Reviews (page 3 of 8)
A very poor example of whiny 80s synth emo.
not the smiths
an oddity. very singing, much dramatic.
hated almost all my time with this a LOT
I am really sure I listened to this twice but forgot about it immediately both times.
Not a bad album, certainly underrated in the list but it does not sound interesting or essential. It is just OK, I guess? 7/10 [DROP]
Absolute tosh
La portada 10/10, el disco meh
I hear what they were going for. It's an eclectic 1980s-era mix of Bowie drama (I kept waiting to hear Scary Monsters come on next) + Devo drum machine synth structure + Oingo Boingo theatricality + a touch of Spandau Ballet dream sequence. It's a miss for me, but by far not the worst thing I've heard here.
If I've learnt anything from doing this project, it's that I'm not a fan of Nu wave music. In some cases and depending on my mood, I despise it. I'd be glad if I never had to listen to this type of music again.
makes me wanna wear neon
It’s an ok album. Complete 80s synth new wave. Some tracks are decent, others not so much. Way too long by far though. 2.5/5
Interesting album for sure, not a bad listen but nothing that I would be interested in really listening to again - to Pop and not enough post-punk edge for me.
Some real 80s-ness in here with sorrowful noises and morose sounds. A bit of good stuff but mostly just ok. Top tracks: "Arrogance Gave Him Up," "Bap de la Bap"
--Arrogance Gave Him Up...colorful instrumental intro. cool synths --No...do not appreciate the vocals on this. overbearing theater kid energy (takes one to know one) --Bap de la Bap...well, it's weird. they're trying stuff. but it's not entertaining --Gloomy Sunday...kind of an Andrew Lloyd Webber thing going on here. one of his lesser "The Phantom..." songs --Nude Spoons...it's just all too much. sounds and vocals too unfocused --Skipping...naming a song "Skipping" is playing a dangerous game. the bass is cool. still don't vibe with the vocals --It's Better This Way...I keep thinking of the word "unfocused". most of the tracks on here don't really lead anywhere --Party Fears Two...the vocals, good lord, I'm going to need this guy to rein it in about two to three levels. like this guy heard the theme song to the NeverEnding Story and thought to himself "this could be more dramatic". --Club Country...sick bass. my head is actually bopping to this one --nothinginsomethingparticular...I like their instrumental tracks. /glares at Billy Mackenzie
The instrumentals were rather pleasant but hoooooly crap this guy cannot sing.
The album fits into a specific genre in this generator: Bland British albums that are completely forgettable right after you listen to it. At the very least, listen to the OG vinyl version of it on YouTube from cool hand chris productions. Favorite Track: "Bap de la Bap".
I get it, it was the very early 80s and anything was better than disco, right? Right?!?
I'd personally rate these as one hit wonders....
Well that was boring. Background music, really.
Did nothing for me but definitely wasn't the worst thing I've ever heard.
Scottish Bowie cover band...
Mid 3 It was fun but the fun wore thin
Awful.
There was some interesting sounds here. I liked a lot of them, but it left me a bit confused too. Maybe more listens would open it up?
Just kind of annoying. Would’ve been good if it was good.
Music made for party scenes in terrible 80’s movies.
Unbearably bad to the point of being funny.
Pretty crap but not unbearable, just forgettable
The opening instrumental tune is cool and very TMNT like. Starts to feel ordinary British pop rock after that.
Surprisingly good! Strong 3.5
In yesterday's review I said this list was actually helping me enjoy a lot more 80s pop. The monkey paw behind this website curls, as it lines up this album for today.
New wave punk like
80’s Smiths-sound
Perfectly in between post-punk and New Romantic. Singer sounds like David Bowie stuck in his hysterical setting.
I can’t get over how much I dislike the lead singer’s voice. Kind of atonal Bowie or more theatrical David Byrne or something. The music I would probably enjoy if I weren’t so distracted.
This bopped hard.
Certaines musiques s’écoutent Certaines Donc les autres ne s’écoutent pas Et c’est pas comme si les musiques qui s’écoutent étaient extraordinaires
Portada muy chula, ochentera a más no poder que me recuerda en cierta forma a Comité Cisne o a un Tino Casal más comedido. Por cierto es una obra de arte, literalmente, de museo. El grupo, apenas lo conocía, me pilló apenas recién nacido, y no ha tenido mucho eco. No son The Cure ni Echo and Bunnymen, de esa época, ni obviamente Joy Division. Aún así han tenido su influencia en por ejemplo The Divine Comedy que versionaron su tema más conocido (Party fears two), Ladytron , MGMT(nothinginsomethingparticular es ellos!! ), Björk o Bono El disco es extraño. Con momentos más post-punk y casi industrial y otros más comerciales, sonando a los primeros Duran Duran Arrogance gave him up, suena a Echo&Bunnymen o los primeros Simple Minds. No, es marciana y oscura. Nude spoons aún más. Skipping recuerda a Bowie con esa voz grave de Billy Mackenzie (que sufría de depresión crónica y se suicidaría daños después). It´s better this way, suena a lo más profundo de los 80, entre sueño y pesadilla.
2+ Stars (6/15)
Pas aimé, criard...
Decent 2,5
Just not for me
Meh
boring new wave
- Really screechy and annoying to listen to! - Struggled to get to the end of most songs
Ambitious vocals and style, but inconsistent songs weaken overall listening experience
I tried. In the end I just sampled most tracks for the first 10 seconds, then a minute in. I then just sulked away disappointed.
An appropriately titled album. A painful listen with insufferable vocals that did nothing except send me further down a sulking hole.
This was quite annoying. Suffered as much as I could then bailed.
I was expecting something a lot more hardcore based on the cover art. I kid, this is exactly what I expected and I don't like it. 1.75/5
This group feels like the 80s equivalent of Empire of the Sun. Maybe it's because of the album cover, but partly also because the songs feel a bit whimsical and quirky. In reality it is just quirky synth pop. 'Club Country' was a pretty killer song, but I had trouble appreciating the rest of the tracks. The singing can really be hit or miss. It works very well in some songs, but not in others. Either way, 'Arrogance Gave Him Up', was a pretty bad start to this album. There is something in there that is off beat completely, which make it very frustrating to listen to. Otherwise it was alright. Weak 3.
The best comparison I can make is that it’s a more experimental version of ABC’s The Lexicon of Love—it was even released the same year. This album is more experimental, but it’s also just plainly worse. There aren’t nearly as many hooks, and there are some weird parts I had to skip because they were too annoying (like the outro of “Nude Spoons”). At times it felt like listening to your friend’s pretentious 80s revival band. “Love Hangover” was my favourite track on my listen. Maybe there’s a good album in there somewhere if I could ignore the duds. I can’t really ignore them, though, so I’m giving it a strong 2.
Completely unknown to me, so a really great surprise. A little bit of a lot of things that I love. Not sure how they haven’t crossed my path before.
There’s a world where the music and vocals work but not with one another. They clash and make both worse. It’s not good at all.
Enjoyed it but not enough to seek it out again, reminded us of a few different other bands at different times.
