MAESTROS AND DIPSOS.....It goes without saying that collector & critical types often find it exceptionally gratifying to champion ultra-obscure, limited-press releases that they and only they might be aware of. So what sort of pathology is it when a collector/critic type tries to get his readers hyped up about a band who never even released a single peep, and who only exist in the live tapes and closeted demos of fortysomething Australians? I'm talking of course of Sydney's MAESTROS AND DIPSOS, a short-lived 1983 six-piece who I have been made aware of via Phil Turnbull's excellent NO NIGHT SWEATS web site & some accompanying CD-R material. If this band had released a 45 of "Backslide / Inertia", the two songs I've heard, I am certain that they would have won boatloads of praise from 1983-85 fans of SALEM 66, ANTIETAM and the whole Gerard Cosloy-worshippin' crew. And they're miles better than those decent bands -- obtuse, moody, confessional, strangely-angled thought-rock, with dueling female vocals, packed with tension and coiled up tight -- and still "light" enough to be hummable and even fun at times. I had these tracks on constant rotation this past week and was so PROUD to have new post-punk heroines to champion. And I'm not going to be too greedy about it: if my brief description interests you in the least, you can download "Backslide" yourself for free right here.

As an aside, I have to say that No Night Sweats is the best free and legal MP3 download site I've found. I know that it's quite easy to post obscure or unusual or unhead MP3s out there for the world to download at their leisure, but I know of precious few sites who have done so. Any recommendations out there for secret and not-so-secret sites with unique music content?

posted by Jay H. at 10:53 PM