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Rating: Two Scotsmen with rather "charmant" biographical backgrounds (one a wandering singer, going as far as a mock marriage just to linger in New Orleans to grasp the secrets of soul singers, the other a scholar and practitioner of almost every gadget that produced music; together in their homeland, doing cabaret in the "Mental Torture," a group whose name was a complete paradox) great enthusiasts of soundtracks, '50s clothing, unrestricted sex, and not exactly legal substances... Globally eccentric and incredibly refined: there's enough here to make Alan Rankine and Billy MacKenzie, aka "The Associates," quite appealing.
But naturally, there is more: talent, in inventing melodies that astonish with ingenuity and strike to the point of being etched in the mind, talent in singing them with deep sensitivity and imagery that is sometimes raw, sometimes abstract, in other occasions just bizarre but always far from banalities and clichés, even though they deal "only" with feelings. This "Sulk", released in June '82 after a barrage of singles (recorded on Sunday nights to save costs and outsmart the record company of the moment) and a first LP that was somewhat run-of-the-mill, indeed contains simply extraordinary songs. Yes... "Pop Songs"... Which was what they played (alongside companions supporting the rhythm section and just a few choruses) with the likes of the White Duke and Roxy Music providing just the framework while everything else, from the bricks to the smallest decorative detail, was their thought; and specifically, meticulous attention to detail ("...When we recorded, we never had enough time or tracks...") and one of the most memorable male voices ever, are other distinctive features of the "trademark."
And so, let's head to "Top of the Pop": ...."No": a haunting slow motion, so intense it conveys an almost physical sense of frost; "Bapdelabap": rolling rhythm (here, as the bizarre experimenters they were, the drums consist solely of snares and no toms) and a melody that flutters like a classical dancer only to then confound everyone in the chorus; "Club Country": an elegant disco-rock with MacKenzie scaling impossible tonal leaps; "Skipping", another scintillating invitation to dance with that "Skip...Skip...Skipping" at the end sounding like the flight of a crazed kite...
Perfect album? The answer is implicitly negative as the strengths of their language paradoxically also represent its limits when the pathos of McKenzie's incredible talents becomes overly melodramatic (particularly "Party Fears Two", although splendid in the instrumental realm) and the richness of the arrangements overflows into an overabundance of overdubs and studio effects. Some uncertainties (beginning and ending with two instrumentals that feel somewhat lackluster) and rhythm (often deferred to drum machines) result in a generally monotonous whole, further preventing "Sulk" as a whole from being considered one of the great masterpieces. Nevertheless, as mentioned, the extraordinary value of certain tracks remains, placing these two dandies in the exclusive circle of those who truly knew how to write and interpret songs in the most intelligent and complete sense of the term.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 Party Fears Two (05:12)
I'll have a shower
And then phone my brother up
Within the hour
I'll smash another cup
Please don't start saying that
Or I'll start believing you
If I start believing you
I'll know that this party fears two
And what if this party fears two?
The alcohol loves you while turning you blue
View it from here
From closer to near
Awake me
Don't turn around
I won't have to look at you
And what's not found
Is all that I see in you
My manners are failing me
I'm left feeling ugly
And you say it's wonderful
To live with I never will
So what if this party fears two?
The alcohol loves you while turning you blue
View it from here
From closer to near
Awake me
I'm standing still
And you say I dress too well
Still standing still
I might but it's hard to tell
Even a slight remark
Makes nonsense and turns to shark
Have I done something wrong?
What's wrong's the wrong that's always in wrong
I'll have a shower
And then phone my brother up
Within the hour
I'll smash another cup
03 Club Country (04:03)
The fault is, I can find no fault in you
Assault is say it or I'll say it for you
If we stick around we're sure to be looked down upon
What better way or should I say?
Alive and kicking
Alive and kicking at the Country Club
We're old and sickening at the Country Club
A drive from nowhere leaves you in the cold
Refrigeration keeps you young I'm told
Alive and kicking at the Country Club
We're old and sickening at the Country Club
Your limitations are our every care
Every breath you breath belongs to... someone there
At all's two words could they be soldered as one
Therein lies the perfect pseudonym
To think you've learned to know someone and find
That you don't know don't know them at all
Alive and kicking
Alive and kicking at the Country Club
We're always sickening at the Country Club
A drive from nowhere leaves you in the cold
Refrigeration keeps you young I'm told
Alive and kicking at the Country Club
We're old and sickening at the Country Club
Your limitations are our every care
Every breath you breath belongs to... someone there
Sad to see that you're suffering
Work hard at being a something
Sad to see that you're suffering
Work hard at being a something
Sad to see that you're suffering
Work hard at being a something
Alive and kicking at the Country Club
We're old and sickening at the Country Club
A drive from nowhere leaves you in the cold
Refrigeration keeps you young I'm told
Alive and kicking at the Country Club
We're always sickening at the Country Club
Your limitations are our every care
Every breath you breath belongs to someone there
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