Day 0488 - Talk Talk Talk

The Psychedelic Furs "Talk Talk Talk" (1981)

An 80s band that managed to bridge the gap between the mainstream and underground pop scenes.  Melding melodic guitar lines and catchy saxophone, with a bit of punk directness showing up on some track.  The vocals seem to run somewhere between the ragged drawl of Shane McGowan and the snarl of Lou Reed.   The lyrics are anti-love and more focussed on sex for sex's sake, with penultimate track "I wanna sleep with you" feeling particularly aurally 'climactic'.

The track "Pretty in pink" had something of a resurgence in popularity after John Hughes used it in his film of the same name.

Day 0468 - Closer

Joy Division "Closer" (1980)

The sonic experimentation of 'unknown pleasures' is set aside in favour of laying the songs bare (other than some well placed reverb). The music remains fairly mechanical and cold but with increasing use of synthesizers, possibly hinting that the New Order direction would have still happened had Curtis survived.

Ian Curtis' lyrics are grim and funereal. He had said to one of his bandmates that he felt the lyrics were essentially writing themselves and that he felt like a weird feeling of claustrophobia and being pulled into a whirlpool and drowning. He was dead before the album was released, which makes the crypt/tomb album cover a rather prescient choice.

Day 0466 - Group Sex

Circle Jerks "Group Sex" (1980)

14 tracks in 15 minutes... it doesn't get much more punk than that, motherfucker!

Keith Morris had left Blackflag to form his own band which he did, forming Circle Jerks with Red Kross guitarist Greg Hetson.

The songs are raucous party tracks and pretty much set down the blueprint for every party punk band to follow e.g. NOFX.

Day 0460 - Underwater Moonlight

The Soft Boys "Underwater Moonlight" (1980)

The Soft Boys were actually recommended to me a few short years back by a friend who was really vibing on them. Pretty sure that this was the album he recommended to me.

Despite the fact that this reeks of late stage punk with encroaching post-punk sounds; this album puts me in mind of the Beatles.  The melodies, the dalliances with psychedelia and just some general overall 'tone' to their sound... so yeah, for me, Beatles = good.

Day 0436 - Unknown Pleasures

Joy Division "Unknown Pleasures" (1979)

Another band where I'd listened to lots of bits and pieces but not an entire album.

Unlike some other artists on this list, Joy Division manages to totally earn the hype that surrounds them. With its mix of electronic and acoustic drums, the pulsing basslines and the various 'found sounds' basically make this a forerunner to a lot of industrial rock.

Ian Curtis' vaguely droney baritone occasionally bursts into a rock snarl, but mostly helps pin the music in a sort of garage-meets-minimalit-shoegazer area. Seems as though it could have been a starting point for bands as diverse as R.E.M, Sonic Youth and NIN.

Day 0426 - The Scream

Siouxsie and the Banshees "The Scream" (1978)

Another one of those ones where I knew the band's name well but couldn't tell you if I'd heard any of their music (though I feel like I buzzed through some youtube clips a few years back).

This is alright, but I wouldn't say that I'm in love with the band just yet. It's an okay album that mixes the rawness and lo-fi recording style of punk with a doomier wailing goth flavour. Pounding drums and buoyant bass are overlaid with guitar that goes between punky rock and proto-shoegaze.