For Against - In The Marshes

Shadowed Archives from the Flatlands:
While their full-length albums Echelons and December established them as kings of midwestern melodic gloom, In The Marshes stands as the absolute darkest, rawest, and most experimental chapter in For Against's history. Originally recorded primarily on a humble 4-track cassette recorder in 1986 during a brief hiatus from the Echelons recording sessions, these six songs were shelved for years before being rescued from the vaults. Master printer Bruce Licher eventually resurrected the tracks in October 1990, releasing them as a stunning, hand-numbered letterpress 10" mini-album for Independent Project Records' archival series.
Stepping away from the polished, propulsive dream-pop rhythms that would define their later catalogue, this record captures the trio—Jeffrey Runnings, Harry Dingman III, and Greg Hill—plunging headfirst into an uncompromising, esoteric post-punk abyss. The sessions found the band actively breaking their own rules, substituting live percussion with manually triggered electronic drum pads, cranking up the reverb units, and letting their British post-punk influences mutate into a harsher, more discordant beast. It stands as a brilliant, claustrophobic document of a band operating at their most unvarnished and daringly experimental edge.

For Against - December

Post-Punk in the Flatlands:

For anyone digging through the crates of 1980s American underground music, finding For Against is like discovering gold buried in the cornfields. Hailing from the unlikely post-punk outpost of Lincoln, Nebraska, the trio—comprising vocalist/bassist Jeffrey Runnings, guitarist Harry Dingman III, and drummer Greg Hill—crafted an absolute masterpiece with their sophomore album, December, released in 1988 on Independent Project Records. While British contemporary acts like The Chameleons and The Cure were selling out arenas with their sweeping, melancholy sounds, For Against was operating in brilliant, hyper-focused isolation, distilling the same raw materials into something remarkably distinct and entirely explosive.

December occupies a legendary, transitional space in alternative history, frequently cited by subcultural purists as a crucial American blueprint for the dream pop and shoegaze movements that would explode in England just a few years later. Packaged originally in the striking, letterpress art direction of label founder Bruce Licher, the album spans a compact 36 minutes of blistering rhythms, chiming guitars, and melancholic, romantic disillusionment. It is a record that manages to be simultaneously furious and beautiful, capturing a midwestern frost that chills the bones while setting the turntable on fire.

For Against - Echelons

The First Frost:

Before they captured the desolate winter chill of December, the Lincoln, Nebraska trio forged a breathtaking entryway into the independent underground with their 1987 debut studio album, Echelons. Released via Independent Project Records, the record immediately set the band apart from their contemporary peers. While the American indie scene was dominated by rootsy college rock and hardcore punk, For Against looked across the Atlantic, crafting a distinct sonic palette that fused the dense, rain-soaked atmospherics of early British post-punk with a uniquely heartland sense of scale. The album’s physical aesthetic even garnered mainstream art recognition, earning a Grammy nomination for label founder Bruce Licher’s iconic, hand-numbered letterpress sleeve design that integrated an actual stalk of Nebraskan wheat into the packaging.

Musically, the original lineup—consisting of vocalist and bassist Jeffrey Runnings, guitarist Harry Dingman III, and drummer Greg Hill—established a brilliant blueprint on Echelons. The record effortlessly captures a distinct intersection of styles: the angular, driving energy of bands like Gang of Four, the melancholic, watery guitar textures of the early Factory Records catalog, and the propulsive jangle of early R.E.M.. Runnings' smooth, boyish vocals act as a fragile, human contrast to the mechanical precision of the instrumentation. This creates a stunning record that feels entirely isolated, vast, and beautifully lonely, mirroring the expansive flatlands from which it came.

Faith Healer - Try ;-)

Embracing the Wink: 

Following up their critically praised 2015 debut Cosmic Troubles, Edmonton indie outfit Faith Healer officially transformed from a solo vehicle for singer-songwriter Jessica Jalbert into a proper two-headed beast. Released in September 2017 via Mint Records, their sophomore full-length—cryptically and playfully titled Try ;-)—saw multi-instrumentalist and producer Renny Wilson step up as a permanent collaborator. The transition yielded an immediate sonic evolution, shifting the band away from loose bedroom-pop confines toward an expansive, impeccably structured studio environment that feels simultaneously nostalgic and thrillingly immediate.

