LOS ANGELES, CA (WEDNESDAY JULY 24, 2024) – Independent Project Records and the surviving members of underground ‘80s post-punk band Afterimage announced today that they will release a 22-track retrospective compilation of the original band line-up’s full output on September 20th entitled Faces to Hide. The first single from the collection, “Afterimage (Demo)” is out today on all DSPs.

The original line-up of Los Angeles’ Afterimage only existed for a couple of years and released merely one single and one EP. But their take on post-punk – at once raw and explorative, with an eye to the sound that was emanating from across the ocean and one to a past-acknowledging future – left a mark in the sonic psyche of the City of Angels. Collected on Faces to Hide are all of the early era Afterimage’s studio recordings, plus demos and live tracks from performances at now legendary spots such as Whisky a Go Go and Al’s Bar.

“The original line-up of Afterimage only existed for a few years and we only released a handful of recordings at the time – so it’s exciting for me to revisit our band archive for this new compilation, Faces to Hide,” said Afterimage’s Dan Voznick (Alec Tension). “With Independent Project Records help, we have been able to scour the band archives to expand on our earliest recorded output and clean up the unreleased demos and live tracks for this release. It gives a more well-rounded view of the band as well as the early 80s L.A. music scene we were a part of.”

Kicking things off on Faces to Hide are the two tracks that appeared on the band’s debut, the “Strange Confession/The Long Walk” 45 released in 1981 on Contagion Records. The opening attack of “Strange Confession” is probably the closest we can get to hearing what Gang of Four would have sounded like had X-Ray Spex’s Lora Logic joined their ranks. Frontman Alec Tension’s (aka Daniel Voznick) kick-out-the-jam blasts of saxophone immediately reveal a penchant for a quilt of sound that was more adventurous, playful and complex than most contemporary punks would have cared for.

Listening to Faces to Hide, it is easy to see how the four members of Afterimage – Alec Tension, A Produce (aka future ambient explorer Barry Craig), Rich Evac and Holland DeNuzzio – must have bonded over a love of Public Image Ltd, Pere Ubu, Magazine, The Fall, Gang of Four and Television. But there was even more to Afterimage’s abrasive sound. “Surf Generator,” a track that in 1981 opened the band’s Fade In EP, is a case in point: lulled by keyboards that seem to come straight out of a cult favorite from the midnight circuit, A Produce’s guitar conjures The Ventures and The Chantays with spikes, revealing the older Afterimage member’s strong surf rock roots.

Coming to Alec Tension after a particularly memorable acid trip on the beach, “Satellite of Love” is another instant highlight, the sound of a raptured, frantic Afterimage driven by higher forces. Hearing the song makes it easy to see why, back in the day, the Los Angeles Times was compelled to call the band “LA’s Joy Division.” Similarly to the UK trailblazers (of whom they were among the first avowed admirers among the LA punks), Afterimage seemed to sculpt their sound in marble, coming up with hypnotic skittery sonics revealed to be chilly upon their surface and fiery in their details.

Now coming on double LP (available in both black and opaque white), special edition CD and digital formats, Faces to Hide proves as scathing, urgent, taut, angular and gripping as Afterimage’s scarce but unforgettable output must have sounded more than forty years ago. Packaged with extensive, career-spanning liner notes by noted journalist Richie Unterberger and previously unseen band photos, Faces to Hide also features Independent Project Records’ signature hand letterpress-printed custom design for the vinyl and CD packaging.

This compilation chronicles the short life of one of the original line-up of Los Angeles underground’s most adventurous – if still overlooked – outfits, and helps define the complexity of a fairly elusive scene and its era in the process.

Track Listing:
1. Strange Confession
2. The Long Walk
3. Afterimage
4. Relapse
5. Soundtrack
6. No Dreams
7. Surf Generator / Part of the Threat
8. Satellite of Love
9. Idol (Live)
10. Afterimage (Live)
11. Faces to Hide (Live)
12. Just a Laugh (Demo)
13. Relapse (Demo)
14. Afterimage (Demo)
15. No Dreams (Demo)
16. Sonic Switch (Demo)
17. Surf Generator / Part of the Threat (Live)
18. Just a Laugh (Live)
19. Rhythm Equation (Live)
20. Satellite of Love (Live)
21. Soundtrack (Live)
22. The Long Walk (Live)

Vinyl edition bonus tracks on Flexi disc:
23.Breaking Point (Live)
24.Submission (version 1)
25.Submission (version 2)

Digital Only bonus track
26.Faces to Hide (Demo)

ABOUT INDEPENDENT PROJECT RECORDS

Founded in 1980 by musician and artist Bruce Licher, Independent Project Records and its sister entity Independent Project Press are known for their instantly recognizable hand-printed record covers for bands including Camper Van Beethoven, For Against, Polvo, R.E.M., Savage Republic, Silversun Pickups, Stereolab and more. Aside from creating much of the artwork on his vintage two-ton hand-fed letterpress, Licher was nominated for a Grammy Award for his design work on the IPR released debut album from For Against. In 2020, the label was relaunched by both Licher and Jeffrey Clark with new and archival releases and is distributed by MRI/The Orchard & via Proper Music Group outside the USA & Canada. IPR is based in Bishop, California, at the base of the Eastern Sierra Mountains.