45s

Rip It Up, Issue 68, 1 March 1983, Page 26

45s

Mark Phillips

Screaming Meemees Stars In My Eyes (Propeller) This is the best Meemees' record ever ever ever. (Whether it's the best Meemees' song is another matter) It's a fast, neat package of all the Meemees' trademarks you've got to shake something to it. The B-side of the 12" is an extended "Day Goes By'. The cocktail dub bit is an obvious one but

this one succeeds well enough to make the extended version better than the original. The Meemees may sometimes seem to deal in gestures but good (not great) records': like this vindicate them. Export Lamb ;3njjjlH Chicken On A Wire Or Prime Export Blam, if that clarifies things. A good one, this sparse and effective. The flip is an old Prime Movers' song 'Someone To Blame' and a Mahon song 'Be The Boss'. They're both very average. Spines, Punch (Ripper) This isn't so much a single as a record with two songs on it. Two

very fine songs. Punch' is a quirky, creeping little image, a whispered invitation to dance. "Your Body Stays' is more desperate and just as good. You'll have to buy your own copy of this one because you'll never hear it on the radio. The Drongos, Don't Touch Me (Drongo Publishing) Four New Zealanders, once of Red Mole, now of New York, produce some odd, atonal rockabilly. It's good but not special. The Drongos are regarded as one of the top up-and-coming bands in New York. It's a pity we can't send over some of our really good ones. Grammar Boys World of Our Own (EMI) These guys get painted as prats everywhere but this isn't a bad bit of bright power pop. The flip 'Caroline' spoils things though full of unnecessary guitar and hackneyed lyrics. This Way Out, The Grind (DJM) David Morel got together Sonya Waters and RlU's own Stefan Morris to record a couple of his

songs. It was done fairly quickly and unfortunately, it sounds that way. The songs aren't done justice in the way they would be with a regular band. Still", there's something there. I think Morel should try again. The Kiwi Animal Wartime (Brent and Julie Records) Five urban folk songs? Perhaps the best description. Two voices and an acoustic guitar. Two people here, very distinct, but one. A more reliable option than Kiwi Animal live, this record has both charm and faults. I think it's quite good. Blond Comedy Rebecca (Mushroom) A good song that suffers from being a shade too long, losing its direction somewhere. The impression is that there's a better song struggling to get out. They can do without songs like the flip The Time of My Life'. Russ Le Roq Pier 13/So You Made It Now (Ode) It was good to see Jeff Crowe get a few runs in Australia, still

better to see him hold his form on the Kiwi pitches. A good J long innings may be the making of him. Brother Martin may have been pitched into the big stuff a little early, but he'll come through. Cousin 'Russ makes records but T don't think he'll make international standard. Actually^this record is so embarrassingly obvious it could become peverse chic. Russell 1 Brown wkikj » \T\ *♦ Dire Straits Twisting By the Pool (Vertigo) Rock 'n' roll evoking memories of the fifties with clattering piano and honking sax. The exception is 'lf I Had You' where the band returns to familiar tempos.. Recommended. David Perkins • Mari Wilson Just What I Always Wanted (London) The lady who is single-handedly reconstructing the sixties makes her NZ debut. A bright, tuneful song with cleverly constructed lyrics and a crisp production. Ideal for radio playlists. Thompson Twins, Lies (Arista) The Thompson Twins, once a seven-piece unit, have found commercial success as a three piece. The female member, Alannah Currie, is a New Zealander. Fascinated? You should be, because 'Lies' is a song that will not only have you singing along, it'll have you dancing across your bedroom floor. Culture Club Time (Clock of the Heart) (Virgin) From raging t woofterjtoj megastar,:Boy George has had a good year. When you have such an obvious formula it's not hard to follow-up a hit single. Time' has a dynamic bass line, wimpy vocals, all marked with a rubber stamp reading 'HIT!'. U2, New Year's Day (Island) On the subject of formulas, U2. A good band, but they are standing on the edge of a crevasse. This single from the album War (which has better songs than this) does nothing for anybody. That said, U2 fans should buy it, as the flip is the fine Treasure (What Ever Happened to Pete the •Chap)', which ain't on the album. Belle Stars Sign of the Times (Stiff) After the awful 'Clapping Song', crapped out the Belle Stars decided to write for themselves. It works. ;

A better than average 1 pop tune with more than a hint of the Mari Wilson. Expect to hear it on breakf^itTraHioMnpHMßri Kajagoogoo, Too Shy (EMI) This song destroys my faith in the British record buying public. It went to Number One. If you could imagine Fashion and Duran Duran getting together] to) make the worst record possible you'd still have something superior to 'Too Shy'. To think I thought Haysi Fantayzee were inane! Yazoo rwammm The Other. Side of Love (Mute) I had great hopes for Vince and Alf, but the album has turned sour on me and this single grates. Their lack of originality,' thinly veiled by electronics, won't stop their ship sinking. Watch out for Depeche | Mode's 'Get the Balance] Right', one of this year's great electropop singles. David Sylvian & Rivichi Sakamoto Bamboo Houses 12" (Virgin) Japan, Nightporter 12" (Virgin) Two men, one from a band called Japan and one from a band from Japan (YMO) team up to produce a hauntingly effective and intoxicating - piece that deserves pride of place 'in any . modern music collection. A Japanese feel, ancient, yet innovative. 'Nightporter' is a lament, melancholic but not depressing. It features a beautiful oboe and acoustic piano. The other side is the uptempo 'Methods of Dance' with the dynamic bass of -Mick t/ —TMHUHnaBnMn Karn. Elvis Costello and the Attractions Party Party (A&M) This is the title track from a British movie. It leaves you wondering how EC came to write and record such a; duff number. The bonus is the B-side 'lmperial Bedroom', the title track that wasn't on the album. MakatonlChatßßßßU^Bß Federal State Chance 12" (Statik) Makaton Chat ’are a Northern English (Stockton) band who appeared on Nigel Burnham's compilation Your Secret's Safe With Us. This three song debut single contains electronic, sometimes frantic pop . a cross between John Foxx and Positive Noise. Not unpleasant. It's available from Trans-Statik Records, PO Box MT3, Leeds England for a mere NZ $5.28 including postage and packing.