Limbo District

The B-52s, R.E.M., Pylon, Love Tractor... The roster of early Athens legends is quite distinguished, but one of their closest peers never so much as put a record out. That band is Limbo District. Active from April 1981 until their unceremonious disbanding in May 1983, there was a grand total of one movie made of them by Jim Herbert entitled "Carnival" while they existed. "They were the band's band," as Mark Cline from Love Tractor so eloquently put it on NPR.

While the "Encased" track is on this, the band's first session in the summer/fall of 1981, two other tracks ("Knock Knock Lobo" and "Rhythm Forward") are included. The lyrics were written by vocalst Craig Woodall and songs were arranged and written by the band that included former Factory star Jerry Ayers (neé Jeremy Ayers, Silva Thin) on percussion, from northern France, Dominique Amet on Farfisa organ, Spaniard Margarita Bilbao on guitar and from Dublin, Georgia, Davey Stevenson on bass. This line up of the band existed no more than a few seasons and then went away to be reborn with Tim Lacy (later of Art in the Dark) and Kelly Crow both replacing Margarita on guitar in their own time.

Behold the greatest ghost to ever haunt Athens, GA: Limbo District.

Expect more. Much more.

"Limbo District were an early 1980s Athens, Georgia band who never had any releases while they were around. Henry Owings has decided to rectify this situation. So here is their first release. Limbo District display a no wavey edge, while maintaining elements related to other quirky Athens contemporaries like Method Actors. But the sheer stubbiness of their keyboard approach and the typewriterish cluck of the drums is much more New York sounding. This certainly piques my interest in learning more about these guys. Always great to hear new stuff from the 80s that managed to avoid my notice.”—Byron Coley