Scatterbrain "Keep Dancing" (1981)

Keep Dancing [debut]

release date: Aug. 1981

format: vinyl (IRMG 3) / digital (10 x File, FLAC) (2005 remaster)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,68]

producer: Scatterbrain, Anders Lind

label: Irmgardz... / Glorious Records - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "Neo-Love Tango" - 3. "Vatican Reggae" - 4. "Crosses of Verdun" - 6. "Ice Age" - 8. "Insect Danger" - 10. "Keep Dancing!"

Studio album debut by Danish band Scatterbrain originally released on Irmgardz... The band here consists of founding members Jesper Siberg on vocals, keyboards & electronic percussion, Hilmer Hassig on guitars & synths, Jens Erik Mose on bass & synths, and Morten Torp on vocals & synths. Despite only releasing two albums, Scatterbrain has quite a substantial legacy in Danish music history, where the band stands as forerunners and as the first actual synth-rock band coming out on the punk rock scene.

In retrospect, the band appears influenced by Joy division and to what was perceived as a growing art punk scene at the time counting artist like Magazine, Visage, Gary Numan, and Ultravox and apart from these musical contemporaries it also seems that artists like King Crimson, Brian Eno, and Kraftwerk should be included amongst the band's natural sources of inspiration. This also include inspiration from artistic ideas of visual arts and authors, and Scatterbrain build on cold war politics and a de-humanisation of society, which is also reflected in some of the aforementioned artists' music (with bonds to David Bowie and Lou Reed) and also a similar starting point of contemporary Danish author Michael Strunge and his poetry, e.g. "Skrigerne" (1980) and "Vi folder drømmens faner ud" (1981).

Keep Dancing came out to positive reviews but the band and its music didn't attract a wider audience and Scatterbrain was first and foremost a cult-like band. In retrospect, however, Keep dancing and the band's second album Mountains Go Rhythmic (1984) both stands as highly original releases with the debut as an album that has found status as a cornerstone in modern Danish rock-history.

At the time, I came across the debut and I kept an illegal copy of the record, which I both found challenging but also quite fascinating and unforgettable, although, I also saw it as strange and too experimental for my liking. Many years later, as of 2023, I got hold of the original vinyl issue, and it's definitely an album to know of.

Recommended.

Gróa "Gróa" (2018)

Gróa [debut]

release date: Apr. 26, 2018

format: digital (7 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,58]

producer: ?

label: Post-dreifing - nationality: Iceland

Track highlights: 1. "Prakkari" - 2. "Downward Dog" (live) - 3. "Ocean Is Amber" - 4. "EoEo" (live) - 7. "Lokadans (Onofos)"

Studio album debut by Icelandic three-piece Gróa comes with an album title stylised in capital letters. The name of the band is taken from Norse mythology and the völva, and goddess of knowledge named Gróa. The trio consists of the two Maríudóttir sisters: drummer Hrafnhildur Einars Maríudóttir (aka Hrabba) and younger sister Karólína Einars Maríudóttir (aka Karó) on guitar and lead vocals teamed up with bassist Fríða Björg Pétursdóttir.

The trio plays an experimental type of art punk, which here appears inspired by punk rock, post-punk, and noise rock, but it's also tempting to list Björk, The Sugarcubes, and Kukl as natural inspiration sources, although, there's also an original tone burried in these quite diverse compositions. This album of seven tracks [sold on bandcamp] with a total running time of just over 23 minutes is a fine and refreshing short take on established styles, and it will be exciting to follow the trio in a near future, as they manage to come out with something to offer other than the ordinary, which succeeds both in terms of melody and as an alternative to mainstream music.

Recommended.

Toyah "The Blue Meaning" (1980)

The Blue Meaning
release date: Jun. 6, 1980
format: digital (2002 reissue)
[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,52]
producer: Steve James, Toyah
label: Safari Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Ieya" - 7. "Visions" - 9. "Love Me"

2nd studio album by Toyah succeeding Sheep Farming in Barnet by less than three months. Here the band already demonstrates its ever-changing line-ups as bassist Mark Henry has been replaced by Charlie Francis.

