The 1981 Listening Post - Coitus Int. - Coitus Int.

 Reviewed by Jim Coursey

Released: 1981 Coïtus Int. Coïtus Int. Genre: Goth / Post-Punk Rating: 2 out of 5 Highlights: Shrill Screams Out of the gate, the Dutch band’s debut has about as much effervescence as early Swans, although it isn’t nearly as confrontational. The aesthetic is pure drudgery, as if conceived to accurately represent the experience of working on a factory line. Vocals could be confused for Alexei Sayle’s tough guy landlord Jerzei Balowski. The first three songs follow this pattern, with a brief doubling of tempo at the end of a song being the only respite. By track four, “The Connection to the Obvious”, the band has learned to write a very modest hook, and by track five “Shrill Screams” the hook becomes moderately enjoyable. They slowly transform into something resembling Joy Division, but without Peter’s Hook-iness, Stephen Morris’ ear-catching syncopation, or Ian Curtis’ commanding presence. Sadly, Coïtus Int.’s band and album name determines our fate, and there is no climax to be had here. The album’s energy follows a bell curve, and the end returns to the joyless toil of the beginning. However the music was so sexless and inert for so much of this that it’s hard to imagine them getting to first base, let alone penetration.