Pelican West

Pretty good New Wave album but got repetitive after a few tracks

3.5/5 - I love the 80s, I love feeling like I'm watching an episode of Supermarket Sweep - it's a win win. Standout tracks: - Kingsize (You're My Little Steam Whistle) (5/5) - I restarted this twice bc I didn't want it to end - October Is Orange (Day 1 & 2) (4/5)

Some decent tunes, never heard of the band.

First time I'd heard of this band. A few decent songs but sounded too much like a poor man's talking heads.

Just sounds like bog-standard new wave to me. I couldn't even get interested in it enough to get mad at it

When someone says 80s music this is exactly the sound I think of, even though I don’t think I’ve ever heard them before. It is definitely not a genre I gravitate towards, couldn’t even finish the album to be honest.

This is Madness. Oh, wait, it's not. I don't really get this album. Music is fine, it's not actively offensive or anything. It's in a weird space where it's not really pub rock and it's not really college rock. I'd also not call it new wave. It's just soft rock/pop, I guess? I'd say this is the album that a crate digging DJ would find and end up using for a lot of samples and horn stabs. Fun for that, but not for much else. I won't be back to listen to this one again.

I was expecting to hate this just by the album cover alone. There were a few songs that I thought were interesting or otherwise of note, but in general it sounded like a weird cross of Kenny G / Gloria Estefan and Flock of Seagulls or Duran Duran......

Now here’s a record I expected to hate but is actually packed with very danceable pop songs Too long but fun

This sounds exactly like you'd expect an album from a British new wave group of the early 80s to sound. I wonder if their band name might have inspired all of those "number" band names from the next decade: Sum 41, Matchbox 20, Blink-182, and the like. :-)

There's a kind cheapy guilty pleasure in this one. It's like watching a Talking Heads cover band performing at a shopping mall. You might be reluctant to admit it to anyone but it's actually very fun. This is definitely on the campier side of New Wave. But if you can look past the cheesy saxophone, you'll have a great time. Don't worry if none of your friends join in. It can just be for you.

Nie uważam, aby to była zła płyta, ale nie wierzę, że naprawdę zasługuje na miejsce w top 1001. Przyjemny pop, lekko funky, czasami te kompozycje robią szalone serpentyny, ale no nie wiem… trudno mi dać więcej niż 6.5 równane w dół. Brakowało mi jakiejś innowacji. Siły. Czegoś co nie brzmi jak Duran Duran. 6.5/10.

My appreciation for its influence gets this album four.

Don't know what I expected really, but this is certainly what I should have expected. The released singles were the standout tracks. But I'm not sure whether it was because I knew them or not, but they seemed to have a noticeable amount more life and oomph in them. On the whole not a bad album, but not something I'll be looking out for. 3

What a great opportunity to listen to ‘Favourite Shirts’ again, and the rest of their poppy-jazzy-bongo-loveliness. Edit: 5 songs in. Enough already.

Everyone knows the singles, the rest was of a similar level of quality and energy. I really enjoyed listening to this and will play it again very soon and lose all my credibility.

Play that funky music White Boys!!

it was fun to listen

i mean... it's fine

The guitarist is hella funky. The Duran Duran comparison is justified.

These guys are great

A bit of several other 80s sound in here, dexys, Depeche, Duran, etc, pretty good primer.

I remember when this was released. I loved it. “New wave” music. I still love it!

78/100. Pelican West by Haircut One Hundred is a great and fun new wave album with tons of energy and charm. The album kicks off with a strong start, delivering a few fantastic, infectious tracks right out of the gate. While it loses some momentum as it goes on and drags a bit toward the end, it remains consistently enjoyable. The instrumentation is superb, filled with bright grooves and tight arrangements that make it stand out.

This one certainly brings back the 80s. I am familiar with the hit songs here, but have never listened to this album as a whole. While a bit too poppy for my tastes it is still a funky/jazzy fun listen.

Old wave bye bye

Not bad! I pride myself on knowing a lot of 80s music but had never heard of these guys before. They had a bit of a weird ‘sitcom theme’ sound at times but still fun.

Never heard of these guys. Got like a new wave / big band jazz vibe from. Not great but not awful.

this kind of thing is exactly what i was hoping this 1001 albums project would deliver: a new-to-me sort of forgotten classic, only one hit album but honestly it's kind of fire. they're like a weirder, slightly fruitier Duran Duran (& it mostly works).

First three songs were insane but the novelty kinda wore off after that. Still crazy rhythm guitar work

This was ok, but way too long of an album for the same sounded song over and over.

Wasn’t earth shattering and could have been shorter

I am so sick of the mid Brit-pop crap that keeps popping up. This album was mid at best but I'm mad I even had to listen to it so it's getting a 2. Nothing about this album (or the band) is special. Stupid bubblegum pop music. Bleh.

another "meh" background listen. my interest faded after 1st 30 minutes. to be fair, until that point it wasn't bad-interesting sound & very up tempo. just too long & got boring. 2.5 stars

a bit too cutesy for me

An album with a really interesting and unique sound that unfortunately fell short

3/5

Ok, new wave done pretty well. Really enjoyed the first track and a few others. The brass on Boy Meets Girl is fantastic, it's probably overused elsewhere on the album in what is an 80s touchstone of excessive sax. Main issue is the tunes definitely got boring after a bit. Or maybe a little annoying? Or maybe because my morning driving around places while listening to it got progressively more annoying. And strange. Milk Film?? And strangely twee. Calling Captain Autumn? Love Plus One is a fantastic brass riff trapped in a shit song. King Size is banging. Fantastic Day is great of course and played a lot over the years. Lots of songs that would be great sprinkled about a playlist. A bit much all at once. Again, yeah definitely better than Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet, both of whom were many times more successful despite this limitation. Kudos to the book for pointing out Nobody's Fool which isn't on the album but I've listened to it 4 times today and caught myself humming it when I wasn't. really grown on me. Banger.

This album is both really fun and really annoying. I think it's just the vocals that annoy me.

