Rolling Post-Punk Thread

Dark Entries make me sad by doing deluxe vinyl-only reissues of things I'd very much buy a legit digital/CD issue of, or even a cheaper vinyl to get shelved immediately while I listen to the music by, uhh, other means.

Though looking at their site maybe it's shipping to the UK which is the main expense when I sigh over their reissues costing £20+ at UK distributors, and I realise the vinyl-only thing must make business sense and I'm basically weird in preferring CDs over vinyl and not really wanting any more physical stuff anyway.

CD's are gross.

Dark Entries usually does very stripped-down vinyl releases with only minimal inserts. Not particularly deluxe! I mean, this recent Second Layer reissue is a double LP for $24.99 in the US, which is pretty good. To get to that price, there's no gatefold, and the insert is a double-sided page. But I see that the Amazon UK price is (converted to dollars) $32. Maybe they need to strike a better distro deal with somebody....Though we get hit pretty hard over here with small-run UK reissues too.

There was a CD for the BART comps, and Josh is hardly some sort of analog purist (and he's well aware of the flaws of vinyl), but I've never asked him about why he doesn't do downloads. It would be nice. Like many people doing reissues, we found it a great way to include interesting material of lesser fidelity. Most pressing plants will support downloads for not too much extra.

With both collector and reissue vinyl being expensive, most music obsessives I know understand the value of a bargain-bin CD. It's often what I find myself buying at record fairs these days....

cds are beautiful

This comes out Friday:

The Underground Youth - Haunted (Fuzz Club)
http://fuzzclub.com/products/pre-order-the-underground-youth-haunted-1
https://youtu.be/DEyjufTCwnM

https://fuzzclub.bandcamp.com/album/haunted

Also out tomorrow, Grave Pleasures - Dreamcrash. At least in Europe. I thought all release dates were supposed to be consolidated, but this is a throwback to releasing in the U.S. for either 9/18 or October. Pre-orders are not available at non-import prices, the three YouTube singles can't even be played in the U.S. Ridiculous. I got ahold of a leak and was surprised to hear Matt McNerney (who's other band, Hexvessel, just signed to Century Media) sounding like Ian McCulloch of Echo & The Bunnymen. With members of The Oath, In Solitude and Oranssi Pazuzu, it's interesting to hear them getting not heavier, but more pop, along the lines of Love-era The Cult and similar era Siouxsie. There's still darkness anchored in Joy Division, while maintaining brisk tempos along the lines of Bunnymen's Crocodiles or even the first Editors album. Death rock? Naw, it's poppy psychedelic post-punk, and it's really good!

https://youtu.be/FOPTBAM60SY?list=PLgvWw_0NgAxSqwm7D-mJNZ9nejk7de185

Fastnbulbous, Australian post-punk band Gold Class are releasing their debut album this week, September 4th - that should be right up your street

Stark, brooding and brilliant Gold Class give their debut It’s You the Midas touch
http://hhhhappy.com/stark-brooding-and-brilliant-gold-class-give-their-debut-its-you-the-midas-touch/

Stream Gold Class It’s You (Stereogum Premiere)
http://www.stereogum.com/1827249/stream-gold-class-its-you-stereogum-premiere/mp3s/

On their debut album It’s You, Australia’s Gold Class plays like a brilliant post-punk compendium — the jagged yet chiming guitars of Jawbox and Fugazi, the lockstep rhythm section and dreary climes of Gang Of Four and Joy Division, a quavering bellow that bridges the gap between Morrissey and Glenn Danzig. You could throw dozens more references out and most of them would fit; these guys seem to have swallowed up an entire genre’s worth of history and ended up titans of the form.

Gold Class - It's You (Album Stream)
https://soundcloud.com/felte/sets/gold-class-its-you-album-stream
Gold Class’ debut album 'It’s You' will be released via felte (US/UK) & Spunk Records (AUS/NZ)

check the track perverts - the vocalist sounding like Morrissey joining a harsh post-punk band

bandcamp
http://goldclass.bandcamp.com/album/its-you

good news, the album has join gone live on Spotify UK.

Thanks, I've been following them, but wouldn't have known about it until Bandcamp sends an email today. They should send a heads-up sooner!

Lunch - Let Us Have Madness Openly

I was skeptical based on the band's name, the album title, and their promo video (not the one below), but this is quickly becoming a favorite. Label describes them as a mix of Gun Club and Echo and the Bunnymen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WW_D1crNksM

https://lunchpdx.bandcamp.com/track/bad-cut

Interesting! Doesn't seem available for purchase thru the Bandcamp page.

