Wednesday, December 22, 2021

The 1981 Listening Post - The Reels - Quasimodo's Dream

 

The Reels - Quasimodo's Dream


#204

May 1981

The Reels

Quasimodo’s Dream

Genre: New Wave

2.25 out of 5


Lowlights:

Dubba Go Go



I missed the first album by The Reels, so this one is a bit of a surprise. There’s a lot of 80s trappings happening here. Faux reggae beats on the title track and standard new waviness throughout. There’s also a section that’s all about the media. 

Before we get into that let’s talk about the rampant mediocrity that bedecks this record and also, at the same time, seems to anticipate, say, Thompson Twins and the like. 

It’s Australian so you know that they were either on the cutting edge of creation or they were kids who got their hands on imports and took them for inspiration. 

In either case, it results in a mostly ugly version of Split Enz mixed with a bunch of other New Wave sounds of the age. 

There’s a track on here called “Rupert Murdoch”. It’s buried in the suite called “Media Themes”. It’s an instrumental piece that could have been composed by a 9 year old with a Casio. And is just a variation on the previous song’s theme. 





https://music.apple.com/us/album/quasimodos-dream/444428303

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