Sunday, May 5, 2019

The 1985 Listening Post - The Dukes of Stratosphere - 25 O'Clock


The Dukes of Stratosphere - 25 O'Clock


#112
April 1 1985
The Dukes of Stratosphere
25 O’Clock
Genre: Psychedelic Rock
4.75 out of 5


Highlights:
25 O’Clock
Bike Ride to the Moon
The Mole from the Ministry

But, Allen, I thought we weren’t doing mini-albums!
Yes, that’s true. But in this case, I’m making an exception, simply because I forgot TDoS when I did my XTC retrospective a decade ago. I find Partridge to be a challenge and I wanted to see if this would follow suit or endear me to him/them. 

From jump, this is different. It reminds me of Foxboro Hot Tubs or The Network, side bands for Billie Joe Armstrong that delve into different genres than Green Day fans would/might not tolerate. 

The late 60s, Strawberry Alarm Clock/Pink Floyd/Latter day Beatles sound (“My Love Explodes”) is actually spot on and, day I say, terrific? Like the Morlocks of last month, this is slavishly devoted to the era its trafficking in and it does so, so lovingly that it’s impossible to not like. The songs are strong, the approach equally so. And for the first time in a long while, the weakest track is the Moulding one. Huh.


https://open.spotify.com/album/46ZRujqytRXcbgloCKA9Q7?si=O0KQqbaUTwClhxl1eVSHew

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