APB - Three (2023)

During the 1980s, APB were one of the most popular alternative bands in the NYC tri-State area. The band's 30-year recording career comprised five main releases: three studio albums and two compilations. Their 2006 album 'Three' features 14 tracks of the post-punk funk that earned them a legion of fans. The indie-label set has been long out of print and unavailable internationally.

The band was formed in the rural town of Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1979. Taking inspiration from the D.I.Y. ("Do It Yourself") spirit of punk rock, teenagers Iain Slater (singer, bassist), Glenn Roberts (guitar), and George Cheyne (drums) rehearsed relentlessly and signed with local independent Oily Records at the dawn of the 1980s. The band's trademark post-punk dance rhythms energized audiences from the start, with their debut single "Shoot You Down" crackling with edgy guitar and Slater's riveting vocal inflections. APB were lumped in with similarly militaristic dance factions of the time -- Gang of Four, Au Pairs, Delta 5 -- but their own music was more celebratory and inclusive.

"When I bought the second APB single, 'Shoot You Down,' I was blown away by the pure energy and sparse funk groove that drove the record," said Matt Pinfield, former host of MTV's 120 Minutes. "Over the course of the next few years, I saw the band live about 15 times. They would always pack clubs in New York, New Jersey, and Long Island." In 2018's Beastie Boy Book, band member Adam "Ad-Rock" Horowitz referred to "Shoot You Down" as a "punk dance-floor classic."

APB remain an active touring band which includes original members Slater, Roberts, and Cheyne. Over the decades, APB's sparse, rhythmic sound has influenced bands from the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Franz Ferdinand. A new generation is primed to make their acquaintance.