At its core, Try ;-) is a gorgeous collision of 1960s psych-rock jangle, sunny AM-radio hooks, and late-70s groove-driven alternative pop. Jalbert’s signature delivery—a masterclass in calm, cool, and beautifully detached baritone-leaning melodies—anchors a sonic palette rich with springy basslines, vintage drum machines, and warm synthesizer layers. The record positions itself in a clever liminal space where existential weight is effortlessly balanced by a carefree, "why not?" cheekiness, establishing Faith Healer as a powerhouse of modern, subcultural pop-craft.

Eyes Of God - East Of Eden 12''

Expanding on the momentum of their debut, Eyes Of God returned the following year to self-release the East Of Eden 12" EP in 1985 through Conceptual Records. Returning once more to the distinctive echo chambers of the Sonic Arts facility, the band leaned even heavier into their trademark religious iconography and biblical allegories. This three-track offering serves as the darker, more claustrophobic companion piece to their debut, cementing their reputation as a band operating entirely on their own terms, far away from commercial radio concessions.

Eyes Of God - Eyes Of God 12''EP

Emerging from the fertile mid-80s San Francisco darkwave and minimal synth underworld, the four-piece outfit Eyes Of God delivered a staggering statement of intent with their 1984 self-titled 12" EP. Originally captured and mastered at the legendary Sonic Arts Recording facility—the ground zero for West Coast gloom and DIY post-punk electronics—this record stands as a masterclass in subcultural alchemy. Driven by powerful, cutting female vocals, heavy jagged guitars, and a surprisingly aggressive, blaring saxophone, the band carved out a ritualistic, religiously motifs-laden sonic landscape that remains an absolute holy grail for collectors of dark alternative history.

Ground Nero - Divergence

The Sound and the Shadows:

Ground Nero officially cemented their place in the modern post-punk pantheon with their 2019 full-length release, Divergence, out via Danse Macabre Records. Hailing from Belgium, a region historically rich in cold electronics and bleak sonic landscapes, the trio—consisting of vocalist Guido Wampers, guitarist and synth architect Nomad (Peter Smeets), and bassist Peter Philtjens—crafted a record that bridges the gap between classic 1980s gothic rock and contemporary darkwave. The album serves as a definitive statement of the band's identity, merging dense, atmospheric production with driving rhythm sections that command attention from the very first beat.

Lyrically and structurally, the album moves through a stark terrain of human emotion, isolation, and spiritual questioning. Anchored by Wampers’ distinct, deep vocals, the tracks balance heavy, brooding bass lines with soaring, delay-heavy guitar work that recalls the golden era of the genre while maintaining a crisp, modern edge. It is a record designed for smoke-filled underground clubs and late-night solitudes alike, establishing Ground Nero as a formidable force for anyone seeking music with true texture, weight, and shadow.

Ground Nero - Scales EP

Heavy, clinical, and steeped in anti-capitalist dread, Belgium's purveyors of sonic shadow returned two years after Beyond to turn the emotional vice-grip just a little tighter. Released on March 12, 2018, via the respected goth institution Danse Macabre Records, the Scales EP captures Ground Nero "weighing up" their next evolutionary leap. It serves as a concept-driven sonic bridge looking at how modern greed has effectively turned the working class into luxury wage slaves.

Across four masterfully balanced tracks, the trio—comprising vocalist Guido Wampers, guitarist/synthesist Peter Smeets, and bassist Peter Philtjens—expand their massive wall-of-sound production style. They swap out some of their earlier raw post-punk aggression for a tighter, more calculated breed of bleak electronic darkwave and monumental, doom-laden guitar work. It cements the band's identity not just as reliable 1980s scene preservationists, but as sharp contemporary critics of the societal abyss.

