This is the only one I've ever cared for.

From 2019.  Probably the closest I've come to offering bona fide power pop on Mystery Mondays in a long time.

**Please do not reveal artist in comments!**

 

Outsets - s/t ep (1983, Plexus Trading)

Ever wonder what became of Ivan Julian after the Voidoids dissolved?  Yeah, me neither...but I found out anyway.  With Julian running the show here I was hoping to hear some last vestige of Richard Hell & Co, or heck, even a tamer new-wave friendly likeness of thereof.  Not so much.  The partied-up funk rock of "Dancin' in the Dark" could have garnered a few spins in the waning era of Studio 54.  Not an inadvisable listen mind you, but the following number, the soulful crooner "Heart on Fire" by and large is a sheer no-go. If any selection on the Outsets qualifies for centerpiece status, the power-pop bent of the inflation-themed "Young Man's Money" easily seizes the prize. The concluding "Iceman" languishes on for five and a half minutes without ever really peaking.  Overall, the Outsets may not have "set out" to deliberately disappoint, but seemingly succeed at doing so regardless.  I'm told drummer Vinny DeNunzio was present in an early incarnation of the Feelies, among numerous other stints appearing on his resume.  

01. Dancin' in the Dark

02. Heart on Fire

03. Young Man's Money

04. Iceman

Hear

Hugenius 7" (1994, Damaged Goods) (file under Pooh Sticks, G.G. Allin?)

Certainly a parody of the then-current UK outfit Eugenius (ex-Vaselines), Huegneius was a one-off byproduct of the Pooh Sticks Hue Williams, though if you're expecting a winsome slice of three-minute jangle pop, you're terrifically mistaken.  Released but one year after the sudden passing of notorious punk cult-icon G.G. Allin, this 45 was an unlikely tribute to the pro/antagonist (eye of the beholder) in question.  There's a grand total of two Allin compositions I'm familiar with, and wouldn't you know it, the A-side, "Drink Fight + Fun" is coincidentally or not a PG13-rated rendition of one of them.  The 135 second salvo ironically begins with an extended classical guitar solo (a la "Sanitarium") before hurtling full bore into a rampaging cover of the scum-punk classick, that to these ears strikes me as even more vigorous and assertive than the original.  Again, a jarringly implausible concept considering the source, but the hardcore quotient of the tune couldn't be executed more convincingly.  As for the even briefer flip-side (barely over a minute) it's an extended reprise of the aforementioned "Sanitarium"-esque acoustic intro.  You have been warned.

A. Drink Fight + Fun

B. Theme for G.G.

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I want to drink until Denver.

Time for four eps, although one is bordering on a mini album, and another is a two song sampler, of sorts.  

**Please do not reveal artists in comments!**

Hear

Rude Buddha - Goes to Church (1984)

This isn't our first time around the block with Rude Buddha, a co-ed Virginia combo who gave us a 1985 ep, Blister My Paint, I featured circa 2018.  In fact, Goes to Church preceded Blister by a year, and wouldn't you know, it's considerably more distinct.  By comparison ...Church is a percussion dominated beast, specifically with RB's strenuous employment of conga and bongo drums.  Though they're have been several "avantgarde" accusations leveled at this crew, the overarching approach is too steeped in rock/pop fundamentals to consign this one to the "experimental" camp.  Akin to an easier-on-the-ears Public Image Ltd., Rude Buddha is striving for a new spin on post-punk, and with a palette as indigenous and textured as the one that colors just about every nanosecond of ...Church they succeed mightily.  The arrangements are busting at the seams, yet stop short of encroaching into anything overcrowded or cumbersome. That said, the band's unorthodox proposition borders on oblique, and in my book, outright fascinating. 

01. Boxes and Bells

02. America

03. Happen to You

04. Gloomy Demon

05. No Color

06. 4D Man

07. To Africa

08. Got to Stop

09. Cabbage Salad

10. Though I Walk

Hear

Snakey is awakey and he wants a little piece of the pie...

Maybe not the most critical juncture of their career, this trio's sixth album indulged in the kind of gaudily-processed guitar stukas that only the late '80s could claim responsibility for.

