The band Blondie has been an elusive chameleon stylistically. They were initially tagged as punk while rising up through the clubs
of New York, but their music always possessed a pop sensibility. Their willingness to experiment with different genres proved to
be a strength when they elected to cut a one-off disco track ("Heart Of Glass"), dabbled with reggae ("The Tide Is High" and "Die
Young, Stay Pretty") and capitalized on the power pop that made PARALLEL LINES and EAT TO THE BEAT so addictive. Their genre
hopping experiments began to backfire on the likable, but confusing AUTOAMERICAN and even disastrous on THE HUNTER.
Unrepentant, NO EXIT follows in this tradition with the fast ska beat of "Screaming Skin" or Debbie's rap-rock duet with Coolio on
the title track, which is thankfully not "Rapture" revisited. In fact, this record has a somewhat darker ambiance than their more
playful early 80s output. Their experiments occasionally catch fire, but never burn quite as hot as their glory days. Mostly
average with one great track ("Maria") and a few good ones ("Nothing Is Real But The Girl" and the title track).
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