Roddy Frame The North Star

Roddy Frame The North Star

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Roddy Frame emerges from his Aztec Camera moniker with a charming blend of jangling guitars and soulful crooning. "River or Brightness" is a particularly beautiful standout track, where Frame's mandolin creates poetical dense waves of charm. There's not really much sonic difference from an Aztec Camera release, as every album was basically a Roddy Frame solo affair, in that he's written almost every Aztec Camera song on his own. The North Star is a pleasure throughout the ten tracks, as he never fails to register sweet emotion or frolicking joy. "Bigger Brighter Better" suggests that Frame is both overjoyed with and at full-mastery of his endearing acoustic pop style. "Sister Shadow" sounds as if it has been produced by Phil Spector at the peak of his skills. For every song of happiness, there's a complementary track of subtle soul searching. The singer/songwriter has never sounded this confident over the full length of an album in the past. If The North Star isn't this artist at his best, then he must have purely transcendental songs up his sleeve for future releases. With this confident solo debut, as strong or stronger than any Aztec Camera release, Roddy Frame confirms his status as a first-rate emotional balladeer.

Haircut 100 Pelican West

Haircut 100 Pelican West

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If Orange Juice famously wanted to sound like a combination of Chic and the Velvet Underground, then Haircut 100 must have wanted to sound like a combination of Orange Juice and Chic. Heavy on the Juice. On their debut and only album with band founder Nick Heyward, Pelican West, the group display all the skittery beats, deep-voiced crooning, and pop smarts of OJ, while adding more funk and saxophone than Edwyn Collins and co. probably ever imagined. That Haircut 100 scored a bigger hit than the band they so clearly idolized must have rubbed the lads in Orange Juice the worst way, but it's clear from even one listen through Pelican West that Haircut 100 were more than just mere copycats. "Love Plus One" is that aforementioned mega hit and it deserved to be a timeless classic. Nick Heyward knew how to write pop hooks and the band fills it in with brilliant subtlety. There are siblings to that song scattered across the record. "Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)," "Marine Boy," and the ecstatic "Fantastic Day" all have wonderfully snappy melodies and huge choruses, "Milk Film," "Surprise Me Again," and "Snow Girl" have a refined pop sound that skews a little less gleeful and a little more melancholy. Sure, they are all prone to sax breakdowns and horn section crescendos that sound like Chicago happened by the studio, but the bulk of the album is first-rate '80s sophisti-pop. The few tracks that cast aside the traditional song structure and jump over to the Chic side of the equation are fun, though very much of their time. "Love's Got Me in Triangles" and "Calling Captain Autumn" are both quite British, with a sort of awkward kind of funk almost quaint in its unfunkiness. Heyward's attempts at rapping on the latter achieve beat poet-meets-Captain Sensible levels of uncoolness that circle back around to coolness in the end somehow. The entire record is a little like that. From their corny outfits to their lighter-than-air sound, Haircut 100 were never going to be dangerous or sexy. The best they could hope for was escapist, but never mindless fun and on Pelican West they bury their arrows dead center in the middle of that target. [Cherry Pop's 2015 Deluxe Edition of the album adds four bonus tracks on the first disc, including single B-sides and the post-album release "Nobody's Fool," which pointed to a guitar-heavy, sax-solo-free future the group never saw. The second disc is made up of 12" versions of album tracks, extended versions, and a live recording of "Fantastic Day." Of chief interest is the 12" version of "Love Plus One," because it's the big hit and it's fun to hear them stretching it out a little. The rest of the disc is also fun and it's a nice addition to the classic album with which it's paired.]

Thompson Twins Into The Gap

Thompson Twins Into The Gap

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Thompson Twins' atmospheric and moody 1984 album Into the Gap was their commercial breakthrough in the United States, and remains a classic as far as '80s new wave pop is concerned. Nearly every song on this set differed from the others, with each track taking the listener on a different musical journey. The song that cemented Thompson Twins as a presence on American Top 40 radio was their earnest ballad (and biggest hit) "Hold Me Now," which years later still sounded as fresh and innocent as when it was first released. The album yielded a couple of other hits, including the feel-good, percussion- and harmonica-heavy "You Take Me Up" and the mysterious, melodramatic "Doctor! Doctor!" "The Gap," the album's final single (and a definite standout), heavily leans toward Middle Eastern influences (as does "Doctor! Doctor!") and ranks as the album's most unstoppable (and unusual) dance cut. Other tracks, including "Sister of Mercy" and "No Peace for the Wicked," rank almost as high as the singles. Thompson Twins were quiet visionaries, blending intelligent lyrics, Eastern sensibilities, and new wave pop to create a wholly unique and unforgettable listening experience and an album that ranks as one of the '80s' most unique. [Edsel's two-disc 2008 Deluxe Edition featured 16 bonus tracks, including remixes, B-sides, and alternate versions.]

