Kings Of The Wild Frontier

Kings of the Wild Frontier They are a great post punk pop band, magpie-ing contemporary and B-movie references, double drums, Marco Pirroni’s excellent guitar and Adams camped up swaggering persona and delivery to make some excellent singles. Those same qualities are probably what gets them unfairly dismissed as a bit of novelty act, that they are throwaway 80s pop stars and not much more. Having said that there is an initial sense that there isn’t too much beyond the singles in Dog Eat Do, Antmusic and Kings of the Wild Frontier, but in reality there are plenty of gems on here. Pironni gets just the right amount of twang on Los Rancheros, it’s a great western inspired track and Ants Invasion sort of combines Black Sabbath and Joy Division for a great bit of sinisterism. Killer in the Home has some Echo and the Bunnymen to it. The Magnificent Five is a great bit of camped up glam-post-punk and Don’t be Square is an excellent track with great bass and a campy 50s rock and roll new wave feel to it. Jolly Roger is more campy fun and Making History melds a Disco-ey Bo Diddley guitar rhythm and pop melody to pleasing effect. The Human Beings is a great groove, the nagging refrain is a real earworm. All in all, there’s plenty of fun and some surprisingly great and ominous songs to easily make this a 4. 🐜🐜🐜🐜 Playlist submission: Antmusic

These ants can play! They even break into metallic riffs!! Holy hell, I expected another British, new wave stinker, but was pleasantly surprised throughout. I'm so shell-shocked, I have nothing to say. Usually I am packed full of half-finished thoughts that are exhorted amidst a truly Gen Z potpourri of YouTube in one ear, work on one monitor, and frequent breaks to google things that don't matter. If you're expecting quality, read somebody else's reviews. Maybe that douchebag who reviewed Elliott Smith's "Figure 8" with his college recollections has something pithy to add about "Kings of the Wild Frontier." The metal riffs and the camp energy are big plusses here, but the melodic repetition keeps this from being a truly upper-echelon release. I am surprised though, which means the sun and jeers are lessened, at least for now, as I, your humble musical jesus trudges my accursed procession to musical Golgotha. 3.5 GENRE: Metal for Marching Band Kids

I'm here for this one, dug it. Is it great? No. Fun? You betcha.

- - I wanted to love it. I recall it being the 'IT" album in 1980/81 - and Adam was a sex icon. Everyone went out as Adam for the Halloween. So when this popped up, I was like "5!!!". However... aside from "Dog Eat Dog" and Ant Music, the rest is lacking... sigh and 2 Albums?!!! It did not age well for old fans. Maybe fresh ears will enjoy?

Completely fine. New wave. Interesting at times, can't really knock it, just wasn't compelled by it.

kind of repetitive and boring overall, but it has its moments.

Jako bezveze album, u nizu bezveznjara i nebitnih albuma koji su nekako dospjeli tu. 1/5, 1/10

Album #246: Adam and the Ants – Kings of the Wild Frontier ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Like The Holy Bible yesterday, this is a grower. Unlike the Manic Street Preachers, though, this one was a bit more immediate for me. The first two tracks had me thinking about a lot of things, but mainly Dexys Midnight Runners. I’m not entirely sure why. Maybe it’s because they’re contemporaries, or maybe it’s because Adam Ant’s vocals sound faintly like Kevin Rowland. But where Dexys are Van Morrison, Adam and the Ants are David Bowie. And while I love both artists, I think I’d rather David Bowie. That got me intrigued, but whatever happens after those first two tracks, from there on, this album takes off. It incorporates so many different styles of music while remaining quite minimal. It’s as much a post-punk album as it is a new wave album, but it’s got a punky energy to it. There are shouty vocals, which I quite like, and heavy drums that basically take up most of the tracks. Adam Ant is an eccentric vocalist in the vein of Bryan Ferry, Morrissey and the aforementioned Kevin Rowland. It’s all great. The lyrics sound good throughout, too. But the main thing this album has going for it is this. I’m a very simple man, I’m here reviewing all these albums, stroking my chin and trying to sound like I know anything about music. Honestly, if you gave me a fucking chord, a well-struck guitar chord with a bit of distortion and a bit of volume behind it, I’m all yours. Adam Ant, baby, I’m all yours, because this album has some lovely, distorted, heavy guitar that gets right to my soul. That’s enough to keep me coming back.

Alreet album, some tunes, zingy pirate tune aswell 🦜

This seems like kind of a zany fella

Adam n The Ants were quite the shipment and that's where they are best live on stage Some good songs nothing really jumps out as hot number.

