The 1981 Listening Post - The Opposition - Breaking the Silence

 The Opposition - Breaking the Silence

#401

September 23 1981

The Opposition

Breaking the Silence

Genre: Synth Wave

4.25 out of 5

Highlights:

Paddy Fields

Moving Targets

In My Eyes

Very Little Glory

It took a bit for me. I resisted. But, by the end, despite the programmed drums and the obviousness of it, I was taken by “Paddy Fields” and gave myself over to it and the the U2iness of “War Games”…it’s possible that The Opposition are as responsible for that “80s Sound” as anyone else. 

But this isn’t just a record of songs, it’s almost operatic in it’s approach. 

This record is like a bath. I don’t know if I’m supposed to enjoy it or just let it wash over me. 

I chose the latter.

And I’m not sure if I will ever return to it, but I loved my visit while I was there.

“Very Little Glory” is the Clash song they would have written if they were able to conjure up the majesty of gigantic arena rock. Not a slag just that it reminds me of them and I already mentioned U2.

https://music.apple.com/us/album/breaking-the-silence-remastered/1463751651

The 1985 Listening Post - The Opposition - Empire Days

The Opposition - Empire Days

#103 

1985 Housekeeping

The Opposition

Empire Days

3.5 out of 5

Genre: SynthRock

Highlights:

Five Minutes

So. The U2 meets The Alarm with synths is back. I liked Intimacy. I loved Promises. This one?

It’s damn good. Even though the songs are all a bit long. Even good ones like “Fool for You” (which sound s a LOT like Jack Antonoff’s Bleachers) and “If That Wasn’t Love” feel like they are stretching when the songs clock in a reasonable times. 

I like this album but not as much as the last. It started out promising but soon began to feel like Deja Vu. And it all wearily runs out of steam on the title track which sounds like 1982ish Gary Numan.

 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBJ7ztNazTVAGGhJoYobsJP5vWQhMmKhA

The 1984 Listening Post - The Opposition - Promises

The Opposition - Promises

#341
1984 Housekeeping
The Opposition
Promises
4.5 out of 5

Highlights:
Small Talk
Searching

If memory serves this is actually a departure for this band? I recall them being more synth-y New Wave and this is, while still New Wave, more angular and Jazz influenced.
Maybe I'm misremembering but I am enjoying this as a throw back to all the things I loved about New Wave and not what it all turned into.
When it does harken back to that bigger synth sound ("Innocent") it's a lot more enticing than I remember them or the U2 influences ("Factory Day") but those shouldn't be marks against it.
I really enjoyed this.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/promises/1332143337

The 1983 Listening Post - The Opposition - Intimacy

The Opposition - Intimacy

1983 Housekeeping
The Opposition
Intimacy
3.25 out of 5

Highlights:
Voice Has Changed

Opening with the moody “Life’s Blood”, The Opposition’s entry into this year that never ends has echoes of everything we’ve heard this year. Giant drums ala Tears for Fears, maudlin vox (name a synth band that hasn’t sounded like that. Ok, I’m exaggerating) ala Echo and the Bunneymen, lofty, soaring self importance (read 25% of the bands) and very little to give a shit about. Moodscapes…Man, do you think The Cure and Echo know how many bands they influenced?
I think there’s a reason it’s hard to find anything about this band. And yet! They are still together and their most recent album was released in 2016. Of new material, that is. They put out a live album THIS YEAR.
This is totally serviceable, yet forgettable, music that you could put on in the background while you studied for that Physics in Sports exam.
Something tells me they would do well at an open air festival in the desert in the mid-00s.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/intimacy/1332129247