Kilimanjaro

This seems like any other generic british new wave shit. Some songs were fun, some reminded me of The Cure. A bit repetitive overall. Stand-out: Poppies In The Field

Alright

nice

Otro LP común y corriente destacado por el británico encargado de escribir esta lista. El debut de The Teardrop Explodes no es para nada malo, de hecho es bastante disfrutable, pero a la vez, no es para nada destacable. Tomando tendencias que venían creciendo hacia finales de los 70s en la escena musical inglesa (como el sonido de The Cure y Joy Division), esta banda hace lo mejor que puede para construir un sonido diferente, fracasando en el intento y sonando como todos sus contemporáneos e incluso más genérico. Si tuviera que darle algo de crédito a este LP, es que es uno de los primeros en explotar el característico (y aburrido) sonido del pop ochentero británico. Mejor que algunos de sus contemporáneos, pero para nada imprescindible. Te recomiendo escucharlo sólo si te gusta el sonido new-wave con "tintes góticos" inglés.

Don't love it. Very repetitive and a bit abrasive in the way synthpop can be. His voice is a lot and often in a bad way. Some melodies remind me of the B52s weirdly, only much darker and less polished. and less good to be honest. I liked Thief of Baghdad and Treason, especially the french version. Overall I think it's a 2.5

Predictable

For the time it’s solid, not my cup of tea.

i’m not sure what it is, but something always stops me from fully enjoying this album…☹️ really love Thief of Baghdad and Ha Ha I’m Drowning though

So much 80s indistinguishable british pop albums on this list that I'm starting to think that the project was started just to give some wanker the material to justify making his mates listen to crap music that only he likes. 1/5

Just awful. Some attempts at post-punk/pre New Romantics sounds but shitty vocals and unreproducible melodies. Listening to this a waste of whatever time you have left on Earth.

That was not that interesting but also not bad. Good to how it play in the background and occasionally you would wake up and think „oh this is nice“

Couldn’t get into it

Organ was annoying after a few tracks. Reward is a good track

Every once and a while, I’ll check Amazon or eBay for a copy of Julian Cope’s “Krautrocksampler”, a book he published in 1995 about the German rock scene of the late 60’s and 70’s. It’s unfortunately never been reprinted, and fetches quite a bit of money on the used market. For whatever reason, I’m foolish enough to think that, I, of all people, will be able to find a copy for less than the $300 the book typically goes for, just by searching for it on the most popular marketplaces on the internet every few years. I don’t want to say that the totality of my knowledge of Julian Cope is that he wrote a book about Krautrock, but…beyond that, the fact that he also wrote a book about Japanese rock and a peripheral awareness that this was his band, I don’t really know much and I’ve never really bothered to check out his music. Cope’s love of psychedelic and Krautrock is evident here on “Kilimanjaro”, making it one of the more interesting and enjoyable British New Wave-era records on the list, at least to me. It’s heady, densely layered music, and when the songs veer into repetitive, ethereal territory, like at the end of “When I Dream”, this record is at its best. The incorporation of horns on the record might have been a misstep, however, as the record’s production does them no favors, making it feel dated. Overall, this is a solid and unique entry on the list, an outlier from an era where many British bands had the idea that being excessively dreary was a necessary component of psychedelic music.

This was a pretty perky bit of UK pop. Cool drumming and catchy tunes, I did enjoy.

3.5

Fav: Ha Ha I’m Drowning Least Fav: Second Head

Interesting, quite jolly

This album was just fine. I just really don’t see what sets them apart from anyone else and I don’t quite see the influence. I just listened to them and I feel like I can’t render anything. Their songs were amusing at some point, like Bpuncing Babies, but I just don’t see the interesting part.

If given the chance to place this release in a ~2 year time frame, I'd have been willing to drop $100 on my guess. Tight drums, reverb vocals, slightly-cheesy keyboard, galloping up-front bass line, occasional white ska influence - all the hallmarks of its era and .... yeah it's very British-1980. hmm from somewhere in my brain I remember this closing track "When I Dream" I don't know... it's not spectacular and YMMV - but I like it, yet I wonder how much I'll remember of it tomorrow, and in a way that's a shame - feels like the kind of album that had I heard often and/or known growing up would bring some strong nostalgia. If I have the wherewithal and memory I might listen to this a few more times. 7/10 3 stars.

Generic Smiths. Enough with the English wanker music.

This is an album on the cusp of eras. It's fine.

i really liked some of the instruments. i don’t like the style of singing that shows up in a lot of 70s/80s music but without the singing this is probably something i’d listen to consistently. i didn’t get through the whole album though cause of time

3.5

This list has a such a bias towards pretty dull 80s indie pop. This was not good - Poppies In The Field was pretty much the only track that actually caught my ear.

Not personally a huge fan of the psychedelic rock. Not terrible, just not really my speed truth be told.

Not bad, but a few cringey parts. Not much to say about it.

Background listen. Didn’t give this as much attention as most albums but from what I heard I think that’s ok. Feel bad giving it a two, but gotta hit to at least get a three from me!

There were times that I thought that I was going to give this album four stars, because early on I really enjoyed it. But the double album mixed with too many echoed lyrics killed it for me. I went from jamming out to wanting to put on something else for a roadtrip. Was the feedback on the live track even necessary?

Had it playing in the background during a conversation. It did it's job and was a surprisingly good fit.

Beetje lang maar wel leuk

Pretty good stuff! Favourite Tracks: "Sleeping Gas", "Second Head"

3.8

cool album.

122/1001

Not bad! Very New Wavey to my ears

I have heard of Julian Cope but never this band. Enjoyed the listen, definitely an early 80's vibe

É ok. Não é ruim. Não é bom.

Weirdly rad and funky. Would listen again

4.0

This album is fantastic. Brilliant dark jangly post punk

I was pleasantly surprised by a Julian Cope album in this challenge last week. So I was interested to hear what else he had done. Unfortunately, The Teardrop Explodes isn't quite as noteworthy. It generally sounds like a typical 80s indie rock band, recalling The Smiths or Echo and the Bunnymen. It's a decent enough album though and has some highlights. It's a fun album and has some good guitar work. It's a bit of a stretch to say it deserves a spot on this list though.

Eighties New Wave album with heavy Bass lead. Never really directly listened to any Julian Cope stuff, but he has had his fingers in many pies. Solid work but tends to stray into Psychedelia for some extended bits.

Wow, I did not like this. I found it to be extremely repetitive and unenjoyable.

I think that this era of post-punk doesn’t really grab me the way I would hope. Nothing wrong with this album, but nothing for me to hold onto.

