I guess you'll have to do without me for the next couple of weeks.
A big bag full of CDs is already packed, meaning that I'll try my best to spend a few days actually listening to some music - instead of just keep posting it!
Anyway, take care and don't forget to leave any requests, thoughts, suggestions...
16 July 2010
15 July 2010
Request: HEX - Vast Halos
CD First Warning Records / Rykodisc 1990
"Another tech-heavy and mostly self-created effort from the duo (though more accurately a trio with the participation of Jim McGrath on pounding, shaking, and apple eating'), Vast Halos is a more upfront effort in general than the band's debut. The same combination of swoony psychedelia and new wave-tinged compositions, with a dollop of T. Rex-flavored glam here and there, makes for another enjoyable album all around. The Marc Bolan tinge crops up at a number of points in the snaky slink of many melodies - one can practically hear his trill fitting in perfectly on songs like Hollywood in Winter and the fine lead song, Monarch. [Donnette] Thayer's singing is more direct at many points, sounding fuller in the mix and in her general delivery, while [Steve] Kilbey's arrangements gain a little more in the way of detail and kicking against the sometimes-sterile rhythms. When he decides to let the epic-rock part of his personality come forth a bit more, as on the extended coda for Antelope, the extra oomph helps send everything that little bit higher without hijacking the song entirely. Perhaps unsurprisingly, when the group takes a more organic approach, as with the Indian-sounding percussion on the really lovely Centaur, Thayer's singing is some of her most seductive and thrilling and the results are truly special. There are some striking nods to Phil Spector's Wall-of-Sound tearjerkers (Shelter), late-night jazz blues smokiness (Hell), and string-heavy waltz turns (Orpheus Circuit, with one of Thayer's best performances), which add variety without seeming dilettantish. Not everything connects all the way, with some material merely being pleasant rather than special, but overall Vast Halos makes for a varied and intriguing effort that overtops its predecessor with skill and style".
(Ned Raggett, All-Music Guide)
ENJOY
Antelope
"Another tech-heavy and mostly self-created effort from the duo (though more accurately a trio with the participation of Jim McGrath on pounding, shaking, and apple eating'), Vast Halos is a more upfront effort in general than the band's debut. The same combination of swoony psychedelia and new wave-tinged compositions, with a dollop of T. Rex-flavored glam here and there, makes for another enjoyable album all around. The Marc Bolan tinge crops up at a number of points in the snaky slink of many melodies - one can practically hear his trill fitting in perfectly on songs like Hollywood in Winter and the fine lead song, Monarch. [Donnette] Thayer's singing is more direct at many points, sounding fuller in the mix and in her general delivery, while [Steve] Kilbey's arrangements gain a little more in the way of detail and kicking against the sometimes-sterile rhythms. When he decides to let the epic-rock part of his personality come forth a bit more, as on the extended coda for Antelope, the extra oomph helps send everything that little bit higher without hijacking the song entirely. Perhaps unsurprisingly, when the group takes a more organic approach, as with the Indian-sounding percussion on the really lovely Centaur, Thayer's singing is some of her most seductive and thrilling and the results are truly special. There are some striking nods to Phil Spector's Wall-of-Sound tearjerkers (Shelter), late-night jazz blues smokiness (Hell), and string-heavy waltz turns (Orpheus Circuit, with one of Thayer's best performances), which add variety without seeming dilettantish. Not everything connects all the way, with some material merely being pleasant rather than special, but overall Vast Halos makes for a varied and intriguing effort that overtops its predecessor with skill and style".
