Secret Mammals - Cost Too Much / Preachin' (1981)

Secret Mammals from Washington DC. Primitive guitar rock with nervous punk-wave vocals is what you'll find here. According to this website they also put an LP, and describe the a-side Cost Too Much as Gang of Four style post-punk. That seems quite a stretch to me, but it's possible my ears work differently than others. Great cover art. There are mammals they have not told you of... It's all so cryptic, sasquatch chupacabra four armed guitarists. Just how many mammals have they not told us about?
 http://www.mediafire.com/?17qrasi39qnjc6j
 

King of Culture - Know How / Cut Shut (1983)

Quality art wave from NYC. With great basslines, and the female singer sounds a bit like Kate Pierson to me. Cut Shut edges out Know How mostly because I prefer the girls voice to the guys. I suspect they could have put out a decent LP, but it seems this was it.
 http://www.mediafire.com/?ow5pk6n4a6ad352 

Mofungo - Out of Line (1983)

More fun art punk for a proletariat on the go. Certainly there's enough spastic art squawks, sax skronks and heart attacking rhythms. To please anyone that liked their earlier 7" I put up here. On the whole Out of Line is a more elaborate flesh out of the noisy post-punk Mofungo sound. According to Robert Sietsema in the Perfect Sound Forever article several durable classics appear here. 'Three,' 'FBI Informant' (later known as 'He Sold His Soul'), and 'Migrant Assembly Line Workers.' Watermark and Happy Man are my picks. Lyrically there's enough left leaning political sloganeering to keep the flames of discontent alive against the man, or woman as the case may be.
Insert with lyrics included.
 http://www.mediafire.com/?zw8u87cr7xnelcd
  

Extremes (1979)

Unconventional atypical arty synth wave from LA. Can't think of anyone to compare their sound with, which is really a compliment. Though it's somewhere near the oddball park of The Cardboards or Le Cause. Extremes have gained some small amount of underground notoriety for having two of the Stern brothers of Youth Brigade fame in their ranks. I'm going to take a wild guess here. Could Christian Kuhni be Christian Lunch. I mean a punk-wave record from Santa Monica with tons of electronics in 1979. Plus Maicol Sinatra (pictured far right) added vocals on a Christian Lunch record. The blonde guy on the cover kinda looks like a young Christian Lunch, maybe?
Ok I guess it's not Lunch.
http://www.mediafire.com/?wzaejwwe884vqcj

Liberté? / A State of Mind - Don't Vote... Subvert (1984) Liberté? - Racism in America (1985)

Liberté? were a anarcho-peace-punk band from San Francisco. Musically more diverse than your average punk band. Tending towards the arty side like fellow SF band Sleeping Dogs. The Crass influence is readily apparent in the artwork (which is included) and music. The first song sounds just like 'fight war not wars' with the mantra of don't vote inserted. The Candidates Rap and Tribal Territorial Talks are my picks with strong bass lines and Crass type wall of noise guitar.

An extensive history of  Liberté? and A State of Mind written by Robbie (vocals) can be found on Kill Your Pet Puppy here. Along with the A State of Mind / Chumbawamba split 7" and A State of Mind's EP. Mutant Sounds has the more experimental Cyrnai - Charred Blossoms done by band member Carolyn Fok. I also included an A State of Mind poster reminiscent of Penis Envy. That I must have picked up at one of their shows.

 http://www.mediafire.com/?znbfegaa572p47f

Zach Swagger - TV True Tonight / Try To (1981)

Fun weirdo warped wave from the DC area, Arlington Virginia to be exact. It goes down nicely with hints of Devo and Residents nuance. TV True Tonight explores the foibles of staring into the devil tube to long. Try To could be a data panicked automatons existential meltdown, or something else entirely.

http://www.mediafire.com/?aq6ych9d89y20q7

Reasonable Strollers - Tools for Africa / Smile / No Wasting (1982)

I should read the run-out groove on my records more often, as this here's another porky prime cut. Though that's probably the least exciting thing about this record. Mutant Sounds has their Secure tape here. Just as the mutants say you'll find shades of the Pop Group and Gang of Four on this top shelf, post-punk classic.
http://www.mediafire.com/?gxs7zpf5xz72xit

