vanishing girl

"a brilliant psychedelic pop pastiche that lovingly combines morsels of early Pink Floyd, middle Beatles, Electric Prunes, Hollies, Kinks, and dozens of other, like-hearted bands..."--The Stranger



I'm a little embarrassed to admit that up until a few weeks ago, I was completely unaware of XTC's short-lived mid-'80s bizarro psychedelic alter-egos, The Dukes of Stratosphear. The Dukes were Andy Partridge and XTC's spot-on homage to the music they grew up listening to, and they've since been referred to as "the '80s equivalent to Olivia Tremor Control and Apples in Stereo."

My interest was initially piqued when White Denim frontman James Petralli mentioned that they were probably his single biggest influence, thus compelling me to check out their entire catalog, which consists of a grand total of 16 songs. Here are a couple of my favorite from the band's mind-blowingly great 1987 "anthology," Chips from the Chocolate Fireball, which sounds almost eerily like an authentic compilation of late-'60s garage-pop and psychedelia.

mp3:
The Dukes of Stratosphear Vanishing Girl
The Dukes of Stratosphear The Mole from the Ministry

Watch the video for "The Mole from the Ministry" here, then purchase Chips from the Chocolate Fireball here immediately.

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completely, utterly unrelated:

Weezy Jefferson presents Da Drought 4: I Am on Everything.