(Ned Raggett, All-Music Guide)
ENJOY
Antelope
14 July 2010
KEVIN ROWLAND - The Wanderer
LP/CD Mercury Records 1988
"(...) when it comes down to it, it's the music that matters - the albums and the shows, and Dexys gave us some fucking great ones, putting their hearts and souls into it. The problem was though that in many ways, they were ahead of their time, they were visionaries. When they came into the music business, it was full of guys from the seventies wearing Doobie Brothers tour jackets. Nothing wrong with the Doobie Brothers of course, but who of these could understand the young soul rebels? Essentially Kevin Rowland has always been the core of Dexys. He built several different line ups of the band (a new one, for instance for each of the three albums). And after Rowland finally put Dexys to rest in 1986, 2 solo albums, The Wanderer and My Beauty punctuated the next two decades".
(myspace.com)
"This is a brilliant album. Although it is not a sequel to 1985's brilliant Don't Stand Me Down, it is clearly the natural follow-up. Knowing he could never top that major achievement, Kevin Rowland once again set out to reinvent himself for his first solo album. The result is a mixture of Celtic folk, rock, country, and dance music. The result is stunning. Rowland's vocals are amazing, clear, and full of his famous emotion. The assorted session musicians (including famed pedal steel guitarist Eric Weissberg) provide a solid foundation on which Rowland builds his mini masterpieces. Rowland is not so much the angry young man here (except maybe on the standout track, Tonight), but rather a sad, lonely, pensive man who is trying to make sense of the world around him. He may not succeed, but in the process he has written some moving lyrics and does a wonderful cover of the classic Heartaches By the Numbers. As usual, this is not the type of album one expects from Kevin Rowland, but when did Rowland ever do what was expected of him? Also worth searching out are the three singles released from the album, all containing hilarious and wonderful non-LP B-sides that could have been added as bonus cuts to the CD. There really is something here for most tastes, and by all rights this should be in most serious record collections".
(Aaron Badgley, All-Music Guide)
ENJOY
Walk Away
"(...) when it comes down to it, it's the music that matters - the albums and the shows, and Dexys gave us some fucking great ones, putting their hearts and souls into it. The problem was though that in many ways, they were ahead of their time, they were visionaries. When they came into the music business, it was full of guys from the seventies wearing Doobie Brothers tour jackets. Nothing wrong with the Doobie Brothers of course, but who of these could understand the young soul rebels? Essentially Kevin Rowland has always been the core of Dexys. He built several different line ups of the band (a new one, for instance for each of the three albums). And after Rowland finally put Dexys to rest in 1986, 2 solo albums, The Wanderer and My Beauty punctuated the next two decades".
(myspace.com)
"This is a brilliant album. Although it is not a sequel to 1985's brilliant Don't Stand Me Down, it is clearly the natural follow-up. Knowing he could never top that major achievement, Kevin Rowland once again set out to reinvent himself for his first solo album. The result is a mixture of Celtic folk, rock, country, and dance music. The result is stunning. Rowland's vocals are amazing, clear, and full of his famous emotion. The assorted session musicians (including famed pedal steel guitarist Eric Weissberg) provide a solid foundation on which Rowland builds his mini masterpieces. Rowland is not so much the angry young man here (except maybe on the standout track, Tonight), but rather a sad, lonely, pensive man who is trying to make sense of the world around him. He may not succeed, but in the process he has written some moving lyrics and does a wonderful cover of the classic Heartaches By the Numbers. As usual, this is not the type of album one expects from Kevin Rowland, but when did Rowland ever do what was expected of him? Also worth searching out are the three singles released from the album, all containing hilarious and wonderful non-LP B-sides that could have been added as bonus cuts to the CD. There really is something here for most tastes, and by all rights this should be in most serious record collections".
(Aaron Badgley, All-Music Guide)
ENJOY
Walk Away
13 July 2010
THE DANSE SOCIETY - Heaven Is Waiting
LP Arista Records 1984
CD reissue Great Expectations 1992 with bonus tracks
"The Danse Society were a very special band formed in the early 1980’s and hailed from the Goth heartland of Yorkshire. After their highly regarded album Seduction on their own label Society Records, the band signed to Arista Records and released this, the excellent Heaven Is Waiting album. It's their most complete and accomplished album. During the eighties, the Danse Society created a reputation for lush and atmospheric sounds that separated them from the rest of the gothic scene at the time. The innovative and creative use of keyboards was the element that gave the band their distinctive sound".
