Pelican West

Best Song: Kingsize (You're My Little Steam Whistle). Excellent solos and nearly entirely instrumental. Worst Song: Love's Got Me In Triangles. The instrumentals sadly sit as second fiddle to the man yelling "LOVE" and "TOBLERONES". Overall: Further evidence that most 80s bands would have been much better off being instrumental bands. It felt like with every track, what could have been some fun or interesting musical arrangement got torpedoed when Buffalo Bill got on the mic and the vibe instantly changed from "hot jazz club" to "afternoon cruise ship entertainment".

Not a single outstanding track but constantly nice funky tunes of guitar, rhythm and brass instruments. Buoyantly through the day!

This was better than I expected. I thought it was going to be one more unremarkable new wave album in a list already a little heavy with those. But this one has a lot more groove to it than most new wave, which kept me listening and enjoying

Very good

2/3

Favorite Track: Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)

I surrendered to the horns. I didn’t really expect to like this album as much as I did, but it has some jams.

3.5. Grew on me as it went. Overly repetitive in its textures, and I especially didn't care for the sax. But the ones that were less repetitive were really pretty good.

Dross but not unlistenable

Perfectly adequate in every way.

Bastante más divertido y groovy de lo que me esperaba. basicamente talking heads british

slay.

That was a fun album to listen to. I was out riding my bike while I listened to it and a couple of other gen xers smiled and started bopping their heads when they heard it

One of the better "new to me" new wave albums we have heard. Solid end to end with a really fun vibe. 4/5

"pretty boy pop" , really fun especially the brass aspects but kinda forgettable due the weak lyrics and similar sounds throughout the album

This is a pop album that fits well to the early 80s pop world. Catchy tunes, great percussion. Despite the songcraft, a lot of this album comes across as a bit twee, not helped by the band's image. Chief songwriter Nick Heywood left after the release of this album and soon after the band folded (bar some later reformations). So, I found this album better than I expected, but I don't see it as a great or influential record.

What's with the new wave voice affect that happened during this time period? The sax was clutch and this passed the time

Shades of Huey Lewis and the News, a little bit of Talking Heads, Pet Shop Boys, etc. Cool early '80s vibes.

No. So many others made music in the genre. This is just annoying.

Yes, the Haircuts!! this is peak 80s brilliance!! 4/5

Never knew they were so jazzy!

I thought a few songs were pretty fun but the majority of the songs were just too much

I hated this.

Surprised this was on the list, and then even more surprised that it actually sounded ok. It was Nick Hayward's unbearable grin that repulsed me 'back in the day'. I'm a more tolerant person now.

better than i remember. thanks for the memories

It was okay

I listened to the whole album. It wasn't bad, but I find that the next morning, that it is forgettable.

LOVE this album

Talking heads vibe but can’t compete so 3

When pop music has high-level musicianship, it seems it never quite takes off here in the United States. Case in point, I have never in my life heard of this band or this album and cannot quite understand how they were not as big or bigger than any other 80s pop band.

A very fun album. I enjoyed it the whole way through, but I was ready for it to be over by the end. Favorite song: Favorite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)

This surprised me! Exuberantly energetic especially favorite shirts. This album is for the cool dad that wears a tie during the week but still knows how to get loose!

I feel like I'm starved for some 80's music that isn't terrible punk this list seems to like that I'm giving this a higher rating than it probably deserves, but a little more new wave, a little less try hard "guitar" band. I guess a 3?

Fairly generic 80s new wave. It's fun and inoffensive but isn't doing anything really novel or interesting to me. Good upbeat background music though.

very good.

Easy listening beach music.

Can appreciate that album and the beat they produced but just not my style music. Kinda reminded me of fast elevator music.

This was fun. Reminiscent of taking heads and oingo boingo, but maybe that's just the sound of that minute in music. Liked the horns.

Upbeat, catchy, funky jazz pop that just lacks a sense of soul. The lyrics are unfortunately about as deep as a puddle, but the music is fun to listen to.

This was a really fun album, though I don't think I really know the genre well enough to understand why it's in this book. Probably won't revisit it, but a good time was had.

3 1/2 stars really, for early '80's fun to dance with memories.

aight 5/10

It's ok. A couple solid songs and a lot of really so-so stuff. 2.5 bumped to a 3.

A delight to listen again after all these years and find it every bit as fresh sounding but even more stylish and sophisticate and – yes, even – substantive. They were having fun, but that doesn't mean it's not artful or artfully ambient. Editors are wrong to call this silly and seem so apologetic, it's straight-up quality if designed to be on the lighter slide; those who think it slighter only miss out. Pro tip: Nick Heyward's "North of a Miracle" is not to be missed.

