Kevin Bronson on May 1st, 2015

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Translator had an excellent four-album run from 1982 to ’86. Formed in Los Angeles in 1979 and then based in San Francisco after signing to Howie Klein’s 415 Records, the quartet fused the sound of British Invasion rockers with punk and psychedelia, taking off with the college radio-then-MTV hit “Everywhere That I’m Not.” The foursome — singer/guitarists Steve Barton and Bob Darlington, bassist Larry Dekker and drummer Dave Scheff — have re-formed to play sporadically over the years, and released a new album “Big Green Lawn” in 2012. But a new archival collection from deep-catalog miners Omnivore Recordings takes a deeper look; it assembles 22 demos and rarities from a band that would go on to make records produced by David Kahne (Paul McCartney, Bangles, Tony Bennett, Sublime) and Ed Stasium (Ramones, Living Colour and the Smithereens). The collection is titled “Sometimes People Forget,” and while it has direct appeal to longtime fans of the band (it includes photos, liner notes and ephemera), it’s also a release young crate-diggers might want to spend some time with. More than 30 years later, Translator’s smart, crisp songs hold up awfully well.

||| Stream: The song “Translator”

||| Live: Translator celebrates the release of “Sometimes People Forget” with a show Sunday night at Molly Malone’s. Marvin Etizioni opens. Translator also plays Monday at Fingerprints.

Photo from 1980 by Bonnie Cohen