Various Artists - The Buntingford Long Playing Record Various Artists

At the dawn of the '80s, The United Kingdom was awash with regional compilations documenting the burgeoning local punk, postpunk, DIY movements that were rampant all over. Rough Trade's seminal, Wanna Buy A Bridge? may have started the fad, but it soon became quicksilver. From Portsmouth ('South Specific'), to Richmond ('The Snoopies Album') to Cardiff ('8 from '80), no local scene was too insignificant. So it should come as no surprise that Buntingford, a small market town in East Hertfordshire, would tag in with one of the strongest, yet most obscure, albums of the era. Comprised of about a dozen or so local youths under different monikers, The Buntingford Long Playing Record sidetracks the punk handle-which was surely a death knell in this bucolic civil parish-but expertly nails a brace of mod, powerpop & DIY tracks. And to a person, it would seem the works here were both their magnum opus & swan song. If this isn't a perfect example of the Protestant Work Ethic in action, I'll gladly eat a spotted dick. Without question, the greatest collection of one & done pop/punk masterpieces from that magical, bygone time. Originally released in 1981, now reissued by the estimable Zaius Tapes label, edition of 250. RIYL; The Messthetics series, the Matchbox Classics label, Johan Kugelberg's top 100 DIY singles list.