Not to be confused with the Oklahoma black metal band that apparently doesn’t have Google, Cell were a New York-based rock band that formed in 1990 and released two full-length LPs and several singles and EPs on the DGC subsidiary of Geffen Records, along with a single on the Ecstatic Peace label. Cell was both a beneficiary and a victim of the major label feeding frenzy of the late 1980s and early 1990s, touring with the likes of Pavement and Sonic Youth before coming to an abrupt end in 1995. Though their debut LP sold more than 70,000 copies, in 1990s music industry logic, that was not sufficient to justify the support of their label, and their excellent music has not received the post-90s support that many of their far inferior labelmates have. Though we do not pretend that Cell will ever release any more new music, we are over the moon to have gotten to be the label to release “Free People,” a new recording of a song written in the early 1990s and only performed a few times live. The band members recorded the single in 2024 to promote two summer reunion shows – the only shows the band intends to play.

Revolutionary NYC rock quartet Das Damen have returned with a deluxe reissue of their landmark 1986 debut EP, 1986: It Keeps Me Wild. Newly remastered and augmented with an array of previously unreleased demos, reimagined tracks, and a brand-new issue of Das Damen drummer Lyle Hysen’s legendary fanzine, Damaged Goods (featuring a comprehensive timeline, show flyers, oral history, testimonials from Thurston Moore, Tom Scharpling, and more), DAS DAMEN will be released digitally on Friday, September 8. It will be released on vinyl in October. Pre-saves and pre-orders are available now.

In addition to two never-before-heard demos, DAS DAMEN is highlighted by reworked versions of cuts culled from the EP’s original 1986 recording sessions featuring new contributions from such friends and fans as Dez Cadena (Black Flag), Thalia Zedek (Come), Gary Lee Connor (Screaming Trees), John Robinson (The Fluid), and A Girl Called Eddy. A video for the song, “Trick Question,” directed by Dave Rygalski is streaming now on YouTube.

(Photo: Naomi Petersen, courtesy of Chis Petersen Images/Punk Life Naomi)

Discography

“1986: It Keeps Me Blinded” LP

Matt Hunter & the Dusty Fates formed just before the pandemic, as a vehicle for longtime indie rock musician Matt Hunter to lead a band again. 

“The idea for the Dusty Fates is that it would be an unstable, constantly changing cast of people, with me as the sole full-time member,” said Hunter. “I love the idea that a band’s dynamic can constantly be in flux, based on whoever’s around, who wants to play at a given time, and who might be best for a particular song.”

“It means that your songs can be completely different every time they’re performed, and you have to be ready for that. I find that thrilling.”

Hunter has a long pedigree in underground rock music. He was a co-founder of Western Massachusetts’ New Radiant Storm King, which put out nine records on many different labels over 20 years. The band toured extensively, playing with bands like Guided By Voices, Grifters, Polvo, Built to Spill, and many others. 

Independently, Hunter has played or recorded with J. Mascis & the Fog, Silver Jews, King Missile, the Wharton Tiers Ensemble, and SAVAK, and also is in New York City’s The Whimbrels. His first solo record, New Rotations, was released on Darla several years ago.

For his latest album, and the first one to appear under the “Dusty Fates” moniker, he recruited drummers Roger Murdock (of King Missile) and Hampus Öhman-Frölund. Hunter handled most of the guitar and bass duties, but other friends were brought along to fill various roles – including a number of NYC luminaries.

Hunter’s former (and sometimes current) New Radiant Storm King bandmate Peyton Pinkerton added chiming Irish concert scale bouzouki to the dreamy “Sandcastle Row.” Dave Rick, of NYC legends King Missile and Phantom Tollbooth, added his unique squealing guitar sounds to “Narrator.” Gerard Smith, formerly also of Phantom Tollbooth and the Royal Arctic Institute, added bass to “Narrator” and “Take Your Sweet Time.” Robert Poss, of Band of Susans, added drone and noise to “Weed Garden.” Matt Sutton’s jarring and anxious pedal steel added a unique flavor to “Reindeer Soul,” and Jennifer Coates’ Appalachian-tinged pentatonic violin playing appear all over the album. Jim Santo, co-producer, engineer, and mixer, added guitar on many tracks, bass on a few, and helped make the entire thing happen.

“I think this approach really worked on this record. The songs are really diverse stylistically, and the variety of players pushed things in directions I didn’t expect. But despite that, emotionally the record feels coherent, all of a single piece.”