3,5

fun, 3

Kinda went back and forth between 4 stars and 2 stars on this one - everything was pretty ok, but I would have liked it a lot better if there were something that stood out ... like say Goody Two Shoes (which I was hoping would be on here, but I guess that was when he was solo). Oh well, a 3 it is.

Meh, more strange than good.

Loved this more than I should have back in the day, cos it wasn’t really that good. I didn’t expect much from it today but I was pleasantly surprised.

pues chulo

Pretty fun album, I enjoyed it.

geen diepzinnige teksten (hoewel.. Nietzsche???) of exotische ritmes... maar fun all the way!

Enjoyed much more than I expected - an interesting crossover between post-punk and pop

I didn’t dislike it, but I was happy when it ended.

nicht meins

Thought it was ok, then I got exhausted

Pretty good.

This guy really likes that one beat

2.8

Pirate aboriginal post-punk glam wave with, probably, one of the Butthole Surfers’ drummers, why the heck not. This missed me as a youth though I am the right age. I bet some cool girls I should have talked to in middle school liked this. WikiTIL: ‘Physical’ on NIN’s Broken is an Ants cover.

Fine

A fun trip in the Time Machine that is music. Had a friend most of growing up, through college, who was a huge fan of this man and his band, and some of that rubbed off on me at the time. I think this holds up pretty well and is still an enjoyable listen.

meh, its OK, post punk newwave.

2 stars since I didn’t listen it complete.

Enjoyed

when does camp become annoying? Ask this album.

It's nonsense but it's fun nonsense, with a hint of baroque over the absolute scorching guitar tone and thundering double drums. Lots of new wave and New Romantic bands tried to hide their punk roots but Adam synthesized it, infused it, to a point where the swagger never goes away. Some points off for some less than savory cultural appropriation and a couple boring songs but still a damn delight.

Now I know what English gay bars in the 80's were playing. It's not great

Pretty standard 80s music! Not bad but nothing special! The first two songs were SO much better than the rest. I'll give it a 3 for the culture and the weird commitment to the the Ant bit.

muy raro

im so glad malcolm mclaren is dead. anyway this album is pretty decent

it's not bad but not too memorable

Memories…

Flashbacks galore!

A much weirder and more interesting record than I remember - seems mad that this was the UK's biggest-selling album of 1981.

Not bad - I can't see myself getting into this, but there were a few that stood out a bit more than others.

I've heard of Adam Ant before. Now, having listened to one of his albums, I can't imagine why.

IT's aight

Normal

Great representation of early eighties alt rock.

2 Decent songs, really thin production. Remember this being better.

Started unnoticeable and ended up just being long. No song that I can point to as being a hit.

Kind of interesting for a bit but got a bit samey and not many catchy songs.

I remember liking these as a kid, probably the slightly later singles, Prince Charming and Stand and Deliver. I wasn't expecting to get much from this but actually it's a really interesting album and a good example of what, for me, good pop music should be! Rhythmically interesting, even abrasive in moments with some guitar sounds that Tom Morello would have been proud of! Best of all, it's unpredictable which is the opposite of what a lot of pop music was from the late 90s upto the last decade or so when more interesting pop music had a resurgence. The deluxe edition of this has Physical (You're So'), which I know very well from NIN covering it on Broken... I assume Trent is a fan! I'm still not sure whether I personally would put this on again but I'd be happy listening to it.

No sure what I am missing here. Reading the reviews it should be up my street. But I am largely underwhelmed. I like Ant music - but everything else feels very derivative copy/paste/repeat but getting lesser each time. The two drummer sound is fun but out stays its welcome. I love pirates but did not need a ripe song about them. 2 feels harsh as i should like this but i didn't.

This is an interesting album. Definitely some good in here. But it’s a little too weird and wacky and all over the place to listen in full over and over again. I don’t hate it, but I don’t love it.

Fun, high energy new wave. The drums are the real highlight and just about every song has an interesting rhythm. It's a bit eclectic, with some unexpected turns into western country in the middle, then a random pirate song towards the end. It's very self referential too, with just about every song mentioning ants or their music. I love the commitment to the bit though. Antmusic was the real highlight, but it was all pretty good. Another album that might not be an everyday listen but was very enjoyable.

I liked it, it's fun and bombastic. But why do punk singers all sound the same?

Pretty lame. Par for the course. But it's actually grown on me a little bit.

OMG, Gary Glitter 2.0

Not really up to much, and very dated…

I'll admit to a groan when this appeared, but I'll also admit to being quietly impressed with it - not earth-shattering, and definitely not as important as it likely seemed at the time, this is the sound of an artist latching on to a sound and milking absolutely everything out of it. There are many traces of 'Dirk Wears White Sox' in here, something which would vanish entirely as Adam chased tabloid superstardom. It rarely ends well, but can produce flashes of genius along the way. This isn't genius exactly, but it was clever, and sounded unlike anything else at the time. Mind you, so did most things in 1980 - it was a wildly creative time. Enjoyed listening to it; doubt I'll ever dig it out again.

