovecats," respectively); both were preparing to record new albums; both were appearing on British television on an almost weekly basis. The Glove was simply buried beneath the weight of its peers.
A pair of singles went unnoticed, and hopes of a Glove tour -or even a handful of concerts- were dashed. The group did make a couple of TV appearances, the first in October with a couple of Smith's Cure bandmates accompanying the lead trio through a version of the "Punish Me With Kisses" 45 and, with the entire thing completely forgotten by all but the most obsessive fans, the following March, when Britain's Channel 4 TV network invited The Banshees to take part in a new series called "Play at Home" -a series of rock mock documentaries that essentially allowed the lunatics to take over the asylum and present whatever they wanted to the watching millions. The Glove turned in a suitably addled performance, but that was the end. Although occasional rumors have resurfaced around a reunion, the band remains nothing but a memory. A very odd memory. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
The British new wave trio Fiat Lux notched a handful of hits in the U.K. before vanishing into the pop abyss. Fiat Lux formed in Yorkshire, England, in 1982 with Steve Wright (vocals), Ian Nelson (sax, keyboards), and Dave Crickmore (guitars, keyboards). Wright and Crickmore studied drama together in college. After graduating, Wright joined a theatre company called the Yorkshire Actors where he met musician Bill Nelson, the former guitarist of Be Bop Deluxe. Wright gave Nelson a demo tape he and Crickmore had recorded. Impressed with their music, Nelson produced and arranged one of the demo's tracks, "Feels Like Winter Again", and released it on his label Cocteau Records. In April 1982, Bill Nelson's brother Ian Nelson was added to Fiat Lux's lineup. They named themselves Fiat Lux, which is the Latin translation for the Biblical quotation "Let There Be Light". "Feels Like Winter Again" was the first of Fiat Lux's radio successes. In 1984, the haunting ballad "Secrets" drew comparisons to Depeche Mode's moody synth-pop; it became Fiat Lux's most well-known song. Fiat Lux's utilization of cello in "Secrets" broadened synth-pop's stylistic range. However, Fiat Lux never released a full-length album. The group's output was limited to several singles for Polydor. Fiat Lux disbanded in 1985. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
London, England-based art student Susan Whitby originally adopted the pseudonym Lora Logic during her stint as saxophonist in X-Ray Spex. After leaving that group following their debut single, she soon re-emerged in 1978 with her own outfit, Essential Logic, who quickly recorded a couple of hard-edged EPs, 'Aerosol Burns' and 'Wake Up'. One album was recorded, 'Beat Rhythm News' (1979), before Lora commenced on a series of solo recordings in 1981. Her quirky, occasionally arresting, vocals were in evidence on her sole album, 'Pedigree Charm', and she can be heard on a number of recordings by other artists including The Raincoats, Stranglers, Swell Maps and Red Crayola. Logic later joined the Hare Krishna cult, just like X-Ray Spex’s Poly Styrene before her. She returned to music in the mid-90s to play with the re-formed X-Ray Spex. She revived the Essential Logic moniker in the new millennium, teaming up with Gary Valentine (guitar), Dave Jones (bass) and Nick Pretzell (drums) to record a four-track mini-album. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
During their heyday in the late '80s, The Dead Milkmen led a crop of college-radio jokesters that also included Mojo Nixon, King Missile, and Too Much Joy, among others. Playing a basic, happily amateurish brand of punk-pop, the Milkmen skewered popular culture, indie trend-followers, and the intellectually challenged, while frequently indulging their taste for tastelessness. Critics alternately praised and dismissed the band as geeky, juvenile wiseasses -virtually every review seemed to contain the word "sophomoric," and either you found them funny or you didn't. But despite the mixed reviews, the Milkmen earned a devoted cult following (which famously included Detroit Tigers utility infielder Jim Walewander), a few novelty hits on college radio, and even an MTV hit with "Punk Rock Girl." As polarizing as their sense of humor was among critics, it was what fans wanted and came to expect, and attempts to move into more genuine, serious territory during the '90s effectively spelled the end of the band. Oddly enough, by that time, they were exerting at least a small measure of influence -perhaps more than any of their peers, they paved the way for the legion of smart-assed geek-rockers who ruled alternative radio for a brief period in the mid-'90s.
