2025 X-Wave Journal Vol. 1

*Ministry - With Sympathy. 1983 Arista (MC). I originally obtained this on LP with the 2019 80's collection buy but decided to take the profit, even though I had a solid rating for it. This relisten resulted in a +1, so I'll keep the next LP I find (if I find it...). To be honest even after that first listen some six years ago, I thought this was a different Ministry from the band I knew from the late 80s and early 90s. In fact I thought this band was British and then broke up. Haha. My confusion is common of course. Starting out in Chicago, Ministry hopped on (or was pushed on depending on your source of truth) the synthpop bandwagon. Apparently the duo's heart turned dark and they created a new world for themselves - that of industrial metal. A very angry music indeed. You would never know that by the jolly and upbeat tones of With Sympathy. The interesting thing about Ministry, in retrospect, is just how good they were at New Wave music. It's far more complex and involved than your garden variety dance pop group. A fascinating beginning to a fascinating band. I'm sure at some point I will find their metal albums, one of which I owned on CD many years ago but sold off. (Feb)

Steve Hackett - A Doll That's Made in Japan / Just the Bones. 1984 Lamborghini (12" single). At 13 minutes it's really an EP length. As with all of Hackett's Genesis contemporaries - all obvious prog guys - this single belongs to 80s music. A) side is a mix of Japanese music (novelty level), glossy 80s with synthesizers and digital drums, and a nice guitar solo. B) side is similar but leaves off the Japanese angle. Not so bad really, just such a disappointment that none of the Genesis guys would acknowledge their heritage during the 80s. (Feb)

Modern English - Ricochet Days. 1984 Sire (MC). Here's a good test of a band I revere from a nostalgic perspective (After the Snow, an LP I own), who released Ricochet Days during that strike zone (early 80s), but I don't recognize anything from it. Does it hold up and is it collection worthy? Yes and no. For example A3 and B2 are rewrites of 'I Melt With You' and there's this persistent feeling that there isn't much more under the blanket from a creative viewpoint. Elsewhere there's a distinctive turn towards The Beatles baroque psych pop of 1966-67. Englishness as it were, living up to their name at least. All of which is inoffensive but not inspiring either. A reasonable follow-up to their classic work, yet lacking in something. Authenticity perhaps? I like it but won't keep it. (Feb)

*Missing Persons - Spring Session M. 1982 Capitol (MC). I've had this on vinyl before but didn't take notes. Thinking it was part of that 2019 80's buy. I did decide to keep their next effort Rhyme & Reason. So let's get a fresh take on their debut full-length. Right away I notice a more aggressive hard rock guitar attack throughout, something they most certainly softened on subsequent releases. These guys were from the Zappa camp, so musicianship was not an afterthought. As I continue to say (too often, just in this post alone), these 80s albums work best when I get a nostalgia pull, especially the early part of the decade while still in high school. And there's a few tracks here that bring back that unique period of time. Yea, I'm keeping this, and like with A-ha below, will replace it with the LP whenever I find it in the wilds (this one still goes for cheap). (Feb)

Madonna - True Blue. 1986 Sire (Canada) (MC). I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the first two Madonna's. I was able to appreciate both the nostalgia aspect as well as her artistic abilities from an objective standpoint, now that we're 40 years on from the lightning rod opinions that surrounded her in the early 80s. By the time of True Blue, my nostalgia meter falls off (just in general this is the case), as by then I was deep diving into the European prog underground of the 70s, and not paying much attention to contemporary pop culture. In addition, it's clear the creative well is running dry for Ms. Ciccone. 'Papa Don't Preach' and 'La Isla Bonita" are the two tracks I recognize from here and both I enjoy. Much of the others (not all) sound like filler to support the next tour. I'm interested in hearing her other albums just to see what triggers. Remember that Mrs. UMR was a big fan when we were newly married (hard to believe that was 28 years ago), and she owned a Best Of, which we listened to often in the car on road trips. Today she could care less about Madonna, but I'm still intrigued. Funny how that works. I also found a near perfect LP copy late last year at a thrift shop, and now I can safely move that to the record show boxes. (Jan)