Only the early 80s could produce something so weird and interesting, while still rocking!

I usually like Adams, I myself being one, and I was excited to get this dude as I had heard of him, but man I guess all Adams aren't as cool as others.

Some good tracks but also a bit of filler plus the joke/characterisation wears a bit thin over a full album

This is right in my preferred era and style of music, but I've never really connected with Adam Ant in a big way. That's despite being introduced to his music a long time ago and owning a hits compilation on CD. The biggest thing I appreciate about his music is the inventive percussion -- it always makes the tracks bop along, even when I'm not really feeling the singing or the subject matter. There are some seriously cringeworthy lyrical moments I would not want to catch myself singing along to. My favorite track on the record is easily Antmusic, with some appealing guitar and beats that just don't quit. I've loved this song for a long time... but I'm afraid nothing else even comes close. I remember liking Ants Invasion alright, and Killer in the Home kinda works for me. Almost everything else I found to be irritating, problematic, or both... even while admitting some of it has good drums! This is not a record I'd come back to. There's so much great British music from the late 70s and early 80s I could listen to without even thinking about Adam Ant.

I love finding records like this that are unashamedly weird and different. From the absolute shit photo on the cover to the odd vocal style and odd arrangements, it all comes together to make something brilliant. A lot of kids that formed bands and became famous in the later 80s and 90s definitely played this record on repeat. Even the start of grunge can be heard in this one. This is a record that I have seen a bunch of times but never actually listened to. I'm glad to have remedied that today and will definitely look for this one at the record shop. It's also one of those albums where I almost don't want to look up anything else by Adam and the Ants because I don't think it would be as good and if the rest of the catalogue is mediocre it will cast a shadow over this record. Or maybe just as bad, it might be exactly the same as this one. 5/5

Excellent!

It’s fine. I am very surprised there is a super deluxe 2+ hour version of this album.

Pretty meh

Ehdottomasti varsin hyvää musaa! 3/5

Honestly, it’s terrible😂 So dated….

I loved the title track, but I thought the rest was kind of boring. 3 stars

This is a cool album that combines post-punk, pop, and African tribal beats. Highlights are "Dog Eat Dog", "Antmusic", and "Kings of the Wild Frontier". 4 stars.

Not a huge fan of this. New wave but with the fusty goaty glam rock stylings and yelpings of a really mediocre Bowie and Roxy Music and the beat of the title song sounds like something Gary Glitter would do. Would have preferred to have seen Adam And The Badgers make the list.

Has not aged all that well. But was fun at the time!

No standouts

Stylishly unique in the early New Wave era, though they don't have a wide enough bag of tricks for some of them to avoid getting annoying

I had heard of the band but did not really know any of their material. This is a new wave album, but with strong pop influences. This touches on other genres like surf rock and even a sea shanty. There are some catchy parts here. Overall this is a pretty good listen, and I would listen again.

too many bitches afraid to get silly nowadays

This is great. Cool drums. Funky in parts with shades of Faith No More. Dug this a lot

Un álbum raro, no me encantó pero rescato cosas que tiene, no es algo horrible e imposible de escuchar

Fun, catchy, and an easy listen. Some great experimenting and variety. Would I beg to listen again? Probably not. Would I enjoy if it happened to be playing? Absolutey.

I was skeptical about the "charms" of Adam & The Ants when they released this. And 40+ years later, I think I was right.

Dog Eat Dog - 3.5/5 'Antmusic' - 3.5/5 Feed Me to the Lions - 3/5 Los Rancheros - 3/5 Ants Invasion - 3/5 Killer in the Home - 3.5/5 Kings of the Wild Frontier - 4/5 The Magnificent Five - 3.5/5 Don’t Be Square (Be There) - 3.5/5 Jolly Roger - 3/5 Making History - 3/5 The Human Beings - 3/5 This is definitely more campy than the other new wave counterparts, as a lot of these songs lean into the weirdness or camp aspect of rock. Does that work to its favor? Sometimes. But it's too all over the place to really nail down exactly what they want to be other than the weird guys on the block. Overall: 3/5 Favorites: Kings of the Wild Frontier

