Äpyli (Finland, 1981)

Discogs calls this "lo-fi rock". Another calls it "minimal wavePunk". This one doesn't even try to assign it to a particular genre. I previously posted one of their releases as Äpyli Ja Utu Ptrui Tänne Prutui.

Äpyli - Junalla Timbuktuun / Nowe Czasy 7" (Selecta SES 009, 1981)

Benny Blue (France, 1979)

Benny Blue had a number of releases in 1979 - 1980 that are categorized as electronic / funk / soul / rock / disco / power pop / pop rock / Italo-Disco and even punk. This 7" is the one that falls into the power pop / punk category with the B side being the punk track.

Benny Blue - Singin' In The Morning / Made Cap 7" (Disc'Az SG 704, 1979) 


If you're more inclined towards disco / Italo-Disco then this might be more your style:

Ian G. Harling vs Andrew Rance (UK, 1979)

The 45 Revolutions book lists these two 7"s with an "index of collectability" of 2.5 - 3 out of 5, meaning they are "rare and collectable". The first A side of the Ian Harling 7" is described as a "clever New Wave pop/rocker" while the second A side is an "irresistible Ska/Powerpopper". Andrew Rance provides two "rather interesting compositional New Wave efforts with loose Powerpop(py) overtones". Neither came with a picture sleeve.

Ian G. Harling - Heavy Breathing / Black & White 7" (P T O Records, PT 109/209 / EJSP 9410, 1979)
Andrew Rance - It Really Shouldn't Matter / Cold 7" (Trash TRA 1001, 1979)

AKA (Japan, 1985)

Japanese punk/hardcore. What is it about the Japanese and flexi's? I hate the damn things!

Aka - Dara Dara Dara / Finger Love // 偽想愛 / とまらない 7" flexi EP (Jisatsu GL-006ES, 1985)

Fuzz (France, 1981)

Hard rock / punk from France.

Fuzz - Satan's Fans / Renonce Pas! 7" (Les Productions Amicalement Vôtre 8101.0201, 1981) 

Wasting time ...

Recently I made a trip to the Ottawa / Toronto area to visit family and some old friends. While in the area I checked out some local record stores and a few record shows. I had long ago decided spending much time at such places was pretty much a waste of time. This trip didn't do much to change that opinion. I did find a few interesting things for possible trades (such as an Active Dog 7" and the first Wheezing Dogz EP) but nothing from my main want list. If I ever actually see anything from that list for sale somewhere other than eBay or some other online auction I'll probably faint from the shock.

I did end up buying a bunch of records, mostly from dollar bins: Quebec 60s pop/rock, some 50s/early 60s Canadian country, some obscure 70s/80s Canadian things I expected to be crap (and they really were - hello garbage dumpster, meet really shitty record) and others just because I thought the covers were cool and might look good on my wall. Mostly the sort of thing I'd never buy online because the shipping cost would be far more than they're actually worth. So in that regard record stores do serve a purpose when you have some time to kill and they're around the corner. Sure, people still pull KBD rarities out of dollar bins but the sheer amount of garbage 70s/80s rock you have to sift through really doesn't make it appealing to me as a regular pastime. I also find with many stores that either someone working there scoops anything good that comes in, or it goes straight to eBay. Popsike / Collectors Frenzy / Museum of Canadian Music / (insert internet site here) says this is worth that much! eBay it is!

Record fairs really don't do much for me either. There's lots to choose from (and even more 70s/80s rock crud to dig through). There are often some gems to be had, but try and find them before someone else does. And that's if someone selling at the show hasn't nabbed it before the doors even opened. At one show, I heard some variant of "I saw that sold on eBay for ..." a number of times within minutes of going through the door. If I want to spend $$$ for it on eBay, I can do that from the comfort of home and not have to deal with a bunch of other record dorks. The only advantage is I can actually look at it first and see if "NM" is really NM or more like VG.

More music posts coming soon ...