Apart from the line-up change, The Blue Meaning is very much like the other side of the coin to the debut with ten new pompous arrangements and a little more screaming - Wilcox is credited for "verbals & unusual sounds"... [sic], and she has taken an even stronger theatrical sound, which may have seemed avantgarde and experimental at the time. By doing so, she may have looked to both appearances by Kate Bush and Siouxsie Sioux, but in retrospect it only seems rather forced - to put it mildly.

The album was a minor success as it went as high as #40 on the UK albums chart list - at a time when the public in Britain became familiar with her through her acting career. Wilcox appeared in two movies by Derek Jarman: "Jubilee" (1978) and "The Tempest" (1979), she played a minor role in The Who's "Quadrophenia" (1979), and then she also appeared in several TV-series from the late '70s including "Quatermass" (1979), "Minder" (1980) and she was TV-presenter on the BBC programme "Look! Here!".

Had Wilcox not been such a familiar face, it is doubtful that this album would have entered the albums chart list in 1980.

Is it any better or worse than the debut? That's hard to say, really. But as an original piece of music it's not recommended.

[ Smash Hits 1,5 / 5 stars ]

The Fall "Grotesque (After the Gramme)" (1980)

Grotesque (After the Gramme)
release date: Nov. 17, 1980
format: cd (1993 reissue)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,92]
producer: The Fall, Grant Showbiz, Mayo Thompson, Geoff Travis
label: Castle Classics - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Pay Your Rates" - 2. "English Scheme" - 3. "New Face in Hell" (Peel Sessions) - 4. "C'n'C-S Mithering" - 5. "The Container Drivers" - 10. "The N.W.R.A."

3rd studio album by The Fall produced by The Fall, Grant Showbiz, Mayo Thompson and Geoff Travis (tracks 1-5), tracks 6-10 are produced by The Fall and Geoff Travis originally released by Rough Trade. The Fall always was Mark's band - here the band credits are as follows: Mark on vocals, tape operation, kazoo (#3) and guitar, Marc Riley on guitar and keyboards, Craig Scanlon [credited as Craig Scanlan] on guitar, Steve Hanley on bass, his brother Paul Hanley on drums and with Kay Carroll on additional vocals, which more or less is the same line-up as on Dragnet (Oct. '79) as well as on the next following albums of the 80s, but the debut album Live at the Witch Trials (Mar. '79), saw the band in a completely different line-up. This is, however, merely an early incarnation of the band and the only stable member of the band remains Mark E. Smith.

Style-wise, this is an example of early post-punk labelled as art punk with influences from pub rock and garage rock and its minimum attention on production layering with focus on 'recording as is'.

The album wasn't met as a landslide album - much unlike what it's regarded as in retrospect. Critics were positive without praising the album and fans were, as they would constantly prove to be with The Fall divided in two groups: either belonging to a strong cult of followers, or to fierce haters; however, the album is generally regarded as one of the band's masterpieces. Unfortunately, I didn't appreciate the album in the early '80s - I did actually purchase the original Rough Trade vinyl issue back in 1982 or '83 and kept it for a decade or so, and then I re-sold it in a small pile with other obscure albums just to afford to buy new music, and what a mistake that was! I have come across this '93 CD reissue but I'd rather have the original vinyl, which by now is a collector's item.

I perfectly know how I was unable to see music in a broader perspective in my teens but it still puzzles me, why I couldn't just regard it as a musical curiosity. Anyway, the music lives on and even from a modern perspective I think the music still stands out as both highly original but also with something to offer. The Fall blends perfectly in with standards of Velvet Underground, The Stooges, Captain Beefheart and Frank Zappa as a music collective, who simply ignores all conformities and just do what they think is the right thing to do. Mark E. Smith narrates about English society, working class life, taxes, capitalism, and he often focus on the English class system. Unlike Bob Dylan's social awareness, lyrics on contemporary human conditions, I find the lyrics by Smith to be much more entertaining but also without all the... fuzz [to say it as politely as possible].

