Music Review: Big Ben Tribe, Lè Travo, Victrola (Dark Entries Reissues)

By Less Lee Moore

Dark Entries has quickly become one of my favorite labels, via both their new releases as well as their reissues of more obscure New Wave and dance music from the ’70s and ’80s. Their most recent reissues are from Big Ben Tribe, Lè Travo, and Victrola.

Italian trio Big Ben Tribe are first with the Italo Disco club hit “Tarzan Loves The Summer Nights,” originally released on Gong Records in 1984. The song begins with a brief burst of industrial noise before adding various synths and a nervous melody that winds around vocalist Clara Moroni’s story of romantic adventures with Tarzan. Could it have been inspired by the 1984 film Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes? It seems doubtful but I think that movie could have used it for some punchy end credits music. For such seemingly ridiculous lyrical content, it’s fairly compelling, even when Moroni belts it out simian-style, a flourish that is later echoed with actual Tarzan yelps! And yes, the song is exceedingly danceable, especially if you, like me, prefer to dance to every song from the time period in true ’80s style, a.k.a., The Belinda, The Molly, and The Simon LeBon. The B-side is a slightly extended instrumental version of the track. Fans of the song from back in the day should be thrilled at this reissue as it’s long been out of print, with copies selling for hundreds of dollars online.

Next up, are Lè Travo, the creation of Belgian Patrick Bollen, an early ’80s club hopping teen who was inspired by Joy Division, Danse Society, and Cocteau Twins (all sound influences, if you ask me). Erring and Errant, originally released in 1985, featured Bollen and several session musicians, along with a female backup singer. The press release indicates an impressive setup for Bollen’s vision:

The set up was basic with live drums, TR-808 drum machine, Roland JX3P synthesizer, electric guitar, and bass. Eventually Patrick bought a Greengate DE-3 sampler, using the brains of an Apple 2E with a keyboard bolted onto it. He crafted loops made from a deconstructed upright piano, hitting the strings directly with a drum stick.

Erring And Errant opens with the industrial-tinged “Arapaki,” where a disco-flavored bass line offsets Bollen’s off-kilter vocals, reminiscent of a more intelligible Mark E. Smith. “Something New” has a lot of jangly dream pop in the guitar melody, a nice counterpoint to the harsher drum sounds. One can imagine both of these tunes fitting nicely next to early offerings from Gang Of Four. Perhaps “Guernica” was inspired by Picasso’s painting of the same name; the song certainly has a wild and violent temperament, recalling the early sounds of Siouxsie and The Banshees and The Cure.

“Hips” has a bit of sampled laughter (or crying?), percussion, and a moaning vocal from Bollen. It’s more dirgey and repetitive then the previous tracks and bogs the album down some, although the female vocals enliven things a little. The next track, the instrumental “Amarcord,” is a revelation. It’s magnificent, full of sinister, melancholy string sounds, perhaps examples of the “loops made from the deconstructed upright piano.” It reminds me of some of the instrumentals of JG Thirlwell, particularly his work from the mid-’80s.

“Heyday” continues the feeling of creepiness, with vocals alternating between whispers and wails and unhinged clarinet sounds, with more than a bit of the flavors of both Cocteau Twins’ Garlands and Soft Cell. The last track on the original release was “Chiaroscuro,” with dynamic bass and guitar, somewhat in the vein of “Guernica,” but more contained.

For this reissue, Dark Entries added three bonus songs that were originally released on a 1984 split LP with Fred A. “Caterwaul” begins with a rush of angular sounds but gradually develops into something else, with a great shouted chorus over tinkly piano and jangly guitars and some provocative lyrics about religion. There’s more piano and Cocteau Twins bass in “Glow of Gnome,” which alternates between propulsion and a kind of jittery stasis in an intriguing way. “E La Nave Va” sounds somewhat like a more uplifting variant on “Amarcord” with clacky percussive elements and wordless vocals from Bollen. Interesting note: both songs are the titles of Federico Fellini movies.

Saving the best for last: Victrola. I became familiar with this Italian duo from the 2013 Mutazione compilation from Strut Records. The featured track was “Maritime Tatami” which makes up half of this Dark Entries reissued EP. It’s astonishing that this was their only recorded release, especially when the music on it is so extraordinary. Since I’ve discussed the song previously, I’ll just plagiarize from myself: “The deadpan vocals contrasted against shimmery synths and heavy basslines would have blown my mind had I heard it back in 1983, and it certainly does so now in 2013” (full review of Mutazione). The B-side, “A Game Of Despair,” is also marvelous. It starts off much more slowly than the previous track, with wonderful John McGeoch-style guitar and layers of spooky synths. The almost robotic vocal delivery is surprisingly sensual and moving, particularly with the heartbreaking lyrics. It’s truly criminal that this band never saw a full-length release during its existence or since.

Keep these lost classics and should’ve-been-classics coming, Dark Entries.

Big Ben Tribe’s “Tarzan Loves The Summer Nights” 12″, Lè Travo’s Erring and Errant, and Victrola’s “Maritime Tatami”/”A Game Of Despair” EP were all reissued by Dark Entries on January 14.