Blank Generation (Canada, c1980)

Out Of The ... Igloo!! just posted the 12" EP from this Edmonton band. Since I've started digging through some old tapes lately, here is their only(?) other recordings. This is from a cassette recorded in 1980 I think. Some of the songs titles are just a guess.

Touchtones (USA, 1980)

This one is listed as power pop on Discogs. It's sort of catchy, especially the A side, but nowhere near punk as I recall at least one eBay auction suggesting.

Touchtones - Dance All Night / Time (Won't Pass Me By) 7" (For The Eighties FOR THE 80's A/B, 1980)

Gangster (Netherlands, 1978)

This is the first single from this excellent Dutch glam/punk band. I'm still looking for the second one at a reasonable price.

Gangster - Run For The Police / Loving All The Time 7" (Mercury 6013 507, 1978)

Ny Våg - Svensk Punk book

It looks like I missed out on the first edition of this book. Just too many crazy things going on in my life the past 6 months. I see there is now a revised version of it available, but without the CD that the first version had? I can get the new version of the book easily enough ... but would anyone be willing to send me a cd-r copy or mp3's of the CD - or know somewhere I can buy the book + CD? 

Children Of The Morning (1972 - 1974)

This Italian based group released 2 7"s between 1972 and 1974. Both have been blogged previously - the first (Hey America, America) was released in several European countries. Discogs lists the Italian, Dutch and German releases. Mine is French. I think there are also Spanish and Portuguese versions. The second was issued only in France and Italy as far as I know. These aren't very raer and shouldn't be too hard to find if you would like the original records.

Children Of The Morning - Hey America, America / Children Of The Morning 7" (Spot ST 40020 (France), 1973)
Children Of The Morning - Ku Klux Man / Lady Lady 7" (Disc Az SG 490, 1974)

Silver Laughter (USA, 1976 - 1978)

This Iowa group released 2 LPs. Both are listed in the Acid Archives book which includes the following comments:
Handle With Care - ... a mixture of Beatles-inspired 1970s pop and backwoods rural rock ... the more countrified and boogie rock songs are pretty bad ... about two-thirds of this is very good.
Sailing On Fantasies - ... drops all of the backwoods aspirations of the first ... confident, inspired pop band and the album is solid straight through.

In addition to the 2 LPs, there are at least 2 45s with tracks from each LP.

Silver Laughter - Angela (Angel Love) / No One Can Do It 7" (Fanfare 4064, 1976)
Silver Laughter - Don't Feel Bad / Turn It Down (You're Too Loud) 7" (Fanfare 4076, 1978)


Since my original post I received more info from Mike (now Mick) Orton (bass and keyboards). If you are interested in original LPs or CDs you can reach him at: mick (at) sfresidence.com. He also has created a Silver Laughter web site.

  
Here is some of the info that Mick provided: 
The first album, Handle With Care, was a collection of songs. Some were written by Jon for his band, Silver Laughter, before I joined; some were my songs from my band, The Contents Are (later called Tabernash). The rest were written specifically for Handle with Care. That is why the thing sounds kind of disjointed. One of the reviews noticed that the first album did not have the cohesiveness of the second album. All of those tunes on Sailing on Fantasies were written and arranged at about the same time.

A little background is that my daughter found an article on Silver Laughter’s Sailing on Fantasies with a reference to Handle With Care.  It had a few inaccuracies when it was published at http://www.glorydazemusic.com/articles.php?article_id=4407, so I contacted the author and gave him more background. This caused him to write a second review for PopGeekHeaven http://www.popgeekheaven.com/music-discovery/lost-treasures-silver-laughter.

Handle With Care

Goin’ to be Mine and Grey, Cloudy Skies were songs I wrote and recorded with The Contents Are:/Tabernash while Getaway Woman, Take My Money and Whiskey Heaven were songs written by Jon for the original Silver Laughter (before me).

The rest of the songs were written and arranged by Jon and me for the album. Jon and I loved the Lennon and McCartney collaboration and adopted it for ourselves regardless of who came up with the original idea.

