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.

MARTHA DAVIS and THE MOTELS - New Releases

Martha Davis of the classic new wave pop band The Motels has launched three brand new albums, marking the first release of new material under the Motels moniker since 1985's Shock.

The new Motels LP, This, in addition to a new solo release called Beautiful Life and a collection of revamped Motels favorites called Clean, Modern and Reasonable, are currently available for digital download at the official Motels site.

This features the classic Motels sound brought up to date, with lots of catchy, upbeat tunes including Where Oh Where, Last of the Bohemians and The Day That Won't Go Away.

Beautiful Life is a darker, more personal affair, filled with songs about loss and loneliness. It is beautiful and painfully sad at the same time, and works best when listened to all the way through. Highlights include Watching the World Go By, the title track, Let Me Fall and 4:30 Friday, which best convey the cathartic, deeply emotional nature of the album.

Throughout these releases, Martha's voice is as affecting as ever. In fact, time has brought her an even greater range. She jumps from a convicting rasp to a fragile cry with ease.

Check out some of the new songs on both Martha's and The Motels' official MySpace pages:

- The Motels on MySpace
- Martha Davis on MySpace