Television Personalities - And Don't the Kids Just Love It (1981)
[/CENTER]
Given the amount of albums they've released over their 30-odd year career in tandem with an insane amount of lineup changes, it wouldn't be pushing the envelope that much to call the Television Personalities here a kind of anti-Fall, what with singer Dan Treacy being the only constant member throughout the band's entire career. On the other hand, maybe it would be, as if truth be told the Television Personalities sound nothing much like the Fall, but it's nice to draw analogies eh. Truthfully, this album's about a million miles from what the Fall were doing at the time, seeing as it delves into twee pop as opposed to, say, grainy lo-fi garage rock and balls-to-the-wall post-punk.
So, yeah, you're looking at a much more commercially-viable proposition with this one, seeing as I'm mentioning it in the context of this thread. The crux of the whole thing is the light-hearted and playful vibe that dominates the album stylistically and conceptually - it's basically nothing that's going to take itself too seriously then. There are much more downbeat moments like
Diary Of a Young Man, but such moments are very scarce indeed, as the emphasis is on an early indie rock sound which is designed to make you smile more than simply be blown away by some of the most amazing music you've ever heard. In that sense, while they're not quite as funny a bunch as Half Man Half Biscuit, the Television Personalities do succeed in making a very convincing, very uplifting and stripped-down album, boasting both the rhythmic energy of early Joy Division and that cross between the melodic prowess and energy that the Buzzc
ocks had at their finest. Great stuff then.