Sunday, December 27, 2020

The 1981 Listening Post - XL Capris - Where Is Hank?

XL Capris - Where Is Hank? 


#100

March 1981

XL Capris

Where is Hank?

Genre: Post-Rock Wave

3.75 out of 5


Highlights:

Evelyn

J. O’k

Ou est Hank?



Requisite 80s cover: “Shout” as done by B-52s, which is what a lot of this record seems to use as it’s touchstone. Merging it with their own tune “j. O’k” is a masterstroke of mashing up decades before that was a thing. 


Another one of those Australian bands that no one’s heard of who made a record at least as good as anything Split Enz ever did and have nothing to show for it. 

Maybe it’s cuz there’s no potential hit but, I would argue that all that separates “Refrigerator Town” from “I Got You” is the latter is a boy-wants-girl tune and the former is a really dumb tune where the bridge is “The light goes out when you close the door” but that don’t make it not good. 

This entire album feels like a lark and that’s what makes it work. “Evelyn” is the kind of track that you’d get from Epoxies in the early 00s. I don’t think the band was trying to make a career out of it as much as have a good time doing it. 



Fun Fact: Kimball Rendall, a founding member of this band, went on to be the second unit director of the Matrix Movies as well as a found member of Hoodoo Gurus. Who knew-doo gurus?



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sD5u39ulRTg

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