Es klingt wie eine glamourös überdrehte Schwester des Human‑League‑Sounds: dieselbe Synth‑Grundierung, dieselbe kühle 80er‑Eleganz – aber alles viel dramatischer aufgezogen. Human League bauen klare, präzise Linien; The Associates verwandeln diese Ästhetik in ein schillerndes Artpop‑Spektakel, getragen von exzentrischer Stimme und üppigen Arrangements.
boring.
80s to the MAX!!!
I bounced off this in the first couple of tracks, but I forced myself to stick with it. There is something here. It's not something for any time, any place, and it's not something which will appeal to everyone, but there's something. It was a worthwhile listen in the end and I'm glad that I was able to click with it after a rough start.
no
I enjoyed this. Not huge on the mixing of this era, but some weird and interesting songs in there
Nah
I thought this album was good, but nothing too special, just a generic 80s rock album.
Bad versions of Talking Heads
Not good
Mid. Not much to talk about.
Really hard to get through. A lot of incoherent 80s wailing and below average riffs
David Bowie after a bad acid trip.
Cool operatic vocals with a weirdo bend. I always appreciate weirdos. It’s has a heavy dose of 80s textures, but that doesn’t hold it back too much.
This is one of those records that are quite cool but not cool enough. A strong 3
Lowkey dramatic.
I was shocked to see the poor reviews Sulk got by my fellow listeners. I was legitimately enjoying the unique 80s sound and anticipated everyone would like it as much as I did. Oh well. I definitely can acknowledge that this is worse David Bowie/Duran Duran, but I don't think that makes it bad. Already listened a second time and still enjoyed the fusion of pop and psychadelic influences.
Boring
Annoying AF.
Horrible Gloomy Sunday cover. Taking a star off for that alone.
Man. Just not good. The vocals are overdone, the musicianship is messy, there is very little flow or identifying characteristics. Feels like a couple of moody kids in a basement playing with a synthesizer got a record deal. I am a big fan of post-punk and early 80's alternative (Yaz/New Order/ etc.) but this was not good. 1.
Too sulky for me
This one is fuckin terrible. There's a reason no one's heard of this band. Much better and influential post-punk out there.
very electronic, very 80s. Good for a different vibe, but not immediately enjoyable
Somehow I never encountered this before! It's delightful. Almost a Cure vibe at times.
I remember the singles from this album coming and not really understanding what they were trying to achieve. However, having played the whole thing, I can now see they were after innovation and novelty and in this they succeeded. It's very uneven, not good in several places but by the time the singles appear, I understand.
If Siouxsie Sioux, Robert Smith and David Bowie were paid to make music as bad as possible it would sound a bit like this
This is bad. Albums like this make me question the entire list. Grating vocals over generic synth pop from the 80’s. (2)
Imagine if David Bowie and Sparks were given severe head injuries, then locked in a recording studio with a mountain of cocaine. You'd likely get something similar to Sulk. It's not good. It's quite irritating, in fact, and I have to believe that the people who voted this onto the list also had severe head injuries. There is a lot of synth pop on the list, and this is surely the worst of it (he says while whistling past the graveyard)
oh my god why the hell is it mastered like that??? the disorienting cacophony is clearly intentional....like a more artful Cut The Crap. i can accept the mix to a certain extent, but the way the actual sounds are presented is just a sensory nightmare for me. unfortunately i was not able to give this a close listen, tho from a low volume and a distracted listening experience it does seem like, kind of cool, theoretically, if i could physically interface with it at all. common azzy L!
1st song, 80 tv movie soundtrack for an unconvincing action sequence. 2nd song began with an "oh no, these vocals no" but in the end is wasn't too bad. 3rd song, murky synth-driven instrumentation in the back with reverb-and-echo-drenched vocals way in front of the mix and it a weirdly cloying noise. 4th song, thought it would be a more guitar-driven tune with crisp production and then the cabaret vocals draped over top of it all with no rhythmic connection to the music. Again no. 5th song. Sensing a pattern: mechanical and inflexible rhythms punctuated with weird fills. It's all about the vocals and they're the weirdest yet. 6th song has an interesting bass line, finally... some guitars, and then it's drenched with synths and Broadway/Bowie/opera vocals so you can't hear the interesting parts. better than the previous song though. 7th song starts with solo guitar and it's pretty ok, and then drum machines and then... again, as described before. 8th song, Party Fears Two, is a probably the best one here. The vocal and instrumental find a balance, baroque as it is. 9th song, maybe I'm getting used to this. Mix is pretty good. Still definitely not my thing, but I can see its appeal. 10th song, an instrumental bookend. Like the first, very very 80s, but this one has aged better than the opening track. So, for the first half I thought I was definitely going to award my first 1-star review. Couldn't find anything to appreciate. Second half got better or I just got acclimated to the distilled histrionic 80s-ness of it. But by the end, I think my little bit of appreciation was probably Stockholm Syndrome making me sympathize with my captors. So, therefore, and in conclusion, 1.5, rounding down.
It was okay. A bit repetitive
The world would have been a better place if it had never been made. The vocals are like if Robert Smith didn't know how to sing, and the music is like highschool jazz band, but if someone gave them a guitar player too.
Felt like the vocals were created entirely separate from the instrumental but maybe that was what they were going for?
I really did not like this one. Very repetitive and not pleasant at all. I think I only got 80% through the album.
Repetitive and weird, and not in a fun a way. I read that Björk cited this as an major influence, but I feel like what this album influenced is a lot better than the album itself.
First Time Listen Pretty good New Wave album, had a very ethereal sort of atmosphere that I really enjoyed. There were a few catchy tracks but I also don't think a lot of it really stuck with me. Definitely something I'd want to revisit at some point. Fav Tracks: Nude Spoons, Club Country Least Fav: Bap De La Bap 3/5
I don't know how this album got on this list. It's everything that was bad about the genre/era, and none of the good.
goth sparks yeppp
"Sulk" is the second studio album by Scottish post-punk and pop band the Associates. Synth-pop, post punk and art rock are the Wiki-listed genres. It was the last album with the original pairing of Alan Rankine and Billy Mackenzie. The album was recorded at producer Mike Hedges' self-built Playground Studio in a warehouse, in nearby Camden Town, where the band spent a lot of money on various antics and drugs. The bandmembers included Billy Mackenzie (vocals), Alan Rankine (guitar, keyboards), Michael Dempsey (bass) and John Murphy (drums). Commercially, the album reached #10 in the UK and, critically, had favorable reviews with magazine "Melody Maker" naming it the 1982 album of the year. The album opens up with the instrumental "Arrogance Gave Him Up." Layered glimmering 80's synths and fast, loud and popping drums with idiosyncratic beats at times. The synth layering builds and although 80's synths, they're very interesting. "Bap de la Bap" begins with a loud speed noise and Mackenzie yodeling. A weird synth melody. Mackenzie's vocals are dramatic and operatic. I think he's singing about a rapid animal. OK. An upfront drum beat and an odd synth sounding like Oingo Boingo highlight "Noodle Spoons." Forceful, anxious vocals in a song based on an acid trip where spoons are copulating. Things are becoming even more interesting. The first single released was "Party Fears Two." String sounds, synth noises and bells ringing. A catchy synth/keyboard melody with a pop drum beat and string-synth pumps. Mackenzie with dramatic over-the-top vocals. Oh, and he yodels again at the end. The other single was "Club Country." More of a dance beat with a rumbling bass. Mackenzie adding a falsetto to the mix. Kind of a frightening, scary tone as he describes a mental asylum. When I saw the year 1982 and the genre synth-pop, I'm like oh no...some cheesy 80's pop with annoying synths and production. Thankfully this synth music was more art rock based somewhere between Sparks and Oingo Boingo. The drums and beats are loud and upfront in the mix. Mackenzie singing is operatic, dramatic and even cabaret reminding me of Klaus Nomi and David Thomas of Pere Ubu. The lyrics (I think) include rapid dogs/animals, acid trips, insecurity, mental institutions and suicide. Things (music, vocals, lyrics) are kept interesting and unpredictable throughout this album. This is a great album. Keep the weird weird! Highly recommended.
