On Tape

Rip It Up, Issue 82, 1 May 1984, Page 22

O n Tape

The Boogie Boys Break Dancer (EMI) A five-track tape of ultimate black urban contemporary music, featuring a murderous beat box rhythm with neat off-beat sound effects. The thing just throbs. The Boogie Boys have sounds to rock the house on their two raps 'Zodiac’ and 'Shake and Break'. "We didn't come to do karate/Or drink Bacardi/Just to help you party." Boogietronics to beat the street. K 9 Corps, Dog Talk (EMI) ; . This is really a 12" single put on tape, with the same two songs on both sides. Not quite value for money but at least the songs are good. Rap versions of George Clinton's vision of chaos from his wonderful Computer Games album. It's witty and to the beat and features such stars as Pluto, Snoopy, Scooby Doo and Rin Tin Tin. Throwin' down and doggin' the house. Good, funky fun, but I prefer Clinton's 'Atomic Dog' a better breed by far. New York Dolls Lipstick Killers: The Mercer St Sessions (ROIRK In the early 70s this was what we called punk rock. A hybrid form of urban blues, white boys learning from black street culture (even if that just meant wearing Tina Turner's cast-offs). The Dolls had a grasp of the trash aesthetic what it means to be young and cheap. This tape shows its genesis. It's no way as good as the first Dolls' album, with production being nonexistent, with a sound lost on Mandrax as opposed to the amphetamine rush of the vinyl. Interesting, but a bit rough and loose for listening pleasure. The

best tracks are a cover of Otis Redding's 'Don't Mess With Cupid' and a campy 'Jet Boy'. If you're interested send $lO USA to ROIR Inc, 611 Broadway, Suite 214 NY 10012, USA. Kerry Buchanan Various Artists Accident Compilation (Failsafe, Box 3003, Christchurch; 58) Now if you haven't got this tape the only person you are fooling is yourself. A huge slice of the once very healthy Christchurch music scene, taken over the last , four years. 'Most of the contributions come from either demos or live recordings so the sound quality varies somewhat but the spirit is most definitely there. And 27 bands! Of these, YFC, the Newtones, En Can MA and the Pin Group have sounded better, but the Triffids, Ballon D'essai and the Haemogoblins have sounded worse so it would be a lot easier if you were the judge. There are some real bobby dazzlers all the same. Channel Four's 'You Were the One' sounds .like something the Alarm might have pinched and surely Edwin

Collins wouldn't be too proud to borrow the World's marvellous 'Mystery' for the next Orange Juice album. Androidss, Playthings, Gordons, Not -Really Anything and more . . . they're all here so just send your eight bucks (el cheapo) to wee Rob Failsafe, PO Box 3003, Christchurch. Lastly, as a wicked ploy to push sales beyond the double platinum mark, various groups involving most of the members of the Dance Exponents have been included on the tape but I'm not allowed to tell you which ones they are. A clue look very carefully at the free limited edition poster that comes with this tape. Alister Cain Evasive Action Looking For A Battlefield (Failsafe, 57) Q: What's more handsome than the Smiths and has sordid Dance Exponents connections? A: Evasive Action vocalist Eugene! Leading his merry men through fourteen songs, all belted out with gusto, emphasised by excellent bass and heartfelt vocals, he's

made the Discharge clones look silly. Showcasing this now defunct Chch punk band's talent, from the energetic catchiness of 'Nation Divided' to the slow emotional intensity of 'Agony', this is a winner. Due for release mid May, snap it up quick. Who said "We want Southern Front"? Neil Cartwright All Failsafe tapes are available from PO Box 3003, Christchurch. Wreck Small Speakers on Expensive Stereos Over My Skull Two of Dunedin's best kept secrets are Richard Ram (bass) and Michael Morley (guitar, organ, vocals), collectively WSSOES. Originally from Napier, they've been spreading their particular gospel in Dunedin long enough to make this their third tape (or fourth if you count Morley's Red Orchestra effort). 'Over My Skull' is a mighty obsession. It's repetitive, nagging, relentless bassline provides a platform for a layer of instrumental and distorted vocal tension. It is ugly, disturbing and purposeful in its pursuit of expression. By comparison, Rebel One and Two' is almost playful. WSS are scraping at your nerve ends and for that privilege write to 134 St David's St, Dunedin. GK Pictish Blood {Rites, PO Box 25004. St Heliers. Auckland, S 3) Pictish Blood are (or were, they broke up late last year) angry. They're worried about authoritarianism, violence, repression of freedoms, organised religion, animal welfare, nationalism ... and they've thought it out there's a lot of eye-straining reading with this tape. It also comes with a lyric sheet (you'll need it). The music is pretty good fast

punk, with the guitar way up front and the singer occasionally sacrificing phrasing and rhythm for the sake of getting the words out. I think they come from Brisbane, which probably explains ’ their stance resistance music from the right-wing capital of the South Pacific. RB