Television Personalities - Mummy Your Not Watching Me (1981)

As a more inconsistent affair than its predecessor, I can't endorse this album as fully as 'And Don't the Kids Just Love It.' That's not to say that 'Mummy...' isn't recommendable, however, or that there aren't worthy songs present amidst the weaker tracks. In comparison to the largely ramshackle, barebones aesthetic of 'And Don't the Kids Just Love It,' however, I feel its neo-psychedelic textures often detract from, rather than benefit, the often great songs. This album also signals a shift in ambiance from its predecessor, towards a darker, more deranged mood, though I would be loathe to refer to 'And Don't the Kids...' as "twee," which this Allmusic.com reviewer insists on doing; while wistful at times, it was hardly free of gloominess. All in all, "If I Could Write Poetry" and "Painting By Numbers" are top-notch tracks, and if you even remotely enjoy the previous album, I don't see why you should pass this one up. - Ariel

The second full-length Television Personalities release (and the first product of Daniel Treacy's Whaam! label, later renamed Dreamworld after George Michael's manager offered them a pot of money to change the name) adds a full-time bass player to the original trio and sets the Wayback Machine ahead about 18 months from the debut's Swinging Carnaby Street sound. The darker, more psychedelic Mummy Your Not Watching Me is considerably less twee than And Don't the Kids Just Love It, covering Treacy's increasingly self-effacing lyrics in a wash of keyboards and phased guitars. There are a few songs that still show the influence of the earlier Television Personalities sound, including the wistful "Magnificent Dreams" and a remake of the single "Painting By Numbers," originally released under the name the Gifted Children, but the key track is the lengthy "David Hockney's Diaries," an acid rock drone that introduces an entirely different texture into the band's sound that Treacy would explore further on the next several albums. This is a transitional album that has tended to be shortchanged by both reviewers and fans, but there's much to recommend here.

[Stewart Mason, allmusic.com]

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Television Personalities - ...And Don't the Kids Just Love It (1980)

For those few unfortunate enough to be uninitiated, here is the legendary debut full-length from the Television Personalities, Dan Treacy's inspired pastiche of 60's Carnaby Street pop sensibilities filtered through the grimy lens of post-punk Britain. Gloriously under-recorded and infused with a palpable sense of joie de vivre—but offset by moments of aching vulnerability—‘...And Don't the Kids Just Love It' is at once an expressive portrait of its time and an earnest homage to a passed age, and equally effective at both. I've always found this tension at the heart of the album—the stylistic posturing combined with an entirely modern, unselfconscious delivery—to be one of its most fascinating aspects, and listening to it the aural equivalent of peeking at someone else’s diary. This is an album chock-full of introspective pop songcraft at its finest. I don't know how many of you actually read these italicized ramblings, so in the merciful interest of those who do, let's wrap this up, shall we? The album's capper, "Look Back in Anger," is an all-time favorite of mine, and if you've managed to avoid the Television Personalities until now—and shame on you for that—do yourself a favor. Look out for this album's follow-up, 'Mummy Your Not Watching Me', to be posted soon. - Ariel

The first full album by Television Personalities, recorded after a four-year series of often brilliant D.I.Y. singles recorded under a variety of names, including the O-Level and the Teenage Filmstars, is probably the purest expression of Daniel Treacy's sweet-and-sour worldview. The songs, performed by Treacy, Ed Ball, and Mark Sheppard, predict both the C-86 aesthetic of simple songs played with a minimum of elaboration but a maximum of enthusiasm and earnestness and the later lo-fi aesthetic. The echoey, hissy production makes the songs sound as if the band were playing at the bottom of an empty swimming pool, recorded by a single microphone located two houses away, yet somehow that adds to the homemade charm of the record. Treacy's vocals are tremulous and shy, and his lyrics run from the playful "Jackanory Stories" to several rather dark songs that foreshadow the depressive cast of many of his later albums. "Diary of a Young Man," which consists of several spoken diary entries over a haunting, moody twang-guitar melody, is downright scary in its aura of helplessness and inertia. The mood is lightened a bit by some of the peppier songs, like the smashing "World of Pauline Lewis" and the "David Watts" rewrite "Geoffrey Ingram," and the re-recorded version of the earlier single "I Know Where Syd Barrett Lives," complete with deliberately intrusive prerecorded bird sounds, is one of the most charming things Television Personalities ever did. This album must have sounded hopelessly amateurish and cheaply ramshackle at the time of its 1981 release, but in retrospect, it's clearly a remarkably influential album that holds up extremely well.

