Era collects everything obscure post-punks In Camera recorded during their original 1978—1981 run. This amounts to a few singles, a Peel session, demos, and a handful of live recordings/rehearsals. The compilation harkens back to a time when goth rock actually rocked, before The Cure and 4AD's own mid-'80s greats took the genre to more ethereal pastures. The obvious references points are The Birthday Party and Bauhaus, though In Camera never hit hedonistic highs or plummeted to grotesque lows that rivaled those monumental bands' best work. Rather than seduce or repel, the primal rhythms and grinding guitar leads heard here merely oppress. While the music itself is less than immersive, it does make a compelling footnote to the formative years of a classic label.