Jane From Occupied Europe

Swell Maps | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 19, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Secretly Canadian
• ASIN: B0002ZDWSK
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #75,451 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Noisy and experimental, Britain's Swell Maps experienced little commercial success during the course of their chaotic career, but in hindsight they stand as one of the pivotal acts of the new wave: not only was the group an acknowledged inspiration to the likes of Sonic Youth and Pavement, but their alumni – most notably brothers Nikki Sudden and Epic Soundtracks – continued on as key players in the underground music community.

Although Sudden (vocals/guitar) and Soundtracks(piano/drums) formed the first incarnation of the Swell Maps as far back as 1972, the group did not begin to truly take shape until 1976, when the siblings enlisted bassist Jowe Head and guitarist Richard Earl. In the spirit of punk's "do-it-yourself" mentality, they formed their own label, Rather Records, and issued their debut single – the brief, jarring Read About Seymour – in the early weeks of 1978. Local media support soon won the group a distribution pact with – but they did not resurface until over a year later with the single Dresden Style.

In mid-1979, the Swell Maps released their full-length debut A Trip To Marineville, a crazy quilt of punk energy and Krautrock-influenced clatter. After the release of the speaker-shredding single "Let's Build A Car," the group recorded one final studio LP, Jane From Occupied Europe, before breaking up. Each of the members followed their own career paths, playing solo and forming bands: Sudden formed the Jacobites, Soundtracks joined Crime & The City Solution and Head played with the Television Personalities.

Each disc contains bonus tracks not available on previous versions of these albums.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant - Definitely Swell Maps with Some Maturity, August 22, 1999

By 

M. Jacobs "Mark Jacobs" (Harrow, Middlesex United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jane From Occupied Europe (Audio CD)

Whatever Amazon say about this CD not being available, they are wrong. Try Rough Trade records in Talbot Road, London. I also got Trip to Marineville there. This is slightly more mature than Trip, but not without those quirky toy-like effects that make Swell the legendary sound they are today. Really cheers you up.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant Rock., November 29, 2004

By 

Michael Colin (London, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jane From Occupied Europe (Audio CD)

Yes, it seems like every reissue from some obscure band from 1980 seems to get the "gem" 5 star review, but this record is really something special. It is so loosely concocted, but it works incredibly well as a whole or just listening to individual tracks. The looseness seems very natural and unpretentious. Also, the energy of this group is completely contagious. Its an absolute must for anyone into the early eighties British thing but feels like the Fall don't rock hard enough and that Wire are too full of themselves.....

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sunken Treasure, December 27, 2001

By 

"squarehawk" (usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jane From Occupied Europe (Audio CD)

The 2 brothers (Nikki Sudden & Epic Soundtracks)which founded the group gave such an unconventional spin to what many considered "punk" in the late '70s by adding tape loops, piano, and other assorted items oddly mixed into the Lo Fi aggression of feedback that Sonic Youth has continually saturated their songs with. They actually had a sense of humor accompanied by a bizzare intelligence of the reality of the world (songs like "Let's Build A Car" and "Verticle Slum"). Only other groups near their originality would've been Wire, Gang of Four, Raincoats, or Pere Ubu.