Art Yard “The Law” 7″
More exceptional archival material from Ride the Snake, this time from Art Yard, post-Maps art-pop-rockers from early-Eighties Boston. These tracks originally appeared on a cassette comp from Propeller Records in 1981, with “The Law” being an obscure hit that garnered them some local/college radioplay/popularity, but as these things surely go, just as the band was picking up steam they broke up. “The Law”, a song I’ll cop to never having heard before, is quite an exciting find, a angsty-pop hit about depression that has a pounding backbeat and some post-punky nervousness to its hook. Reminds me of Suicide Commandos with some arty Mission of Burma touches. A song good enough to pay for on its own. “Something in Your Eyes” is a break-up tune with some more clever lyrics, the slower tempo allowing some time to focus on the angular guitar playing. Not as direct a hit as “The Law”, but still satisfying and a bit more challenging even. You should shell out for this one, as it’s a great “reissue” of a band that barely existed, but one you really should hear.(RK)
(Ride the Snake // www.ridethesnakerecords.com)