XTC and Talking Heads take the "Love Boat", with large swabs of funk and lounge-jazz in their luggage, along with a few disco handbags and a tiny Steely Dan purse for nights out at the casino. Given the description given up there, you can expect the music on *Pelican West* to be a little too derivative--and make no mistake, it very much is. Yet I have to admit the musicianship on this record is so stellar that Haircut 100 managed to make me lower my guard so as to enjoy most of their songs for what they are, quite surprisingly. *Pelican West* comprises two sorts of compositions: some full-formed songs whose vocal hooks aim at the charts ("Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)", "Love Plus One", "Fantastic Day"...) and some longer cuts whose pivotal contents are mostly instrumental in nature ("Lemon Firebrigade", "Kingsize"...). This mix makes for a somewhat disjointed experience, most of it pleasant if you can put your head back to the time the album was released, but maybe lacking in lyrical and topical substance overall. Worse, *Pelican West* lost me during its underwhelming second side, whose lower point is probably that "chromatic ascent" in the middle of "Love's Got Me In Triangles" (God, how I hate that lazy-ass, unimaginative trick). By that point, the overreliance on major chords / harmonies was already tiresome for me anyway--XTC and the "Heads had ways to turn that same reliance on major keys into an asset, thanks to their off-kilter energy and thirst for daring experimentation, but unfortunately Haircut 100 didn't take as many pages from their books as they should have. And, going to the other side of the musical spectrum that's relevant to this LP, their sense of pop catchiness is not honed enough to make a lasting impression in that regard as well. Except on the wonderful XTC-adjacent "Nobody's Fool", who was only a non-album single at the time, unfortunately... I'm still glad this app and the 1001 albums book made me discover Haircut 100. Listening to them feels like getting acquainted with Hot Chip's dads and hidden forerunners--as if they were a missing link between that other geeky-looking, more recent groove-oriented British act and their far older influences. Odd how exploring music history makes you associate artists that look like "reincarnations" or variations of each other from one era to the next. As when you discover that Terry Hall's Fun Boy Three, played by Spotify after this Haircut 100 album, had an album that sounds a little like an earlier and flimsier version of Young Fathers' own genre-defying music... Unfortunately, my CD shelves dedicated to New Wave / British eighties pop genres are full as of now, so there's no way I can add this admittedly very decent Haicut 100 LP to my own list. There are still too many elements in it that rub me the wrong the way, as minor as said elements are. And, yeah, before any of you pops the question, I *do* buy secondhand copy of albums I add to my own list of "essential" album (in CD versions, and not in vinyl, otherwise I would end up surviving on food stamps, lol). In my opinion, it's the best way to get involved in this app in a serious enough manner, and balance open-mindedness with enough critical high standards. Wondering if other app users do the same thing as I do. Alas, I'm not a Reddit user as of now, so I can't discuss this with other music fans that are in forums relevant to this app. Maybe one day I'll find some time to go to those forums, and for instance exchange views about our individual assessments of this LP. In the meantime... 3/5 for the purposes of this list of "essential albums" 8/10 for more general purposes (5+3) Number of albums left to review: 140 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 369 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 218 Albums from the list I won't include in mine: 277 (including this one)

I needed to listen to this before I die?? Be so serious.

A perfectly pleasant slice of early 80's UK pop, no doubt still being played regularly on mainstream "bland fm" radio stations. It took me back to a simpler time (ie my youth), which was nice, but in fairness I don't think it deserves to be on a 1001 Albums list.

I vaguely remember hearing Love Plus One. Sounds like a good 80's soundtrack tune. I've always enjoyed funk and horns in British New Wave. Pretty solid album. Not something I'd normally put on, so this is a nice find. I listened to this a few times yesterday. It's a grower.

Finally. Something good on the Bri’ish list I’ve never heard before.

Funky and good 3.5

Not for me, painful

Love the fun pop!

Had never heard of thisbgorup ever in my life. Loved it and was in awe with this album smooth running well produced raw beginning of New Wave mixed with brit pop. Really good as in I still can’t believe I had never heard their music.

Standard new wave pop. There’s nothing offensively bad on here. In fact, there are a few great songs, but this whole thing feels like it was overshadowed by their contemporaries, who were simply making more interesting new wave music. I can see why this thing got left behind.

A band I had never heard of. But from the first track I could dig the sound. Baked Beans is my fave track (despite no singing about baked beans!) with Fantastic Day a close second. A number of the songs, like Baked Beans and Love's Got Me In Triangles give me some early Talking Heads vibes and I like it.

Not that bad for beeing new age

instantly forgettable crap.

Album 453 of 1001 Haircut 100 - Pelican West Rating : 3 / 5 Was ready to just write this off as a Duran Duran copy but it turned out to be a good listen. There aren't any songs I'd remember but the album as a whole was fun. Certainly takes you back to the time when this stuff was at the top of the charts. I would have pegged it a little later than 1982. Not bad if it is what you're looking for.

The instrumentals are pretty cool. Funky jazz sounding stuff.

This passed me by in the 80s but I'm not sure why. I liked it. Vocals are interesting and sound new. Some cool sounding instrumentation. Horns and percussion/ drums are excellent. almost a 4

This album was so fun. Never heard of it before and am excited to listen more.

Another "Huh, why is this on the list?" moment, but it's British new wave, so I guess that's enough reason.

The first half is wonderfully funky and exciting. Unfortunately the second half loses some momentum, but it never stops Pelican West from being a fun record.

first listen definitely fun and funky, a little forgettable

Pretty catchy

Pretty fun

This is pretty sweet - honestly reminds me of Vulfpeck.

Some ok stuff in here but lots of trash

Growing up in the midst of 1980’s New Wave has left an indelible print on my musical psyche. This album was obviously on the forefront of British New Wave. For me, though, it feels like Nile Roger’s le Chec and Orchestral Maneuvers In The Dark had a supergroup. Favorite Shirts and Baked Beans were stand out songs. Unfortunately I was curious to start, got lost in the sound about four tracks in, and was kinda’ wondering when it was going to end about 12 songs in. Then I found out I was listening to the extended double disc and cried…

Copacabana mixed with Pet Shop Boys and a sprinkle of Wham! mixed in. Weird but I like it. Love Plus One is the standout track and the one I recognized.

I suppose there are worse ways of getting white boys into funk. I’m struggling to think what to do with Haircut 100, because while I don’t think this is objectively bad as music, in fact I think it’s quite good, they’re not really a classic or an influential band. I asked my parents, who are of the generation to have listened to them, whether they had any thoughts and all they did was quote song lyrics at me. So they’ve clearly stuck in the minds of certain individuals of that generation, but not really stuck around in popular imagination. I’ve never heard any of these songs before, and while I do like them, I’m not sure outside of a couple whether I’d actively seek out listening to them again

If there was ever an album where you could hear the decade it was from. A good, enjoyable listen with good musicality and some saaaaaaax. All blended together in the end with only a few actually standing out.