Ground Nero - Beyond EP

Straight from the rain-slicked, industrial heart of Belgium's dark subculture comes a relentless wave of modern melancholy. Formed by a collective of underground veterans, Ground Nero broke out of the shadows to deliver a pristine, textbook tutorial in how to keep gothic rock dangerously sharp, raw, and heavy. Originally self-released in December 2016 before catching the attention of Gothic Music Records for a wider limited CD release, the Beyond EP stands as an absolute beacon of traditional, no-nonsense goth excellence.
This debut five-track mini-album acts as a sonic manifesto, positioning Ground Nero firmly alongside the legendary heritage of Belgian coldwave and classic third-wave British goth rock. Backed by the unmistakable, baritone snarl of vocalist Gwijde De Eerste, the band avoids the overly glossy synth-pop cliches of the era. Instead, they lean hard into a stripped-back, bass-driven blueprint that feels deeply nostalgic yet fiercely alive.

Ghosting - Black Pearls

Dust off your vinyl capes and light the black candles. Formed in 1989 by teenage visionary Sascha Tayefeh in Koblenz, Germany, Ghosting stands as one of the most fiercely theatrical secrets of the 1990s German Darkwave and Neue Deutsche Todeskunst movements. Merging classical orchestration with heavily distorted gothic rock guitars and rigid electronic pulses, the project carved out a legacy of beautiful, bombastic despair before fracturing in the early 2000s.

Decades after their mid-'90s peak, the definitive retrospective compilation Black Pearls arrived on Alice In... / Dark Dimensions Records. Compiling 13 entirely remastered club staples, rare single edits, and forgotten alternate cuts, this collection crystallizes the band's shift from classical, eerie romanticism to heavy, danceable industrial-goth anthems. It operates as a vital historical document of Germany's dark underground music scene.

Ghosting - No Dreams EP

A resurrection from the deep freeze of the darkwave underground. After fracturing in 2003 and plunging into a nearly two-decade hibernation, Sascha Tayefeh quietly revived Ghosting to reclaim his crown. Dropping unexpectedly via Alice In... / Dark Dimensions Records on December 3, 2021, the No Dreams E.P. shattered the project's silence, proving the passage of time hadn't diluted a drop of their signature, macabre magic.
Rather than lazily chasing modern electronic trends, this concise, four-track release captures Ghosting returning strictly to the organic, narrative essence of classic gothic storytelling. It weaves a short collection of melancholic, mini-dark fairy tales heavily driven by sweeping, church-like organs, theatrical vocal arrangements, and a deep, deliberate sensibility that edges closer to the baroque horror of Sopor Aeternus than traditional, punchy club tracks.

Glove - Boom Nights

Glove may be one of the giants of contemporary music—certainly of the current era, with the oversaturation of hot girl indie pout songs and lyricism built on its potential for virility. On paper, the rubric that defines the Tampa-born band could easily imply an exhaustion of obvious musical tropes: a lack of classical training, reinterpretations of nostalgic tones, and a goth-adjacent aesthetic. But Glove proves there is hope for what was thought to be a drained musical vocabulary, with tracks that feel both dystopic and euphoric, and indisputably danceable. (That is a lot of big words…definitely not me writing this one)
Half of Glove had barely touched an instrument before joining the band. But that was exactly what its founding member and architect Rod Wendt wanted. They pulled bassist Justin Burns into the project when his solo act opened for one of their shows. The punk learn-as-we-go mentality that prioritizes synchronicity in vision over technical experience has provided a foundation of innovation for Glove, whose sound feels distinctive next to its peers, with the ethos of Brian Eno and beat sensibility of the B-52s. Perhaps that’s why the band has landed opening gigs on tour with sonic legends like Jack White and A Place to Bury Strangers, and slots at festivals like Lollapalooza and Levitation before even releasing its first album, Boom Nights. It’s easy for a synth-heavy band to ride on the haunting allure of overlaying sound and produce a listenable album of near-non-differentiable tracks. Boom Nights is an execution of the opposite approach, its sound bouncing from thumping broody songs to jittery experiments in diffused shout tracks. 

Gina X - No G·D·M 12''

Cold-war concrete meets leather-bar chic. Originally dropped in 1978 and resurrected on a definitive Statik Records UK 12” in 1985, "No G·D·M" by Gina X Performance is the ultimate testament to detached, robotic decadence. A biting, synthesized tribute to queer cult icon Quentin Crisp and his mythical "Great Dark Man," the track layers the chilly, deadpan spoken-word vocals of Gina Kikoine over producer Zeus B. Held’s legendary array of Minimoogs, ARP 2600s, and vocoders. It’s a crucial, sharp-edged bridge between the machine-precision of Kraftwerk and the sweaty, strobe-lit dance floors of the early 1980s New Wave underground.

