Sulk

This just really sounds like a failed art project. Pretentious, with talent hidden somewhere, but pretty far away. 2/5

The best thing about this album is the absolute meltdown it's going to provoke among the American 'list police'. I can hear them already. "Goddammit! More British crap nobody's ever heard of!" But of all the early '80s synth-pop albums, this is one of the most interesting, with its unpredictable arrangements, shifting rhythms and, above all, Billy Mackenzie's manic vocals. It starts off a little disjointed but gets better and better as it goes along, peaking with the magnificent *Club Country* and the sublime *Party Fears Two*. Realistically, this is a three — maybe a four at a push. But just to rub it in, I'm giving it a five.

Jeesh, this has a lot of stuff going on. Rhythmically it's a bit chaotic and frequently sounds like the drum machine is playing a different song to the rest of the band - and not in a good way! I'm not sure the songs are really directing the interesting ideas here and it generally feels thrown in. It would have just taken one person to slow things down and decide that the groovy bass-hook would have sounded way better behind a sparse and slow synth rather than a drum machine playing 20 weird flam patterns over the top. I think others have done woozy synth versions of Mowtown MUCH better than this (Grace Jones), and the warbbly vocals errs to being annoying rather than sultry. Not particularly sexy. There IS a couple of great moments here where things comes together - SKIPPING and maybe the hit PARTY FEARS TWO, which gives it a respectul 3 stars, All in all TOO BUSY, TOO FUSSY, TOO FASHION.

this sure is an 80s album

Terrible. Vocals suck, beats are boring.

Right out the gate, this album seems unsure of where it wants to go. You have opener "Arrogance Gave Him Up", a 3-minute instrumental track that feels like it was half cobbled together and sounds like the record is skipping while the fidelity seems to shift all over the place. Then you kill any momentum that you might have built by kicking off "No" with 40-seconds of just swooshing sounds before coming in with a super repetitive keyboard riff that goes on for over a minute before you're greeted with self-indulgent, yowling, detached vocals. And it doesn't get any better from there. A disjointed, cacophonous, and try hard album with reviews to match (just see the quote from Simon Reynolds in the wiki details on here). This album is like an ill-advised FAFO experiment where they went into the studio with a pile of incomplete ideas and just started riffing over them and said "yeah, that'll do it". Every time I hear something on this album that makes me think "oh, this is going to be the song that earned this album's inclusion", I'm immediately disappointed with the direction it ends up going. Including this album among the rest of this list is a seriously egregious act of what I can only assume is the curators attempt to include something fringe and forgotten. A truly personal bias and non-objective inclusion.

Maybe it’s ok to filter some of these from the project now that there’s like an extra hundred albums. If you are looking for options, you can start with this one, which is really a double album, and you can get a two for one and 90 plus minutes of your life back. This fucking sucked.

This is just as bad as the last one.

Seriously I can’t take how many mid 80s pop records are on this list please make it stop

They got many ideas, none of them worked. No wonder, when their ideas were "what if we peed in a guitar"

One of the short comings of this project is that I’ll listen to an album once before moving on to the next one. Party Fears Two is one of my absolute favourite songs of the decade, but I’m pretty sure the first time I heard it I thought it was bonkers. The rest of the album may also be a grower but I don’t have the time to indulge it

Woof. That was a hard one to get through. Mental Torture indeed.

I’m

American list police here. Yeah, this is a weak Bowie knockoff and I did not need to hear it.