I thought I was a fan of 80s synth pop, but between this and the Heaven 17 album I got the other day, maybe I'm not. Woof.
after a year long hiatus from this project, i'm back and this was the first album this site told me to rate. Starting off it begins extremely good, i love the instrumentals in the beginning especially in this, it felt like when you are progressing through a gameplay and the first song (arrogance gave him up) plays in the background. it felt as though it was a recently formed band but no, it's an album from 1982! The soundtrack is good for a halloween based movie.
después de los primeros dos temas pensé que me iba a encantar pero la verdad que no, no lo termino de entender. skipping es medio virus o capaz yo estoy loco
This was all over the place. Some of the songs were sounding ok, and then one of the guys would pull out a Jim Carey-like "Hey, do you want to hear the most annoying sound in the world?". There are definitely cool ideas here, I just really dislike the execution. My favorite song is the last one, The Room We Sat in Before, which is only a distorted guitar and the guy singing. Would not listen again.
Way too long of a David Bowie clone album.
They misspelled Sucks in the title.
we've got some early 80s scottish new wave here. huh! this album is very ethereal and mysterious sounding; according to wikipedia these guys tossed any tom-toms out the window, so it's a symphony of snares. i could honestly see why a lot of people are mixed when it comes to this album, it has some serious potential but some of these wailing vocals and uber-reverberated tracks aren't for virgin ears... i'm feeling like giving this one a 3.7. it's very unpolished and sometimes dissonant, but i feel like i understand what's being done here.
This is some fun mix between psychdelica, pop and punk that starts relatively tame, but has some odd song moments and structures. I kinda like it, but I find it a bit challenging to listen to it (and not in the sexiest way). Hence my three stars are the result of a pro/con list.
Some fun production. Even their biggest song wasn’t that great
Down with this sort of thing.
Album development / concept conversation went something like this: Hair dude = "The year is 2399, i've got Garage Band and have uploaded 500 synth loops and 200 drum beats" Hat dude = "Yes, set off a minimum of 50% of these loops / beats for every single track on the album" Hair dude = "Are you sure? Some of them don't go together, in fact they really clash" Hat dude = "Yeah set them off anyway, make sure you do this on the very first track as well, i want it to sound like we've dropped an electric drum kit down the stairs, get people into the groove" Hair dude = "What above vocals? I've got some melodies and harmony parts worked out...." Hat dude = "Sounds good but I think we just sing it like we're alien invaders, lets very our pitch every 10 seconds regardless of the tune" Hair dude = "Awesome" ........presses record
I feel bad giving it 1 star but it was just way too long and it really got on my nerves. Had it been a bit shorter I might have given it 2!
Proper yuppie stuff this, reminds me of dead or alive, vocals abit iffy in places but it grew on me as it went on
I had high hopes for this album. While I'm not familiar with anything from the Associates, I definitely knew of them because of their associations with The Cure (which many of you know is my favorite band). Michael Dempsey was the original bassist for The Cure and joined the Associates after leaving the band. And, Robert Smith was friends with Billy Mackenzie, who was the lead singer of the Associates. In fact, The Cure's song "Cut Here" is about the regret Robert Smith always had when he blew off Mackenzie backstage at a Cure concert just a few weeks before Mackenzie died by suicide. Having said all that, I just didn't care for this album at all. A lot of the songs just sounded like noise to me. I'm not a fan of Mackenzie's voice. Honestly, just not sure how this one ended up on the list. In fact, there were some bonus tracks from the re-release of the album that were listed on the Spotify track list and I didn't listen to them. Normally I would, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it.
Coming into this one totally blind about the band or any of their songs, and I enjoyed it. It's one of those weird 80s records that somehow ages finer rather than cheesier. It's sort of hard to explain, I enjoyed listening to it but I couldn't remember too much of it afterwards aside from Club Country. Only song I couldn't care for was the hit single: Party Fears Two. I guess Scottish music was pretty big in the 80s with this, Big Country, and Dire Straits being on the charts. I don't know if it's certainly a "must listen" category but it's not too shabby.
I enjoyed this. There are a few weaker songs, but Party Fears Two is great and most of the other songs are fun enough. Close to a five to be honest.
“Nothinginsomethingparticular” reminded me of an MF DOOM sample, which was nice. The rest of the album was not so nice.
once again, i listen to a poppy 80s album and once again i am left disappointed. i am ready to prepare a prompt that i can just paste into this review box every time one of these albums appears on the list
synthi-post-punk-pop, überzeichnet, kühl. und tollen bassklängen von ex-the cure-bassist
Leider macht seine Stimme nicht mehr mit
Weiss nicht, wie dieses Album in dieser Sammlung gelandet ist.
Aptly named because I associate this sound with better artists (2.5/5)
What an odd little album. At first, I was ready to write Sulk off as bargain bin fodder, but upon addition listens, I found a spacey (like to a Bowie degree at times), kinda poppy, groove-y, post-punk outfit in The Associates. They charmed me. I can't say that I would come back to this all that often, but I have to admit that Sulk grew on me.
Uch, not for me. Chaotic, loud and dramatic.
Some mid 80s shit, nothing great
Not available on Tidal so I listened to it on YouTube instead. I like this more than I was expecting to, but likely because they're imitating other bands/artists that I really do like. This doesn't feel particularly original on its own. The songs I liked the best were ones where I was like "This reminds me of Bowie", but that's not enough to make it a must-listen.
as already mentioned by other comments. This is low budget David Bowie, like bargain bin stuff... If you don't like Bowie listen to Bowie insted of this.
Moody 80’s Didn’t move my needle much
Very solid stuff.
Didn't really grab me?
Utter warbling bollocks.
Never heard of this group. Pretty good can hear early prog/synth influences along with British New Wave.
awful and boring
I don't know if I'll be in able to choke this down. 2 sings in and it's unbearable. Possibly the 1st album I won't finish.
Another band I’ve heard the name of but know nothing about. The write up made them sound like they could be interesting and right up my alley. Maybe an alley. One with cats on heat. Bloody awful - and I’d have thought I’d have been in the target audience for this one given the era. Gah! It’s a shame 1 star is the lowest option.