Sailing on Fantasies

Silver Laughter was a touring band that played around the Midwest and Canada. We would spend two to three weeks at a time in night clubs with an occasional one nighter at ballrooms around the cities in which we were popular. During the day, if we weren’t learning new cover songs to keep the dance crowds happy, Jon and I were writing songs for the second album. The band rehearsed to get the basic arrangements. Once we were in the studio we started adding layers. The only thing we didn’t do were the strings and horns which were recorded after the studio sessions were completed. Bob Parker, a friend of our manager, Art “Smart” Stenstrom, wrote the horn and string arrangements with input from the band. The first horn arrangement on Don’t Feel Bad made it sound like a game show theme song which we nixed right away.

These days the band is spread all over the country, but we are still in touch. If there ever was a reunion, the original drummer, Kim Ludtke (Jon’s brother) would probably play. He was the first drummer when I joined, then Paul (from The Contents Are:) took over. After Paul decided to quit, Kim was coming back. We played a few jobs and had publicity photos taken, but broke up shortly afterward.

The original band after I joined, left to right clockwise: Kim Ludtke - drums, Mike (now Mick) Orton – bass and keyboards, Mark Zaputil – lead guitar and Jon Ludtke – lead and rhythm guitar at the bottom center.

Agaton 6 (Sweden, 1977)

Although this record is listed in the International Discography of The New Wave book there is really nothing punk or even "new wave" about it. On the back of the sleeve you can see the band dressed in their best  "new wave" gear. The song "Ge mej ett glas vatten" ("Give Me A Glass of Water") is said to be a cover of Bob Dylan's "I Pity The Poor Immigrant". Not really caring much about Dylan, I'll leave that for someone else to figure out. Overall though, I still mostly like the record.

Agaton Sex/6 - Ulrike / Ge mej ett glas vatten // Kling klang / Göteborg EP (Lindö NR 01, 1977)

Kid America (USA, 1982)

There's a Discogs entry for this as new wave / power pop. On eBay that would be awesome power pop.

Kid America - I Wanna Be Normal / We'll Be Kids 7" (Tiger Rag KA-001, 1982)

Walleyes (USA, 1982)

I wasn't sure what to expect from a record on the Industrial label and a song called "Ripped and Torn". It turns out the Walleyes were from Minnesota and the 2 songs are not bad pop-rock/powerpop. According to this Wikipedia entry (which doesn't mention the Walleyes) member Reynold Philipsek has released 35 CDs since 1989.

Walleyes - Ripped and Torn / Automatic Love 7" (Industrial IR001, 1982)

Albatross (Canada, 1981)

Based on searching member names, it would seem Albatross was a precursor to Canadian AOR band Darkstar. I think this Darkstar was different from the band that released the "Into The Heartland" and "Escape Routines" LPs. The A side of this can be filed under 'A' for awful but the B side is a decent hard rock track. What I've heard of the Darkstar LPs hasn't inspired me to yet pay more than a few dollars for them.

Albatross - Don't Let Me Sleep / Sentimental Fool 7" (no label/self-released, 1981)

Tatu's A.M.B. (Finland, 1983)

The A side could perhaps be considered as powerpop. And then the guitarist seems to decide he wants to do heavy metal. Or something. The B side seems more AOR.

Tatu's A.M.B. - Ways Of Forgetting / Memories 7" (Kräk! KRÄKS 39, 1983)

Lapsuuden Loppu (Finland, c1980)

Don't be fooled by the intro to the A side. This is punk! They were likely from Ylitornio in northern Finland, close to the Swedish border. It is quite raer, with only 200 pressed according to a youtube posting from 2009. I see no date on the sleeve or record (it has plain white labels) and I've found it listed as 1980 or 1981.

Lapsuuden Loppu - Tämän yön on tää kylä meidän / Ruumis tiellä 7" (Tit Music LLS-01, c1980)

Dynamisk Reträtt (Sweden, 1980)

Mystery day today. First up is Dynamisk Reträtt. Sweden, 1980. The sound is hard to describe - seems to be a mix of rock and progg. The B side is kind of interesting. It translates as something like "Reality Escape" or "Escapism".