Various Close To The Noise Floor Presents Noise Reduction System (Formative European Electronica 1974-1984)

Various Close To The Noise Floor Presents Noise Reduction System (Formative European Electronica 1974-1984)

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During the late '70s and early '80s, a crop of British experimentalists emerged with positions on conventional rock music that ranged from indifferent to hostile. Prompted by early electronic music and the advancements made by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Tangerine Dream, Kraftwerk, and Throbbing Gristle -- and eventually their peers -- they plied their trade on equipment with names like EMS Synthi A, EDP Wasp, Korg MS-10, and ARP Odyssey. For many of them, guitars and drum kits were obsolete. Synthesizers, drum machines, and tape delay units, many of them shrinking in size and cost, were the present and future way to sculpt jerking noises or strange pop songs. The fledgling musicians could record in bedrooms and release the results on cassette, or they could ally with independent labels and operate at studios like Blackwing, a haven for Mute and 4AD artists such as Depeche Mode and Cocteau Twins. Released by Cherry Red, one of those original outlets for music of the margins, Close to the Noise Floor: Formative UK Electronica 1975-1984 collects four discs of the alternately thrilling, grim, silly, and just plain bizarre stuff. Some of the groups, such as Blancmange, the Human League, and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, went commercial after they released their selected inclusions, while the likes of Wire's Bruce Gilbert and Graham Lewis appear here with a divergence into sound manipulation that resembles animal calls. Some of these tracks have appeared on widely available albums and compilations. The making of this set must have been an arduous undertaking, however, as the majority of the tracks were originally issued on cassettes and 7" vinyl in small quantities, previously heard by few sets of ears. Among the highlights of the accidentally obtainable and deliberately obscure: Thomas Leer's spangly narrative "Tight as a Drum," Adrian Smith's skeletal and crepuscular "Joe Goes to New York," and British Standard Unit's mutilation of Rod Stewart's "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" There's also Gerry & the Holograms' delightful self-titled theme song, placed on high rotation by temporary WPIX DJ Frank Zappa. The Mute massive -- Cabaret Voltaire, Robert Rental, and so forth -- are surprisingly absent, though they're represented somewhat by Alan Burnham's "Music to Save the World By," produced by label boss Daniel Miller (aka the Normal, the Silicon Teens). Given that so much scarce material is discerningly compiled here, it's hard to gripe about it and other exclusions. A great essay and a fair portion of the track-by-track notes come from Dave Henderson, who documented the global post-punk electronic underground as it developed, after being lured by "reading dismissive reviews in the weekly music press." Henderson's own group, Worldbackwards, contribute a glum but enchanting ballad that drones and stirs, then fades out to a bit of Sylvia Plath's "Lazy Lazarus." Henderson's assessment? "Man, we were pretentious."

