SONG OF THE DAY: The Cassandra Complex - One Millionth Happy Customer (1988)

The Cassandra Complex were a dark-wave / EBM group from Leeds whose style was loosely based upon the brand of danceable-goth perfected by fellow Leeds legends Sisters of Mercy.  "One Millionth Happy Customer" originally appeared on their third album, "Theomania", but this version is a remix that was featured on the 1988 Belgian compilation "This is Electronic Body Music" (an album well worth checking out for those interested in getting acquainted with the sound).  The remix is heavier and more aligned with the EBM style, as opposed to the dark-wave sound of the original.  It's all here: gloomy, almost cosmopolitan vocals delivered over a pounding beat.  Intense goth music with a club-worthy dynamic.

ALBUM OF THE DAY: Bailter Space - Robot World (1993)

Why not post another album from Flying Nun's remarkable roster?  Bailter Space is a shoegaze group from New Zealand that exists somewhere between Catherine Wheel and Sonic Youth.  The songs are heavy, dissonant and dreamy; imagine Swervedriver's angular guitars immersed in the sonic landscape of My Bloody Valentine.  The practically tuneless wall of sound gives way to vocals that are overall very sweet and unobtrusive, though Bailter Space occasionally channel Chrome in their more robotic moments (see: "Be On Time").  This, their third full-length album, is a well crafted and consistent shoegaze/noise-rock gem that is dreamy enough to float by inconspicuously, yet reveals some adroit songwriting upon closer inspection.

SONG OF THE DAY: Fleetwood Mac - Dragonfly (1971)

"Dragonfly" was the first single released by Fleetwood Mac after the departure of original band leader Peter Green, and the addition of Danny Kirwan saw the group moving away from their blues roots into a psychedelic direction.  The studio version of "Dragonfly" is great, but pales in comparison to this brilliant performance from German Television program Beat Club.  Fleetwood Mac has never sounded so lush; this could easily be a Pink Floyd track from the same era.  The band would produce several quality albums during the remainder of the Danny Kirwan era and on through the Buckingham/Nicks era, but "Dragonfly" is an overlooked dreamy classic and pinnacle for Mick Fleetwood's rotating lineup.

ALBUM OF THE DAY: Tall Dwarfs - That's the Short and Long of It (1985)

* Back from vacation, looking forward to posting again *

The impact of the "Dunedin Sound" cannot be understated.  Focused around the enigmatic roster of New Zealand label Flying Nun Records, the definition of the Dunedin Sound is about as elusive as that of Krautrock; essentially, the sound describes the output of a particular region during a specific era as opposed to a dialed genre of music.  At any rate, Tall Dwarfs are characteristic of the sound, anticipating the myriad lo-fi indie rock acts to come with their unusual blend of freaky folk, bizarre instrumentation and odd production.  "That's the Short and Long of It" is an excellent introduction to a group that would influence Neutral Milk Hotel and Pavement, among others.  But more surprising than the understated ranks of imitators is the range of influence that Tall Dwarfs themselves have harvested, somehow managing to resemble R. Stevie Moore, This Heat and Comus in their scope.

SONG OF THE DAY: Road Hog - The Fuck Outta My Lane (2014)

* I'll be out of town and away from my computer until next week, so this is my last post until then *

Road Hog is an alias for Brooklyn deep-house outsider Galcher Lustwerk, whose blend of smooth melodies and vocals earned the young producer a lot of attention in 2013.  Recent years show Lustkwerk focusing more on the Road Hog project, described as "music for the open road", and finds the artist trading in his hip-house roots for a more luscious brand of deep-house.  "The Fuck Outta My Lane" appears on Road Hog's first album "D.W.B.", (all of his albums are self-released digitally).  This track is a familiar yet nevertheless remarkable example of quality deep-house.  Road Hog's May 2016 release, "Tour de Hog", is another strong and consistent collection.