Ok

weird but not terrible. guess i’m into sex music for ants

I’m still as baffled about Adam & The Ants as I was in the early 80s. That’s not exactly true. I know that, in 1979, they were a largely unknown, underground punk band, which sounds pretty rough. They sound like a band that needs something that will set them apart. Garner some attention. Generate a buzz. Malcolm McLaren to the rescue! Well… no. In fact, the brain behind the Sex Pistols convinced the Ants to abandon Adam and join his new protege, 13 year old Annabella Lwin,and become Bow Wow Wow. Left with a cassette of Burundi tribal drumming he got from McLaren and an affinity for historical swashbuckling iconography, Adam teamed up with guitarist Marco Pirroni, hired two drummers, got some new duds from Vivienne Westwood’s pirate collection, and the new Adam & The Ants was born. Seems somewhat ridiculous, right? Well, yes and no. They were pretty serious about the music. The arrangements are more sophisticated than what you might expect from a new romantic pirate band and they still possessed their punk ferocity. Perroni guitar licks are inspired by the raunchy rockabilly riffs of Link Wray and Duane Eddy, glittering with glam swagger, plastered all across those jungle rhythms. And, yes… the dressed like pirates and they were committed to it. Adam was a former art student and completely invested in his vision. He would storyboard every video and choreograph their stage performances. It’s silly, but they know it’s silly. It’s also good. Every chant, yelp and yodel and overtly sexual overtone. They created their own loyal fanbase, brought some real energy to a stagnant scene and were right on time for MTV and the new wave scene... and all the cool girls liked Adam & the Ants. It’s either a 3 or a 4 depending on how I’m feeling. I guess wrote all this so… I’m in a good mood.

Like the drums. Less into the theatrical vocals but quite fun.

I remember a college roommate putting this on, and me thinking “What the Hell is this?” What the Hell this is in fact is Adam and the Ants’ second album. After bumbling around the UK in the late 70s with middling success as a punk then postpunk outfit, their manager, the infamous Malcolm McLaren, absconded with the entire group minus Ant himself to form Bow Wow Wow. Left to pick up the pieces, Adam Ant completely reinvented himself and the group. The music now sounds like football chants backed by the Drummers of Burundi, mixing Native American/Wild West/sci-fi imagery, costumed in pirate gear with Apache face paint, and turning up the camp level to 11. And somehow it all kind of works. Good dumb fun while it lasted.

This was a pretty dumb and fun album. Probably should be a 2, but something about it just made me not able to make it a 2

Nothing amazing here but certainly fun in a few places. Grating in others.

Absolutely not. If you love percussion instruments and enjoy, what can only be described as, an actively hostile sonic environment, then this album could be for you. It's just jarring throughout. You could reproduce the same sounds running through an antique store crashing into everything as you went. All the yips and yelling included. This was clearly made to be a challenging album to listen to, for fun, I imagine. I do hope they had fun making it because I didn't have any listening to it.

Wow, wow, wow. This has been a revelation. It shares that exact same primal energy as early Killing Joke, and I can hear the influence of this strongly in Fire Dances in particular. It's got those huge, pounding, anxiety inducing, Latin/Eastern influenced tribal rhythms, left-of-centre guitar tunings and that jaunty, twangy, overdriven riffage, whilst consistently retaining a sense of fun. It's got a palpable post punk grit and attitude to it blended with the absurdity of theatre, and the two contrasting moods mesh scarily well into a unique experience. Adam Ant is the cherry on the cake here with his chanting, yodelling vocal deliveries adding to the constant sense of drama and unease whilst commanding a playful and anthemic presence.

Okay guys I liked this one

🫤

Best songs: - Antmusic - Feed Me to the Lions - The Human Beings - A.N.T.S.

this was good but a bit long

I could never get into the sounds of Adam Ant, or post punk at all really. I think it's the vocal delivery. It's not bad, but just not for me.

Very 80s and very fun. No complaints.

No the worst which is surprising for 19080s English new wave. 2.5/5. Raising to 3.

Some pretty fun songs, but kind of a slog. By the end they were all sounding the same to me.

This is pretty choice new wave, though something about Adam & the Ants’ overall thing bothers me. I don’t find the so-called Burundi beat culturally appropriative when Bow Wow Wow does it, but I do when Adam Ant does. I don’t find the yelps and vocal affectations of a Bowie or a Midge Ure or a David Sylvain (…etc.!) obnoxious, but I sure do find Adam’s tough to take. I love new wave fashion, but I feel like he looks like a poseur or cosplayer. (Oh actually on reflection I think part of the issue here is that he seems to be wearing red face, yikes! ) I should think the weird reference to ants in his songs are cute, but I… just don’t. I don’t hate this because it’s not hateable; I don’t like it much although I recognize that it has at least some claim to likability. And that’s just the way it is.