Optic Nerve Rock & Indie 29 Items

A native of Toronto, Tess Parks moved to London, England at the age of seventeen where she briefly studied photography before deciding to focus on music.

Tess made an impression on industry legend Alan McGee, founder of Creation Records, albeit the timing of their meeting could hardly have been less ideal; McGee was no longer involved in music and Tess was due to move back to Toronto. After moving back to her hometown in 2012, Tess formed a band on the advice of McGee and less than a year after their meeting, he returned to music with his new label, 359 Music.

Tess became one of his first signings and released her debut record ‘Blood Hot’ in November 2013 to excellent reviews. One reviewer described her as “Patti Smith on Quaaludes”. Others have mentioned her “gauzy psychedelic sound” and“smouldering voice”.

Alan McGee himself said: “She’s only 24 and is already an amazing songwriter... she just doesn’t quite know she is yet ... her most beautiful quality is her lack of ego. Tess is an amazing lady”.

‘Blood Hot’ is inimitably confident. It’s slow and psychedelic at times, while being loud and ready to fill a stadium at others. There isn’t a moment on the album that isn’t relatable or that doesn’t ring to the tune of a timeless classic to be talked about for years to come (the same way people discuss The Velvet Underground or My Bloody Valentine records today).

Her cult-like following has turned into a movement. And Tess is gladly leading us all

back into that space within ourselves, both deeply personal and entirely universal. Incredibly relevant yet timeless.Cool and anti-cool. An enigma that doesn’t need solving. Tess Parks is as she’s always been. Her best work is already out there. And her best yet is still to come.

4 track 7” on green vinyl . Individual hand painted sleeves. Limited to 500 copies worldwide. Includes poster.

Part of the Optic Sevens 5.0 Reissue Series.

Originally released in 1986 on Australian label Voyeur Records.

This is the first time that the single has been released in the UK.

Even As We Speak is an indie band from Sydney, Australia. Formed in the mid 1980s, founding members Matthew Love (guitar, banjo, vocals) and Mary Wyer (vocals, guitar) were later joined by Rob Irwin (bass) Anita Rayner (drums, banjo, mandolin), Julian Knowles (guitar, keyboards, production), and Paul Clarke (guitar, vocals.)

After a series of vinyl releases on Australian independent labels including Phantom Records, and success on the Australian indie scene, they came to the attention of BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel who started to play the band’s ‘Goes So Slow’ Phantom Records release on his show. This brought them to the attention of UK audiences and began a relationship with UK indie label Sarah Records.

The band released several singles and an album on Sarah Records, three of which reached the Top 5 of the Melody Maker and New Musical Express UK independent music charts in 1992 and 1993.

Formed in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire after drummer Simon Scott met Guitarist Graham Garduilo in local band The Giant Polar Bears.

They were tour buddies to Ride and most of the late 1980s shoegaze bands. Simon Scott was stolen by Slowdive after a gig at the White Horse in Hampstead in 1990, where the Boo Radleys opened the three-band bill.

They split after releasing two albums. John Peel loved them and NME gave debut album Lovehappy 9 out of 10.

Part of The Optic Sevens 5.0 Reissue Series

Limited to 500 copies worldwide. Pressed on Violet vinyl. Includes poster.

Presented in the alternate 12” sleeve that was used for the original Creation release and includes all 3 tracks on 7” for the first time

Originally released in 1986 and was one of the stand out tracks on the legendary C86 compilation In 2023, Mojo magazine ranked the song “Therese” as the 37th greatest UK indie record ever, citing it “a breathless romantic gulp of twin guitar twirl.

Part of The Optic Sevens 5.0 Reissue Series.

Limited to 500 copies worldwide. Pressed on Pink Vinyl. Includes poster.

Debut single by The Flatmates. Originally released in 1986 on The Subway Organization label giving them a Top 20 indie hit and an appearance in John Peel's Festive Fifty.

Part of The Optic Sevens 5.0 Reissue Series

Limited to 750 copies worldwide. Pressed on White Vinyl. Includes poster.

Second single released by The House of Love in 1987.

Previously issued as a 12” only single on Creation records. It appears here for the first time on 7” and includes all three tracks from the original .