Also interesting is that I had no clue the Grave Pleasures was going to be released on Metal Blade. The deal must have just been completed VERY recently, hence the fact that CDs won't be available until November.

Grave Pleasures releases "Dreamcrash" via Metal Blade Records today in the US

Grave Pleasures from Finland have officially released their debut album "Dreamcrash" via Metal Blade Records in the US, and Sony Columbia worldwide. Formed out of the debris of the band Beastmilk - the band that had indie fans, goths, punks and the music press dancing to their highly praised debut album "Climax" in 2013 - Grave Pleasures are taking the concept of the apocalypse one step further.

Watch the brand new video for "New Hip Moon" and order "Dreamcrash" now at metalblade.com/gravepleasures. The album is available digitally now, with CDs to be released on November 13, and vinyl to arrive in early 2016.

Grave Pleasures consists of singer/songwriter Mat McNerney (also of Hexvessel), bassist Valtteri Arino, guitarist/songwriter Linnéa Olsson (The Oath, Sonic Ritual), drummer Uno Bruniusson (In Solitude, Procession) - as well as live and studio session guitarist Juho Vanhanen (Oranssi Pazuzu).

In May of this year, this impressive line-up entered the studio together with award-winning producer Tom Dalgety (Killing Joke, Royal Blood). The result is a complex and feverish set of modern rock songs. Urban tribal rhythms; potent melancholia; raw pop sensibility; irreverent ferociousness - "Dreamcrash" is seductive in its surrealism one minute, and a cold shower of harsh reality the next.

"I am concerned with a total collapse of our dreams", says Mat McNerney. "Hacking out this feverish, frantic and very uninhibited music, it exposes and lays raw some intense emotions. As we get deeper and closer to capturing the spirit of what we set out for this band to be, we are touching some vital nerves. It's getting under the skin, under the flesh."

The Lunch album isn't available to purchase on their own Bandcamp page, but it's available from their label's Bandcamp:

http://massmediarecords.bandcamp.com/album/let-us-have-madness-openly

http://fastnbulbous.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/2015-midyear-post-punk-rundown.jpg

Mid-Year Post-Punk Rundown: Grave Pleasures, Algiers, Ought, Lunch + More
http://fastnbulbous.com/mid-year-post-punk-rundown-grave-pleasures-algiers-ought-lunch-more/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/user/1212496385/playlist/75r8HcPBNdBhzRBvPQIZTQ

this album is rad: http://soundcloud.com/habitualnourishment/sets/positive-energy

new track from Danish post-punk band Lower

Lower - At the Endless Party
https://open.spotify.com/track/5ZBGuFoTEc6Yh800KypuHH

this track sounds very 80s - like some aural mix of: Wah (Pete Wylie) / New Model Army / Morrissey / The Jam / The Clash

from the new ep
I'm a Lazy Son... But I'm the Only Son
https://rateyourmusic.com/release/ep/lower/im_a_lazy_son____but_im_the_only_son/

Coolies (New Zealand) on Feeding Tube, and Negative Scanner. Too lazy to see if those have been mentioned above.

Talk about waiting last-minute to announce a release! I'd been looking for news on the Hand Of Dust for months, I didn't even know a title, and now it's coming out next week, Oct 5!

Hand Of Dust - Like Breath Beneath A Veil (Avant!)
http://www.post-punk.com/hand-of-dust-encased-in-amber-song-premiere/

Coolies (New Zealand) on Feeding Tube, and Negative Scanner. Too lazy to see if those have been mentioned above.

― Michael Train, Sunday, 20 September 2015 23:16 (2 weeks ago)

Sweeeeeeet, new Coolies.

Also from NZ: new album from Girls Pissing On Girls Pissing, Scrying In Infirmary Architecture. This Heat/Pere Ubu-ish (+ NZ stuff like Skeptics, and with Coil worldview if not sonics) w/mixed vox; their last two, 2011's Tangiwai & 2013's Eeling, are worth checking out.

https://nervouscurtains.bandcamp.com/

New album Con is sounding totally rad rn

Wonder if I should give Ava Luna another shot (Gang of 4 with some Dirty Projectors mix on first listen)

I was set to see them Sunday, but Protomartyr just cancelled their tour due to another family death.

http://fastnbulbous.com/post-punkgarage-noir-protomartyr-hand-of-dust-kill-west/

Sorry about their family death(s), but am kinda underwhelmed by Protomartyr (who recently got a favorable Washington Post writeup in addition to yours). They sound like they learned post-punk and some early 80s punk in music school, and the singer's voice doesn't do too much for me.