30/1001 I'm just about old enough to remember Nick Heyward being touted as the next big thing, a musical genius who was going to conquer the world. He did go on to enjoy brief solo success after Pelican West, but Haircut 100 faltered without him, managing just one further poorly-received long player, and it's fair to say neither really equalled the relative success of this debut album. Choppy, funky clean guitars, exotic percussion, way too much saxophone, cringe-worthy Brit-rap and a preoccupation with cliched early-80s themes are order of the day here - it was a strange time when skiing holidays, larking about on yachts and rolling around in autumn leaves wearing chunky, cable knit Aran sweaters seemed to be all anyone aspired to. Not as cutting as The Style Council, not as cool as Orange Juice, and not as unashamedly poppy as Wham!, Haircut's music seems to trickle into the cracks left by their contemporaries rather than claim it's own unique territory. It's all very lightweight stuff, the vocals tend to drift by rather than grab your attention, and the arrangements soon get repetitive. There's a surprising amount of subtle instrumentation on offer here, but variety of playing does not seem to translate to variety of end product, and sadly all you take away from the experience is the jazz-funk stabbing and and overload of brass. Which is a shame, because everyone else was doing that sound in 1982. That said, in Favourite Shirts, Love Plus One and Fantastic Day this album boasts three buoyant, if vaguely similar, hit singles which are very much of-their-time slices of enthusiastic pop fluff. I can't deny I've got a certain nostalgia-fuelled fondness for them - Nobody's Fool, included on later reissues, is a decent pop seven-inch too. The album tracks never threaten to match that same level of quality, but do improve a little on repeated listens, to be fair. I really shouldn't, but I'm going to give it two stars.

I really enjoyed this album. Didn’t know the band and am very upset about it. Disappointed to see that some of these songs have as few plays as they do. So I guess I’m not the only one. Great era for this kind of sound.

Why do these songs all sound the same? And why do they all suck? How did they stretch this album out to an entire hour? I only made it to Fantastic Day and that song sucked fantastically so I gave up

Felt very sorry for the rhythm guitarist in Haircut 100, the amount of muted off beat strumming required was immense. He probably has the biggest forearm imaginable, I'm sure he's sick of the jokes. It was sort of Talking Headsy on the face of it but it's missing all the quirkiness and most of the talent. The first couple of songs worked the best and then the quality just steadily decreased without changing the sound. It wasn't unlistenable but wouldn't come back, 2.5. but closer to a 2.

Gosh. Really boring 80s stuff. Not without merit, quite jaunty, but not for me this. It definitely spans New Wave and Pop, but doesn't really do either very well. I'm surprised this is on the list. Did remind me to go to the barbers, though.

Way too 80s for me. Not awful though

Like a more fun uptempo The Cure. Pretty fun with some nice jazzy trumpets as well

Pretty cool

Like early U2 with no soul and only the cheesiest elements of Bowie. I most likely won’t remember their name.

Duran Duran meets Pet Shop Boys.

Feuer einfach

Haircut 100? The (barely) one-hit wonder from the early 80s? Essential album? I beg to differ, and I’m a fan of British New Wave. 2⭐️

Did not catch my attention

A good time. Nothing more or less. Energetic rhythm guitar, funky basslines, and great sax playing throughout. Although exciting and new for the US, not necessarily for everyone else. Paradoxically, it's when they stick to this tried-and-true jazz fusion that I find myself enjoying the record more. Really didn't need the pop sensibilities. I'll give it props for taking an efficient journey on a well-trodden path. I certainly prefer when the Japanese do it. At least that way you don't have some British bloke in your ear. I hate to punish a fun record for being uninventive. There are certainly worse crimes; however, it's a notable one in an "all-time" list. Rating: 7.4 Favorite Song: Kingsize

9/10 These dudes are doing city pop. City pop bangs. This album bangs. Favorite song: Kingsize

Kasarin torvi-innostus alkaa kyllästyttää, nopsaan käy vanhaksi tälläkin levyllä, kun eivät he alun jälkeen keksi oikein mitään uutta.

Mietin sitä aitoa heittäytymisen, jopa vakavoitumisen tunnetta, jota tämän tason hupsuttelu ja höpsöttely edellyttää. Hytisen.(Ekassa biisissä on muuten ideaa.) 1+

This dude is so hard to understand, like why we mumbling brother? Overall found the style kind of annoying.

Seems almost out of its time with a simplicity that's almost 60s-like. They've got some good energy and a nice sound - but it does fall a bit into the "background music" category, loosing my interest a bit.

Sérstaklega fínn rytmagítar og Lemon firebrigade er mjög gott stöff. En ég fæ mig samt einhvern veginn ekki til að toga hana upp í fjarka. Við skulum segja að hún endi í 3,4.

Okay, this album KILLS me because the instrumental writing is sooooo good (especially in beginning of album). Engaging, great rhythm and variety of instruments. But then the vocals absolutely ruin it and take it to some sad pop world. Would be much improved without vocals in my opinion lol. Anyways, without vocals I would give it a 4 but they brought it down to a 3 for me. There were some really nice groovy instrumental bits. The marimba and brass in Love Plus One dancing over the groove laid down, bongo and winds in Lemon Firebrigade followed by fun brass fanfare.

I really love this album and was pretty delighted to see it on the list and get to listen to it yesterday. Bright, happy British white boy funk that just works for me.

First two songs are classic singles, but I'd never hear the rest of the album, and it's surprisingly solid. Will definitely revisit!