‘Ushered in by deceptively innocent vocal trilligs and sha-las. The House of Love suddenly rip off the mask of Doctor Jekyll to become Mr. Hyde and burst out of the speakers like shrapnel

Originally released on the Sub Aqua label in 1988. It appears here on 7” for the first time. This is a previously unreleased version of Back Between Places. The band were never really happy with the original single release and having discovered the master tape of a superior version, it is to be mixed and released here for the very first time.

The June Brides debut single originally released in 1984 on The Pink Label.

Both tracks are from fresh transfers from the master tapes which were then remastered by Jason Mitchell at Loud Mastering in Taunton in early 2021.

The June Brides are true innovators, hailing from the first wave of British indie, with fans that include Manic Street Preachers (who covered their song “The Instrumental” as a tribute) , Morrissey and Belle and Sebastian’s Stuart Murdoch.

They have always been regarded as pioneers, and one of the most beloved of the bands that formed the original UK independent music scene, which has since been tagged as C86

By 1986 Nikki Sudden had found a home at Creation Records releasing Texas.

Widely considered Sudden’s solo magnum opus,. Co-produced by Sudden and his brother Epic Soundtracks, Texas is a masterpiece. Like Young’s After the Gold Rush or the Rolling Stones’ Sticky Fingers, Texas holds together as a damaged, atmospheric take on Americana. At this time in rock history, Sudden was nearly alone in referencing Brian Wilson’s Smile album.

Jangle Town was the opening track and only single that was taken from the album. This reissue uses the 12” artwork

Part of The Optic Sevens 5.0 Reissue Series.

Limited to 750 copies worldwide . Pressed on Purple Vinyl . Includes poster.

The Primitives' second single was originally released in 1986 on Lazy Records.

This issue contains all three tracks from the 12” . (None of which were included on their debut album), with a slightly different sleeve design that is a mixture of the original 12” and 7” release.

The 3-track "Forever" E.P. on Transluscent Red 10" Vinyl is limited to 250 copies and features two new compositions, the title track "Forever" and "My Slum Soul", plus an incendiary new version of an old live favourite "Ink Runs Dry". Folk Devils, the London group that took their name from a well-known academic text on social scapegoating, and who blazed a trail across the UK's independent music scene of the mid-80s with their unique brand of post-punk energy, have returned with their first new music in 35 years. Recorded at London's famous Konk Studios in North London and mixed and co- produced by Grammy Award-winning engineer Rik Simpson, the re-born Folk Devils drew inspiration from the release of their 2016 career retrospective "Beautiful Monsters" and the reactions at subsequent live shows around the UK with kindred spirits Membranes, Inca Babies and The Cravats. Founder members, guitarist Kris Jozajtis and bassist Mark Whiteley, reformed the group by recruiting members of a short-lived 1987 version of Folk Devils; guitarist Nick Clift and drummer John Hamilton. Together with singer Dave Hodgson they soon discovered they had created a well-oiled twin-guitar juggernaut that brimmed with the same restless, twisted blues that characterized the first and second iterations of the band from 1983-87 when they were fronted by the highly underrated and now sadly-departed singer/songwriter Ian Lowery. Hodgson, a fellow transplant from the North-East, had known Lowery in the early 80s prior to Folk Devils, when the two were in their respective post-punk bands Ski Patrol and Parting Shots.

‘Mellifluous’... is a word you won’t hear much when conversation turns to early Pooh Sticks records. But ‘noise pollution’, sure: that comes up. I’ve even used it myself. So look away now if you must: ‘Straight Up: Noise Pollution C88-90’ is a selection of some of the most loved/despised/ignored tracks released by The Pooh Sticks on however many records it was before it all went wilfully ‘American’ sometime around dotted-lining for BMG mega-corp in 1991.

