Teenage synth-punk from the San Fernando Valley c.1981? Sign us up.
When Earth Dies Burning formed in 1981, its members were aged between 10-14, and a good chunk of their personnel were still barely pubescent by the time they called it a day in 1984. Working with Casio synths and live drums, the band produced a scuzzy, bug-eyed brand of No Wave with a absurdist bent (as their band biography over at Capture Tracks reads: “We may well have been the first teen punk band in the Los Angeles area to feature a bassoonist.”)
Although young, the band had chops – band member Brad Laner had previously worked with punk outfits Nervous Gender and Vox Pop – and, as evidenced by the remarkable New Wave Theatre footage below, serious chutzpah. Welcomed into L.A.’s fertile post-punk scene, they shared bills with the likes of Minutemen and Dead Hippie over four years and 15-odd shows. Given their negligible recorded footprint, however, they remain little more than a distantly remembered curio.
Captured Tracks are to bring the band’s scanty recorded material into the light on a new compilation, Songs From The Valley Of The Bored Teenager (1981-1984). The set features 13 original tracks and a clutch of alternate and live versions, freshly remastered for the occasion, and marks the band’s first ever appearance on vinyl.
From The Valley Of The Bored Teenager (1981-1984) is due next month on Captured Tracks.
Tracklisting:
1. Bored Teenager
2. Duck And Cover
3. Another Six Year Old
4. 60 Minutes
5. Bowling For Food
6. Soaps
7. True Lovers Of Crime Anthem
8. Fish Sticks
9. Interlude
10. Haiti
11. Falwell Youth
12. Vegetables
13. America America
14. Pork Yogurt (studio)
15. 60 Minutes (studio)
16. Another Six Year Old (studio)
17. Mystery Bedroom Song
18. The Flowers Of Romance
19. The Safety Dance ( live at Bebop Records)
20. Disco Heroin ( live at Lhasa club)
21. Power To The People / Pork Yogurt (live at Anticlub)
22. 60 Minutes / Duck And Cover (live at Anticlub)
23. Psychotic Reaction/ Kill The Fascists ! (studio / live at Anticlub)
