Executive Slacks

Philadelphia's Executive Slacks are an often overlooked part of industrial music's history. Formed in 1980 by keyboard player John Young and vocalist/guitarist Matt Marello, they started off making primitive experimental recordings inspired by <a href="spotify:artist:4zn0m3hBUQVl6Nf36Sb0A6">Tuxedomoon</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:2kS4yz85MaZlxp2VaS3BEe">Cabaret Voltaire</a> before developing an aggressive, driving, danceable electronic rock sound that preceded the commercial success of bands like <a href="spotify:artist:1DXylZlWbVvlckNqwvjTEt">Ministry</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:0X380XXQSNBYuleKzav5UO">Nine Inch Nails</a>. After percussionist Albert Ganss joined Executive Slacks for their initial live performances, their self-titled debut EP was released in 1983 by <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Red+Music%22">Red Music</a>, and while it didn't make an impact in America, its humorous leadoff track, "The Bus," became a club hit in Belgium. Follow-up EP Our Lady (1984) was co-produced by <a href="spotify:artist:0Zy4ncr8h1jd7Nzr9946fD">Killing Joke</a>'s <a href="spotify:artist:1zf3mY5ZJ69hlt5W24EvYq">Youth</a>, who played bass on the song "I'm Coming." Both EPs were compiled as the full-length You Can't Hum When You're Dead, issued by <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Fundamental%22">Fundamental</a>.

<a href="spotify:artist:1zf3mY5ZJ69hlt5W24EvYq">Youth</a> produced Executive Slacks' 1985 full-length, Nausea, and the group experimented with hip-hop for a club remix of the album's single, "In & Out." After Ganss left, percussionist Bobby Rae joined the band in time for its 1986 LP, Fire & Ice, easily Executive Slacks' most accessible recording. The single "Say It Isn't So" became a goth rock hit, their cover of <a href="spotify:artist:61zv3hX7l838ZyhaDyAx8S">Gary Glitter</a>'s "Rock'n'Roll" was well-received, and one of their songs managed to appear on an episode of Miami Vice for a brief moment. The group was on the verge of signing a major-label contract, but Marello decided to leave the band, leaving Young the only remaining original member. Athan Maroulis (previously of <a href="spotify:artist:7ee2WLelb2WtnPwiizvBSo">Fahrenheit 451</a>) became Executive Slacks' new frontman and they continued playing shows, but the lineup never released any recordings, and they broke up in 1991. Maroulis subsequently fronted several well-known industrial and gothic bands, including <a href="spotify:artist:41vTBtzzmekisvdnzz56uI">Tubalcain</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4MGthkM13PyNgf5CJgIEKj">Spahn Ranch</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:2LM56NUYjaQzmYyQkZjBlZ">Black Tape for a Blue Girl</a>, while Marello became a notable visual artist.

Maroulis frequently produces reissues/compilations and writes liner notes for <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Cleopatra+Records%22">Cleopatra Records</a>, and the label released the CD compilation Repressed in 1994, eventually issuing the group's entire discography as the double-CD The Complete Recordings 1982-1986 in 2015. Additionally, <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Dark+Entries%22">Dark Entries</a> reissued the band's debut EP in 2014. The imprint also released Seams Ruff, an LP of unreleased recordings from the group's earliest incarnation, in 2016. ~ Paul Simpson, Rovi