Galaxie 500 – Uncollected Noise New York ’88-’90 (2024)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:24:06 minutes | 1,67 GB | Genre: Indie Rock, Dreampop, Slowcore
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © 20 – 20 – 20
The complete uncollected Noise New York studio recordings of Galaxie 500. A twenty-four track chronological journey through rarities and outtakes including never-before-heard songs, from the start of their incendiary career to their final studio session. Uncollected Noise New York ’88-’90 marks Galaxie 500’s first release of new archival material in nearly thirty years and their most comprehensive collection of unreleased and rare material ever. Produced and engineered by Kramer at Noise New York 1988-1990. Featuring B-sides, outtakes, and non-album material, the compilation also boasts eight never-before-heard cuts.
Slow and deliberate but eruptive in terms of melody and emotion, Galaxie 500 undeniably altered the course of independent music by offering an alternative perspective to the loud and forceful sounds that dominated the late ’80s indie landscape they grew from. The Boston trio existed from 1987 to 1991 and issued three proper studio records in that time, full of simple, straightforward songs that soared in their simplicity. Their sound was unique on every level– spare drumming from Damon Krukowski slathered in reverb, Dean Wareham’s lonely, high-pitched vocals swimming somewhere in the mix, and rudimentary guitar chords making space for Naomi Yang’s fluid, countermelodic bass lines to lead the songs. As Galaxie 500’s influence continued to be heard in generation after generation of artists that followed them, new waves of fans perennially discovered their scant studio discography. Uncollected Noise New York 88-90 offers a much-needed annex of unheard material, as the first rarities collection focused on the band since a bonus disc that was included on a box set in 1996. The 24 track collection chronologically traces the group’s development as they found their sound at producer Kramer’s Noise New York studio over the course of their all-too-brief run. For those completely unfamiliar with the band or their legacy, Uncollected is as good of a place to start as any, with songs from every session the band conducted while working on their three albums. Inclusions like an alternate mix of 1989 album On Fire cut “Blue Thunder,” their New Order cover “Ceremony,” and a different version of “Fourth of July” from their 1990 swan song This Is Our Music are all emblematic of Galaxie 500’s singular sound. Completists already familiar with the studio albums can look forward to unlocking a formerly closed door to the band’s story with eight previously unreleased outtakes, all restored from the original tapes. Some of these unreleased tracks diverge wildly from the sound they would become known for. 1988 tune “Shout Your Down” is fast and choppy, with Wareham engaging in some post-Velvets lyrical vitriol as the band blasts through a few punky chords. From the same 1988 session, “See Through Glasses” has hints of paisley-colored psychedelia that the group didn’t explore much further, and other never-before-heard songs like 1989 original “Never Get To Heaven” and a Buffy Saint Marie cover “Moonshot” show the band experimenting with rougher angles than those of their dreamily flowing albums. Indie subgenres like dreampop, slowcore, shoegaze, and more owe a lot of their existence to Galaxie 500, and they remain one of the more influential bands to have come out of their quiet corners of the underground. Uncollected Noise New York 88-90 is a treasure for those who are already fans, and the new perspective the collection offers on the band just reaffirms how important, how essential they are. – Fred Thomas
Tracklist:
1-1. Galaxie 500 – Shout You Down (02:49)
1-2. Galaxie 500 – See Through Glasses (04:03)
1-3. Galaxie 500 – On the Floor (Noise NY version) (03:09)
1-4. Galaxie 500 – Can’t Believe It’s Me (03:55)
1-5. Galaxie 500 – Oblivious (03:21)
1-6. Galaxie 500 – King of Spain (04:35)
1-7. Galaxie 500 – Jerome (02:47)
1-8. Galaxie 500 – Song in 3 (03:25)
1-9. Galaxie 500 – Crazy (01:55)
1-10. Galaxie 500 – I Wanna Live (02:33)
1-11. Galaxie 500 – I Will Walk (02:07)
1-12. Galaxie 500 – Cold Night (02:37)
1-13. Galaxie 500 – Ceremony (05:56)
1-14. Galaxie 500 – Never Get to Heaven (02:14)
1-15. Galaxie 500 – Maracas Song (03:54)
1-16. Galaxie 500 – Victory Garden (02:48)
1-17. Galaxie 500 – Blue Thunder (w/sax) (03:47)
1-18. Galaxie 500 – Cheese and Onions (03:06)
1-19. Galaxie 500 – Fourth of July (video mix) (04:40)
1-20. Galaxie 500 – Cactus (03:53)
1-21. Galaxie 500 – Moonshot (03:44)
1-22. Galaxie 500 – Them (03:44)
1-23. Galaxie 500 – Final Day (02:55)
1-24. Galaxie 500 – Here She Comes Now (05:58)