14 track vinyl version of the 2012 CD compilation. Pressed on pale blue vinyl, with printed lyric inner sleeve. First time on vinyl. Includes poster and postcard. A swish compilation LP featuring fourteen of the most memorable songs in the career of the top notch indie band THE HIT Parade. Entitled ‘pick OF THE Pops (vol1)’ the LP collects together the most poignant moments in the career of THE HIT Parade, and includes their thoughtful recording for Sarah Records “In Gunnersbury Park”, their tubthumping single for Minty Fresh USA “Hitomi” as well as other cuts, both cheerful and desolate in style, that feature Cath Carroll (Factory Records), Amelia Fletcher (Heavenly and Talulah Gosh) and Harvey Williams (Another Sunny Day and The Field Mice). THE HIT Parade was formed by Julian Henry with his school friends Matt Moffatt and Raymond Watts in 1984 when they released their first single ‘Forever’ on JSH Records. Since then they’ve clung to the sensibilities of pure pop and have become a curiosity item with their retro attitudes and songs about dead writers, disused swimming pools and failed love affairs. Their early vinyl singles were lauded by John Peel, the NME and Melody Maker, the now defunct weekly paper that published Julian Henry’S writing. In the 1990s the band toured alongside Edwyn Collins, The Milkshakes and Sarah Records notables, and signed to Japanese and US labels, releasing a sequence of albums that have since become collectible.

Deluxe reissue of their 1989 sophomore album pressed on pale blue Color Vinyl. Presented in a gloss laminated gatefold sleeve, which features the original LP plus a bonus disc with all the A and B sides, some compilation tracks and an outtake, plus a 12-page booklet containing previously unpublished lyrics and tons of contemporary reviews and photos.

Includes postcard and poster. The Monochrome Set were something of the unsung heroes of the post-punk world; they fitted into absolutely no category whatsoever and their puckish take on spaghetti western soundtracks meets lounge jazz via the twisted lyrical imagery of vocalist Bid was as singular as it was unique. Comprising a couple of ex-Ants in Andy Warren and Lester Square, with singer / guitarist Bid and drummer JD Haney, their filmic, playful material found favour with many, including John Peel although they failed to match this with commercial success. The Jet Set Junta was originally released on Cherry Red in 1983 with its urgent, ringing guitars surrounding Bid’s lyrics telling of dodgy arms dealings and armoured limos as Lester Square’s Ennio Morriconetwang bends and reverbs as a counterpoint.

Part of The Optic Sevens 4.0 Reissue Series. Limited to 1000 copies. Pressed on Blue Vinyl. Includes postcard and poster. The Bluebells have dug deep into their archive to give us the earliest recordings of these tracks, which have never been released before and are exclusive to this 7” ‘Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool’ is longer and more vibrant containing an extra verse and guitar solo which are not on previous versions. This is the closest recording to the one that was originally intended to be released on Postcard in 1981. The sleeve, designed by Bobby Bluebell features 2 of the earliest photos of the band. THE Bluebells were formed by songwriter / guitarist Robert Hodgens aka Bobby Bluebell in 1980. When deciding to form a group to start performing his songs, Hodgens remembered two punk musicians from Bothwell (brothers Ken and David McCluskey) he had interviewed for his fanzine, 10 Commandments. David (drums/ backing vocals) and Ken (vocals / harmonica) joined Robert and The Bluebells started performing live in and around Glasgow. The Bluebells were soon involved in the burgeoning scene coalescing around Postcard Records in Glasgow (Orange Juice, Josef K, Go Betweens, Aztec Camera, Jazzateers), and it wasn’t long before The Bluebells were sharing stages throughout the UK with some of the Postcard groups. A single (Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool) was scheduled for release on Postcard, however after appearing on the front page on Melody Maker and in NME / Sounds etc, major record companies started making serious offers to sign the group. The Bluebells appeared on BBC music program The Old Grey Whistle Test, the first unsigned group to do so, and it wasn’t long after this television appearance that the group signed a major record contract with London Records. The Bluebells were soon in the studio working on songs for their debut album, with Elvis Costello producing. They were invited to open on UK tours for Haircut 100 and Elvis Costello & The Attractions, and started releasing singles to critical acclaim (Forevermore, Cath, Sugar Bridge). However it was their fourth single I’m Falling (co-written by Robert and Ken) that finally resulted in commercial success, chart success, and appearances on Top of the Pops. The Bluebells released their debut album, Sisters, in 1984 to further commercial chart success, which was continued when their next single, Young At Heart, gave the group their second big hit single. However, when Young At Heart was reissued in 1993, it reached number 1 in the chart for a month, making The Bluebells regular fixtures on Top Of The Pops

