History in Reverse handily collects the complete recorded work by the Blackouts, who migrated from Seattle to Boston to San Francisco across the early 80s, recording various EPs and tracks along the way but never a full album. What they did release, though, was often top notch, a kind of warmer, slightly Devolike version of experimental post punk dance, with an interesting sonic wild card in the form of the sometimes Russell Mael-ish singer/guitarist Erich Werner (that quality is evident more in the later – here, per the album title, the initial – tracks they recorded).

– Ned Raggett