Rare or Unreleased 24: ¢$¢

Now here's a flashback from way back. I was going to post the B-sides from the two singles released to promote bottom-heavy punkyard rebels ¢op $hoot ¢op's last hurrah before disintegrating, 1994's Release. But while making sure the songs weren't commercially available, I was surprised to find that even mother album Release was out of print and unavailable on mp3. Which is a shame, really. So might as well post Release, too, in addition to singles «Any Day Now» and «Two at a Time».

Sure, it's a blast from the past, and ¢$¢'s swaggering, almost anthemic anti-authoritarian bitterness will always remind me of my teens, but this—their last and most even album—holds up surprisingly well, combining pretension with humour, defeat with defiance in a way you don't often see. And Tod A.'s effortless one-liners are classic. («Some people never learn, and I should know,» &c.) Besides, in these times, when trendy indie is so safely lodged in the Middle Of the Road, we could use a little metallic, juvenile punk.

So, here it is: Tom Waits arranging Einstürzende Neubauten as backing band for Henry Rollins! Or Ministry channeling the Sex Pistols. Or something:

¢op $hoot ¢op: Complete Release Sessions [.zip]

1. Transmission
2. Interference
3. It Only Hurts When I Breathe
4. Any Day Now
5. Last Legs
6. Suckerpunch
7. Turning Inside Out
8. Money-drunk
9. Slackjaw
10. Ambulance Song
11. Anonymous
12. The Queen of Shinbone Alley
13. Lullaby
14. Swimming in Circles
15. The Divorce
16. Two at a Time
17. New God
(1, 12 & 17 from «Any Day Now»
2-10 & 13-16 from Release
11 from «Two at a Time»)