post punk

Tropic of Cancer – Restless Idylls [BLACKESTLP005]

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Restless Idylls is the first full length album from Tropic of Cancer, the solo project of Los Angeles-based Camella Lobo. Lobo debuted in 2009 with ‘The Dull Age’/’Victims’, a 10” single on Downwards and the first of three collaborations with Juan Mendez (Silent Servant). Two years later came a second Downwards release (‘Be Brave’, remixed by Cabaret Voltaire’s Richard H. Kirk), followed soon after by The Sorrow Of Two Blooms on Blackest Ever Black – the label’s third release and one if its most cherished. Since then there have been 12” releases on Mannequin, Sleeperhold Publications, Ghostly International (a Part Times Punks Sessions live split with HTRK) and a limited edition compilation, The End of All Things, compiling singles and unreleased recordings. Restless Idylls marks ToC’s return to BEB and consists of eight new recordings written in Los Angeles, with additional production from Karl O’Connor (Regis) in New York and London. Its themes? The usual: romance, devotion, pain and helplessness. Mixed up mortals struggling against the brute mechanics of fate, and proving unequal to the task. A forced retreat into private, precious idylls of longing, faith, mystery, even misery. The urgent motorik of lead single ‘More Alone’ is perhaps a misleading foretaste of the full-length, which is more lush, languid and extravagantly despondent than previous TOC material. Troubled hymns from an empty room, in a drowned world. A sensual and sepulchral psychedelia.

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Tropic of Cancer – Restless Idylls [BLACKESTLP005]

D.Z. Lectric + Anthon Shield – Lickin’ [MW047]

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Minimal Wave presents the 47th release, a release of early 1980s ritualistic minimal electronics by French duo DZ Lectric + Anthon Shield. The songs are selections from their 1985 cassette release, Confessions D’Un Masque. Having been active in their respective projects, the duo came together naturally in 1981 and over the years began recording music together. They shared a similar philosophical outlook and love of music, from classic rock like The Velvet Underground and The Stooges, to the edgier, industrial and no wave stuff that was coming out at the time, bands like Throbbing Gristle, Suicide, and Tuxedo Moon. They performed a number of times at special venues and festivals in Europe, creating intense and engaging live performances with minimum equipment and an abundance of spirit. They also released many tapes throughout the 1980s. Their music is challenging and hypnotic. Brutal and aggressive at times, overall the message speaks more about human ritual than anything truly sinister.

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D.Z. Lectric + Anthon Shield – Lickin’ [MW047]

Crystal Soda Cream – Escape From Vienna [TWR009]

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“After a self-titled debut EP in March (through which the band demonstrated potential yet), Crystal Soda Cream has released their first full-length album which is called “Escape from Vienna”. Consisting of Theresa Adamski (drums, synths), Philipp Forthuber (guitar, vocals) and Sebastian Ploier (bass), the Austrian trio proposes an intense journey across the shady corners of mind. Philipp’s voice, dissonant and dynamic, going insanely from breathy to harsh tones, guides this exploration of claustrophobic and melodramatic soundscapes. Rooted in Post-Punk and tinged with early New Wave sounds, their music is elegantly decadent, with the forseeable dose of uprooting and introspection, but also enough compelling and varied.”

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Crystal Soda Cream – Escape From Vienna [TWR009]

Los Microwaves – Life After Breakfast [DE044]

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Los Microwaves was a San Francisco-based synth-punk trio who formed in 1979. The main line-up included Meg Brazill (vocals, bass, synthesizers), David Javelosa (vocals, synthesizers), and Todd “Rosa” Rosencrans (drums, bass). Their recorded output consisted of a handful of 45′s and their lone LP, “Life After Breakfast,” released on the legendary Posh Boy records in 1981. Creating sound and music from the fusion of techno-punk, new wave pop, and electronic music, Los Microwaves featured a quirky audio theater that was best experienced live and from the dance floor. Sporting a combination of earlier portable synthesizers, bass and processed percussion, the music continues to deliver a unique groove. “Life After Breakfast” contains 13 songs full of teen angst, jerky rhythms, melodic chants, and punky shouts. Meg’s vocals are cheeky and peppy, recalling the anti-pop sound of The B-52′s, Devo and early XTC.