Dynamisk Reträtt - Vem bryr sej om? / Verklighetsflykt 7" (Rekodelig Rekords DGP A/B, 1980)

Parkbenchmutations (Sweden?, 1988?)

This one is an even bigger mystery than the Dynamisk Reträtt. It may also be from Sweden (at least that's where I found it). Dead wax has "880601" which may be a date. Or not. Both songs have a gothic/postpunkish feel.

Parkbenchmutations - A Portrait In Red / Don't Look Down 7" (MUT 1, 1988?)

Monarchs (USA, 1983?)

I couldn't find much at all about this one. It is from Virginia, likely around 1983. Nice powerpop/garage with a 60s sound.

Monarchs - There's No Stopping Now / Shallow Water 7" (Three Monarchs Prod., NR 15925, 1983?)

Beat Baum (Switzerland, 1979)

I've posted a lot of Swiss punk records previously (such as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) and I'm sure you can find even more around on other blogs. This record appears on some Swiss punk/wave discographies such as Punk-Disco or swisspunk.ch but now we are getting into completist territory. There are still some good Swiss records and tapes from 1977 - 1983 that I would like to post, if I can ever find them. For now, this will have to do.

Beat Baum - Ich bin da / Hey du (,) Vogel 7" (B&B Records BB 2001, 1979)

Y Sefydliad - 4 Cân - cassette (Wales, 1983)

Y Sefydliad released one 7" in 1983 (which you can hear on youtube) and also this cassette. Anything else? The tape has 4 songs, recorded in 1982, youtube has live versions of "Merched" and "Meddwl".

Y Sefydliad - 4 Cân cassette (Lola MW0005 (SEF 001), 1983)
(Merched / Pwy sy'n pryderu / Perthynas rhamantus / Meddwl)

Rhyw Byw - Safwn Yn Y Twlc - cassette (Wales, 198?)

I'll start by assuming the band name is Rhyw Byw (which Google translates as "live sex") and the title is Safwn Yn Y Twlc ("We Stand In The Sty"). No idea of the date. The first song, Can y bugail, translates as "The Shepherd Song" so it seems sheep are somehow involved in all of this as well. Apparently any Scottish sheep jokes you may have heard apply to the Welsh as well. "William" is a cool song but I have no idea what it might be about.

Rhyw Byw - Safwn Yn Y Twlc cassette (Moch 01, 198?)
(Can y bugail / William / Can bedlam / Lleucu llwyd / Safwn yn y twlc)

Attacke (Germany, 1982) vs Dobo (Belgium, 1980)

I'm going through a cheesy new wave phase at the moment (don't worry, it should pass soon). In the yellow corner we have Attacke from Germany and in the orange corner, Dobo from Belgium. There is no punk here. Really. One (the only?) good thing about records like this is that they are cheap.

Attacke - Kombi-Zombie / Verklemmt 7" (GeeBeeDee GBD 0031, 1982)
Dobo - I Love Me / Small Racket 7" (Vogue VB 598, 1980)

Amy (UK, 1980)

I've seen this one sell on eBay several times around the $30 - 40 mark where it is invariably described as punk/powerpop. Discogs (where there's a copy for sale for $120) calls it synth-pop/disco. Blondie comparisons have also been made. My copy is a Dutch pressing. There's also an Italian version with a color sleeve.

Amy - Small Talk / I'm The Best Thing That Happened To Me 7" (Earlobe ELS-802, 1980)

Domino (Romania, 1982)

Other than this record I know almost nothing about late 70s/early 80s records from Romania. I'm sure there's other interesting things out there, I just haven't dug into that area at all. I see no date on the record or sleeve so I'm going with the Discogs date.

Domino - La Drum / Totu-i Numai Pentru Noi 7" (Electrecord 45-ST-EDC-10746, 1982)

Baby Dolls (Finland, 1988?)

