Heaven 17 - Penthouses and Pavement
#412
By Steve Caisse
September 1981
Heaven 17
Penthouse and Pavement
Genre: Cold War Synth Pop
Allen’s rating: 2.5 out of 5
Steve’s Rating: 2 out of 5
Highlights: None
The ‘80s gave us a bunch of “number bands” – Haircut 100, UB40, Level 42, and Heaven 17. I associate them with changing the channel from MTV to something else whenever they came on. And our family was late to the TV remote world so this meant getting off the sofa. I’m a classic rock guitar guy and this music did nothing for me. You couldn’t bang your head to it and I was instantly distrustful of bands with the new look - slick colorful tailored suits and smartly moussed haircuts. I’ve come around to some of it, but for the most part it’s still a genre I move on from whenever I’m confronted with it.
Heaven 17 formed after the Human League traded two guys out for two ladies. The two castaways, Ian Craig Marsh and Martyn Ware, recruited Glenn Gregory as their vocalist for the new venture. “Penthouse and Pavement” is their debut and it is song after song of layered synthesizers, drum machines and repetitive, talky vocals. A thick British accented talky vocal with a hint of faux melodrama to boot. But that faux melodrama, mostly espousing a left-wing political view, is the only human element in an otherwise cold dehumanized pop soundscape. They are smart enough to hammer home some catchy hooks, but the verses don’t set themselves apart from choruses and, ultimately, the songs don’t set themselves apart from each other. As you move through the album you don’t tap your feet as much as your head throbs to the beat.
The album did have a minor hit called “(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang”. If this is what the Antifa of the day was using to rally the troops it’s not a surprise that fascism had a foothold in England for as long as it did. But if you still pine for the days to raise your warm ale and rail against Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan this cheesy electro-groove might be for you. The song was banned by the BBC, a distinction a lot of bands wanted as a badge of honor.
Anyway I’m not going to belabor this review. The sound is dated and I want to believe anyone who might have cared about this for a few minutes in 1981 would never want to hear it again. Of course, I would be wrong, as the band still actively tours in the UK. Still, I don’t understand what there is to like here. There is nothing I want to listen to ever again, and there is certainly nothing I want to recommend other than some Extra Strength Excedrin.
https://open.spotify.com/album/662vZghUEjQCywafYimHtK?si=L4I5ECAmSaaxShhKDu-oWg
