Tales From The Journey of The Dead

20 years of love & hate – still going strong after 2 hot-blooded decades on Out Of Line Music, the Mexican hard-electro-pioneers Hocico are now finally getting a long overdue special “best of” release! There are few groups that can claim to have played a major role in shaping an entire genre, but Erk Aicrag and Racso Agroyam, better known as Hocico, did just that. The duo not only put Mexico on the map for an entire scene (…previously only associated with tequila and sombreros), but also managed to become a game changer for the dark side of electronic music with a new blend of hard beats, unbridled anger, aggressive shouts and creative sonic wizardry. Appearing virtually out of nowhere, this unique and fresh sound hit us like a fist straight into our collective gut, inspiring a plethora of other musicians in the whole world and quickly conquering scene-related clubs and discos around the globe.

Wisely, the Cure decided to start fresh upon signing with their new label in 2004 by cleaning house, remastering the old albums, and bringing their fans Join the Dots: B-Sides & Rarities, 1978-2001. Not only is it the ultimate companion to the official releases, but it is, in a way, the new-super-deluxe-updated version of that cassette release of Staring at the Sea. Every B-side is included, in order, with cleaned-up sound, liner notes, and explanations by the man who made it all happen. All tracks, from "10.15 Saturday Night" (the B-side to the debut single "Killing an Arab") to covers of "Hello, I Love You," "Purple Haze," and "World in My Eyes," to entries from the Bloodflowers singles, are an indication that while the Cure made both strong albums and singles, they were not afraid to experiment along the way, and more importantly, they didn't let pride keep them from not making them available to those who were willing to look for them…