Hunters and Collectors - The Jaws of Life
#331
1984 Housekeeping
Hunters & Collectors
The Jaws of Life
2.75 out of 5
I have the good fortune of not relaly remembering much about the 1983 Hunters & Collectors release.
And then I heard this and it brings back absolutely no memories.
Did everyone get a record contract in the 80s?
This is nonsense. Just a bunch of guys jamming in a studio thinking they are making something amazing and really just jerking off with a lot of percussion.
It's not fun. It's not pretty. It seems to want to assault the audience but it can't even do that with a pointed aggression. It's angularly boring.
It takes almost the whole album til we get to "Hayley's Doorstep", which sounds like they tried to write a real song but the vocals are soooo freaking awful I wish they never tried.
Do I seem short?
331 albums, people.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-jaws-of-life/747860956
Monday, April 1, 2019
The 1984 Listening Post - Dennis DeYoung - Desert Moon
Dennis DeYoung - Desert Moon
#330
1984 Housekeeping
Dennis DeYoung
Desert Moon
3.75 out of 5
Highlights:
Don't Wait for Heroes
Desert Moon
A few years ago the band, fun., didn't exactly "break up" but just took an indefinite hiatus. One member disappeared. Another, Jack Antonoff, created a band, Bleachers, wrote a bunch of hits for Taylor Swift and Lorde, made a chunk of change, got engaged to Lena Dunham, broke up with Lena Dunham...
The lead singer, Nate Reuss, put out an album of his own, Grand Romantic. It felt like a bit like a hollow interpretation of fun. and his previous band, The Format.
Like he was either in a fun. cover band or he was singing to pre-programmed fun. music.
It was fine. Actually, a bit more than fine because he was the primary melody/lyric writer for the band. So, his essence was all over it. It just wasn't great, you know?
That's how I feel about this record. Like it *sounds* like DeYoung and a bit like Styx, if Styx was doing what he wanted them to do, but it was sans the other members who made Styx Styx.
It's weirdly listenable but he's no troubadour or sex symbol or really that great of a vocalist. Or even a songwriter. When he gets it right, it's not half bad. He hits more often than he misses. And "Gravity" reminds me a LOT of Nate Reuss, who, I guess, is the spiritual heir to Dennis, in a way.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/desert-moon-remastered/1609385
#330
1984 Housekeeping
Dennis DeYoung
Desert Moon
3.75 out of 5
Highlights:
Don't Wait for Heroes
Desert Moon
A few years ago the band, fun., didn't exactly "break up" but just took an indefinite hiatus. One member disappeared. Another, Jack Antonoff, created a band, Bleachers, wrote a bunch of hits for Taylor Swift and Lorde, made a chunk of change, got engaged to Lena Dunham, broke up with Lena Dunham...
The lead singer, Nate Reuss, put out an album of his own, Grand Romantic. It felt like a bit like a hollow interpretation of fun. and his previous band, The Format.
Like he was either in a fun. cover band or he was singing to pre-programmed fun. music.
It was fine. Actually, a bit more than fine because he was the primary melody/lyric writer for the band. So, his essence was all over it. It just wasn't great, you know?
That's how I feel about this record. Like it *sounds* like DeYoung and a bit like Styx, if Styx was doing what he wanted them to do, but it was sans the other members who made Styx Styx.
It's weirdly listenable but he's no troubadour or sex symbol or really that great of a vocalist. Or even a songwriter. When he gets it right, it's not half bad. He hits more often than he misses. And "Gravity" reminds me a LOT of Nate Reuss, who, I guess, is the spiritual heir to Dennis, in a way.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/desert-moon-remastered/1609385
The 1984 Listening Post - Roman Holliday - Fire Me Up
Roman Holliday - Fire Me Up
#329
1984 Housekeeping
Roman Holliday
Fire Me Up
4.5 out of 5 (I know. But, hey, your mileage may vary)
Highlights:
One Foot Back in Your Door
Fire Me Up
Runaway
Touch Too Much
So, one of the big discoveries (for me) in 1983 was Cookin' on the Roof. Great album, right?
This one is different than that.
But...it's terrific. In fact, I might even like it more.
It's definitely got that 80s sound but it's a bit different from everything we've been hearing this year.
In fact, if you take The Rubinoos, give them the edge of The Exploding Hearts and the dance rock sensibilities of Wham!, you get this album.