Mark E. Smith continued to play with The Fall in various line-ups in the new millennium and also kept releasing new albums being quite keen on not repeating themselves. The last studio album by The Fall is New Facts Emerge (2017), the band's 31st studio album, released only six months before Smith's untimely death at the age of 60, Jan. 24, 2017. The international music press and the entire British press in general were overflown with appraisals dedicated to Smith's legacy as one of Britain's most influential songwriters in 2018, and he is today mentioned alongside the greatest of music.

For those unfamiliar with music by The Fall, it may not seem evident how they ever became such an acclaimed band. It may take some time to get accustomed to - some will never - but from my perspective, the true strengths of The Fall lies in Mark E. Smith's lyrics, his uncompromising attitude towards and against conformity whether concerning music or modern life in general - be it capitalism, class system or politics. The band has its unique sound and its very own conception of musical soundscape, which leaves no listener in doubt of who made it.

[ allmusic.com, Mojo, Rolling Stone 4 / 5, Spin 4,5 / 5, Sounds 5 / 5 stars ]

Toyah "Sheep Farming in Barnet" (1980)

Sheep Farming in Barnet
release date: Feb. 22, 1980
format: digital (2002 reissue)
[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,48]
producer: Steve James, Keith Hale
label: Safari Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Neon Womb" - 2. "Indecision" - 5. "Victims of the Riddle" - 8. "Danced"

Studio album debut by British band Toyah - named after the band's lead vocalist Toyah Ann Wilcox. The album was originally released as a 6-track ep in '79, which six months later was expanded to an 11-track album. Already as of '80 it was released as a compilation with the band's second album The Blue Meaning (Jun. 1980). The band consists of vocalist Toyah Wilcox, guitarist and main composer Joel Bogen, bassist Mark Henry, keyboardist Peter Bush, and drummer Steve Bray.

Toyah began as a punk rock band and quickly combined all sorts of contemporary influences from post punk, art punk, art pop and new wave with Toyah Wilcox, to a large extent, impersonating German punk queen, Nina Hagen.

I didn't came across this album until the early '00s, and being familiar with Anthem (1981), Changeling (1982) and Love Is the Law (1983) it is a strange experience to go through the band's first two albums. Sheep Farming in Barnet, to me, sounds pretty much like a British version of Nina Hagen Band in a bizarre cocktail with synthesizer inputs from Brian Eno.

The band was probably given a great deal more attention than their music deserved, and it's likely that the band's initial success was linked with Wilcox participating in national TV-series. Imho, the first two albums by Toyah are not more than historical artefacts and only serve to show us from what they spawned.

Not recommended.

[ 👎NME 3 / 5 stars ]

The Durutti Column "Chronicle" (2011)

Chronicle
release date: Apr. 30, 2011
format: digital
[album rate: 2,5 / 5]

Tracklist: 1. "Fanfare" - 2. "Synergetic" - 3. "Ananda" - 4. "Accord" - 5. "Time to Lift" - 6. "Anguish of the Text Message" - 7. "What Is It Worth" - 8. "Someone Got Away" - 9. "Jeeves and Wooster" - 10. "Friends" - 11. "Emptyness" - 12. "No More Close to Me" - 13. "Resolution"

22nd studio album release by The Durutti Column issued on Kooky Records and produced by ? [Vini Reilly?]. The style and music here is in the same area as Idiot Savants (2007) and Rebellion (2001), which is to say, a return to ambient dream pop, though, I think, it has some post rock feel, or at least a meditative progressiveness.
The album release comes after Vini Reilly has experienced a heavy degree of misfortune - firstly, his relationship with Poppy Morgan came to an end during the recording process, something he mentions in the liner notes had a huge impact on the finalising of the album, and once the album was put together, he was inflicted by two consecutive minor strokes in late 2010 - another followed in early 2011. The result of this has made it impossible for him to play the guitar, thus it seems unlikely that any new guitar music will be realised from his hands.
The overall experience is not that it's one of his best albums. Some tracks sound like outtakes or rough demos, and I find it hard to rate fully. It's also a typical The Durutti Column album that touches on modern classical.