No

Track By Track Arrogance Gave Him Up - Very ‘80s sound with those synths! Like game music, it could be from Sonic or something. Can imagine characters soaring through clouds, flying and swooping at speed. And pure instrumental. Almost like a soundtrack. Not bad. No - Again, cinematic, but in a different way for the opening. Budget Dune :) Sounds a little like Homecoming by Kanye West actually but much more ‘80s and more eerie & smoky (as in dry ice). This could be people/aliens emerging from eggs or spacecraft in a musical onstage. His vocal delivery is potentially influenced by Bowie. I can hear Bowie’s more experimental synth-pop a little. This is great in scale and very evocative. Doesn’t really do it for me melodically though. Bap De La Bap - Sounded like Radiohead for a second there - National Anthem. Maybe they were influenced! Kooky ‘80s conceptual art pop. Alright this one, but not great. Lyrics are wild and ‘80s and quite random. Gloomy Sunday - The title evokes Morrissey very much. But this is much more ‘80s synth heavy. This is both a little grating and quite hypnotic. Nude Spoons - Definitely pretty experimental with the intro. Again, it does sound cinematic. Whilst I may not be particularly enjoying the music thus far, I can appreciate the song titles and their inventiveness. Skipping - This was decent. Sounds like The Cure a little and I can also hear David Bowie’s influence on the vocal delivery. Unique melody. It’s Better This Way - Didn’t like this particularly. But I don’t love this genre particularly. Not bad guitars in it. Vocals are just weird and shouty and grating to me. Party Fears Two (Remix) - Wonder what the non remixed version was like! This was quite good. Like the climbing and angular vocal melody. Sort of decent chorus. The opening riff is also quite good. But it’s also a bit bad as well! Like he’s yelling in ‘80s screech-sing. Club Country - I don’t know if it’s because I’m quite deep into the album, but I found myself starting to throw some shapes and head-bop to the intro to this. The melody is not to my taste. It sounds the same as a lot of the other songs to me. The beat and synths however, I’m quite into. They seem to hit a little better on this song. Also the bass break is pretty good. Nothinginsomethinginparticular - More video game music. I actually really dug this. When they hit their stride on these more upbeat instrumental numbers it’s a good time as far as I’m concerned. 18 Carat Love Affair - They loved the previous track so much they couldn’t help but continue it on here. Heavily referenced. Decent extension song. Although I preferred the instrumental before! Love Hangover - Bring the ‘80s club classics! Can hear this in an alternative bar, or art school party in a warehouse. Decent. Disco vibes here. Club Country (12” Version) - Ooo those beats at the start, so naf! Kind of love it in a way. Who knew this needed a 12” 7 minute version 😵‍💫 A touch long, perhaps. I mean, you can really get into the weird artsy ‘80s groove this way. The synth felt a little Eurythmics for a minute then the bass comes in and makes it them. Fun, alternative, quite odd! Party Fears Two (Instrumental) - Nice new intro. Got that emphasis on the riff again. Really nice. Can hear the bass much clearer in this instrumental. Good bassline. Sounds like it could be quite satisfying to play. This could be a singalong, but also just a deeper dive into the instruments and what they’re doing. It’s Better This Way (Alternative Version) - I like the sort of live/studio tuning up in the beginning. This sounds more rough, although I can’t remember how the other one went! The bass, again, seems more prominent. Think I prefer this alternative version. Quite like the looser, almost operatic (at the end) vocal delivery. And Then I Read a Book (Alternative Version) - Was not expecting a burp, but this album has been a wild ride and some unexpected ‘80s stuff has gone down! Jarring melody. Rambling. Can see why this was perhaps an outtake or similar. Break was good though. Ulcragyceptimol (Alternate Version) - Jagged in rhythm and melody. I liked this a little better. I am really hearing the Bowie influence on a few of these tracks. They must have been influence by him. Skipping (Alternative Mix) - Quite nice alt. mix of this. Guitars still sound very Cure influenced. I suppose they were around at a similar time and also drew inspiration. Australia (John Leckie Recording) - I quite like when they include the jangly guitars on a track. Gives it a lift and good movement. This was decent. Again, a little rambling melody-wise. More of a groove. Me, Myself and the Tragic Story (John Leckie Recording) - These Leckie ones sound more garagey or live. There’s a rawness, an aliveness to them. This one is like an extended jam. Great playing. I Never Will (Demo) - This sounds like it’s referencing another track (The Party one??). I’m enjoying the raw, demo nature of this. Club Country (Demo) - This was very grating. I get that it’s a demo, but this was very rough. Sounded quite bad. A tough listen. Grecian 2000 - Ending with a disco nod. Quite nice. These were some of the higher points on the album for me. The Room We Sat In Before (from another version of the album) - Dissonance reigning. The vocals sound more isolated and different. Perhaps as this is a remaster. But there aren’t any effects or anything. Reverb and such. I kind of like just hearing his voice in a more raw format. It’s somehow more effective this way. Overall Review: Blimey. This was a ride. So much music! It definitely had its highlights, although many of the songs were quite forgettable. I enjoyed the riffs and choruses when they were good, but I am just not a big fan of this kind of ‘80s new wave pop. Cool album cover as well. I am enjoying the colours. It’s like an art/theatre piece. Also - this album is WAY too long. Especially this version. I don’t know what Apple Music has presented me with, the deluxe version or what, but it’s excessive. 2.3/5 Favourite Songs: Arrogance Gave Him Up, Party Fears Two (Remix), Nothinginsomethinginparticular

