2020: 5 Reissues & Archival Releases That Got Me Through

New music will keep coming out, so much so that a lot of older stuff can get buried and left behind. But thanks to some keen record labels and sometimes the musicians and producers themselves, that music can resurface and captivate a new audience. Here are 5 blasts from the past that helped me get through the wreckage that was 2020.

Grotesque Circular Dance - Incompetence
This Australian duo, who don't sound very grotesque at all, wrote minimal yet dark and noisy experimental synth pop. Your classic band "ahead of its time," these tracks have one foot in the future a la Kraftwerk while the other is deeply rooted in classic '80s electro pop sounds and John Carpenter soundtracks. The band recorded them in 1986 but for whatever reason chose not to release 'em. Thanks to Altered States Tapes, they have been unearthed for the benefit of you and me and everyone we know^TM.


The Prissteens - The Hound
The Prissteens were a short-lived NYC punk band that incorporated garage rock, power-pop and '60s girl group into their sound. This compilation consists of demos recorded in 1999 for a sophomore album that never happened, along with earlier singles and demos. On many tracks they sound like a poppier Hole, or better yet The Distillers, whose debut EP came out just as The Prissteens were calling it quits. While they missed out on commercial success, they do have some claims to fame, with tracks featured on 90210 and teen movie Jawbreaker. Oh and Joey Ramone was a big fan, which was more than Johnny could say.


Slevy - Volumen 2
From what I can gather (with an assist by Google Translate), Slevy is the solo project of Aitor Pérez who played in bands in Spain I've never heard of like Apurtu, Anti-Regiment, and Defecto Humano. Volumen 2 is compilation of 2 EPs from the mid-'00s along with a handful of unreleased tracks from 2012 and 2014. Musically it toggles between garage-y surf punk and melodic punk, with lyrics in Spanish. I'm a sucker for surf rock drumming so it's a fun and enjoyable listen, though it can get a little ruff when Aitor's vocals get real gruff.


Various Artists - Days of a Quiet Sun
Here's a compilation of late '60s/early '70s garage, psych rock and funky soul tracks all produced by Martin Gary, Richmond, VA's "first known rock record producer." It's not a release you would expect from punk label Feel It, but it works. While there are a number of emotional breakup songs here, there's still a lot of fun to be had (especially the cuts from King Edward & His B.D.'s and Bernard Smith & Joke's Wild). So light up a doob and get transported back to a time when life was simpler but the music was more real and exciting.


Various Artists - Strum and Thrum: The American Jangle Underground 1983-1987
Captured Tracks put out this compilation of melodic and, as the name suggests, jangly rock as the first volume in their Excavations series. The DIY ethos is strong with these bands as many had to record and release their material on their own and toil in anonymity while major labels threw their money at new wave, '80s pop and hair bands. And for better or worse, these bands helped kick off the "indie" rock wave of the '90s and beyond. I guess now we know who to blame for bands like Death Cab, Bright Eyes and all that shit.