What you get when you cross Talking Heads with Duran Duran and throw in some horns and sax?

Nothing too exciting, not too bad for background music. It has some nice saxophones in the back. Overall, a bit meh.

pretty decent never heard of these guys before either a 3 or a 4

Cool 80s funk, like Duran Duran but less edgy if that’s possible

Maybe it's just the early 80's brit pop but, whether intentional or not, there is a camp-y element to this album that made it a fun listen.

This album was wild. Some of it sounded like the Smiths, some of it sounded like the B 52's. I don't know what to think, other than I like it, and I respect the guitar player. He was groovin the ENTIRE album.

I grew up during this era and although familiar with Haircut 100 they weren't what I would consider "my kind of band", I had almost dismissed them as a bit of a gimmick really. I was very, very wrong - this is a fantastic album. I don;t think there was one weak track. I will be listening again.

Thought this was a fine listen really, but struggling to see why it's considered essential. Sounds very like the Human League (or dozens of others), but with some nice jazz instrumentation added. Pretty good musically, just not super memorable.

New Age meets Jazz funk. I forgot how good they were.

Reallly? Highly commercialised pop with admittedly some craft but little originality? It’s fun but that’s about it. Love plus one is an almost great single - rang and i rang and I rang and I… is a terrific hook. But you know, really?

I am clearly missing the point with this one. Is this soundtrack music/musical wallpaper/reprise/ or some kind of uber cool a micro genre that I am meant to "get"? I own sountracks to Hal Hartley movies. I have the patience and curiosity to sit through The Beast (2023) and Peter Greenaway movies. But I dont have patience for this. Its like Madness / The Smiths and Wham did a childrens show soundtrack and were told to use the "carols by candle light" orchestra to sound like the Wiggles.... the result like outro music for bad kids TV.

I have never heard this album before. I like the opening track - Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl). It opens with a frantic guitar break, which is great, but the next 3 songs on the album all begin with a very similar break, including Love Plus One, the only song by the band that I remember - it made #13 on the 2UE Top 40. This is better than I was expecting, but never earth-shattering.

Edwyn Collins reckons that Haircut 100 completely ripped off Orange Juice. Critics love Orange Juice and don't have a lot of time for Haircut 100. Personally, I tend to confuse them with Flock of Seagulls (who were more like Haircut 1,000,000) and am almost completely oblivious to their oeuvre, 'Love Plus One' excepted. Haircut 100 sound exactly what I feel like Orange Juice _should_ sound like based on the ravings of said critics (I'm looking at you, Simon Reynolds). At the end of the day, it's just harmless white boy funk. 'Love Plus One' is OK pop, but most of the rest of the album is a more forgettable version of the same. 2.5 stars I quite like 'Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)', which discogs tells me I can purchase from as little as 20p. Sold! A bargain at twice the price!

3/5

I listened to this album like 5 times, and the first three tracks rock. But then I just lose focus every time afterwards. I guess thats an indicator enough that its not that good (the second 3/4). I liked the horns and stuff tho. YMM

Surprisingly a lot of fun!

This was a really nice surprise. Love the new wave / white boy funk crossover. Very fun from start to finish!

I was really into this! I know nothing of Pelican West. But it hit the spot for me. Would listen again. Varied and interesting. Punchy and fun

Pretty good. Nice and jammy

3.5/5

Well, there you go, Nick Heyward was my first pop star crush. Not sure I ever thought of them as groundbreaking though obviously there are a few crackers on here. More like a 2.5

This was a fun and peppy 80's album. They aren't all winners, but good background noise for my workday. 4/5

I had no idea Brit-funk was a thing. It’s interesting, I dove in and listened to the 40th anniversary edition, after 3 hours of this album some of the catchy tunes grew on me. Not sure I’ll ever need to listen again, maybe it’s pretty funky.

Snazzy instrumentals, lots of brass, and an uplifting vibe weren’t enough to keep my interested. Felt quintessential of the time, but it did not resonate.

wheeeeeere's rick

During the first track, I thought this would be alright, but then the soprano sax kicked in and the album annoyed me more and more as it went on until I couldn’t wait for it it to be over. Just more new wave white boy funk garbage. Get this the hell out of my ears.

I was not expecting this amount of funk and jazz. Listened to it twice it was so good

Nooh.. Semmosta perudhumpuukia..

i kind of dig their sweaters

Sounds like 80's-90's tv show theme song music. There's definate talent here, it is surprisingly funky by times, but it's also so... White. Like a shittier Duran Duran. Super boring in large doses. Favourite songs: Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl), Calling Captain Autumn, Marine Boy, Milk Film, Kingsize (You're My Little Steam Whistle), Suprise Me Again Least favourite songs: Love's Got Me in Triangles 2/5

I will admit to letting out a bit of a groan when reading this band, that I hadn't heard of, was another 80's British new wave act. But this was a lot better than I was expecting. Aside from the singer, there's not much that's really new wave here. There's a lot of funk, jazz and latin influences. I'm tossing up between giving this a 3 or a 4.

Favourite tracks: favourite shirts; love plus one; lemon firebrigade

I appreciate a ska band just as much as the next person, but this one didn’t catch my vibe.

I had never heard of this and was very surprised. New wave but make it Jam.

Conocida, pero más lenta Love Plus One.

Not what I was expecting. Some of it sounds a bit like Talking Heads, and then just as you’re getting settled, the last 2 tracks sound like something from a Brazilian carnival. Great percussion.

Sort of a combo of Duran Duran and Earth Wind and Fire (between songs, not within) -- not bad, overall, but kind of disorienting.

