Description

The self-titled five-track cassette EP by the American rock band Sticker was self-released in 1983. Tracks A1 and B1 were recorded by Tim Killeen at Bear Creek in Woodinville, Washington; with band members Les Carlsen and Joyce Macek producing. Tracks A2, A3, and B2 were recorded by David Hines at Fiddlers and Brian Elliot in Los Angeles, California; with Bob Esty producing. All cuts mixed by Tim Killeen at Bear Creek. Executive Producer: Christian De Walden.

Sticker is Claude Leslie Carlsen and Joyce Macek Carlsen on vocals, Gene Hubbard on keyboards, John Morton on guitar, Bill Hardy on bass, and John Agostino on drums. The EP as well features Bob Esty, John Goodsall, and Rick Parnell.

This is an awesome slice of 80s New Wave/Rock. Someone pointed out on Facebook that this was Les Carlsen of Bloodgood fame with his wife Joyce before he joined Bloodgood. I had noticed this tape in the collection that I am currently digitizing, but had set it aside for other tapes because I wasn’t sure what it was. As soon as I heard it was Les, I moved it to the front of the stack. Glad I did – I love this tape (also on vinyl I see). «Somebody special» starts off with a good new wave sound. «I’m a Rocker» is almost borderline hard rock, but the synths are pretty directly influenced by The Cars. «Surprise» is back to new wave, «Thin Ice» is back to near hard rock, and «Mushrooms in the Sky» is new wave with a slight reggae influence (like many new wave bands did back in the day). Les and Joyce trade off lead vocals on different songs, while providing background vocals on the other tracks. Only five songs, and I am not sure if this is a Christian release or not… but I really don’t care. Underground albums like this just prove why the 80s were so awesome. [Christian Tape Underground, March 2, 2018]

Cassette tracklist:

Side One
A1. “Somebody Special”
A2. “I’m a Rocker”
A3. “Surprise”

Side Two
B1. “Thin Ice”
B2. “Mushrooms in the Sky”

Note: The EP was also released on 12-inch vinyl.