The Dream Syndicate - What Can I Say No Regrets...Out Of The Grey

By 1986, The Dream Syndicate was a vastly different beast. Bassist Kendra Smith and founding lead guitarist Karl Precoda were gone, leaving frontman Steve Wynn and drummer Dennis Duck to steady the ship alongside newly minted bassist Mark Walton and guitar wizard Paul Cutler (formerly of gothic-punk legends 45 Grave). The resulting album, Out of the Grey, recorded for Big Time Records, split fans and critics down the middle. It traded the frantic, feedback-ravaged fuzz of their debut for a cleaner, muscular, hard-boiled brand of noir-ish roots rock that felt closer to a gritty crime novel than a psychedelic trip. For over two decades, the record languished out of print on CD, turning into a forgotten chapter of the band's history.

Enter Fire Records' definitive 2022 archival box set, What Can I Say? No Regrets…. Spanning 3 CDs and 51 tracks (including an astounding 34 previously unreleased cuts), this massive collection completely rewrites the legacy of the band's mid-'80s transition. By surrounding the remastered 1986 album with a blistering, unissued July 1985 live album and a disc full of feral, experimental studio demos, the box set proves that this lineup wasn't losing its edge—it was sharpening it into a deadly weapon. It’s an essential, beautifully chaotic document of a band fighting to redefine itself on its own terms.

The Dream Syndicate - Medicine Show

Forget major-label sellout myths—The Dream Syndicate’s Medicine Show is a sprawling, black-hearted masterpiece that blew the doors off 1984. After dropping The Days of Wine and Roses—an indie holy grail of beautiful, Velvet Underground-damaged guitar scuzz—Steve Wynn and Karl Precoda jumped to A&M Records and pivot-slammed right into a cinematic, gothic Americana nightmare. Trading lo-fi basement fuzz for an intimidatingly heavy, widescreen wall of sound, the band linked up with legendary producer Sandy Pearlman (the maniac behind Blue Öyster Cult and The Clash) to birth a record that was too punk for roots-rockers and too rootsy for the indie purists.

The whole making of the album was a beautifully messy, months-long studio siege in San Francisco that practically broke the band in half and sent their original indie fanbase into a total tailspin. But time has proven the doubters dead wrong. Decades after being misunderstood and left out-of-print, Medicine Show has risen from the dead as a holy text of underground rock, even snagging a spot on The Guardian’s list of the top 40 rock albums ever. With a massive 4xCD box set drop on their resurrected Down There Records imprint and a full-album anniversary tour tearing up clubs across the US and Europe, this record's legacy as a brilliant, defiant anomaly is officially set in stone.

The Dream Syndicate - Tell Me When It's Over 12''

By 1983, word of Los Angeles' guitar-fueled underground had crossed the Atlantic, prompting British indie titan Rough Trade Records to snatch up the band’s signature track for a dedicated UK 12" maxi-single release. Wrapped in a brilliant sleeve that shamelessly parodied the iconic typography and stark layout of a classic Blue Note jazz record, the "Tell Me When It's Over" 12" became an essential talisman for European college radio DJs and import-bin sleuths alike. While the A-side delivered the band's finest studio moment to a wider audience, the real treasure was buried on the flip side: a raw, three-track live document that perfectly bottlenecked the group's early club-gig lightning.

Recorded live at "Studio Zzzz" in Hollywood in September 1982—just weeks before The Days of Wine and Roses officially hit shelves—the B-side captures the original Wynn, Precoda, Smith, and Duck lineup operating at their absolute most feral. Unbound by the constraints of studio track limits or headphone mixes, these recordings serve as a vital time capsule of a band on the precipice of indie stardom. For zine collectors and tape-traders who couldn’t make it to a sweaty California dive bar in the autumn of '82, this 12" single wasn't just a promotional tool; it was proof that the band's live reputation was entirely justified.

