April 2, 2026 by A.S. Van Dorston

Revisiting favorite albums that are 40 years old this year.

I didn’t know it at the time, but the music I listened to at sixteen and seventeen imprinted on my brain and permanently rearranged the neurons. No matter where our lives take us, we can never escape the music of our youth. For real, there’s neuroscientists who back this up!

I’ve considered the mid-80s a sort of nadir for music. It was a sort of overproduced mess of commercial blockbusters and hair metal in between the 1978-84 heyday of post-punk, and indie rock like Sonic Youth, Pixies and Dinosaur Jr. But every year in music is multi-faceted. 1986 saw early commercial stirrings of hip hop, the breakthrough of thrash metal, and most importantly for me, a whole lot of indie jangle pop and psychedelic post-punk that were often well-distributed on major labels. My friends and I could find and buy many of these cassettes on sale for $5.99 at Target. A couple years earlier, no way would you find the likes of Echo & The Bunnymen, The Cure, The Jesus and Mary Chain and The Smiths there, or even at Musicland at the mall. Maybe U2. So did the relative commercial success of those bands inspire major labels to be more adventurous for a brief time? Maybe, but someone should really do a book on it. One of the many journalists who wrote for the Inkies (Melody Maker, NME and Sounds) at the time should already have plenty of material. The only band of that five to release an album in 1986, The Smiths, reached the highest chart position of the bands I focus on here, #2, and on a true indie label, no less, Rough Trade. When I bought my tape in the U.S. it was on Sire. It’s thanks partially to the Inkies that so many of these bands could crack the top 100.

It’s also worth noting that a lot of these bands peaked in 1986. Perhaps because they had a taste of commercial success, many tried too hard to be commercial on subsequent releases, and lost what made them special. Screaming Blue Messiahs lost their fierce bite and became a cartoon parody. While The Church and Love And Rockets did achieve greater commercial success, their art suffered.

Granted, indie bands didn’t exactly take over the charts. Aside from Britain’s fondness for compilations (That’s What I Call Music), plenty of the usual mainstream suspects that were found in the U.S. Billboard charts were at the top in the UK. Some great (Prince, Peter Gabriel, Paul Simon, Robert Cray Band), some decent (Pet Shop Boys, The Bangles, Bronski Beat, Van Halen, David Lee Roth, Queen, Eurythmics, Madonna, Steve Winwood, Tina Turner, the Human League, Bon Jovi, Cyndi Lauper, Ratt, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Billy Idol, The Pretenders, Duran Duran), some not so good (Wham!, Genesis, Chris DeBurgh, Sigue Sigue Sputnik, Lionel Richie, Five Star, Huey Lewis and the News, Paul Young).

Genre

1986 was a colorful, fertile time for psychedelic post-punk. For a brief period, post-punk bands were crossing over into the mainstream while maintaining their creativie identities, adding swirls of psychedelia to their sound.

Comeback

In California’s hardcore punk scene, Agent Orange released the definitive surf punk album with Living in Darkness (1981). In the 80s, five years in between albums was long enough to declared D.O.A., if it weren’t for the fact that they were clearly active with an EP and gigs. But their second album embraced the changes that occured during those five years than any of their peers, incorporating modern recording approaches and psychedelic flavors.

Debut

Easterhouse released their debut on Rough Trade the same day as labelmates The Smiths. Bad idea! They were quickly eclipsed and forgotten, despite the ironic fact that Smiths fans would have loved this album had they actually heard it. The Woodentops, Screaming Blue Messiahs, Throwing Muses, Big Black, Ups And Downs and Lowlife were the rest of the cream of the crop of debuts.

Memoriam

Phil Lynott (Thin Lizzy, 36), Johnny Dollar (53), Hank Mobley (55), Benny Goodman (77), Rudy Vallee (86), Cliff Burton (Metallica, 24), Tracy Pew (The Birthday Party, 29), Kate Wolf (44), Lee Dorsey (61), Desi Arnaz (69),

Rock ‘n’ roll as a genre was just 30 years old, so body count was quite low still, though the loss of Phil and Cliff definitely hurt.

Underrated

For once, there are a few successful and acclaimed albums in Fester’s Lucky 13 (Metallica, Slayer, The Smiths). Several have risen in stature over the decades to become cult classics (Chameleons, Feelies, XTC, The Church). I’d say of the bunch that are still under the radar and ignored (Easterhouse, The Woodentops, Hunters & Collectors, Agent Orange, Screaming Blue Messiahs), I’d say Hunters & Collectors had the most potential crossover appeal.

Disappointment

Of the albums I bought at the time, I’d say Violent Femmes The Blind Leading The Naked was one I was really excited about that didn’t live up to expectations. It had some highlights for sure, but was too spotty. Prince’s Parade also had great singles, but low lows, as well as his movie Under the Cherry Moon. I felt let down by Iron Maiden’s and Judast Priests’ releases too.

Surprise

It was a big year of exploration for me, expanding my knowledge and range of tastes. I suppose I didn’t expect adult albums from Peter Gabriel and Paul Simon to have as much as an impact as they did, given I was still sometimes watching The Smurfs, at least at the beginning if the year. It’s worth noting that I didn’t hear my top two picks from The Chameleons and The Feelies until college, and my favorite album at the time probably shifted between XTC, The Woodentops and Screaming Blue Messiahs. Talk Talk, Ups and Downs, Lowlife and The Comsat Angels didn’t come to me until years later also. It goes to show it’s never too late to discover music from the past.

Fester’s Lucky 13 – The Best Albums of 1986

1. The Chameleons – Strange Times

Talk about a dark horse. Despite reaching #44 in the charts, it took a couple decades before anyone dared suggest that The Chameleons’ third album is a very strong candidate for the best album of 1986. Bands like Interpol would go on to plagiarize them while disingenuously denying they even heard them. Formed in 1981 in Manchester, they integrated the bombastic energy of Echo & the Bunnymen into the brooding darkwave of The Sound and Comsat Angels. On What Does Anything Mean? Basically? (1985), the band mastered atmospherics, constructing towering, crystalline cathedrals of sound that reveal new reflections on every listen. Strange Times is somewhat simplified, but ups the visceral emotional intensity on epics “Caution,” “Souls in Isolation” and their crowning achievement, “Swamp Thing.” Throughout the album, Mark Burgess’ lyrics are economical and effective, from the stripped-down, brooding “Tears” to the breathless rush of “In Answer,” and the closer “I’ll Remember,” with chiming proto-dream pop, subverted by guitar noises that sound like distant screams of demons. Bonus tracks include covers of Bowie’s “John, I’m Only Dancing” and the most definitive, majestic version of The Beatles’ “Tomorrow Never Knows.”

2. The Feelies – The Good Earth

The Hoboken band that blossomed at CBGBs released a masterpiece of nervous tension with their debut Crazy Rhythms (1980). Refusing to tour properly, their label dropped them, and they dispersed into side projects like the Trypes, The Willies and Yung Wu, and eventually started doing shows on holidays in 1983 as The Feelies again. By 1986’s The Good Earth, they were an older, different band, with a couple different members. Peter Buck loosely “produced” the album, and it did seem to have some R.E.M. influence, a band that claimed The Feelies as an initial influence. It had a pastoral, early autumn feel with more jangly, acoustic guitars. The most passionate centerpiece is the almost sexual guitar interplay of “Slipping (Into Something)” which dates back to their days at CBGB’s. It was another perfect album. Perhaps because it was more laidback, it was unfairly underrated and ignored, except for filmmaker Jonathan Demme, who gave them their 15 minutes (or more like 5 minutes) of fame in a scene in Something Wild. Demme pitched a movie where a bunch of zombies end up at a Feelies concert, but investors didn’t bite. Bands like The Bongos, The Individuals, The Embarrassment, Spiral Jetty, The Dream Syndicate, Yo La Tengo and Luna picked up on elements of The Feelies (Luna even borrowed Feely Stanley Demeski). Subsequent generations also picked up on the Feelies’ musical language, like Real Estate and Rolling Blackout Coastal Fever, and now there are again many more new bands carrying on the Feelies’ mission. The Feelies themselves are still putting out new music, and their second full-length was reissued to include bonus tracks from the No One Knows EP, with covers of The Beatles’ “She Said She Said” and Neil Young’s “Sedan Delivery.”

