Shake Summation

Rip It Up, Issue 98, 1 September 1985, Page 32

Shake Summation

Russell Brown

The Exploding Budgies The Grotesque Singers (Flying Nun) A posthumous release that’s a very pleasant surprise, revealing as it does a depth to the Budgies that wasn’t evident in their enjoyable but awesomely shambolic live performances. That’s immediately apparent with the measured, wistful opener, ’Thorn Field; a lovely song. It’s finally possible to pick up the words to ’Kenneth Anger’ and they’re no disappointment. ’Hank Marvin’ is a superbly constructed song with a bit that reminds me of some early 70s toon, but still can’t think of the name. ’See You Around the Stones’ is a chance for a bit of cynical humour and some good noisemaking, whilst ’Sunflower’, with guest vocalist Linda delivering William Blake’s words with unfussy prettiness finishes the record as it began, gracefully. If you wanted you could listen to technical shortcomings all the way through this record, but where’s the point? Great cover by guitarist David Mitchell too! He’s now with Goblin Mix, but why isn’t Glenn Budgie making music still? Hello Sailor

Fugitive For Love (CBS) Harry Lyons manages Harlequin Studios, which is why Hello Sailor have had time to achieve such a proficient contemporary sound here of course it’s a sound still further removed from the seamy R&B that made Hello Sailor what they were, what with washes of digitallised guitar and. synthysounding bass. The song itself is serviceably boisterous, the sort of thing musicians of this experience shouid-be able to come up with without much trouble. Nothing new, it’ll probably do quite well for them. The Narcs Diamonds On China (CBS) Another one of those very undemanding Narcs songs. A basic sequencer rhythm runs under raunch guitar and trite lyrics (or am I just too thick to work out why “bullets on armour" is “like love on the wrong side of town’?). The end result is something like the Angels meets the Thompson Twins, I think. The Henchmen Death Machine

(Cadaver Records) James Dean gives you a sullen glare from the cover of this single, but that’s about as cool as things get. 'Death Machine’ is fast and loud but doesn't go anywhere not so good for a song about a fast car. ‘Bitch Goddess’ was one of the weaker songs on the Henchmen’s last album but it sounds positively stylish here. This record is available from Ima Hitt, PO Box 407,

New Plymouth. Five Year Mission U.F.O. (Positive Youth Records) "Positive youth perserverance and belief," reads a note on the back cover: fair enough, but I can’t see why SYM choose to imprison their positivism inside a hackneyed ramalamapunk straightjacket. Actually, the lyrical outlook is rather pessimistic: 'Seeds Of Doom’ bluntly predicts nuclear war and ’U.F.O.’ is a tongue-in-cheek (I hope!) little bit of paranoia about official concealment of an alien invasion! I’m sure SYM have their hearts in the right place but there’s precious little here to stir my interest. Available from PO Box 8809, Auckland. Crystal Zoom

Uptown Sheep/Dunedin Sound On 45 (Flying Nun)

Various motivations behind this record; some of them nonmusical. The polemic is elegantly laid out inside the sleeve "taking rock’s cliches to their obvious extremes and point out the absurdities rampant in this egotistical industry." They don’t quite do that, but Crystal Zoom did manage to get a few backs up, which is often a healthy thing. But how does one evaluate a record with such aims? On musical terms, 'Dunedin Sound On 45’ was a good idea which could have been done better or worse; the version of ’Doledrums’ probably sounds better than the original record anci the chainsaw at the end sounds great. ’Uptown Sheep' doesn’t sound like "a single" and doesn't have a melody, but it’s quite funny (with a barb, of course, but which way’s the hook pointing?) boisterously performed and the saw on the 44 gallon drum is another really good sound. It sounds like a certain Lou Reed song ...

Jungle Mice, Start Again (EMI) Well executed, well produced would it be making sense to say this sounded very Wellington ? The three songs get along on their basslines and Howard Mann sounds earnest, if somewhat pompous, singing. The Ride’ seems to be about acid but it doesn't connect with anything I feel. Maybe we've been spoiled in these parts with too much melody. Sing Sing (Ode) Some extremely competent (these words seem to be cropping up a lot this month) musicians play on this record but dont manage to do anything startling. The China Crisis-style wimpy atmospherics of ‘Man Of Sorrow’ is possibly the pick of the five songs, and the lowlight is ‘Afghanistan; with its horrible guitar, dull bassline and embarrassing words.