Neighborhoods (the) - Reptile Men

Name: The Neighborhoods
Album: Reptile Men
Year: 1987
Style: Power Pop, Janglepop, Metal
Similar Bands: Cheap Trick, The Db's, Dramarama, Material Issue, Moistboys
"One-Word" Review: Collegiate Metal
Based Out Of: Boston, Mass
Label: Roadrunner, Important, Emergo

 Cover & Back + Record

Gatefold & Record

Reptile Men (1987)

1. Pure & Easy 3:45
2. Modern Cowboy 4:13
3. Reptile Men 3:50
4. Tommy 4:04
5. Dangerous 3:35 /
6. The Man 2:30
7. Peeping Tom 1:49
8. Out Of Reach 3:34
9. Wailing Wall 2:53
10. Cliches 4:25

Album Rating (1-10): 6.0

Members & Other Bands:
Phil Greene - Producer, Engineer
Ralph Petrarca - Asst Engineer
Davis Minehan - Guitar, Vox (Paul Westerberg, Stardarts, Modifiers, Freeze, Lucky 57, John Surrette, Dirty Truckers, AM Stereo, Kickovers, Little Big Wheel, Cassavettes, Street Dogs, Buffalo Tom, Gang Green, Firecat, Tree)
Michael Quaglia - Drums, Vox (Lord Manuel)
Lee Harrington - Bass, Vox (Future Dads, Outlets, Barrens)
Bill Robinson - Asst Engineer
Vic Steffens - Pre-Production
Chuck Miller - Hoods Crew
Ralph Quaglia - Sound Engineer
Tyler Sweet - Sound Engineer
Nancy Harrington - Concept, Design, Artwork
B.C. Kagan - Photos
Lee - Reptiles

Unknown-ness: Never heard of this band. But they sure seem wacky and alternative. I bet this is mainly jangly college rock with a tinge of punk attitude...but just s little.

Album Review: Apparently they were 10 years old by the time this record came out. In 1979, they won a battle of the bands over Mission of Burma. Their momentum was stopped when they broke up from 80-81, and never regained as big of a following. They even had a song on Guitar Hero 2, and are still active today (2020). The record starts out with power pop, quietly heads toward jangley college radio rock, and dives into some heavier hooks and speedy metal guitars.

Stand Out Track: Pure & Easy

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Waxing Poetics - Hermitage

Band: Waxing Poetics

Album: Hermitage

Year: 1986

Style: College Radio, Jangle-Pop

Similar Bands: REM, Game Theory, World Party, Let's Active

"One Word" Review: Jangle-Jam

Based Out Of: Norfolk VA

Label: Roadrunner, Emergo, Important Record Distributions

 Hermitage - Cover & Record

Hermitage - Back & Record & Autographs

Hermitage (1986)

1. Beauty & the Beatitudes 2:49
2. If You Knew Sushi 2:43
3. Living Chairs (going through the walls) 3:40
4. Fridays Child 4:31
5. Return 3:15
6. Distinction/ 3:40
7. Walking on Thin Legs 2:59
8. Mrs. Dance's Skeleton 4:01
9. This Parade 4:14
10. Hermitage 4:23
11. A Year By Air 2:35

Album Rating (1-10): 6.0

Members & Other Bands:
David Middleton - Vox, Guitar, Production (The Probe, Smile, Splotch, Floyds of Flatbush)

Sean Hennessy - Bass, Vox, Production

Paul Tiers - Guitar, Vox, Harmonica, Production (The Probe, Mike Cross, The Master Plan, Splotch, Wharton Tiers Ensemble)

Bil Shearin - Drums Percussion, Production (Rumblefish, Left Wing Fascists, The Glory Hounds, Brian Grilli)

Mitch Easter - Engineer, Production (Sneakers, Let's Active, REM, Kimberley Rew, Windbreakers, Susanne Vega, Game Theory, Someloves, Myra Holder, Chris Stamey, Loud Family, Helium, Velvet Crush, )

Mike Mills - Production. Piano (REM, The Baseball Project, Warren Zevon, Indigo Girls, The Troggs)

Ted Jansen - Mastering 

Carol Taylor - Art Direction, Cover Concept, Painting, Backing Vox, Manager

Michael Cope - Front & Back Photography

Unknown-ness: I’ve never heard of this band before. I got this record a number of years ago, for reasons I don’t think I even knew then. But based on the name and album cover, it looks like hyper-intelligent indie crap that is too clever for its own good. From the cover and names, it looks tedious, and probably is incredibly boring mid 80’s college radio fodder.

