Underwater Moonlight

Not my jam

Holy hell! This was way too long. The songs are not bad. It just need to be broken out into three albums.

I had to listen for a while until I actually began to appreciate this. It’s a fun mix between 60s rock and post punk

Got an hour in and was wondering whether the album was still going and… HOLY SHIT THERES STILL SO MUCH MUSIC LEFT. With that being said this was kinda my style. Beastie Boys-esque

Слабый альбом, ничего необычного, проходняк 5/10

Not really much of anything to me

The origination of the Brit Pop movement, before their time and ready to shine.

Slightly weird lyrics

That was a great album. As an original sound in the late 70s, this would have been spectacular.

(45th Remaster, original 10 tracks) Interesting album. You can easily hear where it came from, and also the Eighties alternative rock it would ultimately inspire, yet it somehow still manages to have its own unique sound. In fact, it is tough to even categorize this music into a distinct genre. This was one of my favorite discoveries so far. Excellent record!

Mmmm no se si me termina de convencer del todo pero como sé que tiene influencias en banda importantes, le doy un 3

Bue, la versión de 3 horas jajaaj, lo escucho otro día.

If I listened to this album like a year ago maybe I’d have more positivity about this review, however I’m sick of mediocre rock

3/5. This is a solid little rock album that actually feels pretty predictive of a lot of the college-rock and jangle-pop to come later in the decade. You can hear the basis for bands like R.E.M., the Smiths and even later indie acts like the Pixies at points on this album. That being said, it’s a case where this album walked so those artists could run, both in the sense that upon its release this album wasn’t particularly successful, but also in that it just isn’t as good as most of what it inspired. Still a number of great songs though like the closing title track, the opener “I wanna destroy you” or “positive vibrations” which has a solid bounce to its instrumental.

This album is sooo long wtf??? Too long! For this many songs that kinda all sound the same and dare I say - aren't thaaat good. Little bit spooky, little bit glam-rock overhang which is enjoyable but it's not like as camp as that so not as fun. Hearing a bit of proto-soft cell ;) spoken word singing vibes - again, enjoyable but just like not quite fun enough for me I'm sorry.

Literally sounds like Jim E Brown in places, not so much in others. But of a mixed bag for me, some of it I really like and some of the horny teenage boy stuff just doesn’t land at all

Another previously unknown British offering. But this one was actually a welcome surprise! And 1980! With a few more listens, this actually might become beloved. 4 Boolean: True

this one was interesting... never heard of this band before. i might give it another listen someday. songs that stood out to me right now: "Positive Vibrations"- i liked how they used the sitar (though they might have been using it ironically idk :P) "Insanely Jealous"- there was a bit with the drums that was pretty cool.

'Queen of Eyes' and 'I Wanna Destroy You' are both so good

With pop hooks galore, Underwater Moonlight bridges the gap between classic pop rock and the indie scene. "I Wanna Destroy You" and "Tonight" are absolute scorchers that take Big Star's power pop to the next level. Elsewhere, "Queen of Eyes" is an extremely catchy bite-sized song that feels a bit like proto-Guided by Voices. There's a little bit of Beatles, and a little bit of The Replacements. There's also some weird stuff, like the spoken word "Old Pervert," "I Got the Hots," and "Insanely Jealous." Those songs are weaker than the straightforward pop songs, but they also give the album some much needed variety so it's not all big hooks. This is maybe not as good as what inspired it and what it inspired, but it's still a very interesting and fun album.

6/10… power pop / post punk / *1980

Long album.

A surprising listen from a previously unknown band for me. While there is some online rhetoric about how their sound didn't do anything unique, you do have to contextualize that this album came out in June of 1980. This was prescient pop-punk, likened with The Buzzcocks and The Clash. They deserve to be talked about more.

I didn't listen to all 40 songs. After the 10 original tracks, I skipped the 30 bonus tracks. The album wasn't bad, but I obviously didn't like it enough to want more of the same. 3/5

idk if this makes any sense but it feels like if the beach boys tried making jangle pop. its alright im just not super into it

A classic. Kingdom of Love is one of my all time favourites

New to me, after the album I sort out a few more tracks which is always a good sign. 3 stars.