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Los Microwaves – Life After Breakfast [DE044]

Especially Good ‎– Foundation [EST83-02]

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“Foundation” is the new EP fromlis’ Especially Good, the most exciting band from Detroit in recent memory. The eight track EP showcases the trios dynamic energy of Julio Dominguez’s vocals, Joe F synthesizers and drum programing and Paul Kiry’s bass – culminating in songs that are equally raw, brutal and honest. The sound of E.G. exists in a space of its own, but one can hear influences of Throbbing Gristle, Factory Records and Detroit Techno in the rhythms and sonic textures throughout “Foundation”. Recorded and mixed in Detroit by Sam Consiglio and Adam Lee Miller (of Adult). Released on Est. 83′ Records, a sub-label of FIT SOUND.

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Especially Good ‎– Foundation [EST83-02]

Ancien Régime – The Position LP [MNQ032]

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The Italian band Ancien Régime with theoir first album on Mannequin Records. “The Position” evokes new wave and synth-pop memories, delivering epic vintage sounds and wrapping them all with catchy riffs and melodies. Still, despite this fascination with the past, the band’s work stands out as a distinctive, highly personal take on the genre. The album is opened by the single “Negative”, with its dark gloomy vocals and war-like drumming. “Negative” is, in fact, the quintessential Ancien Régime composition: wave, biting snare, interweaving synths and guitars, reverbs, delays.

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Ancien Régime – The Position LP [MNQ032]

Fall Of Saigon – Untitled EP [DE038]

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Dark Entires Records is honored to re-issue the debut EP by Fall Of Saigon. The band was born in 1981 when Florence Berthon (Vocals), Pascal Comelade (Organ, Synthesizer) and Thierry Den (Guitar, Vocals) met at a concert in Montpellier, France. They chose to the name the project Fall Of Saigon after a song by UK post-punk act This Heat. They self-released their debut EP in 1983 citing Nico & The Velvet Underground, Suicide and James Joyce as influences. The 6 songs on the EP were recorded in two stages. “She Leaves Me All Alone” and “On The Beach At Fontana” were sung by Thierry and recorded at Pascal’s home on a Revox 2-track in one shot. The four songs sung by Florence – “Visions”, “Blue Eyes”, “So Long” and “The Swimmer” – were recorded and mixed at the Montpellier Languedoc Video Animation Center by Jean Alain Sidi on two ReVox A77 reel to reels and a small mixer. On “Visions,” “Blue Eyes” and “So Long,” the group employed a drum machine that could only play four or five rhythms with a single slider to increase or decrease the tempo. The songs were minimal: verse, chorus, no bridge, no intro. Built on a simple spine, they create a feeling of space with just a voice and an organ or synthesizer melody. Full of class and inventiveness, Fall Of Saigon are often compared to Young Marble Giants due to the fragile, ephemeral quality of the songs.

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Fall Of Saigon – Untitled EP [DE038]

Informatics – Dance To A Dangerous Beat [DE037]

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Informatics were a post-punk electronic band from Melbourne, Australia formed in 1981. Michael Trudgeon, Valek Sadovchikoff, Steve Adam and Ramesh Ayyar met in the experimental sound studio while attending the same art school. Philip McKellar later joined the band in 1983. They came to work together through a shared fascination in electronic music and the capabilities of analogue synthesizers. In early performances, long before the advent of samplers, the Informatics used a collection of synthesizers and other analogue and hand built equipment. These were patched together to create a unique battery of sounds.  Informatics early songs have a brittle, cold, disconnected feel made by a Roland SH-101, Korg MS-20 and a lot of processed guitar. The later songs utilize newer technology and ambient, synthesized melodies closer to their country mates Severed Heads.

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Informatics – Dance To A Dangerous Beat [DE037]

VA – The Thing From The Crypt [DE036]

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Dark Entries is proud to present “The Thing From The Crypt,” a 16-track compilation of UK DIY/Synth/New Wave/Post-Punk originally released in 1981. Showcasing the thriving post punk sound of Watford, a town in Hertfordshire, England, located 20 minutes northwest of central London. “‘The Thing From The Crypt’ neither attempts to sell a ‘Wotford sound’ nor claims to be a comprehensive guide to the area’s best beat bands. Like all good compilations, its essence is variety: some tracks will make you come whilst other will make you vomit.” – original liner notes by Robert Dellar.
This compilation features 8 bands with two songs included by each group.

