Post-punk – 7th Level Music

Salem 66 to release new compilation of tracks out of print for decades.

Salem 66 were founded by Judy Grunwald, Beth Kaplan and Susan Merriam in Boston in 1982. A major part of a thriving Boston scene that produced bands like Mission of Burma and Dinosaur Jr (Dinosaur Jr’s first New York show was notably an opening slot for Salem 66 at Folk City), the band were ahead of their time.

They were one of the few women-led bands in their scene, and made their mark with an adventurous blend of arty post-punk (they notably covered Wire’s “Fragile”) and melodic pop. Between 1984 and 1990 they released one self-titled EP, 2 singles and 4 albums, 1985’s A Ripping Spin, 1987’s Frequency & Urgency, 1988’s Natural Disasters, National Treasures, and 1990’s Down The Primrose Path (produced by Sean Slade and Paul Q. Kolderie who went on to produce Radiohead’s Pablo Honey and Hole’s Live Through This), all on the venerable New York imprint Homestead Records, label home to bands like Sonic Youth, Big Black and The Chills. The band earned comparisons to R.E.M., The Talking Heads and The Velvet Underground from The New York Times, and further praise from outlets like Rolling Stone, CREEM, and the Village Voice. They shared stages with The Replacements, Mission of Burma, the Go-Betweens, the Wipers, the Saints and the Raincoats, and toured across the country on multiple occasions, but despite their prominence in the ’80s, the Salem 66 catalog has been out of print for decades and their music has never been available on streaming.

Today, Don Giovanni Records are announcing a new compilation entitled SALT, and have made the band’s music available on all streaming services for the first time. To mark the announce the band are sharing a recently unearthed video for their song “Lucky Penny.”

Beth Kaplan says of the reissue:

“We were a long time putting together this re-release, and it has been a journey – from finding the pictures to not finding the master tapes, from writing up some thoughts to deciding which songs to include here. Judy and I picked the songs and it wasn’t easy. After exploring and rejecting more scientific methods, ultimately we decided to just highlight some of our favorites, or, the songs that felt the most like us. So what you see (or hear) here is not necessarily a representative sampling from all of the recordings but it does feel, to me, like a pretty good Salem 66 sampler. Like a cross-stitch. Or a Whitman’s Sampler.

“I hope you enjoy this record. If you were there with us, on the scene, whether in Boston or another town, I hope this brings you back to those youthful, passionate, perfectly imperfect days. If the band or the songs are new to you, or if you were born a generation or two after the fact, I hope you enjoy a glimpse at this sliver of a sliver of history.”

The band’s catalog is available on all streaming services now, and the SALT compilation will be available on June 6th via Don Giovanni.

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[Thanks to Tom at Terrorbird Media.]

Rewind Review: Iguana Death Cult – Echo Palace (2022)

Hailing from The Netherlands, Iguana Death Cult both blend and defy genres on their 2022 album Echo Palace.

Opening with funky post-punk on “Paper Straws,” IDC instantly reminded me of !!! with their quirky dance grooves and solid bass lines from Justin Boer. The title track brought some of Parquet Courts‘ groovier stuff to mind, and Tobias Opschoor‘s frenetic guitar riffs on it are great.

“Pushermen” is a good example of the band clicking together in the studio, as they wrote it in about an hour. It seems to be a song about escaping the constraints of the urban grind (“Living in a box of concrete, how do you keep occupied?…Maybe I’ll take you anywhere. Don’t believe the hype. Maybe I’ll take you anywhere. Freedom’s in the mind.”).

“Sunny Side Up” is a quirky garage rock track, not unlike early Devo, about how trying to make it through a typical day of work and the “superficial spectacle.” (“I’d give you all of my money if I could borrow some time.”). Benjamin Herman‘s guest saxophone solo on “Sensory Overload” is outstanding. “Conference to Conference” once again tackles the banality of the corporate life.

