Section Urbane

***The final release in 540 Records' series of reissues from ‘70s Brisbane punk labels Shake Music and Savage Music is this four-song EP from SECTION URBANE. Having released two previous singles of quirky punk as JUST URBAIN, the Brisbane band continued their unique Velvets-through-the-lens-of-Joy-Division approach through the name change, harnessing a fuller, more bass-heavy sound on their final recording session. The track, “I'd Rather Stay Home And Watch TV,” still has more than its fair share of the Aussie-garage stomp of bands like the Chosen Few and the Victims, but after that it’s all about Mo Tucker beats, dark and poetic lyrics delivered with a distinctly Lou Reed-influenced drawl, and heavy, melodic Peter Hook-style bass lines. If you want to hear first-gen-DIY naiveté, post-punk artistic ambition and the party-hearty sensibility of the original Murder Punk bands clash together into something wholly unique, get this on your turntable right away. 600 copies with pretty purple dust sleeves.