Infected

good! already forgotten all of it unfortch. there was some lyric about “the 51st state of the USA” lmfao

If I have to listen to another shitty, 80s-ass, English band's shitty, dated, irrelevant album I am going to SCREAM. (I have 300+ albums to go so I know I'm in for a bad time.)

I keep bouncing between thinking this is pretty good, while being eclectic, and that it's absolute shit. Somehow, I think that's actually a pretty fair assessment (as I'm 4 songs in). Even when it's shit, though, it's still pretty eclectic, and that at least makes it somewhat interesting to listen to, because you never really know what exactly is going to happen next. Some of it is okay, some of it is over-the-top 80s, and some of it is pretty darn bad. The singing definitely doesn't help. Favorite Song(s): Sweet Bird of Truth

It is a nice album, but nothing compared to soul mining.

This was at times entertaining and had a fun overly 80s production sound but aside from the title track I didn’t really love it. Solid 2 from me

This is even more relevant now

🦠🦠🦠

I knew of The The from college, at least the band name. This was my first listen, and since it's a short album, I tried a second listen to see if I was missing the point. The synth sounds, drums and vocals are very 80s British, and I'm sure the lyrics were more meaningful at the time, but it's just OK.

Название у группы ахуенное

I know I got a The The album before, but I don't remember much about it. However, I really enjoyed this one. I particularly liked Infected (the song) and Angel of Deceptions. Worth listening to a lot.

Teetered on a 5 for this one

meh

Kinda good, actually.

Ok@

I don't think it's bad, I just don't think it's particularly good. It's like a lot of other mediocre pop-rock of the 1980s.

leuk!

goede sfeer voor halloween!! heartland was mn favoriet

This is pretty forgettable album. It's a collection of tropes of mid-80's production. The tracks wouldn't be out of place in the credits of a forgettable 80's movie.

legalzinho

Soul Mining is so good, i don’t think this album really needed to be included on the list

A day after listening to this and all I can remember about it was that it was very 80's and very British. I don't remember completely hating it, so it has that going for it.

Not bad; kind of a good album to listen to around Halloween has that like eerie/grimey vibe

For a change, the term “post-punk” doesn’t refer to trash that’s been glorified as art, but rather to music that’s hard to categorize and of moderate listenability. That’s more than I expected. 2.5/5

Not for me. 🤷

80’s pop punk; sort of a Billy Idol-ish vibe?

Maybe this was more interesting in it's day, but there was not much going on here. A competent band, but nothing remarkable.

Well, this one surprised me. Bleak in outlook, but often literally upbeat musically. Reminded me of David & David's Boomtown, an album from the same time period that I have greatly enjoyed over the years. I've mentioned in other reviews that if I were making a list of 1001 albums I wanted people to hear before they died, including a second album by ANY group would be something I would try to do as rarely as possible. Of the two albums by The The on Robert Dimery's list, THIS is the one that should stay. Soul Mining had two good tracks. This one is solid all the way through.

This isn't what I expected. I didn't find it very new wavey or post-punky, it just seemed like pretty bland 80s pop rock with a couple of unique twists sprinkled in here and there. It isn't bad, it just didn't really do much for me which was disappointing, given the genre tags are ones I usually really enjoy Highlights: Angels of Deception, Sweet Bird of Truth

From the cover, I was expecting something really hardcore, but this is bland 80s pop-rock. It reminds me of some other band(s?) I can't quite put my finger on, it's pretty generic. Overall, I don't like it, the 80s sounds, drum machines, and synths annoy me.

Solid 3

A once young squid band form the 80’s, that was nothing much back then, milking the last ounce of New Wave angst and energy into a single drop of sputum. 😢

This is... not what I expected. He sounds like Jerry Seinfeld for a solid few lyrics on "Out of the Blue". Interesting album. Not quite sure what to make of it though. I was expecting a Talk Talk/Blue Nile style thing and got...a better Roxette?

80s slop

Don't know much about these guys apart from the name. The 80s explode out straight away. God, that drum sound sucks. Songs too long. Kind of hate it. 2.5 rounded down Heard before? No Owned: No, 112/452 (24%) Will I get: No

Um dos melhores nomes de banda que existem. Sempre tive interesse em degustar o som deles por conta exclusiva do nome. Agora chegou a hora. Infected soa categoricamente semelhante ao post punk de Talking Heads. Acho uma comparação fácil. Os estilos instrumentais e vocais são semelhantes. Outra coisa que me conquista aqui é o quão coeso o disco é, sem perder muito tempo com sinuosidades desnecessárias. Há um certo pragmatismo nas composições que me agradam bastante. Ótimo disco, e ótima introdução a essa banda que sempre tive curiosidade de ouvir. Animado pra conhecer mais em outro momento. 4/5

actually annoying album Would I listen again: can barely finish it Deserves to be on this list: no 1.4

Didn’t care for this.

