My Amazon Reviews: Until December "The 415 Sessions: Reissue"

December Comes At Last
4 Out Of 5 Stars 

As the sun sets on the CD era, I have begun to give up hope on some of my favorite brilliant obscurities ever making it to compact disc. Up until a couple of months ago, Until December was on of the bands I'd pretty much thrown in the towel on. After all, their decade ahead of its time lone album, originally released in 1986, failed to chart and - despite dropping a load of great 12 inch singles - couldn't break out of the basement. Like so many of the great bands signed to Howie Klein's 415-Records, Until December blew the minds of tastemakers and fell on deaf ears just about everywhere else. I figured I'd have to content myself with the four tracks on the Best of 415 CD from 1994.

Then there is this album, now, in your grasp. The complete original debut, along with five non-LP singles, plus a second disc loaded with 12 inchers and remixes; this is basically the entire Until December output from that time period. Coming off as a delicious nightmare mix of Visage/New Order/Depeche Mode and foreshadowing industrial by almost a decade, Until December rocked with gothic proportions and a seriously kinky gay undertone (the second disc is labeled "Daddy Side") and the band's idea of a cover song was to take on Blondie's sex anthem "Call Me." (Or even better, a B-Side was a straight-up version of Bauhaus' "Bela Legosli's Dead.")

That was the crazily cool thing about Until December. They tinkered with image that taunted the cuteness of New Wave at the time, made music that both pulsed and pulverized, and left behind this one, gloriously twisted album as their legacy. It's also likely not an accident that Adam Sherburne eventually formed the in-your-face political band Consolidated in the 90's. But again, like so many bands under the 415 banner (and in my humble opinion, one of the greatest and most unrecognized of the American Independent labels), the brass ring eluded them. I have even wondered - as I have with one of my other neglected faves, The Brains - is if Until December had dropped in from London instead of San Fran by way of Austin, Texas, might they have been big stars? Get this comprehensive re-issue and decide for yourself.