The opening track and first single is written by Mutt Lange, which shows a) that they were headed in a different direction and b) the record company was desperate for them to have a hit. It's a great song.
It has been a treat up and down.
I will take "Red Turns to Blonde" over 99% of the crap we've heard this calendar year.
I know, if you loved Cookin' you might not like this and you might even resent it.
Fortunately for me, I've only heard Cookin' once and my short term memory doesn't work in the way that it allows me to recall it after 300 albums hence.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/fire-me-up/630532811
#329
1984 Housekeeping
Roman Holliday
Fire Me Up
4.5 out of 5 (I know. But, hey, your mileage may vary)
Highlights:
One Foot Back in Your Door
Fire Me Up
Runaway
Touch Too Much
So, one of the big discoveries (for me) in 1983 was Cookin' on the Roof. Great album, right?
This one is different than that.
But...it's terrific. In fact, I might even like it more.
It's definitely got that 80s sound but it's a bit different from everything we've been hearing this year.
In fact, if you take The Rubinoos, give them the edge of The Exploding Hearts and the dance rock sensibilities of Wham!, you get this album.
The opening track and first single is written by Mutt Lange, which shows a) that they were headed in a different direction and b) the record company was desperate for them to have a hit. It's a great song.
It has been a treat up and down.
I will take "Red Turns to Blonde" over 99% of the crap we've heard this calendar year.
I know, if you loved Cookin' you might not like this and you might even resent it.
Fortunately for me, I've only heard Cookin' once and my short term memory doesn't work in the way that it allows me to recall it after 300 albums hence.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/fire-me-up/630532811
The 1984 Listening Post - Keats - Keats
Keats - Keats
#328
1984 Housekeeping
Keats
Keats
2.5 out of 5
What happens when you take Alan Parson's Project and remove Parsons?
You get Asia-lite. Or Faux-To.
If you give them enough time, they will turn into Steve Miller Band ("How Can You Walk Away").
At no time will you think, "I need to turn this off." But, that's mainly because you'll forget that it's on.
This one-off side project received no follow-up, so sales (I imagine) and no accolades and is best remembered as the answer to some trivia question about The Alan Parsons Project backing band.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/keats/416053602
#328
1984 Housekeeping
Keats
Keats
2.5 out of 5
What happens when you take Alan Parson's Project and remove Parsons?
You get Asia-lite. Or Faux-To.
If you give them enough time, they will turn into Steve Miller Band ("How Can You Walk Away").
At no time will you think, "I need to turn this off." But, that's mainly because you'll forget that it's on.
This one-off side project received no follow-up, so sales (I imagine) and no accolades and is best remembered as the answer to some trivia question about The Alan Parsons Project backing band.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/keats/416053602
The 1984 Listening Post - Swans Way - The Fugitive Kind
Swans Way - The Fugitive Kind
#327
1984 Housekeeping
Swans Way
The Fugitive Kind
3.5 out of 5
Highlights:
The Blade
Okay, this might sound weird but, at first glance they sound like...The Airborne Toxic Event. Okay, actually, ATE sounds like them. But how random is that? I wonder if Mikel Jollet (who has a great Twitter, btw) has ever heard of this band? Because, surely no one else has.
Ok. But then they don't...
If you like ABC but think they are too clean and well pressed toss them into a post-punk blender and shove a lot more jazz into them and then you have Swans Way.
If you like that late 60s swinging British spy sound, check out "The Blade" and the immediate follow up, "The Anchor".
If you can stick with it through the earlier flab, it really does beging to pay off toward the second half.
Trouble is, nothing Swans Way is doing is really that groundbreaking or interesting. I can't imagine how it would cut through, though. And, judging from the dearth of info on the band...it didn't.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/swans-way/268582878
#327
1984 Housekeeping
Swans Way
The Fugitive Kind
3.5 out of 5
Highlights:
The Blade
Okay, this might sound weird but, at first glance they sound like...The Airborne Toxic Event. Okay, actually, ATE sounds like them. But how random is that? I wonder if Mikel Jollet (who has a great Twitter, btw) has ever heard of this band? Because, surely no one else has.
Ok. But then they don't...
If you like ABC but think they are too clean and well pressed toss them into a post-punk blender and shove a lot more jazz into them and then you have Swans Way.
