VA - Optimism-Reject, UK Punk & Post Punk Meets D-I-Y Aesthetic 1977-1981 (4 x CD's)

UK D-I-Y AESTHETIC
 
VA - Optimism-Reject, UK Punk & Post Punk Meets D-I-Y Aesthetic 1977-1981 (4 x CD's)

The punk explosion of 1977 in the U.K. resulted in boatloads of bands playing hard-and-fast music with spiky attitudes and anthemic choruses. While to many people it felt like a blast of freedom, it soon became a kind of stylistic straitjacket with bands being slagged for not being punk enough. As this familiar plot played out, there were many bands who took the D.I.Y. approach of punk and applied it more liberally to their sound, look, and attitude. They used the freedom that came with punk to explore different sonic landscapes, make weird noises, and generally do whatever they liked without any fear. Cherry Red's thrilling box set Optimism/Reject: Punk and Post Punk Meets D-I-Y Aesthetic rounds up 105 songs by bands untethered to the norms of both mainstream rock and punk. That's not to say there aren't bands that sound very punk, complete with snotty singers, slashing guitars, and jumped-up tempos. The punks here are more rickety and lo-fi than the Clash, though, and less metal than the Pistols, too. Groups like Subway Sect or the Tights weren't going to scare the charts either. Most of the set details the different paths bands took after punk's initial landing. From the poetry of John Cooper Clarke to the doomy goth of Sisters of Mercy, the horn-y blast of the Higsons to the poppy bounce of the Chefs, or the abrasive howl of the Membranes to the whispered beauty of Marine Girls, the set covers a lot of territory in fascinating fashion. There are only a few bands recognizable to anyone without a PhD in post-punk. None of the big bands like the Fall or Josef K are represented by their best-known songs, and the groups like Thompson Twins or Scritti Politti, who actually became hit-makers, are represented by songs that sound nothing like their hits. Like most compilations, there are a few duds to skip over, but the ratio of hits to misses here is exceedingly high, and like the best compilations it inspires further investigation. Practically every other track compels the listener to check if the band has more music to track down. Whether it's the skronky noise of Essential Logic, the goofy charm of the Shapes' "(I Saw) Batman (In the Launderette)," the angular pseudo-glam of Weird Strings' "Oscar Automobile," or the Laughing Apple's clanging "Chips for Tea," there are numerous obscure and wonderful treasures to be found within these four discs. It's an invigorating history lesson that shows that you don't have to be a punk to be punk, and that the underground was alive and well. Not only that, but unlike punk, women were far more involved and the music was completely unpredictable and weird. Listen from start to finish or drop in as you like, Optimism/Reject is a vital document of an era that hasn't been captured as fully and impressively as this before. (AllMusic Review by Tim Sendra)

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VA - Optimism-Reject, UK Punk & Post Punk Meets D-I-Y Aesthetic 1977-1981 [2019] CD1+CD2
https://www90.zippyshare.com/v/auEN6rYQ/file.html

VA - Optimism-Reject, UK Punk & Post Punk Meets D-I-Y Aesthetic 1977-1981 [2019] CD3+CD4
https://www90.zippyshare.com/v/qfcQL6vm/file.html

or

VA - Optimism-Reject, UK Punk & Post Punk Meets D-I-Y Aesthetic 1977-1981 [2019] ALL
https://pixeldrain.com/u/7bcUDxgb

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Track lists

CD1

01    Eater    Michaels Monetary System    1:45
02    Drones    You'll Lose    3:38
03    Alternative Tv    Love Lies Limp    3:07
04    Outsiders    Freeway    4:10
05    John Cooper Clarke    Suspended Sentance    2:51
06    ‘O’ Level    O Levels    2:07
07    Swell Maps    Black Velvet    1:57
08    Patrik Fitzgerald    Optimism/Reject    1:11
09    Attrix    Hard Times    4:09
10    Subway Sect    Nobody's Scared    2:06
11    Freshies    Washed Up    3:07
12    Skids    Charles    2:34
13    Angelic Upstarts    Police Oppression    3:31
14    Art Attacks    Neutron Bomb    2:59
15    Victim    Mixed Up World    3:12
16    Essential Logic    Aerosol Burns    2:01
17    Tights    It    2:41
18    Punishment of Luxury    The Demon    4:05
19    Fall    Bingo-Master's Breakout    2:22
20    Cravats    Situations Vacant    3:36
21    Scritti Politti    Is and Ought the Western World    3:45
22    Pragvec    Wolf    1:48
23    Jerks    Cool    3:12
24    Monochrome Set    He's Frank    2:37
25    Thomas Leer    International    4:02
26    Devil's Dykes    Fruitless    2:14
27    Vice Creems    01-01-212    2:39
28    Nigel Simpkins    Times Encounter    1:55