Painful plain 80s British New Wave band playing painfully plain music for the masses. The 80s was a dark time, you can't tell me otherwise...

Yet another British band from the 80s/90s that I had never heard of previous to this 1001albums project. This one is from 1982 and labeled New Wave. I was in University (in USA) at the time, and would’ve described my musical tastes as New Wave. But never heard of these guys. And I don’t really hear anything on this record that is the least bit interesting. Not bad, per se, but nothing special at all. Some shades of Secret Affair from a couple of years earlier, but w/o the catchy songs. Maybe some hints of Duran Duran who would’ve been contemporaries. But only hints. I was going to go for 2, but that’s unfairly penalizing these guys for being part of a recent flood of these types of bands (4 of last 8!). Setting aside thar frustration, I’ll round up to 3. It’s better than some, but not as good as a couple.

Listened to it in the gym, and it was pretty up-tempo and engaging. I don't know that it's high art, but sometimes you just want to eat sweets and watch The Chase and that's fine.

Funk stuff, and not half bad. Quite sonically similar, but I like the vibe a lot. Favourite tracks: Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl), Love Plus One, Lemon Firebrigade, Fantastic Day.

it's funky duran duran. not complaining, but I easily could've died without listening to this.

- Credit where credit is due: Haircut 100 is a New Wave, early Britpop band that did not immediately run me up the wall. Most of these tracks are absolutely fine. - Very much enjoy "Love Plus One," which I do believe is the best song on the album. Some interesting guitar work on a few other tracks, such as "Surprise Me Again." - Not quite sure why it is on this list, but I was not insulted by its inclusion either.

All the songs sounded the same to me and I wasn’t into the general vibe. Another no for me.

This group was around when Squeeze and A Flock of Seagulls were popular but they fell under my radar. I liked this quite a bit — nice variety, poppy tunes.

Yes

I loved this. I had heard fantastic day before but nothing else. I found the album a fun and easy listen. Favourite song: Fantastic day! and boy meets girl Least favourite: with 17 tracks there is a lot of filler. None of it horrid though. Album artwork: good

A really fun meeting of new romantic and sophisti pop.

Goes down easy. 3.5

This album is very 80’s and very much a cabana on the beach soundtrack. It’s like Culture Club minus the guy with the long hair who looks like a girl. This album is just happy song after happy song with Seinfeld bass playing in the background. It’s not for me. I need a splash of depression to brighten my day Choice cut: Milk Film…..I guess

Uninspiring new wave album. Nothing really stood out and wasnt interesting enough to warrant another listen.

A nice but kind of forgettable slice of 80s pop

Kannte ich überhaupt nicht, und fand es ganz erfrischend. Auf die Dauer etwas anstrengend.

Upbeat UK new wave with fun Latin elements

Actually pretty great new wave.

So here's a band I never paid attention to that had a more appealing sound than I thought. The reason? Horns. Still wore thin, as 80s music tends to do for me.

I'm sure if i went to look there would be loads of negative reviews of this album, a lot of 'why is this on this list?' but i know why its on the list, because its brilliant. The singles are excellent, up there with some of the albums on this list in terms of best singles. Love Plus One is absolutely incredible, Fantastic Day is brilliant, and Favourite Shirts is great too. The hidden banger is Calling Captain Autumn. Great closer. The thing i love most about this album is the production, all the instrumental breakdowns, all the uses of the different instruments, really great work I'm stuck between a 4 and 5. We'll see

funky

Let's clear the air: anyone old enough to visit a record store in the early-mid 1980s has made fun of this band. Myself included. I even had a band with a song that mocked them. However, it turns out these guys can play their asses off. We are only discovering this now because it takes forty years to reverse an opinion. Unfortunately, the songwriting isn't there. I kept thinking that the world missed an opportunity for a great band if only they could have been the backing band for a creative visionary who needed help. I can't give you any examples because the visionaries I am referring to never made it. However, many can be found at the end of the bar or other similar locale.

It's always seemed like too many 1980s albums and bands suffered from...something...maybe a sort of musical malaise? Too many songs and albums just seem to blend together into a sort of synthy, poppy, sax-heavy generic-sounding music-light. And this is a perfect example of this. I'm not sure if they're all just missing some sort of soul, or distinctiveness, or message, or what, but it's painfully insipid and watery, certainly listening to it in 2024 (but I wasn't much of a fan of much of this kind of music even when it first came out). However, it's not poorly produced or anything, and they definitely tried to be a little more funky than some others, so it seems like a 3-star rating is fair.

this album reminded me of how hard it is to make good pop music

Never heard of these guys before. These guys are interesting, lots of cool brass/reed work in the music, but it isn't my favorite. There seems to be obvious influences from The Talking Heads here, which is great, but these guys are nowhere near as good as them. 2/5

This was a surprisingly good 80's pop record. Bands like Spandau ballet and Duran Duran seem to have held their place in the music consciousness better, but I was supposed how many of these tracks were familiar It's still 80s pop for which I have little love but this was on the better end of the spectrum and deserves more recognition

Our project’s manifesto is we-love-the-fey, so Haircut 100 default to the top echelons due to mood, instrumentation, titles, vocals, Smash Hits-prominence, and band name. This contains at least two bangers and a mob of tracks so light and vague they’d dissolve into the ether were they not lashed to the mast by a tropical salad of busy, fast and high chukka-chukka guitar, brass, wind and a bouncy rhythm section. Some of my favourite albums are tuneless, blistering noise barrages, or layers of ambient buzz, drone and echo; a pop album where vibe is privileged over earworm has some appeal to me. The bangers are brill. The “ ring ring ring” of Love Plus One took me back to childhood and overwhelmed me.

