Frownland

I'm not that surprised. If it were MB in general then I'd be more inclined to agree with all of the youngins and mid-oughts reminiscers, but I think the club regulars represent a more curmudgeony faction of the forum, so to speak.

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Goofle

I'm hoping to draw in some of the hip stars of the forum next week.

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innerspaceboy

1. What were your VERY FIRST impressions on listening to the album, say from the first five minutes in?
Quirky jangle pop. But the quirkiness has yet to grab me in a positive way.

2. What did you think of the opening track?
It's a departure from my daily cup of tea so I'm keen to keep listening.

3. What did you think of the next track?
Disliked it. A bit whiney and it doesn’t stand out as uniquely meritorious. Just off-beat and odd.

4. Did you like the vocalist? Hate him/her? Any impressions?
The eccentric vocals don’t appear to accomplish anything other than being overtly bizarre and it seems contrived.

5. Did the music (only) generally appeal to you, or not?
Nothing particularly remarkable here. Some of the instrumentation and vocal effects are a tip of the hat to superior psychedelic predecessors but nothing has grabbed me yet. Still I appreciate hearing something different from my day to day listening so I’ll keep at it to see what the rest of the record has to offer.

6. Did the album get better or worse as you listened to it?
It’s consistently unremarkable. It’s not trying to be anything exceptional, but it seems to fall short of the mark even within its range.

7. What did you think of the lyrical content?
I don’t believe stellar lyricism was a focus for this group. They seem to be more focused on it being the 80s all over this sh*t.

8. Did you like the instrumental parts?
I didn’t mind some of the frenzied amelodic burps bleeps and grunts. While not particularly original their inclusion at least added some character to the tracks.

9. What did you think of the production?
Tinny is the word of the day. Not that jangle/power pop albums are known for hi-fidelity, but the production really sounds flat here.

10. Did you know of this artiste prior to listening to the album, and if so, did that foreknowledge colour your perception of this album?
New to me, so it was an interesting listen. I’m definitely open to listening to 80s oddities but this isn’t standing out as something I’d revisit.

11. Is this, generally, the kind of music you listen to or not?
I don’t listen to a lot of music with lyrics, but avant-pop is an area of interest and this flirts with that territory a few times over the course of the record.

12. Assuming you listened to the album more than once, on repeated listens, did you find you liked the album more, or less?
The first run through was sufficient for me.

13. What would you class as your favourite track, if you have one?
I’ll agree with "Moving in Your Sleep" as being more my speed. Definitely the most “jangle” of the album’s selections.

14. And the one you liked least?
Most of the rest of the album blended together as uniformly unremarkable.

15. If the album in question is a debut, did that fact allow it, in your mind, any leeway, and if so, was that decision justified or vindicated?
It’s not a bad record, just nothing particularly interesting. The instrumentation isn’t particularly memorable and the lead vocalist doesn’t do much for me either.

16. Are you now looking forward to hearing more from this artiste, if you have not heard any of their other material?
Not particularly. If I am in the mood for zany 80s pop I’ll stick to my favorites.

17. Were you surprised by your reaction - positive or negative - to the album?
I try not to have any expectations going in to The Album Club selections. I was curious, and again I was glad to hear something different from my standard fare. I didn’t rush to turn it off at any point, but it isn’t something I’m going to order on wax.

18. Did the album end well?
Quite well. I only wish there were more tracks like the closer throughout the record.

19. Do you see any way the album could have been improved?
Refocus the quirkiness in the vocals and instrumentation to more of a Fela Kuti-inspired vein of densely layered, ethnofunkadelic polyrhythms and retitle the album, Remain in Light.

20. Do you think the album hung together well, ie was a fully cohesive unit, or was it a bit hit-and-miss?
It was consistent and uniform. Not a bad debut, just less than memorable.

4/10

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OccultHawk

The history of this record sort of reminds me of Spiderland. Placing the sound in context with the release date and the label are important for understanding it's place in history. I definitely think these songs are growers but almost 40 years later it feels acceptable to me to just know about it than to put in the time to really appreciate it. I voted "loved it" out of respect but in all honesty I'm not familiar with it and not especially inclined to put much time into it. Great pick though. It's records like this that help fill in knowledge gaps for someone like me who enjoys pretending to know it all.

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Anteater

The dbs - Stands For Decibels

One of the great things about the genre we know as "power pop" is that it's such a wide spectrum. As far as I'm concerned, the more elaborate / baroque a power pop bands gets in their execution (like early 90's Jellyfish, crossover groups like Moon Safari, etc.) the more I like the end result. And then there's guys like Todd Rundgren or groups like The Cranberries or The Church. All masters, all great in their own way when it comes to power pop.