Enjoyed it at first, but the less it changed the more annoying it got

Whoa. I wonder which one got the 100th haircut? That’s the big story. My money is on the yellow tie man. He’s really chewing the scenery in the middle here. Apparently this is new wave that people think shouldn’t be part of this list. Classic inclusion. Someone should make a NEW list and only include albums I like. I’m in full support of that. This is actually kind of fun. The jazz interlude, the upbeat guitars. Sounds like Devo featuring jazz. That is absolutely a compliment. This is Sims menu music with La La La’s. El Terriblé. Please move on. Oh he says the song title right away. I do hate ambiguity. Cut right to the heart of the matter. Especially when you’re dissecting such hard hitting issues as citrus based fire brigades. Elevator music with cool bass sections. I somehow don’t hate this all that much. This week on Odd Company, trouble is afoot when little Abner firebombs the school’s utility shed. Will Mama serve some parental justice or will she join in on the fun in the name of a united ireland? All that and more on Odd Company this Friday night during ABCs primetime weeknights! I don’t like this song but the saxophone is fairly cool. It’s less 80’s pop saxophone and more jazzy. Why is this so good? Reminds me of Gang of Four. Missed opportunity to call your band “Gang of Six” considering there are indeed, six fellas here. I’m available for consult gents. This song was boring. We’re so back. Firstly. The song is called Baked Beans. While as a food all beans are abhorrent, the concept? Funny. The song? Incredibly fun. Snow-y-y-oh-oh. Why must this be so back and forth. This sounds like death. A slow death. This is playing quietly on the radio next to your deathbed while you flatline. You realize the last strains you’ll make are against the confines of a bed you never asked to be in. Let the darkness envelope you. This is excellent. Once again we have flashed from a melodramatic stench pile to the aromatic, blossom-laced shores of this funky ass jam. Too many stink based words in this track review. I want to sincerely apologize to the good barbering crew down at the pelican haircut lounge. Is this Creed? Am I about to watch an Al Snow comeback package? No. We’re back in the doldrums. Excuse me is Captain Autumn there? Yes I’ll hold. Uh huh. Are you Australian? Oh no. That’s strike 1. This was a fun closer. Nothing crazy. Boys. I have to hand it to ya. This was a good time. One second we’re buying cable knit sweaters, the next we’re going a fall photoshoot, and after that, we’re hitting up Long & McQuade for a quick bass lesson. This is the best autumn ever. Let me know if you’re ever in town again, and maybe I’ll be the 101st haircut. 3.5 HIGHLIGHTS: Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl), Lemon Firebrigade, Kingsize (You’re my Little Steam Whistle), Baked Beans, Love’s Got Me in Triangles

Haircut 100 were the archetypal Smash Hits band back in the early eighties - clean cut young men with boy next door good looks, and I’m afraid to say I was a little bit dismissive of them as lightweight disposable tinkly bonk pop. The lyrics didn’t make any sense as far as I could tell - why was he so worried about going down to the lake, for starters? Anyhoo, aside from the singles which instantly take me back to that halcyon summer of 1981, the rest of this album is surprisingly good. It’s much more in a Latin jazz funk style than I was expecting with slap bass, horns, marimbas and tinkly pianos. I would happily listen to a couple of tracks from this on a sunny evening with a cocktail in hand and not give two hoots about why he is singing about green escalators. Favourite-shirt-tastic!

When it's not leaning into "white dude funk", it's leaning into Steely Dan insipid yacht rock. With a voice à la new wave.

This was funky and fun as hell.

Another fun album. I would, and plan to, revisit this album. Musically it was very reminiscent of Talking Heads, just add horns and you’re good.

Today, this album is exactly 43 years old, and it's Just another British Pop album with some beeps, and bloops that gets old around the halfway mark. Favorite Track: "Favourite Shirts".

As always, plus one for horns, and boy were there horns! This is an example of a one hit wonder band that should’ve been bigger. I knew Love Plus One from an 80s compilation cd my parents had and I always liked that song but I never checked out anything else from these guys. This was a great album with a unique sound.

Quite pleasant, a little bit jazzy, a little bit funky. Cozy cafe/pub music, I'm not being ironic. I like it. Probably above 3 but not enough to get a 4. Love "Lemon Firebrigade".

In the 80s there was a particular strain of preppily dressed music critic who were convinced Nick Heyward was a genius. Turns out they still walk among us.

Nice sidebar to music of those times.

Brilliant. So typical of that vibrant 80's era

A pretty fun album that could’ve done with being a couple of tracks shorter or a bit more variance. It did get very samey by the end

Love plus one is great. Not really my bag on the whole however.

Pretty funky, but cool.

Fun, groovy, I suspect I'd feel a bit bad with giving this one a 3, in spite of it being nothing extraordinary. But does it need to?

I enjoyed this one, even if it is a little 'generic British new wave' as others have said. I can see this being a great album to throw on for a Satruday morning while baking or something. It's got some great bass lines, which unfortunately are offset by the cheesy 80s sax that is prominent in a lot of it. I'm not sure I'd actively seek this out, I mean I'd definitely pick Duran Duran or Talking Heads over this, but if I randomly saw the album somewhere I'd probably buy it. 3/5

Mediocre New Wave boring me enough not to think of what bored me.

yet another album that has had no major impression on me.

Enjoyably cheesy

Quite funky! Surprised me. 4.1

I question why this would have made the 1001 cut. There's no way this is an important album. I'm about the biggest 80s music fan around and this is just really awful, bland, boring. They never even had a single hit here.

Some good bops but more filler

Generic but fun pop music clearly aimed at a teenage audience. Most tracks are fun on their own but suffer when listened to one after the other in an album context.

Again, an album that doesn’t do much for me. If I wanted the horns mixed with a new wave sound I’d go with some of that early UK ska sound like Madness or The (English) Beat. It felt like none of the big sounds they were trying to get fit together. It’d be interesting to hear later stuff to see if it blended any better in my eyes, but it seems like this is THE album unfortunately. Not offensive or anything, just felt like a big swing that mostly missed when there were better bands coming from the same era doing similar things.

This is the most generic album I think I’ve ever heard. Painfully so. “Love Plus One” is a decent song, but these dudes have zero direction and zero depth. I want to give them some credit for participation but this is just so booooooring. It’s a 1 for me dawg.

not sure how many boundaries this breaks but i had a good time with it. the on the dime genre switches are pretty compelling & the horn parts were fun!

Nothing mind-blowing here, some pretty smooth & rhythmic new wave with that signature 80's sax. Some fun was had.

I have no idea how this is an essential album. Not good or bad enough to be memorable.

Sort of like Duran Duran, but unyieldingly cheery. It was fine for a while but got grating.

totally unexpected and funky fresh

from the moment i put this on, i instantly loved it. the elements of funk, jazz, new wave, power pop, and rock, along with a thorough coating of 80s cheese come together in a delicious auditory confection. it's like if the jam, duran duran, talking heads, huey lewis, and pigeons playing ping pong all morphed into a group of sweater-wearing white dudes from britain. in short, this slaps. the biggest bummer is that these dudes only ever made one album. glad they reunited recently to continue playing the same album, though. favorites: tracks 1-8, ski club, october is orange (day 1 & 2)

I kept imagining a bunch of suburban mums teaching their two-year olds the stiff dance moves they learnt in zumba class the previous week. The word 'groovy' is used a lot. Kind of cute in that context, but in all other contexts this is just a discount Talking Heads with some predictable horn sections.

