Pelican West

This was pretty cool. Haircut 100 is kind of at the collision of Brit pop, early indie and funk. And these touchstone get the best songs here to a place that reminds me of Talking Heads and The Smiths. The jangly, funky take on indie generally works really well actually. I do think Haircut 100 are a little less interesting than either of the other bands I mentioned. But Favorite Shirt, Lemon Firebrigade, Kingsize, Milk Film and others are pretty great songs. I think the sound works best when the funk influence pushes things into a *slightly* manic place. The jittery sound on a lot of my favorites here *is* similar to a lot of what I love about Talking Heads. There are also some great sax parts, cool jazz influences, and some moody sections throughout that add a little depth. Although, despite this, I do think several songs kind of slip out of the anesthetic and get somewhere that's a little more vaguely indie flavored Brit pop. Snow Girl is a good example of a song I'm not crazy about. But the best songs here are cool enough that I am glad I listened to this.

Not bad for 80's New Wave, but it is still 80's New Wave.

Pretty average new wave

I have never heard of this band before, and while nothing about them is particularly terrible, I never want to hear them again.

I thought Pelican West was pretty decent. I was honestly expecting my 700th album to be a bit more of a big, well known one but this one was still one that I'm alright with getting even if it does feel anticlimactic. As for the album itself, it's more or less just your typical 80s new wave album with everything you would come to expect from the genre, it has the synths, the bass, the vocals and even the saxophones. I thought it sounded pretty decent and catchy but i still felt that this album felt a bit weak and could also get pretty repetitive. Even still, i didn't really hate this album even if it was an odd way to celebrate myself hitting 700 albums.
Best Song: Lemon Firebrigade
Worst Song: Baked Beans

A fun, and fairly unorthodox 80s pop offering for the time in terms of the songs not relying as closely on vocal hooks. The funky bass, saxophone and optimistic tones employed throughout are a delight; they're nothing overly sophisticated or virtuosic, but in this case they don't need to be to capture my interest. This is maybe a record where I'd struggle to single out one particular track or two as my favourites, but there aren't any notable dips throughout. This was close to getting four stars from me - it's not quite purchase material, though.

This is almost the definition of inessential; what is Dimery thinking? Bubblegum 80s pop that didn't even stand out among its contemporaries at the time. A low two.

Cornier than Iowa, this is the Talking Heads x Kenny G mash up you don't know you needed (you didn't). XTC for band geeks, Orange juice for yuppies, it's all smooth funky artifice, a disco mirrorball synthpop sax jam session. It oscillates wildly between fun and God awful, even within each song, even simultaneously - very confusing.

I had never heard of this one before, but I really enjoyed it. If you're into new wave, you'll probably like it.

Pleasantly surprised by this. Really nice sounding instrumentation and easy to listen to vocals.

Will be checking out more of them at some point!

I have never heard of these fellas before but first impression - so far so good. On the whole, I thought this was interesting, some of the songs resonated better than others.

What the hell?? The Brits win this one. Unexpectedly wonderful sound full of jazz and funk.

Standouts: Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl) • Lemon Firebrigade • Milk Film • Kingsize (You're My Little Steam Whistle) • Fantastic Day • Calling Captain Autumn

80s cheese. Catchy

2.33

Initial reaction to this appearing was, of course, "oh, those sweater wearing floppy haired funksters of new-wave"

It's actually very good though isn't it. You might not want to admit it, but it's deliciously bouncy. Yes, the funk gets a bit wearing after a while, but the big hits were all big hits for a reason.

I'm not sure it's *quite* enough to warrant inclusion in this list, but I'm pleased the project brought it to my attention.

Yet another new wave band I've never listened to. Do we really need 400 new wave albums from the late seventies/early eighties? The music itself is OK with good melodies and funky rhythms, but the use of horns is not well done and the saxophone should never have been used. It's obnoxious.

2.5/5.0: Mixed

I do like the opening track, Favourite Shirts. The rest of the album has its moments, but overall feels drawn out and dated.

Not too bad.

Low 3/5.

Some weird stuff, but not as bad as other albums on here

Much more solid than I expected. Liek happier Cure, but funkier and with horns.