**Please do not reveal artist in comments!**

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Makaton Chat - Federal State Chance ep (1982, Trans)

Here's one that I don't have a very solid recollection at all of picking up, but given the sleeve's art-deco informed tableau I likely based my purchase on the relatively safe assumption that the music enclosed within would be similarly forward-thinking. Once again I nailed it.  What few references I've gleaned concerning Makataon Chat, suggest the UK based, Anthony Lindo-helmed quartet lay somewhere in the nexus of minimal synth and new romantic, yet this three songer is far more user-friendly than the former, while at the same time doesn't qualify as entry-level fare either. I think the only reason why I slightly resisted "Federal State Chance" on my initial listen is merely because the flip-side numbers were more enticing. Opting for a guitarless motif, M/C were to-the-hilt electronics-heavy, though in spite of the group's wonky and technical proclivities they exuded a cheekiness that accorded them plenty of heart as well.  As for the overarching effect, think a warmer Gary Numan, but you're likely to draw your own comparisons. The band's catalog (roughly 50 songs deep) is yours for streaming on Spotify and Soundcloud.   

A. Federal State Chance

B1. It's His Life Story (Hail the Wild!)

B2. Communicate

Hear

Yesterday came up…bit the ass off me.

From 2002. I don't delve into Americana/No Depression type of stuff, but every once in awhile this one really scratches the itch.

**Please do not reveal artist in comments!**

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Sons of the Desert - s/t (1987, Dessert)

This coed five-some hailed from Montreal, yet could easily pass for a myriad of south of the border hopefuls. More collegiate indie guitar-pop, albeit occasionally on the saucier side, with a modest dash of twang, when the Sons opt for a lovingly looser penchant that is.  Three gents and a duo of the fairer sex comprised their ranks, and I'm not sure if it's Maureen or Naomi who bellied up to the mic, on what would appear to be Sons of the Deserts maiden (and ostensibly only voyage).  Subtle surges of organ color the proceedings, but at their most rambunctious (say, the driving "Love Slave") our protagonists bust out some splendid punky fervor.

01. Best Things

02. Slowly Building

03. Love Slave

04. Be Mine

05. Run Over by a Train

06. Light in Your Eyes

07. Legs Like Stiv

Hear

At the heart of the scene.

A left curve from 1983 that I'm sure some of their initial fanbase wasn't quick to forgive them for.

**Please do not reveal artist in comments!**

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Ping Pong - From Exile (1982, Big Mouth)

This week I ventured down a rabbit hole I never saw coming, that was until I tuned into an episode of a favorite podcast of mine.  The hole in question?  Sophistopop - a synthy substrata of mid/late '80s Top 40 pop practitioned by well-coifed, debonair European acts who tamped down ever so slightly on New Romantic affectations in exchange for a more genteel approach, often bumping up against yacht rock (i.e. adult contemporary) and downtempo R&B.  You may not have heard of the genre before, but you're certainly familiar with the bevy of groups that ran it up the charts (perhaps to your chagrin): Curiosity Killed the Cat, Johnny Hates Jazz, Breathe, Swing Out Sister, and let's not forget Double. An export of Switzerland, their lone U.S. hit, the sax-laden "Captain of Her Heart" batted a swanky run all the way to the 16th slot onto the Billboard Hot 100 circa 1986.  To be honest I had barely thought about this song since, save for it's ubiquitous afterlife as piped-in music at department stores.  Yet even if you were an ear-to-the-ground music snob binging on the likes of the Replacements and Cocteau Twins the tune (and those churned out at a rapid clip by several of the aforementioned) was generally respectable.  

Perhaps out of sheer boredom I looked Double up to get the skinny on them.  Turns out they spun-off another Zurich aggregation dubbed Ping Pong who were responsible for the 1982 album I'm sharing tonight.  As is the case with most non-phenomenon outfits pre-internet, details are scarce on this trio, but despite the group's faint footprint what they were peddling music-wise was worthy of a few spins.  Not straight up new-wavers, P/P would have blended in fairly seamlessly with the mainstream modern rock set, with frontman Kurt Maloo approximating a mild mannered hybrid of Michael Hutchinson, Mick Jagger, and even a speck of Stan Ridgeway.  Soncially on par with the likes of the Police, albeit half as innovative, white-boy reggae rhythms pepper numerous forays on From Exile.  On a more overarching basis however I find myself persuaded by the tranquil, chiming guitar fills allotted perfectly virtually wherever the needle lands here.

01. Euronet-Diane

02. Pictures

03. Mayday

04. I Want Your Love

05. Rhythm Walk

06. Willie

07. (I've Been) Waiting for You

08. Pedro

09. Crocomation

10. Joe Doe

Hear