Happy 35th Birthday, 4AD!!

In 1979, Ivo Watts-Russell left British record label, Beggar's Banquet, and formed a label of his own called 4AD which put out some of the most original and artistic music of the '80s.  Thirty-five years later, it is still producing incredible music and setting trends.  For the 35th anniversary of the label, many blogs have been compiling lists of their favorite moments.  Since 4AD has been an important part of my musical tastes since their label was only six years-old, I decided to post ten of my favorite albums produced by this iconic label.

1.  Wolfgang Press "Standing Up Straight" (1986) - A practically forgotten gem, this band was known to blend gothic and post-punk influences with funk, and, later in their career, electronic funk, having done covers of both Simon & Garfunkel and Aretha Franklin.  Their signature sound was often discordant guitars following danceable rhythms as well as Michael Allen's deep, bellowing voice.  They have left their mark on many modern bands like Modest Mouse.  The signature songs here on their sophomore album are "Hammer the Halo" with its wistful acoustic guitar and morose keyboards with Allen croaking his unintelligible yet poetic lyrics.  The album finishes out with a sweeping orchestral arrangement with Elizabeth Frasier from Cocteau Twins singing background vocals on a track called "I Am the Crime."

2.  TV On the Radio "Dear Science" (2007) - It really wasn't until this Brooklyn band's third album that I started to give them a serious listen, even though I had a friend from Belgium suggest them to me many years earlier.  I admit, I checked them out only when I learned of their 4AD affiliation, and I'm glad that I did.  From first listen, the opening track "Halfway Home" is fast and furious, but with soft, ambient sounds in the background that seemed almost typical of 4AD.  But I loved it.  The gentle ebb tide of sound in "Family Tree" seemed strongly reminiscent of This Mortal Coil.  There are other scintillating gems on here, like the infectious "Dancing Choose", and the ominous "DLZ",  The latter song was featured in "Breaking Bad" in the second season in the moment in the Home Depot parking lot.  I am sure you remember the moment - when Walter White goes from a devoted father to a real drug dealer.  The song was perfect for the moment.

3.  Dead Can Dance - "Dead Can Dance/ Garden of the Arcane Delights" (1984) - Dead Can Dance emerged from the punk scene of the late 1970s in Melbourne, Australia.  Many of the members lived in a type of commune where everyone would get together and make music on whatever they could find - pots, pans, etc.  Once they signed on 4AD and relocated to Great Britain, their sound became grandiose, tribal, and orchestral, sounding like a pagan Renaissance Fair.  But I always go back to their first album - which is sold now in combination with their follow-up EP, "Garden of the Arcane Delights".  Their sound on these recordings are much more stripped down, more gothic, mostly straight up bass-guitar-drums arrangements.  But there hints of more unconventional sounds to come.  For instance, on "Frontier" the band is at its unpolished best using oil drums filled with water for rhythm with Lisa Gerrard wailing nonsensical noises for vocals.  In "Ocean" and "Musica Eternal", Lisa Gerrard moans sadly over her hammered dulcimer to create some of the most haunting songs you will ever hear.

4.  The Breeders "Pod" (1990) - Most people remember The Breeders for their 1993 hit "Cannonball", the anthem of the early '90s alternative scene, but, to me, their first album is much more interesting.  Kim Deal, former bassist for Pixies, formed a side project with Tanya Donelly (whom I had a chance to meet in 1989) of both Throwing Muses and frontwoman for Belly.  What resulted was a minimalist, simple pop masterpiece that is catchy as hell.  To me, "Doe" is the perfect song with Kim Deal's soft voice and Tanya Donelly's driving guitar.  It ,mixes the best of both bands - Pixies and Throwing Muses - evidence that there was indeed a "sound" to come out of Boston, much like Seattle had its own sound.  Other notable songs are "When I Was a Painter" with its fiddle, and "Fortunately Gone" with its stark lyrics.  Tanya Donelly left after this album, and Kim Deal recruited her sister.  Follow-up albums were good, but none of them grabbed me as much as this first one.

5.  Bon Iver "Blood Bank" (2009) - This four-song EP is the perfect example of the diversity that 4AD strives for, every artist usually adept at creating rich musical landscapes.  This EP is also a perfect example of Bon Iver's sound, which could be called folk music, but is much more.  This is mood music, perfect for reading a book in front of a fire on a cold winter morning.  "Babys" with it's hypnotic piano and the quavering alto of Justin Vernon's voice.  In "Woods", it is just digitally layering of his voice into an emotive a capella piece.  (Kanye West eventually sampled the vocals of this song to create his own pop song.)  "Beach Baby", with its acoustic and sliding guitars, is a genuine slice of Americana.  My favorite song is the title track, "Blood Bank".  It is amazing that a man can make such stirring music with limited instruments and his voice.  There is a reason this guy has won a Grammy.  This EP is a perfect example to show why.

6.  Cocteau Twins "Love's Easy Tears" (1986) - Of course, I can't compile a list of 4AD music without including Cocteau Twins, who are my favorite.  By the time they released this, their 9th EP - along with a handful of albums, they were finally discovering their sound, straying away from the gothic of their early days and starting to play with the experimental textures that they had already been playing with.  In truth, this album is markedly influenced by the Phil Spektor jangle pop sound of the 1960s.  And it is through this sound that Cocteau Twins influenced single-handedly influenced the entire shoegaze movement that was born out of fandom.  I never tire of this EP.  Everyone celebrates Elizabeth Frasier's angelic voice - and it shines here - but my favorite is Robin Guthrie's unusual guitar techniques.  One critic once described it as "feather light guitars that sound like anything other than a guitar."  Guthrie makes a sonic wash that rolls right over you.  My favorite track is "Those Eyes, That Mouth" that starts our sweet and jubilant and ends in a wall of noise like a tsunami with Frasier's voice flitting like a sweet bird over the waves.

7.  Throwing Muses "The Real Ramona"  (1991) -  My favorite Throwing Muses album, which may surprise people that I favor it over "House Tornado" or even "Hunkpapa".  Often called the most "pop" of this Boston quartet's releases, it is still as explosive and charming as their other albums.  Emerging from the underground rock scene of the late '80s, Throwing Muses solidified themselves as the darlings of the '90s alternative scene with an album that was catchy with hooks that will ensnare your skin and pull you into the groove.  I had the chance of seeing Throwing Muses about a year before this album.  What struck me was that they were all very short, but they rocked hard and loud.  The reason I like this album is that it catches the essence of their live shows.  The highlights of this album are Tanya Donelly taking over lead vocals from Kristin Hersh on the bubbly "Not Too Soon" and the languid "Two Step" which starts subtle and builds to an amazing crescendo.  Definitely one of my favorite albums.

8.  Clan of Xymox "Clan of Xymox"  (1985)  - This album was perfect for a moody kid with goth tendencies.  At age 16, I used to love to read Anne Rice, and this album was the perfect soundtrack for those novels.  I remember riding on a train to Mazatlan, Mexico as a teenager, listening to these songs on my Walkman, standing between train cars, using the music as a narrative for the subtropical landscape.  My favorite song is "7th Time" with its heavy bass and percussion offset by haunting keyboards and Anka Wolbert's breathy voice.  My favorite songs are always Anka Wolbert's songs.  When legendary BBC deejay John Peel heard "7th Time", he invited them into his studio and dubbed the name "darkwave". Yes, it has a New Wave feel to it, but its arrangements are orchestral, acoustic, and electronic all at the same time, creating moody textures that appealed to me as a teen, and they still speak to me.  Other songs of note are "A Day", "Stumble and Fall", "Cry in the Wind", and "Stranger", every song depressing enough to suit the tastes of an angst-ridden teen.  The remastered digital format includes an additional track - "Muscoviet Musquito" - which is one of the best examples of a Xymox song.

9.  Lush "Mad Love"  (1990) - Lush emerged in the 1990s and was one of the first bands to receive the designation of "shoegaze",along with My Bloody Valentine and Catherine Wheel.  I have explained that shoegaze was so named for it's trendy, artsy musicians who preferred to look at their shoes in contemplation while they played their instruments rather than engage their audience.  It is characterized by soft, sometimes whispered, vocals drowned out by the white noise of swirling blurry guitars.  This EP was my first exposure to Lush,  I was going off to college and listened to this cassette very often.  (I still own the cassette.)  The first time I heard Meriel Barham's vocals, I instantly compared her style to Liz Frasier from Cocteau Twins.  The guitars - with all of their distortion and effects - reminded me of Robin Guthrie.  In fact, Cocteau Twins are the parents of all shoegaze bands.  Yes, a big claim, but prove me wrong.  Notable songs are "De Luxe", "Leaves Me Cold", and "Thoughtforms".

10.  This Mortal Coil "Filigree & Shadow" (1986) - This Mortal Coil was a project formed by 4AD head honcho, Ivo Watts-Russell, along with John Fryer.  The purpose was to showcase various artists from the 4AD catalog.  For instance, this album contains members from Cocteau Twins, Dead Can Dance, Colourbox, Dif Juz, and Wolfgang Press, along with frequently used sessions musicians, Alison Limmerick and Caroline Seaman,  Most of the songs are instrumental, but there are several covers of '60s and '70s psychedelic and folk artists.  There are covers here from Tim Buckley (late father of the late Jeff Buckley), Van Morrison, Wire, and Talking Heads.  This is a great concept album.  It is soft, emotional with innovative engineering that inserts samples and odd sounds, along with repetitive themes, through all of the songs, giving it a feverish, dreamy feel.  There is no one song that stands out, because it is meant to be listened in one sitting.  When I first bought this in 1986, it was a bulky double-album with lots of grainy, artsy, black and white photos provided by 23 Envelope, 4AD's graphic design wing.  I still love this album.  Check out "Come Here My Love" for the perfect example of TMC's ethereal sound.