Born in the years immediately preceding punk rock, This Heat produced some of the more forward thinking and uncompromising music of its time. Featuring players from London’s free-improvising circuit with links to the waning days of Canterbury’s whimsical and conceptual prog rock scene, they mixed a heady and confrontational stew of sounds that challenged the notion of what it meant to be punk. Add to that a healthy dose of Reagan/Thatcher-era political despair and you got a band that still sounds ahead of their time.

Their only two albums, This Heat (1978) and Deceit (1981), had been out of print for over two decades. Last year the comprehensive boxset Out of Cold Storage (named after the abandoned meat locker they recorded in) was finally released, to the unbridled joy of music nerds everywhere.

This rare clip here was quite a treat to come across. These chaps were serious, and they could seriously play their instruments. The sound is kinda low, so be sure to crank that volume up.

-j-