Released on Factory Records’ freaky Belgian cousin Les Disques Du Crépuscule ‎in 1981, this debut EP from downtown NYC no wave unit Ike Yard (christened after a made up band name referred to in passing in Anthony Burgess’ A Clockwork Orange) finally gets its first official vinyl reissue on Superior Viaduct, a picture perfect snapshot of New York sleaze meets Euro chic that’s fully embodied in the artwork (back cover sick too). Often overshadowed by their eponymous full-length on Factory America released a year later, Night After Night should be evaluated independently as it almost sounds like the work of a completely different band. There are no discernible traces of Roland TR-808 or any rigid MIDI mainframe; the four-piece reflexively squeeze off sheets of post-punk austerity with the typical drums n’ guitar apparatus of the day, with heaps of urban dread and Stuart Argabright’s (Dominatrix, Black Rain) singular vocal style foreshadowing the mutant industrial sound that would define their LP. Red colored vinyl, recommended.

• red colored vinyl
• first time on vinyl since 1981
• music label: Superior Viaduct 2020
• also available: Ike Yard: Ike Yard LP

reviewed by departmental dan 09/2020