The Dead Milkmen were formed at Philadelphia's Temple University in 1983. Guitarist and sometime vocalist Joe Jack Talcum (born Joe Genaro) and lead singer Rodney Anonymous (aka Rodney Amadeus Anonymous, aka Rodney Anonymous Melloncamp, born Rodney Linderman) grew up together in the small Pennsylvania town of Wagontown. During high school, Genaro started writing a newsletter about a fictional band called The Dead Milkmen, and the exploits of its lead singer Jack Talcum. When Genaro graduated and enrolled at Temple, he and Linderman kept up a songwriting partnership through the mail. Through his acquaintances at Temple, Genaro met drummer Dean Clean (born Dean Sabatino), who played in a local punk band called Narthex, and bassist Dave Blood (identified only as Dave S.), with whom he struck up a songwriting partnership. All three started playing together in 1983, and with Rodney Anonymous joining them that summer, they performed their first gig as The Dead Milkmen.
Over the next year or two, the Milkmen recorded several live, self-released cassettes, and achieved considerable local notoriety with a live radio performance in 1984. They earned some attention in the punk magazine Maximumrocknroll, and the resulting buzz helped them land a deal with Restless Records subsidiary Fever. In 1985, they issued their debut album, 'Big Lizard in My Backyard', which consisted mostly of material from their cassette releases. The track "Bitchin' Camaro" -which featured a rambling spoken intro full of snotty putdowns and nonsensical banter- became a hit on college radio, and sloppy joke-punk tunes like "Takin' Retards to the Zoo" cemented their new cult following. The follow-up, 'Eat Your Paisley!', appeared in 1986, and while some fans considered it a letdown, they had some radio success with "The Thing That Only Eats Hippies." 1987's 'Bucky Fellini' was a return to form that spawned the underground smash "Instant Club Hit (You'll Dance to Anything)," a spot-on satire of Britain's gloomy alternative music and the pretension of its attendant subculture in America. The song (and several remixes) served as the basis for an EP, and it also pushed 'Bucky Fellini' onto the national album charts for the first time in the band's career.
Poised for something vaguely resembling a breakthrough, the Milkmen expanded their cult following even further with 1988's 'Beelzebubba'. That was largely due to the single "Punk Rock Girl," a college-radio smash whose video was also aired fairly extensively on MTV. 'Beelzebubba' just missed climbing into the Top 100 and wound up as the group's biggest seller, also featuring fan favorites "Stuart" and "Life Is Shit." A second single, "Smokin' Banana Peels," was also released, and anchored another EP that featured five additional new songs, including the gross-out-fest "The Puking Song." The band's proper follow-up, 'Metaphysical Graffiti', appeared in 1990 and featured guest vocals from the Butthole Surfers' Gibby Haynes on "Anderson, Walkman, Buttholes and How." However, the album received a mixed response from fans, some of whom praised the beefed-up production but others of whom found the material erratic; in any case, it stalled some of the band's momentum. There were also reports that their record company was unhappy with the unlisted bonus track, "Cousin Earl," a near-seven-minute shaggy-dog story that piled on the Milkmen's gross-out humor to previously unimagined levels.
Whether it was the fault of "Cousin Earl" or the fact that Restless' parent company, Enigma, went bankrupt, The Dead Milkmen found themselves hunting for a new label after 'Metaphysical Graffiti'. They wound up on the Disney-run Hollywood Records, and in an even more bizarre twist, elected to play things mostly straight -with no pressure from the company to do so- on their 1992 label debut, 'Soul Rotation'. Perhaps signaling what they hoped was a new era for the band, Anonymous adopted the new name H.P. Hovercraft, while Talcum switched his to Butterfly Fairweather and took on a larger share of the lead vocal duties. Some critics -mainly those who'd never found the Milkmen all that funny- and a minority of fans embraced the record and its more eclectic songwriting, but the new direction simply wound up alienating most of the group's fan base. A second album for Hollywood, 1993's 'Not Richard but Dick', fared even more poorly, and the Milkmen were dropped.
