Blackouts - History in Reverse: 1979-1984 (2004)

Seattle’s Blackouts played straight-up post-punk. Influenced by contemporaries such as Killing Joke, Virgin Prunes, and Public Image Ltd, they managed to create a sound of their own that holds up well over the years. At the end of their short-lived career, bassist Paul Barker and drummer Bill Rieflin left the band to join Al Jourgensen in Ministry, helping the band transition from darkwave synth-pop to a more aggressive industrial sound on The Land of Rape and Honey.

Before the split, Blackouts put out a string of terrific 7” singles from 1979 through 1984. Because the band never formally released any albums, K Records put together a comprehensive collection of their entire recorded catalog some 20 years after their demise. Though this only consists of 15 songs, the outstanding quality of musicianship consistent among all of them is fairly impressive. History in Reverse plays, appropriately enough, chronologically backwards, starting with their last 1984 recording of “Happy Hunting Ground” and ending with 1979’s “Make No Mistake,” their first venture into a studio. The advantage of this track order is that the listener eases into a more polished sound, later followed by rougher, less accessible numbers. One particular highlight is “It’s Clay Again,” a track that could have easily popped up on the Cure’s Pornography.

Streamable Track: "It's Clay Again"


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The Church - Sometime Anywhere (1994)

The Church established themselves several decades back as an Australian band with a unique sound, blending together dark, moody post-punk that was just shy of gothic and atmospheric, textured jangle pop. Though favorably grouped alongside bands such as Echo & the Bunnymen and the Psychedelic Furs, the Church never matched their fame outside of their 1988 breakaway hit single, “Under the Milky Way.” Be that as it may, they released truly brilliant albums including Heyday and Starfish.

On Sometime Anywhere, the band explores electronic and world music styles not previously familiar to them. Sometimes it works, other times not so much. The insistent “Angelica” sounds like a great, misplaced Primal Scream track, while songs like “Day of the Dead” and “Loveblind” present the Church in welcome, well-known territory. Unfortunately, those three songs are pretty much the only stand-outs from the thirteen on the album.

The rest, not unlike the album cover itself, seem like disparate pieces forced together, cluttered and disconnected from those around them and ranging from dull to puzzling. Part of the blame could be placed on the absence of two members from the original line-up, guitarist Peter Koppes and drummer Richard Ploog. The remaining duo, frontman Steve Kilbey and second guitarist Marty Willson-Piper, try their best to compensate for the loss. The largest frustration is not that most of the album disappoints, but rather that the few enjoyable tracks show they still have significant talent but aren’t harnessing it as best they could be.

Streamable Track: "Angelica"


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