Fog, I would be interested in what you think of any of Spilt Enz earlier works. I was wondering if you decided that Waiata (which expanded on the influence Neil Finn had on Tim Finns writing on True Colours and how commercial success altered their product significantly ) made it worth your while to listen to earlier material along the lines of what Flesh and Blood may have inspired you to do likewise. We all know that time and what you do with it waits for no one but I have much of their early stuff good and bad and given your excellent time management skills I thought you might have made time to delve into some of early Split Enz earlier material.One of my most beloved records is Split Enz’ Waiata. “History Never Repeats” is one of my all-time favo(u)rite songs. It’s funny — I never thought of them as art rock. For “Siren”, I agree with you that’s it’s more the sonics in general and the flourishes that make this special, but I like the variety of tempos and styles and the strong thematic too. Thanks for reviewing as always!
At the risk of upsetting Rob they are well ahead of Midnight Oil in my pecking order.