{"title":"The Ophelias","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"the-well-the-independent-project-records-collection-ii-special-edition-cd","title":"THE WELL - The Independent Project Records Collection II - Special Edition CD","description":"\u003cp\u003eTHE WELL is Independent Project Records’ own take on digging deep and unearthing revelatory treasures from its 45-year history. A trip through the past, present and future of a label that since 1980 has made the most prominent part of its name, that resounding “Independent”, not a trendy epithet but a mission.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe two-album compilation is an invite to join the dots and find out what makes Afterimage – the early '80s band The Los Angeles Times once called “LA’s own Joy Division” – and Alison Clancy – the artist making ethereal ambient dream pop in the basement of New York’s Metropolitan Opera House, where she works as a dancer – kindred spirits. You’re invited to find similarities in the way The Ophelias reclaimed San Francisco’s unfettered psychedelic rock roots at a time (the mid '80s) when the city had consigned itself  to the commercial muscle of arena rock, and the way Half String brought a wide-eyed shoegaze revolution outside of '90s indie’s hotspots, heading the Beautiful Noise scene in Arizona.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat all the artists appearing in this decades-spanning, genre-defying compilation seem to have in common is a certain transfixing quality. It may be put in motion by the hypnotic rumble of a post-punk groove or by the celestial peaks of an ambient piece so immersive it seems capable of freezing time. These are musicians with a determination to do things their own way. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Independent Project Records","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49719853514989,"sku":null,"price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0804\/6995\/0701\/files\/260511_WELL_package_IP091_SECD_01.jpg?v=1778687746"},{"product_id":"the-ophelias-bare-bodkin-nocturnal-blue-vinyl","title":"THE OPHELIAS - Bare Bodkin -  Nocturnal Blue Vinyl","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis excellent and in-depth overview from San Francisco’s most innovative 80’s era rock band The Ophelias is released on vinyl as a double LP mastered at 45 RPM for superior sound quality. Available in Midnight Black vinyl as well as translucent Nocturnal Blue vinyl, \"Bare Bodkin\" includes previously unreleased recordings in an exquisite old-school gatefold LP jacket. The package also includes printed lyric \u0026amp; credits inner sleeves with band photos, a folding insert featuring a comprehensive historical essay about the group by Rolling Stone's David Fricke, plus a Digital Download Card. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Ophelias burst out of the San Francisco indie rock scene in 1985 with their remarkable cover of the Southern folksong “Mister Rabbit” which immediately brought them national attention in the underground, a photograph in Spin, and a reputation for engaging, truly psychedelic live performances. Their first, self-titled LP appeared in early 1987 to widespread acclaim. “Almost every reviewer has considered them the most innovative band out of San Francisco in many years,” wrote Bob O’Brien in the LA Times. Soon thereafter signed to Rough Trade US, two more LPs and an EP would follow, all garnering much positive press. Second LP “Oriental Head” charted Top 35 at 160 radio stations, Top 10 at 48, and #1 at 9, but Rough Trade stateside was in shaky financial health and the label folded in 1990, with The Ophelias as part of the collateral damage. Lead guitarist David Immerglück was recruited by Camper Van Beethoven and Counting Crows, and bandleader Leslie Medford disappeared.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe star-crossed tale of The Ophelias (for instance, national tours in support of Pere Ubu and Crime \u0026amp; the City Solution both fell through at the eleventh hour) may be part of their Scarlet Pimpernell appeal, but to the band it was bad theater. Still, an informed few (like Music: What Happened? author Scott Miller) consider The Ophelias one of the very best bands of the 1980’s. As an outfit inspired by psilocybin should be, they were neither average nor predictable; indeed, contradiction was the group’s calling card. “The Ophelias are about the both of things: light and dark, masculine and feminine, high and low, comedy and tragedy, rationality and the unhinged,” said The Hard Report. There is no denying their post-punkish slant, but with perhaps more in common with the experimental and adventurous bands of the Sixties and Seventies, with an English bent and a Shakespearean name, things were certain to go awry in late-Eighties USA for an underfunded combo whose best comparison may be Spiders-era Bowie, Nadir-era Hammill, or Piper-era Floyd. The mass of American teenagers remained bewildered.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“It’s hard for me to imagine a more audacious guy than Ophelias singer\/conceptualist Leslie Medford,” wrote Ann Powers in the SF Chronicle. “Collectors and critics will probably rediscover The Ophelias in fifteen years and write blathering essays about Medford’s psychosis-tinged genius.” Well, that time is now! Because in 2022 Bruce Licher’s storied Independent Project Records – known for its elegant, deluxe album packages – will release on compact disc and vinyl Bare Bodkin : a 15-song career-spanning compendium (including 5 remarkable, never-released studio tracks) of which Medford says, “I approached Bare Bodkin as if it would be the last will and testament of The Ophelias, as if it alone might be our legacy – a kind of personal statement about my feelings as to the prime aesthetic thrust of The Ophelias.” The band released many other memorable studio tracks in addition to those included on this compendium, and the live albums now streamable online offer the brain a veritable universe of surprising punk and psychedelia far more edgy and garage-y than Bare Bodkin – and it’s great bold stuff! But one must agree with Medford that at The Ophelias core is high-art high-drama lysergic dream theatre, and Bare Bodkin is a pretty perfect distillation of the multifaceted and strange magic of this remarkable band.