V/A-LIVE AT THE WIRELESS-THE EP, 12" EP, 1983, AUSTRALIA

While the parent compilation LP that this 12" is a footnote to (both culled from live performances broadcast on the Aussie radio station responsible for funding this) was a far more mainstream affair, showcasing the likes of The Hoodoo Gurus, Go-Betweens, Triffids etc, this 12" is a different story alltogether, as the compilers evidently saw fit to corral all the more wayward and challenging material onto this EP, tossed out like an afterthought and issued solely in a printed inner-sleeve. Whatever the case though, this is an essential slice of Aussie underground experimentation, with Bring Philip plying the same intense and anxiety-riddled spin on the early Oingo Boingo sound featured on their 12" that I posted a while back. Severed Heads' work of this era is an article of faith in the circles I run in and I am well past the point of critical judgement on these avatars. I'll just note that their track here is typically masterful and leave it at that. Mad Room are a bit of the odd duck out for me here. Somewhat interesting, but hindered by a vocalist I can't quite get on with. Great White Noise (including a drummer named Tony Buck, who I assume is the same guy that went on to be in The Necks) are stellar though and their breed of angular mutant jazz cum post punk curiously situates them far closer to the sax-centric wing of the Downtown NY axis represented by the likes of Jules Baptiste or The Ordinaires than anything else I've ever heard from Aussie quarters.

Track listing:

Bring Philip-Biodestiny
Severed Heads-In Flesh
Mad Room-The Lever
Great White Noise-Decidedly Less Her

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