Monday, December 21, 2015

Look Out Cleveland





















The impeccable Punk 45 series on the Soul Jazz label brought us two new volumes this year, covering Akron and Cleveland. The former (Burn, Rubber City, Burn! Akron, Ohio Punk And The Decline Of The Mid-West 1975-80) is a decent collection featuring the Bizarros, Tin Huey and Devo amongst others, but doesn't surpass Stiff's ancient Akron Compilation. The Cleveland one (Extermination Nights In The Sixth City - Cleveland, Ohio: Punk And The Decline Of The Mid-West 1975-1982) is a dream come true though. Incredible how such a truckload of great bands thrived there in relative isolation. Pere Ubu, the Pagans, Electric Eels, and Mirrors all make an entrance, and nearly all those adventurous stabs at artrock still sound remarkably fresh today.

The Bizarros - I Bizarro
Jazz Destroyers - Love Meant To Die