Echoes of Post-punk

Alright, so I'm going to try and be a little shorter and sweeter and post more often. The first song I've got for you is by one of my favorite bands, the Comsat Angels, a perfect example of a quintessential post-punk band whose output has gone largely out of print. They later had a small measure of success when their sound became more synthpop oriented, but remain relativley obscure. This song is a single released in 1981 around the time of their first album, Waiting for a Miracle. The drums sound out a syncopated start-stop machine gun beat while the chimey guitars keep time in a vaguely reggae kind of way, while singer/guitarist Stephen Fellows' lyrics explore the typical post-punk mythos of isolation in a sort of self-destructive yet detached way.

"(Do the) Empty House" - the Comsat Angels

For a while you could find this song on the limited 4-cd reissue of their first three albums, It's History, which contained more excellent bonus material than you can shake a stick at, but it's sold out now, so your only option of getting a copy of the album is eBay (currently at about $95) or doing me sexual favors.

The second song this time around is a newer song by Detroit's Goudron, one-man band of artist Ron Zakrin, who used to be labelmates with Adult.. Goudron shares some similarities with Adult., but have a much warmer sound. The song I'm putting up, "Frontline," hooked me when I heard on their label's site. It's a perfect blend of Peter Hook-esque high basslines, and chunky analog electro Detroit-style synths. Like some odd descendant of Cybotron and Joy Division. A little bit funky, a little bit detached, but all cool.

"Frontline" - Goudron

I narrowly missed seeing Goudron in Pittsburgh, but hopefully he'll tour again. You can find this song on 2004's excellent Raw Voltage. I receommend buying it from Tonevendor or checking their label, Ersatz Audio.