And Also The Trees - excavating their spiritual roots, Zigzag Jan. 1985

Luckily, I was able to see them play twice this year here in the UK, which it seems nowadays a rarity for them to play on their own soil. One of the gigs happen to be in this tiny, intimate venue in Birmingham, where  they announced to a small group of about 50 of us that it had been nearly twenty years since they last played there. One thing  I always found so ironic that a band who's very essence and core is inspired by the English countryside and aesthetic, yet they are still completely misunderstood here. Overtime their career has only refined to a sheer, delicate perfection that only a handful seem to fully appreciate and understand.... Here's to another 20 years.

Flowers For Agatha

Paisley, Roses and Misanthropy

It's been ages since I posted anything and rather then committing this blog to an early grave, I decided to start posting some playlists I've been working on over the past months. Here is a gloomy, jangly neo-psychedelic playlist perfect for any mopey, pointy-shoe wearing Moth out there.

Paisley, Roses and Misanthropy from slowpulse-girl on 8tracks Radio.

tracklist:

Lord John- Step upside Down
Jacobites- Shame For The Angels
Plasticland - Wallflowers
Into Paradise - Rain Comes Down
The Lucy Show - Sojourn's End
The Mighty Lemon Drops - One By One
The Climb - Your Hell
Furious Apples - Belladonna
Blue Blue Blue - Mother Father
Echo & The Bunnymen - Clay
Room Nine - Circus Floor
Persian Flowers - Somebody Else's Sin
Straitjacket Fits -She Speeds
Rain Parade - Prisoners
The Church - Chaos

Post Punk in Italy

My offering for you today is a series of fantastic comps compiled by a very good friend of mine for us here at Nightmares on Wax, where their prime focus is mostly on many key elemental bands of the Italian punk, post punk, dark wave and goth scenes. The first part of this series showcase some of the more cult bands of the Italian Post punk scene and of coarse some delightful obscurities thrown in for good measure

Without getting too much into various historical facts and other tediums, the Italian post punk scene mostly started making a bigger headway around 1979, with many of the first eminent bands appearing in Bologna and Pordenone. When finally the musical scene came into full force, Florence then became  the capital of the Italian post punk and wave movement and produced cult bands such as Diaframma and Litfiba in which I'll explain a little bit more about these two bands below.

                                                                   
Diaframma

Is probably one of the most notable and famous Italian bands of this era. With an initial start in '79 under the strong and constant direction of Federico Fiumani, the one constant member of Diaframma. They had various vocalist changes over their career as a band but first started out with Nicola Vannini as frontman. Which during this time drew in a bit of a cult following becoming known as something of an 'Italian Joy Division'. Then switched over to Nick Vannini as the new frontman, giving Diaframma even more of a darker sound and presence. In 1984 for the album Siberia yet another new front man (Miro Sassolini) would take over changing yet again the entire presence of the band, but this time around changing from being a bi-lingual lyrical band to just their pure Italian roots...thus beginning the real era of Diaframma. Siberia is probably considered one of the best Italian post punk albums and a fundamental for the whole Italian rock movement because from this particular album  numerous Italian bands would state as a key inspiration.

                                                                          
 Litfiba

Starting out in the earlier part of the 80's, Litfiba was equally important and responsible for bringing the Italian language to post punk music just as Diaframma was. They also are considered one of the most famous Italian bands in Europe and toured quite frequently throughout various parts of the continent. Their style is a very traditional type of post-punk with synthpop elements which is probably presented best in their 'Luna La Preda' 7''. They also would occasionally explore more experimental realms with such songs as 'Eneide di Krypton'. Nearing the end of the 80's though they still were together producing music but changed to more of an alternative rock and pop rock band.

                                                               
  Underground Life

During the latter part of the 70's various other cult bands were beginning to form in Italy, especially one worth mentioning from Monza, a city which was not too far from Milan called Underground Life. In '79 they released their first 7"  'Noncurance / Black Out' which managed to make it's way into the Rough Trade store front, being displayed and sold as 'Italian punk rock '. 

Their style and sound changed quite often during their time together as a band,  in which they experimented quite often with different elements of post punk, synthpop, minimal wave and new wave and incorporated each bit together into very stark and bleak ballads
....' punk rock ' indeed.

                                                                     
 Dirty Actions  

One of the first post punk bands from Genova that like so many other great bands, only lasted a very short period.Their sound is utterly infectious and does get you moving, especially on such tracks as 'Bandana Boys'... filled with moveable dub beats, twangy guitars and chaotic synth melodies.

                                                                       
 Gaznevada

Originally from Bologna, they formed sometime in '77making them probably one of the first real post punk bands in Italy. Don't quote me on that one though. Their sound was a mix of elementary post punk and no wave weirdness, which resulted in a frenetic and dirty sounding post punk. 

Later on they would become more of an Italo Disco group and just broke the initial band name to Gaz Nevada.