You'd think I'd love this given the ingredients. However, I am already a big fan of very similar contemporaries (Aztec Camera, Orange Juice, A Certain Ratio) and find it all a bit dull, probably because Nick Heyward's voice is not very distinctive. Could Nile Rodgers have predicted he would inspire so much feyness with his Chic guitar? I'm also resentful after being teased for a poor coiffure ca. 1983 with "Haircut 100!", a devastating playground insult, so there's that..

It’s ok if forgettable

This is really fun 80s pop, but the lack of hooks keep it from being a repeat listen.

Great example of the music of the 80s. Brought me right back. Fun music with good rhythms. Bit of ska feeling. I’ve seen reviews comparing them to Duran Duran but this is far better in my opinion.

If you told me this was the soundtrack to 80s/90s gameshows I'd believe you. Enjoyable if a bit bland. 65/100

You’re welcome, Vampire Weekend. Preppie looks (cable-knit sweaters, those look hot!) meet energetic funky modern Pop/Rock. That light, scratchy rhythm guitar, those bass grooves, that smooth sax and horn parts, those jazzy World Music touches—it’s all a pleasant mix and a fun listen.

Not familiar except the single, but loving this through and through! Every song reminds me of Orange Juice's "Rip It Up" in the best ways. Add to that a little Japanese 1980's city pop and Chic influenced rhythm guitar. What's more, you have some jazz piano peppered in here and there, some moments of slap bass, latin rhythms, tasteful horn blasts, and so many more unpredictable moments that only add to this collection. These are the kinds of things other bands of the era would shy away from, being too detached to make the attempt. But this album remains more approachable than baroque, it's range of sounds always sounds like Haircut at the core and only adds to the fun. No further notes, time to try to find this on vinyl & get more familiar.

Familiar sound for 80s music lovers. I actually added a couple songs to my library.

Very 80s but somehow I never heard of this group.

Enjoyed

Quite liked the cheery singles back in the 80s but now I just find the trumpets really annoying. Sorry

Breezy fun upbeat listening. Vital listening? Hard to argue that it is. None the less I imagine I'll be back again for more when the easy breezy mood strikes.

Never heard of this one, but was pleasantly surprised at how good it is. Kind of like a mix between XTC, the English Beat, and Adam Ant. Lots of new wave Englishness, but nothing that sounds dated or campy. There’s a solid funky riff permeating throughout that helps. This honestly could be the bridge between 80s new wave and 90s power pop even though it came out in ‘82. Baked Beans and Snow Girl were two of my favorites, but the whole thing was enjoyable. Sad to learn this was really their only album. This feels like a 3.5, but I’m rounding up for the hidden gem factor.

This was a decent new wave record. In particular, I really enjoyed the rhythm guitar and the brass. The production was very clean and crisp as well. However, the album was a bit bland overall. There are much better and more memorable examples of new wave pop from this time.

As far as new wave albums go, it's not bad - better than most I'd say. However, like all new wave albums, I'm not surprised it was their only one.

Usually I don't mind new wave, although I've only really stuck to the hits. This album was a bit underwhelming, though. It's a shame, because it had a lot of really interesting elements. But this one was a little samey at times. It wasn't bad, necessarily, just wasn't a project I'd go back and re-listen to.

Another band with a lead singer who has this type of singing voice. I feel like I'm in a rut. I liked the funky guitar, percussion, and horns on this album - it was a nice peppy way to shake things up. But please give me a break from dudes who sing like Simon Le Bon/David Byrne/Billy Bragg. Not bad, and it's not their fault that they're showing up after a long line of similar bands.

80s epitomized. I think I'd heard some of these songs before but I had never actually heard the name of the group.

Corny as fuck, but not that bad. Some interesting musical arrangements, even if it can't escape that ubiquitous shitty 80s sound at times. Horns give it big boost. 2.8.

An old fav from its release. The band's debut and best... I listen to ti from time to time and can never just give it s solo play. I'm biased, but it has a nice beat from top to bottom. Came out in "New Wave" era but that is so unfair - much more, Listen to the great percussion.

Not a fan of New Wave but this album was a pleasant surprise! It just slaps.

Rating: 5.5/10 Decent album overall. The first two songs are very good, the rest of the album sounded like a watered-down Talking Heads. A lot of the bass lines are great and I enjoyed the use of the saxophone and horns throughout, but the charm of the album wore out pretty quickly and what was left was mostly songs that sounded just okay.

Me encantó el rollo del disco!! Muy animado

Jazzy rock similar to Chicago, but I was into it.

Fine

Totally 80’s new wave vibe pop music. Energetic and upbeat. Nice on the ears!!!

Strong three, closer to a four

Que buena sorpresa con esta banda!

This list loves a bit of new-wave, which is strange looking back as someone born just after that period ended. It's clearly not a good enough genre to stand the test of time, same as bubblegum pop, glam rock etc. etc. Pretty mediocre stuff.

Had no idea what to expect here - never heard of these guys. Seems like they would fit right in with the new wavey MTV origins. After listening, I suspect these guys may have influenced men at work or Duran Duran. Great sax work, jazzy and iobeat. The album is fine.

Jazz-influenced pop. No. I can't describe how good it felt putting on some nice music after listening to this album.

