Released 15th Feb 2010
Year Zero
In the first of a New Wave to New Beat series this compilation floats back to the period when punk was on its way out and a new wave of artists were experimenting in radical new approaches that would shape the sound of the 80s.
It was a time when Gary Numan and leather trousers became cool with the electronic pop of Tubeway Army’s ‘Replicas’ laying down the roots of what would become commercial disco later in the decade. On the other side of the spectrum was the highly influential and ahead-of-their-time Killing Joke, who provided the ‘sounds of the squats’ with their scratchy edge setting them apart from previous punk bands.
It was a new time for music after punk had dominated the preceding years, taking the attention away from psychedlia and progressive rock bands. Bustin’ Out: The Post Punk Era 1979-1981 delivers the perfect story for this snapshot in time and sews together the sounds of punk, dance and dub from some of the finest songs of this wrongly overlooked era. Mike Maguire (who put this disc together) says it makes a rigid stand against the pigeonholing of bands and for that he deserves credit, but it is the artists here who the praise must be lavished on. From Larry Levan Loose Joints’ ‘It’s All Over My Face’ to the dance floor declaration of title track ‘Bustin’ Out’, this music still sounds fresh and there is no doubt about where it stands in music history.
Posted In Album Reviews, Feb 19 2010.
Words - Tom