I didn’t hate it and certainly enjoyed some parts but won’t be back again.

More cheesy British 80’s music. No thanks, I’ve had enough. Something tells me we are in store for much more unfortunately.

I mean. This is like the Chat GPT version of New Wave.

We've gotta do better as a group. This ain't it

3 but kinda meh

I can hear a lot fo influence here for post punk. I've never heard this band, but obviously there were important and the music is not bad either.

The synth-horns almost save this but it's all played so straight.

This is one of my favourite albums of all time. I’ve listened to this on repeat a few times this year and it gets better every time I hear it. I always find new things to love about it with each listen. Julian Cope’s approach to songwriting just seems to vibe well with me and it’s at its peak here for me.

pretty fun album, didn’t get a chance to listen to the whole thing.

crazy little album, i like it

Never heard this before. Kind of a transition from 70's to 80's music which is interesting. It's alright, a few songs are good. I'm not sure that I would need to listen to this again.

I wavered between starting to like this album and hating it. There are some nice elements but gets repetitive and nothing really stands out. One of those albums where you can't remember a single song after listening to the entire album.

Nothing special, not my taste.

This was a fun album for me.

80s brit pop that sounds the same as any other 80s brit pop

Some rad organ! A pleasant listen!

Enjoyed this. Songs were upbeat and very 80s 4 ⭐️

Pure shit. Who actually likes this nonsense?

I quite like the music but I'm not too fond of Julian Cope's voice.

groovy 3/5

Unexceptional, did not need to hear this. One star for the horns.

I don’t know. I didn’t know this album before I listened to it today. It’s possible that if I’d heard it in the early 80’s I might have been more impressed but two my ears it was nothing I haven’t heard done before, and better, by other artists.

"I want the Smiths" "We have the Smiths at home" (puts on these clowns)

'When I Dream' is the audio equivalent of used watercolor water. just all muddled together. and its seven minutes long ffs

definitely one of the albums of all time

Ok

I like the prominent new wave bass lines, but there’s too few really memorable tracks. Best track: second head

Pretty good album.

Nice enough. Not mind blowing. Seems like a lot of good but not great lately.

Reminded me a lot of Echo & the Bunnymen, and lo-and-behold, they originally had members from that band in their lineup. Overall I dig this era and sound coming out of Britain/Liverpool.

Jongens, dit level hadden we toch al uitgespeeld? Het is niet afschuwelijk slecht, maar bepaald ook niet megagoed. Kennelijk moest er rond 1980 een muzikaal gat gevuld worden met dit soort hobbybandjes.

Ik heb even van tevoren gespiekt. Wat krijgt dit album van de 1001-luisteraar? Een krappe 3. Daar baalt producer Bill Drummond van. Ik had dit album nog nooit gehoord, maar wel het nummer van Bill over dit album. "Julian Cope is dead". Met het risico dat ik dat nummer verkeerd interpreteer, verwacht Bill dat het album een klassieker zou worden als hij Julian van zijn aardse bestaan afhelpt. Het blijft een gedachtenspinsel. Maar alleen al het bestaan van dat nummer heeft dus al zijn werk gedaan. Want anders had ik pas vandaag van dit album gehoord. +1 voor de marketing van Bill. Bill is dus trots op zijn werk en teleurgesteld over de waardering voor zijn werk. Trots mag hij zijn. Het is, zeker voor zijn tijd, een toegankelijk album waar weinig op of aan te merken is. En dat is ook precies waarom de waardering niet bijzonder hoog is. Het valt totaal niet op. De rigoureuze maatregelen die hij voorstelt, zouden daar geen verschil in maken. Ik ben het behoorlijk eens met de 1001 luisteraar. Het is een harde 3.

Oei, Britse post-punk uit (het begin van) de jaren 80. Het treft zeker gelijkenissen met andere bands uit die tijd. Maar de zanger is minder zeurderig gelukkig en ik vind de drums wel leuk om naar te luisteren. Het geheel is redelijk uptempo en dat houdt de vaart er lekker in. De jaren 80 waren vaak ook wel goed in prominente basloopjes. De gitaar staat vaak op een redelijk clean geluid afgesteld, in tegenstelling tot de (heavy) distortion in de jaren 90, en daardoor hoor je de bas gewoon overduidelijk. Dat maakt het interessant om te luisteren, er zitten muzikaal prima stukken in. Ik kende hier vooraf geen enkel nummer van. Soms is dat niet erg, maar bij deze band had ik dat toch liever wel gehad. Tussendoor even zo'n kraker van een hit, dat had het album best een ster extra kunnen opleveren. Nu heb ik me er best mee vermaakt en niet aan gestoord, maar ik ben bang dat ik het ook weer snel ga vergeten. Oftewel, een vergeetbare 3.

"I just wander around/I just wander around/I just wander around/I j--" No kidding. As soon as I heard the corny, plastic horns at the beginning I knew I was in trouble. Just another subpar 80s British pop record. "Neo-psychedelic"? Get out of my face. Nadir: Brave Boys Keep Their Promises

Very early 80s

I probably would have liked them in the 80s but didn't know them then. Now I think this is quite boring typical 80s music.

Album 420 of 1001 The Teardrop Explodes - Kilimanjaro Rating : 3 / 5 Some more basic British Pop among a bunch of other basic British Pop. Nothing too special.

Found this to be pretty mediocre in general. There was a lot of similar music coming out of the UK around this time, so I'm not sure what is supposed to make this stand out. A few pretty danceable songs, but the vocals are pretty annoying. The best song on the album is "Reward", but to my ears, it sounds like a rip off of "No More Heroes" by the Stranglers. Definitely won't be revisiting this one.

The cover of this album shows the band and they could easily fit in with the 2020's indie rock scene. I can't decide if this album bleeds into the background because this is the type of sound I have heard a few times in my life (and in this project) or the music is good enough to where I just enjoy it. The horns set them apart, because you don't hear a lot of this Echo and Bunnymen post-punk sound with horns this prominent. I found myself enjoying this album and I see it hasn't gotten great ratings from other listeners, which I do understand. This is the kind of music that is down my alley. Post-punk with keyboards and the Echo and the Bunnymen kind of sound.

