THE SELVES

The Selves came from Wyckoff, NJ, pretty far north to qualify as New Brunswick-area, but they were well-known in town and played there often. Like Spiral Jetty, the Selves were too accomplished to play it raw, but embraced the "dark" side of the melodic spectrum, by which I mean early Wire (they covered "Feeling Called Love"), Modern Lovers, VU, etc. When combined with an R&B influence, they could sound like a more upbeat, Gentlemen-era Afghan Whigs. So another NJ band years ahead of their time, and too bad: they wrote some classic songs, in particular "Like A Mission" from their debut EP.

My only evidence of the Selves playing in NB is from a Shock Mommies flyer. So lacking anything else, here's the cover to said debut EP, long out of print, and definitely worth pursuing.

[CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE]