Less a compilation and more a reference manual for alternative music, this 35-track collection from the Ohio art-rock outfit covers the first three years of their existence when the terms ‘seminal’ and ‘influential’ can be, for once, correctly used.
Debut album Modern Dance, leading off with the skewed punk of ‘Non-Alignment Pact’, is a lesson in how glam and Velvets-style noise can be happy bedfellows. Follow-up Dub Housing saw the band throw free jazz and found sounds into the mix while retaining an ear for a pop hook. Chuck in a 1978 live show and the band’s early singles, all remastered, and you have the ideal introduction to one of the most important but least-heard acts of the past 40 years.