Some good “singles” highlights, but not something I’ll keep coming back to.

too weird for me

I mean its at least interesting. Is it good? No. Stands out from all the other Brit 80s shite on the least at least. 2/5.

Christ that was a slog. Fire art tho

80s

i get why this is on here. i like the experimental post-punk, too, but i could not listen to this on a regular basis. give my y PIL, japan, or final 2 talk talks over this. this is the only album i've chosen not to finish during these 1001 days

Je l'ai pas écouté au complet mais ça sonnait pas trop mal

Entraînant, la voix du chanteur principal est impressionnante et me fait penser à David Byrne. Pas tout à fait dans mes cordes, mais je comprends que ça a pu être influent. Le single à lui seul (Party Fears Two) vaut le 4 étoiles. C'est un peu gossant que le track listing entre USA et UK est différent pis ça fait un mish-mash étrange sur Spotify... it's on me d'utiliser les plateformes streaming I guess...

correct.

fan va 80-talet är 80-talet

Like if Sparks suffered a traumatic brain injury, then dropped acid and went to the circus, then tried to narrate what they experienced. This is not a compliment.

I knew the band but couldn't recall any of their songs, after listening to this I now know why

Alright synthpop. Nothing bad, but nothing really stood out as special

British art school kids do the wrong drugs and horribly attempt Bowie-with one Ok dance hit…the album.

Quite liked this. Never heard of them, and not quite what I expected. I got bored after about half of it, but it was interesting enough. Wouldn’t revisit though.

Standard 80’s stuff. Some was OK but it was rubbish like this which gave the 80’s a bad name. 1/5 13/10/26

722/1001 2026.10.13 🌕🌗🌑🌑🌑

This is terrible, which is why if youre not a 55 year old British person, you've never heard of it. Get this off the list

I just really like post punk new wave ok!!!!!

All that operatic longing, production like a hall of mirrors. You heard it once, found it fun, felt nothing deeper. Honestly? Fair. Spins: 1 Playlist Additions - Party Fears Two - Club Country - 18 Carat Love Affair

Decent. Kinda weird but i dig it

The version I heard on spotify had so many remixes of Club Country I was starting to get frustrated. There are some real postpunk gems of backing tracks. I found the Bryan Ferry/Bowie impersonation pretty annoying and it always was sitting just completely outside of the mix. I'm glad I'm aware of it now though anyway so bonus star for that.

No rhythm and just sounds off.

there's other better stuff that fits this vibe

There is a big current in British New Wave that didn't make it all the way across the pond. The kind of proto dream pop that didn't really hit the air waves here because of the dominance of R&B and hip hop culture. But if you were into that kind of music, you'd see clearly that on some level, this band was one of the architects of New Wave that moved away from the Art Rock and Post Punk (looking at you Depeche Mode and Duran Duran) and leaned more heavily into dance music and pop, bands like Dead or Alive, Erasure, Bronski Beat, etc. But it is a bit too much for me.

