With the dawn of the digital age, a growing number of pop music groups are re-releasing archival tracks and even offering songs for the first time that were never available before except for die-hard fans like cassettes or bootlegs. The Atlantics, a Boston-based punk / pop band that helped spearhead the New Wave scene from 1976 to 1982, recently restored and released collections of the band’s powerpop hits, many of which had never been available. previously. The band’s first CD release was the self-titled “Atlantics”, on the band’s label something.hot communications. The 2006 collection included the Atlantics regional hit “Lonelyhearts” and the original vinyl “Can’t Wait Forever.” But what has made “Atlantics” a hit on CDbaby and on local radio was the inclusion of songs that were favorites from their live concerts, but had only previously been released on cassette tape to New York radio stations. England: “Pop Shivers”, “Wrong Number”, and the favorite “Weekend” of Fridays by car.

The tapes of the thirteen tracks had been stored in a trunk in the basement of guitarist Tom Hauck’s parents. “Our drummer Paul Caruso took these analog tapes and had them professionally restored at M-Works in Cambridge,” says Tom. “He was able to put together a thirteen-track digital master that offers very competitive sound quality. These twenty-five-year-old tapes sound as good as many records released today.” And now, because the tracks are digital, the tape deterioration process has stopped.

Encouraged by the success of “Atlantics”, in 2007 the band released “Atlantics Live”, a Paradise Club concert recording. The March 1979 concert was originally broadcast live on WCOZ-FM and includes most of the hits from the band’s 1979 ABC Records album “Big City Rock.” Digital launches continue. A digitally remastered pirate of “Big City Rock” appeared in 2008; This CD is now priced high on the used CD market, if you can find one.

The Atlantics are planning a third release for 2009. “PowerPop” will include a whopping seventeen tracks dating from 1977 to 1982, including the never-released Jukebox Records 45 classic, “When You’re Young.” Recorded in 1978, the song combined the Ramones wall of sound with a 1950s boy band tune and paved the way for post-punk hits like blink-182’s “Dammit” (compare them both, you’ll hear) .

Not to be overlooked, the glamorous 1980s band Ball and Pivot, with Atlantics’ Bruce Wilkinson on the mic, went to the archives and released “Heart in the Sky” in 2008. The CD includes a digitally remastered version of their huge club. of dance. and the radio hit “Down,” as well as favorites like “Two O’Clock Jump” and “Downtown,” the band’s tribute to the high-octane Stones to the joys of the big city. Blending crunchy guitars, great beats and eighties synths, “Heart in the Sky” is a surprisingly fresh-sounding collection that evokes a bygone era and has a contemporary edge.

What makes the reissue market viable for bands like Atlantics and Ball and Pivot is the availability of online CD retailers like CDbaby, regional chains like Newbury Comics, and digital outlets. “Twenty-five years ago you had to have a major distributor for your vinyl LP,” say the Atlantics. “Now we can sell our music globally from a laptop. We are selling more tracks today than when the band was performing. It’s great that old fans can get our music, and even new fans, kids who are looking for authentic sounds. from before they were born, you can own a piece of history. “