“I Just Want a House” is a great post-punk track with great back-and-forth vocals between Jeroen Reek and his bandmates as they pine for a simpler life away from the hustle and bustle (“I’ll admit I’m confused on how we even got here. Just want a house where I can lay back.”). “Oh No” is like a lit fuse racing toward a pound of dynamite. Boer’s bass borders on panic, and Reek blasts out trombone honks to inspire more wild dancing in the clubs.

“Rope a Dope” is a good example of Arjen van Opstal‘s “sounds easy but is deceptively difficult for others to place” drumming ability and the keen and subtle use of Jimmy de Kok‘s synthesizers. You realize that a lot of the tracks on Echo Palace wouldn’t sound right without them.

van Opstal’s hi-hat work is on-point on “Heaven in Disorder,” and I love the slight echo effect on Opschoor’s guitar in it – and the neat sense of menace in the last quarter of the song. The album ends with the garage / new wave (How did they mix those genres so well?) rocker “Radio Brainwave.” It’s a great way to wrap up the record.

I discovered IDC when I saw them open for Osees last October. They won over the crowd right away, and I’m keen to see where they go next.

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Water Machine announce their debut album, “God Park,” with its first single – “Tiffany.”

Flooding out of Glasgow in 2022, Water Machine have quickly gained a reputation for their weird and wonky art-punk, winning hearts with sing-along songs about dogs, struggling artists and the housing crisis. Now, they announce their debut album God Park out 20th June via FatCat Records, as well as sharing first taster with new single ‘Tiffany’. Explaining the track, vocalist Hando says, “This song was originally called Orange as we think it sounds like an Orange Juice song. We decided not to call it that due to a certain king and the city we live in being Glasgow. Eventually it was changed to Tiffany as it felt safer for our careers (we are not sectarians). We wrote this in one sitting after I had a panic attack in the studio and we decided to write something happy. As usual it ended up being a hypothetical love song about a car crash.”

Listen to ‘Tiffany’ HERE

Debut album God Park takes a collection of disparate influences and distils the disjointed into something new. Taking influence from everywhere, the tunes are always on the verge of falling apart or breaking down. Their world is a swirling eddy of melodic bass lines and volatile guitar sliding between jazz chords and punk riffs, all the while narrated by sardonic social commentary, silly stories, and pop sensibilities. This group of young Glaswegians recognise that they owe something to the city’s rich musical history, in particular the 1980’s scene captured so brilliantly in Grant McPhee’s documentary, Teenage Superstars.

Tired of listening to songs about gloom and heartbreak, Water Machine, instead, want their lyrics to provide a “realistic escapism.” Their words, while rooted in the day-to-day-maybe-mundane, are spun into what the band call “hyper conceptualised allegories.” So while they might sometimes sing about love, this is hidden amongst copulating clouds, car crashes, housing crises, rabies outbreaks, toxic jobs and unrequited office romances.

Everything on the album packs positive, punk energy. As Henry Rollins put it: “Water Machine is a very cool band”.

Water Machine are: Hando Morice [they/them] – vocals, violin, synth, Flore De Hoog [she/her] – bass, vocals, Nicky Duncan [he/him] – drums, percussion, Baby Cousland [they/them] – rhythm guitar, Ellie McWhinnie [she/they] – lead guitar

God Park is out 20th June via FatCat Records. Pre-order HERE

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[Thanks to Amy at After Hours PR.]

Levitation France announces its 2025 lineup.

Levitation France has announced its full (?) lineup for 2025, and they’ve packed a lot of good bands into just two nights.

Vendredi (Friday) brings in Italy’s New Candys (whose new album, so far, sounds pretty cool), UK’s Ditz (a sharp new post-punk band), Spain’s Hinds (also promoting a new album), Danish metal giants Kadavar, and the U.S.’ own Blonde Redhead.

Samedi (Saturday) has Angers post-punkers Rest Up, UK’s mysterious HONESTY, goth-queen Heartworms, experimental psych-rockers Bryan’s Magic Tears, and psych-proggers bdrmm, plus the U.S.’ synthwave duo Boy Harsher, and finally French psych heavyweights The Limiñanas.

