farmers: august 11, 1984

"This is listed as a Farmers LP, but it's actually a survey of Daved Hild's earliest work after the dissolution of Boston's best-ever band, The Girls. Chronologically, the earliest recording here is 'The Fear,' recorded at Sorcerer Sound in NYC for a proposed Lust/Unlust EP called A Dog's Prayer. Daved is joined by another ex-Girl, Robin Amos, and ex-Mission of Burma multi-tasker Roger Miller. After that come the Farmers tracks, recorded in Cambridge. Daved had been doing solo work in NYC, dressed as a Mennonite farmer, but when he was up north the Farmers were a duo with Roger, who'd add trumpet, keys, and whatnot to the mix. Finally, there are a couple of demo tracks recorded in Boston with Roger, David Minehan (of The Neighborhoods), and Dan Salzmann (ex-Maps, then in Christmas). Daved, of course, played in a vast array of different units and configurations after The Girls, but this album is a solid survey of his early output. His approach to songwriting (perhaps best known for 'Jeffrey I Hear You,' from The Girls' Hearthan single) is amazing and cuts into personal flesh no matter whether he knows anything about yr history or not. Singing like a pro wrestler trying to get all sensitive, he manages to convey huge vistas of hurt and strangeness without coming off like either a fop or a thug. It is a sheer pleasure to present this album of Daved's purist inventions" --Byron Coley, 2015. Edition of 350.