[Stewart Mason, allmusic.com]

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Swell Maps (Singles Edition!) - Read About Seymour (1977) + Dresden Style (1978) + Real Shocks (1979) + Let's Build a Car (1979)

These singles are all culled from the various Swell Maps outtakes/rarities/best-of collections that have been flooding your local record store of late; I decided to collect them in this fashion because there is no one collection that has all of the complete A-sides and B-sides, and additionally, there would just be way too much overlap with the main albums if I posted a complete compilation. I've endeavored to present these tracks in the order that nature intended them to be, with the exception of "Real Shocks" because I can't find its B-sides. But three out of four is not bad! I think I've bored everyone enough with my Maps devotion already, so I'll just let these songs speak for themselves. Loudly. Enjoy!

If you like what you hear, please visit Secretly Canadian and purchase their Swell Maps reissues.

- Ariel

Read About Seymour (7")

- Read About Seymour
- Ripped & Torn
- Black Velvet

Dresden Style (7")

- Dresden Style
- Ammunition Train
- Full Moon

Real Shocks (7")

- Real Shocks

Let's Build a Car (7")

- Let's Build a Car
- Big Maz in the Country
- ...Then Poland

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"Let's Build a Car"

Swell Maps - Jane from Occupied Europe (1980)

As promised, here is the Swell Maps' second full-length 'Jane from Occupied Europe,' as gloriously cacophonous a record as its predecessor. While I was writing my last post, I forgot to mention just how successfully evocative the Swell Maps' album artwork was. The sounds within 'Marineville' seem to leap forth from the blazing, barely contained fury of its cover, and with 'Jane' the songs perfectly capture the sense of desolation that accompanies its art, echoing the eerie, quiet aftermath of destruction. But enough about that; to the songs! "Border Country," "Helicopter Spies," and my personal favorite "Cake Shop," would all have fit quite nicely on 'A Trip to Marineville,' sharing that album's sense of reckless, charming naivete and anarchic joy, and the freaked-out, kraut-punk bliss of "Big Maz in the Desert" and "...Vs. the Mangrove Delta Plan" is the stuff of post-punk perfection.

This record hangs together more fluidly than 'A Trip to Marineville,' and while that album's fragmented schizophrenia may be the reason why it's my favorite of the two, I cannot deny the brilliant, unified work that is 'Jane from Occupied Europe.' It is at once a coherent piece and an album on the verge of collapse as sounds drift in and out seemingly at random, creating nightmarish dreamscapes of beautifully dissonant noise. I've gone on enough; simply put, you need this album and the Swell Maps in your life. Coming up next will be most of the singles released by the Maps during their existence, including the immortal "Read About Seymour" and "Let's Build a Car."

- Ariel

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Swell Maps - A Trip to Marineville (1979)

Spectacularly beautiful noise courtesy of the dearly departed Nikki Sudden and Epic Soundtracks--not to slight the contributions of Jowe Head, Phones Sportsman, Biggles, and John 'Golden' Cockrill (as listed, honest)--'A Trip to Marineville' is the Swell Maps' first LP after a string of classic singles("Read About Seymour!") This is an album and band I wouldn't want to imagine my life without: a sheer sonic explosion of down 'n dirty experimentalism, minimalist fury, and krautrock-influenced grooves; all performed with a jaggedly raw energy and chaotic, kitchen-sink aesthetic unmatched by any band of its--or perhaps any other--time. "Vertical Slum," "Midget Submarine," and the "Full Moon in My Pocket/Blam!!/Full Moon(reprise)" suite are all bonafide classics to me; do yourself a favor and let the Swell Maps occupy a special slice of your existence if you haven't already. Their second full-length, 'Jane from Occupied Europe' is forthcoming, and I'll probably post a few essential singles too. Stay tuned. Long live the Maps! - Ariel

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"Midget Submarine"

D.I.Y. Classics - Shoes This High + The Scrotum Poles + Beyond the Implode (Link Removed)

Shoes This High EP (1981)

- The Nose One
- A Mess
- Foot's Dream
- Not Weighting

"...killer-riffing-angry-in-your-guts-avant-garde-pin-pricking..."

