Credit must go to this New Zealand band for its international hit single, “Computer Games,” which preceded the glut of similar-sounding British chart entrants by a year or more. Unfortunately, it was Mi-Sex’s only shining hour.
The band’s first LP, Graffiti Crimes, had been released in Australia before the single was recorded; the song was added and the LP retitled for release in the US and UK. Problem: the earlier material that fills the album sounds nothing like “Computer Games” and lacks both electronic catchiness and overall punch, making it a misleading disappointment for those hooked by the single.
Despite the sci-fi graphics and an attempt to become a genuine techno-rock band as opposed to dabblers, Space Race is an equally forgettable follow-up, offering nothing remotely commercial. Shanghaied, released only in Australia, sounds more confident and less selfconsciously clonelike, but is still only pleasantly mediocre, and does nothing to dispel the band’s one-hit onus.
Where Do They Go?, compiled from several antipodean releases, allows Mi-Sex to regain its dignity, if not chart position. A blend of reggae, commercial rock and lightheartedness that could pass for a rougher, less glib Men at Work, the unmemorable album is at least engaging.