Hopping on the love for Shopping. I saw them last week warming up for Shannon and the Clams and they blew me away. Great songs, playing and stage presence, super fun.

Yeah I just realized Shopping had a new album when I did a post-punk search on RYM last night! Nice surprise.

xp: Re Protomartyr, I can see both sides but the hyperbolic praise (check out the slavering reviews on Sound Opinions (http://soundopinions.org/show/518) where they say the album is like a timeless classic was a bit much. I'm in the middle -- I do find his vocals underwhelming, and Casey is self-deprecating about them, describing them as "being yelled at by a fat guy." But the band and lyrics are top notch.

I like them, but to my ear they sound a like a more polished version of either Disappears or the Ponys from Chicago.

Anything else we should check out from this year? This one I kept forgetting about until last week, and I like it pretty well:

Publicist UK - Forgive Yourself (Relapse)
https://publicistuk.bandcamp.com/

I kind of feel like maybe the Zun Zun Egui album might deserve some coverage here...I really like it, anyways:

https://youtu.be/XpRiNV_DwWw

check out this album:

Cold Showers - Matter of Choice
http://thequietus.com/articles/18521-cold-showers-matter-of-choice-review

Also:

Heat Dust - Heat Dust
https://theflenser.bandcamp.com/album/heat-dust

and. Vision Fortune - Country Music, which isn't on bandcamp but is very post punk

I need to listen to that Cold Showers more -- I really liked their first one but didn't warm to this one immediately. Also should probably listen to the new Soft Moon again since seeing it show up in the Quietus EOY. I wrote it off after one listen but I did love their first one though not the second.

Other somewhat post-punky stuff I've been enjoying this year that I don't think has been mentioned:

Flesh World - The Wild Animals in My Life
https://ironlungpv.bandcamp.com/album/the-wild-animals-in-my-life-lp-lungs-064

Girls Names - Arms Around a Vision (and Zero Triptych single)
https://soundcloud.com/tough-love/girls-names-a-hunger-artist
https://soundcloud.com/tough-love/girls-names-zero-triptych

Cold Beat - Into the Air
https://soundcloud.com/cold-beat-2/outrunning-shadows

Oh, and:

Glue - Ritual demo EP
https://gluejesuschrist.bandcamp.com/releases

Great stuff everyone, thanks! The only ones I'd heard already are Vision Fortune (did not seem post-punk to me). I didn't realize Girls Names had a new one, thanks. I really love Cold Showers, hits the spot where the New Order and Colder albums fail. I like Heat Dust, makes me think of a murkier Protomartyr, while someone else said The Flenser's version of Iceage.

i saw Heat Dust live and they were awesome...made me appreciate the album much, much more

Aside from Savages - Adore Life, which is solid but not earthshaking, not much going on yet.

I was really excited for this, which came out last week:

And Also The Trees - Born Into The Waves

It's pretty subdued, so is taking a while to get a handle on.

Also out last week, this album is more garage noir and art rock, but definitely has post-punk elements, and is by far the best of the year for me of any genre so far:

The Drones - Feelin Kinda Free

def wanna check out the drones album

Many of you are familiar with San Francisco band The Sleepers - Painless Nights (1981) which was reissued on Superior Viaduct a few years back. I'm still waiting to be able to buy FLAC files of that. So vocalist Ricky Williams joined up with Negative Trend's Craig Gray in Toiling Midgets. Andrew Earles' book Gimme Indie Rock included both the Sleepers and the latter's Sea Of Unrest (1982). Highly recommended experimental post-punk, a flip side of Flipper perhaps. They started making their stuff available on Bandcamp lately. Williams OD'd in 1992 and Mark Eitzel actually filled in on vocals for a bit.

https://toilingmidgets.bandcamp.com/album/sea-of-unrest

Before anyone says anything, I know that Boomkat has the FLAC here. I guess the exchange rate is better now, so I'll finally pull the trigger: https://boomkat.com/products/painless-nights

couple years old but this reminds me of essential logic's more fanciful moments

https://soundcloud.com/pete-heywoode/peluche-ohio

Spectres - Utopia (Sabotage) - Many bands with this name, this one from Vancouver, third album was out on vinyl previously, out today on Bandcamp.
https://spectresvancouver.bandcamp.com/album/utopia

A bit late to the party, but the Ought album from last year has continued to grow on me.

is this the thread i can talk about BLURT

Or at least honk if you like Blurt

The Foster Body album (Moving Display) is pretty great. Sounds at times like God and the State.

