The C.S. Angels - Chasing Shadows - LP (1986), U.K.

It's been quite a month for me, which is normally reserved for hiding indoors, yet I'm glad it turned into an unexpected and pleasant one. Before the end of the month quickly slips away, I'd like to briefly say that I've come a bit closer to my friends, reconnected with an old one and survived the "invisible" rapture.
Marching forth to the main agenda, here is Chasing Shadows by Sheffield, England's The Comsat Angels. After their brief time with Jive Records and unsuccessful album 7 Day Weekend, The Comsat Angels were without a label, until the late Robert Palmer, yes Robert "Simply Irresistible" Palmer approached and encouraged front man and guitarist Steve Fellows to sign with Island Records. In return for helping find a new label for the band, Robert Palmer is credited in the album as executive producer and did some vocal work for the song "You'll Never Know".
To explain the revised name, The Comsat Angels had to call themselves in the U.S. as The C.S. Angels, because a company named Communications Satellite Corporation (or COMSAT), believed the band infringed on their trademark. I found this rather bizarre and amusing since the name was originally taken from a short story by English writer, J.G. Ballard!
The album Chasing Shadows, to those who have heard it, is considered the band's return to form, reminiscent of the early Polydor Record years, à la Waiting For A Miracle, Sleep No More and Fiction. This is immediately noticeable in the dark, edgy opener "The Thought That Counts" along with "Under The Influence" and "You'll Never Know" with some mellow moments interspersed through out the album. Truthfully, I'd say this is one of The Comsat Angels' better albums, highly recommended and can be had for less than $10 (I acquired mine for $2!) on vinyl. Unlike the band's other releases, I found it mysterious and a bit depressing to see this one was left behind without a re-issue, but hopefully that'll change someday. Have a listen!

Details:

The C.S. Angels - Chasing Shadows - LP (1986), U.K.

Side One:
1. The Thought That Counts
2. The Cutting Edge
3. Under The Influence
4. Carried Away

Side Two:
5. You'll Never Know
6. Lost Continent
7. Flying Dreams
8. Pray For Rain

Review

More Information:
Official Myspace of Steve Fellows
Biography
Discography
Fan Page

Gravity Pirates - This Way To The Cargo Cult - LP (1986), Australia

Originating from the land of down under, the home of wacky-haired Yahoo Serious and the subject of many over the top post-apocalyptic movies, arrives a band who are seldom mentioned and still remain off the radar of most people. Gravity Pirates from Sydney, Australia is a group shrouded in obscurity and will remain so until some more insight is revealed. I was a bit frustrated to find very little information beyond what is on the vinyl's sleeve cover.

The only notable things I could uncover is who all the members were involved while the band existed, the sparse discography (2 LP's) and a Myspace page (with just a grainy music video, music samples and a short magazine article). The people connected with the band were: Steven Hindes (guitar, vocals and piano), Sharon Van Tromp (vocals), Paul Hindes (keyboards), Alistair Stevenson (bass), Pierre Della-Putta (drums) and Keith Boots (drums).

This Way To The Cargo Cult, released in 1986 (not 1984, as the Amazon and iTunes download pages insist) by Survival Music, is quite a find and amazed it didn't go for as much as I'd expected it to go for online in physical form (I got mine for $8). Full of brooding sounds and murky vocals, Gravity Pirates' debut album is the type of music followers of the post-punk genre and the like shouldn't miss out on! The most outstanding tracks are the killer, head bopping opener This Way To The Cargo Cult and the slow, dark and ambient Backtrack. With respect to the artist, I've only put these two songs up for review since high quality remastered digital versions are readily available on Amazon and iTunes individually for 99¢ or the full album for about $7.
There's less than two months left before the year ends, so sit back, listen and bask in the sea of gloominess!

Details:

Gravity Pirates - This Way To The Cargo Cult - LP (1986), Australia

Side 1:

1. This Way To The Cargo Cult

2. Float So Wide

3. Backtrack

4. Frontal Attack

Side 2:

5. Exposure Of My Senses

6. Take My Time

7. Shape Of A Point Of View

Review

More Information:

Official? Myspace

Discography

iTunes (Buy and Download)

Amazon (Buy and Download)

