The Arms of Someone New - Tape Recordings 1983-1985 (2026) [Official Digital Download]

The Arms of Someone New formed in 1983 in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, when college students Mel Eberle and Steve Jones combined their introspective artistry into music marked by atmospheric guitars, minimalist synthesizers, vintage drum machines, and tape loops. This collection of 33 tracks, recorded before their 1985 album SUSAN SLEEPWALKING, evokes the romantic intensity of Half Japanese and Beat Happening, yet bears a quietly seductive charm all its own. In early 1983, Mel was in the band The First Things, managed and produced by Steve. As the two grew to be closer friends they started making music independently of what Mel was writing & recording for The First Things. The idea for The Arms of Someone New was to combine their varied interests in The Beatles, psychedelia, blues, new wave and post-punk to create a sound that wrapped around the listener like fog.