(cherryred.co.uk)
" Goth music has been perhaps unfairly maligned down the years. So often associated with humourless, irony-free presentation and tuneless displays of depression, at its worst it is admittedly unbearable. Danse Society were never that poor but this reissue of their 1984 album Heaven Is Waiting sums up the good and bad of the goth scene in a nutshell. Made up by Steve Rawlings' powerful, haunting vocals, Lyndon Scarfe's very much 'of the time' keyboard embellishments and a fiercesome, bludgeoning rhythm section the group were built on solid foundations. Everything begins well with Come Inside and Wake Up possessing an imperious majesty and vitality. Such qualities are sadly absent from the keyboard-heavy work with fancy arrangments that Ultravox had long since discarded as being passé". (Jonathan Leonard, Leonard's Lair)
ENJOY
Intro / Come Inside
CD reissue Great Expectations 1992 with bonus tracks
"The Danse Society were a very special band formed in the early 1980’s and hailed from the Goth heartland of Yorkshire. After their highly regarded album Seduction on their own label Society Records, the band signed to Arista Records and released this, the excellent Heaven Is Waiting album. It's their most complete and accomplished album. During the eighties, the Danse Society created a reputation for lush and atmospheric sounds that separated them from the rest of the gothic scene at the time. The innovative and creative use of keyboards was the element that gave the band their distinctive sound".
(cherryred.co.uk)
" Goth music has been perhaps unfairly maligned down the years. So often associated with humourless, irony-free presentation and tuneless displays of depression, at its worst it is admittedly unbearable. Danse Society were never that poor but this reissue of their 1984 album Heaven Is Waiting sums up the good and bad of the goth scene in a nutshell. Made up by Steve Rawlings' powerful, haunting vocals, Lyndon Scarfe's very much 'of the time' keyboard embellishments and a fiercesome, bludgeoning rhythm section the group were built on solid foundations. Everything begins well with Come Inside and Wake Up possessing an imperious majesty and vitality. Such qualities are sadly absent from the keyboard-heavy work with fancy arrangments that Ultravox had long since discarded as being passé". (Jonathan Leonard, Leonard's Lair)
ENJOY
Intro / Come Inside
12 July 2010
NURSE WITH WOUND - A Sucked Orange
LP United Dairies 1989
CD United Dairies 1990
"A loose experimental project formed in 1978 by Steven Stapleton, Nurse with Wound explored abstract music - influenced by Krautrock, freewheeling jazz improvisation, and Throbbing Gristle but including a heavy debt to surrealists Dali and Lautréamont - with an overpowering release schedule of limited-edition albums and EPs. Stapleton worked with an ever-changing list of collaborators during the early years of Nurse with Wound, though Current 93's David Tibet has been the only frequent recording companion during the 1980s and '90s".
(John Bush, All-Music Guide)
"A Sucked Orange is a twenty nine track compilation of outtakes and random unused material from Stapleton’s huge tape archive. The reason for compiling this collection was that he was moving out to Ireland and couldn’t take all his tapes with him so most had to go in the bin. He 'picked them clean' to reveal these tracks. It’s a hit and miss affair with some tracks being frankly silly e.g. Raymonde Fluffs It. And some are short pleasant tid-bits. The Spiral Theme with it’s drifting ambience, or A Precise History of Industrial Music, which features various machines (a printer) and other strange sounds. Rockette Morton Parts One and Two, are just a loop of the name Rockette Morton delayed, mutated and twisted for what seems like eternity. I’m a Frayed Knot, features the tribal beats and sounds from Aquarium. This Piano Can’t Think, is the unaltered piano piece from the second track off Spiral Insania. Crack Up, is a swamp of orchestral synths. While Scissor Rock Bicycle Revelation is loops of scissors and someone changing a bicycle chain (I think). Most of the tracks here are quite simple with only a few elements competing to be heard. Dream of a Butterfly Inside the Head of a Horse is another amusing track, muffled buzzing and dissonant drones and sounds. It Just Aint So (Slight Return) was used on the Sylvie and Babs Hi-Thigh Companion. A Little Missing Part of Homotopy To Marie, is just that. Scrambled Egg Rebellion in the Smegma Department is a nice end to this compilation. Echoed cries and all that. Definitely a mixed bag. I suppose this is as close as you could get to demo versions of Nurse songs. All the pieces chopped up and separate before the Nurses put them together in their deformed wonderful ways. For fans only me thinks".
