COLIN NEWMAN - It Seems

LP Crammed Discs 1988
CD Crammed Discs 1988 with bonus track



"Colin was a founder member of the legendary 'art' combo Wire. Wire was formed in 1976 in the midst of the first flush of punk's youth but immediately diverged from the 'pogo' standard thrash with a combination of a sparse aesthetic, obtuse lyrics and a much vaunted (but never charted!) 'pop sensibility'. Through the Seventies they built a formidible reputation based on a rapid evolution of style until one band could no longer contain the prodigious output of it's members and Wire went into one of it's periodic hibernations. During the early 80's Newman recorded solo albums, became a record producer, working with amongst others the notorious Irish band The Virgin Prunes, and then quit the music business for a 14 month sojurn on the Indian Subcontinent. On his return Wire recommenced activity running in paralell with both more solo albums and more record production, this time including seminal Israeli band Minimal Compact. Wire's 80's output eclipsed it's 70's output both in quantity and sales with it's new electronic styles finding favour amongst a new (mainly American) generation weaned on Brit synthpop".
(swimhq.com)

"The first of Colin Newman's records to fully take advantage of sequencing, It Seems is mostly driven by layers of interplaying rhythms. Where it differs from traditional sequenced album (aka dance music) is in direction and instrumentation. Both seem to follow on from Commercial Suicide; the mood is quite dreamy, and the album almost devoid of drums. Improvements over the older release are immediately apparent: although often musically quite sedate, It Seems has an edge, and the arrangements seem richer. Although perhaps sounding slightly dated, the result is an intriguing combination of mellow rhythms and occasional hard edges. The release is full of engaging music, from the dreamy title track to the philosophical mickey-take Round and Round. The wonderful Better Later than Never including Robert Gotobed on drums, is the album's undisputed high point - a fairly 'pop' number with a chord sequence to die for. One to watch out for".
(Craig Grannell, wireviews.com)

ENJOY


Better Later Than Ever