Jello Biafra with NoMeansNo "The Sky Is Falling and I Want My Mommy" (1991)

The Sky Is Falling and I Want My Mommy
release date: Jul. 1, 1991
format: cd
[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,98]
producer: 'all of us' [Jello Biafra, Andy Kerr, Rob Wright, John Wright]
label: Alternative Tentacles - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "The Sky Is Falling, and I Want My Mommy (Falling Space Junk)" - 4. "Bad" - 5. "Ride the Flume" - 7. "Sharks in the Gene Pool"

A collaboration album with former Dead Kennedys vocalist Jello Biafra and Canadian hardcore punk band NoMeansNo (which at this point was a trio) produced by Biafra and NoMeansNo.
It's not far from the style and musical universe of Dead Kennedys, although, there's a certain amount of art punk (NoMeansNo) and some spoken word (Jello Biafra) elements to it and the track playing time is sometimes extended beyond 5 mins making it a somewhat untraditional hardcore punk release.
The album is the second collaboration work by Biafra after the split of DK, as he released the album Last Scream of the Missing Neighbors in '89 together with D.O.A.
Musically, I think it's too far from the qualities of Dead Kennedys, it's too muddy and too hardcore to my liking, but it has its moments, and Biafra seems like an eternal source of ironic, sarcastic and provocative lyrics hinted at American society and at moral majority.
[ allmusic.com 2 / 5, Punknews.org 4 / 5 stars ]

Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds "Henry's Dream" (1992)

Henry's Dream
release date: Apr. 27, 1992
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,82]
producer: David Briggs
label: Mute Records - nationality: Australia

Track highlights: 1. "Papa Won't Leave You, Henry" (4 / 5) - 2. "I Had a Dream, Joe" - 3. "Straight to You" (4 / 5) - 4. "Brother, My Cup Is Empty" - 6. "When I First Came to Town" - 7. "John Finn's Wife" - 9. "Jack the Ripper"

7th studio album by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds following The Good Son (1992) released on Mute, and for the first (and only?) time with (Neil Young) producer David Briggs, which seems a wise choice. In my mind, this is simply the best album by Nick Cave. On this, he mixes the alt. rock with the more ballad-styled compositions and makes his first truly fine and coherent album. "Papa Won't Leave You, Henry" is spitting angry blues punk and "Straight to You" is a beautiful chamber rock ballad.
Imho, this is the most deserved Nick Cave album to be included in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone, Mojo 4 / 5 stars ]

Unknown Gender "Rapid Vibrations" (1985)

Rapid Vibrations
release date: 1985
format: vinyl (MdLP 6224)
[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,82]
producer: Will Roper
label: Medley Records - nationality: USA

3rd studio album by American, New York-based no wave-band Unknown Gender released on Danish label Medley. The band was promoted as a girl-band and it consisted of Lynne Messinger on vocals & guitar and initially with Cindy Richmond on bass and Vivian Stoll on drums. Here Stoll has been replaced by drummer Ethan Winogrand.

Peaches "The Teaches of Peaches" (2000)

The Teaches of Peaches [debut]
release date: Sep. 8, 2000
format: digital
[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,68]
producer: Peaches
label: Kitty-Yo / XL Recordings - nationality: Canada

Track highlights: 1. "Fuck the Pain Away" - 2. "AA XXX" - 4. "Set It Off" - 5. "Cum Undun" - 8. "Lovertits" - 10. "Sucker"

Studio album debut by Peaches [aka Merrill Beth Nisker] but her second studio album, as she released Fancypants Hoodlum in 1995 as Merrill Nisker. I haven't come by her actual debut, which I have seen enlisted in the genre of post-punk, and this is far from that. Peaches is a Canadian performance artist mainly associated with electronic genres as electroclash, electro-disco with elements of glam rock. I also find an evident use of industrial in her first two albums as Peaches. She currently lives in Berlin, and knowing that it may seem easier to associate her with Nina Hagen. Like the German "art punker", Peaches make use of shock and provocation as means in her musical shape, and she also refers to and speak much about sex - both as subject, as well as part of her language. This is not bad. it really has great beats and tracks but some of the songs seem like fillers. Anyway, the overall rating may not do justice to the originality of this.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5 stars ]

Squeeze "Squeeze" (1978)