The hardest part about writing a review for an album is starting it. I’m not sure what to say to make this interesting, so I’ll just say that I thought someone describing this as “pretty boy pop” was really funny, but also surprisingly accurate. Quite a while ago, I reviewed an album by a band called Orange Juice named Rip It Up. I had a lot of admiration for that album, especially because it isn’t regarded as some sort of well known classic. I just couldn’t help it. The same thing applies to this album. Something about this kind of sound flicks a switch in my brain. Even if this album has one sound, they executed that one idea really well. And it resulted in a total vibe. This album has a real shine to it. It’s super funky and groovy, and those bits of brass arrangement are to die for. All of the percussion, particularly on the extended sections of congas have a wonderful snap to them. This is like the music equivalent to a bag of pop rocks. Small bands like this that drop one really strong project and then sort of fade into the never ending cycle of new artists are admirable and inspiring. Like Rip It Up, I can’t help that I love parts of this. Rating: 7/10

listened on 3/19 (plus version) -- 2.7/5

just filler

This is pretty nice frenetic yet refined New Wave pop. I was surprised at how live it sounded, nice rhythm guitar work. The admirable musicianship helps me push this to 4 stars.

Borderline 22/3 stars, giving it 3 cos I've had a week of hip hop and the bass playing on this is next level. Interesting inclusion on the 1001 - not a fantastic album but can hear similarities to Duran Duran - there's good music underneath but still pretty lightweight.

groovy – instrumentals are fun and creative but the vocals are just really basic in comparison, leaving the songs sounding very pop-y overall. it's a fun album to have on in the background, but ultimately not interesting enough to listen to regularly

4 - I don't know if I just got bored over the course of the album, or if the album is just repetitive, or if it just fumbles the B-side a little, but I really, really liked the first half and thought the last half was alright. Those songs didn't grab my attention as much, but maybe the tracks were just too similar for me. Perhaps a couple songs could have been cut to make it a bit more concise? I don't know. Anyway, that first half is very good and they really nail the sound they're going for. I was jamming along for a lot of it. I was worried that this would be something that I wouldn't remember listening to, but luckily, that's not the case. The overall vibe of the album is fun and light, which I love. My only real complaint with the album is that it feels a bit long-winded since they don't change up the sound very much. This was a pleasant surprise!

2.5 round up

80s pop without pizzazz.

Fun, funky, and danceable. Had never heard of them.

The hits are great, happy infectious pop. The rest of the album makes a lot more sense to me now I know that Nick Heyward was a fan of Talking Heads and XTC. He's trying to create the same grooves and pop sensibility of the two. It doesn't quite work because he lacks, probably, the slight off beam genius of those two bands.

I dig. 3 stars

Great production, but ultimately, unoriginal and a tad boring. Inoffensive though. 3/5

I'd never listened to this before but I was surprised by how many of the songs I was already familiar with (probably due to being raised in the UK by parents who would've been late teens when this was released). Similar to Duran Duran, but funkier and, I would argue, better. Fav songs: Love Plus One, Fantastic Day, Surprise Me Again

Take Talking Heads circa Speaking In Tongues/Stop Making Sense and give it an injection of British sophisti-pop. Think the Cure if they were less melodramatic and more fun. Pelican West is 100% funk-inspired, but leverages many elements of typical '80s pop to keep it firmly in the new wave section of record stores. Songs are light and breezy, giving way to little music elements such as accenting horns, embellishing percussion, and filling bass grooves. This album rarely hits a low, and I can't help but feel it's due in part to the consistency of Haircut 100's sound. Every part of this band works incredibly well, making for an upbeat jam machine that knows it's all in good fun. Some may find this to be cheesy or perhaps artificial, but I've enjoyed the album from start to finish.

Good funk

Just not my era at all

Upbeat 80s funk pop. Nothing heavyweight, just fun enjoyable pop. I’m giving four stars not because this is amazing, but it appeals to me.

First time listen. Fun

Pelican West’s best attribute in my opinion is the clean and nuanced production and sonic presentation. Guitar voicings and synth linings add so much to the audible depth of this record even being tucked away into one channel or the other. The expertly performed Latin percussion is remarkable too. However, song-wise there just isn’t much here for me to return to. Decent new-wave approaches but not a ton of personality behind the gloss.

Meh. I'm not sure Haircut 100 deserve to be taken this seriously really. As background music this was OK, but I didn't even notice Fantastic Day was on the album until I read the article about it afterwards. Just all a bit anonymous and, I'm afraid, uninteresting. There were worse things produced in 1982 no doubt, but this is a poor man's alternative to Lexicon of Love, Rio or Rip It Up. My wife loves it, but it's really not my thing.

Pretty good

3.7 - 80’s city pop done well - big horns and sax, “chiggitty-chick da chiggitty” rhythm guitar. High energy and danceable.

Had not listened to this album quite some time, I would not say it is a classic and not quite sure why it should be on the list, but it is one out of many excellent UK pop albums from the 80s.

Ok, not particularly entertaining but it's friendly and upbeat.

Very 80s not sure what elevates it to this list.

Sometimes it sounded like Orange Juice and I liked that. Other times the sounded like XTC and I liked that. Even sometimes they did the chucka-chucka-chucka guitar strumming like Chic and I really liked that. But unfortunately I didn’t like the rest. Perhaps I just couldn’t get over how bad the bands name is.

Is this the whitest music ever made? Quite possibly. Earnest froggy vocals laid down over chunka-chunk guitar licks, and horny horn stabs.

hella funky, i love it

Boppy

Upbeat

Pish. Absolutely pish. Too much saxophone by about 100%, all jangle and no soul, even the songs I had heard before sound so much worse in the smug-yuppie-wanker context of the full album. Offensively bad, to the point where I wasn't sure I'd manage to listen to it all. I did, but I'm not sure how! Probably the worst album (not involving nico or morisey) I have endured. 0 🌟

So I must hear Haircut 100 before I die? Fuck off.

A pleasant, beachy, smooth vibes only sort of record.

