If Joy Division, early Cure, and Bauhaus are your reference points for today's Batcave/Gothic bands, you're missing the real source: Clair Obscur, the French coldwave pioneers who radiated further outside France's borders than any of their compatriots. Founded in Creil in 1981 by brothers Christophe (vocals) and Nicolas Demarthe (guitar) with Thierry Damerval (bass), they immediately drew attention with homemade cassettes and magnificently designed 7" singles. Their greatest glory: appearing on N.E.R.'s mythical compilation From Torture To Conscience (1984) alongside Current 93, In The Nursery, and Death In June. From tribal coldwave to chamber music, from industrial to dance - their approach was eminently atmospheric, embracing a surprising variety of styles. They transformed rock concerts into fake TV game shows, created performances questioning the possibilities of representation itself. This essential VOD box collects 28 tracks organized chronologically: spikily rudimentary, skittish coldwave and synthpop of 1981-82 (the wily drum machines and weaving basslines of "Nitchevo"), darkly muscular EBM-tinged sounds of 1983, a blistering improvisation of The Pilgrim's Progress (live at Le Palace), more gothic shades 1983-84, and lean driving industrial dance on the final side. Includes first-ever vinyl issue of their 1982 tape La Cassette Noir plus 13 previously unpublished gems. Gothic-wave-punk at its best - more 80s feeling is not possible, yet these tracks sound astonishingly fresh.