GRANDADDY Complex Party Come Along Theories 1994

 

Discogs

 

Artist Biography by Jason Ankeny

Rising from indie obscurity in the mid-'90s, West Coast combo Grandaddy earned international acclaim with the exploratory space pop of their breakout albums Under the Western Freeway (1997) and Sophtware Slump (2000). Under the leadership of frontman Jason Lytle, the group maintained their success throughout the first part of the 2000s, then disbanded in 2006 as Lytle pursued several solo projects. In 2012, Grandaddy reunited for a series of tours, eventually easing their way back into the studio to record their 2017 comeback album Last Place.

Grandaddy were formed in 1992 in Modesto, California by singer/guitarist/keyboardist Lytle, bassist Kevin Garcia, and drummer Aaron Burtch. Although a noisy, lo-fi approach characterized early recordings like 1994's Complex Party Come Along Theories, the addition of guitarist Jim Fairchild and keyboardist Tim Dryden in 1995 expanded the band's sound exponentially, fueling such subsequent efforts as the unreleased Don't Sock the Tryer and the 1996 EP A Pretty Mess by This One Band. Originally issued on indie label Will Records, 1997's acclaimed full-length Under the Western Freeway proved to be Grandaddy's creative breakthrough, and the following year the album was reissued on major-label V2, with "Summer Here Kids" earning Single of the Week honors in the pages of the NME.

The Broken Down Comforter Collection, a compilation of singles tracks, preceded the 1999 Signal to Snow Ratio EP, which heralded a movement toward the vintage electronic textures further in evidence on 2000's superb Sophtware Slump. In 2002, the group released another odds-n-sods collection, Concrete Dunes, which paved the way for a busy 2003. That spring, Grandaddy released the Floating Debris EP as well as their fourth full-length, Sumday, and spent the rest of the year touring, making appearances at festivals such as Glastonbury. In 2005, they resurfaced with the Excerpts from the Diary of Todd Zilla EP, and a full-length album (Just Like the Fambly Cat) followed in 2006. The latter release was essentially a solo project for frontman Jason Lytle, however, as the group disbanded during the recording process.

Lytle subsequently relocated from California to Montana. He reemerged in 2009 with his first proper solo release, Yours Truly, The Commuter, on Anti-. After releasing an album of improvised piano pieces titled Merry X-Mas 2009 at the end of the year, Lytle's next move was to form Admiral Radley with former Grandaddy bandmate Burtch, plus Aaron Espinoza and Ariana Murray of Earlimart. Their first album, I Heart California, was released on Espinoza's the Ship label in July of 2010. Lytle next returned to his own songs and began recording his second album. Meanwhile, he was recruited by Fairchild to put Grandaddy back together for some 2012 festival appearances. The group played the U.K.'s End of the Road Festival, San Francisco's Outside Lands, and Paris' Rock en Seine Festival, as well as some warmup dates. Plans for an album were kicked around, but before that could happen, Lytle released Dept. of Disappearance in October of 2012, again for Anti-.

In the summer of 2016, during another reunion tour that featured an old-school lineup of Burtch, Dryden, Fairchild, and Garcia alongside Lytle, it was confirmed that Grandaddy's fifth studio record was indeed in the pipeline. The band signed to Brian "Danger Mouse" Burton's 30th Century Records label and released Last Place in March of 2017. Despite getting the band back together for live shows, the album was written and performed by Lytle only, with just a bit of drumming from Burtch. Bassist Kevin Garcia died following a stroke in May 2017; he was 41 years old. Following his death, Grandaddy canceled all remaining tour dates and stayed dormant until the release of the song "Bison on the Plains" in late 2018. In 2020, the group celebrated the 20th anniversary of their landmark album, The Sophtware Slump, with a deluxe four-LP reissue that included a new reworking of the entire album played by Lytle on solo piano.