Jangle Pop | Indie Pop | RYM #126 | Acclaimed #57 | AOTY #118

3. Metallica – Master of Puppets

What hasn’t been said about this album? Metallica had numerous breakthroughs. Kill ‘Em All (1983) was the best of the groundbreaking early thrash albums among the big six (Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax, Exodus, Testament), Ride the Lightning (1984) is a big fan favorite, but no one can deny that their third has the best sound, performance, execution, and a cohesive narrative flow. The youthful rawness is replaced by a polished majesty, particularly on the title track and Cliff Burton’s “Orion.” There’s no weak tracks, only a bit of repetitiveness that might test the patience of some, and a hint of the prog direction they would take on their next album. All killer, no filler, it’s sometimes regarded as the greatest metal album of all time. Remarkably, they came back from losing Cliff to truly break through to the mainstream five years later. But they never topped this.

4. Slayer – Reign In Blood

Aside from Metallica, Maiden and Priest, my metal listening in ’86 was on the backburner, which is why I had to circle back to Slayer after I was already getting into some death metal in ’87 and ’88. Their previous albums were hugely important and groundbreaking for their feral brand of thrash metal, but number three is where they perfected their sound. Surprisingly at the time, Rick Rubin produced this with engineer Andy Wallace, and they helped the band focus their sound, leaving out the muddy noise and hone it into a more powerful bludgeoning. For the right mood, this can surpass Master of Puppets at times. The unprecedented speed of 210 BPM would quickly be surpassed by others, but it was groundbreaking at the time, driven by Dave Lombardo’s ferocious playing. And of course “Angel of Death” and “Raining Blood” are two of the greatest metal compositions ever. A masterpiece. I’m getting verklempt . . . FUCKING SLAYER!!! ../

Thrash Metal | Death Metal | RYM #3 | Acclaimed #7 | AOTY #9

5. XTC – Skylarking

I love all of XTC’s first eight albums, even the unfairly dismissed Go 2 (1978). Appreciation for the accomplishments of this massively talented band has grown steadily over the decades. Except for their first two. Like the Beatles, there’s big fan support for several candidates for their best album — Drums and Wires (1979), Black Sea (1980), English Settlement (1982) and Skylarking (1986). Mummer (1983) and The Big Express (1985) are also great, but less commercial. Their much talked about clashes with producer Todd Rundgren in the studio resulted in their most lush, cohesive and unique statement. It was my entrypoint to their catalogue, and while Black Sea is currently my favorite, I’ve listened to this album more than any in their catalog, and more than any album from 1986 except for The Feelies’ The Good Earth. Ironically the B-side that got picked up by college radio and generated the most interest in the band in years, “Dear God,” is the track I’m most likely to skip now. It was profound when I was a teenager, but sounds uncharacteristically simplistic for the band now. But even so, the music remains stunning.

6. The Smiths – The Queen Is Dead

The big whompa, sitting atop this heap, critically and commercially, like a doleful elephant, The Smiths ruled the decade. I’ve grumbled that there’s too many filler tracks to make this album a full-on classic, but looking at the various compilations, you can’t argue that they weren’t the greatest singles band of the decade. Those like me who had very limited funds were annoyed at the overlap of songs between Hatful of Hollow and Louder Than Bombs, but these days, their third album does feel the most significant. Even though the lead title track is a boring drag, it sucks in a grandiose way like how Bob Dylan kicked off Blonde on Blonde with that stinking turd “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35” drunk on fame and overconfident of his genius. Both Morrissey and Dylan overreach in ways that would have had them laughed out of introductory college poetry classes, but this is rock ‘n’ roll, so they can get away with it. And it’s a good thing they do, because when it’s set to great music, awkwardly ambitious lyrics can work gloriously. “And in the darkened underpass / I thought, ‘Oh God, my chance has come at last’ / But then a strange fear gripped me / And I just couldn’t ask.” No one else could make teenage fear and insecurity sound so sweepingly romantic. But then, no one else had Johnny Marr to provide guitar.

7. The Church – Heyday

While the Sydney band’s earlier work was consistently rewarding mixes of post-punk, psych and jangle pop, they made a big leap forward on the Peter Walsh (Peter Gabriel, Simple Minds) produced Heyday. Simultaneously more orchestral and guitar heavy, it was their masterpiece. No longer the weak link, Steven Kilbey’s vocals were much improved, and often multi-tracked into impressive harmonies. “Tantalized” is the electrifying stunner here, followed by the driving “Columbus.” “Tristesse” had gorgeous, sticky melodies, but it’s the more atmospheric tracks like “Myrrh” that pointed toward their future as a key influence on dream pop. It’s the balance of fierce and ethereal that makes this their definitive peak over the lovely but somewhat toothless mainstream crossover hit Starfish (1988).

Jangle Pop | Psych | Post-Punk | RYM #69 | AOTY #86

8. Easterhouse – Contenders

I don’t know if it was planned, but it took some cajones for Easterhouse to release their debut the same day as labelmates The Smiths. Easterhouse were a Manchester band who should have been huge. Their debut was a brilliant mix of post-punk, jangle pop and fiery lefty political rage. Andy Perry’s voice was a potent amalgamation of the timbre and range of Billy MacKenzie (Associates) and grit of Paul Weller. Despite 1986 being the nadir of the Reagan/Thatcher era, American audiences didn’t connect. It’s not like they were the only band with a political message — Stiff Little Fingers were certainly an influence, The Jam, New Model Army and contemporaries The Housemartins and Billy Bragg were just as outspoken. The pomp, bluster of the more lyrically vague U2 and The Alarm were much easier to market. The album climbed to number 3 in the UK indie albums charts, but the band imploded, leaving only Andy Perry to carry on with the name. He put out the solid Waiting For The Redbird (1989), but the magical alchemy with his brother Ivor’s guitar was no more.

The album became nearly impossible to find, at least for us Yanks in the States, until it was reissued by Cherry Red in 2001. Unfortunately it’s a really poor vinyl rip. Someone has the proper masters, as the version on Spotify sounds excellent. Interpol must have been listening. They claimed to be ignorant of bands like Comsat Angels and The Chameleons, but it turns out perhaps they were studying Easterhouse, especially “Whistling In The Dark.” Word has it that they had a brief low-key reunion show in 2005 with The Smiths’ Andy Rourke joining them. How amazing would it be for a full-on reunion, new music and a proper reissue of their catalog?

Post-Punk | New Wave | Jangle Pop | Big Music | RYM #605

9. The Woodentops – Giant

Lead by Rolo McGinty, The Woodentops took bits of Suicide, The Talking Heads, XTC, Echo & the Bunnymen and especially the frenetic rhythms of The Feelies, all treated with acoustic folk, twisted with other instrumentation like marimbas, accordian and trumpet. While The Feelies also tackled acoustic guitars on their second album, The Good Earth, The Woodentops still sounded quite different. Their songs had a perfect balance of diverse experimentalism and pop hooks. Morrissey constantly talked them up at the time, which was a brave gesture, considering the strong possibility that Giant more consistently great than The Smiths’ The Queen Is Dead. If it weren’t for Morrissey’s clever lyrics and two untouchable singles from that album, I’d even say Giant crushed it. So why didn’t they become huge? Probably because their magic only lasted through their debut album. They were on Rough Trade, an indie label unable to push a band without help from a string of hit singles like The Smiths had. Columbia did release the album in the U.S., but it didn’t catch on. The 1988 followup, Wooden Foot Cops On The Highway, while actually very good, wasn’t able to measure up to Giant. Thus, Giant slipped through the cracks of canonization and became a lost classic.

“Get It On” gives a sense of the propulsive energy of much of the album, “Good Thing” is a wonderfully original love ballad that made it onto several high school era mix tapes. The album gets better and better, peaking with “Last Time” and “Everything Breaks,” two of their most distinct songs. I desperately don’t want it to end, and the four bonus cuts collected from the Well Well Well EP provides some relief. In a way it didn’t end, as they reunited and released new albums in 2014 (Granular Tales) and 2024 (Fruits of the Deep).

Jangle Pop | C86 | Indie Pop | New Wave | RYM #336

10. Hunters & Collectors – Human Frailty

Named after a Can song in 1981, Hunters & Collectors evolved from a mix of Remain In Light era Talking Heads and dirgey post-punk from Killing Joke and Savage Republic to more polished production and horn arrangements meant to keep up with the more commercial outings by Simple Minds, The Alarm, etc. The way these sweaty muscle shirt-wearing former punks bellow songs filled with romantic yearning and emotional vulnerability (“You don’t make me feel like I’m a woman anymore”) could be considered an influence on emo, but unlike anything from that later subgenre, I love this.

