4 Rare 80s Albums -part 164- Rock- Alternative !!exclusive!! Jun 2026

The album opens with "Carpet Burns," a six-minute dissonant waltz where a detuned 12-string Rickenbacker fights against a drum machine that sounds like it’s breaking. Track three, "Glass Jaw," is the sleeper hit: a hypnotic, bass-driven groove that anticipates the grunge explosion by six years. The production is intentionally dry—no reverb, no gated drums. It feels like you are in the room, and the room is damp.

Tracks like "Winning" and "Sense of Purpose" showcase Borland’s gift for urgent melodies and existential lyrics. Because the band lacked the marketing machine of their peers, they remained a "critic’s band" for decades. If you’re looking for the bridge between the raw energy of the 70s and the polished alternative rock of the 90s, this is it. 3. Scruffy the Cat – Tiny Days (1987) 4 Rare 80s Albums -Part 164- Rock- Alternative

Part of the "Paisley Underground" scene in Los Angeles, traded the era's obsession with synthesizers for feedback, distortion, and raw Velvet Underground-inspired energy. The album opens with "Carpet Burns," a six-minute

Arizona is known for desert rock, but in the late 80s, Moral High Ground attempted to fuse the psychedelic drone of The Doors with the aggressive minimalism of The Minutemen. Signed to a tiny Tempe label called Cactus Punch , they recorded this album live to a 4-track Tascam in a storage unit. It feels like you are in the room, and the room is damp

Look for the misprint version where the B-side label lists "Kerosene Dreams" as "Keroscene Dreames." That typo doubles the value.

The band broke up during the mastering session. The lead guitarist stole the master tape, and the vocalist burned the only test pressing in protest over the album art (which featured a photo of a slaughtered clock). The 250 copies that were pressed are split between two different sleeve designs. A mint copy sold on Discogs in 2022 for $1,800.

While U2 and The Echo & the Bunnymen were ascending to stadium status, Adrian Borland and were crafting some of the most emotionally resonant music of the post-punk era. From the Lions Mouth is arguably their finest work—a tense, brooding, yet strangely uplifting record.