(Xaven Taner, nightoftheworld.com)
ENJOY
Scrambled Egg Rebellion In the Smegma Department
CD United Dairies 1990
"A loose experimental project formed in 1978 by Steven Stapleton, Nurse with Wound explored abstract music - influenced by Krautrock, freewheeling jazz improvisation, and Throbbing Gristle but including a heavy debt to surrealists Dali and Lautréamont - with an overpowering release schedule of limited-edition albums and EPs. Stapleton worked with an ever-changing list of collaborators during the early years of Nurse with Wound, though Current 93's David Tibet has been the only frequent recording companion during the 1980s and '90s".
(John Bush, All-Music Guide)
"A Sucked Orange is a twenty nine track compilation of outtakes and random unused material from Stapleton’s huge tape archive. The reason for compiling this collection was that he was moving out to Ireland and couldn’t take all his tapes with him so most had to go in the bin. He 'picked them clean' to reveal these tracks. It’s a hit and miss affair with some tracks being frankly silly e.g. Raymonde Fluffs It. And some are short pleasant tid-bits. The Spiral Theme with it’s drifting ambience, or A Precise History of Industrial Music, which features various machines (a printer) and other strange sounds. Rockette Morton Parts One and Two, are just a loop of the name Rockette Morton delayed, mutated and twisted for what seems like eternity. I’m a Frayed Knot, features the tribal beats and sounds from Aquarium. This Piano Can’t Think, is the unaltered piano piece from the second track off Spiral Insania. Crack Up, is a swamp of orchestral synths. While Scissor Rock Bicycle Revelation is loops of scissors and someone changing a bicycle chain (I think). Most of the tracks here are quite simple with only a few elements competing to be heard. Dream of a Butterfly Inside the Head of a Horse is another amusing track, muffled buzzing and dissonant drones and sounds. It Just Aint So (Slight Return) was used on the Sylvie and Babs Hi-Thigh Companion. A Little Missing Part of Homotopy To Marie, is just that. Scrambled Egg Rebellion in the Smegma Department is a nice end to this compilation. Echoed cries and all that. Definitely a mixed bag. I suppose this is as close as you could get to demo versions of Nurse songs. All the pieces chopped up and separate before the Nurses put them together in their deformed wonderful ways. For fans only me thinks".
(Xaven Taner, nightoftheworld.com)
ENJOY
Scrambled Egg Rebellion In the Smegma Department
11 July 2010
FELT - Bubblegum Perfume
Original recordings Creation Records 1986-1988
Compilation LP/CD Creation Records 1990
"When it comes to individuality and wilful perversity, Lawrence's only rival is Prince. In 10 years he guided Felt through 10 LPs and 10 singles, occasionally threatening to make it into the major league but, just as he was making headway, he'd put out an album of lift music or title the new single Space Blues. (...) Of all Felt ingredients, Lawrence's voice was their real trademark. 'How do they get Lou Reed to sing in all their records?' a review once asked - pretty funny, but Reed's name could be replaced by either Bob Dylan or Tom Verlaine. Somehow Lawrence sounded like all three and still had an instantly recognisable timbre: that slightly off-kilter warble, that subtle tone of endless Black Country boredom. Other Felt-isms were Martin Duffy's keyboards (Hammond and vibes a speciality) and, always, guitar craftsmanship. (...) It's funny how, just six months into the Nineties, the Eighties seem like so much history. Felt already belong to another era, their ecletic wanderings part of our past. They managed 10 years of mystique. That's pretty cool. Bubblegum Perfume acts as historical document, an excellent Felt primer for the initiated, and a seal on their legend. We will not see their like again".