Moving onto this...The dbs obviously love The Monkees and early Beach Boys (as others have mentioned). That's not a bad thing per-se, but the end result is less interesting than if they had gone for a more overtly melodic, layered approach (like Chris Rainbow for example) instead of emulating their idols in an average way. Their vocal harmonies in particular don't really work for me (though 'Black And White' is a good opener and 'Moving In Your Sleep' has a compelling atmosphere). At least when they try to be a New Wave version of The Kinks they've got some energy, but it's not enough. Still, I'm interested enough to look into other output they've done.

5.5 out of 10

Albums I'd recommend over this in the same genre-

Jellyfish - Spilt Milk
Brent Cash - How Will I Know If I'm Awake
Moon Safari - Lover's End
Utopia - self-titled
Chris Rainbow - Looking Over My Shoulder
Cats In Space - Too Many Gods
Blue Cartoon - Are You Getting On?

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Trollheart

I was looking at the new Cats in Space album, but had no clue what it was like. Worth it, do ya think?

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Aloysius

I would have loved this album back when I was obsessed with XTC, they have a similar vibe in some ways. A tight band with a great bass player, some good songs but other songs that really shouldn't have made it on the album. Like Occult this definitely fills in a knowledge gap for me, I need to check out some of Ant's above listed recs. Favourite track for me was Cycles per Second.
6/10

Neapolitan

1. What were your VERY FIRST impressions on listening to the album, say from the first five minutes in?
'Ugghh, I'm not use to this band.'

2. What did you think of the opening track?
The very first few seconds they were R.E.M.-ish, but then the vocals happened.

3. What did you think of the next track?
XTC with annoying vocals?

4. Did you like the vocalist? Hate him/her? Any impressions?
When the singer sings "I" in the first song, that split second, it totally reminds me of Fox on the Run by Sweet.

5. Did the music (only) generally appeal to you, or not?
It was so so.

6. Did the album get better or worse as you listened to it?
Both? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

7. What did you think of the lyrical content?
IDK ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

8. Did you like the instrumental parts?
Sometimes yes, sometimes no.

9. What did you think of the production?
Have Brian Wilson or Nick Lowe produce it.

10. Did you know of this artiste prior to listening to the album, and if so, did that foreknowledge colour your perception of this album?
I know I've seen their name before somewhere for sure ... um maybe tape decks? No but seriously. I think I heard of their name before but not their music.

11. Is this, generally, the kind of music you listen to or not?
I don't know where this band is at. I like R.E.M. and a bunch of bands out at the same time.

12. Assuming you listened to the album more than once, on repeated listens, did you find you liked the album more, or less?
Repeated? Right now I am struggling to make it through album just once. My goal is to listen to the album straight through without switching over to another album by another band.

13. What would you class as your favourite track, if you have one?
Black and White. Because it starts off kinda R.E.M.-ish and when the singer sings "I" it totally reminds me of Fox on the Run by Sweet.

14. And the one you liked least?
eww, I didn't not study the album hard enough to make the correct negative value judgement to properly answer that question.

15. If the album in question is a debut, did that fact allow it, in your mind, any leeway, and if so, was that decision justified or vindicated?
The album is a debut. But that shouldn't change or modify opinions.

16. Are you now looking forward to hearing more from this artiste, if you have not heard any of their other material?
Probably not, to be honest. But if I say I won't do something I probably end up doing it, so I might.

17. Were you surprised by your reaction - positive or negative - to the album?
Yes, I am surprised by my reaction. I feel like I am leaning to the not-too-receptive-to-the-album side. I want to be receptive, I really do, cause I am sure the guy who picked it really digs it.

18. Did the album end well?
I wasn't there to find out.

19. Do you see any way the album could have been improved?
Um yeah. Have Brian Wilson or Nick Lowe produce it.

20. Do you think the album hung together well, ie was a fully cohesive unit, or was it a bit hit-and-miss?
Egads, I'm not sure, maybe hit-and-miss.


3/10 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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Anteater

It's good: kind of a grower. I'd highly recommend starting with Too Many Gods, since it has the stronger pop sensibility of the two albums IMO.

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djchameleon

I enjoyed this album more than I thought I would. Over the course of the week. I decided to replay it several times. My fave tracks being Black and White, Cycles per second, The Fight and Tearjerkin'. The album overall was pretty consistent. I'm tempted to dive into their discography and check out another album or two. I will go through that list that Anteater recommended earlier.

8/10 from me.

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