When I first heard about this record I was told it was from the early 80s. All I have been able to find out since is that the band were from Vesanto and it was most likely recorded in 1988. It never came in a sleeve and doesn't seem to have been officially released. The number pressed ranges from "a few" to "a few hundred". Band name and song titles are glued on the labels. I think it is pretty good, better than most anything else I've heard from the late 80s.

Baby Dolls - Elämän liekki / Älä myy 7" (no label / BDSS-100, 1984/1988?)

Transformers (USA, 1982)

You may have heard the A side of this on the Teenline #103 CD-r from Hyped To Death. It has been described as great and catchy pop-punk/power-pop. That would be the A side. The B side is rather mediocre in comparison.

Transformers - Take A Vacation / Arithmetic 7" (Bullet RG-7777, 1982)

Is MediaFire anally obsessed?

I received notifications from MediaFire today that 2 files were removed: the Anal Babes and the Anal Fleas. Everything else still seems to be available but probably for not much longer since my account now has 2 strikes against it. I wonder why just those 2 files were removed? Is someone at MediaFire a little too fixated on things anal?

Sturgeons / Suburban Slag (Canada, 1979 - 1980) UPDATED

I had previously posted links to recordings of The Sturgeons and Suburban Slag at the Calgary Cassette Preservation Society. Those original posts have since been updated so if you got those versions you may want to pick up the new improved:
Suburban Slag
Sturgeons.

*****,***** (Cough, Cough) (Australia, 1982)

Mostly instrumental, at times experimental, at times noisy, fast and abrasive, *****,***** (Cough, Cough) consisted of a bass player in his mid-20's, a college student, and a drummer still in high school. This is their first cassette release - a compilation of 1980 to 1981 recordings from various sources. Their second cassette is available at Aberrant Adherents. There is also an interview and several tracks on the Fast Forward cassette magazine series - Volume 4 and Volume 13.

*****,***** (Cough, Cough) - 1 cassette (1+1 001, 1982)

NOTE: Download removed by request.
Update (June 6, 2014): I had thought their material was to be available online by now but I can't seem to find any mention of it anywhere.

Sphex / Twitch - 1970's Canadian reissues

The Supreme Echo label has done a great job reissuing 3 previously almost unknown Canadian 1970s rock / proto punk records. Originally released as private pressings of around 100 copies very few people had ever heard of these records. Nicely released with quality sleeves and detailed booklets these are highly recommended.

Both are available directly from the label on eBay or via the email address on their website. 

Sphex

This Canadian teenage group from small-town Ontario had their own mature sound, predating punk and surpassing all older groups in the region.  Recorded for a soundtrack at the Montreal National Film Board in 1976 and released in 1977, "Time" is a dynamic heavy rocker, whereas "Leaving This Crazy City" is a proto-punk surprise!  Originally issued as a private press, sleeveless gold labelled 45 in a very small edition, now reissued with repro labels, deluxe picture sleeve (not fold-over), and 16 page booklet with detailed history & tons of photos.  For fans of the many other little known proto-punk hard rockers of the mid-70s.  Fully authorized, limited edition of only 600 copies. (Supreme Echo, 2012) 

Twitch 

Canada's long lost doom/proto-punk legends finally unleashed! Distancing themselves from the bustling local psych scene, they formed in 1971 on the rural outskirts of Vancouver becoming a hard rock trio unlike any other local group. A newspaper article dated January 18, 1973 mentions "the ear-splitting Twitch" playing regularly to capacity audiences. Twitch's legacy is the missing link for both early '70s proto-punk and proto-metal of the Pacific Northwest region; what was yet to come during 1974-78 only confirmed such to be true. Originally issed as two separate sleeveless 45's in very small editions, now compiled onto one EP with orange repro labels, deluxe picture sleeve (not fold-over), and 16 page booklet with detailed history & tons of photos. Fully authorized, limited edition of only 600 copies. (Supreme Echo, 2012)   

The label also has a number of future releases planned: watch for Northern Haze, Neos, Twitch and Dishrags LPs! 