ALBUM OF THE DAY: Deru - Trying To Remember (2004)

The early 2000s saw an abundance of ambient and IDM artists following the trail blazed by the early roster of Warp Records, the British label essentially responsible for the intelligent dance music genre.   Amidst a flurry of emerging labels, Miami's Merck Records existed from 2000-2007, and released some crucial electronic albums during their short run.  One standout is "Trying To Remember", the second full-length album from Los Angeles based artist Deru (Benjamin Wynn).  There are certain essential qualities about distinctive ambient records; the production, atmosphere, arrangement and overall album concept, when done well, can contribute to something like an introspective cinematic experience.  Deru achieves a remarkable atmosphere throughout this album, crafting dark ambient textures and abstract hip-hop beats, layered with sparse horns and shadowy vocal samples.  Apart from an obvious Boards of Canada influence in production, the album's mild glitchiness brings to mind Jan Jelinek's masterful work, "loop-finding-jazz-records".

SONG OF THE DAY: Adam & The Ants - Lou (1978)

Adam steps back for this one to allow for the group's manager, Jordan, to take over lead vocals for "Lou", a track that was often performed live but only recorded once, for their first Peel Session in 1978.  Before going solo, Adam Ant led a ferocious band whose first few albums and singles were a unique blend of post-punk and new wave that brings to mind the early eras of Killing Joke and maybe even Wire.  The Ants mixed tribal percussive drums with angular guitar chords, fronted by Adam's snarly yet sophisticated vocal style.  Jordan's voice on this track is more nasty and raw than any other female punk singer at the time (all but maybe Alice Bag), while Adam steps in for backups during the chorus of this great take from a rare ensemble.

ALBUM OF THE DAY: Propaganda - A Secret Wish (1985)

German synth-wave group Propaganda seemed poised for greatness upon the release of their 1985 album "A Secret Wish".  Their singles, "Dr. Mabuse" and "P-Machinery", were both successful on the international pop charts, and collaborations with Throbbing Gristle and The Art of Noise's Trevor Horn offered credibility and potential for abiding support from the industrial and goth scenes in case of abandonment from the mainstream.  But alas, inner turmoil and agitation led to the departure of singer Claudia Brücken, and as a result Propaganda cancelled the release of their fourth single, "The Murder of Love", effectively breaking their contract with ZTT and barring the release of any new material for 14 months, at which point the group had completely dissolved.  So here we have a lost classic of the darker side of the synth-wave genre; pulsing, moody, macabre tracks punctuated by strong female vocals and brought to full potential by Trevor Horn's impeccable production.

RARE PUNK SINGLE OF THE WEEK: Final Conflct - Final Conflict EP (1983)

Reflex Records released this EP from Minneapolis, MN group Final Conflict, not to be confused with the well known crossover group from California.  Reflex was known for putting out early releases from several well known bands from the area, including Husker Du and Articles of Faith, yet this incredible release from Final Conflict seems to have flown under the radar despite recent reissues from Havoc Records.  This is blistering, paranoid hardcore punk in the vein of Jerry's Kids and Void, and Final Conflict approaches almost a Siege level of intensity.  The drums are furious on top of the chainsawing guitars, and the vocals are really standout here; the singer sounds genuinely desperate and provides some bleak portraits of depression and anxiety.

SONG OF THE DAY: The Pretty Things - "Old Man Going" (1968)

This is possibly one of the first heavy metal songs ever.  The Pretty Things began as a relatively standard but quality British rock / rhythm & blues group, but before jumping on the country rock bandwagon, released "S.F. Sorrow", a psychedelic gem that many regard as one of, if not the first rock concept albums.  The record is strong throughout, but the second to last track, "Old Man Going" is noticeably heavier and cannot be denied its influence on the late 60s/early 70s metal sound to come.  The drums are heavy, the guitar leads are distorted and juicy, and most of all, the lead vocals sound like a foreshadowing of so many of the NWOBHM bands that would follow.

