Interview

interviewtheband.com

Interview were a British band formed in 1977 in Bath, releasing two LPs and a handful of singles during their existence. They debuted in 1979 with Big Oceans, in my opinion a decent but somewhat forgettable album of pub rock (though the single, "You Didn't Have to Lie to Me," is catchy enough). Their 1980 sophomore effort, Snakes and Lovers, is much more compelling and is solid enough to be considered a lost classic. The LP finds a balance between catchy, melodic power pop and thoughtful, more adventurous rock that gives it a truly unique character.


Snakes and Lovers kicks off with "Hide and Seek," which would simply be a bouncy pop number if it weren't for its curious lyrics that, according to vocalist Jeff Starrs in an interview on seedyroad.com, are "about a guy who wonders whether or not he's killed all his girlfriends." The other most accessible tracks on the record are "It's Over Now," a breezy 60s-pop inspired gem that really should have been released as a single, and the peppy "To the People." In a recollection on interviewtheband.com, guitarist Alan Brain reflects, "The single Virgin chose to release from Snakes and Lovers was "Hide and Seek," which I felt was one of our weaker songs and I'm convinced that "It's Over Now" would have been the better choice. But then again, I've always been a sucker for the catchy, 3 minute pop song."

Other songs on the LP find the band taking a more atmospheric, abstract approach, such as the anthemic, hopeful "Adventurers," the powerful melodicism of "Crossing Borders," and "Style on Seaview," which can best be described as sounding like being in a dream. These songs represent pop music at its most intelligent and poignant. Also worth noting is Starrs' vocal delivery, which is no doubt one of the most emotive of its time and is instrumental in conveying the power of the material.

All of this adds up to make Snakes and Lovers a genuinely special, one of a kind record that was criminally ignored upon its release, thanks to a lack of marketing and support from the band's label, Virgin.


Although Interview's music still has not officially been reissued on CD, in recent years band members have put the albums to disc on their own and are currently marketing them through their Web site. In a comment on the music site PVAc to 44.1 kHz, Starrs explained, "We didn't make any money with Interview as Virgin were a very tough company to deal with but alot of people have enjoyed the albums over the years, it seems, and we're at least trying to make a few quids on our creations."

The band's site also includes samples of tracks from both Big Oceans and Snakes and Lovers.

For more information:
- Review and discography of Interview records plus an interview with vocalist Jeff Starrs
- "Great Lost Albums" review of Snakes and Lovers

Lolita Pop: Sweden's best kept pop secret

It’s usually not clear why an excellent band fails to achieve widespread recognition. It could be a lack of promotion, bad timing, or probably most often combination of factors. Swedish band Lolita Pop is a prime example of a truly special group that for whatever reason couldn’t break into the American market during their existence from 1979 to 1990 and still remain virtually unknown outside their home country.

Lolita Pop formed in Örebro, Sweden in 1979 with vocalist Karin Wistrand, guitarists Sten Booberg and Benkt Smith, bassist Thomas Johansson, drummer Peter Olsen and tenor saxophonist Per Eriksson. The band began as a post-punk/new wave outfit driven by their love of New York punk a la Patti Smith and Television, releasing their first album, Falska bilder, in 1982. It was a much darker, heavier affair than upbeat power pop they would come to be best known for a few years later, but two very important elements of the unit’s sound came through early on: the exuberant, slightly husky vocals of Wistrand and the hard-hitting guitar work of Booberg and Smith.


The band’s early days produced three additional Swedish LPs – Fem söker en skatt, Irrfärder, Att ha fritidsbåt – as well as their debut, self-titled English language release in 1984. For this release, they reworked some of the material from earlier, Swedish records into English. 1985 single “2000 år,” nicely summarizes the band's early sound:



After finding success in their home country, the band signed an American deal with Virgin and released their second English-language LP, once again titled simply Lolita Pop, in 1987. Despite a U.S. tour and a record full of incredibly catchy pop, the band never found a sizable American audience. Listening to the record more than 20 years after its release, it’s downright puzzling that infectious material such as “Mess of Machinery,” “Bang Your Head” and “Mind Your Eye” didn’t make a bigger dent in the States, as it’s arguably as good as anything else on the pop charts at the time.