CD2

01    Ruts    H-Eyes    2:48
02    Dodgems    Lord Lucan Is Missing    3:30
03    Passage    The Competition    1:39
04    Nicky & The Dots    Girl Gets Nervous    2:21
05    Scissor Fits    Playing Golf (With My Flesh Crawling)    2:48
06    Spizzoil    Cold City    2:02
07    Shapes    (I Saw) Batman (In The Launderette)    2:39
08    Proles    Stereo Love    2:05
09    Molesters    Commuter Man    5:40
10    Pack    Heathen    2:39
11    Raincoats    In Love    3:06
12    Tea Set    Sing Song    1:35
13    Artery    Mother Moon    2:16
14    Murder The Disturbed    The Ultimate System    4:00
15    Family Fodder    Playing Golf (With My Flesh Crawling)    4:31
16    Frantic Elevators    Every Day I Die    1:26
17    They Must Be Russians    Nagasaki's Children    4:15
18    Second Layer    Metal Sheet    1:22
19    Metrophase    Cold Rebellion    3:28
20    Disturbed    I Don't Believe    4:25
21    Door And The Window    Subculture Fashion Slaves    3:50
22    Steppes    God's Got Religion    2:51
23    Gl*XO Babies    Christine Keeler    3:37
24    Associates    Boys Keep Swinging    3:39
25    Fatal' Microbe    Beautiful Pictures    1:49
26    Disco Zombies    Top Of The Pops    2:19
27    Pneumania    Exhibition    2:51

CD3

01    Au Pairs    Domestic Departure    2:21
02    English Subtitles    Reconstruction    5:03
03    Medium Medium    Them Or Me    3:55
04    Modern Eon    Choreography    2:40
05    Josef K    Chance Meeting    2:54
06    Lines    On The Air    3:33
07    Mo-Dettes    Masochistic Opposite    3:33
08    Deep Freeze Mice    Minstrel Radio Yoghurt    2:39
09    Chefs    You Get Everywhere    2:41
10    Golinski Brothers    Bloody    2:33
11    Lillettes    Hey Operator    2:11
12    Bodies    Art Nouveau    3:39
13    Nightmares In Wax    Shangri-La    3:32
14    Weird Strings    Oscar Automobile    3:07
15    Again Again    Self Employed    4:26
16    Membranes    Fashionable Junkies    1:42
17    Manic Jabs    Autophagous    2:02
18    Blancmange    Modichy In Aneration    2:05
19    Mystere V's    No Message    3:15
20    Eyeless In Gaza    The Feelings Mutual    2:40
21    Distributors    Lean On Me    3:39
22    Tagmemics    Chimneys    4:34
23    Rhythm Clicks    Short Time    3:10
24    Blurt    Get    3:44

CD4

01    Young Marble Giants    Final Day    1:43
02    Charge    You Get What You Deserve    3:04
03    Sisters Of Mercy    The Damage Done    3:02
04    Girls At Our Best    Politics!    3:16
05    A Popular History Of Signs    Justice Not Vengeance    3:58
06    Thompson Twins    Could Be Her, Could Be You    3:20
07    Fire Engines    Everything's Roses    3:16
08    Emma Sharpe    Motorway    2:00
09    Red Squares    The Russians Are Coming    1:51
10    Room    Motion    3:02
11    49 Americans    Should Be More Ideal    2:39
12    Cult Figures    I Remember    2:54
13    Higsons    Insect Love    3:29
14    Laughing Apple    Chips For Tea    2:19
15    Legendary Pink Dots    Defeated    2:28
16    Marine Girls    Holiday Song    2:14
17    Normil Hawaiians    The Return    3:14
18    Reflections    Zigzagging    2:52
19    Sad Lovers And Giants    When I See You    3:17
20    To The Finland Station    Domino Theory    3:38
21    Vivien Goldman    Launderette    3:47
22    23 Skidoo    Ethics    3:40
23    Screen 3    Shades Of Black    3:18
24    Happy Few    Plan 9 From Outer Space    3:35
25    Tesco Bombers    Break The Ice At Parties    1:54
26    …And The Native Hipsters    I Wanna Be Around (Paul)    2:30

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