When I hear cinematic drama in bands like Neutral Milk Hotel, The Arcade Fire and The Killers, I can’t help but think of how I usually prefer Hunters & Collectors. Human Frailty balances the line between melancholy and atmospheric beauty without reverting to overbearing bleakness. “Everything’s On Fire,” “Relief,” “Stuck On You” and “This Morning” had to have been featured on thousands of breakup and makeup tapes. They were definitely on several of mine.

11. Agent Orange – This Is The Voice

When I first heard this album, I was unsatisfied because I had a preconceived notion of how Agent Orange should sound, which was faster punk rawk. But the band was unique from the beginning, blending surf covers with the California post-hardcore scene on the classic Living In Darkness (1981). Hindsight shows this is the best they ever sounded, despite the somewhat dated 1986 production. It’s a wildly colorful blend of psychedelic punk and surf with just a bit of driving, metallic edge that measured up to the cream of the British and Australian albums that year more than any other American band. They took another ten year hiatus until their next album, and missed out on much of the recognition and success they could have reaped from the rich potential of this album. “Fire In The Rain” should have been a hit. A well placed needle drop of that song, “It’s in Your Head” or “Tearing Me Apart” would change lives.

12. Screaming Blue Messiahs – Gun-Shy

In the mid 80s, English music seemed to have misplaced it’s bollocks. Punk had petered out, and Americans had taken the reigns of the hard stuff with hardcore postpunk and thrash metal. The Brits were left with Morrissey and Sting. Aside from The Fall and The Pogues, not very many English bands in 1986 really rocked. It’s like the Screaming Blue Messiahs were created out of sheer, desperate necessity. Arising from the ashes of former band Motor Boys Motor, punk, blues and rockabilly, they gave Britain the proper bludgeoning they’ve been asking for. Bill Carter, resembling something between a Sufi whirling dervish and Uncle Fester, piled blistering rhythm guitar chords that escalated into a torrid fever dream. It’s no wonder their show was billed with the Who-like descriptor, “wall of sound rhythm and blues.” With dark songs about Kennedy’s assassination, serial killers and creepy invitations to play in the woods, this band was so much damn cooler than their peers. You have to pay attention to songs like “Let’s Go Down to the Woods” or “Killer Born Man” to realize this is not your normal fare. Of course, little here is, and therein lies the beauty of this recording.

They were unable to sustain their power and creativity with the disappointing Bikini Red (1987) and Totally Religious (1989). Their musical obsession with American culture turned lyrical with “I Can Speak American” and “I Wanna Be A Flintstone.” The surface admiration hid a sort of seething patronization, making them seem like creepy stalkers. Perhaps that awkward combination kept them from further success. They opened for David Bowie on his Glass Spiders tour, which was a bad match. Carter disappeared from public life for the next 17 years, appearing with a Myspace page in the mid-2000s, talking about forming a new band. SBM reunited to do some dates to support the reissue, but of course nothing in the U.S.

Alt Rock | Punk Blues | Psychobilly | Garage Noir | RYM #692

13. R.E.M. – Lifes Rich Pageant

Pretty much the only American indie release that charted in the UK that year, it’s hard to argue that R.E.M. weren’t deserving of it. In my mind, R.E.M. was just as big and important in the U.S. as The Smiths were in the UK. In reality, they wouldn’t achieve that status until the 90s, but arguably, their greatest album remains their debut Murmur (1983), with each subsequent album a slight drop in quality. I have a special fondness for the eerie atmospherics of Fables of the Reconstruction (1985), but plenty understandably appreciate the crisp, rockier production and Michael Stipe enunciating properly for the first time. It’s top heavy, with the best tracks the first three, “Begin the Begin,” “These Days” and “Fall on Me.” I got a bit sick of it at the time, especially the more lightweight second half, but nowadays I’m always happy to hear pretty any track, and “I Believe” also kicks ass.

Spotify Mix

The Chameleons – Strange Times
The Feelies – The Good Earth
Metallica – Master of Puppets
Slayer – Reign In Blood
XTC – Skylarking
The Smiths – The Queen Is Dead
The Church – Heyday
Easterhouse – Contenders
The Woodentops – Giant
Agent Orange – This Is The Voice
Screaming Blue Messiahs – Gun-Shy
Hunters & Collectors – Human Frailty
R.E.M. – Lifes Rich Pageant
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Your Funeral . . . My Trial
Talk Talk – The Colour Of Spring
The The – Infected
Siouxsie & The Banshees – Tinderbox
Throwing Muses – Throwing Muses
Shriekback – Big Night Music
Felt – Forever Breathes The Lonely Word
Big Black – Atomizer
Bad Brains – I Against I
Sonic Youth – EVOL
Love And Rockets – Express
Ups And Downs – Sleepless
Lowlife – Permanent Sleep
Hüsker Dü – Candy Apple Grey
The Comsat Angels – Chasing Shadows
The Call – Reconciled
Iron Maiden – Somewhere In Time
Peter Gabriel – So
Paul Simon – Graceland
Passion Fodder – Fat Tuesday
That Petrol Emotion – Manic Pop Thrill
The Mission – Gods Own Medicine
T.S.O.L. – Revenge
New Model Army – The Ghost Of Cain
The Three Johns – The World By Storm
And Also The Trees – Virus Meadow
Elvis Costello & The Attractions – Blood & Chocolate
Game Theory – Big Shot Chronicles
The Mighty Lemon Drops – Happy Head
The Primevals – Sound Hole
Stan Ridgway – The Big Heat
The Housemartins – London 0 Hull 4
The Go-Betweens – Liberty Belle & The Black Diamond Express
The Saints – All Fools Day
Translator – Evening Of The Harvest
Iggy Pop – Blah Blah Blah
Saint Vitus – Born Too Late
Prince – Parade
The Smithereens – Especially For You
Candlemass – Epicus Doomicus Metallicus
Van Morrison – No Guru, No Method, No Teacher
Killing Joke – Brighter Than A Thousand Suns
The Lucy Show – Mania
Moving Targets – Burning In Water
Squirrel Bait – Skag Heaven
Died Pretty – Free Dirt
New Order – Brotherhood
Scratch Acid – Just Keep Eating
The Dream Syndicate – Out Of The Grey
Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians – Element Of Light
Furniture – The Wrong People
Slovenly – Thinking Of Empire
Breathless – The Glass Bead Game
The Scientists – Weird Love
Crime & The City Solution – Room Of Lights
The Celibate Rifles – The Turgid Miasma Of Existence
Cactus World News – Urban Beaches
The Jazz Butcher – Distressed Gentlefolk
Arthur Russell – World Of Echo
Sonny Sharrock – Guitar
Dumptruck – Positively Dumptruck
a-ha – Scoundrel Days
Wipers – Land of the Lost
The Triffids – Born Sandy Devotional
Public Image Ltd. – Album
Kreator – Pleasure To Kill
Lyres – Lyres Lyres
Sumo – Llegando los monos
Manilla Road – The Deluge
Beastie Boys – Licensed To Ill
Elvis Costello (The Costello Show) – King Of America
Depeche Mode – Black Celebration
The Fall – Bend Sinister
The Steppes – Drop Of The Creature
Cocteau Twins – Victorialand
Shop Assistants – Shop Assistants
Crowded House – Crowded House
Bangles – Different Light
David Sylvian – Gone To Earth
Tommy Keene – Songs From the Film
The Chills – Kaleidoscope World
The Swimming Pool Q’s – Blue Tomorrow
Bruce Hornsby & The Range – The Way It Is
Megadeth – Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying?
This Mortal Coil – Filigree & Shadow
Government Issue – Government Issue
Chastain – Ruler of the Wasteland

See full list here.

Breakdown: Genre Lists

As always, you can deep dive any of these these genres with the list search. While previously I had limited an album to one genre list, it didn’t accurately reflect the multi-genre nature of many of these albums. So this year an album will show up in multiple lists. I have a widget that automatically pulls from the database, so as albums are added and moved around in the future, this will reflect it.

Psych, Garage Psych, Paisley Underground

One of the early post-punk supergroups with Dave Allen from Gang Of Four and Barry Andrews of XTC and Robert Fripp’s League of Gentlemen, Shriekback had some success early on the the singles “My Spine Is The Bass-Line” (1982) and “Lined Up” (1983). While they gained popularity in the clubs with their experiments in pseudo-industrial funk and Eurodisco, they lost popularity as they became more original.

