V/A - Messthetics #105 D.I.Y. 77-81 Scotland I

D.I.Y. and (very) indie post-punk from Scotland, 77-81. Messthetics first Scottish installment focuses on a brief, intense scene of ardently independent bands who got started rubbing shoulders with 1977 punk then paid no attention at all to London after that. (London returned the favor.) The sound was based on guitars of all sorts, ingeniously skewed melodies and unashamed local accents. Naturally, it all fell apart as soon as The Sound of Young Scotland became a marketable commodity, but they left behind a rich cache of lost alternative hits. Plenty of traditional D.I.Y., too... 24 songs on the CD plus nine bonus MP3 tracks. 90 minutes of music. 24-page booklet, lovingly documented with histories & photos galore. Messthetics #105 features rarities by Fire Engines, Scrotum Poles, 35mm Dreams, The Exile, Commercials, Fakes, Metropak, Tony Pilley, Visitors, Article 58, Radio Ghosts, Rapid Dance, Strutz, Vertical Smiles, Restricted Code, Brills, Rhythm Method, Hes Dead Jim, Friction and Paul Reekie. Unreleased first recordings by Dirty Reds [who became the Fire Engines], 35mm Dreams, Jazzateers, International Spys [pre-Radio Ghosts, Wee Cherubs, Bachelor Pad] and Edinburghs legendary Ettes. Plus other never-before-released material from the Scrotum Poles, Commercials, Tony Pilley, Article 58, Radio Ghosts, Vertical Smiles, and Restricted Code... -Messthetics.