By Blaine Schultz

(You can catch up with Jason at:  chinareactors.blogspot.com)

Recently Rerun added Record Label Mogul to his resume when he partnered to form BDR Records, whose new raymilland – recordings ’79 – ’81 (BDR) is getting some notice in record geek circles and beyond.  (bdrrecords.blogspot.com)

Raymilland was a St. Louis band that only played a handful of live gigs.  Existing from 1979 – ’81, they released a lone single and few cuts on cassette-only compilations.  Gigs with Magazine and a slated Joy Division gig are impressive, but let’s not mention Ultravox, shall we?

Raymilland’s strength here is a sort of dated, stillborn energy.  A shorthand description would be Art-rock post-punk.  (On the other hand Ray Milland, the actor’s strength might just have been his twin, Rosie Grier.)  The band is kinda stiff at times (which was fairly hip, back in them cusp-of-MTV days) but sports a genuine vibe that only young people in a band can pull off.  Yes, even a synth-punk outfit. An account of the reunion/cd release gig reports Raymilland circa 2010 as impressive.  Maybe by calling it a day early enough they never wore out there welcome.

At times the influences are obvious:  Bowie (they cover “She’s Got Medals”) and a very cool cover of Syd Barrett’s “No Good Trying” that includes a good dose of Eno-era Roxy Music strangeness.  Tight song structures and liberal use of spacey modulation effects color the proceedings.  Even a bit of the fashion angle seems to work into the dramatic vocals.  When they lapse into the odd moment of NYC No-Wave is when they really peak.  “Tronda”, the final cut leans into Can/neu/Hawkwind/PiL/Chrome territory. If that was raymilland’s brass ring, it was a good shot.

*At the recent reunion gig in St, Louis one of the opening acts was a circa 70s group called the Welders.  Not to be confused with Eric Blowtorch and the Welders.

Here’s how it works.  Milwaukee’s Blowtorch righteously believes in the superiority of vinyl.  He backs it up and releases a 7” single, then a 12” ep finally a full album.  The Alphabet (Bopaganda Records) finds Blowtorch and the Welders ricocheting from his not-to-be-denied tunes of working to make a difference to heartfelt sketches of tenderness.

Blowtorch’s gruff vocals mix and match with trumpets, trombones, saxophones and conga as well as the drums/bass guitar lineup.  A research trip to Jamaica’s Alpha Boys School led to some interesting bits of dialog included on the album.

And while wears his love for Jamaican music on his sleeve, tunes like “Let Her Be 15” and “Holding Out My Hand” could have been demos trapped in some Philly soul vault.  Blowtorch is long overdue for a retrospective of his recordings. Fortunately he included “Salt Water” here.  Originally released a 7”, it suggests his true strength of mining a groove and firmly planting an idea, along with a visceral hook.

Consider The Alphabet another chapter in Blowtorch’s discography. With the recent success of Kings Go Forth signing to David Byrne’s label, it only makes sense to request  -that somebody please offer Blowtorch and crew a weekly residency gig?  With some serious wood shedding this outfit could deliver an album of serious heart and muscle.

www.myspace.com/ericblowtorchthewelders