Lost
recordings from the Brooklynite's mid-noughties reformation.
Much like that other
New York band The Velvet Underground, The Optic Nerve may not have
played much outside their home city, or sold many records in their
brief first flowering. But posthumous LP releases by Get Hip and
Screaming Apple Records have resulted in a well deserved re-appraisal
of the band's sound.
In 1985 on our side of
the pond, bands such as Jesus & Mary Chain, Primal Scream, The
Bodines et al were taking inspiration from mid '60s folk rock,
dressing like Sterling Morrisson and finding an appreciative
audience. In the US such back-to-the-garage mentality was out of step
with what mainstream audiences wanted. Punk rock had yet to go
overground.
Skip forward to 2005
and The Optic Nerve mainstays Bobby Belfiore and Tony Matura form a
new line-up of the band to record an album's worth of material. These
recordings ended up shelved for a further ten years. It's only now,
that State Records are issuing two cuts from these sessions.
'Penelope Tuesday' is
the upbeat, poppy A-side, sounding like a summer smash best heard on
AM Radio. Flipside is a more considered moodier affair, big on
jangle, vocal harmonies and descending chord sequences. Both sides
are worthy of your attention though. Let's hope that full album will
sometime see the light of day.
Click here for The
Optic Nerve on Facebook.
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