Earth Dies Burning

Teenage synth-punk from the San Fernando Valley c.1981-84 Sign us up. When Earth Dies Burning formed in 1981, its members were aged between 10-14, and a good chunk of their personnel were still barely pubescent by the time they called it a day in 1984. Working with Casio synths and live drums, the band produced a scuzzy, bug-eyed brand of No Wave with a absurdist bent (as their band biography over at Capture Tracks reads: “We may well have been the first teen punk band in the Los Angeles area to feature a bassoonist.”) Although young, the band had chops – band member Brad Laner had previously worked with punk outfits Nervous Gender and Vox Pop – and, as evidenced by the remarkable New Wave Theatre footage below, serious chutzpah. Welcomed into L.A.’s fertile post-punk scene, they shared bills with the likes of Minutemen and Dead Hippie over four years and 15-odd shows. Given their negligible recorded footprint, however, they remain little more than a distantly remembered curio. Captured Tracks are to bring the band’s scanty recorded material into the light on a new compilation, Songs From The Valley Of The Bored Teenager (1981-1984). The set features 13 original tracks and a clutch of alternate and live versions, freshly remastered for the occasion, and marks the band’s first ever appearance on vinyl. From The Valley Of The Bored Teenager (1981-1984) is due next month on Captured Tracks.