What a pleasant surprise! I thought this was going to be more paint by the numbers britpop, but it has a really fun sound. Loved the horns. Felt like shades of Echo & The Bunnymen.

surprisingly, i really enjoyed this album and listened to it twice! i had never heard of the album or band before but it had everything i wanted from a British new wave group. kinda sounded like a mix of the jam, talking heads, echo & the bunnymen (for obvious reasons), depeche mode, and anyone else that had that sort of style. musically, the tracks all sounded unique and made use of cool instrumentation while still staying under the new wave umbrella. the b-sides weren't great but the main album was banger after banger. five stars. favorites: tracks 1-6, when i dream, reward

The Teardrop Explodes is one of those bands which I liked but which never made it into my record collection at the time (youthful financial limitations). Somewhere along the line I acquired a copy of this LP on vinyl. It's a record I do like especially the overall feeling and Cope's vocals. There are some storming tracks here, especially Treason and Reward. As an aside, Julian Cope's enthusiasm for German and Japanese alt rock of the 1970s has opened the way to fresh music pastures for me over the years.

Thought this was great, it is a long record and a little trimming here and there wouldnt go amiss, but it’s a great post-punk/new wave record. I was convinced they were like triphop band so I was quite suprised to be reminded more of maybe Echo and the Bunneymen or Orange Juice. (Just found out one of them went on to form EatBM and another produced a Smiths record, so that makes sense!). Will definitely be back to this, a strong 4.5

Another Liverpool fan band I've never heard of! Kind of a cross between talking headsy art pop and 80s synth pop with a bit of ska thrown in. It was pretty good, obviously leans on TH a lot but there were some enjoyable songs. I'm not sure if ever listen to this over talking heads mind, and I think the ways in which it deviates from their sound are the bits I'm not as keen on. Still, would listen again.

A brilliant surprise! Went Crazy, Brave Boys Keep Their Promises, and Bouncing Baby were good. I like the lead singer's voice, the era and style of music are a bit of fun. New Wave isn't a genre I massively enjoy but these guys have much more punk rock elements and switch the songs up quite a lot. Will err on the side of caution with the rating though.

There is far too much New Wave and Post Punk on this list. Unfortunately this is a combo of both! Highlights: Second Head Reward

Quite enjoyed a lot of this. Some good bass, kinda reminiscent of joy division, but more poppy. Recognised "reward", but thought the opening tracks were the best. Probably won't be rushing back but quite good. 3.5

Cope and company at there peak, tho a bit sour in parts.

What's worse than a bad album? An album that leaves no impression.

Nice vibe.

Yet another run-of-the-mill assemblage of British 80's new-wave. I simply can't get into this genre, it speaks nothing to me. How does this mediocrity make its way into a list like this, or into the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever?

God, this is boring.

I'm pretty sure, that I've never listened to The Teardrop Explodes before. So this was a first listen through. Im a huge Duran Duran fan, and it's so obvious that theese two bands emerged around the same time in Britain. Their sound is so similar. I can also hear some Talking Heads in their music. I kinda like the 80's pop vibe but the psychadelic almost trance-like elements of the album really rub me the wrong way. At first playthrough I found most of the tracks drawn out ("Sleeping Gas", "Rewards" ) and the excessive repition of lyrics and of simple short musical arrangements extremely annoying. However, the album grew on me. Top tracks for me is "Books" and the ska-like "Treason", "Second Head" and "Poppies in the field".

This is the first time hearing this band. This album seems to have all the ingredients of a solid early 80’s album but to me it was lacking memorable or catchy songs. As I listened through the first time I kept waiting for that one song to come on that made me go “oh I have heard this song!” and that moment never came. A quick wiki investigation revealed this band only lasted 4 years and the first album came out only a year after they formed. I guess to have some notoriety in such a short period of time is pretty impressive. And given the year of this albums release (1979) it must’ve been influential to the many bands that seemed to have a similar sound for years to come. But for me the songs just never impressed me, at first I liked the singers voice and delivery but very quickly he seemed to have little to offer in variety. The drummer also stood out as a weakest link, he wasn’t terrible I just felt like he was barely holding on for most of the album. The guitars had some pretty cool moments and to me were the most interesting element on this album but still, nothing mind blowing. I give this one a 2.

I am ashamed to admit I have never heard of this band before. I'm glad it was on the list, because I DIG it! I will now scold my sister for not introducing me to this band when I was younger. When I Dream had me in a trance, and Reward shot me out of a cannon. I love the horns. Great album that will get more plays from me in the future.

Listening to this band and this album just now for the first time, I catch glimpses of Devo, drum-machine-era The Cure, The Clash, The Talking Heads (particularly on "Went Crazy"), and Tears For Fears' synths on their best album "The Hurting", all which pre-date this work. I can't speak to their influence or how they shaped the soundscape within the context of the culture of their time, but on the surface I don't hear anything particularly unique that The Teardrop Explodes bring to the table. That's not to say the album isn't any good. The rhythm section's steady and tight vamp on each song keeps the album moving and upbeat. Lyrics often repeat in a similar vamp and are delivered in a voice similar to Adam Ant or When In Rome's "I Promise." "Treason" benefits from a break from the hypnotic pulse of the first two songs and welcomes in a much-needed chord changes for the chorus, making it easily one of the better songs, along with "When I Dream." The extended version of the album I heard contained 6 additional songs: "Reward" and would-be title track "Kilimanjaro" which greatly improve the album and provides a bit more range and variation than the whole. Shame they were left off. Fatigued and little bored, I wasn't interested in listening to the last 4 bonus tracks. Even if they were trailblazers for their time (though I am in no way convinced of this), history shows that others have done similar stylings but more attuned to my tastes. There are albums I appreciate more than this that still would not make it on my own personal list of "the 1001 most important and influential [albums] in popular music." This would be an easy three stars for me, but I'm degrading to two; being on this list suggests its appreciation is already over-inflated.

A post-punk mental health crisis. I went into this completely ignorant, never having so much as even heard of this band. Tracks range from driving, disco-y to more atmospheric and experimental. Trying to discern which musical constellation it resides in, I got a little Talking Heads, shades of Blondie... Maybe the Smiths? Yes, definitely. There's a flourishy bit in "Brave Boys Keep Their Promises" that reminds me of a similar part in "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now." "Strange House In The Snow" is a straight-up Kate Bush song, full stop, which I was amazed to discover. Interestingly, this album came out 4 and 6 years, respectively, before those other two. How influential was this album to other artists in its time and place? I don't know the answer, but I'm guessing this album was seminal in influencing a lot of post-punk and new wave, because a lot of the trademark elements are here, the layered shimmering guitars, the sampling and heavy use of synthesizers. I discerned many intriguing musical elements the further I got into it, but for me, the lyrics often came across as unsophisticated and repetitive, sometimes seemingly ad-libbed in that “Jim Morrison wandering around the stage on acid” sort of way, although it's clear they were earnestly trying to express a sea of emotion. Spotify has this album as including some bonus tracks, and I went ahead and listened to those as well, even though I guess it was just the original album alone that lead to it being included on this list.

