Until December

As the sun sets on the CD era, I have begun to give up hope on some of my favourite brilliant obscurities ever making it to compact disc. Up until a couple of months ago, Until December was one of the bands I'd pretty much thrown in the towel on. After all, their decade ahead of its time lone album, originally released in 1986, failed to chart and - despite dropping a load of great 12 inch singles - couldn't break out of the basement. Like so many of the great bands signed to Howie Klein's 415-Records, Until December blew the minds of tastemakers and fell on deaf ears just about everywhere else. I figured I'd have to content myself with the four tracks on the Best of 415 CD from 1994. Then there is this album, now, in your grasp. The complete original debut, along with five non-LP singles, plus a second disc loaded with 12 inchers and remixes; this is basically the entire Until December output from that time period. Coming off as a delicious nightmare mix of Visage/New Order/Depeche Mode and foreshadowing industrial by almost a decade, Until December rocked with gothic proportions and a seriously kinky gay undertone (the second disc is labelled "Daddy Side") and the band's idea of a cover song was to take on Blondie's sex anthem "Call Me." (Or even better, a B-Side was a straight-up version of Bauhaus' "Bela Lugosi’s Dead"). That was the crazily cool thing about Until December. They tinkered with image that taunted the cuteness of New Wave at the time, made music that both pulsed and pulverized, and left behind this one, gloriously twisted album as their legacy. It's also likely not an accident that Adam Sherburne eventually formed the in-your-face political band Consolidated in the 90's. But again, like so many bands under the 415 banner (and in my humble opinion, one of the greatest and most unrecognized of the American Independent labels), the brass ring eluded them. I have even wondered is if Until December had dropped in from London instead of San Fran by way of Austin, Texas, might they have been big stars? Get this comprehensive re-issue and decide for yourself.  (Written by Tim Brough, stolen from Amazon)

China

Today I’m featuring the red rockers - no, not Sammy Hagar, but the New Wave band Red Rockers and their classic 12” single China. Picked up by Columbia from their 415 Records home the Rockers tidied up their angst and produced one of the finest Power Pop singles of 1983. Although they sound like they would be a part of the English New Romantic invasion of the early '80s, the Red Rocker's home is actually the heart of Cajun country in Algiers, Louisiana. Another misdirection of China is that the title and chorus of the song have nothing to do with the country of China as its lyrics are best described as ambiguous.

Translator

Sadly thought of as a one-hit wonder (their big hit although it had plenty of airplay back in the day, wasn't a huge one but was everywhere), Translator's debut was a classic of the era and still resonates today. Although "Everywhere That I'm Not" got most of the airplay "When I'm With you" and "Everything You See" (lots of songs with "Every" in the title) both are also strong songs that should have received airplay as well.

The CD version includes three bonus tracks; the single version of "Everywhere That I'm Not" (which differs slightly from the album version), extended single version of "When I Am With you" and single B-side "Current Events" rounds out the original album.

Hello, Hello

Following on the back of …In A Chamber, I thought I would share Wire Train’s 12” remixes of Chamber Of Hellos as a Christmas Bonus. Wire Train achieved its style with a full-blooded guitar attack, echoey vocals and strong, rushed drumming. In a Chamber has wonderful, memorable tracks like "Chamber of Hellos" and "I'll Do You"; lesser creations at least sound just as good. 

In A Chamber Of Hellos

The catchiest song on Wire Train's In a Chamber is also the LP's most misleading number. The bouncy "Chamber of Hellos," with its chiming guitars, jumpy percussion, dreamy vocals, and rollicking chorus, is actually about a homicide. Nevertheless, it's an addictive toe-tapper, a track that hasn't lost its aura of mystery more than a decade later. Like Translator, Wire Train were in awe of both '60s psychedelic rock and late-'70s new wave; their music reflected the otherworldly textures of the former and the frantic energy of the latter. The giddy "I'll Do You" is driven by throbbing basslines while the hypnotic "Everything's Turning Up Down Again" and the moody "Like" coast on atmospheric riffs reminiscent of the Church. On first listen, In a Chamber might seem light and superficial; however, the album can grow on just about anybody patient enough to let the musical and lyrical hooks peek through the enigmatic song writing. "Chamber of Hellos" is so catchy that it's tempting to only listen to that track and ignore the rest of the LP. The shimmering guitars of "She's on Fire" and the Joy Division drone of "I Gotta Go" are more reasons to stick around after Wire Train have delivered their hellos.

Disturbing The Peace

Well, thanks a bunch Blogspot for NOT posting this on Monday. Normal (well kinda normal) service will resume with…

415 Records was a San Francisco record label created in 1978. The label focused its efforts on local punk rock and new wave music acts of the late 1970s through the late 1980s, including The Offs, The Nuns, The Units, Romeo Void, and Wire Train. Its name, pronounced four-one-five (not four-fifteen), was a play on both the telephone area code for the San Francisco area and the California penal code section for disturbing the peace (indeed, in some promotional material, the phrase "disturbing the peace" was written underneath the 415 logo). The label had a productive partnership with Columbia Records from 1981 until shortly before it was sold in 1989 to Sandy Pearlman, who retitled the label Popular Metaphysics. [Thanks Wiki]