(Bob Stanley, 1990 review)
ENJOY
Space Blues
Compilation LP/CD Creation Records 1990
"When it comes to individuality and wilful perversity, Lawrence's only rival is Prince. In 10 years he guided Felt through 10 LPs and 10 singles, occasionally threatening to make it into the major league but, just as he was making headway, he'd put out an album of lift music or title the new single Space Blues. (...) Of all Felt ingredients, Lawrence's voice was their real trademark. 'How do they get Lou Reed to sing in all their records?' a review once asked - pretty funny, but Reed's name could be replaced by either Bob Dylan or Tom Verlaine. Somehow Lawrence sounded like all three and still had an instantly recognisable timbre: that slightly off-kilter warble, that subtle tone of endless Black Country boredom. Other Felt-isms were Martin Duffy's keyboards (Hammond and vibes a speciality) and, always, guitar craftsmanship. (...) It's funny how, just six months into the Nineties, the Eighties seem like so much history. Felt already belong to another era, their ecletic wanderings part of our past. They managed 10 years of mystique. That's pretty cool. Bubblegum Perfume acts as historical document, an excellent Felt primer for the initiated, and a seal on their legend. We will not see their like again".
(Bob Stanley, 1990 review)
ENJOY
Space Blues
10 July 2010
ULTRA VIVID SCENE - Ultra Vivid Scene
LP 4AD Records 1988
CD 4AD Records 1988 with bonus track
"Listen past the pretty facade of Ultra Vivid Scene to the barely suppressed screams within, and you'll find an admirably subversive mind at work. Whether performing techno-pop, ambient soundscapes or Patsy Cline covers, UVS wields the same breathless, desperate menace. For all its attempts to be perceived as a band, UVS is still essentially Kurt Ralske, a musical prodigy of sorts from Long Island who grew up on jazz and classical music. After quitting the Berklee School of Music at 17, he bought a guitar and began playing in rock, hardcore and jazz bands, moving to London with a group called Crash (which soon did). He then formed the first incarnation of UVS and hung out with members of the Jesus & Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine and Loop before returning to New York and signing with 4AD. Ralske created the elaborate Ultra Vivid Scene entirely by himself, offering a disturbingly intimate glimpse into his evidently tortured soul as well as his considerable musical talents. The bittersweet juxtapositions - a beautiful melody with S&M lyrics, a bouncy pop song driven by hyper-distorted guitar - create a tension that jangles even the album's most sedate songs. Anguished yet never overbearing, soothing without turning complacent, it's one of 1988's best".
(Jem Aswad, Trouser Press)
"The first album by Kurt Ralske, a native New Yorker who spent stretches in Boston and London before signing to 4AD, is musically an intriguing and eclectic record that mixes pure pop and noise experiments better than any album since the Jesus and Mary Chain's Psychocandy. (My Bloody Valentine was working similar territory at the same time, but Ralske's fondness for the pop hook, best heard on the first single She Screamed, was far more obvious.) The difficulties come when one pays attention to the lyrics, which are laughably pretentious in a way rarely seen since Jim Morrison's Lizard King heyday. (...) Still, ignore Ralske's mopey black-clad high school sophomore-level lyrics, which, luckily, is pretty easy to do since his voice is mixed fairly low, and Ultra Vivid Scene is a pretty interesting record with much to offer".
