A demo tape, sent to Capitol Records by The Trash Company in the early 90s, garnered this curt response from then President of the R&B Division, Joy Bailey: Some music was never meant to be heard. Thug Records returns with one of the most intriguing releases to grace the catalogue so far. Not restricted by any one scene, Max Monroe of The Trash Company produces a hypnotic medley of original hard edge rhythm & blues, soul dance and classic psychedelic punk wave textures. Armed with a condition known as Synesthesia meaning he perceives sounds, words and letters in terms of color and a 4 track cassette recorder, The Trash Company has spent the last 30 years as a bedroom recording genius.
It wasn’t until recently that the magnitude and quality of his unreleased collection of tape recordings were discovered. Unearthed by The Scorpio Brothers - Troy Hurt and Marty Key, 2 record collectors from Richmond VA. They discovered a copy of "Come to Me Softy"; a 45 by The Trash Company recorded and released in 1979 at the former Broad Street recording studio [Alpha Audio]. The record was discovered in a second hand singles box at a tiny record store called Carrington’s Music in Petersburg VA.
Inspired by this weird record, Troy Hurt hunted Max down using various crate digger methods and eventually found he had local contact details. After getting in touch, Max sent across a number of tracks that had been collecting dust in his closet for the last couple of decades. The Scorpio Brothers were blown away... this led to the release of the Trash Company’s now critically acclaimed 2nd album, “The Earle Hotel Tapes 1979 – 1993”, which is a collection of music written in Room 111 of The Earle from that period.
Presented here on Modern Love and in vinyl format on Thug Records are 6 new unreleased gems. The Trash Company’s recordings are starkly honest, deeply personal and ahead of their time. Future Techno.