TACTICS - The Sound Of The Sound: Vol. 2 1984-1988

"Sydney, Australia band Tactics existed for a decade from 1978 to 1988 during which time they helped define the Australian "new wave" sound. Along the way, they released five essential (and long-deleted) albums and a handful of now-collectible and impossibly rare singles and EPs. With influences ranging from The Velvet Underground and Television to Arthur Lee's Love and reggae, Tactics was difficult to categorize, and miles away stylistically from the identikit punk bands they often shared stages with. Lyrical themes of suburban displacement and uncertainty stemmed from singer Dave Studdert's awareness of existentialist writers like Rimbaud, Nietzsche and Foucault, as well as his appreciation and understanding of indigenous Australia, and in particular, Aboriginal song cycles. Sound Of The Sound Vol. 2 is a 42-track, 2CD compilation that focuses on the band's later output between 1984 and 1988, when they experienced their closest shave with Australian mainstream success. It features the Blue And White Future Whale album (1986), the previously-unheard demos for their final album, The Great Gusto (considered by the band to be far superior to the actual album), plus rare singles, B-sides and unreleased live tracks and demos. The package is presented in a handsome 6-panel wallet with a lush 20-page booklet stuffed with photos and Studdert's evocative liners." - Memorandum .