Over the last five years, Seattle-based Medical Records* has been one of the most trustworthy sources for reissues and archival digs of old synth-based music and shoegaze rock (as well as an astute judge of new electronic-music talent). Headed by Dr. Troy Wadsworth, Medical—in conjunction with Crispy Nuggets blog—is ameliorating Record Store Day‘s glut of unnecessary major-label repackagings with a concise compilation of rare minimal-/cold-wave and electro pop titled Electroconvulsive Therapy Vol. 3—Obscure Singles Circa 83-86. These 45s would cost you a small fortune individually, so it’s benevolent of Medical to collect ’em here. If you’re into that special strain of upliftingly melancholic synth popcraft that bloomed during the Reagan years and still resonates with the underground three decades later, Electroconvulsive Therapy Vol. 3 is (literally) what the doctor ordered. Artists include Tipical Me, Secession, Leidenschaft, Black Fantasy, V.U.D., and Almost Alone. Yep, these acts certainly qualify as “obscure”; shamefully, I didn’t know a single one. This comp represents some major sonic archeology.
Electroconvulsive Therapy Vol. 3 comes out April 18 on 180-gram blue and magenta vinyl.
*I’ve written liner notes for Medical.