Reminded me of the Cure mixed with Bowie. But mixing my least favourite parts of both of them
Very 80s innit
At first I didn't mind it but it got annoying pretty fast
what
Pretty interesting album, some synth lines that complement the general mood of the album quite well. 3.5
This one really grew on me over the course of the album. Very energetic and noisy and yet also possessing a polished, poppy quality.
The creator of this list is a tone deaf asshole. His tastes are awful and I hope he gets ear cancer. He’s truly a masochist. What a moron and a fool.
You can tell this was made by the most pretentious trust-fund faggots in England. Indulgent and yet unlistenable. Maybe there are too many superfluous British albums on the list?
It's the late 70s and you want to form a band. Of course you are going to ape the vocal stylings of Bowie.
Listenable.
Слушать от начала до конца. В хороших наушниках. Хороши чертята.
Basically my review of that Heaven 17 album from several days ago but I think this is a little bit better. Favorite track: Gloomy Sunday
This album is soulless, and that is something very sad in music. I did not like any song on here, they are all just plain music, with synths and whatever they want to add but with no actual intention, or relevance, or interest. The songs try to be atmospheric at an extent that they become bland and... boring. There are nice parts though, but they are never a song as a whole but a good idea that, by repetition or the atmospheric feeling of the album, becomes tiring or irrelevant. It is not the worst thing I have ever listened to, by far, so I guess I have to be a bit generous this time when rating, but this album is not something I would ever listen to again. With one listen I had enough. And not at the extent to like it in any way.
First listen I was like "UGH another one of these inaccessible art-pop blunders". Second and third listens it started to grab me, now I'm bopping to some of the tracks (Love Hangover especially) and feeling FEELINGS to the ballad-y numbers. Have never enjoyed this kind of 80s production, don't love his vocal delivery (although he can sing), and can't help thinking "didn't other bands do this same thing but, better?" so the value for me is in the obscure novelty.
This has a lot of dated 80s production, with weak drums and uninspired synth parts. The two instrumental tracks that bookend the original UK album track listing do absolutely nothing for me. Mackenzie's vocals has the same theatrical flair that Morrisey has, but he's a much worse singer. Whilst Morrisey can croon, this guy yaps! By the time I got to the band's biggest song 'Party Fears Two', I was actively annoyed by all his vocal theatrics. I'm not completely negative on this. 'Country Club' is a catchy pop track. This is inoffensive yet largely forgettable, sounding like a much weaker version of bands like Duran Duran and Depeche Mode.
I almost gave up several times during this needlessly long album, but I powered through because it feels good to finish an album as challenging as this. That unfortunately was not the case here. My heart is saying one star but I’m in a good mood this morning, so two it is!
This probably slapped in the 80s but now it sounds too much like the 80s...
Ikke for meg i det hele tatt. Et slit å komme seg igjennom. 1.4/5
Tidvis slitsomt. Noe er litt catchy.
Good example of 80s U.K. New Wave, with vocal style that can be quite annoying.
Did I enjoyed listening to this? Sporadically. Would I choose to listen to it again? Nope. Do I think it's bad? No. I sort of get it, it's just not my type of music.
There's shades of Berlin era Bowie in here, Roxy Music, New Order too. I like all of those ingredients but somehow it doesn't gel together too well. 3 out of 5 stars for me.
I love me some wacky 80s synth music. This however feels like a knock-off of some of the greats. Still not entirely unbearable though.
Good I guess. It works better for me when half paying attention to it in background, and not as good when I focus on it.
I went back and forth with this one. Sometimes it sounded like Scott Walker fronting The Cure and sometimes it sounded worse. But interesting pretty much always.
I couldn’t. Not thing.
I enjoyed this in parts mainly for the musical side things. I was never a fan of his vocal histrionics
Good album 3/5 for me- GEMV (29.01.2025)
really thought i was going to like this...but it leaves much to be desired. there's just so many better options when it comes to this type of sound. 2 stars for me
Riding some kind of new wave into psychedelic synth-layered pop, The Associates' Sulk was better than expected due to its theatrical and nervy qualities. Blending their influences on chop, the cocktail is a strange and strong flavor — not entirely smooth or always easy to swallow — it’s potent stuff. And yet the vocals are what call to me most on this album despite all their efforts at creating new soundscapes for pop songs. I hear echoes of Scott Walker, Peter Murphy, and Bowie as the vocals rise above the rhythm section and synths to give the album its dramatic grip.
Holy lord that’s horrible
you will never be the talking heads
This just kinda sucks.
80s synth-pop/new wave, with an avant garde flavour. But I've never heard of The Associates before! Start sounds strong for the genre! 2 mins in and no vocals, is this an instrumental album? Ooh, No has a nice moody feel. Feels a bit 'naive' musically but I like it. Vocals come in like a proto-Radiohead! Experimental side, derived from XTC style indie? Gloomy Sunday has nice synth hooks, with live piano. Nice combo. It is interesting, but for me it's pushed just a little bit too far to the avant garde. I would have liked a few ideas to be properly worked through; the elements of classics are present. Party Fears Two has a Cure-like bounciness which is very nice. Best track - Arrogance Gave Him Up, No, Gloomy Sunday, Skipping, Party Fears Two, Club Country 4 stars - just about, it has enough of interest to enjoy and I'd listen again!
It's giving the music that would play in the liminal space that is an old 80s Kane's store.
This was a rough one for me. There are elements I enjoyed- moments of lush atmospherics, unusual drum patterns, but the vocals and majority of the songwriting just didn't do it for me. "Club Country" got some legitimate laughs out of me just with the sheer audacious shittiness of the vocals and lyrics. The whole experience read like a group poorly ripping off Bowie. Again, there were some interesting moments, but not enough to save it from being my first 2/5.
Arrogance Gave Him Up has this awkward drum beat to create syncopation that I don't like. It's unnerving. Otherwise, ok, fine.
I get the hate but I enjoy the theatrical excess and weirdness of this one. Especially when he hits those ridiculous high notes on Club Country.
Wasn't interested 2
This was actually a pretty fun album! Definitely had that 80's cheese in that I could see some neon jazzercise classes to many of these songs. Had some fun riffs though I was feeling the length by the end
I agree with other reviews that this album feels like if David Bowie was half as talented and then split into two people. However, someone with half of Bowie's talent is still decently talented, and this isn't like being dragged facedown on concrete, unlike some of the other bottom-twenty ranking albums on the list. I don't think I'd ever revisit it, but Sulk didn't actively offend or insult me.
OMG from the first measure I knew I didn’t need to hear this before I die. What a hot mess. This list is so shite. I’m sorry there’s not over 1000 albums you have to hear. There’s probably 100 that you should listen to no matter what and then whatever you like. And then you should probably listen to a fuck ton of classical/baroque/romantic music. Not all these shite UK albums. Sheesh.
WTF. A strong contender for worst album so far. This is why I don't hand out a lot of 1's - they're reserved for crap like this.
I found this record quite extreme. The vocals are so exaggerated, it's almost as though this genre requires a performance like this - like how Black Metal needs growling and screaming. It's an odd mix of melody and dissonance. The lyrics are a bit creepy, but maybe that adds value? I didn't like it that much.