*A-ha - Hunting High and Low. 1985 Warner Bros. (Canada) (MC). Well... finally. Despite buying multiple 80s collections and thrift shop dumps in the last six years, I have yet to run into a single A-ha album - in any format. I know this Norwegian group better from their super obscure 60s retro band Bridges (which doesn't even get mentioned in their Wikipedia entry) than I do for their obvious hit records. First track is 'Take on Me', which is mid-80s MTV college bullseye material right there. This is exactly the kind of synth pop I enjoy. Energetic, danceable (not that I'm doing that), and melodic. As I often say, these albums tend to work for me when there's a nostalgia play, and that's what we get with Hunting High and Low. I'll hold onto this tape until I eventually find their LP. (Jan)

Bangles. 1983 Faulty (MC). Before the gals became a hit sensation, they released a single and an EP on private and small labels. Known originally as The Bangs, they shifted on this EP to simply Bangles (one can imagine the double entendre problem). The music here is different than what they were to become. A mid to late 60s garage girl styled group sound emerges. RYM refers to this 80s movement out of Los Angeles as Paisley Underground. Not bad at all. (Jan)

Depeche Mode - Songs of Faith and Devotion. 1993 Sire (CD). This album is the highly rated follow-up to their lauded classic Violator. Even for a non-fan like me, I kept that CD. But this title didn't stir up much reaction. Whereas I saw Violator as the bookend of the synth wave movement, I hear Songs of Faith and Devotion as a tired retread of ideas with a purposeful move to alternative rock, which is definitely not my music of choice. Given its popularity with the general public, I just have to accept it's good for the style and leave it at that. (Jan)

Camouflage - Greyscale. 2015 Bureau B (CD). Just like with Surface 10 that is on the DiN label, there's no way I'm passing up anything on Bureau B for a couple of bucks. I had no idea who Camouflage were, but they apparently were legends from the synth-pop scene in Germany going back to the 80s (of course). And that's exactly how I heard this album without any pre-conceived notions. In fact I just pushed it into my car CD changer without even looking at it, and had forgotten they were on Bureau B, trying to figure out why I bought it in the first place. The label's description is telling: "Their music brilliantly combined the icy coolness of Kraftwerk, the pop of OMD and the melancholy gloom of Depeche Mode.". The latter group is what entered my mind first, and funny to see that I just covered OMD. In fact, I think I did find these together last year at the same shop. The vocal tracks are too much of the original scene, as noted below, and that only works with me if the recording is from that era. The instrumentals, however, are more exciting, including one Krautrock styled flute driven number. Much better than OMD's attempt below, but a long way from collection shelf space. (Jan)

OMD - The Punishment of Luxury. 2017 White Noise (CD). I didn't even realize these guys were around much past the 80s. And after hearing this CD, they haven't really moved on from the synth pop style. Sounds dogeared to me. Not quite sure how you can advance this style too much, though I guess I could say the same thing about straight ahead thrash metal. Anyway, nothing here for me to hold onto. Music like this only works for me if it's from the 80s, and as a pure nostalgia play. (Jan)

* - Keeping for the collection

2024 X-Wave Journal Vol. 1 - Complete

Machinations - Big Music. 1985 White Label (LP). From a store in Pueblo (Oct). Nice Australian original of a New Wave album I was entirely unfamiliar with despite eventually obtaining a US release on Epic and being a hit. Not only is the title Big Music, but the band obtained the Kleenex effect by having an entire subgenre named the same as this album (though technically the genre is credited to The Waterboys). I enjoy this kind of New Wave, high energy and dance oriented. Nothing really grabbed my ear for repeated listens, and I have a few others like it in the collection, so not something I need to keep. But table stakes for genre fans I would imagine.

*Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft - Alles ist Gut. 1981 Virgin (LP). Also from T&R (Aug). Excellent thick sounding synthesizer and real drums. It's a Conny Plank production for certain. Vocals sort of drone on in German, reminding me a bit of Sepi Kuu (of all groups) which came to me after the second listen. Musically it's like a German reaction to America's disco. Robotic and repetitive. Kraftwerk is a necessary comparison, but DAF are more sinister in tone. I don't have anything like this in the collection so I'm keeping it.

A Certain Ratio - Live in America. 1987 Dojo (LP) (1985). From T&R sale (Jul). Intriguing album sounding something like a musical Throbbing Gristle. Live recording is a bit distant but I heard enough to think their studio albums might find a place in the collection. But will I find them as I did this?

Mike Rutherford - Acting Very Strange (LP). 1982 Atlantic. From the Showrunner's garage sale (Jul). Much worse than I thought it would be. All the Genesis members were hungry for pop stardom, but Collins proved much better at it.

---I bought a large 125 piece collection in July. Many were in this category. The ones below came from that. 

INXS - Shabooh Shoobah. 1982 ATCO (LP). I found myself enjoying The Swing, but the later titles haven't done much for me. So I thought the album prior would have more positive results. A little bit yes, but still nothing I feel compelled to keep. They need something - more energy maybe? (Aug)

Duran Duran - Notorious. 1986 Capitol (LP). Disappointing 4th album, even less so that Ragged Tiger. Misses all that was great about their first two albums. Just boring 80s pop music. (Aug)

*Talking Heads - Remain in Light. 1980 Sire (LP). I'm not convinced this is one of the greatest albums of all time, but I do find it intriguing enough to keep for now. It's non-commercial in nature yet maintains wide appeal. I suspect this is a kind of gateway drug to the experimental for many people, and so it's exposure allows for early epiphanies. When these folks discover other like minded people are out there - in fact it represents a majority - the momentum builds even greater. Then it appears they cannot rush fast enough to carve out their slice of how great it is, even if it may not be. Time and place remains one of the primary reasons for an album's adulation. (Jul)

Talking Heads - Talking Heads: 77. 1977 Sire (LP). As noted with their follow up, More Songs about Buildings and Food, Talking Heads were considerably ahead of their time. This debut underscores that. Which doesn't necessarily translate into a more pleasurable listen for me. In fact, a bit less. I didn't take notes, but I also heard a couple of their less respected mid 80s albums, and those are more generic and even less to my taste. (Jul)

Devo - Are We Not Men? 1978 Warner Bros (LP). I don't think Devo is going to be my artist of choice. This is their influential debut, and it's here they create their iconic sound. Innovative for its time, though not my style really. (Jul)

Devo - Shout. 1984 Warner Bros (LP). By this point, Devo sounds like every other synth pop band, and are pretty far removed from their unusual arty stance of the past. (Jul)

---end of sale

April - Magical. 1990 Metropolitan (LP). This was from that big haul that I mostly documented in the soul and fusion journals (Jun). April Kelly was a girl on the rise as the 80s closed. Her music is called Freestyle, but she sounds a heck of a lot like Madonna to me. And has the look too. At first I quite liked this high energy dance styled music  But as the tunes wore on, they all sounded the same (just like with Kon Kan). I would say it's average for the style. Rare album at least.

Kon Kan - Move to Move. 1989 Atlantic (LP). Estate sale pickup (Jun). Same day but different sale than the Flock of Seagulls buy. At first I found myself enjoying the high energy dance music, but as it wore on, it's too much of the same thing. In fact the album comes across as dated for 1989, copying what occurred throughout the decade with synth pop, but it was time to move on.

A Flock of Seagulls - The Story of a Young Heart. 1984 Jive (LP). Cheyenne Mountain estate sale pickup (Jun). A Flock of Seagulls' third album sees the band maturing, but not as much fun. It's better than its reputation but it is kinda dull in the end.

