Reviewed by Paul J Zickler
Released: June 4 1980 Notsensibles Instant Classic Genre: Feelgood Punk Rating: 3.8 out of 5 Highlights: Instant Classic Girl With Scruffy Hair Ploppy Little Boxes Don't Wanna Work Anymore Wrong Love The opening title track of Notsensibles’ Instant Classic begins with a 54 second adolescent comedic monologue, delivered by someone who identifies himself as Stig. No one in the band was called Stig (the lead singer went by “Haggis”), so this is most likely an inside joke. The two-minute song that follows is a cheeky narrative of the punk experience: “I’ve got the vocals right / The band has learned to play / We’ve got ourselves an audience / We wish would go away / I’m turning on the lights / The heat is all on me / All I need’s some confidence while / I count up to three / 1-2-3!” We then crash into a typically off-kilter, amateurish bash fest, complete with god-awful guitar solo and nihilistic, anti-success lyrics. “Now what’s this?! / You don’t like it? / I confess you must be psychic / You won’t listen to our magic / So much for an instant classic / So much for this piece of plastic / I think it’s time to panic / It’s time to go to hell.” Clearly these guys are self-aware, self-effacing, and super silly. Track two continues the fun: “They say you’re the devil’s daughter / I’d like to meet you / But I don’t think I oughta / I suppose you’re fully aware / You’re the girl with scruffy hair.” Song three deals with the dilemma of “I need you / And you need me / I also need my freedom / I wanna be free.” This leads to the inevitable conclusion: “I need my freedom / You need your freedom / They need their freedom / We all need our freedom now.” So that worked out OK I guess. While undeniably influenced by both first wave punk bands and earlier garage rockers, Notsensibles draw a lot of their energy from more theatrical, humor-based acts like the Goon Show, Bonzo Dog, the Kinks and even the Monkees. The album features several 5 second musical vignettes, presented as preludes or codas: musical asides if you will. Track five, Death to Disco, shifts tempos repeatedly in a wild tale where the lead singer is annoyed by disco not because it sucks, but because the beat is TOO addictive, and thus annoying. It ends with some sci-fi raygun noises, presumably the extinction of the genre. Track six gives us not only acapella punk, but acapella fake Jamaican punk, telling the story of Ploppy, who definitely did not destroy his own drums in de back of de van. It’s tempting to make a comparison to Dead Milkmen because of the nonserious lyrics, but these guys play in a much rawer, early punk vein, while having a hell of a good time throughout. A prime example of putting it all together would be Little Boxes, poppy and melodic enough to be a Blondie song, but also hard edged and snotty enough to be a Ramones song. Lyrically it’s a parody of middle class values, of course, but it’s a silly sendup, complete with goofy spoken/shouted conversation at the end. Unfortunately, when they reach for meaning and purpose, Notsensibles lose their way a bit. It’s not that Sick of Being Normal, I Am A Clone and Because I’m Mine are bad punk songs – each has its merits – it’s just that they’re way less interesting than the dumber songs around them. Maybe the most subtly weird track of all, (Love is Like) Banging My Head Against a Brick Wall, starts out with what could easily pass as a British Invasion ditty, plays it out for about a minute and a half, and then repeats the main riff OVER AND OVER for four minutes, getting progressively more annoying, until Haggis is just yelling “I’m bangin’” repeatedly while the band thrashes out a less and less coherent accompaniment. I wouldn’t call it a highlight, but being three minutes longer than almost any other song on the album, it’s some kind of statement. “Don’t take us seriously,” maybe? The closing track, Blackpool Rock, follows Wrong Love, a British-invasion-meets-spirit-of-77 anthem, with a music hall organ solo, ending with not one, but two four-second long codas. It’s somehow both ambitious and offhand, and I can see why the record might have confused music buyers at the time. Apparently there were two different versions released, one on Bent Records, and one on Snotty Snail Records. I reviewed the second version, but I also found a song from the first version, “I Don’t Wanna Work Anymore,” on YouTube. It’s a wonderfully bratty romp that clocks in at 1:50, worth a listen if you enjoy that kind of thing. [1] The Clash notwithstanding, I prefer punk rock that realizes it’s kind of a joke and just goes with it anyway. Notsensibles seem to do that, so I enjoyed this Instant Classic. *********** 1. https://youtu.be/tt4a7YcpoWo
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