Squeeze [debut]
release date: Mar. 1978
format: cd (1997 remaster)
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,22]
producer: John Cale
label: A&M Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Sex Master" - 2. "Bang Bang" - 4. "Wild Sewerage Tickles Brazil" - 5. "Out of Control" - 6. "Take Me, I'm Yours" (officiel video) (fra Top Of The Pops)

Studio album debut by London-based new wave quintet Squeeze consisting of Glen Tilbrook on lead vocals & lead guitar, Chris Difford on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Harry Kakoulli on bass, Jools Holland on keyboards, and with Gilson Lavis on drums. In the US and Australia, the band was launched as the U.K. Squeeze. Almost all tracks were written and composed by Difford / Tilbrook (only track #4 is credited the entire band).

Stylistically, it's power pop, new wave with some ties to punk rock, and the band leans on artists such as XTC, Elvis Costello, Buzzcocks, Devo, Talking Heads etc., but it also has strong ties to early proto-punk in the form of bands like Stooges, MC5 and late Velvet Underground. The band name is also the title of the Velvet Underground's controversial '73 release, which was produced by Doug Yule, who had replaced John Cale in late '68, and who then went on to release the album Squeeze as an (official) Velvet Underground album, although neither Lou Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison, nor Maureen Tucker contributed - and yes, John Cale is in fact producer on this album. And this role in particular was apparently something that exerted a massive influence on the creation of the album, as Cale reportedly refused to record the songs the band brought with them and instead asked the band to write new songs on the spot, as he thought their material was too soft. Rather than recording an album similar to or following up on the Packet of Three (1977) EP (admittedly also produced by Cale), which had A&M Records sign the band in the first place, this debut is nonetheless a rather different kind of music than the band felt ready to record, but with an ego as a producer on a debut, the young people didn't see otherwise than to please the legendary Mr. Cale. When the album was about to be completed, the band, in support of A&M, managed to add a couple of songs they had initially wanted to record (tracks #2 and #6) - tracks that also ended up as the only singles from the album.

Squeeze is a strange album that most of all sounds like an art rock, pop punk mix and something that points in many directions. And if you only know a little about the music that Squeeze eventually came to release, there is not much pointing in that direction here. However, the album is interesting as a clear example of the many musical trends of the time. In this way, Squeeze is involuntarily launched as a band with hard rock, art rock, and proto-punk roots, although they might rather be part of the 'pure' new wave style.

[ allmusic.com 2,5 / 5 stars ]

Ideal "Ideal" (1980)

Ideal [debut]

release date: Nov. 1980

format: cd (1990 reissue)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,82]

producer: Klaus D. Müller

label: WEA - nationality: Germany

Track highlights: 1. "Berlin" - 2. "Irre" - 3. "Telepathie" - 4. "Blaue Augen" - 6. "Luxus" - 7. "Rote Liebe"

Studio album debut by Berlin quartet Ideal originally released on the independent label Innovative Communication founded by German artist Klaus Schultze and Michael Haentjes. The band consists of vocalist, keyboardist and songwriter Annette Humpe, guitarist Frank Jürgen 'Eff Jott' Krüger, bassist Ernst Ulrich Deuker, and drummer Hans-Joachim 'Hansi' Behrendt. Both Humpe and Krüger had previously played together in X-Pectors, and Humpe was also a member of Neonbabies where she figured alongside her younger sister Inga before leaving that band to concentrate on Ideal.

Ideal counts ten compositions of which three have music credited all members, two are credited Humpe and Krüger, whereas the five remainders are credited Humpe alone.

Stylistically, this is one of the earliest examples of the German variation of new wave that came to be known as Neue Deutsche Welle (NDW), a style based on British and American new wave and art rock (think Talking Heads, Devo, Pere Ubu, David Bowie, XTC). The style may be regarded as the fuse of energy transformed from punk rock with inspiration from a simplistic and experimental rock style with that of a strong social dimension - a trait that later fell in the background on the expense of melodic pop arrangements - here you may think of a musical progression from early Ideal (this album) and Nina Hagen Band via Spliff, Extrabreit, Fehlfarben and DAF to Nena, Trio and DÖF.