These two thought they could get away with leaning wag into some of Bowie’s charming oddities. They instead lean too hard and fall flat on their face. Not only does this 1001 albums list provide Bowie’s gold standard for music made in this style, but it also provides a wide range of quirky 80’s music. This is the very floor of that field. In a weird way, “Gloomy Sunday” was a very affirming experience. Based on the global reviews, so many people immediately sniffed out how blatant of a ripoff of Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” this is. It helped me remember that people all around the world will continue to gravitate towards art that’s genuine, made with pure intent and original techniques. And people also have a tendency to shun anything that seems disingenuous, like this song so clearly is. Hackish and insincere 1/5

Apple Music called this “effortlessly catchy”, but we must have differing opinions of what catchy means. I found most of this a dull, whiny grind. Like a worse version of Bowie crossed with the most self-indulgent and emo version of The Cure. Blech. Party Fears Two kept it from being a 1 and is probably the only song I’d return to…maybe.

6/10 Larguísimo, pero lo que escuche no esta mal ni bien

Only good song is the one the Divine Comedy covered and Neil Hannon made it so much better. The rest sucks!

In some places I thought oh wow this is good. For the most of it, though? I felt bored.

Favorite Track: Arrogance Gave Him Up

Very much of the time - I can hear The Smiths and Talking Heads but maybe they took inspiration from these guys instead of being their inspiration. It’s (relatively) easy now to name the greatest musicians of 50 years ago, but why is this relatively obscure instead of The Smiths, Bowie or Talking Heads? It sounds similar to me and I think it’s not as good, but is that just because I lack familiarity? It’s a really interesting listen and I find myself contemplating what is good and what do I look for in music. I don’t think all that much of it ultimately though.

2/5

Absolutely stereotypical 80s. Fun synthesis and beat, but it all sounded the same.

I really liked this!! Felt more new wave than punk though.

Couple of days ago I got the sugar cubes. similar vibe but a much better experience than this. This doesn’t really go anywhere. Nice bops here and there but overall a scrieching mumbojumbo

If David Bowie and David Burne had a baby.

Not good.

80s :)

This is just noise.

Terrible.

What a weirder and more cohesive venture into 80’s land than I was expecting!

algumas músicas são irritantes, mas outras são interessantes. fiquei com club country na cabeça quando acabou o disco. no fim do dia, é um bom 3.

This is one of my least favorite types of music and I also feel that it's poorly executed. The songs don't have a satisfying rhythm and the vocals aren't interesting. Just boring and not weird enough to be fun

I only listened to the 10 tracks from the original release and that was enough. I just don't enjoy this New Wave/Synth Pop. Not a fan of the vocals, or the music. It just all seems to be lacking any substance. 1.5* rounded up to 2*

It’s just….its just not for me and I’m the problem but hey - first steps admitting it right?

This album from The Associates is more like The Talking Cure Bowie Heads from SHEIN. It’s not bad, just not horribly unique.

Found the singing to be poor along with the music which was dull.

It's bonkers and brilliant in equal measure. Understandably 1982 album of the year by Melody Maker.

Ohhh this is another one of those albums that I kind of wish I didn't like as much as I do

couldn't listen to the entire thing, despite my best efforts. How many of these type of albums do we have on this list honestly? too many

Not what I was expecting, but not awful

Oh boy, yet another New Wave album on the 1001 Albums to Hear Before You Die List, I wonder if it'll be worthy my time or another cheesy project to fluff up the numbers... This album for the most part is the epiphony of what your typical 80s release is like, Synths all across the board, weird vocalists trying to do more than their range allows them to do, and a slow drag through the entirety of the runtime. Even with that being said I still did find some notable pieces to applaud and point out with that being Gloomy Sunday. Look, there are a lot of good New Wave projects out there that aren't just from Talking Heads, but it is so hard to come by because a lot of this genre feels so poorly aged and extremely formulaic. Associates don't break the mold by any means and feel very in line with that broad stereotype I just stated. I do appreciate the notable gothic elements to make this feel like something different than the norm, but it just doesn't work on me as much as I'd like and I really struggled to get anything out of this project.