I'd never heard of this band before....like literally ever. I really like a lot of what I heard, particularly with the instruments. I felt though that the singer, despite having a good voice was very repetitive with his note selection throughout the whole album, down to the interval spacing between notes being almost identical sometimes and even the phrasing of the notes being the same. I felt like the singer was given some really good stuff to work with but he did not stretch across the note spectrum of what was possible to come up with cooler more creative melodies. I've kind of felt that way about Morrissey also. I was fascinated also by the fact that the music was catchy but most of the songs seem to lack obvious hooks n the choruses. They have a typical new wave 80s. Similar bands I think would be Madness and Duran Duran. I felt like 'Books' was a pretty good song and the one I kept coming back to. I liked 'Treason' and 'Reward' also. I am somewhere between a two and three...more.if the singer were more creative.

Very '80s -- a slightly harder Cure/Smiths/etc. vibe.

I had no expectations coming into this album but left feeling satisfied. The music is easy to listen to and doesn't come off overly repetitive. I thought the back end started to drag a bit but the first half of the album was super solid and a joy.

like it a lot, tears for baghdat famous song

Wow more 80s UK trash.

They have a sound similar to like Depeche Mode or new wave/post-punk bands of the era. The riffs and grooves on Second Head, Poppies, and Sleeping Gas are on point. Really enjoyable.

I remember taking this out from our local Library 'on-loan' for a week and playing it to death. Unfortunately it disappeared soon after (probably stolen) so I was never able to repeat the experience and my pocket money was spent on other random stuff (sweets) so 'saving up to buy it yourself' was not an option. This is a trip down memory lane although it's got the '80's' vibe and is pretty much the same the whole way through. Still, it's a good vibe and enjoyable now.

Excellent new wave / post-punk. They sound like early U2. I love that all the songs have high energy. And a lot of them have horns too! The mood is generally overcast and gothic but the gloom doesn't seep completely into the music. There are a lot of singalong moments and pop hooks.

Fun energy and the songs kind of fly by in a good way. I liked the instrumentalists, I liked the vocalist, and the production was nice. The only downside for me is that it didn't really leave me with any songs that I can look back at the track list for and say "Oh yea I loved that one!". It was almost too homogeneous. I just did a test where I played back a few seconds of each track and they really are all pretty similar. Cool album cover. If that text was removed it would look like a modern 2020's indie rock band cover, which I think is cool. I feel bad for the guy on the right though, he's really got that line right up in his eyes!

Not my favorite but I liked the song Use Me

der var sådan en bestemt måde at udtale tekster på som sangere kun gjorde i 80'erne, og det gør ham her sygt meget!! Jeg har en ret høj tolerance for den her genre men den er sgu for lang og blæserne er simpelthen for irriterende

Ikke mit yndlingssted på new wave / post punk spektret, men det var ok!

Føler at jeg lytter til den CD med baggrundsmusik, som pan-fløjte gøgleren på Strøget bruger... Jeg er ved at være lidt træt af "essentielt" britisk musik fra 80'erne...

I do like how urgent this sounds. A lot of the 80s post punk wants to sound this urgent but can't. I too am tired of all the British new wave on this list. But this is not as bad as some others. It is a little samey sounding. I will also say that the first half is far superior to the second half of this album. It's almost like they ranked the songs from best to worst and then just shipped it that way.

It’s been a while since I’ve had to listen to lame 80s music so I guess it was refreshing in that way but otherwise I got no enjoyment out of this. Maybe it was because I got remain in light recently idk. Also not sure why I didn’t give that album a 5.

It's ok. I've heard many albums like this and have passed many, many more like this in the bins. 1,001 other bands no less talented, but selling the same kind of sound. Very 80's. I didn't find much here to make it break out of the pack for me. The Fixx would be a better representation of that sound.

Pleasantly surprised by this. Reward was and still is an epic track. I had heard one of the other tracks from this album at the time and thought what a load of cr@p. But listening to the whole album there are a lot of incredibly good tracks. Treason works so well in both languages. They are described as a psychedelic rock band. Not sure I would quite go that far but there were certainly some serious psychedelic influences, especially Hawkwind. And definitely an album that will be on my buying radar. A lowish 4 for me.

A solid 3 star album. Beautiful reminisce of the early 80s. Boosted by the epic ‘Reward’.

An excellent debut by Julian Cope and Co. Great psychedelic New Wave. Its a nice happy jump around stuff! 'Sleeping Gas','Treason', 'Bouncing Babies' and 'Reward' are real quality, the rest are excellent too. A mid 4.

It's alright, I guess.

Very hard listen to me. It started as bearable, but as long as the tracks passed by, it slowly got in my nerves.

Ahead of it’s time

Awesome new wave album.

It was okay. Inoffensive.

This is a style of music I'm somewhat embarrassed I like as much as I do. That said, this is only an ok version of this style.

Primer acercamiento a The Teardrop Explodes. Buen albúm, con gran composición en general y algunos puntos altos muy destacables. No obstante, solo conecté con esas canciones, por lo que no me veo volviendo a escuchar este LP de inicio a fin. FAVTRAXS: Ha Ha I'm Drowning, Sleeping Gas, Second Hand, Went Crazy LEASTFAV: Treason

Not bad. Tolerable.

More Britpop crap nobody ordered or wants to keep.

I kind of like the bass beats, but this music is very repetitive. Not sure I like the horn section either.

Another day, another brit pop album, nearly at 150 albums and I don't think I've gotten a good one yet

Oh man. I got on this elevator and the music put me into such a stupor I was barely able to press the button and stumble off and out on the fourth floor. If I'd kept going It would have left me comatose.

It's a decent 80's pop album, nothing special. It's easy to get bored of that 80's production sound though. I just always hated how horn sections were recorded.

I don’t remember this band at all. But I enjoyed this quite a bit. Yep it’s 80’s indie. I like 80’s indie. Is it something special, though? Nah.

This was a good listen. I'd put it on again.

Didn't know anything about this band, or any of these songs. But I liked what I heard. I'll listen to this one again and was glad to be introduced to something new.

Kilimanjaro feels like more of a band name, and The Teardrop Explodes feels like an album name. Not here though! I don’t think I’ve heard The Teardrop Explodes before, but if they’re 80’s rock then there is a decent chance I might have heard the odd track. Let’s listen and find out! Songs I already knew: Reward Favourites: Reward, Went Crazy At the risk of sounding old, why are good bass lines such a rare find these days? So much 80’s music is full of great bass licks and this is no exception. I liked a lot about this album, but the bass and the synth horns are the standout parts for me. If you like 80’s music, this definitely feels like an essential listen.