It’s a good lineup with some serious rock in it this year, and it’s in a new location – a pyramid on a lakefront, no less. Don’t miss it.

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Rewind Review: The Jesus and Mary Chain – Automatic (2009 reissue)

The Jesus and Mary Chain‘s 1989 album (their third), Automatic, is the second one to be made by the Reid brothers, William and and Jim, with backing from a drum machine and synth-bass. Some fans derided this back in the day, but the album is now considered another classic from them.

Opening track “Here Comes Alice” is a full-out rock ode to a hot lady on a hot summer day. “Coast to Coast” is another sizzler and perfect for fast driving down long highways (“I got a cat-scratch engine, takes me on the road. Wheels get back rolling to the world I know. Take me just as far as I can go.”). The guitars on this are great – roaring one moment and squealing the next.

“Blues from a Gun” is one of TJAMC’s biggest hits, even reaching the top spot on the U.S. “Modern Rock” charts back in 1989. It’s about someone misreading a situation that they think is romantic but is strictly platonic (“If you’re talking for real, then go cut a deal. You’re facing up to living out the way that you feel.”). It’s no surprise it was a big hit, because it hits all the right notes. The chugging guitars and sharp but simple electric drum beats perfectly mix together.

“Between Planets,” a song about a woman who might be schizophrenic, is so catchy it could’ve been the theme to an MTV show in the late 1980s. The programmed drums are heavy on “UV Ray,” and the machine-like guitar riffs (mixed with a bit of surf!), give the song a bit of an industrial dance club feel. “Her Way of Praying” has Jim Reid singing about a woman who drives him crazy with her “hip dippin’ trick of all time done right.”

“Head On” was so popular that Pixies went on to cover it on their Trompe Le Monde album. It’s easy to see why it was an influence on them: Quieter verses mixed with loud choruses and louder guitars. “Take It” is about giving yourself to a lover and not worrying about anything else.

“Catch me ’cause I’m falling apart,” Jim Reid sings on “Halfway to Crazy” – a song about, you guessed it, going mad in a world that’s even crazier than you are. “Gimme Hell” is appropriately heavy as Jim Reid sings / growls about a cantankerous relationship that threatens to singe both parties. The drug reference of “Drop” is hard to miss, as William Reid sings about seeking solace after a breakup (“I should have guessed when I took that pill. Do I love her still?”). The album ends with the drum-heavy instrumental “Sunray.”

It would be interesting to hear these tracks with live drums and bass, but they’re all good and all influenced generations of musicians.

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Population II release second single, “Mariano (Jamais Je Ne T’oublerai)” from upcoming album.

Last month, Population II announced their new LP Maintenant Jamais, their third full-length album, which is due out on March 28th via Bonsound. The album was announced with a single calledLe thé est prêt” (French for “The tea is ready”), which saw an immediate positive response, earning praise from outlets like Stereogum and BrooklynVegan for a sound that “shimmers, shakes, and soars” (Stereogum).

Today, on the heels of their recent European tour and ahead of their upcoming appearance at SXSW, Population II are back to share a second single from the album, a track called “Mariano (Jamais je ne t’oublierai)” that is premiering today via FLOOD.

Layered with synthesizers and fuzz-saturated guitars over pulsating drums, “Mariano (Jamais je ne t’oublierai)” unfolds with finesse, somewhere between krautrock and psychedelic pop. The track exemplifies the refinement and textural depth Population II have found on their latest LP, which was recorded with the help of producer Dominic Vanchesteing (Marie Davidson). It’s a sophisticated rock album that surprises with its languorous pace (as heard on “Le thé est prêt”), while staying true to the band’s renowned raw power.

About Population II

Population II is a band dedicated to its disengagement, constantly refining their imposing, yet unpretentious sound. The trio of musicians (singer/drummer Pierre-Luc Gratton, guitarist/keyboardist Tristan Lacombe and bassist Sébastien Provençal) are masters at improvised madness and sophisticated composition. They deliver heavy psychedelic rock infused with feverish funk rhythms, a hint of jazz philosophy, a burst of early-punk energy, and a love of minor scales that harkens back to heavy metal roots. The band is reinforced by Pierre-Luc’s unique voice and his introspective, offbeat lyrics.

