The Effigies “Fly on a Wire” 1985. Fever Records/Enigma Records. Chicago punk/post-punk. The Effigies are considered one of Chicago’s first punk bands, though this is kinda doubtful as they formed in 1980 but they were influential; Steve Albini: “The Effigies were absolutely essential to the development of a healthy punk scene in Chicago.”) Fly on a Wire, the band’s second LP, is on the rock-n-roll end of punk/post-punk, with growly vocals and in-your-face (proficient) guitar; though the drums do skew rat-a-tat-tat punk. I particularly like the funky/punky “Blue Funk,” the hooky punk’d up “The Eights,” and their cover of Joy Division’s “No Love Lost” (from their 1978 EP An Ideal for Living).

Not surprisingly, there isn’t much out there vide0-wise of The Effigies from back in the 80’s, though I did find this performance of their 1982 song “Body Bag” and “We’ll Be Here Tomorrow” (Haunted Town EP, 1980) from a 1987 Chicago show (I think it was a “reunion” show as the band broke up in ’85 though reformed a few times over the years with a rotating roster of musicians).