The 1981 Listening Post - Chatterbox - Europop

 Reviewed by Peter Zachos

Released: 1981 Chatterbox Europop Genre: Post-Punk / New Wave Rating: 3 out of 5 Highlights: Clouds Passing By Groupy Girl Chatterbox are kind of an anomaly; sure, the Swedes dominate the songwriter groups today with their completely bland, formulaic writing, but there just weren’t many Swedish bands making waves in the late 20th century. Which might be why I’d never heard of Chatterbox, never seen them mentioned; they lack a Wikipedia entry, or even an AllMusic entry. No streaming on any of the streaming services, but thanks to a generous uploader on Youtube, I was able to listen to the whole album. Chatterbox’s vocalist sounds like a cross between a young John Aston of Gene Loves Jezebel and Rodney Linderman of Dead Milkmen. And frankly, that goes for the music as well. It’s edgy, strident post-punk, slightly discordant at times, and then at other times supported with synth strings or phrases that harken to early Cure records (certain songs, like “Clouds Passing By” and “Eastern Beauty” would not be out of place on Three Imaginary Boys.) The tempos keep the punk aesthetic, as do the vocals, half of which are not sung but rather shout-sung atonally, John-Lydon-style. The closest comparison, I think, would be Echo & The Bunnymen’s 1980 debut “Crocodiles”, which has more intricate writing and arrangements, and Ian’s voice is far more appealing. There’s a smattering of sophistication in the production and recording on Europop, with some occasional tasty counter lines from a second rhythm guitar or synth. You have super upbeat punk romps (“Silent Prayer”, “Who’s Gonna Make It”), slightly ghoulish rockers (“Groupy Girl”, “A Night In…”), and the strong-but-safe mid-tempo single material (“Clouds Passing By”, “Alone”). Europop is pretty solid, and entirely in place with its brethren of the era. It’s a little rough around the edges for 1981, as though Sweden’s producers couldn’t match the experience of the UK - oh, how times have changed. If it lacks innovation, that may be on account of how strongly the genre influenced better known artists; it skews our perception. The weak element here is the vocals, probably the one thing that retains the album’s punk underpinnings. He’s just too limited in range and style to keep things interesting for forty minutes. But he’s fine for the material, and there’s nothing really audibly offensive here, save for the band not bringing anything new or interesting to the post-punk table. This is what you put on if you’re a record store owner and you want to play trivia with your customers and stump them. And that kind of sums up the record. It’s hard to pick out from the din of 1981.