The 1980 Listening Post - Bugs Tomorrow - Bugs Tomorrow

 Reviewed by Allen Lulu

Released: February 19 1980 Bugs Tomorrow Bugs Tomorrow Genre: Power Pop, file under: Elvis wanna be Rating: 3.75 out of 5 Track Highlights: [Bitter Rice Summer Camp Chimpanzees] [Man…will 1980 ever end? I am not entirely sure how this one came under our radar but the research staff found it and, ever since then I’ve seen it in the record store. It’s like that thing where you are in the market for a car, like a Volkswagen, and then you see Volkswagens EVERYWHERE. You can’t avoid them. And that’s this record. All of sudden it’s everywhere. How is it? The contrast of John Henry Raskin’s Bowie-esque vocals against the anthemic acoustic guitars of the opening track is, at first, a bit jarring. Takes some getting used to. Ultimately, this gets mislabeled as “New Wave” but that makes sense. The album cover, with it’s painted trace that calls to mind the opening credits of SNL, circa 1980, is in a style that was de rigeur for about 6 months or so. Do you like Elvis Costello? Joe Jackson? Graham Parker? Gary Myrick? DB Cooper? Then you might like this. And I say “Might” meaning, you will. Because it’s 1980 and everyone who has a guitar seems to be able to write snappy, charged, well crafted rock tunes that fit on your Power Pop playlist. Do I wish Bugs trusted his voice enough to not put on an affect? Yes. Keyboardist Morley Bartnoff would go on to, among others, play with Dramarama. In fact, I think he still does. This is the exact kind of record that my roommate or I would have grabbed for $2.99 at Sounds in college. And we would have loved it. If you decide to listen to the full album all the tracks are here but you have to play them individually cuz this seems to be a comprehensive collection of everything Bugs Tomorrow has ever done. Only the last track here wouldn’t play. But it’s all here if you want it. Here’s the tracklist: Children of the Night Bitter Rice Summer Camp Chimpanzees Show Me Experience Burn with the Fever Runner-up Couples She Walked Everything’s Tonight ]