Yep, this is certainly music that I listened to. Reminded me of Duran Duran. Wait… what did I just listen to? It’s gone already? I mean, it was fine, but it’s another one to add to the pile of albums that were fine but were forgotten as soon as I finished listening. Favorites were Love Plus One, Fantastic Day, and Snow Girl.

This was just too much 80's-pop in one helping. Spotify only has the PLUS version with an additional 20+ minutes, and I really could have done without that today. It's not awful, just embarrassing and I have no idea what it's doing on this list.

Boring music and stupid band name. Next!

Seems like these guys' forte was a kind of jazzy disco-funk; when try their hand at straight-up indie pop instead the results, regrettably, aren't very memorable. Even more regrettably, I really don't much care for jazzy disco-funk. No matter how many sax solos they plaster over the top. Redeems some credit for the inclusion of the lyric 'Love Toblerones' on track 10.

Some fun moments, but it wasn't very remarkable or memorable.

Before this project, I thought I liked “new wave” music. Apparently, I don’t.

Liked this one. Don't remember too much of it, but it was fun

Oh wow. Another 80s British new wave album. There is nothing interesting I can say about this album. It's fine. It's not the worst thing I've listened to this week, but it's not great either. The style is pretty interesting... for like 3 songs. Then the album gets repetitive. Still, the style isn't bad, so the album is far from infuriating. The singing is there. It's not bad, but it also doesn't interest me. The writing exists too. It's a bit repetitive, but it could be worse. The songs are decent. None of them really stick out to me much. I wouldn't call this album bad, but I also just don't really feel anything special with this one. Still, it's okay. Low 3/5, bordering on 2.

This is some smooth new wave.

such an underrated album, good combination jazzy sound but groovy

blast from the past, the saxophone...so 80s. But not something I'd stick on now.

nice!

The horns carry this album!

Duran Duran with a bit more punch. I like the powerful sax and the funky beats. The drum sound is pretty solid with some decent fills and intros, the guitar tones vary throughout which makes it a little more interesting. Not really sure how else to sum this up. It’s not what I listen to, but I’d rather listen to this than a full Duran Duran album. Given the right mood I would go back to this one, but I don’t consider it essential. Outdated and mediocre, not enough difference between songs so 3.

Garbage.

I thought this was fine, there was enough going on to keep things interesting.

Ultimately I can't say I love the genre much, but what these lads have done with it is class. Equal parts corny and horn-y

Good. I’ll listen again when I’m more in the mood for something like this.

Loved lemon firebrigade and favourite shirts

This is a high three. It's a fun, groovy, fast album with some really fun stuff in there. That intro track is killer, along with some of the instrumental songs. Only issue is that every song blends with one another, not much variety really.

why the hell is this on this list

Was more enjoyable than some New Wave bands. Still not my favorite era but there’s some kitsch value some days.

Olipas hyväntuulista ja letkeetä kamaa. Ilmeisesti new wavea, mutta oli kyllä aika funkahtava fiilis omasta mielestä. Tosi hyvä. Parhaat: Love Plus One, Milk Film, Kingsize

I get a "strong generic early 80s" vibe from this album. Not entirely certain why it's on this list. However, some of the more jazz and funk-inspired songs later on were pretty good, like "Ski Club" and "October is Orange".

Sounds like a German Oktoberfest ska band doing the cure.

A pina colada in a cheeky part of London was melted down into the shape of a saxophone and this is what it sounded like.

Pretty fun listen. First time through it was sort of a blur, somewhat indistinguishable songs. Second time through the production stood out, a few songs and moments. The intro to Milk Film was pretty cool, like Vampire Weekend. The outro to King Size was pretty sick too. It sounds like these guys were into jamming and they had to sort of work to get their songs organized. I bet they were great live in a small bar. Some British terms and lyrics that can take you out of the groove, like “you’re my little fab one” Some pretty bad tunes as well. 35 minutes would have been more appropriate.

Some people might find this blasphemous, but this sounded a bit like the clash to me. And like orange juice (rip it up and start again). The bass and the rhythm section is super tight and fun. Really fun and upbeat, with some nice melodies and harmonies. Probably no song great enough to reach the highs of a 5 star rating, but I really liked the sound and the sense of fun about this band. Never heard of them before this. Great find

Who expected this?? Pelican West sounds like Talking Heads mixed with Japanese Jazz artist Masayoshi Takanaka (particularly the guitar work and happy, tropical groovy rhythmic breaks) This album rocks and Ive never heard of PW before this. I found a few filler songs, but there are over 10 solid tracks out of 14. Great sax work on nearly every song. Most chorus hooks are catchy as fuck. Love me some fast tempo guitar and bass lines 4.5 and rounding up. Not a perfect 5 because of how shitty I thought Fantastic Day was 😆

Was between 2 and 3 stars on this. Went with 3 because even though it kinda sucks it's pretty fun to have on in the background. Great inscrutable band name and album title. Who the hell are these guys? Has a real Wham-lite vibe...just confidently and unabashedly goofy. So much sax on this album. Every song is so corny and lame that it's pretty endearing, even if not very good

Listened to a few songs a while back but finally got to the full thing. Only album in my backlog that I have been looking forward to. This was pretty damn fun and silly - reminds me a little of Talking Heads or that band They Might Be Giants. Stand outs for me were Love Plus One, Lemon, and Fantastic Day, but this whole record is pretty consistent.

An interesting mix of genres that sometimes is very funky and at other times sounds very calypso-like. It didn't mange to grab my attention super well, but it was an alright listen Standouts Lemon Firebrigade 3/5

some songs are great, very fun sound, others a bit boring, very era-typical sound

Whatever

Went into this blind. Really fun! Cool merging of brit pop, new wave, and a little jazz.

Very fun! Not likely something I would return to repeatedly though

The soundtrack to any 80s movie with a cop

Fun and funky. How is it that I’ve never heard of these dudes!!!! Obsessed with the way percussion and saxophone are used on this album Amazing band name

Never heard this before, it was fun!