Domestic Animals / Animals Fight Back (Canada, 1983/84)

Two cassette tapes featuring bands from London, Ontario from 1977 - 1984. Various sources, varying sound quality. As with many compilations of this era there is punk, new wave and more. The best known among punk fans would be the Demics and NFG/63 Monroe; both had several vinyl releases. Other bands with vinyl releases in this time period: Crash 80's, Generics, Mettle, Hippies, Sheep Look Up, Regulators, Sinners and Spiral Scratch. The Nihilist Spasm Band (avantgarde / noise) have had a number of releases since the 60's. You can find more from some of these bands at the CHRW - London Music Archive including The Terminals.

V/A - Domestic Animals cassette (1983)

 V/A - Animals Fight Back cassette (1984)

Crash (Netherlands, 1981)

Whenever I see this one it is usually accompanied by adjectives such as punk, KBD, killer, powerpop. I'll let you judge whether it lives up to the usual hype.

The Crash - New York / Fair Exchange 7" (WS 198171, 1981)

Armatur (Sweden, 1980)

Hard rock/metal from Kristinehamn. Info: 500 copies, issued with help from the local music store Duvan.

Armatur - Rock 'n Roll / Mr. X 7" (Duvan LJ 630920, 1980)

Pedestrians (Canada, 1980)

This one was posted on YouTube back in 2009, probably around the only time I've seen it on eBay where the auction was ended early. Other than that, all I found about it online was its inclusion on a few want lists and that they were likely from Toronto. Cool punk record - are they related to this disco outfit?

Pedestrians - Before Suicide / Suicide 7" (World Is Round WRC5-1369, 1980)

Skarecrow (Canada, 1977)

Other vinyl releases from this band include the (We Don't Need) René Lévesque 7" (apparently around only 10 copies survived) and a double LP. The only time I've ever seen this one on eBay it was listed as "psych" which I guess is another generic eBay description like "powerpop" or "KBD". The A side sounds like 70s pop-rock and I suppose the B side (which I like better) might be "psych"-y.

Skarecrow - Wrong This Time / 4 Minutes After 9 7" (Goat GR - 4444, 1977)

HaClique (The Clique) (Israel, 1981)

The title of this LP is something like "Mother - I Do Not Want To Go Thru Rehab" or "Mommy, I Don't Want To Dry Up". Or perhaps "Mother, I Don't Want To Be Weaned" might be better as suggested in the comments. The sound is edgy new wave with some almost punk moments every now and again. There's a second LP from 1983 called "Crowded World". I don't find it as interesting as it is more of a rock/pop LP with some songs tending towards the style of this one. More info.

Clique - Mother - I Do Not Want To Go Thru Rehab LP (CBS 85078, 1981)

Promille (Sweden, 1979)

Hard rockers from Gislaved with their only release. There's maybe some hints of punk in there as well.

Promille - s/t 12" EP (Tonåring / Tjackpundaren // Låtsasliv / Drömmen) (UFS 794, 1979)

T.H.E. HAB (Canada, 19??)

We'll do a few obscure Canadian records today, starting with 2 releases from T.H.E. HAB. As far as I know these were their only releases. No indication of where they were from but I'd guess the Vancouver area. One source says the first is from 1981 and calls it powerpop. I suspect these were both done about the same time since the dead wax #s are 3645 and 3646. For more Canadian obscurities check Out Of The ... Igloo!!

T.H.E. HAB - Sedentary Blues / You Make Me "Glow" 7" (HAB Records, 19??)
T.H.E. HAB - Get Tough / Don't You Know 7" (HAB Records, 19??)

Squeezeplay (Canada, 1984)

I came across this recently and the label name sounded promising and it was cheap. I was thinking maybe it was some kind of surf pop or something similar. There are no beaches in Edmonton unless you count the waterpark at West Edmonton Mall. The A side sort of grew on me after a few listens. Unless you like country boogie rock avoid the B side. Nothing at all found about it online.

Squeezeplay - Do I Do It Alright / Shake Shake (Let's Dance) 7" (Beach Party Records, 1984)