Haircut 100 - Paint and Paint
#376
1984 Houskeeping
Haircut 100
Paint and Paint
4.25 out of 5
Highlights:
Fish in a Bowl
Immaterial
Too Up, Too Down
I can't believe we forgot to do this one. After a whole discussion about Nick Heyward and Haircut 100.
So, I thought Pelican West was "okay" and, if you recall, we really enjoyed the "better than Wham!" stylings of Nick Heyward's debut.
Then he left. And I be there was much drama. And I don't care about it.
Hey! You know what this is?!? Bananarama but with guys!
The one-two opening of "Fish in a Bowl" and "Immaterial" have great hooks and pull me right in. Marc Fox's vocals are just fine and I don't miss Nick at all, really.
While a LOT of this sounds like what would become the sound of Miami Sound Machine, Side One is not offensive.
On that note, we will NOT be covering bands like Miami Sound Machine. I know there will be some debate and some rejoicing and some disdain but ya gotta draw the line somewhere. We are trying to stay within the "Rock" idiom and there are bridges that are just too far.
That said, Haircut 100 is a great example of that line being blurred. During the early New Wave 80s they were on all the radio stations and MTV and all that and yet all this seems to prove the throughline from, say, Adam and the Ants to Kid Creole to Malcolm McLaren to H100 to Paul Simon to the incorporation of world music. And that's were we get off.
I could do without the ballad near the end but "Infatuation" is a splendid recovery.
I know this is a much lamented album but I dare say...I liked this more than Pelican West.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9HOlJCr97Q
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