Review Summary: In my fantasy, I sail beneath your skirt
XTC is an often overlooked new wave band. Most people who know of the band only know of the song “Dear God”, a critical backlash at the popular Christian book series for children. This was originally a b-side later put on a reissue of “Skylarking”. However, the band started in 1976 heavily influenced by the emerging punk rock scene coming out of New York City. This is evident in their first album “White Music”.
“White Music” is definitely influenced by the sounds of Talking Heads, Blondie, and New York Dolls However, “White Music” predates acts like Devo, Gary Numan, and England’s own Adam and the Ants by about a year. However, this album has not shown up as an influence to these three bands/artists. This is considered one of the first New Wave albums in England.
Most of the album is made up of traditional chorus structure songs, this being typical of the punk rock scene emerging from New York. The first three songs on this album are definitely more pop-oriented than post punk. “Radios in Motion”, “Cross Wires”, and “This is Pop” (the last one should be obvious evidence). However, the fourth song “Do What You Do” is almost absolute punk clocking in only around a minute and thirty. There is a hint of pop accessibly in this song.
Oddly enough, there is a cover of Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower”. This cover of the song is the most unique I have come across. It is a darker sound compared to the rest of the album. However, the vocals on this song are at their worst. Colin Moulding sounds like he has a bad case of Tourette’s singing this weird cover of “All Along the Watchtower”. There is a reason why he is not the main lead singer of XTC.
“Into The Atom Age” Is a song with a more straight-forward punk rock sound accompanying a kooky synth to put in the most simplistic terms. “I’ll Set Myself on Fire” is another Collin Moulding song that is like “Into The Atom Age” but a more abrupt sound. The beginning of song sounds reminiscent of early Cure but it goes straight into Colin Moulding annoying kooky vocals. It sounds like a mixture of David Byrne and Adrian Belew from Frank Zappa’s “Shiek Yerbouti” (not a slam on that album).
“I’m Bugged” is a return to the poppy sound of the side one but is more downbeat compared to side one. The return of the kooky synth that would be a staple in the later works of XTC is present once again. “New Town Animal” is a short New Wave song that is the popper cousin of “Do What You Do”. “Spinning Top” at first seems like a funk song but transitions into the ever-presence of new wave on this album. “Neon Shuffle” is the last song on the album. It is more reminiscent of XTC’s later works in how it sounds. This is not the case in the lyrics. It is a straightforward New Wave song like the rest of the album.
As a whole, “White Music” is an overlooked gem in early New Wave history. This is a great album to listen to if you are into New Wave. However, this album can be inaccessible at first due to Colin Moulding vocals.
4/5