Third album Oil And Gold (1985) was more ethereal but uneven but they had something special with their fourth as they entered their artistic peak. The result is a shimmering, delicate, multi-colored psychedelic gem, unlike anything else around. They reached for organic yet still polished sounds that serve the dreamscape rather than the dancefloor. Says the liner notes, “Shriekback celebrate the blessed dark — the place where they were always most at home. Songs to sing in your sleep…the shape and rhythm of two different kind of nights — nights of heat and weirdness…and nights incandescent with moonlight and dreams. Big Night Music is entirely free of digital heartbeats of every kind.” They flirted with mainstream exposure when “Running On The Rocks” appeared in a Miami Vice episode, “Baseballs of Death.” Sadly in pre-internet days, there was nowhere to look up who played the song.

Bubbling under: | More

The Chameleons – Strange Times (Geffen) | UK
The Church – Heyday (Arista) | Australia
Agent Orange – This Is The Voice (Enigma) | USA
Shriekback – Big Night Music (Island) | UK
Love And Rockets – Express (Beggars) | UK | Bandcamp
Game Theory – Big Shot Chronicles (Enigma) | USA | Buy
The Mighty Lemon Drops – Happy Head (Sire) | UK
Died Pretty – Free Dirt (What Goes On/Aztec) | Australia
The Dream Syndicate – Out Of The Grey (Big Time) | USA
Lyres – Lyres Lyres (Ace Of Hearts) | USA
The Steppes – Drop Of The Creature (Voxx) | USA | Bandcamp
Bangles – Different Light (Columbia) | USA
The Things – Outside My Window (Voxx) | USA | Bandcamp

Psych Pop & Prog Pop

Talk Talk are the rare example of a band that got better with each album, ending their career on a high note with Laughing Stock (1991), hugely influential on post-rock later in the decade. Starting out influenced by Duran Duran and Depeche Mode, they quickly began progressing beyond mere synthpop/new wave, introducing art pop elements on It’s My Life (1984). Their third album is a progressive sophisti-pop classic, it’s reputation growing every decade, even after Mark Hollis and crew surpassed themselves with Spirit of Eden (1988). It’s their Fear of Music just as much as Radiohead’s OK Computer is their Colour of Spring. The most artfully sophisticated album to reach the top 10 that year, including Peter Gabriel.

XTC – Skylarking (Geffen) | UK
Talk Talk – The Colour Of Spring (EMI) | UK
Peter Gabriel – So (Geffen) | UK | Bandcamp
Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians – Element Of Light (Glass Fish) | UK | Bandcamp
Furniture – The Wrong People (Stiff/Cherry Red) | UK
a-ha – Scoundrel Days (WB) | Norway
Furniture – The Lovemongers (Premonition) | UK
The Things – Outside My Window (Voxx) | USA | Bandcamp
The Prisoners – In From The Cold (Big Beat) | UK
The Deep Freeze Mice – Rain Is When the Earth Is Television (Cordelia) | UK | Bandcamp
Cleaners From Venus – Living With Victoria Grey (Calypso Now) | UK | Bandcamp
It Bites – The Big Lad in the Windmill (Virgin) | UK
Camberwell Now – The Ghost Trade (RecRec) | UK

Noir (Folk, Garage, Psych, Punk, Surf)

On Cave’s fourth album with the Bad Seeds (counting a covers album), everything comes together to kick off his imperial phase. While he’s still very much a smarmy junkie devil here, his aspirations to become a poet-crooner in the vein of Leonard Cohen, and eventually a sort of benevolent goth Oprah, begin with the title track. The pacing is a little off, as the brooding, sinister “Stranger Than Kindness” and the dramatic, explosive “Jack’s Shadow” should have preceded the album’s cinematic climax, the epic eight minute “The Carny.” Cave performing this would be a highlight in the following year’s film Wings of Desire by Wim Wenders, where he flexes his narrative skills, spinning an eerie yarn backed by glockenspiel and accordion. “Hard on for Love,” is the closest they get to their early post-Birthday Party aggression, while the piano driven “She Fell Away” vibrates with nervous tension. With a cover of Tim Rose’s dark murder ballad, it’s a wrap, and just the beginning.

Screaming Blue Messiahs – Gun-Shy (Elektra) | UK
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Your Funeral . . . My Trial (Homestead) | Australia
T.S.O.L. – Revenge (Enigma) | USA
The Three Johns – The World By Storm (Abstract) | UK | Bandcamp
The Primevals – Sound Hole (New Rose) | UK | Bandcamp
The Dream Syndicate – Out Of The Grey (Big Time) | USA
The Scientists – Weird Love (Karbon/Big Time) | Australia
Crime & The City Solution – Room Of Lights (Mute) | Australia
Ed Kuepper – Rooms of the Magnificent (Hot) | Australia | Bandcamp
Roky Erickson – Gremlins Have Pictures (Pink Dust) | USA | Bandcamp
Roky Erickson – Don’t Slander Me (Pink Dust) | USA | Bandcamp
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Kicking Against the Pricks (Homestead) | Australia
Inca Babies – This Train (Black Lagoon) | UK

Prog

Iron Maiden was my favorite heavy metal band for several years, but that was soon to end. I was massively disappointed with this album when it came out. The introduction of guitar and bass synthesizers was jarring from a band that proudly stamped their sleeves on previous albums that no synths were used. But it does make sense in the context of the cyberpunk theme and amazing Derek Riggs Blade Runner inspired cover art, which took him three months to complete, and included over 30 hidden Easter eggs. There were zero writing credits from Bruce Dickinson because he was on some weird acoustic folk jag, so Adrian Smith stepped up and wrote both of the singles. In retrospect, the stickiness of the songs compared to anything they put out since confirms this belongs with their initial classic run of albums. Now if they had based the concept more on William Gibson’s groundbreaking book Neuromancer (1984), that would have been even cooler.

Heavy Metal | Prog Metal | RYM #4 | AOTY #12

Iron Maiden – Somewhere In Time (Capitol) | UK
Fates Warning – Awaken The Guardian (Metal Blade) | USA | Bandcamp
Queensrÿche – Rage For Order (EMI) | USA
Allan Holdsworth – Atavachron (Enigma) | UK
Crimson Glory – Crimson Glory (Par) | USA
King Diamond – Fatal Portrait (Roadrunner) | Denmark | Bandcamp
Genesis – Invisible Touch (Charisma) | UK

Punk & Post-Punk

The nerds may rate The The’s first official album (Matt Johnson had a solo album and various demos) Soul Mining (1983) higher, and critics like his later sophisti-pop, but Infected is my jam. Apparently it was for a lot of people too, as not only did it crack the top 20, but it had an incredible 30 week run on the UK charts through half of 1987. A complex, sophisticated album loaded with horn arrangements and synth sounds, it avoids smoothing over the rough edges with slick production and remains Johnson’s rawest, most energetic work. His lyrics are metaphor-loaded enough to compete with Elvis Costello, but tackling more big picture topics of sexual exploitation, imperialism, etc. “Sweet Bird of Truth,” “Out of the Blue (Into the Fire),” “Heartland” and “Slow Train to Dawn” (featuring the great Neneh Cherry) remain as powerful and relevant 36 years later. What many have forgotten is that an even more ambitious project accompanied the album — Infected: The Movie, shot on locations in Bolivia, Peru and New York cost several hundred thousand pounds to make. So the big question is, where the fuck is the double-deluxe 4K Blu-Ray edition?

The Chameleons – Strange Times (Geffen) | UK
The Smiths – The Queen Is Dead (Sire) | UK
The Church – Heyday (Arista) | Australia
Easterhouse – Contenders (Rough Trade) | UK
Agent Orange – This Is The Voice (Enigma) | USA
Screaming Blue Messiahs – Gun-Shy (Elektra) | UK
Hunters & Collectors – Human Frailty (I.R.S.) | Australia
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Your Funeral . . . My Trial (Homestead) | Australia
The The – Infected (Epic) | UK
Siouxsie & The Banshees – Tinderbox (Geffen) | UK
Throwing Muses – Throwing Muses (4AD) | USA
Felt – Forever Breathes The Lonely Word (Creation) | UK | Bandcamp
Big Black – Atomizer (Homestead) | USA | Bandcamp

Goth, Darkwave, Coldwave

One of the originators of psychedelic post-punk, Siouxsie & the Banshees may have peaked with their fourth album Juju (1981), but their seventh album was the band at their most accessible, only compromising their powerful signature style just a smidge. They were rewarded with nearly breaking into the top 10. Despite also being early key influencers of goth, they sounded ready to cross over to the mainstream much like their little brother band The Cure were about to do. New guitarist John Valentine Carruthers measured up well with their string of innovative players that included John McGeoch. Aside from the boomy drums that anchor the album to this era, it’s their finest, most balanced production, sounding muscular but ethereal. “Cities in Dust” was the big single which Siouxsie belted out with authority, but there’s plenty of other highlights like “The Sweetest Chill,” “Land’s End,” “Cannons” and “Candyman.” It’s easy to understand how some fans might even rate it over Juju. No matter which era one prefers, this is empirically prime, classic Siouxsie.

