Applied Ignorance LP
Alternative Tentacles, 2001
This Oakland group checks a few high marks for me. First off, they were at the forefront of a punk-infused neo-goth darkwave wave that seeped out of the Bay Area in the early 2000s and unleashed upon the world notable groups like Black Ice, Sixteens, Subtonix, The Vanishing, The Weegs, and others. Secondly, their discography is one that requires chain listening, as one album is never enough and their wholly original sound always leaves you wanting more. And lastly, their music is an absolutely essential listen this time of year going into the Halloween season. Their uniquely twisted version of punk imbued with a carnivalesque psycho goth stain always tugs my ears into extended, repeat listening driven by keyboard heavy, driving rhythmic thrust, and ringleader/madman Loto Ball’s lyrical genius, spat with the calculated pull of a grizzled carnival barker on a 2-week bender.
Alternative Tentacles reissued Applied Ignorance in 2016 with 2 bonus live tracks (“Romance” from their album Displacement and “Murder Us Windpipes”) and still have some CD copies of their second album Displacement in stock at their webstore.