 

Tracklist

1	Away Birdies W/ Special Sounds
2	Taster
3	Nebraska
4	Could This Be Love
5	Flairless
6	Kim, You Bore Me To Death
7	Egg Hit And Jack Too
8	Call Girl Call
9	Black Bats
10	Michael Barry
11	Untitled
12	Worship P
13	You Drove Your Car Into A Moving Train

ILL EASE Circle Line Tours 1999

 

Discogs

 

 

Artist Biography by Bradley Torreano

Ill Ease was actually a one-woman band created by Elizabeth Sharp. Sharp was born in Maryland on December 14, 1971. A neurological disorder that caused her brain to read music as pleasure led Sharp to learn several instruments in her teen years. After playing in several bands, she had a memorable stint with New Radiant Storm King as a drummer. She relocated to New York City, shared a practice space with a friend with recording equipment, and started getting notices for her photography. She also began recording herself, mostly by her lonesome out of convenience, but also because she didn't want anyone else involved, anyway. So, Sharp became the sole member of Ill Ease. The project debuted with Live at the Gate in 1998, followed by Circle Line Tours in 1999 and Live at the Holiday Sin in 2002. The latter, recorded in an Atlantic City motel room, upped Ill Ease's profile considerably. Too Pure noticed, signing Sharp/Ill Ease and issuing Exorcist in August '04. 

 

Tracklist

1	Well Alright	2:32
2	New York, London, Paris	4:16
3	Rockerfeller Center	4:49
4	Sick Groove	9:30
5	Zero Down -- Jericho Turnpike	3:36
6	Saturday's Crossword Solved	2:33
7	Macon	4:11
8	New Haven, New Haven!	3:56
9	From The Coast Of Manhattan To The Coast Of New Jersey	4:31
10	False Start, Night Driver	6:56

 

LADYTRON Miss Black And Her Friends EP 1999

 

Discogs

 
Ladytron are a British electronic band formed in Liverpool in 1999. The group consists of Helen Marnie (lead vocals, synthesizers), Mira Aroyo (vocals, synthesizers), Daniel Hunt (synthesizers, guitar, vocals) and Reuben Wu (synthesizers). Their name was taken from the song "Ladytron" by Roxy Music. Their sound blends electropop with new wave and shoegazing elements. Ladytron described their sound as "electronic pop". Some of the group's songs performed by Aroyo contain lyrics written in her native Bulgarian. 

Tracklist

1	Miss Black	1:53
2	Paco	3:00
3	Playgirl	3:52
4	Csk Sofia	2:34
5	Another Breakfast With You	3:04
6	He Took Her To A Movie	3:06
7	Commodore Rock	4:47
8	Skools Out	4:08

 

BOOM BOOM SATELLITES Out Loud 1999

 

Discogs

 

Downtempo/Big Beat 

 

Tracklist

1	Missing Note	7:02
2	Batter The Jam No.3	5:59
3	Push Eject	5:27
4	Limbo	7:30
5	Intruder	1:09
6	An Owl	4:36
7	Oneness	2:35
8	Scatterin' Monkey	5:14
9	Def	4:09
10	On The Painted Desert	9:05
11	4 A Moment Of Silence	6:42
12	Dub Me Crazy Ver. 02	6:45

 

TO ROCOCO ROT To Rococo Rot .Cd 1996

 

Discogs

 