Entirely new to me and an enjoyable listen. Would revisit

Ohhhh, ❤️❤️❤️ ❤️, one of my very favourite albums, thank you for sharing RGP. All together now 🎶🎶🎶🎶 “I (eyeeyeyeeye) wanna destroy you…” What a start to a Saturday!!!!! 4 stars. Tom.

4.5/10

Is this hippie week with the algorithm or something!? I've had The Byrds, Gene Clark, and now this!? There were a couple of songs that didn't completely suck, but I hate this vocal harmony style. I dig the cover, though; it kinda reminds me of Genesis' "Land of Confusion" music video. Anyway, I didn't care much for this. 2 stars.

Don’t know any Soft Boys, but this album is a great entry to The 1001 Must Hear List. Holds up well for an album from 1980, great variety, unusual song topics, fun jangle pop. Hard to believe they produced it for under $2000. (4.4*s) Liked it enough to check out the extended version.

The Soft Boys' Underwater Moonlight didn't stand out as anything great. Pretty generic brit punk pop rock for me. Not bad though. I guess they influenced a lot of other bands...who knew? Throwing this record in the decent but not revisiting pile...2.33 stars.

Never heard of The Soft Boys and I'm not sure why. Seems like they had a pretty good pop rock sound that would have earned them some airplay in the 80's. After hearing this album I'm wondering why they only have 2 albums as it seems like they were able to put together a pretty complete record with some solid tunes. The songs are accessible, have the right allure for radio play and don't fall into a lot of the 80's synth formula that was copied by so many other forgotten bands that never broke through. Underwater Moonlight wasn't amazing, but I appreciate this album as a bit of an overlooked gem. Never heard of this band and they evidently hung it up afterward, so I think it works as a good list entry. I can understand why this would have some cult status as a hidden gem. Fans of the band must have wondered what happened in the wake of this release. 2.85 stars

Getting destroyed by soft boys is what it’s all about baby

40% was ok, rest didn't really work for me and was too niche. 2.6

Good sound

10/15 Lame Beatles rip-off, and I dont like the Beatles

This was a very pleasant surprise.

(3/7) the music was fine but the cover was unsettling

Very good album. It does indeed sound a bit like The Replacements or R.E.M. And I love those bands, so I also enjoyed this one (and I am aware that this actually predates the others, so discovering this album was really nice). It has some psychedelic and some "Beatleness" as well. Some tracks I particularly enjoyed: "I Wanna Destroy You", "Kingdom Of Love" (weird lyrics), "Positive Vibrations" (really loved the instrumental break...sitar included), "I Got The Hots" (also interesting lyrics, and very nice dynamics), "Insanely Jealous Of You" (nice guitar work), "You'll Have To Go Sideways" (I tend to enjoy instrumentals), "Queen Of Eyes" (nice Byrds-style jangle guitar), or "Underwater Moonlight". So, it's basically most of the songs. This is a very, very solid 4 star album. It may even reach 5 stars after a few more listens.

Overall I find this pretty meh. There's no way I'm listening to 40 songs of this - the original album is plenty, thanks.

first three songs were really cool, proper music. but then they hit us with 'Old Pervert' and the album lost a few points. overall i enjoyed the sound. also only listened to the first 10 tracks which were listed on RYM. not listening to all 40.... holy.... 3.35/5

During the height of post-punk, when new wave was not yet ruined by synth-pop, one band said: "Hey remember like 10 years ago, when psych rock was a really big deal? What if we did that?"

Love it, it’s like if the Beatles evolved and made an album in 1980

I listened through rwice to this but didnt get a hold of it. I can see where the reviews come from as it had ingredients of things that came later. but after 1000 albums it misses something to make it stand out

I guess, why is this here

One of those random british albums that make us all question the point of doing this project. it is *fine* also one of those albums that users fail to realize is loaded with extras. the album is 36 minutes long, but many users are complaining about the length of the streaming versions (2 hours)

Interesting, another one I’m surprised I haven’t heard before now. Definitely rates a relisten some time.

