The Album Review Club - End of Round #9 Break (page 1904)

RobMCFC said:
I don't want the singer challenging me - I want him to communicate with me.

Like I said, it's probably more about me than the music - I just don't like English new-wave post-punk. It's so far from the roots/blues/rock & roll that is, for me, at the root of all good music (variations on a theme are allowed, of course), that no amount of re-listens would do anything to improve it in my eyes.

We all like different things, so it's fair enough.


You should have seen what I was going to write before the last 11 songs improved the score. That 11 bog -standard Wham-like pop songs could improve things tells you how far from my wheelhouse this is.
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I'm with you on the root of good music and I have no need for music to challenge me: I want it to entertain me.

Unlike you, I do like some New Wave music - the best of it IMO. Maybe part of it is nostalgia.

Like you, one play of this was enough. This was not my idea of the best of anything, other than Eyeless, presuming this album was compiled properly. That said, I didn't find it horrendous to listen to.

A few observations. One "song" reminded me of the Grateful Dead tuning up.

Some vocals had echoes of The Clash; some (Seven Years) were that anguished punk sound that I don't enjoy.

Welcome Now was quite a jolly pop song but not my kind of pop.

The end of Transience Blues sounded to me like Jean Michel Jarre.

New Risen was the track I liked best.

Score? 4/10
 
As most of you would be aware I am a big fan of late 70's early 80's "New Wave" as people like to call it. I like the rawness of the music, the experimental nature and the fact that suddenly you could get hold of a synth for a relatively cheap price, and lock yourself in your bedroom and make some sort of music.

Early OMD, The Human League, Depeche Mode, John Foxx, The Yachts, Japan, Blancmange, The Normal, Cabaret Voltaire, Fad Gadget and many more besides floated my boat and still do. Which is why I was looking forward to listening to this album. It was a band I'd never heard of, which considering my background and music taste, was a travesty.

So, Eyeless in Gaza.

As I said before, I'm not really a fan of compilations, I much prefer to listen to an album as a whole. But with a band I've never heard before I suppose it makes sense. You get to see the progression through the years.

So, Eyeless in Gaza.

There are some enjoyable songs on here, mostly the early stuff. Kodak Ghosts is a good start, I prefer the B side though, The Feelings Mutual, which has a much rawer sound and could have been done by John Foxx. Seven Years is very Joy Division like, Speech Rapid Fire seems very The Cure inspired which is why I prefer the demo. A far less cleaned up track. Others pulls more influence from Robert Smith and Co and then we hit Rose Petal Knot which is one of my personal favourites from this collection. I like the punchy singing and the keyboard sounds. Always a sucker for a WASP.

And then we move onto 1982 and the album Drumming The beating Heart. Transience Blues, One by One and Veil The Calm are all good songs but they seem to have aimed their sounds at a more commercial route. The title track of the album is haunting, far too short, but it would make an excellent intro to another song. The trouble with this era is that their influences seem to have taken over. One by One is early OMD, Pencil Sketch is The Fall, Veil the Calm could have been written by Vince Clarke, himself a great fan of the WASP.

This continues for the rest of Voice with Changing Stations, Corner of Dusk, New Risen and Welcome Now all struggling for their own identity. At some point my confused ears had Floyd, The The, Tears for Fears and the Housemartins all rattling around.

And then we hit the most poptastic of all the songs, Sun Burst In. Probably the least sounding Eyeless song on this collection. Which is why I've just bought it on 12".

All in once again very hard to score. I like the early stuff, I also bought Photographs as Memories as I enjoyed that album, but they seemed to lose their way concentrating on trying to sound like the very bands they didn't want to be. It confused me. Sure the early stuff has it's influences but it seems to me that they didn't actually find their own style until right at the end with Sun Burst In. A pity.

Scoring?

If it was based on the first two albums it would be high but it's not, and so this compilation gets a 7.
 
As I've said many times now, the beauty of this thread is that you find some music you've just never listened to before. Some you like, some you won't, but it's great to hear it and especially when it sounds a bit different to what you're normally listening to.

I played this on Spotify today and the first thing that I wondered was when this was recorded. it sounded like an early 80s record, but then I wondered if it was someone copying that sound. If someone would've told me this was the LCD Soundsystem with David Byrne I'd have accepted it I think! Given it was full of those "soft synth" sounds that I loved from Kraftwerk, OMD etc in the early 80s I should really have known this was a New Wave band from the early 80s.