Artist Biography by Sean Cooper

To Rococo Rot were a mostly Berlin-based post-rock trio whose combination of electronic and acoustic elements placed them in close proximity to American groups such as Tortoise, Trans Am, and Rome, as well as European artists Circle, Stereolab, and Fridge. Composed of bassist Stefan Schneider (also of similar-sounding Dusseldorf group Kreidler) and brothers Robert (guitar, electronics) and Ronald Lippok (drums, effects), To Rococo Rot were originally among a new breed of German electronic experimentalists working more often within the context of hauptkunst digital art and multimedia installation (prior to meeting Schneider, the Lippoks were behind a project of this sort called Ornament und Verbrechen). With TRR, however, the group described its work as an overt attempt to reconnect the art-school proclivities of musical experimentalism with the accessibility and "use-value" of pop, a goal clearly evident both in their name and their recorded output. The group's debut arrived in 1996 in the form of an untitled picture disc (subsequently reissued on CD by Kitty-Yo), with the more widely distributed Veiculo (released by U.K. indie City Slang) appearing the following year. Embraced by indie rock and electronica audiences alike, the group (like Tortoise, et al.) had already begun to play an important, transitional role in eroding some of the barriers that typically separated the two (particularly in the U.S.). Working long, hypnotic grooves augmented by bizarre, often subtly interwoven electronics and sample sequences, TRR also owed a clear debt to Krautrock groups such as Neu!, Can, and Amon Düül, among others, and in some respects reoriented the abstract deconstructions of man/machine those groups first sketched. In 1997, the group recorded an album's worth of material with producer David Moufang (Deep Space Network, Source Records). Following a move to Mute, the band released The Amateur View in 1999 and Music Is a Hungry Ghost, a collaboration with I-Sound, in 2001. Hotel Morgen (2004), and Speculation (2010), two of the group's most refined and creative releases, were issued on Domino. For their ninth album, the trio returned to City Slang. Instrument, featuring their first tracks with vocals courtesy of admirer Arto Lindsay, was released in 2014. 

 

Tracklist

1	Im Lilienthal	1:13
2	Kritische Masse 1	3:46
3	Veramon	3:58
4	Dekothek	3:28
5	Polo Star	1:08
6	Süsse Küche	2:38
7	National Velvet	1:31
8	Tour De Repéchage	3:45
9	Testfeld	4:23
10	Parabola	6:11
11	Weiter	3:25
12	Schon Sehr Viel Telefoniert	3:45
13	Kabine	2:59
14	Autonachmittag	6:04

 

 

BOTANICA Malediction 1999

 

Discogs

 

Artist Biography by Will Lerner

Paul Wallfisch has careened around the world (probably in a drunken state, but who knows) to bring all manner of experiences to bear in his music, serving as the leader of the smart and decadent alternative rock band, Botanica. Whether through a great inheritance or a savvy ability to play the stock market, the singer/songwriter was able to travel the globe, journeying to lands as diverse as Indonesia, Finland, China, and Guinea; although Botanica is far from a worldbeat band, there is a distinct air of wry world-weariness and a cosmopolitan sophistication that infuses all its songs. Upon reentering the U.S., Wallfisch set up shop in Los Angeles where he recruited drummer Ivan Knight (Stan Ridgeway) and bassist/backing vocalist Abby Travis (Beck, Elastica, KMFDM); they named themselves Botanica after those mysterious little shops that stock strange spells and a myriad of religious artifacts. The album that resulted, Malediction, is chock-full of heavy-hitting guest stars: Daniel Ash, Kid Congo Powers, and Frankie Infante all put in appearances. (Powers has since become something of a Botanica regular, often appearing live with the group and singing the occasional lead vocal.) But this is really Wallfisch's game; his cigarette-laced voice, commanding keyboard and guitar playing, and foreboding lyrics are the definite focal points. Malediction shifts from dreamy, beautiful ballads to twisted, snarling rockers, making it a veritable encyclopedia of post-punk moodiness. It may be Botanica's first record, but Wallfisch and Knight had already released I Am Yours, an album that appeared in 1996 on the Acetate Records label, under the name Paul Wallfisch & His Band. The songwriter moved to New York City, where the core of Botanica changed to Oren Kaplan (Firewater) on guitar and the rhythm section of Matt Flynn and bassist Christian Bongers (drums and bass, respectively). They bring a powerful muscularity to the dark songs. Wallfisch is a very active fellow, lending his talents to a variety of projects including Tod A.'s klezmer/punk band Firewater and providing torch singer Sally Norvell with some expert ivory tinkling. He has produced tracks for Love and Rockets and Gene Loves Jezebel and collaborated with the likes of Friends of Dean Martinez and Stiv Bators. Botanica's music has been featured in the films Men Cry Bullets and the Takedown, as well as Greg Pritikin's Dummy (Wallfisch also provided the score), starring Milla Jovovich, Adrien Brody, and Illeana Douglas. A version of the band, with Jovovich singing, appears in the film as the Botanica Bulgar Ensemble.