This was all over the place. I was varying wildly between hating it and loving it, sometimes in the same song. I feel like overall it was a no for me though. I did enjoy "Love Hangover" though
Quite shit
Interesting 80s pop. This act seems like they're trying very hard to be different. At times it works, some of the tracks are really good and engaging. Others seem to be trying too hard to be unique and end up being not fun to listen to.
Did me and the other reviewers listen to the same album? This was a great time. It's goffik... I think Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way would like it
I mean, this album is unique and has… ideas. The problem is that most of these ideas did hit for me, and the whole thing felt chaotic and disjointed not in a good way. There are a couple of fun parts, but this album mostly felt quite boring. 5/10
A fine, but not great album. Where this album shines, at least for 1982, is the sublime synths and creative risks taken on the production side. The Bowie-esque vocals are enjoyable, but the lyrics are daft. Not worthy of a position on this list, but a bit better than the usual fare of English bands that are noteworthy to no one. Better albums from 1982 that should have been included instead of this one: Men at Work BUSINESS AS USUAL, Toto TOTO IV, Frida SOMETHING'S GOING ON, Rush SIGNALS, Billy Idol BILLY IDOL, abc THE LEXICON OF LOVE, Fleetwood Mac MIRAGE, The Cure PORNOGRAPHY, Steve Miller Band ABRACADABRA, Madness THE RISE AND FALL,
Interesting choice to start with an aggressive, energetic synth instrumental. I don't hate it. It's definitely a relic of the 80s. I feel that the follow-up, No, is trying too hard to push the boundaries of music. It's all the ingredients of a post-punk band, complete with horrifically bad vocals, repetitive guitars, droney basslines, and synths that echo like nobody's business. It comes across like a very off-brand Talking Heads (circa Remain In Light), so for the good taste in inspiration, The Associates get at least a few style points. I'm 50-50 on the song No, but it gets a pass because the piano melody is kind of catchy. But no more bad-experimentation-for-the-sake-of-it, please. Well, at least Gloomy Sunday is sort of like conventional pop. Apart from the vocals, which are just so darn terrible that it becomes impossible to ignore. They're mixed up loudly in both ears, somewhat out of tune, and echoed as if you were standing in a Satanic cathedral. Sounds like drunk karaoke. At this point in the album, I started to realise all of the remaining tracks would be pretty terrible. Of course, I remained open to a happy surprise, but everything from track 3 onward is so kitschy, so overdramatic, and so unbelievably badly done. The only exception to this is Club Country, which is at least middling (on account of the positive, upbeat mood) and has passable vocals. Now let's check the Wikipedia article... Dang, those "professional" ratings are pretty harrowing. Of the seven listed, the lowest rating is four stars. Out of five. In contrast, the average rating in this project stands at 2.36. I would personally wager that the masses (us) are right about this one (but 2.36 is still far too high for this monstrosity). 1/5 Key tracks: Arrogance Gave Him Up, No, Club Country
One of the most unusual and undeserving entries. I don't mind a bit of synth pop but I'd rather listen to some of the early poppy Cure or Shriekback or XTC than this jumbled mess of synth stabs and shoulderpads.
The early 80s were a weird and wild time. Interesting listen!
this one’s weird. nothing too crazy, but it’s weird. kinda like if Bowie was a crazy German guy?
.
Song 1: What the absolute fuck is going on with the snare fills. The drum programming on this song actively gives me anxiety and I hate it so much Song 2: I just read some background on them and they actually sound insane and fun! This song is also better than the first one. I didn't make it 100% of the way through the album, but it definitely got better over time. Either the first song is one of the most grating pieces of music I've ever heard or it caught me on a bad day, but I was grooving more and not thinking about how i actively disliked it anymore. 2.9 stars - it doesn't fully fuck, but it could be worse
This is alright synth pop maybe? Im not really sure what this is. It feels like soemthing like the cure or something similar but more than 5 minutes from offing itself. Club country was the track that most spoke to me. And the others aren't bad either just didnt really get to me. Been alot of that recently I guess. And this is keeping on. Not much else to say but its alright.
funky
Frig off. 2/5
Interesting. Lots of Bowie, NIN, the cure. Never heard of it in my life
I didn't get into this. I'm not a huge fan of this type of music. I don't think I have a good understanding of what this is, or what this is trying to be.
Quite annoying. Unclear if this was based on my current mood, but I didn't enjoy listening to this at all. I have a suspicion that on a different day I might be in the mood for this type of thing.
My optimism soon crashed with this album. I could hear the Bowie influence but not in a good way
"we have Simple Minds at home" Simple Minds at home: Nah, it's just standard-fare UK synth-saturated post-punk new-wave. Vocalist like Morrissey meets Dolby without the charm, forgettable melodies, utterly unremarkable drum beats. Gives a whiff of "only on this list because it was compiled in Britain in the late 90s" à la Dexys. It's fun in parts and I don't really think it's *offensively* bad; just utterly unremarkable. fav tracks: Gloomy Sunday, Skipping, nothingsomethinginparticular
- i hate when albums are super long because they have all the demos and weird versions like no one cares but that seems to be a common thing before the 90 -so no words for the first song -yeah no is a no immediately -it’s like they are trying to be david bowie and failing idk this is whack -some of the production i actually really like and then they ruin it with their weird vocals -like nothing is something in particular i actually like but it’s because it’s no words -
David Bowie wannabes? Not for me
Det va veldig veldig av sin tid, og det va gøy, men æ har visst allerede glemt kordan det hørtes ut anna enn en vag anelse et sted baki der, så det gjorde ikke akkurat varig inntrykk, det heller.
Despised by everyone on 1001's reviews? Likened to Devo, David Bowie and Can in said reviews? I had very high hopes, and was instead kind of... well this is some vaguely Echo and the Bunnymen 80s music.. it did nothing for me and just sounded like background noise.
Sounded like a stray cat yowling against synthesizers.
Wierd, but I liked it.
Meh, sohdns like a rip off talking heads. Not my vibe, 2 stars
Not awful, but also not good. Some jingles are nice enough, but largely forgettable as a whole album.
Didn’t like this at all, I remember Party fears coming out, and didn’t like that……🤣
This explains why so many people hate New Wave.
Synes egentlig musikken var fin nok, men Temu Morrissey på vokal trak ned
Det er ikke den bedste tidlig-80er-new-wave-post-punk-grænseflade plade vi har haft, men jeg er vild med dem og glad for at der er så mange på listen.
Bit boring, more new wave than post punk imo
Got some decent bangers.
Denso y oscuro new wave. De momentos algo gótico. No estuvo mal, pero no me volvió loco. 4/10
I don't like this.
Listened to the original uk release. Only 41 minutes people. They threw everything and the kitchen sink at producing this and it helps cover up the lack of truly memorable songs. I like how macabre it is in places and the vocals are certainly attention grabbing. A new wave album that is a lot more interesting than a lot of the genres offerings.
