The Stranglers - No More Heroes (1977)

I figured I'd upload an album that's somewhat relevant considering our
current post-election euphoria. This the Stranglers' most popular album, and
while it's faster and more aggressive than their debut album, /Rattus
Norvegicus/, it's hardly punk-rock. It's not even particularly edgy but a
fairly poppy affair, mostly because of the new-wavish synth sounds that are
plastered all over this record. That doesn't mean it's a poor album, far from
it, but a lot of people are disappointed when they first hear it after having
seen it mentioned in nearly all "definitive guides" on punk, but that really
has more to do with the time and place they came to fame than anything else.
What did set them apart from other punk acts of the time were the rather
clever and humoresque lyrics, which admittedly sound a bit dated now.

 

Mission of Burma - Onoffon (2004)

This wasn't supposed to happen. After breaking up in 1983, Mission of Burma
spent almost 20 years as the band who went away before they could get stale,
run out of ideas, or lose their edge, but they weren't supposed to come back.
No one figured them to re-emerge on-stage in 2002 for a series of reunion
shows in which they would not only sound as strong as ever (if not stronger),
but reaffirm themselves as one of America's great rock bands, an ensemble of
uncommon intelligence, imagination, and force. But most startling of all, few
could have guessed that Mission of Burma would return to the recording studio
and emerge with an album that stands comfortably beside the striking recorded
legacy they left behind in their earlier incarnation.

Olivia Tremor Control - Dusk at Cubist Castle (1996)

The world will never know just how many potentially great pop albums have
been lost to misguided attempts at innovation. Though the implementation of
unexpected song structures and ostensibly experimental sounds can make music
quite a bit more interesting, it can also render it sterile, flat and
emotionless. In many cases, the finest pop songs are those that transcend
their form entirely-- songs so instinctually graceful that listening to them
feels like a creative act in and of itself. Indeed, the best pop songs are
often the most difficult to discuss rationally, those indispensable not for
their formal inventiveness but for their ability to tap directly into the
intangible realm of human memory and emotion.

Birddog - A Sweet and Bitter Fancy (2001)

Singer-songwriter *Bill Santen* (aka Birddog) doesn't pull any punches on his
third album, /A Sweet and Bitter Fancy/, which includes guest performances by
*Elliott Smith* and *Edith Frost*. Elliott Smith plays drums, piano, and bass
on "Third and South," a jangly, Beatles-esque lo-fi pop song worthy of
Smith's involvement. Edith Frost delivers the backing vocals for
"Rattlesnakes," a country-tingled number sure to get you sipping a few beers
while you sit and take it all in.

The rest of the album is a cocktail of lo-fi, whispery pop, back porch
country, and jangly, layered pop songs, at times intertwining country or
southern influences, while other times relying solely on AM radio pop as the
inspiration.

Animal Collective - Sung Tongs (2004)

On /Sung Tongs/, their first record distributed by /FatCat/, the two-man
*Animal Collective* come on like sun-scorched acid eaters gathered around the
campfire, strumming and grinning while they weave their material out of
cyclical singalongs and tight harmonies. Surprisingly, both for fans as well
as new additions, that marks a much more accessible sound for a group that
had previously probed the outer limits of prog and psychedelia. (Still, back
to basics is the right place for a collective that released three albums in
2003.) Immediately called to mind here are the *Holy Modal Rounders* and, to
a lesser extent, the *Incredible String Band*.

Spacemen 3 - The Perfect Prescription (1987)

Drawing together some earlier material and a slew of new songs, Spacemen 3
tied everything together on the brilliant /Perfect Prescription/, the clear
point of departure from tribute to psych inspirations and finding its own
unique voice. Planned as a concept album, /Perfect Prescription/ works where
so many other similar efforts failed due to the strength of the individual
songs, as well as the smart focus of the concept in question -- a vision of a
drug trip from inception to its blasted conclusion, highs and lows fully
intact. The bookending of the album makes that much clear -- "Take Me to the
Other Side" is a brash, exultant charge into the joys of the experience, a
sharp, tight performance. "Call the Doctor," meanwhile, is a
pretty-but-wounded conclusion, husky singing and a drowsy mood detailing the
final collapse. The many highlights in between beginning and end are so
striking that the album is practically a best-of in all but name.

Dogbowl - Cyclops Nuclear Submarine Captain (1991)

Dogbowl is *Stephen Tunney* and mostly known for being a founding member of
*King Missile* (whom he had left before they got heavy college radio airplay
for a couple of novelty songs). That's a bit of a shame, because he's
released more albums than King Missile ever did, and they're quite a bit
better. Unfortunately for him, few people have ever heard of his solo
material, and the majority of those that do only know him as another artist
on *Kramer*'s /Shimmy Disc/ label.

Coil - Love's Secret Domain (1992)

Coil’s third album differs greatly from what they did before. Pulling
more into an IDM-direction before IDM existed instead of their previous more
industrial influenced style. Trying to push the envelope as far as possible.
Jhonn Balance actually collapsed after the recording sessions. Unable to
remember who he was.

Cloud Cult - Advice from the Happy Hippopotamus (2005)

Wonderful album by Minnessota's Cloud Cult, which did extraordinarily well
for an independently released album in 2005. Praised by Pitchfork and Pop
Matters, it came out of nowhere to become one of the most played albums on
college radio. So while this hardly qualifies them for "obscure indie", it's
such a brilliant album that I'm not going to hold their relative success
against them. Utterly creative from start to finish, Advice from the
Hippopotamus just makes you sit up and listen, no matter what you might be
doing at the time. Their live shows are also highly recommended, maybe you'll
get a good deal on one of the live paintings they create during the show.

The Astronauts - Peter Pan Hits The Suburbs (1981)

Inspired by the UK punk explosion, Mark Astronaut formed the band with a few
friends in 1977 and began playing local gigs in their hometown of Welwyn
Garden City. By 1979 *The Astronauts* were regularly appearing at free
festivals and gigs in London organised by a hippy collective known as /Fuck
Off Records/ and from these began a close friendship with London punk bands
*Zounds *and *the Mob*. That year the first Astronauts EP was released on
local label /Bugle Records/ and musically it reflected the hippie drug
culture combined with the energy of punk. '/All Night Party/' still sounds
like the paranoid nightmare it did back then. The record established the
Astronauts on the local gig scene among the non mainstram hippie/punk/biker
crowd. Also in 1979 an ep was released under the assumed name of /Restricted
Hours/ on the /Stevenage Rock Against Racism/ label.