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Independent Project Records","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49719854334189,"sku":null,"price":55.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0804\/6995\/0701\/files\/499a8ae6-e1014b_37262cc3eb784b4fbef1f552499ee84b_mv2.jpg?v=1774300800"},{"product_id":"the-ophelias-bare-bodkin-midnight-black-vinyl","title":"THE OPHELIAS - Bare Bodkin -  Midnight Black Vinyl","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis excellent and in-depth overview from San Francisco’s most innovative 80’s era rock band The Ophelias is released on vinyl as a double LP mastered at 45 RPM for superior sound quality. Available in Midnight Black vinyl as well as translucent Nocturnal Blue vinyl, \"Bare Bodkin\" includes previously unreleased recordings in an exquisite old-school gatefold LP jacket. The package also includes printed lyric \u0026amp; credits inner sleeves with band photos, a folding insert featuring a comprehensive historical essay about the group by Rolling Stone's David Fricke, plus a Digital Download Card. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Ophelias burst out of the San Francisco indie rock scene in 1985 with their remarkable cover of the Southern folksong “Mister Rabbit” which immediately brought them national attention in the underground, a photograph in Spin, and a reputation for engaging, truly psychedelic live performances. Their first, self-titled LP appeared in early 1987 to widespread acclaim. “Almost every reviewer has considered them the most innovative band out of San Francisco in many years,” wrote Bob O’Brien in the LA Times. Soon thereafter signed to Rough Trade US, two more LPs and an EP would follow, all garnering much positive press. Second LP “Oriental Head” charted Top 35 at 160 radio stations, Top 10 at 48, and #1 at 9, but Rough Trade stateside was in shaky financial health and the label folded in 1990, with The Ophelias as part of the collateral damage. Lead guitarist David Immerglück was recruited by Camper Van Beethoven and Counting Crows, and bandleader Leslie Medford disappeared.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe star-crossed tale of The Ophelias (for instance, national tours in support of Pere Ubu and Crime \u0026amp; the City Solution both fell through at the eleventh hour) may be part of their Scarlet Pimpernell appeal, but to the band it was bad theater. Still, an informed few (like Music: What Happened? author Scott Miller) consider The Ophelias one of the very best bands of the 1980’s. As an outfit inspired by psilocybin should be, they were neither average nor predictable; indeed, contradiction was the group’s calling card. “The Ophelias are about the both of things: light and dark, masculine and feminine, high and low, comedy and tragedy, rationality and the unhinged,” said The Hard Report. There is no denying their post-punkish slant, but with perhaps more in common with the experimental and adventurous bands of the Sixties and Seventies, with an English bent and a Shakespearean name, things were certain to go awry in late-Eighties USA for an underfunded combo whose best comparison may be Spiders-era Bowie, Nadir-era Hammill, or Piper-era Floyd. The mass of American teenagers remained bewildered.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“It’s hard for me to imagine a more audacious guy than Ophelias singer\/conceptualist Leslie Medford,” wrote Ann Powers in the SF Chronicle. “Collectors and critics will probably rediscover The Ophelias in fifteen years and write blathering essays about Medford’s psychosis-tinged genius.” Well, that time is now! Because in 2022 Bruce Licher’s storied Independent Project Records – known for its elegant, deluxe album packages – will release on compact disc and vinyl Bare Bodkin : a 15-song career-spanning compendium (including 5 remarkable, never-released studio tracks) of which Medford says, “I approached Bare Bodkin as if it would be the last will and testament of The Ophelias, as if it alone might be our legacy – a kind of personal statement about my feelings as to the prime aesthetic thrust of The Ophelias.” The band released many other memorable studio tracks in addition to those included on this compendium, and the live albums now streamable online offer the brain a veritable universe of surprising punk and psychedelia far more edgy and garage-y than Bare Bodkin – and it’s great bold stuff! But one must agree with Medford that at The Ophelias core is high-art high-drama lysergic dream theatre, and Bare Bodkin is a pretty perfect distillation of the multifaceted and strange magic of this remarkable band.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Independent Project Records","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49719854465261,"sku":null,"price":50.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0804\/6995\/0701\/files\/4bebfe56-e1014b_37262cc3eb784b4fbef1f552499ee84b_mv2.jpg?v=1774300800"},{"product_id":"the-ophelias-bare-bodkin-cd","title":"THE OPHELIAS - Bare Bodkin CD","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Ophelias burst out of the San Francisco indie rock scene in 1985 with their remarkable cover of the Southern folksong “Mister Rabbit” which immediately brought them national attention in the underground, a photograph in Spin, and a reputation for engaging, truly psychedelic live performances. Their first, self-titled LP appeared in early 1987 to widespread acclaim. “Almost every reviewer has considered them the most innovative band out of San Francisco in many years,” wrote Bob O’Brien in the LA Times. Soon thereafter signed to Rough Trade US, two more LPs and an EP would follow, all garnering much positive press. Second LP “Oriental Head” charted Top 35 at 160 radio stations, Top 10 at 48, and #1 at 9, but Rough Trade stateside was in shaky financial health and the label folded in 1990, with The Ophelias as part of the collateral damage. Lead guitarist David Immerglück was recruited by Camper Van Beethoven and Counting Crows, and bandleader Leslie Medford disappeared.