The Dancing Cigarettes ‎– Dance Dogs Dance

“Informed and connected by a cursory yet immersive knowledge of contrarian art (Dada & Surrealism, the Beats & Dylan, the awkward extremes of jazz & prog rock, avant garage & the Poor Theatre of Cruelty, and punk & new/no wave), the Dancing Cigarettes coalesced in late 1970’s Bloomington, Indiana out of a tangle of friends and relationships. Performances beginning in the summer of 1979 gradually refined the group members to Michael Gitlin (guitar, vocals), Tim Noe (keyboards, sax, guitar, vocals), Don Trubey (guitar, sax, drums, vocals), Emily Bonus (bass, vocals), John Terrill (drums, guitar, vocals), and Jaclyn Oddi (keyboards, percussion, sax, vocals). The Cigs became sharper, tighter, and darker as they gigged throughout the Midwest & East Coast and recorded whenever possible. Jaclyn Oddi left the band midway through its three and a half year existence; Tim Noe left near the end. The prolific Dancing Cigarettes wrote nearly all their own material; rare covers gravitated to the jokey (“Louie Louie”) or reverential (“Egomaniac’s Kiss”). Instrumentals were both common and quirky. Songs tended to be authored and arranged by one or two members; usually all members crafted their own parts. Lyrics were often written collectively. Tension and humor were frequent companions. Elements and results were unstable and, finally, unsustainable. In the wake of their dissolution, other bands and whole new lives grew. The LP, Dance Dogs Dance is a collection of tunes spanning the bands entire career. Most were recorded after the 1981 Gulcher EP, with the exception of the song “I Don’t Like Linoleum” which was recorded before it as a failed 1st single project and was finally mixed down in 2015 for the release. Three other songs on the LP are excellent live recordings from Space Place in Chicago, IL, that have never been made available before. All of the material on the LP has been remastered for improved fidelity.”

Label: Magnetic South – MS48

Format: Vinyl, LP, Compilation, Limited Edition, Stereo

Country: US

Released: 2016

VG+/VG+