So enjoy the comp below and let us know what you think ..

Italian Post Punk Compilation vol 1.

Dark Tales - 1984
Dirty Actions - Bandana Boys
Gaznevada - Blue Tv Set
Dissolutio Humani Generis - Psico
Definitive Gaze - The Wire Blaze
Diskanto - Trafficanti
Vox Rei - Fear
Litfiba - La preda
Neurox - Raving Night
Pale Tv - Night Toys
Polaroid - Vita Immaginaria
After Budapest - In The Firedance
Marte in Ariete - Ultimi fuochi
Underground Life -Glass House
Spleen - Searchin' For Love
Diaframma - Siberia
Viridanse - Justine
Mickeranno - Da un'altra parte
Panjandrum - A Grey Landing On a Country

Tuxedomoon needs your help !

Tuxedomoon is currently having plans for a new project, live dates, new recordings and Film, but need financial support to help back these various endeavors. They've started a pledge drive over at Pledge Music to help get some financial backing and with just a few days left they are almost at goal. So I encourage you to go check it out here and pledge something if you can to enable the continuation of this band's genius being brought to daylight.

Disco Inferno - In Debt

'In Debt' is an absolutely stunning compilation made up of their earlier works. When listening to this be prepared to dissolve and disintegrate into the room around you.
With such lush dreamy soundscapes and beautiful rolling, angular guitars Disco Inferno would of made it quite at home with some of the earlier 4AD bands, it just goes without saying that this album most definitely does not sound like it's from the early 90's. One thing I guarantee though, this will get repeated listens and a deeper love for them will begin to grow just as it has for me.

Indebt (1992)

Entertainment

Arc In Round

Broken

Emigré 

Interference

Leisuretime

Set Sail

Hope To God

Free Thought

Bleed Clean

Next in Line

Incentives

Waking Up

Glancing Away

Fallen Down The Wire

No Edge, No End

The Rosemarys - The Rosemarys 1994 (USA)

 Fiending for a nice dose of shoegaze this week ?..The Rosemarys are sure to make you melt. 

Their sophomore release is filled with back to back tracks of swirly-soothing-spacey-dreamy-neopsych loveliness that floats somewhere in between The House Of Love and Breathless.

Video for 'Catherine' ...gotta love that haircut

The Rosemarys -self titled (1994)

Dizzy Girl

Catherine

Dear Margaret

Sparkle

Sediment

Katherine

Dissolve

Spaceman

Higher

Colourwheel

Saccharin

Frozen

  

VA - Kindred Spirits a Bedazzled Label Sampler (1994)

Now that I finally found a halfway decent file-sharing site, I've slowly began to get links back up and get everything organized and 'somewhat' sorted. Which happily brings me to my latest offering that is inspired by me listening far too much to the newest Dead Can Dance album and getting locked back in to this 4AD atmospheric mood again. What I have here is one of the first samplers Bedazzled every released and is filled back to back with dreamy swirly goth and shoegaze tracks this label was known for producing. Bedazzled were very much or I should say trying to be the US equivalent to 4AD, very much like Los Angeles label, Independent Project. I posted their Second Sampler Woke Up Smiling on here the middle of last year if you missed that. Now on to a few key highlights on bands and tracks off of the comp.

Big Hat  - Pocketful

were a goth band out of Chicago from the very early 90's and in all aspects very much a 4AD band but not on the label. Their sound is best described as what happens when you mix Dead Can Dance and The Cocteau Twins together in one lush and teeming musical cocktail.

The Garden - Blythe Spirit

one of the best tracks off the whole comp comes from a virtually unknown band out of Pittsburgh, PA. Their history goes back as far as 1985 and are know as 'Pittsburgh's first goth band'. More info about them will be coming up in my next blog post where I'll be sharing some of their demos and a Compilation Cd with remastered tracks that came out in 1997..so check back for that soon.









VA - Kindred Spirits (1994)

Strange Boutique -  The Charm

Switchblade Symphony - Clown

The Curtain Society - Adrenaline

Siddal - Pontus

Ultracherry Violet - Falling In Love

Mistle Thrush-Whispers

Big Hat -Pocketful ( remix )

Twelve Tone Failure - As I Hit The Floor

Viola Peacock - Shave Your Head

Opium Den - Blackwell Road

This Ascension - Admire

The Garden - Blithe Spirit

Purple Ivy Shadows - Carry Nation For The First Time

If you liked some of the bands on here you can find full albums from The Curtain Society and Siddal  on some past posts.

'Dialogue' The new And Also The Trees documentary

View the new unofficial 50 min documentary..very good and tastefully done

The Soft Moon - Die Life **new song**

just freshly released today a new track from the dark and dirgy mind of Luis Vasquez. A little teaser of what is to come on the forthcoming album Zeros due out Oct. 30 / Nov 5 (EU) via Captured Tracks label.