86 – Useless / Behind My Back

86 – Useless // Behind My Back (OHP Records) 1983. Very sad, spartan music from the heart of the south. Atlanta’s 86 specialized in a sort of empty, melodic post-punk and no better example of it exists than this first 45 from 1983. There is just a weird space in these songs that is conveyed in the areas between the guitar riffing and the bass and drums. Singer Ken Schenk is a crooner and his vocals hang over the spartan instrumentation and make the music sound even more forlorn and lonesome. The lyrics are about being useless and being judged. The whole thing is a super-heavy duty bummer. I love it! Drummer Mac McNally ended up playing in Jesus Lizard and you can hear the similarities in the drumming. It’s hard to tell much else that is similar though. Before Jesus Lizard, 86 was a surprisingly prolific band who released a number of albums on the super-cool Fundamental label back in the day. I remember seeing their Provocation LP in bargain bins for years in the Midwest. Now I don’t see them at all. This could be because I don’t know where any bargain bins are. All the record stores have gone disco.