Music review by Hildemollerknag

Always somewhat overlooked in the now-mythologised Manchester scene that blossomed around Factory in the late 70's/early 80's, A Certain Ratio originally formed around a love of disco, Wire, the Velvets and (judging by their name) Eno. Reissued and backed up by 5 tracks taken from companion singles, 'I'd Like To See You Again' was first released back in late 1982 and see's ACR filtering NYC disco through their taut, Hacienda honed compositions. With opening salvo 'Touch' particularly relevant again now (it could almost be LCD Soundsystem), the reissue highlights just how much influence the likes of ACR have had on the contemporary music scene through their disciplined, proto-disco post-punk frosted music. Ranging in mood from the propulsive bass of 'Saturn' and dead-pan Grandmaster Flash referencing 'Hot Knights' to the familiar opening break of 'Axis' and 'Knife Slits Water's' spasming electro-pop, 'I'd Like To See You Again' is both an important musical document and intriguing listen that deserves to be reappraised.
Tracks
1. Touch
2. Saturn
3. Hot Knights
4. I'd Like to See You Again
5. Show Case
6. Sesamo Apriti - Corco Vada
7. Axis
8. Guess Who
9. Knife Slits Water [7"]
10. Tumba Rhumba
11. I Need Someone Tonite
12. Guess Who [Remix]
13. Knife Slits Water [12"]
Listen

Heavily experimental array of stuff going on this one, from electro to ambient to ethnic to jazz. Andrej Nebb sings in Polish and English, his vocalizing being a prominent part of this unique electronic music. Sounds a bit like a Sound/Joy Division meets Ensemble Pittoresque.
Even in 1982, post-punk was still progressing, as Holy Toy proved.

"Down in Japan" is a weird fusion of synth-wave (a la Suicide) and discordant jazz. "Warszawa" features a noir-ish bassline, dissonant perscussion and free-jazz brass squelches. "Marmur" uses an even more frenetic rhythm and an anthemic melodic progression. Then "Dwa Portrety" tones things down with a menacing synthesizer line and an elegiac Middle-Eastern interlude (Joy Division crossed with Minimal Compact).

At times the album veers towards even more experimental territories. In "Niebieska Patelnia" the singer recites his lyrics against a collage of deformed brass and voices, and ethereal flutes; then a soaring melody appears (worthy of a religious hymn), before the song returns to an even more abstract collage of sound-effects. In "Bells", they juxtapose a militant march, sonorous chants and moody brass. The logical progression is "Buntowniki", where the singer's zombified monotone is set against an aquatic guitar pattern. Here Holy Toy turn the ethereal upside-down.

They still exhibit a rare elegance though, as shown in the melancholy jazz of "Wojtek" (worthy of Tuxedomoon).
Tracks
01 Down in japan - i
02 Warszawa
03 Marmur
04 Dwa portrety - i
05 Niebieska patelnia
06 Lada vada
07 Wojtek
08 Bells
09 Buntowniki
10 Planet of violence
11 Dada
12 Do wroga
Listen