If you like that late 60s swinging British spy sound, check out "The Blade" and the immediate follow up, "The Anchor".
If you can stick with it through the earlier flab, it really does beging to pay off toward the second half.
Trouble is, nothing Swans Way is doing is really that groundbreaking or interesting. I can't imagine how it would cut through, though. And, judging from the dearth of info on the band...it didn't.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/swans-way/268582878
The 1984 Listening Post - Half Japanese - Our Solar System
Half Japanese - Our Solar System
#326
1984 Housekeeping
Half Japanese
Our Solar System
1.75 out of 5
Highlights:
Too Much Adrenaline
Remember alllllll the way back to last month when we listened to Deep Freeze Mice? That uber lo-fi British band that seemed to record anything and everything?
Half Japanese seem to be the American version of that aesthetic. If they were obsessed with The Residents' Third Reich 'n' Roll. Which a lot of this sounds like.
And the whole thing sounds like it was recorded live. By a bunch of people who don't know what they're doing or how to play their instruments but are having a good time nonetheless.
I know I've mentioned Yeast Infection in the past (and I will, often, as we move forward).
This is the album Yeast Infection would've made. "You're Gonna Miss Me" SOUNDS just like us in concert.
This is not a compliment. To us, that is.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/half-japanese-volume-1-1981-1985/1232655458
#326
1984 Housekeeping
Half Japanese
Our Solar System
1.75 out of 5
Highlights:
Too Much Adrenaline
Remember alllllll the way back to last month when we listened to Deep Freeze Mice? That uber lo-fi British band that seemed to record anything and everything?
Half Japanese seem to be the American version of that aesthetic. If they were obsessed with The Residents' Third Reich 'n' Roll. Which a lot of this sounds like.
And the whole thing sounds like it was recorded live. By a bunch of people who don't know what they're doing or how to play their instruments but are having a good time nonetheless.
I know I've mentioned Yeast Infection in the past (and I will, often, as we move forward).
This is the album Yeast Infection would've made. "You're Gonna Miss Me" SOUNDS just like us in concert.
This is not a compliment. To us, that is.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/half-japanese-volume-1-1981-1985/1232655458
The 1984 Listening Post - Alan Parsons Project - Vulture Culture
Alan Parsons Project - Vulture Culture
#325
December 1984
Alan Parsons Project
Vulture Culture
2.5 out of 5
There is no world where anyone has ever said, "Please, Mom! Take me to Sam Goodys!!! The new Alan Parsons album is out!!!!"
You want some prog? He'll do. I guess. But there's nothing here that makes my ears perk up.
Supertramp/Roger Hodgson does pop-prog better.
Every song on this album could be on a John Cusack movie soundtrack.
That's not to say it's "bad". It's not. "Sooner or Later", "Let's Talk About Me", "Days Are Numbered",
all perfectly acceptably good songs. You could turn on a deep cut Sirius station or a Classic Rock playlist and be none the happier or sadder that these songs show up. And that's about the best thing I can say about this.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/vulture-culture/303549361
#325
December 1984
Alan Parsons Project
Vulture Culture
2.5 out of 5
There is no world where anyone has ever said, "Please, Mom! Take me to Sam Goodys!!! The new Alan Parsons album is out!!!!"
You want some prog? He'll do. I guess. But there's nothing here that makes my ears perk up.
Supertramp/Roger Hodgson does pop-prog better.
Every song on this album could be on a John Cusack movie soundtrack.
That's not to say it's "bad". It's not. "Sooner or Later", "Let's Talk About Me", "Days Are Numbered",
all perfectly acceptably good songs. You could turn on a deep cut Sirius station or a Classic Rock playlist and be none the happier or sadder that these songs show up. And that's about the best thing I can say about this.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/vulture-culture/303549361
The 1984 Listening Post - Alien Sex Fiend - Acid bath
Alien Sex Fiend - Acid bath
#324
December 31 1984
Alien Sex Fiend
Acid Bath
2 out of 5
I appreciate that ASF keeps doing what they are doing, which seems to be music for murder/dance houses. But, it's so ugly and nearly out of tune vocally that it's distracting.
I just didn't like this any better than their last album.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/acid-bath/997873342
#324
December 31 1984
Alien Sex Fiend
Acid Bath
2 out of 5
I appreciate that ASF keeps doing what they are doing, which seems to be music for murder/dance houses. But, it's so ugly and nearly out of tune vocally that it's distracting.