Extro 2 - Cruciform Man / Fast Car (1980)

Don't know much about Extro 2 except they were from somewhere on the British Isles, and this is a porky prime cut record. The dichotomous nature of this single makes it all the more interesting. Fast Car is a nervous manic and yes fast ditty about a ghost car or somethin'. Whilst Cruciform Man is spacey slow and creepy. With somethin' of a minimalist prog feel. If such a thing can exist, it should exist more often.
http://www.mediafire.com/?fexzgelvf2gl2yn

Bamboo Zoo - Look! Listen! Consume! (1981) Ghost Party / Binding Wire (1981)

More outstanding British post punk here. Bamboo Zoo formed in Manchester with three of their members coming from the ashes of I.Q. Zero originally hailing from Blackburn. I'd loosely describe much of their sound as a mix of The Nightingales meets The Monochrome Set with some moodier elements drawn in at times like say Crispy Ambulance perhaps. One of the guitar players is quite adept at using the tremolo bar to create odd wobbly legged guitar tones. Bamboo Zoo also have a John Peel session floating around out there. If anyone knows where to locate, I'd be much obliged.
 http://www.mediafire.com/?rwq185nxebwqjle

Mofungo - El Salvador / Just the Way / Gimme a Sarsaparilla (1982)

There's an excellent article about Mofungo at Perfect Sound Forever here. So read that and listen to this 7". When Mofungo was still in their no wave type mode. Should anyone want to spill out any of their earlier über obscure recordings i.e. Elementary Particles, or End of the World, I'm all ears. Until then check out this Tape # 1 stuff on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6D1owTEvv0

 http://www.mediafire.com/?17s7fnyl93mpm7k

Toto Lotto - White Walls / Cut a Slice / Toto Lotto (1980)

Compelling art punk from Frankfurt, Germany. White Walls menaces then drops deposits of no wave sax skronk, while Cut a Slice is a bit of sarcastic quirk, and Toto Lotto unleashes the furious frenzy. Mutant Sounds has a mostly live Toto Lotto tape here. Brotbeutel has more info and dead links here.
 http://www.mediafire.com/?2mdllflpw8kwuku

Stutter - Collisions / Dialogues (1983)

"Stutter started as an improvisational music collective based out of Louisville, Kentucky" You can read the whole story here. On this EP the music will delight your ears with jagged post-punk kickassery, and the sounds of quasi no wave. Funded in part by an art grant. Many of the pieces here were used in conjunction with artistic devices in other mediums, just read the back cover. Mutant Sounds has their Broken Snakes LP from 1990 here.

http://www.mediafire.com/?c79roqzg0aq6c4l

B Team - Buy American (1983) What Is This? / The Kill / Caught! (1982)

A three piece post-punk band from San Francisco. That really rip it up with moves that will remind you of Gang of Four more than once. Which in my book is a wonderful thing. Buy American has better production values. Usually I don't care to much about such things, but The Kill (fantastic song that it is) is somewhat buried. I upped the volume quite a bit there. Caught! from the 7" was on a Messthetics Homework comp. Curious pick as I find it about their least interesting song. I also included the 7" insert with lyrics to The Kill, and the 7" back cover which isn't much to look at.
 http://www.mediafire.com/?zdi7a6hcy1bwfc4

Factory - Rat Inside My Head \ Electric Buffalo (1986)

Lo-fi post-punk with noisy guitar and heavy bass. Real cool and cryptic stuff. The song titles are etched into the run-out groove, but appear no where else. Definitely worth checking out.
http://www.mediafire.com/?i7xh4f60amk7d9z

Lifers - This House (1981)

New wavy post punk from San Francisco. "Walking Distance" likes to get stuck in my head. Actually I prefer most of side one over side two, but that's just me. They also have a track on the Alive Rock City comp. That I will probably post someday.
 http://www.mediafire.com/?ec9dco7h437ahlz

American Gorilla - Forsaking All Others / Masters of War (1983)

More Los Angeles area post-punk-esque stuff. Given the affiliations with The Child Molesters and the Los Angeles Free Music Society you can figure something strange is happening here. They do a Dylan cover that by the end shows signs of art dementia. However it's Lubow's catchy phaser driven Forsaking All Others that always leaves me wanting to hear their EP.
http://www.mediafire.com/?czescvafvvbiy4c

Animal Dance - Fake / Sterile Mecca (1983)

Vibrant percussion flavored art pop new wave from Los Angeles. No six stringed thing here. Instead they entertain with sax, synth, bass, an array of percussion instruments, and very catchy vocals.

