Cold Waves Of Color Volume 2 CD

Last year's Cold Waves Of Color compilation, a re-mastered sprint through the back catalogue of Gary Ramon's obscure 1980s post-punk and new wave stable Color Tapes, was something of a must-have for those interested in the development of left-of-centre electronic and experimental pop music during the period. This follow-up is, if anything, even better, and digs deeper into the label's little-explored archives for inspiration. Over the course of 12 mesmerizing tracks, it variously touches on moody electro (Void's brilliant "Transvision"), beat-less vocal creepiness (The Lord), left-of-centre dark-wave synth-pop (Space Brothers), and the kind of balls-out, surging proto-EBM that still sounds heavy 30-odd years after it was first released (Beserk In A Hayfield's brilliant "Pulse").