1. Boy Sets Fire – Phone Call 4AM – Demo (2006?)
This song would eventually be released on Boy Sets Fire’s 2013 release While A Nation Sleeps…, but this demo, I believe, dates back to the making of The Misery Index album, thus putting it somewhere in the 2006 area. I can’t really remember, I just know I downloaded it off their website around the time that album came out and was surprised to find it on an album years later. I like this demo version better – I don’t even really know why. Maybe it’s the rougher production, the vocals work a little better, I’m not really sure. But I do.
2. The Mercury Program – The Secret To Quiet – All The Suits Began To Fall Off (2001)
Post-Rock with a vibraphone? Hell yeah. Somehow the vibraphone fits perfectly tone-wise into this style of music and nobody else does it - probably because most vibes player are doing jazz or classical. Also, lugging that thing around to shitty rock clubs and throwing it in the back of a van or U-Haul on a nightly basis would probably be awful. Well, The Mercury Program did and that’s all that matters. Every single one of their records is worth checking out.
3. Madeline Ferguson – If It Hangs Up It’s A Noose, If It Hangs Down It’s A Tie – Split w/ Bury Me Standing (2003)
What would a Plaguelist be without an obscure band from Albany? Madeline Furgeson were a sort of screamo type hardcore band that existed in the early 2000s and were one of my favorite bands from that scene. Their first album, A Long Walk With No Return is decent, but after moving their drummer out front as the vocalist and adding a few members they really solidified their sound, which can be heard on the six songs from their split LP with Bury Me Standing. They always put on a hell of a show too. The fact that they were named after a Twin Peaks character was also plus for me.
4. Rebekah Del Rio – No Stars – Twin Peaks: The Return OST (2017)
From a Twin Peaks reference band name to a song actually from the show, written by the mastermind, David Lynch. Rebekah Del Rio entered the Lynch universe in Mulholland Drive as the singer in Club Silencio, doing an amazing a cappella version of Roy Orbison’s “Crying” en Español. She returned for the third season of Twin Peaks to sing at The Roadhouse, and it’s one of my favorite moments from the whole series. Wearing a dress that mirrors the floor of the Black Lodge, Del Rio’s pitch perfect voice calmly leads the way over a 50’s sounding tremolo guitar (played by Moby - at least in the show). Lynch wrote “No Stars”, and a version of it appears on Del Rio’s 2011 album Love Hurts, Love Heals. In this version though, her voice is processed just a bit to give an eerier tone that suits that show better. Both are worth your time.
5. Cave – This Is The Best – Neverendless (2011)
I went to see Cave live one time and I noticed a couple at the show in front of me. The guy was totally into the music but the girl was not. It seemed like she just came out because he wanted to and she was dealing with the weird psychedelic kraut-rock type stuff they were playing through as best as she could. Then they announced they were going to play their last song and she looked a little relieved. But as they droned on for around 15 minutes playing essentially the same chord over and over into a huge build up, you could tell she had enough and started to put her coat on and head towards the back of the bar. It was amusing because what seemingly annoyed her was what I really loved about it. That pretty much sums up my taste in music. That song was “This Is The Best.” Enjoy.
6. Agents Of Oblivion – The Skeletal Circus – Demo (1998)
This was Dax Riggs’ first project after Acid Bath. It signaled his move away from the metal side of things and put into place the foundation of his direction afterward. Bluesy, psychedelic swamp rock is probably the best way to describe it. I’ve found a few versions of this demo and most sound like garbage - possibly tape rips. This is the best fidelity I have ever come across, with the exception of this cool video that someone put together for it. Mike Sanchez, former Acid Bath member was also in this band, though they were relatively short lived, as Dax would move on to form his next band Deadboy & The Elephantmen. The crazy thing is that this song is amazing, and it didn’t even make the one official studio album they put out.
7. Mark Kozelek & Jimmy LaValle – 1936 – Perils From The Sea (2013)
Perils From The Sea is a really cool collab between Sun Kil Moon’s Mark Kozelek and The Album Leaf’s Jimmy LaValle. Essentially, LaValle did the music, which is a sort of atmospheric electronic type base with programmed drums that sound like the stock beats from a $50 Casio keyboard you get at Wal-Mart. Kozelek wrote the lyrics and vocal patterns. This is right before he stopped using melody in his songs and just went rambling on about random stuff. Don’t get me wrong, he rambles on about random stuff, but it’s got a little bit of a tune to it on this album. The songs tell some weird stories about his life, which are supposedly all true. “1936” is about how he stole a valuable coin from his mother to sell so he could get some weed as a teenager. Then when he discovered the coin actually had emotional value, as it was passed down from his grandfather, he feels like a dick and spends the rest of his life looking for a similar one.
8. The Sacrifice Poles – Chow Foon The Moon – The Sacrifice Poles (2001)
The Sacrifice Poles are Cave In. While recording their space-rock classic Jupiter, which came out in 2000 (see: Plaguelist #3), they ran into a period of writers block. Breaking down their entire technical metalcore style and turning it into a Radiohead meets Syd Barret alternative rock band could have been the culprit. So since they couldn’t write, they just jammed things out, hoping to come across some stuff they could use for the album. The leftovers became a full length CD of 4-track recordings that they put out under an alias. They said they would probably put out more in the future as they worked on new records, but never did. So, we have just this one cool collection of random ideas from Cave In.
9. J. Tillman – This Jealous Blood – I Will Return (2005)
Josh Tillman is better known these days at Father John Misty. Yeah, the guy who does that goofy indie pop stuff with ridiculous dance moves on stage. Before he did that, he wrote really dark indie folk songs under the name J. Tillman. Between 2003 and 2010 he put out a whole slew of really good albums that leaned more towards the Jason Molina and Damien Jurado end of the spectrum. He played drums with Fleet Foxes for a little while after that and probably got a taste for selling out large music halls instead of playing nearly empty bars. That, and the money is probably better. You can skip the whole thing he’s doing now, but don’t bypass his early work because of it.
10. Black Sabbath – Air Dance – Never Say Die! (1978)
I’ve gone back and forth on whether I was going to include in my Plaguelist series a Black Sabbath album that I created by mixing songs from their last two albums from the 70s. I call it “The Late 70s LP” and it cuts the crap from those two records and keeps the best songs. Maybe I still will, who knows? Everyone knows the first six Sabbath albums are the classics, then there was too much drugs and booze and legal issues and the regular old bullshit that contributed to Technical Ecstasy and Never Say Die! being fairly mediocre albums. Ozzy gets kicked out, Dio comes in and they get refreshed for the killer 1980 album Heaven and Hell. But there is actually some really good songs tucked away on those records. “Air Dance” is one of my favorites. It’s completely different from anything they had ever done or would ever do again. It’s super catchy and I think if some pop star came out with a cover of it today, it could be a huge hit and the youngsters wouldn’t even know where it came from.
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