An Ideal For Living 1 (compilation)

I'm sure you could probably guess what the title of this 1993 German compilation comes from. It was compiled by a Klaus Wiethölter, released on Gothic Arts Records, and apparently, only 1000 copies were printed. There was also a part 2 that I still need to find.

Welle:Erdball are probably the only really popular group on here. You post-punk aficionados might recognize The Caves though. Some of the bands here are just on this compilation or a few other compilations, and that's it. Others I've been trying to get my hands on their one and only album (like Ice Age). There's a few others too with more material out there... somewhere over a rainbow...

Anyway, you'll find some post-punk gothic songs on here (some with vocal pastiches to the likes of Andy, Ian, and Fat Bob), while others are are more synth-driven darkwave, fairly reflective of the distinctive 90's German take of the genre. I think the Permanent Confusion song might have a minimal wave quality to it. There's also a good bunch of pulsating EBM with harsh vocals that may appeal to you Skinny Puppy or Front Line Assembly fans (currently in love with The Orphobia track).

1. Static Threshold - "Five Hours"
2. The Permanent Confusion - "1984"
3. Welle:Erdball - "Sinnlos"
4. The Caves - "Darkness"
5. The Orphobia - "When God Cries"
6. Psycho Surgery - "The World is Black"
7. Flowers Can Burn - "Out of the Deep"
8. Crepusculum Terrae -"50 Years Remain"
9. PP? - "Rostock (An Antifascist Song)"
10. The Hall of Souls - "Leviathan"
11. Rue Du Mort - "Nathaly"
12. LPF 12 - "Darkness"
13. Ice Age - "A Nighttale"
14. The Psychic Force - "Twilight Zone (Mystic Mix)
15. After the Rain - "Zynical Reason"

damn, that was a pain in the buttocks to find some of those Myspace links!
erm, anyway, here you go

Discogs: http://www.discogs.com/Various-An-Ideal-For-Living/release/699145

The Grinning Plowman - Nothing Is Ever What It Is

Here's a goth band from Nashville, Tennessee. Signed on Carlyle Records, The Grinning Plowman had two other releases prior to this one, Days of Deformity and I Play Jupiter, as well as a single of "Radioator" (from I Play Jupiter). Overall, in the general sense of their work, this band really touches on a lot of areas, sometimes brooding and dark ("Cripple" <3), others energetically chaotic, and at times even danceable. Some of their songs are straight up gothic post-punk, some with a deathrock pastiche, and others that lean more on darkwave. Plenty of great tunes here, my personal favorite song on this album is "Orange Room".

1. "Secret Sugar Frosting"
2. "Nancy's Relish Tray Demonstration"
3. "Hula"
4. "Mainframe"
5. "Pewter Surf"
6. "Functional Design"
7. "Monkey Speed Drome"
8. "Orange Room"
9. "Fool"
10. "The Wonders of Linoleum"
11. "Telemythos"
12. "Synthetic Flux"

"And then your head blows up over and over!"

Myspace fanpage: http://www.myspace.com/thegrinningplowman

Screwtractor - Eye

(oooh feeling big heartache at the moment, gahhhh ;_; )

Erm, anyway, here's another "haaaaayy, this ain't post-punk, ya punk"-post or whatever. Still, call me crazy - but I think you can hear some subtle goth influences around here and there. In like one or two songs. Maybe.

Screwtractor is a Cleveland, Ohio hard rock band. I dunno how to describe 'em... it seems they are usually classified among industrial rock and metal... but eh, I dunno. A bit of a grungy-era production sound too, I think-- it was a '93 record after all (on Gravel Records). I say, at the risk of getting jumped and mauled, the singer sometimes pulls off this whole crooning gothy-ish voice too.

Not really too sure who to compare 'em to. Like, I feel like they have some slight Young Gods approach in "Crusader", but that's probably just me being crazy. Someone on their Myspace also describes 'em to be comparable to Faith No More (hmm, I dunno) and Clay People.
Anyway, I quite like this, so I hope you will too.

1. "Throb"
2. "Cowboy Spit"
3. "Afterlife"
4. "Stupid Humans"
5. "Crusader"
6. "Twitch"

Here, has yourself a listen!

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/screwtractor

Fahrenheit 451 - The Gothic Years and After

More east-side stuff! Fahrenheit 451 is an '84-born New Jersey goth band. They had some gigs at CBGBs and the likes in New York, and opened for acts such as Specimen, Wolfgang Press, Gene Loves Jezebel, White Zombie, and The Ramones. They broke up in '87, but reunited in '96 to record two covers, including one with Christian Death/Super Heroine's Eva O.

These guys are pretty awesome, their songs move with a danceable, almost deathrock-pulse, Athan Maroulis has a pretty nice singing voice. To my knowledge, I think this is pretty much all their songs put on here, actually. The first four tracks can be found on their House of Morals EP. The last four tracks are stuff from the members other bands, which are pretty good stuff too!

