List season’s looming, and here’s a sneaky inside tip: be very surprised if X-Ray Pop don’t make a Top 40 appearance on our favourite reissues of the year list.  

Operating out of Tours, France, since the early 1980s, Doc Pilot and Zouka Dzaza traded in self-described “minimum naive new wave” – which translates as exuberant synth-punk, draped in Dadaist tinsel and kitted out with a surplus of hooks. Back in March, Finders Keepers sub-label reissued 1985 cassette Pirate! The Dark Side Of The X! – a fantastic collection of knockabout darkwave that’s still on regular rotation at FACT Mansions. It’s no surprise they’re feted by the likes of Beastie Boys – their early work is furiously imaginative, convincingly executed stuff.

Following on from Pirate! The Dark Side Of X!, Cache Cache have announced a tripartite set of new X-Ray Pop compilations. With extensive input from Pilot, the label have trawled through the band’s extensive underground tape output (running to over 400 tracks in total), salvaging three records’ worth of material  – Ding Dong Songs, Ding Dong Disques and Ding Dong Dubs. The music on the three albums was originally distributed in tiny runs ranging from 50 to 500 copies, with many getting one-off releases outside of France – local releases from Japan, US and Spain are all represented.

All three albums are available to buy now. The (rather fine) cover art is below.

Tracklist:
Ding Dong Songs
1. Rana
2. Ding Dong
3. Petit Animal
4. Bulle De Sang
5. Dream Of A Shadow
6. Marilyn Au Paradis
7. Klac Klac8. Louche
9. Le Bateau Cellulose
10. BAL
11. Ca Te Mouille Le Bec
12. Pam Pam
13. Alain Aime Samantha
14. Living Dead
15. Oh Quel Supplice
16. Rock N Popoff
17. Pamela
18. Les Nonnes En Noir
19. Oh Oui J’Aime
20. Le Mouchoir Violet
21. La Mort 22. Alcool
23. L’Eurasienne
24. La Morte (Doc Pilot solo)
25. Alcool (Doc Pilot solo)
26. L’Eurasienne (Doc Pilot solo)
27. Contact/I Wanna Be A Dog medley (Live)

Ding Dong Disques
1. Rana
2. Ding Dong
3. Petit Animal
4. Bulle De Sang
5. Marilyn Au Paradis
6. Rock N Popoff
7. Oh Oui J’Aime!
8. Psychedelik Dolls
9. Pam Pam
10. Le Bateau Cellulose
11. Louche
12. La Mort

Ding Dong Dubs
1. Orques et Goblins Intro
2. Dream Of A Shadow
3. Klac Klac
4. Alain Aime Samantha
5. BAL
6. Les Nonnes En Noir
7. Pamela
8. Living Dead
9. Le Mouchoir Violet
10. Nana Electronique
11. Oh Quel Supplice
12. Ca Te Mouille Le Bec
13. Orques et Goblins Outro