An easy listener.

Went by quick, and I enjoyed it enough.

Very long and mad decent album

I feel like I'm smoking crack. Everyone seems to love this album, but i really didn't.

Are they soft like soft wangs or soft like not muscle-y. Does the bear shit in the past few months in the woods

Yeah !!

heeerlijk! ook daadwerkelijk goede remaster for once, meestal vind ik originelen beter klinken maar niet de zachte jongens. enorm ver voor z'n tijd, genieten

heerlijk !! favorieten waren insanely jealous en i wanna destroy you

It was good but nothing really jumped out at me. I think the oversaturation of UK based bands on this list is starting to make them all sound jumbled together in my head.

I Wanna Destroy You 🌟

Post punk with a touch of jangle rock vibes here. It’s really good. I’m not hearing anything revolutionary, but there’s also nothing not to like.

It's alright, not particularly mind blowing. I Got the Hots is pretty good.

It’s 80s and I don’t enjoy but this was just fine.

Ничего выдающегося

Les tenía muchas ganas. Siempre he leído y oído hablar de ellos como una de las mejores bandas de rock de los 80 y este disco estaba entre los favortios siempre. Robyn Hitchcock es una celebridad y Kimberley Rew formaría parte de Katrina and the Waves, otro grupo con muy buenos temas. Aquí su segundo y más influyetnte disco (R.E.M., (The Dream Syndicate, The Replacements y The Flaming Lips, etc etc). La portada no es ninguna joya. I wanna destroy you es power-pop. Kingdom of love, suena a Television. Positive vibrations es rock nueva-olero. I got the hots, esa sí es buena. Gran final. Tonight también.

I can see why this is a cult classic even if I'm an agnostic about it.

some great tones and licks but not especially convinced by this tbh

Way too long they all sounded the same

A pretty average album at best. 3 stars or C-.

A pretty solid album that exists at the intersection of OG British Invasion and new wave. “Insanely Jealous” was a real standout.

ALBUM DIVERTENTE, ABBASTANZA SPERIMENTALE E CON UN PROPRIO CONTENUTO COERENTE. "INSANELY JEALOUS OF YOU" E "TONIGHT" PER ME SONO LE MIGLIORI. QUALCHE BRANO DA RIASCOLTARE PER IMMERGERSI DI PIU' IN QUESTO PUNK. DO 3+ TENDENTE AL 4. 3/5

The Stranglers did it better.

2,5 Highlights: I Wanna Destroy You, Positive Vibrations

sounds like the 90s somehow

A cool album that sounds a bit ahead of its time

Favorite Track: Old Pervert

Really good!!

This is pretty good music but kinda forgettable. Another one of those that I’m not sure why it was chosen. But I did like it fine.

Fun album. I had never heard of these guys before.

Groupe inconnu. Le premier morceau est un punk/rock plutôt standard, mais les suivants sont plus originaux. J’ai bien aimé l’instrumental ‘You'll Have to Go Sideways’ inattendu et bienvenu. Et globalement les morceaux sont tous assez différents ce qui est plutôt une bonne surprise, même si parfois elle tombe à côté. Album à écouter de nouveau donc. =>3/5

This was really, didn't listen to all 40 gtracks of the deluxe version though! In places it was a bit Talking Heads, other places were a bit Bowie. The production lets it down a little bit but I still really enjoyed it

The first songs did cause an impression because of all the negativity but then it was always the same old same.

This album was... alright. I went into this album with no major expectations as I do with all of my listens but I have to admit, something about the cover felt really enticing and knowing that this album's genre has a psychedelic rock tag on it—one of my favorite subgenres of rock—I was a bit more intrigued. The album is good but I don't really see myself returning to it all that much if ever. The vibe is cool but it doesn't hold much notability past a few moments and most of the tracks were forgotten once I moved onto the next one. Not a bad record, just kind of "too okay" in my opinion.

