The 1980 Listening Post - Billy Synth and the Turn Ups - Go "Off the Deep End"

 Reviewed by Jim Coursey

Released: 1980 Billy Synth And The Turn Ups Go "Off The Deep End" Genre: The New Wave Band In Your Neighbor’s Garage Rating: 2 out of 5 Highlights: Live and Die I Wanna Be Your Dog The Little Black Egg Obligatory 80s covers: I Wanna Be Your Dog I Wanna Be Your Dog (aka “Fast Dog”... yes, they do it twice) Surfin’ USA Til The End Of The Day Sister Ray Nothing says amateur hour like 2 covers of “I Want To Be Your Dog” on your first album. Nothing says amateur hour like an album whose production quality ranges from music recorded in a basement studio to music recorded in your drummer’s basement. But I bet if you lived in Harrisburg in 1980 these guys were pretty cool. The Turn-Ups were apparently a renamed version of Billy’s first short-lived punk band Blue Ice, and the gang brought back the first act’s one single “Power Play” for inclusion here. It wasn’t a good song the first time around, and it still isn’t. But the band work in two modes and one of them is a little more successful than the other. On the downside is the generic punk band whose only distinguishing factor is the synth noise solos in every song. It’s passable but not going to turn any heads, relying primarily on uncatchy and unimaginative chord progressions. The band’s better material comes out of their 60s garage band mode. It turns out Billy Synth has some pedigree as label head, and was in the vanguard of the garage/psych revival. His “Psychedelic Unknowns” comp appears to have unearthed some lesser known classics and fed renewed interest in mid 60s music. His passion for the music adds a little spark here. The songwriting is a little better for one, but for all I know these are all just covers that I am unfamiliar with since at least 5/13 tracks are covers already. Highlights all come from their garage side, including the cute garagey cover of “I Wanna Be Your Dog.” Beyond this I enjoyed the synth noises, but the album is pretty forgettable, and the cover will only make you want to hear the originals.