The 1981 Listening Post - Johnny Warman - Walking Into Mirrors

Johnny Warman - Walking Into Mirrors 

#336

July 1981 LISTENING POST DISCOVERY

Johnny Warman

Walking Into Mirrors

Genre: In the ashes of ashes to ashes

4.25 out of 5

Highlights:

Walking Into Mirrors

Martian Summer

Three Minutes

Will You Dance with Me

Fantastic Light

Numan.

Foxx.

Bowie.

That’s the nexus where Warman lives. Bouncy synths, dystopian themes, synth rock, art rock and I love it. 

Apple has the track order wrong which is a shame because the album unfolds better when played correctly and they left off the single, “Screaming Jets”. You might remember if from MTV. I didn’t. But it’s probably cuz Peter Gabriel is on it and there is a rights problem. Or something else. It’s not the best track on the record. 

Warman is playing in the exact sandbox I described and, even though he sometimes sounds like the opening act to a David Bowie cover band, he does it very well.

Does he approach Numan’s Replicas or Pleasure Principle? Yes, definitely. But Warman is darker than Gary would be until the 00s. I wish I knew about him when I was devotedly listening to those records. I know Gary gets all the Industrial credit but, listen to “Fantastic Light” and tell me that Reznor et al didn’t have this record in their collection.

Stellar. 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/johnny-warmans-walking-into-mirrors/166570545

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q26zl7x_EFE