Salt Lake City art-punk.

https://fosterbody.bandcamp.com/track/touching-moving

Man I love that Sleepers album. I always wondered if Ricky Williams was an influence on Craig Wedren of Shudder to Think - such unique voices, both of them. Will check out this Toiling Midgets now - thank you.

Drangsal - Harieschaim - I heard this when it came out in April on Spotify but forgot about it because I haven't been able to buy it for a sane price yet. Fairly catchy and melodic, keyboards but also nice guitar playing from this new German band.
https://open.spotify.com/album/6j7RS60COoYoFy0PXj3aBc

Eagulls - Ullages - Second album from Leeds band. I liked but didn't love their self-titled 2014 debut. This one is a bit darker, lots of Cure, Chameleons, Comsat Angels influence.
http://www.partisanrecords.com/artists/eagulls/

New Lola Colt single. I'm more excited for Twist Through The Fire Jul 1 than anything right now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_s2nakjoNw

Also mentioned in the reissue thread, there's a new Blue Orchids album coming via Pledge Music (77 days left), The Once And Future Thing. There's also a double live CD, Martin Bramah reissue and compilation LP on offer. For those of you who don't know, Bramah was an original member of The Fall, and they carved a nice little psychedelic post-punk niche for themselves on some early 80s singles and The Greatest Hit (Money Mountain) (1982). Spread the word, this is only at 33% of goal!

http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/blueorchids

Male Gaze - King Leer (Castle Face)
http://fastnbulbous.com/male-gaze-king-leer/
Preoccupations - Preoccupations (Jagjaguwar) - Former Viet Cong
The Lucid Dream - Compulsion Songs (Holy How Are You)
VUM - Cryptocrystalline (Secret Lodge)
Traitrs - Rites & Ritual (Pleasance)
http://www.pleasencerecords.com/releases/Rites%20and%20Ritual
The Monochrome Set - Cosmonaut (Tapete)
Moscow Circus - Resounding (Echolocation)
Merchandise - A Corpse Wired For Sound (4AD)

Motorama - Dialogues (Talitres) - Russian post-punk, early Chameleons, Felt, Joy D, Oct 21
http://shop.talitres.com/products/576739-dialogues

Has this site been mentioned/linked here? Awesome:

http://fytini.com/filtig/ppodd_cake/index/show/char:A

^that's fucking cool, thank you!

Nice 1979 post punk from Russia:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xle4KXGwGlk

http://fastnbulbous.com/lucky-16/#breakdown

A special expanded list just for you guys:

01. Wovenhand – Star Treatment
02. Savages – Adore Life
03. Male Gaze – King Leer
04. And Also The Trees – Born Into The Waves
05. The Eternals – Espiritu Zombi
06. Preoccupations – Preoccupations
07. Suns Of Thyme – Cascades
08. Melt Yourself Down – Last Evenings On Earth
09. Marching Church – Telling It Like It Is
10. VUM – Cryptocrystalline
11. Jenny Besetzt – Tender Madness
12. VHS – Gift Of Life
13. Las Kellies – Friends And Lovers
14. Traitrs – Rites & Ritual
15. Eagulls – Ullages
16. Motorama – Dialogues
17. Bonfire Nights – Entopica Phenomica
18. Virus – Memento Collider
19. RA – Then I Woke Up In Paradise EP
20. Mall Walk – Funny Papers
21. The Gotobeds – Blood // Sugar // Secs // Traffic
22. Ukandanz – Awo
23. Flasher – Flasher EP
24. Young Docteurs – Beginning At The End
25. E – E
26. Teksti-TV 666 – 1,2,3
27. Suuns – Hold/Still
28. Esben And The Witch – Older Terrors
29. Spoilers – Anti Vibe
30. Spectres – Utopia
31. DIIV – Is The Is Are
32. Merchandise – A Corpse Wired For Sound
33. FEWS – Means
34. Drangsal – Harieschaim
35. The Monochrome Set – Cosmonaut
36. Moscow Circus – Resounding
37. White Lies – Friends
38. Omni – Deluxe
39. The Hecks – The Hecks
40. Kid Congo & The Pink Monkeybirds – La Arana Es La Vida
41. Masquerade – Ritual
42. Pill – Convenience
43. Muscle And Marrow – Love
44. New Model Army – Winter
45. Koban – Abject Obsessions
46. Exploded View – Exploded View
47. The KVB – Of Desire
48. Terminal Gods – Wave / Form
49. Alaric – End Of Mirrors
50. Eliot Sumner – Information