Not bad. It sounds like a mix of the Ramones, Lou Reed, and T. Rex. 3 stars.

movie or this boring shit?

Ska definitivt lyssna mer på

I hear the Byrds comparisons, unfortunately they are hit-and-miss for me, as is this album. I'm continually baffled by people thinking they have to listen to several hours of bonus tracks included on the album on streaming. Just look up the original track listing, surely? I loved the krautrockesque You'll Have to Go Sideways, I'd have preferred a whole album of that to the Byrds imitations.

Just listened to the original release, not the 2-3 hour version on Spotify and it’s a cracker.

This can not be an album you should listen to before you die

It def had some good things going for it but overstayed its welcome

Good album. Lot of Velvet Underground influence here along with Bowie. I really enjoyed the album, every song is good. 4.5 for me.

It’s not terrible, but I found it very dull listening. Also, as a more than passing fan of R.E.M., just not hearing where this album/group had any influence on R.E.M.

one of my favorite all-timers. easy 5- stars from me

This Jangle Pop album feels like walking through a strange little British seaside town where everything looks cheerful and familiar at first, but every shop window, conversation and street corner contains something slightly wrong. The guitars jangle and buzz with bright 60s-inspired melodies, while the rhythm section keeps everything moving with a loose punk energy. Robyn Hitchcock's relaxed vocals float over the music almost casually, even when the lyrics suddenly turn surreal, grotesque or absurd. The result is catchy enough to pull me along, but eccentric enough that I never quite know what I'm going to encounter around the next corner. The album keeps switching between psychedelic pop, punk, power pop and stranger detours without completely losing its sense of melody, making the whole thing feel like a familiar place that has somehow become slightly deranged.

Ok

They do about as well as a band could do operating under the influences of psych rock in the early 80’s. The lyrics are (at times) even more lucid than their 60’s predecessors, and some of their contemporary touch-ups to the sound were much needed. But, in the end, they’re still smacking their heads against the relatively low ceiling of psychedelic rock. It’s such a limiting, tired set of guard rails to impose on one’s sound - especially in the context of this list. I’d be lying to you if I were to give this more than a 2/5, even if it’s an interesting addendum to it’s own genre. Favorites were “I Got The Hots” and “Insanely Jealous” back to back for both being pretty clever

Very boring.

Pre Listen: Never heard of them, but that's quite a striking album cover. Papier Mache figurines? Why are her shoes off? I appreciate a neat album cover, but no expectations going in regardless. Notable Tracks: I Got the Hots - Least favorite song. I just dislike this sort of rompy, dirty bar-styled type rock. Utterly boring to me. You'll Have to Go Sideways - Favorite track of the album. I know there's a pattern of my favorites being lyric-less songs on albums I'm unfamiliar with, but this is just such a jam. Post Listen: Neat album. I was impressed by the number of rock genres explored throughout. Album had a sprinkling of psychedelia, punk, prog, classic, and probably a few more. I liked the lyrics in a good few songs, and the vocals were pretty decent, especially the occasional harmony. I definitely felt some Beatles influence through the album as well, which was alright because they didn't let it define them. Good variety of instruments, all played well too. On occasion the melodies could become a slight bit repetitive, but no song lasted long enough where that became an issue. My only complaint is feeling like some songs were left just a bit unpolished- the occasional odd vocal moment, or off-beat percussion, or odd guitar choice. Very close to being a 5-star album. If I was a producer in the 80's I'd have bet a ton of money on these guys. 4/5

There’s a hint of something here, it’s just too much for my personal tastes. If the full album was more akin to Queen of Eyes, I think this would be right up my alley.

Lot of fun stuff going on here, can definitely hear these guys as a bridge between the late 60s and Stone Roses

It seems like a weird psychedelic pop punk with a couple of fun tunes, but apparently it's very important. One day I hope to understand the popularity of punk