Amazing early GRAUZONE Live album recorded April 12, 1980 – Live at Gaskessel, Bern, Switzerland. 20-page A5-booklet included.

Our take: Just last week I was raving about Grauzone’s Eisbär in the newsletter, and then we get this excellent reissue of a 1980 live gig in the band’s native Switzerland. While “Eisbär” is a minimal synth masterpiece, this live recording captures a different side of the band, relying on more familiar rock band instrumentation and a grittier post-punk vibe that reminds me of early recordings by Warsaw and Joy Division. The sound here is excellent—better than a lot of bands’ studio recordings, even nowadays—and while some songs are stronger than others, anyone with more than a passing interest in the post-punk era will enjoy this front to back. Interestingly, while the scratched out matrices indicate this is a bootleg, it comes with a 20-page booklet full of archival material about the band (which is, sadly for me, all in German). Post-punk deep heads should jump on this one quickly before it’s gone.