First song has prince vibes. Pretty good pop tune. No is a really cool sound. A lot going on but I like it. Not a fan of bop, very dated. Gloomy Sunday is pretty cool. Jude spoons too. Nothing crazy but good enough song. Middle part is bullshit/unneccasary. Skipping was forgettable. Better this way is ok. Party fears two is definitely the best in the album. Very 70s. Not a lot of uniqueness on this album. No one instrument stands out. Club country is more of the same. This album seems more like pop than rock. Can’t believe it’s not even halfway done. Another album with great critical reviews that I just don’t agree with. This album is nothing. 18 carat love affair is pretty good I guess. Kind of catchy. Not a fan of them I read a book. Australia is pretty fun tho. Good songwriting. Good piano/bass on Grecian. Rest of it is pretty whack. Room we sat in is only good because it’s the last song. This album is very 80s pop. If that’s what you like then you’ll like this. I think it’s generic and lazy. Not at all life changing or “influential” from what I can see. 2 stars.
Sjukt bra
Their cover of Diana Ross’ Love Hangover is cute
Really amateurish sounding knock-off of Bowie and Bauhaus. The programmed drums are very off-putting to me. Absolutely shouldn't be on this list.
Here's how this played out... 1st song - Instrumental? Cool. Not astounding, but not bad. 2nd song - A bit dramatic and that voice is overly melodramatic. Maybe he's just leaning into it for the vibe on this one. 3rd song - What the hell? Is that just his voice? It's pretty damn annoying. 4th song - He toned it down a little, but really, I don't think I can listen to this whole album. Gloooooomy Sundaaaay Gloooooomy Sundaaaay Gloooooomy Sundaaaay Ok, Let's take a break and come back to this later. 5th song - incoherent yowling. Is this even in English?? 6th song - Oh, ok. Music! cool bassline and he's not yowling. It's still a little dramatic, but dealable. Oddly, the least appropriately named song on the album, "Skipping" is prolly the least skippable song so far. No more play-by-play because I want to get away from this piece of crap. Just one more thing: Some folks commented that "Party Fears Two" is the jewel of this album and I'm calling bullshit. Nobody would play this on purpose, would they? This is a 1 that deserves a 0
I do not like this album, i do think though if you enjoy the genre of early 80s goth rock, you’ll like this
Why, why, why are there so many bands like this on this list. Tedious 80s post punk/ nu wave Brit pop. Mostly dreadful 1.5*
"Nude Spoons" almost dragged this down to a 2.
Random 80s music.
Amazing album cover. Unnecessary long album. I had enough after just 30 minutes.
Holy shit, no. I had high hopes after the opening track, but they lost me about 3 minutes into track 2. This is album #216, so I am about 20% through this exercise. At this point I have serious concerns that I will finish, and I have serious concerns about Robert Dimery's qualifications for compiling this book, not to mention his editors' and publishers' sanity for approving him as the executor of this project. Send help. Please.
The wikipedia article classifies this band as post-punk. A genre that hasn't been my favorite before but this albums sounds nothing like the previous post-punk albums on this list. That being said I really didn't like this one either. Strange noises, singing/talking out of beat, drums that doesn't really have a tempo and changes when the band feels like it instead of having a transition. There was two or three songs that were okay to listen to but the others made me mostly irritated.
Jep, ei kyl pysty nyt kuuntelemaan kiekumista ja syntikkasaundeja
You just can't be serious at this point
It's british. It's energetic. It's a trip. The vocals are definitely unique.
The Associates are a one of a kind type of act. Sulk is quite a unique album. Possibly the most surprising thing about it is that it managed any kind of commercial success. It feels like nowadays an album like this would be lucky to find a home at all, maybe a small label or self released then maybe catch a break by someone influential recognising its brilliance and spawning a cult following. However the story of the original release of Sulk goes, I’m just glad it made us aware of this record and are still listening to and talking about it 40 years later.
This is unspectacular 80s music. I’m generally not a huge 80s fan, so this didn’t excite me much. Something to get through, but not so bad as to warrant a 2/5. I’ll give it a low 3/5 and be glad to move on.
This seemed musically ahead of it's time except the vocals that were bang on for the 80s. Club country was the best song, lots of sparks and talking heads in there. Otherwise it varied between being enjoyable and passing me by. Don't think it's grabbed me enough for a second listen but enjoyed the first. 3.5 but closer to a 3
I don't know what that was all about, but whatever it was, it wasn't for me. Off-kilter beats, boring themes, messy.
2 80s 4 me. Is there any other type of music that can be so easily assigned to a period of time? I suppose this was kinda interesting in parts, but it's got that artsy talking heads type thing going on that I don't get on with. I also don't really like the 80s synth sound as a rule. 1.5, but maybe closer to 2
Typical punk rock. Nothing special.
Its been a while since there has been an album on here that has had me thinking "Can I actually bear to listen to this all the way through?" Surprisingly the answer was yes, though its an hour I'll never get back. I was truly awful 1
I recognised the enjoyable and jaunty ‘Party Fears Two’, but nothing else. Inoffensive enough listen but nothing inspiring.
1982 was a grand year for music. The guitar work was fantastic. The vocal performance was classic OTT 80's style and has dated horrendously. Always good to hear Party Fears Two' great tune.
Influence for New Wave? I don't know, but lots of bands did this style much better.
Not a fan
It is funny that I liked this when I've being harsh and very critic about this genre, and specially when it is in the top 20 worst albums in this list. Extravagant is the first word that comes to mind when describing this album. The singer's very operatic style voice shows a very wide vocal register and emotion while the instrumentation is what could be expected from the New Wave's sound of the 80's, but mixed with a little bit of goth rock, which adds a nice layer of depth and even creates some moody atmospheres. If it wasn't for these little touches of goth and the singer's great voice, I would say that this is quite standard and forgettable, which it can be at some points. One thing that I need to talk about is the production. which feels a bit poor and makes some songs sound bad. Various example would be the drums in 'Bap De La Bap' and "It's Better this Way", or the clipping of the voice in 'Gloomy Sunday'. Speaking of 'Gloomy Sunday', the last time I listened to it I started to feel like it sounded very familiar. Then it hit me, that the same poem sang is also used in the song 'Öngyilkos vasárnap' by Venetian Snares. It seems like they both take inspiration in the original Hungarian song which is also know as the 'Hungarian Suicide Song'. Anyway, this is a good New Wave album with a lot of personality, even though it may be a bit forgettable at times and the sound quality is not the best.