Various Harmony In My Head UK Power Pop & New Wave 1977-81

Various Harmony In My Head UK Power Pop & New Wave 1977-81

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Despite the way it sometimes seems, punk wasn't the only thing happening in the U.K. during the mid-'70s. A whole bunch of bands took the good-natured feel of pub rock, the hooky melodies of the original British Invasion, and the energy of punk to come up with their own kind of power pop. It was definitely inspired by the skinny-tie power pop scene happening in the U.S., but much of it had sharper, more ragged hooks. A few artists came out of this scene to have bigger careers, like Elvis Costello and Squeeze, and some bands were good enough to have lasting power, like Buzzcocks and Wreckless Eric, but a majority of the bands playing this jumpy, catchy pop were relegated to the dustbin pretty quickly. Cherry Red's 2018 release Harmony in My Head: UK Power Pop & New Wave 1977-81 seeks to redress this injustice by unearthing the good, great, weird, and genius acts of the era over the course of three discs that will have power pop fans beside themselves with nervy joy. The set's compiler, David Wells, does a great job of sprinkling in some well-known artists like Nick Lowe, Elvis Costello, and Buzzcocks, critical faves like the Monochrome Set, and power pop heroes such as Eddie & the Hot Rods and Bram Tchaikovsky among the one-offs, misfits, never-weres, and no-hit wonders that make up the rest of the set. It's a deep, deep dive into the underground that comes back with a very high gem-to-junk ratio. In fact, it's hard to single out anything for the latter column since the bands chosen are all very familiar with how to put together at least one song with a vibrant hook, unstoppable energy, and loads of enthusiasm. Some of the songs lean more toward punk (the Nips' "Happy Song," Chelsea's "Look at the Outside"), some are twitchy and strange like the best oddball new wave (the Dodgems' "Science Fiction [Baby You're So]," Those Naughty Lumps' "Down at the Zoo), and some give their U.S. counterparts a run in the chirpy pop department (the Monos!' "UFO," the Letters' "Don't Want You Back"). Mostly though, the collection charts that fleeting moment when punk, power pop, and new wave came together magically to create something new, great, and timeless. Songs like Fast Cars' "You're So Funny," Rich Kids' "Rich Kids," and the Users' "Now That It's Over" sound as fresh and vital as when they were first released. That applies to the whole set, which is required listening for anyone who loved the sound at the time or who loves the raft of bands who have been aping this sound with varying degrees of success in the many years that followed.

Various Action Time Vision A Story Of Independent UK Punk 1976-1979

Various Action Time Vision A Story Of Independent UK Punk 1976-1979

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In the early years of the punk rock explosion of the '70s, the record industry didn't know what to make of the aggressive new sound. Punk certainly seemed like the coming thing, but no one seemed sure of how to sell music that was built around open disrespect for authority figures -- which in the eyes of the punks included the music industry. Thankfully, punk was born with a passionate desire to document itself, and if the major labels weren't going to put punk rock on records, the punks would do it themselves. No previous rock movement was more closely associated with independent labels and the D.I.Y. philosophy than punk, and countless indie labels were launched to commit fresh talent to vinyl. Action Time Vision: A Story of Independent U.K. Punk 1976-1979 is an exhaustive and wildly entertaining four-volume box set that examines both the indie label scene in the United Kingdom as well as the bands that emerged on homegrown labels. The set opens, fittingly enough, with "New Rose" by the Damned, widely acknowledged as the first British punk single and the release that turned Stiff Records into a going concern. Just as that record still sounds fresh and explosive four decades later, nearly all of the 111 songs on Action Time Vision are filled with energy, passion, and a sense of discovery, as the musicians strive to find their place in a new musical landscape and have fun doing it. This set is also a potent reminder that early punk was never as monochromatic as many liked to believe (or as samey as U.K. punk would become in the '80s). Along with the foursquare punk attack of the Lurkers, the Cortinas, Sham 69, and many others, there's the speeded-up pub rock of Fruit Eating Bears, the joyous power pop of the Stoat, the prog-inspired twists and turns of Psykik Voltz, the arty minimalism of English Subtitles, the psych-inspired surrealism of Victim, the edgy cool of the Flys, and the acoustic guitar in a bedsit parody/tribute of Patrik Fitzgerald. And while the set includes lots of familiar names, the compilers have included plenty of obscurities that often prove to be as satisfying as the best-known tracks, another reminder of how fertile this era truly was. (There are also a number of tracks from artists who would go on to greater fame in the future, such as Billy Bragg in Riff Raff, Kevin Rowland in the Killjoys, and Shane MacGowan in the Nipple Erectors.) The liner notes from Andy Davis are a great read, and an impressive history of the many bands and labels featured here. This is hardly the first or best study of the U.K. punk scene of the '70s, but Action Time Vision is an impressive tribute to the early stirrings of indie culture in England, and it's great listening throughout.