The Dream Syndicate - The Days Of Wine And Roses

By October 1982, the underground tremors emanating from Los Angeles were impossible to ignore, and The Days of Wine and Roses was the earthquake. Released on Slash Records’ subsidiary Ruby Records and produced by Chris D. of The Flesh Eaters, this full-length debut didn’t just fulfill the promise of the band's initial 12" EP—it obliterated the boundaries of early '80s guitar rock. Operating on minimal sleep, shoestring budgets, and broken studio headphones that forced the guitarists to guess what the other was playing, the classic lineup of Steve Wynn, Karl Precoda, Kendra Smith, and Dennis Duck captured lightning in a bottle.

What makes the 15-track expanded CD edition an absolute holy grail for fanzine collectors is how it maps the band’s entire evolutionary arc up to that point. Beyond the immaculate, nine-song original album sequence, this version binds the rarest pieces of the puzzle directly to the CD plastic. It integrates crucial, primordial bonus tracks that offer a definitive, scratchy roadmap of how a bunch of LA misfits accidentally reshaped American indie rock.

The Dream Syndicate - The Dream Syndicate 12''

In April 1982, a four-track blast of guitar-driven noise quietly emerged from Los Angeles on the band’s own Down There Records. Simply titled The Dream Syndicate, this self-titled 12" EP served as the definitive opening salvo for a scene later dubbed the Paisley Underground. Formed just months prior by guitarist/vocalist Steve Wynn and bassist Kendra Smith—joined by Karl Precoda on lead guitar and Dennis Duck on drums—the band bypassed the glossy, synthesized sheen of early '80s pop to resurrect something far more primal. Recorded in a single, adrenaline-fueled studio session, the EP became an instant blueprint for a raw, feedback-drenched alternative rock movement.

While LA’s mainstream airwaves were clogged with New Wave aesthetics, this four-song collection looked backward to move forward. It traded plastic synthesizers for cheap tube amplifiers pushed to their absolute limits. By blending the hypnotic, drone-heavy minimalism of The Velvet Underground with the jagged, nervous energy of late-'60s garage punk, The Dream Syndicate created a hypnotic sonic cocktail. It wasn’t just a localized phenomenon; this record sent shockwaves through the global college radio circuit, setting the stage for their masterpiece LP, Days of Wine and Roses, and establishing the band as crucial architects of American indie rock.

Wipers - Over The Edge

The Setup

Following the icy, experimental sprawl of their sophomore record, Greg Sage found himself and his band feeling increasingly isolated, chased, and alienated within their own hometown. Channeling this heavy sense of claustrophobia and local paranoia, Sage packed up the band and moved into a rental house in an isolated, rural area outside of Portland to write and record their third full-length. Operating with a fierce, bunker-mentality philosophy, the band tightened their ranks, refined their focus, and set out to create what many deep-crate vinyl purists consider to be the absolute definitive Wipers album statement.

Released in 1983 on the Brain Eater label, Over the Edge seamlessly fused the accessible, punchy song lengths of their debut with the dense, dark, and sophisticated guitar textures they had developed on Youth of America. It was a fierce, breathless return to form that caught the attention of underground college radio stations across the country, particularly with the propulsive, driving track "Romeo". The record permanently solidified The Wipers as a legendary, certifiable force in the early-eighties American underground, creating a masterwork that J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. would later cite as a foundational, life-changing influence on his own legendary guitar style.

Wipers - Youth Of America

The Setup

By 1981, the early Wipers lineup had completely dissolved, and the entire underground music landscape was pressuring punk bands to play faster, shorter, and dumber. Greg Sage, being the stubborn contrarian that he was, looked at the rising hardcore punk scene, decided he wanted absolutely no part of it, and completely flipped the script. Recruiting a brand new rhythm section consisting of bassist Brad Davidson and drummer Brad Naish, Sage retreated back into his Portland studio to build something massive, cold, and entirely unprecedented.

The result was Youth of America, a record that completely shattered any lingering notions that The Wipers were just a standard, three-chord garage-punk outfit. Instead of short, fast bursts, Sage delivered a sophisticated, overwhelming, six-song avant-garde manifesto that reacted directly to the grim, paranoid political climate of the dawning Reagan era. It was a massive artistic gamble that baffled a lot of their early fans at the time, but it would go on to be cited by post-punk heavyweights like Sonic Youth and Mission of Burma as a foundational blueprint for experimental American guitar rock.