Tracklist

1	Malediction
2	Dead Prophet
3	Big Big World
4	Fire
5	Beauty
6	Fancy
7	Middle Of The Night
8	And Then I Met Her
9	The Castration Tango
10	Simple Life
11	True Crimes
12	Big Thing
13	A Fresher Hell
14	The 14th Song

 

JARA Jara 7 inch 1995

 

Discogs

 
American emo-hardcore band from Goleta, California. 

Tracklist

A1	Friend
A2	Defect
B	Infected Life

 

BLEED Bully Complex 1995

 

Discogs

 

Intense emotional hardcore / "screamo hardcore" style band from the United States. They only existed for a few years during the mid 1990's.  

Tracklist

A1	Timely Reminder	0:37
A2	Angels Never Watch	2:57
A3	Car Call Cancel	2:48
A4	History Letter	3:25
B1	Legal Jargon	2:40
B2	Open Door Policy	2:57
B3	Sink Like Lead	1:18
B4	Director's Cut	3:20

 

PORTRAITS OF PAST.../BLEED Portraits of Past.../Bleed 7 inch 1994

 

Discogs

Lots of screamo from Portraits of Past (hardcore/emo) from San Francisco, California and even more screamo from Bleed. Bleed is an intense emotional hardcore / "screamo hardcore" style band from the United States. They only existed for a few years during the mid 1990's.  

Tracklist

 

A1	–Portraits Of Past...*	Journeyman
A2	–Portraits Of Past...*	A Known Place
B1	–Bleed (2)	Mr. Eliot
B2	–Bleed (2)	Past-Tense Hero

 

TETSUO Tetsuo 7 inch 1995

 

Discogs 

 
Math rock/hardcore featuring members of Hero of a Hundred Fights and Brass Knuckles For Tough Guys.

Tracklist

A1	Guddomitt
A2	Test Tube Baby
B	Fuseboxlovechuck

 

BRASS KNUCKLES FOR TOUGH GUYS Noise Man Kills Him 1997

 

Discogs

 

Hardcore punk with screaming vocals and frantic drumming. Featuring members of Tetsuo and Hero of a Hundred Fights.

 

Tracklist

1	I Say Eisenhower
2	Whiskey Dick
3	Nude Boy Dorothy
4	Shitmouth
5	Holy Rosary Council
6	Straight Mundane (Rock)
7	Winter 200 M.P.H.
8	Two Star Supreme
9	Harper's Ferry

 

HERO OF A HUNDRED FIGHTS [Hero of a Hundred Fights] 1999

 

Discogs 

 

Artist Biography by Mike DaRonco

After the demise of Brass Knuckles for Tough Guys, former bassist and vocalist Chris got together with drummer Shane after his band Managra broke up around the same time. With the accompaniment of guitarist Patrick, Hero of a Hundred Fights was born in 1998. Based out of Wisconsin -- and with Chris making the habitual commute from Illinois every weekend -- 404 Records released their self-titled debut in 2000, which was a good dose of Drive Like Jehu, Trenchmouth, and A Minor Forest. Remote the Cold followed in spring 2001. 

 

Tracklist

1	Triumph, The Flight
2	Where Did The Jetpacks Go?
3	Ever An Engineer
4	Finite Wish
5	Saying It's All In The Math
6	Dial, Religious Icon
7	Table Scrap Lottery
8	Appypollylogic

 

 

CAMPAIgN Numb 7 inch 1993

 

Discogs 

 

Hardcore band from New York State. They are part of Mountain C.I.A..

 

Tracklist 

	Side Compass
A1	Numb
A2	Subsistence
	Side Becky
B1	Quick Fix
B2	Becky Bell