Nevertheless, the band continued to score chart success in Sweden and reappeared in 1989 with Love Poison. Although this LP was also sung in English, this time there was no American promotional push, and the band’s biggest Swedish hit - the fantastic “Tarzan on a Big Red Scooter" - was mostly confined to their home country.



Love Poison was arguably Lolita Pop’s finest moment, full of hooky, guitar-driven pop and Wistrand’s best vocal delivery to date. The record gave the band another Swedish hit via the beautiful “Hey Winner,” and also featured an outstanding take on Magazine's biting post-punk anthem, "Song from Under the Floorboards."


Now recording exclusively in English, the band released what would be their final studio album, Blumenkraft, in 1990. The record featured many highlights, including the melodic single “Here She Comes” and the singalong power pop of “Live Forever,” “Wingbeats of the Night” and “Pay the Piper,” but it also contained more filler than most other Lolita Pop releases and overall didn’t receive a positive critical response. The band split soon after.



Since the break up, the band have reportedly played occasional one-off gigs, and Wistrand is currently involved in Jeremias Session Band. During their time, Lolita Pop might not have received the international attention they deserved, but with any luck intrepid new wave and power pop fans will begin discovering the band's music, no doubt some of the finest forgotten pop of its time.

Here are two of the band's albums - their 1981 debut, Falska Bilder (in Swedish) and their 1987 self-titled English LP.

Lolita Pop - Falska Bilder (1981)

Lolita Pop - self-titled LP (1987)

Lolita Pop lineup:

Founding members:
Karin Wistrand, vocals
Sten Booberg, guitar
Benkt Smith, guitar
Thomas Johansson, bass
Per Eriksson, tenor sax
Peter Olsen, drums
Other members:
Henrik Melin, Bass (1987)
Christer Björklund, drums

Lolita Pop discography:

Falska bilder (1982 –Swedish)
Fem söker en skatt (1983 – Swedish)
Irrfärder (1983 – Swedish)
Lolita Pop (1984 – first English language release)
Att ha fritidsbåt (1985 – Swedish)
Lolita Pop (1987 – second English language release, different than self-titled 1984 album)
Love Poison (1989 - English)
Blumenkraft (1990 – English, the band’s final LP)
Regn av dagar 1982-1990 (1993 – “best of” compilation)
Klassiker (2008 – 2 disc “best of” compilation)

Expressos - Unreleased tracks

A while ago I did a post on the brilliance of short-lived British power pop group the Expressos and their sole record, 1981's Promises and Ties. Fronted by the charming Rozzi Rayner, the band sounded sort of like a cross between early Blondie and the Pretenders, and even though much of their material was just as memorable and appealing as that of those bands, they're sadly remembered by few.

Although they broke up before they could follow-up Promises and Ties, they recorded some additional tracks that have never been heard - until now! Thanks to the wonders of YouTube, some unreleased tracks have surfaced:

"The Hurt" aka "Hurt in Your Eyes" - This was to be the band's final single, and it's a shame it never got released because it's a stunner. It has a much more serious mood than anything on the band's LP and a flawless vocal from Rozzi.



"Rehearsals in Hollywood" - The song that would have accompanied "The Hurt" if it had made it out as a single.



"Johnnie B Bad" - Total 60s girl-group, sounding kind of like "Da Doo Run Run."



"Three Rs" - More pure 60s girl-group.



"He's Got Something" - A cover of the classic Dusty Springfield tune.



"Crazy Sneakers" - Very representative of the late-70s power pop sound, reportedly coming from a session produced by none other than Nick Lowe!

The Numbers

In the early 1980s, Australia was home to a host of excellent pop and new wave bands such as The Reels, The Dugites, Eurogliders, and Flaming Hands, and Sydney’s The Numbers were no doubt one of the finest. The band went through many lineup changes in their existence from 1978 to 1984, but the one constant was brother and sister duo Chris and Annalisse Morrow. Throughout the group’s existence, Chris shined as a talented songwriter and guitarist, while Annalisse was a strong bassist and gave the material a distinct personality with her hard-edged, commanding vocals.