The Chameleons – Strange Times (Geffen) | UK
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Your Funeral . . . My Trial (Homestead) | Australia
Siouxsie & The Banshees – Tinderbox (Geffen) | UK
Lowlife – Permanent Sleep (Nightshift) | UK | Bandcamp
The Mission – Gods Own Medicine (Mercury) | UK
T.S.O.L. – Revenge (Enigma) | USA
The Three Johns – The World By Storm (Abstract) | UK | Bandcamp
And Also The Trees – Virus Meadow (Reflex) | UK
Killing Joke – Brighter Than A Thousand Suns (EG) | UK
Breathless – The Glass Bead Game (Tenor Vossa) | UK
Depeche Mode – Black Celebration (Mute) | UK
This Mortal Coil – Filigree & Shadow (4AD) | UK
Book Of Love – Book Of Love (Sire) | USA

Hardcore Punk & Post-Hardcore

Inspired by the Ramones and Stooges to start making music, Steve Albini’s Big Black, initially just him, his guitar and Roland the drum machine, is a logical progression from Suicide, Public Image Ltd., Throbbing Gristle, Killing Joke, Einsturzende Neubauten and Metal Urbain. But to a kid in the Midwest who hadn’t been able to access those source materials just yet, Big Black was like a blowtorch to the face, in a good way. Albini boils down his misanthropy into a series of terse, fictional vignettes into the American underbelly about a pedophile ring (“Jordan, Minnesota”), a war vet with PTSD becoming a contract killer (“Bazooka Joe”), and small town boredom leading to arson on the timeless “Kerosene.” The powerful din achieved here makes any contemporaries, for example, Chicago’s industrial Wax Trax label sound as menacing as a doll’s tea party. “Big Money” is catchier than I remember, and the serrated guitar tones in hindsight have their own kind of depraved beauty. Despite, or perhaps because of it’s primitive nature, it doesn’t sound dated. A massively influential and essential album.

Big Black – Atomizer (Homestead) | USA | Bandcamp
Hüsker Dü – Candy Apple Grey (WB) | USA
Moving Targets – Burning In Water (Taang!) | USA
Scratch Acid – Just Keep Eating (Rabid Cat) | USA | Bandcamp
Government Issue – Government Issue (Fountain of Youth) | USA
Effigies – Ink (Restless) | USA
Die Kreuzen – October File (Touch And Go) | USA | Bandcamp
Articles Of Faith – In This Life (Lone Wolf) | USA
NoMeansNo – Sex Mad (Alternative Tentacles) | Canada
Conflict – Ungovernable Force (Motarhate ) | UK | Bandcamp
Melvins – 10 Songs EP (Volcano) | USA
Gauze – Equalizing Distort (Selfish) | Japan
Raw Power – After Your Brain (Toxic Shock) | Italy

Garage Rock

Screaming Blue Messiahs – Gun-Shy (Elektra) | UK
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Your Funeral . . . My Trial (Homestead) | Australia
T.S.O.L. – Revenge (Enigma) | USA
The Three Johns – The World By Storm (Abstract) | UK | Bandcamp
The Primevals – Sound Hole (New Rose) | UK | Bandcamp
The Dream Syndicate – Out Of The Grey (Big Time) | USA
The Scientists – Weird Love (Karbon/Big Time) | Australia
Crime & The City Solution – Room Of Lights (Mute) | Australia
The Celibate Rifles – The Turgid Miasma Of Existence (Hot ) | Australia
Lyres – Lyres Lyres (Ace Of Hearts) | USA
The Steppes – Drop Of The Creature (Voxx) | USA | Bandcamp
Death Of Samantha – Strungout on Jargon (Homestead) | USA
Ed Kuepper – Rooms of the Magnificent (Hot) | Australia | Bandcamp

Hard Rock & Glam Metal

ndemonium, King Kobra, Girlschool, Trash, Phenomena, Alan Vega, Y&T, Rough Cutt, Slade, The Firm, Darrell Mansfield Band, Pantera, Keel, Great White, UFO, Blue Öyster Cult, Night Ranger, Mõtley Crüe. | More.

Government Issue – Government Issue (Fountain of Youth) | USA
Hawkwind – Live Chronicles (GWR) | UK
Bonfire – Don’t Touch the Light (RCA) | Germany
Warlock – True as Steel (Mercury) | Germany
Cinderella – Night Songs (Mercury) | USA
Motörhead – Orgasmatron (Castle) | UK
Forever – Forever & Ever (Heavy Metal America) | USA
Ratt – Dancing Undercover (Atlantic) | USA
Girlschool – Nightmare at Maple Cross (GWR) | UK
Magnum – Vigilante (Polydor) | UK
The Georgia Satellites – The Georgia Satellites (Elektra) | USA
Bon Jovi – Slippery When Wet (Mercury) | USA
Loudness – Lightning Strikes (Atco) | Japan

Heavy Metal

I first listened to Saint Vitus because they were on the SST label along with many other favorite bands of that era. This metal band were odd ducks on the roster, though it made sense in the context of Black Flag slowing down and growing their hair out. This may not sound better than Candlemass, but it’s Wino’s best batch of songs.

| More.

Metallica – Master of Puppets (Elektra) | USA
Iron Maiden – Somewhere In Time (Capitol) | UK
Saint Vitus – Born Too Late (SST) | USA
Candlemass – Epicus Doomicus Metallicus (Black Dragon) | Sweden | Bandcamp
Manilla Road – The Deluge (Black Dragon) | USA | Bandcamp
Megadeth – Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying? (Capitol) | USA
Chastain – Ruler of the Wasteland (Shrapnel) | USA
Cities – Annihilation Absolute (Metal Blade) | USA
Omen – The Curse (Metal Blade) | USA
Bloodlust – Guilty as Sin (Metal Blade) | USA
Fates Warning – Awaken The Guardian (Metal Blade) | USA | Bandcamp
Queensrÿche – Rage For Order (EMI) | USA
Griffin – Protectors of the Lair (Steamhammer) | USA

Power Metal

Manilla Road – The Deluge (Black Dragon) | USA | Bandcamp
Chastain – Ruler of the Wasteland (Shrapnel) | USA
Cities – Annihilation Absolute (Metal Blade) | USA
Omen – The Curse (Metal Blade) | USA
Bloodlust – Guilty as Sin (Metal Blade) | USA
Fates Warning – Awaken The Guardian (Metal Blade) | USA | Bandcamp
Griffin – Protectors of the Lair (Steamhammer) | USA
Elixir – The Son Of Odin (HR) | UK
Sound Barrier – Speed of Light (Metal Blade) | USA
Cirith Ungol – One Foot In Hell (Metal Blade) | USA | Bandcamp
Metal Church – The Dark (Elektra) | USA
Lords of the Crimson Alliance – Lords of the Crimson Alliance (Grudge) | USA
Fifth Angel – Fifth Angel (Epic) | USA

Metal

Slayer – Reign In Blood (American) | USA
Kreator – Pleasure To Kill (Noise) | Germany
Bathory – Under The Sign: The Sign Of The Black Mark (New Renaissance) | Sweden

Avant, Experimental, Modern Classical, Drone

I had heard a couple Sonic Youth tracks on college radio like the epic “Death Valley ’69,” but this was the first full Sonic Youth album I heard all the way through, and it blew my head open. For a couple years after, a lot of my poppier, melodic favorites took a back burner to Sonic Youth as they reached their peak. There is melody and structure here (“Star Power”), but dangerously off-kilter, full of minor keys and wrong notes that somehow sound just right. Kim Gordon called it their goth record and there is a kind of an imperious thousand-yard glare coming through the music, from the opener “Tom Violence” to Gordon’s horror queen vocal turns on “Shadow of a Doubt” and “Secret Girls.” “Marilyn Moore” is profoundly desolate, and you can feel your soul being leeched from your body. Album closer “Expressway to Yr. Skull” feels like the spiritual sequel to “Death Valley” but more understated, dissolving into industrial ambient noise, not far off from what post-rock would sound like years later. Neil Young called it one of the best songs ever. It’s the band’s most evocatively atmospheric, filling my 17 year-old head with nightmarish scenes like digging myself out of a grave and wandering among decaying, abandoned industrial lofts in New York’s Lower East Side.

