#record labels

THE ESSENTIAL RECORD LABELS, PART 2: VOXX

     In this second installment of The Essential Record Labels, we’ll highlight the Voxx label, a sister label to Bomp Records featured in the first of this series. Voxx was more focused on garage, psych, and pop, and less on punk. There were not as many records issued on Voxx as there were on Bomp, but Voxx was better when it came to various artist compilations, and anthologies. Included below are classic garage efforts by The Pandoras, an all-girl band from Los Angeles that played a garage pop style with the energy of the punks. The Embrooks, a trio from England, borrowed their style and sound from the 60s British Invasion groups. The Crawdaddys and Tell-Tale Hearts were garage bands with a heavy 60s R&B accent. The Barracudas were a surf-styled outfit. Blair 1523 (named after a song by garage legends The Outcasts), and Crawling Walls from Mexico were heavy on the psychedelic side of garage rock. San Francisco’s Flamin’ Groovies saw Voxx release their live KSAN-FM radio broadcast A Bucketful of Brains, a show the band played during the final week of Bill Graham’s Fillmore West before it closed. They were the opening act for Santana that evening, and shortly after, their front man Roy Loney departed, and the band transformed itself from 50s-style retro rockers to 60s jangle popmeisters under the leadership of Cyril Jordan. (This album was later re-issued by Norton Records under the title Flamin’ Groovies In Person! with much better sound, and a great cover that aped Capitol Records The Beatles Second Album.)

     The final four releases in our baker’s dozen from Voxx is a series titled Battle of the Garages which collects a treasure trove of 60s influenced garage, psych, and pop from young, and hungry 80s bands including some we’ve already mentioned. The series works as a kind of Nuggets for the 1980s. That entire scene was vibrant, fresh, and exciting, and Voxx had it covered. The best source for these releases is bompstore.com, with secondary sellers from Discogs or Amazon the place to look for the out-of-print stuff. Do yourself a favor if you haven’t already, and join the Voxx rebellion!

Voxx Records Essentials

It’s About Time – The Pandoras

Our New Day – The Embrooks

A Bucketful of Brains – Flamin’ Groovies

This Is The Event – The Event

Inner Limits – Crawling Walls

Here ‘Tis – The Crawdadddys

Beautiful Debris – Blair 1523

Big Noses & Pizza Faces – The Tell-Tale Hearts

Drop Out with The Barracudas – The Barracudas

THE ESSENTIAL RECORD LABELS, PART 1: BOMP

     I thought I might use this space over the next several weeks to spotlight some of my favorite record labels. I’ll tell you a little bit about the label, and then provide a short list of some of the best records the label has released.  

     The Bomp label has been in business since the 1970s, and they still have an online store today, and even occasionally issue something new. I’ve been buying from them since the early 1990s when they were doing mail order catalogs. I would make a list of what I wanted, and mail that along with a check, and a week or so later, my records would arrive. They specialize in pop, garage, psych, and punk records. They have issued many original titles, but their focus these days is on compilations, and back catalog from their warehouse. They have an online store at bompstore.com that sells a variety of things, and I can vouch for the quality of the service. Prices have gone up in recent years, but they’re far more reasonable than much of what you’ll find elsewhere, and most of what they stock you won’t find elsewhere. Below is a baker’s dozen of some of my favorite titles. Most are on vinyl, but many have also been issued on CD – often in expanded editions. What’s available will be listed at their online store. What’s out of print can probably be found through secondary sellers (Discogs, Amazon, etc.).

Bomp Records Essentials

Nikki and The Corvettes An all-female pop trio with lots of hooks, and good melodies on this self-titled debut.

The Original Modern Lovers An early version of The Modern Lovers debut for the Sire label. Primitive, infectious quirky pop.

Kill City – Iggy Pop & James Williamson One of Iggy’s best records. Guitarist James Williamson is a good fit. If you’re a fan this won’t disappoint.

L.A. Explosion – The Last One of the best power pop albums (1979) to come out of Los Angeles.

Don’t Push Me Around – The Zeros Legendary Los Angeles late 70s punk outfit that made little impact elsewhere, but were beloved in the city of angels.

Destroy All Music – The Weirdos Another of the best punk groups to surface in the Golden State during the late 70s punk explosion.

Bad Times Good Times – The Sorrows Unreleased studio, live and demos from this pop outfit circa 1977.

The Nuns New Wave pop/punk from San Francisco issued in 1980, and featuring Jennifer Miro on vocals along with the great Alejandro Escovedo on guitar who was also a member of Rank & File, and True West before forging a long, and critically acclaimed solo career. This self-titled debut is the one to get.

Inside Out Your Mind – The Loons Garage/Psych band hailing from San Diego. Founder Mike Stax was a member of both The Tell-Tale Hearts, and The Crawdaddys, and he also publishes Ugly Things magazine, one of the best sources of information today on the garage/psych scene past and present.

Beachwood Sparks Self-titled debut also issued on SubPop features gorgeous harmonies, and shimmering guitars sounding like The Byrds, or The Flying Burrito Brothers on an acid trip.

Rough Power – Iggy & The Stooges A must have for Stooges fans. Before producer David Bowie got hold of the third Stooges album, Raw Power, this is what the original sounded like. Alternate takes, and mixes, along with some rehearsals, this tape was aired on Detroit’s WABX as an exclusive before Columbia’s Bowie-produced album hit the streets. Some of the tracks feature the DJ’s intros. A real piece of rock history from the heydays of FM radio.

Dig It the Most – DM3 Killer Australian power pop from the early 90s that proves that decade wasn’t as barren as it seemed at the time. These guys should’ve been bigger.

The Best of Bomp – Various If the Bomp label interests you at all, this should be your first purchase. It collects the label’s classic early singles (their specialty), and includes The Flamin’ Groovies, Shoes, DMZ, and several of the bands listed above along with a few one-hit wonders. A cornerstone of any collection of pop, punk, and garage music.

English singer-songwriter and record producer James Blake took to his Instagram story to call out the state of the music industry's metrics in 2026, noting how today’s artists are contending with bot farms and promotion tactics that are fuelled by financial incentives.

Any ideas?

To all record labels out there, you have a week to make a proposition on this track. Else it will be put down and never released!