What does it sound like?:

TFF’s second album, Songs From The Big Chair, had seen them conquer the world (and soundtrack my paper rounds of 1985). Following an exhausting year-long world tour, they holed up in multiple expensive studios with various producers including Langer and Winstanley, all of which were scrapped in favour of producing themselves with engineer Dave Bascombe.

By the time of the release of the third album they’d spent three years indoors, blown a million quid on studio fees, and driven themselves bonkers in the process of recording and mixing. Never ones to crack a joke, the strain was showing. I remember reading interviews at the time where they were taking home DAT tapes and struggling to choose the best mix, never easy when you have 100 channels of overdubs to tweak.

I first heard this in my student digs on a badly-dubbed tape and the complex Talking-Heads-meets-Sgt.-Pepper arrangements didn’t really make sense. The next time was on CD, loud in a car speeding down the M20 to Dover, and everything fell into place. I vowed to buy it as soon as I found a record shop.

This box collects together the album (freshly remastered at » Continue Reading.

What does it sound like?:

Following ACR’s time at Factory, after a flop album and a compilation on A&M, they had built their own studio. Two albums followed on New Order manager’s Rob’s Records, both heavy on the electronics, both low on sales. Why, when you have one of the best drummers in Donald Johnson in the band, would you use programmed beats?

It was 12 years from Change The Station to Mind Made Up, which was much better, but ACR’s stock was so low it was initially only released on a Frech dance label. Three years later a solo album by bassist/frontman Jez Kerr, to little notice.

For a decade, nothing, and then… Mute reissued their back catalogue, a 40th anniversary victory lap turned into a joyous two-year tour and, now, their first new album for a dozen years.

Opener Friends Around Us was released as a AA-side single for Love Record Store Day, starts as woozy bass, berimbau and sax, then switches half-way to a drum and bass driven Lou Reed-style molologue.

Half the album – Bouncy Bouncy, Yo Yo Gi, Supafreak, Family, What’s Wrong, are trademark ACR funk. Added to the mix are cartoon boings, Mike » Continue Reading.