GTA vice city vibes

I think I could do 40 minutes of this strange vocal style on top of generic synth beats but an hour and 40 minutes proved too long. I found myself checking back to see how much was left multiple times. I think there's something here. But just way too much garbage to sift through.

It reeks of the typical 80s sound that I hate so much.

JL : 4, No

Slog of a record with shrieking vocals that did not produce many memorable moments. The 80's synth-pop and danceable production was decent, but often times the vocal performance and lyrical content were pretty distracting.

Nah

Copy and paste any review of the hundred or so other synth pop/new wave/post punk/electronica albums on this list.

Thus marks the death knell of this project. This album wasnt anything special, and I even listened to the B-sides and extra unreleased stuff that came after the album's remaster. Wholly mid, but in the bad sense.

Never again

Wow: "Bap de la Bap" was stunning. And the whole album is a mix of new-wavy kind of pop. Very cabaretesque.

Really weird vocals. Loved the music but not the vocals that much. Was giving Sparks. I will return to this album though, for sure. Top bops: Grecian 2000 It’s better this way Australia

3.5

I turned 13 in 1982, so the generic sound of this is one I grew up to in Thatch's Britain. I didn't much care for it then, being much more interested in the long haired end, greasy of the market. I'm keener these days – there are some really great bands that sound a bit like this at times and that developed at a similar time. But they're better at it than The Associates – a name I knew without knowing why. I think it must be just one of those names that I'd heard around the place but never listened to the music of back in the days before easy streaming. I did know Party Fears Two from somewhere or other. Maybe it was on a soundtrack, maybe it's the Radio 4 connection, or maybe on Glasgow/Scottish related playlist. It's a half decent number. I didn't realise at all that this involved Alan Rankine, a name I knew but had to puzzle over where I'd heard it before I got the Belle and Sebastian connection – he was a lecturer at Stow College when Tigermilk was produced and gets a credit on the album, possibly even playing on it, maybe on Electronic Renaissance? That, of course, is a much better album that this. This, I'm afraid, is a bit of a mess and a bit generic, early 80s, wanna be Duran Duran style. It just doesn't really hold up and I'm not sure if there's really the "this was really influential" or "this is an exemplar for a style of music that was really important" argument – which is one I'm happy enough to accept. So, it's OK – it reminds me of growing up in Thatch's Britain and being a teenager I suppose. But that was pretty shit, and this is only a bit better. Party Fears Two pushed it to two stars.

I may need to get the book about 1001 Albums to Hear Before You Die because I’m having a really hard time believing this is on the list

Moody.

It wasn't really my vibe.

Drivel

Wee fella had a nice voice, and I do like being sickening at the country club. A bit too busy for it's own good at parts, but generally nice x Some of it towards the end was nice and gay.

Honestly, really annoying. Not something I'd be interested in hearing again. Ever.

Couldn't get past the first song, just terrible.

Es buena aunque muy extenso y medio denso de escuchar si no es mucho tu gusto pero es bueno.

This is quite dreadful and far too long.

some got the cure vibes some others are just straight up nonsense got to add a song to my mario kart playlist though also country club is and underrated banger

Very early 80s music. Tones of David Bowie. I'd prefer to listen to Bowie.

I tried.

Did not really care for this. very synthy art pop which sounds like I should like it on paper. I did not. Some things described it as post punk, but again not something I enjoyed.

It's charmingly wonky and I could see myself growing to like it for what it is. This time it just felt a little underwhelming. I'd like it to be even more maximalist and druggy – even more poppy, more experimental and more psychedelic. Sometimes more is more.

I didn't care for this much. It sounds like a bad David Bowie cover band.

There’s just so many others that do it better. Wasn’t a dislike, but comparatively I didn’t need it

This sounds like the sort of music a schizophrenic would write if they were trying to write two songs at once. The entire album feels like an acid trip. 2.5/5

Rubbish! How did this make the list ?