Japan - Tin Drum

Japan's Tin Drum is nothing like the glam swagger of their debut, Adolescent Sex. Their trajectory across albums seems to run parallel to that of Talking Heads. Around 1980, when the Heads turned to Africa for rhythmic ideas, Japan turned to, well, Japan. Really, this is the only thing I've heard outside of the Eno-related sphere that comes close to what the Talking Heads were going for at the height of their arty new-wave, taking-funk-seriously success. But in the decades since, Remain in Light has achieved mythical status while Tin Drum is lucky to get an honorable mention among the best albums of the '80s. Granted, there's no "Once in a Lifetime" here, but "Ghosts" is pretty phenomenal.

Part of the eastern influence here is credited to lead singer David Sylvian's connection to Yellow Magic Orchestra's Ryuichi Sakamoto; I expect I will seek out some YMO and Sakamoto solo work later on.

Suburban Lawns - Suburban Lawns

Hey, this one's fun! Their sound is a bit like Devo, but with Mad TV's Ms. Swan on vocals. The hype was strong with them early on, with Jonathan Demme directing the video for their debut song "Gidget Goes to Hell," which was premiered on SNL, back in the pre-MTV era. This is their sole album, but the lead singer Su Tissue later came out with a solo album which I acquired a while ago but have not gotten around to checking out.

The best song here is "Janitor" which plays on a mis-heard response to the question "What do you do for a living?"

Gruff Rhys - Shampoo Hotel

Gruff Rhys is better known as the lead singer of Super Furry Animals, but I came to know him through his first solo album, 2005's Yr Atal Genhedlaeth, which is still one of my favorite albums of the 2000s. I love singing along, even though, perhaps especially because, it's sung in his native Welsh. A few years ago he had Candylion, an English-sung album which I thought was a bit too pink candy, too sweet and saccharine, too junior-high mixtape. He sticks with English for Shampoo Hotel but I'm liking the songs a bit more this time around.

The opening track samples Cyrkle's "It Doesn't Matter Anymore," penned by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, which reminds me I need to explore some B. B.

Let's trace the song...

Emitt Rhodes - Emitt Rhodes

I came across this one in a search for other classics of baroque pop and sunshine pop. No doubt this is among the best in the genre, but I don't think it's one I'll be returning to much. His sound borrows heavily from Paul-penned Beatles songs. I imagine for those lamenting the left-turn the Beatles made in the late-60s, this 1970 debut album was a welcome return to the familiar.

So what was the turn-off here? The music is straightforward and takes no risks, so there's that--perfect for Wes Anderson. And the lyrics are even more bland. You must live 'till you die? Huh, cool. (And if "Fresh as a Daisy" hasn't been used in a feminine product commercial, that's a missed opportunity.)

Still, there are a few nice songs on here, and I always have respect for multi-instrumentalists who record their own stuff. Ultimately, I hope this guy paid McCartney royalties, even as Sir Paul was making his own sub-par one-man-band albums along the same time.

on deck

I'm a bit behind on assessing what I've been listening to, but here's more to that pile:

Boom Bip and Doseone - Circle
Harmonia - Musik von Harmonia
Japan - Tin Drum
Jens Lekman - An Argument with Myself
Nilsson - Aerial Ballet

Ultravox - Systems of Romance

This was Ultravox's last chance, having previously struck out (in my mind) with their debut, which I think is called David Bowie's Players, and their Vienna which, other than the phenomenal title track, didn't seem like the New Wave statement I was searching for.

Systems of Romance was produced by German Conny Plank, who is better associated with Krautrock and early electronica.  Here, Plank grafts Ultravox's guitar lines onto a more synthetic backdrop.  Indeed, take out the vocals and some of these tracks might as well be a Neu! outtakes.  Basically this is a sound that others would put to better use on some of the best albums of the coming decade.  (Gary Numan in particular credits this album as his Polaris for Pleasure Principle; Julian Cope hints that Numan's 'inspiration' was closer to 'duplication'.) 

So Ultravox finally delivered on the kind of album I was looking for.  It's unlikely to displace anything in my list of favorite New Wave albums, but Systems of Romance works as a bridge between two genres I severely enjoy: German motor-tik Krautrock and New Wave/Romantic.

on deck

Deep Puddle Dynamics - The Taste of Rain...Why Kneel?
Gastr del Sol - The Serpentine Similar
Moebius - Tonspuren
Emitt Rhodes - Emitt Rhodes
Suburban Lawns - Suburban Lawns

dead ends

Adam Ant - Dirk Wears White Sox

This one didn't do much for me. A bit awkward and all over the place. I'm probably done with Adam Ant.

Cluster - Cluster '71

This is beatless, distorted ambient. I need the beats. I'll move on to other Cluster-related albums.

Peter Hammill - The Future Now

This one didn't immediately strike me but I may give it a few more listens. Also, I'll probably check out Hammill's group, the Van der Graaf Generator.

Public Image Ltd. - The Flowers of Romance

Like Metal Box but without the good parts.