Tuesday, June 16, 2020

The 1980 Listening Post - Young Marble Giants - Colossal Youth

Young Marble Giants - Colossal Youth


#65 ALLEN & LORI DISCOVERY
February 1980
Reviewed by Lori Alley
Young Marble Giants
Colossal Youth
Genre: Welsh Post Punk

Allen’s Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Lori’s Rating: 4 out of 5


Allen’s Highlights:
Searching for Mr. Right
The Man Amplifier
Wurlitzer Jukebox
Credit in the Straight World

Lori’s Highlights:
Constantly Changing
Credit in the Straight World (apparently covered by Hole later)
NITA


By Lori Alley

While I was listening to this album I kept thinking that I'd like to watch the old live action show "Gumby and Pokey Go To Outer Space" with the sound off and have this as the background music while I got high.  Too bad I hate getting high.  Anyway, this lead singer HAD to be one of Suzanne Vega's influences.  I'll eat my hat if I find out differently!!!!!!!!  Also, especially on Constantly Changing you can hear the Violent Femmes ramping up as well.  But as for this band's influences, there's a strong sense of Eno's Taking Tiger Mountain, especially in the jangly minimal and repetitive guitar work.  I liked everything about this record, and although there are a lot of songs, they are super short.  So if you have a bad case of ADD, this record is for you!  There's something measured and thoughtful here, but with a soupcon (that's right) of spoken word poetry/anime/cowboy music.  Clicktalk is supercool, if I were a movie producer I would insist that it be the background music for a mod 60's bank heist getaway scene.  There's also a liberal use of what sounds like one of those sandpaper instrumenty thing (you know, what's it called?) which is sly and hilarious at the same time.  At the end of the song there's a direct rip -off of some Eno humming, but that's okay with me.  If this kind of music were a food it would be Chow-Chow, just sweet and pickly enough, but not too in your face.  RECOMMEND highly just for the nod-nod, wink-wink of it all, and the laid back super cool approach.

https://open.spotify.com/album/41Pg69TVSfLsiwfYE3GPuq?si=uQr_FRfkSuurzLbNyq3_JA

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