The Milkmen did celebrate their tenth anniversary in 1993 by self-releasing 'Now We Are 10', a CD compilation of some of their early cassette-only recordings. They returned to Restless Records for 1994's 'Chaos Rules: Live at the Trocadero', a run through some of their best-known songs, and offered the new studio set 'Stoney's Extra Stout (Pig)' in 1995. It was virtually ignored, and the Milkmen elected to disband. All the members got day jobs, and most continued in music on a local basis in Philadelphia. Rodney Anonymous reverted to his given name and started a gothic-tinged Celtic rock band called Burn Witch Burn, which issued a self-titled CD in 2000. Joe Jack Talcum and Dean Clean reunited, also under their real names (Genaro and Sabatino), in Butterfly Joe, who also released a self-titled debut nationally in 2000. The two also gigged with several other Philly bands over the '90s: Genaro with The Town Managers, Touch Me Zoo, and The Low Budgets, and Sabatino with The Big Mess Orchestra. Dave Blood, meanwhile, gave up the bass due to pain in his hands, and went to graduate school to further his interest in the former Yugoslavia. Meanwhile, Restless issued the career retrospective 'Death Rides a Pale Cow' (titled after one of their early cassettes) in 1997, and 2003 brought 'Now We Are 20', an expanded reissue of 'Now We Are 10' given wider release by Restless. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Playing stripped-down, loud, and fast Ramones-inspired guitar rock, The Celibate Rifles were one of the earliest Australian punk bands to emerge during the post-Radio Birdman/Saints era. Taking their cues from these Aussie bands, along with the American hard rock of The Stooges, MC5, and Blue Oyster Cult, the Rifles were led by the twin-guitar attack of Kent Steedman and Dave Morris and the deadpan baritone of vocalist Damien Lovelock. They exploded out of the gates in 1982 with a series of records (released in Australia only) fueled by high-speed guitars, wah-wah-strangulated solos, and cartoonish, tongue-in-cheek lyrics.
Playing initially for crowds of hard rock-loving surfers, it didn't take long for the Rifles to develop a following. Outside of the continent, however, they were virtually unknown. That changed in 1985 with the release of 'Quintessentially Yours', a lengthy EP that was a collection of tracks from earlier albums. Although the Rifles didn't receive the attention of many lesser American and English bands, the releases kept coming, and they were all excellent. What didn't help was a seeming disinterest the band had in touring America. But when you're an Australian band, it's easy to see why: it's expensive, it takes forever to get there, and why bother when the records aren't getting the kind of reception they deserve? As a result, the Rifles last toured America in 1987.
As they continued recording and maturing, the Rifles were unafraid to take risks with their tried-and-true loud-and-fast sound. Soon, acoustic guitars entered the mix, tempos slowed, pianos tinkled in the background, and vocal harmonies were added. None of this increased technical skill and studio experimentation diluted the band's strengths (i.e., feral power); in fact, it may well have made the Rifles a better and more interesting band. Another development was the increased politicization and social consciousness of their material. No longer were they simply sarcastic funny boys. Rather, they were addressing serious political, environmental, and social issues, thanks to Lovelock's sharp, insightful lyrics, all without any condescension or simplistic rhetoric.
In 1989, Rifles albums were suddenly no longer available in American release, a fact that didn't help the band in its quest to develop an international following. As a result, their great album 'Blind Ear' was available (when you could find it) only as a high-priced Aussie import. Also, there were signs that the Rifles were nearing the end: Steedman and Morris were playing around Sydney with other musicians and producing new bands; Lovelock released a solo album ('It's a Wig, Wig, Wig, World') with members of The Church; and the time between Rifles releases seemed to grow longer. Another dispiriting sign was the 1992 release of 'Heaven on a Stick', which, despite a wonderful title, sounded tired and tossed off.