3-

Bland 80s commercial music

From an earlier review: It is a nice album, but nothing compared to soul mining. I agree with that :-)

Had some interesting things in there occasionally, but very dated and got old quite quickly

Political post-punk is always an interesting concept, it does well at that. The instrumentation is overall quite nice, just post-punk things. The first side wasn't too bad but the second side was hugely lacking. I think overall it was fine but I don't want much to do with it after this listening. Highlight Song/s: "Infected" and "Angels of Deception"

I wanted to like it early on, but ultimately it felt more like an incomplete attempt to be Art of Noise

Наверное чуть слабее прошлого альбома

Nothing special

Before my time

Eh it was fine. I’m learn “post-punk” is a very diverse genre

Mostly uninteresting. Nothung made me stop and think, it just served as background music.

I don't think "post punk" means anything. Loved the variety.

Fantastic listen. Took me back to late 80s 91x exactly what I wanted and needed to hear today. 4/5

didnt finish, wasnt enjoying myself and work was getting really busy so i turned it off

Ah The The, a band destined to destroy grammar checkers everywhere. On Infected the band explores British politics with songs that have plenty of synthpop hooks. Matt Johnson is an amazing song writer and producer (along with Warn Livesey here), and it is easy to see how he attracted so many musicians to play with him over his career. Personally, I prefer the most rocking and dissonant work of The The on the following few albums, Mind Bomb and Dusk with Johnny Marr. The songwriting remains fantastic, but the music is just much more interesting and of coarse Marr is among rock’s greatest guitarists. Despite this preference, I think Infected is a good album with a few great tunes.

Listenable. 5/10

Had not listened to The The prior that I could remember at least. The production and sound of the album definitely screamed early to mid 80s. Overall the album was a decent listen even if the vocals at times were enough to make you want to hit the skip or just turn it off entirely. I leaned between a 5/10 or 6/10 and decided to give it 3 stars since the instrument play was solid.

There are some good moments and some really bizarre moments. Not sure how to feel here

The right level of eclectic and weird for me. Some great post-punk 80s eerie vibes, definitely won't be to everyone's taste but loved the storytelling and songwriting. Basslines were a groove

Not really feeling it but it's not bad. Not sure how to describe it. 80s rock?

713/1001 2026.09.30 🌕🌕🌑🌑🌑

TL;DR: Angry, bitter, beautiful anti-capitalist angst. They don't make enough music like this any more. BEFORE: I've listened to them before and remember it being pretty good, although it's been a good while. Not sure I've listened to this particular album but I'm looking forward to it. AFTER: It's great. Socially conscious, musically inventive, hard to categorise and well-executed. Listened while cleaning so I didn't take extensive track by track notes but it's great. Reminded me of a slightly funkier, darker incarnation of Midnight Oil. VERDICT: A solid 4.

I've never heard of this band. The sounds and production are dated, but I like the music a lot. Not a big fan of the vocals - I would have preferred it with no lyrics or lyrics buried in the mix.

Spent most of the album going back and forth on whether I loved or hated this. I’m leaning towards hate. Some songs were pretty fun but it felt like it has no idea where it wanted to go as an album. Confused at why some of it sounded like a musical. Not for me

Sure. Too 80s in sound and too 80s in vocals to be too good, but lyrics are solid.

Not very infectious.

Better than the cover

There are nice moments but I annoyingly just kept comparing it to the first album which I found on this list and have had it on repeat. This album doesn't sound as tight.

For some reason I always get them muddled up with Talk Talk which I like. I remembered most of these tracks which was strange as I never bought anything by them. I wasn’t sure I liked the way it seemed to be a strange mix of poppiness and alternative sound but by the end I realised this just meant they defied pigeonholing and I really liked it. Felt a bit like an alternative Lloyd Cold and the Commotions and that’s good.

And suddenly it was so very 80s again. It's fun.

3 - good

Better than I expected, kind of a nostalgic glow on this one even though I never heard the album, just Beaten Generation.

Never been a fan.. 2/5.

Didn't know what to expect coming into this one, but I'm enjoying the message.

i went back and forth between just not liking anything about some of the tracks and being ambivalent about the others. but what i disliked really carried the day. 1.5

There's a one-star review calling this "INXS but have it fronted by George Thorogood, and inflect it all with a heavy dose of Broadway jazz" as a negative but I'm into that

Mmm lastig vond het soms wel leuk maar soms iets te heftig of beetje vals waar ik niet bij elk nummer goed op ga. Er zitten wel een paar leuke nummers tussen, heel eigen sound.

