Archive for the new wave tag

Modern English: Life In The Gladhouse

You know this band. You've heard "I'll Melt With You" about a million times in your life, but you probably can't remember a single other Modern English song, can you? It's ok, neither can anyone else. And that's a damn shame, because they have a really nice catalogue if you want to do just a little digging.

Signed to 4AD in 1980, their other material borrows more influence from post punk than you'd suspect from their biggest hit. "Life In The Gladhouse" is by far my favorite Modern English song, and if you know what a fan of Gang of Four I am, you'll not be surprised. Taken from their 1982 release After The Snow, the title track for which I highly recommend to New Order fans.

Trivia bit: A pair of Modern English songs inspired the formation of This Mortal Coil.

official website
buy After The Snow on Amazon.com

Red This Ever: Selfless

Three years ago, Kamar and I were asked to play the Baltimore Music Conference. Aside from playing at Sonar (one of my favorite warehouse-style clubs), the highlight of our trip wasn't the conference at all. Our friend Michael stole us away for a night to take us to The Depot, a venue that, if you're from Chicago, I would describe as sort of a cross between Darkroom and Liar's Club. The bill included DJ Medic, kindred soul to our new wave/synthpop/industrial focus, and the fantastic all-female Depeche Mode cover band Violator. But the best part was the headliners; Red This Ever absolutely blew us away with their energetic guitar-fused synthpop. I have since kept a Red This Ever button on my purse, and Kamar and I never forgot them.

You can imagine how excited we were when Michael told us they were coming to town. We jumped on the chance to book them, and so this Sunday, Atomic takes its first leap into live music. I couldn't ask for a better lineup, and Kamar and I hope that when you see Red This Ever, either at the show in Chicago or somewhere else on their long tour, that you're as impressed as we were that night in Baltimore.

RSVP to the facebook event page for a discounted-cover password

Selfless by Red This Ever

official website

Pic Vicious: LA Dreamer + Beauty Was Her Burden

Atomic returns this weekend with a special live show at Darkroom! We are really excited about both of these bands, so I'll do a post on each.

Pic Vicious' classic synthy sound is sparse and dark. Their theatrical presentation, complete with props and costumes, is not. I love the juxtaposition and I couldn't resist posting a video, but the fancy trappings aren't even necessary; this pair sounds great even when you can't see them. Check out "Wicked West" on their soundcloud page for what happens when new wave meets dubstep. No, really. They're known for their live shows, and a quick search of YouTube will evidence why. I can't wait to see them Sunday.

Beauty Was Her Burden by Pic Vicious

RSVP to the facebook page for a password to get discounted door entry

official website

A new chapter for Atomic

As of next Thursday, I will be quitting my residency at Neo. Along with me goes Atomic. This wasn't an easy decision to make, and Kamar and I are not really happy about it, but circumstances being what they are, it's for the best.

Looking into the future:
• Kamar will continue his residency at Neo on Thursdays under a different name.
• This blog will remain and continue to be updated.
• There will still be Atomic events, though they will be less frequent and at alternate venues.

In other words, not a whole lot is changing, aside from me not being in the booth on Thursdays. If you go to Atomic, I encourage you to continue to go to Neo on Thursdays to support Kamar, and if you read the blog, then keep reading the blog. Join our facebook group to be invited to future Atomic events, one of which I'll be posting about soon.

I've been at Neo for over four years, and it's been a great time. I've made a lot of new friends and learned a lot about the place, the music, and the people, and I'll carry that with me as I leave. Thanks to everyone who came and drank and danced, not just at Atomic but at all of my gigs at Neo over the years. I hope to see your faces again on my next dance floor.

-Qbot

Tribute to Gary Numan: Radio Heart + My Jesus

Tonight we celebrate the career of electronic music pioneer Gary Numan, and we'll be giving away tickets to his show at Metro on Tuesday. He'll be playing his signature album Pleasure Principle in it's entirety. Also playing: the amazing and beyond definition Recoil (which I'll blog about this weekend), and Daniel Myer project Architect, rounding out the lineup appropriately with a little noisy techno-industrial.

Radio Heart was a project of Hugh Nicholson, a friend of Gary Numan's. Elton John and Ray Cooper also contributed vocals on various tracks, but the three songs featuring Numan are by far the best on the album. The single "Radio Heart", released in 1987, is far more mainstream pop than his own output, and likewise achieved more chart success than Numan had on his own at the time.

My favorite Gary Numan album does not come from his smashing glam-meets-new wave '80s-era work, but his 2000 release Pure. Following in the wake of his wife's repeated miscarriages, Numan took a page from Trent Reznor's book (and one he himself inspired, no less), and wrote an industrial-inspired epic of pain and scathing religious commentary, as exemplified in "My Jesus".

official website
buy Gary Numan at Amazon.com

Mi-Sex: Computer Games

Someone came up to the booth and asked for this band one night but I hadn't heard of them. I keep a running list of these requests and yes, I really do try to find all of them. I can't know everything; the people on the dance floor are one of my greatest resources.

Naming themselves after the Ultravox song "My Sex", Mi-Sex is what happens when a bunch of hippies start a new wave band. You can read a much more comprehensive history of Mi-Sex on sergent.com.au. They didn't have much of a career outside of New Zealand and Australia, and even that only lasted until 1984.

This song is so so early '80s that it hurts; you can kind of hear a bit of their prog rock roots in the guitars, but it's all about the fear of computers taking control, with that trapped-inside-an-Atari vocal style fighting to be heard over all the synths. Coincidentally, due to their name, this landed in my "atomic blog" folder right before Ministry's "Same Old Madness" and they go great together.

Available on the Mi-Sex retrospective The Essential from Amazon.com

Soviet: Circuit Love

I really can't help but love Soviet. I'm a sucker for bands who are suckers for vintage synths, and these guys are all over it, albeit they're using old instruments to make futuristic music. Similar to Solvent, this is pop music for robots and people who live in those super techy sky homes that we were supposed to have by now. I'm pretty sure the only reason Keith Ruggiero isn't in Valerie is that he hasn't moved to France yet.

"Circuit Love" is from the very synthpop 2001 album We Are Eyes We Are Builders, but there's actually a newer Soviet release out called Spies In The House of Love that's a little more rock, and sounds like something I'd expect to hear in a John Hughes movie.

official website
Buy Soviet on Amazon.com

Upstation: Get It On

Moscow-based new wave band Upstation is surprisingly good for an act that has existed for less than a year. Their analog synths are sprinkled with bits of disco, and not afraid to hang out with some guitars. Between these guys, Cut Copy, and the Valerie collective, I hereby stop even using the term "retro", as it is clearly pointless. 21st century pop music sounds like early '80s pop music. I'm ok with that.

From their self-titled EP, available to download for free on the Upstation official website

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