ALBUM OF THE DAY: HTRK - Work (Work, Work) (2011)

HTRK (pronounced "hate rock") began under the influence of Roland S. Howard, who produced some of their early material and collaborated with members before his death in 2009.  The Australian group had some clear post-punk influences early on, but it wasn't until their 2011 album "Work (Work, Work)" that HTRK truly came into their own.  This album is a shimmering, sexy, dark mix of ambient pop, minimal-wave and dub.  There is a buried, brooding and detached quality to these tracks; the dub basslines are infused with dreamy ambient textures and noisy guitars, and the deep, slow beats create an erotic and surreal feel to the album as a whole.  The standout element, however, is the performance of singer Jonnine Standish, who invokes something like a druggy version of Sade in her smoky, sensual vocal style.

SONG OF THE DAY: Book of Love - Modigliani (Lost in Your Eyes) (1986)

Philadelphia synth-pop group Book of Love had a string of hits including "Boy", "Lullaby" and "Pretty Boys and Pretty Girls", all of which were boosted by their successive support for two Depeche Mode tours in '85 and '86.  "Modigliani (Lost in Your Eyes)" opens their debut self-titled album, and right off the bat sets Book of Love a notch above the rest.  Synth-pop was dominating the charts, and despite too many one-hit-wonders and disposable novelty acts to name, the standouts are those who have survived the test of time.  Book of Love excels in their arrangements but most of all in the voice of Susan Ottaviano, whose icy tone adds an elegiac dynamic to the group's sound.  Lyrically, Book of Love were always ahead of the curve, dealing with topics including sexual orientation, AIDS, and gender.

ALBUM OF THE DAY: Flux - Uncarved Block (1986)

The third and final album from anarcho-punk legends Flux of Pink Indians finds the group reinventing themselves yet again.  The band progressed through three very distinct phases; their debut album, "Strive to Survive Causing Least Suffering Possible", along with the iconic "Neu Smell" EP, was intense, stripped down punk, exemplary of the Crass Records sound at the time.  1984's "The Fucking Cunts Treat Us Like Pricks" was a charged blast of noise and industrial music, yet maintained the groups abrasive punk vocal style.  Finally in 1986, the name was shortened to Flux, and though lyrically poignant and cutting as ever, the musical landscape had shifted in an entirely new direction.  "Uncarved Block" is a fusion of tribal percussion, post-punk, industrial, world music, new wave... it simply sounds like nothing else (except perhaps Savage Republic's brilliant 1982 album, "Tragic Figures").  Flux was essentially inactive after the release of their overlooked swansong, but their label One Little Indian continues to put out worthy material, including almost every collaboration and solo album from Bjork, among others.

SONG OF THE DAY: Dead Can Dance - Labour of Love (1983)

The transformation of Dead Can Dance from a gothy post-punk group into an otherworldly, ethereal mix of neo-classical and world music has been quite a journey, all the while driven by the incredibly powerful voices of Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry, the group's primary and only consistent members.  John Peel captured the band for his '83/'84 Peel Sessions at the crest of their post-punk era, right before the release of their second masterful album, "Spleen and Ideal", which saw DCD beginning to experiment heavily with eastern sounds.  This track from the '83 Peel Session, "Labour of Love", is unreleased and has never appeared on a proper album, (though it is included on a few rare tracks compilations), and features the sole crooning voice of Brendan Perry over a pulsing, emotionally charged epic arrangement.  Perry is channeling Scott Walker and perhaps David Sylvian here, though the one thought that comes to mind is: I wish Morrissey sounded this good.

ALBUM OF THE DAY: Scorn - Evanescence (1994)

"Evanescence" is the third studio album from Scorn, and shows Mick Harris perfecting his groundbreaking mix of industrial, dub, trip-hop and dark ambient.  It would have been easy to pigeonhole one of the pioneers of grindcore, but the devotee of BBC Radio legend John Peel proved with his 1992 album "Vae Solis" that he was capable of much more.  Around the time he abandoned Napalm Death, they were embarking on a less-extreme direction, and drummer Mick Harris began experimenting with electronics. Harris was clearly influenced by Napalm Death founder Justin Broadrick's industrial-metal project Godflesh, and while Broadrick would soon begin his era of dub remixes, it was Scorn's 1994 release "Evanescence" that came seemingly out of nowhere with a genre-defying blend of so many great sounds.  Groovy, atmospheric, dark, heavy; at times even resembling the early dub era of Public Image Ltd (see: "Days Passed"), this album grows richer with each listen.