Fortunately, all this speculation turned out to be wrong, and in late 1994 the Rifles stormed back with 'Spaceman in a Satin Suit', an exhilarating return to form. A nonstop barrage of power, volume, and sharp songwriting, it shreds virtually every effort by the '90s generation of guitar-based alterna-rock careerists, and is easily the band's best record since 'Blind Ear'. They may be a grizzled bunch of punk rockers, but there's nothing The Celibate Rifles couldn't teach young rock bands. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Favoring chaotic squalls of guitar noise and avant textures over the dynamics of conventional songcraft, the New York-based Band of Susans formed in 1986 around the core duo of singers/songwriters Robert Poss and Susan Stenger, longtime friends who reunited only after pursuing dramatically different musical paths: while Poss became a fixture on the N.Y.C. punk scene in The Clash-inspired Tot Rocket before joing Rhys Chatham's guitar ensemble, Stenger relocated to Prague, where she studied the theories of John Cage. Originally, Band of Susans featured Poss on lead guitar and Stenger on bass, rounded out by guitarists Susan Tallman and Susan Lyall (hence the outfit's name) and drummer Ron Spitzer; four months after forming, they issued their debut EP, 'Blessing and Curse'.
In 1988, Band of Susans released their first full-length album, 'Hope Against Hope'; both Tallman and Lyall departed soon after, and were replaced by Page Hamilton (a former student of Glenn Branca, a frequent Susans reference point) and Karen Haglof. After 1989's 'Love Agenda', Hamilton too left the group to found Helmet; he was replaced by Mark Lonergan, and following Haglof's exit, Anne Husick stepped in for 1991's 'The Word and the Flesh', which employed a more focused attack, typified by a lesser emphasis on reverb and feedback, to arrive at a more accessible sound.
Without the usual attendant line-up changes, Band of Susans issued 1993's dense, droning 'Veil', followed two years later by 'Here Comes Success', a uniformly strong collection of lengthy pieces including the instrumental "In the Eye of the Beholder (Song for Rhys)," a tribute to Poss' mentor. In mid-1996, Band of Susans dissolved, although Stenger and Poss continued working with Wire's Bruce Gilbert in the trio GilbertPossStenger in addition to mounting other projects. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
The Adult Net was a British indie pop band formed by British-based American singer and guitarist Brix Smith in 1985, while she was a member of The Fall. The group initially included other several other members of The Fall, including Simon Rogers, Craig Scanlon and Karl Burns. The group issued four singles in 1985/86, with Scanlon departing after the debut single, and Burns leaving a single later. In 1988, the Smith/Rogers duo recruited former Smiths members Craig Gannon, Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce to fill in the line-up, but by the time the group recorded their only album in 1989, Rogers, Rourke and Joyce had all left. The final Adult Net line-up was a quartet of Smith, Gannon, former Blondie member Clem Burke and then-current The The member James Eller. After the band's 1989 debut album, 'The Honey Tangle', failed to chart, their label Fontana Records released them in 1990, and the group disbanded.
American singer and guitarist Brix Smith joined the British post-punk band The Fall in 1983 and later married the band's founder, Mark E. Smith. While remaining with The Fall, Smith formed The Adult Net along with fellow Fall member Simon Rogers in 1985 when they released a cover version of the American psychedelic rock band Strawberry Alarm Clock's 1967 hit single, "Incense and Peppermints", on Beggars Banquet. At the time, the official band line-up was credited as Brix on vocals and guitar, Ottersley Kipling (i.e., Simon Rogers) on bass, Silki Guth (a.k.a. Craig Scanlon) on guitar, and 'Mask' Aiechmann (a.k.a. Karl Burns) on drums. This meant that the official Adult Net line-up was essentially The Fall without Mark E. Smith, although Smith did appear as a guest on a few Adult Net recordings credited as 'Count Gunther Hoalingen'. Also, producer John Leckie was credited as Swami Anand Nagara, a pseudonym he would also use for his production work with psychedelic revivalists The Dukes of Stratosphear, who released their debut single the same month as The Adult Net debuted (April 1985).