I had never heard of them, but I liked this one. New wave but not aggressively so, worked for me.

Inizialmente non mi convinceva, ma il mood è un po' cambiato...

Not my jam

Decent 80’s sound

Não consigo formar opinião, eu achei neutro só.. não escutaria de novo mas não é ruim

Quite forgettable.

I feel like if I received this album earlier in the list, I would have given it a higher score. But at this point I've had to sit through so many generic early 80s post punk albums that I'm starting to get a bit sick of them. This is by no means awful, but there is nothing even remotely interesting about compared to 90% of the other post punk albums I have listened to. "Thief Of Baghdad" was a cool song, but everything else was so generic and indistinguishable.

Rating: 6/10 Best songs: Went crazy

This album is a banger. Equal parts the Police and the Talking Heads. Tons of energy, tons of groove, with that classic David Byrne weirdness. Loved this album!

pass

Another satisfactory early 80s New Wave Brit Pop band. This was fine, but I don't recall this band ever getting much traction here in the States.

It wasn't that bad, it's just that nothing remotely differentiates it from other music of the same style.

It feels like it should be more exciting but the repetition and vocals just make it boring.

Hay una base post-punk pero más suavizada con teclados/sintetizadores y con las voces no tan oscuras. Lindo disco. Tranquilo.

One or two good songs, I do not feel like I needed to hear this before I die. Why was this on the list?

This was fine.

pretty good overall

Couple of enjoyable moments. But, not enough.

This is what it would sound like if the Talking Heads sucked.

A post punk / new wave record with horns and hints of psychedelia that somehow sounds uninspired, reserved and boring. I'm not sure how they pulled that off, but it's an accomplishment, although not one to be proud of.

Pretty mid!

I think this is a fairly uninspiring new wave album with one great song that wasn't even originally on it. There's a strand of UK new wave that was just a bit purposeless/moody but underwhelmed on the songs.

Another British “no hit wonder” that only put out two albums that no one has ever heard of. Did I need to hear this before I die? Probably not. Am I mad I listened to it? No. It was pretty decent. I agree though, none of the songs particularly jumped out or stuck with me and they were mostly overlong and repetitive. Especially that When I Dream one. It hit the outro 3 minutes into a 7 minute song. It just repeated the same lick for 3 more minutes.

meh,

Jeg hader alt ved det her lort.

Det lyder som Joy Division. Hvis Joy Division var komplet talentløse

He loves saying lyrics twice in a row

Söngurinn er litlaus og lögin fæst eftirminnileg. Reward er mest spilað, það er líka best, hresst brass þar. Annað er frekar boring. Heilt yfir svo sem ekki ferlegt en ég fæ mig ekki til að setja þrist á þetta.

Yet another way too 80s album from the 80s.

I like this, I already knew Reward (not officially in the album, but included on the re-issues) and Treason. Like a poppier Echo and the Bunnymen. I enjoyed the music, bouncy bass lines and Julian Cope’s voice is quite pleasant, no snarling punk timelessness.

Okay listen

I really liked a couple of the songs.

Did not like

Was intrigued by neo-psychedelic, pretty disappointed by the fairly generic 80s Brit pop rock sound. Should have Zevon on the list instead of this.

Cripplingly boring, just why?

ok

This is an intriguing album, being the first time I've heard it or the group - but I was peripherally aware of Juliian Cope with his later solo hit World Shut Your Mouth. Intriguing because at the same time of it being new to me, it sounds so familiar with sounds that I would embrace just a year or 2 later in the age of MTV and all the new wave sounds that I picked up from there. It's like it was a signpost of things to come in British pop. It's a very post-punk oriented rock album that was starting to introduce some synthesizers Favorites are Treason, When I Dream, and Reward.

This is like of punk music was as soft as tissue paper and mixed with synths. This is pretty lame and very dated. Not too sure what separates this from other 80s pop rock music. At this point any British band that did something may have made this list. 4.8/10

Pretty decent. Probably didn't have to be over an hour long. But overall a surprise. Never heard of these guys before probably because to me it seems like typical 80s-fair, albeit right at the start of the decade.

I like

Tuntuu, että on isot puitteet ja hyvä meno, mutta vähän asiaa. Suureellista mutta sielu on hieman hukassa, vaikka vähän sieltä kurkistaa. Live-vedot oli silkkaa mahtailua. Kivat rummut kyllä, ilahduin kasarista.

Pari vetävää riffiä/bassokuviota - eli mitä kasarilta nyt sopii odottaa. En ole riittävän innoissani tarkistamaan mahdollisia laiminlyöntejäni. 2+

Ok. 2.5

Very repetitive.

Might need to listen again

It’s interesting.

Quite liked this, still prefer Cope's solo material but this wasn't bad at all.

It was all right, a little forgettable and a lot of the songs sounded the same. Not bad but not great either.

I think I've come to the conclusion I just don't like britpop.

Nice album, his way of singing is the biggest attraction and When I Dream, a classic new wave song. I do like similar bands lik Echo &Bunnyman and the Chameleons more, bit darker. So was 4 stars in the old days, but 3 still remain.

Good album

I wasn’t sure on the first listen, but this album really grew on me. It’s a bit heavy on the synths for my taste - more new wave than post punk, but there is something about it that has made me come back and listen multiple times over the last few days. Not sure I can place exactly why I like it, but I do. Highlights: Ha Ha I’m Drowning, Sleeping Gas, Second Head, When I Dream.

Has a very classic 80s sound. Didn’t listen to the whole thing. Just wasn’t in the mood. Not bad but to me sounds like any other 80s band.

Was just sorta ok, nothing was very memorable to me

I liked the genuine sounds. It was some good old school rock!

Generic 1980 Brit-pop. I guess it is pleasant.... enough. Really, it's fine... really. I mean, I feel like I ought to like this. And I don't dislike it. But it is nothing especially special. I've never heard of The Teardrop Explodes, and I was still pretty musically savvy in 1980. I was doing the whole "college radio" thing back then, they clearly didn't make any splash in the US. Anyway, easy 3.

