Kings of the Wild Frontier

This album feels far more invested in being noticed than in saying anything meaningful. The Burundi-influenced drum patterns are genuinely strong and give the record its most compelling moments, but they’re mostly in service of a highly stylized persona rather than emotional or musical depth. The songs lean heavily on attitude, theatrics, and image, which can come off as self-indulgent rather than engaging.

There’s nothing technically incompetent here, and the rhythmic ideas are historically interesting, but the overall effect feels hollow. The record rarely earns sustained attention, and instead of drawing you in, it often provokes an eye-roll reaction. This is post-punk as pageantry: bold, performative, and loud, but ultimately shallow if you’re listening for resonance rather than spectacle.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Back when pop was fun and a little weird .
Great album that’s hard to place - with thier odd two drummer sound

Good not great but worth a listen .

Fun New Wave Pop Punk.

I enjoyed the songs, but his voice went right through me! It was that weird shout singing - hated it

3 ⭐️

More interesting than your standard 80s fare.

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“Kings of the Wild Frontier” by Adam and the Ants is... well, wild. In my opinion, it's not really worth going into individual songs, as the overall style seems exciting but also somehow cute from today's perspective. The grooves seem very open (maybe it's the Burundi drums?) and lively, but not really tight, the bass is produced very cool for my taste (but maybe I just like the typical early-80s new wave bass sound), and Adam Ant's vocals give the impression that he was very eccentric on stage. I consider the entire album to be an interesting historical document and therefore rate it neutral.

I love the theatrics of this (“too emotional?” Nah, just about perfect). Its percussion focus, the rolling guitar. The songwriting is dense, surprisingly versatile, and always a handful to digest - but never too much. A careful act of balance on the tightrope. Adam's voice is great because he has swagger while still sounding grounded, fitting perfectly into his band's sound. Even if, in retrospect, some of the new-wave-y art-punk touches feel a bit goofy (the baritone “hey ho” shanty-style chorus in Feed Me to the Lions, the bullet sounds in the intentionally silly Los Rancheros, or the seaman-like whistle in Jolly Roger).

The Ants Invasion is a nice little mood piece in the middle of the record and showcases much of the collection’s strength. Shame that the B-side Press Darlings wasn’t included - I think it's a superb blend of punk and distinctly individual “antsyness.”

Does anyone still talk about Adam & the Ants? Not sure… Haven’t heard the name in ages. Too bad… this animal-themed sophomore outing is, while never truly brilliant, highly entertaining. You can practically hear the mark he left on the British music landscape for years to come.

I wouldn’t have listened to it were it not for this generator (glad I gave it a spin). Not entirely sure it belongs on this list, though; this spot should absolutely belong to Siouxsie.

Kind of obnoxious, but a bit campy and fun too. Not too keen on coming back to this one ever.

Heh - so silly. Ridiculous flamboyant costumes, some kind of sunblock across the face but some absolutely brilliant tunes as well.

Great drum sound.

Decent 80's rock I suppose. Nothing that really drug me in.

A lot closer to a cross between queer punk and the beach boys than I would have imagined and I was ok with that.

Along with Nik Kershaw, Adam Ant is the music i remember liking most from the charts of my early (very early in this case) childhood.

The mix of the theatrical and those distinctive drums appealed to young me. My listening was however restricted to the singles and therefore its hsrd to say if i’d have liked a full album in my youth more than i do in my late 40s.

Ant music, dog eat dog, kings of the wild frontier and the human beings stand up but away from that its a bit dull.

I always enjoyed his vocals on the singles but over a full album the stylised singer grates

This ended up very middle of the road to me. I love Ant Music and everything else sounded pretty much like Ant Music, just not quite as catchy. I certainly wouldn't turn it off if it showed up on shuffle, but probably won't ever choose to listen to it.

3/5

more howling & drumming!!! you might not like it now but you will

don't like it

I really liked this … much more than I expected to 👍

There were some interesting songs but I want feeling it overall. 2 might be too harsh.

Tough one for me to rate because I don't know if I enjoyed it, but I did find myself putting some of the tracks on again later.