Pylon – “Modern Day Fashion Woman (Version 2)”
Pylon were legends of the post-punk and new wave scene in Athens, Georgia in the early ’80s, and their storied career is being celebrated with a new comprehensive box set out in November. In addition to remastered versions of both of their studio albums, the 47-track Pylon Box includes a collection of rarities called Extra and Razz Tape, a 13-track session that predates their official debut single “Cool” b/w “Dub.” The newly unenarthed Razz Tape is actually the group’s first ever recording session, originally intended as a demo to book gigs. And today, they’re sharing a track from it, “Modern Day Fashion Woman (Version 2).”
“At some point, 1979’s ‘Modern Day Fashion Woman’ was forgotten about and fell off our setlist along with some other songs on Razz Tape,” frontwoman Vanessa Briscoe Hay recalls. “In the early summer of 1980, we made some hard decisions about what to record for our first album Gyrate. As cringeworthy as I find some of my vocals, it is an honest picture of our sound before we formally recorded our first single in a studio. Chris Razz preserved this unheard recording done with a Nakamichi tape deck and 3 mics for 41 years. Randy Bewley in particular shines.” Listen below.
Pylon Box is out 11/6 on New West. Pre-order it here.