Effigy Burnt Offerings 12″
Sealed digs way deep into the ’80s UK punk archives with this one, a first-time vinyl redux of the five-song 1983 demo from Aylesbury’s EFFIGY, so obscure that “it wasn’t even uploaded to YouTube” (take that, RUDIMENTARY PENI and DOLLY MIXTURE). Much like LOST CHERREES, RUBELLA BALLET, and other similarly-minded bands of the era, EFFIGY haunted the liminal space between anarcho-punk and danceable, goth-tinged post-punk, with relentless fixed-beat drums, propulsive bass lines, lyrics largely focused on paganism and witchcraft which further an air of mystique, and vocalist Nett’s defiant, fiercely melodic vocals guiding the way like a beacon through fog (machines). “Reaching for the Light” has all of the dark, anthemic drama and searing hooks of a femme-punk should-have-been classic (the MO-DETTES and SIOUXSIE dwelling in the same squat?), and the wound-up pop blitz of “Ghost” is almost BUZZCOCKS-esque, complete with scrappy guitar solos, while “Isobel” trades off between sparse, guitar/vocal-only verses and more urgent, desperate choruses in a way that brings to mind FATAL MICROBES/early HONEY BANE. Has my name all over it, a total no-brainer.