Good chances are that they named themselves after that one Ray Bradbury book you read in high school. =P According to the CD's back, only 2000 copies exist. It's not too difficult to fetch though, I got this for like 2 bucks. A portion of that other 1999 is floating around on your favorite online shops.
Had a few requests from some buddies on this. Do enjoy!

1. "Strangers on a Train"
2. "Cathedral in Ice"
3. "Passions"
4. "Flowers Melt Away"
5. "House of Morals"
6. "Children"
7. "Danielle"
8. "Zombies"
9. "Black Dahlia" (original 1985 demo)
10. "Strangers on a Train" (original 1985 demo)
11. "Wasteland" (The Mission UK cover)
12. "The Three Shadows (Part II) w/ Eva O (Bauhaus cover)
13. Executive Slacks - "Salome"
14. Tubalcain - "Carbon Black"
15. The Lucifer Scale - "I Am Nothing"
16. Spahn Ranch - "Antibody" ('96 remix)

Burrn baby burrrn, disco inferrno!

Skinner Box - The Imaginary Heart Of...

Julianna Towns is probably best known for her contribution to Black Tape for a Blue Girl. She was also a member (guitar) of the punk band, Peace Corpse.

This is one of her solo albums... it's a rather magnificent darkwave-ish record, leaning a bit on dark cabaret noir and neo-classical, I think, and includes a pretty cover of "United" by Throbbing Gristle. And "The Long Gun" is, well, a long song! xD
I think it was released in 1990 and recorded in the Sound Factory, Tucson.

Sorry it ain't all crystal clear, it popped lots. >_>

You can also grab the self-titled at Phoenix Hairpins. I was gonna post that one myself eventually too, but there it is anyway! 8)

1. "She Drapes the Sky"
2. "The Long Gun"
3. "Sweet Release"
4. "Murder in Columbia"
5. "Pictures"
6. "Sibyl Vane"
7. "March for Ezzelin"
8. "The Imaginary Heart Of"
9. "United" (Throbbing Gristle cover)
10. "Mother Fair"

Click for positive reinforcement
(images from eBay finds)

some informative webpage: http://www.empty.de/SkinnerBox.htm

Beautiful Pea Green Boat - Still Life

Beautiful Pea Green Boat is an English (I think) darkwave band, not sure when they formed exactly, but according to Discogs, their first release was in '84.

l think this here is a bit of like a Best Of collection or something, maybe, but it's not entirely a complete collection. Everything from their Obsessions album is on here and more - but a couple of the songs sound way different than their counterparts. Some of the songs have been cut much shorter and remixed, like "The Powerhouse" and "The Screw" (I personally like the Obsessions mix better of this song). Fantod Under Glass has Obsessions, so check it out.

Anyway, highly recommended. I'm not entirely sure who or what to compare them to (though this should appeal to fans of early Dead Can Dance, Cocteau Twins, Clan of Xymox, and the likes), it's a just a very spectacular darkwave album.
Wonderful lyrics with a beautiful blend of tribal drumming and atmospheric, sometimes beat-driven synths guiding you through dreamy melancholies. "Mirror of Souls" is my particular favorite, I just love the way the singer goes on crying "So cold, he shook!" towards the end of the song.

Vocalist Heather Wright formed Doris after leaving BPGB.

1. "The Powerhouse"
2. "Hammers of Islam"
3. "Too Much"
4. "When Dreams Move In"
5. "The Vase"
6. "Among the Ruins"
7. "Paper House"
8. "Danielle"
9. "Mirror of Souls"
10. "The Screw"
11. "Nostalgia"
12. "And She Laughed Too"

So colllld, he shoooook!

Discogs: http://www.discogs.com/artist/Beautiful+Pea+Green+Boat

The Colour - Demo

The Colour was a 2002 indie rock/pop band. At least at this early stage of their career before they made their only full length album (which I personally feel somehow had more of a resemblance to like, Cold War Kids and Hard-Fi in some regards), their earlier material here reminds me of dancy post-punk revival bands like The Strokes, The Rapture, Radio 4, and whatnot. May not appeal to all of you regardless, but still.

Some buddies online had been asking who the artist to "Clapham Junction" was (as we didn't know the song title either), and it took me mooooonths to finally figure it out. It was a catchy song, and the vocalist sounded almost like an incoherently mumbling Robert Smith, which made the lyrics quite difficult to figure out (singer kinda loses that voice later on).
This was really-really hard to find! I think this was up for download on their website in early 2004, which I think is where these files originally came from. "Little Wren" was apparently kind of a popular song for them as well, I think. Anyway, I had some requests for this, so without further ado, enjoy!

1. "Out & About"
2. "Clapham Junction"
3. "Little Wren"

=D

Myspace fan page: www.myspace.com/thecolourfans
Archive of Official: http://web.archive.org/web/*/www.thecolour.tv