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)