Despite being released on a small independent label, the album went as high as to number #3 on the national albums chart list, and the band made way for a general interest, as well as that from more established labels, in other artists playing NDW.

I vividly recall watching the band on TV transmissions on (German) Rockpalast back in the early 80s, and I really enjoyed their sound but at the same time witnessed how little interest they garnered in the English music press. This very album stands as their perhaps best effort as a cornerstone, not only in Germany but as an important pioneers of European music that has inspired many more artists to follow. I hear much of their music in later Danish acts like Warm Guns, Voxpop, TV2, and Clinic Q.

Highly recommended.

The Slits "Animal Space / Animal Spacier" (1980) (single)

Animal Space / Animal Spacier, 7'' single
release date: Oct. 1980
format: vinyl (HUM 4)
[single rate: 3 / 5] [2,88]
producer: Dennis Bovell, Disco and The Slits
label: Human Records - nationality:

Tracklist: A) "Animal Space" - - B) "Animal Spacier"

Single release by UK art punk band The Slits with a composition from the album Return of the Giant Slits released one year later. The song is actually one long compositions titled "Animal Space / Animal Spacier" but here split in two halves to fit the seven inch format. The band started out and was announced as a 'girl band only', which they were in the early formations from 1976-78 until Budgie (aka Peter Edward Clarke) replaced founding member Palmolive (aka Paloma Romero) on drums. Here the band consists of lead vocalist Ari Up (aka Ariane Daniela Forster), guitarist Viv Albertine, bassist Tessa Politt, and with new drummer Bruce Smith who replaced Budgie on drums and percussion in late '79 / early '80 as Budgie had become official member of Siouxsie and the Banshees.

Sort Sol "Dagger & Guitar" (1983)

Dagger & Guitar
release date: Nov. 1983
format: vinyl (first pressing - MdLP 6163) / cd (1997 reissue)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,28]
producer: Chris Butler
label: Medley Records - nationality: Denmark

Tracklist: 1. "Abyss" (live) - 2. "White Shirt" - 3. "Excalibur" - 4. "Boy-Girl" (feat. Lydia Lunch) - 5. "Boy in the Fire" - 6. "Off Morning" - 7. "Written Story" - 8. "Stuck to My Gun" (3 / 5) - 9. "Framelding" - 10. "As She Weeps" (feat. Lydia Lunch)

3rd studio album by Sort Sol is released nearly 3½ years after the band's sophomore album, Under en sort sol (1980) - during that time, the band changed its name from Sods to Sort Sol without replacing any band members, so to speak of a debut is not easily defended, although, this is the first studio release by the band Sort Sol.
At the time, it was hard to understand the change of name but it makes a lot of sense. The name Sods is narrowly associated with the punk rock scene. However musically, Dagger & Guitar is just a mere progression from their second album. In fact, stylistically, this has so much more in common with its predecessor made more than three years earlier than the first two albums as Sods share with one another, although being only separated by a single year.
Dagger & Guitar is a strange album, though. It has both sweet, nice, harmonic acoustically-driven music as well as experimental art punk tracks, lingering like music of the past, and mildly suggesting very different intentions. After listening to this, you had absolutely no idea of what to expect from the band next. Back then, I would probably have rated this higher - it hasn't aged well though, and mostly quite clearly showcases the band's indecisiveness about musical direction.
The '97 re-issue is extended with four bonus tracks, which is equal to the 12'' single version of "Ruby Don't Take Your Love to Town" from 1985. It consist of cover versions including "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" by Bob Crowe and Bob Gaudio, and the title song by Mel Tillis, which became a small radio hit by Sort Sol.