This is an underappreciated album (by me) from my favorite time and place in music (GB late 70's - early 80's). I only have the one album from the band and I rarely listen to it. My loss. This was an enjoyable listen and I didn't find a weak track. The use of horns was novel for this type of music and they added to my enjoyment of the album. I enjoyed it enough to explore other albums in the catalog. 4 stars

VERY DATED NOT FOR ME. KINDA BLAH

Some songs were interesting but most faded to the background for me

(regarding 1001 journey: Lately I've been on a down streak and I've come to realize it is not the 1001 best albums, just ones you should hear for better or worse) This album almost had me going, ready to really take it over the coals, until I eventually picked up that it is a joke album, or satire. I should have expected it when the for track literally has "Ha Ha" in the title, but it wasn't until track 5, "Poppies" before I figured it out. Unfortunately every track seems to be making the same joke over and over which eventually got dull, then it kept going on and on to where I had to wonder if maybe it really was just a terrible album and not actually a joke. Now I don't know what is worse. Favorite track: "Poppies in the Field"---because it made me realize it was a joke. 1/5

Classic 80s sound. I really enjoyed this one. I wish I’d given my last two albums 2 stars because this is a 3 star album for me.

# Playlist track - Treason # Notes - Never heard of them. - Right of the bat, this is incredibly 80s. - It drags along too long. But it's fun and interesting. - Worth revisiting in the future.

Interesting 80’s post punk album Iv never heard of, just a bit too much 80’s keyboards for my personal preference. But it did come out at the start of the 80’s so il give them leeway and suggest this is an album you should listen to before you die, but I won’t be rushing back.

stylistic this reminds me of Neil Young‘s „Rockin In The Free World“ Some nice tunes with nice basslines and great drum-fills, but all in all very similar sounding from start to finish

This was eh

2.5

There were parts of this album that felt like I was slowly falling into an acid trip…that was the cool part. Other than that nothing felt all that special or particularly special about this album. Just another 80s rock album.

Not bad, cool listen. Live track at the end wasn’t great. Very average to me, but 3/5 for now as a second listen might help

HL: “Sleeping Gas”, “Treason”, “When I Dream”, “Reward” (bonus track), title track (which oddly is a bonus track) I approve of this seeming blend of Magical Mystery Tour & Talking Heads ‘77 Kinda makes me want to Watch Rafferty turn into a serial 3.5 January 31st, 2024

I don’t know man. This one was hard to get through

Not my favorite genre, but still entertaining enough.

all in all, Kilimanjaro is, and will continue to be, a timeless classic. it’s a seminal work in the alternative music canon; it’s beautiful - i love it. anything less than an 8/10 for this album is disrespectful. it’s fun, and really what the 80s were about ! i definitely recommend this album :)

It felt like generic 80s new wave/post-punk, very repetitive. It has its moments, but they are few and far between.

It's solid post-punk new wave-y stuff, nothing much to comment on really. Kind of breezes past you, probably doesn't deserve to be on the list, but at least it doesn't overstay it's welcome.

Sometimes they use horns in their songs, which I love. Cool 80s vibe before it became the norm.

This is such a 80's Brit-pop sound, bouncy, fun and at time infectious, but really nothing that makes it stand out as being essential. If you played this alongside other similar sounding bands from this era, it would be difficult to differentiate them, just not memorable. With that being said this was a good listen, I didn't feel the need to turn it off early and I might listen again in the future.

Great driving beats. Classic 80s sound. Upbeat and fun. Modern comparison is the zutons

unlistenable

I quite liked it :) nothing special, and I didn't really like the songs at the end of the album, but the first ones were pretty good

Yeah thought the album to be quite boring, and yes too long lmao. Some funky beepboops with the synths though so some merit

Fantastic album. Love Cope's voice and there is not a duff song on here. A great document of that time, the New Wave stylings of the time with a sprinkling of 60s psychedelia and even soul with tracks like Treason. The lyrics are great here too. A real feel-good album for me - full of optimism with a slightly twisted edge.

There's so much soul throughout this album. The horn section is STONKING throughout. Yet there remains a dark, early 80's mystique. You can almost feel the weight of the trench coats as you listen. I had no idea that PWEI sampled When I Dream. A fantastic album

Not a huge fan of this style. This is about the time recordings started going digital and everything sounds like it was recorded in a black box. Musicianship is good but not big on the vocal style.

Most of the songs sounded like generic 80s pop but then I heard some U2-like drumming in Kilimanjaro. Won't be listening to this one again.

80' Rock (like New Adventures...) driving beat, Hammond organ, good clear lead voice

Never heard of this band before and I really could've lived without ever listening to them. Legit only a couple of good tracks in an overall really mid album. A bit too long for what it delivers.

Fun, funky, upbeat British 80s pop. Music was well mixed and a good time to listen to, vocals were great, honestly I'm surprised they aren't better know (at least by me, never heard of them before).

Didn’t finish the album. Did not enjoy.

7.4

This album was Bantha fodder. Men at work meets Devo and got invaded by a flock of seagulls. I was thinking about 1980 and what was released around that time, and one of the songs was like something from the Wall that never made it past the sound room. Sorry exploding teardrop dudes.

As new wave as it gets. Horns, guitars, pop synth, weird lyrics, moody vocals, this album has it all. Some of the tunes have a Dexys Midnight Runner vibe that I really dig. Some of them were repetitive and lame. Overall it was fun to listen to.

kinda boring, felt uninspired

I liked it, not loved it but the music and lyrics were rich and full and I enjoyed most of the rhythms. I would've given it 5 stars but after 1/2 of the album it started feeling repetitive.

Community radio cool

It’s ok. 2 stars

This is a mildly enjoyable post punk record that didn’t stick with me much after listening. Some solid grooves and guitar work, but I could do without all the extra horns and overall goofiness this gave off. Could just be me. I dunno, it’s early.

This record never reaches the heights of its namesake, but I did quite like the bubbling flow of funky bass lines throughout.

I love 80's music, but i've never listened to this british band before and for what i listen in this album they were a really talented band, specially with that new wave style. The riffs and synths here are really cool!! Of course some songs are better then others, my favorites were "Poppies" and "Thief Of Baghdad". I personally noticed something that maybe it's an illusion of mine that is not very important but in some songs the voice of Julian Cope sounded a bit like David Bowie.

Fairly simple new wave album. Was pretty bored at first, but came around on it. Some fun sounds throughout. Some more listens and I think this would grow on me.

Very uninspiring. Sounds a bit like tame 80s circus music to me. Not great, not terrible either.

Some 80s psychedelia which is a genre I'm not sure if I've listened to before. Favourite songs were probably Treason" and "Reward" where the blend between 80s groove and physch reallly worked well. It is a bit too long and samey though. Took me a few listens to get into but it's growing on me each listen.