Sounds quite poppy to me but I do like the funk guitar and Latin vibe. Plus it got the wife dancing which is always fun. 3/5

Jodidos tonteos con samba shit y el jazz, pero por lo demás bastante bueno

cute groovy 3.5

Prva je bila obećavajuća i onda ostale hit & miss. Sax ih izvlaci kad ga bude. 3.5

Catchy

As individual songs they were great, but the album felt like one big song. Great band, great music, ok album. 3.5/5

You cant make it in a top 1001 albums of all time with a band name like that, simply not on

Very pleasant. Get talking heads vibes on some tunes which is always good.

4.5 rounded up this lot are fucking groovy. Duran Duran with better song titles and a big fuck off saxophone

3.5/5. The vibes on this are incredible. A little repetitive but I’m a real sucker for a jazzy sax solo

This is what you would expect to hear from an early 80's British pop group. It is pretty much the same format as all the other groups. You will hear hints of Duran Duran with the sax...the catchy beats with the bongos and drum fills. Pretty much on script from 1982.

Not sure why this was included. Nothing stood out to me as exciting. It was okay, not great.

I actually enjoyed this

eh. good new wave, but kind of forgetablle. good music though.

It's fine. Entirely inessential sophistipop/jangle pop/new wave. I've heard worse, but I've also heard so much better. The net cultural impact of this thing appears to have been exactly zero, so I can't fathom what it's doing on this list.

Really liked this one. Very 80s but that's not always a bad thing.

I was prepared to be disappointed but great album, very funky, superb rhythm guitar and searing horns. Great way to start Monday morning!

Meh

This was absolutely delightful. Will definitely be checking out more from them

The horns are the only thing that made this worth listening. They are also the only thing that made this a 2 and not a 1.

It sounds like typical kinda 80s style with jazzy instrumentals, like its fine but nothing extraordinary where I feel like I was missing out by not hearing it, but on the premise that this is one of the albums i must listen to before I die- I don't feel like I needed to hear this at all in my life like my world is the same having heard it or not. Its fine. I would actually prefer it without singing like it was more litty without the mediocre singer.

Glad musik. Har ägt skivan en gång i tiden men lyssnade nästan aldrig på den.

got about halfway through, bored

Kitschy smooth jazz for kids? Idk what this is but it's not really my vibe

I get why it's here. Not for me, but I warmed up to it.

Niet slecht maar iets te hoog muzak gehalte m.i.

Enérgico y divertido. 3/5.

Mostly cheesy, but also some fun grooves. Favorite track is ski club which apparently didn’t make the original record

80s John Hughes movie soundtrack stuff. Not bad, and I guess this should be included for historical purposes if nothing else. 3/5

The band Chicago is pretty lame, but I absolutely love their self-titled first album when they were called Chicago Transit Authority. At its best, this album sounds like Chicago Transit Authority mixed with sophistapop and it’s awesome. This is probably my favorite album I have heard doing this project that I wasn’t familiar with before (I had heard “Love Plus One” on Sirius XM’s First Wave channel but nothing else). The lyrics left a lot to be desired and it was a bit too cheesy in parts, but overall I really dug it. I am a sucker for a horn section.

Eh

Love Plus One is one of my favorites from the 1980s. This is a very 80's funky new wave album. What's not to like? Standouts: Love Plus One, Favorite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl), Fantastic Day, Nobody's Fool (Bonus) Corny lyrics, but excellent music. 3.5

Never heard of them. Very poppy.

really bland, inoffensive easy listening type stuff

Love this album!! So happy 😁

I like lemon forebrigade but other than that it is not one of my favorites. Love the groovy vibe but its not enough

I'll be damned, if I couldn't stop tapping my toe while I listened along. The blend of jazz and pop, spiced up with hints of latin, funk, and ska are an act of musical alchemical genius. The instrumental performances are flawless and the production is polished to a yacht deck sheen. While the lyrics aren't anything that will compete for a Pulitzer, their light and delivered the brightly and chorused with harmonies. An all-around feel-good album that would pair up nicely with a dance hall as easily it would segue into The Clash or The Specials.

Pretty nice nostalgia trip leading a rabbit hole of research about a group band I'd always written off as an 80s boy band

Almost gave this 4 stars because it's really quite funky, but the further you get into the album, the more it feels like more of the same. I did add Favourite Shirts to my playlist, though.

Alkuun jakso diggailla menoa. Levy on pitkä kuin Siperian talvi ja matkan aikana laulajan ääni alkoi vituttamaan.

Loppua kohdne muuttu hauskan hilpeeks menoks, 2,5*=3*

Brightened my sleepless early morning right on up. Love these vibes.

Conocida, pero más lenta Love Plus One.

Quite nice, but not my type of music

It's alright but I probably could've died without hearing it

Enjoyable

i really didn't know what to make of this album going in, it's not a band i've ever heard of and the album cover didn't really let on to what was going on. I had a really fun time with this one! front to back, really nice, catchy tunes. definitely very 80s in sound. cool stuff!

ничего не запомнила) только что на делюкс издании одна песня кажется пять раз звучала

1. favorite zhirtz - 1 2. love pluz one - 1 3. lemon - 1.5 4. marine fireboy - 0 5. milk film - 1 6. kingzize - 1.5 7. fantaztic day - 1 8. baked beanz - 0 9. znouu girl - 0 10. trianglez - 1 11. zurprize me again - 1 12. captain autumn - 0 13. boat party - 2 14. zki club - 0 15. nobodyz fool - 1.5 16. october iz orange - 1

This album was surprisingly good. It had great instrumentals. Dude on the sax was playing for his life.

Солидан 4/10

Two great singles to open it up. After that, a perfectly listenable album, but without a lot to distinguish the other tracks. Notable, and worthy of selection for the list as a good example of a representative pop album that definitely influenced later acts (e.g., Blow Monkeys). Solid 7/10, rounding up for serious grooving on "Boy Meets Girl".

