East Village Hotrod Hotel

East Village are one of the great lost bands. Along with other legendary bands like Big Star and The Action, who also failed to fully stamp their mark whilst active, East Village made pop music that was timeless, but out-of-step with the musical environment around them. From their mid-80s roots as Episode Four to their late-80s heyday with a string of now highly sought-after singles and EPs on labels like Sub Aqua, Heavenly and Summershine, East Village forged a brilliant, classic sound that resonated with contemporaries like the Flying Nun and Creation label bands, but also hearkened back to 60s influences like The Byrds, Dylan and Velvet Underground. Just as their star was rising they dissolved on-stage in the spring of 1991, but their legend has only grown. A posthumous album, Drop Out is now hailed as a classic of its genre, and a compilation, Hotrod Hotel was released to great acclaim by Summershine in 1994, finally now seeing its first, long overdue, vinyl release.