Album Review: Waxing Poetic was a mid-80’s Athens pop dream. Featuring production from both Mike Mills of REM and Mitch Easter of everything else, one would have to imagine that the band knew the exact direction they were going. They are still friends and will play reunion shows to this day, so even though they only had 3 albums, they never really quit. Oddly enough, this album was put out by Roadrunner/Emergo, which mainly focuses on metal acts like Life of Agony, Slipknot, Dream Theater, and The Devil Wears Prada.

“Beauty & the Beatitudes” starts with a “What I Like About You” bass line, and soaring guitar. The vocals fall somewhere in the middle with controlled energy, but with an adventurous melody.  Quick changes to the melody keep you guessing in a good way.

“If You Knew Sushi” was produced as an MTV video back in 1987, and is much more of what I expected: a jangly song, starting out with acoustic guitar. The song is quirky, but still manages to be quite reserved in an under-produced, flat, singer songwriter way.  

“Living Chairs (going through the walls)” is a bit of Alt Country, with a jangly pop melody and harmonica. This is the tedious sort of song I expected, where, at the root, are good pop melodies, but they are covered over by extraneous elements of meandering guitar and muted percussion; not to mention the harmonica, which is treated like a soloing electric guitar instrument.
“Fridays Child” is a darker groove, with the bass heavy and out in front. The vocals are subdued and deeper. If this had heavier guitars, it could have been produced to fit into Nirvana’s catalogue, sounding a little like “Serve the Servants” in the chorus.

“Return” literally returns the listener to the sunnier side, sounding like a Blues Traveler track here. As the folksy rock song continues, the electric guitar becomes a bigger part, and it continues to build right up to a final rest at the end

“Distinction” starts with a pounding drum intro, leading right into the true feel of the song: a funky jam-band bass line. A little Spin Doctors here.

“Walking on Thin Legs” is a straightforward power pop song with bold chord changes and a smooth delivered vocal performance. The melody gently rolls along gaining steam for the crunching chorus. The instrumental break after the first two sections is a bit too jangly, taking away from the song’s power characteristics. All that said, the song is not that powerful of a song; it’s just a nice repeating melody, reminding me of the Posies for some reason.

“Mrs. Dance's Skeleton” enters with a slow, stumbling drum beat, and guitars are added just as sparsely. The vocals are weary and hushed, and this feels like a slow dance shuffle and sway.  

“This Parade” starts with a watery, jangly guitar sound, and picks up to Squeeze-like pop pace, just not nearly as interesting. Even when it gets to the chorus, the vocals are mixed below the guitars and bass, and are thus, not clear, bold, or punchy. The verse-chorus repeats on a rather short loop. The instrumental is mostly the bass line looping, and therefore, does not add much to the song. This part of the song falls into a jam-band style of time killing.

“Hermitage” is the title track, and one of the first songs the band recorded to be released. It starts out with a continuously bass and drum driving tempo and breathless lyrical approach. The verse seems to go on forever without release into a proper chorus. The “Tables are turnin’” section that constitutes the chorus is just an extension of the same melody with extra emphasis on the randomish jangly guitar brought up from the background.

“A Year By Air” slows the album down to a southern acoustic guitar and a mid tempo waltzing drive. The song feels close and localized, like it is trying to spark a sing a long.

Stand Out Track: Beauty & the Beatitudes

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Durutti Column - Valuable Passage

Name: Durutti Column
Album: Valuable Passage
Year: 1986
Style: Ambient, Post-Punk
Similar Bands: Cocteu Twins, New Order, Joy Division, Soundtracks, Jesus & Mary Chain
"One-Word"Review: Lofty Dreamscape
Based Out Of: Manchester England
Label: Relativity Records, Factory UK, Important Record Distributors

Valuable Passage - Cover, Sleeves, Record

Valuable Passage - Back, Sleeves, Record

Valuable Passage (1986)
11. Prayer 3:21

12. Spent Time 4:09

13. Without Mercy (4-7) 6:44

14. Without Mercy (10-12) 7:04/

15. The Room 5:58

16. Blind Elevator Girl 10:04

17. Tomorrow 4:02

18. LFO Mod 6:21

Album Rating (1-10): 4.5

Members & Other Bands:

Manunagh Fleming - Cor Anglais, Oboe

Chris Nagle - Producer

Vini Reilly - Bass, Piano, Drum Programming, Guitar, Vocals, Producer (Ed Banger & the Nosebleeds, Morrissey, Pauline Murray & the Invisible Girls)

Caroline Lavelle - Cello

Bruce Mitchell - Percussion, Congas, Xylophone, Drum Programming (Alberto Y Lost Trios Paranoias)

Anthony H Wilson - Producer

Michael Johnson - Producer

Mervyn Fletcher - Sax

Richard Henry - Trombone (London Scratch Orchestra, Stan Sulzmann Big Band)

Tim Kellett - Trumpet (Olive, Simply Red)

Blaine Reininger - Violin, Viola (Falling Infinities, Tuxedomoon)

John Metcalfe - Viola (Duke Quartet, Kreisler String Orchestra, London Scratch Orchestra, Millennia Ensemble)

Phil "Snake Davies" - Sax

8vo- Design

Peter Saville - Design

Kevin Cummins - Photographer

Stuart Pickering - Producer

Unknown-ness: I’ve never heard of this band. And let me start with saying that I bought this album with only record 2 inside. The sleeve for the first record is there, but the record was not. So I can only review the second half of this double album. The design looks cold, desolate and synthesized. It reminds me of OMD’s early design: square, black and white.

Album Review: “Prayer” is actually the start to side 3, not the album beginning, but seeing as this is a compilation; the album is not created for cohesive play. But this starts out solemn and dark, and it reminds me of “Warning Sign” by Hail Social. It is frosty, magical, and dreamy. It is slow and meandering, with no specific direction. It feels like it could have been useful in 80’s soap operas, in some sort of sad, reminiscing montage. It ends in an uplifting synth keyboard clarity, as if the dreamer was about to wake up
“Spent Time” has New Order-ish bass line, but the icy synth in the background really dates the production style. There are hushed, whispery monotone vocals barely sung and mixed in the background, a bit like Joy Division. The song is very repetitive, so it feels like a long song.
“Without Mercy (4-7)” begins with a repetitive, two liquidy, echoing guitar hooks overlapping and some strings in the background. It sounds like slowed down Mega Man level music. A trumpet is added later on, further accenting the trickling, liquid feeling the song creates: like ice melting and the water running below the still solid surface. It feels like it could go on forever, but it eventually just fades out.
“Without Mercy (10-12)” starts with a trumpet salute to royalty walking into a thrown room. This too is in somewhat slow motion, but it feels like, to me, that it is telling the story of two young royals courting and dancing together after an evenings’ feast.

“The Room” has electric beam effects echo across the soundscape. And what sounds like a Theremin is played in the background, quite repetitively. More quiet, reserved vocals are added sparingly to the background, creating a delicate and futuristic lullaby. I’m recalling imagery from the Ice Palace in The Never Ending Story.
“Blind Elevator Girl” is a long instrumental song, beginning with another welcoming royalty hook on repeat. It begins to sound like a real pop or prog composition with steady drums, and horns, but once the drums disappear, they take the rock song template with them, and the song reverts back to a meandering thought that could coalesce at any time. This song is actually a little jazz-funky with its combination of bass, guitar and horn.
“Tomorrow” feels like a Ween guitar ballad at the beginning. It is folky, and acoustic sounding, while still in the presence of echo. Unwavering vocals lightly sing over the guitar and plucked string accompaniment. The somber voice is comfortable with dying, by admitting “tomorrow never comes.” And once the horn is added, the music takes on a sad Belle & Sebastian quality.
“LFO Mod” is a little more organic in its piano and shuffling synth background. It changes synth settings about a minute and half in to be more bubbly and liquid, and is accompanied by an acoustic guitar crying out a fluttering Santana melody. Later, a stereotypic sexy sax is layered over the warbling, watery keyboard. It is as if the background template is set, and guest instruments take their turns jamming out overtop, creating a different vibe with each transition. And it ends in a fade out.

