Abstract Music Volume 5

 

Various Artists - Abstract Magazine Volume 5 [SAM 005 UK 1985 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC]

Last ripped back in March 2015, and then only available for two weeks, I thought I would have a go at re-ripping my two Abstract Magazine compilation albums after giving them a good few cycles in the ultrasonic. The results should speak for themselves.

The late Rob Deacon's Abstract Magazine collected interviews, articles and unreleased tracks from his favourite bands, initially on Third Mind Records, he formed his own Sweatbox label on which volumes 5 & 6 were released - the first three volumes did not come with a vinyl record. After closing down Sweatbox Records in 1989, Deacon went onto release the more successful Volume book & CD series.

Volume 5 will make for uneasy and difficult listening for the uninitiated, that's probably what makes this collection so essential. Hackney & New Cross metalworkers Test Department kick things off complete with a Scottish pipe band and a striking miner, the complex Wolfgang Press take alternative rock music well beyond known boundaries in their own unique way, 400 Blows give the prostate an industrial sized workout long before they went funky, then you have to face the might Swans at their most demonic, before Cindytalk challenge the true meaning of what actually constitutes as music.

Side two kicks off with the popular soulful electro-pop of Colourbox, Welsh goths Gene Loves Jezebel throw in one of their better early tracks, the over-dramatic And Also The Trees follow next - I know they are popular in some circles, but I never got And Also The Trees. A band that I do have a lot of time for are Nyam Nyam, who provide one of their more cheery tunes in demo form, Pat Fish contains to entertain from beyond the grave with a live Jazz Butcher rarity, the whole things closes with a little more drama from Sheffield tub thumpers In The Nursery.

A1   Test Dept - Fuel Foundation Of The Nation (Live) 

A2   The Wolfgang Press - Fire Eater (Remix) 

A3   400 Blows - Fire And Water 

A4   Swans - Sealed In Skin 

A5   Cindytalk - Playtime 

B1   Colourbox - Manic (Remix) 

B2   Gene Loves Jezebel - Flame 

B3   And Also The Trees - Maps In Her Wrists And Arms 

B4   Nyam Nyam - This Is The Place (Demo) 

B5   The Jazz Butcher - Leaving It Up To You (Live) 

B6   In The Nursery - Sentient