Am I enjoying the British new wave from the 80s? What did you do to me, 1001 list?

Completely forgettable and generic new wave album with like 2 good songs

Very 80's, did not like it on 1st listen. 2nd listen proved much more enjoyable with the horns and the happiness

Where were they getting all these bass lines from? I’m fond of a few new wave and new wave adjacent groups (Duran Duran, WHAM!, Spandau Ballet, TFF) but hadn’t listened to the Haircuts before – my error. A sprightly, sunshiny record that has most in common with Duran Duran (though contains much less in the way of lascivious undertones – I can’t imagine DD calling a song “Baked Beans”). At times the looser jam feel creates an atmosphere reminiscent of Orange Juice’s jangly navel gazing (“Surprise Me Again”, for example). It’s a shame they only lasted the one album. Highlights: “Love Plus One”; “Lemon Fire Brigade”

80er-pop-gedudel .. muss man genau einmal gehört haben, dann ist aber auch gut.

New Wave und startet gut. Wird mir aber dann zu jazzig.

Oh my, it's been way too long since I've listened to this entire album. It was a delight to rediscover all the old favorites. I love the fun vibe that flows through this album, with the funky bass, the horns, the sax, the percussion....so good!

It’s okay - it’s a little too much after a while though. Not as strong as other bands such as Duran Duran. It’s like there are too many sounds/instruments going, where I would say that Duran Duran have perfected it and created really strong hooks with the same tools and genre

I was actually surprised by this album, having never heard of Haircut 100. They have a unique take on pop music- their songs are varied in tone and style but always with an overarching pleasant catchiness Overall- probably a 3.5/5, but ai found nyself rocking out a lot so I'll bump it to 4

Fun and upbeat but ultimately not that memorable. Favorite song was Love Plus One. 5/10

Definitely a fun groovy album. I could see really having a nostalgic spot for it if I was around at the time. Puts me in mind of the Talking Heads meets Echo and the Bunnymen. Fun, but didn't stand out. Album cover: (B-)

This was not bad, and I can see why some people may love it. There was a lot of great saxophone on this album and I was really feeling that. Unfortunately a lot of the songs felt like Talking Heads but less good? My favorite was "Love's Got Me In Triangles". The sax was amazing. "Calling Captain Autumn" is a good example of a song that has a lot of Talking Heads energy but isn't as good. The saxophone comes on the track and distinguishes it from Talking Heads, but it can't carry an entire album by itself. 6/10 (9/10 for the saxophone player).

Love plus one is a great song that I play a lot. The rest sounds kinda like that but if this was twenty minutes of pop bliss I could kind of see the justification of it being on this list. But it's not.

This is a great pop record and typical of the time.

So... The instruments were cool, unfortunately the singer was not. Was this a group of friends all talented musicians, bar one, and they couldn't kick him off the band. They should have followed the lead of the B Sharps.

I've never heard of this album or artist before, but I do tend to like new wave music from this era, so I think there's a good chance that I'll enjoy this album. The user reviews do make me a little cautious, but I'm hopeful that these sweater clad gents will give me a new undiscovered favorite album! Well, fashion sensibilities aside, I didn't care for this album too much. There were some good rhythms on this album, and the percussion and horns gave it a little unique touch, but this was a bit of a chore to get through due to its repetitiveness. It wasn't terrible to listen to, but very little about this album jumped out to me. This album does have a couple of fun songs like "Love Plus One" and "Fantastic Day," but when you plug them into the whole album, they just fade away, like puzzle pieces where the picture is just a blue sky. I can see how this album may have influenced the likes of Culture Club or Talking Heads, but I definitely don't think this is required listening.

It’s like Duran Duran and English Beat had a baby. I wish the songs had more sax though.

Okay white boys! Surprisingly funky.

Très agréable à écouter, j'ai bien aimé.

ça s'écoute, sans plus

This is a very entertaining album! The record hangs somewhere between Postcard bands like Josef K, Fire Engines, and Orange Juice and the later, more commercial Tropicanapop acts, Culture Club, Duran Duran, and especially Wham!, and can also be seen as the missing link between these two movements. This pop is bouncy, funky, but in most cases also damn cleverly put together (Milk Firm, Lemon Firebrigade). It's a 3,5* album, I'll put it at 4

3 songs in and its already a favorite. Great vibes

Initial thought: wtf is this? This sounds like someone set out to make the most cookie cutter, fluffy haired, clean cut, white boy 80s pop template and succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. I hate 80s pop. Also, it’s over an hour. Very few albums should be over an hour long and this is not one of them.

I thought I wasn't familiar with this group, but I'm only familiar with the first song on this album, which is on my Liked Songs playlist. Very early 80s sound. The album cover made me laugh because I went through the fisherman sweater phase about that time as well

Some good Some bad

#437. This is not an album you need to hear before you die. This is trash. This album would end up in the dollar or less bin at any record store, and then probably still fail to sell. 2/5: garbage Song added to playlist: Love Plus One I've created a playlist on Spotify that consists of the best and/or my favorite song from each of the albums in this book. This list can be found here if you are interested: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7MAXDGLWlwLkFLb8veGfkA?si=FqkQQPgZTFWG0jAUJXLFZA&utm_source=copy-link

typical example of the time. nothing exceptional

The singles are great, but I can see why they didn't really do much after this album. The rest of the songs are more-of-the-same filler, in the main. A lovely reminder of that time, and a sound that really reflected what was happening in British music at the time, but the 3 stars are mainly for the (admittedly brilliant) singles.

White boy funk with some superb samba experimentation. I'm a sucker for a Britfunk horn section. This is one of the first albums that I grew up with. It always reminds me of autumn. It left me feeling very happy, despite the often downbeat tales of lost love.

10 seconds into first song, PASS, sorry guys

80er Disco Feeling mit einem Hauch 70er und etwas Agency Feeling. Das bekannteste Stück ist „Love Plus One“. Der Rest ist hörbar aber auch nichts besonderes; und dann Track 10 und die Wavenote des Albums glänzte mit „Love me in Triangeles“ und einem Song der auch von den Housmartins sein könnte „Surprise Me again“.

Endlich mal wieder eine überraschend gute Neuentdeckung. Optimistisch, hörenswert, super!