I just didn't like this any better than their last album.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/acid-bath/997873342
The 1984 Listening Post - Split Enz - See Ya 'Round
Split Enz - See Ya 'Round
#321
November 1984 (Housekeeping)
Split Enz
See Ya 'Round
3.75 out of
Highlights:
Breakin' My Back
I Walk Away
Years Go By
The Lost Cat
Ninee Knees Up
Tim Finn sucks.
Sorry. Every Split Enz review needs to start with that. So we can all be on the same page.
Tim Finn is bad. He's everything that has ever been bad in "New Wave" music.
Ok.
Whew.
This is the last Split Enz album, since they "split" after this. You know why it's actually not bad?
No Tim Finn songs.
This is pre-Crowded House Crowded House.
I like this as much or more than any previous Split Enz album.
You know why?
No.
Tim.
Finn.
That can be the only explanation.
On the second side we get songs written by the other members of the band. Starting with Eddie Rayner's "The Lost Cat", a haunting meditation instrumental (Excellent), Nigel Griggs' "Adz", better synth-pop than anything Tim has ever done (and it's still mediocre), Paul Hester's goofy, "This is Massive" and Noel Crombie's silly "Ninnie Knees Up", with a Neil Finn trinket " Kia Kaha" in between and even those pieces aren't bad enough to call to mind the worst of Split Enz's past. In fact, their inclusion elevates the album simply for existing and being fun.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLm9smEh4bd5hRmHSMYUXZET5PFk1j56Kjv=WoBE4kBuGRg&list=PLm9smEh4bd5hRmHSMYUXZET5PFk1j56Kj&index=11
#321
November 1984 (Housekeeping)
Split Enz
See Ya 'Round
3.75 out of
Highlights:
Breakin' My Back
I Walk Away
Years Go By
The Lost Cat
Ninee Knees Up
Tim Finn sucks.
Sorry. Every Split Enz review needs to start with that. So we can all be on the same page.
Tim Finn is bad. He's everything that has ever been bad in "New Wave" music.
Ok.
Whew.
This is the last Split Enz album, since they "split" after this. You know why it's actually not bad?
No Tim Finn songs.
This is pre-Crowded House Crowded House.
I like this as much or more than any previous Split Enz album.
You know why?
No.
Tim.
Finn.
That can be the only explanation.
On the second side we get songs written by the other members of the band. Starting with Eddie Rayner's "The Lost Cat", a haunting meditation instrumental (Excellent), Nigel Griggs' "Adz", better synth-pop than anything Tim has ever done (and it's still mediocre), Paul Hester's goofy, "This is Massive" and Noel Crombie's silly "Ninnie Knees Up", with a Neil Finn trinket " Kia Kaha" in between and even those pieces aren't bad enough to call to mind the worst of Split Enz's past. In fact, their inclusion elevates the album simply for existing and being fun.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLm9smEh4bd5hRmHSMYUXZET5PFk1j56Kjv=WoBE4kBuGRg&list=PLm9smEh4bd5hRmHSMYUXZET5PFk1j56Kj&index=11
The 1984 Listening Post - SPK - Machine Age Voodoo
SPK - Machine Age Voodoo
#321
November 30 1984
SPK
Machine Age Voodoo
3 out of 5
Highlights:
Flesh and Steel
Seduction
Industrial synth-pop? This is a new one for me. It's like if Art of Noise was forced to write a club disco record.
And then they got bored and went to sleep but left the machines on.
This makes me miss Xex.
I've heard Xex.
You, SPK, are no Xex.
With occasional sparks of life "Metal Dance", "Flesh & Steel", "Machine Age Voodoo", it's an otherwise dull journey.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/machine-age-voodoo/543096043
#321
November 30 1984
SPK
Machine Age Voodoo
3 out of 5
Highlights:
Flesh and Steel
Seduction
Industrial synth-pop? This is a new one for me. It's like if Art of Noise was forced to write a club disco record.
And then they got bored and went to sleep but left the machines on.
This makes me miss Xex.
I've heard Xex.
You, SPK, are no Xex.
With occasional sparks of life "Metal Dance", "Flesh & Steel", "Machine Age Voodoo", it's an otherwise dull journey.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/machine-age-voodoo/543096043
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