Each week the Stacks Manager adds 4-6 albums we call P-cuts. Their aim is to dig up those forgotten gems that have been lost in obscurity, and to spotlight the innovative and influential works that have inspired the artists we enjoy now. If you would like to suggest an album/artist/or theme, please write to the Stacks Manager.

P-Cuts for the week of 3 July 2006:

New Order
Power, Corruption & Lies was released March, 1983, a synthesizer-based
outing and a dramatic change in sound from Joy Division and the
preceding album. Starting from what earlier singles had hinted, this
was where the band had found their footing, mixing early techno music
in with their earlier guitar-based sound, heavily inspired by acts
like Kraftwerk and Giorgio Moroder. Also, the group had begun to adopt
abstract, seemingly nonsensical lyrics, with a curious naiveity to
them, effectively the polar opposite of Curtis' brooding poetry. Also,
as seen at the end of the emotive "Your Silent Face", Sumner seems to
have adopted an ironic, satirical sense of humour, finishing the song
with the line "why don't you piss off", a quality that the band has
taken to heart over the years.

Belle and Sebastian
If You're Feeling Sinister (1996) is the second album from Scottish
pop group Belle & Sebastian, released by the independent label
Jeepster Records. The book in the background of the cover of the album
is The Trial by Franz Kafka. The album was released to much critical
praise in 1996, and was followed soon after by The Boy with the Arab
Strap, which overall garnered mixed reviews compared to its
predecessor. Sinister is widely considered to be an indie pop classic,
and has garnered a cult following among fans. The album is also
sometimes considered to be Belle & Sebastian's career high point. Band
leader Stuart Murdoch has stated in interviews that this is probably
his best collection of songs, although they are not very well
recorded. In 2005, Belle & Sebastian released a live version of the
album entitled If You're Feeling Sinister: Live at the Barbican on the
iTunes Music Store. Its purpose was to offer fans a better recorded
version of If You're Feeling Sinister

Hold Steady
The Hold Steady are a Brooklyn-based musical group, although the
members have strong connections to the Minneapolis region of
Minnesota—something that is frequently reflected in the group's
lyrics. Frontman Craig Finn was previously vocalist for Twin Cities
band Lifter Puller. Their first album Almost Killed Me (2004) was a
sleeper hit among music critics, later appearing at #31 in the
influential Pazz & Jop listing in New York's Village Voice. Some
months later in May 2005, they were the first rock group to grace the
Voice's front page in 15 years.