Executive Slacks - The Complete Recordings 1982-1986 (2015)

They were one of the most groundbreaking bands to emerge out of Philadelphia in the early ‘80s, laying the sonic foundation for future acts such as Ministry, Skinny Puppy, and Nine Inch Nails. Yet the post-punk, proto-industrial sounds of Albert Ganss, Matt Marello, and John Young never earned the significant recognition it deserved. On July 10, that can all change as Cleopatra Records will release Executive Slacks’ Complete Recordings 1982-1986, a monumental 2CD collection that gathers the band’s entire recorded legacy all in one place, with 22 of the 36 songs appearing for the first time ever on CD! Those already familiar with the band will recall their cult hit “The Bus,” a song that none other than LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy idealized (“I always wanted to make a song that sounded like that,” Murphy said), and that appeared in all its contorted, electro glitch glory, on Michael Mann’s original TV series Miami Heat, which is as close to the mainstream as the Slacks would ever come. Much of the band’s oeuvre was far too noisey and angular, from the debut EP that put them on the map, to their first full length LP Nausea (produced Killing Joke bassist Youth), to the college radio breakthrough Fire & Ice (their swan song). But with the current resurgence of post-punk electronic bands and this exhaustive collection of the group’s work found on this 2CD set, it may perhaps be the Slacks time to shine!