(Stewart Mason, All-Music Guide)
ENJOY
Mercy Seat
CD 4AD Records 1988 with bonus track
"Listen past the pretty facade of Ultra Vivid Scene to the barely suppressed screams within, and you'll find an admirably subversive mind at work. Whether performing techno-pop, ambient soundscapes or Patsy Cline covers, UVS wields the same breathless, desperate menace. For all its attempts to be perceived as a band, UVS is still essentially Kurt Ralske, a musical prodigy of sorts from Long Island who grew up on jazz and classical music. After quitting the Berklee School of Music at 17, he bought a guitar and began playing in rock, hardcore and jazz bands, moving to London with a group called Crash (which soon did). He then formed the first incarnation of UVS and hung out with members of the Jesus & Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine and Loop before returning to New York and signing with 4AD. Ralske created the elaborate Ultra Vivid Scene entirely by himself, offering a disturbingly intimate glimpse into his evidently tortured soul as well as his considerable musical talents. The bittersweet juxtapositions - a beautiful melody with S&M lyrics, a bouncy pop song driven by hyper-distorted guitar - create a tension that jangles even the album's most sedate songs. Anguished yet never overbearing, soothing without turning complacent, it's one of 1988's best".
(Jem Aswad, Trouser Press)
"The first album by Kurt Ralske, a native New Yorker who spent stretches in Boston and London before signing to 4AD, is musically an intriguing and eclectic record that mixes pure pop and noise experiments better than any album since the Jesus and Mary Chain's Psychocandy. (My Bloody Valentine was working similar territory at the same time, but Ralske's fondness for the pop hook, best heard on the first single She Screamed, was far more obvious.) The difficulties come when one pays attention to the lyrics, which are laughably pretentious in a way rarely seen since Jim Morrison's Lizard King heyday. (...) Still, ignore Ralske's mopey black-clad high school sophomore-level lyrics, which, luckily, is pretty easy to do since his voice is mixed fairly low, and Ultra Vivid Scene is a pretty interesting record with much to offer".
(Stewart Mason, All-Music Guide)
ENJOY
Mercy Seat
4 July 2010
LITTLE NEMO - Vol.1: 1987-89
Compilation 2xCD Infrastition 2009
"Originating from the region of Paris, Little Nemo is one of the French bands recognized by the british bock critics in the years between 1988 and 1992 (mostly by New Musical Express). This band was part of the 'Touching Pop' current at the crossroads of Anglo-Saxon inspired new wave and rock. This current gathered French bands like Mary Goes Round, Asylum Party, Neutral Project. The name of the band is directly inspired by the comics Little Nemo in Slumberland".
(wikipedia.org)
LISTEN
&
ENJOY
New Flood
"Originating from the region of Paris, Little Nemo is one of the French bands recognized by the british bock critics in the years between 1988 and 1992 (mostly by New Musical Express). This band was part of the 'Touching Pop' current at the crossroads of Anglo-Saxon inspired new wave and rock. This current gathered French bands like Mary Goes Round, Asylum Party, Neutral Project. The name of the band is directly inspired by the comics Little Nemo in Slumberland".
(wikipedia.org)
LISTEN
&
ENJOY
New Flood
3 July 2010
Request: GAME THEORY - Tinker To Evers To Chance
Original recordings 1982-1989
Compilation CD Enigma Records 1990
"Game Theory formed on the fringe of the Paisley Underground movement of the early-'80s, and though they certainly had a retro-'60s sound with psychedelic leanings, the band owed its greatest debt to the proto-power pop of Big Star. Leader Scott Miller's songcraft, distinctive voice (self-described as a 'miserable whine'), and intelligent lyrics (often obscure but rarely pretentious) carved a sound that, while firmly rooted in traditional pop, was truly original and defined an era of college rock".