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VA – The Thing From The Crypt [DE036]

Der Noir – A Dead Summer (Remixes) [MROME023]

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“A Dead Summer” is the highly recommended first album by Der Noir , a Roman trio offering a dark and gloomy sound reminiscent of early Bauhaus and the Sisters of Mercy. This is the remix album, released by MinimalRome and featuring Heinrich Dressel, Mick Wills, TeslaSonic, Newclear Waves and Alessandro Parisi.

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Der Noir – A Dead Summer (Remixes) [MROME023]

Smersh – Cassette Pets [DE035]

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Dark Entries has dug deep in the New Jersey basement of Smersh to release the double LP compilation “Cassette Pets”. Smersh was the duo of Mike Mangino and Chris Shepard, who started writing music together in the late 1970s. They were uninterested in traditional notions of songwriting or live performance. Everything they needed was in Piscataway NJ: a basement full of musical toys and instruments, novelty space microphones, a TR-606 (the same “Roland” who was listed as a member of Big Black), a SH-09 (Cabaret Voltaire’s favorite synth), and — perhaps most importantly — a couple of tape recorders. By 1981, this dedication to spontaneous creativity had already produced countless recordings, and the duo began releasing cassettes as Smersh via their own Atlas King label. On “Cassette Pets” are 17 songs, featuring some of the many highlights from Smersh’s vast discography, spanning 1981-1994. Smersh’s sound is a lush hybrid of techno, industrial, dance, and experimental. Sometimes easy, sometime not. Most songs revolve around driving EBM style beats, intricate industrial noise manipulation and synth melodies. The Smersh sound has so many faces it doesn’t fall into any one category.

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Smersh – Cassette Pets [DE035]

The Product – Alive Again LP [DE034]

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The Product were a duo from the small villages Kvistgaard and Espergaerde, in the north of Denmark. Dan Stielow Mortazavi wrote the lyrics and sang while Kenneth Neuhaus composed the music and played the instruments. They met in the Autumn of 1982 and recorded their sole album “Alive Again” over a weekend. The LP features 11 songs recorded in two short live takes directly onto one cassette. The Product employed a basic set up of Micromoog, Roland JX-3P and TR-606 Drumatix. Nine of the songs employ only these two synthesizers and drum machine while two songs feature a guest bassist. With these three instruments they crafted melodic, icy electronic rhythms with detached vocals. Lyrics revolve around growing up in broken homes, alienation and romance.

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The Product – Alive Again LP [DE034]

Soviet Soviet – Summer, Jesus LP [MNQ033]

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MNQ 033 Soviet Soviet - Summer, Jesus LP cover art

Mannequin label from Rome release the “Summer, Jesus” LP by Soviet Soviet, first released on Tannen Records. This post punk LP includes 6 tracks and is burning mix of new wave and dark geometric linear reflections that are then.

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Soviet Soviet – Summer, Jesus LP [MNQ033]

Profligate – Videotape [NNF265LP]

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The retirement of Noah Anthony’s Night Burger alias dovetails fluidly into his latest / greatest burned-mind industrial vehicle, Profligate. Anthonys new musical operational model retains the eerie bleakness and concrete atmospheres of his previous project but sculpts them into more maximal, dynamic constructions. Videotape is his vinyl debut, and lays out the agenda with stark, menacing clarity. The title track is a pummeling ascent of chugging drum machines, flatliner synth electricities and strobe light sequencer detailsa digital bloodrush to the head one can (almost) dance to. “Conditioning Trench” rides a buzzing, dystopian bass-pulse strafed with vintage Roland claps, while a paranoid synth melody runs through a dubbed-out void into an exquisite vanishing point. Shadows of Sandwell District-ish negative techno flash forth here and there, but it’s refracted through a rawer, more physical post-noise basement worldview.

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Profligate – Videotape [NNF265LP]

Nancy Fortune – Remain Human [NAT012]

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Cover art - Nancy Fortune: Remain Human

Minimal wave album by Nancy Fortune on Chicago label Nation. Its about times of change and transformation, where we feel odd, lost or alienated. Life comes and goes, people in our life come and go, emotions come and go. we have a limited time on this planet and nothing stays the same and everything is in constant change.

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Nancy Fortune – Remain Human [NAT012]

Nite Fields – Vacation [LRR004]

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Vacation 7" cover art

Nite Fields are Brisbane new-wave electro band who make cold, hypnotic tracks swimming in grim atmospherics.  Recorded and mixed entirely by themselves, the new single “Vacantion” was released on Lost Race Records. The EP includes two tracks “Vacantion” and “Hell/Happy”.

Nite Fields – Vacation [LRR004]