Archive for Peroxide

theSTART: Wartime! (It’s Time 2 Go Now)

This is theSTART...

Kissing their metal & art-rock bands goodbye in the late 90's, vocalist Aimee Echo (Human Waste Project) and swiss army knife multi-instrumentalist Jamie Miller (Snot) bonded over a mutual love for 80's New Wave, ranging from the Cure to Missing Persons to Depeche Mode. They formed a new band together in Los Angeles soon after, encouraging their fans to "rise up & dance to a different beat" on their debut album Shakedown!. The couple provided a soundtrack for the future with memories of the past - new wave for now people.

With three albums and an EP under their belts, theSTART's latest release Ciao, Baby was issued under Metropolis Records. Echo's unique sprite-like delivery recalls the squeaks & squeals of a modern day Lene Lovich or Dale Bozzio, while in the next breath morphing into a howling Siouxsie Sioux or Exene Cervenka. Miller's guitar soundscapes are reminiscent of the early 4AD roster or bands like Bauhaus & the Chameleons. His lush keyboards shimmer, the perfect accent to Echo's pop melodies to create a sound of their own.

Featured here is Ciao, Baby's opening track "Wartime! (It's Time 2 Go Now)" as well as a cover of one of the band's favorite songs, "Cities in Dust" by Siouxsie & the Banshees.

theSTART on Myspace
theSTART website

theSTART are still active & are currently focusing on a new experimental project Normandie. And no, my love for theSTART isn't simply because Echo & I share the same hair stylist & both know the Marilyn Monroe secret! Enjoy & dance. The circle is ever larger...

Electronic: Getting Away With It

In honor of the New Order tribute this week at Atomic, I present Electronic. Electronic served as a side-project of New Order lead singer Bernard Sumner. Joining forces with him was ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, both sharing a mutual love for both electronic (obviously) and house music.

This likely combo also dragged along Neil Tennant of Pet Shop Boys for the ride on their 1989 debut single "Getting Away with It." Rumor has it that the lyrics of the song were a parody on Morrissey's lyrics and public interviews, including the chorus: "However I look / It's clear to see / I love you more than you love me."

The first Electronic album of the same name is ranked highly among my favorite work of Sumner and is definitely worth pursuit if you are new to the band.

Hear this song and other New Order related tracks this week on Thursday, February 4th for Atomic at Neo... See you in the dark.

Electronic on Amazon

Ministry: Same Old Madness

So, you all know industrial gods Ministry. Most of you are familiar with the likes of "So What," "Stigmata" and "Jesus Built My Hotrod." You're even pretty familiar with the first Ministry album With Sympathy, which you're afraid to admit that you like better than the rest of their work. You wish Al Jourgensen would have kept hanging out with Depeche Mode (I kid!) for more fake British accent and made more records like this.

But HEY! You can take one more trip down that synthy route that they were known for at the time with this unreleased single "Same Old Madness."

This track still has not seen an official release. It was originally supposed to see light in 1982 as the band's second single following "Cold Life." The song was recorded and a video was filmed (partially at Chicago's Metro, as legend has it) until Ministry decided to move to Arista Records for the release of With Sympathy.

Sidenote: Angry Biker Al in the video? MMM, what a treat.

Ministry at Amazon.com

Fiction Factory: (Feels Like) Heaven

A Scottish band of New Romantics, Fiction Factory were best known for their 1984 top 10 UK hit "(Feels Like) Heaven" from their debut album Throw the Warped Wheel Out. They were recognized for writing melancholy pop songs and vocalist Kevin Patterson sounds frighteningly similar to Heaven 17's Glenn Gregory in my opinion.

The song was most recently revived only to be featured in a Reese's Peanut Butter Cups television advertisement. Go figure such a tragic end for such a bittersweet piece of the new wave story. "(Feels Like) Heaven" remains a personal favorite of mine & holds a special place in my dark little heart.

Recommended for fans of Ultravox, Japan & Freur.

Throw the Warped Wheel Out on Amazon

Fun Boy Three: Our Lips Are Sealed

Consisting of members of a then defunct Specials, Terry Hall, Neville Staple and Lynval Golding formed Fun Boy Three in 1981. A mixture of sounds and textures, the Fun Boys spent their time recording with Fun Girls Bananarama and writing with Jane Wiedlin of the Go-Go's.

Though perhaps made more famous by the Go-Go's a year earlier, Fun Boy Three released their own version of the hit "Our Lips are Sealed" in 1983. On a personal level, it remains the essential version of the song with carefree vocals and laid-back instrumentation - the perfect touch for the lyrical content that the Go-Go's version lacked.

"Our Lips are Sealed" is available on both the FB3 album Waiting and various Best Of compilations.

The Three Wise Men (XTC): Thanks for Christmas

What says Happy Holidays better than a New Wave Christmas?! Classic New Wave at its very finest, XTC released this 1983 one-off pseudonymous single billed as the Three Wise Men and called the little ditty "Thanks for Christmas."

With all the trumpets, bells & whistles you would come to expect from your typical Christmas tune, the boys bring their unique flavor to make "Thanks for Christmas" their own and recognizable as XTC. You can't fool us, Three Wise Men! And WOW! A Christmas song that doesn't make you want to light the mistletoe on fire! JOY!

This song and other rarities by XTC are available on their collection Rag 'n' Bone Buffet.

Amazon's XTC Store
official website

Strawberry Switchblade: Since Yesterday

The could-be long lost Scottish synthpop sisters of Tegan & Sara, Rose McDowall and Jill Bryson from Strawberry Switchblade paved their way with teased hair, gothy cupcake dresses and polkadots in the mid-80's with their debut and only album of the same name... and what a great album and name they were!

Their biggest imprint was with their sugary sweet single "Since Yesterday," which became a top 10 hit in the UK and featured the opening fanfare of Sibelius' Symphony No.5 and enough sunshine harmonies to keep you smiling for days - days of Dayglo, if you will. C'mon, I dare you to give this a listen and not be bouncing right out of your seat! Take a close listen though - beneath the surface of those driving dancefloor drumbeats is a truly tragic tale of love lost. But hey, that's really nothing to be shocked by in the world of new wave now, is it? The album actually dives into much deeper, darker water than the single does.

Following a busted switchblade in 1986, Rose went on to become a floating member of various goth & industrial acts like Coil, Psychic TV, Into a Circle and Death in June. She now continues to perform solo under her own name.

"Since Yesterday" is available on the CD import of their debut album or the Warner Platinum Collection, which is probably much easier & less expensive to track down. Highly recommended cutesy bubblegum pop for New Romantics.

Platinum Collection on Amazon

Toto Coelo: I Eat Cannibals

With good ol' Turkey Day right around the corner, why not feature a silly New Wave song about feasting on flesh, since that is essentially what the holiday has come to be about?! Then again, we're not eating our own kind like these five quirky ladies in Toto Coelo were on their 1982 hit single "I Eat Cannibals."

They are certainly the epitome of a one hit wonder but this dance nugget is one tasty treat of a track that deserves to be busted out of the vaults! And hey, they could very well be considered the Spice Girls of the 80's. Have a listen & think about it!

Their love is so edible, don't you agree?

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