Is The War Over? 1979 UK post punk new wave Young Marble Giants EX
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Description
Is The War Over? 1979 UK post punk new wave Young Marble Giants EX
Original UK pressing on Z Block Records (ex radio ABC copy)
This Album Was Recorded On Location At Grass Roots Coffee Bar, 58 Charles Street, Cardiff.
Back in the 70s, when punk and new wave was exploding all over the UK, there was a pretty tight-knit group of punk/new wave bands in Wales trying to be the next Joy Division or Sex Pistols. It must not have been a huge scene, but enough of them had the foresight and business sense to start a label, Z Block Records, and work on getting the music from the scene released. Sadly, Z Block didn’t take off. Aside from a few singles, their only release was this LP. But what they lacked in staying power and quantity they more than made up for with in quality.
This is a great compilation of music that remains totally unique and worthwhile. It works both as a perfect time capsule to an era and scene and as a quality record that can be enjoyed in its own right. It’s also a crazy collectible due to the fact that it was the first release to feature Young Marble Giants, who went on to find some success in the years after they broke up.
In October 1979, Z Block records released Is the War Over?, a seminal DIY Cardiff compilation that showcased some of the new wave and minimal punk bands operating out of the Welsh capital at the time. Recorded at Grass Roots cafe, the record included a couple of tracks from Young Marble Giants, whose left-of-centre post-punk caught the attention of Rough Trade's Geoff Travis who soon signed them to the London label. But another stand out on the record is Reptile Ranch, a trio who included Z Block's Spike, Phil John and Simon Smith.
In the late 70s's the communities living in south central Wales' Ebbw Valley felt a growing insecurity as the region's coal mines began to close. It was here, among this working class tension that Reptile Ranch formed at a school nestled between two mines in Newbridge. After moving to Cardiff, where they started Z Block and immersed themselves in a burgeoning DIY scene, the band developed an original and potent sound. Often lacking drums, their songs centred on Phil John's bass and Spike and Simon Smith's unique guitar work that drew some similarities to the post-punk of Desperate Bicycles, Scrotum Poles, and The Fall.
A1 –Addiction Violence
A2 –Addiction Stampede
A3 –Addiction Seek & Search
A4 –Mad Dog Killer
A5 –Mad Dog Someone Here Must Like Me
A6 –Test To Destruction Passive
A7 –Riotous Brothers Airey Neave
A8 –Riotous Brothers No Justice
B1 –Reptile Ranch Waterhole
B2 –The New Form On The Edge
B3 –The New Form Boy
B4 –The New Form Blockhead
B5 –Beaver Mac The Kinife
B6 –Beaver Kleptomania
B7 –Young Marble Giants Ode To Booker T
B8 –Young Marble Giants Searching For Mr. Right
CONDITION:
SLEEVE: EX-- Marks, ring mark, record library gold stamp
RECORD: EX+ to NM— A spindle trail or 2, ABC record library gold stamp
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