This did nothing for me. Generic 80s pop.

Ahh I dunno, maybe I’m being harsh. Simpsons: No

I'm unlikely to ever score this kind of music highly as it's not to my taste, although 3 stars can be seen as a positive score for this album. I thought it was alright/listenable. Haircut 100 have nothing on Electric Haircut though.

there are a couple of good songs on here, it is all very 80s from the style of music to the album cover. It was ok but I probably won't be coming back for another listen

Very pleasant

3.5/5. I enjoyed this. Some songs ware better than others, but overall, I'd say this is a pretty fun album.

It's got more pulse than most other sophisti-pop with it's funk and new wave influences, but quite frankly I rather listen to other pop of this era, this one just came off as okay but generally just whatever

I was 16 when this came out and me and most of my mates looked like these boys. Music from the 80s is much maligned but I can tell you coming of age, listening to and going out dancing to this sort of music was ace! It was all quite joyful and a bit frivolous but great fun too. If you wanted to be a bit more serious you had The Bunnymen and New Order to keep you in line. I’m not sure if this would be an album I would necessarily say you HAD to listen to but one you SHOULD listen to as it’s good fun and will make you smile and it might just make you dance around your living room as it did with me! Enjoy!

If AI made an 80s pop album

2.3 Im writing this review a week after I listened to the album and I cannot remember a single thing, even what type of music it is. Either I have serious issues or its not that great. Lets go with not that great for now.

Bit funky, bit shit.

No complaints for this record. Enjoyed it then & still enjoy it now.

Funky album mit richtig tighter Gitarre, gefällt mir gut

Gear: Dunu SA6 Artwork: 👔👔👔👔👔 Production: 🤯🙂👌 Music: 🎶🌞💖 Rating: 👔👔👔(👔)/5

i feel like i've heard this before

Classic 80s album. I knew the hits but that’s all.

Funky fun, surprisingly enjoyable!

Better with a few listens

Boring boring doo doo music

Get freaky on some funk. I don't mind that shit

At times it was typical 80s new wave junk, but at other times it was funky 80s Hong Kong vibe which I really dug

Incredible, one of the most unique albums from this era

Incredibly 80's

This was fun, but I'm not sure I'd ever listen again.

It's not bad at all, but I also don't see myself going back to it often.

As new wave goes, this is bottom shelf stuff. There is an orchestration to a lot of it that just doesn't seem to fit. Latin rhythms, lazy jazz, British sensibilities, and lots of horns. It's all a bit too much thrown into the blender. This just isn't for me.

Disco morphed to new wave pop

A very funky and very 80s album. I enjoyed listening but did find it a bit repetitive, and was feeling a bit over it by the end. Other people commented on the similarity to Duran Duran and I agree. Lemon Firebrigade had this buzzing background noise which sounded just like my phone vibrating. I legit spent half the song constantly looking back at my phone to see if someone was calling me lol. Favourites: Love Plus One, Kingsize, October is Orange

*chicka-dun chicka-dun* That riff guitar beat drove the whole album. But I’m not going to lie, it had me moving and grooving. At times I thought I was listening to the Talking Heads, at other disco. The album didn’t have enough variation and the lyrics left me wanting. Other than that, this wasn’t bad.

i wanna give this a five just because it’s so much fun but it doesn’t have enough bangerz, but it does i just need to spend more time with it. it reminds me of the best devo stuff and a bit of Madness. i really loved this. i hope this doesn’t haunt me the way magazine did. 4. very strong 4.

Pre-listening thoughts: some weird track names on this one! Milk film? Baked beans? What am I getting into Post/during listening thoughts: I made the mistake of trying to listen to this while making my work schedule lol. Was so tuned out of this and had blown through half the album without realizing. Whatever review said it was like off brand Duran Duran nailed it. It’s just pretty generic new wave 80s music. But I actually enjoy this (I feel like I’ve heard these songs before though?? Having intense Deja vu). Sorry. 7/10 DID I NEED TO HEAR THIS BEFORE I DIE: no go listen to Rio Fav tracks: Lemon Firebrigade, Kingsize, Fantastic Day (hello the harmonies?!) Least fav tracks: n/a *Edit: bumped this to a four star rating. It's good.

I wasn't a fan of this style of New-Wave Jazz-Funk-Pop back in the day and I'm still not.

great sax

3.5/5

I didn't expect much but its actually ok.

Not my style of music. I didn't like it in period and a re-listen isn't helping. If you like that sort of thing, it is well done. 2/5 'cos I "don't like it" rather than being "awful".

Britisk new wave poprock, groovy

Maybe it’s just because I had such low expectations but I adored this. The fusion of high energy post punk with afro and latin jazz influence is so insane and so fun.

Early 80s pop/alt. Love Plus One has a nice horn section near the end. Lemon Firebrigade is a pleasant tune, jazzy. Calling Captain Autumn is also nice. Enjoyable listen although not much variation.

wanted to give this a 1, but I gotta be fair about that feeling being about new wave fatigue from this project, and not any fault of Haircut 100

I enjoyed this. If definitely felt very 80s club scene. I don't think I could listen to this album again in full, it definitely isn't enough to my taste for that, but if I was in the 80s, and dancing in a club there's a few songs I'd definitely enjoy hearing.

I thought this record was a lot of fun, however, a bit repetitive at times (mainly the drumming with it's typical "boom-tsk-bap-tsk", for lack of a better term). I also find the singer has a pretty limited range, but I loved the rest of the instrumentation. The bass player is fantastic and kept me involved, the horns I really enjoyed, the guitar is super funky and fun. Overall, it's a solid record, but when comparing to the other records found throughout this list, it doesn't hold that same "wow" factor that others can make me feel. 3/5

¡Muy bueno! sonido variado, alegre, vibrante, es perfecto

Oh cool another British pop band. I did kind of dig the sound but most of it blended together.

Funky '80s pop album. Explores all kinds of disparate musical sounds too, very tropical and danceable. Didn't find much worth saving but this one's alright. Favorite tracks: Lemon Firebrigade, Love Plus One. Album art: Six guys, no burgers or fries in sight. They're laying down on a bunch of leaves, probably talking about the last day of high school tomorrow. Framing is kind of cool. 3/5

Happy music!