SONG OF THE DAY: The Brian Jonestown Massacre - Nevertheless (2001)

Controversial and polarizing band who never saw mainstream success due to their on-stage drama and a constantly revolving line-up (both of which are highlighted in the 2004 film "Dig!"), The Brian Jonestown Massacre still managed to produce almost 20 studio albums, all of which range from decent to brilliant.  The San Francisco group formed in 1990 with a neo-psychedlic sound that borders on shoegaze (see: the 1995 album "Methodrone"), but quickly moved on to a dialed and refreshing take on the 60s era Rolling Stones vibe.  Yet BJM never sound derivative despite their obvious influence from the Stones and Velvet Underground thanks to Anton Newcombe's unique vocal presence, which at times resembles the style employed by The Cure's Robert Smith in its moody delivery.  After their flawless string of late 90s albums, this track appears on 2001's "Bravery, Repetition & Noise", and sees Newcombe embarking on his stripped-down yet chilling acoustic era.

ALBUM OF THE DAY: Solid Space - Space Museum (1982)

British minimal synth-wave group Solid Space released only one cassette in 1982 on In Phaze, a short-lived label that mostly put out albums revolving around the Legendary Pink Dots and their primary member Edward Ka-Spel.  "Space Museum" is an incredible blend of Krautrock beats, synth-pop melodies, and grim post-punk vocals.  Equal parts Kraftwerk, Oppenheimer Analysis and Joy Division.  Unlike so many of the minimal-wave gems that have been excavated over the years and had only a few strong tracks surrounded by mostly filler, this is an incredibly consistent album that utilizes spacey synths whilst never losing a sense of goth gloominess.

SONG OF THE DAY: Tommi Stumpff - Contergan Punk (1983)

"Contergan Punk" is the B-side to Tommi Stumpff's 12" single "Mich Kriegt Ihr Nicht", a double dose of raw synth-punk and industrial music.  The track is bare, cold and aggressive, reminiscent of fellow Düsseldorf EBM group DAF (Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft).  Utilizing minimal synth tracks layered with heavy industrial drums, Tommi carves out his own niche with a harsher vocal delivery, taking more from post-punk rather than DAF's erotic style.  Recommended for anyone who is searching for nasty synth-punk in the vein of French lunatics Metal Urbain.

ALBUM OF THE DAY: Pinch & Shackleton (2011)

This album is a great introduction to anyone who wants to get into dubstep.  This is not the glitchy, sample-ridden club music that has stigmatized the genre, but rather a masterful landscape of minimal-techno beats and dark-ambient textures.  Pinch & Shackleton is a collaboration between two respected names in the UK and Berlin dubstep and minimal techo scenes (Pinch's 2007 album "Underwater Dancehall" is also worth checking out), but the duo excel here in their ability to craft cavernous atmospheres out of their sparse sampling and deep drum sounds.  It moves fast yet feels engrossing and encompassing; the sections flow seamlessly from ambient passages through climaxes of world-music percussion and big beats.  

SONG OF THE DAY: Zsa Zsa "La Boum" - Something Scary (1988)

Belgian New Beat is indebted as much to Acid House as it is to Darkwave and EBM, though the former provides the basic framework for this movement of underground club music.  The story begins with Belgian DJs who unknowingly (or intentionally?) were spinning 45rpm EBM records at 33rpm speed, and thus developed a taste for slower beats.  This take on the fledging Acid movement in conjunction with an already rich native EBM scene created some truly unique club mixes.  "Something Scary" was the debut 12" track from duo Zsa Zsa "La Boum", which also appeared on the essential compilation "New Beat - Take 3" (which also features Miss Nicky Trax's "Acid in the House, another classic of the genre).  Big beats, bending leads, and a perfect sample from "The Entity" makes this an unforgettable dance track.