Sonic Youth – EVOL (SST) | USA | Bandcamp
Arthur Russell – World Of Echo (Audika) | USA | Bandcamp
Sonny Sharrock – Guitar (Enemy) | USA
Tuxedomoon – Ship of Fools (Cramboy) | USA | Bandcamp
Spacemen 3 – Sound of Confusion (Fire) | UK | Bandcamp
John Zorn – The Big Gundown (Nonesuch) | USA
The Deep Freeze Mice – Rain Is When the Earth Is Television (Cordelia) | UK | Bandcamp
Virgin Prunes – The Moon Looked Down and Laughed (Touch And Go) | Ireland
Wire – Snakedrill EP (Mute) | UK
Butthole Surfers – Rembrandt Pussyhorse (Touch And Go) | USA
KUKL – Holidays In Europe, The Naughty Nought (Crass) | Iceland
ONO – Ennui (Thermidor) | USA
Lizzy Mercier Descloux – One For the Soul (Polydor) | USA

Industrial & Noise

Big Black – Atomizer (Homestead) | USA | Bandcamp
Sonic Youth – EVOL (SST) | USA | Bandcamp
Scratch Acid – Just Keep Eating (Rabid Cat) | USA | Bandcamp
Depeche Mode – Black Celebration (Mute) | UK
Die Kreuzen – October File (Touch And Go) | USA | Bandcamp
NoMeansNo – Sex Mad (Alternative Tentacles) | Canada
High Rise – High Rise II (PSF) | Japan | Bandcamp
Melvins – 10 Songs EP (Volcano) | USA
CCCP Fedeli alla Linea – Affinita-divergenze fra il compagno Togliatti e noi: Del conseguimento della maggiore eta (Attack Punk) | Italy
Coil – Horse Rotorvator (Threshold) | UK
Wire – Snakedrill EP (Mute) | UK
Butthole Surfers – Rembrandt Pussyhorse (Touch And Go) | USA
Flipper – Public Fipper Limited: Live 1980-1985 (Subterranean) | USA

Dream Pop & Shoegaze

In 2013 I contributed a Kickstarter campaign to fund a movie called Eternity Road: The Story of Lowlife, “the greatest band you never heard.” Sadly, the effort failed because they couldn’t get permission to use the music. Formed in Scotland by ex-Cocteau Twins bassist Will Heggie and vocalist Craig Lorentson, Lowlife quickly produced the Rain EP (Nightshift, 1985) which blended the gothic, ethereal beauty of Heggie’s old band with New Order, The Sound and The Chameleons. The debut full-length’s murky sound didn’t exactly make them chart fodder, so they remained under the radar for quite a while. Despite the failed film project, since then their profile has been raised by post-punk fans who hunger for the connective tissue between post-punk, goth and dream pop.

Post-Punk | Ethereal Wave | Goth | Dream Pop | RYM #129

The Chameleons – Strange Times (Geffen) | UK
Lowlife – Permanent Sleep (Nightshift) | UK | Bandcamp
The Comsat Angels – Chasing Shadows (Island) | UK
Breathless – The Glass Bead Game (Tenor Vossa) | UK
Cocteau Twins – Victorialand (4AD) | UK
This Mortal Coil – Filigree & Shadow (4AD) | UK
Opal – Early Recordings (Rough Trade) | USA
Cocteau Twins – The Moon and the Melodies (4AD) | UK
Virginia Astley – Hope In A Darkened Heart (Geffen) | UK
For Against – In The Marshes EP (Independent Project) | USA | Bandcamp

Ambient, Art Pop, New Age & Sophisti-Pop

I turned 17 that summer, and both So and Graceland were like trying on adult contemporary for size. Adulting wouldn’t have to be entirely drab, right? Both albums were masterpieces in production and textures and both artists at peak powers. I docked points for Gabriel’s garish, overplayed singles and videos “Sledgehammer” and “Big Time,” but extra points for the heavy impact of “Red Rain,” “Mercy Street” and “In Your Eyes.”

Talk Talk – The Colour Of Spring (EMI) | UK
The The – Infected (Epic) | UK
Siouxsie & The Banshees – Tinderbox (Geffen) | UK
Shriekback – Big Night Music (Island) | UK
Peter Gabriel – So (Geffen) | UK | Bandcamp
Furniture – The Wrong People (Stiff/Cherry Red) | UK
The Jazz Butcher – Distressed Gentlefolk (Glass) | UK
Arthur Russell – World Of Echo (Audika) | USA | Bandcamp
David Sylvian – Gone To Earth (Virgin) | UK
Furniture – The Lovemongers (Premonition) | UK
The Art Of Noise – In Visible Silence (China) | UK
Colin Newman – Commercial Suicide (Crammed) | UK
Red Guitars – Tales of the Expected (Virgin) | UK

Indie Pop & Jangle Pop

One of the most low-key and inscrutable legends who haunted the cracks between post-punk and indie/dream/jangle pop, Felt was conceptualized by Lawrence, a bookish recluse who issued his first single in 1979. An amateur musician at best in the beginning, his secret weapon was classically trained Maurice Deebank. If this story sounds familiar, it’s been retold hundreds of times about another bloke with a mononymous name who found his own guitar genius foil three years after Lawrence — Morrissey. Felt’s music was a fusion of Lou Reed via 1969-era jangly Velvet Underground and Television’s Tom Verlaine, with a touch of Bob Dylan’s vocal phrasing. Their sixth album was engineered to be a lost classic almost by design. Lawrence studied his underground idols and laid out a plan — he’d put out ten albums within ten years and break up the band, then wait a couple decades to soak up his overdue acclaim.

And that’s precisely what happened. The Strange Idols Pattern and Other Short Stories (1984) and the Robin Guthrie (Cocteau Twins) produced Ignite The Seven Cannons (1985) revealed Lawrence’s ambition, especially the fantastically swirling “Primitive Painters” with ecstatic guest vocals from Elizabeth Frasier. Unfortunately it was the last time Deebank was part of the band. After signing to Creation records, the tossed off instrumental Let the Snakes Crinkle Their Heads to Death (1986) focused on Martin Duffy’s keyboards. With Tony Willé taking over guitar duties, Forever Breathes The Lonely Word was Felt’s most fully realized album, with Lawrence’s most thoughtful lyrics complimented by Martin Duffy’s warm Hammond organ. Just eight songs in under 32 minutes, it’s a beautiful album with misanthropic but heartfelt songs that Felt would never again match. While every track is nearly a masterpiece, highlights for me are the opener paen to beauty, “Rain Of Crystal Spires,” and the serrated knife wit of “All the People I Like Are Those That Are Dead.” It lacks duds like The Smiths’ “Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others” which topped the charts and critics polls, while Forever Breathes was ignored. But it was all according to Lawrence’s plan.

Jangle Pop | Indie Pop | RYM #193 | Acclaimed #54 | AOTY #11

The Feelies – The Good Earth (Coyote) | USA
The Smiths – The Queen Is Dead (Sire) | UK
The Church – Heyday (Arista) | Australia
Easterhouse – Contenders (Rough Trade) | UK
The Woodentops – Giant (Rough Trade) | UK
Hunters & Collectors – Human Frailty (I.R.S.) | Australia
R.E.M. – Lifes Rich Pageant (I.R.S.) | USA
Felt – Forever Breathes The Lonely Word (Creation) | UK | Bandcamp
Love And Rockets – Express (Beggars) | UK | Bandcamp
Ups And Downs – Sleepless (What Goes On) | Australia
The Mission – Gods Own Medicine (Mercury) | UK
Game Theory – Big Shot Chronicles (Enigma) | USA | Buy
The Mighty Lemon Drops – Happy Head (Sire) | UK

Global, Reggae, Dub & Afrobeat

Simon’s bubbly fusion of Louisiana Zydeco with African Mbaqanga, Mbube, Soukous, Isicathamiya and Famo was a freakin’ delight all the way through. There was some controversy over him violating the cultural South African boycott by employing The Boyoyo Boys and Ladysmith Black Mambazo, but in the end, he did a lot to get more people talking about and protesting Apartheid across the globe.