Pleasant fun pop although rather dated.

These guys knew their funky New Wave lane and definitely stayed in it. I appreciate Love Plus One for being reminiscent of Steely Dan in its chord progression. It’s New Wave. It’s hoppy. There’s some bland filler, but it’s good by me. Me likey.

I did not care for this British band.

Adding this to the list of albums I will never think about for the rest of my life and moving on. Just 50 more albums until the end. I better get some good shit tomorrow.

Too much 80’s Not interesting

cool

Not bad for new wave. 3/5

Love this

Shit Day

Bet Greg loves this shite

This is so 80s. So so so 80s

Enjoyed the sound, my type of band

I like when it sounded like the Persona soundtrack. Favourite track: Lemon Firebrigade.

I would definitely listen to this when no one else is around. A ya yayaya YA ya ya. Three stars.

The saxophone solo on "Marine Boy" is the most perfectly joyful moment ever recorded.

First thought in my mind: Huzzah, more British new wave. Yeay. And this totally delivered on that expectation. Which means I'll never listen to this again.

An okay album, not really my style.

What a discovery. Love them instantly!

Repetitive guitars but over all not bad.

Perfect

Thoroughly enjoyed this. Was excellent as background music while working in the shop. Not sure if it's a "sit down and listen" kind of album.

I bought this for 20p in a charity shop. I got more than double that back in enjoyment. Great fun, such groovy bass!

favorite shirts- 6 love plus one- 6 lemon firebrigade- 5 marine boy- 4 milk film- 5 king sized- 5 fantastic day- 6 baked beans- 5 snow girl- 5 or 6 ive heard worse

This was really fun and upbeat. I enjoyed this album and would listen again.

Just an 80s band. Sounds like stuff i'd hear while shopping at JC Penney with my mom.

It has a clean sound with pleasant melodies and some fine new wave singing. You could do worse than to pull this record off a shelf and give it a spin. https://open.substack.com/pub/richcain/p/project-1001-pelican-west-by-haircut?r=4ztyq&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Pure 80s. Love the Aran sweaters on the album cover.

I’m pretty sure it was the same song being played for the whole album…

ihan kohtuullinen pop-rock-levy. ei nyt kuitenkaan neloseen yllä.

2,5/5 I loved the first song so much that I believed this album was going to be one of the best albums I've ever listened to. Maybe it was my mood, maybe it was something else, I don't know, but I got bored so fast that listening to the album became a torture. I feel very sad that I couldn't love this album.

Not bad, good funky vibe. Nice use of jazz elements, but it does get a little “70’s porno”-ish. Does also get a little “meh” by the end.

Meh

A cocktail with no alc / Talking with no heads / Kid Creole without coconuts / NO

The Good: All the lads did get a haircut before the album cover was shot. The Bad: The autumn leaves probably screwed with their karma. The Ugly: 2 members are either really cold, or 4 members are really hot… There´s the ´80s we all love, and then there´s the ´80s that only a few people recall. I belong to the first group, and that group couldn´t be bothered by a inventive bandname, nor an un-explainable album name. However, I did enjoy the jazzy aspect of this here new-wave which was copied by several bands afterwards to much greater success. Thus, 3* even if they only deserve 2

Meah.

A fun New Wave album. I'd really put this more around a 3.5, but I'm leaning towards liking slightly more towards the 4 side. Therefore, 4 stars.

On paper I should not like this but damn, I've listened to this 3 times back to back

It feels like I've listened to this album many times already. I was bored to death by the songs. No highlights to be heard anywhere. At least it wasn't horrifically bad. The album was *slightly* better than "Headquarters" by the Monkees. 2 stars for "Pelican West".

Fab

Almost skipped this, I assumed i knew what it was all about . Pleasantly surprised by some very funky 80s fun pop. Glad i listened to it. 3.5

Really fun instrumentals, lyrics weren't anything special but that's not the focus. Very enjoyable and relistenable

This band had some playing chops. I like that they had brass and I was digging the bass. The music is bright and fun but not especially my thing. A lot was same-sounding. All I could think of while listening was '80's MTV.

This is decent new wave. I just don't see what is essential about this. I'm sure I'll never go back.

Grupo con éxito fulminante que apenas duró un disco, lo que tardó su cantante en abandonar el barco en pos de una carrera solista (que tampoco cosechó el éxito de su anterior banda). El álbum no está mal, a pesar de la mella que la producción y estilo han sufrido con el paso de los años. Recuerdan más a Heaven 17, ABC o Jo Boxers que a fenómenos como Duran Duran o Spandau Ballet (aunque Favourite shirts tiene el sonido que estas bandas usaron repetidamente), pero esto no es una crítica. Es una influencia obvia en maravillas posteriores como los discos de Aztec Camera e incluso Prefab Sprout (salvando las distancias). Buena instrumentación (esos vientos marca de los 80´s reconocibles en Phill Cllins, Spandau Ballet, Bananaram o casi cualquier éxito), buenas melodías (Lemon firebrigade es muy buena), imagen... lo tenían todo para tirunfar y aunque efímeramente así lo hicieron. Hubo discos mejores en 1982 como Thriller, Pornogaphy de the Cure, 1999 de Prince y Avalon de Roxy Music, o Nebraska de Bruce Springsteen. También los debuts de Felt, Coucteau Twins, Laurie Anderson o Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Otros realmente buenos también fueron Juju de Siouxsie and the Banshees, New gold dream de Simple Minds, Glassworks de Phillip Glass, The days of wine and roses de , Too Rye Ay de Dexy´s Midnight Runners, The lexicon of love de ABC, The Dreaming de Kate Bush, Rit it up de Orange Juice, ..

I only liked 1 song. Not really my cup of tea.

This gets a soft 5 stars from me. I actually quite liked the album as a whole and will probably revisit it at some point, but I can't help but feel like something is missing from it. That said, it was a good experience and I'm glad to have been suggested it. I'll slot 'Calling Captain Autumn' as my fave here, though there were a lot of tracks I vibed with and ended up saving.

Acceptable, not exceptional.

I don’t know how I feel about this one.