I first heard Soul Mining because of this list, and I can somewhat agree with that one being here. This one is easier to write off, though, it really doesn't beg for a relisten.

Medium record

I'd never heard it before. This was an unexpected delight.

Alles geskipt ◡̈

Heb er niet veel mee

Leuk, niet veel op aan te merken eigenlijk. Beetje een moeilijk te plaatsen genre maar interessant. 3 bangers

Nice new wave but nothing special

interesting... 4/5

10/10

It’s on the edge of being good, and then it isn’t.

Another example for the relatively short list "albums where the album art is easily the most intereating part. This is fine, but I'd say it has even less teeth than Soul Mining. These are largely good pop songs, but I will say that there's no getting around the fact that I like my synth pop a little weirder, or darker, or more surreal, and this feels just like an extremely normal '80s synth pop album. I will say that the vocals are pretty consistently cool though, and the lyrics I caught *do* give me a little of the tone I want to see, but it can't elevate everything here. To my memory, the only song I really liked was Sweet Bird Of Truth, with it's weirdo drop and hand percussion. But everything else was more or less just fine to me. I also don't know if this is going to grow on me or grate on me if I keep listening, so I guess time will tell.

Me re gustó, entre punk, rock y postpunk, medio oscuro pero tampoco tanto. Me gustó muchísimo la tapa también.

This has been another album that, having owned it for years and played it fewer times than it deserves during that time, has benefitted greatly by being put under the spotlight for this review. My listening has been more focused than on previous occasions, and its strengths are jumping out at me now. My accepted understanding with Matt Johnson is that he will deliver records of significance, substance and usually an outlook on life and the world that is cynical at best and at worst, veers in the direction of misery. However, with that understanding registered, but set aside in an attempt to set a new baseline for listening, the bombast of the production and the seemingly rampant polemicism fades, revealing huge dollops of wry wit and an unwavering supply of joyful melodicism. The subject matter may be heavy but Johnson finds curious approaches to tackle it, always laced with humour and an intelligent angle. Musically, the arrangements are rich but allied with the often metallic heft of the rhythms, layer after layer of instruments rarely fail to introduce something fresh yet never overwhelm the harmonious amalgam. Another reminder for me that I can be guilty of not paying close enough attention. So, now to find myself a nice copy of Soul Mining.

this is shit

Now this album is owned by my parents but I never listened to it, and I quite enjoyed it. it blends elements of new wave and alternative rock but I do see it as having some influence on the industrial movement of the late 80s due to its heavy use of percussion.

A record that feels of its time, but quite prescient in some of its themes. A little punky and brooding especially in its lyrics, but quite upbeat musically.

I've heard of the The, but I'm not really familiar with any of their stuff that I know. Everything on this album sounded new to me. I think this was a band that was way bigger in the UK than they ever got in the U.S., which is probably why I'm not that familiar with them. Their music is definitely something I would have been into in the 80s, and I enjoyed listening to this album. This is one of those albums, however, that I'm not sure why it made it on the list. I personally like it, but I would question whether it was really something special in the genre or had any specific impact.

I really liked their debut album but I just couldn't get into this one. Went heavy on the pop side and slow synths. They did use some cool effects but just not enough interesting moments for me to get on board with this whole album. I found it a bit boring, sounded like most 80's bands that I have heard.

i feel the groove'n'roll on this one. remind's me of a more upbeat depeche mode. was a pleasure to listen to the artsy meandering langscapes opening up in front of me!

I haven't listened to a lot of The The and mainly know about them because their frontman shared a name with one of my college roommates. This sounded poppier and more "'80s" than I expected, but I liked it. Enjoyed the Neneh Cherry guest appearance.

very 80s in a corny way

Not for me.

This album was good I love his album a solid 8 out of 10

sound like all the songs were the same. lived through the releases and played on radio alot

Did not know this band. Very impressed. Thoughtful composition.

Did not enjoy this much. Right from the start I just found the whole thing icky (especially due to the lead vocal). It sorta feels like a Nick Cave ripoff for casual pop-fans. The production is cheesy and the songwriting is just uninspired imo. I somewhat enjoy the social critique (more a critique of war), but it just feels kinda flat in that self-indulgent 80’s kinda way. It’s like a “dark” version of live aid or some shit. Sweet bird of truth is pretty cool until the vocal kicks in. Angels of Deception was decent. I also enjoyed the backup vocals, but overall not for me. 2.5/10