Evening Legions - Evening Legions - EP (1986), France

The temperature is trickling, the leaves on the trees are metamorphosing and the distinct smell of fall is in the air. Happy October 2010! It's a bit sad, yet exciting to see another year nearly coming to a conclusion.
The recent change of scenery has provoked me to introduce Evening Legions. This particular group from France, were quite an astonishment for me. Astonishing, because I've never seen them mentioned along with their contemporaries such as Asylum Party, Little Nemo and Marc Seberg. Evening Legions is one of those bands that have a dark sounding name, yet their music (of what I could find) doesn't quite exactly match the description. These guys produced some very catchy new wave pop music with the lead singer sounding a bit like Nick Marsh from Flesh For Lulu. With this combination, you'd expect to listen to them on the radio, featured at the top of the charts and selling out records, but in reality this kind of recognition was not in their favor (though they were featured on the radio).
The lot behind Evening Legions were: Leaf Seale (guitar and vocals), Jean-Luc Vilgicquel (synth guitar), Pierrick Corzéame (drums), Flash (synths) and Pascal Obispo (bass), replacing Jaco Racotte who was previously on bass.
As I made repeated listens to their self titled EP, I kept wondering to myself: "Wow these guys could've been picked up by a major record label!" and "What ever happened to them?" While these thoughts were cycling through my mind, I rapidly searched for more information about them (the vinyl sleeve just wasn't enough) online. Fortunately, I was able to dig up a Myspace page which features a very short and brief summary about the band (in French), including 3 music videos (2 of which are live), a listing on Discogs and a small fan page. Enjoy this little gem!

Details:

Evening Legions - Evening Legions - EP (1986), France

Side A:
1. Your Dimension
2. Life On Earth

Side B:
3. Soft Silk Pillow
4. Affectionate Disturbances

Review

More Information:
Official? Myspace
Discography
Fan Site

El Pecho de Andy - El Pecho de Andy - LP (1986), Spain

Here's another excellent Spanish band coming from the city of Toledo, Spain. El Pecho de Andy (The Chest of Andy) were a New Wave/Post-Punk group active during the mid to late 80's. Besides the names of the members involved and the albums they released (2 LP's and about 3-4 Singles), I couldn't find any further information about their whereabouts or why they split. The members were: Miguel Angel García (guitar and vocals), Francisco Javier García-Zarco (guitar), Miguel Angel Campos (drums), Arturo Soriano (saxophone) and María Eugenia "Maruge" Muñoz (bass). The sound of this band is very similar to The Psychedelic Furs with a saxophone playing in the background in a few of their songs, minus the Richard Butler-esque sounding voice. Enjoy listening to their first self-titled LP, while keeping cool under the hot summer sun!

Details:

El Pecho de Andy - El Pecho de Andy - LP (1986), Spain

Side One:
1. El Arrozal
2. Última Combinación
3. Vuelo Nocturno
4. A Años Luz

Side Two:
5. Anochecer En Tahiti
6. Brillan Tus Lágrimas
7. Fighting Temeraire
8. Morgana y Ginebra

Review

More Information:
Discography

Breeding Ground - Tales Of Adventure - EP (1986), Canada

My new discovery of the day leads me to Canada, home of heinous acts such as wanna be goth/punk/pop singer Avril Lavigne, ballad singer Céline Dion and post-grungers Nickleback. Not too long before they dominated the airwaves, there was a group formed in Toronto sometime in 1980-81 called Breeding Ground. The members of this group were John Shirreff (vocals), Hugh Gladish (guitar), Jonathan Strayer (bass) and Ken Jones (drums). Breeding Ground received good notoriety and sales from their 12" Single Slaughter/Reunion (1983) and were noticeably popular at the time in college radio stations with their one hit song Happy Now I Know. After the release of the EP album Tales Of Adventure (1986), the band went on a short hiatus and came back one more time with their first full-length LP Obscurity And Frail (1989).
The sound of this band is somewhat similar to New Order (in some ways) with sprinkles of darkness thrown in for good measure. It's no wonder that it has been on my rotation lately! My favorite songs are Turn To Dust, Epic and Reflections (In A Coffee Cup).

Details:

Breeding Ground - Tales Of Adventure - EP (1986), Canada

Side 1:
1. This Time Tomorrow
2. Turn To Dust
3. Epic

Side 2:
4. Tales Of Adventure
5. Happy Now I Know
6. Reflections (In A Coffee Cup)

Review (This link will take you to CAPA NOSTRA SYNDICATE's blog. This time I find it unnecessary to upload an album that is already available and plus Capa Nostra has the limited edition LP version with 3 additional tracks!)

More Information:
Unofficial Myspace
Discography