Visitors Poet's End & shows # 704, 705, 706

Visitors were a band from Edinburgh, Scotland that formed in 1978. Initially known as The Deleted, the band’s original sound was that of a garage band and was influenced by the early music of The Clash, Sex Pistols, Buzzcocks and others. When they changed their name to Visitors, the band also changed the sound of their music. Relying more on influences such as Wire, Teardrop Explodes and Joy Division, Visitors were made up of brothers John McVay (keyboards/guitar/vocals) and Derek McVay (bass/vocals), as well as Colin Cragie (guitar/vocals) and rotating drummers Alan Laing and Keith Wilson. Their sound was more atmospheric, adding the element of keyboards, and could be described as post-punk. Their first release, Electric Heat, was put out on the Deep Cuts record label in 1979. This short-lived label was run by Johnny Waller, who in addition to managing the band also ran a music/punk fanzine called Kingdom Come.

“Electric Heat” is dominated by creepy sounding keyboards, fiery electric guitar, bass parts and military-like drumbeats that simmer in the verses and engulf the listener in the choruses. “Moth”, the second song on Electric Heat, reflects a desire to not be like everybody else and to follow your own direction. These lyrics find themselves in between the distorted guitar, thumping basslines and fluctuating keyboards that fly throughout the verses and choruses, while the third song on this release, “One Line” changes the mood and pace. The song, originally titled “The Circle” pulls in an almost Magazine influence, with lyrics such as “Atmosphere/Contained in a box”, “What did they do to deserve no pain/A cavern of echoes” and “Circles are vicious/But results remain the same”, is about situations that come back to you that you can’t get out of and that always follow you around (as stated in a Kingdom Come interview in 1979). This song also ventures into what was eventually called dark wave music.

These three songs drew the attention of legendary DJ John Peel, who played these tracks on his BBC radio program several times. The band would do three Peel Sessions for his program due to the momentum that this release gained. The band’s second and third singles were funded by Peel himself and the recordings came from session tracks that were recorded for the John Peel radio program. 1980’s Empty Rooms single, also featured three tracks, “Empty Rooms” which benefited from stronger production and was dominated by a more produced sound, is dominated by bass and subtle keyboards that lurk in the background, “The Orcadian” features wild guitar stabs, revolving basslines and emphatic vocals, “Visitor” sounds like it could have been written for a B-horror movie. Visitors third single, Compatibility, was culled from the band’s second Peel Session and featured the song “Compatibility”, that attacks with a more angular/funkier groove and “Poet’s End”, which is an anthemic, almost seven-minute track. With this single, the band explored their sound and lyrics with further depth, but it would be their last single that was released while they were still a band. Following a shift in the band line-up and one more Peel session, which produced three more tracks, Visitors were essentially over. They had an arrangement to record a full-length record with 4AD, but disbanded before they could record it.

Enter 2016, when Toronto based label, Telephone Explosion compiled Visitors three singles and four unreleased tracks from the band’s John Peel sessions for a compilation retrospective release entitled Poet’s End. Of the four unreleased tracks, “Our Glass” digs in with a deep bass groove, echoing drums, modulating keyboards, sparse guitar work and strong vocals. As a whole the song evokes a disturbing landscape with lyrics such as “Search out the grain/All sad within/Within our truth”. “Pattern” brings forth claustrophobic rhythms and keyboard/synth sounds, “Exploiting The Masters”, and “Distance” both add to the bands moody, darker post-punk sounds. Poet’s End is a well-compiled retrospective from a band that would have otherwise been lost in the roster of Scotland’s punk/post-punk era.

Pick up a copy of Poet's End from Telephone Explosion here!