Their sources of inspiration are diverse and not limited to music. They include the Detroit garage rock and psychedelic funk scenes of the late 60s, the Canterbury scene of the same period, the German experimental rock of the 70s, and Miles Davis’ electric era. They bind all this together with the swampy landscape of Pointe-Calumet (their hometown), and the deep friendship and undeniable chemistry of its three members.

The roots of Population II go back a long way and are inextricably linked to their teenage memories. After years of jamming, to the point of developing a sense of telepathy, the trio began recording a handful of independent releases that soon caught the attention of the independent label Castle Face Records. Thus was born À la Ô Terre, their first label-released album, which came out in 2020. They returned in 2023 with Électrons libres du québec, this time released on Bonsound. A little more straightforward than its predecessor, the record reflects a natural progression of the sound the trio established on their previous releases, showing a sharp sense of songcraft and the undeniable expertise of their instruments. Many tours have followed since then, including several dates opening for Osees.

On a creative spree, Population II struck again the following spring with their EP Serpent Échelle, and then in the fall with a split single with local punk act Mulch. After this prolific sequence of releases, the band laid the groundwork for Maintenant Jamais, a third full-length album that stirs up their formative influences with sophistication, resulting in fourteen catchy, transgressive tracks.

Pre-order Maintenant Jamais here.

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[Merci à Tom à Terrorbird Media!]

test plan pretty much go nuts on their new single – “My Teeth.”

Photo Credit: Max Mason and Melody Wayfare

A cornerstone of their live shows, and charged with test plan’s distinctive blend of hypnotic guitars, growling bass and delirious vocals – landing, according the band’s own mantra “somewhere between dancing and moshing” – “My Teeth” puts us in the shoes of a religious figure losing their grip, their sanity and their teeth.

Written and recorded in their North London rehearsal space with the help of producer Darren Jones (Fat Dog, Gorillaz), the new single is released in anticipation of a debut trip to the states for New York’s New Colossus Festival, as well as a tour of Europe in May. Staying true to their independent spirit and DIY ethos, the track comes with a chaotic music video, directed, as ever by drummer / vocalist Max Mason.

Centered around the track’s classically nightmarish central image, on the video the band say: “Inspired by the late great David Lynch, Gasper Noe, and Michel Gondry, the video offers a surrealist collage of religious imagery and dream logic. It’s also the most ambitious and complex video we’ve created so far, chronicling a tooth having a very bad day. Close friends, including members of For Breakfast, DAAY, Burden Limbs, and Black Bordello, helped design and craft the costume, filmed, set designed, acted and appeared as extras. It was exciting to have so many people come together and pour their energy into the shoot.”

Their first release of the year comes following a breakthrough 2024 which earned them a landmark support slot for cult-legends A Place To Bury Strangers, debut trips to EU for Paris’ Supersonic Block Party and Rotterdam’s Left Of The Dial (the latter inviting them back for their NYE celebrations), as well as the fulsome backing of Anthony Fantano (The Needle Drop), who placed spring single “Walking In A Vacuum” in his top 50 tracks of 2024. This bolsters previous support from key UK tastemakers So Young, John Kennedy (Radio X) and Still Listening Magazine.

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[Thanks to Rory from test plan!]

Rewind Review: Flat Worms – Live in Los Angeles (2022)

I have yet to see Flat Worms live. This seems like a crime to me. They’re a great power trio with darkly humorous lyrics and power you cannot deny. So, Live in Los Angeles (recorded in 2019) will have to do until I can catch them at a somewhat dingy venue that feels like a sweatbox and smells like beer mixed with incense.