80’er britpop, postpunk-vibe, lidt for meget som noget man har hørt før

I've never been massively keen on the post-punk/new wave sound but I enjoyed this more than I expected. Its influence on some of my favourite 90s Britpop bands is really clear to see as well.

Cool album if nothing special or unique to them. I have no real strong opinions on it either way. Just a solid easy to listen to album.

So much did not like this

This was underwhelming.

3 stars, decent

Julian Cope formed The Teardrop Explodes at the close of the 1970’s. This short and skewed new-wave offering, “Kilimanjaro”, is his first recorded output: he would later release another one-and-a-half albums with The Teardrop Explodes, thirty-six albums alone, three books on music history, two books on megalithic history, and one book of fiction. And he’s still going… what a madman. Perhaps Cope would like to be considered a polymath nowadays: rock’s renaissance man. But in 1980, at least, it’s clear that he was a bassist first and foremost. His basslines are the centre of most of “Kilimanjaro”’s songs, carrying the lead with the organ, trumpets and sometimes even vocals filling in the space around them. Guitar, added by Alan Gill and session musician Michael Finkler, is relegated to a crashing chord or fleeting lead line every now and then. Cope’s vocals are fine, but mostly indistinguishable from the legions of other semi-crooning, semi-yelling new-wave acts of the day. So what were my highlights? The arresting intro of “Ha Ha I’m Drowning”, a promising kick-off. The hectic climax of “Sleeping Gas”: swelling brass smothered in organ. The whole of “Treason (It’s Just a Story)”: probably the catchiest offering here with a winning chorus, nice layers of backing vocals. “Books”, written with Cope’s previous band The Crucial Three (Pete Wylie and Ian McCulloch). These are all great fun, and a lot of the songs around them are decent, perfectly enjoyable. I just couldn’t escape the feeling that “Kilimanjaro” becomes a little stuck in a rut. It’s hard to believe six of these tracks were released as singles, though it’s easier to understand that chart success eluded the band. It’s a shame the trumpets don’t show up more often, because they’re one of the things I latched onto the most. Most of the songs don’t really travel far enough over the course of their runtime: the ultimate example is “When I Dream”, which comes at the end of the original release and outstays its welcome by about three minutes, repeating a fairly lackluster hook ad nauseam. Later versions of the album would then tack on the single “Reward”, after it became the band’s biggest song: it’s probably better than anything else here. So “Kilimanjaro” is a decent time, but it’s not anything hugely special. When Julian Cope was once asked if he’d want to go back to The Teardrop Explodes, he responded “would you want to go back to having your mother wipe your arsehole?” I respect this: can’t say I blame him too much.

Really dig this

It was ok for British post punk -I think liked this better than Echo and bunnymen, joy division, or the smiths. Some frantic new wave energy but nothing really stuck with me 2.5 2.5 2.5

Not a chance I’m gonna remember listening to this. Brave boys I really hated though.

I don’t know why…but I didn’t hate this. I thought some of the melodies and lyrics were cool.

These guys are reading my mail. Clearly, based on what he has to say in “Treason,” that he was involved with Erin’s long-lost English cousin. Big middle-finger energy. “ you’ve got to be wary of people with knives in their back.” Amen, brother. What I find really striking is it these songs predated the cures big hits by seven years “Pictures of You” and “Lovesong” by nine. The Dwyer Brothers may have been dysfunctional or fucks if they were good at the whole music thing and I just feel like Robert Smith must’ve been hanging out with them and they were figuring out their corner of the zeitgeist together and/but when Teardrop continued to be just incapable to get their shit together year after year he was like fuck it man, it’s my sound now. I have so much to say about Rob Smith and the cure but I suppose I’ll save it for when one of their albums comes up because one has got to at some point.

i listened to julian cope's (vocalist and bassist) peggy suicide many months ago as part of this project; i enjoyed the variety of genres, the topics, and the creativity. while i love the band name, the teardrop explodes' kilimanjaro didn't have the same excitement. i do appreciate the psychedelic vibes, which weren't found often in 1980, at a late punk stage. it's a different kind of music, which is probably why it made this list in the first place. on a positive note, i did enjoy the lyrics. i did get some sense of creativity. to title a song "ha ha i'm drowning" but reference it to drowning in love is quite amusing.

This album was pretty average...nothing bad, but nothing revolutionary. That said, it did a decent job at mixing in a lot more active psychedelic vibes than are typically heard in new wave music. It makes for an interesting spin on new wave, but it's still not enough to bring this album up from its extreme averageness. I wish I had more to say, but...yeah. Again, the word of the day here is "average", so I think an unenthusiastic 3 is probably fitting.

Sounds like every other 80s new wave album on this list. The horns on the opening track were fun; the hook on When I Dream was profoundly irritating; the rest of the album was completely indistinguishable

Melodischer instrumental Jazz

This didn't do all that much for me, which is odd, as I'm typically pretty sympathetic to this genre. I was listening to other things at the time. If this was familiar to me and I had been listening to it back then, I might be more excited about it.

Good new wave/neo psychedelia album from the UK. Not too complex and far out, but not too commercial either.

Just different enough to be interesting but just commercial enough to be successful.

I feel like deluxe could have got me to a 4, but I wanted to base it off the original (first 11) and those didn’t sell me enough.

12/21/23. Started off slow but then got more interesting and a little psychedelic as the album goes on. I want to listen to this one again but enjoyed on the initial listen.

Interesting. I didn't like it at first but it grew on me

Coming in hot with horns. Not really going anywhere. This is a strange a strange synth new wave slight punk feeling going on but I don't feel it lands anywhere. Not my favourite album but glad to have listened to it once.

I like some of the music, but I can't get past the vocal styling. It starts to make me feel like I just keep hearing the same track.

Elemental. You can really see a lot of elemental aspects of British Indie and what would become indie. It starts out kind of punky-poppy, but it really starts to pick up in the second half as they add in more instruments and interesting song patterns. The horns + brass are really good. The deep drums on songs like Kilimanjaro is also really interesting and unique. Really fun album!

I've never heard of this band before but I actually enjoyed this. LIstened to it pretty much straight through. Some good drums on a couple of these tracks. 80s London. What a time!

Feel like I would need to use Quaaludes to fully appreciate this album

Ok, not the worst album I've hear on this list, but it's close LOL. Seriously these lyrics are laughable! Maybe this was impressive in 1980, but now it sounds like something you could generate with Ai. Not good.