Not bad.

Posh pop disguised as art pop

Again, better than I expected

This was some great funky 80s dance music! Reminded me of The Cars meets Duran Duran meets Talking Heads. Love all the horns especially. Stand out tracks: Love Plus One, Milk Film, October is Orange (Day 1 & 2)

Funky, kind of had a Talking Heads feel at the beginning but then fades. I liked this more than I originally thought I would, love the bass and horns, nice and clean. Could have been a bit shorter, found myself bored of the same sounds by the end.

Damn, this album kicked ass. The music here is so upbeat and catchy, I really liked this one.

white boy funkin

Conocida, pero más lenta Love Plus One.

Groovy 80s beats!

Solid album. It has a great groove to it, but it doesn’t have much to make it really stand out.

This band was funky and tight, trumpets, samba drums, groovy bass. Not bad for a bunch of english white boys. How had I never heard of this band before?! Given the right mood and setting, this could be a jam today.

This album is not great and I have no idea why it would be on this list BUT I didn't hate it. It was fun and upbeat and sounds better than most of the 80s music that other people love.

4/5. A great collection of pop songs that brings vibes of pet shop boys and the beach boys, creating a fun and happy-go-lucky vibe mostly besides some one off dark ones. Otherwise a really enjoyable pop album, full of short and sweet songs about random stuff that feels unique. Can't wait to explore this one more!

Alles sehr ähnlich, aber ok.

Album étonnant. Un mélange de rock inde du début 80, pop 60's, pop kitsch au saxo et bongo genre la croisière s'amuse a Copacabana. Donc des moments assez laborieux, et parfois un son de guitare une mélodie qui redonne un peu la foi. La première écoute est compliquée, mais découvre des choses, comme "Surprise me again", charmante.

I always thought these were Duran Duran songs when I was growing up. So here I am thinking I was listening to another DD knockoff group only to discover I liked this album better than most DD. 4/4

Some good 80's British pop/funk going on here. Lemon Firebrigade was the standout track, my ears pricked up at the timbre of this instrumental. I won't give the album a repeat spin but wouldn't complain hearing a couple of tracks here & there. It's just getting over the line for a 3 star score.

It was alright, got a but boring after a while. Duran Duran lite is a good description indeed.

Interesting elevator music

Not bad I guess

Funky new wave. I like this.

Mostly throwaway songs - especially the ones that sound like XTC. This album would be totally uninteresting if not for what other groups did and continue to do with the sound.

This one's a little tricky. It's "just" fun pop, but there's nothing wrong with that. There's a lot of "just fun pop" from the '80s that I would give 4 stars. What makes this a little tricky is that, not being from the UK, I didn't grow up with this, so it's "just" typical 80s pop. But it's really pretty good, and it was a little ahead of its time (being recorded in 1981). I'll round up to 4 stars. Good solid 80s pop.

Better than most new wave for me but sadly they ran out of ideas, every track is the same leaving you feeling pretty stir crazy by the end. Still, got my head bobbing.

Funky fun

If you're looking for jazzy 80's new wave music, here it is. This album is almost too 80s for me, coming off as a bit goofy at times. Thankfully, there is enough saxophone and horn here to keep it from being below a 3 for me. Maybe I'll come back if I'm looking for a stereotypically 80's playlist, but otherwise I think I'll stay away. Highlight: Lemon Firebrigade Lowlight: Nobody's Fool - 12" Version Surprise Hit: Fantastic Day

overlong and frequently outright unintelligible but man is this irresistibly groovy. stellar instrumental breaks. when you know you know.

Long and super annoying.

Gøy

Zabavan album

Not bad by any means. Not particularly amazing, but I enjoyed my time with it. I’d go back to this one again. 7/10 Top 3: 1. Love Plus One 2. Lemon Firebrigade 3. Fantastic Day

Great scratchy guitar sound and the well-known hits are strong, but overall the sound is a bit cheesy and I didn't feel like listening to it more than once.

Another unexpected album! I’ve never heard of this band before but wow did I really enjoy the tunes on this album. Very jazz-fusion-y and the bass is absolutely killer.

The opening song was soooo good Rest of the album didn’t quite live up to it but was still fun, and it was a nice surprise to hear Fantastic Day (never knew who that one was by)

10/10 a beautifully rich new wave album blending a wide variety of different genres

Este sí que lo voy a escuchar más allá de la obligación de esta lista. Me gustó desde el inicio.

its a very cohesive early 80's album. I'm not terribly versed on New Wave but this seems like a great starting point. I'll admit it did seem to run together a little bit at times, but in a good way. my favorite track was probably Boy Meets Girl.

Duran Duran meets Club Tropicana by Wham. Good!

This was..interesting. It sounded like music that might play during a daytime television game show. And that’s not necessarily a good thing. Vibes were weird. It wasn’t painful to listen to, but not really enjoyable either.

Vote to replace elevator music with this.

Very repetitive

The first couple of songs had me intrigued with the upbeat brass and percussion arrangements - but I found the entire album too much of the same thing. And that was even before the songs 13-17 that were bonus songs for the CD version…

Not bad, just a bit meh

Wow, this came as a huge surprise. From the opening track, I was hooked. This sounds like a great example of early 80s music, and the grooves, horns, and vocals are really fun. Surprising that the original group really only recorded one album together, and that it was included on this list. I generally skip any bonus tracks and try to just listen to the original album, but for this, I was thrilled to get some extra content to keep the party going. "Nobody's Fool (12' Version)" and "October is Orange (Day 1 & 2)" truly are bonuses in every sense of the word.

Prima! Maar niet bijzonder

Een van de betere albums ooit

This was a good album very retro vibes if you can call it that sounds like the background music for Donnie darko.