Boxcar

Although drawing inspiration from Cabaret Voltaire, the Australian group Boxcar aligned more closely with New Order in overall sound. That resemblance stemmed chiefly from the weary vocals of David Smith, who handled guitar and keyboards and whose delivery readily evoked Bernard Sumner's melancholic timbre. Boxcar's blend of upbeat keyboards and energetic riffs would likewise have fit comfortably on New Order's Low-Life LP, which appeared a year before the band made its debut. Smith established Boxcar in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, during 1986 alongside Carol Rohde on vocals and keyboards. Brett Mitchell on keyboards and Crispin Trist on percussion soon joined, after which the ensemble played repeatedly across rock-dominated Australia with scant success. Several cassettes were recorded before the band signed to Volition in 1988. The label issued Boxcar's debut single, "Freemason," later that year. Despite press dismissals that cast the group as a New Order imitation, the track became a club smash and reached number eight on the Billboard dance charts. In 1990 Boxcar completed its first album, Vertigo. Another single, "Gas Stop (Who Do You Think You Are?)," also charted on Billboard's dance list, peaking at number 13. Rohde and Trist left Boxcar in 1992 and were replaced by Stewart Lawler on synthesizers. While continuing to develop original material, the group supplied remixes in the early nineties for Single Gun Theory, the Models, and Severed Heads. Boxcar's second album, Algorhythm, appeared in 1994. The band signed with England's Pulse8 Records in 1996, yet little has been heard from the members since.