Show 706 Play List (Nap Eyes, The Fall, David Byrne)(Originally Aired On January 27th, 2017):

1. Nap Eyes - Every Time The Feeling
2. Supergrass - Kick In The Teeth
3. Sufis - Another Way
4. Orange Kyte - Microdose
5. Raleigh - Dead In Tracks
6. The Fall - Hot Cake
7. The Fall - Couldn't Get Ahead
8. The Fall - Jawbone and The Air Rifle
9. The Fall - Living Too Late
10. The Fall - Your Heart Out
11. Storc - Recalibrate
12. William Shatner- Garbageman
13. Deja Voodoo - Bound For Glory
14. Dik Van Dykes - (I Was A) Teenage Gumby
15. The Nelsons - State Police (Demo)
16. Lost Patrol - See Me Now
17. Laps - Essential
18. David Byrne - Everybody's Coming To My House
19. Talking Heads - Warning Sign
20. Ty Segall - Main Pretender
21. Tough Age - Piquant Freeze
22. The O-Voids - Next Week
23. Danny & The Darleans - Dr. Finger
24. Bobby Fuller & The Fanatics - Our Favorite Martian
25. The Try-Umphs - The Incomplete Enchantres
26. The Fall - Neighbourhood Of Infinity
27. The Fall - To Nkroachment: Yarbles

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for January 27.

Show 705 Play List (Mudhoney, The Replacements, Daniele Lupi, AC/DC and Motorhead)(Originally Aired On January 20th, 2017):

1. Mudhoney - In The Blood
2. Mudhoney - Six Two One
3. Klazo - Restrictions
4. Klazo - Med-Functions
5. Pow Wows - Surfin' Dirge
6. The Shin-Diggers - The Mummy Walk
7. Huevos Rancheros - American Sunset
8. Urban Surf Kings - Surf Vs. The Flying Saucers
9. Tweedy - Low Key
10. Yellow Feather - If You Ain't Cheatin'
11. Johnny Cash - Big River (1964 Columbia Version)
12. Dragsville - That Girl
13. Baby Giant - Wyoming
14. John Cale - You Know More Then I Know (John Peel Session 1975)
15. The Replacements - Bent Out Of Shape
16. The Replacements - Someone Take The Wheel
17. The Replacements - Nobody
18. AC/DC - Show Business
19. AC/DC - Rocker
20. Motorhead - I'll Be your Sister
21. Motorhead - (We Are) The Road Crew
22. The O-Voids - One-Two
23. The O-Voids - On Fire
24. Preoccupations - Espionage
25. Tim Darcy - You Felt Comfort
26. King Khan - Born In 77
27. Hot Snakes - Six Wave Hold Down
28. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - The Castle In The Air
29. Daniele Luppi & Parquet Courts - Talisa
30. Daniele Luppi & Parquet Courts - Memphis Blues Again

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for January 20.

Show 704 (The Rolling Stones On Air, Bloodshot Bill, Visitors)(Originally Aired On January 13th, 2017):

1. The Black Angels - Comanche Moon
2. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Moonland
3. Le Kidd & Les Marinellis - T'es Pas D'ici
4. Phil Jones & The Unknown Blues - If I Had A Ticket
5. Van Morrison - Goodbye Baby (Baby Goodbye)
6. The Tornadoes - Jungle Fever
7. Jeff Rosenstock - Beating My Head Against The Wall
8. Buzzcocks - Nostalgia
9. Pixies - Tony's Theme
10. No Fix - Local Boys
11. Paul Jacobs - Worn Out Working
12. Wine Lips - Opera Ghost
13. Bloodshot Bill - Gonna Get Gone
14. Bloodshot Bill - Don't Wanna See You Anymore
15. Hank Williams - Ramblin' Man
16. Townes Van Zandt - Mr. Mudd & Mr. Gold (Live At The Old Quarter)
17. Tom Waits - Buzz Fledderjohn
18. Bob Dylan & The Band - 2 Dollars and 99 Cents
19. Devo - Jerkin' Back and Forth
20. Wire - Practice Makes Perfect
21. Preoccupations - Degraded
22. Teenage Head - Teenage Beer Drinking Party
23. Grassy Knoll & The Magic Bullit - In The Distance
24. The Zombies - Friends of Mine
25. The Rolling Stones - Come On (BBC Session)
26. The Rolling Stones - (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction (BBC Session)
27. The Tornadoes - The Gremmie
28. The Oblivians - You Better Behave
29. The Oblivians - Trouble
30. Visitors - Electric Heat
31. Visitors - Our Glass

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for January 13.