Penthouse and Pavement

Really good bass and all in all a solid album!

Made it more than halfway through, and I'm definitely not torturing myself with the rest

I promise I didn’t need to hear this album before I die. It’s not AWFUL to listen to, but it’s so… nothing? It’s hilarious to me that it made this book.

WHO THE HELL IS PICKING THESE ALBUMS?! WHO DECIDED I NEEDED TO HEAR THIS?!

1/5

Early 80’s so need to give them some credit, but sounds very dated now.

lyrics have aged like wine... shame about the music

Funky new wave from the wierdly prolific Sheffield post-punk scene. Lots of that Nile Rodgers-style strat rhythm guitar high in the mix alongside the synths and cheesy keyboard sounds. Sometimes crosses into Talking Heads territory, sometimes into Donna Summer remix land. The very heavy disco influence and a sing-songy vocal style make this feel really plastic and goofy - but the Clockwork Orange reference in their name and the gang of Patrick Batemans on the album cover hint at a level of playful post-industrial cocaine satire going on here alongside the earnest embrace of some of the most excessively silly in retrospect 80s excess that's part of a liberation from the tiresome self-seriousness of authenticity-punk/rock.

This one peaks in the first two songs and then just kinda isn’t very good. Love the bass playing.

Lacklustre forgettable bland 80s techno-pop. Not for me, but not offensively bad. The locked groove on the last track (spoiler?!) is a cool copy of a cool idea - but doesn't hit the same on digital versions with a fade out!

No idea why this is getting such bad reviews

Interesting enough. Didn't really have enough musicality to make me want to listen again

I swear I'm not just rating these more controversial albums high scores to be different, I just really like some of these albums, and I suppose that differs from others. It just has this groove to it at points that I get really into, and I like the singer (singers?) voice. It does start to fall apart a bit with some of the last couple songs, but otherwise an album I enjoyed my time with quite a bit.

Today's album is another synth-pop album from some obscure British band. Apparently members of The Human League broke off to form this band.

There is some highly repetitive stuff on this album, especially on the song Penthouse and Pavement; it really didn't need to be 6 minutes long. There's also some experimentation with different sounds....like the fucking repeated whistle in the song The Height of the Fighting. The bass groove that is played for the first half of the record is it's only real display of talent. These guys sound like a Walmart brand of Talking Heads. And Talking Heads are shitty enough, so imagine how cheesy these guys are.

Overall, not my style of music at all. Not horrible, but not great. The album cover looks like you are going to be listening to business meetings on tape.

Favourite songs: (We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang, Penthouse and Pavement

Least favorite songs: Soul Warfare, Geisha Boys and Temple Girls, Song With No Name

2/5

Voiko olla niin että vaan luulin pitäväni synapopista kun arvostelen kaikki genren levyt aika alas? Tässäkin muutama ok biisi, mutta kokonaisuus kyllä kovin keskinkertainen. 2/5

I've been patiently waiting for this one. It's about as close as it gets to RCE, if not in terms of sound, at least in spirit. Though honestly soundwise it's not too far off. The Kraftwerk influence is strong, but it's tempered with a decent amount of soul to set it apart. Right down to the BEF acronym, and just look at that cover! Listening to this is like getting DNA test results back and finding out who your long lost father is.

Interesting as a historical footnote in the evolution of electronic music, but not interesting for much else.

They had a vision for what they wanted, and they went for it; I'll give them that. When I think synth-pop, I definitely don't think about socially conscious bands that are looking to make commentaries with their music.

The lyrical content makes the focus of this album plain, but the conspicuously artificial sound of the synthesized drum tracks and keyboards add an additional dystopian and ominous air to most of the tracks.

The result is an album that isn't necessarily entertaining, or rather that feels less casual and more forceful with it's desire to be heard. I appreciate a group that is willing to do that, but I also have to admit that in this case, it kind of undermines my ability to enjoy it too much.

This album feels quite dated and a bit uninteresting, especially after hearing their B.E.F. sides of 6 months before this.

Pretty average new wave synth pop.

BARNSTORMIN. WE DONT NEED THAT FACIST GROOVE THANG! solid electropop sound. lots of intense slap bass. Song With No Name is definitely weird. it gets weirder and weirder the longer it goes.