VA – Let’s Die (LP 1985)

If it’s deathrock you want, it’s deathrock you’ll get with this gruesomely attractive compilation from cult label Mystic Records fittingly titled Let’s Die. Now if you’re from the mindset that there’s a single mold from which all deathrock springs you might find yourself a bit lost trekking through these nineteen tracks. For that matter, even though most of these bands hail from the same SoCal region that spawned original deathrockers Christian Death - which is the sole band I measure anything tagged “deathrock” against, nothing here sounds much like Christian Death at all. That said… what shall one expect from this fairly obscure, lesser-known collection of cheerless rock songs? Well, really there’s quite a bit to discover - from goth to glam, hardcore to metal, punk to postpunk… it’s a great listen for anyone who likes to dabble in a mishmash of musical styles, all the while maintaining that certain sense of darkness that’s come to be one of the main identifiable characteristics of all things "deathrock." Let's Die is a lost cult classic!

Standout tracks include: “Inside” by False Confession - heavy goth rock with dark cascading organ, menacing guitar, and vocals reminiscent of Peter Murphy; “Hellhouse” by A.W.O.L – punishing, metallic gloom punk similar to some of DI’s output; “Let’s Die” by Patrick Mata – dreary, yet funky, postpunk pow wow; “Darkest Dream” by Party Doll – melodic female-fronted goth punk, like Leningrad Sandwich flirting with Super Heroines; “Kill the Dead” by Slaughterhouse 5 – loud bass-thumping trashy horror punk; “Hives” by Burning Image – like the DEVO of deathrock, essential; “Bad Brains” by The Drab – sizzling slow-mo gloom punk. Track to avoid: “Day of the Jackal” by The Stain – reminds me of NWOBHM… and I like NWOBHM, but this is just painful.

VA – Let’s Die (LP 1985)

1. False Confession - Inside
2. Subterfuge - The Noose
3. A.W.O.L. – Hellhouse
4. Patrick Mata - Let's Die
5. Thieves Cross - Slaughter Hotel
6. Party Doll - Darkest Dream
7. The White Pigs - When Bobby Comes Back from the Grave
8. The Mess - Innocent Me
9. Ill Repute - In the Night
10. Slaughterhouse 5 - Kill the Dead
11. Burning Image – Hives
12. The Drab - Bad Brains
13. Silver Chalice – Suicide
14. Samson's Army - The Edge
15. The Stain - Day of the Jackal
16. Flower Leperds – Necrology

DOT #17

JERI ROSSI - I Left My Heart But I Don't Know Where (7" 1983)

If you enjoyed the Your Funeral single posted a couple months back you’re in for a exceptional treat because next up is the one and only, powerfully haunting solo recording from none other than Your Funeral vocalist/guitarist Ms. Jeri Rossi!

Recorded in 1983, this single has two tracks total, the A-side being an original song written by Jeri herself, and the flip a boldly feminized cover of the James Brown song It’s A Mans Mans Mans World. Both songs share the same spirit found in Jeri’s previous work, but the approach here is a little different, more poetic perhaps, with word and instrumentation woozily tangled together in a cacophony of mismanaged passion. For myself, the first track, I Left My Heart But I Don’t Know Where, is the easy winner of the two… a dense, dark, rhythmically bubbling brew of loud, confusing, disagreeable sounds recklessly spiked with Jeri’s wrathful tongue... within seconds the song’s contagious mood had me piled in goose-bumps and curling my upper lip in accordance. Highly recommended for fans of angry women like Lydia Lunch, Jarboe, and Bikini Kill.

I Left My Heart But I Don’t Know Where

I left my heart but I don’t know where
it’s beating on someone’s stairs
or in a dumpster where he tossed it
I wish someday to come across it…

I feel so hollow, made of tin
fingers quiver, chest sunk in
the question that comes to mind
“Why a heart is hard to find?”

Feel like a bullet in someone’s gun
he pulls the trigger, then he runs
into the banquet, pain and thunder
I’d rather be SIX FEET UNDER!

I left my heart but I don’t know where
I left my heart but I don’t know where
I left my heart but I don’t know where
I LEFT MY HEART BUT I DON’T KNOW WHERE!

JERI ROSSI - I Left My Heart But I Don't Know Where (7" 1983)

1. I Left My Heart But I Don't Know Where
2. It's a Mans Mans Mans World

DOT #13

DA - Dark Rooms (7-inch, 1981)

It’s just pass 3am and you’re alone in a haunted house, trapped in a dark room and hiding beneath your covers from whatever might be lurking just outside your door. You listen for signs of company, but can only hear the eerie silence that surrounds you. You continue to probe through the quiet and suddenly notice the sound of breathing. Something breathing... and it's much closer than you hoped. Perhaps right there in the room with you... watching you... slowly closing in to introduce itself to you. You continue to clutch the blanket like a shield above your head; the air within is cold and dense, almost too dense to breathe, but you struggle. Your chest tightens squeezing your heart as it begins flutter. You try to stay still, but your body betrays by convulsing in terror. You can feel the thing now looming above you. The air seems colder and colder… denser and denser. You so badly want to peek, but don’t dare for fear of the horrific realization that this could be the end. So instead you cautiously wait and imagine your dreadful destiny opening itself wide to swallow you away...

So let’s face the facts here, more likely than not a band’s debut recording is far superior to all subsequent recordings. Be it a 7-inch single, a 5-song EP, or full-length album this initial release usually establishes both the bands musical style and lyrical themes (skill usually comes later), consequently dictating a specific fan base. So as sad is it may seem, seeing a fledgling band dropout due to insufficient resources (a.k.a. lack of label interest) can actually be quite promising –exclamation mark-

Case in point this Chicago based band called DA. Three-fourths female (yes, I have a minor obsession with XX musicians!) and a quarter male, DA were active in the early 80s, releasing two singles and one comp track, before slipping away into obscurity. Of all Dawn, Dave, Gaylene, and Lorna’s studio recordings the song “Dark Rooms” from the 7-inch of the same name stands out starkly among the rest. Comparable to output from bands like The Veil and Leningrad Sandwich this gothpunk requiem will have you bewitched from opening guitar strum to final cymbal crash.

DOT #6

YOUR FUNERAL - I Want To Be You (7-inch, 1982)

Your Funeral was a three-piece, all-female, dark postpunk band from Denver, Colorado’s original alternative music scene. Members included Jeri Rossi, Karen Sheridan, and Cleo Tilde. The two tracks available here stretch from bouncy Cure-esque poppiness, to tribal doom and gloom, complete with catchy bass lines and snotty vocals that might best be described as young Siouxsie Sioux accented with a heavy slap of Lydia Lunch-like desperation. This is the band’s only official release and is a well sought after gem among the postpunk/goth record collecting crowd.

“We had the record pressed at a small plant in Wyoming -- they had done the Allen Ginsberg/Gluons single for us before this one. When I got the box of records for Your Funeral, there was a letter in it stating that they wouldn't press anymore records for us because they thought we were evil and satanic! It was a great letter, replete with bad grammar and poor spelling -- I'm sure I've still got it somewhere in the basement but I'll probably never find it again...”

Singer/guitarist Jeri would later release a solo 7-inch, “I Left My Heart But I Don't Know Where / It's a Mans Mans Mans World”, both tracks akin to the works of the aforementioned Lydia Lunch. In the mid-80s Jeri would go on to front another band called Black Cat Bone, but unfortunately none of their material ever made it to vinyl. She has since made herself a career in both filmmaking and writing, and currently resides in San Francisco. Learn more about her here.

DOT #2