(Chris Woodstra, All-Music Guide)
"Scott Miller compiled and annotated this career-spanning retrospective of his band Game Theory, and anyone looking for a convenient introduction to the band's arch and intelligent power pop could hardly do better than to pick this up. Tinker to Evers to Chance boasts 22 songs that offer representative selections from the band's four studio albums and three EPs, including their relative 'hits' (well, Erica's Word and The Real Shelia got some college radio airplay and made brief appearances on MTV in the middle of the night), as well as hard-to-find material from their early 12"s. For the completists, Miller also re-recorded two very early Game Theory tracks with the band's final lineup and even reworked Beach State Rocking by his pre-Game Theory combo Alternate Learning. A nice mix of obscurities and favorites for the fans, and a revelation for the uninitiated, Tinker to Evers to Chance is hardly the only Game Theory album worth owning, but it may well be the best way to go if you're only going to buy one".
(Mark Deming, All-Music Guide)
LISTEN
&
ENJOY
The Real Sheila
Compilation CD Enigma Records 1990
"Game Theory formed on the fringe of the Paisley Underground movement of the early-'80s, and though they certainly had a retro-'60s sound with psychedelic leanings, the band owed its greatest debt to the proto-power pop of Big Star. Leader Scott Miller's songcraft, distinctive voice (self-described as a 'miserable whine'), and intelligent lyrics (often obscure but rarely pretentious) carved a sound that, while firmly rooted in traditional pop, was truly original and defined an era of college rock".
(Chris Woodstra, All-Music Guide)
"Scott Miller compiled and annotated this career-spanning retrospective of his band Game Theory, and anyone looking for a convenient introduction to the band's arch and intelligent power pop could hardly do better than to pick this up. Tinker to Evers to Chance boasts 22 songs that offer representative selections from the band's four studio albums and three EPs, including their relative 'hits' (well, Erica's Word and The Real Shelia got some college radio airplay and made brief appearances on MTV in the middle of the night), as well as hard-to-find material from their early 12"s. For the completists, Miller also re-recorded two very early Game Theory tracks with the band's final lineup and even reworked Beach State Rocking by his pre-Game Theory combo Alternate Learning. A nice mix of obscurities and favorites for the fans, and a revelation for the uninitiated, Tinker to Evers to Chance is hardly the only Game Theory album worth owning, but it may well be the best way to go if you're only going to buy one".
(Mark Deming, All-Music Guide)
LISTEN
&
ENJOY
The Real Sheila
2 July 2010
ALTERNATIVE TV - The Image Has Cracked
LP Deptford Fun City 1978
CD reissue Anagram Records 1994 with (lots of) bonus tracks
"Starting with a nuttily bombastic synth intro (courtesy of Squeeze's Jools Holland!) which sounds just like the music punk was supposed to be destroying might seem an unusual move for a band founded by the guy who chronicled the original London explosion. But it's that very contrariness in Mark Perry which made the original Alternative TV such a thrilling prospect, and which makes The Image Has Cracked an unfairly neglected classic from the late-'70s upheaval. Seizing on the promise of punk as being a new means of expression rather than a new set of musical rules to be adhered to, Perry, along with a solid-enough band, whip up a series of incendiary pieces that explore as much as they thrash, caught somewhere between the Fall's divine ramalama and three-chord snarls".
(Ned Ragett, All-Music Guide)
ENJOY
Action Time Vision
CD reissue Anagram Records 1994 with (lots of) bonus tracks
"Starting with a nuttily bombastic synth intro (courtesy of Squeeze's Jools Holland!) which sounds just like the music punk was supposed to be destroying might seem an unusual move for a band founded by the guy who chronicled the original London explosion. But it's that very contrariness in Mark Perry which made the original Alternative TV such a thrilling prospect, and which makes The Image Has Cracked an unfairly neglected classic from the late-'70s upheaval. Seizing on the promise of punk as being a new means of expression rather than a new set of musical rules to be adhered to, Perry, along with a solid-enough band, whip up a series of incendiary pieces that explore as much as they thrash, caught somewhere between the Fall's divine ramalama and three-chord snarls".
(Ned Ragett, All-Music Guide)
ENJOY
Action Time Vision
1 July 2010
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