I have never heard of these guys. "Ha Ha I'm Drowning" (killer title for an opener) comes in hot with the big synths and British shout-singing. Funky ass New Wave track - "Ha ha, I'm drowning in your love" with synthed out horn pops and bouncy bass. Sounds about right, this should be a fun listen. I'm generally liking the sound - dancey New Wave bops, some goofy OTT horn pops and synth flexing throughout, funky bass runs and a very energetic vocalist who delivers some choice bratty talk singing. Some tunes are better than others, but it's all pretty fun.

Very generic, not very memorable.

Very good! Sort of punk, sort of psychedelic, sort of A Flock Of Seagulls, often high energy. A couple of misses on the album tracks, but the singles deserve repeated listens.

post-punk is basically an automatic 10/10 for me especially when it slaps this hard

To me, it's just another New Wave sounding album. Nothing special. But, it still has a few decent songs on it.

Quite good, but not mind blowing nor up my street. I was pleasantly surprised given that I found the Wikipedia write up a touch off putting.

I'm only 50 albums in, I was born in England in the early 80's and I'm already sick of all these 80's British bands. This was fine, bit it doesn't warrant making this list.

This is the best of the 80 surely?

Really solid stuff

Enjoyable, if up and down album. Strong Echo and the Bunnymen vibes - which makes sense since both band leaders were in an earlier band together.

Great album from the early days of the synth-goth movement. Shockingly excellent front half, but marred by a back half that was fairly inconsistent for me. Overall great listen though. Reminded me a lot of another great Liverpool band, Echo & The Bunnymen. Top tracks: Ha Ha I’m Drowning, Sleeping Gas, Second Head, Poppies, Books, When I Dream

Really fun. Love the vibe and the singer is really fun. 80s schlock at its best

It’s just not very enjoyable to listen to. Discordant, cacophonous, overproduced. Not a fan.

Vastly underrated. There's a drive and edginess that showed just how serious new wave bands could be. The textures are intriguing – keys and horns embroidering the tense and steady drumming and jangly-esque guitars. A high level of quality throughout can't hide the lack of a pure hit, until the last song (which goes on a bit too long to be an actual hit.) A bit of '80s synth work crosses the "dated vs. timeless" line. But one hears lots that later bands would steal – the dreaded curse of influence. Cope deserved more.

"When I dream" was unbearable. Everything else was just background noise.

Lame 80s synth pop. Nothing special.

I love echo and the bunny men and had never heard of them so was a good surprise. Really enjoyed the entire album. Rating: 4.8

Never heard anything from them. Songs like Sleeping Gas clearly influenced Blur greatly

Semi experimental post punk with some so so live tracks

fantastic album. haven’t listened to this is forever!

Quite interesting

It's another case of every song sounds the same to me. Doesn't sound bad but it is just the same song 17 times.

Ha Ha I'm Drowning - so far it's giving me Men At Work. it just sounds like british 70s upbeat pop rock so far (2/5 it's not catchy though. just repetitive) Sleeping Gas - okay this is a vibe so far. (4/5 for giving a little funk in the middle there) Treason - i think this is giving “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” and “White Wedding” (3/5 i had to look through songs i don’t really like >:/) Second Head - ??? white wedding again??? (2/5 it’s just a repetitive bassline.) Poppies - it is a 5 minute long song. i just feel like i’ve heard this before. it’s really not standing out to me at all (2/5) Went Crazy - do you think he looked around? (3/5 the bass fucks cause it’s an 80s song from the era of funk/pop rock but i can’t. i read the lyrics, actually this song’s message fucks) B.B.K.T.P - kinda interesting but fairly short. (3/5 i’m back to feeling kind of neutral about this) Bouncing Babies - i like the more spooky sound that comes with using the synths and loud drums. (4/5 fine this fucks) Books - actually if i hear one more fucking bassline that just goes up and down the whole time i am going to lose it. (2/5 it’s the only thing i can hear) Thief of Baghdad - okay why is this album like.. every other song fucking sucks. this song is so good?? (4/5 because i cannot in good conscience give any song on this album a 5. it has to wow me) When I Dream - she said doot doot doot. bapadabapadabap you know? (3/5 okay a normal pop song thing going on. oh no it is 7 minutes of nonsense words. i’m going to kill myself 2/5) Reward - i think this is just ska. (3/5 ska) Kilimanjaro - oh the start of “Rasputin” or a Pink Floyd song. easy. this is nothing. it’s building up to nothing. (2/5 come on please end this album good) Strange House In The Snow - me when i have to move a metal chair on a tile floor. but the chair is also.. a donkey? (4/5 okay! this is very Pink Floyd i don’t mind this. The weird sounds kinda sound like shit, but it adds to the ambiance) Use Me - he is getting pegged. (2/5 you cannot convince me otherwise) Traison - okay this is just Treason in French. i wasn't sure (1/5 for this song being in simlish) i really wish i could like this whole album but the up and downs of consistency was so ass. sorry you get 3/5

All the songs sound the same

Great album, catchy tunes. Enjoyed this listen.

Not sure what's particularly psychedelic about this album; I actually think it's pretty bland. My many times taking psychedelics have been anything but. Another reviewer described this as poppier Joy Division, which I think sums it up perfectly.

AJ (wiki, really): Along with other contemporary Liverpudlian groups, The Teardrop Explodes played a role in returning psychedelic elements to mainstream British rock and pop, initially favouring a modernised version of lightly psychedelic late 1960s-influenced beat-group sound (sometimes described as "bubblegum trance"[2]) and later exploring more experimental areas. In addition to their musical reputation, the band (and Cope in particular) had a reputation for eccentric pronouncements and behaviour, sometimes verging on the self-destructive, resulting in the band's

Pretty Standard 80's britpop.

This is not Kilimanjaro by The Rippingtons & Russ Freeman (although the album cover looks pretty cool, albeit very mid to late 80s). 🙄 What's cooler is the debut album from the awesomely named Teardrop Explodes; who unveil, in eleven taut tracks, what could have been had things not gone completely off the rails by megalomania and utter chaos. Whether it's four men staring at you in varying degrees of lucidity or just a pack of zebras roaming in actual Kilimanjaro, one is subsumed in the kinds of ambition that was possible in the late stage of post-punk/early early synthpop. Favorites: Ha Ha I'm Drowning, Sleeping Gas, Treason, Poppies in the Field, Went Crazy, Bouncing Babies, Books, When I Dream.

Excellent example of the genre

Het tempo zit er op een goede manier in, het album behoudt de aandacht Zou het nog wel 4 sterren geven

One of the most drug-addled albums that drug addicts created.

This stays on the edge of something I'd really like, related to other early '80s British new wave pop, but it never quite gets there for me. It got a little tedious and I got a little annoyed at times.