New Zealand art-punk trio The Dead C make their one and only appearance on the Sub Pop Count-Up as part of the Sub Pop Singles Club, V2 #23. 1,300 copies, all on black vinyl, though a clear vinyl pressing was found in the possession of a former Sub Pop employee, devastating any Dead C collector completists. Formed in Dunedin in 1986, The Dead C defy what had come to be known as the “Flying Nun” sound. No jangle pop here — just walls of experimental, mostly improvisational, noise rock, thick with heavy layers of drone, swimming in sonic blasts of sound. In a 2008 interview with the SF Weekly, founding member and mostly guitarist (they switch instruments often) Bruce Russell said, “If people are interested in sound as opposed to ‘music,’ and if they have a critical perspective on art and culture and its place in society, then they may find something of worth in our work. Otherwise, I wouldn’t recommend it.”

-Janice Headley, courtesy of KEXP