With words as weapons and public infrastructure as his blank slate, John Fekner’s City Squad are always questing for the ineffable, even as they yearn for concrete change. Make no mistake, Idioblast is a serious party where everyone is welcome. Released in 1984, Idioblast is a lost classic, a future shock narrative ahead of its time, and yet completely of its era, like few artifacts before or since. The cover tips you off from the jump—a crude but effective collage featuring classic Fekner slogans like Toxic Junkie, Growth Decay and Soft Brains Watch The Screen And Buy The Jeans. In an uncanny and tragic coincidence, the very first lyric on the album—“The place to be is on the space shuttle/if you’re brave enough to get on it”—seems to anticipate the Challenger disaster just two years later. But for the most part, the tracks on Idioblast directly reference the concepts that inspired Fekner’s visual art. Musically, “Rapicasso” utilizes pneumatic pounding with an industrial edge as Fekner equates the great and controversial painter with risk-taking graffiti kids bombing trains and billboards across the city. Art is in a constant state of exploding—forms, paradigms, outdated ideas. Splitting the difference between hip-hop and new wave, the Santaniello-sung “The Beat” is like Thomas Dolby meets Run-DMC and should’ve been a radio staple for at least one sticky summer. It could soundtrack either a couples roller skate or a drug-fueled evening out. Channeling Fekner’s slogan-stencil aesthetic, “Travelogue The 80’s” is a tour de force reminiscent of Negativland’s experiments in audio culture jamming. As Fekner details, “I grabbed all of the sounds via a shortwave radio picking up transmissions from LaGuardia airport and the TV. I recorded and edited on a Sony Pro Walkman and an Aiwa dual cassette deck.”
Release date:
May 10, 2024
Label:
Install our app to receive notifications when new upcoming releases are added.

Recommended equipment and accessories
-
Pro-Ject Debut Carbon EVO
Featuring a one-piece carbon fiber tonearm, precision-tuned motor, and a heavy steel platter with TPE damping, it ensures superior stability and sound quality.
-
Nagaoka MP-110H Cartridge
Features a high-quality elliptical stylus that provides excellent tracking and minimizes distortion, delivering a detailed sound reproduction with an output voltage of 5.0 mV
-
Phono Preamps - Top Picks
A selection of the best phono preamps for your turntable setup
-
Vevor Ultrasonic Cleaner
Thoroughly clean and restore your vinyl records, removing dust, dirt, and grime from every groove without damaging the surface
-
Vinyl Care - Top Picks
A selection of accesories to keep your turntable equipment & vinyl records in the best shape
Featured Upcoming Vinyl
-
Cecilie Strange Beech
April Records
July 11, 2025 -
Feeder Comfort In Sound 2025 (Transparent Blue Curacao)
Bmg
September 12, 2025 -
Various Artists Look at All the Love We Found: A Tribute to Sublime [3xLP]
Sublime Recordings
August 29, 2025 -
Reneé Rapp BITE ME (Apple) (Amazon Exclusive)
Interscope
August 1, 2025 -
Styx Circling From Above
Ume
July 18, 2025 -
Imperial Crystalline Entombment I.C.E Abominable Astral Summoning
Debemur Morti Productions
July 11, 2025 -
Elsa Jump!
Jazzhaus Records
July 18, 2025 -
The Dirty Nil The Lash
Dine Alone Music Inc
July 25, 2025 -
The Band CAMINO NeverAlways (Amazon Exclusive; Apple Red)
Atlantic
July 25, 2025 -
The Wood Brothers Puff of Smoke
Honey Jar Records
August 1, 2025 -
Enuff Z'Nuff Xtra Cherries
Cleopatra Records
July 25, 2025 -
Slaughter Revolution
Deko Music
July 18, 2025 -
Marillion This Strange Engine [2xLP]
Earmusic
July 18, 2025 -
Wishbone Ash Argus [2xLP]
Analogue Prod.
August 1, 2025