The Vacant Lot

The Vacant Lot

Creatures Of The Night

Iron Lung

The Vacant Lot are a first wave punk band from Canberra, started in 1978, that released just one EP in 1981. They played a few gigs and broke up shortly after but not without having a full set list of free-thinking, anti-establishment, Wire/Magazine/Buzzcocks inspired tunes to call from. And call they have! 'Creatures of the Night' is a collection of songs mostly written in '78/'79 but never recorded. Now with a fresh line-up (including Alien Nosejob's Jake Robertson!) they finally see the light.We asked singer George Howson about where the impetus comes from and he shot back with: "Writing songs is something I have to do. I wanted bring life some of our earliest songs which were never recorded, and to pair them with lyrics that did justice to their energy and power. A lot of my working life outside the band takes place in that edge territory where bush intersects with farmland, which provides much of the setting for the lyrics, inspiring the images and sensibility. My interest is in exploring internal and outer landscapes, and to try to make sense of the complex interplay between the two. This EP is also a tribute to Bruce Hart (now deceased), with whom I co-wrote most of our early music; finishing off unfinished business, layering new sensibilities on old, and honouring that original creative partnership."The Vacant Lot combine high energy garage music with potent lyrics, telling impressionistic stories as truthfully as they can through the juxtaposition of stark images transcribed directly...

The Vacant Lot

Living Underground

Iron Lung

***THE VACANT LOT are a first wave punk band from Canberra that released one lone EP in 1981 on the Thought Criminals’ label, Doublethink Records. They played a few gigs and broke up shortly after. What they left behind was a bit of a head scratcher for most with two songs of rough and tumble KBD/MurderPunk/proto-hardcore and two songs of pulsing, keyboard driven post-punk in the Wire Chairs Missing vein that once sold out, sort of faded into obscurity. Now with a 2022 remaster from MIKEY YOUNG and a renewed vigor for creative activity since 2014, “Living Underground” finally gets the proper reissue treatment. Faithfully and lovingly recreated to be exactly the same as the elusive original issue. 500 copies on black and 200 on green 70gr vinyl housed in a 12pt glue pocket sleeve with lyric insert included.