“Pearl” starts off the raucous set with Will Ivy‘s guitars sounding like a sped-up hotel fire alarm and his vocals bringing angry post-punk lyrics about keeping up with the Joneses to the crowd. “Motorbike” roars like its namesake and Justin Sullivan‘s chops on the drums turn on a dime at any given moment. The live version of “Into the Iris” slows it down a bit but doesn’t lack in power. It’s almost a sludge rock tune in the first half and then kicks into near-punk fury for the second half. It’s songs like this in which Tim Hellman excels on bass. He can lock down any track at any speed and in seemingly any genre, and he plays like a time bomb is about to off on “Plaster Casts.”

“Condo Colony,” a great takedown of gated communities and HOA madness, absolutely slays on this. It’s impossible to choose which of the three is killing it more. The short-instrumental “Scattered Palms” explodes into the snarky “11816.” The album ends with “Red Hot Sand,” and yes, it’s blistering. Hellman’s bass is frantic, Ivy’s guitar is a race car tearing up a dirt track, and Sullivan’s drums threaten to crack the floor under you.

It’s a great capture of a trio clicking on all fronts and crushing everything around them. If you can’t see them live, this is a worthy alternative.

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The Faint release previously unheard single, “Zealots.”

Before Electroclash and the wave of 00’s Dance-rock there was The Faint, emerging in the late 1990s in Omaha, Nebraska—a place known more for stoic practicality than synth-punk. In that unlikely setting of beige restraint, they pioneered a sound that combined the melodic essence of new wave, the raw edge of post-punk, and the robotic futurism of Detroit electro. Breaking free from indie rock’s humble comfort, they arrived armed with synths, dark eyeliner, and a raw, frenetic energy that dared audiences to actually feel something real, somethingprimal. The late ’90s and early 2000s indie scene was overdue for a shock, and The Faint delivered—not just as a band, but as an invitation to cast off coolness, to sweat, to move, and to live fully in the moment.

Onstage, the band turned every show into a raucous dance party. In a time of understated guitar rock, flannel shirts and torn blue jeans, their DIY foot-controlled lighting rig and all-black wardrobe was eyebrow raising. Behind unironic smoke machine clouds, keyboardist Jacob Thiele’s priest collar lent an eerie vibe while frontman Todd Fink delivered a fractured vision of a hyper-sexed cyber dystopia. The electro-punk beats of his brother Clark Baechle supplied the pulse and energy, and later, death metal guitarist Dapose infused a raw tension with his howling atonal guitar work. It was clear that this was more than a nostalgic nod to the 80’s. It was a spark from theunderground, foreshadowing an era of dance-oriented indie music that is still reverberating in the work of some of today’s most vital emerging artists.

The distinctive, synth-driven sound that brought The Faint to wide acclaim first surfaced on 1999’s Blank-Wave Arcade. The album was raw and daring, striking its own chord between early synth-pop pioneers (The Human League, New Order) and more recent heroes like Fugazi and Sonic Youth. The band’s blend of new wave, and DIY post-punk was trailblazing, and when the new millennium dawned that sound took hold of the zeitgeist, launching the band to new critical commercial peaks. 2001’s now classic Danse Macabre found itself scratching an itch that many indie rockers didn’t know they had. Wet From Birth followed in 2004 with its unusual electro-orchestral arrangements, cementing The Faint’s reputation as pioneers of the indie synth scene.

Today, 25 years removed from its release, The Faint are returning to announce a reissue of Blank-Wave Arcade, and Wet From Birth, which just celebrated its own 20th anniversary. Both reissues will arrive on the band’s longtime label home Saddle Creek on March 14th. This will be the first time that The Faint’s full catalog has been available on vinyl. To mark the announcement the band are sharing an unreleased Wet From Birth-era track entitled “Zealots,” and and accompanying remaster of Wet From Birth track “I Disappear.”

Fink says of “Zealots”:

“This song came from a dream Jacob had (our late keyboard player). In the dream, people were chanting, “You will know we are zealots by our guns,” . The lyrics are about the paradox between Christianity’s core message of love and the obsession with guns among some of its followers.”