Various Silhouettes & Statues (A Gothic Revolution 1978 - 1986)

Various Silhouettes & Statues (A Gothic Revolution 1978 - 1986)

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It's little surprise that Cherry Red - which over the fast few years has absolutely reinvented itself into a top-notch reissue and scene overview empire - is behind the latest attempt to clarify the questions of what goth is. There have been goth boxsets before - one 1990s entry was simply called Goth Box, and over in the US Rhino made a stab at it last decade - plus any number of random compilations or mixes. Rather than trying to address what ultimately has become something unwieldy, especially as newer bands emerge and older performers gain new attention, Silhouettes & Statues: A Gothic Revolution 1978-1986 sets out not only a chronological brief but a geographic one, concentrating on England, whether acts were local or relocated from elsewhere. It’s a smart decision: goth as conceived and haphazardly codified was first and foremost not merely Anglophilic but Anglocentric. Still, to get back to the original question: what’s goth? In her short introductory essay Natasha Scharf does a great job in noting how the term got associated with certain performers and acts from the late 70s on, in the creative space opened up by punk’s success. She also describes how certain musical forebears from the 60s on had laid plenty of groundwork - even digging up an intriguing use of the term "gothic rock" with reference to a 1967 Doors concert review. Still, as she flatly says at one point, “defining goth isn’t easy.” It’s just as important to look beyond the music to whatever was in the air in general. Was it due to a revived cold war? A revulsion towards Thatcherism? Just a new version of 'overeducated' (and notably white) teenage angst? Simply another return of glam in darker clothes? Present one way to approach it, and another way suggests itself. That, though, is part of what makes Silhouettes such an enjoyable (if perhaps daunting) five CDs. It may not be entirely the case with the later, younger bands on the set, but absolutely none of the earliest groups began playing together with the self-conscious idea of 'Hey, let’s be a goth band.' Genre founders by default can’t be wilfully creating something they didn’t know about until it was labelled. So the question becomes less “how do these groups all resemble each other?” and more “how does the new territory open up, and who were the explorers?” Setting aside non-English/English-based acts, it’s notable from the get-go that pretty much every name you would expect to find in such a collection is represented, except one. Siouxsie And The Banshees are absolutely noteworthy by their absence, though of course they never liked being confined by genre straitjackets. At the same time, they helped establish the idea of subverted expectations early on - not just musically but as a group who were able to maintain both an underground and a chart profile. And that’s what’s important to remember about this whole thing from a distance - it was simultaneously subcultural and impossible to miss, one of many sonic stews and approaches that could and did feature in NME, Smash Hits, Radio 1 and Top Of The Pops simultaneously in the ferment of New Pop.

Various Still In A Dream A Story Of Shoegaze 1988-1995

Various Still In A Dream A Story Of Shoegaze 1988-1995

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Let's get this out of the way at the beginning. Telling the story of the overdriven, dreamlike sound of shoegaze without including a song by My Bloody Valentine is like The Great Gatsby without Gatsby or Citizen Kane without Charles Foster Kane. The group pretty much invented the sound, went on to perfect it, and was always the one band that could be counted on to innovate and disrupt. Still, once you get past that not insubstantial hurdle, Cherry Red's Still in a Dream: A Story of Shoegaze is a pretty great collection. Over the course of five discs, it gathers up major influences on the shoegaze sound, rounds up all the main practitioners, travels around the globe and catches the best of the U.S. pedal pushers (Swirlies, Black Tambourine) along the way, and takes some mild detours into dream pop, baggy, and noise, all the while dropping classic songs one after the other. The compilers make full use of all five discs, digging deep and casting a wide net that yields both obvious choices and some much less so. Part of the fun going through the discs is hearing "hits" by big names like Slowdive, Ride, and Swervedriver; part of it is rediscovering bands like Sweet Jesus, whose "Phonefreak Honey" is a delightfully sugary blast of distortion and melody, Adorable, a stadium-sized band with tunes like "Sunshine Smile" that were built on huge, impossible to ignore hooks, and Majesty Crush, who impress with the archly pretty "No. 1 Fan." There also are bands that even someone who was around during the era covered here (1988 to 1995) may have missed. Jane from Occupied Europe's "Ocean Run Dry" is an early noise pop gem; Coaltar of the Deepers' Charming Sister Kiss Me Dead!!" is a chunky, almost metallic tune from Japan that shows how universal the sound became. By the time the set is over it's hard not to be impressed by how quickly the shoegaze sound spread and evolved, how many bands were able to use it to an advantage, and -- more to the point here -- how well the set is put together. Apart from MBV, it's hard to think of any bands they missed, just as it's difficult to think of too many that they could have cut. It might have been interesting to boil the track list down a bit, then spend a disc catching up on the post-1995 bands that have kept the sound alive. That being said, the story they do tell on Still in a Dream is a fascinating one, full of guitar-mangling bliss and soaring melodic grandeur suitable for a fuzzy trip down memory lane or a deep dive of discovery for the novice gazer.