The Associates – Sulk (Vinyl)
The Associates burned brightly and then disappeared all too quickly but this Scottish outfit, formed in Edinburgh in 1979 by Billy MacKenzie and Alan Rankine, rode the post-punk wave, successfully combining art rock, glam and electronics into something completely original.
Sulk, released in 1982, was their second LP and it saw the band right at the top of their game with Mackenzie’s incredible vocal delivery evoking a slightly nightmarish cabaret fantasy. That was only partly the magic on this LP, the rest came from Rankine and his visionary arrangements and outstanding guitar and keyboards. Ex-Cure bass player Michael Dempsey, also featured.
Incredibly they had two top 40 hits from this enigmatic album, with Country Club and the surreal Party Fears Two ("I'll have a shower, then phone my brother up, within the hour I'll smash another cup").
Tragically, Billy McKenzies songs of isolation, madness and despair, always disguised as pop songs, proved prophetic as he took his own life a few years later.
There has never been a band quite like the Associates and this overlooked album, which perfectly captured them at their creative height, deserves a place in modern musical history.
This edition has been remastered from the original ¼” master tapes and finally sounds as it was originally intended.
Blue Vinyl 40th Anniversary Reissue, Remastered
A1 Arrogance Gave Him Up 3:00
A2 No 5:46
A3 Bap De La Bap 4:17
A4 Gloomy Sunday 4:11
A5 Nude Spoons 4:19
B1 Skipping 4:02
B2 It's Better This Way 3:30
B3 Party Fears Two 5:33
B4 Club Country 5:35
B5 Nothinginsomethingparticular 2:16
The Associates burned brightly and then disappeared all too quickly but this Scottish outfit, formed in Edinburgh in 1979 by Billy MacKenzie and Alan Rankine, rode the post-punk wave, successfully combining art rock, glam and electronics into something completely original.
Sulk, released in 1982, was their second LP and it saw the band right at the top of their game with Mackenzie’s incredible vocal delivery evoking a slightly nightmarish cabaret fantasy. That was only partly the magic on this LP, the rest came from Rankine and his visionary arrangements and outstanding guitar and keyboards. Ex-Cure bass player Michael Dempsey, also featured.
Incredibly they had two top 40 hits from this enigmatic album, with Country Club and the surreal Party Fears Two ("I'll have a shower, then phone my brother up, within the hour I'll smash another cup").
Tragically, Billy McKenzies songs of isolation, madness and despair, always disguised as pop songs, proved prophetic as he took his own life a few years later.
There has never been a band quite like the Associates and this overlooked album, which perfectly captured them at their creative height, deserves a place in modern musical history.
This edition has been remastered from the original ¼” master tapes and finally sounds as it was originally intended.
Blue Vinyl 40th Anniversary Reissue, Remastered
A1 Arrogance Gave Him Up 3:00
A2 No 5:46
A3 Bap De La Bap 4:17
A4 Gloomy Sunday 4:11
A5 Nude Spoons 4:19
B1 Skipping 4:02
B2 It's Better This Way 3:30
B3 Party Fears Two 5:33
B4 Club Country 5:35
B5 Nothinginsomethingparticular 2:16
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