Joy Divison: That’ll Be The End (1980)

Some people believe the only “real” representation of the late, great Joy Division was their live shows, that the production meddling of Martin Hannett smothered their intensity into an otherworldly cold sheen on record. I love the production on those records, and while we can debate until the cows come whether that singular production was a help or hindrance to the band’s longevity, there’s no denying that live they were a different, more primal beast. That’ll Be The End documents their penultimate performance at the Ajanta Cinema Derby on April 19, 1980, less than a month before Ian Curtis’s tragic suicide. Like all of their live recordings it’s rough, not meant for official release, but unable to suppress the energy and control the band could hold over an audience.

ChrisApril 11, 2025April 11, 2025Leave a comment

Vinyl

black midi: Schlagenheim (2019)

Day 24 of the #mayvinylchallenge asks for an impulse buy: a record you just had to have. For me there aren’t a lot of albums I relentlessly crave or “have” to have, but I impulse buy a lot. The most recent example of this was when I was listening to “Welcome to Hell” the new single from UK post-everything black midi. Being so caught up in older music it’s always great to hear something new that strikes a nerve, and as I was listening to the new song I realized I didn’t own the band’s 2019 debut Schlagenheim. That was a problem quickly rectified, and so here we are to talk about it.

ChrisMay 24, 2022Leave a comment

Vinyl

Sweeping Promises: Hunger For A Way Out (2020)

It started, like it usually does, by listening to Rollins’s radio show. It ended, like it usually does, by checking out both a new band – Sweeping Promises – and a new label – Feel It Records – digging deep into the wealth of cool new music. Hunger For A Way Out is the two-piece band’s debut, and it checks off all my happy boxes for this kind of niche rock and roll: mono, 45 rpm, garage-y feel that evokes Joy Division and other post-punk but with a keen sense of pop that’s not overly saccharine.

ChrisApril 25, 2022Leave a comment

Vinyl

Empire: Expensive Sound (1981)

Taking a break from the classic rock discoveries thanks to Sea of Tranquility and moving to another massive source of music discovery: Henry Rollins – specifically his role as DJ at KCRW (which you can stream to your heart’s content here) and the collection of books detailing his playlists and the inspiration behind. It was his radio show that got me into the first two Generation X albums, and without his championing I never would have come across Empire, the band formed when guitarist Bob Andrews and drummer Mark Laff over a desire to move in a different musical direction than the more commercial punk/pop Billy Idol craved. The result may have only been one album, but 1981’s Expensive Sound is a great hidden gem in the post-punk/rock and pop world.

ChrisFebruary 3, 2022Leave a comment

Vinyl

Egg Hunt: 2 Songs (1986)

Day 7 of the #mayvinylchallenge is, appropriately, a celebration of the 7″ – that glorious short format that nevertheless I don’t collect much of. Most of what I have comes from the Dischord label, which for decades has been the home of some of the best independent heavy music ever crated, from the blistering hardcore of Minor Threat to the post hardcore experimentation of Fugazi to the rebellious spirit of the Evens, the Warmers, and most recently Coriky. I picked those examples for a reason – they all feature Dischord founder and punk hero Ian MacKaye. For today’s entry I wanted to focus on a lesser known release from him and the label: the brief but infinitely punchy Egg Hunt and their 2 Songs 7″.

ChrisMay 7, 2021May 7, 20211 Comment

Beasts of Bourbon: Sour Mash (1988)

We all have those people in our lives who act as our musical sherpas, guiding us on paths we would not have otherwise taken to discover aural delights that reverberate in our souls and ears. Over the last six or so years the largest of those people has been Henry Rollins, via his weekly KCRW radio show (seriously, listen here) as well as his collection of Fanatic books where he provides liner notes for every radio show. Through him I discovered the hotbed of great music that’s been coming out of Australia for years, specifically the swerving, booze-drenched blues insanity of The Beasts of Bourbon, here represented by their second album, Sour Mash. Continue reading “Beasts of Bourbon: Sour Mash (1988)”

ChrisApril 21, 2019April 20, 2019Leave a comment

Consuming the Tangible

We are what we consume

Tag: post-punk

Joy Divison: That’ll Be The End (1980)

black midi: Schlagenheim (2019)

Sweeping Promises: Hunger For A Way Out (2020)

Empire: Expensive Sound (1981)

Egg Hunt: 2 Songs (1986)

Beasts of Bourbon: Sour Mash (1988)