Dahlia Seed "Please Excuse All The Blood" CD (1996)

Details: Features Positive No's Tracy Keats Wilson (Dahlia Seed). This is the CD compilation released in 1996 after the band Dahlia Seed's demise. "Emo/Hardcore style band from Upstate New York, and NJ, USA. The band formed in 1992 and broke up in 1996. They released several LPs and a number of EP's along the way."

Description: "Dahlia Seed began in the summer of 1992, in the northern New Jersey suburbs as a four-piece band that played a tight, and aggressive version of the indie pop that was prevalent at the time. With all the musicians having a background in the New York hardcore scene, the sound of Dahlia Seed was a bit tougher than the other indie stalwarts of the era, but the most distinctive aspect was the vocals of Tracy Wilson. Her "in your face" vocal style and delivery, coupled with a raw, and honest "open book" lyrical narrative, made her one of the most unusual vocalists of the scene.

Dahlia Seed added a second guitarist (Jon Procopio) in 1993, and proceeded to release their first record, a 10" split w/Brokenmouth. It wasn't until their third single, a split 7" with Greyhouse, that the band started to gain some real notice and popularity. Their side of the split, a song called "Milk", won them new fans, especially from the tight-knit, and clique-ish Riot Grrrl scene.

1994 saw the release of "Valentine Kid's Litter", a full-length LP/CD culled from various demo recordings done in 1993. While the sound was a bit dated on the LP, it did give fans something more than split singles, and one-off compilation tracks to listen to. Jon Procopio left the band in summer 1994 and was replaced with Mike O'Keefe on guitar. Dahlia Seed played extensively in 1994 and early 1995, with such varied acts as Archers of Loaf, Everclear, Built to Spill, Texas is the Reason, Avail, Los Crudos, Heavens to Betsy, etc., and in the summer of 1995, headed off to Philadelphia to record their first proper record "Survived By". Although "Survived By" is considered by many to be the quintessential Dahlia Seed record because it captures the band at its zenith of songwriting...

After production wrapped on "Survived By", Dahlia Seed headed out on their first ill-fated US/Canadian tour. Two weeks into the tour, guitarist Mike O'Keefe unexpectedly quit the band, which brought the tour to a halt somewhere in the mid-west of America. Dahlia Seed returned home to re-group and added new guitarist Kevin McManus. With the addition of Kevin McManus, 1996 became a banner year for Dahlia Seed. "Survived By" was released in the spring to much praise, and critical acclaim, and shortly after that the band set out on a very successful U.S. tour. Upon return from the tour, the members of Dahlia Seed decided that it was time to call it quits, and finished up their run in August 1996, with a sold-out farewell show at Maxwell's in Hoboken, New Jersey Some reports had fans as far away as Toronto, and Chicago making the trip for the show, only to be turned away at the door. In 1999, Dahlia Seed's parting shot to the world was the release of "Please Excuse All The Blood". This CD was a posthumous release that compiled all the singles, comp tracks, and unreleased material that Dahlia Seed had left scattered about during their four years, including the last three recordings Dahlia Seed, did, (with Alap Momin of Dalek fame), before their break-up. The songs "Standing 8 Count", "Greg Ledo's Tears", and a cover of VoiVod's "Missing Sequences" are considered by fans to be some of the band's best work, and serve as a lament to what the future might have held for the band."

Grade: M (new stock)

CD TRACK LISTING:

1. Standing 8 Count
2. Gregg Ledo's Tears
3. Missing Sequences (Voivod Rules)
4. Statement Of Purpose
5. Bee Sting
6. Grumpy Tongue (Live at Brownie's NYC, 1995)
7. Indian Burn
8. About/Transparent (Live at Jon Hiltz's Basement 1994)
9. Arclight
10. Red Roses
11. UFO
12. Bending
13. Satan