"Edie" –a tribute to Edie Sedgwick, the American actress and one of Andy Warhol's superstars– was released in November 1985, with the line-up down to a trio of Brix, Kipling and Aiechmann. (For the first few years of the band's existence, Brix Smith was billed simply as "Brix", although in the writing credits she used the name "Brix E. Smith".)
Two singles were released in 1986, "White Nights (Stars Say Go)", a cover version of "White Night" by the English band The Lines, and "Waking Up in the Sun". "Waking Up in the Sun" was the first single by the band to chart when it reached number 95 on the UK Singles Chart in September 1986. For both 1986 singles, the group was officially credited as being simply 'Brix' and 'O. Kipling'. An album was recorded for Beggars Banquet in 1987 called 'Spin This Web' but remains unreleased.
In an attempt to sign with Geffen Records, in 1988 Smith and Rogers recruited ex-Smiths members, Craig Gannon (guitar), Andy Rourke (bass) and Mike Joyce (drums) to The Adult Net. Around this same time, Rogers dropped the "O. Kipling" stage name, and Brix added the last name Smith to her official billing. However, this line-up did not issue any material, and Rogers, Rourke and Joyce all left the band after only a few months together.
The Adult Net were eventually signed by Phonogram Records subsidiary Fontana Records with a somewhat revised line-up –Smith and Gannon were joined by James Eller on bass, and ex-Blondie drummer Clem Burke. This quartet recorded the 1989 album 'The Honey Tangle'. The album was recorded at The Church studios in London and produced by Craig Leon. Three singles were released from the album: "Take Me", which reached number 78; "Where Were You" (a cover version of the American rock band The Grass Roots' 1966 single "Where Were You When I Needed You"), which reached number 66; and a re-recorded version of "Waking Up in the Sun", which reached number 99. Shortly after the release of the album, Smith left The Fall, having ended her marriage with Mark E. in early 1989. The album failed to chart and the band were released by Fontana in October 1990, dissolving shortly therafter.
In his 1987 interview with Brix Smith, Richard Cook for Sounds, described The Adult Net's debut single as psychedelic revival and noted that Smith "seems captivated by the innocent spirit of an older sort of pop". The American music journalist Ira Robbins described the band's music as "a flower-powery side project to The Fall". He noted that some songs took "a pointless country turn" but that 'The Honey Tangle' was a "catchy power-folk-pop collection that sounds like a flashback to 1981 Los Angeles". While reviewing 'The Honey Tangle' for Allmusic, Stewart Mason said that the band's early singles were "spiky marriages between guitars and electronics that owed much to the raincoat-clad heyday of Factory Records". Stewart went on to describe 'The Honey Tangle' as "glossy, jangly, sweet-natured pop music that would sound perfectly at home in the Top 40 radio play lists of some alternate universe".[SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
Yung Wu was a late 80s offshoot project of US band The Feelies. On 1987’s 'Shore Leave', the mid-period line-up of The Feelies’ (co-founders Glenn Mercer and Bill Million, percussionist Dave Weckerman, bass player Brenda Sauter, and drummer Stanley Demeski) were joined by keyboard player John Baumgartner, a member of The Feelies’ side project The Trypes. Weckerman switched from percussion to sing lead vocals in Yung Wu. 'Shore Leave' had a pastoral sound, with acoustic guitars and brushed drumming. The set provided an interesting contrast to The Feelies’ edgy angst, although it was slightly undermined by worthy, but unexciting, cover versions of songs by Neil Young, The Rolling Stones and Brian Eno. Mercer, Demeski, Weckerman and Baumgartner reunited on 9 December 2001 as an opening act for Yo La Tengo. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
