The Post Punk Nightmare

The Post-Punk Nightmare will, as you might have guessed, primarily feature the acts and bands of the late seventies and eighties who were at the core of propelling and inspiring the genre - but the true goal or real reward for fans of the music rather is finding the more contemporary artists who establish a fresh sound, a sound that possesses the very veins of music and beckons the style and ethos of post-punk while feeding a new musical spirit. I would like now to bring and highlight one of those acts.

This group assembled in the early 2000's and acquired buzz in 2002 with the release of their EP "Sinking Hearts", a complete DIY effort that first reflected the band's post-punk and new wave evocations. The group I direct to you now is The Organ who were Jenny Smyth (organ), Deborah Cohen (guitar) Shmoo Ritchies (bass), Shelby Stocks (drums), fronted by vocalist and musician Katie Sketch. The all girl band dissolved in 2006 when Sketch resigned due to significant mental stresses.

During their time together their music and sound harkened to the new and dark wave sounds of the early eighties reflecting groups such as the Cure and to some extent Joy Division. Their only full length album "Grab that Gun" released in 2004 by Mint Records presents this sound which is blanched with a melancholic drone, but do not be fooled, the force behind the group's music packs quite a punch with a nice cutting bass, jagged guitars and vocals by Sketch that picks up much of the band's energy.

The comparisons to eighties alternative bands are apt but what differs in the Organ are engaging and lush vocals. They display a bright pointed attack that prefers not to drag but flash in their strokes. The guitars stir and flutter in a stingy but not vitriolic pattern while the keyboards gently dips and delves; all of the mood and emotion is encapsulated neatly in the pockets of each track.

The album doesn't quite match the attitude and spirit of the post-punk acts by which they are influenced but it is of the better efforts I have heard in what was their attempt to match or create a unique flavor in an otherwise tried indie genre.

The Organ - Grab That Gun (2004)

(<== My awesome poster autographed by the god himself)



In celebration of the release of "goth godfather" Peter Murphy's eighth solo album entitled 'Ninth' I present you his very first album 'Should the World Fail to Fall Apart', which highlights the beginning of the dark prince's gallant solo career.

For those who (shamefully) do not know or are not familiar with Peter Murphy, he was the sexy, gaunt frontman of the legendary band Bauhaus whose music delved into the dark, fanatical, glamorous, and risque of art. The band would dissolve in 1983 and the schism would result in Love and Rockets (Haskins, David J, and Ash) and a lone Peter Murphy.

Murphy would go on to pursue an ambitious career as a solo artist exploring a diverse range of sounds within post-punk pop while fluorescing with the unique attitude, flair, and zeal that began in Bauhaus. After a commercially flat collaboration with English bass player Mick Karn known as Dali's Car Murphy released his first solo album Should the World Fail to Fall Apart in 1986.

Murphy is not just known for his deep, sultry, ravenously warm voice but is defined by the unique and complex vocals and in the dervish of SWFA delivers that tone with an aplomb and passion that is hauntingly beautiful. This more than pleasant introduction is a puerile take on the singer's Wildean wit, and feverish display of love in his music.

Enjoy, and make sure to check out all of the singer's fantastic material.

Should the World Fail to Fall Apart (1986)

The South isn't so much known for its contribution to the punk rock genre but it's not without its gems. One standout is the Athens, Georgia group Pylon who have earned the distinction of being heralded as pioneers in the Georgia power pop scene.

The band who take their name after the William Faulkner novel is drummer Curtis Crowe, lead vocalist Vanessa Briscoe, bassist Michael Lachowsky and guitarist Randy Bewley. The group formed in 1979 preceding contemporaries the likes of REM and the B'52's who both cite the Pylons as a significant influence in their music making.

Pylon on this album is completely high energy at every go as they travel through a spacy, atmospheric din. It's an on the run stretch through piss and vinegar attitude that, while not varying much, pumps and explodes its way into a completely unique sound. A sound that is a mangly, manic, and jagged form of jangle pop and the punky, dancey tunes features such beautifully scratched, incantatory yells of Briscoe who spits tales of freedom and escape.

The download here is a copy of their first album which was rereleased by DFA records in 2007 with remastered, expanded, and newly ordered track listing with a small assortment of bonus tracks. Do Enjoy.

Pylon - Gyrate (1980)

Touching Pop perhaps was a vague and obscure expression of the French New Wave epoch but all the same it produced memorable and enticing sounds. One of these was the comic strip inspired act Little Nemo, who were very likely one of the more polished bands of the Touching Pop genre.

The fauve band with their colorful swipes has a sound akin to a Pink Floydian dream space and more traditional pop. Much like their Gallic contemporaries Little Nemo evokes romantic imagery in their sounds that marches forcefully in poppy tunes. Their second full length album 'Turquoise Fields' does much to continue the arty, fanciful, and the poetic.

Little Nemo - Turquoise Fields (1990)

Here is some goth rock goodness, courtesy of And Also the Trees with their third full length album The Millpond Years. In their delectably gothic fashion, And Also the Trees erupts in this album with haunting snyths, maddened strings, and cryptic imagery all delivered in a beautiful, crisp melodic haste.

I'm posting this for no other reason than to emphasize how in love I am with this group. Before, I had shared on this blog their second and unfortunately final LP with M'ere, but this was the album that had the opening salvo in blowing me away.

Drenched in absolute darkness and a pounding melancholy 'Borderline' by every measure spits, and spins a mazy web of goth and cold wave pop. Every track, particularly 'Julia', are every bit as infectious of sounds I've come across.

The album I'm posting actually contains fives bonus tracks from a mini-album released in 1988 entitled 'Picture One'. They have the effect of dragging what a somewhat short album on to a more tiresome length, but each those premier singles, on a second listen, stand out on their own.

Asylum Party - Borderline (1989)

The band I present now is not and was never well known. Their sound has been left to the cavernous, dusty roads of music history - but their music, a lone LP entitled 'bas relief', a reference to sculpture, is a tremendous escape into dance pop bliss.

A pulsing bassy attack with each tracking carrying its own unique tension. The group in every way emulates that seemingly magic sound of mid-eighties New Order in ways that their contemporaries simply do not.

The group is Eleven Pond of Rochester, New York and their mystique is one that persists wholly in the brilliant sounds of their album.

Eleven Pond - Bas Relief (1986)