This third album by the legendary band Magazine is generally considered more accessible than Real Life or
Secondhand Daylight. There's something almost classical in the arrangements and the playing although the music still has the punk edge, especially on songs like Because You're Frightened and Model Worker. This edition has been enhanced by bonus tracks.
You Never Knew Me with Laura Teresa's atmospheric backing vocals is particularly graceful and moving. Ever the poet, Devoto rhymes "philadelphia" with "healthier" on the song of that title. I Want To Burn Again has its eerie moments and the arrangement, especially the swirling cascading synths, reminds me of what
Peter Murphy would do later in the eighties.
The
Sly Stone cover Thank You (Fallettin Be Mice Elf Agin) could probably be termed "plastic funk" by analogy with David Bowie's plastic soul on Young Americans. But the highlight of the album for me remains the weird atmospheric Song From Under The Floorboards, a magical number with mysterious hypnotic appeal. To me, it's on a par with Devoto's strange masterpiece called Rubbish on the
Luxuria album. Devoto is a man of many talents but unfortunately not prolific enough. This album is therefore to be treasured.