Limited to 750 copies. Pressed on Red Vinyl. Includes postcard and poster. Article 58, named after the Soviet classification for counter-revolutionaries, were formed in Scotland by Gerri McLaughlin (vocals), Douglas MacIntyre (guitars) and Ewan MacLennan (bass), with Stephen Lironi (drums) on these recordings. The group existed for a short period of time, burning brightly before burning out. A single, ‘Event To Come’, was produced by Postcard Records’ Alan Horne and Malcolm Ross and released on Josef K manager Allan Campbell’s Rational label. Article 58 were the opening group on many bills in Scotland, including support slots circa 1981 with A Certain Ratio, Scars, Josef K, Delmontes, Bauhaus, Restricted Code, among others. Josef K invited Article 58 to support them on some dates in England to promote their only album, ’The Only Fun In Town’, after which Article 58 recorded tracks for an as-yet unreleased album. One track, ‘Reflection’, did surface on a cassette/ zine product (‘Irrational’) released by Rational Records. However the teenage tension and strain of all that accompanies being in a group proved too much and Article 58 split up at the end of 1981. ‘Event To Come’ was to be the only single released by Article 58. The B side, ‘Icon’, is a previously unreleased recording. Both tracks are presented in a brand new sleeve designed by The Creeping Bent Organisation for release on the Optic Nerve label.

Reissued for the first time. Pressed on Color Vinyl. Disc 1 is Purple. Disc 2 is Gold. Double vinyl that includes their critically acclaimed and highly sought after debut album ‘Glasshouse’ from 1985 and the 1986 follow up ‘Simplicity’. Presented in a gatefold sleeve adorned with the artwork from the Glasshouse EP, which features in the Prints & Drawings collection at the Victoria & Albert Museum. With printed inner sleeves and a download code for all 31 tracks on the double CD. Including all tracks from the singles and EP’s plus unreleased recordings.

Includes postcard and poster. Hailing from Wolverhampton, Weeping Messerschmitts gave us one absolutely cracking 12”, released on Upright in 1986 and then disappeared . Previously only available on 12” only we bring you 2 of those tracks on 7” for the very first time. Coming out of the West Midlands Weeping Messerschmitts cut their teeth supporting schoolfriends The Mighty Lemon Drops.

Part of The Optic Sevens 3.0 Reissue Series . Limited to 800 copies worldwide. Pressed on Red Vinyl Printed inner sleeve. Includes postcard and poster. Glasgow based The Clouds only single was originally released in 1988 on Subway and became an indie top 20 hit. This version is pressed on Red vinyl with inner sleeve. Includes all 3 tracks from the 12”.

Includes two previously unreleased tracks. The album comes with a deluxe 12 page booklet, featuring never- seen before photos and a history of the band written by Jowe Head, of Television Personalities and Swell Maps fame. Limited Blue Swirl Vinyl. A mainstay of the indie and C86 scene, the London-based band were signed to Dan Treacy’s Dreamworld Records. Treacy, the genius behind The Television Personalities, played a major role in the band’s birth, contributing a few songs and as producer.

Includes postcard and poster. Impossibly rare 1984 UK 7” vinyl single, written by a pre- Bachelor Pad’s Martin Cotter. One of only three releases by the short-lived Glasgow based indie label Bogaten, although redolant of early Orange Juice in the sound of the A-side, also looks forward to Shoegaze, with a reverb-drenched cover of The Velvet Underground’s Waiting For My Man on the B-side

Includes postcard and poster. Their one and only single was originally released in 1985 on Creation and spent 19 weeks in the independent chart. From East Kilbride in Scotland, they morphed into Motorcycle Boy.

The Die Young EP was released on the group’s own Cafeteria label, released early 1987. Michael Fury was inspired by James Joyce’s short story The Dead. Only previously available on a 4 track12” .This 7” version comprises 3 of those 4 tracks

Released in 1984 and the second release on Creation Records. Flowers In The Sky Is a perfect piece of 80’s psychedelic pop.

Originally released in 1989 on The House Of Teeth label, this indie classic which made John Peels Festive fty of that year, gets a 30th anniversary reissue as part of our Optic Sevens 2.0 reissue series. It is backed with the Previously unreleased ‘Coquette’, which was recorded in 1992 , remixed in 2017 and only available on this release of the 7 inch.

+ bonus 7"

Half and half colored vinyl! Gatefold cover is close to NM!