Hallowed Ground (reissue) vinyl

It sounds contemporary still but Hallowed Ground - the second album by post-punk/alt-country band Violent Femmes - has reached its landmark 40 year anniversary. To commemorate the record by this legendary American group, which is fronted by the alluring master songwriter Gordon Gano, it's being released on vinyl, having been mastered from the original stereo tapes. Indicative of the album's irreverent and subversive nature is the appearance of no wave legend John Zorn on the record - he plays sax and clarinet on 'Black Girls'. The band are famed for having packed this record with their more leftfield material and sticking their more accessible pop numbers on the debut album. Any attempt at self-sabotage (even though it was probably in jest), however, didn't work. This second album heightened their cult status and inflated their still enduring influence on US indie rock.