Seattle label Light in the Attic will be reissuing three crucial records from British post-punk innovators This Heat on colored and black vinyl, on January 22, 2016—40 years after the band formed. (You can pre-order all three releases—1979's This Heat, 1981's Deceit, and the 1980 EP Health and Efficiency—here.) These records have been out of print on wax since the '80s (though there have been boots of them fairly recently), so these reissues will fill a serious void in many fans' collections.

This Heat—drummer Charles Hayward, guitarist/clarinetist Charles Bullen, and bassist/keyboardist Gareth Williams—influenced many bands with their bold recalibrations of the rock vocabulary, including Brise-Glace, Slint, Laddio Bolocko, Liars, and Godspeed You! Black Emperor. The trio could forge the most pitiless industrial rock or craft the most heartbreaking melodies within an art-rock framework. This Heat could erect exceedingly forlorn drones or construct epic collages made out of the sound of clanging metal. They both subverted typical rock structures (check out "Horizontal Hold" for an exemplary example) and locked into repetitive grooves that sounded like samples, but were actually played live in real time by some of the most disciplined and inventive musicians who've ever plugged in (check out "24 Track Loop," a late-'70s piece that sound like it could've come out on Warp Records in the late '90s).

LITA co-owner Matt Sullivan said that it's taken four years to make these re-releases a reality. The long, hard work has paid off, and This Heat fans should be nothing less than ecstatic.

Now please listen to one of the greatest songs ever written.

LITA press release:

Isn’t it so often the case that the most innovative works of art – the ones that break the ground where others follow – are the ones that seem to reach only the ears of those who take those ideas and run with them? So it is with This Heat, who from the forefront of experimental music, sowed the seeds of post-punk, avant rock, noise rock and post-rock.

We are very proud to announce that our latest archival series is of this experimental, Brixton trio's 1979-1981 discography. In honor of their 40th anniversary we're reissuing their self-titled debut album, their EP Health & Efficiency, and their masterpiece Deceit. In these albums, This Heat concocted some of the most experimental ideas ever committed to tape, taking influence from musique concrète, krautrock, the burgeoning industrial scene and even the dub reggae blasting out in their home borough.

Given the difficult, abrasive, and involved nature of their sound, This Heat never found anything approaching mainstream success, but their influence is immeasurable and those who love them love them fiercely. This first ever official vinyl reissue was produced with the full co-operation of band members Charles Bullen and Charles Hayward. Four decades on, This Heat is still a revelation.

All three albums are available for preorder now, and will be available for immediate purchase January 22nd.
A bundle of all 3 This Heat color editions is available for a discounted price.
Pre-order color editions (300 copies each):
This Heat: “Blue/Yellow” split color wax
Deceit: “Red/Black Nuclear Swirl” color wax
Pre-order bundle edition, Health & Efficiency: custom “H&E Blue” color wax. Only available as a bundle with all three This Heat titles