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TWISTED NERVE were Scotland's answer to Siouxsie & The Banshees, Killing Joke, and Bauhaus. Between 1979 and 1984 they played shows with groups like UK Subs, Virgin Prunes and Alien Sex Fiend and then disappeared for over 30 years. Their one mini-album (Séance) and their handful of singles have since become highly sought after collectibles by fans of classic punk, goth, and post-punk and have been featured on compilations like Killed By Deathrock. Now, after 35 years, all the Twisted Nerve recordings and a couple bonus tracks are available as two very limited edition, hand-numbered, color vinyl LPs. Séance - Archive Vol 1 (Cyan Blue inside Ultra Clear vinyl) and Never Say Goodbye - Archive Vol 2 (Black inside Blood Red vinyl) are both limited editions of only 350 copies.
Our take: Secret Records has reissued the discography from this Scottish post-punk band across two LPs: volume 1, Seance, collects their sole LP, while Never Say Goodbye gathers the rest of the band’s discography. When a customer tipped me off to these reissues, I didn’t recall having heard Twisted Nerve before, but once I listened to Never Say Goodbye I recognized the track “When I’m Alone” from Sacred Bones’ excellent Killed by Death Rock compilation a few years back. Most of the things I’ve read about Twisted Nerve state that they started as a more straightforward punk band and gradually developed more of a post-punk / death rock sound. You can hear that transition across Never Say Goodbye as the tracks from Twisted Nerve’s 12” EP, Eyes You Can Drown In, have a straightforward Cure / Banshees type of sound, but the earlier singles here are far from straightforward punk. The best tracks—including the classic “When I’m Alone”—remind me of Crisis in that they’re punk in attitude, but not afraid of being more ambitious with their songwriting and arrangements. I haven’t seen much hype about these compilations, but I think Twisted Nerve is a real underappreciated gem.