Paul Simon – Graceland (WB) | USA
Sumo – Llegando los monos (CBS) | Argentina
African Head Charge – Off the Beaten Track (On-U) | UK | Bandcamp
King Sunny Adé – Sweet Banana (Atom Park) | Nigeria
King Sunny Adé – My Dear (Atom Park) | Nigeria
Fela Kuti – Live In Detroit (Universal) | Nigeria | Bandcamp
Ini Kamoze – Pirate (Mango) | Jamaica
Big Audio Dynamite – No. 10, Upping St. (Columbia) | UK

New Wave, Synthpop & Electropop

The The – Infected (Epic) | UK
Killing Joke – Brighter Than A Thousand Suns (EG) | UK
New Order – Brotherhood (Factory) | UK
a-ha – Scoundrel Days (WB) | Norway
Depeche Mode – Black Celebration (Mute) | UK
Kraftwerk – Electric Cafe/Techno Pop (Elektra/Astralwerks) | Germany
The Art Of Noise – In Visible Silence (China) | UK
Colin Newman – Commercial Suicide (Crammed) | UK
Book Of Love – Book Of Love (Sire) | USA
Clan Of Xymox – Medusa (4AD) | Germany
Pete Shelley – Heaven & the Sea (Mercury) | UK
KaS Product – Ego Eye (AZ) | France | Bandcamp
Twice A Man – Works on Yellow (Yellow) | Sweden

Electronic, Space Rock, Kosmische

The Art Of Noise – In Visible Silence (China) | UK
Spacemen 3 – Sound of Confusion (Fire) | UK | Bandcamp
Laurie Anderson – Home Of the Brave (WB) | USA
African Head Charge – Off the Beaten Track (On-U) | UK | Bandcamp
Hawkwind – Live Chronicles (GWR) | UK
Ozric Tentacles – There Is Nothing (Dovetail) | UK | Bandcamp
Severed Heads – Come Visit the Big Bigot (Nettwerk) | Australia | Bandcamp
Peter Frohmader – Ritual (Multimood) | Germany
Ministry – Twitch (Sire) | USA
F/i – Boy Dirt Car EP (RRR) | USA

Pop Rock & Power Pop

Hüsker Dü were on a complete tear from 1983-85, putting out four albums and a double album in just three years. With some of their insanely catchy melodies, it seemed to make sense it was time for them to sign to a major label. But in hindsight perhaps it was a mistake. Yes, the production clarity was improved over Spot’s muddy and muddled mixes. But something was lost along with the clutter — like the guitar tones were missing the wider range of static noise that gave their music a mysterious, psychedelic feel. The startling first few seconds of noise on opener “Crystal” was cool though. Expectations changed. They were big time now, so where’s the money? The competitive songwriting partnership between Grant Hart and Bob Mould turned sour, and their creative paths diverged. Two of the worst tracks on the album, Mould’s acoustic “Too Far Down” and “Hardly Getting Over It” sounded like morose demos for his upcoming solo album. Grant experimented too, with the nearly acapella with piano and cymbals “No Promise Have I Made,” but his intensity shined through. In fact, all four of his songs were the winners here, including the great singles “Don’t Want to Know if You Are Lonely” and “Sorry Somehow.” Mould’s “I Don’t Know for Sure” and “Eiffel Tower High” created a pleasing racket-infused power pop, influencing the sound of a thousand alt rock and grunge bands, as well as his own band Sugar. Despite the dip in consistency, they were one of the best bands on the planet at the time, and remarkably, they’d put out one more great double album before combusting.

Formed in Santa Cruz in 1980, The Call’s 1982 self-titled debut album was a potent mix of post-punk and Big Music via U2, and a brooding, atmospheric flavor of heartland rock. They won over a high profile fan in Peter Gabriel, who called them the “future of American music” and had them open for his 1982-83 tour. For their fourth album, Gabriel contributed guest vocals, along with Simple Minds’ Jim Kerr on “Everywhere I Go.” Michael Been returned the favor on “In Your Eyes.” The Band’s Robbie Robertson also contributed guitar to “This Morning.” With all this big name mojo, combined with their best sounding production and most consistent batch of songs, you’d think they’d get some mainstream success. Some yeah, but not much, though the vampire movie The Lost Boys (1987) did have a live performance of “I Still Believe (Great Design),” performed by an oily and (ew) undulating Tim Cappello. Their themes of faith, paranoia and determination were delivered by Been with utmost conviction and sincerity, which could make me uncomfortable when I was younger. As someone who could possibly spontaneously combust when entering a church, I’m not big on spirituality. But I am a big fan of The Call. Been died of a heart attack in 2010, and a few years later, his son Robert Levon Been (yeah, he was a BIG fan of The Band) of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club performed with The Call in a series of tribute performances, showing that the love for this band among a growing fanbase will never die. Their first three albums need reissues, please.

XTC – Skylarking (Geffen) | UK
Hüsker Dü – Candy Apple Grey (WB) | USA
The Call – Reconciled (Eletkra) | USA
Peter Gabriel – So (Geffen) | UK | Bandcamp
Paul Simon – Graceland (WB) | USA
Elvis Costello & The Attractions – Blood & Chocolate (Rykodisc) | UK
Game Theory – Big Shot Chronicles (Enigma) | USA | Buy
Translator – Evening Of The Harvest (Columbia) | USA
Iggy Pop – Blah Blah Blah (A&M) | USA
The Smithereens – Especially For You (Enigma) | USA
Van Morrison – No Guru, No Method, No Teacher (Mercury) | Ireland
a-ha – Scoundrel Days (WB) | Norway
Elvis Costello (The Costello Show) – King Of America (Rykodisc) | UK

AOR, Soft Rock

It Bites – The Big Lad in the Windmill (Virgin) | UK
Electric Light Orchestra – Balance Of Power (Jet) | UK
Everything But The Girl – Baby, The Stars Shine Bright (Blanco y Negro) | UK
Magnum – Vigilante (Polydor) | UK
Triumph – The Sport of Kings (MCA) | Canada
Van Halen – 5150 (WB) | USA
Waysted – Save Your Prayers (Parlophone) | UK
Toto – Fahrenheit (Columbia) | USA
Europe – The Final Countdown (Epic) | Sweden
White Sister – Fashion By Passion (FM Revolver) | USA
The Firm – Mean Business (Atlantic) | UK
Steve Winwood – Back In The High Life (Island) | UK
Black Sabbath – Seventh Star (Vertigo) | UK

R&B, Soul & Funk

Prince – Parade (WB) | USA
Van Morrison – No Guru, No Method, No Teacher (Mercury) | Ireland
A Certain Ratio – Force (Factory) | UK | Bandcamp
Prince – Dream Factory (soniclovenoize) | USA | Free
Redskins – Neither Washington Nor Moscow (London) | UK
Teena Marie – Emerald City (Epic) | USA

Hip Hop & Rap

Beastie Boys – Licensed To Ill (Def Jam) | USA
The Art Of Noise – In Visible Silence (China) | UK
Run-D.M.C. – Raising Hell (Profile) | USA
Joe Zawinul – Dialects (Columbia) | USA
Stetsasonic – On Fire (Tommy Boy) | USA
Mantronix – Music Madness (Sleeping Bag) | USA
Afrika Bambaataa – Beware – The Funk Is Everywhere (Tommy Boy) | USA
Big Audio Dynamite – No. 10, Upping St. (Columbia) | UK
Kool Moe Dee – Kool Moe Dee (Rooftop-Jive) | USA

Folk & Americana

R.E.M. – Lifes Rich Pageant (I.R.S.) | USA
Elvis Costello & The Attractions – Blood & Chocolate (Rykodisc) | UK
Elvis Costello (The Costello Show) – King Of America (Rykodisc) | UK
Bruce Hornsby & The Range – The Way It Is (RCA) | USA
Camper Van Beethoven – Camper Van Beethoven (Pitch-A-Tent) | USA
Billy Bragg – Talking With The Taxman About Poetry (Go!) | UK
BoDeans – Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams (Slash) | USA
Jason & The Scorchers – Still Standing (Mammoth) | USA
Beat Rodeo – Home in the Heart of the Beat (I.R.S.) | USA
Richard Thompson – Daring Adventures (Polydor) | UK
Robyn Hitchcock – Invisible Hitchcock (Glass Fish) | UK
John Prine – German Afternoons (Oh Boy) | USA | Bandcamp
The Rainmakers – The Rainmakers (Mercury) | USA

Bubbling under: Mekons, Giant Sand, Michelle Shocked, John Hiatt. | More.

