Shadow Ring – Life Review (KYE Records)

The appearance of this career spanning compilation on bandcamp this month gives me an excuse to rant about one of my favorite bands. In 1995, I stumbled on THE SHADOW RING’s Put the Music in Its Coffin LP (fitting LP title if there ever was one), and it led me down a wild path. A lesson in how a brain can find patterns and pleasure even in the bizarre and atonal; it’s the same appeal as THE SHAGGS’ Philosophy of the World (another perfect title). There’s a cassette recorded track on THE FALL’s Totale’s Turns called “New Puritan” which I swear is the launching pad for early SHADOW RING. Throw in some GODZ 2 and early Industrial music and you will understand the cracked punk art sensibilities of this band. Initially consisting of hypnotic acoustic guitar riffs a child might hammer out before being begged to stop, adding dissonant synths and eventually ditching musical gestures in favor of sound effects and spatial field recordings, the glue was always the charming chant-speak vocals and surreal, often funny lyrics. Only the true heads cared about them in their time and now their LPs go for crazy money, so if you lack SHADOW RING physical you need this digital collection in your life.

Savage Impressions: An Aesthetic Expedition Through the Archives of Independent Project Records & Press (P22) 

Some more nostalgia for me, Savage Republic was the first avant rock music I heard coming out of So Cal 80’s punk and hardcore. Early bassist Jeff Long was also in LA’s WASTED YOUTH incidentally, whose Reagan’s In 12” was tearing up the turntable in my skateboard days. But mostly this was a UCLA band of artists making a stew of sounds influenced by CAN, THE VENTURES, Greek and Middle Eastern music, Factory Records and more. Jamahiyria, their 1988 album is perfect late period post-punk and the place to start for anyone not aware. As important as the sounds were Bruce Licher’s visuals. Using archaic letterpress print techniques and more, he created an entire visual realm for his band and label. It was brilliant work that elevated not only SAVAGE REPUBLIC but also CAMPER VAN BEETHOVEN and an early WOO release (looping this all back to Failure of All Pop #2). This stunning book is a document of one of the best music related graphic designers of all time, on the level of legends like Barney Bubbles and V23.