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe star-crossed tale of The Ophelias (for instance, national tours in support of Pere Ubu and Crime \u0026amp; the City Solution both fell through at the eleventh hour) may be part of their Scarlet Pimpernell appeal, but to the band it was bad theater. Still, an informed few (like Music: What Happened? author Scott Miller) consider The Ophelias one of the very best bands of the 1980’s. As an outfit inspired by psilocybin should be, they were neither average nor predictable; indeed, contradiction was the group’s calling card. “The Ophelias are about the both of things: light and dark, masculine and feminine, high and low, comedy and tragedy, rationality and the unhinged,” said The Hard Report. There is no denying their post-punkish slant, but with perhaps more in common with the experimental and adventurous bands of the Sixties and Seventies, with an English bent and a Shakespearean name, things were certain to go awry in late-Eighties USA for an underfunded combo whose best comparison may be Spiders-era Bowie, Nadir-era Hammill, or Piper-era Floyd. The mass of American teenagers remained bewildered.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“It’s hard for me to imagine a more audacious guy than Ophelias singer\/conceptualist Leslie Medford,” wrote Ann Powers in the SF Chronicle. “Collectors and critics will probably rediscover The Ophelias in fifteen years and write blathering essays about Medford’s psychosis-tinged genius.” Well, that time is now! Because in 2022 Bruce Licher’s storied Independent Project Records – known for its elegant, deluxe album packages – will release on compact disc and vinyl Bare Bodkin : a 15-song career-spanning compendium (including 5 remarkable, never-released studio tracks) of which Medford says, “I approached Bare Bodkin as if it would be the last will and testament of The Ophelias, as if it alone might be our legacy – a kind of personal statement about my feelings as to the prime aesthetic thrust of The Ophelias.” The band released many other memorable studio tracks in addition to those included on this compendium, and the live albums now streamable online offer the brain a veritable universe of surprising punk and psychedelia far more edgy and garage-y than Bare Bodkin – and it’s great bold stuff! But one must agree with Medford that at The Ophelias core is high-art high-drama lysergic dream theatre, and Bare Bodkin is a pretty perfect distillation of the multifaceted and strange magic of this remarkable band.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Independent Project Records","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49719854956781,"sku":null,"price":16.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0804\/6995\/0701\/files\/e53c9bf5-e1014b_07b8107b60aa433ab80cb9f109cb38c5_mv2.jpg?v=1774300803"},{"product_id":"source-the-independent-project-records-collection-cd","title":"SOURCE - The Independent Project Records Collection CD","description":"\u003cp\u003eThere aren't many compilations that highlight the best of a label's catalog and let you know what the label will become. Source both surveys the history of Independent Project Records and gives you a taste of what's in store as IPR prepares to relaunch with an extensive series of reissues and digs through the archives.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSure there are cuts by some of California's leading bands of the late twentieth century who blended post-punk, psychedelia, and atmospheric soundscapes, like Shiva Burlesque, Red Temple Spirits, the Ophelias, and IPR head Bruce Licher's groups Savage Republic and Scenic. Yet there are also acts working at the edge of rock and experimental trance music who never found a big alternative audience. And there are even goodies by icons who haven't previously issued music on Independent Project, like David J of Bauhaus \u0026amp; Love And Rockets.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIf there's a connective thread in this wildly eclectic trip through the sonicsphere, it's a determination to create spiritual-minded music that neither tries to follow trends nor create them. You'd be hard-pressed to compare the goth-flavored soar of Torn Boys, for instance, to much else. The same goes for the almost cabaret-ish whimsy of Woo, the warped space folk of AE Downs, or the ghost-from-the-fifth-dimension musings of Greenland \u0026amp; Craig.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIf collectable early post-punk's your thing, there's an alternative mix of a track from Bpeople's 1981 debut EP—not originally on IPR, but a taste of the numerous projects from other catalogs and archives the new IPR will revive and investigate. Spiced by alternative mixes, limited-edition rarities, demos, and live performances, Source is a sampler of musicians determined to sound like no others. With the kind of evocative cover design that has made IPR releases as immediately identifiable as those of iconic companies like 4AD, Elektra, Factory, and Impulse!, it’s also a label that will continue its mission to sound and look like no other, in the mainstream or the underground.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePackaged in an oversized cardboard pocket folder letterpress printed by hand at Independent Project Press. Includes a full-color 24-page booklet with details and photographs of all the artists included on the compilation, featuring an introduction written by former Rolling Stone writer\/editor David Fricke.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Independent Project Records","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49719855349997,"sku":null,"price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0804\/6995\/0701\/files\/SHOP_260609_package_IP076_Source_SECD_01.jpg?v=1781649411"}],"url":"https:\/\/shop.independentprojectrecords.com\/collections\/the-ophelia.oembed","provider":"Independent Project Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}