In celebration of these reissues, The Faint will be embarking on extensive touring throughout 2025. Full details of those dates can be found below.

Tour Dates

Mar-21 – Santa Barbara, CA @ SoHo

Mar-22 – Las Vegas, NV @ Backstage Bar & Billiards

Mar-24 – Tucson, AZ @ 191 Toole

Mar-25 – Santa Fe, NM @ Meow Wolf

Mar-27 – Tulsa, OK @ The Vanguard

Mar-28 – Kansas City, MO @ Warehouse on Broadway

Mar-29 – St. Louis, MO @ Delmar Hall

Mar-31 – Cincinnati, OH @ The Ballroom at The Taft

Apr-01 – Detroit, MI @ El Club

Apr-03 – Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room

Apr-04 – Madison, WI @ Majestic Theatre

Apr-05 – Des Moines, IA @ Wooly’s

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[Thanks to Tom at Terrorbird Media.]

Pink Turns Blue asks us to “Stay for the Night” on their new single.

Iconic post-punk band Pink Turns Blue present their new single ‘Stay For The Night’, a celebration of the post-punk / goth rock / darkwave community and the second single from their new ‘Black Swan’ album, to be released on limited edition vinyl, CD and digitally via Orden Records.

Today made up of Mic Jogwer (vocals, guitar), Paul Richter (drums) and Luca Sammuri (bass), Pink Turns Blue – named after a Hüsker Dü song – emerged in 1985 in the first generation of gothic rock.

This new single follows the lead track ‘Black Swan (But I Know There Is More to Life)’, the album’s only ballad, offering ample fruit for thought. Delving into profound questions about existence, it reflects on life’s purpose and the beauty of the world.

‘Stay for the Night’ is meant for the dance floor. While we are an alternative rock band, founded in the post-punk era of the 80s, many of our fans wear black or dress as goths. And we often play in clubs that play darkwave music or goth rock at the after show party. The key message of the song is about unequal love, with one person wanting to leave the relationship or the group or going home instead of staying in the club with their (black-clad) friends and the other person asking to stay to sort things out, to give the relationship or the evening another chance,” explains Mic Jogwer.

“This is also a love song to the post-punk / goth rock community for being with all these years. Very often, we stay for the after-show party and immerse ourselves in the very open-minded and diverse dancing crowd. This is home. After the show, we can just close our eyes and float with the music and our friends… All we need is love. All we need is friends. Thank you so much for being with us. See you on the dance floor.”

After 2021’s widely acclaimed ‘Tainted’ album, the companion ‘Tainted Tour 2022’ EP and successful American and European tours with often-sold-out concerts, the Berliners’ new studio album will be followed by their ‘Black Swan’ tour, which sees them visit clubs through Germany in April.

This new collection is aptly named ‘Black Swan’, a term used for an unexpected event that, in retrospect, is rationalized as if one could have prepared for it.

Pink Turn Blue’s debut album ‘If Two Worlds Kiss’ advanced the darkwave sub-genre while becoming a seminal post-punk album. Emerging from the fear and uncertainty of a divided Cold War Germany and inspired by Joy Division, The Sound and The Chameleons, they have since released a dozen full-length LPs and have become known for their trademark blend of post-punk, alternative rock and new wave.

Pink Turns Blue has achieved pretty much everything an indie band could wish for – Album of the Year (Byte FM), Best Album of 2021 (Post-Punk.com), singles reaching number 1 in the German Alternative Charts and Indie Disco Top 40, excellent reviews in worldwide music press, well attended and sold-out club concerts spanning from Los Angeles to Yerevan.

As of January 10, ‘Stay For The Night’ is available everywhere, including Apple Music, Spotify, and Bandcamp. February 28 brings the release of the full ‘Black Swan’ album – digitally on all streaming platforms with limited-edition vinyl and CD editions now available for pre-order. Tickets for 2025 concerts can already be ordered at https://pinkturnsblue.com/live-dates.

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[Thanks to Shauna at Shameless Promotion.]