THIS KIND OF PUNISHMENT A Beard Of Bees USA 1993 vinyl LP Ajax Xpressway shrink

$

38

Scarce 1993 vinyl USA reissue on the Chicago Ajax label licensed from Expressway out of New Zealand, this has a semi glossy cover still in the original shrinkwrap with semi glossy two sided square 10" insert with lyrics on the back side of the insert (Ajax Records – AJAX 026-1).

The original issue on LP was on Flying Nun (TKP 002) New Zealand 1984."Recorded 6-10 Feb / 21-25 May / 3-7 Sept / and 16-18 Oct 1984 on a Teac Four Track in various lounges, bedrooms and halls. Assistant engineer on some tracks, Andrew Frengley. Mixed by all concerned between 26-30 Nov 1984".

Peter Jefferies & Graeme Jefferies of NOCTURNAL PROJECTIONS, Plagal Grind, THE CAKEKITCHEN, Mecca Normal, +.

AMG PROFILE: This Kind of Punishment's first record dates from the days when New Zealand rock was abrasive rather than jangly -- Peter and Graeme Jeffries (major figures in the scene through the next two decades) assemble a collection of harsh, minimal guitars, low-fi organ drones, and chilling vocals, mainly eschewing drums or opting for booming, primitive percussion. The band's aggressively unsettling style is highly pronounced on these early recordings, which feature none of the slightly more palatable excursions of future releases.

AMG REVIEW: Spare yet astonishingly powerful at the same time, TKP's second full release remains an unjustly ignored highlight of post-punk rock, building tension in ways not far removed from the likes of Joy Division and the Comsat Angels, but too, building with their own distinct, restrained qualities, heightened by the instrumental variety throughout, from mandolin to electric viola. The recording's claustrophobic feel resulting from its four-track origins could earn the album a 'lo-fi' classification if it weren't for the fact that TKP relentlessly avoid the sloppy clichés that such a category might call to mind. Beard avoids conventional drum rhythms at many points, relying instead on odd percussion boxes and Peter Jefferies' careful, imposing piano to support the low end along with the bass. Beginning with the ominous instrumental "Prelude," with Peter handling keyboards and brother Graeme on plucked violin, the album wends a haunting way through fractured lyrical portraits of existential dilemmas, eschewing "grand statements" in favor of intimate portraits, like the ex-party goer in "The Horrible Hour," well-sung by adjunct member Chris Matthews. Though the Jefferies brothers perform just about everything on most tracks, with Peter taking the lion's share of the vocals, various others add contributions from time to time, including "smashing of beer crates" on "East Meets West," which starts calmly enough but has a frightening, though low-key midsection with sudden screams and other buried noises. Quite wisely, not everything is completely awash in gloom. "An Open Denial" for instance, while not a knee-slapper by any means, captures the ear with its flat-out beauty, Peter's deep yet wistful vocals matching well with his piano as Graeme adds shading from violin, guitar, and bass. It could almost be something from Bark Psychosis or even late Talk Talk years before its time -- one of many ways Beard stands clearly apart from the era of its creation.

SONGS: A1 Prelude 2:07 A2 From The Diary Of Hermann Doubt 3:18 A3 The Horrible Tango 4:34 A4 Trepidation 3:50 A5 East Meets West 3:55 B1 Turning To Stone 4:27 B2 Although They Appear 3:49 B3 The Sleepwalker 3:32 B4 An Open Denial 7:03.

CONDITION: The record, insert, & cover (still in the original shrinkwrap) are in near mint condition.

LP SHIPPING + PACKING & VARIOUS INFO:
I use real coated cardboard LP mailers when I ship vinyl & these are very durable. I usually take the records with the inner sleeves out of the covers (unless factory sealed of course) so they don't split the seams of the cover in shipment. Then I put them in a 2 or 3 mil plastic sleeve & then wrap a plastic bag or two around them to keep them from flopping around in the mailer, this method seems to work best since it adds air & almost works like bubble wrap (keeps the LP's usually under a pound & saves a lot on shipping rates worldwide compared to using cardboard inserts), breakage rate has been way less than 1 in 1000 using this method, if I added cardboard it also would make the weight of it more prone to the corners getting dented in transit if dropped. 10" records & 12" singles count as 1 LP for shipping, single laserdiscs count as 2 LP's for shipping (& I pack 2+ records differently & I have oversized boxes for larger packages...don't worry I've been sending out stuff about 5 days a week for well over 20 years now & know exactly what I'm doing over here). I also add plain white inner sleeves so custom innersleeves don't get spit in shipping also (if either company or specialty sleeves came with the record).

All records are BLACK VINYL unless noted & inserts/gatefold covers/posters/custom inner sleeves will be noted in the description if they are included plus promo & cutout marks stated if they are there also. I don't believe in hiding stuff & try to note most everything that should matter to buyers. All 12" vinyl on ebay is automatically listed as 33 1/3 rpm & 7" vinyl as 45 rpm (to save time on listing all this stuff) if you need to confirm speed on a specific item please ask & I can go check.