Blues, Blues Rock, Rock & Roll

Elvis Costello (The Costello Show) – King Of America (Rykodisc) | UK
Patricio Rey y Sus Redonditos de Ricota – Oktubre (Del Cielito) | Argentina
Robert Cray – Strong Persuader (Hightone) | USA
The Cramps – A Date With Elvis (I.R.S.) | USA
The Georgia Satellites – The Georgia Satellites (Elektra) | USA
The Rainmakers – The Rainmakers (Mercury) | USA
The Beat Farmers – Van Go (Curb) | USA
The Firm – Mean Business (Atlantic) | UK

Country, Country Blues/Psych/Rock/Soul

Elvis Costello (The Costello Show) – King Of America (Rykodisc) | UK
Dwight Yoakam – Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc. (Reprise) | USA
Jason & The Scorchers – Still Standing (Mammoth) | USA
Richard Thompson – Daring Adventures (Polydor) | UK
John Prine – German Afternoons (Oh Boy) | USA | Bandcamp
Steve Earle – Guitar Town (MCA) | USA
Lone Justice – Shelter (Geffen) | USA
Cowboy Junkies – Whites Off Earth Now!! (BMG ) | Canada

Jazz & Jazz Fusion

Sonny Sharrock – Guitar (Enemy) | USA
John Zorn – The Big Gundown (Nonesuch) | USA
Marc Johnson – Bass Desires (ECM) | USA
Lars Danielsson – New Hands (Dragon) | Sweden
Allan Holdsworth – Atavachron (Enigma) | UK
Annette Peacock – I Have No Feelings (Ironic) | USA
Joe Zawinul – Dialects (Columbia) | USA
Stanley Jordan – Standards, Vol. 1 (Blue Note) | USA
Always August – Black Pyramid (SST) | USA

Non-Metal For Metalheads

Big Black – Atomizer (Homestead) | USA | Bandcamp
Sonic Youth – EVOL (SST) | USA | Bandcamp
Depeche Mode – Black Celebration (Mute) | UK
John Zorn – The Big Gundown (Nonesuch) | USA
The Deep Freeze Mice – Rain Is When the Earth Is Television (Cordelia) | UK | Bandcamp
Virgin Prunes – The Moon Looked Down and Laughed (Touch And Go) | Ireland
Coil – Horse Rotorvator (Threshold) | UK
Wire – Snakedrill EP (Mute) | UK
Butthole Surfers – Rembrandt Pussyhorse (Touch And Go) | USA
KUKL – Holidays In Europe, The Naughty Nought (Crass) | Iceland
Severed Heads – Come Visit the Big Bigot (Nettwerk) | Australia | Bandcamp
Ministry – Twitch (Sire) | USA
ONO – Ennui (Thermidor) | USA

Live Albums

Laurie Anderson – Home Of the Brave (WB) | USA
Hawkwind – Live Chronicles (GWR) | UK
Flipper – Public Fipper Limited: Live 1980-1985 (Subterranean) | USA

Labels

Virgin (11)
Enigma (9)
Rough Trade (9)
WB (9)
Flying Nun (8)
SST (7)
Sire (7)
Creation (6)
Touch and Go (5)
A&M (5)
American (5)
4AD (4)
Sub Pop (4)

Singles

The Smiths – “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out”
The Smithereenss – “Blood and Roses”
The Church – “Tantalized”
Hunters & Collectors – “Everything’s On Fire”
The Chameleons – “Souls in Isolation”
The Call – “I Still Believe (Great Design)”
Easterhouse – “Whistling in the Dark”
The Woodentops – “Last Time”
Stan Ridgway – “The Big Heat”
R.E.M. – “I Believe”
XTC – “Sacrificial Bonfire”
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – “She Fell Away”
Screaming Blue Messiahs – “Let’s Go Down to the Woods”

Playlist: Tidal | Spotify

Videos

If only more of these videos were shown more regularly on MTV. By 1986 it was in it’s rut of repeating the same hit videos more than once every hour, the golden eclectic era of 1981-83 long gone. Many I haven’t seen until this week on YouTube!

Movies

Up and coming director David Lynch’s career nearly went off the rails with the critical and commercial disaster that was Dune (1984) which he disowned (though it’s a bit of a fan favorite now), but Blue Velvet was what got him back on track, a blacker than black comedy that instilled enough confidence in the suits that he was given a TV series (Twin Peaks) to mess around with. Jonathan Demme’s Something Wild may not have the same emotional impact as Reiner’s Stand By Me, but at 17, I was rivited by this indie thriller’s twisted view of what being an adult might look like.

Blue Velvet – David Lynch (black comedy)
Something Wild – Jonathan Demme (comedy, thriller)
Stand By Me – Rob Reiner (drama)
Highlander – Russell Mulcahy (action, adventure, fantasy)
The Fly – David Cronenberg (SF, horror)
Big Trouble in Little China – John Carpenter (supernatural action, thriller)
Matador – Pedro Almodovar (black comedy)
Down By Law – Jim Jarmusch (comedy)
A Room With a View – James Ivory (romance)
Pretty in Pink – Howard Deutch (comedy, coming-of-age)
Sid and Nancy – Alex Cox (drama)
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off – John Hughes (comedy, coming-of-age)
Mona Lisa – Neil Jordan (comedy, drama)

Bubbling under: Terrorizers, Hoosiers, The Name Of The Rose, The Big Easy, Labyrinth, Peggy Sue Got Married, Manhunter, Aliens, F/X, Crocodile Dundee, Betty Blue, Top Gun, Wildcats, The Mosquito Coast, The Color of Money, River’s Edge, Trick or Treat, Little Shop of Horrors, Platoon, She’s Gotta Have It, Lucas, Back to School, The Best of Times, Jumpin’ Jack Flash, Heartbreak Ridge, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Three Amigos!, The Delta Force, Karate Kid II, Running Scared, the Hitcher, The Morning After, At Close Range, Ruthless People, Children of a Lesser God, Milo and Otis, One Crazy Summer, Crossroads, The Money Pit, Down and Out in Beverly Hills, About Last Night, The Mouse and the Motorcycle, Star Trek IV, Youngblood, American Anthem, Armed and Dangerous, Quicksilver, Soulman, The Great Mouse Detective, Police Academy 3, Critters, Howard the Duck, Maximum Overdrive, Haunted Honeymoon, Poltergeist II.

Television

A lot of TV was what my mom watched while I read and did homework, so I only really consistently watched the top few. Miami Vice was a Friday night ritual just like SNL was for Saturdays. His atmospheric, pastel and neon update of moody detective noir might have dated quickly, but it was a pretty original take at the time, and with a pretty good soundtrack.

Miami Vice
Saturday Night Live
Pee-wee’s Playhouse
Siskel & Ebert
The Golden Girls
Murder, She Wrote
Newhart
Growing Pains
Moonlighting
The Twilight Zone
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
The A-Team
Perfecct Strangers

Bubblin’ Under: It’s Garry Shandling’s Show, Blackadder II, Dragon Ball, ALF, Sledge Hammer!, Designing Women, Crime Story, Starman.

Books

William Gibson’s Neuromancer was a milestone in SF, one that has become increasingly prescient and important as decades roll by. Count Zero is the slightly less celebrated, but still vital followup in the Sprawl series, while the short story collection Burning Chrome does the initial world building. More neon poetry of gritty lowlifes battling corporate feudalism, Count Zero broadens the scope of the first book with a three-thread narrative. AI is starting to resemble vodou loa, and Gibson’s rich prose is evolving right along with the characters. 40 years later, the Neuromancer TV series on Apple+ will finally debut later this year.

William Gibson – Count Zero & Burning Chrome (Sprawl #2 & 0) (SF, cyberpunk)
Dianne Wynne Jones – Howl’s Moving Castle (Land of Ingary #1, fantasy, YA)
Marc Laidlaw – Dad’s Nuke (SF, comedy)
Stephen King – It (horror)
Gary Kilworth – Witchwater Country (literary)
Walter Jon Williams – Hardwired (Hardwired #1, SF, cyberpunk)
Terry Pratchett – The Light Fantastic (Discworld #2, fantasy)
James P. Blaylock – Homonucleus (SF, steampunk)
Pat Conroy – The Prince of Tides (literary)
Frank Miller – Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (superhero)
Derek Raymond – How the Dead Live (Factory #3, mystery, crime noir)
K.W. Jeter – Infernal Devices (George Dower #1, SF, fantasy)
Orson Scott Card – Speaker for the Dead (Ender Saga #2, SF)

Bubbling Under: Madelaine L’Engle, Kazuo Ishiguro, Robert Stone, Bob Shaw, Terry Brooks, Brian Jaques, Robert Munsch, Isaac Asimov, Tamora Pierce, P.D. James, Guy Gavriel Kay, Henry David Hwang, Beatrix Potter, Art Spiegelman, Anais Nin, Iain Banks.

1986: The Year Indie Crashed the UK Charts

Between The Cracks: 1986

Between the Cracks: 1986 Compendium

Posted in: Bandcamp, Books, Features, Film, Listicles, Lucky 13, News, Rants, Reissues, Reviews, TV, Videos/Singles

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