Various Artists: Shots in the Dark (1981)

Don't stop me, you have may not have heard this one before*.

MRML posts that offer unfamiliar material by familiar artists get the big reactions. It's the nature of the beast, we want what we already have but slightly different. However, as an obsessive, there's still no rush for me like finding, then sharing, something completely unheard. So now MRML, rather than just chronicling my listening choices, has begun driving them. I'm forever scouring the physical and the digital world for postable material.

This compilation, Shots in the Dark, found here, jumped out at me because of that angular aesthetic that screams "English New Wave". Sure enough it's from England circa 1981, the year before the synths ate the world. You, the listener, will have to decide whether the defining trait of this compilation, is that it's treasure trove of deeply obscure ska, punk and new wave or that it was compiled by early U2 associate and British Christian rock figure Laurie Mellor (no relation to Joe Strummer I'm guessing).

This collection, on which each band got two songs, may as well have been sub-titled 66% British Ska. Of the six bands here, the Graphics, the Magnetics, the Mystery Guests and the Stares all borrow heavily from the scratchy rhythms of Two-Tone era ska, The Specials in particular (but with some Clash and Police nicking as well). As for the other two bands, the Predators are a little more mainstream new wave - somewhere between the Records and the Cars, whereas Crowd Control could have opened up for the Cure or Bauhaus without anyone batting a heavily-mascaraed eyelash.



Unlike Sonseed this lacks a deeply comical video (oh the temptation to name this post "Jesus Has Six New Friend Requests" was almost unbearable). But perhaps such anonymity makes it easier to take this unearthed artifact at face value.

{MRML readers: please leave us a comment about your take on the bands herein.}

Download Shots in the Dark L.P.
(Contains two M3U's, one with the original L.P. order and one with the MRML order, where each band's songs are consecutive.)

* Of course, if you're a dedicated reader of the fantastic Short Sharp Kick in the Teeth you have. Hopefully I added something to the mix!