ALBUM OF THE DAY: Cloister Crime - Devilish Music for an Unredeemable (1984)

Imagine an even more bleak, muddy, detached amalgamation of Chrome and Clock DVA, and you'll begin to scratch the surface of this minimal-synth masterpiece from Swedish group Cloister Crime.  Their singular album was released by Swedish label Konduktör Records in 1984, and their only other appearance was on the 1985 compilation "Modern Pop Music According to De Selby".  The tracks bring to mind the early work of Chris & Cosey and Cabaret Voltaire, yet by comparison there is something decidedly less-sensual about "Devilish Music".  Frightening and intriguing.

SONG OF THE DAY: Dif Juz - No Motion (1987)

For a label as diverse as 4AD, Dif Juz still managed to stand out from the pack, and in some sense served a similar roll as The Durutti Column did for Factory Records.  The group's masterful blend of dub, dream-pop, and post-rock made for a unique contribution to 1987's "Lonely is an Eyesore", the 4AD compilation featuring This Mortal Coil, Cocteau Twins, and Dead Can Dance among others.   Dif Juz released two crucial EPs in the early 80s that showcased their brand of instrumental-dream-dub, and their Robin Guthrie produced full-length album "Extractions", while subdued compared to early material, is still worth a listen.  The group fully redeemed themselves with this late 80s compilation track, "No Motion", their strongest to date.  Somewhere between Cocteau Twins and Lee Scratch Perry, you'll find Dif Juz.

ALBUM OF THE DAY: Belbury Poly - The Willows (2004)

Belbury Poly is the main project from Jim Jupp (Eric Zann), the Ghost Box label co-founder responsible for the "Hauntology" genre.  The sound is heavily influenced by the library-music perfected by Delia Derbyshire in her BBC Radiophonic Workshop sessions.  While Belbury Poly derive the majority of their sound from the experimenters of early-electronics and vintage educational soundtracks, the added flavor for the Ghost Box label springs from graphic artist and co-founder Julian House, whose clinical, occult themes inject the "haunt" into Hauntology.  "The Willows" invokes images of magical, wooden phantasmagoria that feel properly British while skirting on a sense of paranoid wonder.

RARE PUNK SINGLE OF THE WEEK: Chaos UK - Summer of Hate (1979)

This Chaos UK is not the well-known UK82 group from Bristol, but rather an overlooked one-off release from 1979 that was limited to only 500 copies, predating the better-known group's first release by 3 years.  The A-side, "Summer of Hate", sounds like early Crisis if they were fronted by Bon Scott, and that detuned bass really takes this slimy, mid-paced rocker to the max.  The B-side, "I Wanna Be Left Alone", is an even more sluggish chugger that drives the point home.

SONG OF THE DAY: à;GRUMH... - Drama in the Subway (1986)

à;GRUMH... were an Industrial/EBM group with an unpronounceable name from Belgium who were certainly influenced by fellow countrymen Front 242.  This track opens their first full-length vinyl album, "No Way Out", which was released in 1986 after a series of cassettes and 12" singles.  The sound here is pure electronic-body-music; heavy bass and drums layered with sharp synth and detached, perverse vocals. 

ALBUM OF THE DAY: Cold Sun - Dark Shadows (1969)

"Dark Shadows" was recorded in 1969, but didn't see a proper release until the late 80s, which might account for Cold Sun's obscurity despite affiliations with fellow Austin, TX psych group The 13th Floor Elevators.  The album is stylistically on par with the latter,  utilizing an electric autoharp, fuzzy guitars, and lots of feedback to give the album a far-out sound that was surely ahead of its time.  The vocals are generally standard for the era, but don't detract from the psychedelic brilliance of the freak-out sections and song arrangements.