### **In-Depth Review: _Sulk_ by The Associates (1982)** > **“A florid, hysterical masterpiece… extraordinarily potent music, a repository of the otherness contemporary pop so lacks.”** > — Mojo, 2000 re-issue --- ### **1. Lyrics: Cryptic Theatre of the Self** Billy MacKenzie’s lyrics on _Sulk_ are **deliberately oblique**, functioning more as **emotional Rorschach tests** than linear narratives. - **“Party Fears Two”**—the album’s accidental pop hit—was described by MacKenzie as simultaneously about *“a husband and wife arguing”*, *“political extremes”*, and *“schizophrenics”*. The words *“It’s the glare…”* and *“Arriving at the desk…”* evoke **social anxiety** and **identity fracture** without ever pinning them down . - **“No”** condenses psychodrama into three chilling lines: *“Tore my hair out from the roots / Planted them in someone’s garden / Then I waited for the shoots”*—a **botanical metaphor for self-harm** that is both Gothic and oddly tender . - **“18-Carat Love Affair”** hides queer sub-text inside champagne-pop: *“I told you not to meet me here / I can’t be seen with you whispering in my ear”* could be read as **closeted love** or simply adultery, but MacKenzie’s own bisexuality loads the song with **illicit poignancy** . - **“Nude Spoons”** is acid-trip surrealism—*“nude spoons euphoria”*—yet the **high-pitched hysteria** in the delivery makes the nonsense feel **psychologically revealing** rather than throw-away . **Verdict:** The words **glamorise instability**; they are **camp, terrified, luxurious**—a perfect mirror of the music. --- ### **2. Music: Decadent Overload** Alan Rankine’s arrangements treat **pop as high art**. Every track is **stuffed with ideas** until it almost bursts: | Element | What Happens | Example | |---|---|---| | **Drums** | Kit re-built from **five different snares** (copper, ebony, steel) to create **explosive, tom-less clatter** | “Bap De La Bap” | | **Piano** | **Jangle piano** (a tack-piano with metal tabs) supplies **music-box intro** to “Party Fears Two” | | **Synths** | **Spector-sized walls** of phased strings, fog-horn bass, **Zorro-slashed** staccato riffs | “Arrogance Gave Him Up” | | **Voice** | MacKenzie’s **four-octave falsetto** leaps from **Scottish baritone croon** to **glass-shattering operatic** in a single bar | entire LP | The result is **baroque post-punk**: equal parts **Roxy/Bowie glamour**, **Cure-style dread**, and **ABBA melodic immediacy**. --- ### **3. Production: Luxuriant Insanity** Warners’ advance was **half-blown on cocaine, hotel suites, and smoked salmon for MacKenzie’s whippets**; the rest was **thrown at the studio** . - **Mike Hedges** (later _The Cure_, _Siouxsie_) captures **cathedral-sized reverb** without losing punch. - **Layered overdubs** (sometimes **three separate string synths**) create **vertical depth**—you hear new **shimmers and rattles** on every listen. - **Cold endings** (instruments suddenly vanish) appear on **“Arrogance…”** and **“No”**, giving the LP a **film-cut abruptness** that heightens drama . **Down-side:** a few 12″ mixes on the bonus disc are **over-saturated**, barely distinguishable from album cuts . --- ### **4. Themes: Glamour vs. Meltdown** _Sulk_ is **split personality** on vinyl: - **Side A** – **Gothic cabaret**: songs about **hair-pulling, spoons, suicide anthem “Gloomy Sunday”**—a **séance of despair**. - **Side B** – **Pop exorcism**: **“Party Fears Two”**, **“Club Country”**, **“18-Carat…”**—**effervescent hooks** that **mock the very idea of pop escapism** while **being absolute bops**. The tension between **high-gloss surface** and **rot underneath** is the album’s **central nervous system**. --- ### **5. Influence & Legacy** - **Immediate:** _Melody Maker_ Album of 1982, **three Top-30 singles**, **BPI Gold** within months. - **Long-term:** – **Antony Hegarty** cited MacKenzie as **vocal spirit-guide**; **Arcade Fire**, **Sparks**, **Perfume Genius** all **borrow the dramatic falsetto/choir-boy vibrato**. – **Post-punk revivalists** (The Horrors, Wild Beasts) **quote Rankine’s stacked-artifice production** as blueprint for **theatrical darkness**. – **“Party Fears Two”** still appears in **film/TV** (most recently **The Crown**) whenever scripts need **elegant unease**. --- ### **Pros & Cons (Quick Glance)** | Pros | Cons | |---|---| | **Unique sonic world** – nothing before or since sounds like it | **Over-production** can fatigue on low-end speakers | | **MacKenzie’s voice** – arguably the **greatest instrument** in 80s pop | **Cryptic lyrics** alienate listeners seeking literal meaning | | **Three perfect singles** (“Party…”, “Club…”, “18-Carat…”) anchor the madness | **US vinyl dropped** “Bap De La Bap” & “Nude Spoons” – gutted flow | | **Influential template** for art-pop, queer drama, maximalist production | **Excess stories** sometimes overshadow the actual music | --- ### **Final Sentence** _Sulk_ is **pop’s gilded asylum**: step inside and you’ll **dance, shiver, grin, and mourn**—all in the **same baroque breath**.
Favorite Songs: Club Country, No, Love Hangover Least Favorite Song: Nude Spoons Went in thinking I’d hate this but it’s not half bad. The album cover is gorgeous.
# Album Name: Sulk # Artist: The associates # Rating: 3/5 # Comments: Heavy synth vibes. I like the style but this album didnt click for me. Pretty meh # Top Tunes: Its better this way # Would I listen to it again? Maybe
Fun album to listen to once. Party Fears Two is definitely the stand-out song though. It feels like the only track that manages to be catchy and memorable while the others try to reach that point but just fall short. Not bad but not great either
First four tracks are God awful, so I stopped listening. Who the fuck thought this was worth including?? Shockingly bad
mm, not my thing
I normally have a lot of time for dark 80s pop but the vocal on this is jarring.
Not good. Do not recommend. I'm giving this a 1 as in "the worst rating possible".
Alright. Faded
Horrendous caterwauling that couldn't end soon enough. What Bowie probably sounds like in The Bad Place. I'm appalled that there's a 3-hour version of this on Spotify.
I didnt need to hear this. Actually i would be better without it.
An interesting mix of sounds- synth pop with some nu wave and gothy tones. The whole album has an ethereal quality, and a very 80s sound. Overall- good album. 3 to 3.5 /5
Absolutely horrific, awful, garbage. The only two songs that are not dreadful, are the two instrumental tracks. The rest is painful, wailing crap. How has this ended up on the list? Absolutely nobody needs to listen to it.
Just a brutal listen. Sulk? Yeah, that’s what I did the whole damn time I was listening through this album. In all sincerity, why is this on here? There is just heaps and heaps of much better music in this genre. “Best” Track: 18 Carat Love Affair
A bit messy and uneven overall, but “Gloomy Sunday” stood out for me, and “Love Hangover” is an excellent cover of an already classic track.
No thank you.
there might be some occasional decent melodies on here, but they're well buried under layers & layers of overblown 1980s production
01) Arrogance Gave Him Up - 6,0 02) No - 5,5 03) Bap de la Bap - 5,0 04) Gloomy Sunday - 5,5 05) Nude Spoons - 5,5 06) Skipping - 5,0 07) It's Better This Way - 5,5 08) Party Fears Two - 6,5 09) Club Country - 6,5 10) nothinginsomethingparticular - 6,0 TOTAL: 5,70 (57/100) Current ranking: 637/757
I didn't enjoyed the vocals and the record dragged a little, there are maybe a couple good songs, but it isn't my style, nor to my liking as well.
Such an intense album - love it!
Alas, what could have been eh? I adore Billy's voice and and the eclectic nature of this album still keeps me on my toes today. So much going on. I really should listen to this every couple of weeks
No likey.
Loved the production, sounded crystal smooth. Lyrics were interesting but vocals hidden in production made it tough to really appreciate. Not my vibe but as an album a pretty cool project
this blows
I thought I was going to like this a lot after the first track, but it lost me very quickly. I just didn't want to listen to it anymore by the halfway mark
Good Lord this was horrendous. The guy's voice makes me want to punch him in the throat so he can never sing again. This represents the worst of the 1980s. Just awful.
