release date: 1981
format: digital (16 x File, MP3) (1987 reissue)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,52]
producer: Pat Bermingham
label: Cherry Red Records - nationality: England, UK
Track highlights: 1. "In Love" - 7. "All Dressed Up" - 8. "Honey" - 10. "He Got the Girl" - 11. "Day / Night Dreams" - 14. "Dishonesty" - 16. "Marine Girls"
Studio album debut by Marine Girls founded in 1980 by Tracey Thorn on guitar and vocals, and with Gina Hartman on percussion and vocals. Later in 1980 Jane Fox was included on bass, and before actually recording this they were expanded to a quartet with the inclusion of Jane's sister, Alice sharing credits with Hartman. Prior to this album the quartet recorded 12 songs, which was self-released on cassette as A Day by the Sea (released early '81). Beach Party contains half of these early songs and although it was recorded with a producer, it was alledgedly recorded in a shed, and subsequently it was also released on cassette only, now by In Phaze Records. Later that year it found its way to vinyl via Whaam! Records, and from '87 the album was re-issued on Cherry Red who also released the album on CD for the Japanese market only in 2006. The album counts no less than 16 tracks but only runs for 29 minutes as most of the songs are shorter than 2 minutes in playing time - the longest sonmg, track #15 goes for 2:24 minutes! Thorn is credited eleven songs, Jane Fox four, and the remainder (track #9) is co-written by Thorn and Fox.
Stylewise, this was really something else back in '81. At the time people would see this as a natural part of the post-punk movement, which in a way it really was 'cause artists sought new ways of expression, but on the other hand this was indie pop and lo-fi with bonds to folk, which was a bit far from what was normally accepted, but the strong lo-fi sound probably secured it a spot.
Already here Thorn demonstrates some of her strong vocal qualities, but really: the whole album is a diamond in the rough from another time, which paved way for new styles such as jangle-pop, jazz pop, and eventually also sophisti-pop.
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5 stars ]