Stand Out Track: Tomorrow

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Gene Loves Jezebel - Immigrant

Name: Gene Loves Jezebel
Album: Immigrant
Year: 1985
Style: Gothic New Wave Metal
Similar Bands: Early U2, Suede, Alarm, The Church, Echo & Bunnymen, Placebo
"One Word" Review: meandering-whine-anthem-rock
Based Out Of: London, UK
Label: Relativity, Situation Two, Import Ant Record

Immigrant - Cover & Tape

Immigrant (1985)

1. Always A Flame 4:29
2. Shame 3:46
3. Stephen 4:43
4. Bruisies 3:38
5. The Immigrant 3:55 /
6. Cow 4:47
7. Worth Waiting For 3:36
8. The Rhino Plasty 5:05
9. Deep South Wale 4:00
10. Coal Porter 4:32

Album Rating (1-10): 4.5

Members & Other Bands:
Jay Aston - Vox, Guitar, Piano (Edith Grove, Immigrants)
Michael Aston - Vox
Ian Hudson - Guitar
Jean-Marc Lederman - Keys
Peter Rizzo - Bass
John Leckie - Producer
Marcus Gilvear - Drums
Chris Bell

Unknown-ness: I think I have actually heard of Gene Loves Jezebel before I bought this tape. They were one of the names I must have come across listening to 80’s new wave bands and I’m sure they were referenced somewhere. I know I did not buy the tape based on the album imagery, it looks drab and strained. It looks, with the color scheme of the pic and the font that it is trying to be gothic. But this is something I usually avoid, but somehow, it was in my tape collection when I went through the tapes I knew I had never really listened to. So here we go, with another album that I will listen to, and never be able to gain these minutes of life back.

Album Review: “Always A Flame” starts with its very tinny sounding guitar work, filled with echoy effects and overlaid with an equally echoy vocal. The song launched into a U2 song musically. The vocals are androgynous, as in I know they are guys, but gender is lost on the gothic, dark vocals. The strummidy guitar and driving drums, overlaid with soaring guitar work that almost cries out in eternal pain. After a fade out, a drum fill begins the next song, “Shame” with the same elements, soaring guitars and synth effects, somewhat shrill vocals and a steady somewhat disjointed rhythm. There is an inexplicable musical breakdown about 2:15 into the song, and it picks up with the same synth effects and very repetitive chorus. “Stephen” is a sprase musical soundscape. Perhaps a little like Wire’s slower stuff. The vocals are a slow droning. And the song meanders along with what sounds like an almost random drum beat and more crying guitars. It really feels like it goes on forever. “Bruises” is not listed on the tape’s cover. It only appears on the song listing on the tape itself. This is supposedly a single from their earlier album, so I don’t know what it is doing here. But it is a good song, the urgency in the vocals is unique, especially in the catchy chorus. But it, like the rest of the songs, does go on for a bit too long. “The Immigrant” rounds out the side with a whining string sound and the anthemic vocals & music mix. This is the type of music I really don’t understand, I don’t really like it, you can’t really dance to it, and it kinda just drones on and on. And it floats out as it ends, like it is carried on a passing wind.

“Cow” starts side two with a bit more punk structure, but it still comes of jangley and anthemic. The drum and bass beat is disjointed, almost Gang of Four-like. But the vocals and production of the guitars mask any kind of similarity that might have existed. Listening to the music is like a background activity…you can easily get caught up doing other things, not pay attention to it, come back to it, and it is in the same place you left it. There is a sort of wall of sound to their style too, that is impenetrable. “Worth Waiting For” has a strong Gang of Four bass-drum beat, and even comes close in style with its lead guitar too. But its chorus reverts back to a lazy melody, detracting from the quality of the song. The disjointed rhythm comes back in the next song “The Rhino Plasty” it is kind of all over the place in the beginning, and it settles for an eerie haunting vocal and watery guitar sound for a section, and reverts to a track that just sounds unfinished. The repetitive line “look at your nose” definitely stands out, and is a positive thing about the song. A relatively cool normal drum beat kicks off “Deep South Wale” and droning whine-tars drill their solo notes into your head one at a 15 second long time. The vocals feel like they are nervous and jittery, almost like the bands Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Arcade Fire tried to copy. “Coal Porter” finally finishes the album, and I can’t say I’ll remember any of the tracks. The beginning of this track is wispy vocals, sounding like Tim Booth, from James. But unlike James, the song fails to pick up the pace. It maintains a steady sedentary drive. It picks up with jammy guitars and a general meh tempo. This might be a bit Gary Newman too, but I’m just guessing at that, as I don’t know much of his style.

Stand Out Track: Worth Waiting For

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