Anyway, I have to say that I really enjoyed this album. I actually liked the singers voice - sure, it's different but it's of its age. It will be a voice that divides opinion though! The lead singer did remind me of Joe Jackson on "Night And Day" a little too, David Byrne and maybe David Sylvian too. If you have an unusual voice, it will divide opinion but I found it ok to be honest - maybe because I like Jackson/Byrne/Sylvian style of singing too.

I loved the sound of the synths, I love that early 80s sound as you can hear all those bands of the time just trying to feel and understand what these synths could do. You can almost hear the keyboardist finally affording something they could take home and plugin and play, and coming up with some decent backing sounds.

I do have one criticism though in that 26 tracks is just too long. I did enjoy the majority of it, but it was something I realised after a while. I thought Spotify had finished the album and started playing their other albums!

Overall, I really liked this album. It's something I will definitely come back to and play again. The more I listen to the albums that other people recommend, the more my "musical journey" grows. I'd never really have ventured into Americana and other bands without these threads so thanks again for another enjoyable listen!

8/10
 
BimboBob said:
As most of you would be aware I am a big fan of late 70's early 80's "New Wave" as people like to call it. I like the rawness of the music, the experimental nature and the fact that suddenly you could get hold of a synth for a relatively cheap price, and lock yourself in your bedroom and make some sort of music.

Early OMD, The Human League, Depeche Mode, John Foxx, The Yachts, Japan, Blancmange, The Normal, Cabaret Voltaire, Fad Gadget and many more besides floated my boat and still do. Which is why I was looking forward to listening to this album. It was a band I'd never heard of, which considering my background and music taste, was a travesty.
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Apart from Fad Gadget none of those are bands I’ve ever really listened to and I probably would never have got into him/them if I hadn’t seen him as support for Toyah (yeah I know) so perhaps I’ve missed out.

I am really enjoying listening to Eyeless in Gaza though. My only gripe is the length of the album/ number of songs which makes it difficult to find the time to listen to it end to end and so the later tracks have had less exposure. I’ve currently got it on shuffle, something I very rarely do and although this compilation tracks the progression of the band it isn’t, to my ears, jarring in it’s jumps.
 
journolud said:
Apart from Fad Gadget none of those are bands I’ve ever really listened to and I probably would never have got into him/them if I hadn’t seen him as support for Toyah (yeah I know) so perhaps I’ve missed out.

I am really enjoying listening to Eyeless in Gaza though. My only gripe is the length of the album/ number of songs which makes it difficult to find the time to listen to it end to end and so the later tracks have had less exposure. I’ve currently got it on shuffle, something I very rarely do and although this compilation tracks the progression of the band it isn’t, to my ears, jarring in it’s jumps.
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Yes, I thought the length was maybe a bit too much and normally I would have chosen Photographs as Memories or perhaps Drumming the Beating Heart but just wanted something that showed a wider spectrum of their early work. Anyway I am pleased that you are enjoying it, despite the length.
 
Firstly I think choosing a best of is a bit of a cop out as it’s going to present the artist’s best songs and not an album that may have weaker tracks,however in this case I think it’s a godsend because unfortunately I really don’t like the earlier stuff.If KB had chosen ‘Photographs as Memories’ I think I number of scores including mine would have been even lower.

On to ‘Voice’ firstly I really don’t like the vocals or more specifically the singing style on the earlier tracks , to me he sounds like Vic Reeves as the pub singer doing the Clash or The Levellers.His Voice isn’t that bad as on later tracks it’s ok.I’m not a big fan of post punk synth music although I do like JD/NO , Heaven 17, Human League.

This album however did vert little for me, you can clear hear their influences but IMO they don’t improve on them.

Is it just me or is the melody of ‘Sun bursts in’ Frankie Valli’s ‘Who loves you’?

Sorry KB another interesting pick but not for me,even though I gave it the three requisite listens.

We’ve all got different tastes which is what makes this thread so refreshing and

we’re not in it to get the highest marks,my next one could well be marmite too.
But I look forward to each week’s nominations as although I have a wide range of musical tastes I’m always open to something new.



3/10
 
RobMCFC said:
That's very harsh - this guy's singing makes Vic Reeves sound like Martha Reeves! Hell, I bet even Kevin Reeves would give him a run for his money.
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I know it's your thread but that comment seems harsh and a little unnecessary. I think though to be fair from memory you have been equally scathing of some of the biggest names in music such as Dylan, Neil Young, even Bowie. I'm not sure there are many voices in popular music that really pass muster under close examination.

Anyway, night shift for me tonight so I won't get another uninterrupted of Voice in until tomorrow afternoon at the earliest but I have got a few youtube videos of Eyeless in Gaza lined up to see if he looks as good or bad as he sounds.

Veering between a 7 and 8 so far for the album but not fully decided yet.
 
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