You know this isn’t an inherently bad album. I think I’m just fatigued with all the Brit pop stuff forced upon me lately. It comes in bunches here. This gives Duran Duran vibes but just very forgettable and safe. Genuinely sounds like 3 other albums I’ve heard on here.

So Jazzy, So fun I love an old school genre bend. These feels like the precursor to Steely Dan in alot of ways. I know it may not be the greatest record on this list but it has such charm and lemon firebridgade is the clear highlight as I sit with this more I think it is a bit samey but unique

***An ok album, many tracks sounded the samw

This one was ok - I wanted to like it more but it all sounds the same. Interesting New Wave sound with some other fusion. Great instrumentals, though. 7/10.

ok oingo boingo Ótimo pra tocar naqueles churrascos de familia com seus tios que cresceram nos anos 80 EU GOSTEI MUITO DE LOVE PLUS ONE E LEMON FIREBRIGADE hit 5 estrelas fodase

I was totally surprised by this one. I remembered Fantastic Day and Love Plus One from when they were first released. Back then i was just a kid who was into the whole Mod revival and considered Haircut 100 as a novelty act, one hit wonder type of band but the musicianship on this album is amazing. I will definitely be getting this on vinyl, highly reccomended.

Not bad. Good for listening to while working.

This is great 80's stuff.

Ooof its not offensive just boring. Other days I'd want to listen to it through to be competitionistic but i don't like it. i guess for me it's like the worst of the beach boys meets 80s pop. 1 star.

A fun listen but not very remarkable in other ways.

Brit rock x disco. I wont be taking questions.

Not my kind of music. Found track 1 to be a bit obnoxious. However, there were a few I couldn’t help but nod my head to.

I have never heard of this new wave band before, so it was surprising to me how much I have enjoyed this album. It's funky and very danceable, and it never gets boring or too simplistic (even if it's poppy here and there). A really good album.

Important because it was a mediocre 82 New Wave album or it launched Nick Haywards haircut onto us? Either way...

2.5

Sounds like a failed copy of Talking Heads, with a pretty annoying vocalist. Couldn't get through two songs without a long break, and I gave up after 5. Not really interested in continuing.

Pelican West is the debut studio album by Haircut One Hundred, originally released in 1982. These guys are commonly seen as a new wave band, but they sound a bit more pop to me. Lots of horns in the corny 80s way. The bass on here is super funky. A lot of the songs are very dance-able. The band doesn't seem to take themselves too seriously. Sure, there was better stuff coming out at the time but this was still a fun listen.

I didn't think I knew this band until "Love Plus One" came on. I've definitely heard it somewhere before. Too bad there's all this other music on this record. Okay, it's not that bad. But it's not my thing. There isn't any kind of shared aesthetic concern here and there's way too much sax and steel drums (?) for some British boys. What don't I like: the lyrics, the instrumentation, the overall too-happy vibe. Unless it's jazz or a brass band, I'm a certified saxophone hater so... And that this streaming link isn't the original track listing but is "plus" I'm really not vibing with having more to listen to than the original tracks. It's very 80s. I'm not giving this band any extra time by editing my listening notes into a coherent review; they took the extra time all up with those bonus tracks.

It is a fun album but, not one of the best.

Basic

The chuds try lounge jazz... The only thing significant about this album is that they are British. Time and time again the brits sing about the most mundane garbage.

You can just feel that this album was made in a time when life was easier. Fun vibe, good bass, enjoyable to listen to and doesn't really go anywhere but it was a blast the whole way through. Part of my vote here is having a good time.

When I saw the cover and the year I said to myself not another newwave. This one was different. A very cohesive listenable album without that 80s vocal style front and center. A hybrid sound with great energy. Great instrumentation throughout. The songs Kingsize and Calling Captain Autumn were my picks.

Fun, lightweight music. I liked the quick strumming guitar riffs and the funky influence I thought I heard throughout. If you ask me there's no need for this album to be on the list though. The music was fun but felt pretty boilerplate, and had pretty frivolous themes. What groundbreaking influence did these guys have? The album review did not convince me of any.

It’s just a fun album. So many good songs and the music is tight and funkier than you would expect. “Calling Captain Autumn” and “Marine Boy” are standout songs. 4/5 Definitely will listen again

I wasn't familiar with this band/album, but it was a nice surprise at first. Great bass and brass, but it all sounded the same. It did make me happy though

Pretty cool energy! Nice surprise

Every single musical element that makes me hate (most) every album from the 1980s. What the hell happened??

I'd never even heard of these guys before, which is strange because this is good. It's new wave, but way funkier and way more more upbeat, with some great driving basslines, percussion and sax. I had a nice time with this. 3.5 rounded up.

Nett, unaufdringlich, kein Highlight 3/5

Fun early eighties pop - "Love plus one" - see everyone dancing at a party and singing "Aye ya ya ya ya ya" Hard not to smile when you listen to this :-) Four just for the pure fun factor!

Liked what I heard. Need to revisit…

This was great - super funky and horn packed British new wave. This was like a lovechild of Joe Jackson and Talking Heads. I loved listening to this today.

I've heard some of the songs, but don't recall listening to the album. Knowing Haircut 100 just from their popular songs, I always thought they were interesting and a little off-beat. Wasn't sure what to expect from the album, but there is a lot to like. The rhythms are not typical for an 80's band.

Yeah, it was OK, but I was getting a bit bored by the end.

It's all very lighthearted and 80s. I didn't mind it but it's doubtful I'd actively listen to this again when there are other bands from that era that stand out a bit more. The rhythm was good. Album was maybe too long. I don't think John Hughes used any Haircut 100 songs in his films, but I got the high school in 80s vibes from this one.

First couple of songs: oh, I didn't know this band were the ones that sang that. This is very 80's and for me, very pleasant. The singer's voice, the instrumentation, the lively rhythms... enjoyed it!

I remember in high school when "Love Plus One" came out thinking these guys were really lame. I stand corrected. Really enjoyed the entire album...love the horns.

It was fun but it didn't stand out

These are tight pop songs that aren’t quite memorable but so pleasant - especially when the rhythm guitars and percussion create a bright little “pop jam.” In the best moments I’m reminded of early Talking Heads, or live Talking Heads, or if the horns kick in…end game Talking Heads. I wish I could round up to 4 but it’s not quite there - best 3 you could ask for.