[ collectors' item - 'vg+' 1st pressing - from ~ €40,- ]

      

1997
bonus reissue

1985
12'' single

The Cure "Three Imaginary Boys" (1979)

Fiction Deluxe
FIX 1

Three Imaginary Boys [debut]
release date: May 8, 1979
format: vinyl (FIX 1) / 2 cd (2004 remaster)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,62]
producer: Chris Parry
label: Fiction Records - nationality: England, UK


Track highlights: 1. "10:15 Saturday Night" (4 / 5) - 3. "Grinding Halt" (4 / 5) - 7. "Foxy Lady" - 9. "So What?" - 10. "Fire in Cairo"

Studio album debut by The Cure released on Fiction Records. At this point the band was a trio consisting of Robert Smith on lead vocals, guitar (and harmonica on "Subway Song"), Michael Dempsey on bass, background vocals (as well as lead vocals on "Foxy Lady"), and Laurence (aka 'Lol') Tolhurst on drums. The album was not my first purchase with the band, as I started out listening to and buying their third album Faith (1981), after which I immediately bought the second album Seventeen Seconds before acquiring this, all in the spring of '81. The style is rather difficult to pin down but post-punk is definite a fitting label. Like most bands jumping from the punk rock era into new territory the music was rather experimental, which is another label that fits this first effort. Some tracks are very fine and simple compositions with traces to proto-punk artists and with a touch of new wave to it, whereas other tracks like "Another Day", "Subway Song", and the title track all are more art rock styled with bonds to contemporary American no wave.
The album was never a true favourite, as I found it unfinished, but it still had a fascinating touch with some great tracks on it, and The Cure surely didn't sound like anyone else at the time.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5 stars, Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5 stars ]

[ collectors' item - from ~ €40,- ]

"Pære Punk" (1979)

Pære Punk (compilation)
release date: Apr. 11, 1979
format: vinyl (KPLP 1) / cd
[album rate: 3 / 5]
producer: various
label: Kong Pære - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: A) 4. Sods "Rock 'n' Roll" - 5. Sods "Tin Can People" - 6. "Military Madness" - - B) 1. Kliché "Militskvinder" - 2. "Farvel" - 4. Brats "I Do What I Wanna Do"

Danish compilation album featuring several acclaimed and notorious punk rock bands of the national scene including Lost Kids, Sods, Kliché, and Dream Police. The production sound is poor but it's quite an interesting album with two tracks from Sods that wasn't included on its debut album earlier that year, and also one fine track by Kliché that didn't make it to that band's great debut album Supertanker (1980). Pære Punk was remastered and reissued on cd in 2010.

[ collectors' item - 3rd pressing - 'near mint' from €50,- ]

XTC "Go 2" (1978)

Go 2
release date: Oct. 6, 1978
format: vinyl (1984 reissue) / cd (2001 remaster)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,56]
producer: John Leckie
label: Virgin Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Meccanik Dancing (Oh We Go!)" - 2. "Battery Brides (Andy Paints Brian)" - 4. "Crowded Room" - 6. "Red" - 7. "Beatown" - 9. "Jumping in Gomorrah" - *13. "Are You Reciving Me?"
* Bonus track on 2001 remaster

2nd studio album by XTC released on Virgin and produced by John Leckie, who also produced the debut. Stylistically, this is already a big leap into something else despite being released only nine months after the debut album. This is a much more art rock and art punk release where the band really experiments in the writing process. The keyboards are given much stronger focus, and two songs are credited keyboardist Barry Andrews, who would leave the band at the end of the year. Although, sharing the same producer as on the debut, the album is clearly better balanced with a more dynamic result. In fact, Leckie harvested great appraisal for his dynamic production and became a bit of a shining producer-star after this.
I recall judging this as a rather poor follow-up to the splendid debut, as you may argue that in only contains about 3-4 fine tracks - with the majority of the remainders being somewhat below average. But this is on a mere superficial level. If you're looking for the strong and similar shaped album as the debut with its sharp and quirky new wave blasts, you will likely end up being disappointed. Like I was.
Go 2 really reflects the overall transition the band always found themselves in - never resting in a style, never on repeat, and always inspired by new ways of expression, trying something... else. The strong energetic and melodic new wave tracks are here replaced by experimental art rock, but if you're able to put ordinary song patterns aside and look at it as an innovative and original album with stylistic elements of zolo, which had its highs in the late 70s and early 1980s, you may consider this as a very strong and fascinating release.
[ allmusic.com, Q Magazine 2 / 5 stars ]

Nina Hagen Band "Nina Hagen Band" (1978)

2. "Rangehn"