The group’s first release was a 3-track EP, Govt. Boy, in 1979, which took a louder, faster and overall more punk approach than what was to come. At this point, Chris was the focal point of the band, singing lead on two of the three tracks on the EP. By the time the band signed to the Deluxe label that same year, they had begun moving in a more accessible power pop direction, a shift evident on their first single for the label, 1980’s “The Modern Song.” Along with the cleaner sound came a decision to put Annalisse at the forefront. In a 2008 Mess+Noise interview, Annalisse explained of the decision, “You’re young and you’re taking advice from other people. And by that stage we were with a major label and we had a manager and we were with an agency and those people have a very large influence on how you think, because you’re taking advice from people you believe have the experience. And also personally I always thought I was a much better singer than I was a bass player.” This change in direction proved successful for the band, with the single cracking the Australian Top 50 and the band scoring an appearance on the TV show Countdown. Their next single, “Five Letter Word,” was another national radio hit and brought them further into the spotlight.

Once the band released their debut, self-titled LP in late 1980, they seemed poise to break out internationally. “The feeling I got then was the record company’s expectation was we were going to go absolutely ballistic,” explained Chris in the same Mess+Noise interview. “We were going to go from suburban Thornleigh to Madison Square Garden, we were going to be amazingly huge.” While the debut record included highlights in the form of the previous singles and select album tracks such as the melodic “I Don’t Know” (which found Chris back on lead vocals) and the punky “Hello,” third single “Mr. President” failed to chart and the album - while regionally successful - didn’t break the band as expected.

After a series of lineup changes, the band issued a new single, “Jericho,” and returned to the studio to record their sophomore release, 1982’s 39-51. Armed with more memorable songs and more confident vocals from Annalisse, things looked promising for The Numbers. The album's singles “Big Beat” and “Dreams From Yesterday” as well as standout album tracks such as “Day to Day,” “Blacktown” and “Dancer” sounded a bit like a rougher-around-the edges version of The Go-Go’s and deserved widespread chart success. Unfortunately, by this point interest in the band had waned and the record went largely unnoticed.

After two albums and years of hard work on the road and in the studio with little commercial success to show for it, The Numbers soon called it quits. It wasn’t until the early 1990s that Chris and Annalisse released more music together, this time as Maybe Dolls. While this incarnation of the band gave the duo their biggest success to date in the form of the catchy pop singles “Nervous Kid” and “Cool Jesus,” the band once again faced record label difficulties, grew disillusioned, and a recorded second album was never released.

The Numbers and the Maybe Dolls never achieved international commercial success, but they created a canon of strong power pop songs worth discovering. In 2007, Australian label Aztec Music brought the band to attention once again by releasing a compilation of Numbers material, including highlights from both EPs, rare B-sides and the complete Government Boy EP. The disc is titled Numerology 1979-1982 and is available via the label’s site. In addition, the Blue Pie label recently released the band’s output digitally, and it can be downloaded on Amazon MP3 and iTunes (but beware, many of the tracks are mislabeled in these releases).

The Numbers band members:

Annalisse Morrow - Bass, Vocals
Chris Morrow - Guitar, Vocals
Simon Vidale - Drums
Graham Bidstrup - Drums
John Bliss - Drums
Craig Bloxom - Bass
Russell Handley - Keyboard, Guitar
Marty Newcombe - Drums
Collin Newham - Keyboard, Bass
Marcus Phelan - Guitar
Garry Roberts - Bass

The Numbers discography:

- Govt. Boy (EP, 1979): Government Boy, Private Eyes, Guerilla

- The Modern Song (single, 1980): The Modern Song, Take Me Away

- Five Letter Word (single, 1980): Five Letter Word, Alone

- The Numbers (self-titled LP, 1980): Five Letter Word, I Don’t Know, Mr. President, Hello, When I Get Older, The Modern Song, Partys, Talk to Me, OK, Teenage Wonderland, Wind