---The next entries are from a large amount of albums that I bought at the last Colorado Springs Record show (May) from an Australian guy who happened to setup next to me at the last show.

INXS - Kick. 1987 Atlantic (LP). My thoughts here echo what I said about Listen Like Thieves. It's a very ordinary pop rock record and misses the vibrancy of The Swing. The big hits from this album I do like such as 'The Devil Inside' and 'Need You Tonight' but mostly this is blandola. (May)

Talking Heads - More Songs about Buildings and Food. 1978 Sire (LP). Talking Heads were a very prevalent band during my high school years of the early 80s, but they were already well known by the late 70s. I don't think I've ever given the band enough credit for how different they truly were in their era. This is miles away from the generic AOR being pushed down our throats back then. It's a no wonder they were pioneers of New Wave. This is a very good album, with various world music influences, but not enough for me to hold onto. I feel like one of their albums is going to make it though. Been at this "digging in the wilds" thing for 5 years now, and this is the first Talking Heads for me to find. They get snapped up quick, or you pay full price at the record store. The latter is what will happen when they buy this from us. :-) (May)

XTC - English Settlement. 1982 Epic (LP). Single album version, though I can't imagine the double swaying my opinion much here. XTC are one of those 80s bands I thought I missed back then. But so far all I hear is ordinary pop music. Seems I might like their earliest work best. (May)

Wham! - Make it Big. 1984 Columbia (LP). Well it doesn't get any gayer than this. As a straight guy, I do have to admit to wishing I looked like George Michael back in the day. Can you imagine the selection of girls I would have had? This is where I get religion, as you can also imagine the amount of trouble I would've gotten into. Thank you God for protecting me from myself. The only song I know from this is 'Closest Whisper' which is a very fine smooth jazz pop number. But it's not really representative. Much of it is showtooney Broadway styled brash pop, which goes hand in hand with the culture. Not for me. (May)

New Order - Brotherhood. 1986 Factory (LP). New Order are one of those bands that I probably know better than I think I do. Their beginning was after Joy Division broke up after the suicide of their lead vocalist. All the same, I hear this as "just one more" 80's album. I didn't recognize anything from it, and that seems to help when analyzing albums such as this. All good, but nothing more. (May)

Pet Shop Boys - Please. 1986 Parlophone (LP). First UK pressing. This is the first one up from the sale I mentioned above. Like Dead or Alive below, this is one of the more iconic releases from the gay synth pop movement. I always liked 'West End Girls' and there's a few other tracks here I enjoyed. But I have enough representative albums of the era, so this one can go. (May)

---end of sale

Dead or Alive - Youthquake. 1985 Epic (LP). The next three albums come from a buy at an antique mall (Feb), all priced way below market. Youthquake is about as representative of the 80s synth-pop dance culture as any you can possibly name. OK boys, get out your eyeliner! Music like this was the exact opposite of what I was into in 1985. Today I hear it as an encapsulation of the era in which it was released. Highly melodic, well composed, and very danceable. 

Bangles - Everything. 1988 Columbia (LP). Bangles are one of those bands I find myself rooting for, but I just can't get into them. Their first two albums fell a little short of acceptance, but Everything - their 3rd effort - falls into the disappointing category. Straight forward begging-for pop hits and nothing more. Throw out 12 (12!) three to four minute boring tracks and hope for the best. Not for me. (Feb)

Berlin - Love Life. 1984 Epic (LP). This is the second time for me to try for this, the other came from the large collection buy in 2019. I've warmed up to their second album Pleasure (and this seller also had the rare small label pressing of that album that I picked up for the collection), so I thought maybe I'd feel similar about their 3rd release. Nope. It's a hair better than the Bangles' junior year offering, as there were a couple of decent instrumental moments. But otherwise they wasted Terri Nunn's hypersexuality to produce a rather safe New Wave album. Average at best. (Feb)

* - Keeping for the collection