The Rousers “In Without Knocking” 1986. Boat Records & Tapes. The debut LP from Madison, WI based power poppers with a rootsy, Americana flavor. Recorded at Smart Studios, Butch Big mixed and engineered. It is very 80’s sounding – while the is a new-to-me local(ish) band, their sound reminds me of a mix Rousers’ contemporaries including Charlie Sexton, Smithereens, The Plimsouls and Chris Isaak (not his slow stuff). There’s also a lot of  boogie woogie/honky tonk influence: “Don’t Chop My Haircut” and “Got Another Lovin’ Man” – a real 50’s classic rocker – are very rockabilly. (Sidenote: based on the back cover band member photos at least a couple of them were definitely into rockabilly, especially guitarist/vocalist Ernie (aka Dan Conner) who sports a wicked black slicked pompadour with tight sideburns.) My top track is the album opener “Rosalie.” “Livin’ in the Midwest” is a rollickin’ good time though I probably like it for the title and lyrics. The Rousers only released one other album, Full Moon Bad Weather, in 1991. It looks like Ernie and drummer Lee Laski (whose photo on the back cover resembles 80s era Bruce Springsteen) went on to form Waterdogs, a garage surf band who released a single in 1988 and an LP in 2000 on Madcity Records.

New Order “Sub-culture” 1985. 12″ single, Factory Records. The plain black sleeve was how it was released – I doctored up the image a bit so there was some idea as to what the song is. The track was the second, and final, single from New Order’s 1985 LP Low-Life. It went to #63 on the UK single chart but all the way to #1 on the UK dance chart. In the US “Sub-culture” went to #35 on the club/dance chart. This US-release of the 12″ single has three mixes: Side A the very long Remix; Side B the even longer “Subvulture” as well as the radio-friendly length “Sub-culture” (Remix Edit).” All remixed by John Robie whose versions took a turn from the album version into a very club, 80’s electronic dance direction (I personally prefer the album version to all of the remixes). The UK release’s b-side has just one remix, “Dub-vulture,” an instrumental.

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark “Archive Vol. 1 (1981-1990)” limited edition Record Store Day 2026 double-LP release. The highly reflective mirrored cover utterly impossible to photograph (on first attempts it was basically a picture of me taking a selfie). The comp was initially curated as part of the Grammy-nominated 2019 souvenir boxed set and features rarities & b-sides, demos, and alternative mixes from the band’s 1981–1990 era which, according to their Fandom Wiki had until a few years ago been residing “in a vault near Heathrow.” For whatever reason I wasn’t really that into OMD in the 80’s beyond their hits (“If You Leave,” “Enola Gay,” neither of which are on this collection), which is really strange as I was (and still am) gaga for all things 80’s British synthpop and OMD were/are considered one of the best of the genre: they were Britain’s first performing two-piece synthesizer band and have been described as the “original synth-pop duo.” (Wiki). I really did miss out back in the day! The entire album is an excellent representation of the early years of electronic experimentation but my top picks from the first disc include “Dumbomb,” an unreleased song from 1986; “Weekend” from 1985 and the excellently quirky “Cajun Moon” (’86). From the second disc my favorites include the hard-driving, industrial-dance inspired “Guitar Thrash” (a demo recorded in 1982 during the Dazzle Ships sessions); the majestic Kraftwerky “American Venus” (from 1990; from Wiki Fandom “The date would suggest that it was recorded by Andy McCluskey only, after he had split with Paul Humphreys. Since the title refers to an American movie starring Louise Brookes, and part of the treated – and mostly incomprehensible – lyrics mention “Born in Kansas”, the demo can be considered as a very early idea which would lead to the finished track ‘Pandora’s Box.’ In the notes to the Souvenir box set which featured the ‘unreleased archive’ disc, McCluskey states he had no recollection of making the demo”) and the spunky “Dynamo Children” from 1985.