- Mr. President (single, 1981): Mr. President, Private Eyes, Guerilla

- Jericho (single, 1981): Jericho (original version), Turn Back (original version)

- 39-51 (LP, 1982): Big Beat, Secrets, Day to Day, Somedays, Again, Dreams from Yesterday, Blacktown, Dancer, Turn Back, Telephone, Jericho

- Big Beat (single, 1982): Big Beat, Telephone

- Dreams From Yesterday (single, 1982): Dreams From Yesterday, Again

- Numerology: 1979-1982 (compilation CD, 2007): The Modern Song, Five Letter Word, Mr. President, Jericho, Big Beat, Turn Back, Dreams From Yesterday, Alone, Partys, Dancer, Secrets, Day to Day, Again, Take Me Away, Blacktown, When I Get Older, Hello, Govt. Boy, Private Eyes, Guerilla

Links:

- The Numbers on MySpace

- 2008 Sydney Morning Herald interview with Annalisse Morrow

- 2008 Mess+Noise interview with Chris and Annalisse Morrow

- Maybe Dolls promo video for "Nervous Kid"

Pearl Harbor & the Explosions - Live in Oakland, 8/24/79

Head over to Wolfgang's Vault to hear a great show from short-lived San Francisco new wave act Pearl Harbor & the Explosions recorded at the Oakland Auditorium on August 24, 1979. Best remembered for their single "Drivin'," the Explosions blended guitar driven, jerky new wave with rockabilly and power pop, all carried by the unmistakable vocals and presence of singer Pearl E. Gates (also known as Pearl Harbor).

The band released only one album, an eponymous effort from 1980, before Harbor embarked on a solo career with 1981's Don't Follow Me, I'm Lost Too (1981), Pearls Galore! (1984) and Here Comes Trouble (1995).

This particular performance includes all nine tracks from the sole LP, most notably the infectious "Drivin'," the effervescent power pop gem "You Got It (Release It)" and the frantic fun of "Shut Up and Dance." The band also plays some covers, including Nick Lowe's "Let's Eat," "Black Slacks" by The Sparkletones and "I Can Feel the Fire" by Ron Wood. Throw in a couple originals that didn't make the album, and you have a set that gives you a better idea of what the band was all about than what was released on record.

Listen here

Tracks:
1 - Let's Eat
2 - Up and Over
3 - Don't Come Back
4 - Stop Me
5 - Black Slacks
6 - So Much for Love
7 - Nerves
8 - Keep Going
9 - (Get a) Grip (On Yourself)
10 - Drivin'
11 - The Big One
12 - Shut Up and Dance
13 - You Got It (Release It)
14 - I Can Feel the Fire

THE DB'S - 'The Sound of Music' now available digitally

The classic 1987 dB's album, "The Sound of Music," is now available again after years being out of print.

The album is the band's fourth, and second after the departure of integral member Chris Stamey. In Stamey's absence, singer-songwriter Peter Holsapple kept the band going strong, creating an album full of straightforward, thoroughly enjoyable jangle rock. The LP features some of the band's finest songs in the form of rollicking and melodic power pop cuts such as "Change With the Changing Times," "Molly Says" and "Sharon."

You can purchase the album for download via Amazon MP3 and iTunes.

Keep an eye out for a brand new dB's record (featuring both Stamey and Holsapple) tentatively scheduled for release this fall.

THE MOTELS - 'Shock' demos

Head over to the New Wave Outpost message board to grab three rare demos from The Motels, recorded during the sessions for their 1985 album, "Shock."

The songs, "Ice House," "I'm a Liar" and "Midnight Nightingale," are strong enough to have been included on the LP, but for some reason were left off. "Ice House," in particular, is a great slice of upbeat new wave/power pop with a memorable melody and standout vocals by Martha Davis.

"Shock" was the final LP from the original band. Davis released a new Motels album, "This," with a new backing band in 2008.