These are all adjectives that Gary Steel used to describe the "punk funk" of New Zealand's Shoes This High in his liner notes for their 7" self-titled EP. It was the only recording to be released during their brief existence, but its jaggedly raw post-punk stylings combined with Brent Hayward's snarling vocals make for an exhilarating and enlightening listening experience. This is the other side of New Zealand's musical golden age; like their fellow countrymen the Gordons, Shoes This High created aggressive, angular, and classic art-punk for the ages.

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The Scrotum Poles - Revelation EP (1980)

- Why Don't You Come Out Tonight

- Night Train

- Pick the Cat's Eyes Out

- Helicopter Honeymoon

- Radio Tay

"DIY! We love the Television Personalities!"

So wrote Dundee, Scotland's finest the Scrotum Poles on the xeroxed sleeve of their 'Revelation' EP. The Poles--like the best D.I.Y. bands--combined fairly shoddy musicianship with an infectious sense of sheer enthusiasm. 'Revelation' begins with a delicious slice of melancholic post-punk in "Why Don't You Come Out Tonight," peaks with the definitive Poles standard "Pick the Cat's Eyes Out," and ends with the punky blast of "Radio Tay." But really, every song present is a D.I.Y. classic. And if you're curious, no animal was harmed in the making of this record: in the UK, "cat's eyes" are the orange reflectors embedded along highways. This, aside from the cassette-only 'Auchmithie Calling' in 1979, was unfortunately the Poles' only release. I spent a bit of time cleaning up the audio on this one the best I could--though in the best D.I.Y. fashion, clicks and crackles are still audible--so please check out the video below for a bit of a teaser and enjoy!

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Beyond the Implode - 11th Hour Breakdown EP (1980) + Last Thoughts EP (1979)

- 11th Hour Breakdown
- Look Back and Crash
- Lassitude
- Escape Through Levitation
- Midnight Adventures
- This Atmosphere

UPDATE: I received word from Beyond the Implode's Eddie Smith that we will be seeing a reissue in the very, very near future, and upon his request, the link was taken down. When the album arrives, definitely seek out a copy! I can guarantee, you won't be disappointed: Beyond the Implode is rightfully regarded as having produced some of the most passionate, human, and classic bedroom recordings that its genre has to offer. More information as it is available.

8/31/08 UPDATE: Another update courtesy of the always helpful Eddie Smith: the reissue will be a 7" EP featuring home recordings from 1979 in addition to tracks from the Last Thoughts EP; when it becomes available, you will able to purchase it via the buy-it-now option on Ebay. Stay tuned for more information.

- Ariel

The Homosexuals - The Homosexuals' CD (2003)

This is classic raw, angular D.I.Y. post-punk with a pop sensibility; a must for fans of Pere Ubu, Wire, or the Television Personalities. If you enjoy this--and why wouldn't you?--please visit Chuck Warner's fabulous Hyped to Death website and order their Homosexuals 3CD 'Astral Glamour' set. While you're there, I implore you to check out the Messthetics series; you won't regret it, but your bank account might. - Ariel

The Homosexuals were an influential British punk band formed in 1972 as Rejects by Bruno Wizard, Anton Hayman, and Jim Welton (who has also gone by the names L. Voag, Amos, and Xentos).

Their angular guitars, complex melodies, and experimental leanings distanced them somewhat from the punk rock being created by their contemporaries and has cemented their reputation as a pre-cursor to post-punk. They released very little during their lifetime, and most of what they did release was on small run vinyl on obscure record labels. The members also recorded in various combinations under several different pseudonyms. These "side projects" include Amos & Sara, George Harassment, Sara Goes Pop, and Nancy Sesay & The Melodaires. The only full length LP by the band, 1984's The Homosexual's Record was complied and released by Chris Cutler for Recommended Records, reissued remastered on CD with additional tracks in 2004 as The Homosexual's CD. Also released that year was Astral Glamour, a 3-CD set including the band's entire catalgoue, unreleased songs, and work by several of the band's pseudonymous projects.

[wikipedia.org]

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