The 1981 Listening Post - The Major Thinkers - The Major Thinkers

 Reviewed by Sheffield Chastain / LISTENING POST DISCOVERY

Released: 1981 The Major Thinkers The Major Thinkers Genre: Irish New Wave Via New York Rating: 4.1 out of 5 Highlights: Tears And Synthesisers Wicklow Hills Avenue B Land Of De Valera My Hero Though they were based in New York City, and many of their songs are rooted in the zeitgeist and sonic sounds of the lower east side 80s, The Major Thinkers are considered an Irish band. This self titled debut album, their only major full studio album, was recorded in Sandy Hook, CT but only released in Ireland on Phaeton Records. Pierce Turner and Larry Kirwan (billed as Laurence Lucifer here), the two major players of The Major Thinkers, would go on to have quite the following in Ireland and the US after the break-up of The Major Thinkers in 1985 - Pierce as a solo artist and Kirwan as a founding member of Black 47. Kirwan would even go on to write 20 musicals and plays - the Irish Billy Childish!! Side 1 of this record is fabulous - a strong entry in the New Wave genre, with high concept lyrics married with a danceable mix of New Wave and Synth-Pop - and strong enough to carry this one to a Discovery demarcation. Side 2 is less successful, though there are some solid entries there as well. The Major Thinkers sport two singers, Turner and Kirwan. Turner, with his mellifluous, yearning voice is the perfect counterpoint to Kirwan’s blend of the idiosyncratic Celtic stylings, which remind one of a mix of the warbling of Kevin Rowland and the screeches of John Lydon. This New Wave record starts off with the moody, goth track Tears and Synthesizers, which sets the tone, offering an especially appealing rolling bass line. The strongest entry on this album is the melodically bouncy 2nd track, the strolling Wicklow Hills, with it’s poetic lyrics evoking the Hopper-esque era of Washington Square Park and the yearning to return to the verdant Wicklow Hills of Ireland. (Wicklow Hills, incidentally, was voted among the top twenty-five Irish songs of all time by a nationwide poll by FM Today, the national Irish radio station). The syncopated, street rhythms of Avenue B (“The place to be!”) follows, with Kirwan in fine Johnny Rotten form. A tribal shout out to anyone living in the lower east side of New York in the 80s. The rapid, spit fire lyrics of Land of Devalera comes next. These guys have no love for the divisive Eamon de Valara, the 3rd president of Ireland who brought austerity and little else to the Irish people where, as Kirwan would write, “There was little work, and even less money, in de Valera’s holy, xenophobic Ireland. To put it mildly, the Irish Free State, and ensuing Republic, was an economic disaster – rarely able to support its people.” [1] Pretty heavy shit for New Wave. But it totally works. Side 1 gets a solid 5 from me. Side 2 is, perhaps, a little less compelling with some clear clunkers (though Back In The 80s and Boyfriend hold up) knocking the whole record down nearly a point. But in the end, this is a very fine entry in the New Wave genre. ********** 1. https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/the-unforgiving-land-of-de-valera