Appearing on the London punk scene shortly after the Sex Pistols, Generation X was an extraordinary but ill-fated outfit that issued five tremendous singles, one classic album and some real dross. It also launched the mega-career of Billy Idol and the ditzy Sigue Sigue Sputnik, developments one must weigh when considering the band’s historical significance.…
If Elvis Costello, Graham Parker and Joe Jackson hadn’t gotten there first, there might have been a place of importance in the music world for Master Dickie, who was previously in the first-wave Boston indie band Susan. While he doesn’t imitate any of those gents, he does strive for a similarly intense persona via hard-hitting,…
This British band deserves credit for reducing the punk sensibility to a mindless cliché of speed and aggression long before that approach become commonplace. Made to burn.
Martha and the Muffins alumnus, collaborator with Eno, Daniel Lanois, Robert Fripp, the Edge and other hipsters, all-round clever sonic guy — Canada’s Michael Brook ventures into the solo spotlight for his Cobalt Blue album. Showcasing his aptly named “infinite guitar,” which — thanks to various electronic treatments — seems to come from another dimension,…
Pure pop lives in the luscious textures of this snazzy London quartet. Despite the stupid name, We Are Going to Eat You have a magic formula, blending Julie Sorrel’s cool, heavenly voice, Paul Harding’s bracing guitar chords and catchy, other-worldly tunes, largely written by drummer Chris Knowles, once the only male in a pop-punk band…
Los Angeles’ Wall of Voodoo made junk music that can be extremely entertaining as long as you don’t expect too much from it. Working in the same general cinematic groove as Devo, only taking their cues from Westerns and film noir rather than science fiction, Voodoo generated a stiff (though human) sound that furnished a…
One of the most significant and underappreciated groups of the punk-era Liverpool scene, Wah! (and titular variations thereon) functions as a vehicle for extrovert Pete Wylie. On Nah = Poo, Wah! sounds like Emerson, Lake and Palmer with hipper (though equally flamboyant) arrangements. Wylie sings melodramatically on stirring but superficial material like “The Death of…
Listening to Syl Sylvain’s solo records, you’d never guess he was once a member of the dreaded, subversive New York Dolls. For one thing, he’s an absolutely winsome singer, the perfect punk-with-a-heart-of-gold who seems to be striking an “aw, shucks!” pose at the mic. For another, his records are glistening, rocking pop with no hard…
Though X was arguably the most important band to emerge from the Los Angeles punk scene, its members started a long way from easy punk credibility. Too self-conscious, artsy and ambitious to simply spew, Baltimore native John Doe (bass/vocals) and Floridian Exene Cervenka (vocals) had to package their bohemian lifestyle as new wave, delivering desperate…
One of the most exciting groups of its time, X-Ray Spex was at once an ideal and atypical punk band. While boasting as much raw aggression as any of its peers, X-Ray Spex used a distinctively different means of delivery — augmenting Jak Airport’s obligatory buzzsaw guitar with Rudi Thompson’s (Lora Logic’s replacement) even-more- abrasive…
Formed at Virginia State University, this eminently likable foursome based in New York follows in the footsteps of the Native Tongues (De La Soul, Jungle Brothers and A Tribe Called Quest). Lowdown, muted grooves provide the backdrop as Yodared (Al Myers), Myntric (Sean Myers), Mondo McCann and Vex (Sean Pollard) seek to transcend troublesome reality,…
Unlike the Gang of Four, this English trio (which included future Soft Boy Matthew Seligman) offered radical political perspectives that are neither simplistically axiomatic nor delivered amid musical fireworks. The Heroes’ brand of dialectical materialism largely avoids slogans; while its more fluid rhythm’n’pop derives from a similar basis, odd bits of pop and tricky turns…
The Brains’ story is typical of many independent bands who signed to not-so-swift big labels. Led by lanky Tom Gray, this Atlanta-based quartet first garnered widespread attention with a striking homemade single, “Money Changes Everything.” The Brains subsequently recorded two LPs for Mercury, but neither sold a speck. Following a divorce by mutual consent, the…
M (Robin Scott) may go down in Top 40 history as a glorious one-hit wonder but, oh, what a hit! Easily the highlight of his first LP, “Pop Muzik” combines the moronic appeal of a brilliant semi-electronic novelty record with the sturdy danceability of a hot disco mix. Give this Englishman (with assists by Wally…
Despite a cheerfully self-deprecating stance, London’s Barracudas offer quite an enjoyable sentimental journey through assorted American traditions on Drop Out. Some tunes plunge headlong into dense, ringing folk-rock — see “Violent Times” or “I Saw My Death in a Dream Last Night” for an update of the Byrds on a gloomy day. Surf tunes like…
Noble philosopher and drooling idiot, transcendent shaman and earthbound sucker, Iggy Pop is in many ways the ultimate embodiment of rock’n’roll. While a similar claim can be made for artists from the Stones to the Clash to the Ramones to Half Japanese, the beast born James Newell Osterberg is a walking, talking one-man melodrama, reflecting…
Balancing old-fashioned melodies and raw power can be a tricky business, and this ill-tempered Albuquerque trio batters its material like a punching bag. Though ultimately wearying, The Philisteens does offer exhilaration when consumed in small doses. The band slams through such numbers as “I Get Mad” and “Punch in Punchout” with a combination of punk…
It took a while, but in the Dead Kennedys, America finally produced a powerful, self-righteously moral band to match the fury (if not the solid musical appeal) of the Sex Pistols. Led by audacious and inimitable singer Jello Biafra (Eric Boucher; who once ran — and received a substantial number of votes — for mayor…
Smooth, sexy gangsta rap provides a feast for the ears on the first album from Dr. Dre’s step-brother, Warren Griffin. Much like comrade-in-arms Snoop Doggy Dogg, the Long Beach, California, MC/producer favors an appealingly lazy, conversational delivery; his wistful tone adds a seductive element of vulnerability to the groovin’ hits “This D.J.” and “Regulate.” Typical…
Pseudo-streetwise lyrics tend to distract attention from the solidly danceable, cleanly produced synth-dominated pop on this New York band’s first album. When their political stance turns to political role-playing, though, the result is oversimplification that borders on insincerity. Little wonder, then, that vocalist/wordsmith Michael Parker strives to sing like Joe Strummer (cough, cough), though he…