I included scans of the inner sleeve with more info on the band, and some press clippings. Seems they were compared to Bow Wow Wow quite a bit in the local press. Which is fair I suppose, but their sound has just as much in common with irregular art outsiders like The Del-Byzanteens.

Animal Dance also have a standout track on the Radio Tokyo Tapes 2 comp, I put up here.

http://www.mediafire.com/?1n37vf5akufx4ee



I found this video via the great Scavenged Luxury blog. Where they sort of pooh-poohed it. True they changed their sound, but me likes!

Big Hair - Puppet on a String / Lies (1980)

Post punk artizans from England. Go about deconstructing a tepid 60's love song into some herky jerky art-spazz fun. The flip side is similar. Sounding very much like Fresh labelmates Family Fodder. Posted a few years ago on the seemingly now defunct Swinging Singles Club blog. I ripped this from my own copy for those who may have missed it.
http://www.mediafire.com/?445eppzhzht967h

Clive Oxford - For Your Future Entertainment / Fading Star (1980)

Spacey DIY minimal synth from the UK. The a side is an instrumental version of the b side. Where the singer in monotone recites a litany of what are ostensibly fading stars. Musically the spaced out tranquilizers will have you meditating sowiesoso on another green world.
http://www.mediafire.com/?59dj7l82u5rb4h8

Fish - Cocks / Nails (1982)

Fish hailed from Andover, England with a dark post punk single. Call it goth if you want to. Shades of The Danse Society, Virgin Prunes, UK Decay. Good stuff with lots of synth rumblings to boot. According to discogs they also put out a cassette entitled Sole Music. Witticisms abound.
http://www.mediafire.com/?ap8322r1p1300eb

Sis Q Lint - Pre-Need E.P. (1984)

Wonderfully entertaining absurdist tomfoolery from Los Angeles. Similar in spirit to the likes of Inflatable Boy Clams or 2.3 Children. The detached deadpan femme vocals are coupled with silly satirical lyrical insights about out of control poodles, the stresses of finding a proper mortician for oneself, and the cheesiness of low budget romantic pretendings. The music is quite entertaining as well. Synths, sound effects, sound clips, and percussions. All artasticly mastered at Gold Star studios. Try listening to Dog Sweaters without cracking a big grin. There's a good review from San Francisco's Unsound zine to read here. They also put a single Wally! Wally! / The Very Last Record from Gold Star. That I'm dying to hear, anyone?
http://www.mediafire.com/?rz11i54d4u6e800

La Loora - This Is Not The Use They Are Longing For So They Gonna Be Fascists (1982) N'Avez Vous Rien De Mieux (1983)

La Loora from Berlin, Germany formed in 1981. Shortly thereafter they self released their first LP "This Is Not The Use They Are Longing For So They Gonna Be Fascists". Which is a masterwork, and one of the best LP's of the year. Seemingly informed by the plethora of bizarre undertakings at the time. They craft music here with nods to the neue Deutsche welle, Industrial Records, no wave, post punk or art punk, and minimal electronics. That blends all this strange architecture, and reminds one that all these labels we now affix to this kind of music is sometimes useless. As they have so much experimentation in common, being at times interchangeable.

Their next release a mini-LP. Was released by Gudrun Gut of Malaria!. A slightly better produced affair, which still has their uncompromising unique sound. Finally from the first LP gets redone, and they do an interesting epic cover of Iggy Pop's Tiny Girls. Amidst plenty of other great sounds.

Kill your pet puppy has the Berlin Atonal split with Psychic TV. Mutant sounds has Reseda Revel from 1986. There's also a myspace.

These records really need a proper reissue. You'd be a fool not to hear why.
   http://www.mediafire.com/?ye4b1955935jq55