Meh sounds like the era and nothing really outstanding
its... different
I don't know what to do with this album. I've never heard of these guys. I was 12 when it came out so I have no context for them. I just know that 12 year old me would've hated this. Indifference at best. I'm sure it's a great example of the band and genre. It's just not something I havw experience with. To me this is poppy, gothy bullshit. (Bullshit might be too strong. But I don't know what else to use)
Listened to 3 songs. Not into it.
I hated this. Not necessarily because it’s terrible (which it is), but because there’s some potential in here. As someone who actually doesn’t mind the synth, there some good instrumentals here. Some of this, I swear to God, got my head bopping. It’s just that the vocals sound like a discount Bono trying to add ambience to a haunted house. I felt like I was having a good sleep, only for the anesthesia to wear off and I’m on the operating table with the doctor’s sawing through my rib cage. I keep trying to enjoy this, but it keeps hurting my ears. You know how Gloomy Sunday has an urban legend that hearing it makes you commit suicide? I think they were talking about this. As someone who identifies as a 80’s synth defender (basically a heretic), even this was too much. Bonus star for the instrumentals though. Favorite track: the ones without vocals (Arrogance Gave Him Up and nothinginsomethingparticular) Other hits: Nude Spoons, Party Fears Two
3.5
I liked it
Blech, what a ear sore
Disjointed, but occasionally fun. 80's synth funk should have been my wheelhouse, but didn't feel like a cohesive album. Couple of really fun songs, though.
Dreadful concept album. The very best bits were listenable. Nuff said
This was not my thing. Disc 1 was especially grating, and while disc 2 was an improvement it still wasn't a great time. 2/5
Album No. 0076 on my list. Phew, what do I do with this album? First things frist, I've not been aware of the existence of both the album and the group. This was completely new, and i tried to get into this with an open mind. Unfortunately, the whole album is just annoying. I'm not even sure why. It's not a terrible collection of songs per se, but I just didn't like it. The singing is annoying, the music is unnecessarily weird, I don't like its overall vibe. It's not that I don't appreciate avant garde music, quite the contrary. But this just felt unnecessarily annoying to me. I'll add "Club Country" to my playlist, which is a song that at least somehow got stuck in my head. I'll likely never listen to the rest of the album, unfortunately. Bonus points (negatively) for the whole extent of the album - too many, too bad songs. So, finally: it probably doesn't deserve such a bad rating, but "Sulk" will just get 1 star from me. I guess it's just not for me, or maybe I was just in a bad mood, I dunno. Sorry to The Assoiates, maybe I'll listen to the album again in a few years and find it better. 1/5 stars.
Kuidagi kehv mix, ma nagu kuulaks seda läbi mingisuguse toru. Väga palju kahtlaseid ideid ja kõlasid, mis ei tööta. Selline eksperimentaalne brit synthpop, mis mulle kuidagi ei istu. Vokaalid on ikka päris kohutavad ja kriibivad kõrva. Omal ajal võis ta midagi huvitavat ja uut olla, aga praegu kuulates on see ikka piin. 1/5
Musically could have been background music. But the vocals make it unlistenable for me. Almost quit at track 3.
Kind of a meh album, nothing really exciting, but it was okay having it in the background. The popular song with the most listens was not that great, but it was definitely manageable.
Interesting 80s pop but very of it’s time
The drummer sounds like he's having a good old time on "Arrogance Gave Him Up", but it might also be a drum machine, it's the early 80s, its hard to tell... it might all be drum machines, all the way down...
I didn't think it could get worse until I heard the vocalist. Song 2 sums this up perfectly: No.
Det här var inget för mig.
Twas expecting to be annoying and not like. On the contrary, I did like. Definitely Bowie influence involved.
Wanted to like it but couldn’t get there. Felt like a worse Bowie
My first thought with this album was that they were trying too much to be a lighter version of The Cure to be effective, and this was only confirmed in reading that they actually toured with The Cure before creating this album (which seems like an odd pairing, since I'd have thought most Cure fans would be turned off by a warm-up act that seemed very wannabe, down to using an ex-Cure bassist (at least on the album). But to give The Associates credit, they seemed to be interested in using more instruments and tones on this album than anything The Cure had to offer. It's a bit of a painful listen--too tinny and poorly-balanced--but not all that surprising given the 80s provenance, and I enjoyed (at times) their foray into more experimental styles, especially contrasted with their more radio-friendly hits "Party fears two" and "Club country". It would have been nice, though, if the album had had only one track listing that was consistent across the countries it was released in. It seems that part of the reason for the huge discrepancy between UK/Canada album releases and US/Europe releases was because the latter release happened after the presumably-slightly-more-sane half of The Associates (Rankine) left the band after Mackenzie basically sabotaged the band's future.
not my cuppa, seemed like bad synth pop to me.
Seemed fine, nothing that stood out.
This is a slog. It’s every band of the 80 mixed together and then carefully sieve of distinguishing marks. Oingo Boingo without the humor; Tears for Fears, but for the talent. Placeholder at best, but one which sorely tried my patience.
I almost gave up on this one on the way on work but put it back on in the office and liked it a lot more. Maybe the second half was better or maybe my mood changed. Kind of a little like if Bowie was the lead singer for the talking heads (but like 3 levels worse than that sounds). I’d put it on in the background again
0.9 Well I guess this finally answers the question "What if David Bowie wasn't a somewhat functional drug addict"
Oh wow I had no idea temu Bowie teamed up with the Cure to make emo music for daleks. But somehow in the worst way possible.
55
7/10 Better than I expected - don't understand the other reviews. The main thing being people calling this Britpop - what the actual? I'm giving it an extra star for that
So many 80's bands had this slinky malinki vocal style, warbling wail. Some I love, others just grate my ears. Hadn't heard of Sulk before. Great elements, but I just found the 80's drums and synths operating in the same small window of possibility. Lots to love in New Wave, maybe not this.
Depeche Mode's new wave instrumentals combined with Nirvana lyrics and B-52's hysterical vocals. I don't have a ton to say about this because I mostly listened to it in the background, but I could see this growing on me over a few listens. Song picks: Party Fears Two, Club Country, Australia, The Room We Sat In Before.
I would have been more forgiving of this album if it was half the length. The full 1.2 hours was daunting because the music did not make me want to keep listening. A lot of this sounded just find, albeit strange and random. I'm all for strangeness when it feels more intentional than this, but there was just way too much going on in these songs. They all felt very similar too, so it was difficult to differentiate between songs or pick favourites. There are some cool sounds in the mix though and I don't mind the vocals either, even though they're a bit wild. They remind me a bit of the Talking Heads at times, which is a redeeming factor. I'll give this 4/10.
I don't know, this one didn't do it for me. Some interesting instrumentation but I can't say I was a big fan of the vocalist. Lots of the tracks blended together for me. 6/10
I really liked the bass and percussion side of this music. The vocals were not my jam personally. But the music was quite good apart from that imo. It gives me a bit of a goth Swans vibe. So I know one person that would likely be a fan.