Good morning citizens

Press, 30 August 1979, Page 14

Good morning citizens

CITIZEN BAND “Just Drove Thru Town” (CBS 58P237439): I will have to be careful about how I write this review, as the boys will be in town.

I gave this album a lot of airplay right from the time it dropped into town last week.

My first reaction was that it was nothing out of the ordinary, and that the first album. "Citizen Band,” contained far better songs, including “Good Morning Citizen,” "My Pohutakawa.’’ and “The Ladder Song.” However, settling into the favourite armchair, the tracks began to take some ‘form.

Perhaps because of the .influence of the American producer. Jay Lewis, who has handled the likes of Gary Wright and Player, the songs are less about New Zealand and more universal in application. Geoff Chunn’s songs really develop on each playing especially the single, “Rust In My Car.” which is so good it sounds like the Cars could have done it.

“City Slitz” is in the same vein, a song they have played for some time but still sounds good. “Acrobats” is another well-tested song which is great on vinyl.

The emphasis seems to be on mobility. The track titles suggest a kind of urban warfare in "No Stereo,” "City Slitz,”

“Rust In My Car,” and “Snarl.”

The exception is “We’re The Boys,” a song inspired by the reception the band got at Radio Avon some time ago.

The opening verse tells It all: “Caught in a downpour out of doors/but you’re drying up inside/Boys at the mike telling its all right/but your song’s on the wrong side.” A David McPhail-like imitation of the Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon) comes across during the song, giving Ken Ellis the “I-don’t-want-to-know-award.”

Two other songs swerve away from the city hustle. “Acrobats” is a beautifully num be- with a

guitar that swoops gently like a trapeze artist, suggesting that even artists fall sometimes, if not physically, then in the eyes of the beholder. The main chorus is simple and direct: “Even acrobats get scared/when they look down.” “5.0.5.” is the other slow number. MI-SEX “Graffiti Crimes” CBS 58P237239(: The moment “Graffiti Crimes” hit the turntable, the hooks dug in and the melody lingered. I knew that this was the best album released by a New Zealand group so far this year.

The opening track. Graffiti Crimes,” just

mashes the brain into pulp with its driving, insistent rhythms, anything as good as Tom Robinson and the other mailed-fist artists can do.

The single, “You Just Don’t Care,” gets the appropriate snarls of anger, while both "Not Such A Bad Boy” and "Inside You,” are out-front Steve Gilpin is a little annoying when he occasionally narrates poetry over the top of the music, making the whole thing a bit disjointed — he is no Jim Morrison. Peter Dawkins has left Mi-Sex almost alone to do their own thing, which is just as well. The punchy album matches some of the overseas new wave/pop mix.