Reviewed by Paul J Zickler & Sheffield Chastain / LISTENING POST ADMIN DISCOVERY
Released: October 1981 The Cuban Heels Work Our Way To Heaven Genre: Scottish New Wave Paul's Rating: 2.75 out of 5 Sheffield's Rating: 4.4 out of 5 Paul's Highlights: The Old School Song Walk On Water My Colours Fly Sheffield's Additional Highlights: Liberty Hall Where The Day Goes A Matter Of Time Coming Up For Air My Colours Fly (yeah, Paul already highlighted it, but it deserves to be mentioned twice) Pauls Review: The Cuban Heels were formed in Scotland in 1977. According to Discogs, they added lead singer John Milarky when his former band, Johnny and the Self-Abusers, split up. They must have considered this an improvement from their former lead singer, so it’s a good thing we don’t have any early recordings of this band. I don’t throw the M-word around lightly, but the idea that Johnny’s a good singer is a bunch of malarkey. Please forgive the previous paragraph. The Cuban Heels were a Scottish new wave band with that big drums/echoed guitars sound beloved of U2, The Alarm, Big Country, et. al. Some of their stuff leans toward punk, but not the dangerous kind. It’s a sound you could hear all over MTV and college radio by the mid-80’s. Occasionally there’s some clever guitar work joining the angular bashing, as on The Old School Song, My Colours Fly, and Walk On Water (a catchy single that made a minor splash in the UK), but much of the time it’s pretty rote riffing from the band. Milarky’s vocal mannerisms can be tiresome, but they’re not unusual for the genre, and he’s often deep in the mix anyway. However, on the synth dominated, nearly drumless Coming Up For Air, he’s unbearable, at least for me. I probably would have liked this band more as a teenager than I do now. I was a big fan of that big drum sound, and anthemic lyrics like “Hope is where my colours fly” would have caught my attention, along with some of the spiritual themes of the album. The more music I’ve been exposed to, the less appealing this simplistic stuff has become, but I guess there’s always room in the world for a bit of malarkey. *********************************** Sheffield's Review: This is a pretty great record, a LISTENING POST DISCOVERY for me. There’s a big drum sound that will make you think Big Country, The Alarm, U2 - but the comparison stops there. This is much more than that. Sounding like a heftier, meatier XTC, Work Our Way To Heaven is a splendid example of what New Wave was capable of in 1981. Like The Psychedelic Furs’ Richard Butler or Morrissey, John Milarky’s vocals aren’t for everyone, but he sits right in the pocket for me, very similar to how I feel about Andy Partridge. The first side of this album is pretty flawless imho, especially the third track, Where The Days Go, which sounds ahead of its time. Matter Of Time kicks ass as well, with some pretty cool Adam Ant vocal flourishes.. But there’s not a bad track on side one. Side two, which is a bit flimsier, still has a couple of great tracks, like the lovely and subdued strings piece Coming Up For Air, which nicely juxtaposes against the bigger and livelier sound of the rest of the album. And, of course, the track of the album - My Colours Fly. Which I’ve played about 50 times now. If you listen to nothing else on this album, listen to that one. It’s cracking good. If you’re a fan of the New Wave/Pop Rock stylings of XTC and Adam Ant, gives this a try. It’s pretty great. Though, as always, YMMV.
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