Before he set out to rule modern dancehall as King Jammy, Lloyd James earned the lesser, but still regal title Prince Jammy, as a protege of legendary dub producer King Tubby. Following on the heels of similar sci-fi themed albums from Scientist and others on the On-U Sound label, this 1982 effort,DESTROYS THE INVADERS, shows the producer at the top of hisgame. Anchored by the rock-solid Roots Radics rhythm section, the spacious echo and reverb effects are peppered with strange noises--suggesting an alien encounter or outer-space battle.
Tracks
01. Conspiracy on Neptune
02. Martian encounter
03. Saturn bombardment
04. Attack on Ganymede
05. War in the asteroid belt
06. The great red spot
07. Life on Uranus
08. Final destruction
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If I Die, I Die is the Virgin Prunes' proper debut album. The first three (of seven) parts of a conceptual work entitled A New Form of Beauty, issued as 7", 10", and 12" singles preceded it in the same calendar year. Produced by Wire's Colin Newman, the album's 12 tracks are the epitome of post-punk adventurism. Here, tribal drums and edgy, spooky, detuned guitars and bouzoukis cross paths and meld with synthesizers and primitive drum machines in an onslaught of off-kilter creativity where everyone from the Fall, PIL, New Order, Siouxsie & the Banshees, and even Bruce Springsteen are called in for reference in a brew that is dangerous, primal, and excessive. Two androgynous frontmen in the foppish Gavin Friday and alluring Guggi create alternate ambiences from warped yet sweet Irish balladry to shrieked poetry. And while the set is messy to be sure, it is far from off-putting. In fact, it is easily the band's most consistent and enduring effort. The albums opens with the haunting, nocturnal minimalism of "Ulankulot," an intro with tom toms and drifting keyboards layered carefully in the background, wordless chanted backing vocals and an electric bouzouki courtesy of guitarist Dik. It immediately gives way to its antecedent "Decline Sand Fall." It's the same tune, only Friday is out in front of it digging deep into the temporality of childhood and what remains of it. Its effect is startling, nocturnal, and tense. In "Sweethome Under White Clouds," the theme is given dimension as Guggi and Friday wail like muzzeins over a reverbed guitar coming from the netherworld and augmented by a soprano saxophone and a synth bassline. "Pagan Lovesong," the album's proper single, is one of the most angular cuts on the set. Here, the Prunes employ a riff straight out of early Gang of Four, chant their refrains, and swirl the keyboards and drum machines à la Devo yet keep everything so gothic and strange; it's not only compelling, it's infectious. The rest of the album follows suit, with the raucous new wave of "Baby Turns Blue," and the mainstream rockist "Ballad of the Man" that sounds like a wrong-speed outtake, Springsteen's The River and the Mott the Hoople version of "Sweet Jane!" This is a wonderfully confounding and sometimes campy and often disturbing exercise in unfettered creativity that has stood the test of time very well. It is the most necessary Virgin Prunes record of all and captures best what they were capable of when focused
Tracks
01. Ulakankulot
02. Decline and fall
03. Sweethome under white clouds
04. Bau Dachong
05. Pagan lovesong
06. Baby turns blue
07. Ballad of the man
08. Walls of Jericho
09. Caucasian Walk
10. Theme for thought
11. Chance of a lifetime
12. Yeo
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Don't listen to those who maintain this record is a dark, bleak, un-pop-friendly departure from their previous work. Legend has it that their record company, WEA, wanted accessible pop tunes, and the Sound responded to the pressure with "All Fall Down." Offended, WEA then sent the band packing, while the record was said to have polarized even the most hardcore Sound fans. While there's nothing here that would've really dented the top 40 charts, there's also little to suggest that this is anything but the next logical progression from their 2nd record, the stunning post-punk "From the Lion's Mouth." "All Fall Down" is a bit more challenging in some ways, but the handful of such moments are balanced nicely with some musically upbeat, poppy, melodic songs. To put it simply, this just isn't the challenging, cold beast most critics would have you believe.
The poppier element here is best exemplified by "Calling the New Tune" and "Party of the Mind," two upbeat, hooky songs, while "We Could Go Far" ends on a beautifully melancholy note with chimey melodic guitars and soothing synths. Other songs like the dissonant "Glass and Smoke" and the title track hint at the kind of bleakness critics often point to, but those are only the darker numbers that are apart of a much more varied whole. "In Suspence," and "Red Paint" straddle the line between pop and bleakness quite effectively.

Ultimately, this record displays a better, more texturally interesting (and appropriate - with alternately lush and harsh minimalist atmospherics) production than "Lion's Mouth," which in turns displays the varied and seemingly conflicting moods the band effortlessly throws out. I always thought "Lion's Mouth," despite great songs, suffered a bit from relatively dry, artless production, while "All Fall Down" remedies that problem. Song for song it's not their best record (in my opinion that title belongs to their following ep, "Shock of Daylight"), but a strong and satisfying one nonetheless, where the whole is perhaps greater than the sum of its parts. Basically, if you like the Sound, there's absolutely no reason not to buy this record. By Lypo Suck
Tracks
1.All Fall Down (2:28)
2.Party of the Mind (3:56)
3.Monument (5:07)
4.In Suspense (4:04)
5.Where the Love Is (4:09)
6.Song and Dance (3:56)
7.Calling the New Tune (3:30)
8.Red Paint (3:15)
9.Glass and Smoke (6:53)
10.We Could Go Far (4:20)
11.The One and a Half Minute Song * (1:32)
12.Sorry * (3:47)
13.As Feeling Dies * (4:38)
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'Fourth Drawer Down' is a compilation of singles the group produced in their pre-'Sulk' days. All those who enjoyed the maddening synth aspect on the following album will probably seek most enjoyment from the offerings here. Sadly, the tunes so promiment on 'Sulk' are largely absent on this collection; harsh synths and sinister unapproachable rhythms are very much the order of the day. The few bright moments occur when a deviation from the abrasive formula is utilised such as 'The Associate' and 'Kissed', both of them are instrumental efforts whereas 'Tell Me Easter's On A Friday' possesses a more mainstream feel. Oddly, Mackenzie's vocal mannerisms work best on 'Blue Soap' as he croons his way through the track whilst in the bath and its preferable to him using a hoover as a microphone on 'Kitchen Person'. A brave excursion into sonic experimentation this may well be, but sometimes it's best to be clever rather than smart-arsed.
Tracks
01 White Car In Germany
02 A Girl Named Property
03 Kitchen Person
04 Q Quarters
05 Tell Me Easter's On Friday
06 The Associate
07 Message Oblique Speech
08 An Even Whiter Car
09 Fearless (It Takes A Full Moon)
10 Point SI
11 Straw Towels Kissed
13 Blue Soap
Download.