April 28, 2006
Ace of Hearts 12 Classic 45s
various artists
label:: Ace of Hearts Records
Rick Harte, owner and producer of Boston's Ace of Hearts Records was at the birth of some of the most memorable recordings emanating from Boston's punk heyday.
Most singles that are on this compilation are jewels from the vaults of Ace of Hearts archives.Some are later Ace releases from the 1990's. On 12 Classic 45s Harte's productions are available again.
Inner City Sound
various artists
label:: Laughing Outlaw Records
Clinton Walker wrote the book Inner City Sound in 1982. It has been out of print for years, but was recently granted a new edition through Verse Chorus Press.
This 2 CD compilation was produced by Clinton Walker as a companion to the book. It includes a fold-out poster with a complex hand-drawn family tree showing the lineage and inter connectivity between the many bands which populated Australia's punk and post-punk years.
M
title:: Pop Music - The Very Best of M
label:: Music Collection International
Pop Muzik was a perfect slice of New Wave, comparable to Buggles' Video Killed the Radio Star or Thomas Dolby's She Blinded Me With Science.
Pop Music - The Very Best of M is the most complete M compilation I have seen. It is we sequenced and very thorough, even including 4 tracks from Jive Shikisha, the would-have-been fourth M record in 1984.
Kelly Polar
title:: Love Songs of the Hanging Gardens
label:: Environ Records
Kelly Polar led Kelly Polar Quartet through a handful of excellent 12inch single's on Morgan Geist's Environ Records, and he provided the classic disco styled strings on Metro Area.
This record is not a full length continuation of what Kelly Polar has done so well already, or a gathering place for all the releases he has put out so far. It is a crafted collection of vocal pop with a sound not far removed from the 80s English band China Crisis.
Tiga
title:: Sexor
label:: PIAS
After years of releasing 12 inch singles, DJ mixes and compilation appearances, Tiga finally unveils his first album, Sexor.
Fittingly, the album cover is an homage to Bryan Ferry's In Your Mind album, since Tiga also makes a career out of creating interesting covers of other tunes like Bryan Ferry did in the 70s.
Ursula 1000
title:: Here Comes Tomorrow
label:: Eighteenth Street Lounge Records
Ursula 1000's (Alex Gimeno) latest album, Here Comes Tomorrow is a variety filled, so-so album that sounds like it could have been recorded 6 years ago.
Not much has changed in the Ursula 1000 sound besides a few added genres of music that are tackled here. It's a fun sounding album, but doesn't sound wholly inspired.